Category: The Stuff of Daily Life

Matthew’s Summary of Roughly a Year and a Half in Spain

On By matthewhhhIn The Stuff of Daily LifeLeave a comment

We moved to Spain on March 28, 2016. When we first moved here I barely knew any Spanish at all. For the first 2 weeks we stayed in a house in Cotobro (a mountain by Almuñecar) while we explored around Almuñecar and La Herradura, and that general area.

We ended up in La Herradura where we are renting a house with sea views in the mountains. We are very blessed to be able to live here. We started school about one week after we moved to La Herradura.

When we moved to Spain, it was the first time I had gone to public school. At first I was not able to understand the teacher, but after a few weeks I was able to understand a little more of what he was teaching. When we went to school there were some kids who were jerks, but I learned to ignore them. In school we learned lots of Spanish and made some English-speaking friends. Now we are able to communicate with most of the Spanish people. Over all, I liked public school a little bit, and now I know what public school is like, at least in Spain!

From our house, we are able to walk to the beach in about 15 minutes and drive in about seven minutes. Being right by the beach and living in a place with such beautiful views is one of my favorite things about living here.

We are also able to walk to church if we leave plenty of time.  It generally takes about a hour walking along a ridge above the sea, and then through town. At church I made some Spanish friends who I get along with really well, named Daniel and Diego.

In about a year and a half here, we have also taken some trips to cool places like Portugal, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Morrocco, Poland, Andorra, and lots of places in Spain.  We have seen castles, churches, ruins, zoos, museums, and historical sites, gone skiing, rock climbing, windsurfing, snorkeling and hiking, and even played at Legoland.  It has definitely been an adventure!

You’ve Got Mail

On By laurasuzyIn The Stuff of Daily Life2 Comments

Getting our mail delivered in Spain hasn’t been quite as simple as we thought it would be.  When we moved in to our long-term rental house, we knew the street address, so that is what we gave to people who needed or wanted to send us mail.  But after five or six weeks here, we had not gotten a single letter, bill, or even junk mail!  We found out in June that the birthday card that a family friend had sent to Peter in May got returned to the US, but as far as we could tell, it was addressed correctly.

Then one day, an new friend of ours who has lived here for almost ten years said to me, “hey, have you been getting your mail?” and I said, “no!  nothing!”.  He then told me that he was talking with the mail man, who had asked him if he knew of some new Americans in town with the last name Hammond.   When our friend replied in the affirmative, the mail man said “oh, I’ve been returning their mail, but now that I know they really live here, I will start delivering it”.  He even mentioned that he had sent back something from the police, as well as other letters.  What??

I asked our friend for clarification, and after several conversations, finally understood that it wasn’t so much that the mailman didn’t know us, but that our mail didn’t have the urbanization (neighborhood) name on the address, and that is required for some reason, even though he knew exactly where the mail should have been delivered using the street name and house number.  Once our friend vouched for our legitimate existence in the neighborhood, the postman was willing to deliver our mail even if it was not properly addressed. Hooray for Joaquim!  So now…

You’ve got mail!

We got the birthday card after she re-sent it (even without the urbanization name), but we never did get another letter from the police.  Hopefully it wasn’t important!

Living with Less… Living with More

On By laurasuzyIn The Stuff of Daily Life2 Comments

One of goals in coming here was to downsize our stuff, and live with less.  We traveled to Spain with a large suitcase and a small suitcase for each member of the family, plus 3 boxes of miscellaneous items (Ryan’s work computer, books, kitchen items, etc.) and one trunk for the kids’ treasures.  When we were in the process of getting rid of our junk, it was so hard for me!  I found I had strong emotional ties to too many things, so while a part of me was excited to be freed from the “stuff madness”, a part of me felt like I was ripping off a band-aid, quite painfully.  I read several articles on the subject, and every writer promised that once the stuff is out of sight, you will get over that feeling, and feel glad that you’re living with a lighter load.

