Finding a Routine

So I have been in Prague for a little over a month and it has been really interesting.  I have some great students but I think I shocked them upon first meeting.  I don't think a single one of them expected a black woman!  HA!  Classic!  One of my students actually got up the nerve to say that when she first saw me waiting in the lobby for she paused.  She said her first reaction was OMG...she is BLACK...and then she said her 2nd thought was but I asked for an American...and then her third thought was...wait a minute...she could be black AND American...hahahaha...what a laugh we had over that little conumdrm:-)
Bu let me back up a bit.  First my schedule.  I am booked pretty solid.  The school came through for me.  I am teaching about 31 hours a week.  An British teacher told me he only has about 25 hours a week and he struggled to get that, so I fell really lucky to have a full schedule and did not have to put up much of a fight to get them.  Monday is a pretty full day.  I have four 1.5 hour lesson.  I leave around 7:45 in the morning and don't get back home until 6:30.  I have about an hour and half break in between each class that I spend on public transportation getting from one location to another.  Public transportation in Prague is superb; much like Barcelona.  I get around pretty easily without too much confusion.
On Tuesday the day is a little easier, I begin a little later but end around the same time.  A public class or students that are taking have enrolled through the language school to learn English.  Most of my students are Corporate Students.  But I have two classes a week that are public classes.  The one on Tuesday last THREE HOURS!!!  I must be getting old because at around the 2nd hour...this group has annoyed me and I have a secret desire for them to just disappear! Just kidding...but this group does have some sterotypical Czech ladies...their faces are hard, cold and unsmiling.  They aren't really that way personally but sometimes I get a little tired of looking at their sour puss faces...hahaha!  It is as if smiling is a unpardonable offense for them.  I can imagine their faces would crack if they just lightened up and smile a bit.
Wednesday is a combination of my favorite day and my most hated day.  My class at L'Oreal starts at 8am in the morning and last for two hours.  I only have two students so sometimes it feels like this class never ends.  I only have three lesson on Wed and I have a 4 hour break in the middle of the day!  I love it!
Thursday is another one of my favorite days.  I have two lesson. One public and one Corporate.  My public lesson begins at 10:35 and ends at 12:15 and THEN a 4.5 hour break!!!  I have ruined this perfect day beginning next month because I have accepted a new student.  My new class begins at 7:30 in the morning and ends at 9:35.  This means I gotta get up so fricken early now. Oh well, I want the extra income so it is a small concession when I look at the bigger picture.

Friday is a mix.  One the one hand I spend time with one of my favorite students Martin, but his lesson starts at 8am.  Which means I have to leave really early to arrive on time to his office near the airport.  Things are a little crunched on Friday because I have only a 45 min break between my three students on Friday.  I have to travel in between student 1 and 2 and then back to the airport for student number three.  So far it has worked out okay because student number two cancels a lot...hahahaha,  I should laugh because when she cancels within policy I DO NOT GET PAID.  So far she is batting about 50/50.  Best thing about Friday is that my day ends at 1pm BABY!  Half a day Friday's wooohooo!  Now if I could just find some friends to enjoy my being off half day on Friday's with or at least some fun activity!
It is still early on so I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself; things will fall into place soon.  It's all about finding a routine.

My first goal is to get a routine regarding creating lesson plans.  Right now I am doing everything on Sunday, so now Sunday feels like a work day instead of the weekend.  I don't really like that idea.  So my goal is to create my new lessons on my breaks during the week.  I finally got the laptop situation resolved so I can carry my smaller laptop with me instead of the really heavy one.  One really great thing about Prague is that finding a wifi spot is soooo easy.  So I can make it to my favorite break spot and start to work on my lesson plans while on my breaks.  This will free up my weekend time for enjoyment.

It's a Wrap!

Okay where to begin!  It has been quite some time since I sat and blogged about stuff.  Lots of things have changed, new ideas have formed, new experiences have been had, said some good byes, said some hellos..yadda yadda yadda:-)  So here I am sitting in a lovely flat in Prague, my new home for a least the next year looking back on how I arrived here.  I've been here for about 3 day and have just come back back from my first real outing into my new Czech world.  One word sums it up...SCARY!  I don't understand a WORD of Czech and to be perfectly frank...there are NO BROWN FACES here!!!  This is the land of VANILLA...seriously!  Ok I won't digress cuz a sista needs to cover the past 10 weeks of her life...hehehe.  Funny...being around all this whiteness is making the black come out in me.   Anywho...so I left Spain:-(  Total sadness!!!  But it had to be done.  No jobs...no prospects and quickly about to have no more MONEY!

Oh how I miss my life in Spain! (sigh)  My lovely, lovely friends, the Barcelona vibe and he food!  Oh well...I will be back but I've got to put in the work first.  My last few weeks in Barcelona were INSANE!!  The CELTA certification program should be renamed to CONCENTRATION camp!  HA!  I would say "just kidding" but I think I'm kind of serious about that.  On some days it felt like torture.  In the end I survived and graduated but it wasn't without bumps, scars, tears and finally triumph!!!  However it felt almost bittersweet because so much of what went on there was so unnecessary...but I don't want to dwell on the negative because so much positive was achieved.  I now am formally on the road of my new career, I loved, LOVED my students and I met some AMAZING new friends there.  So all is well...except I'm still waiting on my actually Certificate from Cambridge!

Soooo...leaving Spain was kind of scary.  I had stayed past my VISA departure date so I was anticipating some type of drama at the airport.  My experiences travel internationally have all been incident prone so it was not out of the realm of possibility that I would encounter some issue upon leaving Barcelona.  Surprisingly enough things went really well leaving Spain.  No problems at all.  However I did have a bit of a scare at Heathrow. Because my passport was a replacement I guess I wasn't in the "system".  The gate agent tried swiping my passport several times without success and finally grunted...looked closely at my passport and then squinted her eyes at me.  I stood there quickly thinking of my story and then getting a bit peeved.  What the hell...I made it out of Spain and if anyone had the right to have a PROBLEM it would be Spain and not the UK...I was just passing through there and not trying to stay.  But before I spouted off I reminded myself to just "SHUT IT".  Finally the Gate Agent manually entered my number with out issue and I was able to proceed on.  PHEW!!!
After a small delay in Heathrow and 9 hours it is "Welcome to America"  Ah!  back on  US soil and my girls are there to pick me up!  Angie and Tina...woohoo...but wait Angie is holding up a sign with my last name...oh shit!  Have I done something wrong...lost another passport...but no!  Just Angie being Angie.  Man I have missed those girls.  They look wonderful.  After lots of hugs, tears it is on to La Taqueria and margarita's baby!  First night back and it is pure heaven.  Thanks Angie and Tina!

