On Being an Au Pair...

The au pair experience thus far has been what I have expected... kind of like babysitting, kind of not.  I feel obligated to be around Laura whenever she is home, but recently I have been wandering off when she watches TV or has her friends over.  Those two times are when she doesn't really want to speak English, and when I find the most boring.  The best times we have together are when it is just the two of us, and we can talk (I also imagine its when she learns the most English).  My schedule with Laura is to pick her up from school every day at 4:30.  She goes to a french school that is about a 20 minute walk from here, but the walk is up and down lots of hills.  Today will actually be my first time doing the walk, last week she was picked up via car by Rosa or Dioni with me along for the ride.  When we get home, I make a quick snack for her (usually nutella and toast, her favourite).  Then she does her homework, and I'll help with any English homework.  Then she usually has some sort of extra-cirricular for an hour (French tutoring, math tutoring, piano or horseback riding). Then she watches TV until dinner.  I usually eat my dinner with Laura, because Dioni and Rosa have it too late for me.  Then it's kind of fair game until bedtime, when I put Laura to bed if she wants me to.

My favourite part about the experience is getting to be around a kid again.  I like the age of innocence where they want you to explain things about why things are the way they are.  I like the imaginative play and the joy they get from pretending to be adults sometimes.  Its also fun to act like a kid, playing in the cabana (club house) and making up games.  I also love all things girly, like doing hair and makeup and nail polish so Laura and I are a good fit (she likes these things too, and likes to bring her other girl friends over to partake in the fun).  In addition to all of this, Laura seems to really, really enjoy me as her au pair.  She has been comfortable hanging out and talking with me since day one, which her mom says she usually doesn't do (she usually takes a while to warm up to the au pairs).  She has also told her mom that I am her favourite au pair, which I find very sweet.  Her mom says this is the first time she ever said that.  (awwww!).  She seems to want to hang out with me all the time, see everything I brought, and if it were up to here I think she would talk to me all night and never sleep! It's a great feeling, I hope this keeps up for the rest of the 10 months!

Planes, Buses, Trains and Automobiles

Day two started in the Madrid airport, with an overpriced Sprite and a complete lack of interrnet.  It was easy to find my way to the shuttle bus that takes you from terminal 1 to terminal 4.  Terminal 4 is the beautiful new terminal in the airport, with great architecture.  I made my way all the way down to the ground floor of terminal 4 to the Renfe section.  I was under the impression that by purchasing an AVE ticket with Renfe (high speed long distance train), I would have a code on my ticket that I could use to get on the cercanias (municipal trains).  However, the customer service desk at Renfe informed me that the price I got my train ticket for (30 euros) did not include any other perks.  One of the attendants helped me purchase a cercanias ticket from T4 to Atocha, and was very happy that I was Canadian and not American. So I bought my ticket and headed towards the platform for the train.

The train was beautiful- my first glimpse into how great trains are in Europe.  Mind you, this was a commuter train. But still. I had a short trip from terminal 4 to Atocha, the downtown station in Madrid.  It took about 20 minutes, at which time I got to relax without carrying bags all around the airport.  I looked out the window at what seemed like a very industrial and concrete Madrid.

Once I got to Atocha, I started to get the most confused.  The signs really didn't make sense on where to go to catch the train I needed for Malaga, and the station was HUGE so it was hard to navigate.  I just followed all the people from the platform area to the ticketing area.  The ticketing area was insanse... people everywhere, everything in Spanish, no clue where to go to wait for my train to leave.  I got to this train station at 1:30, and my train didn't leave until 5:30.  I wanted to give myself as much time as possible to navigate from the airport to the train.  Finally I spotted a Renfe customer service desk, where the man there ushered me up to the top floor (the terminal to catch my particular train).  By this point, I was sick of carrying around my heavy luggage (you need to haul it on to a security x-ray belt) and I knew my parents would be wondering where I was (I was supposed to email them at the airport, but that didn't work so well).  So I sat my bags down and made my way over to these incredibly complicated and stupid pay phones.  After making about a billion mistakes, I finally figured out how to make a call to let my parents know I was alright.  Then I saw these cool cart things that carry around your luggage, so I made a deposit on that as well.  The cart was extremely noisy, but it was better than hauling my luggage around like I was before.

