Simple but not Empty...the Joy of Living Out of a Couple of Suitcases

For a while now I have wanted to share some pictures of the home we are living in and will greatly miss when we depart in less than three weeks!  There is a lot to be said for the simple life, not that ours necessarily feels really simple here.  There is a lot to do everyday but its a different list than I have at home and there is a beauty in its simplicity that I really enjoy (when I remember to.)  As I Cassie and I walked home from a quick trip to the nearest grocery store a few days ago (about 1/4 mile away,) I found myself completely enjoying the moment.  Here I was, with my last teenage daughter, WALKING home from the grocery store with a few bags in our hands.  I think its safe to say that I won't get her to walk to the grocery store when we get home.  It takes some time to do everything by foot or public transportation, but it's a kind of built in pause in life that I don't have at home.  I find that I have to force myself to walk the 'Spanish way...SLOWLY.  We often find ourselves weaving in and out of people, viewing our walk only as a means to an end.  For the Spaniards, the walk from one location to another is just that, a walk.  They will get there when they get there, which is usually a little late.  Perhaps the best Spanish word I will take home is tranquila (be calm).  They use it a lot.  In our hurried American culture a statement to 'calm down' is rarely reacted to with anything resembling calmness, but here it is a way of life.  Be calm.  Walk slowly.  Live simply.

We came with few possessions and there is a lot of freedom in that I must say.  Four carry-on suitcases for the four of us and two additional suitcases hold all that we have lived on for three months, at least of our personal possessions.  I am admittedly tired of wearing the same clothes over and over and at times miss some of the other things I left behind, but not really.  There is less to take care of, less to worry about. 

Our home here is simple as well, which doesn't mean it's not a comfortable, enjoyable place to live.  We will miss so many things about it.  So here is my brief tour:

The little complex we live in.  What we would call a Town House they call a Chalet.  It sounds so much prettier, doesn't it?

 You have to buzz to get through the gate.  We have grown to love the sound of the buzz that almost always brings one of our wonderful students to visit.

 The front door.  Don't you love the doorknob in the middle of the door?  It doesn't turn and isn't particularly useful but almost all Spanish doors have this type of doorknob.  Actually getting locked out is an ever present worry.  The door automatically locks when you shut it (at least partially) and it only unlocks with a key.  This means you have to leave the key in the door at night if you want to feel safe that you can make a quick exit. in the event of an emergency  However, if there is a key in the door (on the inside) you can't turn the lock to unlock the door from the outside.  Put simply...we are careful when we are all leaving the house together. :)

 Looking back toward the gate from the front door.

The side of the house going to the backyard.

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The really cute backyard that we really don't use much while we are here because it's a little cold. 

 Looking over our fence to the community pool that taunts us with how much fun it must be to live here during the summer months (except the accompanying heat that would invite you to the pool)

The entry looking back toward the front door.

 To the left the half bath that is really only used by the students.

 To the right the small but bright kitchen. We rarely eat in here as only two people can sit. 

 Note that the kitchen is also a laundry room (with a tiny washer) and utility room (the water heater is there just above the counter)

 There is really enough counter and cupboard space for what we have in the way of appliances and dishes but wouldn't come close to holding what I have at home.

At the end of the entry is the family room.  Note the folding chairs.  Since only 7 or 8 can squish on the couches, when the students are all here couch sitters are reticent to give up their spots for fear of losing their comfortable spot to and ending up on one of those flimsy folding chairs. 

The Chalet has four levels.  Below the main level is one room that houses a bunch of stuff left behind by previous directors and a drier (that only sort of works).  The main level (which in Spain is the 0 floor) has the kitchen and living area.  The next level up (in Spain level 1; we would call it the 2nd floor)  has  four bedrooms and 2 small bathrooms.  

Master bedroom (with balcony to backyard)

 Master bath.  The other bathroom is identical except for the shower curtain. :)

 The guest bedroom (too bad we haven't had many guests!)  Kara and Hayley used this room and Taylor and Emily will when they arrive TOMORROW!  In the meantime, it has functioned as Stan's office (there is a small desk to the left you can't see)

 Landon's room.  I love having the kids just across the hall.

 Cassie's room next to his.  I will definitely miss being so close.

 The hall between the rooms.  I thought about taking down the laundry drying rack and towels, but since this is usually how it looks decided to keep it up. :)

This is the top floor.  This is actually a pool table and last time we were here the kids used it A LOT.  Unfortunately the balls and sticks have disappeared.  We missed not playing this time round.  It has been used for study groups and committee meetings by the students though.

 Looking down the stairs from the top level.  Yes, we climb a lot of stairs every day!

It's a wonderful little house 

and has become our home for a simpler life.  

The 'Education' of Little Landon (and Cassie too)

Much of our time here, when not traveling with the students, is spent homeschooling Landon and Cassie (though admittedly my eleventh grade Trig class has long since become useful in anyway for Cassie's pre-calc assignments). Cassie is actually mostly teaching herself, with some occasional help from a student, and she and I study Spanish together.

