Fun with Reyna's shoes!

This is a link to a video of Reyna that is SOOOOOOOOOOOO funny! Danice bought some new shoes for her dog, Stella, when they go running and we decided to try them on Reyna to see what she would do. The result is in the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u86JyvwpLaY

:)

Reflecting on 2009.......

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? I went to New York City, I tried accupuncture, I have tried new recipes, amongst other things.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I honestly don't remember if I had a New Year's resolution for 2009
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! My sister had her third child, Nathan Paul, and I was blessed to witness his first moments of life!
4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.
5. What countries did you visit?
Spain and France. I was in Canada, Italy and Germany but only for a few hours in the airports so it doesn't really count.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Patience and a sense of direction, AND listening to my gut feelings more.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 15th, when Nathan was born, July 10th when I arrived in Spain, a date in October when I got the BEST news from my best friend, and December 15th, when I left my beloved Spain.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting into the best shape I've been in since high school

9. What was your biggest failure? Falling out of shape due to a leg injury
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? YES, I think I have achilis tendonitis due to running but haven't gotten it checked out.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Hmmm.......have to think about that
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Julia's strength through the birth, Mandy's graciousness at the end of some very tough battles, Andrea's resiliance though a hard situation, and my Mommy's constant love and support!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Too many to detail

14. Where did most of your money go? Traveling and living in Europe
15. What did you get really excited about? Meeting my nephew, my entire time in Europe, seeing my family and friends and doggie after coming back to the US
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? So many, Ray LaMontagne, Black Eyed Peas,
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? More like indifferent now– thinner or fatter? Fatter – richer or poorer? Richer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Research and preparation

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Ignoring my gut


20. How did you spend Christmas?

Relaxed at home in the Valley with mi familia
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Um, no
22. What was your favorite TV program?

I would have to say "Dona Barbara", a telanovela I would watch with my Spanish mother
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Don't think so
24. What was the best book you read? The Shack, The Twilight Series, and some mystery book in Spain that I forgot the name of
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Ray LaMontagne thanks to Dahveed
26. What did you want and get? From what? I wanted to live in Spain again and I did it!
27. What did you want and not get? A job
28. What was your favorite film of this year? New Moon!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 29, had a pretty good day thanks to those that were with me throughout the whole day
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A job for the 2nd half of the year
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? In the US - more chic and professional, in Spain - more relaxed and European
32. What kept you sane?
Emails and conversations with my family and friends

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hmmm.....not sure
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Healthcare reform
35. Who did you miss?
Everyone

36. Who was the best new person you met?

There are so many of them: Libby, Phillip, Rosie, pretty much everyone I met in Spain. Well, almost everyone.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009? That things don't always turn out the way you forsee them. And that I need to listen to my gut.
38. What are you most looking forward to in 2010? New adventures and hopefully finding the next direction of my life!

Paris!

So my trip to Paris was really amazing, a little cold, but overall very good! I was a little worried abou

