Assorted news and pictures

We finally have our internet back, so I can stop shaking and weeping in a corner and make a new blog post. No, it wasn't that bad, just a bit frustrating dealing with a cold massive telecom and it's barely-sentient zombie-minion phone workers.

Before I start my usual ramblings and snide remarks, a couple pictures from one of our last beach days that never made it into a post. Carrie has missed the beach more than I have.
































This is Ana, and this picture represents her pretty well. She's awesome, and is the librarian at the children's library. She's been a huge help and a great friend. Earlier this week she took us on an amazing tour of some of the town's historic spots. I'll post about that later once I get all the pictures sorted.

















Here is downtown Palma at night. What's going on, you may ask? A witch-burning!
















Just kidding. Live flamenco, of course! Carrie and Aryanna are taking flamenco lessons now from the lady in front center and they both love it.















Flamenco is so old that people aren't sure exactly when it started. There are different theories about it's origins, but the generally accepted is that it originated in Andalucia from the gypsy culture and then spread throughout Spain. There are many different branches and styles that have developed over the centuries. Aryanna is starting with bulerias, a more rapid and dramatic form of flamenco that originated in Jerez de la Frontera in the 19th century. Carrie is starting with sevillanas, a more folkloric spanish dance that focuses on the hands and is danced in pairs.

And just proof you can have a 1950s American breakfast anywhere:
















In other news, the kids are in school and doing well. Carrie and I start work this week, and our new American roommate is arriving in a few hours, so I better go clean some more.

I Had Trouble In Getting To Solla-Sollew err.. Palma Del Rio

We’ve finally finished our move to Palma del Rio! Actually we finished a bit ago, but it took us a little while to find a Wi-Fi spot. Thank you to everyone who helped out in so many ways. We couldn’t have done it without you. Not sure why these letters turned gray, but oh well.

Our thrilling moving tale begins with a block of ice in our refrigerator.

Note the orange playing Han-Solo-in-carbonite on the right.

The refrigerator needed defrosted before our move and as usual I tried to solve my problems by stabbing them with a knife. Of course I promptly punctured the freezer wall and vented horrible chemicals into my kitchen. Despite the exciting moment this provided, buying a replacement put a large, unwelcome dent in our moving budget. Eep. My mother informed me that not using sharp objects to defrost freezers is common knowledge. Too common to teach your children, apparently…

That was the first special moment.

The second was renting a car to move with. We had asked a friend if she could drive us, but unfortunately she was swamped with work, so we turned to rental agencies. Of the rental agencies in Cadiz, only two had offices near Palma for us to return the car to. Of the two, Avis had a nice budget station wagon that was perfect for our needs. Unfortunately they were out of car seats, and since we had kids they said they couldn’t rent a car to us. Running low on options, we turned to Europcar, who had only one car available: a hot 2008 Alfa Romeo sedan with only 3,000 kilometers on the clock, a big, powerful turbo diesel, and a big price tag to match. Ouch. But they had car seats, so we sucked it up and took it. Let’s face it, even for destitute hippies like ourselves, moving a family of 4 in a sedan is a squeeze, but at least we got there fast and in style. Oh wait, the car had a 130km/h limiter, so scratch the fast part. 5 days later, Carrie still had trouble walking upright from being packed in the trunk for 3 hours.

I was too stressed and busy to take pictures, but it looked like this:

So Friday morning found us frantically packing the car on the sidewalk, hoping nobody would call a towtruck on us before we finished. We were on a timeline to reach Palma before 2pm to get the keys from the rental agency before they shut down for the afternoon siesta. This way we could drive to Cordoba to return the car and be home in a decent time. Unfortunately we rolled into Palma at 2:45. We called the agent, but she was at her home in another town until 6pm. The temperature was pushing 100F, but we bought some sandwich fixin’s at a supermarket and had a lunch in the shade of a palm tree. This was our nice moment of the day.

