I am sure throughout the next 3 years here there will be many postings depicting things/actions that I come across as bizarre/inappropriate/just plain strange that the Spaniards do. Because I have noticed on more than one occasion these behaviors I have dubbed them as Rules of the Spaniards...such as their driving...here are a few more.
Our stay thus far here in Madrid has required/allowed us to get around using public transportation. The great thing is that the public transportation here is incredible. You truly can get anywhere you need to go without any trouble. A consequence of using public transportation is that you are around other people all day long as you travel to where you need to be. I posted a post a while ago about the women of Spain. How smartly they dress and how you don't see them running errands in their pajamas. This is still true, but as the weather has turned extremely warm a trend of wearing white has emerged among the Madrilenos. Now...here is where their rule comes in...It must be a Spanish rule that if you wear a white shirt you MUST wear a black bra and if you wear white bottoms, such as slacks, skirts or shorts that you MUST wear some brightly colored underwear. Being the fashionista that I am (hehehehehe) I find this totally bizarre. Am I the only one that knows when wearing white you wear nude colored undergarments, not even white undergarments. It just boggles my mind...do they not see themselves in a mirror before walking out the door. Now, you may be chuckling, but I am stunned at how many women I see in a day abiding by this RULE!!!!!! Stacey and Clinton...Madrid needs a What Not to Wear - Undergarments show.
Another rule that I have observed is that when out in public you MUST show as much PDA (Public Display of Affection) as humanly possible. This one just makes me uncomfortable. If I knew how to say "Get a room" in spanish I might get to the point of yelling it out at the top of my lungs. Just today on the Metro ride home a young couple were totally going at it. Now, when I say going at it, I don't mean a little peck here and there, but full blown, noisemaking, making out. I find this terribly disturbing. I try to appreciate that they are in love and expressing that, but I really feel there is a time and a place. That place is certainly not sitting next to me and my two children on the Metro. Almost everyday we ride the Metro we experience something of this nature. Whether it is making out on the escalators, as they wait for the Metro, in the parks...EVERYWHERE!!!! This, again, may be one of those European things, but I really don't like it and I certainly don't appreciate this RULE.
Until next time....
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Woes of Moving...
Our experiences thus far in Madrid have been over the top incredible. We are so blessed to be able to have this experience and we have been trying to "stop and smell the roses" and appreciate all that is around us here. We have been successful in seeing as much as we can see, and do as much as we can do. With two young children there are times that you are pinched back to reality over things that, as adults, we try and push through in order to make each of our "homes" the best that it can be. As I mentioned in a previous post, "Every place is what you make of it." Well, the kids have a harder time embracing this concept. They cannot always appreciate the age of buildings, statues and fountains. They don't care to understand, at this point, the history of how a city, such as Madrid, became a city. All they know is that they have been pulled away from everything that they have ever known, or known for a really long time, and there are days that they just want to go back to what they know.
Being a military family can sometimes be a double edged sword. We "get" to move every few years and experience all new places. Hubby and I have moved many, many times and we always try to look forward to our new locations as an opportunity to see something we have never seen before. We would even start to get "the itch" when we have been in one place longer than normal. Some moves are more welcome than others, as the location we were leaving weren't the most ideal locations. Now, with children, this moving business is a whole new ball game. We had been very fortunate in our last duty station and had been "stable" for just over 6 years. Our littlest, LuLu, was born there and our oldest was almost 3 when we arrived to Fort Carson, Colorado. So having been in that location so long was really all our kids had ever known. In previous moves our oldest was too little to really understand what was going on and we hadn't yet had the little one. So this move has been especially tough on LuLu. She has been torn from, literally, her whole life as she knows it. There are many days where she wakes up in tears. She just wants to go back to Colorado and all her friends and everything she is "comfy" with. As a parent this just breaks your heart. Hubby and I miss the friends that we have made as well, but we are "old hats" at this moving business, and since most of our friends are also military they know the old Army saying, "See you later". We NEVER say goodbye...only SEE YOU LATER. We hope and pray that at some point down the road we do cross paths again with the many special families that we have been blessed to get to know.
There are many more "kinks" put into our moving routine when moving overseas. As I mentioned before Hubby and I are "old hats" at this moving business, but neither of us have moved overseas before. In our many, many military moves, we have never had the right conditions to have gotten a door-to-door move. A door to door move is one that once the movers pack out and load your household goods on their semi the timing works just perfect that you get to your new location and have a house that they can literally drive your things from the home they packed it to the new home and not have to unload the truck in government storage. This has never happened to us. Our stuff always goes into storage and is delivered when everything else is in order. Now...throw an overseas move into the mix. By the time we get our stuff delivered here in Spain it will have been exactly 2 months since it left our residence in Colorado. Now, of course, an overseas move is a differnent sort of beast in itself. Our stuff must ship over on a boat versus being driven in a semi-truck. Again, for Hubby and I, not that big of deal. We are certainly looking forward to getting our things, but now think of this whole thing through a childs point of view. The kids have not seen their toys, beds and all the things that are special to them for 2 months. Imagine for a moment...leaving your home of 6 years, 2 months ago, with essentially only what you could carry onto an airplane. I am not going to lie and say that the limited clothing items that I having been wearing for the past 2 months may have to be burned when my other clothes arrive because I cannot stand to look at them anymore. :-) The kids could really care less about their clothes, but they have really been troopers under the circumstances. They are confined to this little 2 bedroom apartment with only the toys and things that they could carry in their backpack on the airplane. Military children are especially resiliant and can adapt very quickly, but the reality is that they are still children and don't yet have the coping skills that adults have. As a parent we certainly try to "soften the blow", as you will, with all that is going on. We try to encourage all the great things that they are getting to see and the new people they will meet. The reality is...sometimes it isn't that easy for the little ones.
