Week 18

Monday (12/8/14)
During the afternoon I noticed some gunk in Svenja's eye. I thought it might just be a wet "eye-booger" so I wiped it away with her scarf and we carried on playing. Later though, I noticed more at which I realized it was pus and I IMMEDIATELY diagnosed it as "Pink-Eye" in my brain. Especially since she goes to a "guarderia" twice a week with other little germy toddlers. I asked Tamara to take a look, but she'd already seen it, and I voiced my opinion as to the diagnosis. And lemme tell you I went into hyper OCD mode. After being sick (and STILL recovering) I was NOT going to come down with pink-eye too. Sunglasses on, so I wouldn't accidentally rub my eyes, and handwashing to the max. 

Tuesday (12/9/14)
Svenja saw a real doctor this morning. Pink-eye confirmed. I win. 

Poor little thing, she's got it in BOTH eyes :(

Friday (12/12/14)
Tonight was girls' night! Dolores, Tamara, and I went out to see "MALIZIA, an adaptation of Rigoletto" and have dinner (bought with the show tickets - was a buffet at a hotel down the street from the performance). I was thinking the production would be like Rigoletto the movie... And of course it was nothing like the movie. It's a musical that incorporated live music, dance (majority Flamenco, duh) and opera. While there were aspects that were spectacular, the overall show was kind of a hot-mess (trying to modernize it with hip-hop was a HUGE mistake; the hip-hop choreography was juvenile and the dancers were obviously not trained in that style). I felt like they were trying to incorporate too much into one thing, that just dragged on and on - the entire show ran about 2 hours. Several dance scenes blew me away and a couple of the operatic singing scenes were glorious; I found the story line utterly depressing however. It was one of those "You're definitely not in Kansas anymore" moments. In the end the bad guy won, the good guys died, and there was no resolution whatsoever. It was... exaggerated realism. We NEVER make shows like that in America. It goes against everything an American hopes, dreams, and believes. Good always conquers evil. The fairytale always ends with the Prince and his Princess sharing their hard-earned kiss of true love.  This was the exact opposite. And it shocked me, but then I remembered I wasn't in America haha and that lots of other countries and cultures love a good tragedy, with no romantic upswing, or resolution. Because in real life, things often go unresolved. I definitely don't regret going. It was a lot of fun and the flamenco was superb.  

We look GOOD :D 

Hard Rock Cafe

No guy, no cry!

Red carpet glam :)

the stage

Saturday (12/13/14)
It's been four months! What!?

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Week 17

Friday (12/5/14)
Today was a big day. And by big, I mean that a lot happened. I spent the morning/afternoon with Dolores and Svenja and after lunch (I had a chicken sandwich with toasted bread that literally massacred the roof of my mouth) Dolores went to meet up with her brother and his wife, also here visiting Tenerife, at the casino. On the way back home with Svenja I stopped at one of the street shops to buy some clothes; on the way down towards the beach with Dolores earlier, I'd seen a really cool touristy shirt that I wanted, so I made sure to go back haha. While I was there I looked around and ended up buying the original T-shirt I'd seen plus 2 other tops, and a few gifts for people back home. Like my mom. :) The guy at this store was different than most other shops I've come across; he was actually helpful, without being pressuring. If he saw me trying to find something or looking confused he'd come over and help me or give me some info to help me out, but then he'd immediately back off and give me my space, which is EXACTLY how to make me happy. Be helpful, but not overbearing. Ah, so nice. I often walk past this place and I always take a quick look to see if there's any excuse to give him more of my business. I would not hesitate at all to shop there again.

ESPAÑA

Peter's cousin, Christian, arrived to stay for the weekend (he was here in Tenerife on the North side taking a Spanish course) before his flight home to France on Sunday. I didn't know he spoke English until dinner when the English neighbors Steve and Lynne came over for dinner. He'd only spoken to me in German up until that point. He lives in Paris, speaks four languages, and works as a tour guide. He's an interesting dude. 

