Things learned in two days

Well here I am in Barcelona. I have been here two full days. My apartment is bigger than the house in Seattle. I have two bathrooms ( that is a needed bonus). The kids have their own bedrooms. They are not too sure about the whole "sleeping in your own room" concept. I am sure they will get used to it. In each bathroom I have a bidet. I am not at all sure how to use it but I am sure I can find out how on google. I have not looked it up yet, because I am not at all sure if I want to know how.

I have learned a few things in my two short days. I am prepared to share this wealth of knowledge, just in case you find yourself needing to know and also if I put it in print, I can go back and reference it just in case I forget.

Lesson #1-The people that work at Starbucks speak English.

Lesson #2-The people that work at Starbucks think all Americans like lots and lots of sugar in their coffee.

Lesson #3-50 percent of the women here wear scarves around their neck.

Lesson#4-I have no idea why they wear scarves around their neck. I think it may be like jewelry.

Lesson#5-A small bottle of Revlon foundation and a blush cost $30. I thought I was going for the cheap stuff.

Lesson#6-The subway system is awesome here! I think as soon as I learn my way around a little more, I will rule.

Lesson#7-Sometimes sign language helps when you don't know how to say what you need to say.

Lesson#8-You must weigh and price your own produce before you go to the check out. This lesson was learned last night at the grocery store. I tried to get tomatoes and a cucumber. The cashier held them up and asked me something in Spanish. I did know that she was wanting to know how much, unfortunately I did not know. I nice gentlemen in the line behind me explained that I need to weigh it and print out a sticker and put on the bag. I explained that I was just a "stupid American" and that I was very thankful that someone took the time to explain this to me.

Lesson#9-The cashier does not like it when you give her a 100 Euro bill. This lesson was learned in the same check out line as the previous lesson. When I handed her the bill she kept asking me if I had something smaller. I kept saying no. I think she may have thought I did not understand the question because she asked me several times (of course she was asking in Spanish). The kind gentlemen in the previous lesson, pulled out his wallet and started to pay for my groceries (talking about the kindness of strangers) but just in the nick of time, the cashier in the next aisle over gave us some change. For a minute I thought we were going to have no dinner for the night.

I must be leaving you now. I know there are many more lessons to be learned today.