Once again it's been almost a month since the last blog entry. By far the most exciting event in the last month has been the visit from Uncle Bill. We spent a fun 3 days with him. Visited various sites around Barcelona. Went to Tibidabo, the mountaintop amusement park. Enjoyed cafe americanos. And learned a lot from him, who is a fluent Spanish speaker.

The other day I was trying to give directions to someone on the street and forgot a word. Duane couldn't remember it either. How delighted I was when from behind and below me I quietly heard "mochila." This is the first time Charles has helped me with Spanish in public. I do hope it's the first of many.

It is my custom to pass on to the kids words that I've learned, especially ones that they may find useful. Some previous words are,

barriga--belly
No me molestes.--Don't bother me.
Me hace ilusión hacer algo--It thrills me to...

In response to my "lessons" recently Charles has been telling me, "Mom, that's SO easy. It's like saying uno."

Daniel's language skills are coming along too. He will proudly reel off the days of the week in Catalan. He knows them better in Catalan than in English!

Today we visited the history museum of Barcelona. The museum is an underground archaeological site of Roman ruins beginning around 15 B.C. The experience began by taking an elevator, which doubled as a time machine, down into the ruins. We were surprised to see how large this underground world was. We walked along catwalks viewing roads, houses, factories, stores and a church. With a good imagination, one could reconstruct what life may have been like thousands of years ago. The kids commented that it was so large they couldn't remember everything! One fact we can't seem to forget is that people used to wash their laundry in urine to help disinfect it. No wonder the Romans needed to add lavender perfume to the clothes afterward!

Speaking of Rome, the pope was in Barcelona today. He led mass at La Sagrada Familia. Since our church is very close to the cathedral, and since the pope's message was broadcast to the crowds outside, we heard both services simultaneously. After church, walking to the museum, we happened across a very long police barricade. Rather than try to walk around it, we decided to wait.

Besides, it was pretty cool to see all those police lined up. It seemed like we were looking into infinity, into two mirrors facing each other. All the way up and down the street one could see the row of fluorescent police jackets. Five minutes later the queen of Spain rode past. In another 5 minutes the pope rode by. Not bad for happenstance.


We end each Sunday by preparing backpacks for school Monday morning. When chores are finished Charles and Daniel watch Spanish television to prepare themselves for another week in a foreign language. Tonight ended in a particularly sweet way as we tucked the kids in, one commented, "I can't wait for school tomorrow."