"...and I Think to Myself, What a Wonderful World."

I promised myself I'd be better at updating this but that just hasn't happened :). . . . so here goes the update of March! (How is theeeee world is March almost over already?)
PICASA ALBUM! ----->SPAIN! Pt. TWO!

Time just seems to keep racing by and I have a mere 6 weeks left until I'm back State-side! It feels like yesterday I was saying my goodbyes to most of you at Mom and Pops' Fall party. . . so on that note, 'living it up' is always on the mind now and that's exactly what I've been doing :)  I've done some more exploring to surrounding areas and have loved it! Spain really is beautiful...and a lot bigger than you would think.  Still some time left to soak it all up :)

Standing in front of the Magic Fountain in Barcelona

This past weekend was amazing! My friend Caitlin visited me from Italy where she's studying.  She's a wonderful friend I met on my volunteer trip in Australia two years ago- and it has BEEN two years since I hugged her goodbye at the airport, so it was quite the sweet reunion!  and the best part was that it was like no time had passed, one of those rare friendships where you pick up right where you left off.  Her friend Vanessa also came and she even mentioned that it seemed like we had never spent anytime apart haha I guess working on an island rolling around in wallaby poo all day, having to sync our rowing efforts and smelling like trench water together forms a pretty tight bond :) Loads of reminiscing took place during the weekend (made we wish I could just teleport back to Tassie) and it was a good thing we had a lot to catch up on because our travels were pretty time consuming! We spent Friday night in Barcelona, exploring a bit, enjoying some brewskys on the beach, and eating at a MEXICAN restaurant!! I FINALLY found one!! Trust me, the efforts that took place to find this restaurant surpassed any sane amount of energy a person should exert to find food, but I was determined. and What did we find? Delicious guac and pitchers of Sangria :) yum. Although it was no El Cam. it hit the spot!  We got to witness the incredible and seriously fascinating Magic Fountain of Montjuic- a water spectacular synchronized to music with the back drop being more water falls coming off of a massive building- REALLY great architecture- and a row of giant pillars that also had a small fountain below them.  After the fountain's performance (and our dancing accompaniment haha) we strolled around the area then went back to find the Metro.

We headed back to Sant Jordi's Hostel..ahhhh a HOSTEL! I've missed them! This was seriously the best Hostel I've ever stayed at. . . they had magnetic card keys for the lockers and your own bed-side light! that's unheard of.  We called it a night knowing the next morning would be an early one, and yep 7 am came pretty quickly! HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY!! We headed out the door of the hostel around 8:00 only 10 minutes behind schedule, hopped on the metro to get to the train station and took off in a run to buy a ticket after seeing that the train to Valencia was leaving in 10 minutes.  However, when getting to the ticket machine found that it was all in  Espanol... and tooooo bad!!! Maria still hasn't learned a word of the language :) so to the ticket booth we went where we discovered that our 8:30 train was full. Uhh huh...Perfect.  So we got tickets for the 9:30 train and went to look for breakfast (donuts and chips) and tools to get the St. Paddy's Day festivities off on the right foot (liters of Sangria that tasted only a littttttle bit like nail polish remover) and went to the platform to wait. . . well little did we know the direction we were going was such a popular route! SWARMS of people hovering on the edge of the platform waiting to jump on the train.  Being my typical self, I sat down thinking "what's the rush?" and assuming there'd be enough seats on the train "why was everyone getting their panties in a bunch? Sheesh!" As soon as the train rolled up it was like Black Friday at ToysRUs! Shoooot! Everyone pushing and scrambling to get on the train.  Once we got on we saw why...it was completely packed- all the seats and aisles. We were starting to think our 3 1/2 hour train ride was going to be prettttty uncomfortable. . . After standing for 40 minutes I decided to sit. So I made myself comfortable in the aisle, eating my "breakfast" and being pretty un-enthusiastic about the view from down there. . . all I could see were knees, ankles, and shoes. Finally after an hour and a half we all got seats and the rest of the ride went pretty quickly.

