Feliz Navidad Desde España

Feliz Navidad y Un Prospero Año Nuevo a Todos
Amigos y Familia
I suppose that Miss Jeanna and I will consider this blog our "Christmas Letter". Life has been very difficult for us here in southern Spain but we are "making it". Day by day we get used to the lack of snow and the longing for endless rainy days. We are also growing accustomed to the demanding work schedule here in Jaen. Monday through Thursday is hard enough but expecting us to work until two almost pushes us over the edge from time to time. Good thing we have the bikes here as a positive form of stress relief! I actually spend more time on the bike than I do in the classroom. It is a little difficult at times but I think that I could get used to it. Miss Jeanna finally got tired of hearing about all of the cool things that I have seen on my rides...She has officially been converted into a ROADIE!!!! Jeanna finds herself wearing cycling shoes more often than running shoes! AS you can see from some of the photos it did not take much convincing on my part. The rides speak for themselves! She has become a true novelty here in Jaen. Very few women actually ride road bikes! She is known as the "rubia que anda en bici" and almost everyone knows her. She is also refered to as the "mujer de Elias" (Eli´s woman)which Miss Jeanna prefers over "hola guapetona!" (hey there hottie)! I prefer to be whistled at and referred to as guapeton (male hottie) but so far no takers...I always knew my wife was hotter than me!
Life other than cycling? Yes it does exist here but we dont talk about it much. Work is work no point to be labor the point (pun intended)...Christmas does exist here with lights, candy, santa claus and all. We have decided to view Christmas a little differnt this year. Christmas for us has always been about family. With our family half of a world away we decided to do something a little different. Miss Jeanna is headed off to visit her good friend Christina in NORWAY over the christmas break! Yes she has a Norweigan friend. Yes Norway is a country other than spain. Yes it is in Europe and yes there are a few profesional cyclist from there! No Eli is not going with his guapetona! No need to start any rumours here (although it is fun to do from time to time...ohh go ahead and start them we are in spain anyway)! This is an opportunity for Mrs. Jeanna to have some girl time and for me to...Yep you guessed it RIDE MY BICICLETA (no I rarely think about other things, yes I am an obsessed idiot, yes I should go with my wife...Iknow). Miss Jeanna is anxiously awaiting her once in a lifetime chance to go see more of the world. I am looking forward to some awesome stories and photos upon her return!
Jeanna and I did do a little Christmas shopping the other day! I bus trip down to La Loma (the local mall) was just what we needed to find the christmas spirit. I scale, a radio alarm clock, two frying pans, pate, cheese and bread! We took a picture of all of these incredible gifts with our BRAND NEW CAMERA! Ohh yeah more pictures will be posted now. Say good bye to the cannon and hello to the sweet new Fuji! We had no intentions of buying another camera but our other one gave up on us! Bitter sweet but we are really happy with the new one. Just in time for Norway!
This blog is too incredibly long. My sincere appologies. Jeanna and I would like to take a moment to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. We are thinking of all of our friends and family at this point and miss you all very much. We hope that you all have an incredible holiday season and enjoy the time with friends and family! Sorry about the bad weather but just remember you all have eachother! Hugs and Kisses to all and to all a good Night!
PS the scenic pictures were taken on a bike ride December 15, 2008 at around five in the afternoon! It was cold but absolutly beautiful!