Finding a Neighborhood and a Ward

On Saturday, Mario and I decided to put all our fears of driving behind us and go out and check out some neighborhoods.  If we lived in the city, by Mario's work, we were thinking about an apartment similar to this one:

It doesn't look all that great from the outside, but inside it is about 3000 square feet plus across the street from a city park.  So we figured it would be a good compromise if we could live by a park.  But we were so undecided.  It seemed like everyone we talked to advised us to live in the city.  It was tempting because I knew Erin wouldn't be able to drive there, so she could use the metro to go anywhere she wanted to go.  But the longer I rode the metro, the more I realized I wasn't sure I wanted her to be on it more than she had to.  There is a lot of exposure to worldly things on the metro.

So Mario and I decided to drive out to the suburbs and see if we could find an area closer to the school to live.  We found a great area about 5 minutes south of the school that we both thought were nice.  The houses were huge-probably at least 5,000-9,000 square feet.  Mario was in heaven, but I was nervous about the utility bills in such a large house.  It was more of a rural area with all the neighborhoods a little more spaced apart with large fences around there entire property so I don't think the neighbors get to know one another.  But we found that very common in all the neighborhoods.

We decided to try the wards for both the city and for that suburban area on Sunday.  It was a huge challenge trying to figure out what the ward boundaries were but one day I came across a feature on LDS.org that outlined the boundaries of each ward in the city.  I'm glad I took a picture of it because I haven't found that feature since.  The purple and blue lines are the boundaries.

We attended the 5th Ward Sunday morning.  That would have been the ward if we chose the city apartment.  It was wonderful because they have several members from the Philippines in the ward so they had a separate RS and Sunday School class taught in English.  We couldn't stay for Sacrament meeting because we had to rush down to the 9th Ward that would be our ward if we chose the neighborhood in the suburbs.  Nothing was taught in English.  I can understand a little bit of Spanish but the teachers spoke so fast, I understood nothing.  I did meet a great American family at the ward though and the wife told me that she regrets not moving to a neighborhood just north of the school because that is where many of the American families live that attend the American School we had chosen.  Oh man, I wish I would have known that earlier.  That would have made this whole process easier.  Of course I want to live where my kids will have the most friends and be able to walk to each other's houses.  I tried to ask the school if there was a neighborhood where a lot of students lived and their answer was "all over the city."

So Mario and I abandoned both neighborhoods we were considering and drove over to the neighborhood just north of the school.  We had driven a little of the neighborhood before and didn't like it, but this time we found some streets we did like. Most of the houses are duplexes but they are huge and have garages and their own private pools.  Unfortunately the neighborhood is in the Madrid 1st ward and so we weren't able to attend church since it was too late.  But they do meet in the same building, in the city as the 5th Ward.  So we at least got to see the building.

It was a crazy, busy weekend but we felt so good that we narrowed down the neighborhood, we knew what school and what ward we would attend.

Oh, I almost forgot.  We woke up Sunday morning to a big DUI bust just outside our hotel.  Aren't their little police vehicles so cute?  This was definitely not a pro on the pro and cons list of living in the city.  It is noisy.  The first morning I was awoken by a crowd cheering at 5 am.  You would have thought their Real Madrid team was playing a soccer game at that time. But no, just a bunch of drunks.  Again, another reason not to choose the city.

The Metro and Pizza

On Friday, Mario showed me around the city.  I somehow talked him into taking the Metro (underground public transportation system) all the way to IKEA.  It probably took close to an hour to get there, but it was worth it.  Mario had never been to an IKEA and I think he loved it as much as I did.  It made us want to get rid of all our furniture and start over.  We know it's not the best quality furniture but who needs great quality when you move so often and the movers will destroy it anyway.

If I remember correctly, Mario had to get back to the city for his Spanish tutoring and I just hung out there on the computer while he studied.

After that, we explored more of the city using the Metro.  I absolutely loved the Metro, except I am afraid of germs.  I should have packed some hand sanitizer.  Everyone says the public transportation is cheap but I didn't find it cheap.  I guess if you live there and buy a month pass, it is cheaper than gas and car insurance.  But for us, we were paying $2-$3 for each leg of our trip.  But it was worth it because I learned the system very well and quickly so Mario trusted me to use it alone while he was in class.  One day, I even bought a daily pass for $12 and I tell you what, I got my money's worth.  Mario wouldn't let me buy one of those again because we went EVERYWHERE all day long. I kept getting lost once I got off the Metro and I often headed the complete opposite direction.  Like, one morning I decided I would go look for the Temple.  I got off and walked about a mile before deciding I must be going the wrong direction.  I got a lot of exercise that day.