Larger than life Ninots placed all over the city of Valencia

Our destination: VALENCIA! for Las Fallas (Festival of Fire) which is one of the largest festivals in Spain. Forget St. Paddy's Day! As soon as we stepped out of the train station it was obvious that they don't mess around throwing these fiestas. People were everywhere! You couldn't even see the streets, the only the masses of people.  It was a sight to take in! There were fire-crackers being lit off, the smell of sweet, delicious churros frying in the street booths, and giant Ninots (floats) towering over the people...making them look so small...at the end of every street. With our Sangria in hand, we tackled the crowd and started through, checking out the VERY impressive Ninots along the way and really just wandering around, taking it all in.  We found an Irish pub but it wasn't really hoppin' yet so we continued on to a park to sizzle in the sun a bit and relax.
Las Fallas is famous for the burning of the ninots that takes place on Monday night as the closing ceremony.  After all of the ninots have been judged, they pick one that goes into a museum and the rest get burned in the city center as a celebration. Wish I could have seen it, because apparently it looks like the city is on fire.  There goes all of that hard work, huh?
Later in the day we met up with some of Vanessa and Caitlin's friends and sat on the street at a cafe having a beer, with the constant pop of finger poppers and small fire-crackers.  We spent most of the rest of the evening enjoying the procession of people dressed in their medieval clothing....their very EXPENSIVE dresses (some over 20,000 Euros) to bring their bouquets of flowers to the Virgin Mary. . . this went on all day and night. There were thousands of them and they were beautiful.  Adults and children, even babies! were dressed in head to toe beauty to deliver their gift for the festival.   We discovered Flannigan's- an Irish Pub and made it our home for the night.  In an attempt to find the loo we ran into Niles, an Irish man himself and after drawing shamrocks on our cheeks and some crazy dancing we went and met his friends from England. Such a fun group! We had a few pints and went to see the amazing firework display at 1:30 that went on for 25 minutes and was beautiful! Great choice to go. . . except for losing Caitlin and Vanessa in the crowd by accident. I wasn't sure if I'd see them again but after the fireworks we were walking back to Flannigan's and all of a sudden I just hear a sad yell of "MARIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" and I heard it twice. I looked at Niles and was like you know who that is don't you??? We looked over and there Caitlin sat on the curb obviously upset by the fact that she thought I had lost them forever haha those pints weren't helping her judgement but the look on her face when she saw me was priceless. "No WAY! THERE you ARE! Right there you ARE!"  haha I instantly fell into a fit of giggles and had to sit down beside her to catch my breath.
So after our 2nd reunion in 2 days, we headed back to Flannigan's to enjoy the Live Irish Music!! that I've missed OH so much.  I was the happiest soul in that place, my face hurt from smiling.  I just loved it! Hearing that Irish whistle brought me right back. While we were enjoying the entertainment I spotted a guy with a Red Sox shirt on who I of course had to approach because there was no way he was a European with a baseball shirt on.....but he was Irish! Had lived in Boston for 5 years working and fell in love with the Sox, respectable team :) He ended up introducing us to his friends who play for a Gaelic Football club here in Spain and luck (of the Irish) has it that they have a tournament this weekend in Barcelona so that's where I'll be! My host brother in Ireland played Gaelic football and I loved going to his matches.  There's no way I'd miss this chance. Should be fun! Plus being surrounded by the Irish again will be a happy day :)

So after closing down the pub at 4 am, we made our trek back to the train station to head back to Barcelona...yes we had planned this. Sleep is overrated and I knew if we were in Spain we wouldn't be going to sleep before 6 am anyway.  Walking out onto the street you would think it was midnight! People were still everywhere. . . and trust me we were one of the few with our Guinness hats, smudged sweaty shamrock cheeks and green glasses on.  The festival was still going strong. After getting some fast food breakfast in our possession we went to the train station assuming there would be no issue getting onto the 5 am train. . .I mean there could be no way it would full like last time, right? WRONG.  It was full...as in COMPLETELY full and there were no more tickets available. Super.  The next train left at 8:30 and was at a station 15 minutes away so we headed that way but when arriving at the station we got   another fun surprise! Doors were locked.  Perrrrrfect.  It wasn't like it was freezing at 5:30 in the morning or anything.  So we snuggled in on our freezing, rock-hard slabs of cement and waited for 7 am to come...willing it to come as quickly as possible.  By the time 7 am came I couldn't feel my toes, hands or nose but we made it! Boarded the train and got back to Barcelona at 11:30 which of course meant there was no time to sleep because it was already past our time of check-out for the hostel.  I brought Vanessa and Caitlin to Gaudi's Park Guell and we hung out in Barcelona for the afternoon.  After some delicious ice cream treats I headed back to Terrassa around 7:00.  Tough goodbye! Who knows when I'll see that girl next...may be another 2 years.  Just glad we had a wonderful weekend that we'll be able to reminisce about two years down the road ! :)

Rosa and me waiting for the band to start!

