Thanks for the Memories - Goodbye Barcelona

(July 1) This morning we left Barcelona. The word that best describes how I feel right now?  Relieved. Yeah I wasn't expecting that one either. But not only have the last 9 months been some of the most trying of our lives, the last 4 or so weeks have been especially so with everything coming to a head with exploding hot water heaters, apartment repairs, moving, taxi strikes, problems with our house in the US, my MacBook deciding to kick the bucket, saying our goodbyes and so much more. 

So relieved it is. Relieved to be ready to move on to the next chapter. With so many balls in the air, one piece is done and we can focus on the future, starting with the next 7 weeks before we move to Amsterdam. 

But while I'm relieved, I'm also, of course, sad to say goodbye to a city that I unexpectedly fell in love with. I think I can vouch for Aidan that he feels the same. He tried so hard to hate it here (and did for the longest time) only to find himself calling it home more than the US, a surprise to us all. I think the move is hitting him the hardest of all. 

Barcelona changed us. I'd like to think it is for the better. There is a saying I like that I found a few years ago that I hold dear to my heart:

"And once the storm is over you

won't remember how you made it through, 

how you managed to survive.

You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm 

is really over.  But one thing is certain.

When you come out of the storm, 

you won't be the same person who walked in."

Barcelona was a storm that we had to weather. There were times when it was like a wild tornado with everything around in total chaos. There were other times when it was like a beautiful tranquil spring day when our lives just felt... Normal.  It took a long time for us to get to normal but it just goes to show what can happen when you just let life take it's natural course - things just fall into place. 

This experience of living outside our comfort zone was something I truly believe everyone should do at least once in their lives. It changes who you are down to the core. You find strength where you didn't know you had it. You find you are more resourceful than you ever realized.  You find that there is more to the world than the bubble (that you were perfectly happy in) you were living in.  You find you are capable of ... Anything.

If you can weather the storm that is expat life, really, the world is your oyster. There is nothing you can't accomplish. This life is not for the faint of heart. In a million years I never would have thought this would be our lives. NEVER. When the idea of moving to Barcelona came up 6 years ago (a year and a half before we actually ended up doing it), I thought there was no way we could do this - to leave the lives we had been perfectly content with, to uproot the kids and take them away from their family and friends, to go to a place where we did not speak the language. 

There have been times where it has been overwhelming, intimidating and even downright scary (never for safety though!). And there have been way more times filled with laughter, excitement and the joys of living a life less ordinary. This adventure was a leap of faith for us. It could have been a disaster. It's certainly had its disastrous moments, but it has been anything but a disaster. It has opened our eyes to the world in a way nothing else ever could. 

When we look to the people our children are becoming, truly third culture kids, it gives us a great sense of pride but also reaffirms that this was the right decision for our family. We've had our struggles like any other family - whether an expat or not. But as a whole, this has made them global citizens, something essential in this day and age where the world is rapidly becoming a smaller place. This experience will open doors and create opportunities for them that would not have otherwise existed had we stayed home in the States, opportunities that we probably wouldn't have even known existed. 

It will be hard for us to define normal again. We want to move back to the comfort of home again, some day. And I've heard mixed reactions about what that move is like. Some say it feels completely natural. Others say that it wasn't long before they had the itch to get moving again. And others say that they no longer feel like home is home but nor do they feel that where they are is home either - an eternal sense of limbo. 

We are thankful. Thankful that we have been able to have these amazing experiences and to give our children these opportunities to experience a different life. Barcelona has set the bar high and it's not going to be easy to top what we have learned about the world and ourselves through living there. But we are excited to see what new adventures Amsterdam has to bring to the table.

We will be back Barcelona. I already miss your beautiful blue skies - that special blue that only seems to exist here. We will miss your vida tranquila. We will miss our friends. And our school. And we will even miss those annoying quirks that may frustrate us but also make Barcelona a unique and special place to live. This is not goodbye Barcelona, just see you later - we will be back.

As we depart, I need to add this one last song that always puts a smile on my face when I think of Spain and I expect every time I hear it going forward it will remind me of all the amazing memories we have had here the last 4 1/2 years.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY9bhpEH-ks

The day we arrived in Barcelona, January 5, 2009 - Liam age 2 1/2 and Aidan age 2 1/2 (taken at Barcelona airport upon arrival)

And the day we left Barcelona, July 1, 2014 - Liam age 7 and Aidan age 10 (taken at Barcelona airport upon departure)

Besos,

Julie, Josh, Aidan and Liam

Moving Day!!

