It´s Friday!

Hello! First, here are some photos of the town of where I´m now living named Paracuellos de Jarama. In the first picture, you can barely make out the four tall towers in Madrid. The town is very close to the airport and pretty close to Madrid.

Next here are some random things about my last week:

1. The IKEA experience: Here going to IKEA is a whole experience in its self. Mostly the stores here in Europe are smaller and quaint with the larger stores being dedicated to things like furniture, etc. I went to IKEA with Edu and Carmen and it was huge with many levels and a cafeteria and daycare on the top floor! Carmen said that here everything at IKEA is very cheap and that´s why everyone goes there. This is different for me since I always had the impression that IKEA is more expensive in the states. No wonder everyone´s house here has very cute and modern furniture!

2. I LOVE it how in the mornings and after his nap when I walk by his room, Miguel calls out ¨Hola?¨ as if to say ¨Anyone out there?¨ Yesterday I started caring for him during the morning and I already have him counting to 5 in English, it´s so cute. The other thing that surprises me is that when Carmen leaves to work, he does throw a fit or cry, which is GOOD!

3. Spanairds are very funny! Last night we went to the summer house in Villanueva for dinner to see my Spanish parents since they returned from the beach for vacation. There was a total of 14 people there and everyone was teasing Carmen that I must be dying of starvation at her house. Paquita told me to take some left overs with me so that I don´t die of hunger and Elias told her that she better not mistreat me since I´m the youngest of his daughters and they have to take care of me. She didn´t like this teasing very much but I thought it was hilarious. Especially since she has gone WAY out of her way to make me feel comfortable in her home!

4. TKD is similar no matter where you go! On Wednesday, I went to the TKD gym in Alcala to try a class and Carmen was very sweet to drive me. I got there and felt a little nervous but everyone was really nice and respectful of me, also very encouraging. The class was HARD and I was covered in sweat when I left. Unlike my class in CO, this class was made up of mostly men (there was only one other woman) and they were very nice, but kept telling me to hit them harder! When the class was over everyone came up to introduce themselves and tell me how good I did. The gym will now close for the month of August and start again in September. Edu went out of his way to get me 9 free passes to his gym in Madrid and Carmen went out of her way to get me the bus and metro schedule so that I can get there during the month of August. This next week, I´m going to meet Edu in Madrid so that he can take me to the gym and show me around. I´m totally spoiled with my Spanish familia!

More later, now I am off to eat dinner! This is a time that Carmen and Edu have set aside to speak English with me every day and they are both very good! Take care and I hope everyone is doing well!

Con amores y flores,
Steph