The Time We Almost Moved to Amsterdam

In the world of an ex-pat there is one thing that is predictable and that is that nothing is predictable. We came here for 2 years then said, what's one and a half more which them turned into 3 1/2 more.   So it's no surprise to me that even with a committed time frame here in Barcelona that it was possible for things to change, yet again... 

I delayed this post for quite some time (as in months and months!) for obvious reasons as it has to do with Josh's job.  And so it's stuff that I didn't necessarily want to make public until the time was appropriate.  However, as it's important to our experiences here, I kept a journal as we went through the process so you could experience it "first hand" when the time was right.  And since it's now been months, I think it's "safe" to post :)

Written Jan 20th...

Last night Josh and I were on our way out to dinner with friends.  As we were walking towards the metro he turns to me and says, "Do you want to have a heavy conversation or light?".  I thought he was being facetious as I had lectured him while we were in Andorra about not talking enough to me about life, work, kids, etc.  I figured heavy meant let's talk about work, finances, etc and light perhaps about our upcoming travel plans.  Never did I imagine the words that would come out of his mouth when I said "heavy".

To me heavy meant he wanted to talk about work and stuff that's been going on there lately.  Things he might not want to talk about in front of the kids.  There's been a lot of shake up and he's been under a lot of stress.  I didn't expect "What do you think about moving to Amsterdam?" to be the next words he would utter.  The words I replied back with aren't really PC for this blog... you get the picture.  And certainly not the conversation that I was expecting to have on the way to meet our friends.

In the end, we had a great conversation about our lives here in Barcelona, both the pros and cons and where we see our futures.  And from there the next step was for Josh to open some dialogue with the powers that be in the Amsterdam office (still remaining a part of Vistaprint).  The job would be a great opportunity for him and an internal move, and while I am not super hot on the idea of a move to the Netherlands, my days here have been feeling a bit disenchanted lately.  Maybe a change will do us all good?  Though upon looking at the (snowy) weather there, I still think I'd prefer to stay here!!

Written Jan 26...

Josh was in meetings all week with his worldwide marketing conference.  Each night he had a dinner as well so he was getting home late which didn't leave a lot of time for us to talk and the wait was killing me!!!  At this point we don't even know if there would be an interest in him going to Amsterdam.

It wasn't til Friday evening that Josh was able to initiate a conversation with the appropriate person regarding a possible move to Amsterdam.  You can't imagine what my week was like.  Trying not to obsess because I have nothing yet to obsess over and yet of course, given my type A personality, totally making lists in my head of all that would need to be done prior to a move and all the research that I should be, but wasn't, doing.

The good news, there is an interest.  The bad news... well, there isn't any news yet.  But the dialogue has been opened and Josh plans to have another conversation this week to find out more.  In the meantime, let the waiting game begin.

Written Jan 27...

While this is still not my ideal situation, Josh is pretty excited about this opportunity.  And so I've begun to do some pre-emptive research.

I have to say, the Netherlands has an amazing ex-pat website.  It is a part of their IAmAmsterdam campaign and was founded in 2008 to help ex-pats settle in.  There is even a first month guidebook.  If only I'd had something even close to this when we moved to Spain.  So I took a quick glance, not wanting to overwhelm myself when we don't even know for sure if we are going.  But my thought was, let's start seeing what information is available and getting our ducks in a row.

I also took a look at the international schools - because school will also determine where we would live which then means I can start to figure out what we could expect for rents.  Josh had said he looked at a few when first thinking about this move.  But while I trust Josh in many things, education is not necessarily one of them.  It's not that he doesn't want the best for the kids, he just has a different criteria than I do that defines the best.  So I took a look tonight to see what "the best" is.  And honestly, just because it's the most expensive does not mean it's the best.  I have it narrowed down to two schools. The Amsterdam International School (the most expensive) and the Amsterdam International Community School.  The latter is subsidized through the Netherlands which reduces it's cost but means that more is controlled by the government, more like a public school.  The schools in the Netherlands are set to a very high standard so this might not be a bad thing.  Also interesting to note, swimming is mandatory and children must pass swimming exams.  I'm sure this is related to all the water in and around the Netherlands, just never saw a place where it was mandatory.

