Blanca In Spain

Raising Bilingual/Biracial Kids

2012-01-26T00:58:00.000+01:00

Once again I've been too busy to be able to write this post on Monday so here it comes, a little late.

Raising my children with several languages and cultures is something I'm really proud of. I think that having my kids with the man I chose at the time was a great choice, since that gave my kids a unique mixture that will make them special wherever they go.

Some of you might already know that my kids are a lovely mixture of Spanish, Finish and Moroccan genes. On the outside you can't really tell them apart from other Spaniards, so in that way I don't think they'll ever have a cultural crisis. But what's going on on the inside is a different story.

My kids are trilingual since the day they were born - their first language is Spanish since it's my mother tongue and the language I speak with their father, their second language is Swedish since they were born in Sweden and it's the language my parents use with my kids. When my kids were babies their father used to speak to them in Moroccan Arabic, but after a few years it got harder and harder for him so he decided to use Spanish instead. But when we moved to Morocco they learned to speak perfect Moroccan and also classical Arabic.

Lot of people think that raising a bi/multilingual kid is a piece of cake, but no, it's not at all like that. First of all, you yourselves need to be fluent in the language you want them to learn, because in many cases you're the only linguistic reference for your kid. You need to be able to sing children's songs in the language and read bed time stories, in order to give them the cultural aspects of the language. You have to celebrate the holidays and incorporate them into your family's normal day to day routines. And here is where many problems start because not everyone has a partner that agrees with this. And most important of all - never give up! Even if your child doesn't seem to understand when you speak your language with him/her and he/she answers in the mayority language, keep on going, because in spite of everything, your kids is learning, he/she just isn't ready to speak the language just yet. It might take 2, 5, 10, 15 years but whenever he/she feels confident enough - or in a situation where no other language will do, you will be surprised to hear how well he/she speaks the language!

I think I've given my kids a good cultural start since they have lived in Sweden, Morocco and now in Spain. They are able to blend in in all their cultures, they speak the languages, they know about the culture and religious life and they know that they have the freedom to chose wherever they want to live in the future. My kids and I know that "home is wherever you lay your hat" and that it is posible to have several places in your heart. I think I've achived my goal to raise international kids and I'm extremely proud of my babies.

Dream Big For Africa

2012-01-25T23:39:00.000+01:00

I'm sure you all have heard of Malaria, since it's one of the most famous diseases of the African continent. But do you know what it really is? This is some information I found at MedLinePlus:

Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that is passed from one human to another by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria can also be transmitted from a mother to her unborn baby (congenitally) and by blood transfusions. After infection, the parasites (called sporozoites) travel through the bloodstream to the liver, where they mature and release another form, the merozoites. The parasites enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells. The parasites multiply inside the red blood cells, which then break open within 48 to 72 hours, infecting more red blood cells. The first symptoms usually occur 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, though they can appear as early as 8 days or as long as a year after infection. The symptoms occur in cycles of 48 to 72 hours.

Malaria, especially Falciparum malaria, is a medical emergency that requires a hospital stay. Chloroquine is often used as an anti-malarial medication. However, chloroquine-resistant infections are common in some parts of the world. Medical care, including fluids through a vein (IV) and other medications and breathing (respiratory) support may be needed.

Malaria kills a child every minute in Africa. You can make a difference and it doesn't take mucho of an effort. All you have to do is to text 85944 to donate $10 to @MalariaNoMore and you'll be entered to win a trip to Africa!!!! If you think this is as important as I do, please join Malaria No More and help the children in Africa have a future.

Oh no, not again!

2012-01-24T19:02:00.002+01:00

Oh yes, unfortunatelly it's true, I've got a cold... Again! I think it's the third time this winter, so far....
It's really really cold here right now. The weather is ok around noon, you even see quite a lot of peple in short-sleeved t-shirts and shorts. But then around 5.30 - 6 PM it starts to get colder and colder. We've had several nights with temperatures below 5 degrees C. I know, it doesn't seem so cold, in northern Europe 5 degrees is nothing... But bare in mind that most houses here don't have any kind of heating system and the walls aren't very thick so when it's 5 degrees outside it isn't much more than 15 degreen indoors and that's not a very nice temperature....
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A very special song

2012-01-23T00:41:00.001+01:00

This is just a short note to let you know I'm still here. I've had a wonderful and peaceful weekend and I feel ready to start a new working week.

