La Navidad has arrived!

The ham and wine that are part of the traditional "cesta de navidad" (christmas basket) that employers normally give to their employees.

Christmas spirit is all over Madrid. Lights are in place, trees have been mounted and decorated, music and carols are everywhere and Papa Noel (aka: Santa Claus) and the Three Kings are vying for the priviledge of being the most popular present bearer of the season. (This is a huge polemic here, since the Reyes, the three kings, are Spanish tradition, but the commercialization of Santa and the convenience of his earlier arrival is winning over the yonger generations.) And as you can see from the picture they are breaking into many houses all over Spain, probably in attempt to brainwash the children.

In my school, we celebrated on Friday the kid's Christmas pageant. They had been preparing and practicing for weeks and it definitely paid off. Maybe I am biased, but I think my 2nd gradeer stole the show. They did a cute play (in Spanish) and then sang a Spanglish Christmas song. Check out the video here and you can let me know what an unbiased opinion is.

I have already gotten many Christmas gifts, mostly from students and other teachers. But the best gift I have ever gotten came last Thursday night when Paco asked me to marry him....officially!!!!!! (of course I said yes!) So I won't be needing any other Christmas gifts this year!

(He, he he! Saved the best news for last!)

And the big news just keeps on coming!

My sister's getting married!!! Amy and Colin got engaged in Champagne, France this weekend. I am even more excited to go home now. Wedding planning for this one should be interesting to say the least!

I'd write more but my week with the flu and then my week recovering really don't have any highlights that compare. I do need remark, however, that we managed to get away for the weekend last weekend (despite my miserable flulike symptoms) to Logroño (In La Rioja, Spain's wine region) and to San Sebastian in Spain's Basque Region, making a quick stop in Burgos to eat some morcilla. It was what you might call a gastronomic tour. We ate often and well. Unfortunately we didn't get to really visit any of the wineries because we went in off season and during a holiday weekend. (In Spain commerce doesn't take advatage of things like holiday weekends to make money, but rather to take vacations. It's a concept that we Americnas cannot really comprehend.) Anyway, we did visit a really interesting wine museum at a winery; my favorite part- the collection of over 3000 corkscrews from all over the world throughout time. Here are some pics:

Burgos: the cathedral La Rioja: freezing in the vineyard, outside the wine museum.

San Sebastian: view from the hills, some serious surf on the beach, a beautiful sunset.

The past month in "short"

I have been quite lax with the blogging recently. I do have excuses, not that you’re interested in my lame excuses. But the bottom line is that the 12 hour Spanish work day is not agreeing with me. (obviously.) I am very happy with my job(s) with the exception of a one private classes and the crazy schedule. But, of course I am sick every month, even though I swore I wasn’t getting sick again. But at least a day at home gives me some time to catch up on things, like my blog.

So here’s a “quick” summary of the month of November:

November 10:

Went to a wedding at a castle in the outskirts of Madrid. It was a very nice event that lasted over 12 hours. (yeah 12) The ceremony was at 2 and we left the wedding site at 3ish. It was grueling, but a lot of fun. The bride was Spanish and the groom English, so they tried to combine some traditions of both cultures.

Thanksgiving was prepared by a fellow Middleburiana, Vanessa. Way too much delicious food and a lot of people, but of course there were no cowboys, pilgrims or Indians, so it cannot even begin to compare with the festivities of last year. That will remain a legend for many here in Spain.
(Sorry no pics for this one.)

November 25: Paco’s birthday complete with two family meals…yep two…in one day. However we didn’t go out much because we had both had long weeks so we waited until the following weekend to really celebrate, along with the great news that he was granted a huge research grant from a major insurance foundation. Don’t ask what he will research because I don’t understand even the title. Needless to say we went all out, and I actually think this is what pushed me over the edge into sickland.

I finally met baby Javi, and saw proud parents Javi and Marta, who are gleaming with excitment. And, who wouldn't be with a baby this tiny and cute who barely makes a sound! I am only speaking to the little guy in English and have already arranged that he will be my exchange student in the US when he is older.

I also saw all of my "Spanish family" (the Paredes) which was nice becuase I haven't seen Javi and Laura's parents since before I left.

Welcome to the world Javichu!

