Broken nails and positivity (Au Pair Experience Días 13 and 14)

Feeling a bit eh today. I guess it's always going to be the same after exerting myself at basketball but I've not had time to expect it before now.

Yesterday:

Yesterday was good if a little painful! Somehow I forgot that sport and long nails don't go together and managed to catch the ball right on my little fingernail, completely break it and end up with a swollen finger to boot. I milked it a little (got out of running for about two minutes) but it actually did hurt! I can move it and stuff but it's been a long time since I've hurt myself that way and put me off a bit. Still I kept playing and played a match on the full pitch as well I'm which I scored a great goal or whatever (I'm forgetting some English and I wasn't great on basketball terminology anyway) plus blocked an important pass from the other side too.

The mystery Irish girl was there finally, but of course I had to go and say I thought she was Norwegian as soon as she opened her mouth. Maybe that's why she didn't seem too eager to text me after. That and her iPhone needs unlocking but hello WiFi? We'll see, she seems nice anyway. Also the coach, Carme is so sweet loool. I love her and I think the language barrier has actually helped us bond. She always explains things in Castilian Spanish for me and cheers me on when I look like I'm gonna fall over from running. She's cheeky though, a proper character. The mums are all nice too, can't remember all their names but they're good sports and patient and stuff. Apparently they couldn't believe that I'd plaited my hair by myself (so needs redoing now though, could've done without the attention!) and Carme suggested I start a business lol. I think people would rather not pay €40/50 for me to take a whole day doing their hair but if anyone does feel free to drop me a message!

It was also Abril's birthday so Happy Birthday Abril! If I haven't said before she's Gina's twin from another mother and comes to lunch with her brother Jan on Mondays, then me, Gina and Roger go to theirs on Wednesdays. We had ice cream cake with 8 little candles, it was so cute. Made me feel super old though! I remember my 8th birthday was amazing, a trip to the London Eye, new jeans that I tried to keep until I was 13 (and a size 10) and lunchables in the car. Can every child enjoy their youth please? Thanks.

Today:

So today I had plans to go for a drink with another British girl here and didn't decide to check my phone until I'd gotten ready to leave, a good 5 hours after she'd texted me to reschedule. Oh well, that's a normal thing and things don't magically go well just because you're in another country.

So to cheer myself up I got another sandwich and coffee but this time at a different cafe. It might become my favourite because it's right by the river and the coffee's cheaper but it's on the other side to the main bit of town. Not even a 5 minute walk. I dunno I'll weigh up the pros and cons when I'm out and need coffee like most people do.

I'm writing this post sitting outside it but I'll have to finish off at home because I've got school at 6 and should show you all the English work we've got hanging up in the kitchen.

I'm going to try to take a different approach to Roger. He's really excitable and that's actually a really good thing so I need to make an effort to channel it into our time together. Be entertained by it even when it's annoying kind of thing. I'm not a nanny to be worried about discipline and if he gets over excited I can just give him a time out like yesterday (he sat on the stairs for a minute and was much calmer when he came back, for a little while.) If I need to give instructions I can do so in Spanish and translate after. I also have to be prepared to work a little for the kids' attention. This is a learning experience for me as much as them. He's gotta stop kicking me under the table though lol. After the third time I'm like can you not feel my great hefty leg? Try harder bubs. And sit properly ;)

So now to get ready for school and I'll tell you all about it after.

Later:

School was fine. The secretary asked me to do a language exchange with her next week which was nice and the girl who gave me her book dropped me off to meet my host family. Unfortunately she doesn't have time for anything more than our classmate relationship but it's fine because I have something to look forward to at school. Someone asked me a question for their English work (in case you didn't know, the opposite to the most dangerous is the safest) and my teacher was pleased enough with my summary of a Spanish newspaper article.  No one seems to care too much that I haven't registered though lol. 

