Four weeks in Spain

We made it to the four-week mark.  In a few more days, we will have officially been in Spain an entire month.  In some ways, it feels like we just got here, and in other ways, it feels like we've been here forever.

It was raining most of last week so we didn't get out a whole lot.  We went through a whole tank of propane and a bunch of wood trying to stay warm though.  The gas man comes through town twice a week, blaring his horn to let you know he's here.  The first time we needed a refill, Shawn carried the empty tank up to the plaza and he and I carried a full one back down.  This time we were smart enough to figure out how to get it delivered.  See, we're learning!

The fog on Thursday was so thick, we couldn't see past the neighbor's house.  This was the view from our bedroom that day.

We had our first parent-teacher meeting with Aliah's teacher last Monday.  Haila came with us because we weren't sure whether or not to bring Aliah.  We figured the girls could hang out in the hall if the meeting was only for adults.  Thank goodness our interpreter was along!  The teacher knows a little English, but it would have been painful for us to communicate without Haila.  One of our friends thinks she should start charging us for her services (Yes, Dan, that would be you!).  I think we'd be broke already.

Aliah's teacher said she's doing really well.  She tested her to see if she needed any extra help in any of her subjects, including Spanish, and she passed with flying colors.  Aliah was concerned because the other kids do all of their writing in cursive, and she only knows how to write her name.  The teacher reassured her that printing is fine.  It is more important that her sentences make sense, which they do!  That was contributing to a lot of tears at home since she gets homework every day, so we were all thankful to get that welcome news.

We asked Aliah's teacher about after-school activities, and she told us about a dance class.  Aliah tried it out last Thursday and really enjoyed it.  They are learning some form of flamenco dancing.  That sounds right up her alley.  She's like her Dad and enjoys an audience.

Now that the sun has reappeared, Shawn and Aliah have returned to their after-school walk abouts.  Below is a pic of her doing her homework yesterday at Cafe Central with Dad.

Haila was home sick on Thursday and Friday.  She had a fever and a nasty cough, but she's feeling better now.  I was grateful she was home on Thursday to once again interpret when there was a knock on the door.  I had requested a wood delivery via WhatsApp (thanks to Google Translate) on Wednesday, and the wood man showed up on Thursday to tell me he couldn't deliver until the weather cleared up.  We ended up getting the delivery on Sunday.  Thankfully the wood man has a self-propelled tractor that's small enough to get up our street. The wood pile is behind and below the house and the only way to get it there is to carry it through the house, so through the house and down the steps the wood went.

Haila was getting a little stir-crazy on Friday evening after being home sick for a few days, so she and I went out for a little fresh air.  We just walked around for awhile before dinner exploring some streets we hadn't walked before.  When we walked back in the house, Shawn and Aliah asked if we ordered fish with salsa.  No... why? Someone had called Shawn's phone and was speaking Spanish, so Aliah interpreted for him.  She said that the person wanted to deliver the fish with salsa someone at our address had ordered.  She told them no one at this address ordered fish with salsa.  

Hmm, that seems odd.  Shawn had been waiting for a UPS package.  Was the fish with salsa actually a package from the states?  Haila looks at Shawn's phone and sees that the caller's WhatsApp profile pic is a dog wearing UPS gear.  Uh-oh!  Haila calls him back but he's already left town and is on his way to Coin.  He's not coming back.  Haila asks if he can come back a different day.  He says he can bring it on Monday.  Once again, our girl saves the day.  Maybe we should start paying her!?!

Shawn, Aliah and I walked to the bigger market on Saturday.  Guess who was coming out of the store as we were walking in?  Our angel from day 1... Augustine from Malaga!  We were so excited to see him again.  The wood man's name is also Augustine, and they were together.  We think Augustine from Malaga told us that they are father and son, but our interpreter was at home taking a bath so that's really just speculation.  Regardless, it was wonderful to see him again, and he seemed happy to see us doing well also.  Small towns are truly special in so many ways.

Shawn went to music night on Saturday evening.  There are quite a few British and Irish folks living here, and they organize an open mic night at a small cafe in the center of town almost every weekend.  We have taken the girls a few times, but it usually doesn't start until 9:30 PM or later so we never stay long.  Shawn said this week was a little different as an American was in town visiting family and joined the menagerie of musical characters.  The visitor added his saxophone and flute to the mix which gave the music a more jazzy feel than usual.  What we've seen so far has been more folk and reggae.  Regardless of the genre, it's nice to be able to enjoy live music in an intimate setting.  