This past weekend I also decided to deck my little halls. After decorating my 2 foot tree and hanging the stockings with care (from the bookshelf, obviously, we don’t have a chimney) my place has a nice air of Christmas spirit. Madrid is lit for the holiday as well. It’s nice to walk down the streets in the evening with the holiday lights shining, it makes me want to fill my MP3 with Christmas carols….but I don’t have any. I’ll work on that.

This weekend is supposed to be La Rioja, but seeing as though I am sick again, it’s in limbo. I will be so mad!

Last interesting bit: Remember how I notice now all the English language clothing? Well, I get to see a lot in school. It seems kids’ clothes are not produced in Spain, only English speaking countries. (Or probably not even, more likely China or Taiwan, but the point is that any words are almost always written in English.) Normally the kids’ clothing is pretty innocent; superheroes, princesses, sports phrases, etc. However yesterday in school I could not stop stating at one boy’s sweatshirt. I mean really, I may have made him uncomfortable. The poor kids kept looking back at me like “But I am not doing anything wrong!!!” I was quite close to whipping out my camera phone to document the insanity, but though better of it given the situation. (class and what not.) The thing about this particular Bart Simpson sweatshirt was that it said “Show business is a hideous bitch goddess.” Profanity on a child’s sweatshirt aside, does that even make sense?? Anyone want to help me explain that one?

Our House

As promised, a guided tour of my new apartment. Although it is not completely done (we are still in need of a few esthetic updates) you can get an idea of what it looks like.
Turn your computer screen or your head...it's sideways. (still can't figure out how to flip it.)
Enjoy and come visit soon!

Random thoughts about this week

Good things that happened this week:
1) I have recuperated my voice!
2) I got my first pay check!
3) It’s Puente! (when they extend a holiday to make a nice long weekend…for example the holiday is today, Nov. 1, but tomorrow there is no school.
4) We made plans to go to the wine country of Spain, Rioja for next puente.

Bad things about this week:
1) The kids at school were so excited about Halloween I still had to yell over them.
2) My paycheck is long spent on Middlebury tuition
3) My Thursday and Friday classes have been cancelled because everyone in Madrid is gone “de puente” and I am not going anywhere.
4) I have no idea what I will do with Lucky while we are away.


Autumn has arrived in Madrid and I am loving it. It has always been my favorite season. There is nothing better than a crisp sunny fall day filled with changing leaves, football games apple cider and chili. Well, Madrid doesn’t have all that an American fall offers (no apple cider or football) but the weather is unbeatable..it is true fall weather and I have chili on the stove. The days are sunny and vary between crisp and warm and the nights are cool, perfect for a fire. (Not that I have a fireplace, but whatever.) Last weekend I took a little day trip with some friends to Aranjuéz, a small town outside of Madrid, just to disconnect from the city and maybe see some changing leaves. We had a perfect day and it really made me appreciate Spain in the autumn. I will post some pics later on.

This week I had my first grade school disaster experience. A kid puked all over the classroom in the middle of class. On the one hand, I felt sorry for him (how awful!) on the other hand….run to the bathroom kid! I learned a lot from the seasoned elementary classroom teacher who did not even remotely freak out and from the poor little girl sitting next to him who, despite having been puked on, did not cry or freak out. (Can’t say I would have done the same.) I guess maybe puke isn’t a big deal in Spain? What really struck me as odd however, were the lengths we had to go to in order to find cleaning supplies, because naturally, the cleaning people don’t come in until the afternoon. (Wait a second, this kind of thing doesn’t happen frequently? And why is there no Mr. Klush?) And to answer your question- no I most certainly did not clean it up.

Halloween in Madrid….They say that Halloween is not celebrated in Spain. It’s an American/English tradition. Well, judging from the decorations in my school, I think “they” are wrong. Every inch of the school had a ghost, bat, spider, pumpkin, witch on it. Halloween is catching on in Spain. The kids are obsessed with it! Many even have told me that they will go trick or treating in their neighborhoods. I think that in the next 10 years Halloween will be just as much of a Spanish tradition as the Three Kings. After all, what’s not to like about trick or treating?

Well, that's all I have for this week. Hope everyone had a spooktacular Halloween. (I am officially a grade school teacher...my dorky side is out and running rampant!)

