¡*GASP*! Merry Christmas!

After several late nights and a few missed excursions with the family, I finished writing evaluations for my students (in SPANISH).

When I finished, I came up gasping for air ... I had 2 weeks of vacation!! Halelujah!! Then, I got sick and I was in bed for 3 days. The last time I was in bed for more than 8 hours, it was because I was giving birth.

Our gift for Christmas arrived by train - Mayra. Mayra had stayed with our family in Chicago in 2006 to practice English and Yana stayed with her family in Mexico to practice Spanish. Mayra is now studying in Granada, Spain. So, for the first part of our Christmas vacation, Mayra came to stay with us in Valencia. (For the second part of our Christmas vacation, we traveled with Mayra to Granada, Sevilla, and Ronda. Next blog entry.)

Mayra helped us build our Christmas tree ... using toilet paper rolls that we saved through the year. The idea was inspired by Comarcal (Livia's school that we visited last January - blog). We also made Christmas decorations and snowflakes (since there isn't any snow outside) and listened to Christmas music.

Christmas is the day that we celebrate Jesus' birthday - so we give Him gifts of love, prayer, and help for those in need. The Los Doce (the twelve - including Mayra) exchanged names. Instead of gifts for each other, we planned fun activities with each other ... a bike ride and rollerblading romp through the Turia, an evening at the carnival, an afternoon at the park or shopping mall (fun?), a movie night, hot chocolate and churros. Great memories.


The day after Christmas - the Engels left with Mayra for an adventure to Andalucia (province in southern Spain).

Here are photos from Christmas (and MORE when you poke around ... if you don't want to wait for the next blog):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157612243430202/

Brain and Body Drain

I have been working with kids aged 4-12 for three or four hours a day. When asked to help at the schools, I thought, "Hey, I have four kids and I live with Eva. No problem - I can do this."

HA! Every day by the time I'm finished (and sometimes before I finish), I am completely 100% depleted! I have never worked so hard in all my life. Cute kids - but they are a brain and body drain. When I get home, I can hardly answer simple questions - like "which way is up?"

Cheers to everyone who works with children! You have my respect and admiration. (Miss Rack, how do you do it?)

What will tomorrow bring?

A few nights ago when I got home, Maria told me that she needed her picture for the 6th grade class photo collage ... the NEXT DAY! Hee hee. The next day? It was after 8 pm. I gasped. I don't know why. I thought I was over being surprised about these last-minute things. Typically, they work out just fine.

There is a photo store nearby. I thought maybe they closed at 8:30 or 9, so we ran.

The guy behind the counter grabbed a digital camera and walked us behind some shelves where there is a chair. We couldn't find a mirror so Maria checked her reflection in a glass showcase. The man took Maria's picture, showed her, and then printed it out. While we were leaving, one of Maria's school friends came in for the same reason. We were home by 8:30 pm - about 20 minutes after Maria told me that she needed her picture.

No pasa nada.

At our school in Evanston, we get brochures and papers and envelopes and notices and reminders about "school picture day" for several WEEKS. We select the package, the color and design of the backdrop, we pick out the "perfect" outfit and make sure the kids wash their face and comb their hair for school picture day.

Then a few weeks after school picture day, the kids come home with their photo packages. If we don't like the photos, we can return the package and then begin preparing for "school picture re-take day" ... again preceded with envelopes and notices and reminders.

As always, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. In reality, we often don't know what tomorrow brings even when we think we're prepared.

Don't worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

What do we do all day?

Besides walking the kids back and forth, what do we do all day? I hate it when people ask us that question.


Like my maternity days, I can only really account for about 20% of my time. I honestly don't know what I do all day. On Mondays, I do the wash. On Tuesdays, I cook. Somedays, I take a long walk. Once in a while, I spend time writing a blog or uploading photos. This morning, I spent an hour writing a short email to a friend ... in Spanish. The other day, I spent 2 hours filling out a "Getting to Know You" questionnaire from Bronson's teacher ... in Spanish. (Poor kid. I'm not entirely sure what I said about him.)

Our lofty 2-year plan for Spain was to learn the first year and live the second year. The kids are doing great. Last year was bumpy but they learned the ropes. This year, they are comfortable in school and with their friends. It didn't quite go as planned for Matthew and I. We didn't learn enough the first year.

Matthew is taking an intensive Spanish course. We took a few courses last year. They were helpful but we could not remember what we learned from week to week. This year, Matthew will be in class every day for 2 hours. Hopefully, we'll be able to start speaking Spanish at home. Right now, the kids won't allow us to speak Spanish at home. Here is why ...

