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! :)

Mmmm.... Comida. Soy Gorda.

I'm still a lazy blogger. Nothing's changed. And I still don't feel like writing about what I've been up to the past couple weeks. I feel overwhelmed with the amount of catching up I need to do; so, I'm going to do what every crafty procrastinator does, and avoid it for another day when I feel enough motivation.Or I might just skip it all together and make casual references throughout the rest of my blogs and fill you in little by little, here and there.
        So, today's blog isn't really anything to do with what I've been doing so much as what I've been eating. I feel bad that I am enjoying all this incredible food while the rest of America is ignorant to it's bliss!
        In the morning, I eat Wheatabix hot with a spoonful of Nocilla (a version of Nutella). So good. And I pretty much eat that every morning. But that's not really a Spanish food so I don't know why I felt the need to share it with you....
        So far my favorite food is the Tortilla Espanola or Tortilla de Patatas that I already talked about in one of the earlier blogs. It's really easy to make, too! All you need is:
                          -4 eggs
                          -1/2 kilo potatoes (do your own conversions at this conversion site. Actually, I don't understand how to work that conversion site... So I think it's about 4 or 5 potatoes.....)
                          -1/4 liter olive oil (It think that's about 1 cup)
                          -salt
Cut the potatoes into small bite size pieces.  Heat the oil add the potatoes and a little salt. Fry them until they are golden. Drain the oil in a colander or with a plate and paper towels. Set aside

Beat the eggs with a bit of salt. Add the potatoes and mix them in with the beaten eggs.

Prepare the frying pan again with 2 spoonfuls of oil making sure it covers the bottom of the pan. )Use a pan that's a little on the small size so that the Tortilla will be thick.) Poor in the egg/potato mixture. It should fill the pan up almost to the top.Move the pan, shaking it a little so that it doesn't stick. Let it cook like you would an omelette or something. the sides and bottom should be starting to turn golden and when it seems like the underside is thoroughly cooked, turn the pan over onto a plate, drain the wet part that was in the middle of the tortilla back into the pan and slide the cooked portion back into the pan as well. Cook on this side until golden brown. IF you need to turn it over and cook the other side again, you can.

Serve with one of those fresh loaves of bread that we always called French bread when I was little but I don't want to call it that because this is an authentic Spanish food. So for the sake of this blog I'm going to call it pan (pronounced pawn). Pan is eaten with every meal. They just stick it on the table and people grab it and tear off a piece when they want to eat some. You can also eat some sort of meat with it. Pork is very common. Last time we ate it we had ham with a piece of cheese melted on top. It was heated in a frying pan and she just stuck an entire slice of cheese on it. I don't really like cheese, though. Or ham. I think there was also some sort of breaded chicken that night.

            ************************************************************************
The next recipe is even easier. It's macarrone con atun. It's not elbow macaroni, but those larger tube pastas. We had the colorful kind where some are green, some are red, etc...

First, boil the noodles until they're done, drain them blah blah everyone knows how to cook pasta.
Then, add a little tomato sauce (a small can maybe? Depends on the size of can you buy. If it's a big can just add half. Use your best judgment.) and add a can of tuna to the tomato sauce. I prefer those pouches of tuna that Dad buys because the tuna isn't as shredded, it's more chunky and not as wet. Anyway, Stir it around until it's hot.

This is just from Google because I don't take pictures of my food. But our plates happen to be remarkably similar. The only difference is that ours have pinkish cherry things on them. But yeah...

Then, stir in the pasta and add the rest of the tomato sauce. Add some spices, she used like 15 shakes of oregano and a bit of what looked like chili powder. Then, add a couple small handfuls of mozzarella. And Voila! You have really delicious pasta. Again, serve with pan. And don't be afraid of the tuna if you don't like tuna. You can hardly taste it. It's very subtle. And sooo good!

