Dos Besos No Están Suficiente

Lumi, Antonio, Judit, Merche, Tito Fernan, Diego, Oscar, Juan, Nati, Claudia, y Raul,

Gracias por todos. Gracias por enseñarme a cocinar. Gracias por el bizcocho, bacalao, flan, la ensalada, paella, arroz con leche, y tarta helada-- gracias por todos de mis recetas nuevas. No puedo esperar a cocinar las recetas para mi familia a casa en los Estados Unidos. Gracias por acogerme, por la conversación, las risas, y las sonrisas. Gracias, sobre todo, por hacerme sentir como parte de la familia. Ahora tengo recuerdos que guardaré siempre y pensaré con mucho cariño. Os prometo que voy a venir otra vez. Si alguna vez visitáis los Estados Unidos, ¡tenéis casas allí conmigo! Sois me otra familia, mi familia Española. Es increíble que tener una familia a través del mundo, y cuando vuelva a España el proximo vez, va a ser con la mentalidad que vuelva a casa. Raul, el proximo vez juntos, vamos a jugar mas cartas y voy a ganar de "Rápido." Si me necesitas, me echas de menos tu otra hermana, o solo necesitas consejo, entonces me llamas. No me importe qual hora en España o en los Estados. Siempre estoy aquí, siempre soy tu hermana. Claudia, eres mi hermana. Estas seis semanas fueron unas de mis favoritas en mi vida. Esto no es un "adios," pero "hasta nuestra próxima aventura." No puedo esperar a ver el mundo contigo. Os quiero con todo mi corazón y más.

A Mis Amigos,
Espero una visita a Colorado así puedo enseñaros mi otra lugar favorita en este mundo. Ya os echo de menos y nuestras momentos juntos, especialmente el día en San Agustín de Guadalix. Hasta el proximo vez, cuando podemos saltar de acantilados, cantos rodados, y cascadas otra vez. Sí, sois mis amigos, pero sois mi familia también.

Con Mucho, Mucho Cariño, Muchos Besos, y la Prometa de Volver,
Emily Rose Carpey

this is my family.

disfruta la momenta

"drink heavily with locals whenever possible" -Anthony Bourdain

my other sister, Laura

my two sisters, Claudia and Sara

mi hermana Sara y tia Judit

great times, better company

cheers :)

hermanito Raul

Raul and I in Plaza Mayor

disfruté el día contigo

do it while we're young

San Agustín de Guadalix

"lovely"

almuerzo con la familia

friends-- no, family

Lumi cooking an incredible Paella

kicking Raul's ass in cards

my little brother, Raul

cooking with Raul and Lumi

prepping the Bacalao

another brother, Raul Palomo

so much love for someone who I've only known for a couple weeks. 

mi mama y yo juntas. ya se echo de menos muchísimo 

Homemade

I was the first one to wake up this morning, aside from Claudia's abuela, Lumi, so I grabbed myself a cup of coffee and sat outside to enjoy the first few moments of the day before everyone started to get up. We've spent the last couple of days at the grandparents' home with limited cell service, but plenty to keep us occupied

You could almost call it old-fashioned here. There's no cell service, no strip malls or shops closer than ten minutes away, and nothing that resembles Ridge Pike or even Calle Arenal to speak of. There's just a pool, a wooden swing set, a hammock, and a couple decks of Spanish playing cards. All day yesterday, Lumi, Claudia, Raul, and I cooked and baked the families' favorite recipes. I'm coming home with copies of them (in both Spanish and English), two flaneras, two bags of Spanish coffee beans and other plenty of other ingredients. In a manner I'm all-too familiar with, there has never been a shortage of food or conversation. Lumi is the sweetest, funniest lady. She's so welcoming and has more love for her family, and her family's friends than any Jewish mother I've ever known.

Since none of the aunts, uncles, or grandparents speak English, we've been sharing stories and recipes in Spanish. With a semi-limited vocabulary, I found myself having to leave out parts of certain stories, but trust me, they get the gist of the Carpey family. Lumi, Antonio, Judit, and Merche want to meet Laura and Estuart on our next visit to Spain and cook for them, too. They are all familiar with Benji and how he ended up in Japan, his art, and his haircut. They love how similar I look to Julia and that I still call her Sissie; their family also has those little made-up names for each other from when the kids were little. We can't wait to FaceTime from Colorado and Philly when I make Lumi's recipes for my friends and family. We only wish I had more time to spend together, but I suppose that's what next time is for.

My second cup of coffee is empty now, and the family is starting to get up. I think I'll go enjoy my morning with them, play more cards with Raul, and cook some Paella, Arroz con Leche, and Bizcocho with Lumi before heading home. Enjoy the photos below!