And yes, later in the evening we all had dinner with Steve and Lynne, our English neighbors. They are fabulous. They live here permanently and own a real-estate company called Tenerife Properties. Not gonna lie, I LOVED getting to have real, adult conversation, in English, at the dinner table. Sometimes with all the German that I still struggle to understand, I feel like a toddler. Lynne brought up the fact that they were going to a comedy club tomorrow and I responded with, "There's a comedy club here? Where?" And then she said she had an extra ticket if I wanted to come along. Really? Awesome! I loooooove stand-up comedy! But then they both showed concern that I wouldn't get the humor. Hahaha oh silly people, I was raised on BBC and English comedy. And I watch stand-up videos on YouTube from comics around the world. Part of me just felt like they were trying to back out of the invitation, which made me feel super awkward because it's not like I self-invited myself. I had merely asked where the club was, because yes, I would have definitely checked it out on my own. But nonetheless at the end of the night, the invitation stood. After dinner, Christian tried to converse with me in German. That was rough. Thankfully Peter called him away for a night swim or something, so I was left in peace. 

Saturday (12/6/14)
Went to the beach today with Tamara, Svenja, Peter, and Christian. This guy is driving me NUTS. It's such a love-hate. He really is a cool, interesting guy. But his teaching tactics do NOT work on me. In fact, they make me want to never speak ever again. Where's a black-hole when you need one? Then he just gets insulting. He says to use other words to describe the word I mean. *Facepalm, facepalm, face-freaking-palm* Don't you think if I COULD do that, I would?! I don't know enough words! At this point, if I don't know the ACTUAL word, chances of me having other descriptive words to describe the original word, is pretty low. I eventually said, to everyone in the car, "You all take it as me not trying, but if I could FIND the words to say I would SAY them; it's not like I'm just sitting here knowing German but refusing to speak German." Thankfully it wasn't a terribly long car ride and once we made it to the beach I was much happier :) 

Swim in the Atlantic Ocean, check!

Christian, Peter, Svenja

Christian thought it was a big deal he was in a Speedo,
like I've never seen an old dude in a Speedo before...
Europe isn't all that special in this regard lol.

Some signs outside a little grocery store. Oh, the grammar.

So for dinner we had leftovers (usual low-key dinner). BUT Tamara had brought home some leftovers from her dinner out with Peter the other night... Octopus. She had leftover OCTOPUS. I was hesitant to have any, but I promised myself before I took this job, that I would at least TRY new foods presented to me. Which anyone who knows me really well, knows it's a big deal. I don't particularly enjoy trying new foods, let alone "weird" foods, and weird textures freak me out. GUYS, I ATE OCTOPUS! Honestly, it wasn't that bad! I even had it cold; apparently it's better warm, but it really wasn't so bad - to the point where I had like four pieces. I'm SO proud of myself! 

Eating OCTOPUS like a BOSS!

Tamara said I needed to take a better picture that
 actually showed the tentacles haha

 After dinner Christian and I were in the living room while I was waiting to go meet Steve and Lynne outside for the comedy show. Christian thusly decided, it was again time for another Deutsch. Oh goody (sarcasm). So the conversation awkwardly volleys back-and-forth, 'til finally he brings up politics. Of course. Alright, let's talk about Obama, and how much he sucks, shall we? But he wants me to make my point in German. HELLO! I barely know enough to talk about me and my family, let alone politics! Give me a break. So after awkwardly rummaging through my head for some words, that I couldn't come up with, he says "Should I just give up on you, Rebecca?" to which I curtly replied, "Well since you're leaving tomorrow..." Even Peter told him to back off (just nicer). And then I left ...like 15 minutes early to wait for Steve and Lynne outside. 