Saw this on the way to school. For now, Catalunya is Spain. People write graffiti in English so that the whole world understands. It's so interesting to me because of the political situation in Catalunya. I live with a family who want the region's independence but aren't fanatical about it. If it happens it happens and they think it would be better for Catalunya. There are quite a few Catalan flags around, walk down any street and you'll see some. There's just one street where I've seen a Spanish flag and it really sticks out, which is probably the point. But it's not something that anyone's mentioned, there's graffiti everywhere but no one minds if I speak Castillian Spanish or anything like that. Maybe in other towns, I'm not sure. 

Did some English study with Roger for a test he has. He knows a lot and he's a good student so I'm sure he'll do really well!

Other stuff to write about

Soooo I´m going to try and make my blog posts a bit different now because talking about how my day went isn´t as interesting as it was before.

Coming up will be some comments on the political situation in Catalunya, the political situation in my own country, the food here, language barriers, cultural differences and some things that I´ve learnt about being away from home. 

If you have any ideas please let me know by commenting or some other medium (I'm not too great at telepathy though!) and let me know if you're interested in what I've planned so far!

Antonia xx

Au Pair Experience Días 11 y 12

I'm totally gonna regret staying up and writing this tomorrow but I can't sleep anyway

Monday:

I think Monday was a good day overall

Amazon order arrived. In England this is a smooth hi, thanks, here's my signature, thanks, bye kind of process. In Spain, of course it was full of fumbling and confusion, on my part. Who else knew that you have to give the delivery guy your passport number at the door? Oh, no one? Good because when he asked for it I literally went, MY PASSPORT!? and stared helplessly at my host mum, ignoring the guy when he explained it was for identification. She ended up giving hers to him and he thanked her and ran away, never to look back. 

The kids were in a weird mood, maybe I've spent too much time with them over the weekend so they need a break from me. It was hard to get them to speak English or even really do anything. We did some stuff like playing a memory game to learn some opposites in English but even that ended in a mini tantrum. 

They've had a hard few days anyway, having someone new living with them and becoming part of their routine, constantly having to learn new things and catch themselves when they make mistakes. It must be tiring. They've actually taken to me really well and they're still very sweet, I can't complain, I'm just sensitive to the slightest shift in atmosphere.

Lunch with the kids and their friends was also good, though the little boy I had to keep telling to sit down was not impressed with his mention here! They all need to be told to sit properly except his sister really, but this isn't really a surprise. 7 & 9 year olds aren't exactly renowned for their ability to keep still. Makes me wonder who's reading my blog though!

School was good. All the boys said hello to me and the girls made me their pet project. (It sounds like I'm sitting in on a primary school class but I go to a school for adults.) I can remember only 2 of their names so it might be awkward on Thursday. Especially as the sweetie who gave me her book to photocopy the pages I don't have is nameless in my head. 

Tuesday

Definitely a good day, even though I can't sleep. 

Running:

Think the protein bars I got delivered yesterday definitely help with energy levels and muscle repair and I didn't feel like I'd touched a treadmill when I woke up (I actually burned 200 calories on the thing, totally worth the 244 calorie protein bar -.-)

Lunch:

OMG another disaster. Picked the kids up from school and we were making jokes and singing songs all fun and games. Then we get to the door and I put the key in (duh) and THE BLOODY KEY WONT TURN AND THE BLOODY DOOR WONT OPEN. SO I PULL THE BLOODY HANDLE OFF TRYING TO GET IT TO SOMEHOW REALISE IT NEEDS TO OPEN. The kids go upstairs to the other door but they weren't listening when I told them to stop pressing the bell because no one's home so I didn't realise they'd meant for me to follow. Eventually I thought 'oh, maybe it's the same key for the upstairs door' and lo and behold IT BLOODY WAS SO I BROKE THE DOOR KNOB FOR NOTHING AND THEN I STILL HAD TO COOK LUNCH AND THE KIDS WERE HUNGRY SO THE FIRST COURSE WAS PRINGLES AND WATER WHILE I TRIED TO COOK PASTA AND STEAK. (Yes I seem to have been demoted to pasta after the rice fiasco)

