Another website

Also, if you go to http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puente_Genil you can see a few photos of Puente Genil. Most of you won't be able to understand the text, but the pictures are pretty. :-)

Whirlwind of a Week

This week has been packed full! Every waking moment I'm busy working or with my nose to my computer screen doing some kind of research. I found a lot of websites and photos online. The more I learn, the more excited I get. Sometimes it is a great thing to not get what you want. I would love more than anything to live in Granada again, but then I wouldn't get to try out a whole new experience. Puente Genil may be a lot smaller and not super close to a city, but it is within a couple of hours to so many cities. It will be a lot easier to take weekend trips to see all kinds of new stuff. It appears that my school is on the outskirts of town and is probably the school all of the kids from the rural areas go to. It's right next the the Genil River. This is great. Some how I keep managing to stay connected to water. Right now I'm in the desert and there is a river running through town 2 blocks from my house. Next, I'll be inland Spain working, and maybe living, next to a river. I'm trying to figure out the whole housing situation now. My friend in Granada is such a huge help. I'm incredibly lucky! We've come across a few apartments for rent and we're narrowing down which neighborhood I should be in. The school looks to be 2+ miles from the Center of town. I'm probably going to need a bike or a moto to get around whether I live in the center and need to get to school or live in the skirts and want to go to the center to grocery shop, see a movie, meet up with friends, etc. My biggest decision now is 1. Do I rent an apartment from here in the U.S. and then try to get roommates to join me -or- 2. Do I wait until I get there and try to find someone who has a room available? There are good and bad sides to both of these options. I would prefer to be able to see the apartments in person before I settle on one, but my temporary housing options are going to be limited as there are not a lot of hostels/hotels there. When the right option comes along I guess I'll just know what to do. I'm really not letting the lack of concrete answers get to me. I know I'm going to the 'land of tomorrow' so I better get used to things working at a much slower pace. This is not to say I'm at complete peace! I've barely slept for a week and I have to remind myself to stop staring at the computer screen long enough to eat. I easily get lost in my research and planning. I'm usually up late and have been getting up daily around 7AM (this is EARLY for me!!). Coffee has become my friend and having to go to work is a major inconvenience. haha. The next thing on the to-do list is turning in all of my paperwork to the Consulate to get my visa. This week I'm going to Houston to do just this and then I'll go stay with some friends in Dallas for a couple of days. The roadtrip will do me good. Lots of thinking time. Plus, I have lots of spanish conversations I want to listen to for practice.

I'm including a weblink here for anyone that would like to get a glimpse of where I'm going. Hopefully those of you without high-speed internet can still see it. I'm not sure if YouTube is dial-up friendly or not. The video is less than two minutes and the commentary is in Spanish. Just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVm3VmqBzBY . Enjoy!

I got it, I got it!!

I got my placement letter today! I am in a town called Puente Genil. I'm doing research on it now. So far I know that is has a population of about 30,000 and is an agricultural town. It is centrally located in Andalucia (Southern region in Spain). So, it may not be a big city, but it is within 2 hours from 4-5 main cities. The school I was placed in is a High School, so I'll have kids between 12 and 18 years old. Soon I'll have some photos and more information. Eeek, I'm so excited. Now it is time to book my plane ticket and work on housing, temporary and permanent. I can't wait to share as I figure it all out.

~Haley

Oh, it also has a river running through it. How perfect is that? I'm inland and I still have water near by!

Not today

It didn't come today...maybe tomorrow?

Hurry up already

My nerves are shot today. I'm supposed to get my letter by Wednesday. I've been on a forum on Facebook where a ton of assistants in my region have been talking to each other and sharing information. Friday a handful of lucky people posted that they had received their letters. Today a ton more people have gotten theirs. It is 1:30 right now and the mail doesn't come until 3ish. I want SO badly to get the letter today. But, I'm in Carlsbad, in the middle of freakin nowhere, where the post office laughs at you if you want to overnight something. If I see the mailman coming up the driveway, all I can say is 'poor guy'. :-) I'm planning to go to Houston on Sunday night to apply for my visa. Then I'll go to Dallas for a couple of days to visit some friends. I just need the rest of my information.... Deep breaths....

