A Grapefruit's (many) Passions

One girl's thoughts on life, love, happiness and anything else that crosses her mind.

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“Commonwealth,” Ann Patchett

   Set between Chicago, California, and Virginia, Patchett’s story follows the breakup of two families and what happens afterwards--when a mother and a father from two separate families fall in love, and decide to get divorces and combine their families in the most heartbreaking way possible for almost everyone involved (except for them, of course). Told through one of the daughter’s (Franny) perspectives, with shifting narratives in both the past and present, “Commonwealth” is at the same time jovial and melancholic, and in the end resigned: the children resigned to their parent’s (bad) choices, the parents resigned to the effects of their (bad) choices, and everyone resigned to Franny’s decision to tell their story to a famous author who then writes it into his next novel. Talk about meta.

“The Portuguese: A Modern History,” Barry Hatton

   Filled with his own stories and also slightly offensive stereotypes, Hatton’s account is at the same time both personal and general; offering perspectives from the outside and within. He starts with what the Portuguese term the ‘Age of Discovery’, a somewhat pleasant name for what was really colonization in all its ugly forms, and continues up to the modern day economic crisis (the book was published in 2011). He also gives quick cultural glimpses to what makes Portugal Portugal, and the Portuguese people Portuguese: popular foods such as the codfish and pasteis de Belem, or Belem pastries; designs seen everywhere, like the azulejos, or brilliant blue tiles decorating churches; and sports, like soccer--Ronaldo, anyone? While I have no complaints about his book, it does indeed give a nice overall history and a general sense of the country, the best thing would be, of course, to see it for yourself. ;)

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Wednesday Wisdom

Hello, hairy legs... 

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10 days in Scotland

   I just returned from a 10-day trip to Scotland, in which my friends and I rented a car and drove up through the Highlands, to the Isle of Skye, and back down again. It was an optimistic itinerary for the amount of time we had, and with hindsight, we should have made it into a 2-week trip instead! It was still a scenic drive though, and there was a lot of natural landscapes and beauty to be appreciated. 

   The first two days I spent solo in Glasgow, which is a pretty city with not much to see tourist-wise, which isn’t so bad if you think about it, because it means there are less tourists and you can enjoy the city at a slower (more normal) pace. The first day I spent in the West End, which has some wonderful secondhand book shops (head to Thistle!) and cozy cafes to read what you found at the book shops. I also went to the Kelvingrove Musem, a sprawling building with tons of exhibitions from every topic--art, history, folklore and ethnographic, etc. And the best part--free entry! 

   The second day I of course went to the city center, stopping first at the cathedral (also free entry!) and then walking through the graveyard (called the Necropolis) located right behind the cathedral on top of a hill, so it offers splendid views of the cathedral and the city surrounding it. One of the favorite things about Scotland is how green it is, which was a recurring theme on this trip. Next stop was The Lighthouse, a tower built by one of Scotland’s most famous modern artists, Charles Rennie Macintosh, and offers a bird’s eye view above the other buildings in the city center. I also stopped at the main square, St. George’s, and at the Museum of Modern Art. Again, there were tons of cute cafes to stop and sit for a while, and I wish I could have gone to more of them!

   Once my friends arrived, we went to the Isle of Bute for a day trip, which was a one hour train ride, and then half hour ferry ride, away from Glasgow. It was remarkably easy to get to, and we walked around the center for a bit, seeing the castle and enjoying the harbor view before taking a bus tour around the island. The driver was very informative and we were able to see the whole island in an hour and a half, and learned a lot about it as well.

   The fourth day we picked up the car and headed to Stirling, a short-is drive from Glasgow. Stirling is small but pretty, featuring a castle up on a hill (so more great views!), a very small art and history museum, a castle on the outskirts of town that was featured in Outlander, and a tower also on the outskirts of town dedicated to William Wallace, a defender of Scottish independence. This was one of my favorite things we did, because as you climbed the tower steps, each level had information about the monument itself and also about the historical context--very interesting. Plus, you were rewarded with an amazing view once you reached the top!

   We then continued on to St. Andrews for part of the next day, where we had lunch and went to the cathedral ruins and castle ruins. William Wallace is buried in the cemetery next to the ruins of the cathedral. St. Andrews is even smaller than Stirling, but boasts one of the oldest universities in the UK, and is quite charming. That afternoon we had a long (5 hours!) drive to Inverness, which is in the north of Scotland amid the Highlands.

