My Airport Journey

Sorry, its been a while since I have written....
I got back to good ol' sunny CA 2 days before my bday, September 18th. I was planning on traveling more but it just seemed like the right time to come back to start an internship I had planned on before I left, to tutor in time for the new school year, and to see my grandmother who had a cancerous kidney removed.

Boy was I glad to be back after what seemed like 24 hours of planes trains and automobiles traveling from Barcelona to SF. What a day, I have to tell you the night before I left we had the bottle of red wine I brought from Kansas, where I was visiting my Grandma and cousin (my Mom's family) before I left for Spain (I was actually in Europe since May then came home to visit family in Kansas in July for a week then flew straight to Spain). SO we had the wine, we exchanged gifts-- I gave the girls big pink dream catchers with a story about native americans attached. They loved it. Then that night I slept in the girls playroom on the couch so I wouldn't wake the family upstairs since I had to leave really early in the morning. Their house has huge wall length windows and there were shadows and noises I had never seen or heard before so I definitely did not sleep well that night. I woke up at the butt crack of dawn, caught a taxi and flew to London from Barcelona. It was great, I had a nice conversation with the taxi driver who was the quinessential Spanish man with his accent, voice, and politics talk, such a good goodbye. Then I get to the airport, and after like 2 hours of repacking my bag the night before so it was exactly 45 pounds, in the security line they took by freshly bought local honey jar away...I put it in my carry on to minimize my luggage weight, and yes they are still super strict about liquids. Then from London I flew straight to SF and was so glad to see my dad pick me up at the airport.

I wish the story went like that.

No. In London, it goes like this. So I arrive to heathrow, a serious mad house, and I have to change airlines which means I have to get my bag from the belt and wait in the customs line with all the other foreigners so they can stamp my passport to allow me into the country. I wouldn't have to do this if I didn't need to get my bag. So I am in line foreveeeeeeerrrrrrr and I realize I may miss my flight so after about 30 minutes of waiting I ask the line manager to put me in the front of the line because my flight leaves in like 45 minutes. He does just as I ask, while I am over here thinking why didn't I do that in the first place. And he didn't even ask to look at my boarding ticket- awesome!

So I am running underground wheeling my 45 lb suitcase and my 100 lb shoulder bag (okay maybe it was only 30 lbs) and running on moving walking after moving walkway to change terminals to get from regional airlines to international ones. I finally get to United to check in- there is a 45 minute cut off to do so. This nice lady says oh your just in time. I check my bag in and she goes "oh you have a lot in your shoulder bag, do you want to put some in your checked suitcase?"

WHAT????

After spending hours making sure it didn't go over the weight limit, I was like what?

She goes, oh ya just shove it in there. Devon "but won't it go over the limit?" Her "oh I don't care." Love her, but hate her.

So I shove my heavy stuff in the suitcase for much relief on my hands since I don't have to lug the suitcase around anymore and now that my huge purse / shoulder bag is so much lighter. Meanwhile, when I fly United on my mom's benefits, I have to dress in business attire since I never know if they will put me in first class or not (since sometimes if there are only seats in first they will put me there- I just never know). SO I am all sweaty and red in nice cloths about to have to peel them off at the security line.

Finally I make it to the gate and I am the last one on the flight and after all of that, I am in coach! 12 hours later...with my heavy suitcase again and heading home.

Who know what's in store now!

Me and My Bike adventures...

Ah people, I am so tired. So no one could drop me at the train station to go into barcelona today so I took the bike thinking oh this will be great. I can bike all around the city and say goodbye before I leave tomorrow. So I take the bike, we live on a high hill here just north of the city with a view of the ocean, very nice, but I am going downhill all the way which is nice but I get totally lost, well I didnt even really know how to get there in the first place, I was just like oh I will find it. So 20 easy minutes later I am at the station...i have to sneak my bike in because I am pretty sure you cant bring your bike through the little entry doors that open and close a little too quickly after you put your ticket in, then I ride around the city for 3 hours and leave at 4 just in enough time I think to be back at home for when the girls come at 5pm from school. By the way, the whole time I was dodging tourists, and with a little luck and yelling, I managed not to hit anyone! I am very proud. So 30 minutes on the train on the way back and of course the only seat available with my huge red bike is one that is broken so I manage to wedge myself against the seat and my bike to sit, already super tired and hot. Then I was like oh I give up, I will take a taxi back to the house and put my bike in it since the way back is allllll up hill. Nope, not happening, no taxis. So I ride for a couple minutes then have to walk because its too twisty and turny, but the uphill road kept going forever. It was good that it was curvy because if I had saw the end of the road where I had to go, I would have stopped at the beginning and said "NO way in hell!" So after 30 minutes of walking and trying to ride my bike uphill and putting it in the easiest gear I could, I finally made it and now I am writing this after gulping down water.

It was a good day and I think I burned sufficient calories to make up for the rainy days I stayed inside...

Goodbye Barcelona...

Un Dia Llovioso

Rain, rain and more rain here in Barcelona...lucky that I LOVE it! I was inside my nice warm house while the girls were at school for the first day. I think all the mothers of Spain are rejoicing today since all kids all ages started today. I slept late, checked my email, watched the news, ate lunch and just waited for the girls to come home at 5. I know from 9 to 5 quite a day huh...but that´s what those trilingual schools are doing these days.

