Lo Siento

Ah, I had an eventful couple of days and then I got out of the habit of writing. I am not going to write very much tonight, but I will start writing at full length again tomorrow.

All is well here. I am happy. My weekend was fabulous. My family and I went into Barcelona on Saturday. I got to experience real sea food. I've eaten seafood before, but never like this. I tried everything that was on the table. We went to the chocolate museum and then ventured around the pier and the las ramblas neighborhood. I have a couple stories that I want to tell, but not tonight. The next day I went to the beach in Barcelona with three other German au pairs. I am used to not understanding anything around me now. I just make up the conversation, even with the kids. I've come to the conclusion that I am not a very good listener with any language including English. Nod and smile. Nod and smile.

Meh. Tis all for the evening. Tengo sueno.

Strangest day yet

Today was strange and at many times annoying. I had a secret plan to let the boys sleep for fifteen extra minutes and that plan failed. Sonia was running late for work, so she was there. She actually woke them up early. Great. I ended up showering while they ate breakfast. I decided to get on the internet real quick before I went back downstairs. When I was done, I shut my computer and plop, vertical drop on the floor. My keypad is three fourths working now. Had it been worse, I could have very well needed to call in sick. After breakfast I tried to break it to the boys that I wouldn't be going with them to the movies that afternoon. I wanted to take a nap and recover from my near death experience with my computer. I am pretty much functioning on a time zone in between here and the U.S. I guess I am never in the right time zone for my sleeping patterns. Anyways, the boys flipped out. They got really sad and wouldn't talk to me for a while. So I said I would go! Grr. And to make matters worse, me making them upset put them in a bad mood all day. We are almost done with their actual schoolwork, so she instructed me to just work on English. Without them getting situated doing their homework and already having a fit that morning, they could not sit still. Today was the first day I got mad at them. I should just mumble curse words under my breath when they tick me off. They'd never know. Of course I wouldn't do this...those would be the words that they might actually pay attention to. We ended up labeling the entire playroom with words. Their parents were pleased with this. Teaching them English is really difficult because a. i'm not a teacher and b. they are on totally different levels in school. The only thing that I can really teach them both in English is vocabulary. I can't remember if I already wrote about this. Ttt. Ah, so the boys were obnoxious in the morning. The grandmother came over again to cook lunch. This really bothers me because they immediately stop listening to me. They are so rude to her too. She is their elder and they behave worse around her than me. They are not supposed to play video games during the day, which is a rule that I agree with and am ready to enforce. Well their grandma let them play video games all day. I also don't know if I am even need to watch them when she is there. She was here all day. And she is coming tomorrow for lunch. After lunch today and lots of time playing video games, we went to the movies. fun. not. The grandma is a horrible driver. We almost got in three wrecks. I just kept smiling. Once we got there I found out the movie was going to be in Catalan. Fucking fabulous. I was so mad that these kids dragged me to a movie that I wouldn't even be able to understand. We got in line for popcorn. I was trying to calm myself down with the thought of eating delicious popcorn and possibly taking a nap in the theatre. Popcorn is coming. They put it on the table. Ha you've got be kidding me. It was that nasty colored popcorn. What movie theatre has that kind of popcorn? Oh, the movie theatre in a country where fifty percent of their diet is sugar. She bought me a whole bag. I had to eat it or else I'd be rude. When we were exiting the popcorn line Berrnat said I looked so serious. Serious? More like furious. I forced a smile. Lets go over this part real quick. Ha, the movie was in Spanish. No problema. Oh, and it was Shrek, so I was well acquainted with story and its characters. I hung out with Elissa on skype in the afternoon, which was wonderful. Definitely the highlight of my day thus far. I went on a walk before dinner. I think I can make it all the way into the center of town in a decent amount of time. I want to try to go into the center of town one afternoon a week and hang out. I want to bring a book, buy a beer, and relax. This plan will happen. Here is what solidified how weird my day was for me. I was sitting outside at the dinner table and Sonia places my plate in front of me. It's a fish. Just a fish. Laying there. I've never eaten fish like this before. I've never wanted to. I had to though. I only chocked on three bones. I prefer not to be reminded that what I am eating was once alive. I had to peel the skin off! I almost vomited. Then pulling the spine out of it. Uh. No. No. No. On the bright side of things, I really like Sonia and Santi. They're good parents and a funny couple. We always have good dinner conversations as choppy as they might be.

