Nanny Problems

This post is just because usually I like to complain about annoyances of life on Twitter but I have more things to complain about than 140 characters will allow me to sufficiently bemoan. I'm pretty sure Mary Poppins didn't suffer like this.

      So probably what put me in such a fuss was my first ever cold sore. I find this extra bothersome because I have managed to live my entire life in a herpes infested house and not once contract the virus. Even with my sisters who each practically have a never-ending sore on their lips. No offense if you're reading this..... And then one day the baby gets a cold sore and I suddenly have one on each corner of my mouth and one on MY FINGER!!!!! And then as that one is just about healed another one appears. So painful and so gross. Yet, that's really not what annoys me most. It just annoys me that once you have the virus it NEVER GOES AWAY! So the baby broke my perfectly clean track record and I am now contaminated with herpes.

But THEN when I was in the living room with Mayra and Cayetana, Mayra was eating really crunchy things I don't even know what to call them, but they are louder than croutons. And anyone who knows me, knows that I can't stand to sit next to someone while they crunch on croutons. Meanwhile, Caye picked up Mayra's bottle of diet coke and started drinking it and spilling it. Naturally, I took it away from her and put the lid on it it. But of course, Caye's fit disrupted Mayra's peace and she would rather Caye be quiet than teach her what's allowed and what's not. So, she gave her back the coke and took the lid off. I'm not exaggerating when I say Caye drank almost half the bottle. That's not caffeine free, by the way. And she kept spilling it and shaking it violently (while it was open) and I had to keep cleaning it up. And then she started putting Gusanitos in it (Those are like puffy cheetos minus the cheese powder). And then she drank it with those floating in it. And then she spilled it again and a Gusanito fell out and she ate it and Mayra freaked out and was like, "that's sooooo gross. You can't eat them like that." HELLO!!!!!! How is that any different than letting her DRINK THEM??? So dumb!

MEANWHILE, Mayra was watching this popular talk show and this woman had incredibly obnoxios teeth. I'm pretty sure they were dentures. But the were just really odd looking with her face and with everything else going on at the time, I just couldn't stand to look at them. THEN the famous midget girl comes out and she is already annoying (I have nothing against midgets, just her) and you can totally see her underwear through her dress. And that for some reason bothered me, too. At this point I was seriously losing my mind and I couldn't get Mayra's crunching out of my ears. And it hurt if I opened my mouth. And there was coke everywhere. It's funny how I had Cayetana AAALLLLL day yesterday and even overnight while Mayra was out of town and she was sooo well behaved and didn't throw any fits. The second her mom come home she's a terror....

This is the midget named Chiqui. She has an incredibly annoying personality. You would just have to watch the show. But I'm sure she's a nice person....? Idk... Anyway... 

That's the end of my complaints for now. Other than the last few hours of my day it was blissfully, pleasant and I went for a walk and read a book and just relaxed. That's because Caye was with her grandma all day.

LA PLAYA!!!!

We took a mini vacay to the beach in the south of Spain and it was the most fun I've had in a long time! I just love the beach. This happened like 3 weeks ago, by the way. I have just become a super lazy blogger.
      So the weather was pretty nice when we got there. We stayed in a little apartment that had 2 rooms ( I got the room with 2 beds, I always have 2 beds!) a bathroom, living room, kitchen and a little balcony/patio thing.

This is the view off the balcony. I love palm trees! (Or palmeras)

