Bananas for Bananas!

Walking at least 1 hour a day is fairly good exercise for not trying, wouldn´t you say?

I think so.

Which is why I was so baffled when I stepped on the scale the other day and was 5 offensive pounds heavier than when I got here! Reevaluating my typical day I could not find the cause for my recently discovered extra poundage. While I was complaining to Kelly, I made a shocking discovery. She said she had noticed I was eating a lot of bananas. Well, yes I was. I love me some bananas and they always have a crap load of fresh fruit in the house, bananas being my #1 choice. Although bananas are a very good source of potassium, magnesium,Vitamin A, C, D, they also have a lavish amount of sugar, carbohydrates and water. She asked me how many I ate a day. That day...4. Some days more. What can I say I love bananas. And here I thought I was being healthy!! What the heck?!? As I have gotten my banana fetish under control this past week, 3 pounds of my banana weight has already come off! Keep on coming!

I have limited myself to 1 banana a day. (not including the chocolate banana cream pie I made. :))

Muddled in Madrid

So...I pick up and leave for Spain to be a nanny for a Spanish family. When that turned out to be a complete botch, I move in with an American family, helping around the house. Now, their housekeeper is back in the game after an unexpected pregnancy (...oops) and they no longer need my extraordinary cleaning skills. So, I am still living at their house but have found outside work tutoring English during the evenings. Let´s break this down:

Initially I was a nanny in a Spanish home,
Then I was a maid in an American home,
Now I am a tutor in people-who-can´t-speak-English´s home.

What next??

I figure this is an adventure and if I am stuck doing the same thing the whole time I am here, well, what kind of adventure would that be?
At this point I am really up for anything. Walk dogs, sell pies, shine shoes, I could juggle in Plaza Mayor for money if I wanted to.

Oh the possibilities...

Just a little sight seeing

 The Famous "El Oso y el madrono"

This was on a random building, love it!

La Equitativa

Hasta!

So after being here for 3 weeks and reviewing my financial status for the millionth time I have come to the conclusion that I am being royally screwed. I was in such a rush to find a family after the Germans dumped me I didn't stop to think of this beforehand. For a European girl who wants to just have an adventure, my income would suffice. But as an American girl who spent $1,000 just to get here, I need more. It was my mistake to sign the contract knowing how much I'd be making before realizing how much I'd be making. So after several sit downs with the parents and some divine intervention, I was able to find another family. They are an American family I met in my ward. I love the church!

Kelly (the mom) called me yesterday and said that she needs more help around her house. She knew about my crappy situation and was helping me find a better house. After thinking about it she realized I would be perfect! I could get out of my crappy situation and she could get the help she needs. She's paying me almost double what the other people are paying me. I gave this family 2 weeks notice yesterday so in 13 days I'm outta here! Maybe now I can save enough money to actually come home eventually.

The family I'm going to be with, the McDevitts, their current housekeeper, Juana is 9 months pregnant and due now. They are thinking about adopting the baby because she can't financially take care of him. Nothing is for sure because they don't know if she'll change her mind once she sees him and holds him. Either way, in a few days there will be a new baby in the house. Kelly is really going to need more help. She wants Juana to stay with them for at least another year and be with her baby and after that if she still wants to give him up, they'll adopt him. Juana might just have the baby and go. But, if she does decide to stay, there will be Sean (dad), Kelly (mom), kids, Shannon, Connor, Erin, Liam, me, Juana and new baby in this house. There house is more than big enough to accommodate us all, I just can't believe they are willing to.

There is a special place in heaven for the McDevitt family for sure.

Matching...?

Anyone who knows me at all can tell you that I have a thing about matching. Some might go as far as to call it an obsession. I always have to match. From shoes to bag to accessories, the whole nine yards, everything always flows. Always. I thought myself to have OCD about it until I came to Spain. Spaniards take it one step further. Never before thought it possible. Yes, they use their children as accessories. Whatever the mother is wearing, the child's clothing compliments it. Regardless of how many kids they have, they always find a way to coordinate their clothing. They look like they are about to go to a scenic lake and take a family portrait. It's a little ridiculous. For instance, today,

Mom:

White jeans, a pink, white and red flowered shirt, a brown belt and brown heels.

Child #1:

Brown shorts, pink polo (same shade of mom's of coarse), and brown slip on Vans.

Child #2:

Red and pink sleeveless sundress, white leggings, red "zapatillas", and a gigantic pink bow in her hair.

Apparently this is a very common practice among the mothers in Spain. So common in fact that stores actually sell matching outfits for mom, dad, and the kids. Same patterns, fabric and all. Can you believe it??

I guess it would come in handy if you lost your kid at the grocery store, kinda the same idea of wearing matching shirts at Disneyland.

New home

Well, I arrived in Spain on Sunday evening. Arancha (mom), Eduardo (dad), Rocio, and Edu, were all waiting for me with (thanks to Crayola and Elmers) a very artistically designed, homemade "Welcome Nancy" sign. I greeted them with the traditional kiss on both cheeks greeting and headed for home. They live in a nice neighborhood just north of Madrid called La Moraleja. There house is nice, not too big although it does have 6 bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms. My room is small, which I prefer, less to clean and all.

My time here in Spain has been quite enjoyable. I started a Spanish class that I totally love. There are 8 girls in the class all of which are German. So, the only way for effective communication is Spanish. At first it was frustrating but I'm learning so fast I am glad that I am literally forced to speak Spanish. It's amazing how much I've learned so far, or rather, remember. I am still getting used to the house, the kids, the rules (no walking barefoot in the house...??), but so far so good. Tomorrow the kids start school so their schedule will change which means more free time for me! Woop! We'll see how long it takes me to get helplessly lost in Madrid. Any bets?

From Deutschland to España

"I'm going to Germany!" was all I could think when I found the "perfect" family. I recently found a family in Germany that wanted me as their au pair for 12 months. They seemed to be a great match for me so we started talking and decided that I would come. The contract looked great and I was uber excited to leave. So in preparation to begin my voyage, I forked over $900 for my plane ticket to Zurich, Switzerland. Everything was working out great, the family was excited to pick me up on the 31st and said, "We can't wait to see you, we are so excited to pick you up!" I was feeling good.

THE NEXT DAY:
Yes, the very next day my German family decided to take some crazy pills and sent me an email saying, "We think you should find another family."
Whaaa??
So, they suddenly decided that I'm not as awesome as I really am. Long story, whatever, I'm not going to Germany.

My ticket is non-refundable to Zurich so my next best bet is to find another family in Europe, pronto. So I went back on the website and started emailing people. The next day I get an email from a family in Spain. I thought that would be fun since I have a pretty good backround in Spanish. They live just out of Madrid, so I'd be really near the city. I kept emailing them and called them several times and they are great. My mom and dad also have talked to them on the phone. They have 2 kids. Eduardo(6), and Rocio (4). They are precious!! So this is the family I have decided on and they have decided on me, (for real this time).
So, onward to Spain!