News is on the way!

I got an email today saying I will get a letter in the mail by July 16th with information about my placement in Spain!!! Oh, the relief. Can't wait to find out where I'm going. :-) :-)

Not quite a tan....

So...the weather has been beautiful and hot. It is a bit too much sometimes, but overall, I'm grateful for the sunny days. The other morning I went with a friend for breakfast in the park and then a ride on his motorcycle. Wow, was that great. 9-10 O'Clock in the morning is perfect here. The park is on a river and there just happened to be local firemen practicing dive-rescue training when we got there. Oddly enough, I knew a bunch of them there from the firefighter training center I work at once in a while. I love that I'm getting to know people and run into them when I'm out. As for the bike ride, the wind on my face was downright dreamy. I wasn't planning on that much outdoor time though and didn't get a chance to slather on the sunscreen before leaving the house. I was getting scared as it neared noon! Luckily, I did have it on my face and chest so I didn't fry completely. My skin must be getting used to it because I got a little red on my arms at my shirt line and a spot on my forehead. Whew!! So, I won't say I have a tan exactly, but hopefully I'll look sun-kissed when I return. :-) The freckles are already in full bloom, now I just have to get out of the restaurant once in a while.

Only 97....

This last week, we have seen over 100 degree temps everyday. I'm sure it got to 108 once or twice. I found myself looking at the forecast the other day and seeing the prediction for tomorrow...97 degrees. The words actually came out of my mouth, people! I said, " It'll only be 97 on Friday". Who woulda thought. When I was leaving MI, everyone talked about the heat I was going to encounter, but they all said, "yeah, but it's DRY heat". How right they were. I can actually tolerate these temps because I'm not sticky, icky. I actually wore jeans out to the store yesterday and wasn't dying. Mind you, I am grateful for my wonderfully air conditioned car and house. I used to be such a wimp during that inevitable hot, sticky, hide-in-your-house week every August. This year when I come back I just may be that tourist we make fun of in long sleeves and pants when it's 75 out. :-) Then again I may punk out when the humidity gets above 10%. (The other day I think the humidity in MI was in the 80% range and here in NM is was about 6%. Don't quote me on that, but you get my point.) I can't wait to come back to visit and have a little moisture back in my skin and big poufy hair!

Love you lots,

Haley

(Sorta) Update

Hey there. I want to give an update on my job in Spain. Unfortunately, I don't have much more to tell. I still know I'm going to Andalucia (the southern region) and I'll start the last week in Sept or the first week in Oct. From my understanding, I am waiting on a letter that I will get in the mail from the Andalucian government. I've been accepted by the Spanish government, now my name (and hundreds of others) has been passed to the Andalucian govt for them to place me in a specific city and school. It is kind of like if I was accepted by the U.S. govt for the program and then they send a bunch of names to MI, NM, etc for them to place people and handle the details. As soon as I get that letter I can make an appointment at the Spanish Embassy (probably in Houston) to turn in my paperwork to get my visa. Then a few weeks later when I get my visa, I can purchase my plane ticket.

So far, I'm still thinking I'll return to MI the first week in Sept, give or take. I want to have plenty of time with everyone before I go. I'm making progress here. I've started to go through storage stuff. I purged quite a bit when I moved to NM, but I still kept so much stuff that I won't need now. I kept things like kitchen dishes and bathroom towels, and books, so so many books. The housewares stuff isn't worth keeping if I end up staying a second year in Spain. But, that isn't something I'll know until a year from now, so I don't want to save it and then leave it for my mom to deal with. (She may have to take one for the team when it comes to the books. :-) She did raise me in a bookstore after all.) I'm also getting some bites on my car. I'm hoping to sell it as soon as possible. I'll miss it, but I'm certainly not going to need it across the big pond.

Well, that's all for now. I have to get up early in the morning to check off more things from the ever-expanding list before I go to work.

Til the next update!

Spain bound

I finally received news today. I have been accepted for the job in Spain!!!! I do not have all of the details yet. This is what I do know. It is a teacher's assitant position. I'll be placed in a school and could work with kids, adults, or something in between. The southern part of Spain, called Andalucia, is where I will live. I requested this province, so am very happy to know they placed me there. It's exciting to see from here what city I will actually be living in. I'll at least be within hours of Granada and Tarifa, two of my favorite places and also places where I have friends.