          The first day we got there at like 4pm or something, so we went grocery shopping at Carrefour which was like a walmart but only bigger and better than any Walmart I have ever seen. And that's saying something, because I LOVE Walmart. We bought lots of sweeties and pizzas. I was a little sick of pizza by the end of the week.... Anyway, we went to the mall for a moment and then went back to the hotel and watched a movie that was on TV. I'm pretty sure that night we all went to sleep before it finished. It was some scary movie with Pierce Brosnan... I was very uninterested... Anyway, I woke up super early the next morning and didn't know what to do with myself so I just sat on the couch and waited... And ate a magdalena (Spanish muffin/cupcake thing). Then Mayra woke up and we went on a walk by the beach together. We talked and walked and it was really beautiful. By the time we got back, Caye was still sleeping. When she woke up, it was RAINING!!!! Alas.... So we went to the mall but it doesn't have a ceiling!!! So we didn't want to get wet and whatnot so we went for a little drive and then it stopped raining so we looked at boats at the docks.... And then we went back home. Well, to the hotel. And we ate pizza..... and watched another movie. I have no idea what the movie was. It was about these creatures called moundwalkers and they turned  the guys daughter into one of them and so the guy tried to save her and then he lit the pile of moundwalkers on fire or something and his little son was watching and the very last frame of the movie was the little boy and all he says is, "Dad...?" And it leads you to believe that his dad was probably turned into one of the creatures too, But also, if you look really closely behind the little boy, THERE WAS A FIGURE LIKE THE MOUNDWALKERS! And then it ended. So creepy. But also, it was a really dumb movie. Anwyay... We went to bed and then the next morning we all went on a really long walk. We stopped at a cafe and drank cokes and this sunglasses salesman tried to sell us knock-off glasses for 10 Euros. He spoke english too so he found out I am from America and when I said, "I don't have any money." He said, "Of course you do! You're American! Americans have money." But really, I don't.
          Well, we continued on our walk and looked at more boats. My shoes were freaking killing me. I got blisters. :( Anyway, we stopped at another cafe later and there was an English couple. Like, British English. And they didn't realize I speak English and they were talking about Cayetana in front of me saying that she was squeaking. And then before we left I made sure to say something to Caye in English so that they could hear me and know that I understood them the whole time. Also, there were some people speaking German the night before in the KFC that I forgot about. Well, Mayra was like, they're speaking your language!!! And I was really confused and I thought that maybe they were just too far away but then I'm pretty sure they were speaking German. And then later that night she put on a cartoon for Caye that was DEFINITELY in German and she said, "Let's watch this song in Emily's language." And I was confused again and the moment had passed that it was too long to say, that's not my language without it being awkward. And then Julian a few minutes later was like, "Do you understand this?" And before I could say no Mayra was like, "What kind of question is that? Of course she can understand it!" And I was like... "Actually... I can't... That's German." And she was like, "Oh..."
       Anyway, I skipped a lot of things that happened. This is an incredibly unorganized post.... So we walked and looked at boats and then made our way back toward the hotel and stopped by the beach to sun bathe. That was nice. Except Caye kept trying to eat the sand.... And there was also an area with a bunch of little kiosk, street vendor things. It reminded me of market night in CA or a small art in the park type thing. It was cool. They sold baby high heels that I wanted to get for Zoe. SO cute!
        Well, we went back home and Caye slept and Mayra and I went to the mall. I LOVE CLOTHES!!! But I didn't buy anything. Because like I told the sunglasses guy, I have no money. Anyway, when Caye woke up we went to this park that has animals on the loose. Like, Peacocks which they call "pavo" which is also the word for turkey. Which that really bothered me. I don't want to eat a peacock for Thanksgiving!!!! Unless it means I can decorate the house in purple and green and blue... Anyway, there were geese and ducks. Which they just call geese "patos" which is also ducks.... That also annoyed me... Oh Spain.... learn your animals... There were chickens everywhere! So I told Mayra about when I skyped London and London told me about her chickens. I asked her if she eats the eggs and she said, "No, because they're in the shells." And so I asked, "Do you take them out of the shells and then eat them?" "No, because you have to cook them." "Ok... do you cook them and then eat them?" "No, because kids can't cook. Adults have to cook them." "Well then does your mom cook them for you so you can eat them?" "Yeah...." I love her! And I taught Zoe how to play Cu-Cu-Tras! It's peekaboo! But you say "cu cuuuuu... TRAS!" She loved it. I think it's better than peekaboo.

