Things I don’t like:
- People smoking. It’s everywhere. Yucky.
- Dogs going to the bathroom and leaving “presents” on the street. Owners, if there are any, rarely “clean it up,” and you definitely have to watch where you walk! :-P There are also no grassy areas like in the States. So yeah...it’s kind of gross.
- The sloooooow pace of walking. It was one of the first things I noticed from living in Montblanc, and no one seemed to know what I was talking about when I asked teachers about it. Silvia, the British woman who lives in
Tarragona - Roundabouts. They’re everywhere. Like every five minutes while driving!
- Not being served butter or ketchup at restaurants. Sniff!
- Store hours. Everything shuts down for two hours in the afternoon for the lunch break. It’s just part of life here.
- The unreliability of when things work or if someone even goes to work. I’ve yet to get a library card because the “printer hasn’t been working” for several weeks now, I would have had to wait a week later to get the much-needed apartment contract signed were it not for Javi’s insistence that it had to be done THAT day, and the mayor was supposed to sign my empadronamiento papers one day but just randomly decided that he wasn’t going to work that day. So I had to wait until the next day. Okaaay. Haha! And internet access isn’t always reliable either. :-) Again, this is just part of life. I just have to deal with it.
- My phone buzzer in my flat. I thought it was fun at first, but every time it goes off, I jump about 7 feet in the air, try to calm my racing heart, and then have to debate if it’s for me (unlikely) or if the person just pushed the wrong buzzer and wanted to talk to Rosa (quite likely).
Rosa said that she’s getting names for the buzzers soon, but...no sign of that yet. :-) - Mouse sighting #2. Sigh. The mice issue isn’t over! Shudder. I saw one scurry from the hallway to behind the TV the day I got back from
Italy (Italy Italy - And finally, Montblanc wind. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good warm, happy wind. But now that winter’s almost here, we have cold weather AND cold wind. Like crazy wind. Sometimes it keeps me up at night, and other times I think I’m literally going to be blown away. Craaaazy.
But enough of negative stuff! Onward to more likeable things! :-)
Things I do like:
- The beautiful mountains I get to see every day
- The epic medieval wall I get to see every day
- The safeness and family-oriented lifestyle
- The affection between parents and children/ grandparents and grandchildren
- The rolling farmland I get to see on the way to work
- The stray dogs and cats who like me. One sweet black kitty crawled in my lap, kneaded her claws in me, and just sat there purring. Ahhh...
- The caring and over-protective teachers, especially Javi/Cati, Anna Maria, and Laura. Javi gave me a bunch of groceries and random helpful things on my first day (even a shopping bag!), Laura gave me extra kitchen towels and a potholder to use, Anna Maria let me use her phone to call home whenever I ask, Laura is lending me one of her laptops and let me use a cord to download pictures, Javi and Cati let me borrow a scale and measuring tape for me to prepare for my flight to Italy, several teachers have offered to take me shopping and have paid for various meals, Javi’s taken me all over the place and been with me for so many things, helping anyway he can, Elisabeth gave me some fruit, several teachers are lending me Spanish books and resources, and they’re just always there when I need something. Laura’s offered to let me cry with her if I’m every homesick (which I’m not, minus the whole “I wish my dad could make this mouse problem go away” thing. :-D), and Javi will randomly ask things like, “Does your washing machine work okay? How are the new microwave and iron? Ask Cati if you ANY questions about the iron. Are you cold in your flat? Do you need anything?” I’ve also gotten tips from several teachers about where to buy fruit, what brands of stuff are good and which aren’t, etc. And anything I casually mention to Laura or Javi quickly gets relayed to the other person. :-P Javi and Cati asked me one evening if I needed to buy anything, and I just causally mentioned that I’d need some walking shoes eventually. Javi apparently told Laura about it, because she knew soon after! Then they apparently had a debate if I needed them soon or if I wanted to wait until the big sales in January. Haha! And Javi just seems to see and know all. He noticed that I didn’t have a necklace/band thing for my flash drive (I’ve gotten through four years of college without one, thank you very much) and gave me one from the school the next day. I also have paper, folders, etc. from the school and Javi. The school actually pays for anything like that I would need, which is cool! And Laura and Anna Maria especially look into my eyes whenever I see them, genuinely ask how I’m doing, and expect a genuine reply. I think Laura knows me the best since we’ve worked the longest and the most closely together, and it’s been weird only seeing her once a week now. But every time I do, she always tries to take me aside and see how things are going. And they truly are going well! I guess something in my expression has changed over the past two months, because she’s always noting that my face and eyes look happier every week. How can you NOT be happy with such a great God and such amazing people here? Even the mouse and cigarette smoke pale in comparison to how blessed I am.
- Working with kids
- Teaching English
- Learning Catalan
- Using Spanish
- The church in Lleida
- The epic feeling of European history every time I walk outside
- The constant feeling that God is watching, protecting, and growing me
- Getting emails and updates from back home! So keep ‘em coming, okay?
- Getting a package from Mom and Amanda with stickers and books for the children. They loved it, and it was sooo cool to get some mail!
- Getting Thanksgiving cards from two aunts—on the same day! Totally made my day.
- Travelling. Especially if I can meet up with Katie! :-)
- Flan
- Euros. They look cool.
- Doing laundry. Weird, right? But if it’s just yours and you only have a few loads a week, it’s kind of fun. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, I just shove everything in together. Heh heh.
- Living here and not just being a tourist. When I travel, I’m a tourist. But in Montblanc and the Conca? Nope!
- Getting paid. Money, money, money! Ahahahahaha!
- Apparently, I like not having anyone criticize the way I live or keep house. I had a dream that my sister was here and was complaining about how I do things. Haha! Please, Amanda, if you come visit, don’t be like my dream. You were a meanie! That’s not very nice. :-P
- Having a blog and rambling about what I do. Obviously.
- AN iPOD!
- Walking around Montblanc
- Feeling like I actually understand the whole train thing better. Woot!
- Having a break from commercialism and the retail world. I love my coworkers and plan to return in the summer, but ohhhh...how glorious it is to get away from all of that for a spell!
- Explaining what being homeschooled is. NO ONE here has EVER heard of such a thing, and I just get a kick out of it every time. Yeah. It’s one of those weird homeschooler things. We like to laugh at people who don’t understand our ways, I guess. :-)
- And finally, I like seeing God answer prayer. He is truly awesome.
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