Time keeps on slipping...slipping...slipping

Man, I can not believe that I am three weeks away from going back to the US.  I've been in Spain for nearly 5 months and it has been amazing.  It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged so I will do a quick catch up.

World Cup Fever:
I caught World Cup fever when I watched the United States play England with my mate Gary!  Here we were; a Brit and an American...friends...with our two countries competing for position in the World Cup games.  We were in George Payne with a bunch of other Americans and Brits all routing for their respective teams.  When it came time for the national anthems to be sung I found myself belting out my own!  Crazy...there was something about singing my national anthem in a bar in a foreign country that made me feel extremely patriotic.  I can say that that I've never really thought about nationalistic pride but at that moment I was hit with a bolt of "GOD Bless America!"  I got a little teary eyed at that moment.  The game was awesome.  The US put on a good showing and tied England. So Gary and I got to remain friends:-)

World Cup Fever Continued:
Following my tendency to become a little OCD I threw myself whole-heartedly into the whole World Cup frenzy.  I cheered for England against Germany.  Germany killed them.  I cheered for Brazil against Chile...(although I did chant with the Chileans because their chants were better than the Brazilians), I cheered for Paraguay against The Netherlands, I cheered for Spain against Germany and finally I cheered for Spain against the Netherlands!  It was AMAZING to be in Spain when they won the 2010 World Cup championship!  Barcelona was alive with the fever and I was caught up in it!  Amazing

So World Cup started early and ended late.  In between life continued to provide rich experiences.  In June I was up for a teaching job in South Korea and disqualified for the teaching job in South Korea.  Also in June I interviewed for a post in Prague and was offered my first EU job teaching in Prague starting in August.  So my adventure continues on. 

Career Moves:
The day I received the email regarding the position in Prague was indescribable.  I'd kind of resolved that I was going to go home for a couple of weeks and then head down to Panama for six months.  Why Panama...well it was cheap, easy to get to, close to South America and did I say CHEAP to live.  The offer from Prague wasn't perfect but it did allow me to stay in Europe with a work contract in a city much cheaper than Barcelona AND get the experience I needed AND possibly meet the residency requirements for the EU if I choose to stay AND teach business English and NOT young learners AND did I mention stay in Europe...yes!  So, the only catch was that I had to have my CELTA completed in order to accept the position.  As luck would have it I enrolled myself in a CELTA course and started my certification in July.  So there was no reason why Prague would not work.
I can say that I did and do have some concerns about Prague but I am hoping that it is just the jitters one gets from the unknown.  I really want to have a good time there.  It is a beautiful city so that is a plus but Eastern Europeans are a cold lot...maybe that is a little unfair but the time I went to Prague was met with a frosty reception.  And although I don't always gauge my decisions on "how many other black people are doing this".  It is very obvious that Prague does not have a huge black population.  I'm a little worried about reception...but I hope that I can make good expat connections and then build on meeting Czechs as I learn a little bit of the Czech language.



 

Has it been so long

Man...I knew that I'd lost my desire to write combined with my new facination with facebook but it has been awhile since I have blogged here. Too much has gone on to attempt to go back in my tracks to fill in the blanks so I am going to do a quick recap:

March

Started taking spanish classes at a school called speak easy. The class was crap or maybe I was a crappy student. Probably a little of both. However I spent most of my two weeks time and nearly 200 euro not understanding anything that was being said to me. My goal in taking the class was comprehension and sad to say I comprehended almost nothing. One bright side of the class are the people I met. Latvian girl name Lleva. Incredibly beautiful and could speak spanish the at the best level of anyone in the class. She could speak English, Polish and Russian with equal fluency. The kicker is that she did not speak spanish before the class. You almost wanted to hate her for the ease that she seemed to pick up languages or because she was so pretty. I finally find a flaw in her that stopped me from hating her completely...she wore fake eyelashes! Hahaha. She has the bluest eyes, super fair skin and jet black hair. Her eyes were so compelling. I kept saying to myself no one has eyelashes that long. Finally one day I noticed that she applied them a little off kilter...ahhh finally a flaw...now she was totally likeable despite her uncanny language abilities. We did not remain in contact with eachother directly after I stopped going to class but I think we both thought of eachother kindly. The other surprise friendship from the class was a young man from the UK. Gary.

What a surprise. I have to admit that I ignored Gary for a bit. He is really young and also in my opinion had pretty good spanish skills. However I ignored most everyone because of my discomfort level in the class. Lleva was a little harder to ignore because of her looks and really superb languages skills. One could not help but hating and liking her all at the same time. She was nice and helpful along with the other issues...lol Anyway Gary... One of the instructors seem to focus in on Gary a lot. I could not tell if it was because she was attracted to him or just liked to hear his very british accent. Because of her focus I also began to focus on him. The more and more I observed him the funnier and likable he became. One day I kind of walked in on a conversation he was having with these two Dutch girls in class about a walking tour that he had information about. He looked over at me and extended the invitation for the walk. With that opening I told him that I noticed his profile on one of my meetup groups and he agreed to send me the information via that format. When I got home I had an email from him and the information for the walk for Sunday. I told him to count me in for the walk. It seemed that along with me and him, Lleva would also being going on the walk. Sunday morning rolled around and I went to the bus station where we were going to catch the bus to the country to begin the walk. I was the first to arrive and was a litle nervous that no one else would show. I stood for about 5 minutes before I saw Gary walking toward me. He was as relieved to see me as I was to see him. Apparently Lleva had cancelled due to an emergency and he was afraid that he would be stuck with a group of strangers. He and I did not know eachother that well but at least we had the bond from class. Anyway we found the coordinator and as luck would have it Gary ended up being the only guy in the group with three other women. Of course the women gravitated to me and so on the bus ride he was kind of excluded. Once we arrived to the town where we would begin the walk we all kind of became more intergrated. The intent of the walk was for language exchange. As we began to walk Gary and I naturally drifted toward eachother and began to tallk more but in English! As it turned out I had more in common with this 20 something Brit than I would have dreamed. I found him extremely humorous and with deep thoughts. I found out that he had just graduated from law school and because of the financial crisis his firm had no work for him and suggested a year sabbatical. He had a two year commitment with them because they paid for school and needed to return to the UK in the fall. The more and more we talked and walked the more and more I found myself just liking him as a person. We were so absorbed with eachother that we were reminded by the other ladies in the group that one this was an intercambio walk and secondly there were other people present!!!

By the end of the four five walked Gary and I had forged a solid friendship! Out of the friendship I have formed more friendships. There are the Venezualans and Dutch people that played a role in April being an amazing month of fun and laughter. So although March was a bit patchy it did bring to me a friend that I think I will have for the rest of my life.

