We have been here for two weeks yesterday, and it frankly feels like it’s been much longer – not in the sense of things not going well, more that we have been so busy establishing and adjusting  our identity and activities of daily life, having guests come and go, and getting our body clocks in sync with Spanish tiempo (time) that it feel like we have run a marathon.    This afternoon is the first time I am just sitting in our bedroom…alone (except for our two darling jet-lagged dogs that shipped over yesterday)…writing this blog entry and “putting my feet up”.  Ahhhhhhh.

 The Good: Practical Things Are Falling Into Place

So many good things have happened since our arrival.  The apartment and location we have for the summer is extremely cool. While the number of tourists is a bit mind-boggling, we are at virtually the epicenter of the sites and sounds that attract folks to this city.   The beach is a 10 minute walk…The Rambla is maybe 15 minutes walk or a quick metro ride…There are about 10 gelato shops, 10 pizza places and an equal number of tapas bars within a  2 block radius, a big, traditional fresh food market  (Mercat de Santa Catarina) is a brief walk away as well.  And the night life is constant, noisy and invigorating (especially for Ruth and her chums who have been visiting).     We are now officially residents of Spain having our NIE (national identity) established.  We have Bicing cards which allow us to use the network of city-owned bicycles that you “check out” and ride wherever you need to go in a 60 minute period and then “check” the bike back in at another rack at your destination.   Andrew and I have joined a municipal gym that has all the equipment we need and is next door (literally) to the huge park that is our alternative grounds for running when it is not too hot or we slog out of bed early enough.   We are also blessed that the local folks in the neighborhood have been, on balance, super helpful and welcoming – we know the barrista, cook and waiter at the café where we stop in morning for coffee…the UPS store guy has helped us figure out the best way to send (and receive packages…most shopkeepers are willing to correct or supplement my Spanish vocabulary (I try really hard to NOT speak English with them, though most seem to want to learn English as much as I want to improve my Espanol)….and we have an unspoken fraternity starting with the many dog-owners in the area, as the dogs themselves MUST stop to sniff out friend or foe every time!

The Great:  Making New Friends and Staying in Touch with Loved Ones

I didn’t have any really huge trepidations about making this move – really I mainly wanted to feel that I could stay in close touch with family and dear friends and I fretted a bit about whether that was going to be truly possible at such a distance.  The great news is that, while we don’t quite have all the time zones down pat yet, the marvels of internet/Skype/Lync etc have definitely created the sense that we could just as well be back in Seattle as the relative distance is not an issue.  We have been talking to family and friends about as often as we did while in the States, and in some ways it’s more exciting as we have good stories to tell each time – and many are already planning to visit.  Mind you, I KNOW we are far away, and that “scooting” up and down the West Coast or taking a “long weekend trip to the East Coast” will not be as simple and certainly not cost effective, it still feels manageable emotionally.

The other great news is that each of us has been able to start establishing friendships here.  We are marveling at Eitan’s can-do spirit as he joined an American football team, played in their end-of-season games, and is now having  social outings regularly with his new found buddies.  He has also embraced the language and cultural rhythm here – he navigates the metro like a pro and I love to take him marketing because he just finds what we need, asks if we can’t locate something and manages the money transaction with aplomb.   Andrew and I have both reached out to and have been invited to engage with a terrific group of families, couples and individuals that we are excited about getting to know better.  One gentleman lives not far from us – Luis –  contacted Andrew in the context of their shared History with leukemia, and with them both in remission they are in their own shared way living each day to the fullest.  I have made a point of getting in touch with parents of kids – and in some cases, friends of parents with kids – that have gone or will go to Eitan’s school, and this has started a nice round robin of coffees and conversations that hopefully lead to a social network and friendships.

Best of all is that I (and I think I can speak for Andrew and Eitan) we are feeling that this really can be a few years that we will look back on as a rich and varied experience…a growth experience…and one we hope to share with family and dear friends when they visit (HINT HINT).

The Not-So-Great:  Learning that Urban Life is the Same Everywhere

I won’t end this entry with a downer – but this section is a reality check.  While and Andrew and I both lived in big cities earlier in our lives, Eitan never has, and it’s been a looooong time since NY and LA for us.  Barcelona is every bit the big international city:  Very wealthy neighborhoods and poor ones;  compact housing in most areas and in the old part of the city where we are the streets are very windy and narrow; the metro is the main arterial system for mobility and at peak times and during tourist season we have all walks of life and motivations using the system; and as it’s painfully clear, there are many many people in this part of the world who are unemployed and not very happy about it.  That’s a long lead up to say that each of us has already discovered that you do need to “watch your back” and those of the ones you care about.  Don’t freak out – we are all fine!   Andrew has had a few incidents of random hands trying to grab whatever was in his pockets going in and out of the metro,  I always carry minimal euros and a shoulder purse in the front with my arm slung on top of it, and Eitan has had his share of realizing that we aren’t in Kansas (or Mercer Island suburbia).  The good news is that violent crime here is truly relegated to the most marginalized deep-in-crime elements that we really do not see, and there is strict gun control here.  You just don’t hear about knifings, rapes, and shootings – it’s not part of the fabric of life everyday as it is in the States.  Yes, people get mugged – but the usual is they take your money and give your wallet back.   I am not making light of this, believe me.  We have begun to integrate a radar for not setting ourselves up for opportunists, and that’s probably the one sad part of this adventure. But it’s also the real world and especially for Eitan – if he is going to become a true global citizen he is going to need to know how to make his way the world – the good and the bad.

We are off today (now it’s the day after I started this) for a day trip to Girona with Ruth and her boyfriend, Ben.  Girona has a rich Jewish history among other things and we are looking forward to a foray into another part of Spain.

Pictures next go around – I promise!

 Hasta pronto!