   Inverness was my favorite place we went, there is just something about it that I really liked--I can’t say anymore. The downtown area is quite pretty, with a castle nestled in the middle overlooking the river. The cathedral sits on the other side of the river, easily seen from the castle lookout point. Right next to the castle is an art and history museum, which I really enjoyed. I would love to return to Inverness one day and stay for a longer period of time to really get a feel for this lovely city.

   Next up was the Isle of Skye, famed for it’s natural beauty and wonderful landscapes. It did not disappoint, although we could have spent much more than one day here--a week could have easily been spent, especially for those of you who enjoy hiking (I don’t! Ha). Some of the most beautiful parts of the Isle of Skye included the castle of Dunvegan and Neist point, which is basically a trek first down one mountain and then up another, which juts out over the ocean. Below you can see the lighthouse, which we did NOT have the energy to walk to after our climb, haha. 

   We also took advantage of the car to make stops as we pleased, including at Loch Ness (sorry, no monster sighting at all...) and at Dornie Castle, very picturesque as you can see from the pictures...

   Like I mentioned earlier, to be able to more fully appreciate all of these places, I think a few more days should be added to this itinerary, especially if you also want to visit Scotland’s most touristy city, Edinburgh (which I had already been to and is why we did not go again). Scotland is a wonderful country, with friendly people who will talk your ear off if you let them! Renting a car is the best idea, and don’t worry, driving on the left side isn’t as hard as one thinks, as long as you follow the car in front of you like I did! ;)

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“The Glass Menagerie,” Tennessee Williams

