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Spanish Sojourn, the test.

Spanish Sojourn By Alice McNelis I don’t know why it felt like the essay question of a parenting exam to me, but it did. I was trying very dutifully to get the right answer to this: You have one suitcase, you will be gone for 1 year, you have a 1 1/2 year old son and a 3 1/2 year old daughter, WHAT toys would you pack and why? Moving to Spain for an academic sabbatical has been a fabulous adventure so far. It began in San Jose while packing! This is not your usual corporate move where all expenses are paid. We have taken our two income house hold and chosen to support it for a year in Spain on just 1/2 of my husband’s salary. Crazy? Yes. Thus, filling boxes of toys and sending them over to our new home was not in the budget. My son was easy. Bring a few small balls and trucks, a stuffed animal and some favorite books (about balls and trucks). I considered asking my daughter which toys would be most important to her, but I know her well enough to know that the menagerie of animals, creatures and dolls she cares for each day would all HAVE to come in addition to all of their bottles, blankets, strollers, and cribs. This alone would fill up more than one suitcase. We had a limit of 7 suitcases to carry all of our belongings for an entire year. So, after weeks of much deliberating, and spying while my daughter played (and realizing that of course there will be toy stores there), I came up with my choices. Select items from her dress up box, two baby dolls, several light weight books, 6 musical tapes, a child’s tape player, foldable tents and a tunnel, a few baby doll accessories, 2 stuffed animals, a small, random collection of little figurines she loves and 2 CD ROMS were carefully tucked in along with the balls and trucks.. A few stops along the way from San Jose to Santiago de Compostela, Spain built my suspense. Did I forget anything crucial? Will we hear about it all year? Why was I so concerned with packing all the RIGHT toys? Was I displacing my anxiety of this big move into a single suitcase? I just wanted to get it right. The true test of these selections was upon our arrival to Santiago de Compostela. When we unpacked into our new flat for the year, Brian and I held our breath and quietly watched. The choice of toys was a success!. I passed the test! Madeline and Aaron were pulling out each toy with such delight, as if it were Christmas morning! “Balls!!” “My favorite baby doll , how did you know?” “Oh, thank you Mommy, I didn’t know you brought this!” Within minutes Madeline and Aaron were parading around the flat together in sparkly high heeled shoes, butter fly wings, crowns and feather boas to the beat of a Mary Poppins song while Brian and I began to get our new home organized. We breathed a sigh of relief. There were no exclamations of “Where is my DARK brown teddy bear, my baby doll’s bed, my tricycle and my Magnadoodle??!!” Wow, they completely appreciated only what was before them, not wanting for anything more. My initial relief and satisfaction, turned to reflection. What had just happened was important. It set the tone for our year here. Our life in this new culture is missing a lot of familiar and comfortable things (macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, checking accounts, our own car, extended family, 24 hour stores and 24 hour plumbers, a native language that requires no effort to use…). However, to just appreciate and even celebrate the wonderful things that are in this new country, right before us, has made this an fabulous adventure so far. So, yes, I think we truly got it right, we passed the real test and what a difference it is making. ------------------------------------- Alice McNelis is a mom, wife, physical therapist and fourth generation Bay Area resident who took a break with her husband and two young children to live in Santiago de Compostela, Spain for the 2000/01 academic year. She wrote this essay four months into the experience They are now settled back in San Jose and trying to bring a bit of their Spanish sanity to their busy lives here.

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