The big day is finally here... MOVING DAY!  This has been months and months in the making.  Most of those months we didn't know where exactly we were moving to but we knew we were going somewhere.  I've been slowly purging and selling things off (though still have more to sell - where in the world will this stuff fit in our smaller house????) and stacking things up in the garage, hallways or in the bedrooms.  Really, anywhere that stuff would fit, I've found a place to stack it.  

I'm ready.  Josh is conveniently not here but arrives tonight around 10PM.  I know the kids are not ready to go.  Liam has a playdate this afternoon but I wasn't able to coordinate anything for Aidan unfortunately.  And the moving guys just asked if they can take the tv now (it's only 2PM!) - what do I say, no????  And so let the fun really begin.  Thank god for ipads!!  Perhaps in hindsight we should have done a hotel tonight too as I just went to make a peanut butter sandwich with my last bits of food and realized the silverware and plasticware are both packed already!  And so Oreos it shall be for lunch - a lunch of champions right?????  

But like I said, I'm ready.  This has been a long time coming.  We still have so many balls in the air at the moment and so many things happening over the next 7-8 weeks before we even get to Amsterdam that it will be nice to check one item off the list in the next few days.  I'm trying to not be overwhelmed by it all but it's hard.  So I'm chunking it up - moving, hotel, leave BCN, cruise, US before camp, US kids in camp and then back to Amsterdam to start our new lives (again).  

I remember the day we left Attleboro 4 1/2 years ago.  I cried so hard as we pulled out of the driveway. Josh and the kids overall pretty stoic (Liam having no idea what was going on as he was only 2).  That house had so many wonderful memories of our family as it grew.  We got engaged there, married, got both dogs, had both kids and spent so many wonderful days and evenings with friends and family there.  To leave it was so hard.  

What I didn't realize until we were settled in Barcelona is that while it's a house we've loved, it's just a house - the memories are ours no matter where we live.  And I think that is a piece of why I'm ok with us leaving Barcelona.  The memories will be ours forever - that won't change.  I will miss our friends here, though 90% of them have moved on and no longer are here - but the ones that are still here will be our friends no matter what - I know that these friends that we've made here will last beyond the Spanish border.  

That doesn't mean I won't be sad when we leave.  Just ready.  Too many difficult things have happened in the last few weeks that have just cinched the deal that our time has come (the last being the exploding hot water heater on Sunday that wasn't repaired until Wednesday) to say hasta luego to Barcelona.  For now.  If Aidan has his way, we'll be back in a few years ;)  

I'm heartbroken for the kids though.  I remember leaving home and my heart breaking for Aidan (again, Liam being too little for the move to have much impact) knowing that he was leaving his friends behind.  He wanted the school year here to last at least another month so he could extend out his time with his friends.  At least unlike the last time, he's better now about emailing and is starting to get into it. He's not very loquacious with his email but it's a start.  

Liam, on the other hand, sees this as his first move.  He knows we lived in Attleboro but he doesn't remember it.  So this is his first big move in his memory.  He's not happy.  And yet, he's totally going with the flow.  He's really good about expressing his emotions though and has told me how much he's going to miss his friends and he's excited to Skype with them.  I'm terrible at Skyping so I need to be better at that for his sake!  But he's accepting of the move and is kind of excited about a new house.  I just don't think he realizes how far that new house is from Barcelona.  

And so the movers are packing up everything.  They are going faster than I thought they would but I'm excited to see things happening.  Finally some movement in our lives!!  

Boxes I prepacked in the office and the kids chilling out before they took the couch (now apart in bubble wrap)

Aidan's room (they haven't made it up there yet but we sold off the bunk bed last week and repainted too).  And the playroom, also newly repainted and cabinet doors reinstalled.

Stuff I've been stacking out in the garage

Stairwell to the roof, full!  And the living room is full of boxes.  Good thing the table belongs to the apartment or I'd be sitting on the floor already!

Liam's room - just a few things.. and the playroom about to be put away til August!

Garage and hallway

Kitchen before they took it all!  And the playroom before we put the doors back up last week.

Stuff stacked in the kitchen.  And the playroom.

Office

My glamorous room with my mattress on the floor.  And notice it says MUY FRAGIL on the boxes of lego sets that are already assembled - the test will be, do they arrive in Amsterdam assembled?  I offered to pack them but they said they would do it... fingers crossed or we are going to have one very upset 10 year old!

All the living room furniture except the tv and tv stand - how did our soft, coffee table and chair with ottoman end up in a stack like this??  I was going to toss the rug today (after 2 years of dog puke, chocolate milk and other food products, it's time to go) but it's the only place for the kids to sit so I guess it can wait til tomorrow!