the fact that I´m technically an illegal immigrant since my tourist VISA expired in October but when I went to the airport I had no problems getting through, they didn´t even really look at my passport. I arrived there on Friday night after going through Frankfurt, Germany and found my hotel pretty easily. About 5 minutes after I had gotten there I got a call from the front desk that there were two boys downstairs to see me. It was my hermanito, Nacho, and his brother Martin. Nacho is a foriegn exchange student that stayed with my family when I was a senior in high school and the first we ever had. I call him my hermanito even though he isn´t my brother by blood. It had been about 5 years since I had seen him when my parents and I went to go visit him and his family in Argentina so I was very excited to see him again! His brother was only in town for one night for work and so they went to have dinner with the company and I wandered around the neighborhood a little bit. Nacho told me that the hotel was right around the corner from his house, which I didn´t know when I booked it. I just asked what area I should look in and it was a complete coincidence that it literally was right around the corner! The next day I went to the train station to meet my cousin, Nichole, who was coming to Paris for the weekend to meet up with us. She is currently living in northern France, teaching English to primary school children in the Normandy area. I hadn´t seen her for about a couple of years and she looked so European! We made our way to the hotel, found a place for lunch, and then called Nacho. The four of us met up on Saturday afternoon and walked around a little bit before Nacho had to take Martin to the airport to catch his flight home. It was both Nichole and Martin´s first time in Paris so seeing such amazing things like the Eiffel tower, Invalides, Notre Dame and much more was amazing. Then we met back up with Nacho for a late dinner before he took us to his apartment (or flat as they say it in Europe) to talk, listen to some of his favorite music, and just hang out. Since the hotel was literally right around the corner, we had no problem getting back okay. On Sunday, Nichole and I got up and went to see the Arch de Triumph and have lunch before meeting up with Nacho who had to work in the morning. Currently he is starting his 4th year in Paris working on his PhD in genetics having to do something with immunology. I´m so jealous because his native language is Spanish, he is fluent in English, and now fluent in French. I can barely manage with two languages! We walked around some more and it was really funny because I forgot that Nacho smokes and he said he wanted to buy some black market cigarettes because they are cheaper. After he got done he said ¨The transaction has been completed¨. We went to a favorite bar of Nacho´s before meeting up with his friend Matias and seeing things like the artist neighborhood, the Opera house, and the Louvre. Then we had a wonderful dinner on Sunday night at a Seafood restaurant where we all ordered the EXACT same thing. I´m talking down to the drinks. We had mussels in a cream and tomato sauce and creme brouleigh (I have no idea how to spell it right) for dessert. It was so much fun. On Monday, of course Nacho had to work so Nichole and I went walking around looking for a place to buy some French cheese for my Spanish family. We lost track of time talking in a Starbucks where we stopped for something warm and made it back to the hotel in time to check out and get Nichole to the train station and me to the airport. Thankfully, I found some cheese in the train station so it turned out okay. I was sad to say goodbye to my family since it was so good to see them together and share a bit of Paris with them. I had to fly to Milan, Italy before getting back to Madrid, but again I had no problems at the airport. There is so much more about the trip but I´ll add more later. Until then, here are just a couple of photos! Besitos!

Steph

TKD tournament and Sergio´s Karate

This weekend was the 2009 TKD Spanish International Open tournament and it was much bigger than I thought! My instructor, Santiago Maroño, is the president of the Madrid Federation of TKD and since it was held in Madrid, he was busy busy with all the teams and stuff going on. Here are some pictures of some female fighters, a Hip Hop/TKD performance that was done by some people from my gym that was very cool, Me and Ana as Mickey & Ana went with me to the tournament, and I´m trying to upload a video of a board breaking demonstration but so far not working. I will keep trying.

Earlier in the day I went to see Sergio participate in his first Karate competition where he did very well and won his first round! Everyone got a medal and he was so excited. I love being able to talk with Sergio about martial arts and we even ¨play fight¨ a little now and then. It was very cute and reminded me of the kids in my class back home in CO.

Here is a link to the video of the demonstration some people from my gym did at the tournament. It's pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wpn5B1gPug

I feel like I´m a vagabond.....

Is that how you spell it? Oh well. This week is pretty crazy for me with my simple little life here in Spain because Paquita and Elias went on vacation for 9 days and while I have my own key to the house, Paquita insisted that I stay with my Spanish siblings because ¨she was worried that I wouldn´t have enough to eat¨. :) I started at my Spanish sister, Yolanda´s house, who is the mom of Sergio and Sonia and it was fun to be with the kids. Sonia was excited for me to stay in her room and has started calling me her ¨hermanita¨ which means little sister in Spanish. Then I went to Paracuellos to stay with Carmen and Edu and Miguelito which was nice to be back there since that was my home for a while. The dog, Aena gave me such a great welcome, she almost did like 25 circles when I came in the door she was so excited! Hard to believe at one time she used to just growl and run away from me. Tonight after my first TKD class (as I normally do two on M, W, F) my Spanish brother Mickey is picking me up to go to his martial arts class with him and then I will stay the weekend with him and Ana. He graciously offered for me to stay with them the entire time (without asking Ana first.....MEN!) but I told him that as Paquita says ¨family and fish are similar, they both smell bad after three days¨. Haha! Then I will go back to Yolanda´s and back to Carmen´s before my Spanish parents come home on Thursday. I´m so thankful for my Spanish family to welcome me into their houses so easily and for all the effort that they go to for me!

