Well...I have been terrible about blogging lately. I believe it has been two months since I have blogged. I suppose there is a good and a bad to this. The bad part is that you all don't get to read about our experiences, but I suppose the good part is that our experiences are feeling a bit more normal and less overwhelming and I hadn't felt the need to rush and blog about it. As I was chatting with a friend today about how terrible I am at blogging, I thought, I need to be better about this because we can laugh at our experiences here and that may also give all of you a good laugh as well. So I decided to talk a little about some of our challenges lately where we have had to insert said sense of humor.
We have been here in Madrid now for about 4 months. We are far from "settled", but definitely feel like we are functioning pretty well. There are many, many challenges that we face each and every day. Being 4 months into this these challenges certainly don't feel as strange as they used to and we pretty much accept the fact that whatever we are about to do is certainly not going to be easy. My friend here always says, "Living here is the good life, but not the easy life". This is soooo in your face true that we have concluded that if we do not have a sense of humor here we will be eaten alive. :-) I am going to talk a little about such simple things that become so difficult and our "experiences" along the way.
As a military family we have had our fair share of living in different states, different cities, different military posts and many different houses. Usually when we get to a new spot we have to "cruise" our current city for all of our favorites. You know, like our favorite stores, favorite coffee shops, favorite salons, favorite restaurants and really anything that we can "relate" to or "recognize". Well when you transplant to a foreign land there are certainly no familiarities and definitely no "cruising" the city to look because we would surely get lost. Then add the language barrier and you are certainly set up for disaster. So let's take a look at what sorts of challenges that we run into. Imagine the simplicity of these things in the States and you might be able to understand our frustrations.
Imagine for a second what you do in a day...now imagine doing this in a place where nobody speaks your language and you don't speak theirs. Here is where you absolutely must have a sense of humor, not only at yourself, but also with the situation. The grocery store...now this is actually getting much, much better. I can recognize so many more items on the shelves, have found our favorite olives, favorite jamon and favorite cheeses. This week, for the first time, I was actually successful at getting a certain cut of meat that I needed. You don't find as many meat choices that are already cut for you out on display for you to just grab and go here. There are pre packaged meats, but it doesn't compare to what our grocery stores have. Plus you really need to know what the cut of meat you want looks like because you aren't going to find a chuck roast anywhere, well no roast for that matter, but that is another blog. For some reason the pork chops here are paper thin with shrapnel. Shrapnel, you say, ahhhh yes, shrapnel. The meat seems to be cut with a bit of wrecklessness. I have to warn the kids before eating their pork chop that they may find little bones in their meat. I cannot stand this, but it is what it is, so we just deal with it. Well...yesterday I ran to my local mercado and went back to the butcher and found the cut of meat I wanted. Well here comes the hard part...I needed to tell him what I wanted. I wanted that cut of meat cut thicker and I wanted 6. So....here it goes. Hola, Buenas Tardes. Now remember...I have complete survival spanish...I sound like the local village idiot, but at this point if I can get my need across to them then it is a win win. :-) Esta. Gruesa. Seis. Well he cut me the most lucious pork chops that we have gotten yet and it was absolutely AWESOME. Now you can imagine my pride as I just ordered meat from the butcher in a language that I am not even close to native at speaking. I was on cloud 9. It sounds so silly to want to call your husband as you leave the store to tell him that you just got pork chops. This is just a funny situation that if we were home in the States...who cares...do you want some sort of medal because you bought friggin pork chops...well actually in Spain, yes a medal or girl scout patch of achievement would ROCK.