So we're close.  They'll finish the prepacking today and then move everything out.  I always like to see what it looks like empty - the before and after.  Then the cleaners will come on Saturday and our key exchange and final walk thru on Monday and we head out of Barcelona on Tuesday.  The countdown is on - 4 1/2 days left to go!  More to come as we wind up things here in Barcelona!

Besos,

Julie

Last Minute Chaos!

The last few days have been chaotic to say the least.  Planning last playdates and coordinating moving details.  And on top of everything else, our boiler exploded on Sunday.  This is the last thing we needed.  So while we now have water, we've had no hot water.  Good times.  

I've been working with my landlord to fix the boiler but as it broke on Sunday and Mon and Tuesday were holidays, there was no getting anyone out here until today, Wednesday.  Yes, that has meant a cold shower for me (only one so far... yeah you really don't want to be around me at the moment because it's been a bit) and none for the kids as I couldn't bring myself to torture them with the icy coldness.  

My landlord has been good about trying to get someone out here.  But this morning I had plans to meet a friend and her son, who is also Liam's friend.  We were meeting at 11 in another part of the city.  At 5 minutes until 11 I got a call from the repair people.  There was someone waiting at my house NOW waiting to fix the boiler.  I told them they gave me no notice and could they come back or wait 30-45 minutes for me to get there?  No, I needed to be back within 15 minutes.  That's right, they gave me no notice and weren't going to wait AND if I didn't get back they couldn't come until Tuesday.  Given we are in this apartment til Friday (with a hotel Friday night), that was not an option - I need to shower!!!!  

So as I waited for my friend to arrive to do an unfortunate drop and run with Liam and raced back here to meet the guy to fix the water heater.  He gave me the stink eye when I arrived.  Um, hello, perhaps if you had called in advance I would have been here when you arrived!!  

Anyways, he fixed the heater - I personally think he did the cheap job which is what the landlord wanted.  I heard him say something about dos mil (2000) and then something about 150.  And given I had to front the 150, I'm going with quick fix.  But to be honest, I don't care so long as I have hot water for at least one more shower before I go.  We had someone I've become friendly with look at the house on Tuesday and I've already given her the heads up on the water heater and beyond that, I can't be held responsible for what the landlord chooses to do.

I raced back to our playdate and made it in time to go to lunch.  The kids were tired, hungry and a bit punchy but we had a great pizza lunch.  I'm going to miss these guys, who also happen to be leaving. It's funny how you connect with certain people right when you are leaving.  Figures.  Liam gets to see Miles again Thursday when he goes to visit with another friend (and gets out of the house while the movers are here).  So it wasn't a total goodbye moment.

Liam and I had about 45 minutes at home before we had to head up to Sarria to get Aidan and his friend Max at Raul's house.  Not having a car sucks.  How I managed for 3 years is beyond me.  Raul doesn't live very close to public transit so yet another taxi.  And I had to bring Max home to Pedrables which is no where near us and no where near Raul.  And so another taxi for that and yet another to get us home (because even though Max lives near a metro it would have been another 45 minutes to get back home).  Bone tired, we made it home by around 6.  

The kids were totally up my butt despite the fact that I spent the ENTIRE day shuffling them around when I had 5 million things here that needed to be done.  They obviously don't care about that.  I will admit to going slightly ballistic on them for being so selfish when they could offer to help out a little here or there.  It wasn't pretty and I felt immediate regret for my words.  We made up but it was well after 9 before I got started on my work day.

But wait,  why haven't I started my work day yet??  Because I spent the whole day taking the kids to and from playdates.  I HAVE to get work done before we leave here.  I will be working in the States but given my crazy schedule, it will be on a reduced capacity and we have the 2 week cruise right before.  I had planned an all nighter, crazy I know, to get the stuff done. Thankfully by midnight I had a good chunk of things off my plate and felt pretty good about what I had accomplished.  

Anyways, that's a bit of our last minute chaos.  The movers come on Thursday and I can't wait to at least get this process started (they will finish on Fri).  Then it's off to a hotel starting on Friday.  We're not done here yet, still lots left to do.  Will write updates on the move!!!

Besos,

Julie

Sant Jordi 2014

While every holiday here is incredibly fun and full of life, there is no holiday in Barcelona that compares to Sant Jordi.  It is by and far my absolute favorite.  For those that might not remember, Sant Jordi is Barcelona's answer to Valentine's Day only bigger and better.

