Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a good one!  I celebrated by doing absolutely nothing I didn't want to do.  I dropped the kids off at school.  Took a shower, grabbed my camera and was out the door.  I walked down to the beach and took photos of the surf, cliffs, Spanish tiles, houses, a few graffiti-ed walls and a lighthouse.  I'd love to show some of the photos, but I accidentally erased them because I wasn't being careful and formatted my card too early....der to me!  Otherwise, it was a great walk! 

Later that day we met up with friends and went out to dinner!  But before that Trent surprised me with flowers and a necklace!!  I love it!  He really knocked this one out of the park!

Music to My Ears

This just happened in real time, in my living room....

Luke:  Let's play hide and seek.
Emry: Quieras jugar? (do you want to play?)
Luke:  The rules are you have to count to 20 in Spanish.
Girls:  OK! OK!
 
and that is just what they are doing right now!!!

Orientation Fieldtrip

During our second full week here, we attended a mandatory orientation/welcome to Spain class.  The kids went to a day camp and we sat in class learning the dos & don'ts of living abroad.

One of the days they took us out into the town of Rota to sight see, eat local cuisine and check out the gypsy market.  We walked through the old part of town stopping here and there for a brief history lesson.  We went to a daily fish market, toured the oldest church in town and tasted some pastries...that might not sound good in the same sentence together, but trust me...the pastries were delish!

The harbor

The Fish Market (Cooperativa de pescadores)

The Atlantic...gorgeous!

 This gothic style church was built in the 1500's.  They even let you go into the crypt...we need to come back here to see it, with Luke!

Straight Up Bribery!

Trent and I knew that by putting our kids into the public school system here we were walking outside the box.  We have wanted to give this type of experience to our children for a few years.   We both knew that if we stayed at the school on base our kids wouldn't learn enough real Spanish to carry on a conversation.  We also knew that we would feel regret if we didn't at least try to have them learn the language, and it would be a missed opportunity if we squandered our time here.

We'd heard 101 scary stories about the first year.  We heard about kids who cried daily, threw fits, ran away from home, stopped speaking completely, had behavior problems and worse yet...some even failed to learn the language and their parents gave up after 2 years of trying.  Even after hearing all these terrible things, we still felt so strongly about our kids learning the Spanish language that we decided to go for it anyway.

We prepared them by talking about what our hopes were for them.  We told them that we were giving them a gift that would help them and open up doors for them during the rest of their lives.  We told them it would not be easy and that somedays would be very frustrating for them.  We talked a lot about keeping a positive attitude and how important it is to always try your best.

We also told them that school would be very different from what they were used to.  The teachers would be more strict, the homework would be tougher, no recesses...BUT also a shorter school day.

To try and alleviate some of the stress and anxiety we decided to make a reward chart.   We kept it simple and up beat.  Each day they could earn a check mark if they: attended school, tried their best, stayed positive, got dressed and completed their homework.  After every 5 checks they would receive something.  5 checks = a treat from the candy jar.  10 checks = $5.00.  15 checks = a toy from the treasure box.  20 checks = a date with Dad &/or Mom.  The kids were really excited about it, especially the chance to earn $$ for whatever they wanted.

In the end we were all ready.  I think they were more ready than I was.  I was definitely more nervous and scared than they were on the first day of school.  I cried a little when I walked away from the school gate that first day because they were so happy and willing to go...they had no real idea of what we were about to inflict upon them.

All day long I was on pins and needles, and at pick up I was very anxious to see them.  All my cares were instantly washed away as I was greeted by 3 happy, smiling children!  Whoo hoo, to a good start!

ps...the chart is working like a charm.  they are all over it.  they are even reminding each other to do things so they get their checks...I hope we can keep this momentum up!

Spanish Public School

A few uniquely Spanish items to share with you today....

Fact or Fiction....The Spanish public education system 

• You're thinking about getting your child into Spanish public school (sps) when you arrive in Spain, you might as well forget about it because you have to register them back in March. 

FICTION.  This is what they want you to believe!   The truth is you can still get them in.  It just takes a bit of persistence, a little knowledge of the language & legs to walk on.