*****************************************************************************************

This last one is basically just a tip. She made this really good soup that reminded me of the kind of chicken noodle soup that Mom used to get that was in a box and I think Clifford the big red dog was on the box. But the reason I liked that soup was not because of Clifford. I liked the little tiny noodles. They were super short and skinny. Anyway, basically just cook those noodles with chicken broth and serve with pan (duh) and add a squeeze of lemon to your bowl. SOOO good!

Maybe it didn't have Clifford. This is what the box looks like:

Just add lemon!

      
Also, whoever can tell me what show this quote is from gets a prize. Like, a high-five when I get home. Or a box of soup....

"Mmm! Noodle Soup! ....Dammit!"

hahahahahhahahah

ADIOS!!!

Casas Colgadas

I suck at keeping a blog. I'll try to catch up on everything but it's a lot and I don't remember everything and I'm lazy when it comes to blogging. Sorry.
       A couple weeks ago they Mayra and Julian took me to the Plaza Mayor de Cuenca. It's not the same as the one in the previous blog. That one is small and unexciting in comparison.
       On our drive up I noticed a ridiculously bright star. And I also realized that it was incredibly close to the horizon. Finally we arrived and after we parked and bundled Cayetana up in coats and blankets we walked over to the most beautiful place I've ever seen in person.
        The first thing I noticed was a giant, rickety bridge with dainty archways, crossing a freaking huge canyon. At the other end of the bridge, were houses practically hanging over the cliff (casas colgadas aka hanging houses). Mayra told me that many people come there to commit suicide. They just... jump off.....
        Anyway, we went up into the midst of all the buildings and I remember climbing stairs and then suddenly standing near a gigantic church in the middle of a bustling plaza, La Plaza Mayor to be exact!
         There were so many gorgeous churches that all have their own stories. I even saw some real nuns come out of a convent.
         The City Hall (El Ayuntamiento) was equally pretty and large. In front of it were incredibly large arches that I noticed cars driving under. Which, later, on our way back home, we drove up through the same arches.
         It was pretty cold, so, we didn't stay long because we had Caye with us. On our way back over the bridge Mayra pointed up at a large statue of Christ on a hill rather high up and far away. She said that you can see "La Corazon de Jesucristo" or "The Heart of Jesus Christ" from anywhere in Cuenca. A few moments later it dawned on me that I hadn't seen a large star close to the horizon. I saw the giant statue of Christ. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. And provides a powerful analogy. Be sure to put Christ in a place in your life, where He is the center and you can always see Him, and don't stray away, that He is no longer in sight.
         We made it back to there car but it was still pretty early, so Julian took us through the middle of the Plaza on the way home so he could tell me about the buildings. He told me a lot about the history which I don't remember much. He said stuff about armies a lot. I really am not good with history. Especially in another language.
         They assured me that we will go back soon, since I didn't get to see much, due to the cold baby and whatnot. Then, we arrived home and I edited a few lovely photos for your viewing. I didn't get many pictures because a camera just couldn't capture the beauty. Because it was dark. And I have a tiny baby camera. But... ENJOY!

On the bridge in front of the "hanging houses"

Dainty archways

 

A hanging house

I'm pretty sure that's a church. But I can't see it very well and I don't remember.

Giant Beautiful church in La Plaza Mayor

                 Disclaimer: this blog website was being even more difficult than normal so the pictures are all stupidly positioned at the bottom. I apologize. 

