Random Photos

Colin playing soccer with Juan (lives in our apartment building), and friend at Sitios Park, two blocks from our house












Colin and Aidan swimming at Salbuda Pool
















Irish companions -- night of skate boarding. Pictured: Kelsey, Colin, Hannah, Maria, Jude and Lily












Why are these pigs smiling? Picture taken at Mercado Centrale where fresh meats, cheeses, fruits/veggies are sold

Colin vs. The Lunch Ladies

When I was in school, we had a cafeteria dish that we called, "Beef and Barf." Everyone moaned on Beef and Barf days. Last week, Colin had a Beef and Barf day.

At JDL, lunch is serious business. They want to ensure that the students are getting enough nutrition, and therefore don't allow them to head to recess until the "Lunch Ladies" have given them the green light.

One day, JDL served fried fish which didn't exactly make Colin's Top 10 list this year. He generally does a pretty good job of eating what's given to him, and according to his version of this story, he had eaten 'quite a bit' of the fish. So, he attempted to get up from the table and go to the playground. All his soccer buddies had already finished their grub and were also on their way out.

In comes Lunch Lady, Numero Uno. She told Colin to sit down since he hadn't had enough of his fish. Colin took a few more bites and then made another attempt to depart. Numero Uno put the kibosh on Colin again. Colin took a few more bites. Then, Numero Uno went on break, but before she left, she told Lunch Lady Numero Dos to 'keep an eye on that American kid.' Third try and Numero Dos sits Colin back down. Colin decides to do the 'cut and shuffle' with his fish. Apparently, that was enough to finally pass inspection. Colin couldn't believe that
he had actually missed 15 minutes of his 1.5 hours of lunch/recess break.

The Lunch Ladies may get him above 70 pounds before they are done with him this year.

Choco Tour

White. Milk. Dark. Very Dark. It's all good. The Zaragoza tourist office offers a "Choco Tour" which provides the opportunity to visit several establishments that demonstrate that chocolate-making can be an art form.




Photo: Aidan and Colin taste testing the different variety of chocolate syrups















Photo: Demonstration of how chocolate is made and the making of lollipops

Over the course of the tour, we tasted chocolate in different textures and flavors: liquid, solid, cold, hot, milk, white, black, with candied fruit (least favorite for all of us). We learned that chocolate has historic roots in Zaragoza dating back to 1520; 2 of the 4 places we visited have been around since the 19th century.



Photo: Kelsey and Colin enjoying the results, chocolate + marshmallow lollipops


We also learned about the process of making chocolate from the picking and splitting of the cacao bean to the drying of the beans to the factories and then the stores. Surprisingly, the early part of the process is highly manual and most cacao trees are grown in Central and South America and Africa. This video is a pretty good example of some of the information we heard. If you're really interested in the history of chocolate, this is another interesting video (although some serious chocolate propaganda toward the end).


Photo: Colin, Kelsey, and Aidan at Haagen-Dazs

Long Live the Mullet and Other Hairy Details

The Mullet is omnipresent in Zaragoza, and from what we understand, many other parts of Spain as well. It not only exists, it thrives in infinite varieties: the full-on mullet, the tentative/wannabe mullet, the mohawk mullet, the dread mullet, and the ever-lovely mohawk-dread mullet. They're considered stylish here, and funny enough, the word for mullet, aka Kentucky waterfall doesn't seem to exist. It's just that hair that's short in front and long in back, and um, part of our 'cultural experience.'

Sort of reminds me of my 80s high school hair style (fur not included in Spanish mullets)





















Speaking of other hairy stories, we had an interesting discovery when getting a haircut. Ellen Wolff and I went to a local salon to get a trim and a fluff and were treated like belles for a day with no less than 4 people each working on us...one to shampoo, one to cut, one to dry and one to style. The hairdresser who did the cutting was the queen bee and gave direction to all the underling hair apprentices. We gathered that hairstyling is considered a trade and one which requires much training. To top it off, they gave us cafe con leche while we were getting coiffed.

Photo: Ellen and the entourage giving her the treatment















Photo: Celia, post coiffing


Colin and Kelsey asked 'why is your hair so straight?' , followed by, 'I like you better with curly hair". That's actually a good thing because I'll never be able to replicate this 'do' at home

Viva Yo

In the book, Iberia, James Michener describes a Spanish phenomenon which we found enlightening, called "Viva Yo."