The weather was nice on Sunday and Haila's fever had broke, so we went out for lunch (at 3 PM).  We sat outside and soaked up some sun and fresh air.  After a week of rain, it felt good to get out of the cold, damp house and feel some sunshine on our faces.  We ran into several new friends (Hola Alice and Betsy!), which is such a joy-filled simple pleasure.  We're actually starting to feel like we belong here!  

We had appointments on Tuesday afternoon in Malaga to request our residence cards, so we took the bus in the morning.  Our appointments weren't until 3:30 PM, so we had some time to shop.  One thing we had been missing was our favorite snack food: popcorn popped in olive oil.  I had scoured the shops in Alozaina but could only find microwave popcorn, and we don't have a microwave anyway.  Since Malaga is a large city, I thought we could probably find popping corn there.  Sure enough, we did.  

Spain must not grow much corn, but potatoes are a different story.  In the absence of popcorn and corn/tortilla chips, we've had to resort to eating potato chips as our munchy of choice.  Oh Mylanta, they are good!  They are often made with olive oil, and they are dangerously delicious.  

I digress, back to Malaga.  Another Conley girl favorite is thrift shopping.  The last time we were in Malaga, it was a holiday and all the stores were closed.  This time, we were able to check out a wonderful store benefiting people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a condition that causes the skin to be as fragile as a butterfly's wing.  For people with EB, simple actions such as walking and eating are extremely painful.  The store was called Piel de Mariposa, which means butterfly skin, and was filled with wonderful treasures.  Both girls found more than a few.  We didn't buy everything they had an eye for, like this lovely rainbow chicken Aliah desperately wanted to buy for her Dad (who tells "stories" about his childhood best friend, the rainbow chicken), but we did purchase a number of other gems like a fairy puzzle book, a sequins dress and some jewelry.

After thrifting, we headed in the direction of the police station.  There were some amazing murals on the side of a building, so we stopped to snap a few photos.  Aliah pointed out that her leggings blend in with the background.  Why, yes, they do!  Our budding artist has an eye for color.

I had picked out a restaurant close to the police station that had good ratings on TripAdvisor.  We got there a little early for the lunch crowd (2 PM) and ordered too much food.  It's hard to know how big the portions are going to be.  Price does not necessarily indicate the volume of food you will receive.  I wish we would have gotten there a little later as the place filled up with locals very quickly, and our choices would have been different had we seen the size of the tapas.  Plus, the locals know what to order.  Our food was good, but some of the dishes at tables around us looked amazing.  Next time!

We each had an appointment at the national police station.  Shawn's was the first at 3:30 PM.  We wanted to get there a little early since we didn't really know where we were going.  The address on the appointment notice took us to the wrong entrance, so we had to walk around the block.  There were two doors, one was roped off and the other had a police officer stationed in front of it.  I got out Shawn's appointment notice so Haila could ask if we were in the right place.  The officer said that we needed to check-in with the man behind the rope.  Haila did that and was told that we needed to wait to be called in.  There was already a small crowd of people waiting.

Just after 3:30 PM, our family was called inside and told to wait outside door #1.  A number of other people were given the same instructions.  The four of us were hoping to all go in together since we had planned to take the 5 PM bus back to Alozaina and it was at least a 20 minute walk back to the bus station.  Thankfully, that's exactly what happened. Shawn was the second person called in, and the rest of us were told to come with him.  Thank God!

The woman who helped us was extremely nice and complemented Haila on her Spanish.  She started with Shawn and processed all four of us in succession.  As it turned out, we didn't need most of the paperwork I had filled out and had copied, but we did need the passport photos and we were all fingerprinted.  We left with four pieces of paper that say we are residents of Spain until 1/1/2021!  However, we have to come back in 35 days to get our official resident cards.  Well, I guess we'll get our opportunity to order different tapas at that restaurant after all.