At 6pm we met the agent, did our contract, and got our keys. By 7pm the car was unpacked and we were on the road to Cordoba to take the car back (and return by train). We had the option to return it in the morning, but the idea of waking up early and rushing to Cordoba to have the car back by 10am sounded even more stressful since Cordoba is an hour away. We’re about 40 minutes from home when I start worrying that the car rental place might be closed by the time we get there. My worry is compounded by my exhaustion and the idea of having to drive home again without accomplishing anything besides wasting diesel if my fears prove true.

Like most big old cities, Cordoba is a snarled mess, and I spend quite some time driving around in nasty traffic with no idea where I’m going. The worry of having to drive back to Palma is gnawing even more now that I have no idea how to get back out of town. We finally found the train station, circled it three times at 5 minutes a pop figuring out where to park and made it to the Europcar booth. Still open! Booyah! The lady goes to check out the car, and Carrie goes to look for train tickets. Relief floods over us.

Oops, too soon. The online timetables we had consulted had lied. There are no more trains to Palma this evening. We tell the nice Europcar lady we might actually need the car back again, but first we run across the street to the bus terminal to check for a bus. The Information booth tells us to check Lines 1 and 2 to see if there is a bus there. We rush outside, but the slots are empty. He tells us we are out of luck. At this point I taught the kids some new words and we hurry back to the train station to get our car back. Utter exhaustion and stress is almost hallucinogenic and I wasn’t even sure I was fit to drive home at this point.

I hadn’t even considered a taxi due to the distance, but as we ran past one Carrie suggested we check the rates anyway…56 euro. That was far less than I expected, and when I figured out the extra cost of gas, stress, and headache to drive myself home and then back in the morning, the price was downright fantastic. We settled our paperwork with Europcar, and took a taxi home. Leaving Cordoba slumped in the passenger’s seat was the greatest feeling in the world.

Finally at home, amid the moving chaos:

Now that we’re here, Palma del Rio is a breath of fresh air in our lives. We didn’t realize exactly how stressful city living was until we were out of it. Everything that pissed us off in Cadiz seems to be fixed here. People are exceptionally friendly, strangers smile and talk, government workers are helpful and polite, lines are shorter, flour tortillas are cheap, we have a spacious place for the kids to play, our house is QUIET, well lit, well equipped, and clean, with a landlord we don’t want to beat with a stick, our work is close, everything is cheaper, the streets are wide with light traffic and actual sidewalks…I get giddy just thinking about it. The elementary school where Carrie will be working only had space for Aryanna, but once they realized Carrie was going to be working there, they made room for Ash as well. Perks!

We’ve come to recognize the importance of silence, greenery, and light for our personal well-being and happiness. This may come as a surprise to those who associate me with dark, air-conditioned rooms full of blinking lights and strange electronic devices, but everything is a balance, and we just don’t thrive in a loud and busy city environment. We can walk across Palma in 15 minutes, and that suits us just fine.

This park is directly across from the children and Carrie’s school on the edge of town, about a 10 minute walk from our house.

Never take a nice kitchen for granted. We certainly never will again. What’s the first thing a good Mennonite does in a nice new kitchen? Chocolate chip cookies of course!

We found a fantastic and friendly inmobiliaria in Palma who helped us find our townhouse. These companies manage properties for landlords. They also have all the utility bills to our house in their name. We simply pay them the actual cost each month. This saves us both the hefty deposit costs as well as the massive headache of going to each utility office and setting up an account. We went through that process in Cadiz and I hope never to repeat it. My passport threatened to self-destruct if I photocopied it one more time.

By our third day here the neighbor kids realized there were new kids on the block and came ringing our doorbell wanting Ash and Aryanna to come play. They get along very well. One little boy in particular rings our bell to the point of being a minor annoyance. Still, we’re thrilled they can have daily playmates.

The kids’ school starts on the 15^th, and our work on October 1^st. We can’t wait to get into a nice steady, stable routine. The weather is already getting cooler in the nights. Palma had light snow in 2006, so maybe we’ll get lucky and see some winter weather. Til next time!