"Pudding" and other words I never thought I'd need to know how to say in Spanish

Tuesday, September 09

Ok, so I lied a bit, the only really strange word I've needed to know so far is pudding. There have been other words I would have liked to know, of course, but none as unexpected as pudding. In case you were wondering, it's "postre" which is also the word for dessert in general. This morning when I grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge (Chocolate yogurt? Sweet!) I was suprised to find that it was not, in fact, yogurt, but rather pudding. "Do you like it?" my host mother asked me (in Spanish, of course). "Yes, but I'm suprised - I thought it was yogurt." "Oh, so did I. I got it because I thought you'd like the flavor. What is it?" ... How do I describe pudding to a 60-something Spanish woman? "I don't know the word for it, but in the United States sometimes kids will eat it for dessert. Or people eat it when they're sick, too." She kind of nodded at me and went back to eating her lemon-flavored yogurt. Not pudding, mind you.


In other news, stressful Italy trip planning is no more. I'm either going to go to Prague and Budapest (and possibly Vienna) with a Spanish travel agency group, or I'm going to hike the Camino de Santiago as part of a class with my study abroad program.

Pros of the Prague/Budapest trip: Prague and Budapest! Also, airfare, hotels, transportation, Spanish-speaking guides, museum entrance, some meals, etc. all included in the price so I don't have to deal with any of it. And when's the next time I'm honestly going to have a chance to go? Cons: I can afford it because of my unbelievably sweet summer job, but I'd be parting with a hefty number of euros (and an even heftier number of dollars). Also, I'd be going by myself since everyone else in my study abroad program has plans already, and the Italy group is still planning on going to Italy. This means it would just be me and a bunch of Spanish couples. Hidden Pro: Great exposure to Spanish even though I'd be out of the country - all the tours and all of my interactions with other participants would be in Spanish. Not-so-hidden Con: Potential to be a very solitary trip. Message for Sarah Judkins: Why did you decide to go save the world instead of studying abroad? I could have visited you in Vienna!

Pros of the Camino de Santiago trip: It's part of a class I can choose to take, so I'd get to spend the next few weeks learning about the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage across northern Spain, and then I'd get to go hike it. It's through my program so I'd be with people my own age as well as with a really fun professor. And did I mention that I'd get to spend a week hiking across northern Spain? Cons: It's with people from my study abroad program, which means there would be lots of English. Also, I didn't bring my hiking boots. Or any sort of hiking shorts/pants/shirts, although that's less of an issue. And it's not Prague and Budapest. But, well, duh.

I'm leaning toward Camino de Santiago. I'm going to talk to the professor tomorrow to find out a little more. And then I'll probably start looking for some good walking shoes...

p.s. "Dancing Queen" is drifting through my window from some car somewhere. Thought you might like to know.