Shawn and I were both very relieved to have these appointments behind us.  After all the iterations we went through at the Spanish Consulate in Chicago, we were both a little nervous about getting through these appointments on our first try.  Plus, the couple being processed next to us did not get their paperwork accepted.  Once again, we thank God for our many blessings!!!

Here's a picture of my three favorite legal residents of Espana getting back on the bus to Alozaina!  We celebrated when we got home with some popcorn popped in olive oil!!!

The sunrise on Wednesday morning was lovely.  Haila took the first photo right outside our front door on her way to school, and Aliah took the second photo on her way to school.

Haila also took this photo of the miniature horse that lives a block from her school.  I guess we could consider this her school's mascot as he's usually out grazing when she walks by.  She originally thought it was a donkey, but it's ears are too small.  Maybe she was wishful thinking as her cousin's school mascot actually is a donkey (Go Bray-Doyle Donkeys!)  Regardless of his breed, this guy is darn cute.

Los Cocos son Locos Blog Challenge: How are these two photos related?  

We'll bring you home some locally made olive oil chips if you can figure it out before my next post! 

Until then, we wish you much love and laughter.

First full week of school

This was the first full week of school for the girls.  There have been some tears, but I would say they are doing exceptionally well considering all the changes.  Haila leaves for school before the sun comes up.  She took this picture of the sunrise on her walk to school on Wednesday.  

She also had her first Spanish field trip this week.  Her class traveled to Malaga via bus and visited three art museums.  They were allowed to take photos, so I included one here.  The women in the piece reminds her of her third grade teacher, Miss Emily, who she adores.

They had some free time for lunch, so she went down by the port and took a few pics there as well.  Notice she's sporting a sparkly new fanny pack (thanks to Beth and Kevin).

Haila was invited to a birthday dinner by a friend from school.  The dinner didn't start until 9:30 PM!  I'm still not used to the dining schedule here, and I'm not sure I'll ever adjust.  She went last night and had a good time.  This was the latest we've ever let her stay out with friends from school EVER.  There have to be some advantages to moving to a small town in Spain, right?

In contrast, Aliah is still trying to find things to do after school.  On Monday, I decided to walk her past the municipal recreational area.  This area includes soccer fields, a gymnasium, some sort of racquet courts, and a small playset all inside a large fence.  The gate was open, so we decided to check out the playset.  It was probably designed more for preschoolers, but we still stayed and played for 15-20 minutes.  When we decided to leave, we discovered that we were locked inside the fence.  Yes, that's right... we were once again locked inside an area with no way to get out.  Unbelievable!

She and I were standing at the locked gate peering out when a man and woman walked by.  They asked some questions in Spanish, and I asked Aliah what they were saying.  She told me they asked if we were locked in.  When she said yes, they told her they would go get someone to let us out.  She thought they probably worked there.

Before long, a man comes back wearing a navy jacket.  He looks official though he's clearly not a policeman.  He asks some questions in Spanish, and Aliah tells me he's asking how we got inside and how long we've been there.  I tell her to tell him that the gate was open so we went inside to play and then found the gate locked when we tried to leave.  He looks at us suspiciously.  Again, he asks how we got inside?  I have a feeling the gate was not supposed to be open.  He lets us out and watches us walk away.  I'm laughing at the ridiculousness of being trapped twice in less than two weeks.  Can you say goat rodeo?  He continues watching us walk up the block.  Maybe he finds my laughter curious?  I should probably stop laughing.  Be serious, lady.  This is no laughing matter!

Needless to say, we haven't returned to the park.  However... we have found the aforementioned goat rodeo.  Not really, but stay with me.  Aliah generally has homework and likes to get it done right away after school.  After she checks that off her list, she and Shawn often go for a walk about town to stretch their legs.  On Thursday, they ran into a goat herder and his herd of goats.  I thought they might have been walking out on the edge of town, but they were actually just steps from the recreational area.  Go figure!

Shawn and I went for a long walk on Thursday as well.  It doesn't take long to get out of town and onto the country roads, and it's really very peaceful.  He's considering taking up running again.  

He might as well.  You can't beat the scenery.

I spent most of my week getting prepared for our upcoming appointments at the police station in Malaga.  A week from Tuesday, all four of us will travel there to get our residence cards.  Our visas expire on April 14th, so we need these cards to stay in the country beyond that date.  I filled out all the forms (all written in Spanish, of course), got copies made, paid our fees, and figured out how to get the passport photos we need for the appointment.  This doesn't sound like a lot of work, but everything takes longer than you would expect.