April

April was my half way mark. Highlights for April were meeting Maureen and the Venezulan constituency through Gary. I saw my first futbol game at a real Irish Pub and now understand the magic. Real Madrid versus Barcelona. AMAZING! Went to another house party. Went to my first european disco! Started a new tradition with Gary with more intercambios. Got introduced to the Dutch duo...Symon and Danny. Got robbed for the second time:-). Meet the most intertesting women through Irene and Danny. Manuela! Found my favorite place to eat in Barcelona! And had one of the best weekends of my life with Gary and his cousin Tom from the UK. Went to Lord Byrons for the first time being back in BCN! Discovered "The Black Sheep". Also April was the month the hunt for a new job began in earnest. I got to thinking about what I really wanted to do. Staying indefinately in Spain was looking more and more doubtful. Job opportunities and economy were making the timin of my permanant transition more unlikely. And I was also bitten by the bug to explore the world a bit more before settling down to job and routine. So I started posting for teaching jobs ALL over. I got my response for a post in South Korea and then a second. In April I particiapted in two interveiws for teaching jobs and things were starting to look promising.

May

May was awesome! Beautiful weather, more fun with friends and I registered for the CELTA and I shopped for the first time! Money concerns were resolved and I felt a bit more comfortable indulging in a little retail therapy. Gary had another friend visit from the UK and we had an awesome time.

Now it is June....

Writer's Block Lifted

It's been a while since I blogged. I've been really stressed out about a whole bunch of crap that I should just let go! The process has been so painful that I have not had the desire or the energy to write. There have been bright spots along the way during this kind of dark period in the form of new friendships formed. So I'll start with that. Gary is a super guy from my Spanish class. He is really young but has such a quirky sense of humor and an maturity about him that I find hanging out with him really comfortable and a lot of fun. In the month that we have known each other we done a lot of activities together. I think because we are both foreigners and share the same sarcastic sense of humor has laid down the foundation of our bond of friendship. We've hung out quite a lot doing different stuff and this weekend was kind of a marathon for our friendship. Gary joined three other friends for my first get together at my flat. Anna, B and Marc along with Gary all came over for a bottle of wine before we met up with some other friends for a night of live music. As the night wore on Irene, Manuela, Maruxa and Pau all joined us to party and enjoy eachother's company. It was so cool to see all of our different backgrounds merging together. The weekend was pretty amazing! Had tons of fun!


Friday and Saturday night with Gary and his two dutch friends Simon and Danny. (or Thing One and Thing Two as I refer to them in my mind) Gary describes them as socially awkward but they actually did very well saturday night; almost scored with a passel of american girls. We started out at a party for Gary's friend from South America, Maureen. We were the first to arrive for about an hour....can you say awkward? Finally more people showed including a nice little bunch of french boys...ohhh la la! (i love the french) There was this one that was soooooooo cute...I refer to him as Swivel Hips. We spent about 3 hours eating, dancing and drinking at Maureen's. I actually wanted to leave early but Gary was begging me to stay and I'm glad I did, the night turned out to be pretty amazing. Maureen had plans to go to a night club after her get together and you know how I feel about nightclubs, but again i let Gary's sad face talk me into it. It was really awesome. The club was actually at the crime scene of our first bcn robbery. Right near the bronze fish tail. It was very euro chic. I kept having images of movies like La Femme Nikta or Frantic in my mind...LOL it was funny. Anyway Maureen had a guest list so we did not have to wait in line or PAY...(yes my friend...I was let in by the lifting of the red velvet rope). While we were outside the club, Thing One and Thing Two actually meet the group of american girls and they were all studying between Spain and Italy. Gary somehow got Maureen to get the FIVE extra girls into Shouko! Gary is quite the persuader when he puts his mind to it!

Anyway friend...a lot of other funny shit happened along the way before the night ended at 4:30am! All in all I had a blast. Discovered that Gary can DANCE for a white guy and he told me that I was fast becoming his best friend in BCN (awwww...i almost teared up when he said that) He is sooo sweet.

Oh...also had a coffee date with a guy...could not tell if he was interested. We talked over coffee for about 2 hours. He had to work and took a break for us to meet. I liked what i got to know and he asked me a ton of questions...but i just dont know...i hate this part!
Meet a girl from the US (LA) who told me I should advertise in Loquo right now for business. she does not have a tefl and is teaching freelance. She has been in spain 3 years without papers and she said she is making ends meet with the freelancing. Downside is that she is afraid to leave the country because she probably wont be able to return for awhile. She is trying to wait out immigration. Funny thing about her is that she did not try nor is she trying to straighten out her immigration status.

9.5 hours later...

I was invited by Maruxa to a party hosted by her closest friend last Saturday. It was a cookout. I was very excited to have my first experience of socializing with regular locals in a regular environment. I was a little aprehensive because Maru mentioned that there would be a lot of Spanish speakers there but I was totally game for the opportunity to meet more people. As it turned out there were several English speakers there and I also met two teachers. I met Maru at Diagonal where we caught the train to Horta...last stop. Id never been to Horta so I wasnt sure what to expect. When we arrived i found the neighborhood really something special. I could really feel the difference between the crazy hustle and bustle of the city center to this area...if felt more like a neighborhood should feel. There were shops yes, but more working class shops and apartment buildings but they had a feeling of being lived in by real families not just people making a temporary stop in Barcelona for a holiday. Overall I was really pleased by what I saw. I wasn't so pleased to discover that we had to walk up a very steep hill to get to the address we were looking for!

