"Travelers aren't rich with physical possessions but have made an absolute fortune out of life and its opportunities."

I haven't really updated my "Spanish" sort of tale with any details of Spain since December so I'll try to get you all up to speed on what's been going on here!
Here's the link to my Picasa album for Photos!: SPAIN 2012

View of Barcelona and the Sea

While I was in Africa at the beginning of January, my village celebrated the coming of the 3 Kings and had a celebration for Saint Sebastian that lasted a week. The 3 kings (if you don't remember) is their really big celebration around Christmas, when all of the families get together and all of the big gifts are given to the kiddos. When I got home from the airport, we opened the door and Roger said "Maria!!" and he ran over and gave me the biggest hug.  Anna had told Rosa earlier that day that she had missed me but when I got there she kind of looked at me like "thanks for leaving us." haha but I got a hug out of her and got her giggling seconds after getting home. The kids were super excited to show me what they had got from the 3 Kings and were all smiles. Roger rushed me into my room to show me that I had a great present from the 3 Kings waiting on me! A Catalan-Spanish-English dictionary made by Roger and Rosa  :) I loved it! There was also a Yamaha keyboard sitting on my desk that is being lent to me from Susagna's dad while I'm here so that I can tickle the ivories a bit while I'm away from my piano at home.
That celebration of Saint Sebastian had begun the weekend before, on Jan 13th (or 14th?) and involved a party for the entire village.  The whole village has a dinner together and goes out to the nearby forest to have a bonfire and enjoy a great night together.  They go out to the forest so that they can chop down a giant tree and carry it back to the center of the village (no I'm not kidding) and that's exactly what they did! Chopped down a tree, got dozens of men together, put it on their shoulders, and carried it to the center of the village.  A few of my friends were helping to carry it and I saw photos later- it looks like quite the team effort!  So the week I arrived back here, they continued on celebrating Saint Sebastian.  On Thursday I went to the center of the village with Roger and his class and learned a traditional dance that they do around the tree for the celebration.   It was so adorable.
Saturday we all went to the center to stand around the tree and watch the annual tree-climbing event. Anyone who wants to, can attempt to shimmy their way up to the very top of the tree to touch a ham that is tied to the branches.  This is an impressive sport. They started with children (they lowered the ham and only had to climb half way up), went on the teenagers and had the adults go last. Whoever makes it up the tree in the fastest time wins the ham.  The man who won made it in less than 30 seconds I believe- crazy! This is a TALL tree. It was really fun to watch though :)  After the tree climbing everyone continued standing around the tree to do the traditional dance that the children were taught earlier in the week.  Children in the middle and adults on the outside. I was just going to watch but then got pulled in by some of the local women.  I decided it'd be best to attempt the kids' moves rather than the adults. Stumbled with the steps and probably looked like a fool but had fun anyway :)  After dancing, went to have a beer with friends then went back home to have lunch with the family. Susagna's sister Gemma came with her 4 kiddos so I got to give the newborn twins lots of cuddles :) They're growing so fast! but don't they all? :)

Since that weekend we haven't had too much going on and it's been cold! SO cold in fact that we had a SNOW DAYYYYY!!! that just happened to be the same day as Nic's birthday - Feb. 2nd :) SUCH a fun day! The night before, I was in the kitchen and Toni told me that it would snow the next day. The next thing I know, we look outside and it IS snowing! I was so excited I ran outside and watched for about 30 minutes as the beautiful giant, fluffy snowflakes fell to the ground thinking Shoot! this will all be gone in the morning.  Much to my surprise, I woke up to Roger saying "MARIA! SNOW!! Come look! Come look!" haha it felt like Christmas morning we were all so excited.  Instead of eating breakfast or playing before school, the kids just stood in their jammies looking out the window at it as it continued to snow.  Roger said "Wowwww. It is SO beautiful!" lol this kid loves the word beautiful and uses it all the time- super cute. I was wishing we would have enough to get bundled up to go play in it, but we didn't so I dropped them off at school then met with Nic (the birthday girl!), Rosa, Estel, and Puxa for a coffee and as we were sitting in the bar getting our caffeine fix and chatting like giddy kids, I got a phone call saying that the schools would be closed after lunch. There was not more than 1/2 inch of snow on the ground, this was comical to someone who lives in a place where if it DOESN'T snow it's pretty strange.  So we all immediately started planning for our Snowww DAY! I picked up the kids early before lunch, around 11:30 and we all went back to the house along with Nic and her kids she au pairs for- Pau and Martina. The snow was perfect for packing! so we had quite the snowball fight, had delicious spaghetti for Nic's birthday lunch, and had slideshows of my photos from Africa. After Toni got home and took back over the kiddos we baked cakes for the birthday girl as we sipped on our cheap beer and discussed the plan for the night.  Was such a great day with great friends! Best snow day I've had in years.