We have just about a week left before we can begin to really "settle in" to our new home. We move into the house next week and will be able to receive our household goods at that time. We are certainly looking forward to getting our routines and schedules back in order and hopefully with familiar things surrounding us, the kids can start to feel like this is "home" and begin to make new memories and friends. I never want them to forget all their past experiences, but hope and pray that they can embrace and appreciate where they are in the present. They truly are a unique breed from other children and probably once they are grown and have their own families will they truly appreciate those past experiences. Here is to praying that each and every transistion our children go through they feel the Lord's presence as comfort and familiarity.
Until next time....
Being a military family can sometimes be a double edged sword. We "get" to move every few years and experience all new places. Hubby and I have moved many, many times and we always try to look forward to our new locations as an opportunity to see something we have never seen before. We would even start to get "the itch" when we have been in one place longer than normal. Some moves are more welcome than others, as the location we were leaving weren't the most ideal locations. Now, with children, this moving business is a whole new ball game. We had been very fortunate in our last duty station and had been "stable" for just over 6 years. Our littlest, LuLu, was born there and our oldest was almost 3 when we arrived to Fort Carson, Colorado. So having been in that location so long was really all our kids had ever known. In previous moves our oldest was too little to really understand what was going on and we hadn't yet had the little one. So this move has been especially tough on LuLu. She has been torn from, literally, her whole life as she knows it. There are many days where she wakes up in tears. She just wants to go back to Colorado and all her friends and everything she is "comfy" with. As a parent this just breaks your heart. Hubby and I miss the friends that we have made as well, but we are "old hats" at this moving business, and since most of our friends are also military they know the old Army saying, "See you later". We NEVER say goodbye...only SEE YOU LATER. We hope and pray that at some point down the road we do cross paths again with the many special families that we have been blessed to get to know.
There are many more "kinks" put into our moving routine when moving overseas. As I mentioned before Hubby and I are "old hats" at this moving business, but neither of us have moved overseas before. In our many, many military moves, we have never had the right conditions to have gotten a door-to-door move. A door to door move is one that once the movers pack out and load your household goods on their semi the timing works just perfect that you get to your new location and have a house that they can literally drive your things from the home they packed it to the new home and not have to unload the truck in government storage. This has never happened to us. Our stuff always goes into storage and is delivered when everything else is in order. Now...throw an overseas move into the mix. By the time we get our stuff delivered here in Spain it will have been exactly 2 months since it left our residence in Colorado. Now, of course, an overseas move is a differnent sort of beast in itself. Our stuff must ship over on a boat versus being driven in a semi-truck. Again, for Hubby and I, not that big of deal. We are certainly looking forward to getting our things, but now think of this whole thing through a childs point of view. The kids have not seen their toys, beds and all the things that are special to them for 2 months. Imagine for a moment...leaving your home of 6 years, 2 months ago, with essentially only what you could carry onto an airplane. I am not going to lie and say that the limited clothing items that I having been wearing for the past 2 months may have to be burned when my other clothes arrive because I cannot stand to look at them anymore. :-) The kids could really care less about their clothes, but they have really been troopers under the circumstances. They are confined to this little 2 bedroom apartment with only the toys and things that they could carry in their backpack on the airplane. Military children are especially resiliant and can adapt very quickly, but the reality is that they are still children and don't yet have the coping skills that adults have. As a parent we certainly try to "soften the blow", as you will, with all that is going on. We try to encourage all the great things that they are getting to see and the new people they will meet. The reality is...sometimes it isn't that easy for the little ones.
We have just about a week left before we can begin to really "settle in" to our new home. We move into the house next week and will be able to receive our household goods at that time. We are certainly looking forward to getting our routines and schedules back in order and hopefully with familiar things surrounding us, the kids can start to feel like this is "home" and begin to make new memories and friends. I never want them to forget all their past experiences, but hope and pray that they can embrace and appreciate where they are in the present. They truly are a unique breed from other children and probably once they are grown and have their own families will they truly appreciate those past experiences. Here is to praying that each and every transistion our children go through they feel the Lord's presence as comfort and familiarity.
Until next time....
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Spanish Drivers Make their own Rules!!!!!
On the eve of us receiving our car I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about how the Spaniards drive and park around the city and for you to gather a bit of an understanding as to why I am terrified to drive here.
Now I consider myself a pretty experienced driver. We have driven through too many states to count. I have driven through major cities such as Denver, St. Louis, Seattle, Louisville and many, many others. I have driven in weather of snow, ice, blizzards, rain and flash flooding rain. Through all of this experience, I realized the moment that we were passengers in a vehicle headed into downtown Madrid that I was certainly going to get a run for my money.
One of the things that I am not experienced at driving in is these crazy roundabouts. We had a few in Colorado Springs, but they were tiny compared to the ones here. I also am not sure if it is a European thing or a Spain thing, but the roundabouts are everywhere. They certainly don't believe in a 4 way stop sign or stop lights for that matter. They use these roundabouts at just about every intersection. Now...in the Springs we would have 4 streets come into a roundabout. Here they have like 8-10 streets coming into a roundabout. The roundabouts in the Springs had basically one lane. One car would enter after yielding to the right away car. Here...all friggin 8-10 lanes come in at once and it becomes a free for all. There are no lane lines painted in the roundabout. Literally the cars come in and do as they please. You would think that if you are going to exit at one of the next streets coming up, you would be in the closest lane to the exit. Ummmm...not so much. These people literally exit from the inner most lane closest to the ginormous fountain or statue that usually sits in the middle of these roundabouts. It is just crazy. You have to be on your toes at all times.