You won't find Viva Yo in a dictionary. As Michener explains it, some time ago there was a competition for the cartoon which best expressed the Spanish character. The winner, without a close second, was one showing an arrogant little boy urinating in the middle of the street and spelling out the words, "Viva yo." The loose translation is 'hurray for me' but the core of the phrase is the implied second half, 'and to hell with everybody else.'

Understanding Viva yo helps one to understand the Spanish psyche. Michener gives the example of when the little car barrels right down the middle of the highway, forcing everyone else into a ditch, you don't swear at the driver. You say 'Viva yo' and you understand what happened. When you pay big bucks for a seat at a fútbol game and find it occupied by someone else who will not move, you don't punch him (this happened to us at the Barcelona vs Milan soccer game, see blog post Barcelona - Day 3). You say 'Viva yo' and steal another seat; of course, as Americans, we didn't do that but rather had the usher help us out instead. Viva yo can make for some confused looks between us, and sometimes annoying situations -- such as the incessant Spanish habit of cutting lines -- but with a little patience, it can be weathered and accepted.

School Year Abroad

Photo: Parker outside of the SYA building




SYA is a small school, taking up one floor of a building, and is roughly a 5-7 minute walk from our apartment. For the 2010-2011 school year, the SYA Spain program has 65 students -- that is a lot of math tests to grade! Parker will be teaching 5 classes and makes up "the math department."




Photo: Parker's classroom


















Around 10 p.m. on September 3, the students arrived from Boston into the Zaragoza Delicias train station. Parker, along with the other faculty members, met them there and connected them with their host families. Orientation started September 6 and classes begin on September 8. On the weekend of September 17, SYA takes its first SYA trip to Alquézar, one of the towns of the Sierra de Guara natural park.

Photo: Kelsey and Colin inside the SYA meeting and student cubby area

















Photo: Ana, the (friendly and extremely helpful) SYA administrative assistant

Ordesa National Park

September 4

Today, we sought green space. We rented a car and drove about 2.25 hours northeast of Zaragoza to Ordesa National Park which is part of the Central Pyrenees, and minutes from France. We were pleasantly surprised to find such an amazing spot easily within our reach.






Ordesa was a real find and is considered by some to be a junior version of the Grand Canyon. The Ordesa Valley is endowed with forests, lakes, waterfalls and high mountain meadows along with protected wildlife including trout, boar, chamois, and mountain goat. Parker aka "the Hunter" was eager to spot a mountain goat but we weren't so fortunate.








A bit hairy, the car ride there took us around narrow, twisty roads and sheer cliffs-- but getting out into nature was well worth it. We all realized how much we had been craving green space after our short time as city dwellers.




We hiked for a few hours, had a picnic on the river, and enjoyed the spectacular views and surroundings.

Visit to Juan de Lanuza - September 1

On September 1, with the Wolff-King family, we visited the kids' new school, Juan de Lanuza colegio (JDL). In all the excitement, we forgot to take pictures of the kids in front of the school (where was Sally Williams?!). We'll have to get one on their first day if it doesn't embarrass them too much.

JDL is a private school, has about 550 students and covers the gamut from kindergarten to high school. Most of the students are natives of Spain but several of the teachers are either Americans or Brits and their children attend the school. At age 3, the students start English lessons such that by the time they are Colin and Kelsey ages (11 and 9), they have a pretty strong foundation of the language. While our goal is for our C and K to learn Spanish and not rely on others to speak English, it is comforting to know that they have a buffer. In fact, Colin's teacher is a native of Massachusetts although she's lived in Spain for 20+ years.

Prior to our visit, we were filled with both excitement and anxiety especially in regards to how JDL would receive Kelsey. We had been corresponding with JDL since early in the calendar year about Kelsey's cochlear implants, and had not reached a common agreement as to whether JDL would offer her a full time slot. It turns out that JDL has a 5 year old boy who also uses a cochlear implant which means that they are not completely unfamiliar with this technology.

