Catch Up

Other things have taken priority over blogging: I've been trying to act like a functioning adult and start taking care of myself. While I still spend far too much time in front of a computer, typing words on a screen hasn't been on my to-do list. But now I've found myself with gobs of free time as the year winds down  and the children are taking exams. So I'm sitting here in the school's computer room, surrounded by shouting 6th graders, and suddenly compelled to update this dang thing. In the spirit of laziness, here is the Cliff-Notes version of these past months:

October

I love Halloween. Always have. This year I convinced Álvaro to take me to the Parque de Atracciones to check out the Halloween-themed decorations and haunted houses. We went with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. In one haunted house, I had a complete stranger cling to my dress the whole way through. Fun times.

Halloween at school was the usual dress up in the afternoon merriment. I was a pirate. Again. I was also sick. Again. I watched the original Night of the Living Dead. Again. I am a creature of habit.

November

I still have this idealized vision of a potluck Thanksgiving with expat friends, to compensate for the loneliness often felt while being away from home during the holidays. Didn't happen. So, I had two options: cry about it or suck it up and have my own dang Thanksgiving. I chose the latter. I managed to make a tasty meal without an oven (I cheated and bought a chicken from a Kebap place). It snowed the day of. Overall I was satisfied. 

Also, I finally decided that I was tired of fiddling with my phone during my two-hour lunch break, and took up knitting. 

December

Christmas! Holidays! Festivities! I love the schools at Christmastime, when you get to spend time singing songs with the kids, and suddenly you have delicious dinners with your co-workers. 

Unlike last year, I got to go home for Christmas, bringing Álvaro with me. I decided not to waste my two weeks at home, and actually got to visit a few old friends in the area. The weather was way too hot, but overall I left feeling content. No place like home.

January

I got pick-pocketed for the first time! Fun! It could have been prevented, but I had let my guard down for ten minutes while walking down a relatively empty street on a Saturday morning. I would've been impressed if I wasn't so upset. On the upside, Álvaro was a champion and helped me look through nearby trashcans on the off-chance that I could at least recover my ID card (the only really valuable item stolen). No luck, but watching him take pictures of the inside of trashcans was so ridiculous that I felt better.

February 

I turned 25! Álvaro turned 26! I had a CAT scan on my ankle. I now have a cool 3D image of my foot. I made hats. 

March

After applying back in September/October, Álvaro and I finally had our appointment for pareja de hecho, the American's golden ticket to long-term residency in Spain. While we mostly did it for immigration purposes, I was definitely giddy about adding an extra level of commitment to the relationship. Nothing has really changed, but now I can legally claim him as family. That's pretty cool.

I made my first pair of socks.

We went to Zurich, specifically to see James Mercer perform in Broken Bells. I was in the front row and it was glorious. Worth a post on its own.

April

Weather warmed up. I made a shirt.

We hit three year mark in our relationship, and went to Portugal. The students took some exams.

In late April I was rejected from a supposedly non-competitive auxiliar program, which meant I was suddenly scrambling for employment next year.

May

Lots of holidays, but little to report. Students have taken exams, and have essentially checked out for the remainder of the term. I'm still looking for a job, but to save my skin I've signed up for a CELTA course. This means I can't go home this summer, but hopefully it brings good things. We'll see!

Anniversary

Celebrating an anniversary is a personal affair between two people, and writing about it on the internet only serves to brag to strangers that your relationship hasn't failed yet. Congratulations, you want a medal or something? That said, it's my blog, and I can do what I want. Nyah nyah.

So today marks Álvaro and my two year anniversary. That's two years longer than I thought we'd have together. I don't mean to sound cynical, but we had met at the tail end of my study abroad adventure. I was leaving Spain on the first of May, and in that time I would be spending a week in Italy. All in all, that left just two weeks of actual physical time together, not including class and work. Although I had already started forming a plan to come back to Spain, I wasn't expecting a relative stranger to wait a year and a half for me. I figured we'd enjoy a brief but pleasant two weeks together and go our separate ways. That didn't stop me from tearing up when my plane landed on American soil. 

The first of many photos

That summer, our Skype conversations became a daily occurance. My parents and friends were, at this point, well aware of my long-distance friend. Eventually, he started dropping hints about visiting the states, and he bought a plane ticket. Thankfully, my parents reacted well (I think) to the news that my friend? would be staying at our house for a month. That trip solidified our relationship status, we spent the next year and a half in a long-distance dance. I flew back to Madrid the following January to meet the parents, and he came to California twice after (once in February, and then again in August).

Álvaro's first time in California

Here we are, two years later, living under the same roof. Hopefully this is only the beginning. Happy anniversary, Álvarito. Te quiero.