Reflecting Back / Looking Forward (Deborah)

Well, we are back home, and here are my thoughts on:
What I Liked About Barcelona, and What I Like About Murray

Here is What I Enjoyed There:

Lots of interesting things to do and see at such convenient proximity to apartment.

I feel blessed to have been a part of the International Church there, and all the people we met there, friends we made.

Convenience of grabbing a needed grocery item for a meal. For instance, I'm making biscuits one morning, realize I'm low on jam, so ask Josiah or Kathryn to go to supermarket to get some (while I stay and prepare food). They can walk, it's close, they're back in 5 minutes. At home, I would need to change menu or do without ingredient.

Convenience of recycling--large bins for everything within a few yards of apartment and very abundant throughout city.

Public transportation is nice, though it has its drawbacks, it is for the most part very convenient.

Forced to get exercise, since so much walking is required to get around.

Gigantic flea market within walking distance to our apartment--open 4 days a week. Just fun to walk around and look at stuff, watch people, get good deals.

Large fresh market, a metro ride away, with huge variety of fresh meats, produce, cheese, bread, etc., but my favorite parts were the fresh fruit juices and the Greek cafe's.

Weather was nice there, for spring season anyway. Okay, May was nice, really nice. Moderate temps, slight comfortable breeze. We did have one or two cold days in May, but mostly it was great. Heard it gets stuffy in summers, so we were there at a good time.

Here is What I Didn't Like So Much, Appreciate About Home

Jim mentioned in another blog that the writing of dates there makes more sense. I agree, but sense or not--it is so confusing since I'm used to another way. Glad to get back to the U.S. (familiar) way.

Struggling to communicate--Although good learning experience for a temporary time period, challenging and at times, frustrating

Late night city and apartment noise. There must not be a such thing in Spain as "disturbing the peace". People in apartment and outside it are sometimes very noisy very late at night. Anything from loud talking, laughing, dancing, music, etc. We're talking til 12:00 a.m. or later. Added to that are the loud traffic noises nearby. Difficult to get to sleep some nights, or get back to sleep when awoken. Appreciate our quiet neighborhood in Murray.

Operating hours of businesses are inconvenient. On the days we didn't have an outing planned, we did school in apartment in mornings, then after lunch, maybe run an errand or 2, or planned to. But most businesses are closed between 2:00 and 5:00. Supermarkets are open throughout the day, but there's no 24/7 there--9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. And closed on Sundays. So we just had to plan. And it worked. Just makes me appreciate the extended hours here.

Several places didn't accept credit cards, and it wasn't so easy to get out cash, but Jim handled that part for us and we made it work. Just a little inconvenience.

Worldliness--nudity in statues in several parks, profanities on T-shirts in souvenir shops--and not hidden away either, very blatant.

Smoking--in city, but thankfully banned in restaurants. Still, many people here smoke, so you pass it several times daily when out. And in apartments, the smell comes in windows when you try to open them a little for some "fresh" air.

Traffic seemed to have a slight disrespect for pedestrians. Cars were more than anxious to go, even when pedestrian light was green. They didn't stop behind a line when their light was red, they just pulled right up and waited for you to walk through, but stepped on it as soon as you were clear. Had to always be watching out for that.

So yes, we have proved we can wash dishes by hand for 3 months, and this is no complaint, but the dishwasher is just a good invention, okay?

And living without a dryer is more work, but is doable. However, I'm enjoying the soft towels again.

I so appreciate my oven here. The one there worked, but didn't heat evenly at all, so had to flip everything over and add to cooking time. Plus figuring out all the metric conversions.

It was a challenge to find certain items in grocery store there. Some I found a close enough similar, others I found if I looked at several stores, others they just don't have in Spain. But we tried different things, and that worked. Just glad to be able to easily find baking/cooking ingredients again. Going to Kroger the other day just made me appreciate the variety we have here in grocery stores.

Back in Murray

After waking about 6:15 am Wednesday morning in Barcelona, we arrived in Murray, KY about 26 hours later at 12:30 am Thursday morning local time. We started by moving 6 large luggage bags plus 4 carryon bags plus 6 backpacks plus 3 bags of giveaway items plus 2 trash bags down to the ground floor, loading our bags into two cars to go to the airport (thanks to Pastor Dan and wife Kathy from the church), traveling to Newark, NJ, waiting almost 7 hours in the Newark airport while we moved between 4 different gates using feet, tram and bus as our plane was delayed (trust me, it is not that nice of an airport), a plane flight to Nashville, finding our car in the parking lot (thanks Rick for leaving it in an easy-to-find place), having to wait in our car in Clarksville, TN for awhile as severe storms passed through, and finally pulling in the driveway in Murray with one person (Deborah) awake.

We have lots of great memories and received lots of support from US friends and new friends in Spain. I am sure the children will fill in some details on our last few days as they adjust back "normal" living.

Ways we have been Learning Spanish (Josiah)

There are several ways we have been learning Spanish. I will outline some of the major ones.

