Letters from Lisa

This is one of the oddest internet cafes that I´ve ever been in. The screens are encased in hard plastic and set into the desks, and the tower is encased in a locked desk that has a coin receptacle that you deposit 1 or 2 euros in. It´s like pinball but without the noises. Very strange.

So if you are the type of person who watches or reads international news, which is unlikely if you live in America but of course possible, you might have heard that there was an earthquake in our area today. All we felt was some mild rumbling underneath the floor of the subway-bus station. I actually thought it was one of the trains. Nothing seems to have been affected and the news was saying that no one was injured. Also, it is raining outside. This after I carted my umbrella around sunny Toledo all day long, in my overcrowded bag, and took it out before leaving the room tonight because I “wouldn´t need it”. I wonder what else I haven´t packed that I might need?

(I am not adjusted to non English keyboards yet - all of the symbols are moved around because you have accent marks and upside down question marks - like these: ¿¿¿¿)

So! I arrived in Madrid yesterday morning (if you are on the East Coast of the US, read “the middle of the night”) and already we are leaving tomorrow to take the bus to Seville, several hours south. Today we took a day trip out to Toledo, which is a lovely little city with some interesting buildings and things to look at. I am not quite adjusted to the time change yet, but we did so much walking around and sightseeing that I barely noticed. My favorite adventure of the day was backtracking through the winding streets to find the Ursulline convent where the nuns sell their homemade marzipan. You talk to the nun through a grated window and she takes the money, then spins a little turntable with the product on it.

I was a bit slow to start with, but it seems that I have not lost ALL my Spanish after all. Our tour guide gave us a little impromptu lesson on the bus this morning. Watch this:

hablar - to talk: Yo hablo. Tu hables. El habla. Nosotros hablamos. Vosotros hablais. Ellos hablan.

I did that from memory! Wasn´t that good? By the end of two weeks I will be able to converse at least on the level of a small child.

Anyway, hope to be updating more with pictures, too.

Hasta luego!

• Spain is the 15th country that I will have visited. It will be my 8th one in Europe.
• My flight originated in Houston at the George W. Bush Airport. Don’t mess with Texas!
• This is my shortest trip out of the country since the year 2000, when I was in England for only four days. Since then, I have not taken any international trips less than 3 weeks long.
• This is also the first trip in 3 years that I am not taking hiking boots or insect repellent along.
• On the other hand, it’s the first time that I am bringing a headlamp. Which is odd because there were lots of times I could have used one in past trips. It even shines red - perfect for turtle beaches!
• I specifically shopped for books to take along on this trip. I bought three and I’m taking two of them. The third was too heavy and bulky, so I decided to leave it for when I get back.
• I am probably going to wish I’d brought that third book. I never sleep on airplanes and I read really fast.

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve left the country or where you’ve traveled before. It’s impossible not to be nervous when you leave to go somewhere. At least this is what I keep saying to myself.

http://www.raisingresilientkids.com/resources/articles/stop_fixing.html - Why We Must Stop Fixing Our Children: The Parenting Paradox

Learning to support our children in ways that are truly helpful is part of the process of raising resilient youngsters. Resilience embraces the ability of a child to deal more effectively with stress and pressure, to cope with everyday challenges, to bounce back from disappointments, adversity and trauma, to develop clear and realistic goals, to solve problems, to relate comfortably with others and to treat one’s self and others with respect.

 http://autisticbfh.blogspot.com/2007/07/welcome-to-italy.html - Welcome to Italy: The Autistic Response to “Welcome to Holland” (from Whose Planet Is It Anyway?)

WELCOME TO ITALY

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a constant need for socializing—to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a restful vacation trip to Holland. You do some Internet research on the history of windmills and other fascinating topics, and you make your plans. Quiet, leisurely art museum visits. Peaceful walks through tulip fields. Painting windmills in a pastoral landscape. Maybe you’ll read train timetables in Dutch. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Italy.”

“Italy?!?” you say. “What do you mean Italy?? I signed up for Holland! I’m supposed to be in Holland. For years, I’ve perseverated on going to Holland.”

Some blog recommendations:

http://www.earofmyheart.com/wordpress/index.php - Ear of My Heart - the memoir of a woman who became Deaf later in life

http://jodireimer.blogspot.com/ - Reimer Reason - a mom writes about life with her son who has Down syndrome

http://www.ryntales.blogspot.com/ - Ryn Tale’s Book of Days - life with Ellie, born at 27 weeks and now a delightful little girl with some big medical issues

Yesterday was my trial run for my sister’s wedding in October. Yes, this is my maid of honor dress (though it hasn’t been fitted yet) and this is what my hair will look like. I would have killed for hair like that as a child. I can’t even tell you how many disgusting perms and hairsprayed roller curl mornings I went through to make my hair anything but straight and limp.

Now as an adult, I pretty much let my hair do whatever it wants. I don’t have an hour every morning to curl it or spray it. I hate dyeing it and keep swearing I’m going to let it start coming in darker again. A few times I’ve let it get monstrously long and then I’ve snipped it all off to donate to charity. So it’s nice to dress it up once in a while.

I had to go back through my bookshelves to find all of my recent acquisitions… here are a few more, including one I’ve only just started in anticipation of my trip.

Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers and Bums in America. This was a quick, fun read about slackerdom through the ages, sparked by the author’s conflicts with his teenage son.

Who Are You People? A Personal Journey into the Heart of Fanatical Passion in America. This one was about Barbies, furries, Josh Groban’s fans, people who dress up like characters from the Andy Griffith Show - obsession in some of its many forms. These are not subcultures of people who sit around and do nothing - they have intense energy surrounding topics and pursuits that others find mystifying.

What I’m reading now: THe New Spaniards, since I am leaving for Spain in a few days.