My Pal Al

Earlier in my blog I mentioned the cook from our school, Al. Now’s the time that I write the post solely devoted to this wonderful man. Yesterday, Al made pizza for lunch and had a little bit of dough left over. So what did he do with it? He made cinnamon rolls (it’s now the joke between him and his wife that I couldn’t make them..). I was so excited when I got to lunch and he told me that there were cinnamon rolls for dessert. He wanted me to be able to try them since mine didn’t work out as planned. They were so delicious, and one of these days I plan to redeem my cinnamon roll skills. When I do, however, they will still not come close to how delicious these were. Even my co-op’s(I’m sick of saying co-teacher) grandson said that they tasted like they were from a pastry shop. If I could send them home to everyone, I would.

While he has a menu to follow for school, Al always uses the ingredients he has to work with to make delicious meals. I try my best to be good as there are lots of carb-loaded meals. Some days though I pretend I am Regina George and just eat the school lunch (on these days I go for longer runs..). There are just certain meals of his that you can’t turn down; burritos and pizza are his specialty!

Not only does Al create delicious meals for us at school, but he and his wife have become pseudo-grandparents to me. They really have taken me in and shown me the ropes to village life. Anytime they do things that they think I would enjoy, they are sure to give me a call. In addition, they have opened their house and steam (post to follow later tonight after my first time!) to me whenever I need to get away from school. They, unlike almost every other family, have cable in their home. This means that if I really want to watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Vampire Diaries, I can actually sit down and watch them on a real t.v. and not on my computer a week later. I haven’t taken them up on their offer yet, but I’m sure I will!

Another thing about Al is that he likes football. Now anyone who knows me is aware that I am clueless when it comes to football. But Al watches football, and talks about it at lunch sometimes. So I somehow managed to get myself pulled into the village football pool (wish me luck!). Al has promised to teach me some of the basics (little does he know that many have tried and failed at this task before) but I’m not sure whether he will succeed. Maybe he’ll be able to make the concepts stick in my brain for once. If not, I’ll just go and learn recipes and stories from his Sue:)

Being isolated in a village 3,500 (give or take) miles from home with no family can be lonely sometimes. While I haven’t experienced homesickness yet (I honestly don’t have time to be homesick) it is nice to have people that feel like family. Al and Sue are always asking me how my day is going, or telling me to get out and go for a run, or treat myself to a steam (again, this one will follow soon). Becoming friends with Al has proven to be the smartest thing I’ve done since I’ve been here. It’s nice to know that I have him and his wife when I need company, a way to relax, a dinner when I don’t have time to cook one, or just the feeling of having family close by. I haven’t quite figured out how to repay them yet (I would normally bake cookies, but my baking skills are inferior to his on so many levels) but I plan to thank them for all of their generosity and kindness!