A Teary Goodbye to a Beloved Teacher

The kids had their last lesson with Elena today. Instead of a lesson, they watched Stuart Little in Spanish and ate popcorn. She brought them each a framed picture of the three kids in their Halloween costumes with Elena. She also brought them a Kinder Sorpresa. I made popcorn with butter and salt for Emma, kettle corn for Aidan and gave Ian a bag of Gublinos which are steak flavored corn snacks (since he doesn't like popcorn). I took a bunch of last pictures of them together, but Aidan refused to smile and kept making a sad face in all the pictures. Elena finally tickled him to get him to smile in at least one of them.

After the movie was over, Elena told us how much she didn't want us to go back to the States and that she was really going to miss the kids. She also told Collin and I that they kids are really well behaved and even though they complained sometimes during the lessons, they always did what they were told. Elena said that she was really impressed with how fast the kids picked up Spanish. She also said that she could tell that we raised them right because they are so well behaved and polite. She told me that we have been really kind to her and that she enjoyed eating dinner with us and sampling my cooking. We gave her a plate of cookies to take home.

Emma started crying first when it was time for her to leave and Elena was carrying her around begging her not to cry. Elena looked like she was about to cry any minute. I got really teary too. Then Aidan started crying and was sitting miserably on the couch by himself with his arms folded, chin to his chest. Ian kept declaring loudly that he was only going to miss Elena a little (but that was probably because she was teasing him a little about his fear of popcorn). Then a few minutes after she left, Ian all of the sudden blurted out, "I MISS HER!," and started crying really hard. Collin and Emma left to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, with Emma still crying and wanting to bring her framed picture to the movie theater. Aidan and Ian cried for a long time. Aidan kept saying, "Elena is like part of the family. I don't want to leave her behind. Mom, can't we just put her in a suitcase and take her with us?" They were carrying the framed picture she gave them around the house and crying. I kept telling them that I knew just how they felt and that it is always really hard to have to leave people you love behind. Elena told us that she wanted to stay in touch using Skype and to email her to tell her when we have landed safely in PA. Aidan and Ian both went to sleep hugging the framed pictures she gave them. Emma had hers on her nightstand table pushed right up to the edge of her bed so she could look at it as she fell asleep.

She has been the best thing for the kids here in Spain. She has helped them so much with their Spanish as well as their confidence in their ability to speak it. Elena also added an element of discipline and fun at the same time to the tutoring sessions with the kids. I am so glad that we found her when we did. I passed her number onto the new American family that moved here from Utah, I hope they are as good to her as she was to us. Hopefully, she'll still be around when we come back in a few years so she can tutor the kids again.

The Long Goodbye

Yeah, we threw ourselves a goodbye potluck. I made chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chicken pot pie, stuffing, and sweet potato souffle. Everyone ate the stuffing with their hands, which I thought was a little unusual. Ana Maria brought chicken mole, Yamiles brought empanadas, Loli brought empanadas de atun and an apple/custard dessert, Sara and Pepi made paella in my kitchen, and Miguel Angel's mom brought Colombian style beans. I also put out some olives (Daniela ate most of them), potato chips and crackers. I bought caffeine free Coke, 7-Up, Schweppe's Strawberry Lemonade, and mosto. The only thing we were missing was bread. Sara and her mom had bought some, but forgot to bring it. They also forgot to bring the good kind of mosto, but oh well.

The teenagers were really putting the food away. I think they ate double what everyone else did. Esteban, Oliver and Miguel Angel are the most mischevious, funny and lovable three teenagers I've ever met. Every time I announced something new that I had put on the table, they would all jump up at the same time to run into the kitchen to heap a big helping onto their plates. Miguel Angel was teasing me because I take some many pictures. I also had to hide the desserts until everyone had eaten because I knew that if I put them out beforehand, the teenagers were eat them all before anyone else had a chance. I gave a plate of cookies to the Bishop and the Young Men ate every crumb before the Bishop's family even saw the treats. Their little girl was bawling because she didn't get any, so I made them another plate that I am going to take over to their house tomorrow for FHE.