So with about 3 hours to kill and an empty stomach, I decided to eat at what seemed like the most reasonably cheap restaurant in the station - Burger King.  And so, my first meal is Spain came from an American fast food chain.  I ate my whopper and enjoyed people watching (FYI- the combos at Burger King in Spain can come with a beer instead of a soft drink... I was temped but too drowsy).  The Atocha train station is actually quite beautiful.  They have a botanical garden right in the middle of the station that you can walk through, it was really exotic.  After my lunch, I ordered a Cafe con leche (coffee with milk) which turned out being a shot of espresso and some milk (I was warned about the coffee in Spain!).  Luckily, I like my coffee bitter and dark, so I enjoyed the espresso-with-a-little-milk drink.

 Finally, the train to Malaga was boarding.   I heard that it is first come first served for luggage storage on Renfe trains, so I ran down to the train to try and stow my luggage.  I ended up putting all my luggage in the wrong car, and had to get someome to help me move it to my correct car.  I learned that it really isn't that hard to find a place to store luggage in the AVE trains, so I definitely won't panic as much next time.  Now, these high speed AVE trains are GORGEOUS.  They are ultra modern with automatic sliding glass doors between the cars, and a cafeteria car that serves snacks and drinks.  They even play movies on these trains (they were playing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on my ride).   The scenery was also very very gorgeous all the way down... there were mountains and fields and little towns zipping by as we traveled at 300km an hour towards Malaga.  I had really wanted to stay awake for most of it to look out the window, but I crashed from my second dose of gravol.  Finally, I woke up an hour from Malaga, bought another cafe con leche to stay awake, and watched the European countryside go by. 

Tips for anyone doing this trip:
1) Don't worry about navigating Madrid's airport, its easy.
2) Keep your cercanias ticket even after you enter the station, because you will need it to scan to leave the station.
3) Ask for help at the Renfe customer service desk, they speak English and can point you in the right direction.
4) If you are at Atocha, remember there are three levels.  The very bottom level is the cercanias trains and some AVE trains.  The second level are ticket vendors, the street, restaurants and shops.  The top floor is the rest of the AVE trains, and some other longer distance trains.
5) You will have to go through a mini-security station on the top floor before you enter the terminal with all the trains.  You can pass in and out of this security station freely, but you will have to scan your bags each time.
6) There is no wifi at the Atocha train station
7) There is plenty of space on the train for your luggage, and they don't limit you for what luggage you can bring on the trains.

Part One: Living the High Life in Club Class

So much has happened in the last 72 hours, and I have been way too busy to find time to sit and type it all out! But I know that if I don't write about it soon, I will forget about what has happened.  So here goes, the first leg of the trip.

I got to Pearson airport 3 hours until departure, and said goodbye to my parents.  Not a sad goodbye, because I was way too excited to begin this trip.  I headed past everyone in cue to the Air Transat club class check in, and checked in fine (no overweight bags for me! hooray!).  Once my bags were checked, I went through security very quickly.  Everyone working at the airport seemed very young and chilled out... the security guys were all joking together about something.  It kinda took the edge off the whole security experience, but was also a little weird (its supposed to be an intense process for safety purposes!).  After that, I walked around the airport trying to find two items: a refillable water bottle to purchase (I didn't bring one) and a scratch bingo card to pass the time.  They don't seem to sell either in the airport (the bingo card I was a little suprised... I mean, they do sell alcohol in the airport, why not lottery-based items!).  Then I surveyed my meal options for dinner (finally settling on a parisian baguette sandwich which wasn't that good).  I ate and tried to pass my time watching 30 rock episodes.  Then I tried to walk as slowly as possible to and from the Starbucks near the front of the terminal to kill more time.  I still ended up having about 2 hours in the gate area to wait (my plane was delayed an hour).  Everyone around me was talking about the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage across nothern Spain.  It seemed like most of the people on my flight were doing it.  I popped a gravol and tried to pass the time with a steamer and my kindle. 