I really don't feel like recapping everyday since my last post. So, I'll just go over some of the highlights. Which aren't many because I have a really bad memory.
        On Saturday, we had a BBQ where almost all of her family came. I met her brother and his wife/girlfriend/baby momma. I'm not sure what their deal is... Anyway, they mostly talked to me about America. Ivana's husband was especially interested and their daughter Carol tried to use all the English she knows. It was cute; she was really shy about talking to me. Then Juan had her ask me where my mom works. After I answered he had her ask where my dad works. I don't really know how to explain the Hanford Site in Spanish. They thought it was a power plant and when I tried to correct them I'm pretty sure they thought that my dad works in a bomb factory and that the US is making nuclear weapons. I gave up explaining. So, if Spain and the US get in a nuclear war, it's probably my fault for miscommunicating.
         Later that night, we went to Arancha's house for Mateo's birthday party. There was really good food and the kids did a pinata, except it wasn't like any I had ever seen before! Instead of beating it until it breaks, there were several strings that each child grabbed, All at once, the kids pulled down on the string and the pinata opened, spilling candy everywhere. Lola gave me a piece if candy that was like flavored fizzy weirdness. I didn't like it. And that's all I really remember.....
        On Sunday, I did absolutely nothing. All day.
        Then Monday I had to be up by 8:30 so I could watch Cayetana. Every other week Julian has a different work schedule, so this week I had to watch Caye alone from 8:30 till 2:30. Everything went well. I took Caye on a walk to La Plaza Mayor and saw the Cathedral. It's really old and every once in a while, I can her the bells from my house. Mayra told me it's a very important landmark to this area.
        Then Tuesday night I went to the grocery store, which is only exciting because I was at least able to get out of my neighborhood. It's like, a 10 minute drive to the city. :(
        And Wednesdays, Mayra works late so I was with Caye ALLLL day. And today, I haven't done much but Mayra says we'll be going to Arancha's house later tonight. It will be good to get out of the house!

La catedral

speed sign

                                   

This house is for sale....

This is the inside of the house for sale.

This is one of my few neighbors.

                                                       

Nada Nada y Nada Mas.....

This is going to be a short post because not a whole lot has happened lately....
        On Tuesday, I went to the hardware store with Julian. Then, he dropped us (Caye and me) off at Mayra's work. She was already basically done working so her sister, Arancha came and the three of us, and Cayetana went to a store called Mango. It had incredible clothes and shoes. Good thing I'm already broke! Anyway, we went back home and Caye took a nap, so I watched TV with Mayra. We talked about celebrities mostly. She doesn't like Penelope Cruz OR Shakira. I like both of them...
          She also told me that she was born in Barcelona! And her favorite soccer team is Barcelona, which is also mine. And I also learned that Shakira is dating Pique' from Barca. (He's a very attractive soccer player. If you don't know him then you would be wise to google him). Anyway, Tuesday was rather uneventful. I can't actually think of anything else that happened.
           Wednesday, Mayra didn't have work because it was some sort of military celebration day. I still don't know exactly what it was. But I could hear music playing in the streets not too far from our house. I took Caye for a walk around the neighborhood, whilst Mayra and her mother cooked Paella for lunch. When we returned from our walk, we ate. And it was sooooo good!
          The only thing I didn't like about paella was the shrimp. They still had heads. And antennae. And eyes. I just pushed those aside. Other than that, it was really good! It was delicious rice seasoned with special paella stuff; truthfully, I don't know what it was. And it had random bits of meat in it, such as, small pieces of pork still on the bone, little clams, and some other seafood bits.
           Mayra's parents ate with us and they asked me about English. Her dad said he wants to learn English so I should talk to him only in English. He also told me all the English he knows and asked how is pronunciation was. It was very typical Spanish-man-trying-to-speak-English, if you know what I mean.
           Thursday, we went to el centro comercial; which is basically the Columbia Basin Mall with a grocery store in it. And without the movie theater.
           There was a super cute store called Stradivarius. I really wish I was rich. And there was a really cute shoe store. I told Mayra that I left a lot of my shoes behind and that I love shoes. She told me not to worry because we where the same size. When we got home she showed me where she keeps all her shoes. OMG!! So many shoes!!!! So many. Her bed lifts up, and there are shoes! Her closet has more shoes and downstairs is another closet with, you guessed it, MORE shoes!!! I live in shoe-heaven!
         I think it was later on Thursday that we went over to Arancha's house. I met her four children. Lola is the only girl and she is nine. Nacho is so cute and he's seven. Then Mateo, my favorite :), just turned 5. And the youngest is two and his name is Eneco (I'm not really sure if that's how to spell it.)
          So that's my week in a nutshell! I could elaborate more, but I don't want to. Perhaps, I will later.

