Where I get to throw around Spanish men....

There is so much that has happened, where do I start? First, tomorrow my friend Kat from Colorado, USA arrives in Spain for a week full of fun in Spain! I'm very sad that due to things going on with her familia, Andrea and her son Anthony are not able to come. But that just means that we will have to plan another trip to Spain together and you all know that I am always looking for an excuse to come to Spain. Right now, any prayers for their family would be greatly appreciated.

On another note, I got some wonderful news from my best friend Mandy this week that was so good it brought me to tears. All of the worrying is over and it turns out that our prayers were answered. Edu and Carmen left to Peking, China a couple of days ago for a couple of weeks. Miguelito will be with Elias and Paquita after spending a few days with Edu's mom whose name is Blanca Nieves (Snow White) Brandin, I'm not kidding. My Spanish dad, Elias had surgery on his eye yesterday to fix a problem that he was having with his tear duct. Everything went well and I think he is not used to everyone worrying about him and all the attention that he is getting. He is too cute. This week I stayed in Alcala de Henares with my Spanish "brother" Mickey and his wife Ana. Mickey had invited me to go to one of his martial arts classes to see the type of stuff that he does. I don't remember how to spell it but it is a type of Kempo self defense technique. So on Wednesday, I went to TKD class and near the end of the class this new young boy kicked me VERY hard in my side right below my armpit. It HURT! So when Mickey picked me up, I was a little hesitant to participate in his class. The dojang was in the bottom of his instructor's house (VERY cool, I want one) and after a little encouragement I decided to join in. I'm so happy that I did! Pretty soon I had Mickey in various holds that allowed me to toss him around on the floor and against the wall. It is more self defense than my TKD class and I really enjoyed being able to throw around Spanish men for about an hour. You better believe that if that kid in my TKD class kicks me again like that I will have a few new moves to try on him. :) Also, I should mention that now Mickey has made it his mission to get me a chest protector and even looked up two places I can go to buy one in Madrid. I'm so thankful for my Spanish family!

Ashleigh, who I met during my week with Pueblo Ingles, is trying to convince me that I need to go to Thailand after the holidays. As tempting as that sounds, I'm not sure that I'm prepared to be THAT far away from my family. I mean, Spain is far enough already. It does get me thinking about what I will do with myself when I get back to the US. There are so many possibilities.

I hope this finds everyone doing well and warm in the cold weather you have been having in the US. Here, the weather is still really nice where we can get away with short sleeves during the day and a light sweater during the cooler mornings. :) Take care and talk to you soon!

Un beso y un abrazo a todos,

Stephanie

Photos: In Alcala with my Spanish sisters and nephews, photo of my doggie Reyna sent by my sister Elisa