Palma de Mallorca is for old people

John and I spent a week in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. We get to spend a lot of time together when we're not on vacation, but my early bed time puts a damper on our together time as I have to squeeze in my 7–8 hours of REM before catching the 6:45 am bus. I'm always exhausted during the week, and more exhausted on the weekend when we spend all day skiing. This vacation was perfect for going to sleep together, waking up together, and doing a whole lot of nothing together.

The last day was the only day warm enough to pass on the beach. We wasted no time walking the whole 2 minutes to the beach from our apartment in Cala Millor. Even the sun was out, the wind was still slightly nippy so we warmed up with some Warrior sequences and beach yoga poses. The delicious sea breezes and warm sun rays were the perfect treat to the last hours of our vacation. 

This picture above is how the locals do things around here, I suppose.

Poor John got sick on vacation. He got the strep throat the night we got to the island. The first half of our vacation was me reading his grunts and moans since his throat hurt so bad he could not speak. I even read his mind. We played rounds of 21 Questions where I never even came close to guessing the object. He was a trooper. He fought it for 3 days until it got the best of him. We went to a doctor after walking a mile between doctor's offices because "the doctor will be back in half an hour" is the local custom in Palma. Finally, he got his medicine and was so much better. Here he is after drinking a cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

 

On Day 2, we rented a motobike and rode through the center of Palma. We found a free museum of Spanish Contemporary Art, which was awesome. So much Picasso. We walked to the great cathedral of Palma, which seemed as large and monumental as the Notre Dame in Paris. We bought post cards for our Wall of Post Cards at home. And ate McDonald's for lunch. It's the only thing substantial and affordable in Europe, ok? We took the moto further and ended up at a construction site for wickedly huge mansions on their own private lagoon that empties into the Mediterranean Sea herself. We hiked up and around the lagoon's edge and found a little shack where we imagined our own mailbox and lots of sandy children passing their days in the sun and on a boat. The day finished with the prettiest sunset I have witnessed in a long time.

Have you ever seen a cat climb down a tree?

My favorite thing on vacation is breakfast. At home I never have time for a decent breakfast. John usually shoves a granola bar or half an apple in my hand as I walk out the door to hurry to the bus stop. So I definitely indulged in breakfast for the past week. It is my favorite meal of the day. Every morning we laid out the spread of milk, cereal, bagutte, jam, cream cheese, chamomile tea, avocado and baguette, and oranges.

On Friday, we took a bus to Los Cuevas Drach, the Dragon Caves. They are limestone? caves made up of THOUSANDS of stalactites and stalagmites. Also a live classic orchestra doing all Mozart covers while floating on a boat on the underground lake. It was very, very cool. There were no tour guides to explain why caves look like this, so we consulted wikipedia afterwards and learned some very, very cool stuff. Afterwards, we walked to the center of Cala Millor and had fish and chips for lunching while watching the Paralympics. They were so inspiring! After lunch, we walked up and down the street and found this naughty beach towel that was so absurdly ridiculous we had to take a picture of it.

7 days of vacation is l.u.x.u.r.i.o.u.s. We spent it with each other as well as every senior citizen of Germany. It was wonderful and I'd do it again, but first I gotta make a difference in the world and work and be productive and stuff.

Hasta, Palma.

xoxo

blsh

hi from frantzerland.

it feels a bit like this over here

It's been a terrible year, but also an unprecedented great year.

2014, that is.

the day after Christmas, we got an email saying we had to move out of our place.

the reason? we are still unclear. we have heard from various people that our host was just disappointed in us. I am not surprised that this day has come, honestly. Our host is a single mom who is very established in doing things her way, and there's nothing wrong with that. John and I did everything we could to comply with her way. We left rooms as if we had never been there, we cooked meals for them, leaving out plates and forks waiting for her to get home on a late night, we cleaned her house when she was too tired or unable to clean it, we took her son to his soccer game, checked the mail, did the grocery shopping, we did what we were asked. But we kept doing something wrong. That something I will never know. I could easily know if I just asked, but I can't bring myself to have a conversation with her after she said negative things about us. We already see the effects. One of the boys John played soccer with was in the house today and when John said hello, he wouldn't speak to him. How do I bring myself to rationalize with her, to talk to her, to mend whatever damage has been made?

Is it necessary at this point, or is it just best to part ways as soon as possible?

People say forgive and have patience and move on. 

We are trying to do that from this bedroom in her house until we find a place. 

It's so hard to move on from in here.

When John and I aren't spending hours researching apartments and spaces, calling 50 numbers, figuring out how to get EU citizenship so we can qualify under the majority of all French landlord's insurances, we are watching movies, chipping nail polish, checking all social media, and eating baguette.

Should we stay or should we go? That is the question.