I found the school research a bit overwhelming especially when looking at tuitions that made me want to vomit.  We have no idea what will or won't be covered by Josh's work at this point.  Oh wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.... we don't know that he has a job there yet and here I am already figuring out tuitions.  I should just go to bed...

Written Jan 30...

So today Josh was supposed to have a talk with the powers that be regarding this possible move.  It was going to be a day to shed some light on if this is something that might actually happen.  The anticipation is definitely killing me and I'm sure Josh feels the same.  So when I instant messaged him at 10:30 this morning, I can just feel his disappointment when he said that the meeting was changed to next TUESDAY!  Yes, pretty much a full week away.

This stresses me for different reasons, reasons Josh can't comprehend.  There are some many logistics that go into a move like this and a big one is the school.  A lot of schools are planning for their 2013 academic years already.  And while I understand that things are a little different at international schools since they don't always get the kind of notice with people coming and going that those at a traditional school can supply, I still recognize that I need to get those applications in stat if we are doing this.

I also feel like we are just sitting here, in limbo... waiting again.  It reminds me of when we embarked on this journey 3 1/2 years ago.  But I'm almost more stressed now because now, now I know that this is hard.  The move isn't so bad, it's manageable.  Yes, it's a lot of logistics, but it's not difficult.  It's the settling down into a new culture and new environment.  I cried for months the last time it was so hard. And while I've been through it before, the fact that I know what to expect is actually a little more intimidating than the unknown.

Written Feb 5...

So I've just been trying to put this all out of my head for the last week.  Josh and I talked the other day and it was decided that if this move doesn't pan out, we will continue to go on as we were in Barcelona and stay here as long as possible.  We love Barcelona, he's overall happy in his job and we don't want to leave unless it is an amazing opportunity.

Josh talked with the head guy today.  They talked about the position, the pros and cons of the company, etc etc.  And Josh is excited about the prospect.  And nervous.  He knows that being excited about it could (a) lead to disappointment if it doesn't come to fruition and (b) that it makes a position harder to turn down if the financials don't work out to make this a feasible move for us.

Next steps?  Josh has to talk to the hiring guy to find out what we would be talking about financially (at least that's what I hope the next conversation is, I'd imagine that's what the hiring manager does, right?). And so, let the waiting game continue.

Written Feb 14...

Yes, another week has gone by.  Another week of just waiting and wondering.  The good news is that things are starting to look up... well, sort of.  Josh had a talk with his boss this week about where everything is heading and what the scenarios are.  The good news is that we are pretty secure here for at least another year to 2 years unless he decides to move on to Amsterdam which his boss also was supportive of him doing.  He's talking to the hiring guy in Amsterdam on Friday so perhaps this week we will start to get a better idea on what our long term plans are.

On another note, in the last few weeks we've had our renters on the Cape give their notice.  Thankfully they are looking at the end of April so it gives us a little time but it still adds stress to our lives just when we don't need it.  And it looks like the same might be true in Attleboro as they are looking to buy a house, but I'm hoping it won't be til closer to summertime in that case!

Written Feb 28...

We are getting to a point of frustration these days.  We don't know which way is up and are trying to figure out what our future holds.  Josh wants to stay in Europe, I'm torn.  We are still waiting to find out what is happening with Amsterdam - Josh's meetings have been rescheduled 3 times now and the latest is supposedly going to happen on March 6.  The good news is that because I'm so sick of waiting, I'm also stressing (a little) less and just trying to continue on with my every day life.  I'm resigned to think that we will be staying in Barcelona for at least the next year though as we know, that could always change.

Written Mar 6...

And yet another meeting - cancelled.  This is getting old.

Present day...