Wrapped into our angst was also a litany of questions from the basic, 'when does school start?' (prior, we had only been given an approximate start date) to 'do we wear uniforms?'; 'how does the soccer/activities program work?', and so on, to the more meaningful, "what is their academic load?"; "what classes will be proposed for Kelsey?"; "will Batman be able to defeat the Joker?"

Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Pilar, the school coordinator, and then given a tour of the facilities. To maximize their capabilities, students are separated into groups according to their abilities for math, language, etc.; these groupings are fluid and are continually reassessed. As Concord has no formal accelerated program (other than at the discretion of the individual teacher), we were delighted to hear this news. The kids will likely have plenty on their plates just learning a language and integrating into a new place but it's gratifying to know that they will also be pushed academically.

JDL classes are roughly 60-40 Spanish/English but Spanish is spoken among the children, on the playground, cafeteria, etc. which gives them plenty of opportunity to learn their new language.

After our group tour with Pilar, we moved to a private meeting with Sophia, the Dean of Studies, along with Elena, the school Psychologist (who is also the person in charge of placement!!). They were both lovely and amiable, and more importantly, seemed to have our children's best interests at heart. Both Colin and Kelsey handled themselves impressively -- they were poised and well-spoken, and comfortable in their own skin (completely objective opinion from their parents). JDL is flexible and open to feedback, and as a starting point, Colin and Kelsey seem to getting the opportunity to begin the year like any other newcomer. Our visit was not only a relief but energizing. Let's get this party started!

The kids' bus will pick them up 2 or 3 blocks from our apartment at 9 a.m. (how sane!) especially since one wouldn't normally put the Chases in 'morning person' category. School starts at 9:30; they have a big break from 1-3:30 and then end at 5:30, getting home around 6pm. During the break, they participate in an activity of their choice such as soccer, dance, piano, etc. What a FULL day!

School starts September 7 and we all can't wait! The kids want to meet new friends and begin activities. Kelsey is literally counting down the days, planning her time, friends, and outfits. Colin is particularly eager to start playing on a soccer team.

Home Again and Meeting other SYA Folks

Photo: Aidan, Ellen Wolff, and Kevin King after Juan de Lanuza visit



After traveling for 16 days, we were all glad to be back in ZAZ, settled in one place for awhile and enjoy the comforts of eating at home, not packing/unpacking, or negotiating trains, planes and automobiles.

When we returned to ZAZ, we were struck by the intense heat which, at the end of August, was over 101 degrees. The upside was that the humidity was low but the downside was that there was minimal air flow. We quickly purchased several fans to get the air moving, and fortunately, the crazy heat wave broke not long after we returned to more reasonable levels (80s and 90s).

Beside the heat, we were eager to connect with other folks and start making a community in ZAZ. Ellen Wolff, the SYA English teacher from Exeter, her husband, Kevin King and son, Aidan King returned from their excursions in Spain a few days after we did. We invited them to dinner.

Among the 56,403 books Kelsey has read this year, is a very cute series of "Melanie Martin" books by Carol Weston. Melanie is a 10, 11 or 12 year old depending on the book who travels to Italy, Spain, Holland and a few other places. They are great books especially if you're traveling to one of those countries; even Colin has enjoyed them. With the idea of having a mini-book club with my book-loving daughter, I have also read a couple of them.

In "The Diary of Melanie Martin: or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza," Melanie writes about making homemade pizza. Ever since reading this passage, Kelsey has wanted to make pizza from stratch, which we did for our dinner with the Wolff-King family. Colin, Kelsey and I made an afternoon of the project (just getting the right ingredients at the store was an adventure!) and were proud of the result...at least the dough part. The cooking part didn't go quite as smoothly but all told, it turned out fine.

We spent the evening swapping stories and sharing bits of information we each had collected about ZAZ, SYA, Spain, and Juan de Lanuza (Colin, Kelsey, and Aidan's new school). Occasionally, we stopped to breath. We were THRILLED to have another family with whom to share our year abroad and even one who has a similar background coming from the boarding school life. Aidan is also a peer of Colin's as he turns 12 this November. While he will be 7th, Colin is going into 6th grade. Kevin is an ESL teacher and is looking for similar work in ZAZ.

