Jumping the Hurdle

In other parts of the world, bureaucracy is a force to reckoned with at times. Here in Spain, it is the end all and be all of almost anything you choose to undertake. If you can't figure out how to work the system, you won't get very far. I have successfully managed to get a spot in Spanish level 2, now all I have to do is wait until the 29th to register. Let's just say that if I were not a very persistent or determined person I would not be taking any spanish classes.
Last weekend and the beginning of this week were quite adventurous but have left me rather exhausted. Friday night Andria and I went to a free concert at La Palma. It was really awesome. There was a reggae band from Morraco and then a celtic band from Canada. And I did a jig too! La Palma is only three blocks away from the house and there is always a lot going on there, so I imagine I'll be there a lot. Needless to say we didn't get home until 2:30 in the morning. Saturday I went to the pool with the kids, had an exciting dinner with the family and then met up with Jorge, the guy I met pre-registering and some of his friends and it ended up being an equally late night. Sunday was relaxing which was good. The festa major is about to start here and so there was ¨giant¨parade and gathering. I took a lot of pictures and a couple videos, so I'll send them later. They were pretty neat, but in the end didn't really do much and I was left with the feeling that once you have seen one, you've kind of seen them all. But it was neat to see an old tradition. Later that night I met up with Xiaoni, one of the PhD students I met at Absenta. She is very sweet and we had a nice time enjoying a Champu and talking in english. Monday night there was another free concert, but this time in Tarragona. I met up with Xiani, Eleni, Carmen, and Tatiyanna and we took the bus. We got there about half an hour after the concert started (11:00) but again I didn't get home until 2:45. It was crazy! There were so many people it was unbelievable. We went to hear Juliet Venegas (a singer from Mexico) who was very good from what little I heard of her. I had so much fun going out with the girls...they are all so nice and have already adopted me into their group of friends. Carmen and Tatiyanna are from Argentina and speak spanish, Eleni is greek, but has been here for a year and has very good spanish...so we pretty much spoke spanish the whole night. Xiaoni, who is from China, has a similar spanish level as me and so we switch back and forth between english and spanish.
Now your probably wondering what we could have possibly been doing since the concert ended at 11:00...we met up with so many people they knew in Tarragona it was crazy. So we hung out in a little bar for a bit (30 min. - hour) and then spent 2 hours saying goodbye. Here in Spain saying goodbye is just as important if not more than the event you are leaving. It literally took us half an hour to get from the bar to the car because people just kept talking. It is really kind of hard to explain and you would have to experience it for yourself. Even though I was very tired, I was glad to go out and experience the culture and make friends.
Meanwhile at home we have been busily putting together a schedule and figuring out how everything is going to work...which I am very happy about. I won't be able to take ceramics, like I'd hoped, but I plan to go to yoga twice a week. I'll be able to take Spanish and Catalàn classes. Plus I think I have agreed to at least 5 different language exchanges, luckily only two of which I am actually going to right now.
I've been able to spend some good time with the kids and cook a lot. Most recently I made mashed potatoes, green beans, fish, egg plant, and zucchini soup.
Today I got to go to yoga again and I absolutely love this studio. The classes are very small and challenging and the teacher comes around and corrects you in just about every posture. I am so happy to have found the studio...it is such a good way for me to relax and have a little bit of what I am used to with me.