I'm out. I need to drink some water after reliving my dinner.

Segunda semana

Today was a simple day. The boys and I got up at nine and went through our routine with their schoolwork and practicing English. Their grandmother came over to cook us lunch, so good. She made these strange corn like looking things that had ham and cheese in the center. Probably extremely fattening, but may I have seconds please, Maribell. I don't understand how our day goes by so quickly. Most of the time I am sitting there thinking about how to keep them occupied and I rarely come up with good ideas...I try to drag out the schoolwork and practicing English as long as possible ha. Both of the boys really like me for some reason. I don't speak their language. I don't know any games except pass the ball in English and diving for rocks in the pool. And don't let them play their video games, which they each attempt everyday. The little one is extremely affectionate with me. I feel like I have a monkey attached to me for most of the day. After lunch we took a siesta, which I was super stocked about. Both of the boys wanted to sleep in my room with me. My bed is the size of my nephew's bed. Luke is three. They said they would sleep on the floor, so we layed out towels for them and gave them little pillows. They would not go to sleep. Finally, Ferran went into the living room with his grandmother. Bernat and I had a nice quiet siesta. After we got up I got to see Ferran ride his bike! He isn't very good at stopping, so he ran into a tree once and got stuck in the grass another time. Sonia was home by this time. We let him tuff it out. I spent the afternoon on skpe. It was nice talking to everyone. The boys LOVE skype. They loved meeting everyone too. They learned the names of everyone that they talked to and told their parents about it at dinner. It was cute. Bernat is a little stressed out because we have to make so many bracelets for all of the friends that they met. He kept counting them for me and then sighing. That we'll give us something to do for a week, so I am pumped. Ah, I discovered my terrace today. I mean, I knew it was there, but today I finally went out there. I skyped with Shannon in the afternoon on the terrace. Today was a beautiful day. I could hear Ferran and Bernat playing in the pool below. It was delightful combination. Somehow it is still steaming in my room right now, even though today was abnormally cool. I read Emergency Prom outside on my terrace to end my day. Happiness.

Las calles de Cardedeu

Today was a pleasant Sunday. In the states, Sunday isn't any different than the other days of the week for me. The only time it alters my plans are when stores close at 6 instead of 9. In Cardedeu, Sunday means something. Sunday is a truly restful day. I eased myself into the day by sleeping until noon. Now my family knows what sleeping in means to me. Right when I woke up they commented on how much I sleep. I got ready for the day just in time for lunch with my family. Sonia made me the best salad yet with lots of corn and carrots. They don't eat beef ever, so we had chicken legs, chicken sausage and these strange, but delicious, fried chicken things. I don't even know how to describe them, but they said they were chicken. I ate about eight of those...After lunch and a skype convo with mi madre, Santi took me over to Emily's house. This was around four, which was perfect for walking through the streets of Cardedeu. Emily and I sat on a park bench for a while then moseyed around town while taking pictures and talking. The streets were desolate with the exception of some families taking a stroll. The main restaurants in the center were setting up for the dinner crowd, while all of the other stores remained closed. There was one candy store open that Em and I stopped in for an ice cream. The lady used this interesting push machine to fill the cone with ice cream that was in a tube. It was a fancy ice cream cone for an old candy store. Emily and I had the streets and alleys to ourselves. It was tranquil. Slowly the town became more and more alive as the afternoon went on. Emily and I made the difficult decision of which of the three restaurants we should get a beer and a snack at. We choose the cheapest restaurant. We were a little discontent until we walked in the back where they had a beautiful patio that had an old stone ground, large plants, and colorful patio furniture. We choose the table in the far back of the patio. We sat here for a couple hours, partially due to slow service, and enjoyed Emily's last afternoon in Cardedeu. Near our table was a gigantic tea cup that I really wanted a picture of me in. Every time I would get brave enough to take it, more people would come. I also wanted the tea cup to be at a different angle because it was hard to tell that it was a tea cup from the front. I prepared myself to scoot the heavy tea cup over. I heaved and almost fell. The tea cup wasn't heavy at all. Emily was so embarrassed to take my picture after my attempt to move it. I got a picture in the tea cup though! We walked back to her house around 9 where we got sidetracked taking some picture of a field behind her house. Her family was ready to take her back to Granolleres, where she usually stays. I had to say goodbye to my Emily at this point. I don't know if I'll be able to see her again for some time. She'll be in New York once I am back home. This was a sad and abrupt goodbye for me. I hadn't thought about it all afternoon. I might be seeing her on Friday though when my boys go to soccer camp. Once I came home, we had a nice dinner on the patio to end the day. Cardedeu is definitely growing on me.