Cautionary Tale

I started my classes in Monday and it has so far been a really good idea. What works for me is that I am listening to Spanish with knowledge if what the conversation is all about. The format if the class is there are two instructors. For the first two hours Catalina speaks much slower and does a lot of descriptive gestures. We are allowed to speak English so the slower pace if helpful. The second two hours us spent with Veronica and she speaks rapid quick fire Spanish! First day I understood about 20% of what she said...the rest of the tine I was a deer in headlights...lol! It's gotten better and today I'd say that I comprehend about 70% of what she is saying. The class is an interesting mix. Two americans, one Indian, a Brit, two girls from holland and a girl from lithovania. During my second day in class during the break we started sharing about our experinces to date in Barcelona. The Indian guy had been mugged by 5 guys, the Brit was stuck living in an apartment with no lights, hot water and shower curtin. He said taking a "cold" shower included a mop up afterwards...lol! I shared about my Harper drama and lost passport. As I listened to them I started wondering why we all came and were attempting our level best to learn the language so we could remain and interact with our new friends and neighbors. Farah (the Indian guy) was retelling about an article he read that said that barcelona was the city you were most likely to get robbed in...lol! I watched his face as he told the story and you couldn't miss the hopeful light that still showed bright in his eyes. He obviously was still enthralled with the city. My thoughts wandered to all the stupid things I'd done in the 17 days since arriving that could have sent someone packing for home? The first and most obvious is the missing paper work for Harper. I can admit that there were moments that I did not think he was going to be able to enter Spain. Those are really big events but I´ve also done some smaller actions that can make you scratch her your head with wonder. I had been doing my shopping at a grocery store on the Ramblas which is too far from the temporary flat, probably and 15 minute walk. But imagine carrying groceries...UGHHH! Well for the first week here I pretty much only traveled in a straight line around my neighborhood. I did not venture down to many of the calles because honestly they just looked scary. Well one day I got up the nerve to do it...I was with Harper and he doesn´t let anyone get to close to me without them earning a growl or a bark (I love that dog!), anyway the calle that I could see from the balcony of my flat actually led to another grocery store! Yes there was another larger mercado less than 100 yards from where I was staying!!! If I´d just walked side to side I would have discovered. I felt pretty stupid about that one. Another situation was buying Harper´s dog food. One of the shops down from my flat was a small pet shop and I walked in to buy dog food. The brands sold in the US really aren´t offered here so Harper was going to have to change. I did not want to buy a huge bag of dog food just in case he did not like it. Well I got something that looked okay but when I got the counter to pay the women pulled open a notebook. I felt a bit of dread. She ran her finger down the column, looked up and smiled at me. I´m not sure what the smile really meant but I´m interepting it as¨SUCKER!!¨ She rings me up and the dog food is 18euro...which translates to about $25.00 US Dollars for a small bag of dog food!!!! Before I left the states my friend John told me that dog food in Europe was very expensive but crap!!!...my groceries for the week had only been 24 euros...at this rate Harper had better food than me. I was thinking this dog is going to eat me out of house and home...luckily I found another store that sells less expensive dog food and Harper likes it! So what have I learned from my not so pretty situations in Spain...well one is a walking a straight line limits your experience and narrows your view! Anyway...I feel a bit like my friend from class...the city still enthralls me despite the momentary setbacks:-)

My new neighbors

I meet one of my new neighbors. He is an older Spanish man who lives in the attic apartment. Sarita mentioned that he had dogs that might be great play mates for Harper. I've lived here for a week and I've heard the man on the stairs with his digs a couple if times. Honestly they sound like aan angry wild pack of wolves....lol I hear him trying to control them as he is going up the stairs. Their nails clawing into the contrete stairs. Harper has gone nearly insane when they've passed our door! I've actually been a little frightened by the noise of the dogs...they sound like they might attack for no reason. Well yesterday morning after returning from our walk I heard them coming down the stairs...snarling and clawing their way. I could hear the old man tell them to esperete (wait in Spanish) I'm sad to say that I was gripped by fear by the sounds they were making. It's really hard to see up my stairwelll, it's dark and has four levels to each flight, so all I could do was hear their approach. I looked down at Harper and nearly psnicked he was getting all amped up anticipating the encounter. Harper isn't one to back down from a confrontation. Sometimes I sm appalled by harpers readiness to jump into s fray. It is totally the terrier in him. He's pulling at the leash so I start backing back down the stairs, thinking I'd just wait in the vestibule until tje old man comes down the stairs. I DID NOT want to try and pass him in the narrow stairwell. Harper is getting more and more excited so I think maybe I should just go back outside the entry door from the calle and wait. I'm really in a quandry because the snarling, growling and clawing is getting louder and closer! I make the decision to just leave and I'm trying to yank Harper out the door when i look up and finally got a look at the motely crew of demon dogs...OMG!!! They are three chihauhaus! I couldn't believe it!! All that noise and struggle coming from three dogs that probably weigh 7-8 pounds each!

Milestones

Today is interesting for many reasons.  One I´ve been in Spain for about 17 days and if I were really on vacation it would be around this time that I would have boarded a plane to return home.  So this is the end of my tourist mode.  As of today I move into resident mode.  And how appropriate that TODAY I move into my new flat!  It was not supposed to move until tomorrow, but Sarita called and said that I could move in tonight!  Awesome!  So I have been here over two weeks and some say that many things have happened pretty easily for me; such as finding an apartment so quickly and according to Anna easily.  I agree that this process has gone much smoother than I thought and I can say that I am deeply appreciative.  I was really nervous about wiring such a large sum of money to a virtual stranger in a foreign country but I am sure Sarita feels the same about renting her appartment.  The process was basically I met with her mother, Donnatella (beautiful Italiana) on Monday evening and fell in love with the flat.  It is large (relatively speaking) and reasonable for the neighborhood.  I will be living in Barrio Gotic which is in the city center near almost everything.  I guess a good place to start for someone still learning the city and barri´s.  Anna lives in Mont Juic and she thought I should look there.  We did see a great flat owned by her boss but it wasnt furnished.  Since I dont want to commit to buying furniture here it did not work. Mont Juic is less touristic so it is a good place to keep in mind once at the end of my lease if I decide to move.  I am happy to be out of my small studio.  I find that I stay in more there...odd but it makes me want to hybernate.  There are probably other factors.  I think also because I have been living out of a suitcase for the last six month; knowing that the studio is temporary has maintained the feeling of not being settled within me.  I cant wait to upack my suitcase...starting TONIGHT!  Tomorrow is a big day.  I begin my Spanish language classess. Four hours a day of speaking Spanish!  Very exciting!  Speaking of exciting...it has been a very exciting week.  I am still processing some of what has happened so right now I¨m not writing about it.  It¨s nothing horrible, just unexpected encounters:-)  Sounds cryptic!  LOL. 
So let me recap my milestones:
1.  Secured a permanent flat
2.  Surpassed the number of days that I´ve ever stayed in Europe
3.  Managing to comprehend more and more Spanish that is spoken around
4.  Have stopped mumbling in Spanish when I speak with people
5.  Enrolled myself in Spanish language classes
6.  Have spent time with two women that I can see a deep friendship developing
7.  Some of the fear that had gripped me each morning has lessened

Regarding the last point.  I acknowledged to Maru that each day I woke up gripped with fear of failure and uncertainty.  Those feeling were in mortal combat with hopefulness and excitement.  On some days fear and uncertainty won out and I did not leave my flat.  On others I was able to venture out and navigate the city with some success.  On Tueseday night I met Maru for a movie.  I travelled by train to a new neighborhood and arrived at the meeting spot a little early.  It gave me time to people watch.  I watched people waiting and meeting eachother at the metro stop.  I was struck at the joy the expressed at seeing eachother.  Real joy!  I didnt know if they had just seen eachother at work or had just had lunch with each other earlier that day...but at the moment they saw eachother I could have sworn that they greeted eachtohter with the joy one experiences from not having seen a friend in a long period of time.  I sat there smiling as lovers, friends, husbands and wives embraced.  At that moment I realized one of the reasons I came to Barcelona...the people here have a boundless joy about life.  They share it, arent stingy with the love and affection.  Just then Maru walks from the metro and comes over to me...two kisses to the checks...HOLA Guapa! she says...I am happy because I am apart of this joy!