Collin, Loli and Sara all gave speeches. Collin's was a modified version of what he gave at the goodbye dinner for the Bucknell students with their senoras. Oliverio was looking at him in a plaintive way which was cracking us all up. Loli spoke about how fun it was to have us around and also welcomed Travis and Anna, an new American family that just moved into the ward. She also said that one of the nice things about living in Granada is that you get to experience many different cultures, in our ward as well. One of the sad parts about that is that people don't always stay. And that they've loved getting to know us, but are sad to see us leave. They love that we always smile. They loved seeing the kids in the Primary program. They loved having us over to activities at their house. During her speech, Pepe kept interrupting and everyone kept shushing him. Sara spoke about how Collin was the best teacher the Primary has ever had and how he tamed the lions (naughty kids) in Primary. She also said she feels she has grown as a person as a result of being friends with me. She said how smart I was and how I contributed a lot in the Primary presidency meetings. She got really teary and gave me a hug after her speech. I didn't speak because I knew that if I tried, I would cry.

It was really fun to have everyone over and eat and chat together. I am going to really miss the friendships I have made here in a very short time. Oliverio said that latinos look for any excuse to get together and eat. Maybe it is my ethnic half that yearns for the loud, fun, casual way latinos get together frequently. They don't worry about how clean the house is and enjoy cooking for a crowd. That kind of stuff used to really stress me out, but last night I cleaned the kitchen and swept the house, but I didn't feel the pressure I usually feel when I know I will be entertaining the next day. Collin doesn't enjoy entertaining as much as I do and large crowds make him uncomfortable. I don't love large crowds, but I do love to hang out with friends. I'm glad we finally had everyone over after talking about it several times. My only regret is that there was tons of poopy toilet paper in the bathroom trash because in a lot of Latin American countries the toilets can't handle human waste AND toilet paper, only one or the other. That was pretty gross, but a small price to pay for having a fun goodbye party.

Yamiles, Miguel Angel's mom, and Ana Maria cleaned the kitchen for me while I was chatting with everyone. They are all such wonderful friends and have all really made our experience in Granada awesome. Ana Maria and Justo were the last to leave. Justo gave me a long speech about friendship and how we are always welcome in Mexico whenever we want to visit them. Ana Maria and I were both teary when we hugged goodbye. I think I will miss her most of all my friends, we clicked right away. I hope I can maintain the friendships I have made here, but I know it will be hard with the distance and even harder as time passes. I have never been great at staying friends after I move away. I always want to and I always say I will, but for some reason I find it hard to do.

Travis, Anna, Zadia and River were at church today and so I invited them to the party. I stayed in class with Zadia, River and Anna so I could translate what the teacher was saying. They seem like a really nice family. The two kids were clinging like limpets to their parents, not unlike ours did our first Sunday here. I think the Spanish language and all the different Latino and Spanish cultures put together is pretty overwhelming for them. During Primary, which is always really loud and crazy with kids swearing and disrespecting each other and the leaders, Anna and her kids just kind of sat there in awe. The music leader was teaching them some Christmas songs and also a dance! All the kids were singing quietly and completely off key and running around or ignoring what the music leader was trying to teach them. It was pretty typical with a little extra crazy thrown in. Two kids yelled at each other to shut up before the closing prayer. Afterwards, I ran around passing out cookies. The kids wanted to pass some out too. Two boys chased Emma and she crashed into a wall spilling her cookies. She was bawling. I think some people might have felt jealous that I didn't give them cookies, but I couldn't very well make cookies for the whole ward. I am only one woman with a junky oven, not Martha Stewart.

I am wondering how Travis and Anna's family is going to do with the food served at ward parties. They eat very healthy at home and Anna is allergic to shellfish. Spaniards and Latinos pretty much all love shellfish, the more legs, shells and eyeballs the better. Spaniards eat the most seafood as a country only beaten by Japan. Sara and her mom gave Collin and I each our own giant servings of paella. It was really good, but I saved about half for my mom, mostly all the shrimp and crayfish, since she LOVES seafood. Their kids are so adorable. Zadia was really shy all day, but River was totally the opposite. He took his shirt, socks and shoes off in our house. He was flexing his muscles in front of the hall mirror. He made himself totally at home on Ian's bed with Aidan, Carlos, and Ian. When I told them to sit closer together for a picture, River put his arm around Carlos of his own volition. He also sat on my lap for an hour in Primary playing with my watch and said the closing prayer in his Primary class. Our kids kept saying how cute River is and how much he reminds them of their cousin Ollie. I wish they had arrived earlier or that we could stay longer, I'm sure we would be good friends if we had the chance. I wish there were some way to keep your friends with you or at least be able to spend time with them whenever you want to. Is teleportation still too far in the future for scientists to invent?

