Reality check

Mamá y sus hijos

Daily life
Lest anyone think by my accounts that all is fun and games over here, I thought I'd make a more raw account of the day to day challenges we face, trying to keep our small family happy. Thankfully the tears and trantrums have subsided when it is time to go to school each day (even on Monday which is typically the hardest day of the week) but that is not always the case after school. Each boy has a list of things they need to work on after school (homework, reading, piano, math facts, etc...) and 4 days a week Clark goes to either deportes (a sports class) up at the school or a fencing class at the local sports center and Colin to futbol practice twice a week (games are on the weekend although we have yet to participate, still not "certified"). As you can imagine, this isn't always what they'd like to do after a full day of sitting in a classroom not understanding a thing. And I must admit that I am not always cheerful and supportive at the end of the day. It can be emotionally exhausting to keep the boys motivated and happy. Thank goodness my husband is both low-maintenance and extremely helpful in keeping the home fires burning (literally and figuratively as he keeps a fire burning in the fireplace in the kitchen that heats our house and the food cooking on the stovetop).  

Alhambra tiles

I am hoping that the boys are learning some good values and coping skills via this experience such as patience, what it feels like to be an outsider/foreigner (empathy), how to get by when times are tough, survival in general and they are certainly not in harms way. It’s been tough on them though and I truly hope they appreciate this experience some day, even if its not for 10 – 20 years. And the parental guilt hopes that I am not doing anything damaging to their young psyches at this delicate age.

Sometimes things are pretty challenging and I get a bit lonely and depressed and wonder if we can last here until next summer and sometimes I am ready to stay here permanently, there is so much excitement, newness and "life" abounding. Oh, the ups and downs!! This is a wonderful practice for me in patience and "being present" which I am supplementing with my weekly yoga and Tai chi classes. (I've even found a group of women who are going to start weekly meditation classes).

Colin as a ghoul (boys helped
out in the "Mansion Encantada"
at the recent school party

Friends/Amigos/Bullying
Clark has been having trouble with a boy at school who is picking on him most likely because he is new, foreign and doesn't understand the language. Tough times for sure but we are working with the teachers to try and find a solution. Clark has been lucky that his best buddy speaks 4 languages (!) which is both very impressive and helpful when it comes to translation. He has already had several sleepovers at this friends house as well as had him over to our house overnight, even mid-week.

Colin has finally started to have some play dates over outside of school and even though they can't communicate fully there is the international language of video games (ie: Wii) so that helps get them started. He has yet to be invited to anyone else's home from school but I'm sure that will come and he has a birthday party invitation for this weekend (he seems to be strangely attracted to twins, just like in Seattle, as two of his best buddies are fraternal twins).

As for myself, it is slow going making good friends and although I have met many wonderful people, they all have very busy lives and their own social networks so I have barely been out without my family in tow so will have to start organizing some social gatherings to help get me out and about (I just discovered baños árabe - think Olympus day spa Seattlites -near our home so hope to make an expedition there shortly). For those of you who know me well, I am very social so miss my girlfriends terribly (if you are reading this, send me an email telling me about your happenings as you already know what I am up to!). Nat has found a few mountain bike buddies and also enjoys the company of our upstairs neighbor Olafur.



"Bloody finger" cookies made by a fellow
mom, Nat and the 6th grade students



Food
Food for the kids has been a bit of a challenge as meals here are not like at home. For starters, breakfast is small and right before school, lunch is at 2pm and dinner not until 9 or 10. And to top it off, the food here is different, particulaly from a kids perspective. Although you can certainly find American cuisine like hamburgers, pizza and nachos, they really aren't like what we eat at home. Hamburguesas are often pork, the pizza has weird, globby cheese on top and the nachos have articifical toppings. And although I am not very picky, some things are downright strange like the "tostada" the boys ordered in a small village one day which was some sort of French toast with a face on it - an oily chorizo for the nose and peppercorns for the eyes. So we are eating lots of pasta (with red sauce or pesto), potatoes and sausages, cereal, hot chocolate and a new favorite: nutella. And of course, plenty of pork. Oink, oink.



Clark and Nat prep fresh pasta at home

Travel
One of the perks of living here, is of course, being able to travel to exotic locations that are so far away from the Pacific Northwest. And as our budget for living expenses is currently a bit less than at home, we are using the extra funds to do my favorite thing: travel. We've just made plans to visit Nat's old buddy (and high school friend) Alison who lives in Firenze, Italia with her husband and two boys. Their family is one of our early insprirations for making this adventure happen as they moved to Italy (from Seattle) some 6 or 7 years ago and after years of listening to the excuses why we couldn't do such a thing (not enough $$, don't speak the language, don't know anyone there, what would our friends think....) I finally got over myself and made it happen.

(NOTE TO READER: whatever your dream, you can make it happen too. I am lucky to have very inspirational friends who have done amazing things from starting their own businesses, to moving across the country, to building their dream home, to running for office to name just a few. No excuses. Start with affirmations or meditation, write it down, just take one small step in the right direction and see what happens. You might just be surprised (see my first blog post).  

Morocco
We're also planning to head to Morocco with our Icelandic neighbors during our 2 week winter break, back in time for the Jan 6th arrival of the Three Kings, apparently a very big deal over here. The current thinking is meeting up with a guide in Tangier and travelling across country to Marrakesh where we will fly back to Spain. If nothing else, this will certainly be a wonderful adventure in the middle of our current adventure.

cumpleaños de Colin
As Colin's 9th birthday is Saturday, we have planned a small party including a "scavenger hunt" in our neighborhood, the Albayzin, and I plan to pair the spanish speaking kids with those in other languages. Then afterwards, we will have whatever families can make it over for American style pulled-pork sandwiches and fruit crisp with ice cream, a few of Colin's favorites. Stay tuned...