The One Month Mark

We've been in Barcelona for a little over a month now. Daily life is coming together, we have less interruptions to our daily routine and that feels nice.

It's also been two weeks since we were approved for residency. We've been using the receipt they issued us on October 26th for things like Nick's futbol physical exam and player application until we are able to pick up the cards.

We will be going next Monday to check on them. Getting the residency cards will be the last step in the "To Spain" project. I am excited to check it off our list of "to dos" and officially close out the project.

Diving Into the Language

John and I signed up for Spanish classes a couple weeks ago. There's nothing like daily immersion to encourage you to learn a new language. Not being able to hold a simple conversation has made me very uneasy.

I started the Beginner class and John started the A1 level class this past Monday. It has been neat to hear a lot of English spoken in one place. I've enjoyed meeting people from different countries, too. In my class I have people from Germany, Turkey, England, Scotland, France and Russia. I am the only participant from the U.S.

I haven't met this many people from other countries since NASK, (annual Esperanto immersion learning), in 2014. That was the year NASK was held in Canada, and people from all over the world attended. It's since been held in North Carolina.

I have a lot of fond memories of the 2014 course. It was my first international experience which showed me the possibility of having a more internationally based life. This is something I've dreamed of since I was a little girl.

Are You Ready for Some Futbol?

Nick attends futbol practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the park just below the bridge at Marina. He was quickly placed on a team after tryouts. His team hopes to get on the game schedule soon. Once Nick is approved for play, they will have a complete team and can play. I'm still in awe about how easy it was for us to find a team in need of a goalkeeper. As a Course in Miracles says, "Miracles are natural occurrences".

Nick went to the last two practices by himself. Letting him go on the metro by himself was a big step for me. My baby is growing up. He is more happy when we don't go to practice, you know how teenagers are. The less they are seen with their parents the better. I won't always stay home when he practices, but I do like to give him some time on his own so he can learn how to take care of himself without us.

He's done very well and he seems to enjoy having us trust him to get to and from practice on his own. We still have him text us when he arrives and when he leaves to ensure he is safe. Hey, I'm still his mom, I'll always think about him. I still think about his brothers and they are in their twenties. It's a mom thing. I just heard him roll his eyes at me. LOL

Why is it So Cold?

Tenemos frio. We finally settled in to our piso (apartment) last week, and just when we got everything figured out, we discovered the heating option on our AC/heater unit "no worky."

The weather in Barcelona changed quite drastically this week, bringing the heater issue to the forefront of our attention.

Cold winds and low temperatures mixed with high humidity make for some cold days. I call this "wet cold" and I don't do well with this type of cold. I prefer the drier cold, you know when the humidity is 40% or less. The lowest temperature I've faced during my morning walk to Spanish class has been 46 degrees with 87% humidity. Brrr.

This week, I've walked to school at 9am every morning and what I've discovered is an interesting fun fact. Mornings have the most sunlight. That time of day brings us the most we see of the sun for the whole day.

It also seems to be the warmest part of the day, too. By the time my class is over at 11:30, the sun seems to be hiding behind the clouds and it definitely feels a lot colder. As I write this today, it is 2pm and the sun is still out, a first for me this week. The trend is warmer temperatures, in the 60s, for the weekend. Yay, that's some really good news for me!

The cold weather has offered me some contrast, though. I've learned a lot about European clothing. The jeans I brought here from the US seem to allow more cold air in, while the pants I bought here deflect the wind more.

I bought three pair of pants since we arrived and I notice the material is lighter yet more tightly woven. This means that I sweat less when it is hot and the material keeps the cold air off my legs when it is cold.

After this week's cold snap, John and I decided we need some gloves. My hands have been very cold this week. It can get pretty chilly in the evenings, especially when the wind blows. This week we found ourselves missing our gloves. We wish we had brought our winter gloves with us. When we went to buy some gloves at La Corte Ingles, we realized they were very expensive. Brands we could get for around $20 at a Target were at least 50 dollars here.

Other items that are hard to find and expensive are beach towels and beach wear. Shoes are quite expensive here, too. I've got to retire my "comfort" shoes that I brought from the US because they just don't cut it here. I'm down to one pair of shoes that have passed the European walking test. I bought them at Karavel shoes in Austin and they are by far the best pair of shoes I could have brought to Barcelona.

https://www.thewalkingcompany.com/taos-star-/49718

They are green so they stick out and don't necessarily match what I'm wearing but the fun thing about Barcelona is that shoes have more character here and people really play around with mixing and matching colors, so I fit right in.

Today I make it my mission to find some black comfortable shoes for me. I will slowly replace my U.S. shoes through time because at my age it is really important to take care of my feet.

What I Miss from Home

We've been here long enough to get homesick. While everyday living has been easy to adapt to, there are some things I miss about home. I miss being able to text my friends often. We have Spanish phone numbers here but texting and data options are circa 1990's. We get charged per text and per call. The prices for data are a bit high, too.

I normally use Skype or Google Fi, (Android phone), when I want to connect with my friends but it is not the same. I've been using Facebook a lot more than I expected because sending a message is easier and I can keep people updated in groups versus having to do it one at a time.

I miss the face time with my friends the most. I had friends that I could meet up with for breakfast or lunch or at each other's homes and that is a thing of the past. It can get a little lonely at times, but we've been keeping in touch really well consider the time zone difference.

Ah, the time zone difference. We are 7 hours ahead of Austin and 9 hours ahead of the radio show network that hosts my internet radio show. Working with the production team doesn't start, (for me), until around 4 or 6pm. As a family we are used to working as late as 12 or 1am to accommodate U.S. hours.

Nick's due dates for his online school changed, too, when we moved here. Instead of assignments being due at 11:59pm each day, they are due at 4:59am the next day. He was quite bummed about this change because it means he has work due on Saturday mornings. Ha, ha.

What else do I miss? I miss some of my favorite restaurants although we have a variety of foods here. I am also getting to experiment with seafood more. They eat octopus and squid like we eat hamburgers and barbecue in Texas.

I miss my trees and all the nature around my place. It takes some effort to take the metro or walk a few blocks to a park. Parks here have more concrete and sand. There are usually signs posted to keep off the grass, something I just don't understand. Grass is made for walking and sitting and playing in.

I miss my client work at times, too. I have really come to appreciate the years I spent working in an office setting with my clients.

I really enjoyed the massage table work and I enjoyed hosting clients in my space. I bought some incense and Palo Santo when I got here so that I can still light up some "smelly stuff", it reminds me of home.

I also bought some tea light candles. I've learned to use them as an anchor to work time and sometimes the lighting of a candle brings back some fond memories of working with clients.

Transitions

Overall, I am very, very happy we made this move. While transitions can be hard, we've managed to plan this one out well. Like I've mentioned before, we've been very deliberate about this move. We've practiced living here by living in a small, slightly uncomfortable space in Austin.

As a family, we visualized living here. We also talked about it often over the past year, acting as if we were already here. We also set goals and intentions for what we wanted to achieve. These goals have served us well as we have something to look forward to achieving during the year and it reminds us to take advantage of our time here.

This wraps back around to Nick playing futbol and John and I learning Spanish. What's next for us? Transitioning our home environment to Spanish so Nick can become fluent in the language. John and I would also like to learn the native language of Catalan. And, of course, futbol games. We look forward to seeing Nick play competitively.