El Banco y La Guerra

EL BANCO (The Bank)

Yesterday, 1/30, I took the train to Madrid and went to the bank of Spain on an organized trip of Rotary. We went through minimal security then started our tour. We went through some beautiful rooms, saw some amazing art, and in the end got some presents! (a notebook, a pen, a book of the history of the euro, etc.) It isn't really a bank, more like a giant building with financial people, of course there is a lobby that looks exactly like a bank- with teller windows and all- but that is almost never open. That lasted about an hour and a half and when we were leaving the building there was a manifestation (strike) outside! You know when you see famous people coming out of a building and there are people on either side of their walkway yelling? Yeah that was 20 scared exchange students, but these people weren't violent, just very noisy and angry.

LA GUERRA (The War)

As you know I am living with a 6 year old and a 3 year old as siblings. The 6 year old is a girl, and we get along great. The 3 year old however, hates me. Today Marta described our 'conflict' as a war, and I like that. I know I am going to win, just not sure how yet. Better start saving my money- he loves anything to do with Spiderman and Lightening McQueen. This kid is going to like me. Meet Martín >>>>

Address and a 3 year old

Hey y'all, here's my new address! I love living in LAS VEGAS ;)

C/ Herrerillo, 4

Urb. Las Vegas

28229

Vva. del Pardillo.

Spain

Things I've learned living with a 3 year old boy:

1. They are always right.

2. They enjoy being on the floor and under things.

3. They are vey sneaky, and if you can't see them, they are doing something they shouldn't.

4. They don't forgive easily. 

5. But they do forget accidentally.

6. If you keep them talking during dinner time, you can get them to eat 3X as much as they planned. 

7. Everything in the house is theirs, even if it's yours, it's theirs. 

8. They make you thank the Lord that your baby is a girl <3 Love and miss you Aspen Summer Sue. 

Catch up and a Bunny

Just a few things. Went ice skating with Tanner and Manu a week ago. I was the slowest in the whole place, I think. Every time I go ice skating I always bundle up, but really I end up taking off layer after layer and sweating. The next picture is the view from my new kitchen. It was a clear morning today so we were able to see these gorgeous snow covered mountains. Below that picture is a picture of 2 classmates on the ONLY day it snowed here. It didn't stick and we were in school the whole time so it doesn't really count. 

 Meet Martín, Roce (bunny), and Berta. 

I was home alone fro a few hours with Martín today while Berta was at a birthday and Mario and Marta were at a meeting. We started out by playing with cars, then we made some peanut butter chocolate muffins, then I cleaned the kitchen while he played under the table. We had dinner of potatoes, carrots, and chicken. I got him to eat by keeping him talking then when he wasn't focused I would shovel another spoonful into his little mouth. Our conversation was about his 2 girlfriends and how he is going to marry them both the same day, and I'm not invited to the wedding. We then went outside to look for Marta and Mario because Martín didn't believe me when I told him they were not home. While outside we discovered that Roce was not in his house, so he must still be inside, which we had forgotten. We played with him for a while and then the rest of the family arrived home. That was just too much excitement for the bunny, so he peed on the couch.  

A much needed change

This past Sunday I changed families.
       I went from being the oldest, to being the OLDEST. I now have a 6 year old sister, Berta, and a 3 year old brother, Martín. The Dad's name is Mario and is a firefighter, so he only works 3 days every 15. The Mom's name is Marta. On the weekends she works at a gym, giving classes. During the week she does something to do with politics, but I haven't exactly figured what it is yet. She studied art in college so all of the paintings in the house are hers.
     We live in an urbanization (only houses) and it's called Las Vegas. I have my own room and I share a bathroom with the babies. We have a bunny named Roce and once a day we bring him inside and he just hops around the house, until we remember he is inside and we then put him back in his house outside.
      We all wake up at 7:30 and eat breakfast together, then get dressed, Berta and Martín get the bus at 8:20 and I get picked up at 8:30. I go to school with a neighbor who also has to take her 2 kids to Zola, my school.
I am doing amazing, and I couldn't have been luckier to be with this family. Will try to take some photos soon!

Yesterday it snowed!

My Life Looks Better on Paper- Emily Smith

This was written by another exchange student from Iowa, also living in Madrid. She is one of the most interesting and talented people I have ever met. I want her to be a writer after reading this! She posted this on her blog a while ago and I just had to share it with all of you!

My life sounds better on paper, when you smush everything together all at once. You are able to leave out the fact that I’m just as lonely, lost and bored out of my mind as everyone else on the planet.

