This is a teaser blog post... Got home from Seville at about 2:30 AM, showered because I was unbelievably disgusting and now its 3 AM and I am definitely ready to go to sleep. But, thought I would quickly post that I am home safe from Kaja and my first official weekend trip and it was SO SO much fun.
P.S. :Trivia question to be answered in next blog post:
Q: What did I find in the Bathrooms of the hostel?
xoxo Julia
Detailed and probably very long seville post to be written whenever I get the chance!!! Hopefully tomorrow or the next day.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Yulia!
Fun day today!
1) Actually today didn't start out great... I woke up sleepy as always and Carmen walked up to me with her arms outstretched. I thought she wanted to give me a hug so I opened my arms, only to have her WHACK me in the stomach. Spanish children are a lot more aggressive in their play, but I really didn't like being hit in the morning...
2) We dropped them off and then dropped me off. Today I walked to kaja's while listening to my ipod which made it more fun, because although it is a beautiful walk, it gets boring the fourth time. At Kaja's we quickly ate breakfast before heading off for the day's adventures! The goal was Madrid and we planned to go via the metro station a few minutes away from Kaja's house. We biked to the metro station, my bike about three feet to small for me and Kaja's with two extremely flat tires and hopped on! We really have become masters of Metros! We had beed planning on purchasing a "youth abono" which is a monthly metro pass... you pay like 30 euros or something and then can use it to ride free on busses, trains, trolleys, maybe even horses i dunno! But we found out that it takes 10 days to arrive, so getting it for this month would not be worth it. So we continued on to Madrid and went shopping!! We went to H&M and tried on half the things in the store. Kaja and I each bought a shirt and skirt and then we got these adorable matching polka dot dresses, hers is yellow with white dots and mine is black with pink dots. We are planning to wear them in Seville together and look soooo cute and adorable!
3) We then went into a few other shops, one really cool European store called "Mango" with really cool clothing (Maica actually told me later today that she has a 40% discount card that she will give to me to use next time I go!!) and some other stops before it was already time to go home to pick up our kids from school!! Kaja and I had so much fun, we couldn't stop laughing on the metros and people were giving us looks of annoyance but we didn't care!
4) I got on an early bus again, but this time it was sunny so when I arrived at the designated pick up point I pulled out my ipod and a friendship bracelet I am currently working on and sat in the grass in the sunshine! The abuelos picked me up at 4:45 and we went to the school. This time the Abuelo let me go get Carmen but he got Rafa. Carmen promptly started whailing on me with her fists again (I so don't get it) and laughing like a maniac and in the car Rafa joined in. I stopped them and said very clearly that I dont like pain, shocker, and the abuela actually helped me in getting them to stop!! They have not abused me since! At the abuela's house first we watched some spanish children's tv shows including Arthur!! It was one I had never seen before and it was about the Odyssey! I love watching spanish children's shows because they are so easy to understand and lots of fun! Then I played dominoes with Carmen until Maica picked us up.
5) No one ever tells me what the plan of the afternoon is, I just get in the car and it's always a surprise where we end up. Today we ended up at Burger King! One of Maica's friends, Sara, was there with her adorable adorable son. it was Sara's birthday and so I guess they wanted to get together. It was actually really fun because a) I got a delicious American cheeseburger b) I successfully got Carmen to eat her dinner without Maica's help, c) Carmen, Rafa Jr, the other boy and I played on the little indoor play structure at Burger King so Maica and Sara could have some chatting time and it was really fun! They were being so sweet and cute and kept saying, "Yulia mira!" (Julia look) d) I really think that I have already helped them learn so much english, now when I say some things I can tell they totally understand! Sometimes they even answer me in english, like "yes" or "dog" or "Thank you" or "goodbye see you later!" I feel so accomplished!
6) The ride home was really fun too because no one fought! The kids favorite song of mine is the bumble bee song and I sang it over an over again. By the end of the ride they were singing along too and doing the hand motions! We got home with everyone happy and full of delicious friend American food.
7) Rafa Sr was leaving that night to go to a work thing over night, which I must say also eased the energy in the house because he can be pretty strict but with only Maica there everyone was relaxed, plus the kids were sleeping in Maica's bed. We hung around the kitchen for a while, then I showed Carmen and Rafa "Photobooth" on my computer. They had so much fun taking funny pictures on my computer, I'll see if I can figure out how to add one to this post!
8) Now I'm all ready to go to bed, but first I need to write five mini essays to apply to Umass's honor's college! I'm not sure that I want to join, because I have heard that a lot of people don't like it, but I figure I might as well apply! The application is due Monday, but since I am going to Seville all weekend, I won't have time time!
9) Tomorrow Kaja and I are going to Seville!! Maica lent me her camera for the weekend so I can take lots of photos! I'll be sure to show everyone. However, this weekend trip means there wont be another juliablah post until either Monday or Sunday!! Sorry everyone :)
P.s. I am getting so good at understanding Spanish!! It's not even that difficult to understand! But speaking is another story haha... I have trouble with my past tense verbs.
p.p.s. KAJA's QUOTE OF THE DAY!!: i am too exhausted from dealing with two scoundrels to think of a quote
p.p.p.s. I Miss everyone!!!!!
First picture is of me, carmen and rafa, second is just me and Carmen!
P.p.p.p.s. They don't really say Hulia or even Julia, they say Yulia... I think it's because they try to pronounce the J and it turns out like a y! (Dad this doesn't mean I'm going to become an incompetent car saleswoman.)
1) Actually today didn't start out great... I woke up sleepy as always and Carmen walked up to me with her arms outstretched. I thought she wanted to give me a hug so I opened my arms, only to have her WHACK me in the stomach. Spanish children are a lot more aggressive in their play, but I really didn't like being hit in the morning...
2) We dropped them off and then dropped me off. Today I walked to kaja's while listening to my ipod which made it more fun, because although it is a beautiful walk, it gets boring the fourth time. At Kaja's we quickly ate breakfast before heading off for the day's adventures! The goal was Madrid and we planned to go via the metro station a few minutes away from Kaja's house. We biked to the metro station, my bike about three feet to small for me and Kaja's with two extremely flat tires and hopped on! We really have become masters of Metros! We had beed planning on purchasing a "youth abono" which is a monthly metro pass... you pay like 30 euros or something and then can use it to ride free on busses, trains, trolleys, maybe even horses i dunno! But we found out that it takes 10 days to arrive, so getting it for this month would not be worth it. So we continued on to Madrid and went shopping!! We went to H&M and tried on half the things in the store. Kaja and I each bought a shirt and skirt and then we got these adorable matching polka dot dresses, hers is yellow with white dots and mine is black with pink dots. We are planning to wear them in Seville together and look soooo cute and adorable!
3) We then went into a few other shops, one really cool European store called "Mango" with really cool clothing (Maica actually told me later today that she has a 40% discount card that she will give to me to use next time I go!!) and some other stops before it was already time to go home to pick up our kids from school!! Kaja and I had so much fun, we couldn't stop laughing on the metros and people were giving us looks of annoyance but we didn't care!