PD oh wait that's Spanish, I meant to say PS

I do not know why the format of my last blog is messed up, but I have tried to no avail to change it. It is bothering me.

One other thing, not that I am fishing for a care package, but if anyone has the desire to support the US postal service while helping me ensure my health, I'd really love some anti-bacterial hand cream. I can only find gel here and it has my hands cracking dry, which in turn makes me less likely to use it regularly, which as a result of being surrounded by 2nd and 3rd graders all day means my hands are full of germs and illness. My goal for the rest of the year is to not get sick. Who wants to support the "Julie's hands" foundation?????

mute.

It just seems that I can't get anything going here. It's one thing after another. After finally solving the problems with the furniture, the washer, the plumbing and finally (finally!) the phone and internet, one might think that things are looking up for me. Despite the fact that I have my schedule set with school and classes and am settling into my routine (which I so desperately needed) I am faced with a problem that I have never had to deal with before. I am mute. Laryngitis. Ok, well the illness I have dealt with before, and while it sucks, it is kind of fun during that period of "sexy voice" when you are initially losing your voice. At ACHS having laryngitis meant a day of not having to talk to the kids, or taking a day for lots of fun alone time. Now, seeing that my job is to talk, losing my voice means I can't work. Period. The bad news about that....if I don't work, I don't make any money. In the school I may have to make up the hours and my private classes are a complete wash. Que putada!!!! (I am not going to translate that for reasons you can assume.)

Conclusion: I do not like working for hourly wages.

On a lighter note, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people in Spain that I encounter wearing clothing with English phrases. I'm not talking about "Levi's Brand Jeans" pasted across the chest of a t-shirt or anything like that, I am referring to the current trend of wearing tshirts with quirky phrases on them. The thing is, I don't see many in Spanish, but I always notice the English ones. (Perhaps a language bias, but I don't really think so. I even see English phrase clothing in Spanish stores, but not any Spanish phrase clothing.) You might think that, well these people must be English language nerds, similar to how Julie is a Spanish language dork, but for some reason you can just tell that the majority don't have a clue what is advertised on their chest. At least it makes me chuckle.

So, I have decided to keep track of some of my favorites-I wish I had thought of it earlier because I have seen some really good ones- and every now and again for your entertainment and reading pleasure post some of the better ones.

This week: Picture a scruffy, middle aged, (50+) man not exactly in his best shape walking toward you with a bright blue t-shirt that reads: Warning: Hot Zone. Hmmmm....I am not sure, does that mean I should walk the other way? What exactly is the message there? Or how about the otherwise normal looking middle aged woman in a white long sleeve t-shirt that has sexy bedazzled across her boobs. At least she has good self-esteem.

It makes me want to start selling cute t-shirts with things like "I am an @ss" or "Tell me how stupid I look" on them. I bet I could make a killing in the metro....hey, maybe that could make up for the money lost due to my laryngitis.

Believe it or not.....

Any events that could have happened to me this week are overshadowed by the tremendous milestone achieved on Friday afternoon. Here in Madrid we celebrated el Dia de la Hispanidad, the country's national holiday which celebrates the country's armed forces and ultimately Cristopher Colombus' discovery of the Americas. At 32 General Pardinas, we celebrated a more important, yet completely unrrelated milestone. Check out the link on youtube. I promise you, no stunt doubles were used in the filming of this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8ymDWn5X4

Spain: love and loathe

I started my job...finally... this week. After various unsuccessful attempts to get my schedule ahead of time, I finally got it the first day if school. The problem apparently was that they didn't know how many auxiliares (which is my official title...auxiliar de conversación) were placed in the school. Oh. hmmm. ok. So when 4 of us showed up the first day we were finally able to work the schedule out. The coordinator apologized for not having the schedules done beforehand. You see she lived in the US for 4 years and realizes that we (3 of us are Americans, the other is Australian) are used to having things planned out... in advance. But she apologized saying that Spain is the country of improvision. Well, that's one way to put it. Here in Spain things happen when they happen and everyone just has to adjust accordingly. Thankfully I have my experience of working in the chaos driven, improvision as a rule Atlantic City school district, so I am confidant I can handle it, at least in terms of school. More on that later.