And they were right!  Since we arrived almost three and a half months ago, I have only missed a couple of things, and most of them I didn’t even think about more than once.  For example, I was thinking of my kitchen scale one day (although I don’t even remember now why I thought I could use it).  We have purchased a few things for the kitchen here, because it was not fully equipped, but we did not replace the many gadgets we had in the States.  I love the simplicity of having just 2 large pots for pasta and soups, 2 smaller pots for rice and sauces, and 2 frying pans.  So much easier to store and use!  And we have been finding new (old) ways to do things, like toasting bread in the oven. We have been using a stick blender with a food processing attachment to replace a large food processor, regular blender (margaritas now just get mixed without ice and frozen for later), and mixer (although recently having baked a cake – I might need to buy a hand mixer).

One appliance we didn’t have in the states is a juicer.  I bought an electric juicer here because it’s lovely to have fresh squeezed orange juice from local oranges every now and then.  And we finally “caved” and had my mother-in-law bring us a proper set of measuring spoons – I have gotten pretty good at using my hand, but when it comes to cakes, it can be pretty sad if you guesstimate use too much salt!

The only other thing I have found myself missing on a regular basis is our trampoline.  It was such a important part of our days – excellent for fun, and also for anger management – that I have pondered buying a new one here.  Since the weather here is so fantastic, the pool is our new trampoline, and if the kids need some motion, they just go jump in!  For now, that is working for us.  I am really trying hard to resist re-gathering all of the things we had in the States, inside and outside the house, but I know it will be a continual battle not to accumulate things.

On the whole, I am finding that living with less really is living with more – more creativity, more time spent doing things other than cleaning up stuff, and more time enjoying memorable activities together, and that’s what really matters.

Contracts, Illness and Matriculation Forms, Oh My!

On By laurasuzyIn Costa Tropical, The Stuff of Daily LifeLeave a comment

Have you ever entered into an international leasing contract, or filled out school matriculation forms in a foreign language?  The past couple of days have been very interesting.  I have been reviewing and editing a lease contract originally written in Spanish by a Spanish lawyer, and then translated into English, so that it can be reviewed and signed by me and the Dutch owner of the property (who doesn’t speak Spanish)!  The English translation was pretty bad, so I brushed up on my legal and translation skills (Say what?  I’m not practiced in translating Spanish legalese!) and tried my best to make it match the intent of the Spanish document and the verbal agreement we have made with the owner (in English).  The most entertaining highlight of the translation was the heading called “Exposed” – a term I’ve never seen on a lease! It was “Exponen” in Spanish, and I decided the closest thing for a legal heading would be “Presented”, because it was the section that outlined the parties presenting the contract, so let’s hope it works.

While I was reading two translations of same document, I was also intermittently reviewing a change in a new contract for the sale of our house in Virginia, and nursing a feverish sick baby who wanted nothing except to be held.  It’s really hard to read legal documents with a poor, miserable toddler in your arms!  The kids have been passing around the  intestinal virus that made me take Ella to the doctor.  She is better now, but Matthew got it (and is better), and now Cora has it, too.  Madeleine and Peter have yet to bite the dust, so we’re just waiting for that shoe to drop.  I’m hoping that Ryan and I have sufficiently mature immune systems that we remain clear of that mess.  Our lack of finalized house contract plus illnesses in the house delayed our plan for school matriculation, but tomorrow I’m making it happen!

We decided on the big house in La Herradura because ultimately, Ryan needs to be able to work, and having a dedicated office space away from the main living area will make that possible.  I’m a woman of two minds on this, because part of me is super excited to move there and enjoy the beauty, extra space, bigger pool, and quiet, and part of me is grieving the idea of leaving Almuñécar and the more frugally priced house we are in now.  (If you know me, you know that “frugal” part is key for me!) I love seeing the sun rise over the pueblo blanco out my bedroom window every morning, and I love being close to town.  But the big house has fantastic views, too, especially at sunset, and we can enjoy walking in the town of La Herradura and also enjoy Almuñécar, since we will be here at least twice per week for church and grocery shopping.  The decision was made for us, in the end, because while I was waffling and looking for some third option, the house we are in was rented for the summer.  As high season draws near, there are fewer and fewer options available that would work for our family, so the big house in La Herradura is the best one for us for now.  We are going to sign a 14 month lease, so I suppose we can always change our minds next year!

