1 Year Anniversary

We can't believe we've been married a year already! Time really flies, and does so steadily faster the older we get. It feels like we were just in Ojai with all of our family and friends. This has been the greatest year for both of us, by far, and we feel truly blessed to live the life that we do. They say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and if that's the case, we are headed for some of the easiest years ever. We never thought we would have all of the stories, pictures, and experiences in a lifetime that we've had in these 12 months. Here's to the next 50+ years!

Travel Pictures

We just got back from our trip to La Molina and Granada--there are some new pictures up on our flickr account, so check 'em out if you want. We also took some video, so we will try to add that to our YouTube account soon. Jon met up with Matt in Barcelona for a few days before I hooked up with them to go snowboarding. The weather was great, but the snow had turned to slush from the warm spell, so it was really difficult to snowboard on. But, we met some nice people and had a good time anyway. After that, we took an overnight train to Granada (in Andalucia-the south of Spain). We stayed in this amazing old house in the Albaicin (the old Moorish neighborhood) which looked up at the Alhambra (a big, famous Arabian castle).

We had a great time traveling, but it's nice to be back home in Lugo. I start working again on Tuesday, but Jon will have Matt to keep him company until Friday, the 29th. Also, check out Jon's radio show podcast on the left side of the screen, if you get a chance. That's all we have to report for now ;)

Galician Culture: Lesson 1

I have decided to periodically throw in tidbits of the culture here that interest me, make me laugh, etc. This installment is titled, Greetings from Lugo

Many of us have learned from Sesame Street or a high school Spanish class that Hola is typically used to say "Hello", and Adios and Hasta luego are used when saying "Goodbye" in Spanish. So, imagine my surprise when I first heard people passing each other on the street saying Adios or Hasta luego. I thought the first two or three people were just a fluke, but after a couple of days, I realized it was EVERYBODY here. I never once heard an Hola come out of anyone's mouth. So, of course, I asked my fellow teachers, and they confirmed my observation. Still, I wondered why it is that these people say goodbye to each other even if it's the first time they've seen them in a while. Some have guessed it's because since it's a smaller city, and most people walk around, they expect to see each other again relatively soon. But, that doesn't explain the use of Adios. Others have said it may be that if someone says Hola it means the person wants to stop and talk, so they all say goodbye instead to indicate that they're just giving them a polite nod. I have yet to delve deeper into this question, but I am still curious about it. I am also finally getting the hang of it now after a few months. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to break the Hola habit.

Spanish elections

I don't know if anyone in the US follows Spanish politics, but we just had the presidential election today. Luckily, the Socialist party candidate (Zapatero) won a second term, which is great because he is liberal, and during his last term he legalized gay marriage and withdrew Spain's support of the war, among other things. Here's hoping this is a sign of the way US elections will go this fall.

Jon's Radio Show

One thing I forgot to mention in the last post is that Jon also has a radio show over here on a pirated station. He and my co-worker Richard record a show once a week that airs M-F locally. They are trying to figure out how to get it on-line or in a podcast so the rest of you can hear it too.

Why did it take us 6 months to get this going?

Yes, we have finally started writing a blog.....6 months after we arrived. Better late than never, right? I think since we have managed to stay in pretty good touch with most people, we've told everyone most of our stories up to this point. As a recap:

We arrived here, in Lugo, in September, and have since been to London, Madrid, Barcelona, Pontevedra, A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, and Pontevedra. Our favorite place in Spain by far has been Barcelona. The climate, architecture, and overall feel of the city far surpasses Madrid, in our opinion.

Besides travel, I'm working in an English academy 23 hours per week, and with the wonderful Spanish system, I get 3 weeks of vacation plus all holidays paid. Of course, there's also the free medical care and overall low cost of living as added benefits. Jon is enjoying his new role as "house husband" while learning Spanish. He also has aspirations of buying a building where we can open up an American diner-style restaurant and live above it. We welcome anyone who would like to move here and invest in it with us ;)

As far as visitors go, Jenny, Peter, Aidan, and Shane (Jon's sister and family) came to visit us over Christmas and New Year's. We spent some time both here and in Madrid, and just managed to keep our sanity after traveling with a 3-year-old for 3 weeks :) All kidding aside, we had a great time with them, and really enjoyed getting to show people our new life here. Next up will be Matt (Jon's best friend) in mid-March. We're doing a mini-Spanish tour with him through Barcelona, La Molina (ski resort in the Pyrenees), and Granada while I'm off work for Semana Santa (Holy Week).

I think that covers it for now. Don't forget to check out our pictures at www.flickr.com/twogotolugo and our videos at the YouTube bar below.