But you know what it all came together and they still had an hour to do homework or whatever they wanted plus I got the doorknob nearly back to how it was before (Jordi was surprised I was even strong enough to break it, HAHA I WAS SO DESPERATE TO GET IN AND FEED YOUR CHILDREN)

ASOS order came and lucky for us it was the same delivery man but this time I was ready with my passport. This time it was a smooth 'hi passport thanks bye.' I'm a quick learner. 

Year abroad application is stressing me out. I need to drop Portuguese for a year and if I can't then I'd better cross my fingers and toes that I get into my first choice because God knows I'm not paying for private Portuguese classes in Spain like hell to the nope.  

Had the afternoon off seeing as Roger and Gina do after school activities so I made another matching game (this time with pictures) and a sheet (mainly for Gina) of things to say when you don't understand. It came in really handy over dinner with me, her and Susana and now I'm sure she'll have the confidence to tell me she doesn't understand instead of looking to someone else, whining or shrugging her shoulders (she did say she didn't understand quite w lot though, it's just obviously more difficult for her because she's younger). 

I had a sandwich and a coffee after buying some Nikes I'd been eyeing since the second day and was finally happy chilling by myself.

Maybe because I've arranged another coffee date and found a couple of interesting people to speak to. I stopped at the store where my friend works to say hi and buy a couple of fridge magnets then walked through the park home, quite content

Fear (Au Pair Experience Día 10)

We had family lunch and went to the mountains. 

I'll let the pictures do the talking about the mountains but first, lunch. 

Lunch was great, María cooked this soup that reminded me of my grandma's and really good fish. Jordi's aunt Maria was there too and she spoke to me a lot. (I didn't realise at first why she'd asked me if we'd met before but Jordi and Susana later explained that she has a poor memory.) I added some balsamic vinegar to my fish and I'm really starting to forget what's unique to me and what's British but tía Maria thought it was weird having the fish on the leftover vinegar from the salad. Great aunt Maria however put some vinegar on her fish too. 

I still don't understand Abuelo very well and I feel so bad because he always makes such an effort to talk to me. We spoke about San Jordi and he and great aunt Maria explained some of the history of their family and the village. Abuela is easier to understand and she rolled her eyes when I said she has great style. She reminds me of my grandma a lot.

Here is the amazing Mont Sec (dry mountain) and the snow-covered Pirinese in the background:

There are no words to describe the serenity and beauty of this place. I was scared, a bit from falling but mostly from being swallowed up by its magnificence. So grateful to my host family for sharing this hidden wonder with me. 

Also I went for a coffee with my first friend here! I was getting a bit stir crazy spending more time than I was used to by myself but now I'm not so scared to put myself out there, even if I look like a big potato

She's nice. Popular too with a hunky boyfriend and I'm 100% not jealous at all. 

Until next time,

Antonia xxx

Lleida Preciosa (Au Pair Experience Día 9)

On Saturday we went to visit Lleida, a city in Catalunya. Roger played football there (and scored an amazing goal from really far away) so we made it into a fun trip

St Martin´s school has won a lot of trophies

La Gina Preciosa

Waiting for coffe #couplegoals

So after football we drove to La Seu Vella which is the old cathedral in Lleida. It was magical. There's so much history there, it's been a prison during wars and overlooks the whole city. Of course I took some photos:

La Seu Vella

Lleida from La Seu Vella

Sibling love aww

Then we ate in a nice little restuarant called Iruña with cousin Pol and tia Maria. We shared plates of tapas including something that was really tasty and twice the price of the others. The family always share cultural information with me which is lovely because I really didn't know anything about Catalunya before I came. So it was also explained to me that pork from pigs that eat acorns and roam freely in fields is really expensive. (We saw some the next day in Carrefour and they were €200 for a leg! It must taste nice but it smelt kinda bad.) Sadly I only got a picture of my dessert but the food was amazing. (Except the calamari, needed salt)

Anyway, after lunch we went to the city's carrer major (main street) which is completely pedestrian and features tonnes of shops, the town hall, some churches etc.

