Saying Hello to Home - 8 months later

It's been nearly twice as long as I was gone. I guess it's taken about this long for me to digest all that happened while I lived overseas? Perhaps that's a rhetorical question.

I miss and yet value my time over there every day at some point. It's interesting though because I know that things are going well here (job, new living situation as of March 5, etc.) and I am so grateful. The first few months I was home were quite frustrating in a way. I felt...alone. I felt bad talking too much about my time in Spain and my 15-day adventure-packed tour of Europe with 49 strangers that eventually became my friends. I was on Facebook constantly checking for all my new friends' updates, pictures and latest happenings. I thought that if I talked too much about my last 3.5 months to friends here that I'd be "bragging" or sound haughty. I cried at night many times that first month home. It just helped I guess. Crying just gets it all out and when you have nothing left, you just sleep. I also was having weird reactions to eating here again. I threw up 3 times in the first month for no apparent reason. My body literally rejected our American diet of preservatives and who-knows-what. I don't even eat badly!

I miss that Spain (and well, most of Europe) way of life. They enjoy life. They are passionate. You have all read this in my previous blog posts about how much my eyes were opened to how much stress the average working American is under. Where have our values truly gone? All the stereotypes of Europe/Spain being "too socialist" or "wimpy" is crap in my mind. From what I experienced they are a more happy culture. Simple as that.

In February I sent Mario and Julio a bunch of gifts. I had gone to Target one evening looking for something mundane and found myself in the kids' toy and party favor section just tossing stuff in my cart to send them. I found Valentine's cards too. Once they received the package, Silvia wrote me and said "there was quite the revolution tonight when your package arrived..." My heart was happy.

In March my sister flew to Spain to meet up with her boyfriend who's studying in Zaragoza. One her way to fly out of Madrid, they were able to go to El Escorial and have lunch with Silvia, Maria (Alberto's mother), Mario and Julio. Alberto was out of town sadly. They got to see my family's home and have all the AMAZING Spanish food that I miss so much! Nicole said going there and seeing my "old home" was the best part of her trip. Silvia said one thing they loved about me was how I loved all the food and was not picky like British girls can be ;) hehe

I just caught up on one of my au pair friend's blogs. She's been in Paris with a new family since September. She might go back to Spain after. I would be lying if I said that going back hasn't crossed my mind - although I think that Dallas is where I will end up before the end of the year.

I write all of this to say that those 3.5 months will always have a deep and special meaning in my life. Every single person I came to know in that time was brought into my life for a reason by God and I am so thankful.

I don't know why it's taken me so long, but I am finally going to start a new blog! I must keep up on my writing so that it does not fail me and you all can have a good laugh (at my expense of course ;)

It's also time to start writing a new chapter :)

xxx

Spain Made History - and I was Living in It!

This last weekend - literally, my last weekend in Madrid could not have been more perfect. First, it was a day trip to Segovia to see the castle and cathedral (we rode the train!) then back into Madrid for what ended up being the best 48 hours here - with about 4 hours sleep somewhere in there :)

Saturday night we danced until 5 a.m. at Kapital - one of the largest clubs in Madrid with 7 floors of music! Mairi and I got to crash at Katie´s flat since her host family was gone and so after "sleeping" for 2 hours, Mairi and I left to get our shop on because July is SUMMER SALES IN MADRID!!! The best deals...and let´s just say I have NO clue how I´m really getting my new leather jacket home - I will wear that thing in the heat if I have to! We also bought España shirts and flags since it was THE WORLD CUP FINAL day. Spain has never made it to the final in World Cup history and let´s just say the country was going insane!