A Change of Pace

Here in Spain the rain stays mainly on the plane, well at least, it used to... we have been having torrential down pours the past several nights and even into most of the day these past two days. The storms at night are ridiculous. The thunder and lightning come at almost the exact same time and it just pours and pours and pours...so the rain is very loud as well. It has been throwing what little schedule we had completely off...plus the entire area does not know what to do with itself...it is a bit comical, but not really. For example, yesterday Glòria and I went to her high school (it was only their second day of school and they didn't have classes or anything, just anouncements) and there was mass chaos in the foyer. All the students were gathered in this tiny hallway at 10 in the morning...and no one was showing signs of caring. Plus, there was a torrential down pour outside. What happened was that the students were supposed to go home because they were done for the day, but none of them wanted to walk home in the rain...probably because they weren't prepared for it...it was pretty funny. Glòria and I meanwhile kept on trekking with our errands and were both rather wet by the time we got home...oh well.
So life has been crazy here the past couple days, but it has been absolutely amazing and I think I love it more each day. Everytime I go out I end up seeing a different part of the city...and I am not quite sure how I do this because it isn't very big...then again maybe I just keep passing the same places without realizing it...I don't think so though. I am getting my barings a little slower than I would like, but definitely surely. I wouldn't say I get lost everytime I go out to get something on my own...maybe just momentarily confused.
My big accomplishment yesterday was that I successfuly made caldo (a home made chicken and other meats and vegetable broth...you serve it with pasta and then later make a soup with it if you want). It really isn't very difficult since all you do is put everything in the pot and boil it...but still, I was happy.
Today I ran lots of errands that unfortunately by the time I got done with them didn't really matter, but it kept me busy. I also got to try a yoga class, which I absolutely loved! The studio and the teacher were wonderful, plus it was in Spanish, so that was pretty fun. I am hoping to have enough time to take at least one class per week, but we'll see, I know things are going to get busy, well they already are... I also found Catalan classes here in Reus...and the beginning classes are free! Tomorrow I will find out how I did on my spanish test for the classes for Spanish in Tarragona, with just those two classes alone plus being an au pair I know I will have more than enough to do...but i want to do more...
Tonight I made lots of friends and it was wonderful. I went back to Absenta (the bar...see previous post for further explanation) and met the people who were there last week. The couple who started the whole thing, Sergio and Merichel, go hiking pretty much every weekend and have invited me to go with them, so we exchaned numbers. They are both really awesome and kind and Merichel does yoga as well! Then later three girls came who are PhD students at the university and it turns out they know Ferran...so that was very funny. I bonded with two of them very quickly and we exchanged numbers as well. Plus I made a friend when I pre-registered for classes last week and we may go out Saturday. Yesterday Andria introduced me to Marta and I plan to keep up with the weekly coffee trade...so that will be very good.
Everything is coming together here even though it is still all over the place. I'll take pictures of the house and Reus soon...now it is off to bed.

Time Flies

Here in Spain I am both busy and having a lot of free time...it is quite the paradox. But school starts tomorrow, so things are slowly getting into a schedule.
Just to highlight the most exciting things that happened since Thursday...I took a test Friday, it went very well. Just some mulitple choice and writing a page in Spanish. A miracle occured and we got the house in a livable state so we all started staying here Saturday night. People were working Friday and Saturday and I helped clean a little on Friday afternoon. Ferran and I both helped clean, with two cleaning ladies, on Saturday from 9:00 until 1:30, so at least certain areas didn't have too much dust. But more work is being done tomorrow...
I have met lots of family! On Saturday after cleaning Ferran and I had lunch with his parents and one brother. Last night there was a little party for a girl who was turning three, which was absolutely adorable. She is the daughter of a lady Glòria used to work with. The party was fairly fun, but it was outdoors with food, which meant there were a lot of bees. Teresa didn't like this at all, so for a lot of the party we just sat far from the food and told stories, which Teresa loved. When we were at home we had a pretend sleepover and got my sleeping bag out and told stories and played dress up. Today there was a family reunion on Glòria's side of the family. There were a lot of people there and I don't really know who they all were exactly. I was more there to help with all the kids...twelve in total I think. There was another girl there to help as well though, so we had a lot of fun! It was pretty much an all day event for us because it was a bit of a drive and these things always last forever.
The other day I went for a run, which was very wonderful. I did get a little lost on the way back and had to ask two people for directions, only because the first didn't help at all cause he didn't know where I wanted to go. But the second person was extremely helpful and I found my way back very easily after he explained everything. Now the next time I go running I know I won't get lost because I have walked around the city more and understand what I did the first time. I hope you are doing well!

Everyday is an adventure!