Landon, on the other hand, takes most of my attention, and in addition to the enhanced respect I have gained for his teachers, I have also become more educated myself on some of the challenges of his learning disabilities. It's been a good experience all the way around.

Landon's daily homework position

Cassie's style is a little more laid back.

It's not actually his academic education that has impressed me most however, but rather the 'education'' he is receiving from being with 14 young adult girls everyday. Now admittedly, with three older sisters he had a good foundation already, much of which has given him the confidence (too much confidence, I might add) to further his 'studies.'  When he stepped off the bus on our first trip of the semester and said to the gathering of girls, gangsta hand motions included, "what up LADEEEZ?!" I knew we were in trouble. A week ago I came downstairs to find him demonstrating on Kaitlin to the two boys in our group how to properly play with a girl's hair. And all of the girls now been given Landon nicknames that include Beautiful, Cookie, Sweetie and Sugar, just to name a few. Heaven help us when he gets older.

Andy's catching on to Landon's hair playing instruction  on Emily

Despite the intent of all involved, his efforts to woo the ladies has not been without some gaffs. One of his many favorites (nickname Girlfriend) got on the bus before Landon one day and announced that he had just told her that her coat made her look pregnant. When I responded, aghast, that I clearly needed to talk to him, she replied, "Oh, don't worry, Julianna has already pulled him aside to explain AGAIN that you never comment on a girl's size or weight!" Thankfully they aren't afraid to give correction and genuinely like and include him, which has made our experience so much more fun. They all patiently attended a meeting he called in one of our hotel rooms to plan a party for that night. Notebook in hand, he made room assignments for various activities, figured out treats and promoted a dance party to end the night where he showed off his moves.

Taylor in her darling, non-pregnant looking, coat!

Landon with Juliana ('Beautiful'), Melissa ('Awesome') and Sarah ('Sweetie')

I'm well aware that he will need some counter training when he returns to his 12 year old world where everyone isn't patient and kind and thinks your funny no matter what goofy thing you do. Even here, of course, we have moments where we need to remind him that he is not actually one of the students and that they won't always want to do what he wants to do. I think its safe to say that an early game Faith (i.e. Cookie Dough) taught him, Four Men on a Couch, has outworn it's fun for everyone, despite his repeated requests to play it again.

I can't talk about Landon's 'college education' without talking about Cassie's as well, and in that regard it has been nothing but positive. She is included and welcomed and genuinely liked by the students, one of which told her early on that she liked her because she doesn't act 15. That may be as good of a compliment as you can get from someone in college. But what is most telling, is that despite her fears of leaving all of her friends behind, she has not once complained about being here and never seems to really feel homesick. This group is obviously doing a great job filling in as her new friends. It is because of that, I think, that last night we heard words we never thought we would hear come out of her mouth, "the time is going TOO fast!"

Nate, Tatiana, Taylor, Faith, Madeleine and Liz leaving Cordoba

I'll Take My Chicken Without A Head, Thanks

I seems like I cook more with hamburger meat here than I do at home, where every meal seems to center on chicken. It may be that I can just find more ingredients that I need for hamburger based meals than for chicken meals, but more likely it's the memory I have from our previous experience here:

Stan had gone off to the university to take care of some last minute items before the students arrived and I decided to bake a chicken for our first big midday meal (like the Spanish eat, only not with Spanish food.)  I was feeling pretty proud of myself for cleaning out the chicken--there was more there than I was accustomed to, if you know what I mean--and was preparing the final part of the cleaning when I lifted the chicken only to find that the HEAD WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE CHICKEN!   Well, my abilities (or courage) only take me so far, so back into the fridge it went until Stan could return to clever it off.  It turns out he wasn't surprised and had already experienced the same thing during preparation of an earlier meal but had spared me the gory details.

We also had another interesting discovery during a subsequent meal.  I was in the middle of preparing some chicken noodle soup when I turned to my small bottle of pepper to add some flavor.  Interestingly, the pepper kept sinking to the bottom of the pan.  Now, we were gifted with many spices from former directors and the "pepper" I had been using was found in a small jar in a cupboard with the rest of the spices.  Kara had complained a couple of times about the gritty taste in some of our meals, but I had responded with something to the effect of, "maybe Spanish salt is just a little courser, it's nothing."  Since I had added "pepper" to virtually every meal we had eaten since arriving, and had tasted nothing very unusual, I really hadn't thought much about it.  But when I noticed its sinking nature in the soup, it caused me to wonder.  Still, I happily, even proudly, fed it to the family, despite their complaints about the texture.  Sure enough, as you may have already guessed by now, it was actually SAND, no doubt a souvenir left behind by a former director's family after a visit to the beach!  How it wound up in the cupboard, I have no idea, but it was a good lesson on the power of association. :)

We have laughed about that a lot over the years, and I'm grateful to say that (1) chicken breasts are readily available and I haven't seen one headed chicken (though I did tell Stan to double check when he picked up a whole chicken for me this week) and (2) I cleared out any odd spices from the cupboard when I arrived.
That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of odd foods in the store. Cassie and I were in line yesterday when we noticed this in the cart in front of us.