While waiting for the shop owner to make my copies, I had quite a bit of time to browse.  This tiny store carries lots of things, school supplies, hygiene products, jewelry, night lights, and lots of candy, including multi-colored Unicorn Balls.  I had to look twice at that one.  This tasty treat will fizz in your mouth and then surprise you with it's liquid filling.  Might have to bring some home to share with the neighborhood next Halloween.  If you find one in your kid's treat bag, you'll know it came from the crazy Conleys.

On a more serious treat note, we have discovered our favorite place to get dessert in Alozaina: Los Alegria.  The name means joy, and that is exactly what they sell... a little slice of pure joy.  Just check out this case full of deliciousness.

The weather was pretty nice this week with highs in the low 60s.  We got a little bit of rain yesterday and then the wind picked up during the night.  It's quite a bit colder today and still very windy.  We had clothes drying on the line and they were whipping around. Shawn literally lost a pair of pants.  

However, in the midst of it all, we got the pleasure of seeing a full rainbow.  It was super vibrant.  

I consider this a really good sign!

May there be fewer tears and more smiles this next week!  Love to all!!!

Our first weekend in Alozaina

We spent our first weekend in Spain in Malaga which is about the size of Milwaukee.  This is our first weekend in Alozaina, and it's quite different here.  Alozaina is about the size of New Glarus, population ~2000.  We went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon not knowing if anything would be open on Sunday, and there was no bread to be found.  Not at the bakery, not at the small markets, not at the big market.  Literally, no bread.  Lesson learned: get out shopping early on Saturday if you want bread on Sunday.   

We are slowly figuring out the ebb and flow of life in Alozaina but have yet to figure out when to dine out.  We went out for tapas on Friday evening about 5 PM.  Several places were closed, and the rest of them were empty.  We think they eat at 2 and 10 PM here.  Maybe next week we'll get it right?

We have been cooking most meals at home so we can get the girls to bed at a reasonable hour.  We made a menu and shopped at the big market yesterday.  Most people here have rolling cooler bags to haul their groceries home, but we just use our backpacks.  Here's a pic of us carrying home our purchases: food, wine and the ever-important jumbo pack of TP.

We get sun on our upper porch from 3:30 to 5 PM, so we decided to enjoy it with some appetizers (amidst the laundry).  Haila made guacamole.  We also had meat, cheese and local olives, and then Shawn made paella for dinner.  It was delicioso!

Several people have asked for photos of our house, so I'm including a few.  The photo below is the front of the house.  It has tile below the windows.  As you can see, there is no yard.  You literally step from the street into the house.  The street is really narrow, only wide enough for one car.



Our main living area is one room, with the kitchen on one end, the living room in the middle and the wood furnace and dining table on the other end.  The kitchen is tiny but quite functional.  There's not a lot of storage, probably because they shop often if not every day.

The house does not have central heating, so we have to build a fire in the furnace to warm the room up.  There is one bedroom off the dining space and two more upstairs.  We bought a space heater for the bathroom as it's very cold otherwise.  I am sure it's nice in the Summer to have a cool house, but it sure is cold in the Winter!  Brrrr!!!

I am fascinated by the dogs in this town.  Most of them are off leash and just follow their owners around.  They never bark.  They show no aggression.  They sit outside the shops waiting patiently.  It's awesome.

These two appear to be the mascots at Aliah's school as they are sitting at the gate every day.  As you can see, they are on a leash, but they sit quietly and watch as parents and kids ramble by.  I am not sure who they belong to, but they are just so cute!  If dogs were allowed in our rental, I might just adopt a pup here.   

There isn't much for green space here in town, at least not that we've discovered so far.  We visited a "park" near our house on Friday.  The photo below shows the girls at the gate to the park.  The view is amazing, and I think it would be a great place to practice yoga but not so fun for the kids.  We'll keep looking.

Aliah has been doing a lot of sketching since we arrived.  Below is some of her work: meet Rapunzel and Uni (aka cute girl in winged unicorn pajamas).

Haila took a photo of the sun rising above the clouds on our flight here 

and then used her colored pencils to recreate it.  