Finally we boarded the plane, and I took my seat in Club Class at the front of the plane.  I was most definitely the only person under 60 in Club Class.  I ended up sitting next to an old lady (who had my window seat!).  Her name was Elsbeth and she was pretty cool.  She has been traveling all over the world her whole life with her husband.  Her husband had died recently, and she still travels to pass her time.  She was telling me about good stores and restaurants to check out in Barcelona if I went there.  She also kept ordering me and her wine (she said "c'mon, live a little" and I can't say no to an old lady).  When we first got our seats and waiting for takeoff, the flight attendants passed out sparkling wine and these really great travel kits (blankets, neck pillows, eye masks, earplugs, lip balm, hand lotion, toothbrushes and toothpaste).  When we were up in the air, we got these little snacks and chocolates before they put on the flight's movies (the best exotic marigold hotel - which my old lady seatmate loved, and night at the museum).  I watched parts of the first movie but then I fell asleep for the rest.  I managed to get some hours of sleep on the flight, and by the time I woke up it was breakfast time.  The whole flight seemed to go by so fast.  Finally we arrived in Madrid at 12:30pm their time, and I said goodbye to my old lady friend.

Navigating through Barajas Airport in Madrid was really, really easy.  All the signs were in English and Spanish, and there were lots of pictures and arrows on the ground to point you in the right direction.  I got my luggage very quickly, and tried to find out where I could get internet in my terminal.  There is not free wifi in this particular airport, like there was in Pearson.  They had these little internet stations that I paid 2euros to use, only to find out that Facebook blocked these stations, and I couldn't use my email on it either because my password contains a character that wasn't on the keyboard.  Then I found a "use wifi here" section of the terminal, which ended up being an area that you buy wifi if you wanted to.  Moral of story- next to impossible to use the internet in Barajas airport.

Travels Eve

And just like that, seven months after the seed of travel was planted, tomorrow I leave.  I am so excited, focused, and determined... I've never felt this way before about any of my travels before.  I have no idea what to expect, which is why I simply can't wait another day to start this adventure! I want to start living the adventure, instead of dreaming about it.

I hope I meet wonderful people who impact my life.
I hope I try some of the most delicious food I have ever had.
I hope I discover music that makes me want to listen to it on repeat.
I hope I learn another language thoroughly.
I hope I can make a small difference in the life of this family.
I hope I relish the natural environment in and around Malaga.
I hope I become comfortable with the European way of life.
I hope I read many books on the beach.
I hope I drink many sangrias and cappuccinos in cafes.
I hope I spend many nights by the ocean.
I hope I open my heart and my soul fully to let this experience in.

Alright, lets do this thing!!

A word on fear and adventure.

I think great big adventures are supposed to scare the shit out of you.  I think it's inherent in the fact that its an adventure.  What stops people from traveling by themselves is not whether or not they are afraid, it's whether or not they let that fear manifest itself or face it head on.  During my last night with my darling friend (who is also embarking on an adventure - in NYC!) he left me with some wise words of advice for my travels.  He said "fear is going to be the only thing holding you back. so when you feel that fear bubbling up inside, preventing you from moving forward, you need to look it in the face and say 'fuck you fear!'".  And then we started yelling it together in the crowded bar :)

The Waiting Game...

I leave for Spain on Sunday, and this week just feels like one big old waiting game.  I can't really start packing, because I am still using most of the things I would be packing.  I don't have to go shopping for any last minute items, because I have already gathered all the things I needed.  Now I'm using my brothers room to store things, little by little, that I will be bringing that I'm not using.  I wonder if it will all fit in my suitcases...

I just feel like this is the calm before the storm.  Starting Sunday night, I will have 24hours of insanity, by plane, bus, train, taxi, and who knows what else! Then I assume I will have to jump right into a schedule of au pair-ing, going to spanish lessons, and learning to navigate the city.  I just want it all to start already! Especially after having a summer with no job, I am so ready for some structure.

p.s. I just realized today that this is the first time in 20 years that I am not  having a 'first day of school'! Hooray! Time to learn in a whole new way this year!

Glamorous Travel

all images from http://www.thisisglamorous.com/search/label/travel#axzz1f2TSpcAn

Global Electricity

Isn't it crazy that there are different electrical outlets all over the world? As the popularity of electricity spread, I'm surprised that a common outlet to access it by wasn't used.  There are two-pronged, three pronged, round, square and flat... the geometry of electricity! Seeing as I will be in Spain, I needed the two-pronged round type (surprisingly, there are different kinds of outlets within Europe, northern is different than southern which is different than Italy!).  Anyway, this post will be of interest for anyone going somewhere about what you need to do to electrically prepare yourself!

