Day 81

.Saying Goodbye.

We have now approached Semana Santa, which for all those Non-Catholics out there (including myself) means that the kids are out of school from Thursday to next next Monday. Thats 11 days of holiday. Basically its the equivalent of spring break but they get out in the middle of the week AND its named to celebrate Easter, more or less. So since i'm leaving Monday that means Today was my last day waking up at 7:30am, my last day struggling to wake, dress, and feed my 7yr old, my last day walking him to school, AND my last week in the school.

I wish i could say i was sad. I wish i could say that I will miss the kids.. but i'd hate to lie to you all. I will tell you that I will miss all the kids yelling "hello Oton!" down the street. That kind of attention is sketchy back home but here, its love.

Now. the kids made sure to take full advantage of me leaving and somehow talked their teachers into throwing me a lil shindig. Take a gander:

Professor Autumn "luh da kids"

"You! sit still." "You! look forward!" "Stop touching her!" "Get your finger out your nose!"

"Stop fighting!" "Oh forget it, this'll do..."

I even got gifts! but if you thought this is was highlight of the day.. you aint seen nothing yet lol... please click the links below:

Thats right! Ya girl got front row performances from the 1st grade. Be jealous.

........

Then the 4th grade teacher gave me a book of poetry the students wrote.... in English... well, bad English but they tried lol. I should take some of the blame. I suggested the poetry week. I thought the rhyming would help. but no. haha. no it didn't. here's a lil taste:

so yes. good week indeed. i'll miss the provided entertainment they gave me on a bi-weekly basis. haha

Alright people. time to get some last minute bonding in with the family. Barcelona vs. Madrid soccer match tonight for the King Cup!

5 days left!

.peace.love.and rockets.

.autumn.

Day 75

.Ya Es Primavera: Parte Dos.

So as my previous posted so eloquently stated, I am pretty geeked about spring here. There's no pollen, an incredible breeze, and sun. and lots of it. While they claim this is uncharateristically warm for April, I'm taking what I can get! Now Lets get on with the pictures!

This post is long ovedue and was meant to be posted last week and then this monday.. Oh well.. better late than never.

We have been taking in the sun any way possible starting with lunch, dinner, drinks, futbol, errthang outside/in the street. It has been fantastic.

This is the lil 5yr was my sidekick all night.. what a cutie

So this is basically Wednesday through Friday of last week.. just golden.

Then Saturday, they decided, when the week decided to hit its April record high of 87°, to go to Las Bardenas.. which is a mountainous desert of some sort... Now at this point my mind was like "uhh say whhaaa, is there really no other day we can do this?" apparently not. Either was it was soooo worth it. Check it out:

[i don't know what the deal is with BlogSpot but it just will NOT let me upload these pictures so please visit the link below for photos from Las Bardenas and my run-in with a horse]

http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/z404/AutumnHowardUGA/Spain/Las%20Bardenas/

i'll try another post with other pics...

till then.

.peace.love.and rockets.

.autumn.

Day 65

.Ya Es Primavera.

I'm so pumped its spring I can't even stand it. The last post i put a picture of me in my shorts! What a great day that was.. that is until I went outside. I might need to save those for home because the looks I was getting from the locals did NOT scream, "hey girl, you enjoy the spring girrrrl"... no no. it was more like "hey girl, what can you do for 20€?" #rude. Just admire my stems and move on, sir. Thank you.

BUT ANYWAY. I decided to honor my shorts-wearing ness with a trip to a nearby salon for a mani and pedi so I could bust out the sandals to match. WELL let me just say that as many things that Spain might due better than the US, narcism is highest, American style. I don't think any other country cares more about how they look on a daily than we do. So when I went to the salon for some pampering, I was a bit more than disappointed.

Wait. Back-up. i won't blame the country of Spain for one woman's lack of skill or hygiene. That's not fair but Julie from the Nail Club on Lawrenceville-Suwanee got me spoiled so I'm sorry booboo, expectations were high. I blame myself. I shoulda known better. When I saw the woman, her stubby, less than clean nails should have been the first give-away. But I was there with a friend so i figured, hey, i'm already here, lets give her a chance.

shame shame. i might have been her first manicure. there was no massage chair... Umm, excuse me? THEN then all her tools looked all used (and i mean personally..like from her house) and like they came from a kit from WalGreens.. AND THEN when she brought out the assortment of colors, them thangs looked like they came from the bargain bin section of the beauty supply store! all 9 of them. No OPI or ChinaGlaze in sight.. shame shame. and don't even get me started on the paint job..

Needless to say, she never got to my toes. No No booboo. less than professional.. less than apprentice-type service.

Moving on. The rest of the weekend was highly spring-tastic. I started at the street fair, which they have every Saturday chock-full of local fruits, veggies and random items of clothing and whatnot. It was quite entertaining. I went with Amanda and she and I enjoyed the local entertainment the people constantly provide without even trying. Who doesn't love people watching??

THen, Eva's brother celebrated his birthday this weekend so we carried on to their "clubhouse"-type spot to lunch and pool time. Shorts and bikini in the same weekend?! #BI-WINNING.

Man they love their paella because we had that, yet again. But hey, no complaints. It was Bomb, yet again. And after an afternoon of sunbathing and indoor pooling and coolin in the sauna (to finally rid myself of this dang cold) I prepped for the night. It was pretty chill. Dinner with some friends and a few drinks out enjoying the night. I was home by 1:30. Nothing spectacular yet still a good night.

