Every day C asks me if I think that Valencia continues to be the right choice for our family. After 24+ years, I know that this is not so much a need for reassurance as it is a confirmation...does that make any sense? Neither of us tends to be wishy-washy; we make decisions, take action, and course correct as appropriate. His question is less about the choice to move and more about any course corrections we should make along the way. After having been in Valencia for 4 weeks,

The day before I left for Spain, as I was packing, I listened to a webinar about accents and sounding like a local, wherever that may be. It was very interesting, though I realized it wasn't pertinent to my needs as the target audience was voice-over artists speaking English with seemingly native British/So African/N. Irish/Korean/etc; accents. Still, I found it fascinating and thought that I could perhaps use the techniques to improve my pronunciation as I learned Spanish. M

A few weeks ago, before I left for Spain, our family was discussing what we were looking forward to doing when we got to Spain--you know, what is missing from your life that you want to do more of, and you plan on pursuing in Spain. We each had our own answers, but the only reply that stuck with me is C's. With a little self-deprecating humor and a large dose of hoping I'd forget he said "I want to dance with my wife more." For those of you that know C, this was a surprising

I found out, pretty soon after I got here, that I had missed the registration deadline for the February DELE 2A exam. I was mad--mostly at myself--for not checking and assuming that I'd be able to sign-up once I got to classes. A few days of back-and-forth emails and the testing organization confirmed that I would not be able to take the exam on February 9th. Which is both good, and bad. I got my results from the practice exam today, and I passed on the 3 parts that were retu

One of the things that I'm most enjoying about this adventure, is the excitement of discovery. I don't know about you, but I've been in a rut. I've lived in my town for almost my whole life, so it is not new to me any more. If I want a bagel, I know where to get it. If I need a quick run to the grocery at rush hour, I know which of the 4 grocery stores within a 2-mile radius of my house I should hit up. If I need kala namak, a specialty salt, I know where to go. If I want to

When I set out to learn Spanish, little did I know that this was going to be a political issue. I'm just learning Spanish, right? What most of us typically think of as Spanish is technically Castilian. This is the national language of Spain and is similar to what is taught in the US in high schools. Though slightly different in pronunciation and a few colloquialisms, it is the language that is used throughout Latin America and Mexico also. As a matter of fact, Castilian is th

A few days back, I mentioned that it's not customary to smile here as a matter of course. People walk down the street with their faces neutral, which a lot of the time looks like scowling. When you walk into a place of business, whether it is a cafe, a department store, or the airport check-in line, you are not greeted with American pleasantries: "Hi. How may I help you?" Instead, you get "Dime" (DEE-may), which loosely translated means "Tell me." It's not rude, it's a cultur

I love words: writing them, hearing them, saying them, knowing them. It's a large part of why I enjoy blogging and a huge reason why I have a small hoard of notebooks/pens/pencils/paper that I'll have to unload in our Stuff Sale in April. Knowing my love of language, it's easy to understand why I get frustrated with learning Spanish--I cannot get my thoughts from my head out of my mouth in an understandable way. For someone that takes much pride in being a communicator, that

Earlier in the week I mentioned that I'm a planner. In the age of the internet and smartphones, it's been easy to have access to information that, even 10 years ago, would have required months of digging and years of community building, with a good dose of luck for meeting the right contacts thrown in. However, in the 10 months since we began this process in earnest, I've found some of the most fascinating apps and sites and I'm going to do a quick roundup of my favorites. L

We've been talking to our sons a ton about the changes that we can expect to face when we move. There are the obvious: language, location, schools, distance from family, using public transportation.... We've asked them to ask questions and give their input if they have opinions. Boy, do they. Some of the things that we've decided to do based on their input: attending private, English-speaking schools; living in the city-center even if it means a longer commute to school; havi

I've been asked a few questions several times, and thought I'd put together a quick answer sheet. Eventually I guess I'll create a FAQ page: Q: Are the boys moving with you? A: While I think this is an odd question, it's been asked more than once. So, the short answer is yes. Longer answer is, child #1 will be moving to Israel to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces and will not be living in Spain with us. However, before he leaves for Israel in July, and will visit u

Spaniards are very proud of their heritage, and Spain is not looking to dilute their culture or language when allowing people to become citizens. To make sure that new citizens are on their way to becoming ingrained in their new homeland, applicants must pass a Spanish culture & civics exam (CCSE) as well as a language proficiency exam (DELE 2A) through the Cervantes Institute which is endorsed by the Spanish government. Growing up in Sandy Springs, Georgia in the 70s and 80