Happy Thursday!

It is a beautiful day here in Suesa.  I'm sitting outside again on the wonderful porch couch and enjoying the fact that the air doesn't smell of cows :) Also, I had the first good nights sleep in my almost 2 months here.  I dont know why, but I have been sleeping so horribly here which has been exhausting.  But last night I slept for a solid 7 hours which was wonderfully refreshing! So now I am ready for a night out tonight.  Everyone goes out almost every night and I am starting to join them more and more.  My pool playing is getting a lot better :) And I have been meeting a lot of people and improving my spanish which is nice.  It's crazy how safe I feel here.  I walk into town at night-around 10 or 11 and walk home even later (sometimes I get a ride) but I feel so safe and the walk is absolutly beautiful.  The other night Belen and I were walking home together and there was a full moon and there are actually stars...haha....lots of them, more than the 4 we see in Long Beach :) It is just beautiful.   

My allergies have been going crazy the last 3 weeks, the worst I have ever had and none of my allergy meds are helping and yesterday I had the worst reaction ever.  Something flew into my eye and my eye swelled up.  I didn't know what was happening for a few minutes until i looked into the mirror and saw it swelling.  So after a few benadryl and keeping my eye shut for 2 hours (very difficult to do while playing with kids and making dinner) it stopped swelling and felt a little better.  This morning it looks normal again, but feel like someone punched me in the eye-its just super sore.  But I'm glad I dont look like a creepy monster-girl anymore.  The kids had fun with it though..Abraham said I was looked like a Pirate and Carla drew I closed eye on a piece of manila paper and wore that Saying we had the same eye, lol.  It was cute.  I've been having some problems with the kids for the last 2 weeks and it has been really difficult, but Carla and I had a talk yesterday morning and it really helped which makes me really happy.  We had a great afternoon yesterday and good morning this morning. 

I am enjoying my time here more and more though.  I feel so at home in house adn now that I have a few friends again and a social life it feel more like home everyday.  I still miss everyone in the land of stars and stripes but don't feel homesick-although I would kill for some of mom's wonderful meatloaf.  :)

Flamenco

Ole!

Wow...this weekend has been so much fun!! I got to see a whole other side of the Spanish culture and loved it! My friend, Belen, invited me to a flamenco party in Santander to see her dad play guitar.  It was so much fun! We had a great time seeing the dancing and listening to the music.  I think every spanish person must be born dancing because they dance so beautifully.  I, of course, am horrible so I leave the flamenco to the Spaniards and I just wait to dance until we are in crowded clubs where it doesn't really matter as long as you can keep time :) Well we were at the flamenco party from 9pm until about 2am then we really started the night life...yes crazy I know that nightlife really can begin at 2 am.  But it was such a fun night! I hadn't been into Santander and it was fun to see it by day (when we were driving tot he flamenco party) and by night.  Well after getting home at 6:30 am on Saturday I slept in till about noon, then got ready to do it all over again.  Saturday night we went bcck to Santander to see Belen's dad play at this little 'Irish' pub.  This was a more intimate venue which I think is more enjoyable.  People got up and danced and it was so fun.  I really enjoyed seeing this side of Spain...I love the music.  Spanish guitar is really so beautiful.  Well after a few hours of sleep today I decided to get up so that I would be tired tonight so I can get back on my regular sleep schedule.   

Music

Dancing

More music!

comfy porch seat + music + coffee = great morning

I am sitting on the porch of my spanish home...yes it feels like home =] We brought up the porch furniture last night and I am so happy that the sun is out today! It's a little windy, but I am loving sitting outside relaxing, listening to my music on the wonderful portable speakers Mom and Dad got me for Christmas and enjoying a big cup of coffee.  My allergies have been going crazy so I figure sitting out here will help so I can get all my sneezes out now.  Well this last week has been nice.  Wesley got engaged, so there has been a lot of contact with the family back home hearing new news everyday about wedding and everything that goes with it =] It's all really exciting! Last night mom and Sharon called me at 1 am here and we had a wonderful chat. I love how technology lets us keep in touch and feel so connected half a world away from eachother. 


view from my corner-of-the-porch seat



Well life here in Spain hasn't changed to much int he last week.  The kids are really comfortable with me which is nice.  They are totally hilarious, and even with they frustrate me I still love working with them! I am really comfortable in the family which is wonderful.  Marije and Miguel have been so warm that it makes it easy.  I am finally use to the feel of the house, it is a beautiful house, but everything felt little sterile when i first got here and now it feels homey.  Marije is just very particular and I am used to a very homey feeling house where I am now scared about which pillows I am allowed to touch and so on.  But now I am used to it and it's nice.  But I have come to the firm conclusion that when I have my own house I am getting carpet.  This is the 3rd time I have lived in a house without carpet and I really miss it.  You hear everything, have to constantly sweep and its bugs to walk around barefoot on it, haha.  But it does make cleaning up Abraham's sand, that he brings home in his shoes from school, very easy =] ( really wish this thing had actual smiley faces I could use)

Well that is it...talk to you all next week!

xoxox



There is going to be another Montgomery

Well I just want to give my big brother and his new fiance, Megan, and big CONGRATS! on thier engagment! Wesley, I love you so much and am so happy for you!!

Megan, Wesley and myself last year

wow, wow, wow...I can't believe it's been a month

So as I have been told it has been a month since I have written anything.  Sorry! =] I keep sitting down to write and then something comes up and I keep saying 'oh, you just wrote last week so just write it tomorrow' and then WOW!, it's been a month. The time has just flown by, it's wonderful.  Last week a friend of mine asked me how this experience compared to my last experience abroad (Ecuador) and I told him its just a total 180.  This has been an amazing last few months and I am so happy.  I am also really enjoying using my spanish again and learning more, I don't have that nauseous feeling I used to when I would speak spanish, it's really wonderful!
So life in the past month:
I love Somo! It is beautiful, and the weather is really becoming nice..although yesterday we did have a rainstorm-I loved the thunder! I am very setteled in with the family and my life here.  I have made a few more friends, but still learning how to keep sane with the spanish social hours.  I went out Saturday night...well more like Sunday morning.  I met everyone at midnight and got dropped off at my house at 7am! It's crazy, but hey...thats Espana! So needless to say, yesterday I spent a good few afternoon hours sleeping.  I couldn't sleep to well when I got home because the kids wake up around 8 and Carla (who is wonderful and I love her) loves to make these super loud screech-type noises when she gets excited about something.  And yesterday was mother's day in Europe so she was super excited to see her grandmother...so yeah, no sleep till about noon or 1.  But today I am all back to normal and properly rested. 
I found a wonderful hairdresser, it's really amazing how much a good haircut means to me. But I was just so happy to have a haircut and a new style (I got bangs again!) and Marije told me it was wonderful about a million times =] I loved it, lol. 
Last weekend one of my TEFL class friend's, Lindsey, came to visit from Germany.  It was nice to go out with someone, because I had been hesitant (and a little scared) to go out alone.  But we had a great time hanging out at the beach and visiting the Colonial Market that was here last weekend.  I bought a beautiful set of hand carved wooden salad tossers =]
I am planning a few trips for this summer and in September.  I really want to go to Pamplona in July to see the running of the bulls. 
That's it for right now.  I promise to not let it go a whole month again before I write.  I really love writing the blog and am happy that it's actually read, lol.

They are awesome kids

Out in Nojas

Oh! I added a list of links (top right of the blog) to my Facebook photo albums.  I always add photos on there, and even if you don't have a facebook you can still view the albums.