Ok so the tittle sounds a little funny. Yes I do yoga on a nudist beach and NO we don’t do it NAKED.. hahhahaa.. Ok, so I do yoga at the beach 4 times a week and on Saturdays we happend to do it on a beautiful rocky beach near el Cabo de Huertas, in Playa San Juan, Alicante where we live and that part of the beach, which is absoluteley beautiful happens to be a nudist beach…

I’m not sure if my yoga teacher knew that when she picked the spot but most of us sure as hell didn’t! hahaha.. We meet at 8:30 am so when we first get there, we might see one or two old men (yes nude) but as the day progresses more and more come until we are surrounded and we feel like the odd man out!!

At first we could not concentrate and would just laugh our heads off, and when someone new joins our class and has the shock of the first day, we laugh more at that than the other..but I must say after a while it just becomes natural and part of the scenery and you don’t think twice about it .. After class we dive in the beautiful sea (with our swimsuits on!!) and watch as all the nudist stare at us as if we were the strange ones..

I guess after a while of going I will have to give the whole nudist thing a try or NOT!!! What do you think??

photo dockfire

I don’t think I told most of you about the course I had been taken for Web Design. I started earlier this year a free course (paid by the government, for any unemployed person) . It was a subject I was very interested in and since I stopped working in February I decided that why not give something new a shot.

I went to an academy called Maga Informatica where along with about 10 others we were taught all we needed to know about web design. Programs such as dreamweaver, fireworks and flash. Our teacher Juan Carlos was I think the most patient person I have ever met, also very knowledgeable and helpful. The acadamy gave us all the books we needed, an external hard drive, and other accessories to help get us on our way.

I’m proud to say that my end of school project received a perfect 10 and I had the second highest grade in the class overall.. (the other guy was a graphic designer..doesn’t count hahahahaha). I think it is the first time in my life I have ever gotten such good grades (those of you who have known me for a long time and gone to school with me know what I’m talking about).

And so on Monday was our last day of school and I’m on my own. I will be working on Matt’s web page which needs a lot of work, and then on to some other projects. So, if you need a website or a blog now you know where to go..

photo flckr clevercupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I entered this blog Marco & Bella in a blog contest that a very popular Spanish newspaper called 20 minutos was holding. My intention was to enter my other blog about LaPlayaSanJuan in the category of best blog of your city , which I did, but when I saw there was a category for foreign language I figured well, heck why not..

I honestly thought maybe my Playa San Juan blog would get some votes but, today I happened to check out how the voting was going (which started on October 15th and ends on Novemeber 2nd ) and well, not one person has voted for my Playa San Juan blog, but somehow this blog has received 3 votes placing me in 9th place..

So, here is a big THANK YOU to the 3 people who voted, it has come as a big surprise since entering was not even my intention.  I know winning is not entirely an option at this point but being in the top 10 motivates me to keep on writing..

Yes, it is finally here the dreaded 40! Do you remember thinking how old that was when you were little? I do, I don’t know, I guess as young children we don’t think we will ever be that old, I mean we hope we will grow old, but in the meaning of being alive not with the all things it brings.. and by that I mean, the wrinkles, the aches and pains, the forgetfullness, the weight gain… but there is also the things is does bring, like the fact that we are better the wiser, we usually don’t repeat too many mistakes, we know who we are and are comfortable in our own skin, we are more knowledgeable and less gullible..

So, Happy Happy Birthday to me! through my 40 years I have met and stayed in touch with some wonderful friends, thank you all for the great memories.. Much love to my father and mother whom without them I wouldn’t be here to write this post, my brother who put up with my temper tantrums… I could go on and on, but this post is not a recollection of my life until now, it is simply a birthday wish I place upon myself.

Am I where I thought I would be at this age? Well, not exactly but I’m sure not many people are.. I’m though exactly where I need to be and where I want to be.

The other morning Bella woke up early and started to “pretend give me a tatto” while I was on the computer writing an email before heading off to my class (I will tell you about the class in another post). Anyway, she loves tattos and can’t wait to have a “real one”, she loves Miami ink and can’t understand why the tattos we let her wear don’t last long and wants the one with the “needle” (Ok, so she’s a bit weird, but those of you who know her know that she is 4 going on 20).

