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/