I also bought some postcards to send to my grandparents seeing as neither of them can do WhatsApp calls. (Apparently my grandma's been asking about me which made me miss her. I miss my mum too but she's coming to Barcelona so not so bad.)

Finally there was a trip to a massive Sports Direct type shop and Carrefour. Carrefour is manic and probably the most tiring way to end the day. There are too many people in it at one time so you can't get past the ditherers and chatters. You have to put any shopping bags in a sealed clear plastic bag and not open it the whole time you're in there lest you wish to be accused of petty theft! (You can still slip some pick and mix into your handbag or pockets... Or mouth though!)

Once we got home it was kebabs and babysitting. The kids were perfect so I let them stay up til midnight. Gina flaked at 11 and Roger at 12. We chilled on the sofa playing on tablets and watching Blancanieves al reves which was strange and wasn't even backwards so I have no idea why it was called that. Susana and Jordi (there are so many Jordis here, it's George and Catalunya's patron is Saint George (San Jordi) as well) went out to eat with friends in a different village. I'm told there were many questions asked about me like what I eat (I eat the same as them) and how I am (perfect of course) and they had a lot of fun which made Saturday night in totally worth it :)

Special Poetry Post!!!!

In the midst of all my au pairing adventures I got some great news regarding poetry hehehe

I´m so excited to tell you all that

I´M GETTING PUBLISHED!!!!

Really really! I´ve written poetry since I was small, 8 years old at most and this is my first time getting published in an actual book. I didn´t realise how special it was at first, my mum sent me a message and pictures of this letter from United Press and I was like okay I didn´t win the competition I entered in November, no biggie. And they want me to order their anthology okay. 

But then I actually read it properly and I´d gotten to the final stages of the competition so they wanted to publish me! I´m so happy! It was a little complicated sending the forms back to my mum seeing as we´re in different countries and there´s a one week deadline (bit harsh) but thank God for modern technology. I´m going to buy a few copies of the book, which includes work from other people and be sure to give one to my Grandad, who gave me my first notebook for anthologies.

The competition was a Local Poetry competition (details here, well kinda... not sure if the 2016 competition is still on the website) and you could write about anything provided it fit in with the theme. I sent two poems but this is the one that they liked the most:

A town of two sides, somewhere
Out of the way
A suburb, with trees and parks
A blur of green and a deep sigh
Of fresh air
I say London, it’s a lie
More Essex since TOWIE
But still a border town
A town of two worlds
Connected yet distant
With a bus that runs once an hour

But you’ll need your oyster card
Children run around 

Once released from
‘excellent’ establishments of education
Young energy in a town which 

makes me happy
A territory
With faces I recognise
Mine, and yours
Great for long walks
A lived in escape
From our neighbouring concrete jungle
Home.

The rights to the poem remain my own (of course)

It´s about the town where I´m from and its identity. Not sure if it´s my best work but I meant it. Congratulations to the winner!

So thank you to everyone who supported me writing that particular poem (Mummy, Alice, Roz, Elaine, even Michael, maybe the volunteers who I may have forced to read it) and everyone who has ever supported my writing ever!

One excited published poet,

Antonia xxx

Friday! (Au Pair Experience Día 8)

It's weird because I can say I've been here a week but I've actually been here 8 days because I got here last Friday. 

Today I decided to clean my room and my bathroom (not that they were filthy or anything!) and I'm also going to paint my toenails and redo a bit of my hair so I feel human again. Might treat myself to a cute pair of Nike trainers for €50 though I can't justify it after my ASOS and Amazon shop (oops!)

