Sant Jordi 2013

Sant Jordi is hands down one of my favorite holidays here in Barcelona.  It's the Valentine's Day of Spain but better.  Streets are lined with kiosks of flower and book vendors.  Men give women roses and women give men books.  It's a beautiful exchange and you see men and women walking around holding their precious books and roses all day.

But my favorite part of Sant Jordi has always been the festival at the kids' school.  Normally it's just the elementary school and maybe some volunteer upper grade students.  But this year it was actually grades nursery - 11th.  It was a looonnngggg afternoon but well worth it.  Every time I see this festival, I get teary.  This is a big reason why I'm so glad my kids got to have the experience of living abroad.  They are learning about culture when they don't even realize they are learning.  And learning goes beyond math, reading and science - it's about the arts, language, culture and more.  And every time I see this festival I think, "we are so lucky to experience this and god, I love this school!".  Every time.  This year was no different.

However, this year, Liam actually participated in the dancing part.  The last 2 years his classes only did a little mini parade before the elementary started the performances.  But this year he's a big kid and he is in elementary now and it shows.  While all the grades did a great job, I have to give big kudos to these kindergarten kids - it's their first big performance, it's a lot of steps to memorize and they were amazing!!  I actually think that theirs was one of the best performances of the day just based on what skill sets they have at age 5/6 and the complexity of their dance compared to the other grades.  But maybe I'm just biased :)

Liam and his partner, Ruby... she was a take charge kind of gal as you'll see in the video

Liam chatting with his friends before the festival starts

It's kindergarten's turn!  Liam is the third group on the right....

Liam and Ruby are the second group on the left

The boys on their knees, soooo cute!  Liam is the 2nd boy on the left

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi1W2D0rwmk&list=UUyt6kiLugGYJxi2bfgGMRmw&index=1

Liam's performance - watch for Ruby making sure that Liam is standing "just" right

Aidan was actually pretty excited about his dance this year.  Normally he shies away from this kind of stuff.  But I think being partnered with his best friend, Max, made all the difference in the world.  He was all smiles which melted my heart - I loved that he was having fun with this!!  I did notice that the moment he got back to his class he was immediately stripping off the polo shirt and the Vanns.  Some things never change I guess :)

Aidan is the third from the left

Paired up with the girls, for a moment

Aidan is first on the left

Aidan and Max doing their part of the dance

Aidan and Max on the left

And again

Chatting after their performance is done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqj7zpD6ids&list=UUyt6kiLugGYJxi2bfgGMRmw&index=2

A video of Aidan's 3rd grade class performance

I look forward to seeing next year's festival and seeing how much these two have grown over the course of a year.  Feliz Sant Jordi to everyone!!

Besos,

Julie

Out in the Country

Let's face it... I miss the countryside.  I know Attleboro isn't exactly the country, but we had grass and trees.  That counts for something.  And for a girl who grew up in the boonies with woods and fields as far as the eye could see, that made for a lot of play space for me and my friends.

Aidan and Liam are growing up in the city and there are times when this is a great thing.  They've become incredibly city saavy and know their way around.  They know to stop at every crosswalk and look before crossing.  They know the cars will hit them otherwise and not think twice.  For Liam, I don't think he recalls a time where he had an actual yard.  Aidan, on the other hand, does remember and there are times when he is drawn to the great outdoors.

About 2 weeks ago Liam had a birthday party in Valldoreix, a suburb of Barcelona.  The little boy lives in a house with a yard and a pool.  The look of yearning on Aidan's face broke my heart.  He asked why it was that we couldn't have that.  The explanation was multi pronged and didn't really help him towards getting what it was that he wanted.  But I totally understand where he was coming from.

It's weird though.  I've never lived in a city until we moved to Barcelona and yet, I love the city life.  I love that I was able to function without a car for 3 years.  And that I don't actually need my car every day here.  I love that I can walk or take public transit to meet up with friends and that if I have a few too many (which hey, it happens to all of us), I don't have to worry about how I'm getting home.  I love that everything is within close proximity to me.