Since we are renting the house in La Herradura, I plan to enroll the kids in school there tomorrow.  That sentence made it sound like it was an easy decision, but it was not!  I really loved the school we had visited back in October, Colegio Publico La Noria, and I visited them again this week.  The teachers and kids were all so very welcoming!  The school yard has more play space than La Herradura, and the impression I got is that they have a more laid back atmosphere and have a little more fun there.  It may be an unfair impression based on insufficient information, but there it is… effecting my ability to make decisions! This transition into school (which the kids have never before attended), and on top of that, school taught in a language they don’t speak, is NOT going to be easy, so I am pulled strongly towards the place that seemed like it might make the kids feel more at ease and welcome. If all other things were equal, that’s where I would send the kids.

But everyone I have talked to says they have only heard good things about the school in La Herradura, and I did like it enough when I visited last week that I felt it was a viable option for us.  Still, something intangible about it ranked it as my second choice.  Nonetheless, here are the factors that made me choose the school in La Herradura anyway: the ability to walk to school, and the hope we will integrate into the local community.  We hope the kids will make friends at school, and we hope they will have the opportunity to see those friends outside of school hours, either at the plaza, la playa, or just in town.  And since we will be living in that town, walking in that town, and hitting the beach in that town, we figured it makes sense to give the kids a chance to meet the kids that go to school in that town, right?  Plus walking to school daily will get us all some good exercise, and get me out of the house and hopefully meeting some of the other moms after dropping the kids off.  If I enroll the kids at La Noria, I’ll have to drive them there every day, and I have a feeling that would get old really fast.  So we’re going to dive into my Choice B, but here’s the upside: there’s only 2 months left of school!  So if we hate it, I’m pretty sure I can make the switch and send the kids to the other school in September.  Here’s hoping I got the paperwork right and they can start on Monday!  And we’re also hoping to move into the big house this weekend so we can finally get unpacked and settled in.  It could be an exciting next couple of days for us!

First Two Weeks at Church in Spain

On By Ryan HammondIn Church, The Stuff of Daily LifeLeave a comment

We visited a local evangelical, protestant church in Almunecar this Sunday and last.  The church has historical ties to Holland, and may have been planted or supported by Dutch believers.  We could have walked 30 minutes but chose to drive… in retrospect, that was the best choice since the kiddos were very tired after the service.

Christian vacation/tour groups from Holland joined in with the local members for the worship services both Sundays.  Songs, scripture reading, and prayer were all conducted in Dutch and Spanish.  I always feel a deep joy when I’m able to participate in this kind of cross-cultural spiritual communion.  It underscores how all Christian believers are united in a single, global family, saved and loved by the one true Savior.

I was able to translate/absorb 90% of the prayers and the sermon/lesson.  The teachings were from Numbers 13-14, recounting how Israel sent 12 spies into the promised land but were discouraged and misled by the bad/unfaithful report of 10 spies.  Caleb and Joshua agreed with the facts of the report (the land was fertile but contained giants and fortified cities) but believed God’s promises and urged the people to have faith and take the land as God had promised.  The encouragement and admonition for believers today is to “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7) — to trust in God’s goodness, the commandments and promises of His word, the Bible, and to have joy and faith in all circumstances.

The kids were able to join with other kids from the church in a side room.  The first week, they learned about the conversion of Saul/Paul (Saulo/Pablo).  This was taught mostly in English with a craft.  The second Sunday’s kid lesson was about Tabitha/Dorcas, her faithful, tireless work, and resurrection.

Unfortunately, Cora wouldn’t be still/quiet long enough in either the main hall or the kids’ room.  Laura ended up taking her to the kids room the first Sunday, missing the teaching.  I took Cora for a walk the second Sunday, missing the teaching.  We need to figure out how to make this work so we can both join in the service together, if possible.  (Please pray for this!)

On the Thursday between Sundays, we met the pastor and a couple from the church for tapas.  Due to a long, hot walk with all the kiddos — combined with crossed communications and other mixups — our family members were all tired and semi-irritable that day.  In the end, despite our exhaustion, we all enjoyed the fellowship and getting to know one another better.

Our First Adventure with Spanish Healthcare

On By laurasuzyIn Costa Tropical, The Stuff of Daily Life1 Comment

I finally decided I needed to take Ella to the doctor tonight.  (ALERT: If you do not like reading the gory details about illness, or if talk of bodily fluids makes you squeamish, STOP READING NOW!)

