Adventures in Babysitting

Dave comes home from school and excitedly shows me one of those phone numbers you rip off  a homemade flyer posted on a random wall... he even took a picture so I could read it myself.

this is the actual flyer

For those who can't read Spanish, I will translate:  "I am young college student who is sweet, fun, outgoing, and friendly, and I offer my services for babysitting, housecleaning, and pet walking."  In other words, "I am a gypsy who, the second you walk out that door, will call some other members of my family who will swiftly come over to steal all of your things, and then we will take your precious babies and sell them on the black market for lots of Euros.  You will never see them again!"

Are you crazy!?!?  I just called our real estate girl who helped us find the apartment and who actually happens to do babysitting on the side.  She has 7 nieces and nephews and she lives and works right down the street from us.  I am still terrified about this first babysitting gig, but she is very sweet and really the only wrong thing about her, like the majority of people here, is that she smokes.  She'll have to lay off the cigs on Saturday night.  

Oh, yeah...we have plans for Saturday night.  The Ikea guy and his wife have invited us out to an Improv show (in Spanish of course!).  We're hoping to go eat some good tapas too.  I'm excited and scared.  Everyone please cross your fingers our babies will not be kidnapped.

On a different note, after some research, I have discovered some farmer's markets in town and some better, bigger grocery stores.  I found out about them online, so next week, while the girls are in school, I will start on my mission for better quality and better selection of food.  Happiness!  

Back to school

clic language school

This week I started Spanish classes at clic, which is in the commercial center of Sevilla, about a 10 minute walk from our apartment.  The school occupies a very nicely remodeled building teeming with young people from all over Europe.  I opted to enroll in a conversation and grammar review class which, as it turns out, is well above my level.  After the first class, I left with my head spinning after an hour of trying to follow the all Spanish format.  Take me away Señor  Cruzcampo! (beer)  Nonetheless, it  is getting easier every day and I have learned a lot about the imperfect and preterit verb tenses (remember grammar? I don't!)  The class is very small so I get a lot of extra attention, but the downside is there is nowhere to hide.   Currently, my other classmates are two 17 year old Swiss girls.  There was another girl who looked to be about 10, but she switched classes.  Man I feel old. Time to get some Spanx!

Next week I am starting the general intensive course, which is 4 hours a day in the mornings.  We shall see how this works for my family.  The girls have been home from school all week with colds so Ali and I haven't had any free time together.  We are hoping to go to Lagos, Portugal next weekend for a beach trip. At this, we are experts.

My walk to school

Everyone with gripa!

Well, it started with Isa, then me, and today Camila.  Horrible congestion, runny nose, sinus pressure and cough.  At first I was blaming the pollution,  but now it's definitely a nasty cold.  The girls will most likely stay home from school this week,  and we will all be crazy with cabin fever by week's end.  Now, I'm wishing we had a TV and endless movies on TNT.... and definitely Nick, Jr.

Due to me feeling terrible yesterday and today,  my attitude tanked again and Dave had to give me another pep talk this morning.  I vacillate between grabbing a taxi with both kids in tow and heading straight to the airport and feeling like I can relax here and truly enjoy it.  What keeps coming to mind is how much easier it would be without the girls, but I would never go anywhere without them.  I'm sure once this cold is over, I will be able to strengthen my resolve.

Dave ran into the Ikea guy this morning, and we might get together with them soon.  They are expats from San Francisco, but he's originally Iranian (shout-out to Jason Tarokh!) and his wife is Swiss.  He told Dave it took them a couple months to let go of the American comforts and integrate.  And that's without any children.

 The girls eating pb-n-j's at the park.

Waiting for the bus...

Dave also started Spanish school today.  His head was spinning when he got out.  From what I could tell from his notes it looks to be quite challenging.  I'm just glad I don't have to go to school.  I'm perfectly happy with my 3rd grade Spanish :)

Pictures of our new place

                    One of the hallways. The doors on the right lead into an interior courtyard.

                                                Our bathroom.  The apt. has 2 1/2 bathrooms.

                                 The courtyard in the middle of our apt.  Also, our clothes dryer.

                    The kitchen which is very modern and new.  No microwave, probably a good thing.

                                                                  Our living room.

                                          The large windows look out onto our very busy street.