I just realized it has only been 2 days since I last wrote...but so much has already happened. When I arrived in Reus (after getting a ride with one of Glòria's friends to Barcelona, where I was dropped off at the metro station, which I took to a Renfe station (basically a regional rail line here), where I got on a train to Reus) I was met by Andria. She is one of Annalee's friends who was an au pair for the summer and is leaving September 18th. She took me around Reus, which was very nice, and introduced me to all sorts of wonderful things. On our way to Noemi's apartment we walked past my future house and then made our way to her apartment, which was very easy to find. Once there I dropped off my backpack and we sat with Noemi for a bit. For the rest of the day we wandered around Reus. I love this city so much...it is absolutely amazing! There are streets where cars can't drive...they are only for people to walk on! I can't do it justice, so when I am not having technical difficulties with my camera, I will put up pictures...once I take them. Before beginning to truly wander, Andria and I stopped at the coffee shop that I have heard so much about (where Annalee used to meet people for language exchanges) have a quick cafe cortado each. As Andria and I were wandering we stumbled across a bar that advertised an informal language exchange the following night from 7:30-9:00. The bar was closed at the time but looked very interesting, so we decided we should come back the next night. Next Andria introduced me to a very popular drink here...a ¨champu¨which is a light beer, estrella damm here mixed with a lemon soda, fanta, i believe. It is actually quite good and very refreshing considering how hot it gets here at the moment. Andria had to be getting home (she lives in a little village just up the hill from Reus, but wanted to make it there before dark) and I had to get going to meet Ferran for dinner. We met at 8:30 (an early time to meet for dinner here, most people meet for dinner around 9) and walked to a neat little restaurant called Vinatxo (vin-a-cho), which means a young wine, but has the connotation of being a poor quality wine. Despite the name, dinner was excellent, and so was dessert and the wine! I didn't get to Noemi's apartment though until 11:15. I had to be in Tarragona at 9:30 the next morning, so I went straight to bed.
Luckily Noemi dropped me off. When we got to the school, there was a huge mass of people out front and one person standing at the top of the steps reading names off a list. This huge mass of people was blocking the doorway and I figured they were there for the same reason I was...but wasn't sure because what I needed to do was go to the fourth floor to get a number that would tell me what time to come back to pre-register. But I didn't want to just barge through anyone and be rude, so I stood there for a little bit...and more people kept showing up looking just as confused as I did, so I was't too worried. As it turned out I got to put my name on the list, and then it was called so I could get in line. What was the line for you wonder? To get up to the fourth floor to get my number of course. The line went all the way from the fourth floor, down all the stairs, and out the front of the building, that is how many people were trying to pre-register for classes...it was crazy! I will find out if I successfully pre-registered on the 15th, but I did get a paper stamped after waiting in line, getting a number, and then coming back, so not all hope is lost, and I was done by 11:30 surprisingly. After navigating this insanity I wandered around Tarragona for a bit, which is right by the sea and a city that is a bit bigger than Reus ( Reus has a population of about 100,000 whereas Tarragona has population of about 140,000). Then I made my way back to Reus where I managed to get a library card and get to Noemi's apartment by2 and have lunch with her.
I feel I must clarify a bit here about meals and schedules. There are two important meals in this country. In the states it is common for families to all eat together at dinner and basically only cook one meal and gather for one meal each day...dinner. Here you cook for two meals...lunch and dinner. You sit together and have a large lunch and then later you cook again and eat dinner together. In terms of schedules nothing is really open until 10, then every thing closes aroud 1 and everyone goes home to have dinner. Places don't open again until the afternoon, from 5-8.
That afternoon I met Andria and we went to the bar for the language exchange. Let me just say this bar is absolutely amazing. For those of you who share/shared in the Moulin Rouge/Green Fairy obssession, you will truly appreciate this. The bar is named Absenta, which if you hadn't already guessed it means Absinthe. The lighting ofcourse creates a lovely green ambience, as if you were floating in a bottle of the bright green drink. I was more than ecstactic to have discovered this bar. The language exchange was awesome too! There were three different groups of people there for the language exchange. The couple who's idea it was and their friend (Sergio, Merichel, and ?), two other girls (who came later and I can't remember their names, one of them may have been Maria), and me and Andria, and Noemi showed up later two. Everyone there besides me and Andria was from Reus and trying to improve their english (not Noemi because she is an english teacher) but they were all really fun and we are planning to meet again next Thursday, so that is exciting.
Things pretty much broke up at nine because we all had things to do. Noemi and I met Ferran and then we all went out for Japanese. This seemed strange to me, but it was a very nice restaurant and I think the fanciest japanese restaurant I have eaten in (which isn't really saying much since I haven't eaten that much Japanese food). Dinner ended late of course and it always ends with coffee...so on the way home Noemi and I decided to stop for a drink which was fun, but made for a late night considering I had to get up the next morning and take a test.
But more on that later because it is one o'clock in the morning here and I really need to go to bed. Wow, i must be a very locuacious (is that how you spell that?) person because I thought i would be able to get caught up to today in a short amount of space...but apparently not. oh well.