School starts in October. I don't know when I'll have to be there for orientation. I'll be sure to go to Michigan before I leave. Tentatively I'm thinking of finishing work at the end of August and going to MI for a couple of weeks to see my people in Grand Rapids and then my family in Cheboygan. Then I could go to Spain a week or so early to visit depending on where I get placed. There's so much going through my head right now I can barely keep it straight. But never fear, I've already started my lists because that's what I do. :-) I'll try to posted more information as I get it.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!!

Besos,

Haley

Patience is a virtue

Well, no news today. They are running behind on the applications and the new list of accepted candidates won't be posted until Friday or Monday, most likely Monday. I'm sure I'll check a zillions times before then, just in case--wouldn't want to miss it. I am disappointed, but don't have any choice but to wait it out. I feel like I got it, but it isn't the same. There's a difference between, 'I probably got it' or 'I'm almost certain I got it' and 'YES, I got it'. So, it is probably a good thing that I work like a fool the next three days. With any luck, it'll keep my brain occupied. I did finally get some sleep this afternoon. A sleepiness swept over me when I got home from work and I embraced it! 4 hours later I woke up to the sweet sound of rain. Very nice after a week of tossing and turning. I'm going to try to get a nice, snug as a bug sleep again right now. I'll be sure to post again when I get word.

~Haley

Today's the Day

Ay, ay, ay. Today is the day I'm supposed to find out if the job I want in Spain is mine. I got my hopes up about finding out two weeks ago and have had to wait until now. I'm excited and nervous. I really, really don't want to have to keep waiting. I haven't slept well in a week. This morning I have to go into work, which will either be like watching coffee brew or a welcome distraction. Yesterday I said I wouldn't get online to find out if I got it until mid day after I put in a couple of hours at the office. Haha, nice try. It was the first thing I checked when my eyes opened. No news yet. I'll be sure to post when I find out. Deseenme la suerte! Wish me luck!

What's next...

In the meantime, I’m going to have to ease up on the travel to get ready for a bigger change. I had wanted to make a trip back to Michigan in the next month or so, but I just won’t be able to do it quite yet. But don’t worry; if I decide to flee the country, I’ll be sure to visit first. J I do miss everyone a lot. There’s tons of good stuff that has come to me in my move, but it has been strange starting from scratch creating a support system. I always know I’m a phone call away, though. The very best thing about Carlsbad has been the weather!!!! There have been (few) times where the weather is the same here and MI, but that only lasts a short time. There was one day in particular that gave me a taste of home. It was mid morning, about 50 degrees with the light smell of moisture in the air and the birds were singing away. It felt exactly like an early May day. Ahhh. Our low extreme tends to be MI’s high extreme. As spring progresses, the differences stretch. I’ve gotten used to it to a degree. Last week we had 3 90 degree days. I knew that was great, but was put back to reality of how great when I talked to friends back home and heard they got 5 inches of snow. Yikes. People here start complaining about being chilly and I just smile and remember. I’m sure they are sick of hearing about what I would be dealing with if I was “where I came from”. It’s hard to hold back when I’m in such constant awe of the warmth.

The job front is currently tolerable. I am serving at Chili’s still. I don’t care for the job itself. (I’ve had to hold back from quitting a couple of times.) But, it allows me to be flexible in my schedule and it offers a social aspect that is good for me. I’ve also started to do some office work for my neighbor. He runs a firefighter training center that is about to have a grand opening. They need the extra help and I have the extra time right now. The balance is good. Plus its kinda nice being able to help an organization that is dedicated to firefighters when I’m a firefighter’s kid. It all comes full circle, doesn’t it.

Well, that’s the update. I’m figuring out my next step, work is tolerable, making friends, and home life is good. As strange as it could be living with my mom again, it is going really well. And Cairo LOVES having both of us because we are on different schedules. There are few hours in the day when he doesn’t have someone awake to give him some lovin.

I hope all is well for everyone. Take care and I’ll try not to be such a stranger.

