As Promised: My Christmas Adventures

View from the Lugo Home Balcony

Well, my adventure began 12-24-07 when we departed Santiago in what I'm becoming to know as typical Spanish time...1½ to 2 hours later than planned. We finally left the house at about 2:30pm with plans to eat lunch upon arrival in Lugo & the home of Irene's mother 2 hours away.

Reaching Lugo, we sat down to a meal of typical Gallego (Galician) soup that has potatoes and some kind of green leaves in a milky soup. In addition, we ate fresh bread, followed by a seafood fried rice. Never in our lives would we think to put shellfish, crablegs, shimp or any other seafood into our fried rice without taking it all out of the shells first, but this fried rice was shell and all. Smile...After a plentiful meal, I was shown to a room and told that I could take a nap. Very grateful for a few moments to think and rest my very tired eyes, I laid down to stay there for 1½ hours in wonderful rest. PTL for a nap or I don't think I'd have made it quite so well through the evening celebrations which I would finally leave around 1:00am.

Christmas Eve is the night of a traditional family gathering for dinner. With at least 12-14 expected to be in attendance, the long table was set up and the special plates, cups, and silverware brought out. After helping set the table, I prepared a dessert tray consisting of various nuts, dried fruits (much like raisins only different *G*), chocolate bars broken into pieces, and other nutty candies. From there, with nothing else that I could help with, I went to dress up for the occasion. I was given a room in Irene's sister's flat below for which I was very thankful. It became a nice place to go to gather my thoughts, be quiet, rest, etc..
The Dessert Tray
Returning to the Grandmother's flat, I began to help set things on the table for dinner...and finally between 10 and 11pm we gathered around the table to being eating a sumptuous meal. Typically, meals here begin with a soup. This one was no different, beginning with fish soup (which I doctored with some chili powder). Then out came a whole fried chicken, stuffed with cooked mushrooms, onions, chopped up liver (which I happened to get a bite of, yuck), etc... followed by a tray of beef with fried whole potatoes (delicious), salad with vinegar/oil dressing, and another plate of mushrooms. This was all eaten with plenty of white or red wine and soda. I am very thankful that this family is not one to drink heavily. Everyone enjoyed a glass or so of wine, but no one was excessively drunk. PTL!!! I'm sure it could have been much worse. I enjoyed a bit of red wine mixed with a plain, sweet soda water...which made the wine sweet and enjoyable as opposed to bitter and strong. Anyway...after eating as much as we wanted, the children were eager to have the desserts set upon the table to be consumed. So, needless to say, dessert was soon served along with a huge bowl of fruit salad (kiwi, mango, apple, banana, pomegranite, oranges, etc...). At a few minutes to 12:00am, Jose' Luis (the girls' Father) poured everyone a glass of some new bottle of wine that was brought in and we had a toast to Christmas...needless to say, I did not like the taste of this second wine and pretty much only sipped it for the toast. Not my cup of tea really...Smile!! What a lovely traditional Christmas Eve dinner with a gathering of family. I really enjoyed myself. The children loved all the excitement, and it was great to see this Spanish family together enjoying conversation and fellowship. This fits better with what I imagined Spain to be like. Finally, drooping in my chair and with the kids no longer there to entertain me, Irene noticed that I was exhausted and got someone to let me into the flat below so that I could pass out for the night...Smile...
Christmas Eve Dinner with the Family
Pass out I did!! I slept from 1:30ish until 9:15 the next morning when my alarm went off and then finally dragged myself from my bed at 10:00am...grin...sure was nice to get a bit of sleep. I am definitely not accustomed to so many late nights. It seems that since I have left college I am no longer able to continue in the late nights and early mornings schedule that I had there. Now, I seem to require more sleep...Am I getting old?? Grin.. Thankfully, Spanish culture is more a sleep-in culture...grin...

Into this new day, Christmas Day, I finally made my way upstairs by 12:00pm after some breakfast, to see what I needed to be doing. I found the girls still in their pajamas and the family taking things easy. PTL for I had been a bit worried that I was extremely late! Not in Spain I guess... So, evidently the youngest of the girls, Helena, woke up bright and early this morning eager for her presents from “Papa Noel”. Sounds rather similar to many children in the US eager to receive and open their presents on Christmas morning. When I arrived, I was handed a present as well, which was a notebook for my studies of the Spanish language. Grin... Irene is very study-oriented. Grin...I'm challenged to study at all here after having just finished college less than a year ago...grin...not much excuse I suppose.