A few days ago in the kitchen, Matthew asked me, "Quiero jueves?"
I answered, "Sí. Muchas gracias."
Maria sighed loudly, rolled her eyes, and exclaimed, "OH MY GOSH!!! Dad, you just asked Mom if you want Thursdays -- NOT if she wants eggs!!!!"

Oops. I'm not sure what's worse - Matthew getting a few words mixed up or me understanding him and replying accordingly.

Last year, I had a cooking class and an art class. I will continue with both of those and add a few more things. I am going to be helping students at the club behind our house. I will also be going to a school to help with extracurricular workshops during the comida break. (No. Not my kids' school. No way. They wouldn't let me. When I told Yana about my plan, she replied, "Geeez. I hope that no one I know goes to that school.")

So, now, we'll have something to say when people ask, "What do you do all day?"

The kids are back in school!

Woo hoo!!!

I was starting to think that summer would never end. I thought the kids would never go back to school. Hey, don't get me wrong! I LOVE my children. I am a good mother ... at night and on the weekends. But, after long periods of time, I just cannot deal with the kids anymore.

On the first day of school, I came home from dropping the kids off and took a 4 hour nap. By then it was time to pick up the kids again. In September (and June), they have half days 9 am - 1 pm (which is better than nothing.)

The six grades in primary school are separated into 3 cycles: 1st cycle is 1st and 2nd grade; 2nd cycle is 3rd and 4th grade; 3rd cycle is 5th and 6th grade. Teachers stay with their class throughout a 2-year cycle. For example, Maria was in 5th grade last year and 6th grade this year - she has the same teacher both years.

I really like that idea. I think it changes the dynamic in the classroom for the better. The teachers get to know their students and have two years to really work with them. The students get to know the teacher and his/her style. So far, we've been impressed with the teachers at their school and part of the reason is that they take a long-term perspective and work with each student accordingly. Maria's teacher assigned about 10 minutes worth of daily homework over the summer ... and actually collected it on the first day of school. HA!!! (Little Miss Maria completed 4 hours a day during the month of July - which was her choice instead of going to summer school. She turned in a fat portfolio.)

Elena and Bronson moved up a cycle so we didn't know which teachers they would have and we don't meet the teachers and we can't really see the teachers from the gate where we drop them off. Now, it is even harder to see as the school has installed super-strong extra reinforced steel shields over the gates. The kids didn't come running back out so we assumed they were fine.

Teacher's names are not so difficult. Last year, Elena's teacher was José Maria. This year, her teacher is Maria José. Bronson's teacher is José Manuel.

It is much easier this year. Even though we have a LONG way to go with our Spanish, we understand A LOT more this year. Last year during the first parent meeting, Bronson's teacher explained that it is normal for the children to be constipated for the first several weeks of school. We thought, "Dang, what do they eat here?" We were too embarrassed to ask. Now, we know that constipado in Spanish means having a runny, stuffy nose.

In October, the kids begin their full day school ... 9 am-Noon and 3-5 pm ... with a 3 hour comida break from Noon - 3 pm. We prefer the kids to come home for comida because they can eat, do an hour of homework, and rest. Then they don't have so much homework at night. It is a great schedule for the kids, but it is a killer for us because we spend so much time walking them back and forth and back and forth.

World Expo 2008 - Zaragoza

The World Exposition 2008 was in Zaragoza, Spain - about 3 hours northwest of Valencia. We aren't world exposition enthusiasts. Actually, we knew very little about them except for some famous landmarks from previous world expositions ... Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier in Chicago, Eiffle Tower in Paris, the Space Needle in Seattle Washington.

Zaragoza was the first stop on our vacation in August though we did not go into the Expo with the kids (we are crazy but not THAT crazy). From a distance, we saw all the flags, the water drop building, the bridge pavillion over the river, and the basket building. Seeing those things, doing a little research, and talking with a friends piqued our interest in going.

We found a great place to stay right in the middle of the old city ... overlooking a Roman ampitheater and down the street from the Pilar Basilica. Piluca and Michael (and Sara and Blanca) met us in the city, showed us around, and brought us out for tapas. We went to bed early so we could get up early and go to the Expo.

The gates of the Expo opened at 9:30 - at which time people SPRINTED. Oooooooh. There must be something reeeeally good. Come on, let's run!!!! We ran in the same direction as other people and got in a line that was forming outside a bamboo building.

