25 August, 2012

Traveling vs. Vacationing

This morning after my back to the grind run, I was pouring my coffee and making my banana "ice cream" (essentially a frozen banana in the blender with a dash of milk, honey and coconut), when I had a startling EPIPHANY..... I never really go on VACATION!

This realization occurred to me this morning because I already miss my vacation, and it only ended last night!  We spent 6 days in magnificent Mallorca and I was so sad to say goodbye to the beautiful island and resume my life in the big city. Im sorry, Im an island girl.

But this was one of my first true vacations in a long time. Yes, maybe I've had "vacation" from school/work, but what did I do? Most of the time I was being a crazy tourist in some far away city, probably not relaxing at all, or maybe I was wondering around Madrid exploring new cafes, restaurants and bars. Or maybe I was in New York fighting jet lag and running around to get everything in I wanted to in a short amount of time. But thats not a vacation!  Thats tiring! 

TRAVELING IS TIRING!

After traveling, Im always desiring another "vacation" immediately after to recuperate, a few days more to rest, to catch up, to transition and to do laundry and paint my nails

This past week my friends, was a VACATION


Beaches, cocktails, pools, sunscreen, beach umbrellas, beautiful views of the Mediterranean from our hotel room, wine on the terrace while mesmerized by the Mediterranean, lazy road trips on basically desserted roads,  no watches, humidity, sun, seafood.... 

It took me a day or two to adjust to vacation life... of not having a schedule, not being rushed, being able to sit and do NOTHING. Me: I'm not used to doing nothing. I dont know what to do with myself if I have nothing to do, I always need an activity! But now that vacation is over, its all I want! Nothingness! Relaxation!  La vida sin prisa!

Take me back to the beach!!!




17 August, 2012

Au Pair Adventures

I tried to avoid posting much about my life as an Au-Pair this year, due to confidentiality, respect and all that jazz, but I've finally decided to reflect upon my experience now that I've had about a 3 week break, and Au-Pair life is possibly not in my foreseeable future. 

In my 11 months of Au-Pair life, I've worked with a great family, and a less great bad family. I've had good days where I didn't want to say goodnight; and I've had days when at 8pm, I closed my door, put in earplugs and got into bed. 

I learned a lot in the past 11 months about au-pairing. I've learned lots about raising children (specifically girls), and about working with others, especially (abuelos) grandparents. I've learned lots of new vocabulary (mainly words pertaining to parks) and even got some grammar lessons from a 5 year old, which wasn't always easy to swallow. 


I've learned to take my time. To let kids be independent, to let them try, and to not jump right in and say "let me help!" Because they need to develop themselves, and they CAN do it! I've learned that its ok if kids want to stand back and observe sometimes, and to let them pick leaves and flowers and whatever else they find along the way to or from the swimming pool.

As an Au-Pair, my job was pretty simple and fair. I prepared a healthy snack for my two lovely little ladies, always fruit, maybe some yogurt, and on days we ventured the 5 km to the pool, a bocadillo for extra energy. I learned that one child was hungry the minute I picked her up from school (hungry hippo) and the other didn't want anything to do with snack, unless it was something she probably shouldn't be eating (maybe an occasional 'surprise' pancake, palmera or other sugary sweet) I learned that one only wanted Pineapple juice, and dont bother bringing juice for the other. 

Then I went to pick the 2-3 year old up from her guardaria. From there, her and I (and her stroller) packed with jackets, scarves, water and snacks walked about 20 minutes to get to the older girls' school. There, we maybe ate snack and went to the park, or went to the even further away pool. 

After the afternoons activities we returned home where I was a stickler for cleanliness. "Shoes, Slippers, Hands!" was a phrase I repeated numerous times within the first 15 minutes of arriving at the house. Then we did some homework, followed by arts and crafts, drawing, playdough, ipad, etc etc. 

I worked monday through thursday for the family, from 3:45pm until 8pm, or until the parents arrived home from work. Some nights I gave the girls dinner and put them to bed, but rarely.

To anyone who is thinking of becoming an Au Pair, it is a big decision. Heres some advice for anyone considering it:
*You must be very careful when choosing a family, make sure you first decide what you expect out of the experience, and also make sure you can identify qualities of your personality and your needs. For instance, I was very independent. I was 24-25 as an au-pair. I wanted the freedom to come and go as I please, to have my own life separate from my life at "home". I wanted my space and I wanted trust and respect. I had to find a family that could provide me with that.  This is the most valuable piece of information I can provide for you.

