First Day of School

The first day of school I happily packed my children off to school in their perfectly coordinated outfits, new backpacks, and polished shoes.

Just kidding.  I missed the first day of school for my kids.  All of them.  So I have no photographic evidence of my son's major ascension to junior high school. 

However, I did some parental duty this weekend and bought them all overpriced binders and helped them organize their schoolwork.  I also purchased for Casey a high quality trombone (well, rented) and bought a bunch of little unnecessary school supplies in an attempt to buy my children's love as I realized I was going to miss the first band concert due to work travel.

I honestly wish I didn't love the work I do so much because it would be a NO brainer to quit this deal.  Every single Sunday I brainstorm alternative ways to work in education, like going back into the classroom, trying to find a job with the school district, or a volunteer position like school board member or some other no-travel position.  But then Monday hits, I get an email on brainstorming ideas for a project, I have a conference call scheduled to save the world and WHAM I am sucked back into national work.

In an attempt to save my aforementioned neglect, I did snap a photo of my eldest this morning, his first day with the new trombone and I have to say that I am so happy with his school right now.  He is happy, the teachers seem to be exciting and fun, and so far, it is living up to my newly found Utah standards.

Isn't he lovely?

Almost Thou Persuadeth Me

I have to say that I simply love nuns.  I have never had an occasion to get to know them, but the ones I worked with in Spain were a delight.  Like, a REAL delight.

I can't really summarize an entire day of combining my three favorite things in the world:

• Progressive education
• Spanish
• Do gooder religious types

If they would have served a Spanish tortilla for lunch I think I would have thought I had literally died and gone to heaven.

A few points of interest:

1)  This particular order of nuns is focused on changing and improving families through education.  Isn't that awesome?  Yes it is.

So first they were really excited about that message.  Here they are, excited 

2)  They had great sense of humor and were so fun to be around.  They had a ton of questions and, did you know...that nuns call each other by their first name?? So it was like Monika, Edith, etc.

3)  They were happy, beautiful, and really focused on doing good.  I mean, I felt like they were doing some really special work in the world and it was a privilege to be a part of it:

I am going to start looking for nuns to hang out with them more.  Do you think there are any in Utah?

Teleferic

Sent from my robot phone

Plaza de España

With Cervantes, Don Quixote y Sancho Panza.

Madrid de noche

Detalles

So I had an awesome day with nuns but I am a few posts behind and I have to stay in order.

Fact:  Barcelona is totally awesome.  Fountains mmm:

Fact:  If you drink from the fountain in La Rambla, you always return.  Also a fact:  The water tastes disgusting.  Since I have gone to that fountain several times, the desire to return courses like poison in my veins, no need to feed the best.  I did get a foto taken by it though.

Fact:  The official language of Barcelona and the entire region surrounding is Catalán.  For those who don't know the deep roots of a very long battle, the region of Catalunya wants to be separate--not like tejas that jokes about it, but for reals for reals Catalunya doesn't want to be part of Spain and in fact does not consider what we consider "Spanish" to be Spanish, rather Castellano.  Though I have used the term before, I had forgotten that some Catalanes consider it an insult to call it Spanish (even though they don't want to be Spanish, so, weird.)  Anywho, linguists know that if a language isn't useful, it declines so they require it for everything these days to protect the language from extinction and to resurge as a great language of art and culture.  The sign below is in Catalán and is the one found at the base of said fountain:

Fact:  Awesome architecture due largely to Gaudí.  More on that guy later, but everywhere you see his influence:

Fact:  Spaniards love motorcyles.  Harleys, really, but they don't drive them, they drive little motos.  Here is a sampling of moto love:

Fact:  El Barça has the best soccer team in the world right now.  My friend (well, her husband to be exact) es, like many other in his city, un fanático.  Their entire family dressed up and of course bought me un original shirt.  They were very happy to see me in the shirt, I hope I actually wear it again in my life.  Maybe Halloween?

I have many other pictures, but at least I got these up for now.  Next post:  Mucha marcha en Madrid and Flamenco.

The Spanish Beso

I was planning to do a post on detalles--all the details of Barcelona which focused on hundreds of pictures of roof tops.  Be thankful for lousy internet that all you get is this post until my pictures finish downloading.

Since I mentioned the Spanish beso in my last post I thought I would help out those of you who have no knowledge of the beso.

In Spain, you give a kiss (beso) to people on each cheek under the following circumstances:

1)  You are being introduced to someone new

2)  You see someone you know after a long time (a month, a year, 5 years, etc.)

3)  You see someone you know really well after a shorter time period

It is a very sweet tradition, people seem to do it in place of a hug and there is an indicator that you are going to get a beso when the person leans in towards you--not really any awkwardness, a nice simple expression of kindness and caring.

Not surprisingly for those of you know about missionary policies in the Mormon church (which are basically guidelines similar to what a nun or priest might follow), the missionaries are discouraged from giving besos to the opposite sex.  It goes hand in hand with a strict no-opposite sex general policy which precludes missionaries from being alone in a room, or even at a 1/1 ratio with members of the opposite gender.  It is a really important guideline that helps missionaries really focus on spiritual work instead of on their more tangible and very alert hormones at that age.

Anyway, as a person who is a bit of a hugger (not like, lingering huggy and hang all over you hugger, just a normal I care about you hugger) I had a hard time with the "no beso" rule when I was on my mission. 

See in Spain, a beso is a gesture of friendliness, not attraction, and by making it taboo, it actually elevates the level of the beso to feel like it IS related to attraction.  So... I admit a few times when someone was already leaning in, I let it slide.  Mostly we used the line "no damos besos" (we don't give kisses) but it was such an awkward moment if the person was already moving in for the kiss.