Tia Judit and Antonio

I taught Raul how to play spit (or "rápido," as he calls it)

I got used to this pretty quickly: a hammock, El Principito (The Little Prince), and the dogs hanging out near by

this is the view from Lumi's kitchen sink, overlooking the brick oven and the gardens to the left, with the rest of the property to the right

cooking with Lumi and Raul

When Life Hands you an Expired Passport...

After one month of constant motion, I was ready to get from Philly to Madrid and no longer be responsible for anything or anyone but myself. Don't get me wrong, being at home with my parents and Claudia before I leave for college was incredible; I took her downtown to my favorite parts of the city, spent impossible amounts of calories at WaWa, saw friends I haven't seen probably since the exchange back in January, and explored my home city like a tourist. But when all is said and done, the stress of creating this grand adventure for both her and me became exhausting physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially not just for me but for my family, too. So when it was time to turn around and start the next leg of the trip, let's just say that I was looking forward to a few quiet hours and nothing to do on an airplane. 

We arrived at the airport on Monday (July 11) with bags in hand, Claudia in tow, passport ready for its next stamp. But as it turns out, my passport, which expires at the end of August, was invalid according to European regulations which require American passports to be good for three months past the last date of your trip. AKA, two months too short for me to have been able to fly on Monday. Go figure. We put Claudia on a plane, and Mommy and Daddy and I went home in a surreal moment of "where are the cameras, who's playing this sick joke?"

Mommy's and my day started at 6:15 a.m., and we were in line at the passport agency by 7:30 to renew my passport and have me on a 6:45 p.m. flight to Madrid. If this hasn't tested my cortisol levels, I don't want to think about what it would take to do that. But I must say, as shitty and stressful as all of that was, Mommy and I took advantage of our bonus day together. We grabbed breakfast after taking care of my passport, went home and hung out with the dogs, went back to the city to pick my passport up and had a delicious lunch at Amada before heading back to PHL Int'l Airport. 

I don't always believe "everything happens for a reason," but I do believe in pausing, learning to adjust to whatever change of plans I'm dealing with, and enjoying the simple things, like a few extra hours alone with my two favorite people in the world.

Just Because It's Thursday

It's insane how familiar a place you've only been to once before can be. From the minute I got here I have felt strangely at home. My Spanish family picked me up at the arrivals gate at the Madrid airport, and after an abundance of squeals, hugs, and churros, I reunited with my friends and some drinks, cheering to "Emily for making it through immigration!!"

It's only my second day here, but something tells me that today will just be one of those memories I'll save as a favorite day. Claudia and I woke up around 8:30 (not bad for jet lag!) and had Cola Cao and tomato tostas for breakfast. We spent the day at Pablo's pool where I got to chat in Spanish with the lifeguard about my life and what it's like to live in the city that's home to Rocky. Not until promising my return so we could continue our conversation about Philly slang, (cheesesteak "wit" onions, please, from Jim's, not Pats or Ginos,) Claudia and I came home to have lunch, shower, and take a siesta before shopping with Sara and Laura.

While all of those things were highlights of my day, they aren't reasons why today was so incredible. Tonight we went to have dinner with Claudia's family. Before we got to their house, Claudia "warned" me about her family. She said that they're all crazy, loud, obnoxious, and nosey. She said that her aunts are the craziest; they use any excuse they can come up with to have a celebration. "It's the first warm day of the spring!" or "It's the end of a long work week!" or "Emily's here, let's have a Hawaiian themed party!" or "It's Thursday!! Let's celebrate!!" They celebrate because it's just a THURSDAY! Because why the hell not?!

And sure enough, the front of the house was decorated for a party. Balloons and streamers and "happy birthday" garlands hung from the brick entrance way and Claudia's aunts and grandmother, Judith, Merche, Lumi were dressed in crowns of floral Hawaiian leis. They ran to greet and crown Claudia and me so that the celebration could start. If I could bottle their positivity and bring it home with me, I would.

I spent the night integrating myself into the Vega family; I enjoyed the company of aunts, grandparents, cousins, homemade meals, beautiful gardens, freshly grown sweet tomatoes and peppers, a swing set and a pool the kids have grown up playing in, photo books full of nostalgic stories and memories, kids and uncles wrestling, dogs who understand Spanish ("sientate," not "sit"), and plenty of laughter to brighten my darkest of days. They are probably the most genuine people I've ever met. During dinner, I couldn't help but look out through the beaded curtains hanging down from the door at the sun setting in the background, the stunning red flowers bleeding into the view, and the family dog laying down to catch her breath in front of the outdoor brick oven stove.

There is something to be said for Merche and Judith's positive energy. I'm sure that from Claudia's point of view, it's just the crazy aunts at it again. But from where I'm standing, it's reminder that there is always something to celebrate. So in the meantime, I'm going to take a page from their book, and celebrate that it's Thursday.