      Anyway, back to the park... there were swans and I think that's it. And there was a rooster in the tree! ahahaha She played on the toys but it was cold so we went back to the hotel. I got everything all out of order. I think this was the night that we watched the moundwalker movie. Then on Sunday we went home. And that's that. I'll add more pictures later. But my computer is super stupid. So I can't upload them just yet......                   .  
           

  Anyway! Here's a mini Spanish lesson:
Hala! or Jolines! Or Jolin! Those are all terms that basically means oh gosh!!! or Woah! Just expressions of Oh my goodness...ness... Um... what else??? Idk........pues..... (that means "well.....") I can't think of anything.... They call sliced bread pan bimbo because there is a brand called bimbo... so it's like saying wonder bread, everyone knows it. Or the other way to call it is pan de molde. Well, I can't think of anything else....

Oh and today is Father's Day in Spain. So... that's cool..........bye!

Fotos

The biggest, most beautiful most detailed
Nativity, (or in Spanish, Belén) I have ever seen!

 So, I have a few pictures that don't really merit a full post. Here are some misc. photos.

"Mary, you're gonna have a baby."

No room in the inn.

Baby Jesus and Mary, and Joseph

 

 THE THREE KINGS
OR LOS REYES MAGOS

 

Spanish Sunset

I saw this when I went for a walk one day. It reminded me of
when Megan and I used to make "Scrunch-faces." Thought you would like this, Meg!

I just liked this statue. It was in a really pretty park.

         





      It was such a nice day, clear skies and 55 degrees! Not bad for January! So, we took her baby for a walk.

Feliz __________ (choose one: Cumpleaños, Navidad, Año Nuevo)!!!!!

Caye and her friends.
And that's Arancha holding Caye.

I decorated. Like it?
And that little boy in the picture is actually
a girl. That's Lola.

Well, this is mostly just going to be a picture post because there's a lot I didn't write about and it's too late to catch up. In November Cayetana turned 1 year old. We had a big party where all of Mayra's friends  came with their children and it was loud and a bit chaotic. We made cupcakes that are really muffins but Mayra didn't understand the difference. And it was really hard because she doesn't have measuring utensils. So the first time I tried making cupcakes, they were AWFUL! So bad. But the ones for the party turn out fine. It helps that we found boxed muffin mix.
       Anyway, when I first got here I made myself 2 goals to accomplish before her first birthday. The first was to teach her how to walk. She mastered that about a month before. The second was to teach her how to say "Mama." I am not at all exaggerating when I say that she said it for the first time on the morning of her birthday.  Mayra and I were so proud of her! And now it's pretty much the only word she ever says. But sometimes she says "hola" "agua" and "bye."
       Well, not a whole lot happened after that. Mayra's birthday was in December and I made a super cute card with Cayetana's picture on the front and on the inside I traced her hands and feet. Mayra loved it and showed it to all her family when they came to eat dinner that night and it's now on display in the living room. I feel like a little kid who just got her artwork put on the fridge!

She wasn't cooperating for the Xmas tree
photoshoot....

My favorite part about Christmas is the tree!
Except Jesus of course.

       I can't really remember anything that happened until Christmas Eve, which is called Noche Buena. We all went to Mayra's parents house for dinner. I don't really remember what we ate. I just remember seafood and bread. And Mayra's dad or brother or someone tried to get me to eat a shrimp and I said no thanks and Mayra said, "It's cause she doesn't eat anything that has eyes." Which is very true, I have a hard time with that. Especially since one time a shrimp eyeball fell out and mixed into my paella. I love the taste of Paella but lose body parts and eyes tend to suppress my appetite a bit...

I know, lame bathroom mirror picture.

The Brunette, the blond and
the redhead!

      After dinner Virgi and Mayra and I got ready to go out dancing. We left at about 12:30!! I was already pretty tired! We left Cayetana with her parents and I have no idea where Julian was. Because earlier that week Mayra locked him out of the house and I didn't see him until about a week later. It was really awkward.
      Anyway, we went out dancing until about 6:30am!!!! We met a group of out-of-towners with a really awkward older relative and another slightly less awkward and slightly younger relative and two very attractive not awkward and not old brothers. The taller one talked to me for a while and I found out his name is Mario. He spoke English pretty well. Mayra later told me that he's a fireman. His brother, on the other hand, resembled Ryan Reynolds and he was a personal trainer. I think he said his name is Roberto but I had already christened him "Spanish Ryan Reynolds" so that name is what stuck for me.

