Goodbye Spain, Hello USA

We came to Spain with many expectations, some were met and some not so much.  We expected that the kids would become more unified but based on this picture the day before returning where they chose to sit at separate tables while waiting for our dinner we still have some work to do.

We've learned many things by living in Spain besides the obvious Spanish, Spain and Europe history and geography, we've also learned to hold our breath for long periods of time through lengthy tunnels, over long bridges and past countless smokers.

I've learned how to bag my own groceries while fumbling through my deep set purse that I bought to discourage pick-pocketing. to pull out bags to bag with, to get out the shopping card, the store coupons, and money all while the cashier is just standing there waiting for me to pay.  I will not miss that!

We've also learned that we can leave our doors and windows open all night and our house won't be full of bugs. We can dry our clothes without a dryer, eggs can sit out for days and still be safe to eat, and about the same with cheese and yogurt.  We've also learned how to make many things from scratch that we could conveniently pick up at any market in the US.  The choices are very limited in the pre-made, frozen meal sections in Spain.  Frozen pizza and croquetas are about it.  

We've had to learn the metric system; liters at the gas tank, our speed in km, cooking with grams and liters etc.  It isn't so bad except when you are following a recipe that calls for Tbs, cups, fractions etc. and you're dealing with butter without measurement lines. I will not miss that!

Another thing we won't miss is the lack of a kitchen disposal or double sink or even one large enough for the faucet so the water wont splash all over when fully turned on.  




Although I am learning to enjoy olive oil and vinegar on my salads I am looking forward to at least having the option of Ranch style dressing.

We won't miss the lack of ice cream choices.  I've never been a fan of cookies & cream until moving here since it tastes a heck of a lot better than the alternatives- lemon, raisin, coffee, popcorn, nube or tutti frutti.   There are not a lot of soda choices either, just orange, lemon, lemon-lime and cola.  

I've never been tempted by the Spanish bakeries and thus will not miss them with the exception of the croissants and the fresh baked baguettes.

I will not miss the closing of the stores and businesses for 3-4 hours in the smack middle of the day. That time is often the most convenient time for me to go grocery shopping and it has been hard to get used to.  Also we will not miss the restaurant hours.  Lunch often isn't served until after 2 and dinner not until 8pm or later. 

Although it makes a great backdrop, the graffiti we will not miss!

We will not miss having to walk around all the dog poop. Considering the number of dogs, i guess it's not as bad as it could be.  I swear there are more dogs than kids here.

We won't miss the huge and complicated round-abouts.  Instead of traffic lights and street signs above and center when entering intersections and roundabouts, the traffic lights are lower on the right of the lanes; and the street signs on the nearest buildings are hard to see and often obscured by trees or people.

We won't miss these.  This represents just a handful of the adapters and transformers we used on a daily basis.  

I will not miss having to take the laundry from the lower level kitchen to the upstairs balcony to put it in the dryer even through rain, heat, wind or darkness.  



I will not miss the patio bar customers in our back yard late at night nor the construction going on in the early hours of the morning.  

This construction has been going on for months.  It began as a 5 story building and withing weeks it was turned to dust. Now they are rebuilding, which has meant months of pounding away so far.

There were only 4 bedrooms in our apartment so Kamree and Mason were sharing a room.  We lived in the top two floors of this apartment.  Kamree and Mason don't do so well sleeping in the same room so they took turns going to sleep on our bed and then being moved to the couch when we went to bed and then back to our bed  when Brent left for work.  It worked out okay but I will not miss it.  We are looking forward to more space.

We will not miss the lack of parking in Spain.  This is a government building where we have to go for our residence cards every year and even though they have room for plenty of parking, there is only a half empty parking lot just for employees.

Instead we have to walk twice the length of this building to our car. And this is just one example.

We never got accustomed to the main meat supply and will not miss the smell that it brought to each local grocery store.  

Will not miss this!

Or this!

I'm a little on the fence on this one.  In a way I won't miss seeing the homeless on every street making me feel guilt for not helping them all, but also it was a good daily reminder to be grateful for what we have.



The street performers were fun and so were these guys selling items attached to them with a string for quick getaway when the cops approached.  Sometimes we would see them standing there selling and other times darting across busy streets each with a white Santa bag.    They all became part of Spain; and we won't miss thinking about them when we remember Spain.

I will miss being able to walk to just about anywhere.  I just wish not everyone else in Spain always seemed to join me.  During the school year I spent a couple hours a day on my feet just walking to and from school 12 min each way and up to 4 times a day to pick up and drop off kids for school and lunch.  

As driving is scary in Madrid, I didn't drive, and I won't miss relying on Brent to drive us to the farther away places such as large parks, large shopping centers etc.

We (mostly the kids) will miss having Christmas Vacation til the 7th of January and getting to celebrate it twice with the addition of Three Kings day on the 6th of January.

I will miss the cobblestone streets found in the old area of every town, village or city even if some have been covered up.   

I will miss the architecture in Spain, including inside the gazillion churches.  They clearly don't spare expenses.

I will absolutely miss seeing history almost everywhere we go including these Roman ruins down in the subway.

We will sorely miss the beach and our endless possible road trips. We could drive to most parts of the Cantabrian or Mediterranean Sea within 3-4 hours.  

We will miss many amazing, unforgettable people.

Morgan has made many exceptional friends that he will miss.  I'm sure they will also miss him including muchas chicas.  

The parents of Kamree's two best friends have both said their daughters have cried since she left.  

Goodbye Spain, and- I will not miss their automatic locking doors, but I already miss our younger selves that arrived in Spain 3.5 years ago.

P.S.  Kamree will miss this!