Wrong Number

My friend Flor's dad died in Ecuador today. She doesn't have enough money to buy a ticket to fly to Ecuador for his funeral. He died of prostate cancer which was misdiagnosed by the doctors here in Spain. When they finally realized what he had, it was too late and the cancer was too advanced. He wanted to fly home to be in his own country when he died and he got his wish. He flew there on Sunday and died this morning. I was trying to call the sister missionaries to let them know since besides me, Flor doesn't really have many friends and I thought that they could comfort her a little.

I got what I thought was the right number from Ana Maria and dialed it. A girl answered and I said, "Hola, soy Tara, quien es?" thinking it was one of the sister missionaries. The girl who answered the phone said, "This is the girlfriend of (guy's name)." So I said, "Oh sorry, I think I dialed the wrong number." And I hung up. I thought I dialed it wrong so I dialed again and realized it was the same wrong one and hung up. The girlfriend called me back and started asking me questions and I said, "Really, I just dialed the wrong number!" Her boyfriend got on the phone and said, "Where are you from anyway?" I said, "The United States," the girlfriend said, "LIAR!" and started crying. I said, "Look, I'm not trying to cause problems, I just dialed the wrong number!" I handed the phone to Collin in panic and he was going to explain things to the guy, but the guy said, "Well, don't make the same mistake again!" and hung up. I hate knowing that a couple is probably having a giant argument and it is all my fault because I can't get the numbers 6 and 7 straight in Spanish!

Bolas

Emma had a marathon play date with Marta and Lucia on Tuesday. She was with them for 7 1/2 hours! For part of it we all (minus Jose, their dad) went bowling together at Grana Bowling. As Aidan said, "Our family pretty much kicked their family's butt!" Collin got the highest score, then Aidan, then Emma, then Ian, then me and then their family's scores. Ian ended up sliding down the lane during his turn. Aidan and Emma were on fire with their bowling. I was taking pictures of Emma and the twins and she slipped and fell down in between some bowling balls and then she was mad that I took her picture. Afterwards, we went back to Inma's house and had some herbal tea and tortilla. The kids were content to draw and watch Supernenas while the adults chatted. It was really fun and relaxing to chat with Inma and Jose. AND the boys were so good! Usually, I'm nervous to bring them somewhere where they don't have friends their age to play with, but they didn't tease or bug the girls at all. Everyone played great together.

Aidan had a play date with Cader today at his house. They played Wii and watched Hercules. Aidan had a great time and was really happy. I suggested that they play again next week and that he maybe invite Aaron (another friend from class) over to play before we go back to PA.

Ian's going to another birthday party tomorrow, Hector's. He is really excited.

I'm so glad all the kids have made friends!

(Window) Shopping

Inma, the twins' mom, invited me to go shopping with her this morning while the kids were in school. First we went to the Loft for juice and toast with tomato, olive oil and salt (she had a cappuccino) and then we went to el Corte Inglés because she had to buy a ski jacket for her husband's birthday. I made the mistake of trying on these cute boots I really want, but can't afford. They are black with a wedge, elastic and buckle and most importantly. . . . they are super comfortable. Too bad they cost so much and aren't sold in the U.S! (Mom, if you are reading this . . . please can you get them for me for a combined Christmas, 3 Kings' Day and birthday present?)

Inma tried on not one, not two, but 20 different black or grey jackets. She wanted a good fit AND a good price so after el Corte Inglés, we went to MANGO, Cortefiel, Desigual, Old Lady Store (just kidding, but I don't remember the name of that one), Zara and finally Sfera where she actually did buy a grey jacket. She also bought a Hannah Montana costume complete with wig and headset microphone for Marta.

We had a really good time even if I didn't get to buy my boots, sigh! But afterwards, I was really tired and ended up taking a nap after the kids came home from school. Usually, Inma and I get a drink together and chat while the kids are in soccer, but she and the twins didn't show today. Maybe she was tired from all the shopping and walking.

Adíos, Rocío

Rocío leaves for France tomorrow to be a nanny for 9 months. She only knows a phrase or two in French. I have confidence in her that she will learn really quickly because her English is pretty good and she spent only five months in Ireland as a nanny. She is signed up with an agency that matches au pairs and families in Europe. She learned about the opportunity only a couple of weeks ago. Both the Bucknell students and Rocío and her crew are so adventurous. When I was a young'on I was way too cautious and terrified that something bad would happen to me to travel much, plus I never had any money. It would have been really cool to do what Rocío is doing. She is an only child and loves kids and so the work is more fun than work for her.