The man in the green is SRR.
Too bad you can't see his face!

Mayra made me take a picture with
the creepy man (men). I guess she
didn't think he was creepy.
I may be smiling, but I was really uncomfortable.

      The next week we went out again for New Year's, Noche Vieja, and we saw them AGAIN! But this time it was in the light and SRR didn't look as much as Ryan Reynolds anymore. That was a bummer. But he was still cute! We talked to them for a few minutes but they were coming as we were leaving. And I was glad to get away from the creepy, older, married relative who was staring at me creepily. Which I won't go into because my dad reads this blog and I don't want him to get all fatherly and come assault somebody and get us both deported for life.

       Anyway, Virgi and I went to another club alone and Mayra went home with Julian (who was allowed to come back home now). This club sucked a lot. The people all seemed like high schoolers and the music was not very good and my feet hurt. I was glad to go home at 6am. I slept at Virgi's house but really I just wanted to finish reading The Hunger Games.
      Then the week after that was the night of the 3 kings, or Los Reyes Magos. That's their big Christmas celebration day with presents and what-not. The 3 kings came to town and the streets were FILLED with people. They walked through the streets lead by dancing men on stilts with giant sparklers!
        When we got home Caye "opened" her presents and Mayra gave me a really nice bag since I don't have one to take all my things to church.  It was very nice of her.
          Then yesterday I wasn't able to get a ride to church so later in the day I went for a walk be the river with Mayra, her sister, Arancha and all of the kids. IT WAS SO PRETTY! But, of course, I didn't take pictures.

          Then we went to McDonald's but I didn't eat because I was fasting, which they think is so weird. So, I just played with the kids in the little playhouse area. We played cops and robbers. And then Matteo, who's 5, tried to pants me....... awkward.... So, that's been the passed 2 months in a nutshell.  Now, here's some pictures.

I've complained many a times about how the blog is terrible for picture layouts so here are a few pictures that I couldn't get to fit in above:

This is Arancha's 7 year old son, Nacho.
He's my favorite of all the kids.
Don't tell the others that!
I teach him and his sister English every Sunday.

  

The Streets of Cuenca at Christmas time!

And this is the real Ryan Reynolds.

                                                                     

