Tuesday 27 July 2010

The beginning of the saddest and most happy week ever.

(don't forget to read the portugal weekend post before this one! I'm just separating out the two posts, even though they are being written on the same day)This week is certainly very emotional. I feel so happy to be almost home after being away from my family for the LONGEST TIME EVER IN MY LIFE but I also feel like I am about to leave two of my cousins without knowing when I will ever see them again! It is a little heartbreaking. I have also been like a leaky faucet... getting teary at every left and right!!
Monday was the best day ever...
Carmen and Rafa and I had so much fun... They are super annoying sometimes but I just love them like crazy and even when they start fighting and practically biting each other I think it is so cute. We played about a million games of dominoes, my new favorite game, and then started lining them up to knock them down. Rafita is a huge clutz and kept knocking it all down before we had finished. At first I was frustrated because I actually wanted to finish it, but then I realized that if I was patient he actually might be able to work on his clumsiness. About a million attempts later, he finally was able to stack them all up and he was totally stoked for when we got to "officially" knock them down again!
The other really fun activity we did was making paper boxes. I would have Carmen and Rafa color on blank paper and then I would fold them up into little boxes! It was so much fun and by the end Rafita could even almost fold them up himself! Now they each have about a thousand little paper boxes. Carmen *treasures* the boxes and keeps all her little keepsakes in them! So cute!!
Lastly I decided to make a really pretty one for the housekeeper, Laura, who has helped me so much with the kids and has treated me like a granddaughter. Inside I tucked a note thanking her for her help! I gave it to her and she loved it! It was really pretty if I do say so myself... decorated with colored pencils and stuff!
In the pool we also had a ton of fun, gosh I love those two.
Then in the afternoon Kaja and I went to Madrid, in the Gay quarter. There we went into tons of cool shops before deciding to look for dinner. We ended up walking for like 2 hours trying to find a place we wanted to eat... all around Madrid!!
Then home, where I was so tired (It was like 1 AM) that I didn't have time to write the blog post!

Then came today, which was actually THE BEST DAY EVER!!!
It started out with any other day, except I was legit crying in the car ride to the abuela's house thinking about how much I was going to miss my lil Spanish family. But I hid it well under my sunglasses. Then at the house we just chilled, having fun, making boxes, watching spanish tv. I helped Rafita with some of his summer english work, which was fun because I caught several errors that the teachers made in the workbook, which the abuela got a kick out of. After the pool I lay down in the sun and Carmen lay on top of me for a nap, then started lining up all her toy horses on my stomach as I lay down. Then I would fake sneeze and they would all fall down and she thought it was hilarious.
While the Abuela was out grocery shopping, Rafita helped me with spelling and grammar as I made a card thanking the abuelos. On the front it said, "Muchas Gracias" and was decorated with flowers and designs and colored pencils and stuff. Then on the inside I wrote a note, in spanish, translated as, "My Spanish Grandparents, Thank you so much for your help and for teaching me a lot of Spanish. I will miss you both so much! Rafa helped me write this, Much love, Julia" Then I drew a cartoony Torro (A bull) with a Spanish flag in one hand and an American flag in the other. The Abuela loved it so much, every time that she looked at the cartoon Bull she started laughing. But then she got to business showing me all the grammatical errors I made!! Hahahaha. She is such a warm and wonderful Spanish Grandma, I will misssss her!!! The abuelo liked it too!
While the abuelo was driving me to the bus stop, I was telling him about how sad I was to be leaving, how I would miss Carmen and Rafita, and how I wanted them to come to Boston some day. He surprised me by saying, as If I was stupid for not knowing, that I *must* come back some time, next summer or another time. I felt so warm and happy inside, because it just felt good that they wanted me to come back! I basically started crying again then haha! No one had ever said anything to me about if I was doing a good job or whatever, so it felt good.
I went to Kaja's for a bit but then decided I wanted to get home and squeeze in some more time with my little Spanish ninos and went home early. I immediately went to the neighborhood pool where they were swimming. I hopped in and then for the next hour Carmen, Rafita, and one of their friends just climbed all over me in the pool non-stop while Maica and Rafa watched, nervous that I was minutes away from drowning due to the weight of the children dragging me down. Somehow I made it through, and it was just one of the most fun afternoons ever with them!!
We all ate dinner together. Maica was explaining to the kids that I was leaving on Saturday. Carmen and Rafa looked at her wide-eyed, asking why I had to leave... It broke. my. heart! I can't believe I only have three more days with them.
After dinner Rafita and I played some wii tennis and then I retired to write up about the best two days ever!!
I am soooo emotional, I don't know how I can say goodbye without becoming dehydrated from the huge amount of water that will be leaving my eyes. I was making a list today of all the things I would miss about Spain and it went on for several pages in my little notebook!!
But I am really excited to get home! I also am excited because on Friday afternoon Kaja's family and my family are all going to a cool castle/ monastery place together and then to dinner! Should be really fun!!
Hope these next few days are as good as the last two!!!
xoxo Julia

1 comment:

  1. What great posts Julia! I can imagine those kids are going to be SO BUMMED that the best BIG cousin ever is leaving, not to mention all the rest of the family! ...but we want you back! Can't wait to see you!

    Lots of love, El Padre

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