Ah, Ferran learned how to ride his bike without his training wheels today! And I learned what the word for fart is in Spanish. They are pedos. Good to know.

tu quieres una aventura?

Lets ease into this entry with a description of some Spanish scenery...Friday afternoon the boys and I went on my first adventure of the weekend. Everyone here thinks that I like to run, so everyday the oldest son asks me if I want to run. It is too difficult to say in Spanish that I am out of shape because it is way too hot in Texas to run and I am not about to get up early. It may seem like a manageable translation, but I tried multiple times and failed each time. I don't know how they found out that I (occassionally) run, but they will not let it go. Anyways, we went on a run! My arms are sore though. Weird, I know. Run actually means walk/running with the boys as they ride their bikes. I let Bernat lead the way. We went to the end of the street and continued onto a dirt road. The dirt road was difficult for Ferran's tricycle, so we switched up the modes of transportation for a bit. Ferran ran. Berrnat rode Ferran's bike and I rode Bernat's bike. Ferran got his run in! We came to a fork in the dirt road and took a left. After about one hundred yards, the boys stopped and looked around. They kept telling me where we were going, but I didn't understand what they were saying. Something about a park. Something about paying. I knew that I would eventually see what they were talking about, so we went back the way that we came from. Once we hit the fork in the road again, we tried out the other way. Ah I forgot the scenery part of it! The dirt roads went through green fields. Not too far off in the distance were beautiful lush mountains. On our second route we passed two adorable rackety sheds near the road. After some time on this road I saw our destination in the distance. Ends up we were going to a center for training horses. Not just any horses, but horses for a European game where players ride horses and score by shooting specially made balls into tall nets at either end of the court. I think that the center allows kids to come and ride the horses, but it costs money. This center lay in the middle of farm fields that ran straight into the mountain range surrounding the Barcelona area. The little one was extremely tired by the time we needed to turn back. Probably because he didn't eat his lunch and cried for thirty minutes for dessert...On the way back I had to pull him and his tricycle the majority of the way. Thus, my arms are sore from my "run." Towards the end, Berrnat insisted that I ride his bike. He is very nice to me. Ferran continued to ride his bike, while Berrnat ran. Ends up we all got a run in! Scenic adventure: check.

