Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Earlier this week I was walking home from the grocery with my push cart and starting laughing to myself...this life is SO different from the one I left behind. I just started thinking about all of the ways things are different here. So here are some things I thought about:

1. We grocery shop every few days instead of once or twice a month. My meat and veggies are usually prepared just a day or so from when they were purchased. This is MUCH different than the way I used to do it- buying in bulk from Sams or sales at other stores and having a small grocery store in my deep freeze in the garage.

2. We walk or take public transportation everywhere. I think we go in the car only once or twice a week and generally it is on the weekend when we want to go to the beach. I think we walk an average of 4 miles a day between going to and from school and running errands.

3.  9 pm is the average bed time for children. I have always been a huge fan of the early bedtime. My girls went to bed at 630p until they were a little over 2. Kids here don't get out of school until 5 so that makes a 630 bedtime impossible.  The average dinner time is between 8-9. My girls go to bed early compared to some and they usually turn in between 8-830. 

4.  I bring my kids to bars. Yes,  those kinds of bars! It is completely normal to bring kids of all ages to bars. They are just like the ones you are thinking of, but it is just as normal to order coffee or hot chocolate as it is to order an alcoholic beverage. It is nothing to see a mom and dad enjoying a beer or a glass of wine and the kids having a hot chocolate or a coke.

5. We live in an apartment. Our apartment is about 1300 sq. feet and we live in a building with about 16 units. We take our trash to the community dumpster and share a playground with anyone who walks by and wants to play. There are no back yards therefore, no private play areas. 

There are pros and cons to everything listed. Most days I very much like living here. It would be nice, however, to send my kids out in the backyard and not have to worry about what I look like or if they have on matching socks. BUT, we are adjusting to most things alright and I think we are wired for this more relaxed schedule and for this kind of outdoor living. 

In other news...school is going fine. Some days are good and some are bad. I am going to be having a conversation time with my nanny ,Barbara, once a week so I will get to practice what I am learning and work on not sounding like an American speaking spanish words. Ian is hoping to get a nice bike ride in over the next few days and I am encouraging him to take a surfing refresher class so he can get out there and do that as well. There is a nice size surfing community at the beach we go to each weekend- I say why just sit here an watch when you can get out there and do it!

Well, we love you all and thanks for your support!

Katie

People, People Everywhere

We have been asked by many people about what it is like to be living in Spain. While there is no simple answer to that question, I have come across a few statistics that might give you an idea of how different our current community is in comparison to the last several communities we have lived in.

The last three cities we have lived in are Youngsville, LA; Sugar Hill, GA; and New Orleans, LA. Youngsville is a suburb of Lafayette, LA, and has a population density of approximately 597.3 people/square mile. Hence, we had a nice, big yard and a neighborhood surrounded by sugar cane fields. Sugar Hill is a suburb of Atlanta and has a population density of approximately 1239/sq mi. Before Sugar Hill, we were in New Orleans, which has about 2518/sq mi.

About two months ago we moved into an apartment in Portugalete, Spain. Portugalete is very small in terms of land area. It's total area is only 1.24 square miles, but the population is 51,066. That translates to a population density of 41,202.6/sq mi. Here there is high rise apartment building after high rise apartment building. There are people everywhere. For perspective, New York City, one of the most densely populated US cities, has a density of 27,147/sq mi, significantly less than what we have here.

Being around that many people is a lot different than living in the suburbs in the US. We have always thought of ourselves as city people, but we have not ever experienced anything like this. Living in an apartment rather than in a house with yard is different as well. Not better or worse, just different.

Nothing new to report

Hi friends,

Not much new going on. We are in the  beginning of our 4th week of language school. Ian's class has  made some changes so he is doing great and it looks like I will be joining them next week once Barbara (the sweet nanny) starts coming to be with the girls. I am really struggling with my study time and I am so grateful to have her be here so I can get some real study time in. Ian is doing great and really does a fine job communicating when necessary. I, on the other hand, seem to freeze up when I need to say something. I know all of the words, they just fall out of my brain when I need to use them. I am also hoping that having Barbara here will be helpful to me and my speaking. Just having someone here that I can try to talk to everyday. She speaks English but I would much rather her speak spanish to the girls and to me as much as possible. We will see...

anyway, not to much else going on. The weather is getting better. Still a little colder than I would like. We did reach 77 on Sunday but that was only for a few hours and it seems like since then it has gotten colder again. So we remain in the 60's for the most part. This southern girl is dying! I would at least like to see 80's. Anyway, we are doing well- I may be getting into my first little bit of culture shock, but I think I am keeping things in perspective and that will help get through it. Thanks again for your support.

Love you all,

KB