ROAD TRIP!

¡HOLA!

It feels like a LONG time since I have updated on here. Well, maybe because a lot has happened in approximately two weeks.

So, my last post wasn't really about anything...just a rant of despair with regards to LINGUISTIC FAILURE (haha, like SYSTEM FAILURE). But! Now I must talk a bit about the fun stuff I've done in the past two weeks.

So, my routine is sort of like every au pair's routine. You 'work' Monday to Friday and then on the weekends, you are free to do whatever the hell you like! It's inevitable that that includes hanging out with your friends. However (and I'm quite glad that it has turned out this way) I do try to balance my free time by spending some of it with the family as well. I am only here for two months after all, and it would be a shame not to make the most of being part of a Spanish family.

For example, last Saturday we went to a water park with the family – actually was pretty fun. But then again, I'm never one to miss out on a water park experience.

Here are the photos.

Needless to say....I did not try the yellow slide. (I did try the blue one though. Never again.)

For some reason, my sense of fear has increased by double since I was about five.

Sufficient translation? Something like "Don't get into trouble and we'll have no reason to put you in prison"....there was some kind of Wild West theme....

The invisible tap trick (it's been done before)

The beautiful view of Magaluf (ahem)

So then the following day I got out of bed at the crack of dawn (well, 9 o'clock), resisted the snooze button on my alarm and made my way into Palma to go to SPANISH CHURCH.

Which was interesting. I took my map, my bag and my beach stuff (for afterwards of course) and followed the map down lots of little streets, some correct, some incorrect, until I eventually arrived a building which looked like a bank (what is it with me and churches that don't look like churches? My church in Southampton is disguised as a Bingo Hall) but underneath I could hear music so I went in and voila! Church!

There were like 300-or so people, and somebody led me by the hand, babbling away quite happily about something in Spanish, not realising I'm not a native (I guess my tan disguises my nationality now) and eventually plonked me down in one of the only free seats, which happened to be next to a tall blonde girl who did not look Spanish.

We eventually discovered we were both newbies (the pastor suddenly announced that the newbies stand up and make themselves known) and Sara (the blonde) stood up. I was too shy because she was the ONLY one standing up and EVERYONE was looking.

This extremely excitable and petite Columbian woman came bounding up to us. I could tell the minute she opened her mouth that she wasn't Spanish. Everything was ¡Que linda! Or ¡Que rico! Or ¡Que miracle! And I've only ever met one other woman like her at another church in Manchester who is Peruvian. Latin Americans seem more 'jovial' as it were (can't think of a better synonym at the moment, I know that one was shocking).

ANYWAY when she found out that me and 'the other rubia' were both newbies and complete strangers she went overload on the excitement. It really was ¡QUE MIRACLE! Wow, and you didn't even KNOW each other? That's fantastic! What a miracle from God! Haha I'm just translating (probably badly) but you get the gist.

Anyway they made us introduce ourselves to the congregation which was a little bit daunting to say the least. I've only ever had to do this once in a foreign language and that was in France at the beginning of my stay as an au pair in French church. It was ok in French for some reason. Maybe I felt more at home with the language. But Sara went first and she can speak great Spanish because I found out later that she spent a year in Argentina and six months in the south of Spain. She told them the story of her morning and how she found the church on the internet at a café eating breakfast (or something to that extent) but anyway it was elaborate and fluent.

My turn was next. I gulped, looked at Smiley Shirley the Excitable Columbian Lady with the mike extended to me and I said (approximately no more no less):

• Hola. Me llamo Rachel. Soy de Manchester – I smiled generously at them all – Donde hay el fútbol.

It was the best I could do, and yet nobody got the football reference. I slunk as low as I could in my chair and tried to ignore the hundreds of faces peering down at me (seems like all I've done this holiday is try to ignore the stares in embarrassing situations).

As the service progressed, I soon found myself listening as hard as I could and AMAZINGLY somehow I understood nearly everything that was being said in the sermon. I mean, there were pockets where I had to tune out because the problem is, if there's one phrase or one WORD you don't understand sometimes, you lose the entire plot for a couple of minutes and then (rather like drowning in a lake an you break through the surface and get some air) you catch up with the language and you're back on track with the gist.

Anyway, I think its a sign that my Spanish is improving!

Anyway Sara and I made friends, went to the beach and basically had a great afternoon. She's Swedish, I found out later in the service.

So there's another rule about being an au pair that I swear by (a bit like the no liquids-or-towels luggage rule with planes) and it's this:

Usually, you only need ONE friend to then know a hundred.

Ok, so maybe not quite a hundred, but you get my idea. Sometimes there are people that you meet, and once you've met them you meet everyone you possibly need to meet. So Sara's sister and sister's friend were arriving next week and one thing led to another aaaand...

The next weekend we had the road trip of the summer.

We rented a car 'Jesus Rodriguez' we called him (nice, fancy Spanish name)

(We did get him into a few tricky situations but he survived well enough, minimal bruising)

We went to a place called Puerto de Sóller (it's on the other side of the mountain to Palma and you have to TREK over some seriously windy roads at a high altitude) but basically there were some beautiful views getting there.

This photo is from Sóller and it makes me crack up so much. I don't know why. It's probably the way they are marching.

We got a bit delirious on the way back (maybe it was a combination of the heat, carsickness and the Whitney Houston songs) but suddenly we all found the word YOLO very funny indeed. So we tried to incorporate it into the scenery.

We also came up with a Christian version You Only Live Twice (YOLT). A little bit sad, I have to say. But what did I say about summer heat delirium? It's a real thing and it affects millions of us out there.

Anyway the following day we all met up again and had a day in Palma at the beach and had a lazy day reading Hola (Spanish version of Hello magazine) tanning and swimming in the sea. It was recuperation central for me as I had been out the night before with different au pairs in the German version of Magaluf which is called Arenal. Seriously.

Still, sometimes it's worth it for a few drinks on the beach!!

Here is the beach at Palma:

Anyway, after that my week has gone pretty uneventfully. Well. Actually. I've been doing a bit of window shopping (and real shopping – what did I say about those Spanish sales – rebajas??) and so far I've only bought a top and a pair of trousers from Zara – HALF OFF!

I guess otherwise me and Marina (the girl I look after during the day) have been at home playing Mario Kart, learning English, practising spelling, swimming in the pool, chasing the dogs around, playing Sims and PLAYING MONOPOLY!!!!!!!!

They have the MALLORCA version!

Basically I hate Monopoly. It's such a long game, especially when you play it with more than 3 people, and usually I'm one of the first to fold and declare myself bankrupt (which is probably why my family and friends love to play against me). However, we have played it at least 4 or 5 times this week (only 2 against each other) and 3 times out of those I have WON big time. And weirdly...when you win at Monopoly...it's suddenly very appealing!

Marina's side of the game: (ie no money)

MY side of the game:

So I don't mind playing Monopoly. I may get really good at it and challenge my family to a Monopoly showdown when I get home. Also – Mario Kart. I am getting really good at that. So in total, I am improving in Spanish, Mario Kart and Monopoly. In some ways, fairly useless things, but I guess it proves that I am enjoying myself and relaxing to the max.

Erm....what else can I say? I think I'm done for now. There might be another entry soon because I want to write in a bit more detail some interesting Spanish things I have learnt (language related) but I am sleepy now and it's time for bed.

Oh! And before I forget: 

Sangria. 

The perfect end to an action-packed weekend.