By the way, I decided for my birthday (Sunday September 20th) of having a small dinner party at a restraunt with some good friends: Steph, Cecily, Maile, Kelsey and Matty. Here is a little background. Steph and I lived together on the same floor freshman year and have been good friends since. She visited me in Spain when she was studying in Denmark and I have been to Jackson Hole Wyoming to visit her where she grew up. Cecily is from Maine, where I have gotten the chance to visit her, and we met freshman year, were very close sophomore year and then I was gone junior year in spain and DC then she was gone to egypt to study abroad first semester senior year but after that semester we met up in Paris (I was staying with my old roommate from DC Noemie) for New Years 2008. Then there is Maile who grew up with Cec and decided to come out to SF two years ago to go to Paul Mitchell Beauty school and she and I met up in London when I was in Spain, she had a school hair show, and I flew out for a weekend to see her and we always have a good time together, plus she always cuts my hair perfectly! And Kelsey and I met in Latin american perspectives Sophomore year and instantly became good friends, she is such a sweetheart and grew up in northern california. Then there is Matty...we studied in Spain together and he graduated a year ahead of me and now works in a PR firm in the city and is from Seattle- matt also came and visited me in DC adn is always up for fun.

So thats the bday party..I decided after my million parties I have had over the years I should keep it small, though I really had a hard time not inviting all my friends to dinner in Palo Alto.

But instead of gifts, I am asking my friends to hand over 22 dollars so I can donate it to the non profit of my choice. In light of recent events with my dog passing away, I am going to give the money to a dog rescue organization called Rocket Dog Rescue based here in the Bay Area. I really encourage adopting because like children, there are so many dogs out there in the world that need a home!

www.rocketdogrescue.org

Well back to my rainy day here...I love it!

September: Sat the 5th and Sun the 6th

Last weekend was great, after 50 plus hours alone with the girls during the day last week (while their parents worked and one day I had the 2 7year olds and the 2 10 year olds for a sleepover), I got 2 days off to go play myself in Barcelona.

Saturday I took the train to Plaza Catalunya, which is the main plaza int he city, and went to Barrio Gracía to walk around and find a second hand english bookstore opened by some Irish guys called Hibernia (which either Ireland or Dublin was once called). After finding a couple good books and an hour or so later, I walked around the neighborhood. Spain had great Oxfam stores that sell fair trade and environmentally friendly products while taking the money and putting it towards a good cause. Then I took the metro to Park GÜELL, designed by Guadí, in the northern part of the city. There are beautiful views from the top, but it is quite a climb. It was nice to walk around by myself and see more of the city.

Sunday I went into the city again and walked around a different neighborhood and the El Palau (palace) de Musica de Catalunya which was designed by Gaudí too with really neat designs in the modernism era. Then I walked to the Picasso Museum and saw a lot of his works throughout his lifetime...I really like his work around the turn of the century. Since the Parque Ciudatella was near by I walked a little around there and read and watched all the dogs and their owners running around the park...I miss Bailey....

By the way, it´s hard to say, but the 28th of August I got a call from my Dad saying that Bailey, my little terrier, got hit by a truck and died instantly. I havent seen him in 5 months and I really miss him. R.I.P.

Also, it is Catalunya´s independence day tomorrow, the 11th of September, so we will see all the exciting things that will happen in the city tomorrow. The Leris family, my family here, are going to their mountain house for the holiday so I will have some time to relax Friday and Saturday! I plan on soaking up the sun and swimming in the backyard and taking the bike to Barcelona and eating and that´s about it. The girls start their trilingual school (which I found out runs from 9-5pm every weekday where they learn Catalan, Spanish and English) on the 14th adn then on the 18th I leave for a 7:40am flight to London and then to SFO or LA or wherever United will let me on a flight to.
I am excited to be going home, sad to leave Spain, and also sad to be coming home to my Grandmother having surgery...but I am still counting down the days!! After almost 5 months being in Europe I am ready to see what CA has in store for me!

Devon´s Summer Reading

These last two months I have not been with the girls I am either talking with the family or watching the news or exploring Barcelona...but mostly reading.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Pilgramage by Paulo Coelho
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
The Tales of the Beadle and Bard by JK Rowling
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Eclypse by Stephanie Meyer
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Emma by Jane Austen

I have to recommend the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. Its about a girl in high school and a young vampire adn their love story...its like 2,000 pages of suspense and I will totally loan it to you!

If you haev any books to recommend tell me!

Happy September!

I can´t believe we are already in September, classes at USF have started without me and I am still on vacation..i love it!

This week I have been with Moni adn Claudia during the days whiel their parents work and its been super fun adn super tiring. Today the girls are having sleepovers with their friends, Claudia and Emma, so I am with 2 7year olds and 2 10 year olds. After experiements in the kitchen, tying the younger ones up, swimming, planting seeds and digging in the dirt, painting, drawing, playing on the computer, playing tag, and running and screaming all aroudn the house, I think today will be a long one, its only 4pm while i write this. We still have a couple more hours of play time, then at 8 we will eat dinner then getting 4 girls ready for bed, oh my!

Better go see what their doing...

Also, yesterday Moni and I had a nice day alone at the aquarium...mano a mano se dice.

Two Weeks Alone with Two Girls!!