That evening Emily and I took the train into Barcelona for dinner with another au pair. Her name is Lena. She is from Germany. It was her birthday! We went to a nice restaurant near Placa Catalunya (Plaza). The plaza has two beautiful large fountains and lots of shopping. At dinner we split a bottle of wine. It was delightful. A girl that went to high school with me and Emily was eating at the same restaurant as us with her family. Small world. Now, were gearing up for adventure numero dos. Once we left Barcelona, we hurried back to Cardadeu for a night out in Spain. We were supposed to be picked up at the train station in Cardadeu at eleven by Emily's friend Jaime (pronounce GJ-ow-mah). Jaime is actually the handball coach for our oldest boys. Emily's dad put us in contact with him. We missed our first train to meet up with him and we couldn't even figure out which train we were supposed to be on. There were two platforms with two trains going opposite directions. We went down the stairs to one platform and asked a lady if this train was going to Cardadeu. She looked at the map and said that we needed to be on the other platform. We ran up the stairs and down to the other platform, not knowing what time the next train would come. Once we got to the other side we asked a group of ladies if this was the right train as it approached us. They enthusiastically said "no, no, no, you need to be on the other platform." So we ran up and down the stairs again where we found a man who was going to Cardadeu! Point is we were exhausted and running very late. We had to go back to Emily's family's parents house to fix ourselves up a bit for the discoteca. The directions to their house were near impossible to give, so we had Jaime pick us up off of the large road that runs through Cardadeu. We accidently waved to a couple cars thinking they were Jaime. We felt like prostitutes being on the side of the road and dressed for the discoteca. Once we were with Jaime we went to a bar to pre-game. We met up with Jaime's friends at the bar. The bar was really nice. It was colorful and well lit, which I thought was strange. One of our first conversations was about Emily's misuse of the word "aventura" in Spanish. She thought it translated into adventure like a quest. She had written on Jaime's facebook was that she wanted a "aventura." While laughing like fourteen year old boys, his friends explained that "ventura" in Spain means to have sex. Emily was so embarrassed. We laughed about the mix up all through out the night. We went to the discoteca at one o'clock. From what I understood, the discotecas are free after some time late in the night and the drinks are cheaper until 2. We were double fisting it for a while. They boys were impressed. His friend's names were Pedro, Mark, and Javi. We hung out on the top floor for the first hour or so. They played American music! It was a really good American playlist too. The DJ didn't play new music, but great classics dance songs. I can't think of a good example, but later in the night I remember loving "Dancin with Myself." Mark was such a good dancer. He had all sorts of moves. It was really entertaining. Emily and I could not stop laughing. His friend, Pedro, was super drunk. He picked me up right below my butt and lifted me into the air. I was stranded. The only way to get down was to kiss him, so I did. Soon after all of us went downstairs where they played Spanish music. This part was of the club was similar to the clubs we went to in Ecuador. They have a similar style of dance involving lots of hip movement. Spaniards freestyle more and have more hand movement. After the discoteca, we went to the beach at around 4. There was lots of people hanging out on the beach. Emily ran into the water, but only to get her feet wet. It dropped off pretty quickly. She almost fell in. It was pretty humorous. The guys changed into swim trunks and dove in. Drunk Pedro chased me and Emily around to try to throw us in. No, no, no, drunk Pedro. We played volleyball for a while, then sat around a talked about certain words in Spanish and our different countries. The guys got up suddenly. Mark and Javi ran off toward the car. Ends up, while we were sitting there talking. Two guys walked by and stole Mark and Javi's pants. They got up and ran after them. Who steals from someone while they're sitting within fifteen feet of their stuff? Jaime acted like it was normal ha. When we said goodbye, we all kissed each other on the cheeks, except Pedro. He went straight for my lips! I now have a theory about why some cultures kiss on the cheek instead of giving hugs. It is because it makes it easier to actually kiss someone when saying goodbye. You're already near their lips anyways! Time to explain why I didn't jump at the chance to kiss a Spaniard. I met his girlfriend. That night. At the bar, before the discoteca. She was so nice. Oh, drunk Pedro. Jaime took me and Emily back to Cardadeu. After a couple wrong turns, I navigated him to my house through the entire town. I was in bed by 6! Late night adventure: check. Aventura: nooo.

