Hola de Espana!

We have been here in Spain for almost 2 months and little things like going to the market and driving are becoming much easier.  Life is settling in and much of what we do here is the same as what we would be doing at home.  Taking kids to school, to practices, cooking, cleaning, shopping, working out, church, etc....except we are surrounded by magnificent views and weather.  Unfortunately, the normal struggles of life do not disappear because we are in a beautiful place! Our teens continue to be teens! and our younger boys continue to be adventuresome and excited about new things.  Thank goodness we have a mix of ages and all four of our children are not teenagers right now.  Nonetheless, I think our two older children are handling the changes better than I would have at their age. We praise the Lord for those moments of happiness and peace among us all! 

A difference in Spain:  Siestas!
It is true, there really are siestas in Spain.  Most stores and banks close down from about 2:00 to 5:00 every week day. Many  restaurants stay open but stores do close.  Usually the men come home from work during the siesta time and have dinner with their family.  Most public schools get out at 2:00pm so this is the time when the families get togther.  The men then go back to work around 5:00 or 6:00 and stay until about 8:00pm.  The families have a small meal or snack for their evening meal.  Here in Spain there are not as many women who work outside the home as compared to the U.S.  However, I am told this is changing as families struggle economically.  If you are running errands you really do have to get everything done before 2:00 or wait until after 6:00.  Many times Dave and I have gone out to find the stores closed.  Most stores don't open much before 10:00 so there is not that much time to get errands done. Because our children's school is private their schedule is different from the typical Spanish school.  Their school hours are from 8:45am to 5:15pm.  They have a break at school from 1:00pm to 2:45pm where they have lunch and then either participate in a club or have free time.  The students are allowed to go home during that time for lunch and to be with their families if they wish.  Josh and Alec both have basketball and soccer during their break so they stay at school.  Ethan and Lynsey stay at school as well.  We may bring our kids home once in awhile for lunch since they are not allowed to bring lunches from home.   I am sure they would be thrilled to come home for lunch since they hate the food! 
Spanish people stay up late as well.  They stay up later because they get home later and they can take a siesta the next day!  At least that's what I think.  Dave and I are both night owls so we like the late evenings especially when we know it is acceptable to take a little siesta the next day!  Sundays are also a day when most stores are closed and supermarkets close early.  More than once I have had to stop by the gas station for bread and juice because I forgot the markets closed early.  Gas stations always have hot bread for sale and you will find a sign hanging on their door that reads, ".hay pan caliente", which means they have hot bread.  So siestas are another big difference from the U.S.  If you are the one taking a siesta they are great but if you are the one trying to accompish a few errands they aren't so great!  Next blog I must tell you about the food differences, that will be fun!

Our trip to Granada
Well we finally made it to the town of Granada this past Saturday.  It is about 1.5 hours from our home.  Granada is a lovely town with incredible views of the country side.  The landscape of Granada is filled with more trees and green lush areas compared to the town of Rincon where we live.  Granada is a place right out of the movies, very quaint and charming.  We went to Granada to tour the Alhambra, which is made up of three main areas;  The Alcazaba fortress, Nasrid palace, and General life gardens.  There are many other sites and buildings on the property but these are the main ones that you don't want to miss.  Some say the Alhambra should be considerd one of the seven wonders of the world. The fortress was built to protect the palace and the town of Granada.

 A little history for those interested....Spain has always been invaded by foreign peoples.  The Phoenicians and the Greeks came to trade.  The Carthaginians came to conquer and the Roman's ruled the country for centuries.  From all these people Spain has inherited many customs, things and laws. At the beginning of the 8th century the Moors arrived whose religon was Islam. The Moors became masters of all of Spain but eventually they began to fight among themselves and  against the Christians. The Christians took advantage of this and under the rule of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinad the Moors were defeated in 1492 and the Alhambra and Granada were once again under Spanish control.  Over the years the Christians changed many elements of the Alhambra, usually to suit their own needs.  Shortly after conquering Granada Queen Isabella gave money to Christopher Columbus so that he could sail and explore the Americas.  He had asked for money from Queen Isabella many times before but she was too consumed with taking back control of Spain. 

The complex of the Alhambra is massive. Our favorite area was the Geneal life, which is filled with magnificent gardens.  We almost missed this area as it was our last stop and the two older kids were more than ready to leave.  The Alhambra has water flowing everywhere as well as many bath houses.  The Moors wanted to create a place that resembled heaven so this is one reason it is so extravagent.

I have only touched on a little about the Alhambra but hopefully you will enjoy the photos. However the photos do not do the palace justice.  Josh and Alec loved the trip to Granada and thought it was awesome.  They found lots of buckeyes on the property and stuffed their pockets full.  Whenever they came across a small water tunnel or aqueduct they would put a buckeye in and follow it down stream.  They are so easily entertained, which is great.  They also loved hiding in the gardens and Ethan actually liked this part too!  Overall the trip was well worth it and we would love to go back.  We will probably wait to go back when we have visitors from the U.S.  On our next visit we will visit the Cathedral where Queen Isabella and Ferdinand are buried.

The kids are doing well with Spanish and are now correcting my Spanish pronunciations!  I am amazed how much better they can hear and repeat the sounds correctly than us adults.  Here in the Andulusia area Spanish is more difficukt to learn because the people drop letters and pronounce letters differently.  We have been told that if you speak Spanish and are not from the area it can still be hard to understand the language here.
Dave continues to build relations with the elders and members of the church.  He is learning that Americans move a lot faster on projects than most Spanairds.  However, this has proven to be a benefit as we have had  more time to explore the area and enjoy the coffee!

I am meeting ladies and have been invited for coffee on several occasions.  I am thinking about attending the ladies bible study tomorrow.  This will be a challenge for me as I will have to work really hard to communicate.

Please continue to pray for our children especially the older two as this move continues to be a challenge for them. 

I think that is about it for now.  Many of you who are following the blog have said you are having trouble posting comments.  I believe you should be able to click on the word "comments" below the written section and a box should appear.  You can write a message there and label it as anonymous.  You can sign your name to the message at the end.  If anyone has any other tips please let me know or communicate this through the comment section for others to see.  I would suggest posting your comments at the most recent blog even if you are responding to an older post.  This may help me not miss a comment.  My spell check is not working so please excuse any spelling errors in this blog.

Remember to scroll way down for more photos!

Until the next time,

Buenas noche mi amigos,

Love,
Dave, Karen and Kids