She invited me to a concert that her friend Jimmy was performing in. I met her at Burger King and we walked over to a bar where her teacher from the Sports Activities class was along with some of her classmates, including her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend were hanging out. Yusef (current boyfriend of Moroccan descent) and I had sodas, everyone else was drinking beer and SMOKING like chimneys. I had a really interesting conversation with Caroline, an American student from North Carolina who is doing study abroad here, and Rocío's teacher. He traveled quite a bit to Morocco and was telling us which foods to try and where to go. I thought it was a little strange that Rocío's ex and current boyfriend were hanging out together with Rocío and everything was hunky dory. I would have been SO uncomfortable!

We went to Sugarpop, a club that hosts different musical acts. The doors were shut and tons of people were outside. They were supposed to open at 9. Three of Rocío's girlfriends were there-María, Mahou and I can't remember the other one's name. They totally had the typical Spanish girl look going on with their hair and clothes. Since the club still wasn't open an hour later, we went to another bar and had another drink and tapas. Everyone else had hamburgers and alcohol as their drink and tapa, but Yusef and I had tortilla and soda. Did I mention that Yusef is Muslim? I don't know a ton about Muslims, but he told me that they don't drink or smoke and that the meat they eat has to be specially prepared according to some strict rules.

I really like Yusef, not just because he was the only sober buddy I had that night, but also because he loves Doraemon just as much as I do. When we got to the bar, our table was filthy. The bar was packed, standing room only and the waiter was taking forever. The homemaker in me just had to clean that table. I swept all the crumbs onto the floor and then busted out a baby wipe from my bag and wiped the table down. Later, Yusef was coughing and I offered him a cough drop. I also had my camera which I kept busting out and some Advil for Rocío's headache. Yusef told me that my bag is just like Doraemon's magic pouch--I have something in there for every situation.

When we got back to the club, it was packed, barely standing room only. The first band took forever setting up. Luckily, the concert was free. The music was OK. One of the musician's was a professor of Rocío's. The girls all left and I decided to go too since it was near midnight and I couldn't call Collin because everyone claimed that their phones were unpaid for so they didn't work (young and irresponsible!). Rocío begged me not to go home since it would have been one of our last opportunities to hang out, but since I didn't really like the music and I knew that I was going to be dead tired the next day since I'm 31 and not 19 like her, I decided to call it a night. When I got home, I reeked of smoke, the only drawback to going out with Rocío. Yusef and I were conspiring to get her to stop smoking or at least smoke less. I told her she owed me a Euro for every cigarette she smoked in front of me and Yusef kept stealing the pack out of her purse and hiding it from her. Seriously, everyone smokes here. I'm surprised at how used to it I am. I don't like the smell and I would never do it myself, but a few years ago, I would never have been able to sit next to someone who was smoking.

Let's talk about the touchy-feelyness of Spanish youth. Rocío kept kissing me on the cheek, the big SMACKING kind of kisses. I had to do double cheek kisses all night to everyone I met and then when someone left they did double cheek kisses all around. I lost count around 20. Also, the boys would face each other and hold the backs of each other's necks while they were talking. They would also come up behind each other and hug or put their arms around each other's shoulders while they were talking. During one of the songs, everyone in our group put their arms around each other and swayed to the music. They also talk with their faces really close to each other. I just went along with it. I didn't want to stand out as the standoffish American in the group, Caroline had left earlier in the evening. Also, since we were all crammed together at tiny tables in both bars, people couldn't help but be sitting practically in each other's laps. Strange for me who gets irritated when family members horn in on my personal space at times. Maybe I will get over it from being here where none of my friends have a sense of what personal space is. I ended up giving Rocío a big smack on the cheek when we said goodbye and stroking her friend María's hair (I think it's contagious, I would never stroke the hair of a person I had just met in the states!). Look out American friends, I might come back as an overly touchy-feely girl with no sense of personal space who talks to you with our noses touching.