4) I got on an early bus again, but this time it was sunny so when I arrived at the designated pick up point I pulled out my ipod and a friendship bracelet I am currently working on and sat in the grass in the sunshine! The abuelos picked me up at 4:45 and we went to the school. This time the Abuelo let me go get Carmen but he got Rafa. Carmen promptly started whailing on me with her fists again (I so don't get it) and laughing like a maniac and in the car Rafa joined in. I stopped them and said very clearly that I dont like pain, shocker, and the abuela actually helped me in getting them to stop!! They have not abused me since! At the abuela's house first we watched some spanish children's tv shows including Arthur!! It was one I had never seen before and it was about the Odyssey! I love watching spanish children's shows because they are so easy to understand and lots of fun! Then I played dominoes with Carmen until Maica picked us up.
5) No one ever tells me what the plan of the afternoon is, I just get in the car and it's always a surprise where we end up. Today we ended up at Burger King! One of Maica's friends, Sara, was there with her adorable adorable son. it was Sara's birthday and so I guess they wanted to get together. It was actually really fun because a) I got a delicious American cheeseburger b) I successfully got Carmen to eat her dinner without Maica's help, c) Carmen, Rafa Jr, the other boy and I played on the little indoor play structure at Burger King so Maica and Sara could have some chatting time and it was really fun! They were being so sweet and cute and kept saying, "Yulia mira!" (Julia look) d) I really think that I have already helped them learn so much english, now when I say some things I can tell they totally understand! Sometimes they even answer me in english, like "yes" or "dog" or "Thank you" or "goodbye see you later!" I feel so accomplished!
6) The ride home was really fun too because no one fought! The kids favorite song of mine is the bumble bee song and I sang it over an over again. By the end of the ride they were singing along too and doing the hand motions! We got home with everyone happy and full of delicious friend American food.
7) Rafa Sr was leaving that night to go to a work thing over night, which I must say also eased the energy in the house because he can be pretty strict but with only Maica there everyone was relaxed, plus the kids were sleeping in Maica's bed. We hung around the kitchen for a while, then I showed Carmen and Rafa "Photobooth" on my computer. They had so much fun taking funny pictures on my computer, I'll see if I can figure out how to add one to this post!
8) Now I'm all ready to go to bed, but first I need to write five mini essays to apply to Umass's honor's college! I'm not sure that I want to join, because I have heard that a lot of people don't like it, but I figure I might as well apply! The application is due Monday, but since I am going to Seville all weekend, I won't have time time!
9) Tomorrow Kaja and I are going to Seville!! Maica lent me her camera for the weekend so I can take lots of photos! I'll be sure to show everyone. However, this weekend trip means there wont be another juliablah post until either Monday or Sunday!! Sorry everyone :)
P.s. I am getting so good at understanding Spanish!! It's not even that difficult to understand! But speaking is another story haha... I have trouble with my past tense verbs.
p.p.s. KAJA's QUOTE OF THE DAY!!: i am too exhausted from dealing with two scoundrels to think of a quote
p.p.p.s. I Miss everyone!!!!!
First picture is of me, carmen and rafa, second is just me and Carmen!
P.p.p.p.s. They don't really say Hulia or even Julia, they say Yulia... I think it's because they try to pronounce the J and it turns out like a y! (Dad this doesn't mean I'm going to become an incompetent car saleswoman.)
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Kaja and my new favorite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHGecjIgJ70
The girl is Scarlett Johansson!
Sooo today was really rainy and I was so tired... so I'm going to try to make this short so I can go to sleep! This morning at Kaja's we walked to the nearby supermarket to get some groceries and stuff. This grocery store was so so different than in America... much less variety, pancake mix sold in boxes labeled "tortillas americanas," and whole pig legs hanging behind the deli counter with their hooves still attached!! With out newly purchased groceries Kaja and I made chocolate chip cookies! Its funny, Kaja's Au Padre stocks up on the strangest foods but doesnt keep the kitchen supplied with basic necessities like butter, eggs, and Sugar! We had to be a bit inventive with our cookies but in the end they turned out delicious!! Because it was so rainy that was about all we did, it was a sleepy morning.
I then took the bus to the school area but I wound up there way too early so I had to wait in the rain for a good 45 minutes. I had an umbrella but it was still pretty miserable. The Abuela came to get me with the Abuelo, but when we got to the school the Abuelo told me he wanted me to stay in the car, he wanted to go get them alone. He explained that when I am there, Carmen yells, "Julia!!!" and he wanted her to yell "Abuelo!!" instead. I let him go alone of course, I was just as happy to sit in the warm car, but inside I was thinking, "Are you kidding me?" He got Carmen (Rafa Jr was staying late at school again today) and when we got to the Abuela's house she and I went into the basement where there are lots of toys. I must admit I just kinda sat there being tired and spacing out while Carmen entertained herself with lots of stuffed animals... not my best Au Pair moment. Then Maica came with Rafa and took us all home. I don't know if it was the rain or everyone was just tired, but Rafa and Carmen started fighting like crazy in the car until everyone was SOBBING and Maica looked like she was thinking about driving off a bridge. Somehow we made it back to the house with everyone in one piece and then things started going uphill.
Carmen had a time out in her room to cool off, while Rafa and I played some board games. When Carmen came back she was much more cheerful and she joined us for Rummy cube! Carmen and I played on a team against Rafa. I am actually really good at Rummy cube and for once didn't go easy (after all, if I win with Carmen it's ok in my book) and both Rafa Sr and Maica came to try to help Rafa Jr out, but I was still creaming him. Of course, as is typical with Rummy Cube and little kids, the game never really ends with a winner because sooner or later someone decides to roll in the pieces! It was good timing though because it was dinner!
Maica made this delicious Spanish rice dish that I loved! Actually Maica's cooking is really funny because she cooks with this machine, the "Thermomix 31" and yes it is just as goofy as the name. This machine cooks, mixes, chops, times, weighs, and even comes with a cookbook full of easy recipes to make in it. Maica says she hates cooking but in the Thermomix it is easy! The food is always really yummy so it's fine with me! I also brought some cookies home for everyone so they were very happy.
That's about all that happened today, hopefully tomorrow I will be more awake!!
xoxoxx Julia
The girl is Scarlett Johansson!
Sooo today was really rainy and I was so tired... so I'm going to try to make this short so I can go to sleep! This morning at Kaja's we walked to the nearby supermarket to get some groceries and stuff. This grocery store was so so different than in America... much less variety, pancake mix sold in boxes labeled "tortillas americanas," and whole pig legs hanging behind the deli counter with their hooves still attached!! With out newly purchased groceries Kaja and I made chocolate chip cookies! Its funny, Kaja's Au Padre stocks up on the strangest foods but doesnt keep the kitchen supplied with basic necessities like butter, eggs, and Sugar! We had to be a bit inventive with our cookies but in the end they turned out delicious!! Because it was so rainy that was about all we did, it was a sleepy morning.