I also wanted to share this song with you. I absolutely adore it, it means very much to me. A very special person dedicated this song to me and since then I remember him every time I listen to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmTcV6laGg&feature=related
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2 exams done

2012-01-18T11:07:00.001+01:00

I sent in my first big exam this morning. According to the information on the web I'll get the result within 24 hours. Although it's an exam you do at home and you can use the books and internet it was still quite difficult because of some of the questions that were really tricky.

I had to run some errands this morning and when I got home I revised the first two units of book 2 and did the exam. I have actually studied book 2 already so all I have to do is to revise everything and do the exams. I got 16/20 on the first exam, I'm not too happy about that... Hopefully I'll get a better grade on the next exam which I hope to do tonight.

I'm off to study unit 3 now, see you later!
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Almost done

2012-01-18T02:21:00.001+01:00

Today I finished my first big exam. It has 50 really tricky questions so I'll have to check 3 of them in the morning and then send it to my school.

I'll be busy in the morning, fixing some documents I need to take to the lawyer and then in the evening I have a class. I also need to find some fun games in English for my 2nd grade class on Friday. I just hope I'll wake up feeling better tomorrow than I did today....
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Still walking...

2012-01-17T01:54:00.001+01:00

I've had a few days off walking because I got the flu and just couldn't bare to go out into the cold. But today I decided that no matter what I really needed that walk.

At first it was really really cold, only about 10 degrees C and it was quite windy. But I was determined that at least I would walk for 30 min. Well, after a little while I didn't even notice the cold. I was listening to music and just enjoyed life... I ended up walking for over an hour and returned home really refreshed and with a lot of energy.

I forgot to check my weight before starting doing the walks (stupid me!) But I'm pretty sure I've lost some weight already, my belly looks slightly smaller... There are still 5 months to Beach 2012 and this year I'm going to make it!!!!
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So funny

2012-01-12T07:42:00.000+01:00

I woke up feeling a bit blue and annoyed this morning. These past 2 days a lot of things have happened, several old "friends" have contacted me all of a sudden after a very long time and that has made me really confused. I mean, how is it that when you finally meet someone you really like and is happy with, your old boyfriends turn up and ask you to come back? Some sort of 6th sense or what? They actually don't want you but they don't want you to be with someone else eighter.... And it's not just one person, I'm talking about almost every boyfriend I ever had and within 24 hours.. That really is too confusing!!!

So I really needed a good laugh to start the day off on the right foot. A friend of mine posted this link on Facebook and I laughted so hard that my tummy aches. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! The15 funniest autocorrects from november

Multicultural Mondays #1

2012-01-10T00:08:00.000+01:00

Going through some of the members of the Mom Bloggers for Social Good I stepped into a new blog hop which I just LOOOOVE!!!! It's called MulticulturalMondays Blog Hop and it's all about living with two or more cultures in your family. Wow, this is just the one for me!

I was born and bred in a multicultural family. My mom was born in Finland and my dad was born here in Spain, in Catalunia, which has its own language and traditions that differ somewhat from the rest of the country. Both of them left their countries due to bad living conditions and ended up working in Stockholm, Sweden, where they met and fell in love. At that time, the late 60s, people were not used to interracional relationships and I think life wasn't so easy on them but now, more than 45 years after they first met, they are still together. That really is true love!

Ever since I was born I was surrounded by different religions, languages and cultures, and to me, that's the most normal thing. We always mixed different traditions at home and chose the best from each country. What I liked the most was the fact that we got Christmas presents 3 times a year! But when I grew up I never thought I would end up falling in love with someone from a country far far away, just to follow the "family tradition" LOL. But I did. I fell in love with a Moroccan and got married. So by then, my family added some North African and Moslem traditions to our daily life and holidays. Unfortunatelly, things didn't turn out well, so I got divorced, but we kept some of the Moroccan traditions, for my kids' sake. Well, the multicultural story could have ended there, couldn't it? But no... I'm dating a Peruvian so nowadays we've also added a South American touch to our lives. LOL

I can't wait to see who my kids will fall in love with, will they follow the family tradition or will they find someone closer to home? By the way, my kids are about as multicultural as there can be since they were born in Sweden, then spent 4 years in Morocco and now live in Spain. My oldest son speaks 7 languages and he's only 14!!!!!