This morning I watched some of the show Catalunya Experience which is really cool if you wanna find out things about this region of Spain. The Pirinese are the border between Cataluynia and France which explains why Català sounds like French with words like d'accord and merci. 

I'm gonna study for my strange Spanish class today and have the weekend completely for resting. I'll answer my university emails too. I keep in touch with my course adviser and the two supervisors from my placement in the summer but I have to filter through so many unimportant emails first!

I was so optimistic in the morning but I didn't do much except cleaning and taking photos

I tried going to a few bars on my own but I wasn't having a confident night. It might have been because of my sandals and socks combination: 

I was going for cute Topshop cutie but I was more like your Uncle Bob. This big white dog wouldn't stop looking at me, like I thought it was gonna eat me. The first bar I went to was quite nice but I obviously got there at the wrong time because within 10 minutes of me arriving everyone left. I thought I was being brave asking these two guys if I could watch their darts match, they obliged, but they were finishing and I was left with the barmaid who apparently couldn't understand "vodka and cola" and the owner who must've been depressed that by 11 everyone had left. I don't even drink vodka I just thought it was the easiest thing to say. 

The next bar was a younger crowd and I liked it more but didn't talk to anyone. I'd been on the phone to a friend from England and I felt so uncomfortable talking to strangers. The rest of the bars that my host parents recommended were closed so I just went home. 

I have made a friend though, me and the girl that works in the shop are going for a coffee on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it so much. The au pair life is strange. Overwhelming socialising and loneliness at the same time. Maybe I'm being dramatic. We'll see

Jinx (Au Pair Experience, Día 7)

Definitely tempted fate yesterday by celebrating everything being so perfect. 

Today has been shit. Or at least I've felt shit. I've tried resting enough but nothing is enough for this stupid body of mine. I look sturdy and confident but I always have to take time to adjust. I really don't want to cry in front of my host family. I'm not a baby and I'm really not that emotionally unstable. It's just something my brain and body does to annoy me. 

Anyway school was a bit weird, I changed groups and did some weird linguistics stuff as they're preparing for an official exam that Spanish students take. So it's not a class for a foreigner at all but it should be helpful because I'll learn a lot and we study literature and practise writing. The older women asked me about a language exchange but that's all the socialising that I did in that class. I think they just did it to show off anyway because they didn't say anything after class. 

Urgh. 

Definitely having an early night tonight. And yes I've taken all my vitamins and thought happy thoughts but the depression period is inevitable 

The day ended well enough so I'm sure tomorrow will be better

First days and observations (Au Pair Experience, Día 6)

First day at school: I was a bit worried about going to school and wasn't really planning to do a language course before I got here. The place I'm going is a school for adults so there's a mix of people and the facilities are a bit shit. It's like a temporary building and I've seen one computer in the whole place, but they have these hooks to hang your bag on under the table. 

Anyway the class was too basic for me so I'm going to a higher level. Everyone says I speak Spanish well but I've actually done two years studying at uni I'm most probably the worst in my Advanced class so I just smile and say I need to improve. So today I've got another class at 6 and hopefully it'll be better. 

Hopefully I'll make some friends. I'm not lonely I just don't have any friends here! The last class was okay but I had to leave early so there was no time to get to know anyone. 

I'm grateful for the opportunity to study here anyway, even though I'll be doing it next year, every little helps :)

First Day Sweating: Basically played basketball with the semi-pro (!) mums last night and omg. I hadn't broke a sweat here until then so it all came pouring out to say "hey don't forget the real you Sweaty Betty". Everyone noticed and that I was so unfit but it wasn't really anything bad. I kept up for most of it and only declined the 10 min match on the full pitch. The mums were nice, obviously a little competitive and we had a few jokes. The coach is lovely as well and now I'm in the basketball a WhatsApp group! Progress!