But yet, I get it.  Having grown up in the suburbs, I want the boys to have the same as what Josh and I had growing up.  Woods to play in, grass to roll around in a street to ride their bicycles on where they don't have to stop at every single corner (Aidan won't even ride his bike here and Liam refuses to learn).  Alas, we only have 2 years left here and have no intention of moving yet again within Barcelona.

So to make up for it, we are committing ourselves to getting some more of the great outdoors with the boys.  Now that we have a car, these locations have become much more accessible to us.  In January, we walked a trail in Collserola Parc that took us to a restaurant called Can Borrell with some of our friends - Aidan stayed home and missed out on some good outdoor fun.  The restaurant isn't anything to write home about but the walk out to it is.  Trails lead off the main trail on a regular basis and there were bikers, horseback riders, hikers and people just out for a leisurely stroll.  The main trail actually leads from Sant Cugat (where we started), over the mountain and into Barcelona.  Our next project is to find out where the entrances are in Barcelona so we can do some of the trails closer to home.

Anyways, we so enjoyed that trip that this weekend we decided to do it again.  Off we went with our friends and each of the boys had a friend with them making it all the more fun.  They explored every inch of woods, made up stories as they went - they were pokemon, pirates and ninjagos.  And I'm sure so much more that I just didn't catch.  They found areas of water with newly born tadpoles - something I don't think any of the kids had ever really seen before.

Liam and Henry

Tough kids Aidan and Max

Lots to explore!

Tadpoles!

Little kids HAVE to follow the big kids up the hill

And now the big kids chasing the little kids

Ahhh nature :)

Horses!

Exploring all that nature has to offer

Aidan has found a dead snake that he then proceeded to throw at me (you probably heard my screams in the US)

Liam and Henry examining the dead snake... from a distance

We ate lunch and while the adults finished up, we were totally comfortable with the kids playing along the trail outside the restaurant - they weren't even in our line of sight.  But we trust them and we trust the very child friendly people of Barcelona.  They played long and hard - and it showed.  These kids were filthy by the time all was said and done.  But sometimes, it's really great to get good and dirty outside, it's the sign of a really great time :)  Something we intend to do more of in the future!

Aidan and his best friend, Max

Liam and his best friend, Henry

Besos,
Julie

Boston Pride

My Boston has been under siege this week.  In a move unprecedented anywhere else, My Boston and surrounding cities and towns were under lock down for close to 24 hours - a scary idea that people were not able to leave their homes, businesses could not open, some being evacuated from their homes.  Bombs were found in the streets.  This is not my Boston.

A desserted Boston... eerie (picture from NBC news)

I have spent a good chunk of this past week in emotional turmoil and I'm sure many of my fellow Bostonians have been as well.  It's been very surreal to see your city, your home, attacked by anyone - it doesn't matter who they are or why they are doing it.  They did it.

And yet, despite all of this, I'm seeing so much spirit coming from My Boston.  People are rallying.  People are showing their Boston pride in any way they can - whether it is running a race in support of the marathoners, raising money for those that were hurt or killed in the attack, or just showing their pride by wearing Boston apparel.  I could not be more proud of My Boston right now.

I spent the majority of my day on Friday glued to the television as the police neared in on the suspect.  I had the distinct advantage of being 6 hours ahead of our friends and family in Boston and was watching the news starting at 4:30AM EST when I heard thru a friend on my Facebook (seriously what did we do without social media) that they had tracked down the suspects.  I've no doubt many of you did the same as soon as you woke up.  And honestly I probably didn't need the tv as I was getting a play by play on my Facebook throughout the day.  Eventually I had to turn off the news when the kids got home as I did not want to expose them to something that could become violent within in a moment.