I honestly have a hard time putting into words what it was like. We were amongst millions (I am serious) of fans near the jumbo screens in the center of the city. Not only am I thankful to be here at this time, but to be in the Capital city was probably the icing on the cake. I have watched every single game Spain has played in the world Cup and thanks to 7 year old Mario, I have more fútbol knowledge than I ever imagined possible! The passion surrounding the sport literally brings tears to my eyes. It is amazing to me that an ENTIRE country focuses on one thing, comes together and has one HELLUVA celebration. I loved pretending to be Spanish, but in the end I felt like I wasn´t pretending, because the victory felt like mine too. The beer, water and flares were flying when the final goal was scored. My ears were ringing until last night and I have the FIFA theme song stuck in my head..."Give me Freedom, Give me Fire" - along with all the Spanish celebratory songs.

After the game we managed to get out to Carlos´neighborhood to meet up with the rest of the gang and continue celebrating until the sun came up Monday morning. On this weekend, I probably sweated out more than I did when I ran my 1/2 marathon exactly one year ago the same day. My energy has never lasted so long, and I don´t think that any sporting event in the USA will EVER compare. Actually, I know it will not.

Spain showed me her passion at its best. I made the best decision to come here and all I can say is that I´m leaving a piece of my heart with this beautiful country. To my dear new amazing friends - Laurel, Katie, Mairi and Fiona (and somtimes others) - like I said earlier to you all, we are the best possible combination of 5 strangers to ever become fast friends. There will probably not be a day that goes by that I will not think of this place and how it has changed my life. I have experienced something new everyday, learned how to deal with VERY uncomfortable situations and live next to a monestary that is twice as old as the US.

I leave this beautiful town in 4 hours - I will see London, Paris, French Riviera, Florence, Rome, Venice, Münich, Rhine Valley and Amsterdam before returning home. I am sure I will have more stories!

Getting Ready for my Last Week in Spain :(

One week from yesterday, I will be leaving my happy time here in España. I can not believe it is happening. I love the culture, the people and the family life here so much. I have truly learned a LOT about children and I do not mean this in a weird way, but actually look more forward to having kids someday. I adore the passion these parents have for their kids, especially my host parents. In a way, they remind me a lot of my own parents but with a different "flare" I guess. I love how even when the boys talk to their Mom in Spanish, she always responds in English and they know exactly what she is talking about. It is so cute when I talk with them because you can literally hear them "thinking" about the vocabulary and how their eyes look straight at you looking for the approval when they say what they want in correct English. Mario is even learning a perfect American accent and he´s only 7, it amazes me.

The way of life here is so much more relaxed than at home (well unless the fútbol is on!!) and people just are not as tense. I really can not explain it any other way. Speaking of fútbol though, it has been THE TIME OF MY LIFE being here for the World Cup 2010 and Spain making it to the final for the first time in history. I will definitely have to update the blog after Sunday, July 11! All of us girls are going into Madrid to watch the game on the big screens right outside one of the fútbol stadiums. It is going to be loco!!

It is going to be a bittersweet weekend and next few days. My outlook on life has already changed for the better and I just can not wait to see more of Europe before arriving home. ♥

The Happy List

Because I find myself thinking random thoughts EVERY day here about the differences and why I like it here so much, I´m going to start (probably should have a long time ago) a list and keep adding to it (daily hopefully). Some might be things only I find funny/inside jokes haha