Mom Bloggers for Social Good

2012-01-09T23:15:00.000+01:00

Yey! It's here, the opening day for a new project for mom bloggers - the Mom Bloggers for Social Good. When I first read about it I inmediately felt an urge to participate, because this is just what I've been looking for for a very long time. I'm thrilled to be one of the founding members of this project and I hope we can do a lot of good for many people.

The main areas this network will work with are: Children, Education, Maternal Health, Fair Trade, Workers’ Rights, Environment and Climate, Communicable Disease, Non-Communicable Disease, Access to Clean Water and Sanitation, Food Security, Malaria and Tuberculosis, HIV / AIDS, and Women and Girls. I really feel a lot for most of these areas and I can't wait to help out! Many of these areas touch me personally, so I'm sure I have a lot to share with all of you.

Please follow this network on Facebook and Twitter (#socialgoodmoms).

Torre del Mar

2012-01-09T08:28:00.000+01:00

Torre del Mar is a town about 20 min by bus from where I live. Since I live in a village it's nice to go to a town every now and then because the shopping is definitely much better. Torre is one of my favourite places to go to to have a coffee or just a stroll along the beach.

There are lots of Germans in Torre so it's not uncommon to find signs in both Spanish and German.

No walk today :(

2012-01-07T02:07:00.001+01:00

I woke up really annoyed this morning. I didn't sleep well because it was way too cold in my room and in spite of going to bed fully dressed I was still shivering for a very long time.

Houses here in Spain aren't built for the winter season, mainly because we only have really low temperatures about 2 months a year. Most houses don't have central heating either, only the modern ones. In Spain in winter we tend to put on a sweater as soon as we get indoors and take it off when we go out, since it usually is warmer outside in the sun. Funny, isn't it? Well, as someone said - "Spain is different"...
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The 3 Holy Kings came to town

2012-01-06T01:30:00.000+01:00

Walking...

2012-01-05T15:32:00.004+01:00

These are some photos I've taken the past days during my walks. Enjoy!

False friends

2012-01-05T00:35:00.001+01:00

These past days while I've been walking I've had plenty of time to think.

Last year really was one of my worst years ever in a lot of ways. Sentimentally it was a complete desaster! I fell in and out of love several times and unfortunatelly back again with the same persons. I must be stupid or something when it comes to love, because if you break up with someone it's because of something, isn't it? Well, that something is probably still there later on, so getting back together usually isn't a good idea... Hmmm...

What I've done these past days has been thinking about my so called friends on MSN and Facebook and I've deleted a lot of people. Since I'm a huge fan of Fly Lady and her philosophy I used a Fly Lady approach - I went one by one thinking "Does this person make me smile when I think about him/her? Does he/she add to my energy or does he/she steal it from me?" Now my friends lists look empty but I know that those who are left are people who care about me and I care about them. I really really prefer to have only 10 people on my MSN instead of 200, because I know they are my true friends. It really is a question of quality instead of quantity...
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Looking for Blog Hops

2012-01-03T19:04:00.000+01:00

I've been off blogging for so long so the blog hops I used to follow don't seem to work anymore so I need to find new ones.

I just came across this one: SJB's Blog Hop

New year, new goals

2012-01-03T17:48:00.001+01:00

Last year was one of the worst years so far for me. All of a sudden I sufferred from all kinds of illnesses and I who usually hardly ever see a doctor had to go almost every week.

I'm determined to change that this year. I think I started off on the wrong foot last year and then things just got worse. First 3 molars fell apart and I spent 5 months with a terrible pain that didn't go away no matter how many pills I took. And then all the antibiotics on top of that. My body was like that of a junkie. No wonder I felt totally burt out...

So this year I'll try to start off on the right foot. I will do a detox diet, starting next week, I'm still weaning off sugar and coffee. I'll go back to drinking a cup of green tea before every meal. And I will continue taking spirulina 3 times a day.

I gained weight last year and I'll work on losing those kilos this year. The green tea will help me burn the fat and a diet low on sugar will also help. Getting back to my daily walks will help me lose weight and tone my body. My goal for January is walking for an hour every day and in February I'll increase the time to an hour and a half. Then in March I'll be ready for the Wii once again.