But Aidan had questions.  And I had to answer them.  We had to talk about terrorism.  About being safe and how safe mommy and daddy could make him in this world.  Even days later he is still asking questions about his safety and having bad dreams about people blowing up places and people that he loves.  It's too much for a (almost) 9 year old to bear and he shouldn't have to.  I explained to him what it means to live in a post 9/11 world.  I asked him if he knew what 9/11 was and while he did not know the details, he did know it happened in New York and to the Twin Towers - that was more than I expected him to know.  More than I wanted my sweet, innocent child to have to know.  He and his brother will never know what it was like to grow up in the 80s when we didn't worry about such things.  Where the innocent were allowed to be just that, innocent.

But I also explained to him that we are bigger than the terrorists.   Our Boston is a place filled with history.  It's filled with families.  We are strong.  We are fighters.  We obsess about our sports.  And we have expressed our strength with how we have rallied at our sporting events over the last few days.  Thousands of people singing the National Anthem at the Bruins game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbHMRpdk3_4), Big Papi telling the terrorists that it's our fucking city and the FCC letting him get away with it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoTnGa-Dckw), Neil Diamond showing up to sing Sweet Caroline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXyHon_hD8).  It's amazing to watch the city come together in these difficult times.  And given that it was a sporting event that tore our city apart, I think it's apropos that sporting events bring us back together.

We were scarred on Monday.  But all over the internet I'm seeing people saying how this isn't going to stop them from living lives, from running more marathons or from posting messages like these that while somewhat silly, ring true to the hearts of Bostonians no matter where you live (I wish I had clipped these 2 days ago as now I can't find most of them in my Facebook):

My Boston has changed since last Monday.  It will never be quite the same.  However, we are stronger for it.  We won't let this bring the spirit of our city down.  There is new respect for the police force and all that they do for us.  Saturday morning I woke up to find that the second suspect had been captured, in a boat of all places.  But there was one post that was shared online that showed me not just how Strong My Boston is, but that when faced with adversity, we will stand together and we will WIN.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHPgMlNtcE

I know this isn't over.  The last suspect (that we know of at the moment) is in custody.  Questions will be asked and hopefully at least some, answered.  A trial.  And healing for the city of Boston.  One thing I know for sure, I have never been more proud of where I come from - My Boston.  The people are unlike any the world over.  We are unique, we are proud, we are fighters - we are Boston Strong.

Besos,
Julie

Come Together

We live in a post 9/11 world.  You have probably heard that expression a lot in the last 11 1/2 years.  And it's true.  Gone are the days where we don't have to look over our shoulder or be suspicious of a bag left on a train or in a store.  Gone are the times where our children can run free and not worry about something happening to them.  And it's sad.  And it means the bad guys are winning and we are letting them win by giving into (valid) fears.

As Josh and I settled down to watch TV last night, we suddenly noticed an influx of Facebook postings in relation to the Boston Marathon.  For those not from Boston, this is a day that is widely celebrated by Bostonians.  Not only is it Patriots Day but it's also Marathon Monday, a celebration of sportsmanship, the oldest marathon in the WORLD.  It's a holiday in Boston and so many people go out to the race route to cheer on the runners.  Approximately 500,000 spectators watch this marathon along the route.  This is a race run by people from all over the world but we also have local heroes that run the race like the father - son team Hoyt, a father who year after year pushes his son in his wheelchair the entire 26.2 miles.  The wheelchair racers.  People are running for charities.  People are running for those that can't.  They run for their own personal best, to say that they've done it.  They run for all different reasons.

And yesterday that all changed.  Yesterday is the perfect example of how we have let our guard down.  To a degree.  Because while terrorists (and I don't care if they are home grown or from abroad, anyone who bombs a sporting event is a terrorist in my mind) did manage to get in and cause significant damages and even death, if you look at the first responders, you'll know that Boston was as prepared as possible.  Pre-9/11 I don't think that half of the security would have been there.  This could have been worse, much worse.