I then took the bus to the school area but I wound up there way too early so I had to wait in the rain for a good 45 minutes. I had an umbrella but it was still pretty miserable. The Abuela came to get me with the Abuelo, but when we got to the school the Abuelo told me he wanted me to stay in the car, he wanted to go get them alone. He explained that when I am there, Carmen yells, "Julia!!!" and he wanted her to yell "Abuelo!!" instead. I let him go alone of course, I was just as happy to sit in the warm car, but inside I was thinking, "Are you kidding me?" He got Carmen (Rafa Jr was staying late at school again today) and when we got to the Abuela's house she and I went into the basement where there are lots of toys. I must admit I just kinda sat there being tired and spacing out while Carmen entertained herself with lots of stuffed animals... not my best Au Pair moment. Then Maica came with Rafa and took us all home. I don't know if it was the rain or everyone was just tired, but Rafa and Carmen started fighting like crazy in the car until everyone was SOBBING and Maica looked like she was thinking about driving off a bridge. Somehow we made it back to the house with everyone in one piece and then things started going uphill.
Carmen had a time out in her room to cool off, while Rafa and I played some board games. When Carmen came back she was much more cheerful and she joined us for Rummy cube! Carmen and I played on a team against Rafa. I am actually really good at Rummy cube and for once didn't go easy (after all, if I win with Carmen it's ok in my book) and both Rafa Sr and Maica came to try to help Rafa Jr out, but I was still creaming him. Of course, as is typical with Rummy Cube and little kids, the game never really ends with a winner because sooner or later someone decides to roll in the pieces! It was good timing though because it was dinner!
Maica made this delicious Spanish rice dish that I loved! Actually Maica's cooking is really funny because she cooks with this machine, the "Thermomix 31" and yes it is just as goofy as the name. This machine cooks, mixes, chops, times, weighs, and even comes with a cookbook full of easy recipes to make in it. Maica says she hates cooking but in the Thermomix it is easy! The food is always really yummy so it's fine with me! I also brought some cookies home for everyone so they were very happy.
That's about all that happened today, hopefully tomorrow I will be more awake!!
xoxoxx Julia
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
RAIN in SPAIN? (stays mainly in the plain)
Hola! Today was some good, some stress, mostly good.
1) Today was another 7:30 AM wake up, not as difficult as I would have thought because I am excited every day to get going. I am definitely feeling more comfortable in the house... little things like feeling confident enough in the kitchen to grab a glass and put oj in it with ice, just the way I like it, instead of timidly waiting for someone to invite me to help myself. Then as usual Maica dropped the kids off at school and then me off at the mouth of the path to Kaja's. (Kaja just informed me that there are 5 types of poisonous snakes in Spain... Soooo that sucks) I don't know if I have just become a master navigator of paths or I walked especially quickly, but I made it to Kaja's house in about a half hour. So quickly in fact, that I arrived while Kaja was still there! Part of Kaja's responsibilities is to bike her kids to their schools. Pablo (or Pablete to differentiate him from Pablo Sr) is 2 and SO hilarious and cute and rides on the back of Kaja's bike, while Sara who is 6 and very cute as well but significantly more difficult to manage rides her own bike. This morning, in typical fashion, Sara wanted to bring her prized toy, handcuffs (i dont know why) to school, but her mom (Patricia) had said no, leaving Kaja to enforce it. Sara does NOT respond well to not getting her way. Sooo although 9:30 is when Sara was supposed to be at school, it ended up being the time they were leaving to go to school. (Shout out to Kaja... I feel your pain).
2) Anyways, having just hiked the vast Sahara Spanish plains, I decided to go in Kaja's house and wait for her to get back. It was a nice relaxing time, I just bummed around on Kaja's computer while sitting in this nice indoor porch kind of place, drinking some juice. Kaja got back and we had some breakfast, then decided to tackle the enormous challenge of planning out our weekends for the rest of the summer.
3) This turned out to be very stressful and time consuming, not to mention extremely aggravating because the internet was a bit dodgy and many of the websites we were trying to use were either a) Not working properly b) not making any sense c) In Spanish or d) all of the above. In addition, we only have 7 weekends but about 20 places we would like to go. The places we are most determined to go to are: Seville, Grenada, Barcelona, Morocco, Portugal, and one weekend around Madrid, Toledo and Segovia, one weekend not yet decided upon.
And NOW... KAJA's QUOTE OF THE DAY!!!!
"trying to buy eurail pass is enough of a hassel, add the confusion of not knowing spanish and it is impossible. i think i would rather ride a horse!"
Yayyy! Actually in real life we were trying to find a way to hit two places in one weekend by riding horses from one to another... then we realized that neither of us are really horse riders nor do we have the time or money for a 9 day horse adventure. Oh well.
4) Eventually we settled on just figuring out this coming weekend in Seville. We found an extremely cheap bus ride (six hours! Ay dios mio) and booked a hostel so it looks like we are good to go! Then we congratulated ourselves with a bowl of popcorn!
5) I left at about 3:15 to catch the bus to Las Lomas, where Carmen and Rafa's school was and where the abuela would pick us up. It all worked out that the abuela and I were about 20 min early to pick them up, which was pretty awkward because we didn't really have anything to talk about (what with the language barrier and all) so we just kinda sat there, her doing a sudoku and me making a list of songs to sing to Carmen and Rafa in my notebook. Then finnnnnally it was time to get the kiddies so we picked them up and drove back to the abuela's house. I played basketball with Rafa and it was very fun, of course I let him beat me (Not saying that I am especially good at Basketball... it's just hard not to sink every shot when the net is as high as my head). It was really fun though! Then Maica drove up to pick us up just as it started to rain! I thought that Kaja must be very happy with the rain because she has been here for a few weeks and said she misses the rain, but for me I was very NOT happy in my shorts and t-shirt. I was pretty cold. It is supposed to rain tomorrow too! Bummer.
6) Maica took us to some other woman's house, I forget her name. Rafa is having a joint birthday party type thing with the other woman's son on Saturday (I wont be there) and the two mothers were planning treasure hunts and such. This family had three sons and an Au Pair too from around Boston! She just graduated college and was really nice. They had lots of toys and games, including a foozeball table. I played with Rafa, who was pretty good... I almost didnt have to try to lose. Haha. Then I played against Carmen who was completely incompetent at foozeball... I like to be nice to kids and let them win, but literally I would not touch the ball and she still could not maneuver the little soccer players to get the ball into my goals. So I had to resort to "accidentally" shooting the ball into my own goal about 7 times so she could win without the game taking an eternity. Oy!
7) We left at around 7:30 PM when it was still raining to go home. Rafa Sr was making dinner, aka microwaving a roasted chicken (haha pretty far from your legit roasted chicken mum). As always, kids dinner was first. I have never seen someone struggle with eating chicken ever before as Rafa Jr did with his dinner tonight. He gagged, he coughed, he cried... I dont know what his problem with chicken was, but that boy did NOT want to eat it and his parents made him finish every single last bite. When I asked Kaja for her quote of the day, she asked me for mine. I said, "The life of a spain traveler is tough, but not as difficult as getting a wee boy of 7 to eat his chicken." Heehee.
