Safely arrived in Spain

04 September, 2019

One more farewell with "Lunch Bunch", my mother and her friends.

Getting ready to move to Spain was a whirlwind of chaos right up to the airport. Here is just a small part of what my room looked like leading up to departure date.

I did not leave everything behind as orderly as I would have wished, and there is a whole bin of stuff I wanted to bring but had to eliminate due to baggage weight restrictions.  Here is my cat Tiny Tubby supervising the packing process.

The thing I regret the most not getting into the suitcase? My handy dandy massage tool, which consists of two tennis balls tied into an old sock. I have three of these high tech devices at home, yet not one made it into my bag. I'll have to find a tennis court to look for stray balls.

My mother, God bless her, rode with me on the 3 hour bus ride to the Los Angeles International Airport for moral support. Without her I would have had a total anxiety attack, rather than just being stressed. We ended up having to repack my bags in the lobby, which was ok because I had lots of time before check in.

In the international terminal, there was a giant projection screen on two walls. When I walked in, there were old black and white silent films playing there. So fantastic!

Here is a short video showing the films in action:

On the way to the gate, my back was aching after lifting my bags over and over to weigh them as we moved stuff from one bag to the other, so I stopped for a 20 minute back and shoulder chair massage. No photo, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and felt so much better afterward. Then a little yoga time with "legs up the wall" while waiting to board the plane.

 

I upgraded to Premium Economy, and it was worth it after all the stress. It was so much more comfortable than Economy. 

This is how much leg room I had - my legs were extended straight out and I could barely reach the seat in front with my toes. Usually I can't even bend over to pick up my purse off the floor because my head bashes into the seat in front.  I didn't get a picture of it, but there was a retractable leg rest which helped immensely, even though it was too short for my legs, it provided some elevation and combined with a nice recline on the seat, made sleeping so much easier. I got about 5 hours of sleep, which for me on a plane is usually impossible.

No problems on arrival in Spain. Immigration lines were short and those with "nothing to declare" bypassed customs and went straight out the door.

The taxi driver refused to follow the careful directionss of my Airbnb host and dropped me off a block or so away, leaving me completely lost with a huge amount of luggage. Thankfully, my host came to find me when I finally called after wandering around and getting sweaty and frustrated.

My Airbnb is on the 12th floor with a lovely rooftop view typical of this area. There are some parks below and as evening fell the sounds of children playing drifted up.

I sat chatting with my host and watching the sunset from the window, after which I was treated to Spanish lessons by their 7-year-old daughter using her school textbooks.

And then finally to bed. Buenas noches!

Farewell Party

17 August, 2019

I will soon be moving on to my next adventure in Spain. I will be teaching English in Madrid while also enrolled in a Master's program in Bilingual and Multicultural Education at University of Alcala.

Today I was honored to be gifted with a going away party by some of my Santa Barbara friends. I am so blessed to have such an amazing group of supportive and loving women in my life. Not to mention good cooks (best potluck food ever).

We didn't get a photo of the whole group, but I did manage to get a picture with everyone present. 

Thank you all for your support and friendship. I will miss you all.

Semana Santa (Easter) procession

19 April, 2019

Semana Santa main procession which is held on Good Friday, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala.


Leading the parade is this fellow with the drum and flute, a kind of "call to service". I also saw them doing this standing or sitting outside the church doors before the service at several churches. I'm not certain whether this is only during Semana Santa or year round.

The women in their traditional handwoven clothing. I cannot say enough how beautiful these textiles are. In a small pueblo like San Pedro, these are made locally and have local colors and patters specific to the pueblo and group.

The procession moves along in stages, when not in motion, the women lower their shawls, but when moving they cover their heads.

The attendants and bearers of the palos (the heavy wooden platforms upon which are scenes of Christ, the Vigin Mary, and the cross) wear special robes and hats.

Here you can see the float with the cross being lowered to pass under the arch of fruits. Since it is immensely heavy, this move must have been really difficult; even more so with the larger floats which followed.

Here is a video so that you can see just how ponderous the movement of these floats are. They can weigh as much as 2000 kg (4400 lbs) and so you can see how many people are required to carry them.

A close up view. They stand very close together to fit enough people under it to bear this much weight. (Imagine a pool table and multiply it by several times in size.)

After the procession passes by, children run to play in the colored sawdust that has been left behind once the alfombras (flower carpets) have been trampled.

At the very end of the parade, as the floats were entering the cathedral, everyone joined in a mass hymn.