:insert something clever:

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Reflections and/or comments

In Spain it is abnormal to eat raw spinach. Thus, it is never used to make happy green salads and it took quite a bit of convincing for my roommate to believe that those were in fact spinach leaves that I was eating mixed with tuna, corn, tomato, cucumber, sesame seeds, and dressing. This same roommate reads The Onion to keep up to date on American news and culture.

Italian is a fun language, though rather confusing at times.

Have I mentioned my grand plan for peanut butter in Europe? I am slowly convincing all the Europeans I can that peanut butter is a wonderful product. The best way to start this is with sweets, specifically Reeses-like chocolate covered peanut butter balls, hopefully eventually getting to the point where they will enjoy it in its most natural state, with jelly on two slices of bread, but that isn't as important. The important part is that they start consuming it at a higher rate and sharing with their friends. Then demand will increase, production will increase and prices will be forced down! Then if I ever come back to Europe I'll be able to afford to buy it more often. :-) This comes up today because I gave a presentation in my Spanish for Foreigners class on the subject and posted on the class's blog. They all enjoyed the chocolate covered peanut butter balls and many want the recipe...

Don Juan is a jerk. I read Don Juan Tenorio by Zorilla for one of my classes. It was a fun read, but I just want to say that he really is quite a jerk.

I'm slowly working through Don Quijote... He's not quite a jerk, though sometimes he can be. Mainly he's just a very odd man.

It's been fun reading a lot in Spanish lately. I've finished at least six books (all in Spanish) during my time here, two of which during the last two weeks.

Speaking of reading...I should go study.

13 Comments:

  • At Thu Mar 29, 12:47:00 AM, Blogger J Stu said…

    Peanut Butter = nectar of gods

     
  • At Thu Mar 29, 03:35:00 AM, Blogger Herohtar said…

    Just don't let them know about the peanut butter salmonella contamination, lol.

     
  • At Thu Mar 29, 06:34:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think this may be the best post you've ever written. Snaps. Except you oughtn't to be so judgemental towards poor Giovanni - his father never loved him and what do you expect?

     
  • At Fri Mar 30, 07:19:00 AM, Blogger Jenny said…

    If only I could get the Spaniards to understand that simple equation! (You have no idea how long it took me to remember how to spell equation...that is sad).

    I don't believe in salmonella.

    His father didn't "not love him" until Byron wrote his version... And he is still a jerk.

    Why do you think this post might be my best?

     
  • At Fri Mar 30, 12:16:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    you do too - someone told me you THREW AWAY perfectly good peanut butter just because the internet told you it might be contaminated...

    Because it's interesting and sporadic. Very beat, except less vulgar.

     
  • At Fri Mar 30, 11:44:00 PM, Blogger Norman said…

    "Then demand will increase, production will increase and prices will be forced down!"

    AAAAAAAHHH!!! Where's my red grading font!

    Ahem... aside from the economics faux pas, a good read. Peanut butter has become my dear friend now that I'm a married grad student. And I've always been a little suspicious of this Don Juan fellow; anybody with two first names is a bit on the sketchy side.

     
  • At Sat Mar 31, 07:42:00 AM, Blogger Jenny said…

    I know it isn't economically correct...but what else can I do? Surely increasing demand will help at least a little bit?

    Don Juan really only has one first name, Juan. Don is just the title, like "sir" and shouldn't be capitalized unless it is the first word in the sentence (I knew the former but never applied the last until corrected in one of my classes...). So, his name is don Juan, and he's a jerk.

     
  • At Sat Mar 31, 01:52:00 PM, Blogger Norman said…

    I stand corrected on the don.

    It's sad to say, but increasing demand significantly will just make PB prices go up in the short term. On the up side, PB will become easier to find in your local grocers.

     
  • At Sat Mar 31, 07:36:00 PM, Blogger Jenny said…

    This comment has been removed by the author.

     
  • At Sat Mar 31, 07:38:00 PM, Blogger Jenny said…

    But I'm talking long term... Short term doesn't matter too much for me right now...I'm only here until July and I have three jars in my cabinet... I'm talking eventually someday far from today...maybe not even for me, but further generations. Increased demand, if sustained, will at least lead to more production and maybe cheaper manufacturers? Variety in quality and prices?

     
  • At Mon Apr 02, 05:37:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    yeah, I always had this idea that demand, being as it usually is a demand for *something*, typically results in competition to provide that something. Competition leads to better prices, or (if it be not blasphemy to say) perhaps just better peanut butter. So there's a li'l economica mezzogiorno-style fa youse.

    Although come to think of it, real mezzogiorno-style would probably involve someone at the bottom of the East River...

     
  • At Tue Apr 03, 05:45:00 PM, Blogger Rhology said…

    What's the URL for your class' blog?

     
  • At Wed Apr 04, 12:33:00 PM, Blogger Jenny said…

    The link listed as "Curiosidades".

     

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