Love,
Haley

Las Vegas, baby

And if that wasn’t enough to ease the travel bug that bit me, just when I got back, some people from work decided to go to Las Vegas for a bachelor/bachelorette party. So, early March marked the start of another trip. (How’s a girl to refuse?!) There were 13+ of us when all was said and done. It was a crazy time, as Vegas should be. We didn’t see any shows or anything, as our time was limited, but we didn’t sleep a whole lot, either. At least not when it was dark. It was a great feeling to be included in the festivities by my new friends. I was even hoping they would be able to meet a friend of mine from back home, but it didn’t work out with his work schedule. (We’ll still find a way to meet up on this side of the country Fozzy!) It would have been nice for the new crew to meet someone who really knows me and gets me, but it’ll happen yet. I’ll be here in Carlsbad for a little more time. I’m working on my next step, but I have some decisions to make before I figure it out. If that sounds cryptic, there’s a reason…I don’t want to jinx it! I have one opportunity in Spain that I would really, really like to work out, but I won’t know for another month or so. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll go to plan B. For now I stay put. As soon as I get more information, I’ll let y’all know. Until then, I could use all of the good thoughts, white light, prayers, etc. that I can get.

Chicago/Milwaukee

I left El Paso and landed in none other than Chicago. The plan was to go to Milwaukee to help Erica (my cousin) out for a few days watching her son. To my delight, Melissa (a friend from Grand Rapids) said she’d love to meet me in Chicago for the night before I went north. Yipee! She brought a friend of hers and we all went to Second City, a comedy show, and laughed before, during, and after!! It was fantastic spending time with Mel and Sam. I wanted it to last a lot longer, but I also wanted to get to Milwaukee to see Erica, Chris, and my little man Braden. I was looking forward to some one-on-one Auntie Haley/Braden time for sure. I had only seen him once on my drive out to NM since he was born. He was a joy to take care of and we were finally figuring each other out when it was time for me to leave. Of course! *

Still Kickin

Hey Everyone! I know it has been a long while since you’ve heard from me. Life got me a little side tracked. I’m going to start back with an entry I began to write a while ago and never finished/posted. Then I’ll make a real effort to bring you up to speed from there. Love ya, Haley


*I can’t believe it’s been this long since I last updated. A lot has been going on. I’ve done some traveling as I had hoped. January brought me to Santa Fe and Taos in northern New Mexico to see a friend. It was great to have someone living there show me around. And it’s beautiful! Mountains in every direction. Santa Fe has a strong Spanish feel to it and it felt great to be surrounded by that vibe again. It is also an art community with artwork EVERYWHERE and of every style and media you can think of. There is one street in particular that is lined with galleries carrying pieces of art in the $10,000 (some more) range where the sidewalk is packed down dirt. Talk about a contradiction! There are so many parts making up the whole of this city with a small town feel. We took a drive up into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to Taos (skiing destination extraordinaire). By accident, we took the twisty turny route through the towns nestled in the mountain side. I’m so glad we did. The vista (view) was spectacular. It’s amazing to see the peaks in the distance and then an hour later realize you can’t see them as well because you’re in them!! And have you ever wondered what in the world they were singing about in the song Amazing Grace when they refer to ‘Purple mountains majesty’? They did not have a case of overactive imagination, it’s for real. One the drive out, the closer we got to sunset, the more the colors on the peaks changed and I swear they were a very majestic PURPLE. :-)

I was surprised at how cold it was while I was there. Though it was no comparison to what I would experience the next week….

The trip was wonderful all around. I was happy to connect with a friend, see the things I saw, and even eat at The Shed (a restaurant in Santa Fe where New Mexican cuisine is at its finest. Yumm.) Can’t wait til I can go back.

When I left there, I returned to Carlsbad to work for a whole 3 days, then got back on a plane….

Mexico

I can't believe I forgot to post on my trip to Mexico. Early in December I went to Mexico to help pass out some Christmas baskets. There is a local woman who grew up in this area of Juarez and a local church does this every year. Above are the bags put together for the families. We hauled the trailer over the border with some stuff prepacked, then went to the grocery store and filled up the rest there with things like vegetables, rice, and sugar.
Me being cheesy for the camera.
Mark passing out the bags to families.
I helped pass out goody bags and stuffed animals to the kids.
This is a view in Texas. I believe the peak above the stop sign on the left is Guadalupe peak and is the tallest peak in Texas. The terrain here can be very flat (100 mile view on clear days) or very mountainous.