8) While Rafa was fighting his epic battle with his small mound of chicken, I helped Carmen into bed, she didn't want to sleep, so I told her I would sing her a song. I sang "Somewhere over the rainbow" and literally when I left her room she was asleep. I rock! Unfortunately, then Rafa joined her and woke her up. (Normally they have separate rooms, but now I am in Rafa's room so they are sharing, consequently neither of them go to sleep very well or stay asleep very well) The Au Pairents and I sat down for dinner, the chicken actually was yummy, much to my relief after seeing Rafa practically go into epileptic shock with every bite. I helped clean up after dinner and talked a bunch with the Au padre about Kaja and my plans for travel. I mentioned how we were trying to go to lots of places because its a rare opportunity to be in Spain for the summer. Rafa Sr has always been pretty quiet around me, I sometimes thought he didnt like me or thought I wasn't worth having around or something, but then he said, "But next summer you can come back!" or something to that effect, which just made me feel really welcomed and assured me that I was liked! Now I am exhausted and ready for bed. Buenas noches!
Julia
1) Today was another 7:30 AM wake up, not as difficult as I would have thought because I am excited every day to get going. I am definitely feeling more comfortable in the house... little things like feeling confident enough in the kitchen to grab a glass and put oj in it with ice, just the way I like it, instead of timidly waiting for someone to invite me to help myself. Then as usual Maica dropped the kids off at school and then me off at the mouth of the path to Kaja's. (Kaja just informed me that there are 5 types of poisonous snakes in Spain... Soooo that sucks) I don't know if I have just become a master navigator of paths or I walked especially quickly, but I made it to Kaja's house in about a half hour. So quickly in fact, that I arrived while Kaja was still there! Part of Kaja's responsibilities is to bike her kids to their schools. Pablo (or Pablete to differentiate him from Pablo Sr) is 2 and SO hilarious and cute and rides on the back of Kaja's bike, while Sara who is 6 and very cute as well but significantly more difficult to manage rides her own bike. This morning, in typical fashion, Sara wanted to bring her prized toy, handcuffs (i dont know why) to school, but her mom (Patricia) had said no, leaving Kaja to enforce it. Sara does NOT respond well to not getting her way. Sooo although 9:30 is when Sara was supposed to be at school, it ended up being the time they were leaving to go to school. (Shout out to Kaja... I feel your pain).
2) Anyways, having just hiked the vast Sahara Spanish plains, I decided to go in Kaja's house and wait for her to get back. It was a nice relaxing time, I just bummed around on Kaja's computer while sitting in this nice indoor porch kind of place, drinking some juice. Kaja got back and we had some breakfast, then decided to tackle the enormous challenge of planning out our weekends for the rest of the summer.
3) This turned out to be very stressful and time consuming, not to mention extremely aggravating because the internet was a bit dodgy and many of the websites we were trying to use were either a) Not working properly b) not making any sense c) In Spanish or d) all of the above. In addition, we only have 7 weekends but about 20 places we would like to go. The places we are most determined to go to are: Seville, Grenada, Barcelona, Morocco, Portugal, and one weekend around Madrid, Toledo and Segovia, one weekend not yet decided upon.
And NOW... KAJA's QUOTE OF THE DAY!!!!
"trying to buy eurail pass is enough of a hassel, add the confusion of not knowing spanish and it is impossible. i think i would rather ride a horse!"
Yayyy! Actually in real life we were trying to find a way to hit two places in one weekend by riding horses from one to another... then we realized that neither of us are really horse riders nor do we have the time or money for a 9 day horse adventure. Oh well.
4) Eventually we settled on just figuring out this coming weekend in Seville. We found an extremely cheap bus ride (six hours! Ay dios mio) and booked a hostel so it looks like we are good to go! Then we congratulated ourselves with a bowl of popcorn!
5) I left at about 3:15 to catch the bus to Las Lomas, where Carmen and Rafa's school was and where the abuela would pick us up. It all worked out that the abuela and I were about 20 min early to pick them up, which was pretty awkward because we didn't really have anything to talk about (what with the language barrier and all) so we just kinda sat there, her doing a sudoku and me making a list of songs to sing to Carmen and Rafa in my notebook. Then finnnnnally it was time to get the kiddies so we picked them up and drove back to the abuela's house. I played basketball with Rafa and it was very fun, of course I let him beat me (Not saying that I am especially good at Basketball... it's just hard not to sink every shot when the net is as high as my head). It was really fun though! Then Maica drove up to pick us up just as it started to rain! I thought that Kaja must be very happy with the rain because she has been here for a few weeks and said she misses the rain, but for me I was very NOT happy in my shorts and t-shirt. I was pretty cold. It is supposed to rain tomorrow too! Bummer.
6) Maica took us to some other woman's house, I forget her name. Rafa is having a joint birthday party type thing with the other woman's son on Saturday (I wont be there) and the two mothers were planning treasure hunts and such. This family had three sons and an Au Pair too from around Boston! She just graduated college and was really nice. They had lots of toys and games, including a foozeball table. I played with Rafa, who was pretty good... I almost didnt have to try to lose. Haha. Then I played against Carmen who was completely incompetent at foozeball... I like to be nice to kids and let them win, but literally I would not touch the ball and she still could not maneuver the little soccer players to get the ball into my goals. So I had to resort to "accidentally" shooting the ball into my own goal about 7 times so she could win without the game taking an eternity. Oy!
7) We left at around 7:30 PM when it was still raining to go home. Rafa Sr was making dinner, aka microwaving a roasted chicken (haha pretty far from your legit roasted chicken mum). As always, kids dinner was first. I have never seen someone struggle with eating chicken ever before as Rafa Jr did with his dinner tonight. He gagged, he coughed, he cried... I dont know what his problem with chicken was, but that boy did NOT want to eat it and his parents made him finish every single last bite. When I asked Kaja for her quote of the day, she asked me for mine. I said, "The life of a spain traveler is tough, but not as difficult as getting a wee boy of 7 to eat his chicken." Heehee.
8) While Rafa was fighting his epic battle with his small mound of chicken, I helped Carmen into bed, she didn't want to sleep, so I told her I would sing her a song. I sang "Somewhere over the rainbow" and literally when I left her room she was asleep. I rock! Unfortunately, then Rafa joined her and woke her up. (Normally they have separate rooms, but now I am in Rafa's room so they are sharing, consequently neither of them go to sleep very well or stay asleep very well) The Au Pairents and I sat down for dinner, the chicken actually was yummy, much to my relief after seeing Rafa practically go into epileptic shock with every bite. I helped clean up after dinner and talked a bunch with the Au padre about Kaja and my plans for travel. I mentioned how we were trying to go to lots of places because its a rare opportunity to be in Spain for the summer. Rafa Sr has always been pretty quiet around me, I sometimes thought he didnt like me or thought I wasn't worth having around or something, but then he said, "But next summer you can come back!" or something to that effect, which just made me feel really welcomed and assured me that I was liked! Now I am exhausted and ready for bed. Buenas noches!
Julia
Monday, 7 June 2010
First day on da job
I am so glad today is over with because now I know what to expect for the next month. Basically the month of June is when the kids are still in school so my schedule goes: -free time (aka Kaja's house)
-catch a bus to near the Kid's school
-get picked up by Abuela
-hang with kids
-help feed, bath, and bed kids
-dinner with au-pairents
-blog post.
The month of July is basically the opposite because that's when the kids are on summer vacation. So I am with them doing whatever we want from 8-3 and then after three I am on break.
