I hate blogging. I don't have time to sit down and write everything, and when I do, it's been 5+ days and I can't remember everything that was important or notable. So, here's to the end of my blog -- you can hear stories when I get home!
Hasta Luego
Monday, July 5, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Barcelona
On Monday, Jesús and Pilar both had their court dates canceled, so they gave me the day off! I decided to get in MY car and drive to Barcelona for the day... totally sucks, right?
Barcelona is a little over 4 hours away, so I left around 6am, spent the morning/day there and was home by dinner. Naturally, in the excitement of "packing light" for the day trip I forgot my camera! Joder. Oh well, I enjoyed everything I saw and ate -- the memories are what's most important. I was most eager to go to Barcelona to see La Sagrada Familia. It's a marvelously huge church designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, that has been under construction since 1882 and has yet to be finished. I also saw the gorgeous Parque Güell, which is so vibrant and unique. The walls are full of colored tiles and curvy shaped. I brought some tapas to a bench and enjoyed people watching for a hour or so.
I loved being on my own in the city without purpose, although I wish I could've shared the experience with my dear (young) Madre. She's the best.
All in all, another great day in the life of a Madrillena.
"Color in certain places has the great value of making the outlines and structural planes seem more energetic." - Antoni Gaudí
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Que asco
I love the phrase, "que asco." It can mean anything from "that's disgusting" to "you're disgusting." Often partnered with "joder" for emphasis.
Friday was pretty relaxing here. There was a crazy thunderstorm that knocked over trees and lasted about 10 hours during the day, so we stayed in! I think Buddha has been helping me out with the weather while I'm here though. The rain each week has truly been a gift! The sun doesn't like my skin (hence the 3rd degree sunburns last summer) and I don't like the sun much either. Everyone here keeps saying how rare it is to have rain here in June/July..Victor says it hasn't rained this often, and this severe in over 10 years! I definitely think I brought on the fresca temperatures! Anyway, I played monopoly for 3 hours with Rodrigo and discovered that the game has no end. Joder.
Saturday I went to the Mercadona (grocery) with Pilar and Marta to party shop. The two households host a neighborhood-wide party the Saturday after the kids finish school. We cooked for from noon-9pm (with a siesta break around 4)! The main course was Salmon cake. Que asco, right?! It's basically sheet cake size pieces of bread stacked on top of each other with a filling of Salmon, onion and mayo paste. It was buenisimo! Dinner was at 10pm at our house, followed by (more) cocktails and dessert next door at Marta's around 1am. Lots of socializing, eating, drinking and dancing. I was with Toñi most of the night, she's hilarious! Her husband, Victor, looks exactly like Anderson Cooper.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Mercadona on a search for conditioner. I've been living without it for 2 weeks and my hair is suffering! I'm sure it exists, the family I live with just uses shampoo I guess.
"A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar." - Proverbio
Friday was pretty relaxing here. There was a crazy thunderstorm that knocked over trees and lasted about 10 hours during the day, so we stayed in! I think Buddha has been helping me out with the weather while I'm here though. The rain each week has truly been a gift! The sun doesn't like my skin (hence the 3rd degree sunburns last summer) and I don't like the sun much either. Everyone here keeps saying how rare it is to have rain here in June/July..Victor says it hasn't rained this often, and this severe in over 10 years! I definitely think I brought on the fresca temperatures! Anyway, I played monopoly for 3 hours with Rodrigo and discovered that the game has no end. Joder.
Saturday I went to the Mercadona (grocery) with Pilar and Marta to party shop. The two households host a neighborhood-wide party the Saturday after the kids finish school. We cooked for from noon-9pm (with a siesta break around 4)! The main course was Salmon cake. Que asco, right?! It's basically sheet cake size pieces of bread stacked on top of each other with a filling of Salmon, onion and mayo paste. It was buenisimo! Dinner was at 10pm at our house, followed by (more) cocktails and dessert next door at Marta's around 1am. Lots of socializing, eating, drinking and dancing. I was with Toñi most of the night, she's hilarious! Her husband, Victor, looks exactly like Anderson Cooper.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Mercadona on a search for conditioner. I've been living without it for 2 weeks and my hair is suffering! I'm sure it exists, the family I live with just uses shampoo I guess.