So given the title of this entry is we "almost" moved to Amsterdam, you probably know what happened next.  Nothing.  The back and forth continued and then there were some changes in the office in Amsterdam that just made us think, now is not the time for this move.  We're still open to new opportunities but for the time being we are just going to focus on the here and the now and enjoy our time in Barcelona until the time comes for the next adventure.

Besos,
Julie

The Reverse of the Curse of Collioure!

So my last 2 attempts to go to Collioure have not gone so well.  Last year when Meghan was visiting, the one day we had to go up to France, it was downpouring rain - I'd even go as far as calling it torrential.  The normal 2 hour journey took us closer to 4.  And it was pouring when we got there and somehow NOT ONE THING was open.  We had to opt for pizza and a quick run thru the rain and then less than an hour after we had arrived, we headed back to Barcelona.  Total fail.  But at least I was able to say that I took Meghan to France.

My last attempt was even a bit worse since it involved my car.  While Caryn and Urs were visiting in June we decided to hit Collioure on our way back from Provence.  Hit being the operative word apparently.  When a bus hit my car, smashing in the passenger side, upon our arrival into Collioure, I wasn't exactly thrilled.  And it was then that I decided there must be a curse upon Collioure!

And while I was a little apprehensive about making the voyage yesterday, I'm so glad we did.  The sun gods were shining on us and we made the trip in just over 2 hours.  Along the way we decided that if we had enough time we would also head up towards Perpignan and go to the Sigean Africane Reserve - a wildlife reserve smack in the middle of France.  We'd been a few years ago but it was summer, crazy busy and super hot - we figured it could be a fun side trip (and it was).

But first Collioure.  We arrived just around 11 and walked around for a bit, meandering in and out of the little streets filled with artisan shops, cafes and colorful homes.  We also walked along the water getting a birds eye view of the town from the jetty area.

Love the colorful homes behind the boys

And the boats are probably my favorite part of coming here

Family portrait!

Me, Liam and Meghan

A friendly moment among brothers

Do you see a theme with the boats?

Me and my boys :)

Many famous artists painted in Collioure and there are these frames placed in areas where those works of art were painted.  I think this "Aidan in a frame" will be worth something some day...

Josh and his boys

Walking along the wall to the church

Liam in front of the church

Aidan on the rocks

My view of the town from the church

This may be my Christmas card this year...

Look at how deep it gets in the middle!

Flowers along the building

Castle

Watching the fish

We finished up lunch and a little more walking by just around 2 and decided it was worth it to head to the Sigean Africane Safari near Perpignan, about an hour drive from Collioure.  It was a pretty drive and one that I recognized most of along the way from previous drives to this area.

It was refreshing to see that there was no line of traffic lined up outside the zoo.  The last time we were here, 3 years ago, it was literally a caravan of cars, bumper to bumper thru the entire park.  It took something out of the safari like feel that you are supposed to have.  Now with this reserve, the animals are actually able to come right up to your car.  They cannot leave their areas of the zoo - like the lions can't head over to the gazelles - there are borders that prevent them from leaving but allow cars to enter and exit and at the areas where there are dangerous wildlife, like lions, bears and rhinos, there are guards to make sure everyone is safe.  And in those areas, windows must stay up (something Josh was trying to convince the kids otherwise - thankfully they finally have chosen to listen to me!!).

It was pretty cool seeing all the animals right up close to the car and we saw a lot of babies too which was cool - baby giraffe, ostrich, zebra (OMG soooo cute!), bears and more.  And the animals didn't seem phased by the car at all which shows how immune they've become to them.  That for some reason gave me a little bit of a level of comfort, though when the ostrich was near those windows went right back up!

It's Pumba!

How cute is this baby zebra???

And the baby ostrich?

This looked like a zebra donkey combo (his legs were striped) - apparently endangered

Liam ran near the flamingos which just had one chain (nothing else) blocking them from the zoo - apparently that was enough because they stayed on the correct side of it... but I was a little nervous they might go after Liam after he scared them!