Last weekend I went to Barcelona and finally spent a few days exploring the beautiful city!  I was lucky enough to be welcomed into the flat of Susagna's brother Adria and his boyfriend Fran, best tour guides in the city as far as I'm concerned :) Had such a great weekend with them! I took the 42 minute train ride from Terrassa to Barcelona with Jadyn (the newest au pair here from California!) and met Adria on Para lel around 5:00.  We went back to their flat and not long after ventured out to see some sites.  Such a beautiful city! We took a walk past the Moulin Rouge, walked down the Rambla with a great view of the mountains in the distance with a huge church sitting on the tip.  Then we went by an incredible old building that used to be the hospital.  We walked into the garden area and found that part of the ancient hospital had been turned into a library so of course we had to go inside to check it out! Oldest library I've ever been in, and so incredibly cool.  We continued walking around to the major parts of the city; checking out the old Jewish district and traveling down the great mid-evil streets seeing the old and amazing cathedrals, the Music Palace and the awesome architecture so many of the buildings have. They wanted to surprise me by taking me to a great bar for a beer and a break from walking which I soon found out was my FAVORITE bar in the city that I had been to before! It was a great surprise anyway and I was happy to get to enjoy the environment. We did some wandering and found ourselves inside of a display of Giants and their animals that we later saw when getting caught in the parade with them haha We then wandered into a cathedral that had quite the show going on, involving a GIANT dancing bird as a band played traditional music in the front of the church.  Neither of us knew what was going on.  Fran works at a bar in the city on weekends as a type of sound technician for the bands and had to go to work so Adria and I continued on through the city and found an incredible light show happening on the side of one of the government buildings, synchronized to music and a lot of great animation. We walked down a few more allys and found ourselves at a large building with a giant countdown to zero.  When we got there the clock had 4 minutes left and as it got closer to zero we realized we were the only ones in the middle of the square.  There were about 40 seconds left and we had no idea what was happening but I was getting a little nervous! thinking what DOES happen when that gets to zero?! So I said, "uh- Adria, maybe we should move over THERE." haha we moved back and when the clock got to zero there was an instant loud boom of music and another light show started!  It was our lucky day :) After that  we ate at a delicious Pizzeria to stop our rumbling stomachs and kill time before going to the bar to watch the band.  Little did I know that by going to this bar I would get to learn about a whole different culture in Spain! The bar we went to was a Basque Bar that is popular for Basque people who, like the Catalans, have their own culture, language, traditions- their own identity- apart from the Spanish. Here's some more info about them if you want to check it out- History of Basque People  it's pretty interesting! They had a traditional band playing in the bar which happened in a room that was dome shaped with a roof made of stone and resembled a (non-creepy) cellar.  A really great setting for the performance. Of course I didn't understand a word especially since they were singing in yet another language I've never heard of before haha but I enjoyed it so much! Was really great entertainment. The bar was followed by a trip to a nearby Hookah (shisha) bar that has been in the area for years and years.  We got home around 3am and I was elated to know I could sleep in the next morning without waking at 7:00 to crying kids! :)