"A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar." - Proverbio
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Criada
We have a maid! Her name is Yvonna and she comes to the house Monday-Friday from 9am-1pm. She cleans the bathrooms, vacuums the hair/dust off the tile floors, cleans the kitchen, does dishes and takes out the trash -- she does all of this EVERY day. The best part is that she also does the laundry! We have a washer, and then hang the clothes on a line over night to dry. Yvonna then irons everything that was hung up to dry, folds it and brings it all to our rooms.
I thought in addition to watching the kids (which is not work at all) I would throw in a load of laundry here and there, empty the dishwasher, etc. but that's what Yvonna is paid to do. Life is verrrry easy here.
Also, living on the 3rd floor is like having my own apartment. I thought for sure they would come upstairs when I was reading and say hello, or come wake me up on the weekends, but I think the only person that's been on my floor is Jesús! His office is up there, and when he needs to work he goes straight to the office, and then straight back downstairs. If I were them I'd at least peak in my room to see what I was doing or snoop through the stuff on my desk!
"Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr."- Proverbio
I thought in addition to watching the kids (which is not work at all) I would throw in a load of laundry here and there, empty the dishwasher, etc. but that's what Yvonna is paid to do. Life is verrrry easy here.
Also, living on the 3rd floor is like having my own apartment. I thought for sure they would come upstairs when I was reading and say hello, or come wake me up on the weekends, but I think the only person that's been on my floor is Jesús! His office is up there, and when he needs to work he goes straight to the office, and then straight back downstairs. If I were them I'd at least peak in my room to see what I was doing or snoop through the stuff on my desk!
"Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr."- Proverbio
Monday, June 21, 2010
Toledo
Yesterday (Sunday) we went to Toledo. I was very much looking forward to seeing this city because I had a Spanish professor at WMU who is from Toledo. Toledo is one of the oldest cities in the world, very historic and its architecture resembles different religions in Spain. The very ornate and detailed fixtures are Arabic. Toledo is obviously built on top of a mountain and to get anywhere you have to walk up these San Francisco-like "cuestas" (hills). The city was absolutely worth the walking! We had tapas and soda at a small bar called La Tinta Rosa and then had marzipan for dessert. The nuns in Toledo are famous for making the marizpan that you can buy in all of the little shops. I guess they have nothing better to do?? Anyway, marzipan is really yummy. If you have facebook, you can see more of my Toledo photos there.
Today (Monday) is my first day alone with the kids. We wake up at about 10am, eat breakfast then play games inside/hang out. Natalia is upstairs studying though because she failed her English exam and has to go back to school on Wednesday, in uniform, to retake it! By 1pm we will go with the neighbors to the pool, lunch is at 3pm, and siesta until 5. I'm technically off duty after lunch, but I like hanging out with the family. We'll probably go back to the pool for a few hours, dinner at 9:30pm, watch a little tv then bedtime!
I got an email from Delta reminding me that my departure flight is in 38 days... so strange to think about how fast time flies because I'm really enjoying Spain!
Adios for now. Here's one in English for you today:
"All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted." - Santa Teresa de Avila
Today (Monday) is my first day alone with the kids. We wake up at about 10am, eat breakfast then play games inside/hang out. Natalia is upstairs studying though because she failed her English exam and has to go back to school on Wednesday, in uniform, to retake it! By 1pm we will go with the neighbors to the pool, lunch is at 3pm, and siesta until 5. I'm technically off duty after lunch, but I like hanging out with the family. We'll probably go back to the pool for a few hours, dinner at 9:30pm, watch a little tv then bedtime!
I got an email from Delta reminding me that my departure flight is in 38 days... so strange to think about how fast time flies because I'm really enjoying Spain!
Adios for now. Here's one in English for you today:
"All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted." - Santa Teresa de Avila
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Barajas
I'm officially in Spain! My body has no idea what day/time it is, but I'm alive.