After our dinner, we went over to the apartment of Griffin Morse, the director of SYA Spain, for dessert. He was passing through ZAZ for about 24 hours, and then returning to Boston to bring the SYA students to ZAZ on the night of September 3. Griffin is a lively soul and fielded the endless questions we all had for him. He provided us with additional perspective on the year ahead and some of the upcoming trips which made it all more exciting and real. We had been living in our own little family bubble for the last few weeks and connecting with the SYA folks gave an infusion of new energy and enthusiasm.

Barcelona- Day 4 and the Last Day of Summer Travels

On our last day in Barcelona, we spent a considerably time trying to buy our return train tickets to Zaragoza using the Internet, only to discover that for some reason the Renfe website (the Spanish train company site) doesn't take American credit cards. The EU credit cards have a chip in them which our American ones don't -- perhaps that's the issue. After many attempts and some frustration, we wound up purchasing tickets directly at the station which took all of 3 minutes. Live and learn. For the future, the inability to buy online is a bummer as it will require us to go directly to the Zaragoza (ZAZ) Delicias station, and in-person costs slightly more than online purchasing.





Reluctant to visit a museum, Colin and Kelsey were keen on a more kid-friendly activity; their input took us to the aquarium. Even though Barcelona has many outstanding museums including Picasso, Dali and Gaudi to name a few, we figured over the course of the next year we would have several opportunities to check out the other 'must see' items.

Unlike the Boston aquarium that has live, open exhibits, such as the penguins, or shows, feedings and hands-on activities, the Barcelona one is exclusively tanks filled with sea life. In much of it, a moving walkway takes you underneath a large tank with sharks, fish, etc. The extraordinary sea life are swimming above to give the illusion of actually being in the tank. We hope that's the closest we'll come to swimming with sharks...ever!

At 7pm, we caught the fast train back to ZAZ (1 hour, 26 mins), no issues, no hiccups, no delays. It left on time, on the dot. The train was clean and almost luxurious compared to some of the trains we rode in Italy. In comparison to Italy, they validate tickets much like they do when you fly -- even requiring a pass through security. Italy still has a person that manually and randomly comes around to check tickets. We had just commented that a system that verifies tickets before boarding would make more sense over one where tickets are checked haphazardly. Voilà.

Barcelona - Day 3

On our third day in Barcelona, we took the double decker, open-top tour bus which may sound cheesy but it was a good way to get an overview of the city. You're allowed to jump on and off the bus at any of the stops which provided us with the freedom we wanted; add that to the audio overview and guidebook on the sites, and it turned out to be a good fit for us.

Barcelona has so much to offer that we had to be choosy for our first time there. After beaching it, we wanted to get a taste of the cultural side and explore some Gaudi even though the extreme heat and extensive crowds were wearing down the kids (and um, the parents too). We tried to reinforce enjoying the moment and the incredible sites that could take your breath away.

Photos: Sagrada Família (Sacred Family) above and below





First on the list, the Sagrada Família, a massive, Catholic church that has been under construction in Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. Considered the master-work of renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it a Barcelona highlight for many years. I couldn't get a good picture of it due to its size so in addition to our own photos, I've added one from the web to demonstrate its breadth. The unusual sculptures (our pics) gives a sense of Gaudi's definitive style too. We weren't able to make it inside due to the huge crowds but will table that for another visit.















After the Sagrada Familia and some city touring, we visited Guell Park which is a Candy Land of gingerbread houses and Dr. Suess-style landscapes (it was clear that Guell Park and Gaudi's work are the inspiration behind "Horton Hears a Who" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"). As its name suggests, the park was commissioned by Gaudi’s friend, Eusebi Guell around the turn of the 20th century, and was intended to be a garden city where 60 family residents could live healthily and peacefully. It turned out that only two of the houses sold (one of which was to Gaudi himself) and eventually the city of Barcelona bought the project. It's remarkable style included the traditional symbol of the park: a large, colorful tile mosaic dragon along and a central plaza overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Photos: Guell Park below


















































Photos: FC Barcelona vs AC Milan soccer game and honoring Ronaldinho

We capped the day off with the Barcelona vs AC Milan soccer game an exhibition match between these two rivals. The stadium held 90K spectators and almost every seat was taken. 90,000 people – that's 2x the whole city of Concord. Colin was beside himself before the game and couldn't stop talking about it all day. Hours before we needed to get ready, Colin was planning our time and strategy to get to the game. While Colin wore his new Puyol shirt, Parker and Kels also donned their new Barca shirts.