So next question would be, "well Julie, what is your schedule like?" It's actually pretty good, save the fact that I have class after a 2 hour lunch break every day. On Mondays and Thursdays I have the good fortune of not having to go in until 10 and stay until 4 with no breaks except recess and lunch. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have to be there for 9 but I get to leave before lunch on Tuesday. Wednesday is my only crappy day. I finish t 3:15 but might have to do a class with the staff from 4 until 5. In all despite the fact that I am only "working" 16 hours a week, I am at the school much more. Still I got a better schedule than some of my counterparts, so I am happy.

I am in English and Science classes for 2nd and 3rd graders. The kids have a decent level of English....definitely better than any of my kids in AC did in Spanish! The teachers I collaborate with are a bit spastic. I wanted to hand out xanex the first day. One speaks English pretty well but seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The other can use some private English lessons for herself (she asked me if I would be interested in teaching her children.) I think she is just nervous to have a native speaker there judging her English. I want to say that it is ridiculous that this woman teaches in the bilingual program but then again I taught Spanish for 5 years and was constantly waiting for someone to figure out that I really didn't speak much Spanish at all. I guess it is the same thing. And, anyway, that is why I have ehis job now, so I can't complain. In the meantime I will brush up on my CPR in case of any emergencies.

The apartment is still coming along. We have had some setbacks. The curtains I wanted are out of stock so my bedroom is still ugly. There is/was a clog in the main plumbing and all the water from the washing machine and kitchen sink came through a pipe in the bathroom causing a mini flood. The plumber says he's coming today. We'll see. The washing machine that we had was older than Adam. We convinced the landlord that we needed a new one, however when they man came to install it there wasn't enough room to get the old one out and the new one in, so now we have the washer disconnected in the middle of the kitchen and the new one waiting in the hall. In the meantime we figured out that the new one isn't going to fit anyway. Fun! Not that I could do much laundry anyway because it has been rainy and as Spaniards don't believe in clothes dryers, so you have to wait for nice dry sunny days to be able to do laundry. (People tell me that Madrid has a very dry climate, after living here over a year I cannot comprehend where that erroneous idea came from.) Now Amanda's telling me the hot water is out. greeeat. How I'd just love to make some comfort food, like chocolate chip cookies, but that would require an oven, which we don't have either. Another little used electrodomestic appliance that Spaniards often have but don't use, so yeah, we don't even have one. Adjust.

Last complaint. We got our internet yesterday. Except for the fact that we didn't. The tech people are "working on it." What's a few more days when we've already been waiting a month? Oh and in the confusion we lost telephone service, so don't call me.

Really it's not all bad, I am actually happy, it's just sometimes I miss the conveniences of the United States that I took for granted. Even though I was here all last year and should be used to it, I guess a few months at home de-programmed my Spanish mentality. So looking on the bright side, it's the weekend, the plumber is here and I am going to look online at washer/dryers to see if we can get one of those.

Back in Spain...which needs a TJ Maxx

I have been here for 2 weeks now and am settling in. The truth is is it a whole new experience, living in a new apartment, a new neighborhood (right downtown) not going to laSede Prim (Middlebury) everyday, not seeing all the same people who had become familiar faces. Lucky is transitioning too. Not that it is a bad, thing, in fact it is a good thing, it is just different. I still have a week until I start work, so I am also feeling a bit lost with that. I think that once I have a schedule and a routine I will feel much more settled and confidant.
My new apartment is tiny tiny, but let's call it cozy for now. I think I am competing with Corinne for the smallest apartment on the planet. It is in an older building, and definitely isn't new on the inside either, but it is in a GREAT neighborhood. Within a 3 block radius I can get anything I need...from scotch tape to sushi to shoes to diamonds. Last weekend I went out to 3 different bars without crossing the street and managed to stay out until 4:30am. (I live in an interior apartment, so my windows look out onto a patio so I get light but not all the street noise, which is another plus.) We have the Retiro park in a 5 minute walk, 4 different metro stops in walking distance and I can walk to work. I love having everything so accessible. The inside is coming along. Although it was rented furnished, most things we so ugly that we decided to buy our own and make it a little more homey. After countless hours and several trips to Ikea, (in which I realized that Spain needs some TJ Maxx and Marshalls desperately) we are pretty much there. We still need a few things, some pictures for the walls, ect, but once it is done I will post some photos.
My roomate from Middlebury arrives today and she is staying with me until she finds an apartment. I am expecting her any minute, so I should go.
'Till something worth writing home about comes up!

