USA

Old West Style—My 2014 Summer Vacation

~ Kaley ~ 7 Comments

Hey guys! So it turns out I decided to go on vacation and not post at all (!!). Nope, I didn’t schedule any posts, and I care absolutely nothing about it. I’m not the world’s most-dedicated blogger, even if I do occasionally find myself loving it. Where did I go?

I headed out west to visit my brother and his wife, who live in Nevada near Lake Tahoe. An idyllic place to live, wouldn’t you say? Yep, yep, it was pretty idyllic. Except that it was cold and rainy on our last day, but other than that, the West (with a capital W) treated us pretty darn well. Here are some of my photos, all taken on my iPhone.

Mount Tallac HikeThe beginning of a long, arduous hike up Mount Tallac

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What Do You Miss Most?

~ Kaley ~ 6 Comments

You know how, when asked to list what we miss about ourrespective countries, expats always say “friends and family”? It’s true, of course, that we (mostly) all miss those nearest and dearest to ous who happen to live thousands of miles away, but it’s also kind of a cop out. I mean, I know I use it that way. Just in case someone decides to get offended by what I miss, whether it be customer service (Don’t generalize) or people actually saying excuse me when they bump into you on the street or in the supermarket. Those are two things I do miss, but I don’t say them a lot for fear of being seen as one of “those expats”—my worst expat fear, being one of “them.” Not really, but it’s up there.

With that said, can I just say that, even though I chose this life, sometimes I wish I could just get all of the people I love and keep them in one place? Yeah, that would be nice. Unfortunately, it’s rather difficult to do when you have a Spanish husband, Spanish in-laws, Spanish cousins, and Spanish friends who all live in … yep, Spain. But last summer I got to have my in-laws visit Indiana and Chicago, and it was a magical experience. There’s some photos I’ve not really shared, so I’d like to do a throwback Monday and remember! Throwback Monday may not be a thing on Instagram, but it’s a thing now on Y Mucho Más, so just roll with it.

IMG_0570 IMG_0595Spanish-American Family

IMG_0606With my brother and sister-in-law

IMG_0616 IMG_0617 IMG_0709Bloomington/College Friends

IMG_0712Since we’re in the U.S., of course we had to eat Mexican food

IMG_0718Don’t deny it—my FIL is cuter than yours

IMG_0722Taught them a real “Indianer” game—cornhole. Do not call it “bags” to me

IMG_0757Hilary and Kanyi don’t care about this explanation

IMG_0759Learning about IU’s legends—if you kiss here at midnight, you’ll get married. Oops, already did that!

IMG_0761 IMG_0777 IMG_0787Colleen is funny

IMG_0798 IMG_0805 IMG_0833At Assembly Hall … We sneaked in

IMG_0834 IMG_0841 IMG_0849The dads

IMG_0902Exploring downtown Indianapolis

IMG_0942Mounds State Park

IMG_0945I love him!

5 Things They’ll Tell You About the U.S. … That Aren’t True

~ Kaley ~ 18 Comments

Ah, I get it. You are returning to the United States, and you are preparing for the much-feared reverse culture shock. What to expect?

You should expect to find it weird when people address you in English, that the grocery store has about three hundred different types of cereal, and people want to talk to you while standing in line. Yeah, okay, I feel ya. I see how that could seem weird or odd for a while after you return home.

But let me tell you something, sometimes I wonder if I grew up in an alternate universe, if perhaps my experience of the US has been different from many expats who write on the Internet, because some things I just don’t see. Some stereotypes just don’t fit my experience. I write this to see if I am alone.

1. Americans are always in a hurry

I live in Madrid, so everyone seems to be in a hurry, especially on my morning commute. But my experiences in Madrid aren’t extended to the rest of Spain. Thus, I find it hard to believe Americans are always in a hurry, because most of my family and friends don’t ever seem to be in a hurry. Where are all these hurrying people you’re talking about? New York City? Where?

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The Spanish-American Ambassador

~ Kaley ~ 10 Comments

I’m talking with my coworkers in Madrid, and they casually mention how Americans are. You know, all of us, all the time—how we act (boorish), how we think (hint: we don’t), what we look like (obese), what we eat (hamburgers, fast food, and generally junk). My pulse quickens, and I feel the urge to say something, anything, because they are oh-so wrong. But what do I say? How can I not act like a know-it-all? Most importantly, how can I convince them that not all of us would choose a greasy hamburger as our last meal?

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