It was probably for the best that I didn't stay with Rocío when she asked me too since she didn't end up going home until 9 am. We were supposed to go to the Mosque with Yusef the next day, but since she hadn't paid her phone bill and slept in until 6 pm, we didn't end up going. She did swing by and I went to Café Fútbol with her and Yusef for a soda. Her dreamboat waiter with the blue eyes was there trying to flirt with her. As we left, he came out with a big plate of churros. I don't know if he had made them for us or was explaining with hand gestures why he couldn't hang out with her more. I bought her a Spanish to French phrase book as a going away present, but accidently got a French to Spanish version. She and Ysuef went to María's birthday party and I went and traded the book for the right one. I dropped it off at her house the next day after church and we said our final goodbye. It was sad. She kept hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. I told her that it wasn't goodbye, but rather see you later since we will be coming back to Granada in a few years. Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! I hate goodbyes.

El Día de Acción de Gracias

Our Guest List-Fatima, Paula, José, Inma, Marta, Lucía, María, Raquel, Julio, their parents, Elena, Tyler and his parents, Andrea, Megan and her brother and sister, Michelle and her sister and parents, Sara, Caitlyn, and Cody and his parents. Counting us, that made 33 people for Thanksgiving dinner. Fatima ordered the turkey and mashed potatoes from her favorite restaurant. I made 3 pumpkin pies and two cheesecakes at Inma's house on Tuesday. We had a really great time chatting while we mixed the ingredients and tried to figure out her oven. I was worried that the pies would end up tasting like smoke because even though she'd have a puff outside on the terrace, the cigarette smoke kept blowing into the house. We drove to my house because I needed help with all the pies and ingredients. I didn't know that Collin was in the house and he didn't make himself known. We brought up one batch of pies and then went down to the garage and returned with another. When I walked back in, I noticed that the light in the boys' room was on so I went in and turned it off. Like a murderer in a scary movie, Collin slid out from behind the closet door. I didn't scream or say anything and neither did he. I figured that he didn't want to talk to Inma because he was wearing sweats. Later, we had a long laugh about it.

I went to Rebecca's house to make the apple pies. She and Juan Carlos helped me peel apples. I used her food processor to make the crust. It was SO much easier to make the crust her robot de cocina instead of using two knives to cut the butter into the flour like I did the two other times I made apple pies here. They turned out pretty good, but had a slightly smoky flavor from the juice dripping down from the pies and burning on the bottom of the oven. Rebecca made me tomato toast on some really good bread she bought from a store nearby which inspired me to fire our bread man. After all, he only brings around three types of bread and our family only likes one type. So we've had the same kind of bread every day except Sundays for 5 months. I had stopped eating it and so then we would be left with half a loaf of old bread every day which I didn't want to waste. For awhile I was making French toast every week just to use up the old bread. I also used a week's worth of old bread for the stuffing for Thanksgiving which turned out perfect using Dawn and Nathan Gee's recipe minus the sausage and turkey drippings.

Back to Rebecca's house. She had never made pastry before and it was really fun to teach her. Her husband was more worried about the pies turning out just right than I was and kept check on the pies and trying to get me to change the temperature. The kitchen got so smokey from the burning apple juice that every time we opened up the oven, the kitchen would fill with smoke and we would all have to go outside to recuperate. We had all the windows open, and since they live right next to the mountains, all the flies in the area came into the kitchen to have a little look see. I am not exaggerating when I say that there were at least 20 flies in the kitchen. I was only halfway done with the pies when the time came for me to pick up the kids from school so I had to call Collin to get him to pick them up for me. Juan Carlos made a yummy red cabbage salad with garlic and olive oil and sherry vinegar and a disgusting ham and bean dish that Rebecca refused to eat after one bite. I did my darndest, but I couldn't finish it either. I don't think it was his fault. He bought it in the freezer section and the ham was as hard as jerky and there was a very bitter flavor to the whole thing and the beans were mushy. Instead, Rebecca served up some almond and artichoke soup which I really liked. She complained that he had left all the hard leaves in, but I felt like hey at least he cooks at all. We all had a piece of pie and then Rebecca took me home.

On the actual day of the feast, Emma brought home a poster that she and her friends had made in Civics class. Rocío couldn't come to the actual feast because she had a conference she had to go to. She came over and helped me whip some cream while I washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen. I promised her I'd bring her over some food the next day. Cody and his parents showed up a little early and I was still getting dressed. All the guests brought something: wine, chocolates, pastries or candy or all of the above.

