What's in a name...?

When deciding to put a title on my year spent in Madrid, I drew a large blank.  What is going to "define" my time here?  Will it be some proverb?  A funny saying?  A colloquial term?  Instead I thought about what I am doing here, I am teaching English, I am learning about the Spanish language and culture, I am traveling and exploring both within and outside of Madrid, and I am learning about myself.  I am not doing a million things at once, but taking each day at a time to really try to be present and live in the moment.  I have already had plenty of mishaps and frusturations and I know that there will be many more to come.  Likewise, I have had moments of elation and self satisfaction and these too will greet me again.  But like I side, not everything is going to come at once.  It will take much time and effort to get a better grasp on Spanish, to make friends and to find my nitch.  I finally found a place to jog in and it has been almost three weeks!

Now to Cocido Madrileño.  I chose this name because on a primary level, it is a principal dish of Madrid's gastronomy and I am here to eat and learn about Spanish cuisine.  On a secondary level, this is a dish that you cannot have all at once.  Eating cocido is a process, a progression, a single dish divided into multiple parts and it is taboo to serve the ingredients together.  Each serving is known as vuelco (overturn), because during each serving the pot must be overturned to separate the ingredients.  The first vuelco is the soup, which consists of the cocido's stock with noodles cooked in it.  The second vuelco are the garbanzo beans and the vegetables.  Finally the third vuelco is the meat.  This dish does not end here, in fact, many other dishes are made from the leftovers of the cocido.  Spanish croquettes are usually made with cocido stock for flavor, ropa vieja is a fried mix of garbanzo beans and meat, and pringá is made with the fried meat leftovers and bread.  And if you think it takes a long time to eat cocido madrileño, just imagine how long it takes to cook the dish.  I hope to eat a lot of this hearty dish during the cold winters in Madrid and I especially hope to partake in the cooking of cocido. 

I don't want to get too symbolic or metaphorical but for me, cocido madrileño represents an ever-evolving event.  I am known to relish prolonged meals, and I want to relish my extended adventure in Madid in just the same way--bite by bite and accompanied by good wine.  Who knows, I may become a master at cocido and stay here indefinitely (just kidding Mom).  So that's it, that's what's in a name.