Friday evening, Frank and his wife, picked us up at our hotel and we walked to a pizza place a couple blocks away.  Wow, best pizza I have even eaten.  We got there about 8 pm (restaurants close in the afternoon and don't reopen until at least 8 pm) and stayed until a little after 11.  It was quite different than the US.  You have to signal to the server that you want them to come to your table.  They don't just drop by every few minutes.  They don't bring you the check until you signal for them.  The restaurants apparently don't care if you hang out all night long.  I kept expecting them to kick us out because they got really busy around 10 pm, but not a word.  We had a good time talking to Frank and his wife.  Frank did most of the talking which was a little annoying.  We found him to be a little flaky but pretty nice.  We got the impression that he doesn't work a whole lot.  He started already making some excuses for why the office isn't run as efficiently as it should.  I guess he doesn't want Mario blaming him when Mario takes over the job.  Who knows, but Mario and I were glad to be introduced to that pizza place.  It was delicious and another restaurant that we went back to a few times that week.

Picking a School

I have been home a week now and things have finally calmed down enough that I can sit down and blog about my time in Spain.

I arrived about 9:30 on Thursday morning.  Mario picked me up with a rental car and we were off to the hotel so I could shower and change before our noon meeting at the American School and 3:30 meeting with the International school.  I was crazy for scheduling appointments so soon after getting off an all night flight but I was anxious to find a school so we could find a neighborhood.  We didn't have a GPS but we found the American School with using the maps app on my iPhone that wasn't connected to service but it would at least have a dot showing where we were.  That app came in handy all week.  We pulled up to the school and it was completely gated off with an armed security guard.  We had to put my purse through an airport-type security screener.  I asked if the kids have to do that everyday and he said no, just visitors.  We walked in to the school and was greeted by a very friendly lady who gave us a tour of the entire middle and upper school.  When we first walked in, we saw a boy in line with his class wearing a BYU t-shirt.  Mario so desperately wanted to go talk to him and get his info so we could contact his parents.  But I restrained him.  But seeing that shirt was such comfort to us because we knew there would be other LDS kids in the school.

We loved the school.  Our tour guide let us walk in the classrooms and see the interactions between the teachers and the students.  One thing I noticed, was everyone looked very happy and friendly. The teachers spoke perfect English, which I later found out was because they only hire teachers from America.  That was a relief because I was worried about the teachers using heavy accents and my children not understanding.  I received 3 B's in college and 2 of them were from a teacher from India and I didn't understand but a few words he said.  So I'm clearly not good with accents. The school was clean, big, and modern looking.  It has 1/3 American, 1/3 Spaniard, 1/3 International students.  So I love the diversity my children will be exposed to, but still enough Americans to feel at home.  The school offers many clubs and sports (unfortunately not crosscountry) and Boy Scouts. The kids are very excited because soccer is HUGE in Spain and two soccer players from the Real Madrid have their children at that school.  One of them, Ronaldo, is regarded by some as the world's best soccer player.  A father told me that the mothers all dress up now to take their kids to and from school in hopes to see Ronaldo.  Fortunately the military will pay for transportation for the kids so hopefully I won't have to drop off and pick up very often.

Our next stop was the International College of Spain.  It is k-12, not a college level like we know here in the US.  We should have turned around the moment we saw it and not wasted our time.  It was also very heavily guarded and once we got inside, we could barely find a parking spot.  I'm pretty sure we parked illegally.  The admissions lady forgot to write down our appointment so she wasn't aware we were coming.  Fortunately, she was kind enough to show us around anyway.  The school was so unimpressive.  It was in an old mansion (which is kind of cool) but very outdated.  We saw many students just lounging around.  Mario said it looked like a daycare.  I'm not sure it was that bad but it just made our school decision so much easier.  It was also located in a very rich neighborhood and we decided that just wasn't a neighborhood we would be comfortable living in. Besides, we could only afford an apartment near that school.

Getting back to the hotel after visiting the school proved to be a huge challenge and would have made that $150 GPS rental so worth it.  We got lost for probably two hours.  There are two large loops that circle Madrid.  So it sounded easy. Holy cow!  Their highways are so confusing.  We had to stop and ask for help so many times and even got a police escort for part of the route.  We were so upset by time we got back to the hotel, that we wanted to return our rental car the next day.  We didn't want anything to do with driving in Madrid.

