First Time through Europa

So, continuing on, or I should say, just beginning our journey. On Wednesday we traveled to Oirsbeek to visit Christiaan's family.

We met Christiaan in Utrecht and traveled together. Once we were down there we enjoyed ourselves a lot. Christiaan's aunt made a wonderful dinner. Her hospitality was amazing.

It made me really happy to walk around Oirsbeek after dinner because I wanted my mom to know this charming village.

My family saw their first mill!!

After that everyone was really tired, so we stayed up a bit longer looking at family fotos.

This whole time I had wanted to buy a camera. I really needed a digital one so I could update as I go along...

(BTW, that same day I met with my advisor and she said my thesis is going in a great direction and that she was happy with the different contributions I would be making to the academic debates I am engaging with!)

So, that night, we slept soundly.

The next day we had another wonderful meal at Marlies'. After which we went to the castle (forgot the city name). We walked around and saw a church (first of many . As we were leaving it started to rain and we got drenched... empapadas, in Spanish.

We dried off in the car and left for Maastricht.

Here we had some coffee and enjoyed this old, old city. Marlies played our tour guide and showed us many things. We visited the old wall of this city and some gorgeous side streets.

On the train back to Amsterdam, my mom and aunt said they would come back to Europa in five years! I guess I was off on my previous calculations ... hehe. In any case, the five of us are just embarking on a long journey.

We got up early this morning and left for Berlin. The train ride was six hours but it went by really quickly. I tried to get some school work done but ended up talking with Jessa the whole time. It is really nice to spend some time with her.

When we arrived we made it easily to our rooms. They are beautiful.
I will post pictures soon, as the other news is that my obessesion with fotos and wanting to share them with you all (virual souls) has come to some fruition. Arthur, Jessa and I traveled to the nearest Media Markt and I bought a nice camera. I am excited to go play with it, actually... I am going now, tot ziens!

They arrived half an hour early. I was waiting with these beautiful pink flowers that I have never seen anywhere but Holland. My mother was really happy to see me, and I was happy to see everyone. It was surreal.

Surreal to show them my home and how I get there by tram. This is my world, and they are part of the another world, so it felt like two things coming together.

After we ate (I made yummy ficoccia sandwiches with mozzarella, pesto, and tomatoes) we walked to the nearest supermarket. They all had fun seeing all the different products and packaging. We bought stuff for tomorrow morning, for sandwiches and for a nice dinner on Thursday.
We even bought fresh bread!

Then they unpacked their things and started to settle in. My mom brought me some of my summer clothes and summer shoes, as I completely forgot these things and it's now getting really hot. She also brought me tons of mac and cheese, which I am really happy about. She brought some Santa Maria seasoning, Tapatio, toritallas, and some Airbone. (all necessary items for this young Mexican woman's life) .

Tomorrow the plan is to relax a bit and possibly see some of Amsterdam. I will be in class and visiting with my thesis advisor. I think she is not to happy to hear that I am turning in my thesis for the August deadline, but alas.

Then at 2pm we are taking off to travel to Oirsbeek, in Limburg, which is where Christiaan's grandparent's live. This will be a nice quiet part of the journey. I am excited because they will get a chance to see the Dutch country side, and a very small town.

We looked online today and we may go see "Alegria" in Paris, which is one of the first Cirque Du Soleil shows that was created. I love the music and am excited to see it. Also, we are looking into seeing a bullfight. Not really my cup of tea, but my aunt (god love her) wants to see it.

On reflection, I am constantly amazed by my aunt. Since the day I found out she was gun ho about coming. She is really old, well, old in the sense that she is legally blind. But she's still really funny and spirited. More importantly, I wonder how she feels about this trip... Is it the last time she'll see Spain? Is this one of the last times she'll fly to Europe? How does she take this trip and what kind of milestone is it for her?

Same for my mom... this is her first time and I often wonder about her sentiments. Does she have a lot of pride for being here and coming so far in her life, from a teenage mother in Mexico? I would.

I shall try to investigate more and tell later. A good plan would be to talk about these ideas over some beers

My mother, her boyfriend, my great aunt, and my sister arrive today.

I am picking them up at the airport with flowers and a big smile on my face. I have had this smile on my face all last week and through the weekend.

Christiaan and I cleaned the apartment, which took all of our Saturday.

Only today am I starting to think about what clubs we can visit in Europe as we travel around. As some of you may know, my mother and her boy friend love to dance, so that won't be a problem. My sister's down, for sure. So what you might be asking yourself is, what about Zaira's great aunt? Well, she's old, but she loves to have fun and she's really energetic.

We are going to Berlin this weekend! Then we have some time in Amsterdam, as I prepare to give my master's thesis presentation. That's next Friday.

Then we leave again and head for Belgium, Spain, and end up in France last.
I am going to buy a digital camera today, so I will be posting pictures along the way.

It's my mom's first time in Europa!!