Then we were off to the comedy club, Showtime Tenerife, when Peter (not my host Peter, another Peter) came and picked all three of us up. There was one table of SUPER obnoxious drunk patrons, and another slightly less obnoxious table of drunk patrons, which I'm still kind of shocked no one threw any punches, but it was a blast! Almost everyone was from some part of the UK; I was DEFINITELY the only American, and no I did not advertise, nor did I allow any of my English companions to advertise for me. The first comedian was English and hilarious. The second comedian was Dutch, and whilst most of his material was fairly vulgar, he too was weirdly funny. The third comedian, who was apparently supposed to be the main attraction, I didn't find funny at all. I thought he was a bit witty, but mostly just bumptious. It was definitely a very pleasant night out though. I really enjoyed Steve, Lynne, and Peter's company and their friends. 

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Week 14

Monday (11/10/14)
Today we moved to the other house, which is just a ways down the hill from where we were originally, AND Tamara's mom arrived with her dog, Asia, and cat, Luna. There's no internet at this house. KILL ME.

Tuesday (11/11/14)
I called my parents tonight to get an update on my dad and also... with a huge desire to completely break down. You know those times when you talk to your parents and they start in on how proud of you they are and that life is just glorious, and all YOU want to do is cry and go on about how you don't think you can do whatever it is you're doing anymore? Yeah. I never considered backing out or going home, until now. I never thought that watching someone else's kid would be so challenging. I mean, I HAVE being doing this for 12 years. Granted, not on a daily basis and never with a child that didn't eventually (and rather quickly) warm up to me. To say I'm frustrated and abundantly overwhelmed with trying to keep my cool, stay polite, and keep my mouth shut, whilst getting beat up almost daily by a two year old, is the understatement of the year. I did feel a little better though, getting to hear my parents voices and knowing they are surviving without me haha. My dad's also much improved so I can stop freaking out about that. 

Wednesday (11/12/14)
Dolores and I went out for lunch today. Peter's sick of restaurant food and Tamara wasn't hungry. We found a little place a stone's throw from where we live and I had some amazing fajitas and tried a traditional Spanish dessert. 

I was thinking this would be more like
crème brûleé, but I misunderstood the description.
It was still pretty good, despite the freezer-burn

In the evening, Tamara and I went out to dinner while Dolores watched Svenja and Peter had Poker or Soccer with the men. 

Thursday (11/13/14)
Three months. 

Friday (11/14/14)
We all went to breakfast this morning to Harriet's Tea Room & Restaurant (ranked on TripAdvisor at #4 of 78 restaurants in Costa Adeje) for another English breakfast. This one was WAY better than Hemingway's. The sausage was edible and you had an option for a fresh slice of tomato instead of a nasty canned one (still didn't eat it though haha). So if you are ever in Tenerife and you have a hankering for a real, traditional English breakfast, check out Harriet's Tea Room!  Afterwards we went to the beach for a little walk.

Isla La Gomera 

In the distance, the peak on the left is the active volcano El Teide

Sunday (11/16/14)
Man I am so weepy this month. I totally broke down after church in front of this one family, cause we were all talking and they started asking me about friends and if I'd met anyone to hang out with and then they said they were planning on planning out an activity for the "young" people in the ward and the dam behind my eyeballs exploded. The daughter was so sweet, all like "Oh my gosh, don't cry! Do you like cats? Do you want to come see my cat?" hahaha I am a 24 year old woman bawling, and in all seriousness yes, I want nothing more than to go see this 17 year old's kitten. I miss Kreuzlingen. I miss the Elders and Daisy; I miss Tania and her family; I miss Switzerland. I have absolutely no friends here and I feel totally cut off from my friends and family back home with extremely limited internet access, which I have to search for outside the house. Anyhow, this little family took pity on me and invited me over to hang out. We played on their Wii haha, watched a movie, and then the mom and daughter and son (who just got back from a mission in... SWITZERLAND) showed me around Los Cristianos a bit. Afterwards, they dropped me off at home. They are SO friendly and charitable. They made me feel so much better. So grateful for such a tender mercy. 