Gran Hotel

I'm obsessed. For all you Spanish speakers out there, you really should look up the show Gran Hotel. I already have Megan hooked!
     Anyway, I don't really know what to write about because I have a terrible memory and I haven't written in a very long time so I've already forgotten everything.....
     For starters, I went to la discoteca one night. That was certainly an experience! Mayra and I stopped by her mom's house to pick up her sister, Virgi. We first went to a little bar in La Plaza Mayor. It was PACKED FULL! After we got our drinks (Raspberry non-alcoholic mojitos) we went downstairs and sat in a little alcove. The drink was just AWFUL! It tasted like Dayquil mixed with Nyquil. I couldn't drink it.
     Well, as we sat there I watched the people walking past us and I accidentally made eye-contact with a grossy. I knew immediately that I was going to regret that.
      Sure enough, a few minutes later he came back and asked Virgi if her could sit there and she just kind of shrugged her shoulders in an "I don't care" sort of way. She tried to tell me to drink my drink faster so we could go but I really didn't want to drink it.
      We just sat there really quiet until the yucky guy with the yucky hair (It's not quite a mullet not quite a rat tail. I don't know what to call it) tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I smoked. I told him, "No." And turned my entire body away from him as to say, "I have no interest whatsoever in talking to you."
       He obviously didn't get the clue because he tapped me on the shoulder again and asked where I am from. I told him "Estados Unidos." Once again, I turned my body away.
      He asked Virgi if she's from the US also, and she said yes! ahaha So, since she doesn't speak English, she had to stay quiet the whole time so he wouldn't talk to her.
      But that didn't stop him from trying to talk to me! He tapped me on the shoulder AGAIN and said, in Spanish of course, "The US? That's really far, isn't it!?" I was all like, "DUH!" Except I didn't really say that. I just said, "Sii." And turned away hoping he would finally take the hint.
     No such luck, he tapped me again ans this time asked why I'm here. I just told him I'm here to work at which point Mayra quietly told me to hurry with drink but I told her it tasted like a medicine from when I was younger and she laughed and said "Vale, vamanos!"
     As we were leaving I could here the grossy's discontent. I heard him say something to the extent of, "Oh! Of course! Now you leave!" When we were out of ear-shot Mayra said, "Bye-Bye!"
     At this point it was about 12 o'clock and we went downtown to a street that is litterally just discotecas. And it's packed full with people walking by and just hanging out outside the doors. We went into a couple but they were all pretty empty and Mayra told me it was because it was still really early. Which I was already ready to go to sleep so I couldn't see how 12 was still really early. At about 1:00 it started getting pretty full. We danced, and I drank a diet coke. There was a really nasty couple that was dancing behind us. They were just gross. And he had that same mullet/rat tail hair. Virgi's BF, Aitor (EYE-TORE) came. We left at about 2:30 and Mayra apologized for leaving so early but Virgi had to travel to Madrid in the morning. I still didn't think that 2:30 was leaving early. I was exhausted and I had church the next morning!
      I surprisingly woke up just fine for church. I don't really remember which week that was, this all happened a while ago. But some week in the past I was called to be the Young Women's President. There are 2 girls that show up regularly and there is one inactive Laurel. Also, not last Sunday but the Sunday before was the missionaries' last Sunday. And we didn't even get new ones! That's kind of a bummer.
      Before they left one of them gave me his email address and told me to add him on Facebook. He said, "My name's Chase, by the way." Which I thought was funny because that whole time, I never even thought about the fact that he had a first name. In my mind he was just "Missionary." Anyway, the other one's name is Jacob apparently. They left and I'm sure I'll never see them again. And now there are no Americans in my branch. :(
      However, I had to give a talk in church the following Sunday. I spoke on Christmas and such things like that... Well, there was an American family that was passing through. It was a man, his wife and his parents. He had served in the Madrid mission several years before and they came back to visit. I talked with his wife for a little. She told me they're from Orem, Utah. Not surprised. They left right after sacrament and before they left he told me I did a good job on my talk and that my Spanish is really good. They wished me good luck and left. Then, after Sunday school I gave my YW's lesson which was about "Choosing an Ocupation" It went pretty well considering I don't speak Spanish very well. It's definitely more of a learning experience for me than it is for the girls! I can only pray that they get something out of my lessons!
       I have plenty of time to prepare for the next lesson because I won't have to give one until after the first of the year. Christmas is in 2 days and I'm really not that excited. I've decided that I am really going to put all my focus on the birth of the savior and spiritual growth. I have so much to be grateful for and by being here I realize how blessed I am to have my family and my friends and the gospel of Christ in my life. Thank you all for supporting me through everything in my life. If you're reading this, TE QUIERO!!! (That means I love you.) Have the happiest of holidays! As a special Christmas gift, I may just write another post later. :)

  PS CONGRATS TO MY SEESTER FOR GETTIN HITCHED!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU, POOKEY!!!

Oh yeah, they got a dog for Caye's birthday. It died after a week. But they got a new one.

Poor Pipa. RIP

Lazy eye........

Las Chicas monas! (That girl in the background is part of the gross PDA couple.