Lets jump to the topic of lane lines. Lane lines here...mean nothing. I am not even sure why they bother. They are sort of a suggestion, but people drive wherever they want to. A car can easily be taking up multiple lanes for no apparent reason. What you don't see here is people on their phones or texting while driving. Truly, the reason for this is that they really don't have time to do such a thing. Because you never know what the person in front of you or beside you is going to do, you have to be both an offensive and defensive driver at the same time. Drivers here use their horns all the time. I feel like in the States we only use our horns when we are ticked off. Either somebody has cut us off or done something totally stupid. Here, they really use their horns as a form communication.
Just as oblivious whilst driving they also just park wherever they want to whenever they feel like it. They do put on their flashers and that seems to make it ok. You see people stopped in the most bizarre, most unlikely and obvious non parking places.
Now I consider myself a pretty experienced driver. We have driven through too many states to count. I have driven through major cities such as Denver, St. Louis, Seattle, Louisville and many, many others. I have driven in weather of snow, ice, blizzards, rain and flash flooding rain. Through all of this experience, I realized the moment that we were passengers in a vehicle headed into downtown Madrid that I was certainly going to get a run for my money.
One of the things that I am not experienced at driving in is these crazy roundabouts. We had a few in Colorado Springs, but they were tiny compared to the ones here. I also am not sure if it is a European thing or a Spain thing, but the roundabouts are everywhere. They certainly don't believe in a 4 way stop sign or stop lights for that matter. They use these roundabouts at just about every intersection. Now...in the Springs we would have 4 streets come into a roundabout. Here they have like 8-10 streets coming into a roundabout. The roundabouts in the Springs had basically one lane. One car would enter after yielding to the right away car. Here...all friggin 8-10 lanes come in at once and it becomes a free for all. There are no lane lines painted in the roundabout. Literally the cars come in and do as they please. You would think that if you are going to exit at one of the next streets coming up, you would be in the closest lane to the exit. Ummmm...not so much. These people literally exit from the inner most lane closest to the ginormous fountain or statue that usually sits in the middle of these roundabouts. It is just crazy. You have to be on your toes at all times.
Lets jump to the topic of lane lines. Lane lines here...mean nothing. I am not even sure why they bother. They are sort of a suggestion, but people drive wherever they want to. A car can easily be taking up multiple lanes for no apparent reason. What you don't see here is people on their phones or texting while driving. Truly, the reason for this is that they really don't have time to do such a thing. Because you never know what the person in front of you or beside you is going to do, you have to be both an offensive and defensive driver at the same time. Drivers here use their horns all the time. I feel like in the States we only use our horns when we are ticked off. Either somebody has cut us off or done something totally stupid. Here, they really use their horns as a form communication.
Just as oblivious whilst driving they also just park wherever they want to whenever they feel like it. They do put on their flashers and that seems to make it ok. You see people stopped in the most bizarre, most unlikely and obvious non parking places.
Here is an example. This is a roundabout and this black Mercedes just parked on a tiny curb within the roundabout. We watched her park, put on her flashers and jump out. You think to yourself...Why on Earth would she park in such a bizarre spot. Ohhhhh...Because all the tiny curb space on the other side of this street were taken and she needed to get to the ATM machine. Are you kidding me???? This is just CRAZY!!!!!!
Here you can see cars entering and exiting the roundabout around where the Mercedes is parked.
Another view of the car. I am standing on the sidewalk where the lady was running to the ATM. The Land Rover there...Yep, just parked. It just boggles my mind.
Talking about parking space. People not only park in these bizarre tiny curb spaces, but they also double park...ohh...and put on their flashers. I swear, they think that if their hazards/flashers are on they can do whatever they need to do. This same day we were having a coffee and watching a driver next to the cafe totally double park. The owners of the car that he blocked in just honked their horn when they were ready to leave and the driver of the double parked car ran out, backed up his car, the blocked car went and he took their spot.
Parking spots - WOW this is a whole other challenge. We own a Honda Odyssey and lets just say that we probably will not be able to park that van anywhere on the street in Madrid. The streets are tiny and we would stick out to far. Parking garages can be hit or miss. Our parking spot here at the apartment is basically between a wall and a cement pole. There is absolutely no way the van could maneuver to get into that spot. There just isn't any clearance anywhere. Plus, you have cars parked behind you, in front of you and next to you. Hubby was able to get a borrowed car equivalent to a Dodge Neon in the space. He did, however, have to do about a gazillion point turn and I truly didn't think he would get in. Once he did get in I was for sure he wouldn't get out. He did get out, but I wasn't there to witness the fiasco. It was just too much to bear. :-)
So on the eve of us taking possession of our vehicle after 2 months of no car, we certainly have mixed emotions. We are excited for the freedom to have a vehicle to travel around, but I think we will still depend on the Metro system when it comes to travelling within the city. People here have warned us that it won't be too long until we have "earned" our Madrid racing stripe, which translates into a huge scrape down the side of our vehicle.
Until next time....
Saturday, July 23, 2011
House Hunting in Madrid
House hunting in Madrid...this has been quite the experience. Being Americans in Spain we started off this process knowing that we not only wouldn't get what we were used to in America, but also that we didn't really want anything like we could get in America. We are in Spain for 3 years and want to fully experience Spanish living. We wanted a home with Spanish character and charm, plus a pool never hurt anybody, right? (hehehe)
We started off the hunt a little closer to the Madrid city center with homes that were more of a row house style. Now don't get me wrong...these homes were huge compared to what we could get in the States. Our first house we looked at was a row house (so connected to other houses on both sides), but it had about 4,800 square feet of living space. Are you freakin kidding me? Even though there were houses on either side of us and we would share walls...would you even hear them in 4800 square feet? I don't know, but it was incredible. This particular one had been completely renovated inside and was absolutely gorgeous. The downfall was that though it had a huge pool, the yard was just a tiny strip and with two children this just would not fit our needs. We saw a gamut of homes ranging from old and dated to ultra modern and made completely of cement with state of the art appliances and amenities. After the first couple of days we quickly realized that with children and our lifestyle we did need a little bit more outside living than the city type places offered. So we headed to the burbs.
