Days 2 and 3

Finishing up the last post:

Day 2:
I came in third at Mario Kart!!!! Paula was so proud- it was the highlight of my day. Just kidding. The real highlight was the beach, but I’ll get to that later. In the morning I went a tiny mall near our house with Amparo and Paula, where Amparo got some groceries and Paula got a haircut. When we got home we ate lunch, which is usually served around 3, and is the biggest meal of the day. It usually has several courses, and after the meal we always have fruit. They all peel and cut all their fruit before eating it, which seems to me like a lot of work just to eat a peach. I’m sure one day I’m going to slice my finger open peeling a plum or something. We talked about September 11th a bit, and how everyone remembers what they were doing that day. Amparo told me that the two dates that everyone remembers in Spain are September 11th and the day Franco died.

After lunch, it was siesta time, and Paula and I both fell asleep watching TV. After our little siesta, Amparo said we would all go into the city so they could show me Valencia. Paula’s first question, of course, was “are we taking the convertible?” We did :) Valencia is gorgeous. We went to the port, and then…..drum roll please…the beach!!! It was amazing. I have never felt sand so soft in my life. Absolutely incredible. I could have stayed there for many days, staring at the Mediterranean with the sand between my toes.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant that Amparo told me is Paula’s favorite. It was a Hollywood themed American restaurant, kind of like an Applebees. The best part was watching my host family carefully cut the onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and buffalo wings with a knife and fork, and then carefully dip them in the sauce. Of course I did this as well, because I didn’t really want to clue them in on the fact that these things are usually eaten with your hands. Paula ordered an entire rack of ribs, which, to my disbelief, she proceeded to nearly finish. Ambrosio said that she always orders it, and the waiters always put it in front of him because, of course, they don’t think the rack of ribs is for this tiny girl. By the time we finished it was nearly midnight, which is typical Spain. Then it was home, and off to bed.

Day 3:
Today was Amparo’s birthday!! The entire family came over for a barbacoa- three grandparents, Ambrosio’s brother and sister-in-law, and their baby Julia. Amparo’s parents arrived first, and Amparo’s mother deemed me hermosa and told me my Spanish was quite good. We had a HUGE lunch, at a very typical time of 3:00. It consisted of bread and olive oil (of course), salad, pasta salad, baked potatos, lamb chops, some kind of sausage, and two cakes for dessert. Everyone kept telling me to eat more food, and by the end I was so full and tired I could’ve fallen asleep at the table. Everyone stayed until about 6:30. We talked, cleaned up, and chased baby Julia around, during which time she took….another drum roll please….her first steps! It was so cute. Everyone cheered and Julia gave a proud smile. When Ambrosio’s brother was leaving he asked if I played tennis. I said no, not very well anyway, and he said “good, we’ll play sometime so I can finally beat someone.” I received many invitations to come visit anytime, and we all are invited to Julia’s 1st birthday at the end of the month. Overall, a truly wonderful day. Tomorrow is the first day of school, so wish me luck!

XOXO Paige

P.S. For those of you who are wondering, the lisp has already begun to sneak in when I'm talking.