Ella had been complaining of tummy aches for the past 3 or 4 days, and has had some diarrhea.  I am the type of person that lets a sickness ride for a few days to see what will happen.  I generally don’t go to a doctor unless I see something alarming.  Well, tonight I happened to be in the bathroom with Ella after we got home from our day trip to Granada (which is SO beautiful, by the way), and I decided to check to see if what was coming out was still diarrhea.  That was when I saw something alarming!  Blood in the toilet never inspires confidence, especially not when it’s coming from your seven year old’s rear end.  I told her we’d have to bring her to the doctor to check it out (which immediately made her burst into tears), and went to look up what’s available in town.

Doesn’t it always happen that when you finally decide you need a doctor, it’s right before the weekend, when everything is closed and your only options are emergency services?!  It was 7:45pm on Friday night, and I hadn’t the faintest idea where to find the health centers in town, much less the nearest hospital (which I have since learned is in Motril, a 20 minute drive to the next town).  Hoping that maybe the Spanish siesta hours might work in my favor, or that I’d find something with Saturday hours, I started searching the internet.  I found that one of the clinics in town has hours till 8pm!  By the time I called, it was 7:55pm, so I was not really even expecting an answer.  Imagine my surprise when I got a real person on the line!  I started to tell them why I was calling, in Spanish, and I was doing great… until…  “My seven year old daughter has blood in her….”  umm… what’s the Spanish word for “stool”?  Part of my brain was looking for synonyms for “poop” that might translate easily, when I finally gave in… “Do you speak English?”  Thankfully, not only did he speak some English, but he asked me where I was right then, and said that if I could get to the clinic in 5-10 minutes he would wait for me. “Si!  Ya voy!” and we hopped in the car.

Let me go back for a minute and explain the drama that was happening in the background while I was searching for a doctor.  Ella was horrified by the idea of seeing a doctor.  She was wailing loudly, and saying things like “Why ME? Why do I have to get sick and go to the doctor when everybody else gets to go to the beach?” (We had no plans to go anywhere but bed tonight.)  And then she got even more upset.  “The doctor is going to hurt me!  He is going to have to stitch up the part that is bleeding!”  While I comforted her, I held back my laughter (are you with me on the implications of that one?!?).  But she had a previous experience with a split chin, and didn’t care much for having the wound glued shut, so you can imagine what was going through the poor child’s head about this particular blood.  Ryan took over comforting her and helping her understand things better while I was on the phone, and by the time we left she had simmered down to the whimper rather than a wail.  On the way there, she was starting to cry again… “What?  I might have to show my  private parts to a MAN?” but I assured her everything would be okay.

The ride into town took less than 7 minutes, and we parked on the street right in front of the clinic.  Thank you God for that parking space! After I accidentally spilled the entire contents of my “important papers” bag all over the street and then picked them up again, we made our way to the door.  It looked like a city apartment, with a buzzer outside, which we pressed to have them unlock the door.  Inside, it was dark, and there were stairs and elevators, and you had to find the light switches yourself as you made your way in.  We knew we had to go up, so we took the stairs because we weren’t sure how many flights up, and were very relieved to see a big sign on the door saying CLINICA on the first level.  Phew!  That was easier than it looked at first!  The doctor himself ushered us in, and the secretary showed us the waiting area for a brief moment.  Then we went back to his office and I explained what was going on half in Spanish, half in English.  He mostly spoke back to me in English, I think so Ella would understand – he spoke directly to her a lot.  He was so kind, and he put Ella right at ease, and even got a smile out of her!

We were thinking he’d check for hemorrhoids or parasites or something, but he did a basic exam which involved palpating her stomach and taking her temperature, and assured us that a little blood in the stool is normal after a bout with gastroenteritis, and that he sees it all the time.  He gave us some dietary recommendations to make sure we aren’t irritating her bowels and ensure she’s properly hydrated, and said if we still see blood on Monday to come back.  Sixty euros later, I have a bill to submit to insurance, (which is not bad compared to an American out-of-pocket doctor visit) and we were on our way to Mercadona to buy some bananas and apples for her to bake and eat for breakfast.

Overall, I was pleased with the experience, and was especially surprised that they were willing to stay open to wait for us.  In retrospect, I might have freaked out a little too much about the blood in her stool in the first place… though I know my mom would say I should have taken her to the doctor days ago!   I guess the weekend will be telling.  We’ll be praying we have no need to go back.