On a side note...we have a friend who is living in downtown Madrid. They actually have an apartment just next to the opera house in an incredible location. They look out one window on the Opera House and another window is the Royal Palace. Don't be fooled when you think of downtown like you would a downtown apartment in New York City. Their apartment is just over 3,000 square feet and has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with a formal dining room, formal living space with a salon type area off of that. Tons of storage, built ins and 10 foot ceilings. Amazing...but again not a place we would be comfortable in with 2 smaller children and no yard space. Just an FYI.
Some interesting features in just about every home we looked at was the servant quarters. Most homes in Madrid have many floors or levels, they range from 2-4 floors and the basement area is never really factored in. The basement level is strictly for storage and service employees. The service quarters usually have a bedroom and bathroom connected, but are just at the lowest level of the home so the service isn't really seen. In many of the homes we looked at there were actually service employees not only living in the space, but cleaning and such when we were there. I thought it was very awkward, but the realtor explained that this was not only completely normal, but a pretty good deal for the worker. They had a place to live, free of charge, and got a small wage to go out on the town on their days off. All these homes would also have a service entrance, usually into the kitchen area.
The kitchens....this is a whole other issue. In the States we are so used to having huge kitchens that open up to the rest of the house so that we are always connected to our guests and the family areas. Well in Spain...this is definitely not the case. Hubby and I were discussing this issue and came to the realization that because the service or chiccas, mainly do the cooking, or that is how it used to be, the kitchens are a bit isolated and not open to anything. Again, so they wouldn't be seen. So strange to me, but a much different way of life here.
The bedrooms were pretty normal size. They were a bit smaller, but that is because instead of a closet per se they would have wardrobes. Now a wardrobe is sort of a closet/dresser in one. There was closet space to hang things, both short and long, and then built in drawers. This totally eliminates the need for dressers and that sort of bulky furniture. Brilliant if you ask me. We now just need to find space to store our dressers because we really won't need them. This would be a piece of advice that I would pass along to somebody coming here. The storage is just unreal. It seems like in every wall they put closets. They definitely embrace the season they are in. They use all the storage closets to put their winter clothes when it is summer and so on. Again...my sort of style.
The Spanish really focus on family and friends and use their homes to live like this. Bedrooms are not the size of living rooms and kitchens are not connected to the social areas, but they don't live in the kitchen or isolate themselves in their bedrooms. They live in their common areas and treasure their time with each other. Children are right in the middle of everything all the time, they are not shunned to a playroom or to their bedrooms. We look forward to embracing this in our new casa.
If you ever want to look at homes abroad...just for fun...a website called www.idealista.com is what we used in Madrid and it is just fun to see how other countries live.
Until next time....
We started off the hunt a little closer to the Madrid city center with homes that were more of a row house style. Now don't get me wrong...these homes were huge compared to what we could get in the States. Our first house we looked at was a row house (so connected to other houses on both sides), but it had about 4,800 square feet of living space. Are you freakin kidding me? Even though there were houses on either side of us and we would share walls...would you even hear them in 4800 square feet? I don't know, but it was incredible. This particular one had been completely renovated inside and was absolutely gorgeous. The downfall was that though it had a huge pool, the yard was just a tiny strip and with two children this just would not fit our needs. We saw a gamut of homes ranging from old and dated to ultra modern and made completely of cement with state of the art appliances and amenities. After the first couple of days we quickly realized that with children and our lifestyle we did need a little bit more outside living than the city type places offered. So we headed to the burbs.
On a side note...we have a friend who is living in downtown Madrid. They actually have an apartment just next to the opera house in an incredible location. They look out one window on the Opera House and another window is the Royal Palace. Don't be fooled when you think of downtown like you would a downtown apartment in New York City. Their apartment is just over 3,000 square feet and has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with a formal dining room, formal living space with a salon type area off of that. Tons of storage, built ins and 10 foot ceilings. Amazing...but again not a place we would be comfortable in with 2 smaller children and no yard space. Just an FYI.
Some interesting features in just about every home we looked at was the servant quarters. Most homes in Madrid have many floors or levels, they range from 2-4 floors and the basement area is never really factored in. The basement level is strictly for storage and service employees. The service quarters usually have a bedroom and bathroom connected, but are just at the lowest level of the home so the service isn't really seen. In many of the homes we looked at there were actually service employees not only living in the space, but cleaning and such when we were there. I thought it was very awkward, but the realtor explained that this was not only completely normal, but a pretty good deal for the worker. They had a place to live, free of charge, and got a small wage to go out on the town on their days off. All these homes would also have a service entrance, usually into the kitchen area.
The kitchens....this is a whole other issue. In the States we are so used to having huge kitchens that open up to the rest of the house so that we are always connected to our guests and the family areas. Well in Spain...this is definitely not the case. Hubby and I were discussing this issue and came to the realization that because the service or chiccas, mainly do the cooking, or that is how it used to be, the kitchens are a bit isolated and not open to anything. Again, so they wouldn't be seen. So strange to me, but a much different way of life here.
The bedrooms were pretty normal size. They were a bit smaller, but that is because instead of a closet per se they would have wardrobes. Now a wardrobe is sort of a closet/dresser in one. There was closet space to hang things, both short and long, and then built in drawers. This totally eliminates the need for dressers and that sort of bulky furniture. Brilliant if you ask me. We now just need to find space to store our dressers because we really won't need them. This would be a piece of advice that I would pass along to somebody coming here. The storage is just unreal. It seems like in every wall they put closets. They definitely embrace the season they are in. They use all the storage closets to put their winter clothes when it is summer and so on. Again...my sort of style.
