La Primer Dia

I've FINALLY arrived in Bilbao! I was supposed to leave on Friday the 18th but I arrived at the airport only to hear that my flight from Dallas to Madrid had been cancelled. It was probably a blessing in disguise because apparently the airplane we were supposed to be traveling on did not check out. I also got another night to say goodbye to everyone AND had time at the airport to get my bag to weigh a perfect 50.95 pounds... 

So I set out again.. (Second verse, same as the first - as Dan Becker would say) and everything went very smoothly. I had Pappasito's (soul food) at the airport and then arrived at the gate to head to Dallas and was offered a seat on the earlier flight. That was great because my layover in Dallas was about 4 hours and they have free WiFi whereas in Houston, that's not the case. Then the trip to Madrid went well. Besides the awkward head tilted back, mouth wide open sleeping that I was doing - it was a very quick and pleasant flight. 

Everything went pretty smoothly in Madrid except one little hiccup coming through immigration... I had a nalgene (plastic water bottle) that had a lot of water left in it and I thought it was like America where you cannot have water going through security.... So there are these two receptacles that have circular holes to throw stuff in... and they are marked either Plastics, Glass, Etc... or Aerosols. So ... I am sort of panicking cause the line was very long to go through and I had a LOT to take out of my bag and I had to take off two coats, my shoes, and my scarf. So I look around and there is NO possible place to dump out water. and I already had to go to the restroom VERY badly... so I couldn't chug the water... So I dont know why but I thought the best option would be to pour my water into one of those receptacles... So I unscrew the bottle and lean it into the tiny hole only big enough to put a little soda bottle through and tilt it up and pour out all the water... thinking there must at least be a trash bag in there or something. So I think that's fine and I go back to my stuff and continue taking off all my layers when this security man comes up and starts YELLING at me  while pointing over to the receptacle where I THEN notice that my water has spilled ALL down the side and is leaking out of the bottom everywhere... I couldn't understand everything he was saying... but I got the gist of it. That I was A. very stupid, and B. very rude. haha but given that that was the only speed bump today I think I'll consider myself lucky!

After finally getting through immigration I got a Diet Coke at McDonalds that cost me about $4 and then spent about $20 on internet ... Normally I would've gone without but I was pretty desperate to check my iMessage and.... even moreso Snap Chat. Plus I had to let my host family know that I had made it safely. 

I had a second little hiccup on the flight to Bilbao. I got on the plane, found my seat, and almost IMMEDIATELY passed out. My cell phone, sweater, and headphones fell off my lap and I realized pretty much RIGHT as we took off that everything was on the floor at my feet. I pick up everything but the cell phone. I'm frantically trying to look under my seat which... for anyone over age 12 is pretty difficult to do... (I'm not near as limber as I think I am) I asked the person behind me if he had seen it and he hadn't. At this point I'm pretty much convinced the lady next to me stole it, but what was I going to do... ask to look inside her purse? So I ask the flight attendant if there is anything she can do... to which I'm quickly told... not really. She says I will just have to wait until the flight is over. I'm looking pretty down at this point... mainly imagining my parents telling me I should've brought the travel purse that you wear under your clothes. My mom offered it to me at least 4 times and I kept telling her Oh no no Mom - it's fine, I know how to travel. By the time we land I'm 90% sure I'm never seeing the phone again (which in actuality is Julie Troegel's old iPhone because mine was stolen on New Years which would've only been more salt in my already burning wounds.) As we are landing I still cannot find it when all of a sudden the man behind me starts telling me it's coming forward and to hurry and grab it so again I'm frantically trying to get under the seat without flashing the my row and the row behind and in front of me which have caught on to what is happening at this point. Then I found $5 on the ground (That - for everyone who doesn't already know - is the punchline when you finish telling a story and realize it wasn't all that great.... This story isn't all that interesting) but I did find my phone and in the process made some nice friends on the plane. 

