Lovely Ladies of the ZLC

Over the posts, I have shown you a smattering of Zaragoza's finest attractions. For those guests with eyes, you've seen the cathedral, the fountains, the futbol stadium, the rows of parked scooters, level two debauchery, and other happenings within the blog. But you have not yet seen the shining jewels that make our lives complete, the backbone of the ZLC, the sole reason for the coffee machine in the breakroom -- yes, I'm talking about the ZLC staff. These girls are the sun, moon, and stars of the ZLC, and their fashion sense is surpassed only by their radiant resplendence.

Carolina is the research assistant at the ZLC. She spends most of her time researching supply chain tidbits and thinking about her cat. She eats sliced fruit, bread, coffee and juice for breakfast, just like commercials say you should. Also, she can't eat breakfast anywhere but the ZLC because she loves it so much. She seems innocent, but you have to watch out for her tricks, like the old "Knock over the Toaster and Run" trick. Works every time.

Christina's title has the word student in it, as she has dedicated her life to us. When my wallet was stolen in Barcelona and I needed to replace my student card, who did I go to? Diego, who also has the word student in his title. But who did I go to when Diego was freaking out about something? Christina! Her pastimes include singing catchy tunes, like "where will be my trolley?" and wearing glasses.

Laura is the Christina equivalent to the Spanish Masters program at the ZLC, but she spends more time with us because we're cooler. One of her talents is cooking delicious meals, which she highlights once a week at "Dinner with an Idiot." During my reign as idiot, we enjoyed duck patte and rotini with cranberries and olives... ZAM!

Marta calls me chickiteen, and I still don't know what that means. She's a document translating wizard, so watch out for her magical powers. One time she tricked me into cleaning the kitchen by handing me a towel and staring at the counter. If you ever see Marta on the street, shoot her a "que pasa" and she might light up like a Christmas tree.

Can you tell which feet are mine? If you guessed the handwoven, Pakistani socks, you're wrong, those are Carolina's. I'm wearing my favorite pair of black heels.

After months of careful research posing as a Spaniard in the break room, I have determined the secret to the success of the ZLC girls. It's not their wit, charm, or dimples, it's their coffee. Coffee is the life force that drives these women. Their sauciness is drawn from hot water filtered through ground beans. After a few cups of coffee, there's nothing they can't do. I once saw Christina polish off a pot, then sweep the cobwebs out from under the coke machine... while she held it up.

It's true, the ZLC could not function without them. Christina, Marta, and Laura were JTinstrumental in helping the students find housing. JT stands for Jethro Tull, and it's the strongest form of instrumental around. They jazzercised our landlord suiters into shape, but there was no way for them to know that our landlord Eduardo is a complete loser who doesn't care about our oven or hot water or keys and says he'll fix the piso when really he's playing backgammon in the park and smoking menthols. Oh well, as long as the girls keep us afloat at the Z, I think we'll survive.