The Spanish really focus on family and friends and use their homes to live like this. Bedrooms are not the size of living rooms and kitchens are not connected to the social areas, but they don't live in the kitchen or isolate themselves in their bedrooms. They live in their common areas and treasure their time with each other. Children are right in the middle of everything all the time, they are not shunned to a playroom or to their bedrooms. We look forward to embracing this in our new casa.
If you ever want to look at homes abroad...just for fun...a website called www.idealista.com is what we used in Madrid and it is just fun to see how other countries live.
Until next time....
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Every Place is What you Make of IT
"Every place is what you make of it." This is a phrase that a wise woman once told me when we first got stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky. This is the best piece of advice I have ever gotten and I try to live by those words each and every day. When the going gets tough those words are sometimes hard to say, but I still try. These words also take on different meanings depending on the situation and/or location. Fort Knox for instance is just south of Louisville and there is absolutely nothing around you (at least when we were stationed there, there wasn't). We had a Wal-Mart out one gate and a road leading to Louisville out the other gate. Fort Knox turned out to be one of my favorite experiences because you had to make the best of it or you would for sure shrivel up and die.
Now that we have been in Madrid for just over a week this phrase, yet again, takes on a whole new meaning. We realized well before we arrived here what an incredible experience this was going to be and were excited before we got here. Having moved many, many times in our 14 years being in the military we are old hats at getting to a new location and immediately exploring to see what the new city has to offer. In the States that is much easier than here. In the states you get in your car and explore. Here...not so much. We have explored most everything on foot via the Metro, which is great, but I realized today that it makes it a bit difficult to know where exactly you are located within the city. Now, I of course can read a map, but when we are out and about we haven't had a city map with us, just the metro map. This will probably change once we are truly sort of on our own, but we have had the luxury to be with a "guide" most of the time or at least when it is necessary.
Those of you that have had a European experience can relate to this next part. Every place is what you make of it also can translate to making each place work for you in a manner of comfort. I am sure that it isn't only Spain, but we have to remind ourselves each and every day that this isn't America and the amenities that we don't think twice about being able to get are not here or are very, very different and we have to be able to adapt. In all the Army wife type classes that I would take part in, myself and other spouses would joke that our personalities are adaptable with notice and not one of these fly by the seat of your pants type personalities. This has been a challenge for me. I am all about trying new things and making my surroundings work for me, but I have gotten to the point a few times where I miss the conveniences of American living. Because things here are different it doesn't mean that it is a bad thing, just a point at which I need to adapt, which takes time.
Some examples of where adaptation is needed and that make me miss America. Let's start with one fresh on my mind because I am right in the middle of it...Laundry. The washing machine that we have in our apartment is a combination washer/dryer. There are separate dryers, but we don't have one yet, but in either case it takes forever to do a load of laundry. In our machine it takes an hour and half to wash a load and an additional 2 hours to dry it, most of the time you need to dry it for a bit longer because the clothers are still damp. A bit of a side note...a load of laundry consists of about 3 or 4 pairs of shorts and a couple of t-shirts...that is it. They are extrememly small. I think of the fancy washers and dryers in the States that can wash a load the size of a king size bed comforter in about 20 minutes and then dry that super large load in another 20 minutes. Well my personal washer and dryer in the States wasn't that efficient, but I could wash a good amount of clothing in one load. You certainly could not plan a week's worth of laundry here to be done in a Sunday afternoon. You have to do a few loads each and every day. Items such as heavier cottons, like khaki shorts for instance, come out of the dry cycle bunched in a ball and extremely wrinkled...so you have to turn around and iron items like this on top of the crazy long dry time. This might be different once we get a separate dryer...I hope.
Yesterday was a day when I was having an off feeling. We decided to go for lunch, which I was a bit reluctant about because I just wanted some familiarity. We came across a diner. It was called Peggy Sue's American Diner. Praise God...a little piece of USA just one street over. I, of course, ordered a hamburger...another item that I am missing so much. Well, let's just say, it was nothing like an American hamburger. It was delicious, but not an American burger. That brings me to my next item I am missing...BEEF. Now we haven't been here that long and have not really "looked" around for beef, but you just don't see it in the grocery stores or on the menu in restaurants. I am sure there are restuarants that specialize in steaks and such, we just have not located them as of yet. The food here is delicious...it is just different. Again, not necessarily different in a bad way, but different in a way that requires adaptation. We walk through the grocery store and have to just identify items that we recognize and figure out what other items we recognize that will go with each other in order to make a meal. Because lunch time is really the big meal of the day we are finding ourselves eating much smaller and simpler dinners. Which we really enjoy. When in the grocery store you actually use a glove to get your fruits and vegetables and you have them weighed and marked with the weight and price before you get to the check out. Soda...well this has been a sore point from the get go. I knew they didn't have Dr. Pepper here before I came, but didn't really find out what they do have. Their soda selections are very limited. They basically have Coke, Diet Coke, Orange Fanta and Lemon Fanta. That be it. The lemon Fanta is really yummy and refreshing and is usually my choice if we are out to eat. Being military we have the extreme advantage of being able to use the Navy Exchange within the US Embassy. Thank goodness for these little gems. The Navy Exchange has many of the items that we as Americans in Madrid would be missing. Lets take peanut butter or salad dressing for instance. These are items that are not readily available in many of the little stores that we have been in. We did find thousand island dressing in another store, but I haven't seen ranch or anythink like it as of yet. Again...we have been here just over a week and certainly have not been everywhere.
House hunting is another adaptation process. We know where hubby is working and where the kids will be attending school. That opens up several neighborhoods or suburb areas that we could live in. We haven't decided if we want to live completely different than we would live when we are in the States or fall back on our comfort level and get a huge compound type area which includes its very own mcmansion. There are pros and cons to both of these. Being emersed in a more local community or being more isolated with a huge house and a huge yard with a huge fence that surrounds us. We have not seen the mcmansion type properties as of yet, but are leaning towards full emersion. We want to learn this language and culture and become a part of it and what better way than to plant yourself right in the middle of it and be forced, in a sense, to adapt very quickly. The house hunting process will certainly be another post once we get a few more areas and houses under our belt. The homes here are huge, even within a closer quarters community. We looked at a home that is around 4800 square feet and is considered to be a row house type or town house, meaning that it is connected to other homes, yet the inside is so huge I am not sure you would know it. Who knows.