                                                        The other half of the living area.

The girls bedroom.  I need some stuff for the walls, but this is way better than the sheets it had before.  Dave had anxiety about buying all this new bedding but I wasn't going to budge on this purchase.  The girls were definitely excited when they saw it.

It is getting better.  The girls are still getting used to their school, and we're still trying to learn our way around, but at least I'm more relaxed now than earlier this week.  Thanks mom and mom-in-law for the encouragement!

-Ali

It's not just the ketchup

To be honest, this past week was very difficult for me.  As many of you know, both Dave and I are experienced travelers having been to 35 countries between the two of us.  I've backpacked through Europe and Dave backpacked through southeast Asia.  I've slept outside a train station, been transported by camel, and have walked in the Amazon jungle by night.  Dave has had even more intense experiences.  But none of that prepared me for bringing my two babies to this big city.  Now mind you, this isn't exactly "roughing it,"  but there are some things that we are going to have to get used to, and its not just the difference in ketchup.

There are suburbs around Sevilla that are quieter, cleaner, and aesthetically prettier.  But we chose to live in the city center, where all the action happens, where you hear cars and buses and sirens 24 hours a day.  The air pollution is more than we are used to and everyone seems to be smoking.  There are motorcycles and scooters everywhere, and I feel like I am going to be hit by one someday.  The grocery stores are tiny, so the one brand of (insert any food item) is what you get.  The girls have no car seats, so when we ride in taxis and buses we just hope for no accidents (Isa does horribly not buckled in, she feels the need to stand and screams when I sit her in my lap...mommies, you know how extremely frustrating that is).  Even though I am fluent in Spanish,  there are many words that are different than my "Colombian" spanish.  So I often find myself guessing when looking at the menu, asking the waiter, and then still getting something different when the plate arrives to the table.  Everything is extraordinarily expensive.  When I had my mini nervous breakdown on Monday I wondered if all this money we are spending is worth the experience.  But Dave and I sat down and had a long talk and he gave me some advice that a woman had given him in India.  If you focus on all the negative aspects, the noise, air pollution, the rudeness of some people, being out of your element, the cost of everything... you end up missing out on what you came here for.  In order to stop and smell the roses, you have to look for them.  

Now that the girls are in preschool everyday, it is getting easier.  And yesterdays trip to Ikea was mentally soothing.  We even met another expat from San Francisco who moved to Sevilla with his wife over a year ago, and he said that when he feels homesick, he goes to Ikea.  How funny is that?

-Ali

Making the apartment a home

Today we went to IKEA.  It took us about two hours to figure out how to get out there by bus, but we made it.  We needed some housewares to get the apartment up to speed and to give it a feeling of home.  Last night I cooked using a dull paring knife which was comical.  I purchased an IKEA chef's knife today which should be a big improvement (This will be returning to Tampa with me. You can carry big knives on planes, right?).

About halfway into our IKEA run, I became acutely dizzy and nauseous as Ali piled item after item into the shopping cart, knowing very well that most of it would be staying behind. "This would be good for the girls", "We need this for the kitchen", "Their room looks like a prison",  etc.  My internal Euro calculator was running wild. My fingers began to tingle and go numb. My face drained of color.  An old lady asked me if I needed water.

While obviously an embellishment, I think you get the idea of my state of mind.  My justification, and what pulled me out of my downward fiduciary mental spiral, was the fact that our apartment is about 500 Euros per month cheaper than we budgeted.  Hence, this budgetary gap opens up some room for items that will make everyone more comfortable.  Or more simply put, as Nolan Goss would say, "Happy wife, happy life".  Why is that little bird still whispering that in my ear?

A few more pics

First Day of School

Escuela Infantil Snoopy

Today was Camila and Isabel's first day of school in Sevilla.  They were both very excited about their new backpacks, which they can pull like luggage or wear on their backs.  Camila integrated quite easily as expected. For Isabel, this was her first day of school ever, so the separation was a little more difficult.  

Having them in school today was really great for us.  Today was the first day we truly had protected time for ourselves.  We did some shopping for household items, roamed around the city, and had a nice lunch listening to flamenco music in a taverna.  

