I realize my social media paints a pretty rosey picture of our time so far in Spain, and let’s be honest…we’ve only been here 15 days. We aren’t at the point of feeling homesick yet and we’ve been doing lots of fun things, but that doesn’t mean it’s nirvana. There are lots of things that make it a little more difficult, but difficult builds character.
For one, the house is not air conditioned. Yep, it’s August/September, with temps in the mid to high 80’s, it’s quite humid and we don’t have air. I’m exercising outside because it’s the only way to do it comfortably and I’m usually soaking wet by the time I’m done. In the mornings it’s kind of cool so we open doors and windows, but that’s problematic, because the windows have no screens. And did I forgot to mention that the mosquitos are pretty darn thick right now?!?! Yeah, we’ll the girls and I are a buffet for the lil’buggers.
Thankfully the landscaper came and he sprayed for them the other day so it might be a little better. And thankfully their season is nearly over but they’re down right obnoxious. But back to that no air thing. We’re surviving. And the bedrooms upstairs do have window units so that’s perfect for sleeping. But the downstairs late afternoon and evening can be pretty stifling. Especially if we cook. Ay dios mio, it can get miserable!!! But a box fan in the living room is getting us by.
Then there is the house. It’s BIG! There are five bedrooms and 4 bathrooms so we have plenty of room. Hattie and Kiersten are in rooms with two twin beds, Leahs room has a twin and the spare room has a twin. Mitch and I are sharing a bed that’s barely large enough to be considered a full. Good thing we like each other. The house is nice but it’s not ours. The decor is definitely early 20th century. There are several “vases” that Mitch and I think could serve as urns. The linens and towels are all easily 30 years old, probably older. And while this house is temporary, we know we couldn’t stay here long term because when our stuff arrives (if it ever arrives…because no one wants to work now that they get Covid unemployment relief in America) we would have no where to put anything. The drawers, closets, etc are over flowing. If they’d let me purge and pitch half the junk in the house that is all past due for the dumpster it would be bareable.
The yard is beautiful however, and I love that it is completely fenced for the dogs. But competently fenced means TOTALLY fenced. Like I have to be home to let the gardener and the pool guy in each week. It also means they don’t just drop packages on your door step. They ring the buzzer and you have to go meet them at the gate. I’m guessing if you’re a Spanish citizen you have to give them your DNI (whatever that is) but when I tell them I’m American they want my NIE which is the number I got when our residency was approved. Amazon Prime doesn’t exist. It’s hard to get anything shipped, and with the pantry and fridge being so small I’m going shopping about every other day. Today I went to three stores…you do what you gotta do. The girls are struggling a little with the language stuff. Trying to get them to be patient. Spanish enrichment classes will begin very soon and I keep telling myself they’ll be fluent in no time. Pray that is the case…and also that our next house has a dryer. This line drying business for a family of five is hard, y’all!
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| I think this vacuum is about as old as I am. It still uses a bag that you have to replace when it’s full. We need our stuff!!! |
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