Week One in Madrid, Spain

Greetings!

I've been in Madrid for almost a week now and am finally adjusted to the time change and almost adjusted to the life style. One thing I will never have to worry about here is going hungry! The family (Diana and Antonio) are always giving me or offering food and the same goes as I have met other family members. I am starting to turn the question back around on them and ask them if they want this or that! There is not too much time that passes until the next meal...it basically goes like this: breakfast, snack, lunch(a big meal), snack, and dinner. I wanted to give adequate attention to meals and eating because so much time revolves around this and I love it!

The kids are fantastic, Carla is three and Antonio is 5. The are so much fun and of course full of energy. They're also kids, which makes the day quite exhausting! It has been interesting trying to only speak to them in English. They know some basic words and I know they understand me most of the time whether or not the let on to it, clever little ones eh? The parents want me to only speak in English with the kids so there is a lot of Spanglish going around all the time. It is also a mix of Spanish and English outside the house, but mostly Spanish. A lot of their family knows English and I think they like to practice with me. Then they switch to Spanish because they realize I want to improve as well. Everyone has been so hospitable, welcoming and kind. They have made me feel comfortable and at home. It is rather crazy to just enter into the lives of another family, especially midweek!

Yesterday, we went to a huge park like nothing I have ever seen in the states! Apparently we only saw a third of it. There were places to fish, a train ride for kids, jungle gyms everywhere, small and big soccer fields, paddle/tennis/basketball courts and never ending running and bike trails. It's only about a 10-15 minute run from their house. It is so nice to see people, kids and families outside all the time. Oh, and the constant sunshine and 60-65 degree weather is an added bonus! I believe we are going to meet more family today and no doubt eat a lot of delicious food :)

It's time to get up and get rolling! I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will and I'll try and get them up with the next blog post.

desde España....besos y abrazos!

Lauren