With each and every day we adapt a little bit more to new experiences and what our life will be like for the next three years. We look forward to growing in ways that we would never have had the chance without the military. With any type of growing there has to be room for some growing pains. We will certainly make the most out of this place and I challenge you to always remember that every place is what you make of it.
Until next time.....
Now that we have been in Madrid for just over a week this phrase, yet again, takes on a whole new meaning. We realized well before we arrived here what an incredible experience this was going to be and were excited before we got here. Having moved many, many times in our 14 years being in the military we are old hats at getting to a new location and immediately exploring to see what the new city has to offer. In the States that is much easier than here. In the states you get in your car and explore. Here...not so much. We have explored most everything on foot via the Metro, which is great, but I realized today that it makes it a bit difficult to know where exactly you are located within the city. Now, I of course can read a map, but when we are out and about we haven't had a city map with us, just the metro map. This will probably change once we are truly sort of on our own, but we have had the luxury to be with a "guide" most of the time or at least when it is necessary.
Those of you that have had a European experience can relate to this next part. Every place is what you make of it also can translate to making each place work for you in a manner of comfort. I am sure that it isn't only Spain, but we have to remind ourselves each and every day that this isn't America and the amenities that we don't think twice about being able to get are not here or are very, very different and we have to be able to adapt. In all the Army wife type classes that I would take part in, myself and other spouses would joke that our personalities are adaptable with notice and not one of these fly by the seat of your pants type personalities. This has been a challenge for me. I am all about trying new things and making my surroundings work for me, but I have gotten to the point a few times where I miss the conveniences of American living. Because things here are different it doesn't mean that it is a bad thing, just a point at which I need to adapt, which takes time.
Some examples of where adaptation is needed and that make me miss America. Let's start with one fresh on my mind because I am right in the middle of it...Laundry. The washing machine that we have in our apartment is a combination washer/dryer. There are separate dryers, but we don't have one yet, but in either case it takes forever to do a load of laundry. In our machine it takes an hour and half to wash a load and an additional 2 hours to dry it, most of the time you need to dry it for a bit longer because the clothers are still damp. A bit of a side note...a load of laundry consists of about 3 or 4 pairs of shorts and a couple of t-shirts...that is it. They are extrememly small. I think of the fancy washers and dryers in the States that can wash a load the size of a king size bed comforter in about 20 minutes and then dry that super large load in another 20 minutes. Well my personal washer and dryer in the States wasn't that efficient, but I could wash a good amount of clothing in one load. You certainly could not plan a week's worth of laundry here to be done in a Sunday afternoon. You have to do a few loads each and every day. Items such as heavier cottons, like khaki shorts for instance, come out of the dry cycle bunched in a ball and extremely wrinkled...so you have to turn around and iron items like this on top of the crazy long dry time. This might be different once we get a separate dryer...I hope.
Yesterday was a day when I was having an off feeling. We decided to go for lunch, which I was a bit reluctant about because I just wanted some familiarity. We came across a diner. It was called Peggy Sue's American Diner. Praise God...a little piece of USA just one street over. I, of course, ordered a hamburger...another item that I am missing so much. Well, let's just say, it was nothing like an American hamburger. It was delicious, but not an American burger. That brings me to my next item I am missing...BEEF. Now we haven't been here that long and have not really "looked" around for beef, but you just don't see it in the grocery stores or on the menu in restaurants. I am sure there are restuarants that specialize in steaks and such, we just have not located them as of yet. The food here is delicious...it is just different. Again, not necessarily different in a bad way, but different in a way that requires adaptation. We walk through the grocery store and have to just identify items that we recognize and figure out what other items we recognize that will go with each other in order to make a meal. Because lunch time is really the big meal of the day we are finding ourselves eating much smaller and simpler dinners. Which we really enjoy. When in the grocery store you actually use a glove to get your fruits and vegetables and you have them weighed and marked with the weight and price before you get to the check out. Soda...well this has been a sore point from the get go. I knew they didn't have Dr. Pepper here before I came, but didn't really find out what they do have. Their soda selections are very limited. They basically have Coke, Diet Coke, Orange Fanta and Lemon Fanta. That be it. The lemon Fanta is really yummy and refreshing and is usually my choice if we are out to eat. Being military we have the extreme advantage of being able to use the Navy Exchange within the US Embassy. Thank goodness for these little gems. The Navy Exchange has many of the items that we as Americans in Madrid would be missing. Lets take peanut butter or salad dressing for instance. These are items that are not readily available in many of the little stores that we have been in. We did find thousand island dressing in another store, but I haven't seen ranch or anythink like it as of yet. Again...we have been here just over a week and certainly have not been everywhere.
House hunting is another adaptation process. We know where hubby is working and where the kids will be attending school. That opens up several neighborhoods or suburb areas that we could live in. We haven't decided if we want to live completely different than we would live when we are in the States or fall back on our comfort level and get a huge compound type area which includes its very own mcmansion. There are pros and cons to both of these. Being emersed in a more local community or being more isolated with a huge house and a huge yard with a huge fence that surrounds us. We have not seen the mcmansion type properties as of yet, but are leaning towards full emersion. We want to learn this language and culture and become a part of it and what better way than to plant yourself right in the middle of it and be forced, in a sense, to adapt very quickly. The house hunting process will certainly be another post once we get a few more areas and houses under our belt. The homes here are huge, even within a closer quarters community. We looked at a home that is around 4800 square feet and is considered to be a row house type or town house, meaning that it is connected to other homes, yet the inside is so huge I am not sure you would know it. Who knows.
