5 day update!

?Que Tal?

I've been doing a bunch of different things since my trip to Madrid, so let's see. . . where to begin:

On Saturday, 

I had lessons to make up for when I was gone on Friday. We focused on questions to get to know people better. Things like "what is your name", "where are you from", "when is your birthday" and "what is your favorite . . .". Their assignment was to ask all 8 questions to 5 people, and have them sign the card after it was completed. (5 included me, their dad, their mom, tata (mom's old nanny), and ciri (nanny) ) It was quite rewarding to see that they were actually practicing what we did in class.

During the day we went to their Aunt's pool because their was being painted. It was a fun time being over there and getting to cool off. We also got to spend time with cousins Patricia and Laura, who later came over to spend the rest of the night with us.

Because their Dad's favorite food is Pizza, we decided to make some for dinner. Since we had so many people (9= mom, dad, mer, alvaro, me, ciri, tata, pat, laura) we made 4 pizzas. They came out great! Here are two of them. (veggie & chorizo) The others were just ham & cheese.

The rest of the night was spent playing Wii Fit, and taking turns with the mini games. Its fun to try and break each others records too.

Sunday, 
Was the big day. THE FINALE OF THE WORLD CUP!!!! During the day we just hung around the house but for the game we went over to a friend's house. It was quite the game with tons of yellow cards, and suspenseful goal attempts too. When Spain finally scored the whole room cheered! Fireworks started going off around the neighborhood and thus began the never ending honking of horns on the motorway. It was so exciting as Spain had never been in the finals before, and this is their first ever world cup win. For the next few days, the entire city was celebrating.

After the win, the kids took the Spanish Flag and hung it over the railing where the road is to try and get passing car's attention. When one came by they would cheer "VIVA ESPANA!!!" and if the car honked they would cheer. If the just drove by they would shout mean things to it. It was quite fun to watch, and even better to be a part of.

I didn't go into the City of Madrid, as I had no one to go with (the adults don't want to be with all the crazyness) but it was really neat to watch on TV. Definitely a really cool feeling to be here when Spain won the la Copa Mundial!

Monday, 
People were still celebrating, but we were back to English classes. It was mostly review, and then focus on the Words of the Day "Pool" and "Fence". The pool was finally done being drained, cleaned, painted, and dry, so we filled it back up and were able to swim/play.

When Quique got home from work, we all took a trip to the outlet mall. It looks just like the ones in Florida, very nice, outdoor design, and has all the same stores, with a few Spain specific ones. The dad loves to shop, the mom not as much, and the kids - only like it when they get something.

There was a purse I liked by Lacoste, but then I remembered that the prices are in Euros, not Dollars, then figured I didn't really need it.

Tuesday,

Was Tata's day to return home to Seville. After the classes we all hopped in the car to drive to Madrid to drop her off at the train station. The place itself is very pretty, and has a whole area for trees, vegetation, and turtles! 

The kids were very excited to show them to me, as there are 1,000s of them there in the station.

Since tia Marta lives in Madrid, we spent some time looking at the shops by her house, and got new shirts for Alvaro and a new swimsuit for Mercedes. She got to spend the night with tia Marta, and both kids couldn't have been happier. For dinner, the 4 of us (me, Alvaro, Magui, Quique) went out to this great Italian Restaurant near Magui's work. It was delicious! Also, it was kinda neat to hear the waiter speak Spanish in an Italian accent. I had the house wine which is sorta like Sangria, but it has different ingredients. Something to definitely check out later. My main course was Gnocci Pesto (pictured below). It was awesome. 

After dinner I went out with the parents and their friends for drinks at the nearby terrace, which is absolutely gorgeous! Think of a huge backyard patio, covered in small white couches, ikea tables, tealight candles, and a perfect view of the sky. That, plus good friends, and conversation made for yet another excellent evening in Spain.


Wednesday,
Wow how time flies. Since Mer was late getting back from tia Martas, Alvaro and I made some progress in Super Mario Bros. Then it was time for class. They had a quiz today so there was a lot of material to be reviewed. After our Spaghetti lunch, we went with Marta to see Shrek 3! Of course it was in Spanish, but I was surprised at how well I understood 90% of it! Sure there were words here and there that I didn't know, but overall I feel as if I saw the movie, and that seeing it in English would feel like seeing it for the 2nd time. This makes me feel quite accomplished :)


  The theater for our film was  HUGE!!! The screen was just about from ceiling to floor, and wall to wall. I've seen films in IMAX but this was just crazy big. The kids wanted to see just how big it was, and Alvaro counted 99 paces of his 10 year old feet.

I have planned my trips to Seville, Barcelona, and Toledo, and can't believe how fast my stay in Spain is flying by! I've already been here for over a week, and have so many things planned, I hope I fit it all in! Tomorrow I'm going to Madrid to visit with one of my dad's friends, and then next week I hope to get together with some other Geo Visions-Conversation Corps people to hang out in the city. Should be fun!

For now,

Peace, Love, and Happiness,

~Jenna