Today Emily and I went into Barcelona again. We went to the arc de triumph by accident. I should probably look up the reason why they built it. It was a gran structure. We noticed it immediately upon coming out of the subway station. It lay before the entry to a large park in Barcelona, probably equivalent to Central Park with museums and a zoo. Some old men were playing bocci ball when we passed by again in the afternoon, while the old women sat nearby and chatted. So presh. What we were actually looking for was the Museum of Modern Art. We wondered around the area in search of it without a map. We asked several people and they didn't know what we were talking about. They kept talking about the Picasso Museum, so Picasso it was. We called Lena again to meet up with us in the city. We were going to meet up with her at the Picasso Museum at 6. We had time to wonder through the alley ways where they have shops and restaurants. We went into so many awesome stores with cute decently priced European designer clothing to awesome handmade crafts. I am definitely going back one afternoon when I save up for some spending money. We stopped in one shop with chocolates and baked goods. We bought some Spanish cookies to snack on. The lady in the shop was so kind. She gave us directions to the museum, which was actually right around the corner. Lena was taking forever, so we ended up meeting her at the arc de triumph instead. Emily had to go back to Cardadeu because she wanted to eat dinner with her Spanish grandparents one last time before her family picked her up the next day. Lena and I had the evening in Barcelona. We tried to find the Modern Museum of Art, but failed once again. We found the Museum of Catalan Art. It was a sight though. It was on top of a hill that overlooked the city. At the bottom of the hill were two large pillars. I should probably look up their significance too. Of course, the museum was closed. We sat on the steps to enjoy the view and listened to a man playing a Spanish guitar. It was lovely. We set off to find some dinner. Time flew by so quickly and before I knew it, it was 930 and I still hadn't called Sonia to tell her when I was coming back to Cardadeu. I got her number from Emily before she left, so that I could call off of Lena's phone. Ends up Lena can't make calls in Spain because her phone is German. I guess she can text though. Anyways, we hurried off to the station. I had about twenty minutes to make the next train. I decided I would call Sonia once I got to the train station from a pay phone. Lena got off of the subway a couple stops before me. It occurred to me then, that I had never been on the subway alone before. My nerves started building. I was pretty sure that I remember, which stop I needed to get off to transfer to the train to Cardadeu. I got off at Clot at 10:04. The next train was at 10:05. I decided it would be better to miss it and call Sonia. I felt so bad that I hadn't called her all day and now she would be picking me up from the train station at 11. I got to the pay phone where I realized that I only had a twenty Euro bill. I thought I had missed my train to make a phone call that I didn't have the coins for. I decided I would just ask to use someone's phone on the platform while I waited for the next train that would come in thirty minutes. Well, first I needed to make sure I was getting on the right train. Emily and I had taken the same train last night, but I was still nervous. We had so much adrenaline running through us the previous night, so I was paying that much attention to what we were actually doing. I had Emily with me who always uses the subways in New York. I asked a girl that looked my age if I could use her phone. She didn't have signal. Of course, we're below ground. Plan E, ask to use someone's phone at the station in Cardadeu. The girl was helpful in telling me that I was waiting for the right train. I didn't really trust her because of the incident from yesterday, but her saying it was and my memory aligned. I was so nervous I would some how miss my stop and keep on going to who knows where in Spain and I still hadn't talked to Sonia. The trains stop at midnight, so wherever I ended up is where I was staying with my twenty Euros and American Mastercard. I bit a nail at this point. I made it to Cardadeu. I asked some ladies in Cardadeu if I could use their phones. They said they didn't have one...Plan M: walk to where Emily was staying at 11 and use her phone to call Sonia to pick me up from there. So I nervously walked along a semi-major road for a bit before I turned off to go up a sketchy street in Cardadeu to Emily's house. I get there and they're not there. They were having dinner at the great-grandparents house and dinners last till 11 or 12 here, so it was probably. I could either walk an hour to my house, walk into the the center of town and ask to use the phone, or break my twenty to buy a beer then use a pay phone. Oh, by the way, Cardadeu is quiet at night. I only passed a few people. I was hesitant from asking anyone for a phone because I didn't want it to be even more apparent that I was foreign. Playing it cool. I did ask one old lady though and she didn't have a phone either. Lies. In the streets, you can hear a few televisions from open windows in the apartments above, which was comforting on my trek. From a distance, I saw two people walking up the street. When I got closer I saw that they were a clean couple in their thirties. I asked if they had a phone and they too didn't. Coincidently, I stopped them right in front of their apartment and they offered for me to come up and use their phone. I was nervous, but I figured if something was going to happen to me tonight, I was taking my risk with these people. I could barely speak Spanish, I was so nervous. I managed to explain everything to Sonia. She talked to the woman for a bit to get directions, then came to pick me up. I could breath again. I had a nice little conversation with the guy while I waited and he assembled a fan. He has a friend from Texas that has horses and has to watch out for guys with guns on the streets. I asked if his friend was from South Texas. Yep, he was. Sonia was there within a few minutes. I expected her to be mad or worried. I don't really know, which one she was...I think she just ranted about how I needed a phone or at least needed to call. I explained my many dilemmas then we were good. "Pasa nada" she said, which mean "no worries" here. When I got home we had a nice conversation about various things, including aventura. It really does mean adventure. Silly boys. We'll call it a phone-less train adventure: Check.