So! On to today's adventures.
1) I woke up at 7:30AM to go to Kaja's. I could have slept in and taken a long, indirect bus journey to Kaja's but I thought I'd rather get going. So I managed to get dressed and going despite this being the first time I was awake this early since high school. Then I sat with Carmen and Rafa as they ate some breakfast (they were both very pumped that Rafa Nadal, their Spanish tennis hero, won yesterday in France) and then helped Maica stuff them and their school stuff into the car to drive them to school. They have to wear the most adorable school uniforms, him in little grey Bermuda shorts and a white collared shirt and her in a little pleated grey skirt with overall straps and the same white collared shirt, both of them in black knee socks with black shiny shoes. On the way to their school they asked me to sing some more songs, so I sang them "bringing home a baby bumble bee," "The itsy bitsy spider" and, of course, "Colors of the wind" from Pocahontas. We dropped them off and then Maica dropped me off at a rotary on her way to work so I would have to walk the rest of the way to Kaja's house on my own.
2) The walk to Kaja's house is through this huge vast green foresty grassy area with lots of connecting paths for walking. But it is just so amazing because there are hardly any other people and no roads, cars, or houses to be seen so it feels like you are in the middle of africa with the sun shining down on you. I thought it was cool until I realized that I had no idea if I was even heading in the right direction and I almost stepped on a big black snake in the middle of the path... ew. I had a map with me but the map didnt have the paths accurately drawn so it was very unhelpful. Eventually after about 50 minutes of walking I made my way to a street (without encountering any other life threatening animals) and on my map realized I had taken the most round-about route but at least I got there!! When I got to Kaja's house she was out dropping her kids off at school so I waited outside in the shade and rested for about 15 minutes until she got home.
3) First we ate breakfast, I had some cereal that was delicious. Then we decided to watch a kid's movie that we both loved, but dubbed in spanish with spanish sub-titles so we could strengthen our skills. We decided on Tarzan, a great movie... only problem was that about 15 minutes in to the movie, both of us were asleep! We needed a nap, being an au pair is hard work! After we woke up we decided to walk to the nearby town of Bodilla to get some things at a Pharmacia. Conveniently the walk to Bodilla was the path that I should have taken this morning so I got to see what the most efficient path was (turns out it takes about 45 minutes anyways). When we got to Bodilla we realized that we barely had time to look around before we had to head back because it was getting close to when I had to leave to catch my bus. Even so we glanced around the old side of Bodilla, which is pretty empty and run down. Then we walked the 45 minutes back and I just had time to make myself a quick sandwich before I had to run out and catch my bus!
4) I got the bus and somehow explained to the bus driver where I wanted to be dropped off (literally I pointed the spot on the map). He was really nice and took me exactly there... not even a real bus stop! I arrived perfectly on time and Abuela (Maica's mom) was waiting for me in a car. The kid's school is about 10 minutes away from Abuela's house and ends an hour before Maica is done with work so Abuela always picks them up. We then had about an hour before the school was done so Abuela sat me down on the couch and put the tv remote in my hand and left me alone in a dark cool room. It was SO nice. I watch a spanish news show and tried not to fall asleep again.
5) We left at 4:45 to go pick up Carmen (Rafa jr. was stays late for something on Mon and Weds) and it was SO cute because as soon as we entered the school building Carmen RAN over to me and hugged my waist. Definitely made my day! We then went to Abuela's house again because turns out the ENTIRE local family and friends were coming over to swim and also I think to meet me. They weren't coming back for like an hour so Carmen and I just played around outside until they arrived. I couldn't exactly follow the relation of everyone who stopped by, but I know there were two teenage girl cousins, and about two young boy cousins, and I think two aunts. They all were really nice and we swam in the pool for a little while. Around then I realized that my hours of walking in the sun left me with very red shoulders... oh well, the curse of the pale. A little later Maica showed up with Rafa too.
6) The four of us went home at some time I dont know, the car ride consisting of me singing more songs for them and speaking to them in really basic English. We got home and I bathed Carmen and then kept her and Rafa Jr company as they ate dinner at about 9:20 PM. SO Late! Maica did tell me that she wants them in bed by 9, but it almost never happens. But their dinner was really really great for me because I talked with Rafa jr a lot more and made him laugh too, because up until then I hadn't really connected with him, just Carmen. They requested that I sing more, but I would stop every time they stopped eating, therefore encouraging them to finish dinner! They finally were done at about 10 PM and I put them in bed and read to them two more pages of Fin M'Coul before leaving them to sleep and joining the au-pairents for dinner. We ate some pizza and tomatoes with olive oil, with pineapple for dessert. Yum yum. (Side note- another spanish thing is the men stock up like crazy on the most random foods, Kaja's Au-padre bought like 4 Huge tubs of greek yogurt, 30 little individual yogurts, and so many fruits that they had to through tons of it away because it went bad, and my Au-padre stocked up on about 20 frozen pizzas because they were on sale). I helped the au-pairents clean up after dinner and that was it for the day!
7) Kaja and I have decided to leave for Seville on Friday morning! We are staying in a cheap-o hostel and I am SO excited! Also the weather forecast predicts a nice, sunny yet cool, weekend which is perfect because Seville often gets crazy hot. I am having such a good time here! Love you all!
Julia
-catch a bus to near the Kid's school
-get picked up by Abuela
-hang with kids
-help feed, bath, and bed kids
-dinner with au-pairents
-blog post.
The month of July is basically the opposite because that's when the kids are on summer vacation. So I am with them doing whatever we want from 8-3 and then after three I am on break.
So! On to today's adventures.
1) I woke up at 7:30AM to go to Kaja's. I could have slept in and taken a long, indirect bus journey to Kaja's but I thought I'd rather get going. So I managed to get dressed and going despite this being the first time I was awake this early since high school. Then I sat with Carmen and Rafa as they ate some breakfast (they were both very pumped that Rafa Nadal, their Spanish tennis hero, won yesterday in France) and then helped Maica stuff them and their school stuff into the car to drive them to school. They have to wear the most adorable school uniforms, him in little grey Bermuda shorts and a white collared shirt and her in a little pleated grey skirt with overall straps and the same white collared shirt, both of them in black knee socks with black shiny shoes. On the way to their school they asked me to sing some more songs, so I sang them "bringing home a baby bumble bee," "The itsy bitsy spider" and, of course, "Colors of the wind" from Pocahontas. We dropped them off and then Maica dropped me off at a rotary on her way to work so I would have to walk the rest of the way to Kaja's house on my own.
2) The walk to Kaja's house is through this huge vast green foresty grassy area with lots of connecting paths for walking. But it is just so amazing because there are hardly any other people and no roads, cars, or houses to be seen so it feels like you are in the middle of africa with the sun shining down on you. I thought it was cool until I realized that I had no idea if I was even heading in the right direction and I almost stepped on a big black snake in the middle of the path... ew. I had a map with me but the map didnt have the paths accurately drawn so it was very unhelpful. Eventually after about 50 minutes of walking I made my way to a street (without encountering any other life threatening animals) and on my map realized I had taken the most round-about route but at least I got there!! When I got to Kaja's house she was out dropping her kids off at school so I waited outside in the shade and rested for about 15 minutes until she got home.