With each and every day we adapt a little bit more to new experiences and what our life will be like for the next three years. We look forward to growing in ways that we would never have had the chance without the military. With any type of growing there has to be room for some growing pains. We will certainly make the most out of this place and I challenge you to always remember that every place is what you make of it.
Until next time.....
Monday, July 18, 2011
The People we have Encountered
Yesterday was just an incredible day all around. We did all the touristy type sightseeing plus some other gems here and there. I will learn more about all the locations we went and blog separately about those individual places. We saw many of the plaza's, historic buildings, statues, parks and so much more. At the end of our day yesterday we stopped in a little yogurt place and were again awed by how the people we have met thus far are just so incredible. So I thought I would take the time to explain what we have encountered.
The very first day we arrived at the Headquarters the kids and I were sort of sent to this community room to wait while hubby started the in-processing process of basically getting us checked in to yet another location. The kids and I played some games and just waited until we were to meet up with hubby for lunch. We went to lunch at the chow hall or what is similar to a DFAC (dining facility). The lunch room was decked out in French colors, French cheeses and champagne. I was thinking to myself...well they don't mess around here. Well it turned out that it was Bastille Day and the French were sharing a piece of their culture with everyone. Apparently on the 4th of July the Good Ol US of A threw a big BBQ with hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon and so on. So we got our food and sat down to eat. We weren't there but maybe a half hour or so when this sweet little American boy came up to our table and asked us if we were new. Not sure if it was that obvious (hehehehe) or if it was (as I can imagine) seeing another potential American with young children and getting so excited to have something in common with someone else and oh yeah...we can actually communicate. Well it turns out that this little boy was LuLu's age and also going into the first grade. He had a little brother and we all chatted about where they had been stationed and of course met his mom. It was so nice to find another mom and get some insight into neighborhoods to possibly live and so on.
The next day while we were at the Headquarters hubby and I were in a meeting with the housing office and the kids were doing a music class there and we met yet another American family with kids. These are the moments that I long for. Somebody I can chat with and they totally understand where we are at this point in the process because they have also been here. On the train ride home that night we ran into a Spanish civilian that works at the Headquarters. He knew English because that is the official language of the Headquarters so we must have looked like we were confused because he asked us if we needed any help. We were looking at the Metro map, but we actually were not confused. On the train he began chatting with us on our story...essentially. We talked to him about where we were temporarily staying until we found housing and he gave us the run down on what we need to see in the city while we are living down there. Again...just so nice to take the time to tell us what his city has to offer.
Now we fast forward to last night and after our stroll in the Retiro Park we stopped to find ice cream or something. We took a new route back to the apartment just to broaden our horizons on what is all around us. We found this cute little yogurt shop and popped in. We of course asked the gal working if she spoke English and she spoke just about enough English that we spoke Spanish so it was perfect. We ordered our yogurt and she was just so sweet. The price was for a "natural" yogurt with 1 topping and she let the kids get 3 toppings for the same price. I actually have not had a frozen yogurt in the States so I don't know the tastes, but this really was like plain yogurt just frozen. It wasn't vanilla or anything like that. It had that zing or tang that plain yogurt has. Like I said this could totally be how it tastes in the States, but I have never had it. We sat for a bit and were reading all the different ice-cream flavors, which are in Spanish, and we were trying to decode them. There were two other ladies in the shop as well. We came across one that said Turron. We looked this up in our dictionary and it wasn't in there. So we asked her what it was. She proceeded to just give us a sample and ask the other ladies if they knew the English word for it. She put it into her phone and he phone then spoke "nougat". Well that is exactly what it tasted like. This started a whole lesson on what the flavors were and we tested each one. She was just so sweet and wasn't put off that we didn't know the language or what these flavors were. She even brought out two flavors for the kids which ended up being their versions of Bubblegum and Cotton Candy.
These are the moments that make me fall in love with this city more and more. I hope that by sharing our experiences with our friends and family that we light a fire in each and everyone of you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace those situations. We are embracing this situation and are eager to learn all that we can. I challenge you to do the same...or come to Spain and let us guide you out of your comfort zone.
Until next time....
The very first day we arrived at the Headquarters the kids and I were sort of sent to this community room to wait while hubby started the in-processing process of basically getting us checked in to yet another location. The kids and I played some games and just waited until we were to meet up with hubby for lunch. We went to lunch at the chow hall or what is similar to a DFAC (dining facility). The lunch room was decked out in French colors, French cheeses and champagne. I was thinking to myself...well they don't mess around here. Well it turned out that it was Bastille Day and the French were sharing a piece of their culture with everyone. Apparently on the 4th of July the Good Ol US of A threw a big BBQ with hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon and so on. So we got our food and sat down to eat. We weren't there but maybe a half hour or so when this sweet little American boy came up to our table and asked us if we were new. Not sure if it was that obvious (hehehehe) or if it was (as I can imagine) seeing another potential American with young children and getting so excited to have something in common with someone else and oh yeah...we can actually communicate. Well it turns out that this little boy was LuLu's age and also going into the first grade. He had a little brother and we all chatted about where they had been stationed and of course met his mom. It was so nice to find another mom and get some insight into neighborhoods to possibly live and so on.
The next day while we were at the Headquarters hubby and I were in a meeting with the housing office and the kids were doing a music class there and we met yet another American family with kids. These are the moments that I long for. Somebody I can chat with and they totally understand where we are at this point in the process because they have also been here. On the train ride home that night we ran into a Spanish civilian that works at the Headquarters. He knew English because that is the official language of the Headquarters so we must have looked like we were confused because he asked us if we needed any help. We were looking at the Metro map, but we actually were not confused. On the train he began chatting with us on our story...essentially. We talked to him about where we were temporarily staying until we found housing and he gave us the run down on what we need to see in the city while we are living down there. Again...just so nice to take the time to tell us what his city has to offer.