We have two weeks together before the girls start school and while the parents are working...so we have a lot of time for fun! Today we are starting out at the Zoo in Barcelona and spending practically the whole day there. Hmm, Spanish animals, we will just see how different they are. Then tomorrow, Tuesday, we are going to an indoor skating rink to go ice skating, and I think my foot is almost 100% so it will be fun and we will see how many times we all fall.

The last week was nice, we spent most of it in the Costa Brava just an hour and half north of Barcelona near L´estartit on the ocean, we stayed at Felipe´s parents´ house (we have done quite the tour of homes and beds, from Gemmas parents´ to Felipe´s to boats and mountain houses) and his mom knows how to cook! We ate the best macaroni all home made adn they have an orchard where they grow all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies so eating really well was on the menu everyday. I also saw the traditional Catalan dancing called La Sardana, love the culture!

About three more weeks here adn then it is off to home. I take off September 18th and will definitely be sad.

Pictures: Barcelona and My New Family!

Then after about a week we left for the island of Menorca...(PS look at this post from bottom to top)


The beautiful Spanish beach!

I spent a couple of days in Barcelona walking around while the girls were at camp. This is on eof Gaudi's designs for a building...his architecture is all over the city, it's really amazing.

The missing tooth...

This was just after I pulled Moni's tooth out...we were trying for days!

A couple days after I arrived, Claudia, Gemma, and I went to see Harry Potter in English, it was such a treat! Here I am with Claudia in the theater. The girls go to a trilingual school, where they speak catalan, spanish, and english, so they pretty much understand everything in english.

This is the view of the ocean from my room (actually MOni's but I am using it for the two months. We are jsut north of Barcelona outside the city but its super close and we have an awesome view!)

I just arrived after about 24 hours of traveling, planes, trains, and automobiles. Here is Monica on my lap and her mom Gemma.

mmmmm mediterranean food!

hey there!
tomorrow i get my stitches out it´s awesopme! we had a dinner of
cucumber with a little cheese, salt, olive oil, and an onion and squid
dish and also a little toasted bread and little clams for dinner and a
natural yogurt for dessert, it was really good and healthy! and for
lunch we had half raw inside and half cooked like on the outside tuna with a
little soy sauce and some really interesting tan mushrooms that were
really good and again a yogurt for dessert. then breakfast is always
like these anti oxidant bran flakes with soy milk or yogurt mixed in
and maybe some toasted bread with cheese...i love the mediterranean
diet!!!
until next time!!

also, after my two months here with the family, i am thinking of traveling aroudn the south of Spain since i have never seen it...to sevilla, granada, and cordoba, and if you have any other suggestions let me know!

Fiestas, Futbol, and Fun in 3 Countries!

We have been here in Sanavastre in the valley of Cerdanya for a little over a week and so much has happened. We have had picnics in the mountains, dinners at our house, paella parties, and swimming, all with my family here and about fifty other ones...well almost, almost everyday we are with about ten other kids and five or four other couples out on an excursion for the day. It´s funny too how all the parties seem to end up at our house, and while I am really only oblidged to be with Monica and Claudia, I am always surrounded by 8 or ten cute spanish kids. Alejo, Blanca, Francesc, and Marta being among my favorites.

Our latest adventures consists of swimming in Andorra today. We started out in Spain and drove 50 kilometers to Andorra and while the girls and Gemma and Felipe went swimming at a huge indoor pool complex, I was walking around (still on my bum foot with three stitches on the bottom) and then we had lunch (from about 3-4:30 which is typical) at a French restaurant and drove back home to Cerdanya through France. Three countries in one day, I think that is a record! Andorra is known for their shopping pretty much, and their great skiing. It is pretty much an outdoor mall with la calle principal full of shops with perfume, watches, clothes, shoes and anything you could dream of. The mountains were beautiful in the pyrenees, and Andorra is the only country with the official language beign Catalan, which is what everyone speaks here in Cataluña in Spain. It also rained on the way back from France which made me happy since I love the rain, and it has been pretty hot here lately.

Futbol...I was telling Felipe and Gemma how I want to see a soccer game in Barcelona while I am here and conviently, the dined with the Vice President of the team the other night...and the guy was nice enough to offer box seats to his friends at the table and Felipe, says, oh no, thanks but I dont like soccer....and hearing his response a few hours later I smacked him and he goes, oh ¨ostras, I forgot you like soccer.¨ I was just imaging sitting in awesome seats with cool spanairds...but no, aha anyways I will get there somehow...

We are here for another week and then we head back to Barcelona and I get my stitches out! So a few more days of bike and horseback riding for the girls and hasta luego mountains.

Vamos a Cerdanya

Today we are driving 150 kilometers north westish i think, to a little pueblo in the Pyrenees mountains. Two more weeks of adventure!!

Three Stitches Later...