By far, our favorite, and most hysterical part of the drive thru the safari was the bears.  Right at the entrance there were bears attempting to mate and a few others just lying around.  If I had any beverage in my mouth, I would have spit it out upon arrival at that gate and seeing one bear on top of the other. Perhaps a "holy shit" might have come out of my mouth.  The boys were fascinated.  But the best part of the conversation went something like this:

Josh:  Hey look, two bears are doing it!
Julie:  Oh that poor girl bear, she looks like she's trying to get away!
Liam:  Well boys like doing it.
Julie:  Where in the world did you hear that?
Liam:  Big Bang Theory

Perhaps the boys have been watching a little too much tv these days!

If you could see the look on her face you'd see she's not a happy camper!!

Anyways, that was the highlight of our trip to the zoo.  We walked around the actual zoo for a little bit before heading back to Barcelona since the kids had school today and Meghan had to head back to the US :(  this morning.  But I'd say that the curse has in fact, been reversed!!

Besos,
Julie

Gegantes, Castellers and Fire - Oh My!! La Merce 2013

One of the reasons that Meghan came this particular week was because it was La Merce weekend.  La Merce has been celebrated in Barcelona (it is a local holiday) since 1871 to celebrate the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy.

And while I'm sure there are some religious undertones here, this long weekend is filled with many other traditions that I absolutely love including gegantes (giants), castellers (human towers) and of course, the correfoc (fire run).  This is probably my favorite weekend in Barcelona and while we missed it last year to go to Oktoberfest in Munich, we've been here for 3 other years - and honestly if you have to choose between Oktoberfest and La Merce, do La Merce.  Seriously.

We spent Saturday up on Montjuic where there was a kids circus - not your traditional lions and tigers and a big circus tent kind of circus, but more like a cirque du soleil kind of thing.  Not something the boys were super interested in.  However, next to the circus was an area where kids could try out some of the cool goodies that enhance a circus - a unicycle, balancing a plate on a stick and many other things (all of which had long lines).  Aidan managed to master the balancing of a plate on a stick and while Liam did not conquer the unicycle, he did give it a try and loved it!!

Josh is very into the new filters on the IOS 7 for his iphone camera - can you tell?

These acrobats were amazing - the amount of strength and talent it takes is astounding!

He totally got the hang of this - talented kid!

From Montjuic we decided to head back down to town in order to make it in time to see the Castellers performing near the Cathedral.  Josh was really hot to take the Teleferico (cable car) the whole way down, but this involved going over the water something I was not too keen to do (though had done in the past).  Taking advantage of Josh's lack of knowledge of the city (sorry Josh, it's true), I "forgot" to tell him we had to get off at the first stop in order to go the whole way down.  Instead we did only the mountain portion which was totally manageable for me :)  

Josh and Liam on the cable car

This meant that we had to do considerable more walking than he wanted to do but it was a great way to get some energy out of the kids who had energy to spare despite the hot sun!

Playing in front of the MNAC (art museum)

We made it down to the Cathedral just in time before the Castellers started.  Now the program said Av Catedral - but didn't state where on the street it would start.  Hmmm... so when the Castellers started to walk away from the Cathedral, we decided to follow them and see where they would end up...

Castellers "walking" to their destination on Las Ramblas (they did not walk the entire way but still a good distance!)...

The sea of people following the Castellers

The Castellers ended up on the Ramblas in front of the museum where they house the Gegantes and other traditional parade memorabilia. This is not where we expected to end up so it's good that we followed the Castellers!  They wandered around parts of the Ramblas and we followed to see which groups built the best towers.  By far it was the green, which I believe is from Vilafranca.

A small tower

This is a very hard tower to build.  Yes, it's only a few people but it grows from underneath where they push the tower up from the bottom.

Admittedly this is the only gegantes we saw this weekend as we didn't make it to any of the parades - but I can still include them in the title of this entry right???

Part of the parades is this traditional lion

More castellers

Another traditional part of the gegantes parade

This one is Aidan's favorite... I think it's because it appears to have breasts... but regardless he wanted a picture with it!