3) First we ate breakfast, I had some cereal that was delicious. Then we decided to watch a kid's movie that we both loved, but dubbed in spanish with spanish sub-titles so we could strengthen our skills. We decided on Tarzan, a great movie... only problem was that about 15 minutes in to the movie, both of us were asleep! We needed a nap, being an au pair is hard work! After we woke up we decided to walk to the nearby town of Bodilla to get some things at a Pharmacia. Conveniently the walk to Bodilla was the path that I should have taken this morning so I got to see what the most efficient path was (turns out it takes about 45 minutes anyways). When we got to Bodilla we realized that we barely had time to look around before we had to head back because it was getting close to when I had to leave to catch my bus. Even so we glanced around the old side of Bodilla, which is pretty empty and run down. Then we walked the 45 minutes back and I just had time to make myself a quick sandwich before I had to run out and catch my bus!
4) I got the bus and somehow explained to the bus driver where I wanted to be dropped off (literally I pointed the spot on the map). He was really nice and took me exactly there... not even a real bus stop! I arrived perfectly on time and Abuela (Maica's mom) was waiting for me in a car. The kid's school is about 10 minutes away from Abuela's house and ends an hour before Maica is done with work so Abuela always picks them up. We then had about an hour before the school was done so Abuela sat me down on the couch and put the tv remote in my hand and left me alone in a dark cool room. It was SO nice. I watch a spanish news show and tried not to fall asleep again.
5) We left at 4:45 to go pick up Carmen (Rafa jr. was stays late for something on Mon and Weds) and it was SO cute because as soon as we entered the school building Carmen RAN over to me and hugged my waist. Definitely made my day! We then went to Abuela's house again because turns out the ENTIRE local family and friends were coming over to swim and also I think to meet me. They weren't coming back for like an hour so Carmen and I just played around outside until they arrived. I couldn't exactly follow the relation of everyone who stopped by, but I know there were two teenage girl cousins, and about two young boy cousins, and I think two aunts. They all were really nice and we swam in the pool for a little while. Around then I realized that my hours of walking in the sun left me with very red shoulders... oh well, the curse of the pale. A little later Maica showed up with Rafa too.
6) The four of us went home at some time I dont know, the car ride consisting of me singing more songs for them and speaking to them in really basic English. We got home and I bathed Carmen and then kept her and Rafa Jr company as they ate dinner at about 9:20 PM. SO Late! Maica did tell me that she wants them in bed by 9, but it almost never happens. But their dinner was really really great for me because I talked with Rafa jr a lot more and made him laugh too, because up until then I hadn't really connected with him, just Carmen. They requested that I sing more, but I would stop every time they stopped eating, therefore encouraging them to finish dinner! They finally were done at about 10 PM and I put them in bed and read to them two more pages of Fin M'Coul before leaving them to sleep and joining the au-pairents for dinner. We ate some pizza and tomatoes with olive oil, with pineapple for dessert. Yum yum. (Side note- another spanish thing is the men stock up like crazy on the most random foods, Kaja's Au-padre bought like 4 Huge tubs of greek yogurt, 30 little individual yogurts, and so many fruits that they had to through tons of it away because it went bad, and my Au-padre stocked up on about 20 frozen pizzas because they were on sale). I helped the au-pairents clean up after dinner and that was it for the day!
7) Kaja and I have decided to leave for Seville on Friday morning! We are staying in a cheap-o hostel and I am SO excited! Also the weather forecast predicts a nice, sunny yet cool, weekend which is perfect because Seville often gets crazy hot. I am having such a good time here! Love you all!
Julia
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Day in Madrid!
So! Today was such a fun day. I like writing in lists, by the way. (Warning... this post is sooo long.)
1) First I went with my au-pairents (get it, au pair/ parents) and kids to a local mall area, where they got me a prepaid cell phone! I still haven't figured out how to use it, but still, at least now I am not in the dinosaur age anymore.
2) Side note: My Au-pairents are Maica and Rafa. Maica is the mom and she is so so nice, and Rafa is the dad, short for Rafael I think. Rafa is kinda stand-offish but he is really nice and really puts a lot of effort into helping me figure out things around spain, like the metro, buses, and my wee prepaid cellphone. Rafa is also the name of the son, who is 7. He is so so full of energy, and likes attention, poop, pee, farts, and burps. Aka he is exactly like an american boy. But he is also so so sweet and I really like him. Carmen is the little 4 year old girl. She also likes to be a little naughty and play tricks, but is so sweet and adorable. She smiles and giggles all the time. I really like them both! Neither of the kids speak english, but the parents want me to teach the kids english, so I say everything in english and then in spanish and try to name as many things as I can!
3) That was a long side note, anyways. Then Rafa Sr. drove me to Kaja's house, picked up Kaja, and dropped us off at her local metro stop. Kaja and I somehow maneuvered the ticket machines and got me a ticket before we hopped on a metro and went to Madrid!!
4) We got off at "Plaza del Sol" which is in the very middle of Madrid. We wandered around a bit first, stopping at some interesting clothing shops and the Harbio gummy bear store, before we decided to find our way to El Rastro (more about this later.)
5) Turns out, I am quite decent at reading maps and following them! We walked for around 15 minutes to get to El Rastro. The middle of Madrid is a super tourist place with lots of funny touristy things lining the streets. There are people coating the sidewalks offering to paint you, massage you, and even give you acupuncture right on the street!!! There are also people dressed up all over the place in costumes, like this really fat man we saw wearing a spandex spiderman costume... ew.
6) We got to El Rastro! El Rastro is a huge flea market in Madrid every Sunday in the morning and a HUGE tourist spot. But it is also a prime prime pickpocketing zone. Everyone knows it too- if you stopped and looked around, every single woman was clutching her purse to her chest. Kaja and I didn't buy anything (I was afraid to even take out my wallet) but we walked up and down the many rows of tents looking at all the things for sale. There were lots of amazing fabrics and dresses, classic flamenco outfits, jewelery and some creepy tents with gas masks. I thought the funniest tents were the ones selling bras... who would buy a bra in the middle of the street?? None of the tents were selling bidets...
7) After a while Kaja and I started feeling claustrophobic in the intense heat and crowds so we wandered back to Plaza del Sol for some fresh air and because I was starving.
8) I got some food near Plaza del Sol (not ham nor cheese) and then Kaja and I decided to just walk in a random direction and lose ourselves in Spain. The city was beautiful! So many amazing buildings! Kaja took a lot of pictures of the scenery, hopefully I can get some of them from her to show everyone. We stopped for a quick rest sitting on a wall outside the Museo del Prado (which we decided we would try to come back to and go inside on a later date) and then saw signs pointing to the Parque del Retiro.
9) It was great luck because we had wanted to go there and magically went in the right direction! The park was a huge green area, comparable in size to central park in NY. It was huge, we only went to a tiny corner of it because we were a little pressed for time. We saw a group of Spanish singers strumming on funny instruments and singing Spanish songs, more vendors, and more people dressed in costumes. There was one man dressed as a Native American, which I found a bit ironic (Think that counts as irony Shana?) considering we were in Spain. We passed a big lake with row boats for rent, considered renting a boat but decided against it because of the line, instead opting for a patch of sunny grass to take a siesta in.