What a day, Friday the 7th. My last day on the boat in Menorca and everything started out well. We were going to this great beach where you can only get there by boat and I went out to catch fish with the five grandkids on the motor boat that the grandfather wqas driving while the moms were swimming there. So we were dropped off, I had Moni and Alex who are 7 and 5 then the three older ones, 10 and 12, and I start to follow them in the water on the sand because I dont have my aqua socks on like they do, when all of a sudden, I slip on a rock and I feel a little pinch. I look to make sure I didn´t gash my foot open....and oh I actually did gash my foot open. WHile telling the two small ones to stay close to me so they dont fall, I sit on a rock and access the sitch. It started bleeding a lot and I saw a cut about two inches wide and a maybe 4 milimeters deep. So I kept my foot on the rock and started signaling to the boat for help (which we had decided earlier that week would be pounding on your head with both hands as a joke). But since the parents were so happy to get a small break from the kids and all 15 of us cooped up on the boat, it took maybe ten minutes for the small motor boat to come back to me, after flagging it down for a good amount of time.

So I get back to the big boat and Pablo, my family here´s brother in law who is on the boat with us tell everyone to back up, while Ana, Gemma´s sister is running away from me at the sight of a lot of blood, then after being interrogated in spanish about what happen (and me explainning there was a big rock hidden in the sand that i slipped on) pablo cleaned the wound, accessed the situation and told all the kids that he would have to cut off a toe....

After the kids screamed and calmed down and were really nice to me, he said he was kidding but that it was a profound cut. (Note to self, and this is no exaggeration, Pablo works in a good hospital in Barcelona as the director of a team of foot and heel specialists and he is known as the best surgeon in Spain in his specialty...lucky me!) So he said I would need stitches...so we took a nice little trip a few hours later to the centro de salud and he stiched me up no problem with no questions asked and after a little anasthesia and three stitches and a little limping he said I would be good to go in two weeks.

After ten minutes in the centro we came back to boat and yo estaba curada...i was cured thanks to Pablo. All the kids we at my beck and call instead of the other way around...well for about an hour. But today I am taking it easy at home while everyone spends their last say on the boat adn then we leave for Barce tomorrow all day on a big boat and then on Monday we head to Cerdaña in the mountains.

Not the best day ever, but it could have been much worse...THANKS PABLO!!

Calas, Cava y Cafe

This is my life here...we go out on the boat, swim, have an amazing lunch of black octopus rice or bocatas (sandwiches with french bread and cheese) and a huge yummy salad, little typical pizzas and filled eggplant (which are typical of the island) have some cava, then fruit dessert like cherries, peach (which they peel here, it is a little stange) grapes and what have you, then we rest and swim some more while the kids throw themselves of the boat and swim around then we come back to the apartment (one sister´s family is above us and one is next to us) adn we all eat dinner together usually at our bug table on the porch looking out over the natural port and the mediterranean, the kids play, usually chasing me or me flying them in the air like an airplane and then we get ice cream at the center of town walking or driving and then we sleep. My typical day with the three Cs, in addition the coffee is a capuccino and it is amazing.

We leave on Sunday, after two weeks and then head to their house in Barcelona for a day then go to Acerdaña to the mountains for two weeks where we will be riding horses, bikes, and being outdoors in the Pyrenees mountains. It will be great!

Yesterday I went to Mahon to main town of the island to see what it was about and then i walked to the movie theater to meet, David, Marc, Alex, Anna, Pol, Felipe, Monica, Claudia, and Gemma to watch up. Almost the whole family was there and we took up an entire row. It was a very cite disney movie about adventures in south america.

Oh the spirit of adventure...

Menorca!

We have been here since Sunday and it has been great! It is sunny everyday, and usually hot which is perfect for swimming, and we are mostly outside the whole day. Gemma has two sisters, and they each have two kids and a husband, so with the six adults, six kids, the grandparents, myself and another american friend staying with one of the sisters we are like a huge sicilian family aboard their little yatch boat out on the mediterranean. Its great out of the five days we have been we have been out on the boat for four of them leaving at 11 and coming back around 5,6 or 7. We have lunch after the kids on the top deck, of three, and go swimming on and off all day lon gin the ocean. Yesterday we took the little motor boat out to tour a cave, and we took some coffee on the beach, and did a little snorkeling. The views have been spectacular...I will post pics soon I promise I just have to work out some connections issues, plus being outside means little time on the computer...i love it! We are eating so well too, the other day I had the most amazing paella and of course vine and cava is great too!

All Aboard!

So we orginially we all planning on taking a thirty minute flight to the island of Menorca, me , Gemma, and the girls Claudia and Monica, but the girls said they wanted to take the boat with dad, who usually has to take the boat because he brings the car and all the stuff for two weeks which is inside. The boat takes 8 hours.....

But I know we will have fun, I guess when gemma was booking the ticket for me, she could only get a big room, so I am excited, plus the views are supposed to be great. After meeting both of their parents and sisters and cousins and friends from all over, they all say I am going to love Menorca (the Island just north of Mallorca). La pequeña Monica said that she wanted to stay with me in my room...she is so cute, but still devious at the same time.

Today relaxed, danced to high school musical and jonas brothers, I painted their nails (red like mine) and made bracelets for Claudia to sell with her cousin (like a lemonade stand but with bracelets)...very girly things!

Hasta luego me voy a la isla!

The week before MENORCA!!