By the time we finished with Montjuic and the Castellers it was getting close to dinner time so we did a quick dinner of tapas at Ciudad Condal and then it was off for home.  Meghan and I talked about going out that evening but it was quickly obvious that neither of us had the strength and we knew that the next day was going to be an even longer day!!

On Sunday we got up and out relatively early so that we could hopefully see the Gegantes (fail) and then the Castellers (win!) before doing the correfoc in the evening.  As with previous years, the crowds for the Castellers was intense.  We got decent "seats" and stood watching the Castellers perform.  There was 2 performances - the first was in honor of Barcelona's Falcon team of Castellers and the second included several other groups including Vilafranca and Tarragona teams.  By the time we got to the second group the kids were done.  Aidan actually took all of the pictures of the Castellers below with Josh's phone - I think he did a pretty great job!!

The Castellers were amazing to watch and we kept our fingers crossed that they would build their towers safely and that none would collapse (we've seen it happen and it's a bit scary!).  Thankfully all that we saw went up perfectly and came down the same way!

So we made our way thru the 100 person deep crowd, a little nerve wracking at times, to head down to Ciutadella Park where there were festivities for the kids.  On our way to the park we had a call from our friends Stephanie and Chris who were in a bit of a crisis situation - Stephanie had to rush to the hospital for an emergency c-section (all is fine now thankfully!) and needed us to watch their kids.  So Meghan and I headed down to Poblenou to pick up Mia and Evan and bring them back to the park to meet up with Josh, Aidan and Liam.

The kids played great and ran all around the park.  We could tell that little Mia was about done though and decided to head back to the apartment so she could take a little rest.  We decided that one of us would stay behind in the evening with the 4 kids rather than have a babysitter as originally planned so we could go to Correfoc.  Josh kindly opted to stay home (at least the Patriots game was on) so that Meghan and I could go to Correfoc since that was a big reason why she came this week.

Aidan was actually invited to the kids correfoc and while I was initially hesitant, I'm glad that he got to have this experience before we eventually head back to the States.  He said that it was fun but that his clothes were singed a bit and that it was really smokey.  Meghan and I (and we met up with my friends Michele and Eddy) were there a bit early and caught some of the kids correfoc - I can't say that there is much difference between the kid one and the adult one other than kids participate in the younger one and that it's during the daylight hours.  Otherwise, it was pretty much just as intense!!

One of the "beasts" that goes down the street on fire during the Correfoc - this is for the adult one, waiting and ready to go!

Gates of Hell

Part of the kid correfoc

This is all the smoke rising from the kid correfoc... yes the kid one

More of the kid one

Kids, like the one in the dragon suit, participated in the correfoc... 

Kid swinging his dragon all around, thereby spreading the sparks amongst the spectators

Meg looks nervous and this is still the KID correfoc...wait til she sees the adult one!!

That big ball of sparks and flames?  Yup, kid correfoc!

Batucada during the kid correfoc

So Michele and Meghan were slightly mortified during the kid correfoc.  I think they were a little ambivalent about what the adult one might bring!  But despite the dangers that go with attending a correfoc, there is something so profoundly pagan and intense about it that you can't help but get into it. You are terrified of the sparks shooting towards you and yet, totally on an adrenaline high and waiting for the next round.  The percussion of the batucada just intensifies all that is around you and you can't help but be drawn in.

The Gates of Hell open to a batucada on a "float" that starts the adult Correfoc 2013

Video of the batucada:   http://youtu.be/w4NnaEpGb7k0%

 

Closer up shot of the batucada opening the correfoc

And the fireworks start!!

Video of the fireworks:  http://youtu.be/29FwkKfwpu8

I think a picture says a 1000 words.... do you really need any descriptions on the pictures that follow?

I wish I had a shot of this pig's face - it's got the angriest eyes and then add to it that he's spitting fire...

Correfoc was the end to our La Merce adventure for this year.  We did a few day trips on the last two days of the festival and so missed the happenings in the city.  But like previous years, this was anything but boring!!

Besos,

Julie