jessiesjourney.blogg.se

I’ve have traveled a lot in my life. Actually I’ve been halfway around the world. But visiting a foreign country is certainly not the same as living in another country. Besides my 4,5 weeks-visit in Alanya last summer, I’ve never been abroad longer than 2 weeks at a time.

There are certain things that have surprised me about Catalonia, Spain. For example; the dinnertimes!! Not only just dinner, all meals in general. Lunchtime for me is between 11:30-13 (depending when you had breakfast and so on) In Spain, on the other hand, lunch is normally between 14-16. This Saturday la madre told me that they should be home after lunchtime. I thought she meant like 13-14, she meant 18:00.. Dinner though, isn’t that important. For the kids, yes, but the adults usually grab a sandwich, yogurt with fruit or just a coop of tea.  I just don’t get it. I always eat dinner with the kids, watching Catalan cartoons.

Regarding the food habits, a lot is different from what I’m used to. My first day here we had fish, potatoes, vegetables and some salad (the salad is an important part of the meal, always with olive oil and salt on top - loooove it!). I did as I always do; took one piece of fish on one side, potatoes on the other, and a lot of salad. They all starred at me and wonder what I was doing. They were completely shocked that I mixed everything on the same plate. In Spain, you start with the vegetables. First plate with potatoes and vegetables, second plate with just fish. If you mix all food the flavors will obviously be mixed as well, which is not good. The salad is for sharing; everyone eats straight from the salad plate (yes - plate, no bowl). I still prefer mixing the food though, but I’m trying not to.

“Mi familia” consists of the 2 children, the mother and the grandparents. The house is divided into 2 parts; the grandparents got their side and vice versa. I, on the other hand, I pretty much have my own floor. It’s really big; I’m kind of used living in a big house though.

Since my duty here is taking care of the children, I spend a lot of time with them. Every morning I drive them to school, and pick them up while finishing. 2 days a week I also bring them home for lunch. The school system is very different here compared to Sweden. They start at 9 and finish at 17, every day! After that, they usually have some activity to do (swimming- or painting classes) so we’re basically never home earlier than 18-19, sometimes even later.

The boy is 3 and the girl is 8. Although it’s tough days for them, I think they handle it really good. Since the girl has more or less the same amount of homework as I had in secondary school/högstadiet (!!!!!!), we do a lot of homework. There isn’t much time for playing because of the long days, so I usually go with them to the park for a while before we’re taking the car home.

Regarding the languages, it’s much mixing here. Since their (the whole family’s) mother tongue is Catalan, they speak Catalan with each other. But when I’m around, they speak Castellano (Spanish). I always talk to them in Spanish, besides with the girl. I try talking to her in English as much as possible.

Since this is Catalonia; the people are bilingual. By that I mean, they speak both Catalan and Castellano fluently. Thank God, cause Catalan can be really weird. I understand a lot though, it’s a mix of French and Spanish. In school, the kids study them both. They must master both of them equally well if they want to continue studying after graduation. English, on the other hand, does not have the same priority. Hardly anyone speaks (or even understands) English here.

Now I’m gonna keep on doing nothing, really hoping I’ll feel better tomorrow. I just can’t stand not doing anything. I’m climbing the walls soon!

Hasta ahora,

Jessie