Michael and I arrived in Asheville 48 hours ago. And ever since then, the universe has been gently saying, “This is still your place, kid.” The morning walkers took me back into their fold like I’d never left. On that walk, I was delighted to see a new Little Free Library in the neighborhood —…
Category: Valencia
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Home From The Library (or Oh, The People You’ll Meet – Part 3)
“I know you!“ she said, pointing her finger at me. I was walking down a random street in Valencia, on my way home from the library, Michael conversing with me through the earbud I had in one ear. “I’m Yvonne!“ she said as I pulled my earbud out and looked from her to the man…
Oh, The People You’ll Meet (Part 2)
When you apply for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV), timing is everything: there can be no more than 90 days between the date you get your first required document and the date you present your entire portfolio of documents to the Spanish Consulate. So when my husband Michael and I our started our process in May…
Small Spain
I’ve always liked small things and small spaces. I remember when Mom would kick us out of the house as children: I would just grab a few of books and head out to read under the picnic table. I remember spending lots of time in a two person pup tent with my next-door neighbor. You…
Sandpaper Kisses
On the page before me, a little girl stood on her bed in her pajamas, one hand held straight out in front of her like a stop sign. Her father smiled down at her. “Prefiere besar al aire antes que a su papá.” You prefer to kiss the air instead of your father. Woohoo! I…
How Not to Learn a Language
Within a month of moving to Valencia, Spain I was certain of one thing: I wasn’t going to learn much Spanish at Spanish language schools here. How did I know this? I tried. Twice. At the first school, thanks to my Pimsleur studies, I tested into level A2 (Advanced Beginner). I told the school I…
Learning Italian?
“My husband and I, for the month of August, are only speaking to each other in Spanish,” said a woman in my Friday walking group. “Well today is August fifth,“ one of the other women said. “How’s it going?“ “Well, we haven’t said anything to each other yet today!“ — I had heard before that…
Airing the Laundry: Part 3
Back in November, I learned that our summer-sun-drenched-terrace is not so sun-drenched in the winter. In fact, about the time the clocks change in the fall, our terrace is reduced to just an hour or so per day of sun—and usually that hour has passed by the time I wake up. And so it was…
Tales from the Terrace: The Clothesline (or Airing the Laundry: Part 2)
We didn’t know if we’d be required to remove our newly-purchased porch furniture from our building’s communal terrace, but that didn’t stop Michael from moving forward with his next plan for the terrace: a laundry line. After the near-debacle of drying our clothes in the cement air vent in Oviedo, we’d become more proficient at…
Tales from the Terrace
A knock on the door. Michael opens it to find a thirty-something woman standing before him. Rapid fire Spanish bursts from her mouth and Michael, having arrived in Spain just six weeks earlier, is mystified. “No entiendo,” he manages to get out, which only means, “I don’t understand,” so the woman starts to explain it…
RenaissanceRebecca 