The game itself was a blast other than a initial snafu with someone else taking our seats and claiming we were sitting 'somewhere else.' We wound up having to call an usher to help us out in espanol to regain our rightful seats. No biggie in the end though, thank goodness.





Barcelona dominated the game and while the fans were passionate, it all -surprisingly- had a friendly feel, and they even cheered when Milan scored a goal. The Barcelona squad was unbelievable. David Villa, Iniesta, and Puyol were the starting stars. Their subs were Dani Alves, Messi, Pique, and Pedro. Xavi Hernandez didn't even play! Now imagine when they're all playing at the same time! At the end of regular play, the teams were tied. The fans clearly wanted overtime which would have meant 30 more minutes of soccer but they went straight into penalty kicks instead which always provides excitement. The Barcelona goalie held fast and they won the penalty kicks 3-1, and ultimately then took the game.

Also making this a special game was the fact that Brazilian soccer star, Ronaldinho, who played for Barcelona for years, had recently moved to AC Milan. He's well-loved by Barcelona (Barca as they call themselves) and they had a recognition ceremony for him at the end of the game.

Barcelona - Day 2

On our second day, we had a fantastic time on the beach. The water was warm and the kids had a blast playing in the waves. It was so nice to be able to cool off and relax at the beach.




Celia went for a run for the first time in two weeks despite the sweltering temperatures and received all kinds of funny looks (we have generally seen just men running in Spain so we have to show them what American women can do), but it felt good to run!

































That night we went to a Flamenco dinner and show. While Flamenco is considered part of the culture of Spain, it is actually native to the Andalusia region in the south. However, these shows in Barcelona have existed for decades and seemed authentic. We knew it was a touristy thing to do but we figured we ARE tourists and we wanted to see at least one Flamenco show while in Spain (we'll have to fit in a bull fight at some point too). With Colin, we had to make a deal that since we were going to the Barcelona-AC Milan soccer game the next night, that we would do something for Kelsey and go to the Flamenco show. In the end, he wound up enjoying the show as well.

The bright, flamboyant costumes and passion of the dancing intensified the experience.



The dancing is very focused on the movements of and sounds from the feet and is like tap but more powerful. One of the dancers sang an emotional song in Spanish and we would have loved to have a translation. We were all thoroughly entertained.








The video is one of the male dancer's. It's pretty dark but you may still be able to get a sense of the dancing.

Barcelona - Day 1

August 23-26

Barcelona seems to have everything -- it's a rich mix of amazing beaches, famed artists and architects (Gaudi, Miro, Picasso, Dali), crazy nightlife, and incredible cuisine. We barely scratched the surface on the Barcelona experience but it whet our appetites to go back and explore more. We're headed there again in late September when Celia's brother, Paul and his girlfriend, Kathy visit Spain.

We had a scheduled flight on Vueling for 11pm arriving in Barcelona around 1 am but when we arrived at the Pisa airport, we discovered our flight had been delayed until 2:40 a.m. The trials and tribulations of traveling. We made it to Porta Marina, our hotel in Barcelona around 5 a.m. and went to bed to catch some Zs for a few hours.

We were a little foggy after our crazy night but rallied and discovered in the daylight that our hotel was in a sketchy neighborhood with a less than pleasant smell in the streets. However, we were a short walk to the beach so we decided to give it a go and wandered down where people were playing both beach doubles volleyball, and soccer/volleyball (only using their feet and bodies rather than arms/hands to get the ball over the net) -- what do you call this game? They were really good and fun to watch especially for a former volleyball player.




Later, we made it downtown to Catalunya Plaza and the famous, Las Ramblas, the big shopping district. Colin was on a hunt for an authentic Spain soccer shirt that included the World Cup star over the Spanish emblem. Muy importante. Colin, Kelsey and Parker all wound up getting various flavors of the Spanish team's soccer shirts. Even after that, Colin had a continuous roaming eye for soccer stores and managed to spot and point out every one we passed during our entire stay in Barcelona.