There is still plenty of meat hanging above our heads in the store, but they are actually less conspicuously placed than before (or I really am a true Spaniard and just don't see them as unusual anymore!)  We saw goat's heads, eyes and teeth included, in the market, and octopus is pretty common a lot of places.

Still, there is plenty to like.  Spanish are expert yogurt makers, the best I have ever tasted.  Delicious!

This entire aisle (about a quarter of the dairy section in the store) is yogurt.

And they are the absolute BEST at making olive oil. Spain is the biggest producer of producer of olive oil in the world by a long way and the students report that everything they eat is fried in olive oil.

Those bottles on the bottom are easily 2 gallon size and check out the prices.
(The varieties of olive oil are endless and some are more expensive, of course)

We mainly use it for making a dipping sauce for the delicious fresh pan from the panaderia.

Good thing I brought my own spices! :)

Spain Has Changed

Spain has changed and I not sure how I feel about it. In seven years globalization has made an impact and its hard to imagine what another seven or fifteen or twenty will bring. Yes, last time we were here we could find McDonald's and Pizza Hut and a few other random American things, but I am actually surprised by some of the other changes.

Big box stores are a lot more common and even one short train ride away we have access to a store that resembles Home Depot in size and scope. No more going all over town trying to find the little tienda that sells the little part we need to fix the shower. Ready prepared foods are easier...though still not easy...to find in the grocery store. I can't get refried beans, for instance, in any of the three stores I frequent but I can get frozen pizza. I got a Chinese delivery menu in the mail yesterday...that's new...and found a restaurant in the MALL that is a ten minute walk from our home (so shocked it was here that I didn't even know until the students informed me) that serves brownies with ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce (our Spanish teacher was shocked at such a concoction when we served it at a closing social in 2006!)  My struggling Spanish has invited store keepers to proudly speak to me in broken English (I don't think I EVER experienced that seven years ago) It's apparently not even unusual to ask for tap water in restaurants and we haven't had any of the weird looks we encountered last time from that request.

Pictures were taken by my students for an assignment on globalization. :)



These might seem little but to me they seem huge! It feels a little like a wave that's just starting to form. Fortunately, most things remain the same... Cobblestone, narrow streets with big beautiful plazas, grandparents with their grandchildren in the park, street artists and long siestas where most of the city shuts down, polite people that are perfectly fine sitting close to you on the bus, evening family strolls, museums, cathedrals and beautiful buildings everywhere you look.

I hope some things ever change.

Don't Look at the Graffiti!

I was feeling a little down about the day to day grind today.  Yes, that happens, even here in Spain.  The daily routine includes homeschooling (that often takes much more of the day than it seems like it should,) laundry (in a very small washer and a dryer that has two settings:  'don't dry' or 'rapidly shrink',) walks to the grocery store (a half mile away for one simple forgotten item or just to keep food in the house), and the never ending job of food preparation (while only using one appliance at a time and some unfamiliar ingredients.)

Clearly, I was in need of an attitude adjustment.

Feeling a little sorry for myself (I'm sorry, under the circumstances that's rude I know,) I decided I needed to get out for a run.  I have wanted to do that since we got here, and frankly had hoped I would do it regularly last time we were here as well, but it just never seems to fit in.

It turned out to be just the thing I needed (doesn't it always?!)  Sun on my face and a slight wind made for the perfect conditions, and the siesta made it even better.  No one was around.  No cars to dodge, no people to squeeze through, no open stores, no nothing but me and the city to explore.  It was beautiful!  Knowing I might get lost but not really caring, I just headed off through a part of the city I had only partially been through before.  In what turned out to be only a couple of miles I ran through parks and plazas, past a palace and cathedral, down narrow medieval cobblestone streets, and past old stone buildings and a monastery.

As I headed back, I walked for a while, a little tired, but lifted from the experience, only to begin to notice the trash piled in a dumpster by the side of the road, the walls littered with graffiti and the dog poop in scattered areas on the sidewalk  Hadn't I just come this way?!  How had I ignored it before?

Ahh, those sweet moments in life. The ones that quietly teach you or slap you in the face when you need it most.   Here's mine today:  Don't focus on the daily grind of life or graffiti on the wall when you're surrounded by family and great moments together, parks and cathedrals. :)



I had so much fun, I ran back for Cassie and did it all again so I could take pictures.

Heading out the door of our Chalet

The quiet city streets of the Siesta

Even the trains were sleeping/

Through a city park

Into the medieval part of the city

Along side the palace

The Archbishop's Palace and birthplace of Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand & Isabella and  1st wife of King Henry the 8th of England.  She couldn't bear him a son so he tried with 5 other wives.)

Calle Mayor, one of the most important cities of past and present Alcala

Typical homes in the historical part of the city

The famous storks of Alcala.  They sit atop many of the old buildings and churches.

Love the cobblestone streets and narrow roads

Typical homes in the more modern parts of town

A little reward at our favorite grocery store, Carrefour,  Spaniards don't eat and drink while they walk so I was a little nervous about this, haha.

Lesson learned.