The apartment is coming together slowly but surely.  There are many household items that we are lacking, but really not much that is essential.  Tonight, I am going to attempt to truly cook.  We have one knife currently, which appears to be a pruning knife of some sort, but I will make it work.  I need to buy a cutting board to prep the ingredients and I spotted an inexpensive one today at one of the Chinese bazaars.  Things are very expensive here, even not accounting  for the bad exchange rate, so we are trying to carefully select what housewares to buy as most will get left behind.  

I am hoping for another couple of good days with a stable routine for the  girls, as I believe this will assuage some maternal anxiety.  They slept about 9 hours last night, which is a big improvement and helped their moods today.

Tough few days

Me and Camila at the park

Camila and Isabel

Best Friends

Camila in action

We spent some good quality time at the park on Sunday night. The evenings cool off nicely here.  The kids had a great time. I added to the blog, but the internet seized up and it got lost.  We moved into our apartment on Monday, which is clean and spacious enough, but somewhat spartan compared to what everyone is used to.  Ali is having a tough time getting adjusted to living here.  Sevilla is not exactly living up to what she had anticipated. The biggest issue seems to be the kids having trouble settling into a stable rhythm.  This weighs quite heavily on her.  

I have convinced her not to fly home tomorrow(insert nervous laugh) as the girls are set to start their Spanish preschool.  Hopefully getting them into a more regular routine will help.  The school is nice and both girls seem genuinely interested, so I am hoping for the best.  We shall see how it goes.  

Hope everyone is well and had a good weekend. 

-Dave

The Alcazar

Lazy Saturday

We got out of bed late today. Thankfully, the kids slept well last night. After being up late playing, they went down quite easily.  What a relief! We strolled over to the Alcazar, which was a Muslim palace, later updated and renovated by the Christians.  The Alcazar has very beautiful gardens and the kids enjoyed being able to run around freely.  They especially liked the Peacocks (pavo reales: literal translation-royal turkeys) which lazily stroll through the gardens.  Just don't look em' in the eye or they'll attack (not really).

We then had a nice lunch in one of the ubiquitous courtyard cafes.  We only had one large spill, but no broken glass or head injuries, so it went well.  Ali had an excellent oxtail stew and the girls did well eating their pasta with forks like big girls. The sun is pretty intense right now and the whole siesta concept is starting to make a lot more sense.  Tonight we are cooking in an attempt to save a few Euros, then hopefully an easy bedtime. Hasta luego, Dave.

An evening of tapas

After a long day of getting-er-done we needed some respite.  We decided to adapt and give the girls a late nap with the idea of just letting them stay up late like the Spaniards.  We went out for tapas in a square muy cerca (close) to our apartment.  As luck would have it, there was a family with a 3 year old girl seated directly across from us.  Julia and Camila had a blast running around the 'patio de las cruces' until the wee hours.  It was sweet to hear them communicating in both English and Spanish, both understanding each other either way.  Isa also joined in the fun, playing around the plaza.  

There are things that we will have to get used to in order to assimilate into their culture.  The Spanish are not known for their patience, although we have met a few that have had some pity on us and been more than helpful to us.  Sevilla is a big city, much more urban than Tampa.  The streets are not as clean, many people smoke, and it is noisy.  The air pollution takes some getting used to.  But tonight, hanging out with the locals, we felt a little bit more at home.  The wine is cheap and delicious...that helps.  The old center of Sevilla is beautifully lit up at night.  We'll have to post some pictures of that some other night.  

I miss Target and CVS.  Weird, right? --Ali

One step closer

This is the entrance to what will hopefully be our new home. The apartment is nicely updated and we should have plenty of space.  We meet with the owner and realtor Monday to finalize the deal. This will be pending a successful wire transfer to our new Spanish bank account.  The price is quite reasonable, but the realtor fee was a bitter pill to swallow (one months rent).  What we got for that money was a huge amount of convenience and a go-to person for things like finding a good school for the kids. Although not easy, the pieces are starting to come together.

The transition for the girls has been tough so far.  As I mentioned previously, the time change/jet lag thing has made hamburger of their sleep and nap schedules.  It can only get better.  Camila told me today that she wants to go to grandma's house.  The foreignness of this place is definitely hard for her, but once she has a home and a school and a regular schedule I know it will get easier (or my name isn't Orville Redenbacher). 