Thankfully it wasn't.  That's not to say it wasn't bad because it was.  But thankfully it wasn't worse.  Thankfully the police were able to find those additional bombs and dismantle them before they caused further damage.  Watching the news it appears that the first responders knew exactly what they were doing and were prepared for anything - clearing block upon block to ensure the safety of the citizens and visitors of Boston.  However, once again senseless violence has occurred too close to home.  And once again, it makes me thankful to live 4000 miles away from these events.  And yet, I ache to be there right now... this is Boston (Bosty as Liam calls it) and no matter how you slice it, it is home.

Josh and I watched the news last night not believing what we were seeing.  We kept commenting on how this was so reminiscent of 9/11 (where we were also 4000 miles away in the other direction on our honeymoon).  Our children have never known a time before 9/11 and it saddens me.  And with events like the Newtown school shootings and now this massacre at the Boston Marathon, they may never know a time when society can live without having to have a heightened sense of awareness, the wondering, when the other shoe will drop.

As Josh and I contemplate our future and where our lives will take us, occurrences like these are factors that most definitely affect our decision making process.  This morning we had to tell the kids what happened yesterday at home.  It was bad enough telling them about the Newtown shootings this winter and while that hit home because of their friends in Newtown, it was still slightly outside of their view of "home".  Boston on the other hand, is home in their mind.  They are extremely proud of their city and where they come from.

Liam's reaction was as expected.  He understood the facts but not the emotion.  He doesn't understand the fear that is a result of such a tragedy or the sadness knowing that Boston will never be the same again.  He understands that a bad person blew up bombs that hurt and killed people in his Bosty.

Aidan on the other hand, reacted slightly different.  And I'm still not 100% as to where he is emotionally with it.  He seemed to understand the facts.  He even compared them with Newtown a little bit.  But a few minutes later when Liam poked him, as little brothers do, he burst into tears.  Something very unlike him.  And tonight with more time on our hands compared to this morning, we will talk to him again to see how he is feeling.

We discussed that a little boy Aidan's age was killed because of these senseless attacks.  This little boy was waiting for his father, his hero, to cross the finish line.  He was waiting with his mother and his younger sister who are both critically injured.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think that we have had to talk about different forms of terrorism with our small children in just a matter of months.  I remember as a child we would occasionally hear of kidnappers posing as ice cream truck drivers and the like.  We never talked about bombings or terrorism.  We played outside from dawn til dusk.  Not our kids.  They don't play outside without supervision and we talk about things like people hurting other people and why.

However, let me note that during our talk this morning that we also discussed all the good in the world. We will not let terrorism win this war.  We will not live in fear for our lives.  We will have to be more vigilant but we need to remember that the good outweighs the bad and as long as that is the case, everything will be ok.  That there were many heroes yesterday that made a difference.  They stepped up when they were needed.  They were everyday people who just did what had to be done in order to help others.

We have plans to go home this summer for 3 weeks.  Right now I'm feeling torn.  Never have I felt more proud to be a Bostonian.  To be a part of this community even from afar, we are incredibly lucky. But I also feel a little scared, even violated.  To know that we are going to have to be more vigilant when we are home doesn't feel right.  When we go home we just enjoy our time there - we don't think about our actions and our travels, we just go and do.  And now this has been tainted like it was back around 9/11.

However, like 9/11, I already see our city coming together.  We take care of each other.  We support each other.  Boston is an amazing city - small yet abundant with history and pride.  Bostonians are made of tough stuff.  We will come together as a community and as a country.  We will move onward and upward.  We will show these terrorists that we are better than this and that they can't mess with the best city in the world.  No matter what I write about the differences about living abroad and living at home, one thing will never change - Boston you're our home...

Peace and love,

Julie

Anticipation

I have found that our time here has flown by.  It's hard to believe that in just two months we will have lived in Barcelona for 3 1/2 years.  And to think, I didn't think I would make it for the initial 2 years and thought it was going to be the slowest, longest 2 years of my life.  How wrong I was.