Spy game

Drama... Is what happens when an American losses a passport in a foreign country...DRAMA!!!! So here I am again at the American Embassy trying to replace my passport. I know the ropes by now but somehow I am still very unsettled.  I think it is because I can´t believe I´m having to do this AGAIN.  Deep breathing helps some.  I think the best way to deal is one must keep a good sense of humor and patience about yourself. Look at it as a civics lesson or a lesson in international relations...lol. But keep faith that all things will work itself out. Crazy experience getting my passport...been down this road before but the protocal for entering the American embassy has changed in Barcelona since I was here last. Instead of just entering through the front and going through the checkpoint you know have walk around to the side door that is kind of hidden, knock three times and wait. A guard opens the door gives the once over and motions you to wait and close the door...am I bewildered...yes. He come back and motions you in after a few minutes. It felt like some bad spy movie scene, all cloak and dagger espinoge bullshit. I kept waiting for him to ask me for my code name... I think I would have responded Jason Bourne...lol!  Giggling helps too and acknowledging the absurdity of this whole situation!!!  I feel better...Im in BARCELONA!!!

Starting to socialize

I had the great pleasure of meeting Anna on Wednesday night and I can say my visit with her came a a very good time.  I was starting to feel a little isolated; not being able to understand or be understood.  I find that I mumble when forced to speak in the stores and avoid eye contact.  I really feel like a chicken but I am frozen everytime someone says something to me!  So visiting with Anna was great timing.  She asked me to meet her in Poble Sec to view a flat that her boss owns so this was an opportunity for a little bit of an adventure that I could succeed with.  This would be my first visit to Anna´s so the challenge for me was good I get there.  Small assignment but at this stage I need a victory!  So Anna gave me the direction and in less than 20 minutes I met her at the station exactly where she said to meet her!  Awesome!

So what is the the plan?

Ok today finally feels like how I felt my first day in barcelona would feel. I´ve finally gotten possesion of my dog and went are on our first walk!!!! I left my flat with a sense of peace, rightness and wonder. Where would the day take me and what was on my agenda. I figured the most important thing was to give Harper a good walk after being caught in customs for three days. Later we'd stop eat breakfast and walk so more. I wanted hIm good and tired when we arrived back at the flat. As I started walking away from our flat I started notice reAlly for the first time alo of the intersting shops along the way. Stops for fresh fruit, groceries, laundry mat and clothing stores. The Born district is an eccletic mix of artsey boheimian old Spanish influence. I feel really transformed here, a sense of freedom that I haven't felt in years. My step is a little lighter and quicker, although not as quick as the spaniards! I'm 5'7 with a pretty long stride but man these little old ladies effortlessly leave me in the dust. I wonder where on the hell are they going in such a rush but I quickly realize they aren't rushing; this pace is just the energy of the city. It's frantic and highly charged like a live wire while managing to hang onto the mañana, mañana mantra.

Another thing I notice as I walk is how fit most everyone is! It easy to understand because the city walks toor bike rides almost everywhere! So as Im walking I planning my path to thinness:-) I have 5 weeks before school starts and nothing but time to walk, run and watch my diet; which as already improved since being here. I examine that a litte closer because I'm an acknowledged emotional eater and possibly the sense of peace I'm feeling is helping in that area. I don't feel the raveanous hunger I'd surely have felt by this time in the morning if I'd been back in the states. My appetite has curved and food choices here are more natural. So I'm walking and imaging my great debut as thinner, happier Charlotte in about 4 weeks! I plan on attending my meetup eventwhile I´m getting fit, but in 4-5 weeks I'd would be well on the path to Barcelona fitness and ready and open for some hot Spaniard to sweep me off my feet! Yep...sounds like a sound plan to me! I'm smiling and walking and walking...aha! the ZOO! Doesnt look terribly large, maybe I´ll do the zoo one day soon.  Walking,walking through the Garden Park, same place as the concert I attended in August with Lluis, down toward the beach and Olympic village. Pace is good, Harpers sniffing and pissing his way to happiness,the weather is fabulous and life is good! Awwww... The beach... How beautiful! I love the water! There are lots of runners and so far Harpers doing pretty good. He hasn't attacked anyone and people have walked very close to us and we have encountered many bicyclist. I am hoping to get him used to the energy and closeness of the city so he doesnt become nervous and want to snap at people. I´ve got his treats and MUZZLE in case things get a little sticky.  We walk along the pathway along the marina for about 20 minutes. Harper keeps jumping up on the wall to get a look at the water! He is so excited! We walk a little further and I find a little stretch of deserted beach so I figure this is a good a place as any to test out Harper reaction to the sea. We go down on the beach and he doesnt know quite know what to make of the tide! He wants a drink of water but he has never before had water chase him! Hahaha! It's funny! He finally loses his desire for a drink and decides that the water is his new toy! His goal is not to have the water get him wet! He loses good naturedly many times. Awww... Good boy!   Next he discovers the sand and starts digging like crazy! I'm laughing at his antics when suddenly a man appears from the left. I don't hear him because I have my headphones on and fucking Harper doesn´t do his normal attach thing when someone gets to close to me.  Instead he runs up to the stranger for some petting! Before I can reel Harper in, anticipating his usual violent reaction to men I am further surprised by Harpers tailwagging, rolling over for his belly to be scratched move.  Needless to say my jaw is hanging from it´s hinges, THIS can´t be my DOG. I'm surprised as hell that Harper is all hugs and kisses and I finally get a good look at the guy. OK Harper isn´t gay but I admit he´s got good taste.  The guy is really cute, all Spanish with dark hair and eyes about 5'10 and all smiles! Hola Quapa he says... Awww shit! I wasn't planning on encountering anyone today and I'm not even thinking of pulling out my limited Spanish. I still feel stretched thin from having to deal with the last three days of getting Harper through customs. Hola que tal! I say back praying that this will be the end of the friendly gesture.  But of course not....wouldn't you know it he responds in what sounds like rapid fire Spanish to me. Ok deer in headlights!  I´m trying to make sense of what he just said and how to respond...honestly if he had not have been so cute I would have hidden behind"no habla espanol". He squats down beside me and is so engaging. I quickly tell him my Spanish is vey limited and he laughs and says the same about his English. For the next 30 minutes Juan sits with me watching Harper scamper and dig. The two of use stubble through the language gap enough to learn a few facts about eachother. What is clear is that he is flirting and trying to pick me up...lol. This isn't intended to be some cheesey romance novel but this IS what is happening! As in the case he has exhausted his English and my Spanish stalls. So my first spanish flirtation comes to end. I'm not sure if wenhave agreed to meet again or what but he says he has to go and leans in for what I assume is the European dos besos. But nope he full on kisses me in the lips!!!! He says quiero besos quapa and kisses me again..full on with a little tongue. Okay I'm shocked, flattered and wondering if I'm not some monumental slut for participating in this kiss...with a stranger...on the beach in Barcelona! And what style this guy has... one arm wrapped around my neck/shoulders and the other hand caressing my check...okay slut or no... I'm liking this! He looks at me smiles rubs his nose against mine and shakes his head, I'm wondering if he thinking the same thing i'm thinking?  Anyway Juan leaves with what I feel is with some regret. He keeps looking back and we waive at eachother until he is out of sight.  Ok...so much for my plan of attention from a hot Spainard for another 4 or 5 weeks. So I´m sitting there with this silly grin on my face thinking ¨wow¨... what was THAT?!  I sit for while longer letting Harper tire himself out. I look up and Juan is returning.  Holy crap! He comes back down to the beach and wants to know if  he can drive me home. Okay I still think he is cute and I´ve heard that Europeans move faster BUT in America we don´t do this unless we want to run the risk of gettinig chopped up into a million little pieces.  So I stopped the cutie and thanked him and sent him on his way.  I watched him walk off and get into his car...a Volvo SUV...okay maybe he wasn´t an ax murderer. 

