Meet Marijke

So Marijke finally got her visa and found us at the hotel in Granada. We've been hanging out ever since (obviously, since we are living together) and just getting a feel for each other. We arrived back home to Aguadulce today and showed her some pretty places in the city and she invited us all out for tapas. In Spain when someone says "Te invito" it means that (s)he is going to pay for everything.

BTW, to end the grand debate, her name is pronounced ma-reek. And, her laugh and mannerisms totally remind me of (and she even sort of looks like) my mom's good friend Diana. It's incredible.

Earlier today was the orientation stuff that was all like how to open your bank accounts and how to get your NIE (foreigner identification number) so that you can be all legal and stuff. One thing that was interesting to learn was that the banks here in Spain give most of the money they make back to the community in form of sponsoring art and cultural events. So, for example, in Zaragoza where Cayetana lives (her dad works for a bank there) the bank sponsors a few historic patios and several painting and sculptural exhibitions. They also bring in theatre events and other stuff too. I think that's an awesome way to do things. Unfortunately we haven't had much luck in finding cultural events here in Aguadulce.

We also learned that this program has grown like a crapton in the past few years. In Andalucía alone 2 years ago there were about 60 people at the orientation course from the US and the UK; today there were almost 600 people from France, Australia, UK, Belgium, Germany, China, New Zealand, Canada and the US that are going to assist in bilingual centers in not only English but also in German and French. All in all the program has 1900 foreigners all through Spain. Nice, right?

Granada was as pretty as ever. In most parts of Andalucía there is a strong moorish influence from when Spain was ruled by the moors, but especially in the cities like Seville, Toledo, and Granada. In Granada there is a group of palaces (and misc. important old buildings) in a complex called La Alhambra. Last time we came I bought that hand necklace that I always wear (that happens to be a Jewish good luck symbol...). Anyway, we didn't go there but we did go to this sort of parallel hill called "El Mirador de La Alhambra" (the place to see La Alhambra) and the sunset over the hills and valleys was stunning. Even the walk up the hill was amazing, with all these back alleys and beautiful hidden cafes and intricate woodwork on the doors... I took a video and will post it this week.

Well, I got the short straw and have the earliest start in the morning. I have to report to my school at 9 and work out my schedule. Neil and Marijke, at the same school, report at 10, and Greg-o doesn't report until 12. I can't wait to meet all the 3rd to 6th graders!

Wish us luck on our first day! G'nite.