Instead of the traditional Hallmark card, roses and chocolate, it's a bit of a twist here.  Combined with International Book Day, the tradition is that men give women a rose and women give men a book. This can be a friend, a family member or someone you love - it does not matter.  It is all inclusive.

The legend of Sant Jordi is about Saint George (Jordi here in Catalunya) rescuing the princess from the dragon.  So much of what you see during the day is images of Sant Jordi and the Dragon.  When Sant Jordi stabbed the dragon.  In the spot where the dragon's blood spilled, a rose bush grew.  And Sant Jordi plucked a rose to give to the princess.  As you walk down most every street you are confronted with table after table of either roses or books. And as you near the center of the city, these tables become larger and larger and become tents filled with people, authors and books.  Roses everywhere but not just real roses but roses created by artists - jewelry, puppets and more.  You can tell they've had to get creative over the years in order to differentiate from the competition.

My friend Jodi is in town and her timing could not have been better because I have spent the last few months holed up in our apartment during the day.  With beautiful weather on Sant Jordi, it was a perfect day to walk around town to see what was going on.  We walked from my apartment in Gracia down to Placa Catalunya - normally about a 45 minute walk but much longer when you take time to smell the roses (ok that was a really bad pun).  We took our time walking around and checking out all the sights along the way.  Not to mention there were huge crowds of people once we got to Passeig de Gracia - it was hard to walk at much more than a snail's pace at times.  I'm pretty sure all of Spain was in the general Placa Catalunya area which could explain a bit about the economy here since these people were obviously not working!

Sant Jordi cupcakes...unfortunately they did not taste even close to how good they looked.  But they were pretty at least!

Flowers and Catalan flags

Placa de Vila de Gracia - there were book sellers surrounding the clock tower

Take your picture as Sant Jordi and the Dragon

The puppet I bought Liam - the dragon goes in and out of the rose with a stick (the stem of the flower)

Catalunya (Independence flags) flag cookies with roses

A lot of booths we saw had propaganda about freeing Catalunya from Spain...in addition to selling roses and books. This tee shirt says "Make no mistake.  I'm Catalan and so I'm not Spanish"

Catalan independence and standard flag bracelets made from rainbow looms - I told Aidan he's missing a whole market here!

Finally a booth with books in English...too bad they are all tourist books!

Even El Corte Ingles was sporting it's Catalan flag during the celebrations

After we made our way thru Placa Catalunya, I had to make my way up to school for the kids' annual Sant Jordi festival.  Again, this is my favorite of all the performances they put on each year.  It is traditional, it is adorable and it brings a tear to my eye every year as I think of how lucky we have been to have the opportunity for our kids to go to such a wonderful school that does these kinds of things.

And while the Sant Jordi festival is LONG at the boys' school (it was 2 1/2 hours and there is no seating for the parents so you are standing the whole time), it is worth it and so much fun!

Liam loves any reason to celebrate!

Heads of school and the Spanish/Catalan teachers starting the festivities!

Liam's class coming out to do their performance

Liam is the first child on the left in the blue shorts

http://youtu.be/cGr5thCILPQ

Liam's 1st grade class performance

And here comes Aidan's class!

Aidan is at 12 o'clock in the plaid shorts

Now at 5 o'clock...

http://youtu.be/6EgDnXMUJeo

Aidan's 4th grade class performance

There was even a casteller performance from some of the middle schoolers!  This is no easy feat!

No festival is complete without a gegante (giant)!  In our case, it's Benjamin Franklin (the boys' school is the Benjamin Franklin International School)!

As always, the most fun performance and definitely not traditional is that done by the 11th graders. Each year, they do their own interpretation of the legend of Sant Jordi...with a modern twist.  It's a lot of fun to watch and while it would be tempting to grab the kids and go after their performances are done, we'd hate to miss out on this!

http://youtu.be/F3dFXVYEObE

11th grade dance - to the tune of Cotton Eyed Joe

That was it.  It was a fun day had by all and with love in the air, I should also note, that on a rare day that we walked home, Aidan decided to tell me that he has a girl that he likes in his class.  He wanted to know how he could tell her he likes her and if she would be his girlfriend.  OMG where does the time go?  How can my baby be at a stage where he likes girls?  We had an awesome and mature conversation the whole way home from school.  And while I'm sad that mom isn't the love of his life any more, I love this young man he is becoming.  What better day to talk about all different kinds of love than Sant Jordi??

Liam with his rose/dragon puppet that I gave him - it was a HUGE hit!

My baby isn't a baby any more!

Besos,

Julie