When we caught our breath and got up our nerve, we asked someone what it was we were standing in line for. Hee hee. Lemmings. It was the Spain pavillion. Okay, cool. We ARE in Spain. About a half an hour later, we were walking through the pavillion. There was a lot of interesting displays and interesting information. But, my FAVORITE was the volunteer's outfits. They all matched.

Now, anyone who knows me - knows I don't usually care about outfits or matching (or even looking presentable). But, it was a nice touch and it reminded me of my sister, Monique. She would have thought of doing something like that and she could have made them all. The men's shirts were classy and the women's dresses and capes were elegant and even looked comfortable.

The theme of Expo 2008 was "water and sustainable development." It was very interesting to see how different countries interpreted and presented the theme. Sometimes the presentations fit our expectations (which, unfortunately, are based on overly-simplistic stereotypes) and sometimes they did not. Sometimes, the presentations had nothing to do with water.

Just as I expected, there were countries I never heard of before. Maybe they changed their names after junior high school when I colored in the corresponding maps. I got good grades in my geography class - I was a good colorer.

• The Caribbean pavillion included presentations for all the Carribbean nations ... and, as we expected, a central bar serving tropical alcoholic drinks. Haiti displayed photos of waterfalls and rivers and had colorful art on the wall but there wasn't very much information about Haiti itself. Jamaica was packed full of people collecting information about traveling to popular tourist destinations. Cuba was selling rum and coke.
• The Latin American pavillion included presentations for the Latin American countries ... and, as we expected, a central stage for music and dancing. All of the Venezuelan and Brazillian displays of mountains and rivers and jungles were lush and beautiful - and so were all of their volunteers. The "waiting line" for Argentina was an area to relax and talk and was filled with tropical plants. Columbia was selling coffee - but no drugs as far as we could tell.
  



• The facade of the Polish pavilillion was about 2 feet deep of brush, branches, twigs ... with singing crickets that had made it their home.







• The Chinese pavillion displayed 1000's of years of history and projected 1000's of years of future against a beautiful modern art backdrop of waves in addition to interactive techno-displays.







• In Saudi Arabia, there was a life-size projection of King Abdullah II. He reminded us that there are more similarities between us than there are differences. I watched the projection twice but I must have missed the part where he talked about water and sustainable development.
• Since a lot of Holland is already below sea-level, they are experts in reclaiming land, preventing erosion, and sustaining their fresh water supply. That is exactly what I expected. According to my mom, the Dutch are experts in everything.
• I got a henna tattoo at the Qatar pavillion and we watched an art demonstration using water and dyes. We thought it was some Middle Eastern art technique. Nah. It turns out that the artist was from the United States and a lot of kids do this kind of art in preschool.
• Sudán had plastic water bottles displayed up on the walls - in recognition and appreciation of companies around the world that have provided drinking water to the Sudanese.
• The informational kiosks, posters, brochures, and movie in the Thailand pavillion showed (repeatedly) how His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is so great and kind and generous and wise. I confirmed that he patented a waste water aerator and rain-making techniques. Also, he personally funded a lot of development in Thailand though it seems that Thailand might have funded him too since his estimated worth is about $35 billion.

Sadly, United States, Canada, and Australia were not represented at the Expo. The United States and Canada together have one of the largest sources of fresh water. The United States and Australia are two of the biggest consumers of fresh water (per capita). In California, people use an average of 600 liters of water per day. In Spain, 150 liters per day. In Ethiopia, 5 liters.

We wanted to go to all the countries where we knew people. But, we would not stand in lines for more than a few minutes. Some countries had signs near the end of their lines indicating that it would be a 4-5 hour wait to get in. There were just too many other things to see and do.

I was really keen to see the inside of the water drop building since it looks so impressive from the outside. When you walk in, there is a curtain of water across the foyer. The foyer is 3 stories high and there are a few water displays and sculptures and an escalator to the next level. On the next level, there is a sculpture of a splash of water.

From there, you could see all the way up 20+ stories. There is a ramp sloping up, along the wall/windows, all the way to the top. That's it! This big building, which certainly required a lot of resources, was filled with almost nothing! Matthew had to ask if there was or would be something more. Whew! Yes, a bank has leased the building and will finish the inside to suit their needs.

From there, we went to the cool pedestrian bridge. We wanted to walk across. We thought it would so awesome - a grand bridge over the grand Ebro River. Below, there is a picture of it from a distance.

Once we got there, we were in disbelief. Except some high windows near each end, there are no windows; you cannot see the river from the bridge! Apparently, this building/bridge has also been leased. We hope they put in some windows!

