Friends and Adjusting

Life in Vigo has become busy, busier than I had hoped for, but a good busy.  The children are settling into school and music and swim team.  They are both learning a ton at school, from how the system works here to content, Spanish, building resiliency and flexibility, and they are growing a lot.  They are making friends and getting used to the culture and language and foods.    

Fun at the park.

Cake with something like a flare on it at birthday party!

Smoothies taste even better and exploring is funner with friends...yummy

Some great skate parks to drop in on with friends.

Halloween is not quite a thing here, but kids sometimes dress up for school and go to parties.

They are both on the swim team now, making friends there and growing their skills as well.  Their coach is a very kind and understanding young guy who makes every effort to help them improve and bridge the language gap.  They have swim meets coming up as well, which will take them to new places in Galicia. Before L joined, the swim team went on a group excursion to the local ropes course called Marikiná.    

That is a Monterey Bay Swim Club cap with a Real Club Náutico Vigo swim suit...love the bi-continental representation here!

G on the first day of swim, he bravely joined the team and made friends.

And they are playing lots of music.  They have weekly lessons with Alfonso Franco, a weekly group jam, and G may start going to a pub session occasionally.  L and her good friend have also started taking cello lessons with a very sweet and wonderfully positive teacher here that they love.  Last weekend Casey Dreissden and Oriol Saña came to Vigo to offer a fiddle workshop that the kids got to take.  Both musicians were encouraging and inspiring. The kids learned a lot about accompanying tunes by adding texture with chopping and rhythm.  

Adult workshop with Casey Dreissden

Youth workshop for teens to age 30, plus a 10-year-old L.

Rest break by the fire at Alfonso's cozy house.

Enjoying the concert by Casey Dreissden and Oriol Saña.

Words of encouragement from Oriol Saña.

Bye for now with Casey Dreissden.

Walking to cello lessons together.

Enjoying a lesson with teacher Maca.  Aula Aberta, in Galician "Open Door," is a group of musicians that come together each week to learn and practice tunes that Alfonso teaches.

D is in classes 2 afternoons a week and studying a lot.  The Spanish classes are challenging and he is learning a lot.  He is also starting to add intercambios, language changes with others so he can practice speaking Spanish and they can practice speaking English.  He also typically takes the children to school on the bus, walks or runs the hour back to the apartment, and when he is not in class, some days he walks back to the school to pick up the children and return on the bus. And some of the days I get to make the walk, too. While some of it is through the city, there is a nice section through a Parque do Castrellos with a river that is really nice.

Nice pathways through the park with lots of green and some birds calling.

A little river runs the length of the park, so walks there include the soothing sound of rushing water.

I am picking up some extra hours remotely, which, along with all the other little things of living here and taking care of the family, is keeping me busy.  In a new place, all the little things take longer, from finding certain groceries to figuring out the medical system.  And while I miss being able to accessibility we have to natural spaces we have in California due to having a car there, I do really enjoy being able to walk to get or do most everything we need. 

I have made a few friends here as well, primarily the parents of our children's friends, but they have quickly become dear to me and I am relishing those friendships. That said, one of my favorite people to spend time with is not fluent in English and my Spanish is not fluent; I often find myself wishing I could express a joke or say something pithy and I just don't have the vocabulary for it or I am tangled up in verb tenses and unable to show my full self.  But we are figuring it out and my Spanish is improving poco a poco.