*Make sure you make things very clear: if you are willing to work the occasional night, how much notice you want, how often you are willing to do that, etc.

*Consider the accommodation offered. Do you have your own bathroom? Your own bedroom? Will people be going in and out of your room?

*Discuss with the family their expectations about snacks, time spent watching TV, if they want formal english lessons, time spent reading etc

*Communicate! Discuss how the children behaved, what you did that day, any questions, any thing teachers said at school, notes sent home etc. The parents are not there with their children all afternoon and they want to be kept informed on the days activities so they can discuss them with the children later. Also if there is some sort of problem they can talk about it with their child later, in hope of avoiding any future problems.

*Teach children to be independent. Have them dress themselves, put the straw in their juicebox, put on their hats and gloves, tie their own shoes, clean up their messes, turn off lights, wash their hands... children can do just about anything we can do, and its fantastic to watch them grow into little adults!

*Have fun! Do fun activities that are hands on! Dance! Make cookies! Do projects! Get Messy! Change it up! Kids need routine but every once in a while a little spice goes a long way!

Some of our favorite activities were: 
*Baking and decorating cookies
*Painting (get out the smocks!)
*Making bracelets
*Making random things out of popsicle sticks, pom poms, pipe cleaners and googly eyes!
*Making play dough
*Exploring nature
*Football day
*Popcorn day
*Hot Cocoa and Marshmallow rainy cold days



13 August, 2012

Istanbul By the Numbers

Istanbul is a city I am having trouble putting into words. It took my breath away, it made me feel envious, it made me feel full, it made me cover my ears, and it kept making me repeat "no lo creo" or "I don't believe it!"  Here is post numero uno about Istanbul

1: How many Mosques we visited... the Blue Mosque. 



2: Number of continents Istanbul is on
The Bridge that connects European Istanbul with Asia

Black Sea in Asia!
4: Number of goat's milk Ice creams eaten (pistachio yummm)

5: Number of Kebabs that were eaten between the two of us

6: Approximate number of hours spent doing toursity things day one

336: Number of Columns holding up the Basilica Cistern, or "Sunken Palace"

4: Number of different purposes the Hagia Sophia served as (Greek Cathedra, Romal Cathedral, Mosque, museum)


4: How many times Istanbul was a capital to an Empire (Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman)

1: How many times we were denied alcohol due to Ramadan

400: Years that Ottoman Sultans resided in the Topkapi Palace

3: Hours spent cruising the Bosphorus River

13.5: Population of Istanbul... in millions

7.5 Millions of tourists visit Istanbul per year

2.195: Turkish Lira you get for 1 euro

50: Number of Turkish Delights I ate.... at least!

11: Number of times Esteban was confused for a Turk

3: Roof top terraces from which we enjoyed a breath-taking view


40: Minutes we spent pretending to be interested in Turkish Carpets

0: Number of Carpets we purchased

12: Number of times we Bargained with a salesman

2: Lamps we brought home

7: Purchases made on Turkish Delight

100: Number of times I want to return in my lifetime


05 August, 2012

To Market To Market, to Buy....

Lots of Wine and Cheese!

Dia del Mercado in Casa de Campo in Madrid is probably one of the Best events to occur in this wonderful city. Sadly, it only occurs the first saturday of every month. Bummer.

Its a little market with BIG attitude. It begins early in the morning, and finishes up around 3pm; however at around 1:30, free samples begin to become more scarce and people start cleaning up and buying their last minute products, so if you had your eye on a delectable cheese, its best to buy it before 1:30pm

The best thing about this mercado: upon entering, if you please, you pay 1 Euro. For your one euro you receive a wine glass. With this wine glass, you may go around to all of the vendors, and sample their wines... for free! Many vendors will have a handful of wines you can sample, and this way you can learn what you like and what you dont like, and what you want to take home with you and sample an entire bottle.  Then, you get to take home your wine glass! New vasos!
warning: this event will probably give you a buzz and leave you feeling  fantastic and full



some vendors smile for a phicture
There are also vendors who sell cheese, with free samples (some will even recommend a good wine to try with their cheeses), there are yogurts, frozen yogurts, honey, embutidos, smoked fish, breads, fruits and vegetables, liquors, potato chips, beans etc. There is also home brewed beer and even tacos! And whats so interesting about this market, is that all the products from from the Comunidad de Madrid! So you are always buying local, supporting your community. (I do question the origin of the smoked fish, I'm pretty sure theres no ocean or lake in Madrid to conseguir salmon, cod and anchovies... but Ill ignore that detail because it was yummy)
One stand with a large variety of wines from their bodega

cheese please!