I'm baaaaaack!

I can't believe it...I am back in the states! And while it is not forever, I am going back, it is certainly a change and the close of another part of my life. Over a year ago I made the decision to do the program at middlebury, with much contemplation and anguish. It proved to be a very smart decision, albeit expensive, but despite the accumulating debt, I wouldn't change my mind if I had to do it all again. The experience was something I needed and wanted in my life. I feel like I have done something I am proud of and am not still in AC doing what came easy. Still, change is hard. I know that when I get back to Spain it will not be the same experience. Many of my friends will not be there, I will not be at "la Sede Prim," I may not be living in the same house, and I will be working. As I was packing up my room I actually suffered quite a panic attack. Silly, I know, but change is hard. I will miss this past year.

So what am I going to do this summer? Good question!

Right now I am in Florida visiting Kim and Elliot, and most importantly Owen!!! I just love this baby to pieces. Check out his blog and you will see why. (http://owenwilliamdoerle.blogspot.com/)
Later this afternoon I head over to the west coast of Florida to see Chrissy and her new house....how exciting! Chrissy is on her 2nd grown up house...what a big girl!

Then it's to Philadelphia to see my boys! (jack, owen and lucky!) Yea!!! I have missed them! My parents and I will be babysitting for the weekend. The following week I will be with Amy before she jets off to Italy for 3 weeks, and then to Pittston. That's about all I have planned. Once I get to Pittston it's living with mom and dad with no job and a bicycle as my main means of transportation. That ought to be fun.... I guess I will be waiting and planning until Paco comes for the big tour of Northeast America in August.

I probably won't write much over the summer, but don't worry if I happen to do something super-exciting, I'll post it.

Thanks for visiting....until part 2 of The Life and Times of Julie and Lucky in Madrid

Viva la vaca! Ole!

Last weekend I took the opportunity to procrastinate, put off my ever so important work on the ever so enlightning chapter of the much anticipated book we are writing with my teaching English as a foreign language class and I went to the mountains of Madrid for a little hiking and relaxation.

Obviously it was a holiday in Marid...another Puente....when isn't it? Monday was the day of San Isidro which celbrates the patron saint of Madrid and the official start of bullfighting season. As I was on our 5 hour hike up (and down) the mountain I got the opportunity to do a little bullfighting of my own. Ok, I didn't actually fight and it was a cow, but it had really big horns and who really knows the difference between a cow and a bull anyway. I was still afraid he was going to gore me to pieces for invading his stomping grounds (yes, pun intended.) Thaksfully I made it down the mountain alive and well and the only pains I had were some sore rear end muscles.

And the award goes to....

Christy and Lindsay!

The first (and only) non-family visit in Spain!

Last weekend marked the event, and we even had really nice weather, so we were able to take advantage of some sangria and tapas outdoors in the plaza and a nice naperooski in the Retiro. A little Sexy Back entertainment by -I'll let you guess who- rounded out a quite "gustatory" weekend. I had a great time, got a good ab workout from all the laughing, was able to relax a bit before finals, and most of all had the opportunity to catch up with 2 of my favorite PSU'ers.

Let's see who can top that!

Windsurfing

Here are some pics from my windsurfing adventure in La Manga. La Manga (which means "the sleeve" due to its geographical shape) is in the province of Murcia in southeastern Spain and makes up part of la Costa Calida (the Wam Coast.) They say that it has 320 days of sun, which menas that while most of Spain was rainy and crappy, it was warm and sunny in La Manga...THANK GOD!!! It wasn't hot summer weather but warm enough to be on the beach in a bathing suit (check out mine for the 2007 beach season...i can get you one if you act fast!!) and many people were. I actually got a little red, but am now on my way to bronzed godess status. La Manga is a long skinny strip of land that separates the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor (the Little Sea, which is really a large salt water lake.) The Mediterranean was a bit chilly (think water in Jersey in July) but the Mar Menor was like a nice tepid bath. Because it is not very deep and very salty, combined with the sunny days it stays pretty warm all year long. It's a very popular watersport area, and there were lots of people windsurfing and kite surfing...I don't think I can really count myself among those who were actually doing it, but I tried! I managed to sail for a record of 10 seconds (one mississippi, two mississippi...) - pretty impressive! It's hard, but fun. I'd be willing to try it again. (ok, i really just only want to wear the wetsuit!)