Fortunately, we could beso the ladies all we liked which were mainly the people we kept company with anyway, so I didn't miss out on the tradition entirely.

Now that I am in Spain as a post-missionary girl, it is enjoyable to not stress about that awkwardness of  "no damos besos" and instead meet and greet whomever I like in a platonic kiss.

I highly recommend both Spain and the beso.


Today I splurged and got myself tickets for a dinner and flamenco show at what is apparently the premier restaurant of Madrid, Corral de la Morería which is featured in the Book "1000 Places to See Before You Die."  Hopefully I can get a few snapshots without looking too touristy.

La vida quotidiana parte II

I am taking a different kind of vacation in Spain.  My former mission companion, Cristina, refers to it as la vida quotidiana--the daily life.  I am in a suburb an hour outside of Barcelona and we are doing a lot of things that Spanish people do, and I am loving it.  I almost think everyone should do a vacation where you go to a non-touristy spot and you stay in a humble living space to really, really experience what people do.  It reminds me of the mission except I can kiss attractive men.

So... what do Spanish people do?

Well... they go shopping.  I personally LOVE grocery stores in other countries.  In fact, I would love to do a grocery tour across Europe.  If you ever travel to another country, make SURE to go to a local market (skip the touristy stores) so you can get a sense of what the average Joe eats.  Fascinating, really and truly.   Even within the United States I find the comparison interesting.

One thing they do, which seems super smart to me, is they have a security system for their carts!  You pay a Euro, click the button and take the cart, but if you return it to the place, you get your Euro back when you click it in!!  Smart, no?

Spaniards eat mainly fresh food.  They eat bread of the day, they eat fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other vegetables they might sneak into a fritura with olive oil for some tasty dish or other.  Here below you can see the fabulous, well-priced produce in the plaza of the city.  Doesn't it look beautiful?

One thing I found totally different was in the appliance store. Check out how narrow the fridges are!

Maybe you couldn't tell, so here is a point of reference:

We also went to a birthday party where I happened upon a woman whose husband was in my mission.  The kid looks JUST like his dad.  I mean, seriously!!

Here I am eating way too much chorizo with my former companion and wonderful friend Cristina Colomo who I love to bits and pieces.  She is a REAL Catalán.

Tomorrow:  Church and then a nun.

Vida quotidiana

To Spain

In 8 hours I will land in the city of Barcelona where I will be embraced by the Mediterranean.  She has called my name for years and I could not answer but today is the day my friends.  The day I will return to the land where my adult life began.

And it has been sweet my friends.  While I had a happy youth and a reasonably average level of self-loathing during adolescence, my life markedly, decidedly improved as I aged and it seems to still be in on upswing and I attribute so much of my happiness to the formative experience I had as a missionary while in Spain.

My only wish for this trip is that my family were with me to enjoy it.

So... what will I be doing?

A little bit of this:

A little bit of that:

And of course my primary responsibility:

Working with a group of nuns on Tuesday.

I would ask you to pray for me but I need you to send your luck and prayers to the following individuals who have a lot of "firsts" to go through without me around.

• Steve.  Who I love more than life and who I already miss so that he can get the routine started for back-to-school week
• Gillian.  Has her first soccer practice and game (ever!) this week.  She is also starting up the Spanish immersion this year (she had to take a hiatus because the program here doesn't start until 2nd grade)
• Casey.  Starting Junior High (gulp!) as a big 7th grader.  
• Meghan.  Potty Training.
• Bridget.  That she can adjust to going to bed before 3 am.

Hasta luego chicos!!

A Tragic Affair

Dear Sugar,

I think we need to reevaluate our relationship. I thought I was clear with you about wanting to be just friends, but every time I go on a trip for work, you call me and want to get together. A lot. You aren't satisfied with the regular 3 or 4 times a week, you call me constantly and then make an appearance wearing that chocolate outfit you know I love so much.

Yesterday I saw you across the room and tried to make it clear that Protein and I are trying to get to know each other, but there you were, spending time with Protein just to get close to me.

This morning, Veggies and I were hanging out and then you randomly showed up on my plate. I guess here in the Midwest you let yourself get around a little more than usual hidden in a yellow corn cloak, which frankly should embarrass you.

I know I have said this before, but I need you to stop calling me. Stop showing up wherever you know I will be and please, for the love of all that is holy, stop sneaking around my hotels. If I see your face at check in or in my room waiting to take advantage of me because I am tired, it will push me over the edge. If you really and truly love me, please let me go.

I am going to take a break from you over the next few months and when I go to Spain next week and ignore you, please understand that it isn't you, it is me. I need to get these feelings under control and plan on a torrid affair with Dairy for a few weeks just to stop myself from thinking about you.

I hope you can forget me though truly, I will never forget you.

PS Please tell your cousin Aspartame to quit hitting on me, he is such a sleaze bag.

From el iPad

Now Hiring: A New Tooth Fairy

Isn't it cute when your children get so excited when they lose a tooth? And the promise of a fair payment in exchange for the maturation process, the loss, bit by bit, of childhood and the mourning of the creeping threat of braces and root canals?

But in our house, the sight of a loose tooth inspires fear among the adults, a fear unlike any other you experience as a parent: the inevitable disappointment your children will experience the next morning knowing that no matter how hard you try, the tooth fairy is going to let you down.

The tooth fairy that visits our house is, alas, a mess. She has failed to come on several occasions and in fact has leveraged a few excuses to allay the tears of a child:

--The tooth fairy doesn't come on Sundays
--The tooth fairy is giving you three stickers instead of money

This morning, however, the tooth fairy topped even her own track record with a new excuse:

--The tooth fairy placed your money under your sister's pillow.

To be honest, I think the tooth fairy did it on purpose because he doesn't believe in propagating myths of fantastical beings.