As a girl this next situation is one that I have been thinking about since we got here. I am not going to lie. I am extremely high maintenance and I usually have my new salon in my new city picked out before my new curtains go up. Again...not here. I went to an Aveda Salon back home in the States and had looked up the local Aveda Salon pretty much as soon as we landed. I have been telling my husband for the past 4 months that I need to either go down to the salon or attempt to call to see if anyone speaks English. This is actually a situation where I absolutley NEED the hairstylist to speak English because there can be no miscommunication when it comes to cutting my hair. We already had this happen to Ellie and that is a whole other story, but she is 6 and I am not and if my hair is cut way shorter than I had expected there will be tears. Each week I get an email that talks about recent events and goings on in Madrid. Well each week they have the Aveda Salon in downtown Madrid highlighted and they talk about one of their services they offer. Last week in this email it said that a brunch had been organized at this Aveda. At this brunch you got a consult with a stylist, a free manicure and a mini shoulder massage. I was certainly ALL OVER this one. I had been wanting to get my foot in the door of this salon since we arrived and what better way than with a group of other people. Perfect...this was going to be fabulous. I drop the kids off at the bus and head into the location to catch the light rail into the regular metro station to take the metro into the city because Lord knows you don't want to drive into Madrid at 10 am, plus there probably wouldn't be anywhere to park. I arrived at the salon a few minutes early so I popped into the Starbucks right across the street. Just a little side note, I was so excited when I saw Peppermint Mocha on the menu. I, of course, ordered myself a Peppermint Mocha and just sat in a little bliss of familiarity as Christmas music played in the background. It was certainly my happy place for a few moments. It was now time to head over to my brunch event at Aveda. I walked inside and was greeted by a Bonjour. What the...I must admit I sort of froze. All I could think to say was Hola. Holy Crap why is she speaking French...wait a minute...THEY ALL ARE SPEAKING FRENCH. I am bad enough with getting by in Spanish and now I am surrounded by people speaking French. The coordinator of the event, whom I corresponded with in English, did speak English to me as she checked me in. Come to find out, this was actually a French Club that had arranged this. I am not sure how I was included in the original email about this event, but I had to look at it...with a sense of humor. These ladies did speak Spanish, but not English. Well, a few spoke English, but they all knew each other and were all speaking French. It was just one of those moments where I thought, "How bizarre". The positive that came out of the whole thing was that they were able to get me hooked up with a stylist that does speak English and I was able to make an appointment with him for next week to actually get a cut and a color plus I got a free manicure and shoulder massage. So again a win win.
I will leave you with one last challenge that is sooo super easy to do in the States that you don't even think twice, but now we are going to figure out how to order a pizza. This should be fun. Ellie and I were leaving girl scouts and we thought it would be great to bring home a pizza. So we put Domino's in our GPS and go. Well, you know how GPS's are. After the fact we find out that there was a Domino's much closer to where we were to start with, but such is life. So it is pouring down rain and Ellie and I are on an adventure. Any where you go in Madrid parking is a nightmare. I am sure this is the same scenario in any major city, but a new one for us to deal with and you certainly must perfect your parallel parking skills. Ellie and I find a perfect parking spot. I attempt to "fit" into in the spot with my super American Honda Odyssey....ummm yeah...if you see a Honda Odyssey it is a 110% that it is an American driving it seeing as they don't make this Honda model here...even when the Guardia Civil sets up check points...they wave on through the obvious Americans...aka Honda Odyssey's. So I am trying to parallel park the van into a spot I knew for sure we would fit into. Well I kept running into something. So I asked Ellie to jump in the back and look out the back window to see what I was hitting. She, so politely, says, "Mom, you are hitting the car behind you". Well that certainly explains that. I think we will just mosey along to a new spot. We did find a parking spot and now the real challenge begins...to order the pizza. Now, of course, the toppings are pretty similar, except for the fact that it is all in Spanish and the lady taking your order only speaks Spanish. We were able with not much trouble to order our hawaiian and bacon pizzas or jamon con pina y bacon. Whenever I do something new for the first time I swear I feel like I have a mini anxiety attack trying to get through it. I just freeze up and forget all that I know. So after I placed my order she asked me for my nombre. Well in the midst of my feeling overwhelmed I responded telefono, because I thought she was asking me my number...nombre/number...they sound the same to me. :-) Well it wasn't until she called the name of the other lady waiting for her pizza when it donned on me that nombre was name. I totally knew this, but totally had a brain freeze. If Chad would have been in this situation his response is always, "No speako the Mexicano," which he totally stole from our friend Ashleigh. You can imagine how far this gets him. Let's just say I do all the speaking when possible.
Until next time...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11, 2011
Today is the 10 year anniversary of events that changed us as a nation. As I sit in my home in Madrid, Spain I have found it a bit of a difficult day. Difficult because it is just a regular day here in Spain. Difficult because this date 10 years ago defines us now and my children will not be taught any of this in school here. Difficult because as an American in a foreign country I feel that I want to keep that fact hidden. I don't want to draw attention to myself, but I really want to hang a U.S. flag out on my house to show my pride for my country. Being an American in Spain is such an incredible opportunity and adventure and I would never want to offend a Spaniard. As September 11 is just about over here in Spain I wanted to have a post in remembrence. I read a facebook post yesterday that said. "I don't remember what I was doing last Tuesday, but I can tell you exactly what I was doing on September 11, 2001". This struck a chord with me. This is so true. I love hearing people's stories of where they were and what they were doing and how their lives have been affected by such tragedy that I thought I would share mine.
