A Spanish Fiesta

On Sunday night I was supposed to go on a walk with the lady who invited us out to her village for a bar b que. I think I wrote about it because we rode our bikes there with Jesus. Her name is Maribel and her husband is Jesus, also. I had to call her and finalize our plan. If you think talking spanish is hard, try doing it on the phone when you can't point and make hand gestures. Es muy dificil. But not only did we understand each other well enough to meet, we had a whole evening of conversation. Did I mention that she is the French teacher at school. She knows zippo English. Luckily her 14 year old and 12 year old sons know some. In a big bind, they could give me a few words. But her family came to our piso and drove me to a festival that their catholic church was having. It was like a big dance performance in a large tent with a stage at one end. There was ballet, modern, I guess, and then lots of flamingo dancing by this same group of girls. It was really good. I don't know if I've ever seen flamingo dancing. It was quite entertaining. I think clogging might have taken some steps from it. Cory and Weston were too tired from staying up to watch the BYU game that started after 1am. So they missed the whole thing. It was dancing, so I don't think they were too sad. Just surprised that I was gone for so long.

Espanol a la Cruz Roja

I went to our Spanish class at the Red Cross today by myself because Cory and Weston drove to Madrid to pick up Margrett this morning. The spanish language is crazy! They were explaing tener and haber and when to use the past and when to use the present and what not. And this is all in Spanish. I took lots of notes, but it was way above my understanding. The good thing is that I navigated my way home on my bike without Cory leading the way. Every day we take a different path to get home and so I was a little nervous because I am definitely directionally challenged. But I made it back easily. Through all the busy streets and roundabouts and bike paths and pedestrians, I managed just fine.

Now I have the rest of the day by myself. I have unlimited use of the computer (very exciting). I should cook something for the family for when they get back, but I don't cook here like I do at home. It's not like I have a pantry to draw from. If you take away all the time I spend cooking, cleaning, and doing yard work at home, I have a lot of time here to do other things. It's been quite the break from every day life in Utah.

Dinner with Gonzalo's Family

We just had a great dinner with Gonzalo and his brother Jose, who was our very first foreign exchange student we ever had, and their parents at their home. It was so wonderful to see Jose all grown up. And may I say, those 2 boys are very cute. Jose is now 22 and in his last year at the University in Madrid. Gonzalo is a class ahead of Madi. Their English is very good although their parents don't speak any. I told Jose how fun it was to see him all grown up and he said how strange it was to see us living in Burgos. Neither of us ever thought we'd be able to see each other again. I continually feel how lucky we are to have this opportunity to be here and have these experiences. Their family was really friendly and gave us some more tips and ideas of what to see and do while we are in Spain. They even offered us their home in Santander to stay in.

Yesterday we also took a 90 km bike ride to the south. The wind was fierce at times, there were a few climbs, and it took us a long time. The scenery was beautiful, though. Have I metioned how many windmills there are around here? You'd think we were in the Netherlands. They have hundreds of the kind that they have at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon all around us. I think I read that 43% of their energy comes from wind. It was in Sapnish, but I think that's right.

My Grandmother

I received an email from my dad yesterday saying that my grandma had fallen during the night sometime and had broken her femur. She layed on the floor unable to get help for a long time before someone checked on her. This just breaks my heart. My grandma is one of the greatest persons I know. A lot of you have met her and know what I'm talking about. She's almost 97 years old and until recently she was a firecracker. She has lots of hobbies, she is quickwitted and a very fun person to be around.

Yesterday, though, she was having a rod put into her thigh to help mend the broken leg. That's a pretty rough operation for anyone, let alone a 97 year old woman. This is the first time since being in Burgos that I wish I was closer to home. I' ve been thinking about her all day, and just pray that she'll come through this. I'm super glad I took that trip to Sacramento right before coming to Spain to spend time with my parents and to see her. She's been such a positive force for good my whole life. I love you Grandma.

La Vuelta in Toledo

Last weekend we rented a car and drove to 2 great little cities. The first was Segovia just ourside of Madrid. Segovia has an amazing castle. In fact, it's so amazing that Walt disney used it as inspiration for his Disneyland castle. Part of the original Roman aqueduct is still standing in Segovia as well. It's huge and quite remarkable. I love these tiny medevile walled cities. The streets are about 6 feet wide and curve every which way. It's amazing that you find your way out of there. Actually, if I was left to my own, I might not get out. I admit it. I'm directionally challenged.

The next town was Toledo. It's quite a bit bigger. Toledo is where swords are made and we nearly visited every sword shop in town. I am told we missed a few. But due some poor advice, we ended up not buying one there. We'll have to buy one elsewhere. It's not like they were cheap there anyway. There were a lot of pretty cool ones, though. There were all kinds of daggers, knives, anything sharp as well as all the armor that goes along with the night thing. That's what I want. I full suit of armor!

