Lots to learn

It´s now one past midnight on Sept. 16th where I am, which looks like this: 0:01 am. Yep, even the time is different.

It was a tough/great day though. Alicia and I got up and went to the gym. It was so nice to run and zone out for a while and really felt like home. I´ll definitely be joining. We came home, showered and went for tapas with the lady who cleans the house, so she and I could meet with Alicia as a translator. I have realized my Spanish is not so great and her english es nada. Alicia´s parents came too and we were in the bar from 12 to 3 pm! I had my first of the famous jamon, which is like procuitto (is that how to spell it Stupfels?), but the fat is on the edge, so much easier to eat around. We had big chunks of bread with olive oil and tomato rubbed on it, yes rubbed. It was so yummy, but the finale were these special pemento peppers that they have a special license to grow only in Navarra, the province Pamplona is in. They were roasted, torn by hand, organic and had oil and garlic with them, ¡que rico!

As a lot of you know, i´m not a big drinker because i´m such a light weight, but did not want to be rude... long story short, the 5 of us drank 2 bottles of wine in 3 hours. It was a sleepy afternoon, but we had tons to do, so no rest. Alicia took me around town after we picked up the kids and showed me the adult learning center and the university. It doesn´t look like classes at the university will work with my schedule, but hopefully at the learning center.

We also met Alicia´s friend Lourdes, an amazing woman! She and Alicia do a language share, which means they speak Spanish for half an hour and then switch to english, so both learn. Hopefully, I´ll be able to take Alicia´s place now. Of course, not in anyone´s heart, just to learn some frickin´espanol. Lourdes is mostly blind and also a massage therapist. Alicia gets massages for english lessons! I´ll definitely have to work that. And, she has an old friend who used to be the best basketball player in Spain, women´s. So, I hope to meet her and find out if I can help out at a school or find pick up games.

We came home for some basketball with teh kids, which was so fun. Alexis is so competitive and scrappy. He was the tiniest one out there by a foot, but kept stealing the ball! Louise wants to get better, but is more in it for fun, so the combo makes for a few spats between sibs. Dinner was lovely once again. Wine, of course, these yummy cheesey potatoes, homemade pureed vegetable soup, bread and fruit, with leftover dessert from last night. I don´t know what I´ll do when catherine and Patrick are gone for a week and I have to cook. I ain´t no Paula Deane. I guess I´ll have to fly Dave in special for those times so the kids don´t go hungry. Really, I should work on getting that in my contract.

I called home for the first time, which was really tough. Just the sound of familiar voices made me cry because nothing is familiar here. The kids were so nice, and Catherine too, making sure i was ok. The kids said, "it´s only natural, it´s ok." And we watched West Side Story. Sweetie poos.

I´m not sure if I can write again soon, I may be out all weekend with Alicia. But, hopefully Monday. I´m going to try to take a spanish test to see which class i might be in monday morning, so I´ll let you know. My first day on my own, Monday, and I´m nervous, but what am I not nervous for these days!?

Love to all!