Weekends other than last have been spent around here and have been great!  A few weeks ago I had a weekend of the Arts!  My friend Ana is in a band (Sense Sal) and they had a concert in Terrassa that we all went to.  I love their music and it was great being able to support Ana! The next night I went to see the Musical 13. My friend Estel is studying performance and is assisting with the musical.  The musical is about a Jewish teen who has to move from New York to...none other than..INDIANA! and of course it's the worst day of his life haha only corn fields and no friends to invite to his Bat Mitzvah.  They're a cast of middle school kids who did a really great job.  It was all in Catalan so I obviously couldn't understand much but I still enjoyed the music and watching a group of teens work that hard is just fun.  After the show Estel told us to find her because she wanted to introduce me to the director. Meeting the director lead to meeting the ENTIRE cast! haha Estel told them I was from Indiana and they were all pretty intrigued.  One even asked me "INDIANA?! That's a REAL place?"  Yes.. it sure is haha There's always something weird about meeting the people who you have just been watching on stage for the past 2 hours.  Oh those teens. . . all bouncing full of energy and not a care in the world :) with their roses from family and friends and high off their happy endorphins that buzz after opening night's performance.  Brought me back to high school when I would go to see my friends in their drama performances at the HS.

Two weeks ago Jadyn and I took the Sunday to go to Tibidabo, a mountain over looking Barcelona with a small amusement park on the top.  Can't remember if I mentioned her in the last blog, but Jadyn is the new au pair in Matadepera from Cali and she's so great!  We've been taking a lot of mini adventures together.  Good travel buddy no
doubt :)  Our transportation to the top of the mountain was an adorable trolley that went through the city and climbed the steep hills, giving us a great view of the city the entire way.
We were in the front standing next to the open door. They need more of these, they're a fun way to go! . . Trolley transport: Oldy but goody!   Tibidabo was really beautiful! It was a perfect Spring day and the view of course was wonderful.  To the East was the never-ending sea and the entirety of Barcelona and to the West were beautiful mountains and the sun-set :) A great day with some glorious views; having a picnic of chip sandwiches, mandarins and chocolate for dessert. yum yum!  After missing the last tram and trolley (after having already paid for them both), we hopped on a bus that brought us right to Placa de Catalunya where we needed to be to get the train back to Terrassa.  We stopped by Cafe Zurich for an End of the Weekend Beer and headed back to Terrassa, where I had my car at the train station, around 8.

View of Barcelona from the top of Tibidabo

Teaching English has been going so well! My class of 3 year olds I teach on Mondays seems to be enjoyable for the little guys and they're doing a good job of repeating words and short phrases.  I have a wander-er who really enjoys being in his own little world haha and one who always cries a lot at the beginning of the lesson which makes me always bring out the most fun activities at the beginning, unfortunately- but it works and that's the important thing!  There's usually about 3 or 4 times during the lesson where I lose them for a minute (I mean they don't understand a word I'm saying and I don't understand them much) but it only takes me about 30 seconds to get them back on track :) Lots of energy! I'm usually sweating by the end! haha we don't sit down much and there is always a LOT of instrument playing, dancing, singing, and 'Ring around the Rosie' happening. :) A fun group to teach!