Besos! Adios!

El Super!

On Monday was my first official day of work. Julian doesn't leave for work until about 1pm so I was able to sleep in as late as I wanted to. I woke up at about 10:30, dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast. I made myself some hot colacao and that sufficed.
          Then, I played with Cayetana for a while.  She has a little cart that's called a carillo (car-ee-yo). I sat her inside it and rolled all around her princess playroom. Since I've been here I hadn't heard her laugh as much as she was when I was carting her around in her carillo. She especially liked it when I went really quickly from the hard floor, over the carpet and pretend like I'm about to crash her into the wall. That threw her into the cutest little fits of laughter. Like one of those youtube videos you get when searching "babies laughing." The chuckle of a baby is one of the best noises in the world! Next to Justin Timberlake's falsetto. Just Kidding... Sort of.
           Anyway, after we had had enough of carts and giggles, Julian showed me where her stroller was so I took her for a walk up and down the street. I'm almost positive that we only have 2 neighbors on our street. And they each live about 3 or 4 houses down in opposite directions. And one just moved in like, this week. So, it was a very quiet walk. Cayetana fell asleep after about 15 minutes, but when I went to transport her inside, alas, she woke up. Which is really sad because she wouldn't go back to sleep and I was afraid that she would start yelling some more, which she did. But only a little because I put her in her cart to keep her distracted. It worked.
              Then, her mom came home about a half an hour after our walk and she fed Cayetana. We ate really yummy spaghetti with tuna in it. Which, normally, at the mention of tuna in spaghetti I would turn my nose up, but in Spain, I taste everything and I enjoy pretty much all of it. That's an understatement. I LOVE the food. In fact, I feel like this will be more of a food blog than anything else.

             Afterward, we went downstairs and watched TV a little, but mostly I just played with Caye while Mayra was on the ordenador aka computer. While we were playing I was helping Cayetana walk and I was wearing a necklace (My gold sand-dollar-esque one.) And she was so intrigued by it that she didn't realize I had taken away my hands and she took a step without any help! Her mom was so happy. She told everyone we saw that day and the next day all about it.
            Not long after Caye's walking lessons, we went out to the Supermercado. It was a little different than the ones we have in the US because the sold clothes there, as well as food. Kind of like Costco. But minus the bulk. And minus the free samples.

           We went over to the meat section and I saw a ton of giant, freaking, giant pig legs hanging on a wall. Hoofs and all! EW! While we were waiting in line to buy meat she asked me if I have pajamas because I don't wear them like her family. So, she then took me over to the pajama section and chose a pair of Daisy Duck pj's. And then found slippers to match.
              Did I already mention their obsession with pajamas and all things Disney? Obsessed is an understatement.
               After we went home and Mayra put Cayetana to bed we sat downstairs and watched TV and looked at magazines. I've always wanted to get a Spanish vogue! But it was actually Elle. Anyway, I read an article about Justin Timberlake and it quoted him, in Spanish, and my first thought was, "I didn't know he knows Spanish." And that's when I realized it was probably just translated. Duh.
               I honestly don't remember what we ate for dinner that night, I just know whatever it was, it was really good. And for dessert we ate flan. We have little puddings in cups that you keep in the fridge in the US; well, they have little flans that you can buy. There are so many different flavors: Chocolate, cheese (like cream cheese I think) honey, etc.... I ate a chocolate one; it was so good because the weird liquidy stuff at the bottom was chocolate so it wasn't so weird.
              Then, I went upstairs, with every intention of going to bed. Although, I ended up online talking to people and then I just couldn't sleep. I blame it on the lag. So, I slept for a total of three hours and decided it was better to just stay awake rather than try to sleep anymore. I only had the one day of random jet-lag relapse and since, my sleep schedule has resumed to being normal.