Part of this is that aside from every day life. we have things to look forward to, differently than we did at home.  That's not to say that we didn't have fun things going on at home, because we did.  But here, we have almost monthly travel and occasional visitors to look forward to.  And it makes the time just whip right by us.

Believe it or not, Josh and I both have our weather apps on our phones set to not just here and home, but also to whatever upcoming destinations we have.  Part of the anticipation of an upcoming trip is to check the weather and see how it compares to here and to home.  Sadly, right now, I have nothing in there beyond Attleboro and Barcelona.  I almost get a panic feeling when I don't have anything planned.  But given we just got back from a trip on Thursday, less than a week ago, I'm going to cut myself a little slack on that one.

But having a trip to look forward to does really make the time go by.  And given that Josh and I have had trips planned just about every 6 weeks, if not more often, over the last few years, which has given us many things to look forward to.

However, there was a reason I wanted to write this entry regarding anticipation.  It's the anticipation of visitors.  Now let's be realistic for a moment and take a step back to when we were getting ready to move here.  EVERYONE said they were coming to visit.  The reality... very few have actually done so.  Now, we aren't resentful of this.  We get it... it's expensive to come here and if you have a family, which many of you do, it's even more expensive.  It's actually cheaper for us to come home.

That's not to say that we haven't had visitors, they have just been few and far between, and we appreciate every single one of them coming to see us.  Last year we had... um... two.  My cousin Meghan visited us in March and Josh's parents were here this Christmas thru the first part of January.  Though we did meet friends in Munich so while they didn't come here, they still count... and we had a friend that stopped here for a night on their way to southern Spain.  Ok, so you can up that to 4.

This year we are getting an influx of visitors which makes up for the lack of travel planned in the next few months.  And I'll take it.  I will take having friends and family here with us over travel any day.  And I didn't realize just how much those visits meant to me until people started booking flights.  Suddenly my outlook on life was just a little bit brighter.  I miss home.  I miss my friends.  I miss my family.  And if I can have an opportunity to see them more than once a year, I'll take it.

Not to mention, it's nice to be able to share with those you love, the new life that you have built in a new place.  So they can experience some of what you experience on a daily basis.  This life is so different from that of which we lived back in the US.  I can write about it until I'm blue in the face, but you won't get it until you experience it from the eyes of a "local".  You can go on vacation anywhere and assume it's not all that hard, but living somewhere outside the US is a completely different animal than just visiting.  And so to have an opportunity to share that experience with my friends and family is one that I absolutely do not take for granted.

And so the anticipation begins.  Josh's parents were here in January and now we have my two best college friends coming for a girls week in June, my best friend in July and another amazing college friend also in July.  Not to mention the fall which hopefully includes Meghan making a return visit and if all works out, finally a trip by my parents (it will be their first)!  I can barely contain my excitement as we start to finalize plans all around.

I think when living abroad you really need positive and fun things to look forward to in order to get thru the time until you return home.  Whether that is travel, exploring the region you moved to, or enjoying visitors from home - it's all a part of the process.  I, for one, appreciate my friendships on a very different level than I did before we moved.  We're getting excited for the upcoming months!!!

Besos,
Julie

Feliz Pascua and our Easter Calçotada

The holidays, any holiday, is a time when I really miss home.  Each one for it's own unique reason.  Easter, for us, is not about the religion.  It's about family and friends and traditions.  Some of those traditions we can continue here in Spain... others, not so much.

At home we have this HUGE Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood.  We are talking a ton of kids, hundreds of eggs, friends just hanging out having a potluck brunch and the kids running around having a great time.  I miss it.  I miss it a lot.  It breaks my heart to look at my facebook around the time of the hunt because it aches to see the pictures of everyone having such a great time and we are missing it.