But, at least step one was completed, we found a school!  That evening Mario showed me a local grocery store and we went out to a tiny little restaurant that served the most delicious salads and crepes made fresh right in front of us.  It turned out to be the cheapest place we could find, but also one of the most delicious.  So we went there at least 2 or 3 more times that week.  They knew us well by time we left because there are just two young guys that own and work there.  Fortunately, it is only a block or two from Mario's work so we can meet there for lunch often.

Incredibly, I was able to stay away until 9 pm that night and then I slept solidly until about 5 in the morning and then I went back to sleep until 9 am, which is really sleeping in for me.

Our police escort

My Observations about the People in Madrid

First thing I noticed was that many smoke especially young teenage and college age girls. They don't have tattoos. They don't chew gum and don't wear sunglasses. They don't have brand names plastered all over their clothing and purses like we do in the US. They drive tiny cars (makes the Toyota Prius look large) but expensive cars. There are lots of BMW, Mini Coopers, Mercedes, and Land Rovers. Their bigger cars like mini vans are really narrow and they have to be because the streets are very narrow with cars parked everywhere. We don't see many of the vans. We've only seen a couple trucks and they don't really look the same. They have back ends covered not open like we do in US.

They have the best transportation here with the underground metro system. I absolutely love it. It can literally take us anywhere in the city. It is very busy in the afternoon because everyone goes home for siestas. Then they go back to work after.

Food is mostly the same as the US, just different brands. There are a few things we couldn't find in the regular grocery store like peanut butter and Mac and Cheese. Don't worry though, we found an American store that sells each for about $9. Ouch!!! They don't use preservatives in their food here which is good. They love their breads, so do I. I have to stay away from the bakeries. I think most of the salads are oil and vinegar. I don't think they do dressings like Ranch.

The people here love little children and they give them lots of candy. My kids should love that aspect. I asked an American at church if her kids mind going to church where they don't understand the language. She said no because they always get large bags of chocolate even on Fast Sunday.

The people are super affectionate. They hug and kiss all over each other. The public displays of affection will take a little getting used to.

The people have been super friendly to us. A Puerto Rican guy that Mario is replacing says that the locals aren't friendly to him. We found that odd since they have been very friendly to us. But then Mario guessed that maybe it's because Mario is very light skinned like the people here. I guess there some prejudices towards Latinos here.

Spain, Here I Come

I'm so excited to be flying out to Spain today. Mario and I consider this our 20 year anniversary trip. We have lots to see and do so it won't be relaxing. But it should be lots of fun.

If I could just find a Spanish/English dictionary for the times Mario is in class and I'm out on my own. (I say that just to stress Mario and Eric out. I think they want me to just stay in the hotel room while Mario is being tutored.)

Not sure what to do with myself as I sit in the airport and on the airplane without four kids to keep under control. This really will be a vacation!

Hopefully I will be able to find Mario at the airport without too much trouble. This shall be interesting.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sophie and Spain Updates

I am losing track of all Sophie's vet visits.  We've been back at least twice since the last post.  They removed the drains last week but her stitches still hadn't healed.  So the vet asked us to leave her in the kennel for another week with her cone on.  I have bruises up and down my legs from her banging into me with that dumb cone.  It frightens Mario and the kids when they see all my bruises.  I am not sure why I'm the only one with bruises.  Hmmm.....must be because I am the one that takes care of her the majority of time.  Mario helps some and he doesn't bruise, so lucky him.  She goes back to the vet on Saturday to see if he can remove the stitches.  I was so upset last week at her appointment and how she wasn't healing.  I got a little emotional, (I know, not me, I am never emotional) and the vet must have noticed and didn't even charge me for the vet visit.  Today's visit was only $19.00.  I am sure glad to find this vet.  He's awesome!