On September 11, 2001 we were stationed at Ft. Lee in Virginia. Hubby was attending the Captain's Career Course and I was working just north of Richmond, Virginia in a town called Glen Allen. I was not at a computer that had internet capabilities nor near a television. I sort of heard co-workers talking about what was going on, but truly was caught up in my work. I kept getting updates from co-workers and couldn't believe what I was hearing. I stepped out of the office to call my mom on the West Coast to just let her know that I was ok and to hear her voice. Just after lunchtime Hubby called me at work to let me know that he had been released early and to fill me in on the details. He then told me that Ft. Lee was on lockdown and to try and get a hotel room outside of base because I probably couldn't get on. I left work early that day and was able to get on base, but waited hours in a line to get on. Once on post there were soldiers with weapons walking up and down our streets. There were tanks rolling up and down our streets. It was just crazy. Once I got home I was able to see footage for the first time and I just couldn't turn it off. Hubby and I waited to hear President Bush speak and after President Bush's speech Hubby turned to me and said, "We are going to war." At that moment I knew our military lives would be drastically different.
In the weeks that followed I struggled with so many emotions. I would take my lunch break to drive to a parking lot and just sob. What was going to happen? What did this mean for us in the military? How would our country heal? I felt so much patriotism all around me. It brought tears to my eyes to see every single house on our street waving the American Flag. People, for the first time in a long time, put their needs and wants aside to help others. It was just truly amazing yet so sad that it takes such tragedy for people to come together. There were people on our street whose husbands were sent up to ground zero to help in the recovery of bodies with a Casualty Affairs unit. We had another schooling scheduled after Ft. Lee, but which of our friends would be sent away from their families?
We headed to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for EOD school and then to Ft. Knox, Kentucky to fill a Company Command position of an active EOD Company. About the time we got to Kentucky the first wave of Marines deployed to Iraq. By this time we had given birth to one child. Not sure how many waves came before ours, but in September of 2003 Hubby deployed to Iraq...and I suppose the rest is history. We now have two children, been through 2 deployments, too many memorial services to count and Hubby wears a bracelet with 2 special names engraved on it representing two of his soldiers that were killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are a changed nation and we are a changed family.
I pray everyday for God's protection of our "family" and our military "family". So many lives lost this day 10 years ago and many more lost since then. Though we aren't seeing coverage on tv this day, that is probably happening in the States, we do remember. Terrorists act in evil all over the world and this is one thing that we as Americans share with Madrid. In 2004 Madrid was attacked with bombs in their commuter train system. I look forward to mourning with them on the anniversary of their tragedy and knowing we can actually relate. Because of their terrorist attacks we are here today. Spain wanted to host the Counter IED Center because of this incident.
I raise a glass to 10 more years of rebuilding this great nation and pray that Americans everywhere remember how we all treated each other just hours, days, weeks and even months following this great tragedy and to remember that we don't need another tragedy to come together as one.
On September 11, 2001 we were stationed at Ft. Lee in Virginia. Hubby was attending the Captain's Career Course and I was working just north of Richmond, Virginia in a town called Glen Allen. I was not at a computer that had internet capabilities nor near a television. I sort of heard co-workers talking about what was going on, but truly was caught up in my work. I kept getting updates from co-workers and couldn't believe what I was hearing. I stepped out of the office to call my mom on the West Coast to just let her know that I was ok and to hear her voice. Just after lunchtime Hubby called me at work to let me know that he had been released early and to fill me in on the details. He then told me that Ft. Lee was on lockdown and to try and get a hotel room outside of base because I probably couldn't get on. I left work early that day and was able to get on base, but waited hours in a line to get on. Once on post there were soldiers with weapons walking up and down our streets. There were tanks rolling up and down our streets. It was just crazy. Once I got home I was able to see footage for the first time and I just couldn't turn it off. Hubby and I waited to hear President Bush speak and after President Bush's speech Hubby turned to me and said, "We are going to war." At that moment I knew our military lives would be drastically different.
In the weeks that followed I struggled with so many emotions. I would take my lunch break to drive to a parking lot and just sob. What was going to happen? What did this mean for us in the military? How would our country heal? I felt so much patriotism all around me. It brought tears to my eyes to see every single house on our street waving the American Flag. People, for the first time in a long time, put their needs and wants aside to help others. It was just truly amazing yet so sad that it takes such tragedy for people to come together. There were people on our street whose husbands were sent up to ground zero to help in the recovery of bodies with a Casualty Affairs unit. We had another schooling scheduled after Ft. Lee, but which of our friends would be sent away from their families?
We headed to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for EOD school and then to Ft. Knox, Kentucky to fill a Company Command position of an active EOD Company. About the time we got to Kentucky the first wave of Marines deployed to Iraq. By this time we had given birth to one child. Not sure how many waves came before ours, but in September of 2003 Hubby deployed to Iraq...and I suppose the rest is history. We now have two children, been through 2 deployments, too many memorial services to count and Hubby wears a bracelet with 2 special names engraved on it representing two of his soldiers that were killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are a changed nation and we are a changed family.