I tried (twice) to make the same candied yams that Barbara and April have made before, but the first time they turned out too hard (according to Elena who was giving the kids their Spanish lesson while I was making them.) The second time they turned out too soft. I ended up pureeing them and mixing in some egg and milk to make a souffle. I topped one half with marshmallows and the other half with walnuts and brown sugar and then baked it. I got tons of complements on it and think I'll make it again next year. Collin told me not to make them because he didn't think they would get eaten, but there was only about 1 tablespoon left in the dish. The salad I invented was a hit: spinach, walnuts, pomegranate seeds, shaved Pecorino cheese topped with a balsamic reduction. There wasn't a leaf left of that salad. I never did solve the mystery of the missing Pecorino cheese I bought at Carrefour. I was sure that I bought it, but when it came time for me to use it, I couldn't find it anywhere. I took everything out of the fridge to look for it and even looked in the car in case it fell out of the bag. I ended up having to buy a new one Thursday morning. I think we ordered too much turkey. Elena said she was a little disillusioned that we didn't have a whole turkey, but there was no way I was going to try and make one in the oven we have here. Plus, I have never made one before and am terrified to try. Meat is NOT my strong suit. We didn't order enough mashed potatoes. No one touched the gravy from the restaurant, but all the roasted garlic gravy I made was gone from the serving dish. I got the recipe for the stock and gravy from Epicurious. I ended up making a really yummy turkey pot pie with the remaining stock vegetables, leftover gravy and turkey. All I really had to do was whip up a quick pie crust for the top and stick it in the oven. We ended up with a lot of leftover desserts, I think because people were so full from dinner and the guests had brought so many sweets with them.

Notes for next time:

Order half the amount of turkey

Double the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes

We need way more wine glasses, silverware, and dishes (Bucknell, I'm talking to you! We ran out of everything and people were drinking wine out of tea cups and coffee mugs and I had to wash a bunch of silverware even though we had bought plastic stuff to supplement what we already had.)

Change the stove and oven so I don't have to go over to friends' houses to bake stuff

Make half the amount of desserts

Buy way more soft drinks and mosto

Buy better plastic cups and have a permanent marker nearby

Plan a few activities for the kids to do on their own

Have a better explanation of why we celebrate Thanksgiving for our Spanish guests

Invite the kids' teachers as well as the principal and director of the school

I was a little worried that the English-Spanish barrier would be a problem, but there were enough people that could speak both languages to translate for those who couldn't understand. Cody's dad was talking a mile a minute to our downstairs neighbors, the husband spoke English, but the wife didn't. It was strange to talk to Fatima and Elena in English because usually we speak to each other in Spanish. All the parents and siblings of the students were super nice and friendly. I think everyone had a good time. Collin had a slideshow playing on his laptop of some of the best pictures we've taken over the semester with some music.

Emma and all the girls were playing in her room and Emma was getting a little pushed out of shape because her room was clean before and of course with Raquel, Lucia, Marta, Emma and Paula all playing in there, it didn't stay that way. Plus the boys kept trying to get in and play with the girls who wanted to be alone. Finally, the boys played Legos with Julio and then Castle Keep with Julio and after he left, Megan's brother. Paula was SO cute! She gave Collin a kiss and left either snot or food on his face which he didn't know about until after everyone had left.

I spent most of the time talking to Cody's parents, Cody, Elena and Fatima. I also spent a lot of time with Inma, Jose and Maria. There was a really funny moment when Cody's parents, Cody, Fatima, Elena and I were talking. Cody and I were talking to each other in Spanish for what seemed like a very long time. All of the sudden, I said, "I don't know why we're talking to each other in Spanish when everyone here speaks English, including us!" I guess we were both so used to speaking in Spanish that it just seemed like the natural choice at the time. Another funny moment was when Emma made a paper turkey for Elena that had Happy Thanksgiving written on it. Cody's dad told her that she had to put it on the refrigerator because it tradition (in English). Elena said, "I don't know what you just said, but I'll do it!"

I was exhausted by the time everyone left, but I made myself at least put food away and clear up our little kitchen table so we'd have somewhere to eat in the morning. I also packed up leftovers to share with Rocio, Flor, Rebecca and Juan Carlos.

Concha had cleaned the day of Thanksgiving and then came over the day after to clean. Emma wrote her a nice card decorated with glitter glue thanking her for all her hard work. I really appreciated it too. Collin and I were both satisfied with how everything turned out. I was a little bummed that none of the families from church could come and neither could Rocio, Flor or Rebecca and Juan Carlos, but we had a pretty full house anyway.