Muchas aventuras. Tengo sueno.

La Problema con el bano

Two girls walked into a bar (me and Emily) and one girl needed to use the restroom as per usual. The girls proceeded to walk to the back of the bar near the kitchen where two dingy bathrooms with indecipherable pictures of men?/women? were posted on the doors. The first bathroom didn't have a toilet seat, so they tried the second. The second toilet didn't have toilet paper and was clogged to the max. Upon returning to the first restroom, confidant in their choice to squat, the girls locked the door behind them. After an enjoyable pee, the girls made their first attempt to unlock the door. This lock was no ordinary lock. It was a knob of sorts and to be secured needed to be twisted to the left or the right like a dial on the radio. The girls were foreign to this lock although they managed to lock themselves in the restroom. Girl one twisted and twisted, while girl two, who doesn't like touching knobs because of the germs, inspected the situation. Once girl one was profusely sweating, due to the non-existent AC in Spain and poor ventilation en the bathroom, girl two made a heroic effort to free them both. They both twisted and twisted the lock until their fingers where red. Their hysteric laughter grew and grew with each passing minute. Just as girl one raised her fist to knock on the door, spanish words were heard on the other side of their captor. The two girls quickly answered to the voice with cries for help. The voice calmly instructed them on how to release themselves from the bathroom. The girls had been frantically twisting at the knob when all it needed was a gentle turn. Not only were they embarrassed for being trapped in the bathroom for so long, but that they were two American girls trapped together. They quickly ordered a Spanish beer to forget about their loss to a Spanish bathroom.

Emily and I wrote the story above once we returned to where she is staying in Cardadeu. Emily's family went to France for the weekend, so she is staying with the parents of her Spanish dad, Javi, pronounced Chabby and sounds like chubby. His parents are so nice. I ended up eating dinner with them after Emily and I walked around the center of Cardadeu. They patiently listened to us talk, while insisting on us eating mass amounts of cheese. I just got hungry. I should not be hungry. Anyways, the father was so sweet. He had an impressive selection of fresh cheese and fruit. He was very proud of his fresh watermelon. Emily had a slice. When Sonia came to pick me up, they said that I could stop by anytime I wanted to visit them. They were so presh. Hopefully when I get more comfortable speaking in Spanish I will build up the courage to walk to their house. The mom said that she doesn't like living in Cardadeu because it is only good for sleeping. I feel so bad for her. I asked why she didn't move to another city. She said she stayed because of her job. I think she really enjoyed our foreign company. We told them a lot about our lives in America, while they would help us with our grammar and vocabulary. I hope that I continue to learn as much as I have the past couple of days. At lunch today, Santi made fun of me and how I politely say "How do you say...?" in Spanish. I wish he hadn't because I was more hesitant to ask once we left the restaurant.