I had a seven hour flight to (Schiphol) Amsterdam and then a two hour flight to (Barajas) Madrid. When I arrived in Spain, I picked up my luggage and went outside to meet Pilar and Jesús. They're really great people and very funny (especially Jesús)as well. When we arrived at the house, I got the tour before having a light breakfast. The house is somewhat of a townhome, in the sense that it has three levels and is in a gated community with townhome-like amenities (eg. neighborhood pool and common area maintenance like mowing lawns). Anyway, the first level has a half bath, kitchen, sunroom, family room and what they call a "fridge closet." It's actually a legit hallway closet where the walls have fridge-like cooling capabilities to house the items that don't fit in the fridge. The second level is where Natalia and Rodrigo have their bedrooms, a shared bathroom and the master suite is. The third level is all mine! I have my own bedroom and own bathroom, it's totally an au pair suite/wing/quarters which is awesome. There is also an office across from my room that they store documents in, etc.
After the tour and breakfast I took a three hour nap that didn't really energize me much. Lunch is at 3:30pm (by the way, dinner is around 9:30pm), both Pilar and Jesús eat at home. The kiddos finished school at 5pm, so we picked them up after we finishing eating and cleaning up. (They finish school Friday)
Rodrigo and Natalia are adorable and kind. It's going to be really fun hanging out with older kids this summer. Pilar speaks zero English, Jesús speaks Spanglish, Rodrigo's English is more conversational and Natalia has to retake her English final next week. Hah, soooo my Spanish better get its act together! Hopefully after some more consistent sleep I'll be more chatty instead of worrying about the accuracy of my conjugations.
The time between picking up the kids at school and eating dinner at 9:50pm was spent looking through photos and telling stories. Oh, and watching Spain lose to "Suiza," but we can't talk about that. They told me about their love for the US national parks like Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone and I told them about Mexico and other school trips.
Dinner was pizza. How American, right?! Wrong. Tuna pizza. It was quite good, but definitely not pizza as I know it. Everything I ate today I didn't hate, it'll just take time to get used to their popular smokey/salty flavors. Alright, time for bed, it's after 11 here. I have the house to myself tomorrow so I'm sleeping until forever and unpacking. Adios!
"El sol se levantará mañana y quién sabe lo que traerá la marea."
I had a seven hour flight to (Schiphol) Amsterdam and then a two hour flight to (Barajas) Madrid. When I arrived in Spain, I picked up my luggage and went outside to meet Pilar and Jesús. They're really great people and very funny (especially Jesús)as well. When we arrived at the house, I got the tour before having a light breakfast. The house is somewhat of a townhome, in the sense that it has three levels and is in a gated community with townhome-like amenities (eg. neighborhood pool and common area maintenance like mowing lawns). Anyway, the first level has a half bath, kitchen, sunroom, family room and what they call a "fridge closet." It's actually a legit hallway closet where the walls have fridge-like cooling capabilities to house the items that don't fit in the fridge. The second level is where Natalia and Rodrigo have their bedrooms, a shared bathroom and the master suite is. The third level is all mine! I have my own bedroom and own bathroom, it's totally an au pair suite/wing/quarters which is awesome. There is also an office across from my room that they store documents in, etc.
After the tour and breakfast I took a three hour nap that didn't really energize me much. Lunch is at 3:30pm (by the way, dinner is around 9:30pm), both Pilar and Jesús eat at home. The kiddos finished school at 5pm, so we picked them up after we finishing eating and cleaning up. (They finish school Friday)
Rodrigo and Natalia are adorable and kind. It's going to be really fun hanging out with older kids this summer. Pilar speaks zero English, Jesús speaks Spanglish, Rodrigo's English is more conversational and Natalia has to retake her English final next week. Hah, soooo my Spanish better get its act together! Hopefully after some more consistent sleep I'll be more chatty instead of worrying about the accuracy of my conjugations.
The time between picking up the kids at school and eating dinner at 9:50pm was spent looking through photos and telling stories. Oh, and watching Spain lose to "Suiza," but we can't talk about that. They told me about their love for the US national parks like Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone and I told them about Mexico and other school trips.
Dinner was pizza. How American, right?! Wrong. Tuna pizza. It was quite good, but definitely not pizza as I know it. Everything I ate today I didn't hate, it'll just take time to get used to their popular smokey/salty flavors. Alright, time for bed, it's after 11 here. I have the house to myself tomorrow so I'm sleeping until forever and unpacking. Adios!
"El sol se levantará mañana y quién sabe lo que traerá la marea."
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