When I was with Yolanda, I went with her to take Sergio for a check up at the doctor´s office and learned how the socialized health care system works here in Spain a little more. Usually about 2 months before the date of the appointment, Yolanda has to call in to reserve a time. Then, on the day of the appointment you walk into the facility and push a button to take a number. The piece of paper tells you what ¨Zone¨ to go to and then there is a television that tells you in what room you are to go. It is kind of like the DMV in Colorado where you have to wait until your number is called and then you go to that room. We waited for about 2 hours before they saw him and there were A LOT of people there. Then, they tell you when to come back and the process repeats itsself. I wonder with all the talk about the socialized health system and the changes that Obama wants to make, how Americans who are so used to getting an appointment that same day or same week will handle having to wait. Obviously the process for urgencies is a little different but I imagine that it would still be the same waiting time the day of the appointment. The only good thing was that there was no bill to worry about since the very high level of taxes that Spanish people pay (normally around 20-25% for middle class) takes care of that. I have some pictures but since the wifi that I was ¨borrowing¨ from the cafe seems to be down and I´m using Elias´ computer, those will have to wait for now.

Then one day Yolanda, Ana and I went for a walk and had one of the funniest conversations ever mostly about the tendencies about older people but also about how to delicately explain particular things in another language that are sensitive subjects. Ana´s gestures to help explain were sooooo hilarious!

I´m thinking a lot about what it will be like when I get back to the US in December and what the heck to do with myself. I really miss my doggie and am thankful to my sister, Elisa for all the great photos she posts. Even though I can never actually get her on the phone but that´s okay since she is out helping the chitlans. I miss you all and am excited to see and talk to you. Oh yea, I´m looking forward to my trip to Paris, France the last weekend of November! Anyways, take care and I will upload some photos next time.
Con amores y flores,
Stephanie

It's official, back to Alcala for me!

**These are photos of Kat's visit last week**

Okay, first of all I have to give a Miguelito update. When I go to Alcala every M, W, and F usually Miguelito is there because Carmen has German class. Today when I got there, Miguelito had just returned from a walk with Elias and decided we should play tag over and over and over. After a while I told him that I had to change my clothes for class and he didn't want to leave my room so since he is only 2.5 years old, I thought "no pasa nada" and decided it was okay to let him stay. Well, that might have been a mistake because when I was putting on my sports bra he said "Que haces? (What are you doing?)" and I said "putting on my sports bra" and he said "este no cabe (It's not big enough)". So basically he was commenting that I need a bigger sports bra because he thinks the one I have doesn't fit because it's not big enough! I busted out laughing and he just smiled. He is so darn cute but I think next time I will make him leave the room!

So while I really enjoy living in Madrid and experiencing the life in the city, I have decided that my heart is with my Spanish family and for the rest of the time that I will be in Spain before returning to the US for Xmas, I will be with them in Alcala. I'm so thankful for them and they had offered many times for me to return to live with them so when I asked them if it was okay Paquita said "Of course, you can move on Monday if you want" and so I explained that I will be in Madrid until November 5th because I have paid rent until then. I'm really excited about being with them again before I head back state side!

This past week my friend Katherine Solano was here visiting and what a week we had! There was a lot of walking, some cool things that we saw and did, and actually a lot of English, surprisingly. Kat got here on Saturday night, on Sunday we saw the Rastro and Reina Sofia, on Tuesday we went to Toledo, Kat saw the Palacio Real, we traveled to Alcala to meet my family on Thursday, Kat saw the Prado on Friday and then we had a picnic in Retiro Park, and on Saturday we did more shopping and FINALLY got to experience the Teleferico after 2 previous attempts. I'm so thankful that she came to visit and saw some of my life here in Spain as her very first trip with her brand spanking new passport! And she was very nice to take some of my summer clothes home for me since I have no idea how I'm going to get this all back into the two suitcases I came with.

Also this past week my Spanish brother Mickey was so nice to get me a chest protector because I was kicked by this kid in my TKD class and it HURT! Kat and I had gone to a store one day that Mickey found in Madrid but they just didn't have what I was looking for. But when we went to Alcala on Thursday he surprised me with a great one and I tried it in class on Friday and it worked great! Oh, and the best was when his wife Ana told us this story about a cartoon that they used to watch as kids, and it sounds like it was Japanese, where this character named Aphrodite used to shoot rockets out of her chest and Ana told me that now all I'm missing are the rockets. She is hilarious! She even demonstrated it for us for the full effect of how the rockets were in the cartoon.

I can't believe that it is less than two months until I come back to CO! And then I have to figure out what the heck to do with myself. I am certain of a road trip to Ohio being in my future to reunite with my (now much slimmer) doggie and also a quick flight over to NC to see My Girl. Other than that, not really sure. I miss you all very much! Take care and email me!!

Con amores y flores,

Estefania

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