This is why I don't like spring

I have a few friends here in Spain who say that it never rains in Spain, that Spain is arid and that there is always a drought.....BS!!!! I am quite over the rain and if it rains on my puente I am not going to be happy! (and I am going to put the same sad face on as jack when he tells you "I'm not happy!") Americans need to stop coming over to visit us, sorry guys, because every time someone visits....RAIN. (Kristen has a cousin and friend here this week. When Laura saw the rain the other day she asked me who was visiting.) I am nervous becasue Christy and Lindsay are coming next weekend....would it be bad to ask them not to come so I can have a weekend of nice weather??

Well, at least I can't be jealous that it is sunny and warm and springy in the US (not that I would ever even imagine that.....spring is practically non-existant there!) Lucky is putting to good use out his new umbrella leash....hopefully it helps him not have "accidents" on rainy days at nana's. 42 more days until I see my baby!!! (and put him on a DIET...with his mommy, of course!)

.

It's official

For those of you who don't already know, it's official. I am staying in Spain one more year. I will be working in a bilingual school in the city here part time as a bilingual assistant and hopefully teaching some private English classes on the side. Another year of worthwhile debt!As for now, winding down the school year (I can't believe it is practically over already!) Another 2 weeks and we are finished. Thankfully we have a nice big puente before finals week. Actually I think Amanda coined it an aqueduct because we have off from Friday of this week until Thursday of the following. May 1 is labor day and May 2 is the Community of Madrid's holiday and the school decided to trade us Monday for the following Friday so we have an extra long puente, isn't that nice? I am hoping that the weather stays like it has been (mid-high 70's and sunny) because I have plans for the beach and some windsurfing lessons....with my luck that will not be happening and I will be stuck with my computer and final papers/projects instead of flaunting my new and sexy wetsuit.Other than that, not much going on. I went to a wedding this weekend, which was a lot of fun. It was very interesting to see the similarities/differences between an American and a Spanish wedding. This wedding, I was told, was a bit a-typical, however. The ceremony was similar to any Catholic ceremony minus the 10 girls dressed in the same non-recyclable dress and 10 gents to match. However there were no singers/musicians, just your regular organist and the priest sang. I couldn't see much of the ceremony because I was sitting in the back, but it seemed to pretty much be the same as our Catholic ceremony. The reception was fun. A nice cocktail hour, complete with a leg of ham in addition to other hors ordourves. (not a chance I spelled that right.) Dinner was a really good 4 course meal, surprisingly good for 250+ people. There were a few surprises here, however. First, there was no MC, introducing the couple, the parents, ect. There was also no father/daughter, mother/son dance. The bride and groom did have quite an interesting dance for themselves complete with 70's style wigs and colorful lights, but I think that was their own touch. During dinner there was a "crazy waiter" who apparently was hired to do ridiculous things to entertain the guests. Unfortunately my table was in the dark about this and he scared us more than anything. There was also a mariachi band that serenaded at every table...yes the wedding was in Spain, not Mexico. They sang a nice rendition of "La Cucaracha" at our table. Seriously. There were also people with balloons and noisemakers to add to the festivities. Most of these things, as I was told, are not quite the norm. Quite often you could hear a strong "Viva los novios!" (roughly translated as long live the newlyweds) followed by a resounding "viva!" that I missed every time. "Qué se besen, qué se besen!" (a cheer to coax the couple to kiss) and some interesting song/cheers about the bride and groom. These were among the more traditional customs. Later, instead of a dollar dance, they cut the groom's tie and sell it in pieces for the honeymoon fund. Also the bride passes out pins (which theoretically are from her garter) to all the single women and the first to loose hers is supposedly the next to marry (....damn it! where is mine?????) Afterwards, your typical music and dancing to the a-typical hours of the morning. I left at about 3:30-4:00, and that was relatively early! In all it was a fun and cultural experience. Too bad the battery for my camera was dead and I have no pics! (Especially of some of the interesting attire.)

