just life

It's already February. We have lived here for 6 months. It's not warm and sunny every day, and sometimes I wonder what it was again that made me come here. True, I can still drive my moped, and usually it's quite warm and sunny, (like two weeks ago we got a heatwave and spent two days just sunbathing!). I also get to do things that I wouldn't be able to do in Pihtipudas, and what's best, there's no snow and the air doesn't hurt my face when I go outside. Nevertheless, it's easy to forget the point of all this during the days when it's gray and cloudy, because life is just life everywhere. That's why I'm waiting for spring and summer... I've been told that in March the weather can be so warm that people can go to the beach in their bikinis. So, hopefully in a month or two the winter season will be over and we get to enjoy the warm, sunny Spain that we came here for.

Even though everything is basically okay, once in a while I feel lonely and passive. It's takes a bit more effort to find company and something other to do than just hang around at home and watch netflix. ("The end of the f***ing world" and "Grace and Frankie" are addictive!) I really miss our relatives and friends. And my dog, Serra, who made me go out at least a few times a day, whatever the weather. Today it was raining, which is good because the groundwater situation in Spain is BAD. (It's really weird that they don't ration the use of water even though everyone knows what's going on...) However, we wanted to get some fresh air, so when it looked like the rain was taking a break, we went for a walk. The clouds were heavy, hanging low, and the smell of these two plants was amazing! I had to ask Saimi's other grandmother, who knows a bit more about plants than I do, what they were, and she told me that they are most likely lavender and rosemary.

I haven't felt like going to beach yoga, because it's been a bit colder lately. I know I know, it's minus 15-20 in Finland and there's like a meter or two of snow, so who am I to complain... BUT, I still have been going to the studio lately to do my yoga. I just love the people there, so warm, friendly and supportive! I can really recommend MindBody in Los Boliches to everyone! I just hope that when I go back to Finland, I could be able to continue doing yoga. I have been doing it now since August, about 2-3 times a week. My body has got used to doing it now, and I really need it regularly. If I ever get bored being a teacher, maybe I can train myself to be a yoga instructor!

Another reason for my blue days could (obviously) be, that I miss Toni terribly. Lucky me, he's coming here again next week! Then we can go for walks on the Paseo together while waiting Saimi from kung fu. Marcello, the kung fu teacher, told us that they will have a belt test in March. We have no idea what that is, but Saimi is quite excited about it. Presumably she will then get a yellow belt. (Now she has a white one.) It would be awesome if she could continue kung fu in Finland as well... She clearly enjoys doing it.

Learning Spanish has been a lot more difficult here than I thought. Our social circles have been mostly Finnish. It's not so easy to integrate into the local communities. But, I've tried to be a bit more active in my studies lately, trying to communicate in Spanish whenever I can. I hope that I could get into situations where I could use Spanish a bit more than just the normal grocery store or restaurant phrases. And talking about grocery stores, look at this sale on oranges! They have these supersales in Mercadona every once in a while on some items. It would be nice to hear how much 6 kilos of oranges is right now in different stores in Finland. :)

Special greetings to the third year students in Pihtipudas high school! They have only a few days left before they go on a "study-holiday", to prepare for the mat.exams. I'm thinking about you and wishing you all the best for your finals!