Olive Oil that stole our heart for 6 euros a bottle


After sampling all of the wines and as the inventory started to diminish, we stocked up on lots of products! The wines and cheese were so good, and so much better quality than anything you can find in your local supermarket.

Cured cheese: 5 euro
Spreadable strong cheese with herbs: 3.50 euro
Bottle of knock-your-chanclas-off-Olive Oil: 6 euro
Wines: 3.50 euro, 4 euro, and 4 euro (some ranged up to 5 euros, but nothing higher)
Chuches (gummy candy): 1 euro
Potato chips with paprika: 1 euro.

Everything was so good, we just couldn't help ourselves! Our calendar is already marked for September!

For more information, check out the website here!

04 August, 2012

Enjoying the Great Outdoors and the Big Screen

  Madrileño summers are filled with things to do, some things are more crowded than others and some last longer than others. In Madrid, there is something called Veranos de la Villa. It is a series of music, theatre, concerts, movies and other events taking place throughout Madrid in July and a teensy bit of August.

  We attended one event, Open Star, that took place near Madrids Planetarium (which I guess I will have to visit one day!). The tickets we bought ahead of time on the internet, for 12 euro a pop, plus a 1 euro convenience charge per ticket, but I think its worth not waiting in line and being able to leisurely choose your seat before you get there.

  Gates open at 8, meanwhile the movie beings around 1045 pm. Why such a large gap? Well inside they have a few places to eat dinner, typical spanish food and also crepes. There is also a little stand to buy candy by the kilo, and of course, a myriad of places to buy beer, wine and mojitos. Unfortunately, I will have to report back about the food next year, this time we opted for a picnic outside of the theatre, complete with Gazpacho (made by moi) and a bottle of white wine.

  The theatre is quite impressive, complete with the humongous screen and hundreds of beach style canvas and wood chairs to kick back in.





  Movies are all dubbed in Spanish (surprise surprise) and the only downfall I see is that your neighbor has every right to smoke his cigarette and blow smoke in your direction... not cool.  But all in all, its a fun thing to do one Madrileño summer night... and after the movie the front of the theatre turns into a night club, complete with DJ and smoke machines and 2x1 beers!


01 August, 2012

Long Island, this one's for YOU

  After a month of nanny duties in July, I am  finally on summer vacation. During these free days I have been doing lots of things to keep myself busy: mainly flexing my cooking muscles, but also walking, shopping, mani/pedis, Pintristing, and reflecting.
  For me, reflecting can be quite dangerous, but I can't help it. It has really been tough on me this summer, knowing it is the first summer of my life that I won't be spending at home  my parents house where I grew up, good ol' Long Island


I really took advantage of all things Long Island:
*living a 3 minute drive from a beach

*having good friends around

*drunken fun with friends at Alive after 5

*readily accessible and delicious mexican food
*bbq's on our back deck with a gas grill
*laying out in a lawn chair readying a book
*boating

*Mikes Hard Lemonades
*the salty smell of the Great South Bay

*the sound of the Ice cream truck winding around the corner endlessly humming 'do your ears hang low'
*evening walks to the beach
*walking barefoot across the grass to check the mail
*my brother and his friends making ear piercing noises from the garage while listening to really bad rap music
*the roaring of motors from cars, boats and motorcycles, waterskiing, fireworks over the bay
*the list is endless.

coffee creamer, te echo mucho de menos



mom and dad, and margaritas in travel mugs 


  There are things however that I am perfectly happy living without: mosquitos and the people at pathmark being two. But things I truly miss most are my friends, and my family. I miss family gatherings at my grandmas, and I miss running into people I know, familiar faces.

   I guess it's understandable to miss these things, and I know I can't let it get me down, I know, because I do have a great life here, the only problem is that its a different life, separate from a life I miss, a life where everyone I know is living without me, and I can only fear what is happening to my place in that life while I am not there. Is it fading away? Do people think of me the way I think of them? Am I missed? Sadly, Im pretty sure everyones lives are continuing on normally, without me there, readjusting the slightest bit to replace the tiny, insignificant gap that I left behind, while I attempt to readjust my life to fill the crater-sized voids that I have brought here with me.




In these times, Billy Joel seems to be the only appropriate music to listen to:

"say goodbye to the oldies, but goodies, because the good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems"

"there ain’t no island left for islanders like me"