A Note to Myself

During the past year in Spain, I kept thinking, "I really need to remember that for next year", so I thought I would post some notes to myself on here. If you have any input, please add, I will take any advice!

We are in a unique situation where we are moving every year. We will have fully furnished apartments (including kitchen utensils, etc.) in Europe, so we pretty much just need to bring clothes. But it's tough to know what to bring and also what to buy once here. Almost anything I buy for the apartment will be left behind, and I hate to spend the money to buy the same things again every year.

1. I DO NOT need to pack as much as I think I need to pack. I don't need to pack every piece of clothing that I own, I can do laundry, and Europe is not a third world country, I can buy anything I end up needing. Also, there is always Christmas and family and friends visiting that can bring me something if I need it.

2. Trust the weather - if the reports say the city is cold, it's going to be cold, no matter how warm I wish it was! This past year, I packed for Avila, Spain while living in Orlanod,Florida. I brought lots of sundresses, shorts, sandals, etc. thinking that I could surely wear them in September and May. At Christmas I took all of these things home realizing that I will never wear them in Avila, even in Spring.

3. Don't bring more than one pair of shoes that aren't comfortable, no matter how cute they are. I won't ever wear them because I am walking so much (I guess this depends on which city we live in).
4. Bring an umbrella - small to pack, and not worth buying and throwing away every year.
5. If I have room (yeah, right!), there are some food items that I missed out on last year that would be nice to have, such as brownie or cake mix, a measuring cup and teaspoons, boxes of macaroni and cheese (my favorite), certain items I use for multiple recipes - packets of taco seasoning, ranch dressing mix, etc.
6. Also if I have room, a comfy extra blanket and some extra pillowcases would be nice. I love having a blanket on the couch to watch TV and read with, and also the pillow cases in Europe (at least the ones we had last year) are kind of weird - scratchy and very long.
7. I would like to pick out a few durable (i.e. won't break in suitcase) picture frames and bring a few pictures of family and friends to make our apartment seem more like home.


Things to buy at the beginning of the year next year (some things are just not worth the money unless you can use them all year):
1. Go ahead and buy basic baking and cooking ingredients - spices and flour, sugar, etc. (This year I waited until January, and it was so much better having a fully stocked kitchen).
2. Buy a Swiffer for the wood or tile floors - a broom just doesn't clean good enough.
3. Swiffer dusting rags - wet paper towels just don't work that great.
4. Go ahead and buy necessities - like hangers for the closet.
5. Get a bath mat for the bathroom - using a towel to stand on is no fun for an entire year.
6. Go ahead and get a cell phone at the beginning of the year. I went this entire year without a cell phone and it was doable, but not preferable.

I'm hoping that next year, where ever we are, will be even better because I will be more prepared and will be able to adjust more quickly. It will be different every year - the apartment will always be furnished, but the extent of our kitchen utensils will always be different. This year we had no dishwasher, and a random compilation of mis matched cups, bowls, etc. but next year we could have a fully stocked kitchen complete with measuring cups and cookie sheets (haha-the things I'm getting excited about!). Some of Matt's teammates had a DRYER in their apartment - this is a huge deal in Spain! I would be so excited if we ever had a dryer and didn't have to line dry clothes.

Anyway, we won't know until later this summer where we will be next year, could be Spain, could be a different country, but for now I'm just enjoying the USA! 

Working Woman

I apologize for not updating more often! We have moved into our new apartment, which is wonderful, but we also do not have internet yet, which is terrible! I have been meaning to take pictures of our apartment for everyone to see, but I haven't done that yet! I will soon.

The best thing about our apartment is the location. It is right in the middle of the city, but on a quiet street. There is a section of the city that is inside a mid evil era wall, and we are in that section, which is pretty cool. We are also about a 5 minute walk from the newer downtown section of the city with lots of shops. 
I had commented to Matt that all the apartments in Spain seem to have lots of doors - and ours does too! Every room has a door. We have a living room (with a door to the hallway), a kitchen (also a door to the hallway) a bathroom and bedroom. It is small but the perfect size for us! It is nice to finally unpack our clothes and live out of a closet instead of a suitcase! I will post pictures soon.

In other news, I got a job! (Kind of). It is only 2 hours a week for right now (if you can call that a job!). I have 2 students that I am tutoring in English. A 10 year old girl and a 12 year old girl. I've had 3 others express interest in setting up a class, so hopefully those will materialize into lessons and I will have 5 students a week. Two of the ones who have expressed an interest are adults who already know English, but need to improve for their jobs. They would be the easiest to work with because it would just be a conversation for an hour. With the students, I help them with homework and have to worry about correct names for everything and what their teacher wants them to learn. For example, at my first lesson, the girl's mom said she needed to work on "present simple" tense. Anyone remember what that is? Leave a comment with an example of what present simple is (don't look it up - only if you think you know off the top of your head!). I am curious if anyone remembers! In my next post I'll give you the answer (oohh the suspense :)).

Catching up – Part 2

My first couple days in Spain, I started thinking “This is going to be harder than I thought.” I think it mostly had to do with knowing no Spanish and having no idea where I was. The first day I only quickly drove through Avila with FJ, then spent the rest of the day at the gym and the hotel. When Matt and I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, the food was really different (looking back, I think I had my worst 2 meals the first 2 days I was here). The second day I slept in at the hotel while Matt went to shoot-around, then I went to his game, which was really fun, but everyone was speaking Spanish and I was scared to talk to anyone. All I could say is “Hola, Como Estas?” and that’s it. Not a very exciting conversation. Obviously I was so excited to see Matt, and so happy I already was getting to watch a game, but I was thinking it was going to be a tough year of eating weird food, not talking to anyone, and being by myself a lot.