Me, Virgi and Aitor

    

Perdida, Pero No Olvidada

This post is dedicated to Casey because if I had not promised him that I would write this, I would be on Pinterest right now instead. Pinterest has become my life. I can only wish to be half as crafty as the people on Pinterest. 
      Anyway, this post is the tale of how I got lost in Cuenca yesterday. Alone.
      It all started last week when Mayra said, "I'll take you to church tomorrow." But I never told her what time it started, not thinking that she would sleep past 10:30. But she did. So, I didn't go to church last week.
      On Wednesday, I had an appointment to get my student card at the Extranjeria. Before work, Mayra dropped me and Cayetana off at her sister, Arancha's house and she walked with me to my appointment, ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN! It was a really fun walk, but I want to emphasize that it is a LONG walk. Lots of turns. Remember that.
       We got to my appointment, and as I had expected, we didn't have all the papers they need, so, I STILL don't have my student card........ Without it, I can only stay until January.
       Arancha and I walked to Mayra's work and then we went to a little bakery that Mayra's friend owns and we drank some Coke. Then, I went shopping with Arancha and her husband before returning back to her house. After work, Mayra picked Cayetana and me up and we got McDonald's for lunch. Let me just say that I hate McDonald's in America, but in Spain it's EVEN WORSE! Well, just the french fries are gross. They were weird and chewy...
      Anyway, come Sunday, I knew exactly where the church (close the the Extranjeria) was because on our walk, Arancha had shown me. Julian dropped me off at the front door and I went downstairs, and nobody was there. I was super confused. Then about a minute later a missionary came downstairs and was like, "Hola...?" in an are you lost sort of voice. He figured out that I speak English and then told me that they first meet upstairs, which I didn't even know there was an upstairs because the doors is off to the side.
      When I walked into the chapel there were like, 5 people in the congregation and 2 in the branch presidency and 2 missionaries. The missionaries asked me the general questions, where are you from, what's your name, etc... They're both from Utah, shocking, right? And I don't remember their names....
      Then the meeting started and we sang, but nobody plays the piano, they sing along to a CD. The first missionary that I met came and sat next to me and asked me how much Spanish I know. I never really know how to answer that, so I just gave him the so-so hand signal.
       As the meeting went on several more people came in. In all, there were probably about 30 people there, give or take...
       There was a super cute little boy running all over the room, (it's a small room with chairs instead of pews) and he ran up to the stand where the branch pres was and was playing with stuff and nobody seemed like they were going to stop him. So, the missionary leaned over and whispered, "Only in Cuenca."
        I didn't understand the first talk very well. I only heard key phrases like "resistir el diablo" and "Libro de Mormon." But the second talk I understood very well. I don't really remember what it was about though.... Well, it was about the Book of Mormon but I don't remember the details.
        After Sacrament meeting, we went down to Sunday school. It's just like in our stake where you can choose to go to Gospel Principles or regular Sunday School. I think it's called Gospel Doctrine? Anyway, I went to Gospel Doctrine and there were only, like, 5 other people in there. A woman not too much older than me sat by me. I think her name was Soraya Soralla.... I don't know.... Saraya? I really don't know. Well, she was really nice and easy to talk to. She lives in Madrid but she comes to Cuenca every weekend to be with her family. The missionary told me she's an English teacher and that she speaks better English than he does. But I only talked to her in Spanish. Anway, she shared La Biblia with me because I only had the English copy. The teacher, the same lady who gave the first talk in Sacrament, gave me the manual and asked if I could read it. It was a little nerve racking at first, but then I remembered that I like reading out loud.
          As we were reading in the Bible I came to some verses that I didn't understand so I pulled out my English copy and went to turn to the page but realized that I had no idea who Santiago is. Soraya, or whatever, leaned over and said, "Santiago es James." I felt a little silly. I never realized the names we sooo different. I knew about Nefi and Pedro, etc...
         I understood most of the lesson in Sunday School but less of Relief Society. It was the last hour and my brain was exhausted from paying such close attention to everybody's words. It's really tiring listening to church in a foreign language! There was an alarm that kept going off on the cell phone that Julian gave to me and I couldn't figure out how to turn it off!!! I turned the phone off (worst mistake of the day) but the alarm STILL went off!