The next morning I woke up feeling totally refreshed. .  at 12 Noon :) haha Got out of bed and found fresh squeezed orange juice and homemade mini muffins waiting on me. Delicious! Adria had gone to the market and Fran had gone to work so I plugged my iPod into their speakers, jammed to music, showered and got ready for the day.  Adria still wasn't back when I was ready so I decided to take the opportunity to play the marvelous, beautiful, amazing piano that they own. This thing is perfect and I feel so great when playing it.
After a delicious lunch of pasta with homemade pesto and some fresh asparagus, we headed out to see some sites. How did we get around? By scooter baby! I strapped that helmet on, climbed on the back (held on for dear life) and felt so gosh darn European! We saw SO much! and so quickly. The absolute best way to travel through the city. Zip zip zoom! and you're there.  We went up to the top of the mountain (just a big hill really) next to their flat which is pretty high and had wonderful views of the city down below the whole way.  We went to the Olympic Stadium that was used in '92 and was absolutely awesome to be inside- can't wait for the Olympics in London to start! Then we went to a castle even farther up on the hill that overlooked the entire city with SOME views! We could see all the mountains in the distance hugging the outside of the city and the Mediterranean's vibrant blue water colliding with the other side of the city.  Really beautiful. Then we zipppped! down to the beach and walked around for awhile even though the winds were wicked and it was freezing.  After I couldn't feel my fingers anymore we went for a beer.  We headed back to their flat around 7 and inspired by the Moulin Rouge around the corner from us, watched the movie for the first time while Adria prepared a delicious dinner for me and a few of his friends that were on their way.  When they arrived we had a session of karaoke as I played the piano and they sang Beatles tunes.  We gobbled up our delicious dinner and enjoyed the beautiful chocolate dessert and around midnight left to go to a private club where every night..... is Flamenco dancing night! After buzzing the bell to be let in and wiggling our way through the crowd to find a place at the bar, we settled in for the night to watch the dancing couples.  Just so happened that Adria and one of his best friends takes classes and dances Flamenco so they danced all night.  Was such a great time and so much fun to see first-hand!

Park Guell created by the Catalan artist Gaudi 

Sunday afternoon we went to the Park Güell which was created by the very famous and incredible Catalan artist Gaudi. This place is like nothing you've ever seen.  So many different parts of the architecture moving and flowing together.  It took 14 years for Gaudi to complete it and overlooks the city on a hill. The majority of his work in the park is mosaic and just- WOW.  You could look at it for hours- there are so many details! I will be going back there again, no doubt.  After leaving the park we went to a Palestine restaurant and had a delicious lunch.  Then it was back to Matadepera for me. I got back to the house around 7 and was exhausted.  It was a perfect weekend with really wonderful people :) Can't wait to do it again.

Other exciting events?? My birthday came around! My day started with being woken up by the family carrying a cake that positively looked like it was on fire through my sleepy eyes and singing 'Happy Birthday' to me :)  Such a sweet surprise! and what a wonderful wake to wake up on your birthday! After having the kids help me blow out my forest fire they gave me the birthday cards they made me :) Drawings and colored pictures that they had done for me. I loved them!  Roger's drawing had the US flag on it, along with many other things haha too cute. I went on a walk through the woods on a really nice path with Jadyn and took care of the kiddos until 3 when I took them back to school.  Then later met friends for a birthday beer until dinner with the family.  They took me to a fabulous pizzeria in Sabadell (a city about 15 minutes away) where we enjoyed a delicious meal complete with fresh gelatto for dessert made in the restaurant. Would put Nathan Miller's ice cream to the test. Mmm mm! After leaving the restaurant I knew I was meeting a couple of friends in Terrassa so I was asking Rosa about our plans and the next thing I know she's taking a scarf and blind-folding me! She led me blind down through the streets to the car and drove me to our next destination, which I figured was in Terrassa but I had no idea where. Being blind in a car is a crazy feeling! I was laughing the whole time. When we got to where we were supposed to be, I got out of the car and was forced into another car with who, I didn't know and was driven to another place where I got out and was then led around outside, touching plants and other things I didn't know, being left on a park bench alone, going up escalators, into elevators, and up and down steps. haha it was more fun that you would think it could be.  No one was talking to me during this entire scene- all I could hear were people passing by talking and laughing haha I'm sure it was quite the image.  Finally i got led inside, sat down and was able to take the scarf off to discover that we were inside a Mexican restaurant with a margarita on the rocks sitting in front of me! (my FAVORITE!)  with Rosa, Nic and Puxa sitting there smiling haha after a couple of drinks we wandered outside and went into the bowling ally nearby to take our pictures in a photo booth and boogie to a few crazy rounds on the dancing machine.  Our last stop was at St. Paddy's an Irish pub where we enjoyed the great Strongbow cider.  A really wonderful birthday it was! :)