At night (er, early morning), we went to a Los Lobos concert at the Expo. It was a great concert with a lot of energy. Near the end of the concert, the lead singer said that the next song had to do with elements ... and water was an element. (He hoped -out loud- that he remembered the words.) Thank goodness he tied the concert into the theme of the Expo.

We spent two full days at the Expo with a few hours of sleep between. Overall, we enjoyed seeing it. Our favorite part of the Expo was a small display that apparently wasn't important enough to put on the map.

The display (shown above) included devices and appliances that collect, conserve, or purify water. Most of them are currently in use in different parts of the world. We found them fascinating and relatively simple - a solar dish that can boil water, a water purifier made from stuff you can find at a dump, a bicycle used to pump water from deep wells, rolling drums that are easy to move and can hold 5x more water than the traditional bottles that women and children carry on their heads, and ... drum-roll ... a bio-composting toilet. (HEY! Matthew's brother, Tim, has one AND he grows tomatoes!)

But ... none of the bathrooms at the Expo had bio-composting toilets (or, Matthew adds on behalf of North America Corporation, motion-sensor faucets). We found only one drinking fountain. Otherwise, you had to buy water in plastic bottles. How about a well or a fountain powered by a bicycle or a treadmill?

There was a lot of information about the high-ecological cost of production and consumption ... yet the cafeterias served food in disposable containers and many of the pavillions were giving away trinkets that will probably be in landfills by the end of the year.

Oh well, there's always room to improve. I will start with "the woman in the mirror."


Here are all our photos from our visit to Zaragoza and the Expo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157607164819122/

Intelligent Mosquito Dreams

You may think that this has nothing to do with Spain. Oh, but it does.

In the United States, mosquitoes are a common enemy through which we ALL bond together and fight against ... republicans, democrats, and intelligent-independent thinkers - rich, poor, and more poor - male, female, and other - brown, tan, pink, yellow and olive.

In the United States - almost everyone has screens on their windows and doors and vents; everyone has mosquito repellent sprays and lotions and candles; many people have lights that attract and then *zap* and kill mosquitoes (mosquitoes are the one thing that I do not mind killing); communities send out trucks that spray mosquito repellent (poison). There are articles in the newspapers and magazines every week about how to prevent mosquito propagation. Mosquitoes have not gotten more intelligent in the United States - they have just gotten more dangerous. Now some of them carry West Nile virus.

On the other hand, Spaniards do not seem to be as bothered by mosquitoes as Americans are. No pasa nada. In Spain, very few people have screens on their windows. If you look hard enough at the store, you might find plug-ins that claim to repel mosquitoes. When Spaniards get bit by mosquitoes, they continue with their conversation and scratch the bite ... maybe. No pasa nada.

But, maybe it would not matter anyway. We think the mosquitoes in Spain are more highly evolved and more intelligent than the mosquitoes in the United States.

We have screens on the windows here. It was one of the first things we did when we got here. We made screens on the doors and windows where there weren't any. It doesn't matter. The mosquitoes figure out how to get in.

Not IF but WHEN they get in, Spanish mosquitoes scope out the surroundings and find hiding places. Then, they wait for the lights to go out and sometimes even wait for us to fall asleep. (They can tell we are asleep based on the depth and frequency of our breathing.) Then, they bite. If by chance, we wake up and try to get them ... the mosquitoes retreat immediately into the hiding places that they scoped out previously.

Sometimes, the mosquitoes play tricks on us ... buzz around our ears until we wake up and turn on the light and then they hide and wait for us to fall asleep again. When the lights go out again, they buzz in our ears again and then hide.

I know you think I am kidding or exaggerating. I'm not. Everything I've said is true. (Matthew, Eugene, Amy - support me here. It is all true, is it not?) It has come to the point now that I'm trying to deal with the mosquito torment at a subconscious level. I've been dreaming about intelligent mosquitoes.

(Sharing dreams can be dangerous. Friends who are psychologists might not let me play with their kids anymore. My in-laws might not invite me to Thanksgiving dinner anymore. But, I'm taking the risk - hoping that sharing these dreams will help me conquer the inner war I am fighting. I've had a string of intelligent mosquito dreams.)

Dream 1: Trying to deal with the mosquito at her level ... intelligently, telepathically. (Did you know that only female mosquitoes bite?)
I was sleeping (and dreaming) when I heard a mosquito buzzing around my ear. I didn't want to move my head or change my breathing rhythm at all - because then the mosquito would go into hiding.