But…the next day (Sunday) Matt had the whole day off and we went for a walk around the city. It is so beautiful here! We walked inside the wall and saw all the houses and apartments that are so cute and old fashioned, we saw the famous cathedral, we ate at Burger King, went shopping in some really cute shops, and even found a public library that had an “English” section with some books we had heard of! I think it just made me feel better to know a little more about my surroundings. The next day I walked the same path we had taken on Sunday and sat outside the wall on some rocks and read my Nook – it was so nice to sit outside and read surrounded by a beautiful place! (P.S. Mama - the Nook was the best gift! I use it all the time!)While I was reading, a Polish visitor asked me if I spoke English, and asked me to take his picture by the wall. It was nice to speak English for a minute, and he was the first of many people that I have met who are touring Avila (I didn’t realize it was such a tourist city)! This is where I sat to read:

Monday and Tuesday are Matt’s busiest days, where he is gone almost all day at practice – usually 9:30 weights and practice and he isn’t back until about 3, then he takes a nap, then another night practice really late, 8:30 to 11:30. They are on a really tough schedule! I was hoping once the season started it would slow down, which it has a little, he was on that schedule every day, but now they only have one practice on Wednesday  - Friday. It’s so funny though, they have to do a lot of community events, like visit schools and talk to the kids, they had to go to church for the Saint Teresa festival the other day, today they have to be present at a Saint Teresa ceremony and each put a flower on her statue (I get to go to this one). They are pretty involved in the community, which is pretty cool because in return they have a lot of fans at their games.

At dinner at the hotel I’ve been practicing my Spanish with the waiters, waitresses and Matt, which has helped a lot! One night he only spoke Spanish to me at dinner and made me figure it out – I learned a lot. I told him whenever he gets tired of me talking to much, just tell me we have to speak in Spanish only…haha because I only know about 20 words. But I am learning! I really like it a lot here, and I think once I learn more of the language and once we get our apartment I’ll like it that much more.

Yes, by the way, we are still living at the hotel. The hotel is really nice though, so we don’t mind! The restaurant is right downstairs, they clean our room every day, and now they are also doing our laundry for us! So I really don’t have anything to do! The only bad thing is the restaurant has certain hours, so we get hungry sometimes and have no way to get food if its too late at night (the hotel is a decent walk to the city). Also its getting kind of tough living out of a suitcase for this long, there isn’t a dresser or anything in our room, so all my clothes are wrinkled and I don’t know where anything is. But that’s ok! Our apartment will most likely be on a different side of the city from where the hotel is, so I’m trying to spend some time outside and get to know this side of the city, then it will be kind of neat when we move to another area.

Packing

Last Tuesday I turned in my two weeks notice at work, and my last day is this Friday, September 23. I plan to fly out of Orlando to Madrid on Saturday the 24. Not much time in between! Luckily I've already been packing, my mom is coming down to help me pack, and Matt's parents are coming next weekend also. I only have a week left and I'm already tired of packing! I've just gotten to a point where I'm not sure what to pack next, so I'm sure having my mom down here will help a lot! I just need someone else around to make me get it done. I would rather be shopping for fun new clothes to bring to Spain...but maybe if we get a lot done we can go shopping toward the end of the week.

It feels weird that it is my last week at work! This is the first job I've ever had, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do when I get to Spain, so I'm trying to enjoy this last week of getting up early and being at a desk all day. I would like to have a job in Spain just to fill my time. Other wives of basketball players in Europe have told me I'm going to be really bored, but I'm looking forward to it! My mom is giving me a Nook for my birthday (I can't wait to go pick it up!) which is the perfect gift, so I will get to read a lot. I plan to work on my cooking/baking...I figure I can learn to cook some Spanish food, and also if Matt and I miss some American comfort food, they are bound to have the same basic ingredients over there right? So maybe I will learn to make some things from scratch. I would love to be a great baker, also. And I figure I can go for a run every day, spend time with God every day, all the things I want to do now but always seem too busy to find the time every day. I've heard that in Spain (and really in Europe), everyone takes life slower and really enjoys things - like the taste of food (not just eating to be full), and nature, and meeting new people (not just quick awkward small talk). I didn't make it all the way through the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" but I got the gist of it. I'm really looking forward to living in Europe and I hope I can learn to slow down and not always have to be entertained by something the way we are here in America. All the other basketball wives we know suggested I think of things like these to fill my time while Matt is busy or traveling.

I hope I'll be able to get a fun job too, to fill my time. I would love to be a nanny to just one or two kids, I would love to work in a cute clothing store, or maybe tutor someone in English. The problem is that I don't speak much any Spanish...but hopefully I'll pick it up fast once I get over there! I'm trying to learn some now, but I don't have anyone to practice speaking with.

I'm so excited to finally see Matt again and to see the cities of Avila and Madrid! Matt's team is supposed to book my flight, so I gave them the information for a flight on Saturday, but we think they may book it at a later date if they haven't found us an apartment yet. I'm not expecting to know when I'm flying out until maybe the day before! That has been the trend in the past, so I don't know why I should expect anything different now :). The earliest I would go is Saturday though, so I'm just going to be prepared for that.

On a side note, Matt had another pre-season game the other night and scored 17 points which made him the highest scorer on both teams!