After talking to the guy he's replacing in Spain, Mario decided that it was necessary (or at least a good idea) for me to fly out to Spain this month also for a week.  He had been granted a two week language immersion program there, so all I have to pay for is my flight over and my mom's flight to watch the kids.  I feel bad because she is missing my dad's birthday and also a RS activity that she was responsible for all the food.  She is very kind to help us out.  At first I wasn't really seeing the necessity of me going.  But then we started looking into different private schools (all at the US government's expense-thank you to all the tax payers out there who are funding $75,000 a year for my three kids' education)  and the different areas to live.  With a nice size housing allowance as well (again thanks to all the taxpayers) we have a lot to choose from.  Do we live in a 3,000 square foot apartment downtown with no pool but easy commute to Mario's work?  Or do we live in the suburbs and have a big house with our own pool and possible tennis and basketball courts?  Or do we live in the wealthy neighborhood in a smaller apartment but in an area that a lot of children that my kids go to school with live?  Erin doesn't like the idea of living in a wealthy community since we don't buy her expensive clothes. Unfortunately she'll be with all those kids in school anyway.  I've been corresponding with an English speaking Bishop's wife over there and she has been very helpful. If we live in the wealthy area, she will be in our ward.  That's temping since I know there will be at least a couple people I can speak to in English.  The Bishop teaches seminary in English to his own children before school and they said Erin could join in.  The rest of the kids apparently do it in Spanish during the week and on Saturdays.  The Bishop's family is German, but they speak Spanish, and Japanese as well as English.  I can't even imagine.  I'm struggling with the idea that I'm going to be able to learn Spanish while I am there. It seems so unimaginable.  I think Heavenly Father is prepping me for Spanish speaking missions with Mario.

I'm super excited about going to Spain in a couple weeks.  I have already made appointments to talk to the admissions people at two of the schools we are considering.  The first appointment is only 3 hours after I arrive.  Mario thinks that will be a mistake because I will be so exhausted from the plane trip.  But I feel we need to narrow down the school choice as quickly as possible so maybe that will help narrow down the house choice too.

The kids are all doing well in school.  Everyone seems to be content with their teachers.  Eric is extremely busy with volunteering at the hospital, shadowing the Bishop at his dental clinic, and working.  Erin joined cross country which made Mario and I very happy.  She loves it even when she has to run 3 miles in the mud.  We are happy for her.  Zach is still super excited about Spain and would like to attend a local Spanish school but Nate says no way.  He seems to be getting over the initial shock that we are moving overseas.  He gets excited to look at houses online.

Another Vet Visit

When I woke up Saturday morning and came down to let Sophie out of her kennel, I noticed that her cone was no longer on properly.  Oh no, her stitches, I thought.  But, she was only 2 days away from getting that cone off, so maybe there was hope that she really didn't do any damage.  I let Sophie out of her kennel to eat and go the bathroom.  That's when I noticed a fluid with just a bit of a blood tinge to it all over the floor.  Poor Mario had just gotten home at 5:30 that morning from work and so he only had an hour of sleep when I had to wake him to help me get the cone back on.  We knew we had no choice but to call the vet.  Fortunately our awesome, way less expensive than normal vet, had Saturday hours. She had fluid built up around her stitches that had to be drained.  They put a drain in and I elected to have them keep her for the weekend because I didn't want it draining all over my house.  Disgusting!  I think it's probably my fault that she got the fluid to begin with because it happens with too much exercise and I had let her chase a ball last week.

I am now to the point where I don't want a dog anymore.  Why did I have to cry so hard over Buzz that Mario got me another dog immediately?!  Why did he have to get a huge dog that needs so much exercise?  Why does this dog constantly need to go to the vet?  Why does she shed so much?

I have really been enjoying the couple days with her gone.  I can leave food on the counter.  I can put a glass of water down in the family room without worrying about it getting knocked over.  Best of all, I can eat popcorn in peace (Sophie loves popcorn, but I think she is allergic to the corn.)

Now with the move to Spain and the prospect of living downtown in a great apartment, I am ready to say goodbye to her.  I have two people standing in my way-Mario and Zach.  I am trying to think of a bribe that would be good enough for Zach but so far, I haven't found one.  

I am now to the point where I told them I am no longer taking care of her.  I am tired of doing most of the walks, doing most of the sweeping and vacuuming, and picking up after her.  I plan to buy a baby gate today so that I can contain her to the family room so I can manage the dog hair better.  In her defense, we never brush her.

I do love Sophie and I am probably all talk.  I love that if I hear a strange noise at night, I don't worry at all.  If Sophie isn't barking, then I know the house is safe.  I love getting out and playing ball with her. I love watching her slip and slide on the ice in the winter.   I love walking in the house and seeing her there waiting for us. So when all is said and done, I probably won't have the heart to give her up either.