The main one for me anyway is simply communication. Our next door neighbors that we have met speak slowly for us, and use a simple vocabulary. When Mom's at the store, she sometimes needs my help. Sometimes, I take 5 minutes planning something to say and making sure I'm saying it right. Then, after I say it, I realize that I was a little off. However, I've learned a lot of words in the 2 and a half months we've been here. I discovered that if I understand the main words in the sentence (simple subject, simple predicate, and direct object), then I can put together the pieces to understand the sentence. For instance, if you heard someone say "want" and "chocolate", you could guess they were saying, "I want some chocolate" without hearing everything they said. It's similar with Spanish.

We also watch television. There is a cartoon channel that is in Spanish, and also the Spanish subtitles. The subtitles help a lot especially in shows like Sponge Bob where the characters speak so fast, I'd be surprised if a native speaker could understand them. In those shows, I just rely on the subtitles. I have learned a handful of words by watching television. It's a great way to learn.

Another way is reading books. Books can be interesting and they help you learn at the same time. I read books at 8 year old level, but that's OK. Unlike cartoons, when I see a word I don't know in a book, I can use a translator, and I haven't fallen behind on what's going on. Books are not in a hurry.

Of course, Catalan is the official language in Barcelona. The Catalan I know is "Hi, Thank you, please" and a few meats for sandwiches. Another large quantity of words is similar to English or Spanish, but I've sort of given up on Catalan by now, because everyone can speak Spanish.

I think that trying to learn a new language is an adventure.

Parc Guell (Deborah)

We have visited Parc Guell twice since being here, once back in March, and once last week. This is a very beautiful, unique, and popular park here. Throughout the park are many stone structures, tiled formations, and buildings designed by Gaudi, for Eusebi Guell, who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona.  Think he succeeded.

View of the city from top of Parc Guell

View of people standing at top of Parc Guell

Parc Guell is known for many features, one of which is the "curved benches"

Stone columned structure among hiking trails in the park

Another hilarious street performer.  Man's face is poking up out of stroller appearing to be a baby.  Made hand motions for you to come get a picture with him, and if you didn't, he pouted.  Cried, laughed, clapped like a baby.  Good acting.

View of park from front entrance

One of many tiled structures in park

Famous (around here) tiled Parc Guell Lizard

One of the tiled structures on ceiling

Gatehouse at main entrance

Museum Night in Barcelona(Kathryn)

Dad got a text message from one of our friends saying that night would be museum night in Barcelona.  48 museums would be free from 7:00pm to 1:00am.  Yes, you read that right.  Get used to Spanish time. We looked at some tourist shops close to La Rambla, then met with some people from the International Church of Barcelona (ICB) to hand out food and clothes to the needy.  After that, we ate supper and went to the Ideas and Inventions museum.  It had 2-story slide but they wouldn't let us use it becuase it was broken or
something.  Anyways, the museum was cooler than I thought it would be.  I hadn't heard of any of the inventions.  some were cool, and some were totally dumb.  Like, for instance, one of them I couldn't understand too well but it seemed to me like instead of the baby growing in a woman's belly, you stick it in the microwave and let it grow the baby.  Weird.  One of the inventions was florescent dog food so after awhile, your dog's poop will glow in the dark so you won't accidentally step on it at night.  I thought that was gross, but Dad liked it.  He was wondering why it didn't catch on.  Maybe it tasted bad, I don't know.

After the Ideas and Inventions Museum, we looked for the magic museum, but couldn't find it.  We walked awhile in the sprinkles and looked at some maps, but then it started to rain harder so we decided to go home.

After Mom got back from worship team practice, she and Josiah and I went to a music museum a few blocks away.  Oh, and guess when we left?  11:00 pm.  The museum was filled with old and weird instruments, even a guitar with 2 handles.  One piano had an unnecessary tall wooden thing on top of it.  I quized Mom on what it was, and she said slide.  The answer was giraffe.  There were a couple videos we watched at the end, and when we got back home, it was 12:30 pm.  Mom only got about 6 hours of sleep, to get up and practice with the worship team before the services.  We went to the zoo with the Fandls after church, but I'll talk about that next time.

The Chocolate Museum and Park Cuitadella (Deborah)

One day last week, the children and I headed out to The Chocolate Museum in Barcelona. Nice tasty ticket--a chocolate bar. And the good kind--dark chocolate! This museum mostly focused on displays of sculptures made completely of chocolate. There was also information to read about where and when the cacao plant/bean was first discovered, how the beans were used as money, and how liquid chocolate was used to cure ailments. There were videos to watch showing the process of melting, pouring, molding, sculpting, etc., and a hands-on screen with chocolate trivia questions to guess at. We also got to look through the glass windows of the very large kitchen where about 20 or so "chocolate chefs and sculptors" were at work on their creations. Here are some pictures from the museum.

Cacao bean plant

Enjoying eating tickets in front of "Barcelona's Arc de Triomf" display

Spanish bull fight

Park Guell lizard

Can you recycle sculpted chocolate?