I finally meet my host family as I'm getting my luggage. Joseba - the dad - sees me through a window and knocks and waves. I finish getting my luggage and head outside to meet them! This family - I can already tell - is going to be amazing. The mom and dad - Joseba and Iciar - are incredibly fun. I've only been here a few hours and we are already joking and making plans for things to do together. Joseba likes to cook a  lot and is a physical education teacher. I told him I wanted to join a gym and he is going to help me find one in my price range as well as take me to his on the days he is allowed guests. We already joked that we were going to eat whatever we wanted tonight and start dieting tomorrow. Iciar is a lawyer and says that Joseba both cooks and works out for the both of them. They are very playful with each other. Apparently Iciar NEVER cooks, so when she left the room, Joseba made me promise if I EVER see her cooking - I HAVE to take a picture. Iciar overheard and popped her head back in the kitchen and said if I ever see him cleaning that I have to take a picture because without it no one would ever believe me. 

The kids I can already tell are going to be a HANDFUL. But I really really like them so far. Leire (Lay-reh) and Maia (Maya) are twins who turn 6 tomorrow. Jon is 7. Leire is a little more girly and much more outgoing than Maia. She also has straight hair whereas Maia has curly hair. Maia is apparently very sentimental and a huge momma's girl. Jon is INCREDIBLY curious. He wants to know everything about you at every moment. He is also very intelligent. It seems as though he understands everything I say in English when I say it. I can already tell that I am going to be able to teach them a lot and that my knowing Spanish will help quite a bit when teaching them English. 

As soon as we got home from the airport I unpacked a little bit and the kids lingered outside the doorway because they were supposed to be "leaving me in peace" as it would translate but they were so excited they just played outside my door and inched as slowly and carefully as possible to my doorway, but kept getting caught and would restart this process on the other side of the kitchen. It honestly reminded me of my dog Boots. She sits at the door to our studio (playroom) and inches her way closer and closer to my mom or me on the couch and always gets ALMOST there before my dad realizes and sends her away...

My room is literally a walkway, a bed, and a closet. It's very small but I absolutely love it. This is what I need. Minimal crap - minimal distractions. So unlike my normal life.  It's separated from the rest of the house. The parents room, kids room, guest room/playroom, and living room are all on the other side of the kitchen from my room/bathroom so that way I have some privacy and a little more quiet. Also this way I will read/watch TV/ hang out etc... out in the living room with them instead of in my room alone. 

I can tell the kiddos are going to be a little bit of a handful because already Leire put on one of my bras and ran around the house and after literally thirty minutes in this house I found myself at the bottom of a three person dog-pile. I loved it though. They're so fun. Jon wrote me a note that said "Estoy contentisima - sabes porque?" and had me read it aloud (Means I am extremely happy, do you know why) then asked me to guess why... - Leire or Maia beat me to the punch and said CAUSE MARY IS HERE! (in Spanish) to which he replied "close." The answer was because Mary is here and she is playing with us. 

After we got home I gave Iciar and Joseba the coasters and the shape of Texas I made and they loved those. I also gave Iciar a necklace I got from Charming Charlies as a late birthday present. She said she liked it a lot and was going to wear it tomorrow!

So today was a HUGE success. Tomorrow, Iciar is taking the day off to show me around Bilbao. We're going to start by waking the kids up and getting them ready for school and tomorrow I'm giving them the little signs I made them. I don't think I will have a very difficult time getting used to life here... but we shall see. I already have plans to go fishing with Joseba, and have promised the kids I'd do tons of things with them already. I feel very lucky everything seems to be working out so well. 

The airport in Bilbao

Perfect size for my 50+ pounds of clothing. Jon kept commenting on how I brought a ludicrous amount of clothing... 

My bed with a little shelf the length of the wall 

Our first photo shoot. This is the second shot because Leire wanted to make sure we could see her missing her front tooth.

My bathroom !! To the left of the shower is a small sink and mirror

This translates to "There once was a family to whom came two au pairs - Mary and Erica. They were the best au pairs"  -- Jon made this for me. So freaking cute.