So, I tried to contact the mosquito telepathically. In my dream, I sent out a telepathic message that I was willing to negotiate with the mosquito. I have plenty of blood. The mosquito was welcome to have as much blood as she wanted IF she would stop buzzing in my ear. Also, I would appreciate it if she didn't leave that anti-coagulating stuff behind that makes me itch.

My dream was somewhat successful. The mosquito bit and stopped buzzing in my ear. However, the bites did itch when I woke up.

Dream 2. Location, Location, Location
This was another telepathic dream. I sent a telepathic message to the mosquito that I had seen in the bedroom before going to bed ... which neither Matthew nor I could find in our 30 minutes of frantically searching.

I asked the mosquito nicely (and telepathically) - please do not bite me around my joints. She can get blood from flat/fat surfaces too. It might be a little harder to find a vein under the layers of fat but I will be more tolerant and we will be able to get along better over time. It would be a win/win situation. I even moved my leg and arm out of the sheet so she would have a large surface area to work with.

This dream was not successful. I got bit on my ankle and my forearm (by the bone).

Dream 3. Telepathic negotiations broke down. Now, I was simply on the defense.
This dream was NOT about mosquitoes. I couldn't remember what exactly the dream was about, but I do remember that it was a good dream and I didn't want it to be interrupted.

I got a mosquito bite and I had the urge to itch it ... but I didn't want to have to wake up and end my good dream. So, in my dream (I was in an audience or something) I leaned forward to touch a railing to itch my mosquito bit. It didn't work. I still had the urge to itch. I tried to just casually rub my arm and work it into my dream inconspicuously.

I forgot what happened. I had a bump there in the morning and it still itched. Darn.

Dream 4. Don't fight.
As you can imagine, I was starting to get frustrated by all this. It didn't seem like anything was working.

In the last "intelligent mosquito" dream that I had, there were four mosquitos (four ... and, coincidentally, the youngest was male ... hee, hee). I told the mosquitoes - out loud this time (in my dream) - that I know they are intelligent but they are not going to get the best of me. I know that they are just trying to get me angry by biting me all the time but it isn't going to work.

I am not going to lower myself to their level. I am not going to get upset by their tricks and tactics. I'm just going to ignore them. I also didn't want them to see me itching my bites because I didn't want them to know they got a reaction out of me.

I think this last one worked. I haven't gotten another bite for a few days. Maybe I did but I just didn't itch it.

Behís

We were still spinning from our whirlwind vacation and we were off again. Isabel and Rafa invited us to come stay with them at their vacation home in Behís. Behís is a small mountain-top village about 80 km northwest of Valencia.

Behís is a farming village though now many of the people just come for vacation. Everyone knows everyone and there are a lot of children running and playing everywhere. Rafa and Isabel have three children - Basa, Maria, and Carmen. Rafa's brother's family has a home across the street and they have 4 children. Rafa's sister's family has a home a few blocks away and they have 5 children.

Isabel and Rafa's home is near the top of the village just below the castle ruins. Their home is beautiful ... completely refurbished and completely decorated country-style with things that Isabel made.

In and around Behís, there are a lot of things to do. We walked up to the castle to explore and to pick lavender. Yana and I climbed up the wall from below to breach the (crumbling) castle.

We went swimming and climbing and jumping.

We hiked up the river gorge to see where the river begins.

Matthew and Rafa went for a (vertical) bike ride.

We all had a great time though Bronson had the greatest time of all. Finally, Bronson had lots of boys to play with. In Valencia, Bronson lives with 6 girls and is always surrounded by their girlfriends. Bronson often has to play by himself or play with dolls and Barbies. Once in a while, the girls let Bronson include his transformers, little soldiers, cars, or plastic dinosaurs in their games ... though they usually make Bronson give them proper names (Red Eye Razor Claw doesn't count) and he has to follow certain rules of etiquette. For example, Transformers cannot transform when they are in the stroller with a baby doll; soldiers can only defend Barbie, they cannot attack; dinosaurs cannot play in the doll house.

In Behís, Bronson was free to be 100% boy. One day, we noticed a huge bloody scrape on his knee and leg. He said he had fallen a few times from the bike. No running to Mommy. No tears. No dramatic production. Apparently, he just got back up on the bike. What a difference! When it was time for us to go home, Bronson was happy to stay for another week with Basa.

Toledo

If I were king - besides providing free popcorn to all my constituents and piping Michael Jackson songs throughout my palace - I would choose Toledo for my kingdom. It is built on top of a sturdy rock and has a river wrapped around three sides. It is majestic.