   More photos to come... I'll try to get better at taking pics!
                                      Besos! <3

El Primer Día

I arrived on Saturday and didn't wake up until 10:30 on Sunday morning. I dressed, brushed my teeth and went downstairs and found the family all in the kitchen. I had colacao (chocolate milk) heated in the microwave. And then after Mayra cleaned the kitchen (which the whole house is already always clean.) we went to Cuenca, We live in Las Arcas, which is just outside of Cuenca. But it's basically part of Cuenca how I understand it.

Inside Ibana's store

         In the city, I stayed in the car with Cayetana while Mayra went into a small store and bought a loaf of pan.Mayra drove by a store with baby clothes in the window and told me it is her sister, Ibana's store. Next, on our way home, she drove passed some apartments right near the center of the city and said that she used to love there before she bought her house in las Arcas.

Ibana and Carol at Ibana's store

         Then, we went home for just a while and ate a small snack before we went out to Ibana's house for lunch. Ibana has a daughter, Carol, who is eight years old and a son, Juan, who is only one. Her husbands name is also Juan. Mayra's mom and dad were also eating lunch with us. I honestly have no idea what I ate, but it was very tasty. It looked like really runny refried beans, but it didn't taste like it. We ate it with pan (they eat pan with everything) and ham and pulpo. Pulpo is, as I learned on Sunday, Octopus. I only tried a small piece or two. It wasn't too bad! But I do like most seafood.
          For the most part, I just sat and observed and listened to them talk amongst themselves. Occasionally Juan (the adult Juan) or the abuelo, would ask me a question. They would make little jokes about english like saying "Hello," but they would over-emphasize the 'H.' They also tried to say octopus. "Oak-toe-poose" They seem to think that Pres. Obama is my neighbor. I tried to explain that I don't live anywhere near Washington DC. It was hopeless. I don't think they have any idea how big the USA is.
         After lunch we went home, watched a little TV and ate a small snack again. They eat, like, 5 times a day. I like it because it helps keep me full so that I don't go all day without eating and then binge. I have a problem with that. So, here, I just eat a little at a time.

         They eat dinner really late; on Sunday, it was almost nine before we had dinner. Julian was still at work so we started without him. I watched as Mayra made tortilla española, which is absolutely nothing like a tortilla.

          First, she cut potatoes in small slices and fried them in oil. Then, she mixed it with and egg and some onion and salt and maybe some other spices. She fried the mixture almost like a really really think omelet. But not really. She used a plate to flip it over, pouring the uncooked ingredients into the pan, and laid the cooked portion back in the pan. It was soooo good. She also made a piece of chicken for me but I couldn't eat everything. So I only ate a little chicken. I didn't take a picture of the tortilla de patatas, so I googled one. FYI.

          Not much else happened on Sunday, except, before bed I set up my Gmail account so that I can send SMS messages to people's cell phones in the States, FOR FREE! It was good to talk to my family and friends. I went to bed late but slept well.
          It was a good Sunday, I just wish I could have gone to church. Hopefully, I'll be able to go soon.

Words I learned: costillas (ribs) tragar (to swallow) Bocadilla (a small bite)
Some of the words I put on here I knew a long time ago, so, I'm putting them here again so that I won't forget them again. It helps me remember if I write things down.

Besos! Chau!

