C-C-C-Cambios

Good news! We booked a flight for our Fall Break!

The plan changed many times. Our first goal was to do Prague, the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, and Istanbul – but we quickly realized that was nearly impossible to do in 10 days on a budget. Then we thought we’d mix things up with a Glasgow and Prague vacation. Multiple search engines, three travel agents, and much heartache later, we conceded defeat and dropped Prague from the agenda.

As of now, we’re headed to Dublin (for about $100 round trip!). The plan is: countryside by day, Dublin by night. After 3-4 days, we’ll head off to some other location. (Currently on the list is Oslo, Norway… But we could be swayed towards another site by compelling information and cheap airfare.) When I got home I was pretty excited to tell María Pepa and Alfonzo – they seem to think that I have family there. Alfonzo said that if I share ancestors with people, then we’re family. It makes me think of when Kathy Griffin invited all the Griffins in Ireland to share a pint with her…

Also, three German girls came to stay with us. They’re students, but only here for a week. I was not at all warned, ran into them in the hallway, and was thoroughly confused. They don’t speak much Spanish, and I’m sure they’re questioning what kind of American I am because I won’t talk to them in English en casa. They ate dinner before me because there’s not room at the table for all of us, and then María Pepa was upset because all she had left for me was half a personal pizza. I was pretty much ecstatic with the news and told her how perfect that was because it’s really not necessary that she feed me so much at dinner. She shook her head. I told her I was still full because we eat so much for lunch. I wish you could have seen her face – it was like a combination of bewilderment and incomprehension. Alfonzo was pretty amused and told me I was going to have to start running in the park. I agreed, but I was definitely not laughing about it. In the end, she made me half the pizza, two slices of Italian bread with salt and olive oil (which she puts on seriously everything), tomato-ish sauce, and this lunchmeat with dates and nuts in it, and a flan. Meanwhile, she literally ate some of the pizza crusts and an entire tomato, cut in half, with salt and olive oil.

Although María Pepa seems to be the worst, all of the kids are having trouble with how much food they’re served. My friend Dawn decided to tell her mom that she wanted to lose weight. Her mom told her that was perfect because the food she makes has little to no fat in it, and then proceeded to give her a third helping of chicken.

In celebration of our Ireland plans, the five of us decided to go to Hannigans (where else?) and say “slancha” over pints of Guinness. (Actually, we went to “Big” Hannigans this time, which is the by the same owners, but in a more ritzy part of town.) I was in a good mood and decided to invite the German girls along. Either they didn’t understand me, or they didn’t know why I was inviting them to an Irish Pub in Spain, so they just giggled a little and declined. They’re loss I figured. This morning I was talking to them over breakfast and learned they are sixteen. I was horrified. I wonder what they think of me inviting children to a bar? Maybe I should tell them I used to be an RA...

Well, I better go - Dawn and I have launched a full on project to start volunteering at an elementary school down the street and we have to go meet some professoras.

Abrazos!