Machine used to grind cacao beans

Posing in front of huge chocolate bar

The chefs and sculptors

After the chocolate museum, we ate lunch at an outside cafe', and then walked to Park Cuitadella, one of Barcelona's nicest parks. For an extra treat, we got to go on a rowboat ride on a large pond. We all shared in the rowing. Here are some pictures from the park.

The Fair(Kathryn)

We went to the fair 2 days ago(May 4th)which we saw being set up on our "beach" trip.  We have seen sand, though, and hope to make a couple beach trips before we leave.

At first, when we got there, which was about 6:45, the fair looked a little "rinky dink" as Dad said. We went over to where we thought most of the fair was going on.  Half the rides were "crazy" as Mom would say.  One ride was about 50 feet in the air and on the top and bottom were  seats.  The ride went round and round, not like a carousel, but like a wheel.  OK, get this.  So, you're 50 feet in the air, you're facing the ground, and all of a sudden, you go flying toward the ground at full speed.  Who wants to go on that ride?  That's an example of a "crazy" ride.

We kept turning the corners and there was always more games and rides!  Dad said Liam and Marianna get 10 euros to spend, and Josiah and I get 12.  That may seem like a lot, but the rides are 3 euros.  We had done like the fun house and then, all of a sudden, it was 9:00.  We ate supper at a festival next to the fair, with Spanish dancing.  We actually ate kind of early for Spain; 9:15.  We got a meal that was for 2 people, and it fed all 6 of us.  I did a fun house and bumper cars.  I played 2 games and had $3.50 left when it was time to go home, so Dad "banked it".  Here's some pictures and videos:



This is the fun house.   All rides or fun houses are 3 euros.  The four of us children did it.  It was fun, bigger than the fun house in the Murray fair.

 Marianna and Liam did a car ride, grooving around the "city".They chose a police car of the many choices, with Liam in the front and
Marianna in the back.

Marianna went on a "train" ride, getting sprayed by soap bubbles and water every time she went in the tunnel.  She also got a free balloon.

Eating a supper for 2 that fed us all at the festival

Mom, Liam, and Marianna doing a bull ride(they probably had 4 of these in the fair!)

Top 5 Highlights of the Month of April (Josiah)

5. Las Ramblas

Street performer

We went to Las Ramblas in March, but we went again about a week ago.  There were a few street performers and statues.  I noticed that the statues will do something special when you put money in to encourage others to do so.  One performer was dressed as a monster, and when someone put money in, he would do something scary.  Dad handed me a coin to give to the monster, but I didn't have enough courage to do so.  A lot of the souvenir shops have high prices.  So, I decided to wait to buy a T-shirt at one of the shops next to Las Ramblas.  My favorite part of Las Ramblas is the street performers.  I think they do a really good job.


4. Aquarium

Fish in the Aquarium

We went to the aquarium on the last day of April, so it barely makes it in.  We met the Fandl's there, so we got to spend the day with them.  Mrs. Fandl gave us some sheets that had 10 questions on it.  During our visit, we find answers to the questions and then we get a small gift.  I quickly circled 2 of my answers that were beyond easy, then when we entered the aquarium.  There were 20-25 tanks in the aquarium, so we started at the 1st one (good thinking).  There are around 100 fish in each tank.  We learned about eels, sea horses, octopuses, clown fish (quite a few people I know call these Nemos), puffer fish, and much more.

3. Olympic Museum

Ski Jumper in the Olympics

If I put something associated with my birthday too high, it may be taken wrong.  But anyway, as Mom and I wrote about, we went to the Olympic Museum with Marwan for my birthday.  Beside each sport was a description of the sport's history and then maybe a cool record set or something like that.  Also there was a place where Marwan and I saw videos of highlights of all the Olympics.  And on to another room, there were some running and jumping games.  They were able to figure out how high you jumped and how long you jumped.  I didn't do so well.  It was a fun experience anyway.

2. Sagrada Familia

Inside the Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is probably the best attraction in Barcelona.  We got tickets to go all the way to the top. First, we explored the bottom.  The stained glass windows were very colorful, and the atmosphere is wonderful.  When finished, the "Jesus" statue will reach all the way up to 170 meters (557 feet)!  There are creatures and scenes from the Bible engraved all over the cathedral.  At the top, there were spectacular views.  Below the cathedral is a museum with paintings of the Sagrada Familia and the gravestone of Gaudi.  If I came back to Barcelona some day, I'd definitely head towards the Sagrada Familia.

1. Paris

Eiffel Tower

Paris is a beautiful city.  The only bad thing about it is that it's a little dirty.  The public transportation was a little old, and the people didn't have the same smile and "Hola!" as Barcelona does.  For everything else, Paris was awesome.  If there was anything better than the Eiffel Tower, it would have to be the pastries!  The crepes were fantastic!  However, when you buy one, make sure you remember to grab quite a few dozen napkins.  I realized after going to Paris how awesome the invention of the napkin really is.  Anyway, Paris altogether, with its Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, Pompidou Centre, and Pantheon, is an awesome place!