As suspected, all of the markets are closed today.  Thank goodness we planned ahead and shopped yesterday!

The rest of week 1 and the start of school

Our second day started with a knock.  I woke to a noise that sounded like a knock on the door.  It can't be our door.  Who would knock on our door?  I lay in bed listening.  There's another knock.  Maybe that is our door.  I get up and head for the door, and there's another knock.  The door has windows, but the windows are shuttered.  I open the shutter and find our friend Augustine looking back at me.  I must have looked surprised (because I was), so he lifts up a bag.  One of our bags.  One of our carry-ons. Oh my goodness.  What is going on?  Haila also heard the knocks and is now at the door with me.  Augustine tells her that he saw the bag on the side of the road at 5 AM and then again at 8 AM and realized that it must be one of ours, so he (kindly) delivered it to us.  Wow!  How sweet is that?  Haila thanks him profusely.  What would we have done without our angel Augustine?

It was also this morning that we discover our most friendly neighbor, the rooster who lives down the block.  He crows during the night.  He crows during the day.  We initially thought he lived across the street, but we now think we lives around the corner.  Regardless, he's still loud enough to wake us up at 3 AM.  Welcome to Calle Hoya!

That night we walk to the closest restaurant, Papa Miguel, for dinner.  Haila explains to the owners (husband and wife) that Shawn and I don't speak Spanish.  The wife shows her our choices in a refrigerated case and explains them to her so she can explain them to us.  Again, many thanks to our favorite translator, Miss Haila Mae!  We order and toast to our first full day in Spain when our drinks arrive.  It was 9:30 PM and we are the only table.  Before long, another family comes in.  We are chatting at our table when one of the boys from the other family says, "Oh, it's fellow Americans" in English.  Their family of seven is in Alozaina for a few days to hike in the nearby Sierra de las Nieves Biosphere and Nature Park.  They live on a U.S. naval base on the west coast of Spain.  It's a small world after all!

This family tells us that Monday, January 6th is a holiday in Spain.  Three Kings Day is equivalent to Christmas Day in the States.  I had heard about it from a friend (Thank you, Dinah!) but had forgotten about it.  When I looked it up online, I discovered that Malaga has a big parade the day before.

On Friday, we explore town and visit many of the shops just to see what they sell.  There are many small markets in town, and many of the shops are specialized: a seafood shop, a bread shop, etc.  We tried to find European sim cards for our phones but were unsuccessful.  We decided it might be best to visit a bigger city, so why not head to Malaga for phones and a parade?  We don't know how we'll get there, but we can figure it out.

There is a bus schedule on the side of our frig.  I says that there is a bus to Malaga on Saturday afternoons, but no one in town seems to know anything about it.  We decided to pack our backpacks as if there is a bus and see if we can't find someone to confirm it.  Sure enough, there is a bus and we take it to Malaga.  We get our phones set up at the nearby mall and decide to check into our room before going to dinner.  I booked lodging on Expedia when we arrived in Malaga.

After walking in circles following a navigational app on Shawn's phone, we finally get our bearings and walk to the address of the loft we rented.  The address lists two street numbers, 4 and 6.  We come to 6 first, so we go inside.  There doesn't appear to be an office in 6, so we head for the door only to find we are locked inside.  That's right... we are locked inside the building.  You have to have a key to get out.  What the heck?  Again, Haila to the rescue.  She calls the number on the reservation, but the person doesn't know where we are.  What?  How can he not know where we are?  We are at the address listed on Expedia.  He says he'll send a friend.  We wait.

After awhile, a resident shows up and unlocks the door to enter... so we escape.  Now we are standing on the street waiting for "the friend".  People are coming and going from the building, others are walking by, but no "friend" appears.  Haila calls again.  This time there's no answer.  Uh-oh.  This is not looking good.  She tries again.  This time she gets through, but they can't find our reservation.  It's been over an hour at this point, it's dark and getting cold, we're all hungry, and Shawn's getting grumpy.  The phone rings; someone is on their way to let us in.  Thank you, Lord!  I was getting a little nervous myself.  The place was great.  Very hip!

