Suitcases be gone...

First, it started with innocently packing up our condo so we could rent it out "in case" we got orders to move. Then came the trips to NY to get married, plan, then get married again, followed by a 12 day stay in Orlando to visit with Mickey and of course to seek out Tigger. Back to mom and dad's to pack up what little we had to enjoy at their house only to live out of suitcases here for almost two weeks now.

It's funny. People that arrive here are asking have we gone here, have we gone there. We just look at each other and think not today. We've been so on the go and have felt so transient for so long now, the concept of picking up and moving around all day is just not an option. So we are counting down the days until we can move from our teeny little motel room to our tiny, but bigger, new house in "Las Palmeras".

That's right! We decided on a place. It took only about the first two minutes into the townhouse units to discover we did not want to live in them. Our house is a one story, 3 bed, 1 bath unit with a fenced in back yard. It's not much bigger than our little condo but something about it is so charming. We're especially excited that Rudy will have a nice backyard to lounge in while he sunbathes, since that's definitely his second favorite past time, after sniffing the wind of course! Our kitchen has granite countertops and a lot of storage space! We have the same amount of storage in our kitchen area that we had in our entire condo! Two of our three bedrooms are small but can at least fit a bed in them and have huge closets, the entire length of one wall. The third bedroom, is really fit only to have a small desk in it... or perhaps a crib... we'll see. We aren't getting any younger.

Our shipments still haven't arrived, so much for shipping them out 6 weeks ago! Thank goodness for free rental furniture. I only hope our unaccompanied stuff arrives so I don't have to buy towels and linens to live off of for a week or so... it would be a waste. On the bright side, unpacking will be so much fun. We have so many new kitchen items, I'm not sure what to bake first. We have one storage closet that I already have mentally set aside to house all of our countertop appliances since we have so many new ones! It's going to be like Christmas! I can't wait. My first baking project will be for the squadron's spouses breakfast at the end of the month. I'm thinking homemade cinnabons...

In the meantime, while we're waiting, we've been rather good at keeping ourselves busy. We are frequenting the gym, though both of us leave pretty beat up. We visit the beach on base often and are usually the only English speaking people there. It's funny... most of the Spanish on base stay on base and most of the Americans go to the Spanish beaches. Well, we like it here. You get the ocean view in the middle, the port to the left and the beach in Rota off to the right. All around it's a neat view. The water is very blue and very cold. Every day is sunny and breezy. You know those few days of spring right after the frigid winter and right before it becomes a humid mess? Those perfect weather days where you don't sweat all day and need a long sleeve teeshirt at night... well that's what we experience every day. Clouds are rare and are usually gone by afternoon. I know it sounds crazy but we don't have to check the weather before we dress. We know it will be 85 and breezy. Right now, it's 10 p.m. and I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and it's just getting dark.

We've been trying to jump into some base activities. We've gone to a movie on base (which I'd review rather badly, so I won't bother) and to my first drive-in movie over the weekend (which was a far better movie). Of course it was a kiddie movie but we had fun anyway. They had a refreshment stand that had nachos and popcorn and reminded me of watching Babe Ruth League games. It turns out Sangria tastes just fine in a plastic emptied out water bottle. =)

I've signed up for some community courses, like Spouse 101 to learn the lingo, Resume Writing for Government Jobs and Spanish Conversation. Just the other day, after my resume writing class, I saw a notice posted on the bulletin board for contract teachers wanted. So Joe and I wandered over to the MWR building on a whim and the woman in charge happened to have some down time to talk. It turns out, they are lacking programs for kids on base to be involved in. They specifically needed someone to start up a base wide cheerleading program, a children's theater program and were looking for a gymnastics instructor. Well, after being very frustrated at the lack of job opportunites, coupled with the ridiculously low pay for those that are available, I thought it's worth a conversation.

So, since I practically ran a gymnastics school, teaching gymnastics would be a definite. The best part is that since I'm a contractor, I can name my tuition and take home most of it. With a successful 10-15 hour/week schedule, I could make the same as some of the full time jobs available on base. Plus, BONUS, I'd only be working 10-15 hours! The cheerleading director position and the theater director position, each pay very little, if anything but wouldn't be liek a job for me, since I've done both before. Christina, my contact, was excited that I seemed to fit what they needed. It seems perfect timing for both of us. I was planning on taking some down time to enjoy my time here, but have decided to get involved instead. It's just too boring for me to not do anything, so leave it to me... to sign up for everything! Tuesday is the meeting that will determine it all... I'll keep everyone posted!

Thank God for Wii... when I first entered Christina's office, I thought it would be a quick inquiry about available teaching positions. Three hours later, after she had told me about the best stores to shop at in the local towns, and had given me the inside scoop about the base, people and functions and had warned me of the crazy wind season and serious flash-flood-filled winters, we emerged from her office to find Joe occupied... on the Wii. My poor husband, knowing my gift of gab and realizing my need to socialize with someone other than him after 10 days played like a 9 year old and was such a good sport about it.

On top of being grateful for Wii, I'm definitely grateful for our chemistry. Aunt June said when she and Uncle Paul started their life and marriage off in Germany, it brought them close and made them strong. Now I completely understand why. We are all we have over here. We are meeting other couples and friends and people PCSing in and out of here... but no one who knows us or fits like each other. If I didn't have Joe, this would be so difficult. Things are so much easier together, especially since he's so laid back, and he brings that out in me. Yesterday, we went for a drive, for about 3 hours. It was a particularly breezy day and we just wanted to see the local towns. So we did a big circle out to Jerez (Hereth), then to Puerto, then to Rota. It's so helpful he knows a bit about where he's going. The pictures you see here are of the drive we took. You'll see that where there's a town, it's packed in, and everywhere else, it's rural. Once we get all settled in, we'll explore some more. In the mean time, enjoy the pictures! (more on facebook as usual)