This Saturday we are all going to Menorca, the island just just north of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. The family goes every summer and they basically go to the beach everyday and eat good food. Sounds like a nice new routine! Though our routine here in Tiana, right near barcelona, has been great too! The girls go to camp in the morning at 9 with their mom or dad and I sleep in, then I get up around 10 sometimes 11 (since I was still getting used to the time change (but not anymore even though I still sleep late)) then i either hang out in the house and read or write to you or swim or I go into barcelona on the train or walk along the beach as I did today, then I meet the girl at their club where they are at camp until 5 and we get picked up by either their mom or dad (the mom works in marketing and the dad as a financial advisor so they are both very well educated) and then we come home and eat a snack or I swim with them or play a game in the play room (today I played uno with Claudia which was very fun while Moni made me a bracelet), or we watch a little Disney channel but from 5 to dinner around 8:00 or 8:30 its our play time the dinner is usually lentils and fruit or squid or tuna and veggies like we had tonight. Then the girls take their camomile tea that their dad makes for them on the sofa watching Disney Channel again. I usually sit with them and translate some things into english...then either Monica reads to me or her mom.

Today Felipe´s parents came overfor dinner, they are from Girona, the costa brava, they talk so much and are such sweet people. Felipe and Gemma taught me the phrase ¨tiene mucho rollo¨ meaning one talks a lot sometimes in a bad way...funny, they were talking abuot the dad! or someone with buen rollo has good humor or is cool. I´m loving learning the idiosyncracies and phrases of the area!!

My First Great Weekend

After Harry Potter on Saturday, on Sunday we started the day out right...making a chocolate cake in the morning. It was a little bit of a disaster with the girls dropping sugar and both wanting to mix everything and trying to convert different measurements since they use different ones than in the US, but it was fun. We went swimming in their pool while the girls impatiently waited and every fiveminutes for thirty five minutes claudia asked me "pero cuanto minutos mas irene" how much longer (they call me irene because its much easier to say then devon). It finally turned out okay and the family ended up liking it. After lunch we played a while in their play room then took a little tour of the town Tiana...its very old and beautiful. We went to the club of the town where there is pool and a restraunt in this beautiful old building. We ran into Gemma´s cousin and their family and then her sister, she grew up in Barcelona so her family is everywhere. After swimming, we walked back to her parent´s house which is very close to their and they have a pool as well, so there the girls went swimming with their cousins, at the third pool of the day. So our little walking tour of the swimming pools was fun and at each place I met more of the family. Apparently everyone is excited to meet me too because Mark, the girl´s cousin who is 9 or so kept askign for a playdate with Claudia because he wanted to meet me...same with two of Claudia´s best boy friends. These Spanish kids are seriously so cute!

I still have to put up pictures but I don´t have wireless on my computer where my pictures are so I will try to do it soon.

Swimming and Harry Potter

On the first day I was too tired to go swimming with the girls so I said I would´t go but they made me promise to go the day after I arrived, on Thursday. I slept in late and decided to go into Barcelona to walk around a little and get to know the city better, since I had only spent about three days in the city a couple of years ago. It was great I took the train in and less than 25minutes later I was there at Plaza Catalunya which is right in the center of town near the gothic neighborhood which is where all the action is. After a little while I came back to meet Charo, the lovely cleaning lady, to pick up the girls from camp. They were so excited and all their friends knew who I was and they all called out my name when I arrived. So then right when we got to the house we went swimming. I helped put them to bed after dinner, we eat around 830 or 9 here and Felipe cooks really well. I have already had amazing lentils, fish, squid, salad....gotta love that mediteranean diet.

On Friday I went into Barcelona again and took the tourist bus aroudn the city and saw everything from Mont Juic to the olympic stadium and where FCB plays soccer to the Sagrada Familia. I had lunch at a favorite spot of mine from when I visited Barce last, and it is the only place the city where you can get bagels (because they are not very common in Spain) and i had a bagel sandwich a sat in the sun at the park near the store and read a newspaper...ideal. Then I came home and played with the girls (Moni and I made a pizza of dirt in the yard) and another amazing dinner and Felipe and Gemma went out to meet friends nearby so it was myfirst night of sitting and beign with the girls alone...they are a peice of cake. Besides the usual misunderstanding between english and spanish the listen to me very well.

Today, Saturday, I woke up at 11ish, since I am still jet a little, well actually I was up for two hours during the night reading since I couldn´t fall back asleep. Also, I forgot, it was really cute, the day before I gave the girls some coins from the US and Claudia said that she is going to use the coins when she comes to visit me. I thought that was adorable because she was so sincere, and at ten she knows what she does and does not want to do. Her english too is great, pretty much comparable to my spanish. Anyways, today I woke up late but we played and had lunch, noodles with tuna, and fresh organic fruit like tomatoes and peaches, and then went to se HARRY POTTER!!! Claudia, Gemma, and I went to see it and Felipe and Monica went to see Ice Age 3 in 3d. I loved Harry Potter and we saw in the original version in english which was great for Claudia to improve her english and of course I was happy. A fun family outing....

Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow!

Barcelona Day 3

I arrived on Wednesday morning after an hour flight from Kansas to Chicago, then an 8 hour flight to Paris after a three hour layover, then i transferred airports from Charles De Gaulle to Orly and was stuck in traffic for an hour (with a cute frenchman as my driver ;) ) and then took an hour flight to Barcelona and arrived almost 24 hours later with the time change. But Gemma, the mom of the family, set everything up for me and it was super easy.