So I am sad to see Juan go but still on cloud nine for his unexpected attention.  I walk back along the boardwalk and see another stretch of beach to take a rest.  I sit down, kind of preoccupied with getting Harper situated.  I look up in time to see a NAKED man walk past me.  Yes NAKED as the day he was born.  Somehow I´m now on the NUDE beach.  To my left is an older man stripping down to nothing and diving into the sea...did I mention it is still pretty cool out...no more than 60 degrees so I´m sure the water isn´t too much warmer than that.  I look behind me and there is another group of nudies...in the distance so I cant really make out anything accept that they are naked. LOL!  I love Barcelona!!!  To my right there is a group of guys setting up for a volleyball game. I wonder...NUDE volleyball?!  HAHAHA!  Im 12 years old again because I entertain myself with the thought of ALL those BALLS flying!  Well...Ím getting hungry and Harper and I have been out for 3.5 hours time to head home.  All in all AWESOME day and it´s only lunch time!

I have arrived

Estoy aqui!  I  have been in Barcelona for a day and half now and it still hasn´t quite sunk in yet.  Possibly the stressful last day in Houston is making me numb to the fabulousness that is Barcelona.  Note to self...weigh...weigh...and more weigh.  I say this because the repacking at the airport an hour before an international flight is not the best way to begin things.  First let me me bitch about British Air and then do my own mia culpa.  British Air straight sucks!  Okay they reel you in with a really tantilizing ticket price and then begin the nickle and diming you to death.  They actually make you pay for a seat...last time I checked one can´t fly without a seat!  In fairness (very little) the conditions were that you can preselect your seat or wait until the day of and run the risk of getting stuck in between a fat business man that snores and a mom flying with an newborn on an international flight.  I´m not soooo annoyed by the 30 dollars for the seat selection but it was worth it.  The thing that really chaps my hide about British Airways is that on international flight they only allow ONE check in bag!   Seriously!  So I got hosed on the luggage side of things by BA.  My friend said I would love flying BA because of the great seats and food.  I wasn´t loving the food; had beef and mash and the seat was slightly better than Air France and KLM, but I can´t say I ¨loved¨the experience.  What I did like was the cute little British accents of the cabin crew.  I did not think I was partial to British accents because I figured I get enough of hearing people speak English with funny accents, but there was something decidely sexy about the accents...or maybe I was drunk.  Man I love the free alcohol on the international flights!!!  Ok enough about the US and complaints...on to first impressions about Barcelona flying solo. 
Hmmm....this city just has a vibe of personal expression.  While I was waiting for my temporary landlord I got to people watch and I was struck by the diversity of the populice of Barcelona.  For the few minutes that I had to wait I was moved by the thought that a person can see what

Leap of Faith

Just finished my last days as sn employee at my place of employment. Strangely I'm a little emtionless. I thought I would have had more feelings about leaving my job of nearly three years but I really don't. The past three years have been a kind of love/hate affair with my job. The job definately came at a time when I needed it most, it was a no stress, laid back, flexible situation that paid decent money. My boss spent 75% of the year out of the country and I was the only employee in the office. Nice set up right? One would think. There are times during my tenure that I thought for sure I would slit my wrist with a dull butter knife. Other times I was able to fully grasp the bon I'd received by landing this job. My employment situation allowed me to study and complete my degree, placed on intellectual demands upon me but nor did it actually provide any professional growth. The solitude of the position was a times my best friend and at other times my worst enemy. Not having co-workers to interact with, gossip with, share the work load, bitch about the boss on a daily basis was a little depressing. On the flipside I had no interoffice infighting, no jockeying for position with the boss and no co-worker undermining my work. I can say that I did not miss those experiences. One thing really positive that all of the solitude afforded me was the time to dream. My dream of moving to abroad had taken root years ago but the fragile tenticles sprouting from those dreams grasping for reality started taking shape in the four walls of Real Technology. My first opportunity to take a trip to Europe came when John and Ken starting talking about a trip they were going to take in 2007. I'd only been working at my job for about 3 months and had no vacation but I knew I wanted to go. I asked, or rather invited myself along on their trip to what was then Germany, Austria and Prague. As the planning flew into high gear Paris and Rome where added; afterall one can't take one's first trip to Europe and NOT see Paris (well at least according to John...one of the many reasons I love him!) We added Rome because as a little girl I always invisioned myself ah-la-Audrey Hepburn moterscootering around Rome like in the movie "Roman Holiday"; so those guys were game enough to let me live out my girlhood dream so Rome was added!

