part three.

well thursday was not completely horrible with family X. i had to tell them (in spanish) that i could not be their au pair. i used the lack of a visa as my excuse. i told them i could work one more week. partially because i felt bad ditching them. partially because i am in desperate need of money. and beggars can't be choosers. i also got the wonderful news that they didn't need me on friday. the past few days in bilbao have been typical bilbao weather. gray, chilly, and lots of rain. friday was spent entirely in the house. oh i cleaned some. i also made a ballin' pizza. basically a mellow mushroom kosmic karma, minus the really good mellow mushroom crust. i've been watching a lot of the office lately. S and C had never seen it. they are now addicted. i hadn't watched it in awhile. i forgot all the great one liners.

so today i had the joy of going back over to family X's. as you can imagine i was not thrilled about going over there on a saturday. most of my days are exactly the same (because i do nothing), so i don't know why the weekend is a huge deal. i helped M with her homework. to my absolute and utter astonishment we did her homework in an hour. with zero arguments, losing patience, etc. i also got paid. which helps. it's not nearly enough money for what i had to put up with, but i can't complain. i also talked to the mom. i actually feel really sorry for her because M acts like that all the time. not just about homework, or because of me. it's sad really. i am thankful i have the ability to get out of the situation. i am working next week for them and then i'm out!

as for the grand scheme of things...

i will be leaving bilbao the last week in september. i am heading over to bcn. yay! so excited! i am visiting with C for a few days (and leaving my luggage). then i am heading to paris to visit another C. the next two weeks after paris are a bit of a gray area. after traveling for about 3 weeks, i will be back in barcelona and then i will be stateside!!! i guess we get to call this traveling, and bumming around europe some more, part three. at least i get to see more familiar faces.

i'm actually looking forward to going home. mostly because i've been dealing with a bunch of crazies. i have learned a lot. i think. i guess this is the whole 'finding yourself' journey everyone takes after college. i've learned how to speak up for myself when i am not happy. there comes a point when it's not worth it to grin and bear it and i know myself well enough to know where that point is. despite what anyone says, independence is not overrated.

i've flown thousands of miles, been to various cities, met many different people that i will never see again, to realize that i am looking forward to returning to a familiar place with the people i love. i also can't wait to have some sort of job unrelated to childcare. not that architecture has much to offer right now. but one can hope!