Today was the first day that the girl i babysit, Angela and i spoke mostly english. this last week i have been reading to her in english and keeping track of the new words, but today we tried to speak mostly in english, which to my surprise worked out pretty well, she´s like me in spanish, can understand a lot more then she can speak. we took a 3 hour walk to go see a duck pond. we took some break, peach juice and cookies and went on our way. at the duck pond there was a swan, some ducks, and some really ugly fish, which were kind of scary looking. there was also a bar there. i find that bars are very popular here in spain, people like to drink at whatever occasion. we fed the ducks bread then kept walking. the walkway was very beautiful, it was a bike bath with many trees and views. we went past an old church which had been destroyed, but the rubbles remained. we went past a small plaza where then was a painted mural and ate lunch there. on the way back we went past a really cool park. it´s like a gym outdoors. there were many machines from yellow and red metal. at first it looked like a playground, but then i noticed that there were exercise machines. apparently many old people go there to workout outside. there was a machine for the hips, elyptical cycles, bicycles, leg push, arm weights. anyone can use the apparateses. it´s a really cool idea to have machines outside that are locked to the ground that anyone from the public can use, like a common gym. i have found a free outdoor gym to go exercise! anyway it was fun to workout and sing songs in english at the same time. i have found that it´s really much more fun to learn a language through song. we came back rested, then went down to the pool. at the pool angela thought me a game like simon says, but the from says whatever thing you have to do under the water, and of course we played the game in english too. later we got out of the pool and read the power puff girls. for lunch today we ate brocolli, chicken and bread. i think the food here is so much better and fresher, especially the fruits and meats. in case i forgot to mention yesterday we went to a plaza where there were fountains. i like how there are many common places here that are usefull to people, such as plazas, exercise machines, and fountains. it seems that community here is much more important. thus many small plazas for people to get together. well, guess that´s it for now,
¡adios!

Hi everyone, I just came back from Escorial. i went with the family to Escorial for the weekend. it is a another small town located about half an hour from here. we went there to visit the grandparents and uncles of the famiy i live with. there is not much in the town a few shops, a small plaza and a church. when we got there the family showed me the shops in town: fruteria, carneceria, and mercadona (the supermarket). There is also a really nice monastery that we might go up to see next time we are there. We had a really big Spanish lunch with the extended family of the family i live with. There were various types of meat such as: morcilla ( rice with meat) chistorra ( like chorrizo from pig) chuletas de cordero ( lamb )y panceta ( pig) . We also had flan de coco (coconut flan), higos (figs), pasteles (mini-cakes), una ensalada (salad), and jamon (ham). Also as is traditional for a spanish lunch (comida) the adults had a lot to drink. they had everything from whisky, whine, beer, and cognac. the meal lasted for at least 3 hours. apparently lunch is the most important meal of the day in spain. after the meal we played dominos in pairs of two's, angela´s aunt cut her hair, and a couple of others watched tv. after the domino´s game we went downstairs to a small pool, where only the grandchildren swam as the other adults and myself included watched and sunbathed. i have definatly gotten a bit tanned here and also a bit sunburned. even if i put sunblock 50 i still get burned sometimes, the sun here is a lot stronger then in the united states. it was a fun weekend to Escorial. i got to meet the extended family, do gymnastics with the kids in the town plaza, visit some shops, and rest a lot.
hasta el proximo
- Neta

hi everybody!!! i´m finally in spain. first of all i don´t know how to write capital letter of this keyboard so i apologize in advace. i came here yesterday afternoon on june 21st. i love the family! the mom´s name is rocio, the dad´s name is angel and they have a ten year old daughter named angela. i hang out with her most of the day she is very smart. i bought us both notebooks and we each started keeping track of the new words we are learning everyday her english and me spanish. it´s really fun being able to teach someone a skill and she is teaching me a lot as well. the mom and dad go to work early in the morning. today i ate breakfast today with angela. i was still jetlagged and i work up at 5am. i read about 100 pages of my book and i waited for her to wake up at 9:30am. after breakfast we went for a walk to the store where i got soymilk. i have to confess i couldn´t stay a vegetarian. when i got here for lunch they had simply salad and a thick piece of ham. i decided it´s not worth it to starve myself or to offend the mom´s cooking so i didn´t tell them i was a vegetarian. so i guess i am a meat eater again at least for the time being. hey at least i can eat shoarma when i go to israel. later on today we will go to the pool. it´s really nice they have a pool in the apartment complex. later we will eat lunch, then take a walk to the park, read some english and practice some speaking then her mom comes hoem at 2pm. btw inbal thanks for the idea to bring children´s book in english it´s a great way to bond with her. the family gave me my own room, which is small but very cozy. it used to be thier library so i have a lot of books in spanish to read. the family doesn´t watch tv much so instead i read a lot which is probably better anyway. the sun comes up at 7am and doesn´t go down till a little past 10pm. well that´s it for now. no time, going with angela to the pool. so until september i am with angela during the mornings until 2pm when her mom comes and i have the afternoons to myself. then from september onwards i will have the day free and watch her when she comes back from school. i might take some courses in septeptember in spanish in madrid. also in august the family has a house near the beach and we are going there for 15 days, so excited! everything is going well and i´m very happy with the family, so far they seem really nice, and i´m learning tons of new spanish. again if you know of anywhere fun i should visit while i´m in spain let me know, and leave me comments what is going on, and updated on your lives,
hasta luego ;)

Going to Madrid

Hey Guys,
I am so excited to go to Madrid tommorow July 20th, 2009. I will arrive on July 21st at noon. I will be living with a family right outside of Madrid. The mother's name is Rocio and the father's name is Angel. Thier daughter is Angela. I will be babysitting her 20 hours a week and teaching her English. Hopefully I can do more stuff like teach English in a language institute, take Spanish classes, dance classes, cooking classes, etc. If you have any suggestions of fun things to do definatly let me know. Lastly keep in touch :)
Lots of Love,
- Neta