Ok, where was I going with all this, oh yes, ok, so she loves to pretend draw on my arm or anywhere and pretend to give me a tattoo..This particular morning, I was running late and not paying much attention to her and she proceded to give me her pretend tatto..I let her so she wold leave me alone and as soon as I finished typing the email, I headed off to class.

Half way through the morning in my class the guy sitting next to me says to me “Nice Tatoo”, and I say “Excuse me” (well, in Spanish) and he said, “It’s very original”, and I say again “Excuse me???”, He then grabs my arm turns it so I could see and to my surprise, little miss Bella, had decided that this morning she would use a real marker!! not even a pen a MARKER!! The next thing I know is that the entire class is getting up to admire my tatoo and yes, laugh at me..

When I got home I had to take a picture of it and thank Bella for the lovely artwork…Well, at least we know she will have an artistic profession.

As you all know, and as I keep reminding you, I will be turning 39+1 (oh what the hell, the big 40) very soon. Well, every day I look at myself in the mirrow and I can see the small (some big) changes that my face and body have gone through, throughout the years…and it isn’t until you see pcitures of yourself that you truly begin to really notice the change.

Well, on Sunday a very talented photographer friend took some pictures of me in a park and well you can Click Here to see some of the results…For those of you who haven’t seen me in a while, you will probably notice the changes more than I and for those who see me everyday, well..Same old me…

I actually like the way they came out and I’m starting to accept my age better and better everyday. By the time Oct 1st rolls around I will have gotten a grip on the situation.

Finally, it is over!!!! I just got back from the driver part of the Spanish drivers license and I passed!!! It was an ordeal just like the one to pass the written part. And after several driving classes I was ready for the final test.

I had to meet my driving teacher at 7:15 am in our “autoescuela” and from there 4 of us were on our way to the dreaded test. An argentinian guy who had already failed one time, a guy about my age that already had driven for a while but never got around to getting his drivers license and a 18 year old kid. We all packed in the car and headed towards the examination area. On the way the teacher reminding us of all we had to do, the rotondas, stop signs, etc…

Once there, we were surrounded by about 20 or more “autoescuelas’ with their corresponding students. We got off the car and had to wait for the examiners to come..We were all praying we got a good one because passing this test is a little knowing how to drive, a little luck and who is giving you the test. We got lucky and got a young guy who seemed nice.

I was then told that I would go first! I got in the car, my teacher next to me, the examiner behind with the guy who had been driving for a while but didn’t have his license yet. He said, get comfortable and when you are ready go.. I put on my seatbelt, checked all the mirrors, adjusted my seat and started the car. I had to back up and there were people everywhere from the other auto escuelas but I was on my way. I took a deep breath and said to myself “you can do this”. He made me turn right, then left, I passed a stop sign, he then asked me to parallel park where ever I wanted but there was no space so he told me to go into a parking lot and park there, luckily the parking lot was front parking so I went straight in.. He then said, ok thank you next!!!! I said “what, that is it?”, “Do you want more, he asked”, “No, thank you I replied”. But I thought to myself, what did I do so bad that its over…It could not be this easy…he filled in a paper and gave it to my teacher. I switched seats with the other guy and my teacher looked at me through the rear view mirror and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn’t believe it.

The other guy started to drive and got so nervous his car clonked out, then when he went to parallel park he hit a tree behind us, and when the examiner gave him another try he just couldn’t get it in and he failed. We went back and we got off and the other two got in. At that point I was pretty sure I had passed but until I heard it from my teacher I wouldn’t believe it. When the other two came back, I found out that I had indeed passed as well as the other two and that the examiner said to my teacher when I got out of the car and the other two went in..“It will be hard for me to pass people after seeing that girl drive she raised the level”...He did ask me when I sat in the back with him..”Have you driven before?”..

And so, I’m a legal driver.. I must thank my teacher for her patience with me and all the good wishes and prayers of my friends and family.. My neighbor last night gave me a printed stamp of a saint and told me to say the prayer written on it before doing the test and to place it in my back pocket and that he will help me. She said all I needed to do in return is go to his church in Valencia and light a candle.. and so when I found out I had passed, I called her and said “We are going to Valencia”.