The old part of the city is a labyrinth of narrow streets that either go up or down; no street is level and no street is straight. It was fun to just walk for a while and then try to figure out where you were. We discovered that Bronson has a great sense of direction. Matthew and Bronson went to Mass at the cathedral. Afterward, Bronson led the way back to our apartment while Matthew tried to figure out where they were on the map.

Toledo is nicknamed the City of Three Cultures. For centuries, Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together (until the Spanish Inquisition - OUCH). The historical architecture is an integration of different cultures. Our apartment was next door to the Mosque of Christ and around the corner from the Gate of the Sun.

Integration isn't the first thing I think of when there is a specific Jewish section of town. I guess you had to be there back then to know what "living together" really meant.

The walls of the city, the gates, the monuments, and the buildings were really well-maintained (and being maintained). It also seems they are making an effort to vitalize the parks around the city - especially along the river.

For my birthday, Matthew and the kids treated me to a walk along the river and all the way around the city.

I wasn't very keen on the modern sculptures sprinkled around the city. They didn't fit in and sometimes they detracted from the historic feeling. Kids will be kids; they enjoyed climbing on the sculptures.

We loved our apartment in Toledo. It was modern, classy, comfortable, and an awesome use of space. I don't typically recommend places of business because different people have different likes and dislikes. I recommend this apartment: http://www.alojatoledo.com/. I can't think of anything to dislike about it - great space (for up to 6 people), great decor, great location, and great price.

Lots more photos from Toledo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606788549753/

Corral de Almaguer

Zippity-do ... We took a bus to Corral de Almaguer, a small village about 100 km south of Madrid. (I was wishing that it was farther because the bus driver was playing Michael Jackson songs.)

Paulino and Charo (Rosario) are our neighbors in Valencia and Paulino is a guidance counselor at Yana's school. Both of them are from Corral de Almaguer. (Believe it or not, they do have children - already grown-up.)

Friends of theirs have a daughter Yana's age so Paulino arranged for Yana to stay with them in Corral de Almaguer. The rest of us went for a few days to get to know the village and Yana's host family.

Pauline and Charo showed us around and introduced us to lots of their family and friends. Like last year when Margarita showed us around Córdoba, there is something really cool about someone showing you around their hometown. They are part of it and they know so much about it ... the history, the people, the changes, the stories.

I love it when your tour guide says stuff like ... "That is where I went to preschool." ... "I learned to swim in this river." ... "This is the cafe where we went on dates." ... "Over there is our family's vineyard. My older sister's family farms it."

I could not do the same in the US. I'd be saying stuff like ... "That is where I was kicked out of kindergarten." ... "My brothers and I learned to swim in this ditch with our snowmobile suits on ." ... "That is where a neighbor boy punched me into the next day and dislocated my jaw." ... "This is the convenience store where I stole a pack of gum."

Even though Pauline and Charo now live in Valencia, they spend a great deal of time in Corral de Almaguer. They are proud of their hometown and remain actively involved in the community. The community itself is really active. Whenever I missed Yana, I read the community website. (It is in Spanish - sorry - but I think it is a great example of a community website: http://www.amigosdecorral.net/.)


Pauline and Charo gave us a tour of their "new" house, which is older than the United States. With relatives, they bought a traditional-style house with an exposed central patio. Traditionally, several houses were built together in a square with a shared central patio. But unlike the shared patios of today, most of the rooms of the house are accessed from the central patio. It would not work in Chicago; we would freeze our tootsies off in the winter.

The house feels like a palace. There are 16 foot ceilings on the first and 2nd floor, a chapel, and rooms big enough to play basketball. Pauline and Charo are going to renovate it. We can't wait to see it when they are finished.

We spent time with Yana's host family - Alfonsa, Jose Luis Sr., Jose Luis Jr., and Maria. Of course, we trusted Paulino and Charo's choice of friends. Nonetheless, it was comforting to get to know them a little before saying good-bye to Yana.

Yana had a great time and has some good stories of the typical teenage summer vacation in a small town. (Maybe Yana will write a blog. If she does, I'll erase this part and let her tell it.) Maria reminded Yana of her good friend, Kiera ... a lot of fun packed into what you might think is a shy person. Maria lives in Madrid but spends many weekends and all her vacations in Corral de Almaguer. So, she has a ton of friends in Corral. They spend all day together at the pool and then all night together at a party for teenagers and young adults. Yana tried to acclimate though had to retire early (before 2 am) a couple of times.

More photos from Corral de Almaguer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606781663994/