Me with Mercedes
After some coffee and a chat. I learned that the grandmother, her sister Mercedes (also known as Madrina-godmother), Irene, and the girls were headed to a Christmas Mass at a small, local cathedral and that I would be welcome to come along. Curious, I went along. I really love Madrina, who is Irene's Mother's sister & Irene's godmother (confusing, I know!). She is the sweetest little old lady, and I have grown rather fond of her in my short time here in Lugo. She attends mass daily and today was no different, only this was a special one. So, off we went to attend mass. It was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the time to sit & stand alternately and just pray. I found that I had to be careful not to be proud that I knew Jesus and to not consider myself better than these lost souls. Once again, the Lord challenged me and made me look at myself and the areas in my life that need to change. It was a blessing to sit and reflect on the Lord, all the while hoping that I could be a light in some way to these people. There is such a need for the revelation of Christ as Savior in the hearts of these people!

Once mass was finished, we headed back through the drizzle. I waited for Madrina as she wanted to talk to a friend for a moment, and we didn't want to leave her out alone...I was quickly surprised to find that she is a VERY STRONG, FAST walker...grin...she's just lovely! She practically dragged me home instead of me helping her. GRIN. Back at the house, Irene made preparations to go out for the evening with some friends and I and the girls soon sat down to a dinner of fried eggs, fresh bread, & homemade cheese. More than plenty for this still-full girl. Yet another day gone by with more learned, lots of new experiences, and plenty to exhaust me. Smile... Merry Christmas...
The Roman Wall at Night
Today, December 26th, I was up and ready to head out the door with the family at 10:30am. Irene and her girls, along with myself and Madrina, headed to the dentist office where the children had their annual dental check-up. While they were there at the dentist's office, Madrina was given the task of showing me around a bit and eventually taking me to where I would meet with a girl to practice Spanish and her practice English. So, walking about the city with Madrina was definitely a treat. She speaks NO English, but has no problem speaking in Spanish telling me about places and things and showing me all over the older part of town. It was a lovely walk and very much a stress relief for me. I could walk with Madrina for a long time and be just fine. It is no problem for me that I can only understand some of what she says. I am so thankful that she continues to talk to me in Spanish and just goes about her life happily. She brings a smile to my face. She is rather an independent sort and very intelligent and competent. I am thankful for her presence in this home as she is a blessing to me and I hope that I can be the same for her. So, back to our walk. Madrina took me to see the Plaza de Espana (Plaza of Spain), the Cathedral of Lugo (there must be a cathedral in every city I'm beginning to think) which was very large and ornate, and then we walked up to the very large old Roman wall that surrounds the old part of Lugo... The Roman wall is about 10-12 feet wide, making a nice place to take a walk around the city with no cars to get in the way. Hopefully, I will be able to walk this once while I'm here, or go running! What a treat to see such a lovely and unique part of Roman history.
The Cathedral's Inner Courtyard Architecture
Finally, at 12:00PM, I was introduced to a girl named Sonia. She is what they call and “intercambio” here. In other words, someone that I can practice my Spanish with and she her English. Very useful setup for both of us. Sonia turned out to be a lovely person. This meeting with her was arranged for me and I was merely told once I reached here that I would meet a girl to practice Spanish, etc... interesting! It is a bit challenging for me to have my days planned for me without my knowledge. It is done with good intention, but sometimes a bit frustrating to me because I don't know what is next, where I am supposed to be, or when I can take some time for myself. There is less of a schedule here than when we're in Santiago, so I'll just have to deal with it. smile... None the less, Sonia and I had a lovely time together. It was nice to get out and walk about the city a bit, then sit in a coffee shop for an hour or so and get to know one another in both English and Spanish. The people here are very good at setting time limits. For example, I was informed (in a questioning manner) that we could speak one hour of English and then one hour of Spanish! No, problem. I'm sure her English is better than my Spanish, but it gave me a chance to practice and her also. PTL!!! After enjoying a chocolate (yummy), enduring a couple of her cigarettes, and learning much about her and her family, we left to find me a small notebook that I can carry in my purse and write new Spanish words in that I hear, so I can refer back to it and learn more. I find that I learn more by writing it down.