        So, after church I paid my tithing and the branch pres. asked me for all my information so he could request my records. This is the point when I realized that I've grown leaps and bounds in communicating in Spanish. But he was a little difficult to understand, nonetheless. He asked me for my phone number at the house, so, I took out the phone to look it up. I turned it back on and saw that it was LOCKED asking me for the PIN. I didn't know it and had no way of looking up the number and therefore no way of calling Mayra. I finished with the Pres. and left, still not knowing what I was going to do. I luckily packed an extra pair of shoes because I accidentally brought the wrong black heels to Spain, the ones that KILL my feet. So, I quickly changed my shoes and decided I would walk to Arancha's house (second worst mistake of the day).
         At first, I recognized my surroundings and for the most part knew I was going in the right direction. But after about 15 minutes of walking I had no idea where I was. I thought of asking for directions but decided that was not gonna help me at all. I'm terrible with directions. So, I thought I should go back to the church and assume that Mayra would eventually come. I hoped.
         I got to the church just in time because the Branch Pres was just getting ready to leave and he had 2 other people with him that I have no idea what their names were. They were possibly related? Not sure. Well, I told them my situation and the Pres. offered to give me a ride to Arancha's house. I didn't want to ask him to take me all the way out to my house in Arcas because it's sooo far away. And I just thought going to Arancha's was the best option, which turned out for the best.
         Once at Arancha's apartment building, I said gracias several times to the branch pres and walked over to the little button buzzer things on the outside of the apartment building. I'd seen Mayra push it several times before but I wasn't certain which apartment number she lived in. So I gave 6-A a try.
          It buzzed and a voice said, "Quien es?"
          Before I said who I was I asked, just to be sure, "Eres Arancha?"
          "Sii!" She said.
          So, I said, "Soy Emily." And she buzzed me in. I explained to her what happened when I got inside and she gave me food while she tried calling Mayra, who DIDN'T ANSWER! She tried several times throughout the next hour and after I had finished eating and the kids got dressed, we drove over there, but no one was home. 
          She called Ivanna and asked if she knew where Mayra was. Sure enough, Mayra was there eating lunch! Arancha told her what happened with the cell phone and then we all drove over to Ivanna's house to wait for them to finish eating.
          By this time I was absolutely exhausted. But I still had to teach Lola, Nacho and Carol English. Which, by the way, I had nothing prepared because, 1) they never tell me in advance what they need to work on and 2) I wasn't planning on spending all day being lost in Cuenca, so I thought I'd have time to throw a little something together. Wrong.
         I helped Lola with her homework which took about 2 minutes and then I helped Nacho sing his Thanksgiving song for his class and I helped Carol learn her letters. She only knows them in the order of the song so we practiced them out of order. She had a hard time with A, E and I.
         Then they left, and I had a splitting headache and went to sleep without dinner. It was a loooong adventurous day.

jkdsljffnksknk

I almost felt motivation to write a post. But then I didn't anymore. Sorry to fake you out. But I will at least include what I ate yesterday so you don't leave with nothing.

For lunch it was just a piece of ham, a fried egg and homemade french fries which were the best I've ever tasted.

For dinner, I ate bacalao I think it's called. It's a type of fish. It was prepared with canned spaghetti type sauce... I'm not really sure what it was, and she put some mayonnaise on top and stuck it in the oven. It was actually really good and I couldn't even taste the mayonnaise. I hate mayonnaise. But it was good.

Oh, and the night before we ate pizza. Not the frozen kind like Mayra gets but really good delivery pizza. It was sooo good.

So... yeah... Also, I realize I haven't been leaving words I have learned so I will leave a few vocab words.

Espuela is a pizza cutter. It comes from the spools on horses or cowboy boots or whatever.... Those things that turn. I don't like cowboys so I don't know what they are.

Hombre! It technically means "man" as just about everyone knows. But they use it all the time and I've figured out that it's basically like saying, "Dude!"

And another thing they say ALL the time is "Ya esta" which is like, "it's finished." or "It's done." or "It's ready" or of they want to say, "Are you ready?" They just say, "Ya?"

I'll add more later. Love you all!!!! Besos! :)