   A story of shattered hopes and dreams, “The Glass Menagerie” was Williams’ first successful play and is the one that originally made him popular. It tells the story of a family whose desires will be left unfulfilled--the son, who wants to leave his job at the warehouse to become a poet but has to support his family; the sister, who is tremendously shy and won’t take advantage of any of the opportunities presented to her; and the mother, who wants to see her daughter married and her son successful. From Willams’ ending, it seems that almost none of this will be possible, and one has to wonder about the wondrously pessimistic view of Williams’ plays and how they reflect on the society in which he lived.

~~~

“Justine,” Iben Mondrup

   Mondrup is one of Denmark’s most successful contemporary feminist writers, and this shows through her novel again and again as readers see her heroine battle through sexist society and ugly stereotypes of women. Told through a series of flashbacks that set the story in a disarray, much like the protagonist’s own life, the reader is never quite sure of when or where each of the short vignettes (most only a page long) are taking place--in the past or the present. When the reader reaches the end and finally realizes the succession of events, it leaves you quite astounded. Basically, a fire at Justine’s house has destroyed everything for her upcoming exhibition and she must hurriedly create new work, but it is the surrounding events that change the course of her life.

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“The Red Garden,” Alice Hoffman

   In her created town of Blackwell, Hoffman writes short vignettes following the founding of the town until the 1980s--from the woman who saved the original families, to their descendants 300 years later, intertwining their stories but not their memories. Her stories expose something I find to be very true about the U.S.; mainly, that most of us (principally white people) have forgotten where we came from, be it England or any other place from Europe. And not only have we forgotten where we came from, but like the characters in this story, we have forgotten our family histories as well, knowing almost nothing of those who came before us. I find this especially true in my family, and identified with this voluntary memory loss portrayed throughout the book, as the characters struggle to fit in in a town that their ancestors founded, if only they thought to remember it.

“The Little Prince,” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

   For Spanish, and probably most European people, it seems incredible that I hadn’t read The Little Prince until now: for all its popularity in Europe, it is not read so much in the U.S., even though it was written in New York! It is about a man (not unlike the author himself) who crashes his plane in the desert and comes upon a little boy who calls himself a prince of a faraway planet. The prince tells him his story, and many pieces of advice for the reader are tucked into the narrative, the most important one being that “Grownups never understand” and everything must always be explained to them. As we age, I think we lose much of our open-mindedness, acceptance, and flexibility, and this small book is a reminder of the importance of thinking like a child at times.

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No bake Oreo cheesecake

   I found this recipe on a video of six different desserts that you could more or less easily make without using the oven, all a perfect way to beat the heat and still enjoy dessert. Oreo cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, so of course  I decided to try it first!

What you need:

-36 oreos

-32 oz cream cheese

-5 tbsp butter

-1/3 cup sugar

-gelatin

-1 cup milk

-1 tbsp vanilla extract 

What you do:

1. Start by separating the cookie part of the Oreo from the cream part. It’s not as hard as it looks!

2. Mash the cookies until they are almost a fine dust, and mix with butter. Add a thick layer to the bottom of your cake tin (or your pot, which is what I used because I didn’t have a cake tin!), while saving some for the top layer later on.

3. Heat milk and add gelatin until completely dissolved.

4. Whip cream cheese, Oreo cream, and sugar together and then add milk and gelatin mixture.

5. When smooth, pour into cake tin and then add remaining Oreo cookie crumble to make a top layer.

6. Leave to chill in fridge for at least 4 hours.

7. Enjoy!

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Wednesday Wisdom

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Alias Grace: From novel to Netflix

   Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace is a fictional account of the life of the famous Grace Marks, accused and convicted of murder in Ontario in the mid-1800s. Using newspaper clippings and secondhand accounts of the incident, Atwood crafts a a powerful narrative of what it meant to be a woman in Canada in the 1850s, and uses Grace’s own voice and observations to widen the reader’s perspective as to the cruel judgments and sexism women faced, and are still facing, over 150 years later. A delicate mix of ghost story and medical mystery, Grace tells her own version of her life and of what happened, leaving others around her, and now her readers, unsure not only what the truth was, but what the word truth even really means.

   Grace was born and grew up in Ireland, with an abusive father and a mother who died on the journey over to Canada. As soon as Grace was of an age to work, her father essentially kicked her out and then harassed her for the money she subsequently earned. Once Grace denied him the money, she never saw him or her siblings again. And so began her journey as a maid, in which she worked in quite a few different residences until she reached what would be the final one; where the murders occurred.

   Grace was convicted of second degree murder and served almost 30 years of her sentence before being officially pardoned and given living arrangements in New York. She lived out the rest of her days quietly and under a pseudonym, many thinking that she served too much time, and only because she was a woman and women were judged more harshly and according to harsher stereotypes.

   After reading the novel, which only took a few days because of Atwood’s ability to draw the reader in, I watched the Netflix series of the same name, based off of the book, and found it to be quite the same as the novel, which, for anyone who has ever read a book and then watched the movie or TV series knows, can be hard to find.

   Up until the last episode of the 6-part series, the details from the book were repeated almost religiously, and even then, I can’t be sure if the few things that were different were a deviation from the book or simply the fact that my memory is terrible. I will say that reading the book was frightfully spooky (especially at night!), while the series had less of spook and more of quiet sensibility. 

   For anyone intrigued by stories of strong women and the perils they faced, Alias Grace is a superb choice.

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Day trip: El Pozo Azul de Covanera + Orbaneja del Castillo