Now we fast forward to last night and after our stroll in the Retiro Park we stopped to find ice cream or something. We took a new route back to the apartment just to broaden our horizons on what is all around us. We found this cute little yogurt shop and popped in. We of course asked the gal working if she spoke English and she spoke just about enough English that we spoke Spanish so it was perfect. We ordered our yogurt and she was just so sweet. The price was for a "natural" yogurt with 1 topping and she let the kids get 3 toppings for the same price. I actually have not had a frozen yogurt in the States so I don't know the tastes, but this really was like plain yogurt just frozen. It wasn't vanilla or anything like that. It had that zing or tang that plain yogurt has. Like I said this could totally be how it tastes in the States, but I have never had it. We sat for a bit and were reading all the different ice-cream flavors, which are in Spanish, and we were trying to decode them. There were two other ladies in the shop as well. We came across one that said Turron. We looked this up in our dictionary and it wasn't in there. So we asked her what it was. She proceeded to just give us a sample and ask the other ladies if they knew the English word for it. She put it into her phone and he phone then spoke "nougat". Well that is exactly what it tasted like. This started a whole lesson on what the flavors were and we tested each one. She was just so sweet and wasn't put off that we didn't know the language or what these flavors were. She even brought out two flavors for the kids which ended up being their versions of Bubblegum and Cotton Candy.
These are the moments that make me fall in love with this city more and more. I hope that by sharing our experiences with our friends and family that we light a fire in each and everyone of you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace those situations. We are embracing this situation and are eager to learn all that we can. I challenge you to do the same...or come to Spain and let us guide you out of your comfort zone.
Until next time....
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Las Mujeres de Espana (The Women of Spain)
It is morning time here in Madrid and I am the only one up...so I have brewed a cup of coffee and thought that I would talk about one of my observations here. Forgive me if I have spelled a spanish word incorrectly here and there. I know some words and once they go plural I am not exactly sure how they are spelled. I am totally winging it here. :-)
The women of Spain are such an interesting thing. Unlike the States, the women here, well at least the ones I have seen thus far, are extremely sophistcated and put together. They seem to have a respect and confidence for and about themselves that American women do not have. Even on the metro on a Saturday afternoon they have their hair and makeup done, they are wearing an actual outfit and not their pajamas or sweatpants, they have a fancy shoe and fabulous handbag. I love this. For those of you that know me, you know that I wouldn't be caught dead outside my house in anything more than put together. Occasionally I would take the kids to school in my yoga clothes or if we were home cleaning or what not I would be in "grubbies", but I would NEVER go to the store like that. I wish American women would embrace this. I think if they did they would have such confidence in everything that they do. There is just something that happens to you when you have "the look". It will be interesting to see if they have the types of crimes against women here that they do in the States, such as domestic violence. They probably do, but I would like to bet that it isn't as common. The reason I think this is becasue when you feel confident and look it you are less likely to have self esteem issues and feel dependent on what another person thinks about you.
The clothing that I have noticed isn't much different than in the states. They seem to have the same sort of styles, but kicked up a notch. I have only noticed a few items that seem a bit strange to me. I also have noticed, though the younger generation does go for items a bit on the short side, I haven't found myself saying, "She SHOULD NOT be wearing that". I felt like everytime I went out in the Springs there would be many people that have squeezed in to things that just were not flattering. I also really haven't noticed any "weight" issues. You have the "plump" grandmas, but not to the point where they have scooters at the Carrefour for those that cannot walk through the grocery store. Now, again, we have not even been here a week and I certainly have not been everywhere and seen everything, but just found it so interesting this little lifestyle aspect. I am not sure why these women are so fabulous, but I love it and I hope someday that this "way of life" can make it to the States, even if just in little waves. I would love for American women to have a sort of "control" because of the way they feel each and every day.
Until next time...
The women of Spain are such an interesting thing. Unlike the States, the women here, well at least the ones I have seen thus far, are extremely sophistcated and put together. They seem to have a respect and confidence for and about themselves that American women do not have. Even on the metro on a Saturday afternoon they have their hair and makeup done, they are wearing an actual outfit and not their pajamas or sweatpants, they have a fancy shoe and fabulous handbag. I love this. For those of you that know me, you know that I wouldn't be caught dead outside my house in anything more than put together. Occasionally I would take the kids to school in my yoga clothes or if we were home cleaning or what not I would be in "grubbies", but I would NEVER go to the store like that. I wish American women would embrace this. I think if they did they would have such confidence in everything that they do. There is just something that happens to you when you have "the look". It will be interesting to see if they have the types of crimes against women here that they do in the States, such as domestic violence. They probably do, but I would like to bet that it isn't as common. The reason I think this is becasue when you feel confident and look it you are less likely to have self esteem issues and feel dependent on what another person thinks about you.
The clothing that I have noticed isn't much different than in the states. They seem to have the same sort of styles, but kicked up a notch. I have only noticed a few items that seem a bit strange to me. I also have noticed, though the younger generation does go for items a bit on the short side, I haven't found myself saying, "She SHOULD NOT be wearing that". I felt like everytime I went out in the Springs there would be many people that have squeezed in to things that just were not flattering. I also really haven't noticed any "weight" issues. You have the "plump" grandmas, but not to the point where they have scooters at the Carrefour for those that cannot walk through the grocery store. Now, again, we have not even been here a week and I certainly have not been everywhere and seen everything, but just found it so interesting this little lifestyle aspect. I am not sure why these women are so fabulous, but I love it and I hope someday that this "way of life" can make it to the States, even if just in little waves. I would love for American women to have a sort of "control" because of the way they feel each and every day.
Until next time...
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