My schedule with the kids during the day is starting to become more consistent. I wake them up around nine. Eat breakfast. Make the beds. They do their schoolwork, while I study Spanish. We practice English for as long as they can bear. Eat lunch. Then play. Today I didn't want to go swimming, so I just threw rocks into the pool for them to find. I am little concerned that I will run out of games within a week.

The language barrier is posing some what of a problem because I really want to hang out with Emily, but it is hard to coordinate things with Sonia and Santi. Hopefully after Emily leaves the misunderstandings will cease. I am going to miss her being here with me though even though she is rarely with me. It is a comfort to have someone in the same country as me.

La Cena de dos familias

Tonight my family and I went over to Emily's family's house for dinner. It was so nice. Both of our families eat their dinners outside. I also ways thought they placed foreign dinners in movies outside because it is more scenic like in Mama Mia, but they really do eat outside. The do have mosquitoes here, but I have yet to actually seen them. I have some huge bites from them though. Other than the bugs, eating outside is very pleasant. Emily and I had a long conversation with both of our parents about Texas, Spain, how we were raised, theatre, learning Spanish and much more. I don't think the dads understand much, but both of the moms speak a good amount of English. They speak more English than I speak Spanish. Emily's mom is almost fluent, so if I ever got really stuck when trying to say something, she would help me.

Get this...Spanish isn't their first language. Say what?! My town, Cardadeu, is in Catalonia. Their first language is Catalan, but they are taught Spanish at a very early age. I am still trying to figure that out. The youngest in my family, Ferran, speaks both Spanish and Catalan. Sometimes he speaks both to me, which is very confusing. In the household they usually speak Catalan, but they speak Spanish to me. The second that they begin speaking with each other, they are speaking in Catalan. At dinner tonight if the parents would talk amongst themselves, it would be in Catalan. I am so impressed. They were practically born bilingual. Before I came everyone kept telling me how much fun I was going to have here because Spain won the world cup. Nope. Catalans hate Spain. When the parade in Madrid came on the television the youngest flicked it off. Yea, it probably isn't appropriate for him to flick anything off, but I don't think he knows what it means. I remember flicking off my classmates when I was his age. Surely he'll learn. I won't be the one to teach him though. People from Catalonia like Texans think their state is the best. The father and I established this similarity pretty quickly. Catalonia even wants to secede from Spain. The reason that people from Catalonia have so much disdain for Spain is because the government tried to prohibit them from teaching Catalan in their schools. Apparently this was on the world news. Everyday we work on their summer school work for a good portion of time, an hour to two hours, and their school work is in Catalan. I can help them with some things, but sometimes I just do not understand. Of course, their work is in a language that I have never studied, but most languages have their similarities. Then there are the universal things like math that I can manage to help with. I haven't had to deal with anyone who didn't already know that I only speak English and some Spanish. Hopefully, when I go into to Barcelona on Friday I won't have too many difficulties.