Its why movies are and hour and a half and never show the mundane and why books don’t go over every single night you laid awake thinking about your life, and where you where headed.

Why no one ever talks about every bathroom break they took. Every awkward conversation, every cup of coffee, every hour they stared out their window thinking there has to be something more.

Nah we like to get to the juicy parts, we like it all neat and tidy in an hour and a half or in 200 pages or less.

Otherwise we get bored. We get bored hearing about real life. We get bored not being constantly entertained by the extraordinary.

So then we all grow up thinking one day something big is going to happen and we will just know. Know who we are supposed to be: find our one true love, fight all the villains, win a war, steal a car, become a cop, dance in the rain, have a moment of clarity, leave a dying declaration.

That’s not how the real world works.

Nah you don’t get everything all in an hour and a half. You spend your whole life not feeling good enough, pretty enough, strong enough.

We all set these unreachable expectations for ourselves and sometimes when we look back we can smush our life's together in one impressive paragraph. But that’s not life, no those are moments, seconds, things you didn’t realized mattered until they did.

Smile and Nod,

                        Emily

Holidays!!!!!

Host Dad and a cousin gettin' crazy on New Year's Eve.

I think this was the day after the New Year's party. Everyone was sleepwalking.

The host fam!

A cousin and her dad, my uncle. Me not being able to keep a straight face :)

La Abuela didn't want to be in the picture so we took the picture to her!

Christmas Eve Dinner.

Pictures credited to one of my aunts. She lives in the South of Spain so I don't think I will see her again :(

A day in the life of a traveler

A very famous market, with PAELLA. 

This was basically my stereotype of Europe before I came here.

Used to be the post office, now the town hall?

       Went to Madrid this past Friday. It included a whole bunch of walking and very little shopping. I was with a friend who is from here so she was showing me the city center. We went to a very famous museum, a cute little italian restaurant, and had churros. 

       I was supposed to meet my friend at one so I purposefully left at 11 because lately I have been ate for everything. When I got to Madrid I had loads of time so I walked around looking for gifts. When I attempted to buy my metro ticket, the machine gave me .15 back wen I should have gotten 4 euros. I pressed the call button on the machine a bunch of times but each time the lady said she didn’t understand what was wrong. Finally I looked helplessly at an innocent passerby and she actually stopped to help me. She pressed the call button and the lady was on her way. The lady opened the machine but then took me to her station and started filing out this paper with my name and she wanted stuff from my passport, but then she said it wouldn’t work with a copy. I said forget it and went to wait for the metro, which I had missed already 2 times, and now had to wait another 8 minutes before it came. By this time I was 10 minutes late to meeting Cristina. Then I had to get another metro, so by the time I dragged myself into the sunlight, I was 20 minutes late. All was well after that, had a soda, did the little shopping that was absolutely necessary, saw the sights, walked in the museum for about 45 minutes, had churros and tea, and said goodbye. I think I walked at least 4 kilometers. 

     Madrid has so much to offer, and I don't want to miss one thing. Because my town has nothing going on, EVER, my favorite thing to do is take the bus to Madrid. On my list of things to do still are many museums, some churches, a few cute stores, and of course the hidden restaurants that only the wise few know about. Think I'm going to start writing reviews on my food when I go to restaurants to help me decide which ones I should take my parents to when they come. 

Same market, but with a little Las Vegas mixed in. 

 I love and miss you always,
Joslyn

Kilometer 0, all highways start here.

Also in the same market, fresh fruit= yum!

Feliz Año Nuevo

New Year's Eve
We all got dressed in our most fabulous attire and we were at the grandma's house by 10. We ate buffet style, kinda, we basically put all of the food on the main dining table and everyone filled their plate then found somewhere to sit. The kids around the coffee table and the adults around the table with all of the food. We had SO MUCH food, including: ham, quiche, omelet, beat salad (see below), and more. A little before 12 we started watching the news where they would be announcing the new year. The 12 seconds before 12:00 you eat one grape for each month and you have good luck if you can do it, very fun! After that we all got up and hugged and kissed everyone, wishing each other a happy new year. (A few people cried) After that the music got louder and there was lots of different styles of dancing. I made it until four in the morning at the party, then because it was a reasonable hour for my family at home to skype, I skyped my grandparents, then Mom and Dad. Daddy for very short because he had to go to sleep, had work the next morning at 2:30. Was on skype with Mom 'till 5:45 AM my time, went to sleep and didn't wake up until almost 1.

Two gorgeous cousins! The one in the black lives in Chile and was only here for a few days. (Jaime + Pepe)