The search for our Spanish home

2nd May 2011 (day 3)

Despite the fact that Anna went to bed late last night we were not able to have a real lay in. At 8am it was time to get up. We had already planned a tour we wanted to take today. The plan was to drive further away from the coast to see the inland of Spain and see if that was something that suited us and our needs. The first stop was at Medina Sidonia, a small white village which we already checked out online and wanted to see in real life. After a bit of a search we found a parkingspot and started walking down the small alleys. It was mainly uphill, but a good work out is never amiss! After a short walk we ended up at the towncenter where we sat down and enjoyed a great tapas mixta. After our short break we continued our trip. We drove through another couple of villages and finally ended up int Vejer de la Frontera. This was also a place we wanted to check out. We had to walk uphill most of the time, again, but we are getting used to it. Anna was stealing the show and chatted to the locals. Although we don't think she understood them and vice versa it was lovely to see how easy it was for her to get in contact with the Spanish people. After our walk we ended up at a small bar and decided to enjoy a little Spanish snack. The food is so simple but so tasty!!

It was a quiet and relaxing day, but also gave us some insights. During our trip we realised that this area is not the place for us. Yesterday, we went to Rota and it felt so comfortable and pleasant. This is a feeling we did not have today. Of course it helped that it was beautiful weather yesterday, but we do not think that a little bit of sunshine would change our opinion about the region. It does mean that we can scratch some places of our list. Luckily for us, we are still convinced that we want to move to Spain. We have just realised that we want to focus our search on the coastal area instead of the inlands.

Chiclana de la Frontera; the right place for our B&B?

01st May 2011 (day 2)

After a well deserved rest Anna woke up at about 7.30am. Because it was mother's day in Spain Ellen could have a lie in and JW took care of breakfast. What a way to start the holiday, with presents and a luxury breakfast! After breakfast we went to the beach were Anna enjoyed the swing, slide and other kiddies equipment. It didn't take long for her to get in contact with a cute Spanish boy, probably a little younger than Anna, she even received a piece of candy of him! Even though we did practice saying Hola! when we were still at home, it did not do us any good at the beach. The two children just stood face to face and Anna did not say anything! She even was a bit shy! We were just two very proud parents enjoying the moment and the fact that the Spanish people were so kind. Although we do not think Chiclana will be the place for us we do enjoy the Spanish culture and friendliness. Chiclana in itself did not really grasp us as yet, it is a bit too far from the airport and the area we're in is in a bit of a state. The villa and the street it is situated is very nice, but to get there gives a bit of a run down impression, which is something we want to avoid when we

have our own place in Spain. We want to be able to pick up our guests and to wow them from start to finish. Eventhough Chiclana might not be the place for us, we are getting more and more convinced that Spain is. We can't wait to move to this lovely country with the great beaches and friendly people!

Travelling to Spain

30th April 2011 (day 1)

The first day we had a terrible way to start the holiday. We had to get up very early because the plane would leave at 10 am and we had to be at the airport at 8. When we arrived at the airport we noticed a small sign saying flight delayed. Not a problem, we thought, we will spend some time at the panaroma deck and enjoy watching the planes. However, when they announced that there was an unknown delay we did start to worry a bit.

After a delay of five hours we finally boarded the plane and were on our way to Seville. We were supposed to land at 5.40pm, but again we did not quite make it. In the end we finally set foot on Spanish soil at 6pm! We were tired and Anna had had enough of waiting, but we still had to rent a car and travel for about an hour and a half to get to our rented villa. Luckily we did bring our own navigation system so we did not expect any delays on our way to the villa. At 9.30pm we opened the door to the villa, we had to do some grocery shopping on the way, and we were glad to be "home". Although the villa was not very big it had everything we needed. It even had a small welcome pack with some true English goodies in it. After unpacking and having a drink it was time to go to bed. Time to truly start our holiday in Spain!

Holiday in Spain

It's been a while since I've posted a message on my blog, but not without reason!! We went on a holiday to Spain. I already mentioned it in another blog that we want to travel to Spain so we can research the area and see if we feel as much at home as we think we will. Well I can tell you this much: we did! We absolutely liked the holiday. The weather was not at its best, but the people, the food and the surroundings swept us of our feet. We only stayed a week, which was much too short. If we could, we would have stayed much longer, but alas we had to go back to work. The next couple of days (or weeks) I will tell you about the trips and the feelings we had when we were in Spain!

Mother’s day

Whilst looking on the internet for information about fiestas in Spain I stumbled on some great news. Or at least it was pleasant information for me. On the 1st May the Spanish celebrate Mother’s day! That’s the first weekend we are in Cádiz, I couldn’t believe my luck.

Mother’s day in its current form started in America in 1910. In that year they elected the second Sunday in May as the day to celebrate Mother’s day. A lot of countries copied the concept from America and also celebrate it on that day, but there are some exceptions. Spain is one of the exceptions, because they celebrate it on the first Sunday in May.

This year I can celebrate my first Spanish mother’s day, although there are no special festivities I do intend to enjoy it to the fullest! And one week later I can celebrate it once more, because in The Netherlands we celebrate Mother’s day on the second Sunday of May! So this year I can receive a double amount of love! I really don’t have to receive twice the amount of gifts, but having a lay in and getting breakfast in bed is something I wouldn’t say no to even if it is two weeks in a row! Although I do hope that in Spain we will be able to have breakfast sitting on a patio enjoying the early morning sun. I can’t think of a better way of enjoying Mother’s day!