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Another Brief Overview

1. 
   

   Spain a.k.a the Kingdom of Spain

   
   

   "Plus ultra" 

   ~ Further beyond ~

   
   

   Government: Unitary parliament, Constitutional monarchy

   Official Language: Spanish

   Currency: Euro

   Predominant Religion: Roman Catholic

   Time Zone: Western European (Canary Islands) 

   "Spain (/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish:Reino de España),^[a][b] is a sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Spain's 1,214 km (754 mi) border with Portugal is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, three exclaves in North Africa, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera that border Morocco, and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán,Chafarinas, Alhucemas, and Perejil. (The Spanish Empire with its peak in the 1600s had included much more territory - see world map.) With an area of 505,992 km² (195,365 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fifth largest country in Europe." (Wikipedia.com)
   
   

   I will be living near Costa Adeje in Tenerife Sur, Canarias, España.

    

   

   
   

   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

   
2. Total Church Membership: 51,192

   Missions: 3

   Congregations: 140

   Temples: 1 ---> Madrid Spain Temple 

   Family History Centers: 55

   xoxo,

        Rebecca

Week 9

Thursday (10/9/14)
Walk with the family.

Tamara, Peter/Svenja, Quentin, Finn 

Bernina Factory

I LIVE HERE! :D

Me, Peter/Svenja, Finn, Quentin 

Quentin trying to feed the cows

The boys walking home (the rest of us took a longer way)

Staying hydrated! :)

Svenja and Leon, one of the neighbor boys.
I'm pretty sure he has a crush on me... haha

Friday (10/10/14)
Well guys, I've reached an important European milestone: I've been on the German autobahn! Gotta tell you... doesn't live up to the hype. For some reason I've always imagined the autobahn as this huge six or more lane freeway with tons of wide curves/turns and people driving like they're pro race-car drivers. My imagination was WAY off. Most of it is just a two-lane freeway (two lanes one way, two lanes the other way). One lane goes fast, the other lane goes faster. I think the fastest we ever went was 160 KPH (just under 100 MPH). I could do that at home! I HAVE done that at home... 

*Side Note (mostly for my parents benefit): Don't freak out. I think I've actually hit 100 MPH like twice... sometimes I don't notice how heavy my foot has gotten on the pedal. 

Anyhow... yep, took the autobahn to get to THE BALL! I met Corinne at the train station in Weinfelden at 10:00am and then we walked to Dustin and Larissa's apartment (we took their car). These people know how to road trip! It was such a blast! They had all kinds of yummy snacks and the best music assortment - mostly oldies, Disney, and musicals - for such a long drive (5 hours). Once we got to Irrsdorf we went to our hotels to check in (Larissa and Dustin stayed in one, Corinne and I stayed in another one because there were no more rooms available in the same place when Corinne was making reservations) and then we all went to Larissa and Dustin's hotel to change and get ready for the ball! It wasn't what I was expecting. When you hear the words "ball" and "Austria" combined into a sentence describing an event, there's a certain image that enters your mind. At least in my mind. I'm thinking a grand old ballroom and people dressed like they just popped out of the 1800's. Or at the very least, something like the ball scene from The Sound of Music. Fancy dresses, fancy suits (tuxedos)... This "ball" was held at a school. When Corinne said it was free if you registered beforehand, that should have been my first tip-off. It turned out to be a church event. Hahaha! *facepalm* It was still REALLY beautiful. The decorations were lovely and it was pretty fancy for a church event. It was catered (the only thing you had to pay for was the food/drinks - which was delicious), there was a live band for dancing, and there were even some performances. It was really well done. And I got to dance a couple of times towards the end of the night. Sandra's husband Oliver kindly danced a "Viennese" waltz with me, and later on another dude that the group knew asked me, after being bribed. (After one dance he said I looked "destroyed." Well aren't YOU the charmer.) I must admit throughout the night I got more and more agitated. Probably a combination of being in the car all day and the frustration of not understanding most of the conversation that was going on around me (AND this thing went until like 2am... OHMAHGOSH BE OVER! haha). I was definitely feeling like I didn't belong. It's an emotional tug-of-war. You can't expect everyone to always accommodate you and/or your language needs, but it's difficult at times to keep that frame of mind and not think people are being rude. I'm trying though! It's all a learning experience.