• District policies and basic information regarding neighborhood schools are public knowledge, and is published on the Internet.

FICTION.  Nobody knows anything about anything.  Even the people in the district office don't know who does what when.  Oh, and don't bother with the school's website...it hasn't been updated since 2008.

• If you need to go to the district office to get information or sign papers be sure to go early because the line will be enormous.

FACT.  We went to the district office at least 4 times during this whole process, so we have first hand knowledge!  We walked into a lobby crowded with adults.  Tons of parents just milling around, having coffee and no rhyme or reason as to who was in line where or next to go into whatever office.  At one point Judy, my partner in crime, went to ask the security guard how we'd know when it was our turn.  He didn't know either.  He simply turned away from her asked the entire lobby to quiet down.  Then, to our utter disbelief he asked who was the next in line!  We about died!  No sense of order, no numbered ticket system, no "now serving number" digital display.  It was crazy!

• If you need to visit the district office be sure to go during working hours which are 9 am until 1pm.

FACT.  The district office is only open for 4 hours every day.  The best part is, and they don't tell you this on the sign...employees of the district office are allowed to take a 1 hour break for breakfast!!!  So, even though you've driven 40km, had to pay for parking and rearranged your husbands schedule so he could also attend, you still have to wait if the person you want to see is out for desayuno!

• If you need to talk to someone in charge all you have to do is ask.

FACT.  All you have to do is ask and ask and ask again because no one will admit to being in charge. They'll send you all over town because everyone passes the buck to the next person...super strange, not sure if anyone is running this country sometimes!

• When your kids are placed in a school you'll be contacted.  Also, if you're wondering you can call the district office at this number xxx xx xxx to speak to someone.

FICTION.  My kids got overlooked and they were placed into a school, but no one contacted me for 3 days after school started.  And if you call that number it's just going to ring...24 hours a day.  (here's a side note, we don't actually know where that number was ringing to because when we were in the district office, no phones were ringing, even when we called the above number!!)

• Getting your kids enrolled into Spanish public school is exhausting, frustrating, time consuming, infuriating, hilarious and a worth while gift you can give your children who will after 3 years time will know a second language and culture.

FACT.

Casuaria 12

i was going to take photos of all the homes we looked at and do our own version of house hunters international....but lets get real!  i've already been here a month and this is the 3rd blog post i've had time for.  house hunters just isn't going to happen.

we did end up finding a house and have been living here for 1 week!  we have loner furniture from the base because ours won't be here for yet another week!  aargh!  i am really really wanting my own bed!

here are a few pics i took on our first day here:

dining room

kitchen

kid bedroom (the other one is identical)

guest room

master

living room

veranda/porch

 the kids have been swimming every day since we moved in.  this was our first time in the pool.

Carley's dive of choice!  We don't know why she belly flops, but we can't get her to stop!  It's pretty funny!

Admirals Football

We still haven't found out if the kids have gotten into a local public spanish school; meanwhile they are attending the school on base, David Glasgow Farragut...aka DGF!  The military community here really really really gets behind its athletes.  I think every american within a 20 mile radius was there.  The kids had a blast dancing in the stands, watching the game, cheering with the cheerleaders & playing with friends.  The Admirals went on to win this game...in fact they ended up going to the playoffs in Germany and winning the championship for their division!  Pretty awesome!

Carley was very very sad because we ran out of cash and she really wanted a treat.

This is one of our babysitters, Hannah.  The girls adore her and she indulges them a little too much at times!  She was at the game with her friends and let the girls sit with them for a bit, so fun!

Arcos de la Frontera

For labor day we went with a tour group from the base to see one of Andalusia's famous Pueblo Blancos, or white towns.  This region of Spain is peppered with these "white towns" and they are very picturesque. 

Arcos de la Frontera is a unique place because it is built on a cliff, literally on a cliff!  It was a lot of fun for the kids to see the town as we approached.  It was the first time they really realized that we weren't in America anymore, well at least Luke noticed!  We spent the day trying to hear the tour guide...it was annoying trying to keep up with the group, wrangle the kids and take pictures so we ditched the group and ended up doing our own thing with our new friends the Brachfeld's (Andy, Judy, Emma & Sam).