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.