You know those lottery machine that they have in random bars and airports that nobody wins.. yea, they won! well 40€ but free money is free money!

....................

Today at the school people kept reminding me how little time i have left here.. 3 weeks! tear! I can't believe I'm so close to the end. SAD FACE. I just started getting the hang of this place! I'm just starting to NOT want to serve my 7yr old with a round-house kick to face! It can't be time alreadyyy... Eva's got me screening emails for new au pairs. She says she wants one 'just like me'.. aw Eva. best believe, I'll be back at some point to kick it with them soon. Hopefully next September for the festivalss..

and poor Amanda.. stuck here with Crazzzyy Ana by herself. Po thang. hopefully they will have replaced me in time so she has a buddy.

BUT in the mean time, I'm compiling the many pictures from my time here and making a schnazzy little book/gift for them so they can remember me. I think they'll like it. I hope so, idk what else to give haha. but they've been so good to me. Its the least i can do right??

Weeeelllll thats all i have for you now. Till next time,

Peace.love.and rockets.

.autumn.

making their first appearance in 2011!

my shorts! i now declare this, SPRING

Some things are the same in every language :)

Day 60

.MIA.

Hey folks.. I know I've been missing in action for quite some time but there hasn't been too much going on here worth blogging about. Everything been very...routine. no strange occurrences, no new cities. just me, the kid, and the people of Cintruenigo.

Some highlights of the past week are:

The New Coffee Machine (660 € = about $900).. yeah, they spent guap but it's soo fly. It more like an espresso/cappuccino machine because coffee here is NOT like coffee at home. its mas fuerte! and this baby's got alllll the bells and whistles. Its legit like a live in Barista. I drink coffee just cuz i can and i feel OH SO european doing it.

The chronic steak i consumed for dinner last Saturday. It all started with some sausages that he couldnt wait to grill outside with the new spring weather. Next thing you know the man went out and bought all the steaks in the city and hosted this big ol' steak dinner shindig with friends and errbody. NO SIDES, just meat... uhh?
Eva was not amused, po thang. She had the longest day. Men are so funny.

And now Jorge.. is sick. Look at him haha.. just like a man. He's so helpless on that couch. Eva told him to go get in the bed... he just rolled over haha. But the not so funny thing is, I think i caught it too :( .. it was only a matter of time. the way he goes around touchin stuff, breathin on stuff, not washing his hands. Thats where the boy gets it from (shaking my head). I asked her where they keep their disinfectant spray and she looked at me like O_0?! saying "what's that? oh no, we don't do that." Say whhaa?? WELL little does she know I know i always keep my handy dandy Lysol pocket spray and hand sanitizer on me always.

tsk tsk, So sad but i am fighting like a champ. i got my nyquil, cough drops, juice, and other American reinforcements. so wish me luck

READY.

...................................

In other news, Tarielle left to go back home today, this morning actually. Sad right?! that was my newest buddy. We were kicking it on a pretty much daily basis But Ana, her host mom, was straight fruit loops crazy. She needed to get out of that house (and thats all i'll say about that!). The funniest part of that whole situation is their new au pair comes...TODAY. THATS right. They're dropping off the old and bringing in the new, in the same day. po kids.. Eva and I plan to sniff her out and give Tarielle the skinny..

Paz and i made her some very lovely parting gifts (and by lovely i mean.. they look like they were made by Ismael.. but we were short on time). I "forgot" to take pics of them to post but because i love my many readers... (haha.. 'many') I have requested she email me pictures of them so i can post for you all to judge me for. Its fine, I'm comfortable with who i am haha.

The past 2 weeks were interestingly difficult as I experienced my first spell of homesickness since I was like 12. I know what you're thinking. Surprised me too!! I missed my American crap-shoot of a diet. I missed being able to text and call ppl whenever I felt like it. I missed Eastern Standard Time. American television in English. Athens, GA. The List Continues.

But i've snapped out of it. I had some much needed convos with some of my favorite people and now i'm back to loving my temporary life here. I have to make the most of my last days.. i'll regret it if i don't. I mean, I am in SPAIN afterall! Can you believe April is here!?

(shoutout to all my april babies. it seems like about 83% of the people I love most were born in April. Good Month)

But thats all i have for you right now. believe it or not.. The sun finally decided to bring spring temperatures to I can finally bust out my shorts, sandals, and swimsuit.

26 days left?! Where'd the time go?!

Ok. Good times to come. More pics to come. More Shenanigans to write about...to come. I hope!

Till then,

peace, love, and rockets.

.autumn.

Day 53

.a time to reflect

My Spanish yoga class has given me ample time to sit in silence and meditate on my own thoughts.

I was tagged in a note on Facebook with this snippet of positivity .. in this time of reflection, in this period of my life, i found it oh so appropriate and right on time. Hopefully you will too.

Health:

Drink plenty of water.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

Live with the 3 E’s - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

Play more games.

Read more books than you did in 2010.

Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

Sleep for 7 hours.

Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Don’t have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

Don’t over do. Keep your limits.

Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.

Dream more while you are awake.

Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.

Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

Smile and laugh more.

You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

Call your family often.

Each day give something good to others.

Forgive everyone for everything.

Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

Try to make at least three people smile each day.

What other people think of you is none of your business.

Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

Do the right thing!

Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

The best is yet to come.

Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Thanks Danielle.