I pray everyday for God's protection of our "family" and our military "family". So many lives lost this day 10 years ago and many more lost since then. Though we aren't seeing coverage on tv this day, that is probably happening in the States, we do remember. Terrorists act in evil all over the world and this is one thing that we as Americans share with Madrid. In 2004 Madrid was attacked with bombs in their commuter train system. I look forward to mourning with them on the anniversary of their tragedy and knowing we can actually relate. Because of their terrorist attacks we are here today. Spain wanted to host the Counter IED Center because of this incident.
I raise a glass to 10 more years of rebuilding this great nation and pray that Americans everywhere remember how we all treated each other just hours, days, weeks and even months following this great tragedy and to remember that we don't need another tragedy to come together as one.
Friday, September 9, 2011
SEGOVIA!!!!!!
A few weekends ago Hubby's work organized a trip to Segovia. Segovia is an easy day trip from Madrid and I would say is a must see for anyone visiting here. There are many things that Segovia is known for. The few that we saw were the Aqueduct, the Alcazar, the Segovia Cathedral, the Walls of Segovia and Suckling Pig.
The Aqueduct:
Incredible.
The next sight we saw was the Segovia Cathedral. We weren't able to go in because we weren't Catholic and they were having mass. We went on a Sunday. You can pay to go in when there isn't mass and we will certainly do that next time we are there. I must say that buildings here are just so impressive. When you think about the construction practices back when these buildings were constructed you just stand in awe of what was produced. These were all done by hand and the detail is just amazing.
After being mesmerized for a bit looking at the Cathedral, we walked through the incredibly tiny streets where you wouldn't think people could walk and drive down...but this is Spain...so they absolutely do.
These incredible streets took us past little shops and vendors and ended at the Alcazar of Segovia. They say that Walt Disney was inspired by this castle and created Cinderella's castle through this inspiration. This castle was first documented in 1122, but it easily could have existed earlier. Again...we didn't go inside the castle this trip, but do plan to go in next time. We were with a big group and we didn't want anybody to feel obligated to pay the entrance fees. This castle was the residence of many royals and was devastated by fire in 1862, but was rebuilt. This sight now houses the sight of an Artillery Museum.
Our final destination in Segovia was to have the famous suckling pig. Now...I probably shouldn't have read about this before we went, but I was determined to try it. A little background...A suckling pig is basically a piglet that is fed strictly on it's mother's milk until slaughtered at about 21 days old. Oyyyyyy... here we go. This appeared to be a specialty in Segovia. It was offered on many, many of the menus here and 2 of the most well know suckling pig restaurants are here.
The meat of the suckling pig is extremely tender. They say that when these come out of the wood ovens that they cut them with a plate because they are so tender. I would agree the meat is this tender, but the skin was extremely crisp so I don't know if that is true. We didn't see them cut the little piglets. It was very tasty and an experience to say the least.
We had a great day in Segovia and hope to go back soon when we are not with a large group and can just wander without losing anybody or worrying about places we need to be by a certain time.
Until we meet again...
The Aqueduct:
The aqueduct is an incredible piece of architecture and engineering. This was built in the late 1st century or early 2nd century. The aqueduct is 9 miles long and up to only a few years back was functional. It brought water from the mountains to the city. I think the most amazing facts about this structure is that it was built by hand with around 25,000 granite blocks and held together by pure engineering. There is no mortar whatsoever in this structure. There are over 170 bows (arches) in the structure.
The next sight we saw was the Segovia Cathedral. We weren't able to go in because we weren't Catholic and they were having mass. We went on a Sunday. You can pay to go in when there isn't mass and we will certainly do that next time we are there. I must say that buildings here are just so impressive. When you think about the construction practices back when these buildings were constructed you just stand in awe of what was produced. These were all done by hand and the detail is just amazing.
After being mesmerized for a bit looking at the Cathedral, we walked through the incredibly tiny streets where you wouldn't think people could walk and drive down...but this is Spain...so they absolutely do.
Our final destination in Segovia was to have the famous suckling pig. Now...I probably shouldn't have read about this before we went, but I was determined to try it. A little background...A suckling pig is basically a piglet that is fed strictly on it's mother's milk until slaughtered at about 21 days old. Oyyyyyy... here we go. This appeared to be a specialty in Segovia. It was offered on many, many of the menus here and 2 of the most well know suckling pig restaurants are here.
The meat of the suckling pig is extremely tender. They say that when these come out of the wood ovens that they cut them with a plate because they are so tender. I would agree the meat is this tender, but the skin was extremely crisp so I don't know if that is true. We didn't see them cut the little piglets. It was very tasty and an experience to say the least.
We had a great day in Segovia and hope to go back soon when we are not with a large group and can just wander without losing anybody or worrying about places we need to be by a certain time.
Until we meet again...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
More rules of the Spaniards...
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....
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....
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....
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