Gemma picked me up and we drove through Barcelona to her town, Tiana which is 15 kilometers outside the city, and we got to know eachother better.Instantly, I could tell that she was very nice. She took me home and while I upacked in my newly renovated room (they are still working on some contruction around the house) which is actually Monica´s but she was more than happy to give it up to me. Their house is beautiful, they have a view of the ocean and are located up on a hill with huge windows to see the view.

After the girls came home from camp (9-5 until next week) I met them, Claudia who is 10, and Monica who is 7, and they were shy at first but then warmed up to me after playing soccer and swimming. I was too tired after the flight to swim but they made me promise to do it the day after. Gemma gave me a tour of the house and made me feel right at home. She was telling me about her time studying abroad at Berkeley and how much she loves SF. We talked about that for a while, in spanglish. She likes practicing english and I need to with Spanish. She has such an amazing perspective about her kid´s education. They are in a private trilingual school just outside Barcelona learning in classes taught in Spanish, Catalan, and English. THey more or less speak Catalan at home but still use Spanish daily. It is very similar to spanish but still sounds completely different so Gemma has to keep reminding the girls to speak in Spanish when they talk so I can understand.

Felipe came home from work and is extremely nice as well, making sure I know everything about the house and am good with all the food they have. He is the cook in the family and cooks very well. He made dinner the first night of cod fish and a tomato plate with another white fish, mushroms and zuchinni which was all very good...I figured that I should eat fish while I am here since we are in Spain and by the water, how could I not, but I still don´t eat meat (but most people here don´t consider ham meat so it is on everything but the family knows I don´t eat it). Little Monica got worried that the leg of ham kept out in the kitchen would bother me...she is very compassionate. Felipe cooks all organic food which is amazing and whichmakes me very happy.

After dinner the girls were dancing and showin me their moves...I will have to put up the video when I can get internet on my computer. By the end of the night when we were watching a little Disney Channel, they were all over me, on my lap and holdingmy hand, it was very cute,they are definitely not shy anymore and I totally adore them. Claudia´s english is very good and she can explain things well with few errors and Monica gets a little overpowered by her sister but can still say some complex things to me. So it works well to speak in Spanish with Gemma and Felipe and English with the girls.

I could not have asked for more, Gemma is so accomodating, I am already all set up to live here for the next two months, I have a phone, train passes, a home and everthing!
I already know I am going to want to stay longer.

Au Pair in Barcelona!

I am really excited, I just confirmed to Gemma that I will be their Au Pair for the next two months! From July 15th to September 20th I will be with them in Barcelona helping the girls, Monica and Claudia (7 and 10) work on their english while I can work on my spanish and live in a beautiful country! They are taking a couple week vacation in beach towns and I can't think of any better way to spend my summer! more details to come...

Paris!

Mary Ellen, Denali and I arrived in Paris from Shannon, Ireland after planes trains and automobiles. We woke up really early the 27th of June to drive four hours to the airport, then we hopped on a flight, and boy do they pack you in on ryanair, and got to Paris to a small airport...form there an hour bus ride, a 40 minute metro, a t10 minute taxi and then some walking to the hotel we arrived at a really nice one! It was worth it!

We are staying in the Saint Germain neighborhood and had a nice dinner in the area and woke up early on Sunday to start our visit! From mass at the Notre Dame to the Louvre we walked all around the Seine river. Mary Ellen and her granddaughter Denali, Mj;s sisters daughter who is 14, went on a boat ride while i met my good friend Noemie. She was my french roommate in DC studying at AU last spring just to remind you. I met her at the Opera and we shopped a little in the summer sales...I came to Paris at the right time! Then we had the best ice cream in Paris where we waited 20 minutes for two amazing chocolate and coffee scoops. Since its hot here we sat byt he river where people just hang out, then walked more and more...I swear that woman can walk forever. It was a great day.

Monday...today, was great as well. The three of us started out shopping in Saint Germain and I got some nice white linen pants since it is soooo hot. Then we visited the Luxembourg gardens and stuck out feet in the fountain...and on our way out we heard classical music and singing...we stopped by and thought oh how great a little concert with higher schoolers in the park. Then they start singing America the Beautiful and we are like wow we thought the French hate Americans...but it ends up being a music group from Cinncinatti...weird. Then we walked aroudn the Ile de St. Louis, the little island behind the Notre Dam, and Mary Ellen bought me a beautiful brown parisian purse for graduation!! I love relatives. After being convinced to keep walking we took the metro to walk around the Sacre Coeur and Monmartre...after a pasta dinner I am satisfied!

I'll keep you updated....

Bisous du Paris

IRELAND!! Finally!

I have about ten minutes left on the internet so I have to make it quick. But basically as of the 8th of June my dad, Mj, and my little brother and I have been traveling around the south of the country and made our way back up to Dublin where we started. We went from Dublin to Ballyvaughan to Galway to Aran Islands to all the little cowy small towns in between then into the county of Kerry, the Dingle penninsula, to the cork county to the town of Callan, Baltimore, Kilkenny, Kinsale and my Dad has been driving the whole way, about two thousand kilometers. I have been scared on many accounts and Callan and I are constantly holding the chicken bars...all I can say is I am glad I don't have to drive on the wrong side of the road!

The first castle we saw...not to be the last for sure~!


The Cladaugh museum and original jewelry show in Galway city.


Mary Ellen (MJ's mom) and I drinking our first Irish coffee


Me and cal!


We saw some beautiful sites on the drives!