In March I'll evaluate my progress and make the necessary changes in order to reach my goal by the end of MayM

Testing

2012-01-02T17:15:00.001+01:00

This is just a test to see if I can blog on my phone again...
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A visit to the cave

2011-12-29T23:54:00.001+01:00

Here in my village there is a cave which is one of a very few underwater caves that have emerged from the sea. In Spanish it's called "la Cueva del tesoro", which means "the treasure cave". According to an old legend an Arabic pirate hid a huge treasure somewhere in the cave, but no such treasure has ever been found - yet... Anyway, it's a very beautiful cave, with a sleeping volcano inside. Have a look at these photos!

Time for a change!!!!

2011-12-29T22:49:00.000+01:00

Only 2 days left of this horrible year... I think it has been one of the worst years in my life so far and I hope next year will be a lot better. I've decided to make some severe changes because obviously, something went very wrong this year and I need to do something about that.

My first change has been to download a new layout for my blog. It's still far from finished, it needs a lot of fixing before my new template fits into the features of my old one. I'm not sure I'll keep it though, I don't seem to get everything where I want it and somehow I don't have as much patience as I used to. I think I'm much more restless these days...

Anyway, I'm working on it...

Planning a beach party

2011-06-12T11:48:00.000+02:00

My kids have their birthdays during the summer vacations so it's really difficult to throw a real party for them. This year I've promised them that we'll throw a party in June, right after school ends. Hopefully their friends will be able to come.

We'll have the party on the beach. I'm searching the net right now for party ideas. There will be 8 kids (all boys) aged 12 - 14. We've decided that we'll eat hamburgers (I'll order from a local burger) and have lots of snacks and most important, plenty of soda. I really need party ideas. I know they'll have a great time together, they always have when they're at the beach since they are all friends, but I want to do something different so it's not just another day at the beach.

Ideas we've came up with so far: beachvolley, frisbee, some sort of treasure hunt (finding sea shells and stones or something), play with water guns, maybe a sand castle competition.... Any ideas would be very much appreciated, so come on, please, help me out!!!!

6 days in a row

2011-06-12T02:58:00.000+02:00

I'm still hanging in there, doing my wii fit plus every day. I'm beginning to feel really proud of myself. I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal but as they say, Rome wasn't built in one single day and I won't lose the weight in one day either...

Today I was really busy with my kids. We've decided that it's time for them to learn how to cook so from now on they will cook a meal each every weekend. G made lunch today - pork chops and mashed potatoes and A made pasta with tuna and tomato sause.

In the evening we played Wii Party and had great fun. I really missed all the fun I have with my kids when I had that &%$ tooth ache. I'm so happy to be feeling okey again, it's such a blessing.

I wanted to do my wii fit earlier today but the kids wanted to wath TV and I thought that I could do it a bit later anyway... Well, the kids went to sleep and I still didn't take out the balance board. 11.40 PM I finally did... What I didn't think about what that part of my excercise would count as Saturday and part of it as Sunday... First of all I ran for 16 minutes. Well, that counted as Saturday, so when I finished to do the 10 min of hula I had only done 10 minutes and not 26.... I decided to do 10 minutes of step up and not care about the missing minutes. So I did my 10 minutes of step and unlocked the 20 minutes.. So now I had 20 minutes and could hace done just another 10 minutes of step... Well, I felt I had too much bad energy in my body and wanted to get rid of that so I chose the 20 minutes step. Oh boy, that was hard! I haven't done andy step up for months... And doing 30 min all of a sudden, that's tough! But I did it... So all in all, I did 56 minutes of wii fit today. I will try to do another 30 minutes tomorrow (which is today actually since it's almost 3AM) and I guess I'll just do 20 minutes of step up and 10 minutes of hula and that's it... I think I'll put my goal at 45 minutes a day within a few weeks. That way it will continue to be a challenge each day.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now... Tomorrow we have to get up early, it's Sunday and church starts at 11 AM. Nighty night everyone!

I'm definitely back!

2011-06-10T17:52:00.000+02:00

I have been feeing ill for so long, I hardly could remember what it's like to feel okey. Well, now I do. And I'm slowly getting back my energy. I just love that, since I've always been a very active person and I really enjoy having lots of things to do. I think I've watched way too much TV lately...

Almost a year ago I decided I wanted to become a nutritionist and I bought a course so I could study at home (no way I can go back to school any other way right now). Well, it all began really well but then for a series of reasons I had to quit. Well, actually I didn't quit, I just took a break.... And that break is over now!