Everything else has been going pretty great, overall.  After getting back from Africa I finally got hired to teach a class with the English teaching company here- Parlem Cat. So I have a class of 4 boys who are 3 years old every Monday.  They're going to be a handful! but will be fun.  They have a lot of energy and can't speak a word of English, but hopefully I'm successful in getting some stuck in their mind haha I'm also a sub for the company whenever they need one and was asked to teach 4 different classes last week.  They were all with kids 13 years and older so that was new for me, but went really well! I actually really liked working with the older kids which surprised me entirely.

Flag of Catalonia waving proudly on top of the mountain flying over Barcelona. 

Roger and Anna are learning more and more English all the time! Roger is just brilliant- everything I teach him sticks like glue and he gets better all the time.  Now talking in complete sentences and reading entire books by himself and understanding 95% of the words!  He also understands just about everything that I say and doesn't have to ask "what?" as much.  We're able to have longer conversations and he's able to explain more to me.  One day recently we were sitting on the sofa reading a book and there was this constant thumping on the roof that would start and then stop again. The first few times I just ignored it but by the 3rd time I looked at Roger and asked "What in the world IS that Roger??" and he looks at me dead in the face and says, "Don't worry Maria! It isn't a monster." then went back to reading his book.  haha I couldn't help but laugh. I said "Perfect English Roger! Good job :)"  I then went outside to see what the heck was going on and as soon as I opened the door it stopped.  Still haven't discovered if it was a monster or not ;)  Anna is able to understand more and is able to ask me questions like, can I have more water please? and replies when I ask her how school was or how she is doing, often replying in Catalan, but with answers that make sense! She is always counting in English and answers me with yes or no when usually she would say 'Si' or 'no'.  She's repeating a LOT more and actually gets upset when I don't teach her English.  :) They have both started being funny funny. . . copying me to  'sound like me' and saying 'OH my GODDDD!' like apparently I do? haha Rosa pointed this out to them one day and they thought it was just absolutely hilarious and Roger would tell everyone that that's what I sound like.  Two days ago we were sitting at breakfast and out of nowhere Anna goes "Ohh my Goddddddd!" in clear, perfect English. I just looked at Roger with bug eyes and we both started dying laughing.  It was hilarious but I also couldn't believe how clear the words were. I instinctively said "oh my god! She just said that SO PERFECTLY!" which made us laugh even harder because I didn't even mean to say it.  Too funny!
Although adorable and obviously pretty funny at times, these kiddos can be quite the challenge! My patience has been tested to its extreme limits haha but we're working on listening more and not throwing a fit for every thing that doesn't go their way as well as some daily manners- Please and Thank yous and such.  I've put up a behavior chart for Roger that decreases time of watching TV if his listening isn't good and it's definitely working! (thank goodness) There were a lot of days where I just felt like a broken record repeating things 5+ times before he would listen, but it's getting better.  With Anna it's obviously just difficult because she doesn't understand, so it will always be hard but it's gotten somewhat better as we continue to learn about how to communicate with each other better.
The learning of Spanish for me is just crap and out of the works for the most part. Just frustrating - I expected to hear more Spanish. . . or at least hear a bit of it every day, but I never hear it.  I was just hoping to pick up on the language quickly by hearing it every day but since that's not the case I practically have to teach myself with books and the help of friends. . . so it's more of a studying process than actually being immersed in the language and learning it through communication, which is a bummer- but oh well! not everything goes according to plan. I obviously could be working super hard to study and learn it but don't have that desire so I'll just continue to learn at my snail pace and possibly use a source like Rosetta Stone to help me out when I get back home.  Not the end of the world :)

This week Spain has been celebrating Carnival which is a celebration similar to Mardi Gras- and most of the villages and cities had events this past weekend, so I traveled to Sitges, a nearby village with Jadyn and some other au pairs.  Sitges has one of the biggest parties of Carnival in Catalonia so it was fun! Whipped together a hippie costume, had a great time and got home at 10 am haha Typical Spain. . . :)


Thanks for checkin out the blog my trusty readers! :)  Peace and love!

xxxxx