Adapters
Adapters are mechanisms that simply change the shape of your plugs so they will fit into whatever outlet you are trying to put them in.  They do not affect the voltage of your appliance.  There are single adapters which are meant for one appliance, and then there are also power bars (of which the plug connecting to the wall may be European, but all the outlets along the power bar would be north North American).  I have found both two-pronged and three-pronged adapters (for things like cell phone chargers, which have two prongs, and laptop power chords, which have three prongs).  Adapters can be found at most any travel supply store (I got mine at the Canadian Auto Association, but I found some at Magellan's, Mountain Equipment Co-op, and Amazon as well).  They tend to be between $3 and $15, the three pronged ones being more expensive.  I also don't feel the need to bring too many, as I probably won't have all my appliances plugged in at once.  I will be leaving my adapters on the ends of my appliances (like my computer) so that when I take it anywhere, I don't have to worry about forgetting my adapter because it will be attached to my chord already.

Converters
Converters are bigger than adapters, and are meant to alter the voltage going to and from your appliance.  North American outlets provide about 110 volts of electricity, whereas European outlets provide around 220 volts.  What this means is that North American appliances are built to withstand 110v, so if you plugged your North American hair straightener into a European outlet, you would fry it with more volts than it can handle, causing it to break.  Here's the catch - not every North American appliance is built this way.  More and more frequently, electronics are being made to withstand multiple levels of voltage.  To find one of these appliances, look for something that is "dual voltage", meaning it can take both American and European levels of voltage.  In addition to something being dual voltage, anything with a large adapter on it usually means it can take both voltages as well.  For example, the power boxes that are half-way along your computer power chord are made to control the level of voltage that goes to and from your computer, making computer use in Europe a since.  Battery chargers, such as digital camera batter chargers are also typically made to withstand multiple voltages.  To be safe, check your users manual or the actual appliance to see what voltages are written on it.  The two appliances that are typically NOT dual voltage are hair straighteners and blow dryers.  These also don't fare well with converters.  Your best bet in this case is to try and find a dual voltage appliance online (Remmington, Corioliss, Amika, and Avanti are notable brands for full sized hair straighteners, and Sedu sells wonderful straighteners that have different plugs on the end, if you wanted to get one for the country you are visiting, but they are a bit expensive).

Long story short:

If your electronic is dual voltage or has a power converter built in, just get an adapter that changes the shape of the plug to fit in international outlets (make sure to get the right one for your country!).  If your electronic device does not fit this criteria, you could use a converter to alter the voltage that your device gets.  Some electronic devices (such as flat irons) cannot be used with a converter, and you will have to buy a dual voltage one instead.  Read your labels, and don't fry your electronics!

Travel Image: Inspiration

I have started to mark down places on my world map of where I have been... it isn't nearly as full as I would like.  This image is a real travel inspiration! Hopefully after next year mine will look a little more full :)

Travel Quotes

Recurring Travel Dream - I Forget My Camera

Actually, I should call this post the recurring travel nightmare.  Forgetting your camera isn't most people's idea of a nightmare... it actually isn't mine in real life either.  But as a budding photographer who spends hours looking at travel photos, dreaming of one day having her own repertoire to browse, it's pretty scary.

Here's the dream:  I get to whatever destination I'm dreaming about (lately it has been NYC or Spain), and I realize that:
a) I forgot my camera at home and for some reason can't buy one where I'm visiting
b) My batteries die on my camera and I can't charge them

I wake up all worked up that I had the opportunity of a travel adventure that I wasn't able to capture.  I am afraid that I will not remember so vividly I was experiencing on my trip without pictures.  I am afraid that other people will not get to see what I saw, that I won't be able to inspire anyone to visit anywhere or give my friends a better idea of what exactly my life is like in Spain.  Instead of just enjoying the experience without the necessity of capturing it on film, I am overcome with anxiety that I don't have a functioning camera.  Weird, huh?  I wonder what this means.  If it means anything at all, haha.