So far this week I've studied 2 chapters and I've done the exam. I got 20/20. Wow!!! That did feel GREAT! I've decided that one of my major goals this summer will be to finish my studies. The next chapter is really hard, I've read it and honestly, I didn't understand much.. So I'll use a Fly lady approach, baby steps... I'll do it 15 minutes a time, read a few pages and look up all the words I don't understand. It all sounds like Greek to me! Too much chemistry... But I really want to learn, so before I even pretend to study that part I'll take whatever time needed to understand it... It's all about the approach... and not quitting...

I'm also on a roll with the Wii... I've worked out for 5 days in a row now. First I thought I'd rest on Saturday and Sunday but I thought it over. I really really want to loose weight, and I do think I can find 30 minutes a day, even on weekends, to do some running or whatever on the wii. My weight is quite stable, which is really good, considering my period is on its' way and I always gain about a kilo or two... I'm sure I'll lose weight next week. I did the 10 minutes of hula and I really hated every minute of it! But I know it's going to work so I just have to hang in there and just do it, no excuses allowed! And that's it. I know I'll be happy in a few weeks time when I notice how my belly has gotten smaller.

Time to get going again!

A Wii Challenge

2011-06-09T23:56:00.000+02:00

I'm SOOO proud of myself!!!

When I woke up this morning the last thing I wanted to do was to work out. My whole body ached... Besides the normal pain in my sore muscles, my period will probably begin tomorrow and that always makes me feel like crap for several days before it starts... I just didn't want to move at all. First I thought I'd just skip working out for today. I mean, what difference does it make, I haven't worked out for like 4 months... So one single day won't make such a huge difference. Well, it does... Maybe not on my body but in my head it does make a HUGE difference... So I decided to stick to my new routine and do my 30 min of Wii Fit. I didn't feel like doing anything that involved thinking or complicated moves, so I just ran for 25 min and then spent 8 min playing diferent games to get my mental gold star of the day.

One thing I know is great for the belly is the hula hop. I used to be really good at it but not any more. So far I've only unlocked the 4 minutes, and oh boy, it is killing me!! My hips feel like they're made of concrete or something, it's horrible!!!! Sooo, I've decided to join a challange. I just looove challenges!

If Colleen is accepting me I'll start tomorrow.... It's a 10 min hula challenge and it's about doing at least 10 min of hula each day.Since I haven't unlocked the 10 min yet, I'll have to do the 4 min 3 times in a row... Oh my God, am I going to survive that???

And I return to life again....

2011-06-06T11:08:00.000+02:00

I've been lost from the blogosphere for a long time... Actually I haven't updated this blog since March and than only half heartedly... The reason? Thre molars that made my life a nightmare! In a matter of days three molars broke and if you've experienced tooth ache you know what I'm talking about - it's AWFUL! My whole life suddenly was about getting those teeth extracted... Believe me, it's not as easy as you might expect living in Spain.... I was in constant pain for over 4 months!!! Finally, 4 days ago, the second molar was extracted (the third one can be fixed) and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

It's 11 A.M. and so far I've cleaned the kitchen, the entrance, the sofa (hadn't done that ever, it was really full of dust bunnies and bread crumbs and who knows what...) and half the living room. Since it's Monday it's time for the weekly Home Blessing. This time I'll try to do a morethorough one since I haven't really been able to clean properly for weeks, but without trying to do it all in one day. No more crisis cleaning, thank you...

The best part of getting rid of that horrible pain is that I'm able to get back into training again. I really would love to go to a gym, but since they're really expensive and money always is a matter, I've taken out my Wii Balance Board again.

I took out the balance board yesterday and created a new profile, I want a totally fresh start. I stepped on the board to see how much I've gained these past months and well, it could have been worse... My MBI is 25,5... The game recomends us to get down to 22 MBI but I don't think that weight will look good on me since I'm the Marilyn Monroe type of girl *LOL*. My goal will be to reach BMI 23...

This morning I got on the board and oh boy, how hard everything was!!! I did 3 min of hula and nearly fainted! *LOL* One thing I always hated was the boxing, I never really understood it and today all of a sudden it all became clear and I realised that I love that boxing routine.... I was really really happy when I unlocked the 5 min routine!! In the end I did 33 min in all... I think that's enough for the forst day...

My goal will be to do 10 min running, 10 min hula, 10 min boxing and at least 5 min of something else just for fun every morning Monday to Friday.

Well, time to get back to work, I have SOOO much to do today and I'm really happy that I'm feeling my strenght coming back... In a few days I'll be my normal self again, a living tornado... *LOL*