I can honestly say that trip changed my life on so many levels. First thing that I was confronted was my fear. I believe one of the reasons dreams remain dreams and turn into a life unfulfilled is fear. The trip with John and Ken tackeled so many of my fears surrounding my dream of moving abroad. The circumstances surrounding this trip were not condusive for me going. I had just started a new job, had no vacation time and really could not afford a 17 day European vacation that included 5 countries. I did not realize it but this trip was really a crossroad for me. On the surface to some it might appear to be a frivolous indulgence considering my situation or something more meaningful and life altering. We started planning this trip in October 2007. In order to make it work financially I decided to take a part-time job. The demands of my regular job were pretty light, I felt I could easily do another 5-6 hours to make the extra money for my trip. Sooo...I landed a job in a call center doing radio surveys. It was a truly annoying job where we called people asking if they would participate in a survey regarding the radio stations they listen to and for their inconvienence...we send the $2-$5. What I missed out in co-worker interaction at my regular job I got in SPADES at my part-time job. I worked there for 5 months and observed all of the intrique of interoffice romances, coworking backstabbing; petty gossip...man it was AWESOME! There were so many colorful characters there I could probably write a book about my experience. Another good thing that came out of hte experience was that during that time I really came to love and appreciate the solitude of my regualar job.(lol)

April 2008 arrived and many leaps of faith later it was time for us to depart for Europe. I say leaps of faith because I received many blessings along the way and the ability to believe that I was going to make the trip when many things pointed to it not being a reality.  First just getting the days off was an accomplishment.  Once the vacation was approved by boss...well I did not actually give them a choice...I positioned in a way that they did not have to think about yes or no...just an ok.  The three of us were truly stepping out on faith that we would survive 17 days together:-). As I mentioned; this trip changed my life. John and Ken were the perfect people to take this adventure with. They provided me with a sense of protection that travel with two men who had been to Europe before affords. Ken is super-organized and was the keeper of all information. John is all things factual and he knew so many interesting details about each city we visited. My job was simple...soak it all up:-) So what did I learn on my first trip that changed my life? Well, I learned what it is to be my ideal of an American. Some good, some bad but all of it was eye opening.  Many myths were shattered and many unpleasant impressions about Americans were realized.  I'd like to think that I have never been what people from other countries experienced in some Americans. The ones that go to other countries and are upset that no one speaks english are in search of McDonalds. Isn't the purpose of world travel to soak in other cultures and expereince different ways of life? Prior to Europe I'd only traveled to the Carribean to the Dominican Republic. I stayed on a 5-star resort but the most fun I had while there was spent off the resort. We were invited by one of the guys that worked on the resort to a beach cookout. The guys actually caught the fish right out of the Carribean Ocean, gutted and prepared it and cooked it over an open fire on the beach! I wasn't sure if I could handle my food THAT fresh! I mean, shit...the eyes where still on staring up at me and where were the perservatives and artificial coloring!?! Once I overcame my Amercian sensibilites I can honestly say that that was one of the best meals of my life! What an experience! The simplicity and honesty of that meal has always stayed with me. I would never have had the experience if I would have stayed on the reservation. So I looked at my trip to Europe the same way. So in France, I attempted, failed and mutilated French with a couple of successes. In Rome, my attempts at the language probably sounded more like Spanish than Italian:-) Sad to say that I did not try any German in Germany and Prague was completely out of the question. John and I could even figure out how to say "hello" or anything else in that language. We said we do better the next time.  I think one of the most important things I got on that trip was the sense of I could make this happen!  Not just dream about it but put things in motion to move toward my goal.  When I got back home literally my engines started reering!  I started thinking "how am I going to make this happen?  The question of not doing this was no longer apart of the equation.  When I got back home all I knew was that I was going back to Europe again, soon and eventually to stay.  After my return each day in my office of one I planned, researched and created scenarios of what, how, why and when my move would take place.  It became my obsession.  My job became a blessing in that sense that I had time to dream and see myself actually living outside the U.S.  I had time to surf the net for facts, fiction and urban myths about an American trying to make the leap and move to Spain.  Some of the information was and is scary; such as Spain's unemployment rate, the dollars decline agains the euro....both good reasons to maybe second guess a move to Europe the same thing is happening in the U.S. so what the heck.  Leap of faith can't happen without the leaping part. 

Starts and Finishes

Man...two weeks before I leave! What a crazy milestone. Times like these really make me think about so many things, all the starting and finishing that are going on in my life right now. Routines I'm leaving, adventures that are waiting for me, people I'm leaving and the poeple that I will be meeting and the comforts of home that I am trading in for unknown challenges and adjustments of a foreign country. This move creates a crazy dichotomy of emotions and honestly it is making me crazy with anxiety and unfortunately mangnifying my hypochondria...LOL Most people who know me know that I am a borderline hypochondriac. I actually like to think my hypochondria is just one of those entertaining and interesting little facoids that makes Charlotte...well Charlotte. Secretly at times I can secretly acknowledge that this phobia is just plain crazy! But most of the time I just can't help myself! I truly CAN NOT listen to anyone describing an illnesses OR INJURY without mentally doing a quick internal check on myself for the symptoms. Seriously! IT IS insane! No matter if it is an illness or injury my mind briefly dwells in the "awwww...poor you" moment but quickly goes into full launch of "crap, I might have that!" In my crazy I have had full-on instant Lupus, Scoliosis, immediate need for a hip replacement and appendicitis...just to name a few. And my crazy doesn't just apply to me...I also give my friends illness to. My friend Hank was telling a group of us how he had recently had completed a series of rountine and annual cancer screens and that the results were all fine. Something took a wrong turn in my mind and in my version as I retold the story to a another group of friends, Hank had "survived" cancer!!! Luckily Angie and Tina were there when Hank told the story, totally called me out on it and had me correct my error!

However, that scenario just reminded me of how I don't do well with illness. I guess if I examine this emotion carefully it probably stems back to the fact that both of my parents were younger than I am now when they past away. My Mother from cancer and my Father from heart disease. In a past professional incarnation I worked as an Admission Coordinator at a nursing home and there is nothing there but death and illness under the guise of upscale senior living facility. My job was to "sell" adult children that our facility was the best place for their parents that could no longer live independently. An in all honesty the place was really really nice but the unspoken "thing" in every pre-admission tour with adult children was that their parents would not be living our facility alive. Not to be "Debbie Downer" or anything but just making the point that maybe my hypochondria has some basis of reality. I better move onto something else before I am totally depressed. Anywho...I guess I need to work on letting all that stuff go in the vien of finishing things:-) Truth be told other than being a little rubenesque I really don't have any serious health problems with the exception of a bit of hypertension that is completly managable with medication...and if I change my diet and exercise regualarly I can totally come off the meds.

So finish my conversation about that I am going to get some debiltating illness and start talking about how healthy I am because I do healthy things. Soooo other starts and finishes. There are several things I'm starting with my move to Spain and this is the place where I want to hold myself accountable. Running is a new first for me. I technically have already started in December but I MUST continue is running consistently. It's also a tribute to my sister Nicole who started running in August of 09 and ran her first half marathon in January 2010. Go Nicole! She and I are similary built and where as I have hypertension she suffered from heart disease during her pregnancy years ago, however she finished her conversation about not being a runner and started running!

Two Weeks from today!

Two weeks from today at this time I am on the plane leaving for spain!!!