I know need to wait for about a month to actually receive my drivers license, but in the meantime I could drive with a photo copy of the passed exam..I also have to place a big “L” on the back of my car for a year letting people know I’m a new driver and to be careful with me and can’t drive over 80 kilometers per hour.… And so ends my drivers license experience, that I think has been one of the most stressful situations in my life..

photo flckr by gwen

As you all know I passed the written part of the Spanish Drivers license part but now comes the driving part. By law you need to take driving classes even if you know how to drive. You must drive a car provided by your “auto escuela” with a teacher that has control over all the pedals in case you F**& up!

I started 3 days a go and let me tell you lots of fun..Not only are almost all cars here stick shift but probably 99% of the auto escuelas only offer stick shift cars.. Thank god that I do know how to drive a stick since my first car (for those of  you who know me for a while could remember the “slutmobile” (and many of you know why) was a stick… anyway, the driving classes are shared with another student one drives half the class, in our case one drives into Alicante from Playa San Juan where we are and the other drives back.

For those of you who have never been to Europe, I must explain that the streets here are not as wide as in the states…there are certain streets where your car barely fits and where sometimes you must tuck in your rear view mirror because you will hit another car… having said that.. you could imagine just how much fun, I’m having..the teacher is very nice but she lets you know what you are doing wrong  time and time again…

Imagine driving in a city you barely know, some are one way streets with no signage, others so narrow (well I already explained above), while the teacher is telling you turn right here (and it’s a one way street where you can’t go in, she does this to see if you are paying attention), then she is reminding you, look in the rear view mirror, down shift, you are too close to the sidewalk, you forgot the turn signal, your shifting wrong, heel on the floor, you didn’t get on the right lane to go into rotondas (yes, rotondas, there are millions of them here and you need to know from which lane to get in and out, always reminds me of the Chevy Chase movie European Vacation when they are in France in a huge rotonda and it takes him all night long to get out of it, going round and round in circles…..

Ok, so what do you think? My teacher thinks I might be ready for the test mid July, I will let you know so you could all pray for me….

photos flickr by

dcphotolibrary 

autoescuelagong 

bakauatas 

Let me just say that passing this test has consumed me for over a month.. With non stop studying my 300 page manual , anyway it all paid off. Yesterday I went to take the test and that was an experience in itself. A group from our driving school went to the official test taking center where we had to wait over 2 hours in line to get in.. Once in they call your name one at a time and hand you over a sheet in which you will place your answers. I felt sorry for some of the people with peculiar names because as they were being called out they had to step from the crowd pass through everyone who was cracking up at their names….

No one laughed at my name and I was given the sheet.. You walk into a huge classroom and sit down where you are directed.. Everything is very organized and they have it down to a science. Once you sit down one of the persons in charge ask you for your ID card and make sure it is you.. They look you up and down and either ask you to put on your glasses or take them off, pull your hair back or let it down depending on what picture you have on your ID card..If they are unsure they will not let you take the test.. (don’t even think of getting a haircut or anything of the sort days before the exam).

Anyway, once they have verified everyones person, a General type man stands up and tells everyone he is going to give the instructions and he is only going to explain it once, if you do not pay attention you are out!!! In the middle of his explanation of how we were to sign our name, put the name of the particular test you received, the usage of a black pen, how to put a cross within the box for the correct answer and so on, he noticed that a guy was not paying attention and he walked up to him, ripped his paper in half and kindly asked him to step outside.

We had 30 minutes to answer 30 multiple choice questions, ready set go….Every 10 minutes he would announce 20 minutes left, 10 minutes and so on.. making you even more nervous...I don’t know if it was that I studied so much that the test seemed too easy or that I got lucky and the questions given to me where the easiest in the room.. Either way I was able to answer all questions in time and even had enough time left to double and triple check them.. They were so easy I got a little nervous thinking there must be a trick… When I got out of there I didn’t even know what to think..

I had to wait until this morning to go to the website to check if I had passed.. I got 1 wrong so I’m “apto” as they say to continue on to torture number two the driving part...which in a way, I think might even be worse than this part… I will keep you all updated…

I had heard of Facebook but I haven’t really had time to join or play with it, but today Maruchy (thanks) invited me to join and I said why not! I don’t have anything else to do..hahahaa… other than study for the Spanish driver’s test, pick up the kids from school (now at  pm) cook lunch, take them to their friends house, clean the house, write on this blog, actually work!! anyway, I’m all signed up, click here to join Facebook ..See you there.