10) I told my Au-pairents I would be home at six, so at around 4:45 we went looking for a metro stop to get on to. We found one eventually and hopped on! Then Kaja and I separated ways and it was time for me to find my way home via a metro-bus combo ALL by myself for the first time. Dun dun dunnnn. I got off the metro at the right place, Mongloa but then had trouble finding the right lane for my bus, number 625. But all was not lost! Using my Spanish skills, I asked a man in a uniform, "Estoy buscando al numero 625" (I am looking for number 625) and he immediately started flirting with little american me and instead of giving me directions he escorted me up and down a few escalators and across the street to the exact location of my bus stop. I thought it was funny. Now, the tricky part was the bus, because I had never taken it before and they don't stop unless you press the "stop requested" button, so I had to be very alert of my surroundings so I could press it in time. It worked out though! Then I walked a few blocks to my au-house (au pair/ house... doesn't work as well) and skillfully used my keys to get past the gate, lobby door, and apartment door! I got there around 6:30, so not too bad for a first timer.
11) I showered, which felt AAAAAmaazing in the heat. Next I went outside with Carmen to where Rafa and Rafa were playing soccer. Carmen and I started playing a tag kind of game and although I was exhausted and hot I couldn't stop because she was so adorable when she screamed and laughed and ran away so I would chase her. It must have seemed like a super fun game because Rafa jr. abandoned his dad to join in the fun. Then it was time for dinner so we went in.
12) First it was kid's dinner. Carmen has a little kid's computer toy that has math and alphabet games as well as songs and she was playing some of the songs. I recognized "oh Suzanna" and sang them the english version. It was so funny... they both just stared at me in awe, then re-played the song about 15 times, making me sing it to them over and over again while they ate dinner. I guess they like my songs :).
13) I helped them a bit to brush their teeth and get ready for bed, which was good because I felt like I was contributing. Then I read them a few pages of Fin M'coul, an english book I brought with me.
14) After the kids went to bed, the Au-pairents and I sat down for dinner. Maica had made an eggplant dish similar to eggplant parmesan, with sauteed eggplant pieces, ground beef, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese I think. I told them about my day as much as I could in Spanish. I helped Maica clean up after dinner and then retired to my room, where I proceeded to write the world's longest blog post about my day... sorry everyone!
P.s. I found a bidet use... When Rafa sr. was bathing Rafa jr., he put the worn clothing that Rafa jr. took off and put it in the bidet temporarily while the bathing was ensuing. So... possible modern Bidet use= laundry holder during a bath? Hmm, the investigation continues.
Until next time,
Julia
1) First I went with my au-pairents (get it, au pair/ parents) and kids to a local mall area, where they got me a prepaid cell phone! I still haven't figured out how to use it, but still, at least now I am not in the dinosaur age anymore.
2) Side note: My Au-pairents are Maica and Rafa. Maica is the mom and she is so so nice, and Rafa is the dad, short for Rafael I think. Rafa is kinda stand-offish but he is really nice and really puts a lot of effort into helping me figure out things around spain, like the metro, buses, and my wee prepaid cellphone. Rafa is also the name of the son, who is 7. He is so so full of energy, and likes attention, poop, pee, farts, and burps. Aka he is exactly like an american boy. But he is also so so sweet and I really like him. Carmen is the little 4 year old girl. She also likes to be a little naughty and play tricks, but is so sweet and adorable. She smiles and giggles all the time. I really like them both! Neither of the kids speak english, but the parents want me to teach the kids english, so I say everything in english and then in spanish and try to name as many things as I can!
3) That was a long side note, anyways. Then Rafa Sr. drove me to Kaja's house, picked up Kaja, and dropped us off at her local metro stop. Kaja and I somehow maneuvered the ticket machines and got me a ticket before we hopped on a metro and went to Madrid!!
4) We got off at "Plaza del Sol" which is in the very middle of Madrid. We wandered around a bit first, stopping at some interesting clothing shops and the Harbio gummy bear store, before we decided to find our way to El Rastro (more about this later.)
5) Turns out, I am quite decent at reading maps and following them! We walked for around 15 minutes to get to El Rastro. The middle of Madrid is a super tourist place with lots of funny touristy things lining the streets. There are people coating the sidewalks offering to paint you, massage you, and even give you acupuncture right on the street!!! There are also people dressed up all over the place in costumes, like this really fat man we saw wearing a spandex spiderman costume... ew.
6) We got to El Rastro! El Rastro is a huge flea market in Madrid every Sunday in the morning and a HUGE tourist spot. But it is also a prime prime pickpocketing zone. Everyone knows it too- if you stopped and looked around, every single woman was clutching her purse to her chest. Kaja and I didn't buy anything (I was afraid to even take out my wallet) but we walked up and down the many rows of tents looking at all the things for sale. There were lots of amazing fabrics and dresses, classic flamenco outfits, jewelery and some creepy tents with gas masks. I thought the funniest tents were the ones selling bras... who would buy a bra in the middle of the street?? None of the tents were selling bidets...
7) After a while Kaja and I started feeling claustrophobic in the intense heat and crowds so we wandered back to Plaza del Sol for some fresh air and because I was starving.
8) I got some food near Plaza del Sol (not ham nor cheese) and then Kaja and I decided to just walk in a random direction and lose ourselves in Spain. The city was beautiful! So many amazing buildings! Kaja took a lot of pictures of the scenery, hopefully I can get some of them from her to show everyone. We stopped for a quick rest sitting on a wall outside the Museo del Prado (which we decided we would try to come back to and go inside on a later date) and then saw signs pointing to the Parque del Retiro.
9) It was great luck because we had wanted to go there and magically went in the right direction! The park was a huge green area, comparable in size to central park in NY. It was huge, we only went to a tiny corner of it because we were a little pressed for time. We saw a group of Spanish singers strumming on funny instruments and singing Spanish songs, more vendors, and more people dressed in costumes. There was one man dressed as a Native American, which I found a bit ironic (Think that counts as irony Shana?) considering we were in Spain. We passed a big lake with row boats for rent, considered renting a boat but decided against it because of the line, instead opting for a patch of sunny grass to take a siesta in.
10) I told my Au-pairents I would be home at six, so at around 4:45 we went looking for a metro stop to get on to. We found one eventually and hopped on! Then Kaja and I separated ways and it was time for me to find my way home via a metro-bus combo ALL by myself for the first time. Dun dun dunnnn. I got off the metro at the right place, Mongloa but then had trouble finding the right lane for my bus, number 625. But all was not lost! Using my Spanish skills, I asked a man in a uniform, "Estoy buscando al numero 625" (I am looking for number 625) and he immediately started flirting with little american me and instead of giving me directions he escorted me up and down a few escalators and across the street to the exact location of my bus stop. I thought it was funny. Now, the tricky part was the bus, because I had never taken it before and they don't stop unless you press the "stop requested" button, so I had to be very alert of my surroundings so I could press it in time. It worked out though! Then I walked a few blocks to my au-house (au pair/ house... doesn't work as well) and skillfully used my keys to get past the gate, lobby door, and apartment door! I got there around 6:30, so not too bad for a first timer.
