Oh, hmmm...who left that gate open?

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Hello again,

Today is a VERY special day. Today my Dad has his 60th Birthday!! I really can’t believe my Dad is actually turning 60 years old. It really doesn’t seem like that long ago he was turning 45 and my 5-year-old self decided it would be funny to make signs that said “Old Man” and placed them all around the house and in his car. However, I would have to say, Dad that you don’t look sixty. When I told Evan that Dad was turning 60 this year he said, “Really? Rex is turning 60? I can’t believe that.” So there you go, sixty years young right? Thanks to the wonderful world of technology I even got to call him today to tell him Happy Birthday. That really means a lot to me that from so far away I can still call on days like this. I love you, Dad and Happy Birthday!! I really wish I was there to give you a big birthday hug.

So, when we got home from Granada, Natalie had a special package waiting for her! Pepa and Selu (Selu especially) felt bad that I have received quite a few packages and Natalie hasn’t received any. Although I share all of mine with her, I suppose it’s still not the same. So, Selu was joking that he was going to send her a package…and he did! It was really cute. It had some cookies and a muffin and a little kid’s meal box with a blue crayon and some suckers.
“You can have these suckers if you want them, Devin.”
“No, Nat. Selu gave those to you!”
“Yeah, I don’t really like suckers.”
“Why don’t you like suckers?”
“Um, well, I don’t really like candy unless its chocolate, otherwise I sort of think it is just a waste of calories. The only suckers I like are the chocolate Tootsie Roll suckers.”
Haha, good point Natalie, good point. It was pretty sweet what Selu did. In return Natalie wrote him a poem since she likes to write. He was really, really moved and loved it. He gave her hugs and besitos (little kisses on your cheek) and when Pepa read it she thought it was really sweet too and then she gave Natalie besitos and me besitos and said how content she was with us and how lucky she was to get two girls like us. Good point Pepa, good point. 😊
No, we are lucky to have Pepa too. Things have been going much, much better with the family. I still miss my independence quite a bit, but I am really getting along with Selu and Pepa very well. The thing I have learned about Pepa is that, well, she has done this before. She has had some great girls, but she’s also had some…tougher girls. I think she comes on a little strong at the beginning with meals, water and light use and rules in general until she knows us better and knows she can trust us. She has lightened up a lot in the last month; I would say ever since just before Paris. Although, on the other hand, Natalie and I have also learned what to do and what not to do, so I think it is a combination of both that has made for a nice family dynamic. Natalie and I still have not cracked the egg shell around Alba, but she did invite us to go see the new Twilight movie with her last month. It comes out in a few weeks and Natalie and I are really hoping she still wants to go with us…we both sorta want to see it, and it will be cool to see it in Spanish.

Riding has also been going pretty well. I think Carlos is starting to like me better, he thinks I’m pretty funny. For example, yesterday I went to get the horse I have been riding from the pasture, which is very small and there are like 15 horses in this tiny pasture, not much room to move. Well, I went to get Coralla and I guess I didn’t get the lock all the way and well, two Shetland ponies and a horse escaped and I ran out to shut the gate and go after them and I guess I didn’t shut it well enough again because then all but three horses escaped. I ran out from the pasture where Carols, Javi, and Big Antonio were just watching in a bit of confusion. I was running towards them with my hands on my head,
“¡Lo siento, Carlos! ¡Yo no sé lo que pasó!” (I’m sorry Carlos! I don’t know what happened!)
Carlos took one look at me running towards him and he a Javid immediately bent over laughing hysterically. Well, at least they weren’t mad. Hahaha! We spent the next 20 minutes or so wrangling up horses. We got all of them pretty easily except for two who were just little escape artists. We finally herded them back into the pasture. I will keep a closer eye on that lock.

My lessons are going pretty well for the most part though. A lot of times I have to remind myself to just relax and take my time. Today Carlos said to me “¿Cómo vas a montar hoy, bien o mal?” (How are you going to ride today, good or bad?)
“Voy a montar bien hoy, Carlos.” (I’m going to ride well today, Carlos)
And bien I did. I had a really good lesson today. I am learning to relax myself, but I think sometimes he thinks I’m just not doing what he’s telling me and that frustrates him a bit it think. “¡Devin, yo dije que necesitas empujar más con su pierna y no hecho nada! ¿Por qué?” (Devin, I said that you need to push more with your leg and you didn’t do anything! Why?) Well, when you are 10 feet from a jump and someone yells at you do something and in about the 1.5 seconds you have before the jump you have to 1) hear what he says, 2) understand what he said in Spanish 3) try to remember what that is in English and 4) actually do it, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. It takes longer to process what Carlos is saying and then execute it. That is easier said than done sometimes and it’s as if I’m so proud that I understood what he said, sometimes I forget to actually follow his instructions. However, I do hear what he says, and by the time I am over the jump I have actually processed it and the next time around I fix it if I can. Like I said, we are getting used to each other and I think I’m growing on him, just wait, he’ll be very sad and crying when I have to leave and go back to the US, his funny American girl. 😊

Yesterday I had my lesson with an 11 year old boy from England, which was just swell. He is like you might imagine an 11 year old equestrian boy from England; he also thinks I’m a silly American girl. He and his family have lived here in Spain for the last 7 years and he speaks perfect Spanish as well as British English. He has a really nice Au Pair from Hungary named Aggie and I met his mother, Grace, last week and she is also very sweet. I think Henry is like Carlos, he just needs time to let Devin grow on him. He and his family are moving back the England in a few months, though, and he will be attending Eton, which is a school for boys. Oh, did I mention that that is where Prince William went to school? Yeah. I don’t even really know what to say about that. He does seem like a nice boy, I just can’t decide if he doesn’t like me, or if he’s just British.

Other than that the rest of my November will be pretty uneventful. I don’t travel anywhere until December and I have to start studying for my finals, which are five weeks away but they will creep up on me if I don’t pay attention! It’s pretty nerve wracking thinking about finals. I don’t really know what to expect out of these Spaniards! Not only that, but it seems like we have really just started and already I am worried about my exams. For example in my pragmatics class we have only just finished topic #2 and we have been in class since September 26th, and we have 7 topics to cover.
I also have a paper to write on “The Use of French in Normandy England.” That’s due before I leave for Christmas and I am doing a presentation with a group about Italian dialects that is due on Thanksgiving. Therefore, while this won’t be my last blog until December, they may get more sparse so that I have something to tell you all. 😊 All though you never know what will happen to me at the barn, hahaha!

Well, I very much miss all of you 😊 and I hope everyone is having a good Fall so far!
Love always,
Devin 😊

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Photos

Happy Birthday Dad!
Dad with Mom and me and my friend Kate in Colorado! Its the most recent picture of him I have, and he's on top of a mountain! :)

El Establo
The barn!

Coralla
This is Coralla, the mare that I ride. She is sweet, but she is also a mare, meaning that she can be really moody.

Carlos
This is my trainer, Carlos!

La Pista
The arena. Its really huge and its nice that there is so much room to ride and jump!

Really high!
This Carlos, jumping over a fairly high jump!