The Griswalds have left España

Jamieson trip to Spain: (n.) disaster. When the best laid plans go completely astray.



Spring break, spring break, oh how you were nothing I expected! Besides the obvious fact that I did not come even close to accomplishing all of my schoolwork goals, nor half of them for that matter, spring break was a wonderful disaster. Not that it was a bad time, just a series of disasters that could only come with careful planning.



My parents arrived on Monday afternoon. I am outside the gate anxiously waiting for their arrival. and waiting. and waiting. Until finally, one hour after their said landing and they are still not coming out, I decide to break through security (I know, I’m a bad ass!) and look for them. I obviously find them waiting in the lost luggage claim window. They had traveled with Air France and had a stop in Paris. well at least that's where they said they stopped. From my parent's accounts they were dropped off in the middle of a field in no-man's land and bussed to an airport. Unfortunately the luggage missed the bus. No worries no worries, the luggage would be on the next plane to barcelona....pretty good deal actually, since we won't have to lug and luggage throught the airport, check it again and lug it to the hotel. Well except for the fact that it didn't exactly work out like that. When we arrived at the AIRPORT hotel that mom booked with her marriot parts (by the way I have decided that Mariott, mariott points, timeshares and anything else related is crap) and there was no luggage. It was in Madrid, they told us.



Mom and dad spent the first full day in barcelona in the same clothes they flew in..... mmmmmmm, nice!.... until we were able to get to mom's new favorite store, El corte ingles, to buy some duds. Actually we had to buy several things in the Corte ingles, due to the fact that it was freezing and pouring in Barcelona. We took the Barcelona double decker tour bus and spent the majority of the day inside the lower deck that day avoiding the rain and "seeing the sights" of Barcelona. We did get off to see Guadi's Sagrada Familia which my parents especially enjoyed. After a long soggy day we head back to the hotel with a bottle of wine (dad was in heaven...he bought a bottle of wine and a six pack for about 5 euros, and that's just normal here.) and some room service. Thankfully the hotel was really nice despite it being at the airport and not in downtown Barcelona. Well, except for the fact that the hot water wasn't exactly hot, but minor detail. No luggage yet. No confirmation of where exactly it is. Probably sitting in the middle of a field near where the plane landed in "Paris", I suspect.



Day 2 was spent taking advantage of several periods of non-rain and touring some of the spots we saw on the previous day's tour. (Port Vell, Guell Park, La Rambla, The Gothic neighborhood) After a lot of walking, too much for dad's style, we decide that the bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers would be a great way to unwind at the hotel again. Guess what...the luggage was in Barcelona, but it wouldn't be delivered until some time the next day. Not so much! I decided to go to the airport to pick it up, I don't trust these AirFrance people. Mom and I go and attempt to recover it. Of course I have to break though security again to be able to get into baggage claim, but I'm getting to be a professional at that sort of thing. We do finally leave with 2 of 3 suitcases. Normally 2 out of 3 ain't bad but, seeing that the one missing was dad's with all his medication, not such a good thing. Of course a mostly empty one they brought for me was one of the 2 recovered. Dad's luggage they say is still in Paris.



Day 3 we went to Montserrat. Quite nice despite the rain, again. More pictures of "dad getting wet in the same clothes." Still no luggage. Don't know exactly where it is.



Final take on Barcelona:

Mom and dad really enjoyed the Sagrada Familia and Monserrat. Enjoyed the menu del dia and the fact that it is completely acceptable to have a bottle of wine with lunch. Didn't enjoy the rain nor having to recycle clothing as much as possible.



Day 4 was back to Madrid. This time they stayed in a much more centrically located hotel. It wasn't as nice as the last one, but it was fine. We went to eat in Chueca, near my school then Mom and dad did a little exploring on their own while I went home to regroup. Later on we went to dinner to a restaurant that serves very typical Spanish food. Dad liked but did not love morcilla, blood sausage. You never know, dad likes to try different things. Several cervezas later, and after sever interrogation of Paco on the Spanish social economic norms, mom and dad realize that they haven't been out until 2:30 in the morning in quite some time. Still no luggage. They say it's in Barcelona.