Tortilla aka the Spanish Omlette
-Spanish names for girls (Belen, Rocio, Alejandra, Blanca, Ceda, and more to come...)
-Cheap cheese that is NOT fatty!
-Olive oil on my toast in the mornings
-Flat Gladiator sandals are ALL the rage
-Croquettes (so bad for you but oh so good)
-Sidra (say goodbye to beer)
-2€ glasses of wine
-Cobblestone streets
-"hola guapa!!"
-Leaving a club and seeing the sun come up and not being tired
-The passion of Spain over their team in the World Cup
-Laurel´s arm dance
-Chasing tequila with lemon, not limes - anywhere
-Taking pics on the Metro
-HAM in any form or way
-Alberto´s mother - she doesn´t speak any English but is so sweet and introduced me to Octopus aka Polpo
-Running and walking the hills here
-Waking up to little kids rambling off in Spanish a million miles an hour
-My terrace
-Biscuit cookies
-Cafe con leche
-Me telling Fiona what Americans mean by "An Irish Shower"
-Learning Scottish slang from Mairi
-Swapping "oh my gosh this is what my kid did this week" stories with the other au pairs
-Teaching "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers" to Julio
-The parks and plazas EVERYWHERE and how they are all clean
-Madrid´s architecture
-3 or 4 or 5-way Skype dates with Katie, Laurel, Fiona and Mairi!
-FB stalking new au pairs
-Curly haired little Spanish children!
-Mario teaching me Spanish grammar
-Walks around the Monestary at night with Fiona, Mairi and Laurel
-Going running and always seeing something new
-Spanish sun tanning!
-The fruit is just WAY better here, I am serious
-Waking up at 10, pool with friends from 1130-3, lunch, siesta, play with kids, swim, dinner, late night walks, bed at 1 am
-WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Stories
-My host family and Alberto´s mother - she makes the best food and I love octopus!
-Making pancakes for my family on my last day here!
-Shopping at Project Fridays
-"Siestas" in Starbucks
-La Roja!!!

2 Months in Spain!!!!!!!! And counting....

Alright, it is officially my favorite month of the year. I am serious! I now have 13 days left here and I don´t know whether to be excited or borderline depressed! I love it here so much, minus the fact that I still do not know much Spanish. I must catch you all up on June - so hold on to your hats...

The weekend of June 12 was fantastic - El Escorial was having a fiesta of some sort and so we ventured down the hill to a couple vinos and to hang with the locals of our town. It was great and Fiona even found cotton candy! Although, apparently in Ireland (and Scotland too Mairi says), it´s called candy floss - we bantered over who had the better name for it. The next night was a GREAT day/night in Madrid even though it rained the whole day. We hopped in and out of great stores like Mango, Zara and Bershka to pass the time near Gran Via. That night we (Laurel, Katie, Cindy, Mairi, Carlos, Jose, Valentin and I) had game night aka MAFIA at Carlos´place before going to a smaller discoteca around 4 a.m. We danced until the sun came up and I even had Mairi at one point standing on my hands, as to give her a "boost" to request Journey or Britney Spears to the DJ - he did not know who Journey was (sad), but Brit Brit eventually came on - yahhh!!

The week following was another week of on again/off again rain. The pool was supposed to open, but it was too cold to swim, so I found myself sorta cooped up with the two boys in the afternoons and Silvia left for London for a week on June 16. I was thankful for the weekend of June 19 because Alberto took them camping, and of course, I took off for Madrid! It was a sunny fun weekend of discovering Museo de Jamon (Ham Museum) where you get HUGE sandwiches for only 1€, visiting the Meseo de Prado for the first time (only covered the first floor...more on that later) and meeting 5 new au pairs! It was fun to know the city pretty well by now because Mairi, Fiona and I kinda ended up being "tour guides" on Sunday before we went to the Prado. Twas so fun!

The Prado is AMAZING. I saw the original "Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch (c. 1450–1516) and some El Greco that amazed me. We spent 3 hours there and just got lost on the first floor - it´s that huge. I have never been so enamored by art, especially classical ever. I found myself staring at some paintings completely wrapped up in the emotion the artist was able to portray in the pictures. That was definitely a first!

The week of June 21st was the first week at the pool! Let´s just say that now (on day 10), my tan is GREAT and I´m loving this color I have not had since summer 2004 haha. Also, I have Fiona and Mairi and Annemarie hooked on "High School Musical" jumping-style pictures. I will add some to the blog shortly!

