Información actualizada / Update

¡Hola amigos! I have a few updates and things to discuss today, not too many though. (Watch, because I said that, this entry will be really long.)

Money: Europe is expensive. The number on the price tag is the same, but it’s in euros. It’s crazy. I’m really glad I have my job at Essentials to go back to. And I’m very thankful for my family for all their help and support while I’m doing this insane European adventure!

Spanish cell phones: I don’t think I’ve talked about the phone system here yet. The country code for Spain is 34, and all phone numbers seem to begin with 6. Why they all start with the same number when there is clearly a country code, I have no idea. Numbers are only nine digits, and can be written a variety of ways (it’s not like the US where you have the area code, then the first 3 digits, then the last 4 digits). Here you can write 3, 3, and 3 (my preference); 3, 2, 2, and 2; 2, 3, 2, and 2; etc. There doesn’t seem to be a rule for when to do it what way. 900 numbers are toll free (so I guess there are some numbers that don’t start with 6), which is funny b/c those are super expensive in the US. In Spain it is always free to receive a call or text, and it always costs to send a text or make a call. This can make planning things frustrating because it’s expensive to get in touch with people. When you leave Spain you are “roaming” and it is very expensive to both send and receive calls/texts. My phone is on the Movistar network. It’s a Nokia phone that doesn’t flip or slide or anything, but it’s actually pretty nice (though I hate having to use a keyguard – I’ve had a flip phone of one kind or another for 5 years). I have kept it set in Spanish so that’s been a bit of a challenge – but I’ve learned some good phone vocabulary. Useful for a phone person like me. :-)

I’ve had a lot on my mind in the last week or so and I’ve been venting to a lot of friends back home. Thank you guys for being supportive. I’m trying to implement the “no pasa nada” philosophy more so hopefully my perspective will get better. I feel like it has a little bit. I’m getting better about not getting tunnel vision and therefore being completely sucked into an issue.

Running: After seven months of not running, I FINALLY started running again. And let me tell you it is very slow going…I can’t run more than about 5 minutes at a time. I’m starting slowly, and I hope I’ll be able to keep up with it and improve. I really missed it. I already feel better from the few endorphins I’ve gotten. I’m also running outside here (in the lovely Parque María Luisa), which is a new thing for me. I’m very used to treadmills so this is quite a transition. Wish me luck!

I think that’s all for now. I’m guessing after this weekend I will update photos again, so look out for that. Remember the album linked from here is password-protected, so you have to email me if you want the password. ¡Qué tengan un buen día!