We visited their cathedral and it was enormous. Those things have carvings on top of carvings on top of carvings and all are in gold leaf as well as paintings and columns and so much stuff. It's a bit overwhelming. But on the otherhand, you can appreciate how much effort and time and talent went into creating these monolithic structures.

My favorite thing, though, was that the Tour of Spain (La Vuelta) just happened to be in Toledo on the same day. It was the last time trial and we got to see it. We were inches away from riders and it was so great. You really can appreciate how fast they are as they go flying past you. We got some great photos, though. We also hung out at the finish for awhile. It's pretty low key compared to the Tour of France, at least as far as security . You could just go right up to the riders when they had finished. One boy asked for a rider's gloves and he handed them to the boy. If I knew better Spanish you know I would have done the same thing. But I wanted his helmet. Anyway, it was really something to be there in person.

Cycling in Spain

For a country that produces great cyclists, they don't have much tolerance for cycling within the city limits. Oh, there's a bike path alright, but it zigzags all over the place from one side of the road to the other and people tend to walk right down the middle of it. The worst is when 3 or 4 people walk side by side and make no effort to move. Weston says that's when he uses his bell. The bike path isn't just adjacent to the road. It's separated by a grassy medium or trees or something. So you are either on the bike path or on the promenade or on the street. You can't easily go from one to the other. But any choice you make is met with resistence . When they decided on the tile stones to use on the sidewalks, they didn't consider what would happen in the rain I took my first spill the other day. In the rain, of course. I almost didn't wear my helmet that day and then I heard Tracy Monney in the back of my head. So I put on my helmet and I'm sure glad I did. After I hit the ground, I slammed into a fence. The only part of my body that didn't hurt was my head. Yea! So there kids, always wear your helmets! But I'm through with bike paths and promenades in the rain. I'm sticking to good old asphalt.

Once you get out of the city, it's awesome. Lots of little roads leading to lots of little villages with few cars. Every day is an adventure here and we are having a great time.

September 17, 2009

The Red Cross has free Spanish classes everyday and so we started going. I guess we could use a little improvement. So the first day was really good and we were excited. Today, though, the new teacher took us on a field trip to see some arts festival exhibit inside a trailer and I couldn't understand a single word except "luz" when he was talking about a painting. Complete waste of time. I wonder what next week will bring?

Weston is managing quite well. It's tough to wake up so early, though, and then ride your bike uphill 2 1/2 miles (literally) in the dark. We are proud of him. When we asked him if his Spanish was getting better, he pled the 5th. First we had to explain what that meant. That means, yes his Spanish is getting better and he doesn't want to admit it. So now we are all in school. But I'm starting to agree with my kids that this is "the crazy language".

The weather has turned cold. We ended up going on a bus adventure yesterday to see how to get to where we need to go. I'm hoping the drought continues a bit longer and we can use our bikes the whole time. The bus isn't very convenient for us and so it is either going to take us a long time to get somewhere or we are going to get a bit soggy. However, we did buy a bus pass today.

The Things I Love in Spain

I love how there are so many people out walking and cycling and running every day, all day long. All kinds of people and all ages. I wish we had that at home. I love the food, but could use a few more veggies in my diet. I love baguettes. Put a slice of tomato, a bit of olive oil, and a thin slice of some kind of processed meat (salami, charizo, lomo, etc) and it's heaven. I love my uncluttered apartment. I love the roads and how smooth the asphalt is. Best cycling I've ever had. I love the people we've met and how kind and helpful people have been. I love the siesta. It's like you not only have permission to take a nap everyday, but you are encouraged to do so. I love the time to study and to try to learn something new even though it is so difficult. I love the ice cream and ice cream bars we've been eating everyday. I'm really glad we could have this experience.

Saturday in a Village

I think the village is called Barbedillo de Pez. Names are the hardest things to remember. But anyway, a teacher from school named Maribel, who doesn't know a word of English, invited us out to her village. Jesus said he was coming, too, and made all the arrangements. We met he and his friend Luciano, and rode the 70 km out to the village. And Maribel and her family picked Weston up in the car and drove him. I didn't think we'd ever get there, literally. It was a very long 45 km. But we did make it and had an amazing Spanish Barbecoa. We ate all the traditional foods and they really know how to feed you. We also watched all the boys play this game that is a mixture of tennis and raquetball played on a big outdoor court with 2 walls. It really looks like a great game to play.

The ride back was a nice ride, but I think we were both pretty tired by the end. It's amazing to me that we could understand each other. With just a little help from Jesus and her son, Diego who is 14, we could communicate and now I think we are going shopping together. Oh, this is fun!!!

Weston in School

We actually didn't think this was going to happen, but due to some pressure from the school that's the case now. And boy, is he not excited!!! This is a case when "parents know best". I am convinced that this will be the best thing that comes from this whole trip.