We also saw lots and lots of cows!






These flowers are everywhere!

Vienna

Last week I was in Vienna for three days and I walked all around the city! I met my friend Gabi who I worked with in Nicaragua who now lives back in Austria where she is from and then I took a flight to Dublin.

This is the river I stayed on in Vienna in a little apartment on the right hand side with a Viennese friend.


On the first day I took a three hour self-guided walking tour and here are some great things I saw...




Here is a beautiful rose garden.






Here I am with Gabi!


A great little vineyard restaurant outside Vienna I went to with a friend, Noah.


We sat outside.


Taking the tram back I saw there signs and thought they were funny.

From Salzburg to Vienna

After a week of talking about issues like ethnocentrism, migration, globalization,a dn global citizenship in depth, we had a huge dance party and dinner banquet with all the advisors, professors, and students. We are leaving the Schloss (castle)and going our separate ways. There were about 60 students from Texas, Lousiana, Florida, Illinois and California participating and we all had common values and goals underscoring our unification under global citizenship. This seminar was really just the beginning as far as taking what we learned and applying it to our lives and enrichign others with the humility, openess, human value, and commonality we all have or should have.

So now I am heading to Vienna on the train which is about two or three hours and I will be there for three days mainly to visit Gabi, my former co-worker in Nicaragua last summer. We will only be speakign in spanish so that will be interesting...a US Anmerican and an Austrian communicating in spanish...but it is our common language since she does not speak english very well.

Hope you are well!!! Because here, Europe is amazing (even with unpredictable weather in Salzburg!)

Love it!

An email I just sent to my parentals!

Hey there,
I just got out of a great lecture with a woman, Champa Patel, who works in the UK with trafficking and it focused on creating inclusive societies it was really amazing...I definitely have renewed faith and passion!!
Love you!
Devon

Salzburg..in Suits

Yesterday, Thursday we went for a salt mines tour in Bavaria, just twenty minutes from the Austrian border. It was awesome, our whole group, 13 in total, bused it to the site, got there, put on our black suits and took a two hour tour first on a little rail car in the underground rail in the mountain and learned all about how "salz" was like gold back in the day. We learned about the process (in German and English) and actually got the slide down old slides to get from one place to another and we went on a boat (since flushign water in is part of the process). It was great.

After the tour we took the bus back and had lunch with everyone at a nice Italian restaurant...pizza was a nice treat. Then we met the faculty at this funny large golden ball statue with a man standing on top in one of the central plazas. We met to go to a brewery that Walt, the older Dean of the school of Education at USF who takes students every year, said was amazing and not touristy. I was like perfect lets go! He said it was a great brewery, but he did not tell us that the scenic route to get there involved like 250 steps up...though it took us a while and I was huffing and puffing, it was a great route above the city. When we got there, it was awesome, Walt bought us liter beers made by the monks where you get your mug, wash it out and get the beer from a huge keg! Having Noah and Jerry (the other faculty) come was great as well! Everyone on the trip is really great and nice!

Then Walt again recommended a restaurant for all of us to go to called something "Fuchs" which means fox and we had the most amazing food, including Kangaroo (not me because I am a vegetarian) and cheese dumplings!

Day 1 Seminar

Today we woke up a little later and came to the Schloss or Castle where the Sound of Music was filmed. We moved into our little single dormish rooms in the residence next to the castle and I have a beautiful view of the lake...There are about 60 students and amazing faculty.

I am tired now but will write more later....

Salzburg Day 2 May 27th Wednesday

Wow is it easy to loose track of days when you don't have work, meetings, class, obligations, and are on vacation (at least until the seminar starts on Friday)!! Today we had a walking tour at 9am and it was cold! It was drizzling all day until the afternoon. This cute old Austrian, Fred, gave us a tour and learned a lot about the city. Salzburg's economy is 80% based off of tourism and is barely effected by the downturn in the economy. There are also 46 churches in the city and 45 are Catholic! There is one Gothic church but mostly Baroque. The periods start from gothic influence to Renaissance to Baroque and then the Rococo. The Baroque churches are known for their more decorated towers with round shapes at the top versus the plain grey or black tall towers at the top of churches. We also say St. Peter's Cemetery and the University market. Afterwards we walked around the old town and went to the Mirabell Gardens, where the Sound of Music filmed a scene. There was a little maze made of tall green bushes and secret passage ways that were really fun to explore. There were also great sculptures of lions and unicorns. After the gardens we went to the Sacher Hotel where they make really famous chocolate cake and have been doing so for about two hundred years. Then we headed back to the hostel after being tired of walking around for hours. For dinner we went to a Mozart dinner and listened to his beautiful music played by a small orchestra and we had a great dinner with the whole group.

Will put up pictures soon!

Munich

Munich was so much fun! We arrived in the morning and met our friend Alex, who we stayed with, at the Marienplatz- the central plaza, and dropped off our luggage at his house and then went out for the whole day walking everywhere! He knows all the history and everything so we saw a lot of the cathedrals and gardens and parliament buildings. We had lunch at the St. Ahustin cafe near the cathedral just off the Marienplatz. On Monday night, we went out with his family to the beer garden in the English Garden near the Japanese Tower. We had prezels with Bavarian cheese and dip, with veggies, everyone else had half a chicken and we all had a liter beer!! We slept well that night...after not resting on our first day in Europe and a large beer. Then Tuesday morning, we left and took the train to Salzburg which was about an hour and half long...not bad!