Safe and Sound in Spain

On my last day of work my coworkers took me out to dinner. My boss was so nice; he bought me dinner. Anyway, he asked me if I was afraid of being trafficked. Until that point, I hadn't even thought of that. Afterward, that's all I could think about. I was so nervous. I started doubting my decision to go to Spain. Why do I come up will such stupid ideas. One time, I actually looked in to a vacation to Antarctica. And I was totally serious. I do really dumb things impulsively.
      Finally, the day came that I had to leave to Seattle. I had so many plans to pack and clean the house and prepare to leave. Instead, Rebekah, Alicia and I took a really long nap. Then Rebekah and I bought hot chocolate and sat in the car for almost an hour. It was a less than mildly productive day. After Alicia finished school, it was time to depart. I was more scared than ever.
      Alicia and Rebekah drove up to Ellensburg to stay the night with Megan so she could make the drive to the airport with us. We didn't get much sleep at all. I think only 4 hours. I slept really well because I was so tired, and Megan tucked us all in and gave us goodnight kisses. I'm sure that helped me sleep better.
       In the morning we all ate Megan's cupcakes for breakfast. I really don't remember a lot about the drive up. I was too nervous and emotional; so, I must have blocked it from my memory.
       We finally arrived to the airport and I forgot to give everyone a hug goodbye before I entered the line for Security. So we said goodbye from a slight distance. I was really sad to leave them but I was also in disbelief that it was even real.
        Everything went fine in all the airports. I made my connections without any problems. On my flight from Seattle to LAX the man next to me said, "That's very brave." when I told him why I was travelling to Spain.
        Then I flew from there to London on Air New Zealand. It was a really, really, really, big, nice, fancy plane. And I sat in the aisle with an empty seat to my right. It was really comfortable. The food wasn't terrible and I watched 3 movies in Spanish on the screen that was on the back of the seat in front of me. It also had the option to listen to music and play games, which was good because my ipod broke in the LAX airport. I only slept for a coulple of hours before we arrived in London.
         Everyone in the Heathrow airport was super friendly. Maybe it was just their accents but they seemed very nice. I then had to take a shuttle bus to my terminal after which I had about an hour until my gate opened. So, I sat outside of my gate and read in Spanish.
         Absolutely nothing happened on the flight from London to Madrid. I basically just sat in silence. And I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. I said a little prayer and that seemed to calm my nerves. I also read a little of my Libro de Mormon. The view from above was absolutely gorgeous!

         Finally I landed. I was a little unsure of where to get my baggage but finally I discovered that I needed to first go through passport control and then take a train to baggage claim. I made it to baggage claim about 1 minute before the bags started coming out onto the conveyor belt. I retrieved my bag and found my way toward the exit. When the doors open I saw Mayra and her husband, Julian. We exchanged besos and walked to the parking garage.

          For the most part I was able to answer their questions pretty well but we didn't really talk much on the two hour drive to Cuenca. We stopped at a gas station to get drinks. I thought it was weird that the gas station give glasses with ice and lemons and then a can of coke. But it was good.

         We went to Mayra's mother's house to pick up Cayetana and then went home. I was not tired at all so I put my things in my room then when I went downstairs Mayra prepared dinner. Fish with a green pesto looking sauce, and clams and shrimp. With a pepsi. Every meal, basically, is with pepsi in their family. I'm not sure if that's a spanish thing or a family thing.
         Anyway, that was my first day. We got to Cuenca at about 20:00 and ate at about 22:00. And I went to sleep at about 12:00. Thus, ending my first day in Spain.
         Sleep for days. Zzzzzzzzzz................
words I've learned: Pulpo, chupete, tacones (Octopus, pacifier, high heels)

And 6 months later I have a visa.....

I finally received my visa in the mail!!!! It took months of doubt and hard work and many miscommunications before I finally worked everything out. I am officially flying out of Seattle on Friday October 7th at 11:50 am. I will reach Madrid on the following Saturday and meet the family I will be staying with, who will then drive me to Cuenca, Espana. I'm scared, happy, nervous, sad, excited. SOO MANY EMOTIONS!
      I have set up this blog as a way to express and keep an account of every emotion, experience and moment of my new, Castilian life. So let the adventures begin!