11) I showered, which felt AAAAAmaazing in the heat. Next I went outside with Carmen to where Rafa and Rafa were playing soccer. Carmen and I started playing a tag kind of game and although I was exhausted and hot I couldn't stop because she was so adorable when she screamed and laughed and ran away so I would chase her. It must have seemed like a super fun game because Rafa jr. abandoned his dad to join in the fun. Then it was time for dinner so we went in.
12) First it was kid's dinner. Carmen has a little kid's computer toy that has math and alphabet games as well as songs and she was playing some of the songs. I recognized "oh Suzanna" and sang them the english version. It was so funny... they both just stared at me in awe, then re-played the song about 15 times, making me sing it to them over and over again while they ate dinner. I guess they like my songs :).
13) I helped them a bit to brush their teeth and get ready for bed, which was good because I felt like I was contributing. Then I read them a few pages of Fin M'coul, an english book I brought with me.
14) After the kids went to bed, the Au-pairents and I sat down for dinner. Maica had made an eggplant dish similar to eggplant parmesan, with sauteed eggplant pieces, ground beef, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese I think. I told them about my day as much as I could in Spanish. I helped Maica clean up after dinner and then retired to my room, where I proceeded to write the world's longest blog post about my day... sorry everyone!
P.s. I found a bidet use... When Rafa sr. was bathing Rafa jr., he put the worn clothing that Rafa jr. took off and put it in the bidet temporarily while the bathing was ensuing. So... possible modern Bidet use= laundry holder during a bath? Hmm, the investigation continues.
Until next time,
Julia
Saturday, 5 June 2010
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPAIN AND LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS
1) They love ham, a lot.
2) The windows don't have screens, aka if a window is open, it is OPEN.
3) THERE ARE SO MANY BIDETS!! Literally, in every bathroom, there is a bidet!! And Kaja and I wikipediaed "Bidet" to learn what on earth they were used for. We learned that the correct terminology for using Bidets is to "mount a bidet" In Kaja's family's house, there is a bidet in the father's bathroom, the mother's bathroom, AND the 6 year old girl's bathroom AND the TWO year old boy's bathroom. I wonder... are the bidets there just because they used to be a cool thing to have, and the house was built with them so they just exist, OR did they put the bidets in on purpose?? WHYYYY I dont understand the bidet. Bidets are so so goofy.
4) In the airport, there are glass rooms about the size of a kitchen that are "designated smoking areas." As soon as my flight landed, about 30% of the airplane tried to fit into the glass box para fumar (to smoke, english people). I especially think its funny because it is only a three walled room... the smoke pours out into the rest of the airport anyways!! Silly.
5) Kaja says the bananas taste different... I dont notice the change.
6) Everyone speaks spanish here. Its soooo inconvenient.
7) Breakfast is cereal or toast... eggs are not for breakfast, nor are pancakes or french toast.
8) Lunch is the big meal of the day, normally around 2. That can be eggs, but for kids, it's either: Ham and cheese sandwich or ham and cheese sandwich. Just kidding by the way, they eat other foods too. (like Serrano ham and cheese)
9) Dinner is suuuuper late and light, and the kids don't eat with the adults. Kids eat first, probably ham and cheese, at like 8:30ish, and then the parents (and super mature au pairs) eat, at around 9 or 10 (or here it would be 21 or 22) And they eat fancy ham and cheese with wine or water. And if you are an au pair from America, you are SO HUNGRY.
10) Oh! I almost forgot... they use Army time! I must look very stupid counting back on my fingers to figure out what time things are!
11) Instead of cops sitting on the side of the road with radars, speed limits are enforced by overhead monitors that are on 24/7 and that track your license plate and speed. So, don't speed in spain, alright?
Be advised, this assessment of Spain was made after being in Spain for little more than two days. So if I ever figure out the Bidet, I will let everyone know.
Also the weather here is phenomenal... so warm and nice, sunny for hours, swimming pools everywhere the eye looks. Tomorrow I am going in to Madrid with Kaja, testing out that crazy European drinking age (but not in a liver imploding way mom, don't worry, I've got mono), and doing some shopping in a merkadillo, or flea market. Kaja and I also have tentative plans to go to Seville this weekend, which is in the south of Spain and supposedly has lots of amazing things to see like flamenco dancing!
Ole ole!
Julia (while I am in spain, read my name as "Hulia")
2) The windows don't have screens, aka if a window is open, it is OPEN.
3) THERE ARE SO MANY BIDETS!! Literally, in every bathroom, there is a bidet!! And Kaja and I wikipediaed "Bidet" to learn what on earth they were used for. We learned that the correct terminology for using Bidets is to "mount a bidet" In Kaja's family's house, there is a bidet in the father's bathroom, the mother's bathroom, AND the 6 year old girl's bathroom AND the TWO year old boy's bathroom. I wonder... are the bidets there just because they used to be a cool thing to have, and the house was built with them so they just exist, OR did they put the bidets in on purpose?? WHYYYY I dont understand the bidet. Bidets are so so goofy.
4) In the airport, there are glass rooms about the size of a kitchen that are "designated smoking areas." As soon as my flight landed, about 30% of the airplane tried to fit into the glass box para fumar (to smoke, english people). I especially think its funny because it is only a three walled room... the smoke pours out into the rest of the airport anyways!! Silly.
5) Kaja says the bananas taste different... I dont notice the change.
6) Everyone speaks spanish here. Its soooo inconvenient.
7) Breakfast is cereal or toast... eggs are not for breakfast, nor are pancakes or french toast.
8) Lunch is the big meal of the day, normally around 2. That can be eggs, but for kids, it's either: Ham and cheese sandwich or ham and cheese sandwich. Just kidding by the way, they eat other foods too. (like Serrano ham and cheese)
9) Dinner is suuuuper late and light, and the kids don't eat with the adults. Kids eat first, probably ham and cheese, at like 8:30ish, and then the parents (and super mature au pairs) eat, at around 9 or 10 (or here it would be 21 or 22) And they eat fancy ham and cheese with wine or water. And if you are an au pair from America, you are SO HUNGRY.
10) Oh! I almost forgot... they use Army time! I must look very stupid counting back on my fingers to figure out what time things are!
11) Instead of cops sitting on the side of the road with radars, speed limits are enforced by overhead monitors that are on 24/7 and that track your license plate and speed. So, don't speed in spain, alright?
Be advised, this assessment of Spain was made after being in Spain for little more than two days. So if I ever figure out the Bidet, I will let everyone know.
Also the weather here is phenomenal... so warm and nice, sunny for hours, swimming pools everywhere the eye looks. Tomorrow I am going in to Madrid with Kaja, testing out that crazy European drinking age (but not in a liver imploding way mom, don't worry, I've got mono), and doing some shopping in a merkadillo, or flea market. Kaja and I also have tentative plans to go to Seville this weekend, which is in the south of Spain and supposedly has lots of amazing things to see like flamenco dancing!
Ole ole!
Julia (while I am in spain, read my name as "Hulia")
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