Salobreña with Goyo and Charo

Last Saturday we had lunch with Goyo and Charo. They are very good friends with Manuel and Alice from Bucknell's Spanish department. We met them last year in Lewisburg when they were visiting Alice and Manuel. Manuel and Goyo have been friends since they were boys in boarding school in Madrid together. They have a beautiful setup in a piso just across the street from the beach with a pool, tennis court and patio. They also have three bedrooms and two terrazas.We brought them a red and white enamel bowl from Country Cupboard filled with candy surrounding a white candle with a red ribbon around it. We bought it in July and managed to eat all the candy I had filled it with from an old fashioned candy store in Old Sacramento, so we ended up filling it again with Spanish candy from Bel Ros in Carrerfour.

After having a soda and watching Charo clean mussels and stir paella, Goyo took us around in his car. He showed us el Castillo de Salobreña (the symbol for our favorite brand of mosto), the old sugar factory, the huertas (produce gardens) below the castle, and a really cool rocky pathway than ran alongside the beach. Aidan did his usual glass and shell collecting, Ian did cartwheels and Emma made designs in the sand. We passed an American style burger joint on the beach that was called, 'McPepe's'. I don't know why, but I thought it was hilarious. We drove back to the house and had olives, empanadas with cheese, spinach or tuna and tomato inside, and mixed nuts. The kids filled up on the nuts and empanadas. Then we had tortilla, Charo makes her very thin and wet in the middle. After the tortilla we had steamed mussels. Charo and Goyo were slurping them down with the salty water they had inside the shells. Collin and I ate them as well. I think Ian's days of eating everything are coming to an end. He didn't want to even try a mussel. Poor Collin was having an extremely hard time eating the mussels and Goyo told him he didn't have to eat them. Charo seemed to think I was really enjoying mine so she gave me the BIGGEST one. If you have never eaten mussels before, I have to tell you that they look like orange aliens curled up in pods and have a very salty taste and soft, yet rubbery texture. Then Charo brought out a paella that had what looked like a little bit of everything from the sea, plus a whole chicken. She proceeded to give GIANT helpings of paella to the kids, but only gave them chicken and rice. Collin and I got everything including: tiny squid, calamari rings, chicken (all bones and skin included), more mussels and shrimp. The kids claimed to be very full and left a lot of paella on their plates, but Charo had served up Hungry Man-sized portions. We had a store bought Tiramisu flavored cake roll, turrón blando and dark chocolate turrón for desert. Surprise, surprise--the kids' appetites returned in a hurry. Emma totally hogged the turrón blando. Goyo said she could take the rest home and she didn't want to share with anyone.

Goyo and Charo were singing songs that the kids had learned in school to and with the kids. They acted like grandparents to the kids. I wish we had hung out with them sooner and that they were coming to Thanksgiving. Aidan, Emma and Ian colored some pictures for them to hang on their fridge. Goyo and Charo kept praising them and saying how smart and cute the kids were. They were really amazed by Ian's gymnastic ability and kept saying, ''¡Qué barbaridad!'' Goyo kept saying, ''¡Qué rico!'' (about the food) and really rolling his rrrrrrrr's. Emma was copying him, including his hand gestures when he said it. We all had a really great time together. They are so nice and fun to chat with.

Collin took the kids down to the patio so Ian could blow off some gymnastic steam. While he was gone, I had some herbal tea and chatted with Goyo and Charo. We talked about Spanish cinema, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, how nice Alice and Manuel are, the kids' schooling, Goyo's English, and my Spanish. The table we were sitting at in the living room had a very long, thick table cloth on it and a heater hanging from the center of the underside to warm you up on cold days. Goyo said it was very common in Spain and that almost everyone has them. Seems like a great idea to me. I would love to have one in our basement in PA.

We said goodbye and went to the beach with just our family for a little bit before heading home. I got some cool pictures with the sun setting in the background. A little girl heard us speaking English and came up to us and introduced herself (her name is Claudia) and then sang first a number song and then a color song in English. She also asked me to take pictures of her. Aidan fell in the water, naturally, someone always does. It must be a rule or something that when you especially don't want to get wet, say in November, you end up doing just that. We drove home, all very tired and watched Jumanji.