We dumped our backpacks and walked to a restaurant for a delicious meal.  Aliah discovered her favorite tapa... Gambas al pil pil or sizzling shrimp in garlic.  Yum!  We all get some sleep, if fact we oversleep (Shawn forgot to set the alarm), so we are out the door in 20 minutes.

Sunday night we stay in an actual hotel.  We are able to check in early, so we all bathe (which is a treat because our house in Alozaina is really cold and has limited hot water) and get ready for the parade.  The Three Kings Parade is near the Port of Malaga.  There are fancy restaurants and expensive shops nearby.  It kind of reminds me of downtown Chicago.

The parade is pretty magical with all the lighted floats. 

On Monday, we took the bus back to Alozaina, and on Tuesday, we walked to the bigger market on the edge of town for some groceries.  Not a bad hike!

Aliah started school on Wednesday.  She has ten kiddos in her 2nd grade class.  Her school starts at 9 AM and is done at 2 PM.  So far, she really likes it!

Haila started school on Thursday.  She's in high school here, also in second grade!  Her school starts at 8:30 AM and ends at 3 PM.  She's enjoying it as well.

It's now Friday night and we are heading out to have tapas!

Day 1

We arrived in Malaga, Spain on 1/1/2020 around 11 AM, collected our bags and headed outside to find a ride to Alozaina.  Uber doesn't appear to be a big thing in Spain, so we opted for a taxi.  Thank God we have a Spanish speaker among us.  Haila has been an amazing translator!

The taxi driver (who spoke no English) told us he did not take credit cards, and we did not have any euros.  I told Shawn I had seen an ATM on our way out of the airport, so he went back inside.  In the meantime, the taxi driver loaded our bags in his van (four large checked bags, four carry-ons, and four backpacks).

Shawn returns with no cash - the ATM would not process his transaction.  Now what?  Haila explains to the driver that we still have no cash, and (she thinks) he tells us that he'll take us to a bank.  We agree and load ourselves into the van.  20 minutes later we are leaving Malaga and have not stopped.  Where exactly is he taking us?

I ask Shawn if I should look up the ATMs we can use in Spain.  He hands me his phone.  Again, thank God he kept his phone active for an extra week!  I figure out which Spanish bank is associated with UW Credit Union and ask Shawn to show the driver the name.  Shawn says it will be fine. Huh?  What does he know that I don't?  He turns around and mouths, "He'll take our card; he wanted cash."
OK, I can relax now.

The drive to Alozaina is lovely.  Orange and olive groves surround us.  There are palm trees and mountains.  It's like nowhere I've ever been before.

Then we arrive in Alozaina.  The driver can't find our address on his phone, so Shawn is using his for directions.  Shawn points the driver up a steep and narrow street.  The driver starts up and then stops.  He says something in Spanish.  Haila tells us that he won't go up because there will be nowhere to turn around.  He backs down to the main road and unloads our bags.  Now what?  Shawn pays him (with a credit card), and we look at the map on his phone.  Are we even close?

We are still trying to figure out where to go when a sweet Spaniard walks up and starts talking to us.  Haila explains that we are trying to find Calle Hoya, and this kind man says he will take us there.  He grabs one of the large checked bags and starts hauling it up the steep road.  OK, I guess we're following him.  He seems to know where he's going.  BTW, this was no young man and the road was quite steep.  I was having a hard time rolling two bags up the hill.

We pass a few other streets, and I start to wonder if this guy knows where he's going.  Haila is ahead of me and sees the sign for Calle Hoya.  Ah, sweet success.  But then the man tells Haila there is no 7, only 17.  Wait, what?  Is he serious?  Shawn just keeps walking and yells back, "it's here."  Oh, thank you Jesus!  We have found our new home.  The Spanish man tells Haila his name is Augustine.  He wishes us luck and off he goes.

We get all our bags into the house (or so we think) and collapse in exhaustion.  We decide to take naps.  This will prove to be a mistake as it took us a week to get over our jetlag.

When we get up from our naps, it's dinner time.  Since it's a holiday, nothing is open.  We went into a restaurant, but it was only open for their family.  Oops!  We ended up eating pizza and chips from the convenience store for dinner.  Welcome to small town Spain!

This is the view from our bedroom's balcony.

Two sleepy kiddies...

BTW, it's really cold in the house, so we sleep in our sweatshirts!