After passing out the food we went to the market in Juarez. I got to use my Spanish talking to a few of the vendors. Most of them could speak English (so much easier to sweet talk you into buying stuff), but enjoyed speaking to me in Spanish. One even said I had a beautiful accent and recognized it as being influenced from Spain. That was a great compliment because I've always thought of my accent as being mixed up from learning it in so many different places.

Cloudcroft

Me with my Christmas kitty. He had the cutest jinglebell collar.
Here's the buck that crossed the street. I hope the photo's clear enough for you to see it.

Cloudcroft shops.

Great (not so snowy) Christmas

Hi! Christmas was great here in New Mexico. A lot quieter than I'm used to, but still enjoyable. We even put up a Christmas tree and dug out the old ornaments. That may sound normal, but one year we actually drew a tree instead of doing the whole set up. Some may call that lazy, I like to call it nontraditional. haha. Cairo got to play with all kinds of toys and was much of our entertainment. It's back to work now. I work a double shift at the restaurant today and tomorrow. They are long days, but it frees me up to travel for a few days in a row without asking for a bunch of time off. I have a trip to Santa Fe in the works for January, plus a couple close-to-home jaunts. Last week I went to Cloudcroft. It is at 7000 ft. elevation. I slept for most of the ride (I still don't do mornings all that well) and, to my surprise, woke up to several inches of snow!!! It was in the 30s/40s, but sunny and bright. Then, a couple of hours later, we got back near Carlsbad and the thermometer said 69 degrees. Wow. You definitely have to dress for all weather when you go out here. In Cloudcroft we had lunch at a great barbeque joint where I got to get messy fingers and pour on the hot sauce. Mmmm, good stuff. The town looked like an old western town with a bunch of shops lined up for browsing and buying. Driving out, I saw a local ski slope and a couple of deer (and even some turkeys) crossing the road. Not too much different than MI with all of those creatures.

I finally found those pesky cords, so I can include some photos. It's amazing what can get lost when everything comes from one of many boxes banished to a corner. I'm still avoiding them until I actually need something dug out. (By the way, I got all of my lost luggage back! My sleuthing paid off.) I just realized I don't have any photos of the house yet, but I'll work on that. Take care and thanks to everyone that has been checking in on me.

Much love,
Haley

Safe, Sound, Warm and Dry

Hey y'all. (I can say that now!) For those of you that haven't heard, I made it safe, sound, warm and dry to New Mexico. The drive went smoothly. I listened to a few books on cd (the narrator for Harry Potter is outstanding) and cranked the music. Cairo was a dream traveler. He was far from loving it, but mostly slept and hid under the bed when we had to leave in the mornings. We've been here for about a week and a half now. Carlsbad isn't as small as I thought it was going to be. It has 2 McDonalds, 3 Subways, a Chile's Restaurant and a Payless Shoe Store, so it's bigger than Cheboygan. I've stayed close, trying to learn the lay of the land. One day I did venture to Artesia, a town about half an hour away. The thoughts of a nice vacation were great to start, but after about 5 days I started to get restless and decided it was time to get a job. Luck would have it that Chile's hired me on the spot. So, I'm serving there and they are willing to work with my schedule so I can do some traveling.

The people I've met have been very nice so far. Most have a light southern drawl that is easy on the ears. There are a lot of people my age at work, so hopefully I'll start to make some friends. My neighbor has already offered to set me up with a 'nice young man' that she works with. :-) (No, Rose Mary, he's not a veterinarian. I'm still keeping my eye out.) All in all, thing are going very well. I have more photos, but I'm still missing a cord for my camera in boxes, so those will follow once I do some digging. Right now the concentration is on work training and luggage retrieval. (Did I mention the luggage I shipped with 75% of my clothes got lost?) What's an adventure without a hiccup or two?

I miss you all and hope everything is going great in your neck of the woods. I'll be back soon with those photos. Take care and Merry Christmas!

Besos,
Haley