we're Here!

[Brian]

We got to Valencia at noon today after the 17 hours of travel. The kids slept for a few hours on the flight- just enough to call it rest. I must reiterate that I cannot abide by Air Europa, as I have yet to fly with them when they did not lose at least 1 piece of luggage. Oh well, at least it's only 1 piece this time. One out of nine ain't bad. :)

The weather in Valencia is quite nice today. A nice, cool breeze kept the Spanish sun from roasting us in our new piso. We're very fortunate to have found the piso. It's across the landing from my suegra, so tonight, we just crossed the hall to eat la cena.

I got my first dose of Spanish driving this evening. The rotondos are quite entertaining, but once you get the hang of them, you will never want to go back.

We went to Carrefour tonight to buy a couple of oscillating fans for the house, as well as some other household items and food.

And now, I've been up for 36 hours, and am quite ready for bed. So, until tomorrow, reciba un saludo cordial. :)

Brian

[greytop]

Welcome to Spain! http://smileys.sur-la-toile.com/repository/Content/0042.gif

[guapo]

welcome to this side of the pond Brian, good to hear that you all arrived safe and sound. Tackling Spanish driving after 17 hours of travelling must have been interesting.

[ValenciaSon]

Do you know valenciano yet?:rolleyes:

[Realaficionada21]

Glad to hear that the journey was uneventful.

What did you eat for your first meal in Spain?!?

[Edith]

And now, I've been up for 36 hours, and am quite ready for bed.

Wow! I would have been comatose by now! ;D Welcome to Europe!

[Acosta]

Welcome

wish I was there

[Palmerito]

Brian,
I am so glad to hear you arrived there safe and sound and have settled in. I am happy for you, but quite green with envy as well :smug:.

Oh, well at least I have a week in October in Madrid to look forward to. Wish it could be more. Maybe next time.

I am looking forward to hearing how you adjust in the next couple of weeks.

:cool:

[ValenciaSon]

Glad to hear that the journey was uneventful.

What did you eat for your first meal in Spain?!? McDonalds'?:rolleyes:

[Ashley]

I'm glad to hear everything went (relatively) smoothly! Any sign of the lost bag yet?

[Brian]

Glad to hear that the journey was uneventful.

What did you eat for your first meal in Spain?!?

Chuletas de lomo con champiñones, patatas fritas, y fruta para postre. Not typically Spanish, but what the doctor ordered after the long flights.

McDonalds'?:rolleyes:

Funny enough, you can order a beer with your Quarter Pounder With Cheese meal. Instead of ¨Pound One,¨ they could change the slogan to ¨Slam One.¨ ;)

I'm glad to hear everything went (relatively) smoothly! Any sign of the lost bag yet?

Not yet. It was supposed to come in after the last flight to Valencia last night (10 PM), but no calls from the airport yet.

The Valencia airport was recently expanded due to the America´s Cup, and the roads surrounding it are somewhat of a nightmare, but the airport is quite nice.

The weather isn´t too terribly hot this week. I´ve opened up the piso to let the fans blow through the cool morning air, as well as to air it out a bit. It hasn´t been lived in for a year. People around here are hesitant to rent out property, as the laws tend to favor the tenant rather than the landlord. Many would rather see it sit empty than to rent it.

More later!

[Ben]

Welcome to Spain Brian! Looking forward to hearing all about the settling in experience, and well done for surviving your first dose of Spanish driving!

[Brian]

Do you know valenciano yet?:rolleyes:

Not much, other than that Forn is a bakery in Valenciano. (Horno) Many road signs are in Valenciano, but they're not too difficult to figure out.

[greytop]

Just in case you need it - a link (http://www.trobat.com/)to things Valencian. You're right about the weather, it has been a bit more pleasant for a couple of days. I see a blue sky again today though so the temperature will be on the way up again.

[Diana]

Welcome to Europe! Wish I could send you some of our cool weather - or maybe you could send us some heat!!!!! (Actually it is on its way right now, so the weatherman!)

[gary]

Welcome Brian

Congratulations on making the leap

- please start planning the Great Valencia Escape for 2009

Gary

[Brian]

How is life at Ribarroja? Did you get hit with any of those torrential rains? I hope not. Are you learning Valenciano? Is it necessary for the job market there? Are your kids learning it in school?

Thankfully, the rains passed to the south of us, but we´ve definitely had our share of rain this month. In what is the land of sun and warmth, it´s been wet and chilly pretty much since August. The locals all say that it´s the weirdest weather they´ve seen in decades.

I am learning Valenciá a palabras sueltas, not formally yet. If you´re bound and determined to become a funcionario or government employee, knowing Valenciá is a great way to earn points in the oposiciones system. In school, there are 2 tracks: Castellano and Valenciano. Most native Valencians opt for the Valenciano track, which means that all schooling is in Valenciano. Most immigrants and transplants from other parts of Spain end up in the Castellano track, although some of the subjects are taught in Valenciá, as required by law. My kids are in the Castellano track, but my 7 year old came home counting to 10 in Valenciá, and spouting off the colors. Oh yeah, they are REQUIRED to buy the state-mandated English textbooks. Nothing like my 12 year old rolling his eyes when having to learn how to say, "My house is green" in English. Finally, his teacher gave up and just told him to read English novels to keep him from getting bored.

In the end, I scoured the job market for 6 weeks to no job, having heard the words "overqualified" all too often. Any company looking to hire for someone of my skill set was looking for someone just out of school who would work for peanuts. That´s not my bag, so we decided to open our own IT consulting business (http://www.compudoctores.com). We have a nice local on the Carrer Major, and are hoping to open in a couple of weeks. I painted it yesterday and started installing the network infrastructure. The owner of the property is a super-majo Valenciano just retiring from the furniture business. He´s decided that his mission in life is to teach me Valenciá. So, I am learning it bit by bit, from baxoqueta to xiquet to bon día to fins després. I´ll let you guys know how the business is going, but so far I´ve done a little bit of work for some business clients.

We´re loving Spain- definitely missing certain things about the US, but in the land of endless chorizo, paella, and pata negra, it´s hard to imagine being anywhere else at the moment.

[guapo]

... My kids are in the Castellano track, but my 7 year old came home counting to 10 in Valenciá, and spouting off the colors. Oh yeah, they are REQUIRED to buy the state-mandated English textbooks. Nothing like my 12 year old rolling his eyes when having to learn how to say, "My house is green" in English. Finally, his teacher gave up and just told him to read English novels to keep him from getting board.


always wondered how that worked out - I guess what he gains in the English class he loses in the Castellano one. Though I would have thought that they would want to take advantage of having a native english speaker in the class?

good luck with the new business by the way, the web site looks great.