Sobre la comida...they eat horribly here. Dinner is usually break with thin slices of cheese and bread. That sounds okay, right? For breakfast they eat sugar. Not straight sugar, of course, but the kids eat sugary cereal with chocolate milk. To top that sugar intake off they have dessert after every meal and for snacks. Only one of me and Emily's kids are a little on the obese side. Its mine. Poor little Bernot is a little overweight. I had a conversation with his mom about it today. Not because I asked. She just started talking about it when he kept eating cereal. She laughed about it, so I guess she isn't too concerned. Part of the conversation over dinner was about what they eat. Emily was telling them that women in America would never eat as much bread, rice, and pasta as they do, yet the women are small. They have bellies though, which could probably be diminished with consuming less carbs. I don't really know though. They immediately said that they thought America had a lot of obese people and they are right...We said that obesity is a more prominent problem with lower income people and children. The first day I was here they bought me whatever food I wanted from the grocery store. I picked our spinach salad, carrots, cucumbers, apples and bananas. They all taste the same. In Ecuador, there were not that many similarities in fruits and vegetable. In Spain, the food they do have is not too strange for me, which is nice. Sonia makes me delicious salads with my spinach, corn, carrots, cucumbers, and oil and vinegar as the dressing. Oh and tuna. Some day soon I will ask her to leave the tuna out because she always gives me chicken with my salad. Too much protein, Sonia.

Tomorrow I will get to hang out in the center of town with Emily. Then the next day we are going to Barcelona. This is the only weekend that I will be able to see Emily...Sonia and Marta, Emily's mom, coordinated our schedules for us, so that we could hang out. That was very nice of them because I am almost positive we are going to be inconvenient for them. Santi, my father, insists that it is not a problem. Santi is so nice. He bought be a fan for my room today. He said that otherwise I was going to loose ten pounds because of sweating. Was I sweating that much?

Buenas Noches!

Mi primer dia

Welcome!

I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog because I am terrible at keeping in touch through email. I over think every email I write and it would take me hours to keep everyone updated. Not because I am keeping in touch with so many people, but because I take forever to write anything. I am self-conscious of my writing ability. I also wanted to journal my experience here. I have never been very good at journaling either. Hopefully I can manage this blog. I am going to make this first blog entry short because I want to go to bed. Plus, it took me half an hour to decipher blogspot in Spanish. I tried to change it...

Let me begin.

I have been here for about a day and a half. I can't say that my Spanish is improving much, but I am a lot more comfortable speaking it now. I am actually shocked that I have survived so far speaking in Spanish. Well, the mom does know a good amount of English so that helps.

My room is on the third floor of the house. The house is compact, so my room and bathroom are the only rooms on the third floor. I feel like Cinderella, but I am treated nothing like Cinderella! It is so hot up here. They are going to buy me a fan tomorrow. I slept with a towel last night to wipe my sweat. They have AC and it is a pretty new AC, but we would consider it a piece of crap in America. It blows straight down the stairs, not into my room. Breath, Kayla. My bed is tine, but I guess I am used to that. This bed is definitely small than my twin though. So much for making this short. Fuck my life, they just turned down the AC. I immediately started to sweat. I would describe their house as IKEA done right. All of the rooms are small and without much clutter. My bathroom is across the way from my room and passed the stairs. Its only six feet across. I have a half-bathtub shower if that makes sense. Sonia, the mom, set up a little basket for me with shampoo, conditioner, air freshener (that she emphasized is not perfume), brushes, a toothbrush and all sorts of things. Oh, it also had a scrubber that I really like. It's a small foam rectangle that is covered in soft cloth. Ah, and I one of those butt washers!!! I'll definitely try that out before I leave.

A quick summary of my day. They let me sleep in today until 10. Isn't that funny? Me, Kayla Newman, sleeping in until 10. The kids were already up. We had breakfast. They eat warm chocolate milk with sugary cereal for breakfast. They eat sweets all day. And I though American children ate poorly. After breakfast, they worked on their school work while I studied my Spanish textbook. My goal is to increase my verb vocabulary. I only use around ten verbs. I feel like a child because I use "to want" way too often. After their schoolwork, we went to their grandparents house. They are so nice and such good grandparents. Both of them went swimming twice with their grandkids (they have a granddaughter too, named Martina). The grandpa brought us back to the house where I went swimming with the boys and made bracelets. For dinner Sonia made me a delicious salad with spinach, corn, tuna, and aceite (olive oil?). Ah my computer is dying and I am so afraid to plug it in because the adapter killed my straightener...

I love you all!