And so, we try to find ways to create new traditions and new memories here.  Liam and I got together with some of his friends to decorate Easter eggs.  It reminded me of home in a good way.  I remember having kids over to our house to make Christmas cookies (yes, I recognize different holiday) - and it made me think - why am I not getting the kids together with their friends here more to do things like this?  It made me realize that just because we aren't home doesn't mean we still can't get together with their friends that live here.  The challenge is that many of them travel during every school break or long weekend.  But that doesn't mean all of them do.

Liam and his friends getting ready to decorate eggs

Very focused

Regardless, my hope is that in the future that I can do more things like this with the kids and their friends like this.  Liam had such a fun day decorating eggs and playing with his friends.  Aidan was reluctant to join us since it was just the little kids, but when I got home, the 4 us sat down to decorate our eggs as well.

Liam decorating his eggs at home

Aidan and Josh joining in

The completed eggs... can you tell which ones were the kids and which ones were mine and Josh's??

Easter morning, the Easter bunny made his visit to the Marcus house.  I was told that the Easter bunny did not do a very good job at hiding the eggs this year.  I will take that as a challenge for next year!!  The kids ate a significant amount of chocolate before we headed off to meet some friends for Easter lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

Easter baskets ready to go!

It's the Angry Birds they wanted!!

Mmmm chocolate!

Hunting for eggs

Pop rocks...

Our lunch was just 6 miles away from our apartment but it was like a world away.  It was at Restaurante Devesa.  Nestled in the woods down a very very windy road, you enter the road to the restaurant and at first, you think, hmmmm, not quite sure that this is going to be good.  But then you get to the restaurant and it's huge.  Sits hundreds I'm sure (Josh wants to buy this place - he thinks it is such a moneymaker) with a huge outdoor terrace area, a garden area and a playground that dates back to the 50s (easily).

The bonus about our lunch at Devesa was that it was also a calçotada.  A calçot is a spring onion that is roasted over a fire.  Before the calçots is the pan con tomate - and here you do it yourself which is actually part of the fun.  First you take a garlic clove and rub it on the bread.  Then do the same with a half tomato.  A little drizzle of olive oil and you are good to go.  I could still smell the garlic the next morning.  Then bring on the calçots.  There are plenty of phallic references to these delicious onions that you pull from their husk, dip in savory romesco sauce and then deep throat to suck the onion out.  Yes, that is how you eat a calçot.

The calçots on the fire

Aidan eating a calçot and the plate of calçots

Liam and his friend Henry

 But we aren't done yet.  After the calçots comes the meats.  Lots of meat.  Lamb, chicken, botifarra and pork.  And then on to dessert and coffee.  Whew!!  Just thinking about it makes me full.

After eating my friend Shellee and I put together a little easter egg hunt for the three kids.  Once again, I was told the Easter bunny didn't do a great job of hiding the eggs.  What can you do????  But the kids had fun searching for the eggs and coins that we hid for them.  Then it was off to play in the garden and the playground.

Ready, set, go!!

Of course, we know who got the most eggs... and he thought it wasn't fair that we helped the little kids!

Wait for me!

On the hunt...

How much did I get?

Little Stella trying to keep up with the big kids!

Now I should mention again that this playground is circa 1950.  The slide was wooden - and I was waiting for someone to end up with splinters up their tush.  The swings were in desperate need of oil.  There were nails sticking out where they should not stick out.  However, the antiquity of it made it all the more fun for the kids.  When do they have an opportunity to play on such old school equipment?

A happy kid out in nature

Seriously, check out this playground equipment - this would NOT pass muster in the US!

Best buds

Aidan taking charge

Playing futbol with Josh

Just hanging around

Where is Liam?

I don't know if these swings could be any lower to the ground...

But alas they have moved on to bigger and better swings

Liam was telling me all about the view when he leaned back on the swing, so I tried it... he's right, it's awesome!

Where did he learn this?

Joe being attacked by all three boys

I'm pooped!!

We spent the afternoon playing fútbol, playing on the playground and just laughing and running around.  In the end, it was the best Easter we have had since moving to Barcelona.  Great friends, great food, and just great times :)

Besos,
Julie