We arrived to Salzburg and it was definitely hot, but really nice out. Then we met everyone at the hostel, checked in, rested a little, then went out to dinner.

(Alex is the guy on the right of the pictures and Lizzy is the girl I am traveling with, we just met but she is super nice!)

Salzburg

Graduation!!!

Yours truly!

I don't what I am doing...we took a million pictures...thanks to kate who is camera happy!

This is of me and my three friends who had our 1st grade pictures taped to the top of our caps...for memory's sake!

Here I am with Priscilla!

Here I am with Priscilla in the middle and Steph on the right...my great friends who I sat next to at Graduation. This is before the ceremony waiting in line and taking photo shoots together.

Almost Done!

On Monday I had my final for my Social Worlds of Children's class and today I just finished my Understanding the Environment final for science and I am almost done! I have to finish a paper due tomorrow for the World Since 1945 on the Rwandan Genocide and two other ones for Philosophy, and then it is a party!

Speaking of, I had my graduation party on Saturday afternoon and it was soooo hot in Atherton but it was a great party! I will have to post pictures later. Thanks you everyone for making my graduation so special.

Mj made a slide show for me from when I was a baby until now and it was so special! My dad talked afterwards and he totally cried which made me cry and it was great!

Friday is coming up...the big day!

I love my residents!

So I am in my room, la de da, doing homework, and I get a knock on my door, and two of my fav rezzies Jordan (who I went to Arkansas with and who also has flight benefits like me) and Beth come giggling and take me into the hall, make me close my eyes (I am a little skeptical and scared at this point) and they take me to Beth's room and make me sit on the bed, put something in my hand, and I open my eyes....

They made a string pulley that opens and closes their door without having to get out of bed! This is hilarious because if you knew, Beth's roommate, she never gets out of her bed to open the door, so this is perfect for her. But how creative are bored freshman...making a string pulley thing that opens and closes the dorm door without having to get out of bed! They even "copy righted" it.

I will miss them....

Green Graduation Pledge

I am really excited to be a part of this!

The Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility states, “I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work.” Students define for themselves what it means to be socially and environmentally responsible.

Students at over a hundred colleges and universities are using the pledge at some level. Graduates who voluntarily signed the pledge have turned down jobs with which they did not feel comfortable and have worked to make changes once on the job. For example, they have promoted recycling at their organization, removed racist language from a training manual, worked for gender parity in high school athletics, and helped to convince an employer to refuse a chemical weapons-related contract.

http://www.graduationpledge.org/new/

Cap and Gown

Today after my social worlds of children class, I went to the grad finale to pick up my CAP AND GOWN!!! now it is real and I am so excited!

Dinner with Dad

I love that my dad works so close to the city, he is at Genesis right by SF state university, and he came and picked me up. We drove around a little bit and Dad took me to his favorite spots in the city (he lived there for a number of years in the early 80s which is where he met my mom). We went to the pet cemetery, Dad's favorite place in the city. It is right under the freeway that takes you to the GGbridge and there is a beautiful view over the mission style presidio houses to the bay. I love you Dad, but you have to be kinda twisted to have your fav spot be the pet cemetery... Then we drove to Fort Point, where I had never been before, which is right under the GGbridge. We had a great early dinner at Pris a Vis a great "global" restaurant in the Presidio by the Letterman Hospital. I asked Dad to show me where he lived in Presidio Heights around Colombus and Broderick. I would love to live in the area like right on Divisadero and Clay street...ahh I love the city!!!

Thanks Dad, you rock!

Congrats Mariana!!

Mariana was my program coordinator in Nicaragua last summer for the internship program with the Foundation for Sustainable Development I did through USF. She just won a fullbright and I am soo happy for her!! Yay development work!

"Mariana Giusti-Rodríguez has been awarded a Fulbright Grant for a research project on indigenous movements. She will be spending time in Peru and Bolivia researching whether it is possible for a social movement to reach power and remain united and efficient or whether it is better off and most successful remaining in the opposition".

Here is me and Mariana having fun in Nica!

American Idol

I tell you it is soo hard to focus in a dorm room when it is soo warm! I take two hour naps when I am supposed to be writing about the Cultural Revolution and the devastating effects on Chinese society Mao had and watching American Idol and eating pizza from the cafeteria...but hey, I can only do it for one more months so I am milking the student life all I can! I have to give a shout out to Kris Allen by the by, he is hot...also look at Lena's blog she has a full update on all the contestants. Lena is a good friend of John and I...www.lenareem.blogspot.com.

Also, I feel bad in the dorms when all my neighbors can hear all the contestants on American Idol and are watching it through the walls even if they don't want to be...sorry Jordan, Vanessa, Emily, and Ashley!!

Congrats Mary and Heff!

Mare, I am so happy for you and excited for your life with two beautiful girls!

It's a GIRL!!

We are thrilled to announce....

MaryMarjorie Sheehy Heffernan aka "Maisie"

Born Saturday April 18, 2009 at 10:30am

7 pounds 1 ounce - 19 inches

Pictures of Arkansas

From little kids and their momma goats to gross slobbery camels to group pics here is evidence that I was in Arkansas!