Awesome Ride to the North

Cory and I headed north and found a great, practically deserted, road with hills and descents all along the way. And as we went we saw lots of other roads just like the one we were on. Ohh, the possibilities are endless and the roads are much better than at home. I guess if we payed $4.00 per gallon on taxes we could have nice roads, too. The one thing that we could improve on would be the patch jobs. Have you noticed that our patches are not much better than the broken up asphalt? Well, here they must train them better because even the patches are nice.

Oh, and the bomb was dropped on Weston that he's going to be going to school here, and that didn't go over well at all. The thing is, is that Jesus (one of the teachers here in Burgos) has helped all this happen and he wants Weston to be able to improve his Spanish and he knows the only way that is going to happen is to get him to school. Plus, the govt will pay their school money to have Weston enrolled even though it is free to us. So we'll be actually helping them financially by having Weston attend. Plus, He'll make friends this way. He just doesn't see our point of view. I'm wondering if he ever will again.

Bay of Biscay

My run took me along the coast of the Bay of Biscay. How awesome is that? We drove to San Sebastian yesterday after Bilboa, but it was so crowded and scooters were parked everywhere. We think maybe a festival was going on there or something, but how do you even start to look for a hotel or parking or anything when it's jammed with people. So we drove back to Zaurtz which is a little resort surf town and it was perfect. Our hotel was 2 blocks from the beach and this beach was the most used beach I've ever seen. There were hundreds of people in the water and hundreds along the shore. When we saw it Sun evening there was about 6 feet of shore and people were everywhere. But on Mon. when we went body surfing (we tried) there weren't that many people yet and the tide was way way way out. It was a very flat beach. Weston tried to surf. He says his balance isn't so great, but I saw him get up and ride the little ones in. I could have stayed there a long time, but we had to get the rental car back. Northern Spain is definitely more beautiful, but Burgos feels like home. The north is where the Basque people are from and they have their own language. Their written language reminds me of the Jerry Seinfeld skit on foreign taxi drivers with the name tags with all the extra letters on it.

It was a miracle

We just witnessed the making of the first stake in the Bilboa mission and it was a good experience. First of all, we drove to a city we'd never been to and found a university with 3 campuses, one of which was holding the conference. We just picked one and then drove straight to the right place having no clue as to where we should go. It was a miracle. The mission president spoke in Spanish that the kids understood. He must not have served in Spain. The area authority spoke. He's French, but spoke in English. Then the general authority spoke who was German, but he spoke in English as well. There was a translator whenever something was in English, of course. Can you imagine being called as the first Stake Pres. and changing 5 branches into wards and all that that entails. The general authority, I don't even know his name, told how they had a list of 30 men who they didn't even know, lined up for interviews and how the Lord reveals to them who the new pres. should be. That's an amazing process.

We're in Zarautz tonight and are going body surfing in the Atlantic ocean tomorrow! Cory and Weston stayed up most of the night watching the BYU football game and so they are pretty tired. Thank goodness BYU won because then it was all worth it. I'd wake up once in awhile when they'd scream. Hopefully the people in all the surrounding rooms didn't wake up as well. Of course, I was awake for the last 5 min of the game which is always the most exciting anyways. Way to go Cougars!!! We tried to call you Mckenzie and Thomas, but no one was on line. It was 4am here.

Our first vacation in Spain

It's a little odd to say you are on vacation in Spain when the entire time you are on vacation. But we rented a car and drove to a cool town called Avila where they were having a a mid-evil (don't know how to spell it) festival where Gypsies come to the town and put on this huge festival. People come from all over and a lot of them are dressed up in costume. There are lots of vendors and entertainment, not to mention tons of food. The old city is completely enclosed by the old castle wall. It's 2.5 km around the wall and that's where we ran this morning. We ran around and around and around, but it was fun. I think a new game would be to drop someone off in the middle of a city like this and have them try to find their way out. Forget the corn maze, this would take me hours. The walls of the streets go straight up and every little alleyway is so convoluted, it'd basically stump the average person.

After Just One Week

Look at all the things I've learned to do in just one week. I even set up a blog. It'll be a lot easier to just write a post instead of emailing everyone. And for anyone who really knows me, that is a technological miracle that I did it all by myself. The next hurdle will be to add pictures. Wow! I also learned how to navigate through the city to get to the church. Luckily there is a river here to follow. I even took Weston on a 2 hour bike ride and made it back home. I learned how to use the washing machine and the dishwasher here in the apartment. Yet somehow after just 2 loads, the belt broke on the washer (really, not my fault) and we will just hand wash the dishes because we basically eat one meal. I can go on runs by myself and make it back as well. Directions aren't my forte either and so this always a triumph.

Our Spanish is rough (just above non-existent) to say the least. It's a miracle when we can carry on a conversation with someone and understand anything. But we are studying. Pachi, Madi's host dad, is the best teacher because he speaks so slow. He knows zero English and so we have great times with him.

Burgos is a very beautiful city and bikes are the way to get around. It has been a blast so far. The food is amazing. So far we love it all. Who knew I'd like blood sausage?