Rolling hills of Austria

Larissa, Dustin, Corinne

The ladies!

The "Ballroom"

Our table 

Dinner: Wiener Schnitzerl (Pute) mit Kartoffeln und Salat 

EFY group? Kids doing a line dance haha.

Ballroom couple; danced the 5 standard dances.

Candy Bar EVERYONE freaked out about.
It's not a typical thing like the States, where
everyone has one at their wedding reception;
most of the candy wasn't even that good.

Violinist

Dancing (photo by Sandra)

Saturday (10/11/14)
I had showered last night so when I woke up around 9:30am I simply threw some clothes on, cleaned up, and went downstairs for breakfast. Corinne was already there. I just had some awesome bread and jams and an egg (sunny-side up) after the owner offered it. Yum! After paying - for both of us, it was only €80 so we each paid €40, which is €16 cheaper than the first hotel she had tried to book us at; not bad! - we went outside and Larissa and Dustin came and picked us up around 10:00am and we headed back to Switzerland! I slept for most of this car ride; I was legitimately tired, but also most of the time I didn't feel included in the (German) conversation anyway and I was tired of trying. I'm sorry. Real life, real talk. It happens. I'm not perfect and it's not all rainbows and sunshine all the time. 

The "hotel" where Corinne and I stayed:
Kirchenwirt Irrsdorf, Familie Schinwald

Cool looking church

These mountains were way more majestic and grand
than the pictures are showing....

Pretty sure that's a tunnel either for a train or cars...

Dustin and Larissa were kind enough to drop off both Corinne and myself at each of our residences. As soon as I got home, I had about 20 minutes before hopping in the car, again, with Tamara, Peter, Quentin, Finn, and Svenja to go over to Claudia's (Tamara's twin sister) for a little "game night." Tons of fun playing games and eating together. Claudia, just like Tamara, is super sweet and she does everything she can to make me feel welcome.

Sunday (10/12/14)
We had some American visitors in church today! From... UTAH! haha. They were businessmen who work at dōTERRA. It was a lot of fun chatting with them - everyone (not just me) really likes when people visit. One even bore his testimony during Sacrament meeting (fast Sunday)  and Sandra ran up to translate it to German for the congregation. It was great. 
After church Daisy invited me over for dinner, but her and another lady, Patricia, decided to have it at Patricia's place instead. So I went with Patricia and her two daughters with another lady in the ward who dropped us off at their apartment. Daisy never showed up (there was an emergency with a friend she had to help with) which was a little awkward. I felt like I'd self-invited myself to have dinner with someone who hadn't asked for company. But it was fine. Patricia and I chatted (Spanish) and I helped her make dinner while the two teenagers acted like... typical teenagers haha. I believe Patricia is Peruvian, but she has the air of a beautiful Spaniard - very regal and proud. It's extremely intimidating. She made an AWESOME tuna fish soup, and rice with veggies. Dessert was this weird healthy jello/custard-y stuff with cloves... it was.. very strong. I didn't like it at all. And I accidentally swallowed a clove because I was trying to just swallow the stuff without tasting it too long. Oops. While we were cooking, she also had me try some vegetable juice she churned out; it could have been worse, but I could only get down about half the cup. Bleh. After lunch we watched Mormon Messages videos and then I politely excused myself to leave. Patricia walked me part of the way to the train and once I recognized where I was I went the rest of the way on my own (after thanking her for everything of course!)