As for every-day life with the Martinez family, teaching English has been a complete success.  Roger is speaking in sentences and even correcting me haha (might have mentioned that in the last blog, but he still does it all the time).  He really enjoys learning the language! Every teacher's dream come true, an enthusiastic student! and he's just a funny kid.  Luckily he goes along with the crazy shinannigans we get into.....There was one day we hopped in the car, drove to school...and couldn't get out of the car.  The door just wouldn't open.  I tried everything and unfortunately the other doors are child-locked so you can only open them from the outside.  Super.  Knowing I couldn't say "Open the door please" in Catalan to people passing by, I went with my only other option- making Roger climb out of the window to open the doors for us.  With a look of "really?!" and all smiles and some laughs, he unbuckled and climbed out the window.  Oh I can only imagine the chuckle people got from watching this unfold.  Operation escape: success!!! and we weren't even a minute late for school :) Anna is also improving her English and really enjoying it.  She gets upset when we can't do it and gives me the glare down for the day if she knows we're not doing English haha  She's definitely improving and is understanding much more than when I first arrived- although still unable to really talk I know that she understands some of what I'm saying.   She's still learning her native language and doesn't always speak in Catalan correctly so if she's able to understand something, I consider it a win :)
Anna is becoming a bit more independent and HAPPY! Oh my goodness has she been happy.  For those of you that don't know, this is a change from the normal attitude that comes from Anna.  I now get smiley wake up calls as she's been running in my room saying "Good morning Maria!!" and giving me a big hug and kiss every day- so precious, and really theeeee BEST way to wake up!  Reminds me of my absolute favorite mornings when Owen Shaw would sneak into my room every morning, giggling and say, "Goooooood morning Tamira! Ready to start your DAY?!" when I lived with the Leroes :)
I've had a lot of firsts with Anna in the past 2 weeks. . . the first day, after 5 months, that she has sat down for lunch and eaten her entire plate of food with no complaints- I VERY happily welcomed her into the Clean Plate Club!! Exciting day! I really couldn't believe it.  . .
The first time I've been able to get her hair into a pony-tail after a scissors accident right before I arrived.. .
The first time she's woken up in the morning AND from a nap without crying
and just today, the first time she has gone to the bathroom, flushed the toilet, put the toilet seat down, washed her hands, AND turned off the light without me asking! Truly blown away.
and have I mentioned she's been so happy?! :) I am LOVING it! Something has shifted in the universe  or something is in the air...I don't need to know- just so she stays like this :)

This past weekend (March 25th) I went on a 15 km bike ride with the family and a group of their friends near Manresa.  Was an absolutely gorgeous day!!! Riding through vineyards, meadows and woods and followed by lunch at a beautiful farm surrounded by hills and grazing cows where I was able to get my kicks on driving a 4-wheeler round the property, eating great food and taking a very relaxing snooze in the grass while getting lightly toasted by the Spanish sun :)  Everyone had a great time and although the kids, Jadyn and I were unsuccessful in our attempts at petting a cow, we had fun.

Saturday was spent in Barcelona watching my new Irish friends (made in Valencia at Flannigan's) play Gaelic Football - the Sport that my host brother Rory played in Ireland.  Love this Sport, as anyone who likes sports would and really brought me back to watching The Donegal team play :) A really great afternoon!  Jadyn and I went to Arc de Triomf for a picnic of kebabs and beer on a park bench while listening to an African music group playing then traveled to the magic fountain and were VERY surprised when getting to hear their Disney show!! :) All Disney songs- our favorite. Although all in Spanish, it didnt stop us from dancing and singing our hearts out in front of the fountain.  So good!

Beautiful pillars at the Magic Fountain

Friday was spent wearing my Cream and Crimson proudly, randomly singing the IU fight song and having butterflies in my stomach as tip-off for the IU v. KY game drew near. . . I had my game-plan ready to keep me up until 4 am to watch the game, but in the end didn't need a game-plan because I was so worried that night! I was babysitting and had put in Rio for the kids to watch when Nathan messaged me that I needed to call Mom and Pops right away. . . only the most feared message you could ever get.  Come to find out Mom had just gotten her appendix taken out! My goodness! I was so worried and of course tried calling via GooglePhone with no luck because the internet wasn't working and finally just used my cell phone here to get a hold of her.  She had just woken up  from surgery not too long before I called and was feeling okay.  Such good news and so so glad it wasn't anything more complicated than that. Luckily, she's a tough cookie! :)

12:20 am here and my bed time.  I'm going to sign off! Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! :) I miss you all!! Indiana, see you in 5 weeks baby!

xxx
Love from Spain