Watching "Finding Nemo" on our state-of-the-art home theater system

Typical building in Seville 

Alquiler?

Finding an apartment in Seville for less than a years term is definitely not easy.  We were fortunate enough to find a real estate agent willing to help and we looked at a few places today.  Both were typical andalusian homes which have been updated. The second was reasonably priced with four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a modern kitchen, and nice interior courtyard for the kids to play.  We don't need four bedrooms, but it seems like the apartments are either really small or huge.  We will still be paying quite a bit less than our rent in Tampa.  We meet with the owner again tomorrow and hopefully we can close the deal and start transitioning out of the glorified studio we are in now.  Ciao-Dave.

One thing that will be hard getting used to is not using the "car seat."  Back in the states, it's horrible to see kids not in their seats, but here we are, riding on buses and taxis holding our children.  Just hoping not to get into an accident and have our kids ejected.  Very scary.  Camila and Isabel however think its great and I see it's going to be a rough transition when we get back to the states. - Ali. 

I thought this flight was a little bumpy!

The captain brought the girls into the cockpit at the end of the Tampa to Miami flight. What a rare and fun opportunity in the post-9/11 era.  It was totally random. As we started to exit, Camila walked straight into the cockpit.  I went to grab her, but the captain invited us all in.  He had six kids and was incredibly friendly.

Airplane!

As expected, the Miami to Madrid flight was very difficult.  My older daughter, Camila, did wonderfully, but the younger one, Isabel, was a terror.  After a long period of inconsolability, she finally fell asleep on the floor of the airplane.  Not ideal, but at that point it was whatever it took to make the screaming stop (the nearby passengers agreed: one smiling face gave us tylenol and reese's pieces- thank you ). This lasted about an hour, then we repeated the cycle. She got about 2 hours sleep total. The next day she was a zombie.

We took taxis to our room, which is small, but clean and in a central location (Barrio Santa Cruz). Our sleep cycles are in shambles. The  kids were up at 2am this morning, then fell back asleep at 5am.  We all then slept until about 11am.  Siesta here is from about 2pm to 5pm, so we haven't had much time to get anything done. We are trying to find a realtor to help us locate a more permanent apartment.  Once we find something and settle in I am sure it will get easier.

We are off to Parque de los Principes so the girls can blow some steam off.  Then maybe a few tapas (we will be the early birds). Hasta Luego, Dave.

Unemployed and Homeless

Yesterday was a whirlwind.  Even with professional movers it was 13 hours flat out with about a 15 minute break for lunch.  You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to put it in a 10 X 20 storage unit.  Good thing we got rid of our couches, otherwise everything would have never fit.  Glad that is done.

Today we are organizing and planning for a long day of travel with our children.  We have a threefold strategy: novelty, bribery, and chemical sedation.  For novelty we are purchasing some new toys and games that will hopefully capture their interest for part of the trip.  For bribery, we will employ the strategic use of snacks and movies to buy yet more time when their patience begins to taper.  And last, but certainly not least, when they are writhing and screaming incoherently, our old friend Mr. Benadryl.

As significant and exciting as this day is for us, we are also conscious and reflective about the significance of what happened to all of us as fellow Americans ten years ago.  For many people, this time of year will always be associated with great loss.  I think we all lost something that day.  Our hearts go out to those that are suffering today.

Packing up the house

This week has been extremely busy getting the house packed up and completing all the myriad tasks required to prepare for such an endeavor.  We dropped off Layla this morning at The Tollberg's, which was hard for us, but we know she is in good hands.  She will have another dog to keep her company and hopefully she will adjust to her new environment quickly.

Ali and I have been alternating days in terms of who is a nervous wreck.  Today is her turn.  She is currently at Seaborn Day School bringing cupcakes to the kids for Camila's last day.  I am watching our tornadic near two year old and hoping to put her down for a nap soon so I can actually get something done.

The movers come tomorrow and then we are in suitcases until our flight to Madrid on Monday.  In case you haven't heard, we are spending 6 months in Seville, Spain.  I am taking a sabbatical from medicine (technically I am retired).  Everything seems to be coming together and we are getting very excited.  Thank you all for your well wishes.  We plan to keep this blog active, so feel free to check in with us when you have a free moment. Until then, hasta luego.