Here's my apparently dry elbow and a basketball to celebrate playing a sport

Stuff I've noticed;

Language barriers: It's hard for people to speak Castellano (Castilian Spanish) instead of Català (Catalan, language of Cataluynia, Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Valencia (they call it valenciano)) especially when there are two or more Català speakers. I guess it'll help me to learn definitely but it's hard catching bits of the conversation. Now we're a trilingual family which is an achievement in itself after 6 days :)

Phone: I usually have my phone on me (cos I'm looking after someone's children) but I'm not obsessed with charging it. (Okay so if my non existent boyfriend isn't texting me then I normally chuck it on my bed but that's not the point!) I speak to my family and friends during the evening (when they actually have some time for me) and don't worry about replying immediately to every lol and wuu2 (my friends aren't actually that lame, just an example)

Something nice: I feel so lucky to have found this family, they're so genuinely lovely and always make sure I feel comfortable. I have free reign in the fridge (mwahaha) and they're just as happy with me as I am with them. I really hope things keep going smoothly because they're just lovely people

A game of "does it float?"

Cooking Disasters and Siestas (Au Pair Experience, Día Cinco)

The title is misleading because I'm going to start with the siesta. Basically woke up, took the kids to school and crashed. I said I'd take G's gymnastics kit to school before 11 but at 10 I was fast asleep. An "Antonia?" from S woke me right up and it was fine, she took the kit and I wasn't late but I was so embarrassed. How could I pass out after being awake for an hour and half?! Soon after she left I forced myself into the shower and after yawning about 15 times got dressed and sorted out my room. It was getting a little messy (the real me was coming out).

Once I was done with that it was time to cook lunch (here comes the disaster). It was rice with tomato sauce and fried eggs, then burgers, bread and oil. Nothing was really hard apart from the rice omg. Anyone who's ever eaten something I've cooked knows I struggle with cooking. I can cook but cooking rice in a pot is my sworn enemy. I always get it stuck on the bottom with a massive burnt patch that takes 12 years to scrape off and it's wet despite also burning. I added some oil to try and avoid this but this is obviously my destiny. So I panicked and made another batch in the microwave that was a bit hard but better than the sticky wet thing. Well done me.

I warned G when I picked her up from school, that there were two types of rice: malo y bueno. But when we got back and I asked her which one she wanted she said the sticky wet stuff. I nearly cried with joy. I didn't have to put a whole pot of rice in the bin! And I even managed to clean the pot before S came back downstairs. The only bad thing is because it was actually edible I'll have to go through this every week.

Also I need one of those toy tills you have as a toddler to practise with Euro change. I misunderstand the price every time and look like a noob 💀

Au Pair Experience, Día Cuatro

Okay so Sunday I didn't post anything but that doesn't mean nothing happened...

Sunday is the day of rest for me, so I had a lie in (until like 1pm) and then we had a long walk with tia. My host dad and his nephew went to watch the Barcelona vs... Someone else match. We watched it on TV and it was pretty entertaining. Mostly because of the way the family reacted to certain things, it was nice to see them all enjoying it.

Anyway here are some pictures of Sunday: 

Pretty old house

The River Segre

More pretty houses

Typical residential street in the old town

Catalonian flag (they want their independence)

Town at night (#nofilter)

It was nice to get out for sure and I'm happy to be part of such an active family. Just hope I can keep up!

Monday:

This was my first day of work. It wasn't awful but it was challenging. First getting up early (7:45 still feels like 6:45), speaking another language, translating things to and from English and all with a smile. Taking the kids to school was fine, they know the way and the fresh air and sunshine kind of perks you up.

Then I showered and me and S (host mum) went to town. Her friend runs a café and one of her many sisters was there too. S introduced me to them, bought me a forest fruit tea and then went back to work (at home). I chatted with S's friend and sister and had this really tasty sandwich for just one Euro (no friend of the family discount needed!)

