Bomberos! Evelyn Goes to the Fire Station

Evelyn's class went to visit a fire station. She had a good time, but did not want to dress up as a firefighter like the rest of her classmates. Bombero is the spanish word for firefighters.

Christmas in Granada

Christmas has been an eventful time for the Roegners this year. Evelyn's class visited the town hall one day to visit the Natvity Scene there (called Belenes in Spanish, everyone puts elaborate ones up from banks to department stores to government offices). While there Evelyn and her class met and sang for the mayor, and even were recorded for local TV. We missed the news that night, but heard from our friends that Evelyn was on the local news. Pretty cool.

Also, the last day of school, Evelyn's school gave a Christmas concert. Evelyn dressed as an angel and her class sang a traditional Spanish Christmas song.

Christmas was spent with our friends the Mayers, and their teammates Pablo and Judy. Also, fellow Agape staff and Texans, Wes and Meghan came up from Malaga to spend a few days.

Garrick's parents came in for New Years. And on the night of January 5th we all attended the Cabalgata. The Cabalgata is a huge parade that every city has, as the Three Kings (or Reyes Magos) enter the city to bring gifts to children. Spain celebrates this day to commerorate the wise men who came to worship and give gifts to the newly born Christ child. The parade is a spectacular show consisting of much candy being thrown into the crowds. Evelyn said it was the best parade ever. We also spent part of the night with our friends Sam and Sheila, and visited our neighbors Rosario and Maria.

Thanksgiving in Spain

1 Turkey, 5 Americans, 12 Spaniards, 1 Italian, 1 French dude, Pumpkin and Apple pie = lots of Thanksgiving fun

Language Learning as a Family

Over the last two years in Spain Dziu and I have been working hard to grow in our Spanish speaking abilities. This year Evelyn also entered the language learning world with us. Right now she is going to school 5 days a week (5 hours each day) completely in Spanish. Talk about immersion.

We were really worried for quite some time that this would be too much for her. But Evelyn has responded well and is comprehending and speaking Spanish. She is already correcting our word usage and pronounciation.

We are often weary from spanish classes and meetings or discussions that are exclusively in Spanish. It takes so much mental energy to listen and reply in a tongue that is not your own. We have made many strides and actually feel very comfortable now living and working in Spain. Still, it often wears us out. We can't imagine how Evelyn feels after a week of school.

Here in Granada people speak with a specific accent, called Andaluz, for the region we live in, Andalucia. For example, "adios" is Goodbye in Spanish, but here in Granada it is pronounced "adiooo." The vowel is elongated and the "s" is dropped. Evelyn usually says "Adiooo" and often corrects us when we say, "adios."

A Day in the Snowy Mountains

Just outside Granada sit the Sierra Nevada mountains, with Europe's most southerly ski station. One can see the mountains from most anywhere in Granada. Usually snow does not arrive in the mountains till late in November, but this year they got over 3 feet of snow in mid October. Evelyn and Garrick decided to make the drive up the mountain to the ski station to see the snow and have some fun. They had a great day shoveling snow, riding on a sled (or in Garrick's case, pulling a sled) and enjoying the beauty of snow capped mountains.

Jamon

One of the great things about Spain is jamon. Jamon is cured pig leg (packed in salt and then left to cure in the cool mountain air) that is then sliced thinly and eaten alone or in a bocadillo (sandwich). It is really wonderful stuff. Evelyn loves it. Most grocery stores here have a whole section of pig legs hanging in the aisles, where you can purchase a leg. Every restaruant has one also, and jamon is a staple of the Spanish diet. Its hard to get jamon in the US, but it is possible, if not a little expensive.

This year back in Spain we purchased a leg, which now proudly sits in our kitchen. Which means we constantly hear "Mommy, please more jamon," from Evelyn.

Back Up and Running

Hello Everyone!!

After many months, we are back on the web.

Just a quick update: We are all doing well. After a long journey back to Granada, we are back to normail life in Spain. Evelyn is enjoying her school, Ave Maria, and her new friends there. She is also taking ballet classes, all in Spanish. Mathis is ... well, a very active boy with a good sense of humor. Dziu and Garrick are back to full time work, improving their Spanish and basically hanging out with students.

We are glad to be back in Spain, enjoying all the great tastes and colors of Granada.

Check back here for more news every week.

The Roegners