Fiestas and Ferias

The holiday is getting closer by the day and we are really looking forward to it. As part of the fun we are preparing our trip by looking on the internet and checking what we can see and do in that week. We already noticed a nice trip in Tarifa where we can go on a boat to spot dolphins, but we also wanted to visit a fiesta or feria to see that side of the Spanish way of living. At first we thought we hit the jackpot when we realized that 2nd May they celebrate Labour Day in Spain, but unfortunately it only means that the shops are closed that day. Luckily for us, after some more snooping around on the internet, we found some other fiestas in surrounding villages.

One of them is in Vejer where they celebrate the Feria de Primavera from 27th April until 2nd May. There is a carnival and a livestock market. It doesn’t sound very exciting, but it is certainly something we will keep in mind. Just in case we might have nothing to do one day!

Another feria, which is probably worth visiting, is the one in Jerez. It is called Feria de Caballo and takes place from 2nd May until 9th may. It is known as a colourful festival with the well-known horses from Jerez and surroundings. This is definitely a feria we want to visit. We haven’t decided which day to go yet, but we do know we will not go on 3rd May because we will go to Conil that day. Conil will celebrate the cruces de Mayo that day. They decorate crosses and show them in procession or along the streets. People on the internet say that Conil is at its best on that day so, according to us, that is a definite must see. We don’t want to miss the opportunity to really get acquainted with the Spanish culture and everything that has to do with it.
One week is probably too short to get to know the Spanish people, culture and way of living in Cádiz, but we will definitely have a go at it. Let’s just hope we will have time to relax as well!!

Can we still choose?

Every once in a while there is someone who makes us face the reality about our decisions and the way we are preparing at the moment. At those moments we rethink our plans with regard to the bed and breakfast, language school or the fact that we want to move abroad.

This time it was my dad who asked me: “will you still be able to choose? You have already enrolled for a university, JW is going to Spain and your both doing a course.” It made me realise that, maybe, we can't choose any more. Of course we can still decide not to go at all, but if we want to move abroad Spain will definitely be the place to go. Even though we said we would use our holiday in May to experience if Spain offers a future for us, the decisions we made in the last few months have ensured that we either have to move to Spain or we won't move at all. I know there are also other countries in which they speak Spanish, but going to South America is not something we would choose to do. It is simply to far away!Luckily, we are both still very enthusiastic about moving to Spain, so the chance that we won't move is very small. How ever, we will keep in mind that we still have the opportunity to say “no” if we really want to. And if so, we will at least have had a great experience preparing for the move!

La Feria de Malaga

On the site of the language school, which JW is going to visit in August, there was a note that it will be closed on the first Friday of his course. We were very curious what could be the reason for that so we explored it a bit more. So we had a look on the internet and found out that they celebrate Feria de Malaga from 12^th August until 21^st August. JW couldn't belief his luck!!

The Feria de Malaga is a big feast, which can be compared to carnival, and includes a big fair. The fair basically includes flamenco, other Spanish dances and fino (sherry). It exists since 1487 and was started to remember, and of course celebrate, the victory by Isabella and Ferdinand. Nearly all the females where beautiful flamenco dresses and the men also wear traditional Spanish costumes. During the day people can enjoy dancing and singing in the city centre, and during the night people can go to a gigantic field with hundreds of market booths where one can walk around and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere with music, alcohol and tapas.

Let's just hope that JW will still find time to do his homework. One thing is certain: he will definitely have enough opportunities to experience the true Spanish culture!

Language course in Spain

JW has spent some time to find a language course in Spain. He did most of his research on the computer and after a few hours of research he found two he liked. Together we compared the two, most of the details were the same so JW had to decide which one felt best. He decided to go to the school which he found on linguaschools.com. A small school in the centre of Malaga. Especially the location of the school was one of the reasons why JW has chosen it. He could just see himself finish class, walk across the street, order a cerveza, and do his homework while enjoying this cold beer and the warm sun!

JW will leave 14^th August from the Bremen Airport and will return on 24^th August. This will give him two whole weeks to learn the language and get to know the Spanish culture. He has chosen to stay with a Spanish family to ensure the fact that he will be surrounded by true Spanish life!

Language course

Tuesday we had our final Spanish lesson. We were put to work with exercises dealing with pronouns, reflexive pronouns, objects, subjects and many other grammar subjects. Are we ready to have a conversation?

Yesterday there were oral exams at my school, and since I teach most of those classes I had the task to organise that afternoon and prepare the pupils for it. They had to have conversations in five different situations; at the doctor's, at a police station, at a train station, at a job centre and they had to phone enquiries to make a collect call. The pupils have been preparing and practicing for weeks.

Whilst I was preparing with the pupils I started to wonder if I would be able to do all this in Spanish. I should have a bit of a basis after twenty lessons, but I doubt it if I would be able to have the conversations the pupils would have. I understand even better what the pupils must be feeling, because they feel similar about English as I do about Spanish. I realise how much work the study Spanish is going to be, because in four years time I need to go from “¡Hola, me llamo Ellen! to beautiful sentences and long conversations! I will have to work very hard the coming months. And in October we will start the second language course to improve our Spanish even more!