Apartment Hunting in Palma

I am working on getting an address ASAP! We had a very busy first day in Spain yesterday although it was quite productive. Upon our arrival, Bea, our gracious couch surfing hostess, warmly welcomed us into her home and became our official first friend in Palma. She is absolutely wonderful and even set out biscuits and coffee scups for us the next morning before she headed out for work. We took the bus into town and set about orienting ourselves and finding a bank to exchange our money into euros. It rained almost all day so that was a bit of a mood buster but we made it through. I was starving so we snagged some food at a middle eastern food stand. I ate cheese pizza and it hit the spot. We wandered aimlessly a bit and finally located a cell phone store but they were closed! At two in the afternoon. Both Andy and I forgot that in Spain the siesta plays a big role during the day and many stores are closed from 1:30 to 4ish. So we did the only conceivable thing. We went home and took a siesta.

After our brief nap, we walked along the beach and admired the lovely clear waters and delightful little sea shells that lined the beach. Bea took us out for the night and we drank a tasty concoction of Gin and Limonade. I can´t say enough about how grateful we are to have met such a great person right off the bat here in Spain. She got her masters at U Mass so she speaks great English. Today, things are going great here. It´s sunny instead of rainy today which makes me so so happy. Bea, our hostess, took us out last night and it was a really fun time. She is our very first friend here on Palma which I just love. Andy and I have an appointment to see an apartment today at 2 so hopefully that goes pretty well. I´ll keep you updated. I´m hoping I can go swimming sometime today because the water is gorgeous and with the sunshine, warm enough to swim. Bea´s apartment is just a block away from the water too!!! : ) Our flights went smoothly although still no sign of Andy´s bag. The island is friendly and welcoming so far so things are going very well.

Spain: Here I come

Today is September 22 which means it is already time for me to scoot on over to Spain on the Balearic Islands. This past week has been a real doozy leaving very little time for me to grasp the fact that I am moving abroad in less than 12 hours. My brother's lung collapsed on Wednesday last week (for the fifth time since June!) in what doctor's consider a completely spontaneous occurrence common in tall, lanky dudes like my brother. So on Friday he had surgery to remove the blebs causing the problem and rough up the lung wall to make the darn thing stick. So my life has been somewhat consumed by trips to Portland to visit him even though he is extremely grumpy and in a lot of pain. But he's coming home today so I'm going to make a quick stop at the hospital to say goodbye before I head out to the Seattle airport to fly away.

As for the details of Spain, I'll be working for two different schools and teaching English to elementary aged students. Although I have no idea what to expect, I am really excited to get moving and start this new chapter of my life. I'll be gone for nine months which is difficult for me to even grasp at this time. When Andy and I fly in, we are going to stay with a couchsurfer to save money and meet new people. That should be interesting to say the very least. Our first priority will be to find an apartment asap but the demand is high so we'll have to be savvy and wily to find a nice place in a good location.

Signing out for the last time on US soil. Besos.