The boys got out of school on June 23 and all of our schedules have changed. Luckily, Mairi´s kids and mine both go to camp from 10-2, so that frees up au pair pool time ;) We also did a play date this week - Mairi´s 3 + my 2 and since they are friends already, it was so easy! There were no mini-Spanish civil wars, so all was well :)

I wished my father a happy 57th birthday on Skype on June 25 and got to talk to my Grandpa as well! He had never seen Skype before and loved it!

The last weekend of June proved to be the icing on the cake of a great month no. 2 here. With all the World Cup madness happening, it´s been so fun to get in to fútbol! I do not know much about the sport as a whole, but I have LOVED watching all of Spain´s games and even the other ones. On Saturday, a huge group of us au pairs went to Dubliner´s (a great Irish pub off Plaza de Sol in Madrid) and watched the USA-Ghana game. It was packed, the San Miguel was flowing and it was a great time! Sadly, we lost, but the mood and atmosphere was great and the television was all in English! It was weird ;) Earlier that day Mairi and I did window shopping, chatted with four attractive Italians outside the Prado and went back in (it´s free certain hours) and covered only about 3 more rooms haha...I need to go back ONE more time to finish it...

We are now in to July and I have my plans SET! I will travel with a group via Contiki.com and hit up 5 countries in 2 weeks starting July 16 in London. More on that to come...

Junio en España

It´s June! Ok, so ten days in, but whatev. In my first week of June, I had a dinner night at one of the other au pair´s houses that lasted until 4 a.m. on the following Tuesday morning. Let´s just say I like early morning, slightly tipsy walks home in San Lorenzo. It´s always very calm and it seems as though I have it all to myself!

Now...for something new I learned about: Bank Holidays. Yes, Thursday, June 3 was a Madrid Province Bank Holiday, so the government and banks close down and pretty much it means party time. It was also Alberto´s 43rd birthday and him and Silvia took the boys out for the day, so naturally I went into Madrid with Fiona and Mairi for a day of sunbathing and beer in Parque de El Retiro. It was a hoooooooot, but lovely day and boy did we have some nonbloggable convos :) Sorry, what happens with girls´convos stays between them. I also learned some new Scottish and Irish grammar and phrases and they told ME that I have a COOL accent!! Made my day. That night followed with meeting up with Katie and Laurel at non- other than El Tigre (they love us ther now...because now we get free Tequila!) and we were there for FIVE hours. We are good customers and our endless tapas, cidras and mojiitos purchased prove it. Now, after we left it was crossroads time...go home or keep going? Well, Katie and I decided to keep going and we met up with some friends we have made here and eventually we all watched the sun come up. I LOVE Spanish sunrises!

Saturday, June 5 - my FIRST Spanish Orienteering race!! Okay, the forests that are NW of my town are MUCH harder than the parks of Boise. Silvia went with me to find the first couple markers, then I was on my own navigating boulders, forest, trails and hills with my compass and map. I had a GREAT time and only missed two markers. It was challenging, but I´m so glad I did it.

That night was yet another crazy one. I should´ve known better, but it was Saturday and well, "when in Rome" I guess ;) Fiona, Mairi, Laurel, Katie and I found yet another great viewing spot of the Royal Palace and brought along our typical two bottles of vino tinto. We have decided to patent our method of smashing in the cork with Katie´s apartment keys, as this is now the fourth weekend we have used it. They say it´s my raging biceps...oh pshaw! Make me blush. Haha We ended up wandering to Puerta de Sol to meet up with more people and Fiona is hilarious when she´s a.) tipsy and b.) swearing while tipsy with her thick Irish accent.

The only truly messy part of the night was Fiona and I getting our wallets stolen. Yep, I´ve heard that if you stay in Europe long enough, it will eventually happen. I thought I was being so careful, but the last place we were at was CROWDED wall-to-wall and dark. Oh well, but darnit! I really liked my DL and CCL pics. And that wallet. Sorry Scarlett!!

Today is Thursday. I am still in sleep recovery mode as every day this week I have taken a 3 hour nap after the boys go to school!! Ey yey yey...I love you Spain!