Catching up

I´ve been in Spain now for almost two weeks now and I love it! I just got to Reus yesterday...but I am still not in the house with the family. I went to see it yesterday with Ferran and it is a total mess. The works are suppposed to be done by today...but it is not going to happen...I doubt they will be done by Saturday, which is a problem because the kids start school on Tuesday. So right now Glòria is still in Castellar del Vallés with the kids at her father's house. Ferran is here in Reus, staying with his parents, who also have his niece and nephew staying with them...so there is no more room. So I am staying in Reus with a colleague of Glòrias, Noemi, who has an apartment right off one of the main squares. She is very kind and has been feeding me and even gave me a ride to Tarragona this morning where I pre-registered for a Spanish class.
I'll write more about the present later...first I will try to catch up with what has already happened.
The jet lag wasn't too bad really. The first couple of days I was very tired around 1 or 3 and I wasn't hungry at meal times or tired at bed time, but after 4 or 5 days i would say I was fully adjusted to the time zone. I've been eating very differently here, but all the food is very good. Something that everybody has and is like a staple here is pan tomacuet, which is bread with tomato. It is a piece of bread smeared with tomato then sprinkled with salt and oil. On top you put some kind of ham...usually proscutto or a sweet ham (like plain sandwhich ham in the states, but very thinly sliced). Ofcourse there is a lot of fish and seafood here too and I have that almost everyday I think.
Glòria likes to make everything at home and make stuff from scratch if she can...so I had the chance to learn a lot what they liked to eat and how they made it in Castellar. Which I think was really good because once school starts and we get into a schedule everything will be very busy. Another typical dish here is Caldo, and Glòria showed me how to make this one day. It is a homemade broth...chicken, pork, some other meats, and vegetables all boiled in water for a couple hours. Then you have the broth with noodles or use it to make other soups. We had it with noodles the first night and then the next day made a spinach soup with it. The base for almost all dished here is sufritos...which are chopped/diced onions slowly cooked in oil...I really loved all this cooking in Castellar and I know once we get into a schedule I will get to cook for the family more.
I absolutely love this family. We all get along really well and work together really well. I really feel like an older sister and a true part of the family already. Teresa and Biel are the most well behaved kids I have ever worked with. They are absolutely amazing and I love them so much. Teresa's english is perfect and I can't believe it. Biel doesn't really speak much english, but he understands it perfectly. So we still communicate very well. Plus just listening to Glòria and the kids talk I have been able to pick up some Catalan. It is very similar to Spanish and a very beautiful language.
Castellar del Vallés was a wonderful little village and it was nice to start there with the kids because we were able to have fun and get to know each other before being thrown into a hectic schedule. We were usally all up by 8:30 or 9:00 and then we would have breakfast. A lot of times the kids had pan tomacuet and Glòria and I had yogurt and cereal...and then we all had fruit. Right now usually peaches. One thing I really like about this family is that they try to eat the produce that is in season...so right now we have a lot of peaches. Glòria tells me that in the fall they have a lot of apples...and so on.
Glòria and I get along so well. For one thing, she is just as adament as I am about not collecting plastic bags. It was pretty funny because we both walk around with big tote bags and when we were paying at a store or the market we also would say, no, don't it in a bag and we would put it in our tote bags.
I've already had the chance to see many different places in Spain and I will post pictures as soon as I get to the house in Reus and have the internet and my own computer. It is absolutely wonderful here and I really love it. It is everything I hoped for and more. The cities are beautiful and old and unique, but new at the same time. Castellar del Vallés was a small village with a population of about 20,000. I also visited Barcelona a couple times, which was fun. Glòria drove us in and one time me and the kids went ice skateing and had lunch with one of her sisters who lives in the city. Another time we went to the ¨clicks¨(the little playmobile figures) exhibit that was in the mall because the kids have lots of clicks and really love them. We also spent 3 days in Matajudaica, which isn't really its own place...it is kind of hard to explain. It is a tiny ¨village¨in the countryside that is where about 60 people live and they have a public pool. You can't buy anything here, but must drive two miles or so to another village that is a bit bigger. There are a bunch of these little ¨villages¨that put together make up a whole village and there is kind a school that is located in the center, I don't really know...it is hard to explian. Anyway, it is very close to Flaça, so one day while we were there I took the train from Flaça to Girona, which is a city. This is all part of northern spain and very close to France. Most recently I have visited Tarragona (as I said earlier) which is maybe 10 or 15 minutes away from Reus.
I'll write more about my arrival in Reus and all that later...but I think I've pretty much caught up to the present, yay!