The Country Home Entrance
Back at the house, lunch is finished, everything is cleaned up, I had a bit of coffee with Irene, and now I'm exhausted from so much learning, children who anger easily, and am in my room to rest a bit! PTL!!! God's grace is sufficient for me! Irene found me asleep and wondered if I was okay. How do you explain exhaustion from all the new surroundings, learning, changes, etc. after you've slept 10 hours in the night and then taken a nap.. Hmmm..Lord help me! Well, I got up gave Celia an English lesson and then we ran to join the other girls to meet their father on a trip to the Molina: their Grandmother's country home with a water-operated mill. Their Grandmother owns this old mill by a small river about 10km outside of Lugo. Not more than a 15-20 minute drive. So, we piled into their Father's Nissan truck (Jose' Luis) and were off to the mill. I was rather interested to see this place that I have heard much about. Reaching the mill, we had to drive off-road a bit to get down to the house. With surprise, I found a lovely country home. The door to the entrance was a beautiful wooden, two-tier door (opening something like an old barn door – separated across the middle) which opened into a lovely room with walls of what appeared to be granite and floors of wood. This room alone was like candy to my imagination. I was greeted by a black and white cat that the girls called Angelica. This room with a fireplace, led to a lovely white country kitchen. A big old-fashioned wooden stove/oven sat in the middle of the room with a large marble counter surrounding it on 3 sides allowing people to sit around the stove and keep warm while eating. From the kitchen, a marble staircase led upward into a bathroom and 3 or 4 bedrooms. Each room and the hall had old-fashioned windows, the kind with two wooden shutters and I don't think any glass panes. Back downstairs, Helen grabbed my hand and led me outside and around to the back of the house where there were cement paths leading across the river. The water is controlled for operating the mill, though the mill is no longer used. Though dark, I could tell that this large stone home and the surrounding grounds would be very lovely and much fun to spend some time visiting in the summer. Piling back into the car after a bit of a snack, we also added Grandma to our numbers (she had spent the day at her country home which she loves so much and would rather be at than in the city) and headed home.

Reaching home, the girls went to take showers, so I suggested making cookies to Irene. She had been wanting to make the dough for some German cookies that she loves! With renewed energy, I figured now was as good a time as any and offered to help her if she'd like to make it now. So, she and I set out to make cookie dough with 1kg of butter, 1kg 600g of flour, 7 eggs (4 just yokes, 3 whole), a teaspoon of salt, a packet of baking powder (about 2 tablespoons), and 1/2kg of sugar. We made plenty of dough because not only will we cook some for the family, but Irene hopes to share some of the dough with the families of her friends so they can also make cookies with their families. Though this is a German tradition, not Spanish, Irene finds it a wonderful tradition. Of course, I agree as making candies, cookies, and other desserts every Christmas with my Mom has been a pleasure and something I have looked forward to each year.

Well, arrangements have been made for me to meet with Sonia again tomorrow at 12pm. I am pleased with this as it is nice to get out of the house and visit with someone else closer to my age. It is a bit of work though trying to speak in Spanish and also make sure that I speak slowly and clearly in English, searching for words to explain what I'm trying to say. I am finding constantly learning and constantly watching my words a big challenge. There are times I want to be able to speak and be understood without effort. But, it is also a good challenge, because the Bible talks about being careful with our words and this makes me have to really think about what I'm saying before I say it. Smile...

I also find it a challenge to have children who question what I say for accuracy and want an explanation for things that are very difficult to explain. I don't know how to simply tell them to “never mind” or “I'd rather not share”, because I will only be pressed further to share or risk having a child angry with me. I feel as though I tread upon eggshells with Irene (the middle daughter). Celia and Helena are much easier. I feel such compassion for Irene though, because it seems she has sooo much anger that overflows quickly from inside her. No child should have such anger built up inside. It is interesting getting to know her and see more of who she is...for example, she is a very just girl. Things must be fair in her eyes. Though, lacking in wisdom and experience, she is smart. I continue to pray for patience, wisdom, grace, and the words to say! I do not want to retaliate in anger and am thankful that has not happened yet. Though yesterday I came very near to tears, not in manipulation but sincere tears! I was shaken by the time the show was over. (Note: things have been improving and the Lord is faithful to give me renewed energy, wisdom, and grace..PTL!!! I don't want to make it appear as though life is always difficult..smile)

So, now I am to practice driving Jose' Luis' Nissan. This is to give me experience with a different manual car as the Toyota corolla has a more sensitive gear system. At this point, I am ready to quit driving in Spain all together. I don't see the need for me to drive if Irene has to be home anyway if I am driving the car. She can't be at work, because she'd need the car. Lord give me grace for this also and please help me to learn. It is difficult driving here with so many people crossing the roads, cars parked in the middle of the roads, traffic darting into and out of your lane, and then the cross traffic that often has the right of way... So, not knowing that I already know how to drive, Jose' Luis talked on and on about how the car works, when to use the signal lights, what is left, right, and straight in Spanish, etc... I find that at times I feel they think I am stupid. I know this is not entirely the case, they are simply unsure of what I know and do not and so they tell me in detail and sometimes multiple times what I already know. First Irene, now Jose' Luis. Grin....it seems as though I could use a bit of a break from learning! (Note: after this day with Jose' Luis, driving took on a new perspective for me...so much better...he's an excellent teacher).

I'm going to end this post here, so things don't get too long... Read the next post for how things change once again and the Lord continues to teach and bless me. Things were a bit rough the first few days in Lugo, but the Lord renewed my energy and things improved after that. I had time to enjoy with the girls playing, going shopping, etc... so read on.. Thanks for your patience and hope that the next few posts don't overwhelm you in size...