I'm mobile

Things are getting heavy

Okay…when you make the decision to do a move of this magnitude you have got to be ORGANIZED and have a plan. I’m really good at the planning part and only somewhat good at the organizational stuff…somewhat. Truthfully I have always been the “Big Idea” girl. One time I went into business with one of my best friends a few years ago and we were sooooo excited. We thought we were knowledgeable and would complement each other really well. At least until realized that we were both “big idea people” and we both totally sucked at handling the details. Needless to say our business folded very quickly…and ended our bid for “world domination”.
The thing I am kvetching about now is there is now a situation connected with my move that is forcing me to acknowledge that I am the person that loves painting the broad strokes and forecasting the end results; and in my world the results are always “fabulous”; however it is the small details that can completely derail you if you are not careful. This move is also forcing me to recognize that I HATE the nuts and bolts of making things work BUT that I HAVE gain the skills quickly to help me realize that moving abroad has lots of little moving parts. It is true that I have done well with the broad strokes. I took action and decided where and when to move, mapped how to make it work financially. I feel I’ve made a very good career choice for living abroad. I understand the ins and outs of how I will be able to stay in Spain after my tourist visa runs out and very importantly, I AM totally flexible with having to go to a country other than Spain for a short term assignment for work if the need arises. I bought my ticket, did the research to take my dog and I EVEN have a couple of vacations planned once I arrived. Hell, I have a back up to my back up plan! That being said why is it that I can’t keep up with the simplest of things and I haven’t even left the country?!? UGH! Admittedly I am venting out of frustration of having lost something essential to Harper being able to travel, but this situation has also made me wonder if this is symptomatic of a much larger issue.
Okay…a little back story. Saturday I took Harper in to get groomed and to get his micro chip; it seems that I can’t take Harper to Europe without him having the chip. I paid for said chip … AND my vet…who is fabulous (BTW) handed me the card and gave very simple and easy to follow instruction to me for activating the chip so Harper can be tracked. Most importantly I need this information to send to the USDA in Austin so they can issue Harper’s approval to enter Spain. Guess what?…I lost it! Yep…in the span of three days I have lost the activation cards and I am now faced with a couple of really icky options. So my options are, one…my vet may have the number on file and can tell me where to call or two…Harper has to be re-chipped. Not only is that an expense but how crappy will it be if I have to take him in again for that? Ughh! So this situation has me examining what I KNOW is a shortcoming of mine, I am only somewhat good at organization (translation…not really good at all). I’ve got to get better and better RIGHT NOW! My friend Angie suggested I buy a file organizer to but important information that I need to get to quickly and just carry with me. Good idea and I did it! But I was just a few days too late to save Harper’s chip activation cards, they’re GONE! I’m really trying not to blow this out of proportion but I ‘m a little frustrated with myself for not being able to keep up with something so important! I really can’t afford to carry this type of behavior to Europe. And unfortunately I have a bit of a history of losing important things :-(
So I'm outing myself along with my friend Angela by default (sorry friend). On my first trip to Europe I lost and found my passport twice. The first time I left my passport at the check in desk in Amsterdam and not 30 minutes later I left my passport at a food bar. Thank goodness I was traveling with John and Ken who are super organized. The second time a nice gentleman returned it to me. You would think I'd learned my lesson...but no. The second time I went to Europe; this time with Angela, I actually lost my passport on the flight over to Paris. Yep…I lost my passport on the plane…hey it could happen! We spent the whole day trying to make me legal to enter France. After almost having guns drawn on us by the French police, a mad race through the streets of Paris to make it to the Embassy on time and a second scarier encounter with the American Embassy police I was able to get a replacement passport. There was some promising improvement in me and I think I learned a little something from that experience because on my last trip to Europe I did not lose my passport at all...Angie did:-) but I did not. Anyway…bottom line is that I need to break bad habits and become organized to compliment my great planning skills.

End of first day...If I were in BCN

Well today is January 26th, this day next month will be my first official day in Barcelona! I've done this countdown before with my travel mates where we do the "this time next month we will be on whatever day on our vacation" until we arrive at the day of our return home. The difference this time is that my count is the beginning of my first official day of living as an expat. It is a little overwhelming at times to think I am going it alone this time…well me and my dog. Lots of worries…will my Spanish see me through without any major incidences until I can become more fluent. I hope I don’t have some of the same problems that I’ve had in the past such as asking for cocaine instead of a cup of ice or getting felt up by an old man when I was trying to say that I was taking pictures. I guess those things will just be part of getting acclimated. I’m getting lots of crap from my friend Angela who has been on my ass to speak Spanish with her for over a year…oh well I’ve got 4 weeks maybe a miracle will happen between now and then.
So had to take care of some things today to make sure I can transition okay. Contacted my bank to find how I can transfer money when I set up my new banking account in Spain, call HPD to find out how to get criminal clearance letter (both English and Spanish) and crazy thing is that Harper (my dog) has to get approved by the Food and Drug Administration…who would have thought. This week I MUST complete my application for school…no more procrastination on that front. When I land I have to do an in person interview and get a letter from them that will help me rent a flat without coming up with a CRAZY amount for a deposit.
Last day of work here will be 2/12 so I will have about two weeks to wrap up final loose ends. Well right now in BCN it is after midnight so my first full day will have come to end. I wonder how well I will I do? Will I get out, get lost, will I speak to anyone; will I chicken out of speaking with anyone? Crap I’m nervous and sooooo ready to get started.

Firsts

Wow! Finally my first blog! I can't believe I created this blog nearly a year ago and I've just now gotten around to blogging about my "great adventure"! You see, the plan was to chronicle the trials and tribulations of a woman who has decided to chunk her life in the United States to go re-discover herself in Barcelona, Spain! To be honest, I have not had too many trials or tribulations transitioning out of the US but I am under no illusions that there will be a few trials and tribulations when I land in Barcelona. Now the time has come for me to take the leap and I want this blog to be a log of what happens and my experiences; good, bad or indifferent. This blogging experience is a new spin on an old familiar thing for me that I used to love…the joy of writing. I feel rusty and out of sorts about it but also a feeling of joy that as I strip away the layers of my life that the refinishing will include something so simple and rewarding as writing down thoughts, feelings observations and knowing that I have recorded that experience. It makes this adventure that I am undertaking even more exciting. So I am prepared for the hiccups of beginning to write and if you are following me; cut me a little slack when I start to ramble (lol) I will get it together.

I came up with the title for blog s “a girl and her dog” my dog” because when I first got the courage to tell people that I was moving to Spain their reactions ran the full gamit of emotions. Some friends and family were immediately supportive, some said they were supportive but doubt I’d pull it off, some thought I was totally crazy for leaving the comforts of home and others thought I was somehow un-American for wanting to live indefinitely abroad. As I explained all of my reason why to my friends and family my story always ended on "well I'm just a girl and her dog"!