First Guests in our Home

We were very pleased to get together with a wonderful family from Spain that we met on the internet by chance. I was gathering information from piano forums when I was trying to decide which digital piano to buy for Mozart for the trip when I just happened to get some interesting replies from a person in Spain that were very helpful. We kept up email conversations and it turns out they only live about an hours away from where we are living.

They never met anyone through the internet and we had never met anyone through the internet until the Drapers on this trip. So far we are batting two for two as it was another great meeting and it makes me happy that thus far the people who seem great on the internet turn out to be great in person too. We have been helped so much thru people we have met through the internet and think that with common sense and cautions, it is a great tool for connecting people and expanding ones horizons. One of the best parts of travel is meeting and connecting with people and the internet increases those possibilities.

It was another exceptionally beautiful sunny day in southern Spain and we were feasting on one of DaVinci’s famous breakfasts up on the top terrace taking in the cobalt blue ocean view, when we got our first call and text message. It took us a while to figure out that is why the phone rang and how to find the message, but we have yet to figure out how to text back. We have been talking about meeting through email and time is of the essence because the mom and two beautiful children will be going to Argentina next week for two months. They were headed out for a drive to enjoy the day and could head our way, so we called back and said great!

We met at the playgrounds and let the kids play awhile and then we headed back to our house. Wow, house guests! It was nice to be able to share our home with friends and we broke out one of our bottle of wines that we bought in Burgundy. The dad, who I have been talking to the most is from Cordoba and it was nice to hear that our village house reminded him some of his grandmothers who lives there in a village house.
He pointed out some things that were typically Spanish and gave us some more insight. His wife is from Argentina, but her mother is from Italy, so she has also lived there and they met in London where they both lived for seven years. The adorable girls are three and a year and half and are being raised as trilinguals in Spanish, Italian and English and Mozart ended up calling them her little sisters.

We never discussed careers until we met, but interestingly he is in I.T. and DaVinci and he have worked for the same company and they have visited SF, Silicon Valley and our neck of the woods when he did a seminar there for Yahoo a while back. It really is a small world.

They have been tremendously helpful as they have great understanding about being expats  & living in a country where you do not speak the language as well as having knowledge about life and customs in southern Spain and music instruction here too. The time passed quickly as we gabbed away and then went up to one of our favorite restaurants with a view and had the whole upper terrace to ourselves. on this spectacular day. It happens that Mozart’s best friend Sam lives directly next door so she came over and all the kids played while the adults talked. We ended up being the last ones to leave the restaurant.

We had fun discussing the differences in Spanish in Spain and its different regions and how it also varies from Latin American Spanish which is somewhat like the differences between British English and American English. It was funny to find out that in Spain they do not use the common Spanish term “jugo”( juice) but call it something completely different, and also have a different way to say peaches. So now we know how to order delicious peach juice in a way that is understood. It was intriguing to hear their English, especially hers, with a strong British accent since I am used to my Argentina friends in the states having an American/Argentine accent. Their years in London have them saying “nappies” instead of diapers and things like that which we find charming.

Again, it seemed like we have known them for a long time and we are so grateful to have made these new friends in Spain as they have been godsends to us for our stay. We have already set a get together and meal at their home when they all return from Argentina (as the dad will join them at Xmas). We send lots of prays and good vibes for their trip next week as the mom will be on her own with the two little ones
for the 13 hour flight with several change overs.