  Finding ourselves with a day off and nothing to do, my husband and I were in the mood for a swim and researched some natural swimming pools to visit.

   First we went to the town of Covanera in Burgos province, to what is called the ‘Pozo Azul,’ or quite literally, the blue well. It houses the largest cave in all of Europe, but from outside all you can see is a small basin with crystal clear water tucked into the mountainside. There are also cliffs about ten feet up, from which you can dive into, which made for an exhilarating visit. (I jumped three times, my husband twice!)

   We then continued on to the nearby town of Orbaneja del Castillo, about 10 kilometers away, which has towering waterfalls and a cave which leads to the source of them. It was a beautiful day and there were tons of tourists! You can also drink the refreshing water straight from the mountain from the numerous drinking fountains around town. 

   All around us we were surrounded by beautiful mountains and scenery. All in all it was about a 7 hour trip, and we got home tired and content, and woke up the next day with muscle cramps from climbing steps up the mountains.

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Wednesday Wisdom

   Another saying I like goes: “Remember, you are only one decision away from a different life.” So, just decide.

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“Interpreter of Maladies”,   Jhumpa Lahiri

   After having traveled so much in April, May, and June, now I’m playing catch up with my reading! Lahiri’s collection of stories, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, is a striking portrayal of not only what it’s like to live between two cultures, but also how those cultures effect each person when they are interacting with the second. Her stories are inflected with love, shame, denial, pride, and all the other emotions that make us human, stirring compassion for immigrants and the struggles they face as well as giving the reader a glimpse into another country’s lives.

“Becoming Madame Mao”, Anchee Min

   Because of my job (VIPKD!) I have become interested in Chinese history, and after reading Chang’s “Wild Swans”, wanted to read more about the infamous Madame Mao, who interests me far more than Mao himself (women always do). While Mao was obsessed with power and self preservation, Madame Mao, who I will call by her name--Jiang Chang--had to deal with trying to survive the titan she had married. She is a complicated figure; after Mao’s death, the majority of people blamed her for the Cultural Revolution, which led to the torture and death of thousands of artists, writers, teachers, and otherwise normal citizens. But the is unfair, mainly because Jiang Chang was, like I previously said, only trying to survive. Mao was whimsical and violent, one never knew if one was in his favor or out of it, and she was always trying to remain on his better side. Min’s novel presents the human side of Jiang Chang in a compassionate way, exploring both her character and her past as explanations for why she did what she did.

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Wednesday Wisdom

   Fuck hate, love wins.

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Wednesday Wisdom

   Strong women: may we be them, may we know them, may we raise them.

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“Zorro,” Isabel Allende

   Whenever I need to destress with a quick and interesting page turner, I always choose one of Allende’s novels. From House of the Spirits, the first of her novels that I have read, to this current one, Allende entertains with her flowing narrative and descriptive writing style. Not to mention the magical realism and powerful female characters. It’s a win-win, really. As you can imagine, Zorro tells the story of the infamous bandit from his simple beginnings in California to his education in Spain and his return to his homeland to fight the good fight on behalf of those who need it. Her novel tells a part of his story that hasn’t been told before and from (spoiler!) the perspective of a woman!

“#Girlboss”, Sophia Amoruso

   I am not sure who Amoruso’s intended audience was for her book, as she seems, through her language and tone, to be addressing young-ish girls in a very flippant, easygoing manner. Which would be fine, if she wasn’t encouraging things such as not completing high school or going to university, or this gem that I underlined and wrote a big NO next to: “Are we in a new era of feminism where we don’t have to talk about it? I don’t know, but I want to pretend that it is.” What? She even threw in a quote from, you guessed it, Donald Trump. While it’s true that she couldn’t have predicted the last elections (her book as published in 2014), it’s certain that her book--and her company that she spent the entire book bragging about--did not age well. Shortly after the book’s publication, NastyGal went bankrupt and she stepped down as its CEO. While I am always a fan of building women up, I really hope no one reads this book, as the damaging opinions in it will do more harm than good. Also, let’s stop calling women girls, okay? We aren’t girls. We are WOMEN. You wouldn’t call men boys, so don’t call us girls. Thank you. Rant over. ;)

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Wednesday Wisdom

   Just a friendly reminder. This is something I will forever be working on to remember, as I come from a country that stresses productivity above all else, and am now living in one that (thankfully) does not.

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What I’ve Been Reading Lately...

“Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Naja Marie Aidt

   About a year and a half ago, I read a collection of Aidt’s short stories (Baboon), which had compelling characters in stories that were empathetic and easy to read. Rock, Paper, Scissors was no different. The main character’s criminal father dies in jail and leaves his children nothing but a mess, and while fixing his toaster, the main character discovers a substantial sum of money hidden in it. This discovery changes his life, which eventually devolves into one of paranoia, jealousy and fear. The whole novel, one is waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it finally does, the outcome will leave the reader with their jaw dropped. 

“Wild Swans,” Jung Chang

   This book was surprising in so many ways. I have read other Chinese mother-daughter narratives, but they were always set in the U.S. and focused on the immigrant perspective. This tome of a book (800 pages!) is basically the history of modern day China through the eyes of three women: the author’s grandmother, once a concubine in the old China; her Communist mother, who joined the party in her teens; and through her own. All three stories are equally interesting and through them I learned more about China from one book than I had thought possible. Jung’s own story explains much about China during the years of Mao, the damage he did to so many, and how her family survived, not unscathed, but stronger than before.

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Wednesday Wisdom

   Stolen from one of my university professors.