Day 5 was Julie's walking tour of Madrid....bring your umbrella. We did Retiro Park, the royal palace (although we couldn't go in because we got there late) a favorite bar of Sarah's for some pisto, La Latina, and saw some of the Semana Santa processions in center city. After a little siesta, we went out for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. (Ask my dad about the Welch-Indian bachelor party in the next room.) We actually found a bar that serves martini's so we went there after dinner. Another late night for the Jamieson's. Still no luggage. Not sure where it is again. Maybe the tag fell off. Need a exact description and estimate of the value of the contents.



Day six- Easter Sunday...mass distribution of smidgens to the Spaniards. Mom and dad did church on their own and braved the metro to my house in Campamento. They made it without problems, surprisingly. We met Laura and her family for lunch. First of course we went for cañas at a neighborhood bar. Then to La Campa, Pepe's favorite restaurant. Thank god for Sarah and Javi, who also speaks good English, to help me facilitate the communication. Despite the barriers there were lots of laughs and promises by both the Jamieson's and Paredes' to enroll in some Spanish and English courses respectively to prepare for next year. The Paredes' presented my parents with a decorative plate (made in Toledo, their hometown) that has La familia Paredes and The Jamieson family....I almost cried. Pepe offered us tickets to th Real Madrid football game (that's soccer to most of you folks!) Javi, my parents and I all went. We had great seats, Madrid won and my dad made himself an authentic Real Madrid aficionado. GOOOL! It was a ton of fun! Oh, by the way Air France woke me up at 9am to tell me they found the luggage and it would be delivered to the hotel in Madrid. Of course that was another lie...damn French!



Day seven, last day. I had to go back to school, but was able to go to an early class so that we could take a train to Toledo for the day. Ha! Well after waiting in the train station to buy tickets about an hour, the train to Toledo was full until the 3:40 train and there were no seats on any return train...typical. Still, we did it. Took the train to Toledo and a bus back. Of course it was raining in Toledo, but it would have been just plain weird if it didn't rain, wouldn't it? It was a nice little day trip. We walked around town, took some pictures, had some cañas and tapas, did some shopping (had to buy dad a carry on to take his new clothes home because at this point I told them if they even knew where dad's suitcase was to send it back to the USA.) All in all worth while. We got back to Madrid had dinner and it was time to say goodbye already.



My story ends here, but I am sure mom and dad either missed a connecting flight, got bumped, had a flight cancelled, lost more luggage or some other disaster on the way home. You'll have to ask them.



Final take on Madrid:

Loved Real Madrid, the Paredes, "partying" in Madrid and visiting Toledo, even though we would have liked to spend more time there. Didn't like rain, wearing the same clothes, being lied to repeatedly by AirFrance and the automatic lights in the bathrooms. (Ask my mom about that one, that's her story.)



Now I am back to school with one month left to finish a TON of things. But I am completely exhausted. Between answering my mom's million daily questions about Spanish vocabulary, trying to help her learn a few words and phrases without a french accent, looking for good bars with good tapas for my dad, being the translator (even though 90% of the time it was unnecessary) and tour guide, I'm drained. I had to take a half day today to catch up on sleep.



Well the sun is shining once again in Madrid...in time for me to get back to work and in time for my parents to leave; I am sure it must be raining in the northeast USA. By the way it is 8:30 here and the sun is still out.



Easter surprise: Jen made me a blog of my boys!!! Check it out and leave some messages to encourage Jen to keep it up!! http://jamiesondynamicduo.blogspot.com/

You made it!

You made it to my new blog? what do you think? I think it is definitely more user friendly, easier to leave comments, to post pictures, ect. Let me know your opinion....in fact, let me know if anyone even still reads it. Ok so my "I am such and idiot" story of the day:

So being on vacation has given me the opportunity to do like I did when I was on spring break in grade school, watch stupid tv all day if i feel like it. A little Sex and the City, CSI Miami, you know typical Spanish tv. Anyway watching CSI with my coffee, I come to realize I'm watching it in English.....didn't even realize it. The funny thing is that during a commercial i was thinking, "wow, I am really understading everything." I am so stupid sometimes. Maybe I can just think that my Spanish has gotten so good that I don't even realize switching back and forth between Spanish and English.....yeah, I don't think so.