Option: Leaving

We could go back to America where we are comfortable and happy. We also have family that wouldn't kick us out no matter how many times we didn't dry the dishes immediately after washing all of them. We would, however, have to start at ground zero, look for jobs, and live with family for a while until we get on our feet. We wouldn't live out what we came here to do, we wouldn't see it through, we would have to go home early, with less money than we started and elementary French. We would abandon all the HARD, nitty gritty, grueling work we've done to get legal in France, to have France give us a chance. 

Option: Staying

We must be a little homeless for a while, living out of our car. We have to learn godly patience. We will live off milk and cereal and peanut butter shipped all the way from home. We will run between every "for rent" sign and listings board in the pouring rain and then watch every oscar-nominated movie of 2013, and get a head start on those for 2014.

We have been pondering and praying about what we should do, and although our heart strings are pulling for all things USA, we know we should stay here and stick it out. We know there is something more to do and accomplish once we get past this unfortunate hurdle. John is good about working hard and not getting stuck on the emotions that come with situations like this. I am not so good at that, but with his example and deep meditation and trying to follow the golden rule, and also asking what would Jesus do even though I don't want to turn the other cheek, I believe thinking positive thoughts, putting up safe and polite boundaries, and working as a team with my husband could be the ticket!

It's not easy, but we'll be better for it in the end.

2013, on the other hand, was amazing.

We visited 5 countries (france, switzerland, denmark, sweden, germany) in 3 months, ate and cooked delicious Swiss, Savoie food (gratin, raclette, tartiflette), made some friends, walked hundreds of miles through villages and cobble stone streets, and everything else French and Swiss.

We are hopeful for 2014. We can get through this and be the better for it.

When my friend got engaged, her boyfriend at the time asked if she was willing to work with him for the rest of her life. I've always thought that was an interesting way to propose, but now I realize he had more wisdom than I had when I was engaged. Marriage is work. A lot of filthy, hard work. But nothing is more bonding than struggling and solving together. 

+ I got a job as a live-out nanny for a dutch family in Switzerland. It was a miracle that I was even considered for the job. When I applied, there were already 200+ hits on the job. But with the encouragement of our friend, Violeta, I applied and I got it.

+ Our Christmas package from my parents came today. All the comforts of home at a time when we are filling a bit homeless. 

— Only one thing stood between us and our dream apartment, which was the fact that we weren't EU citizens. We got a lot standing up against us, but we believe in miracles and we're in the business of fishing for miracles, creating miracles, hoping for miracles.

remedies: shoulder to lean on and a bowl of cereal

Staying Connected

We finally have cell phones. It took about a month to get them up and running. We were able to make calls as of Sunday, but our data plan wasn't working for some reason. After hours of forum-reading and forum-joining, John figured out how to get them working. We had to create APN's for data and MMS. I'm posting this to help anyone else who is having trouble staying connected with their Virgin mobile plan. This is the key to solving (y)our (phone) problems.

Problem solved. Now we have it all: phones, instagram, a car, insurance, 3 plants named Elmo, Enzy, and Lil' E, coconut oil, discount transport cards, and an upcoming anniversary.

I am getting excited for the next months. This past month was one of the hardest this year. Adapting to a new place has never been so hard until now. The language barrier, the French way of doing things, the changing weather, oh and still being a newly wed has brought its ups and downs. So much that I'm tired of them and am ready to master them. I don't want the roller coaster emotions to get the best of me anymore. This new perspective, or even desire of a new perspective, is commencing right around our 6 month anniversary. Six months seemed so far away back in May but it is already here and tumbling forward with momentum. I hope the next six months will be packed with positive energy, consistent selflessness, smiles, kisses, action and co-companionship from me. Because, let's face it, John, despite his ups and downs, never stops trying, always smiles and wants to do the right thing for both of us.

There really is no point to my blog other than me finding some weird satisfaction and accomplishment in publishing a post. But I want to give it some sort of theme, even purpose. I'm not about to review any products, become a mommy blogger, or refer to my husband as Mr. Murrugarra, I just want to keep it real. In reality, I complain a lot. It may not seem like it disguised in my small "velvety" voice as people have called it, but it is true! I complain a whole lot every day. So I am going to complain less, see the positive, be more hopeful, put a smile on, actually be some sort of ray of sunshine as my blog is titled and has been titled for 4 years. But in an effort to keep it real, I'll still say something "neutral" (read: negative). We all deserve some reality.

Two positives, 1 Real.

+ My husband can't rest until a mystery is solved or a problem fixed. The phones weren't working so he found time to fix them, even if it took hours. I married a hard worker, never giver upper.

+ I made a friend in class today who asked me if the cliches about America were true (we sue anyone and everyone, everything is cheaper, Abercrombie & Fitch is "cool"). I was sad to admit the true ones, but hey, I'm only 1/2 American. (Thanks, Mum!)

~ The bus driver didn't let me on the bus today. He was rude and kicked me out. I still don't understand why—I had my pass and money out ready to give to him. As he drove away, two bystanders saw what happened and ran into the middle of the road in an attempt to stop the bus driver, sadly to no avail. But they fought for me, or tried at least. I hope I do that for a stranger in need when I have the chance.