Today the kids slept until 11:30am. They did very well with the time change. Carlota came to get us to go to the pool for the day with her family at that time and we rushed to make the appointment at the pool to get ID badges. Miguel and Paquita insisted on paying for this. Afterwards, we took a tour of the club. It was gorgeous! Three beautiful outdoor pools with waterslides and fountains. One could sun bathe on the pool deck or on lawn if they preferred shade. The kids were swimming all day and LOVED it! The weather was perfect, breezy and sunny at about 85 degrees, no humidity. Paquita said that tomorrow will be better...hotter.
The club is private and they pay to belong. Paquita said that there used to be many public pools just as beautiful except that now during the economic crisis, the government cannot maintain them. She also showed me business after business that were forced to closed due to the crisis. She has been explaining to me that in the past 5 or so years, the government has been stealing so much money from the people and that there are no jobs and the country is severely suffering because of it. Many young people are leaving the country for work.
Paquita said that since this is the week after San Fermín, many from Pamplona have left for the month to begin their vacation. She said that most people have a second home in Spain to go to during the summer months, but they are here because of us and to work.
During our time at the pool, we had an informal comida. I had the kids order in Spanish (with assistance from me). They ordered chicken fingers much to my disappointment. Sam had a bocadillo de pollo con queso. In Spain, the chicken is pretty fresh, therefore delicious. Paquita shared a tortilla chistorra, which is what I used to love as an exchange student many years ago.
The children are doing extremely well with their Spanish. I am speaking so much (and am much better now that I am rested) that I forget to speak to them in English and Callie sometimes gets frustrated, but the rest of them are tolerating and trying out the words, especially Sam who I predicted will learn fastest. Jaime is surpassing my expectations. She is very confident and tries to use Spanish a lot!
Paquita and I spend a lot of time taking about everything from children to politics to food and family. It has been so nice. Although she speaks fast, I understand all that she says and again, my own Spanish is emerging nicely.
After the pool we strolled through the city. It was awesome! We went to the older part that was surrounded by murallas (walls). It was there where we got to retrace the path that the bulls during the running of the bulls. We saw the posts where they put in fencing to guide the people and the bulls. We saw beautiful 12th century churches and convents that are no longer in operation, that were purchased by the government and are well maintained. We stood before the ayuntamiento building where the rocket is lit to begin the festivities de San Fermín.
When Paquita was explaining the bull run (El Encierro), I was translating for Sam. He started to get very emotional and he asked, "Why would people do this if it means they could die?". He did not enjoy the stories, as it bothered him, the danger.
The children tried helados y churros and we visited a gorgeous park (Taconera) where there were many varieties of chickens, pavos reales and ciervos. The deer were not skiddish and looked before the tourists to be fed. There was even a black swan in the water. The grounds were so pretty and clean!
After that, we went to Carlotas home for cena and had hamburgers (which the kids did not like, they taste different), salad and yes, more frozen treats. Their house is on the top floor and the backyard is actually a huge roof deck. The kids love playing ping ping out there.
It is now 1:09am and they kids are finally starting to settle, but they are fighting it. I had to give some if them Benadryl.
I was telling Paquita that because my kids feel so comfortable here, that they are behaving as they would at home...which includes less than stellar manners at the table, arguing with siblings and talking back. It's very embarrassing, but she seems to understand.
New words:
Kanguru: babysitter
Funny moments:
Bathing caps
Callie without a swim top
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