Afterwards I went shopping as S had shown me all the shops. Apparently toner here doesn't make your face less blotchy it's just to remove make up and Vitamin C costs 9€ okay.

Then went to a massive chino and bought a picture frame and some cosy pyjamas (I'd been sleeping in the T-shirt I wore the day before because by the time I go to bed I'm too exhausted to open the wardrobe tbh). Also apparently I'm obviously not Spanish because I didn't understand that nueve centitos isn't 90 cents okay sorry.

Went home, got the kids and two of their friends from school and had lunch with them. Omg that was hard, fun but telling a little boy to sit down 100 times in two languages and still having to physically sit him down was a pain in the butt. They're cute though :)

Some wild children run wildly

Oh and next Monday I'm going to have an English class with some other children and I need to prepare something fun. (Suggestions? 3 children and me for 1 hour of English) S set that up for me and km grateful but also baffled.

Anyway more to come obvs. Can't believe I've only been here a few days!
Antonia xxx

Mushrooms and Abuelos (Au Pair Experience, Día Dos, Part Two)

Spanglish is my favourite language right now. So many Spanglish conversations, so little concentration...

So yes this is part dos of my second day blogging effort. I'm going to do a list thing for ease and... Ease. (It's late and I should be asleep.) Today was another jam-packed day...

1. Woke up. Showered upstairs. Missed R's football match. Family came back just before I'd brushed my teeth. Greeted everyone with bad breath and a toothbrush
2. Ate breakfast. Had a café solo (an espresso, bit bigger than those shot things from Costa). Coffee was not enough. Biscuit. Tried to figure out if grúa and crane are the same thing with host mum plus lots of confusion (they are).  No time for make up before we leave (¡qué horror!)
3. Walk around town. Through market. See police and ask why they're directing traffic. See more police and ask if I need my passport (no). Walk up this hill to a historic wall that was built to keep the Moors out. Walk up about 5 million stairs to get great views of town: 
   
4. Didn't pass out but might. Walk up more steps to visit church. Humbled so no pics inside. Try not to lose my hat in the wind. Walk down 500 steps to a regenerated part of town that was never finished because the money ran out. La vida es dura 
5. Family lunch. Abuelo, abuela, tia, primo and the family I'm staying with. Abuelo is deaf but impressed with my Spanish (related?). Abuelo speaks too fast. Cosy fire. Good food except the aubergines that taste like cigarettes (still finished it but never trying it again) 
   
6. Get asked my political opinion(!!) on the EU in/out referendum for the UK. Explain that our government gives no fucks about human rights or other people so we should stay in but yes the Euro is shit. Approving nods once I got it all out
7. Abuela asks about my hair. I explain in DETAIL. Ask if I can touch her hair. Yes. Try to undo her hair. No. Oops.
8. Go mushroom picking in the forest with tia and the kids. Find two edible mushrooms.
   
   Walk around with sticks like we're Gandalf.  Surprise pig farm. Host dad owns it. Permanent confusion on my face. Pigs are cute but smell awful. Lovely day with host family. Feel at home if a little overwhelmed.
9. Supermarket. Discreetly purchase lady things (tampons, pads, perfume, hand cream - not sure if allergic to soap or water but need to cream my hands every time I wash them!) with host mum and G while R asks me what type of soy milk I like (?? Soy? Clasíco? Normal?)
10. Home. Wait ages for dinner. It's Saturday. 10pm. Nice spread, another family almost clones of my host family but more fluency in English. G has a stomach ache. We eat. I have dessert with the grown ups (cheese and this kind of pear jam) and try not to be drunk off a finger of red wine. Play games with children. Decline gin and tonic offer. Bid all goodnight
11. Call mummy for an hour. Happy. Recommends I go to doctor about intense ear head and neck pains when landing plane. Love is shared. Life is the same at home. Should've bought more cat litter before I left not just ordered it from Amazon. Tesco isn't far!

Until next time chicos,

Antonia xx