Frozen Pasta

Yesterday I got another taste of what Marbella life is like; my host parents and I went my Rotary counsellor Linda's home to discuss my stay here in Spain. Linda is about 60, and is married adult children. Her home is much different from mine, where my house is simple in its beauty, Linda's home is decorated in many different colors; art pieces, rugs, and flowers everywhere! Unlike my host home, her house has a pool and many up to date appliances. Both she and her husband speak English (they are originally from Finland, I believe) and are incredibly kind. Ana starts work this week, so I will spend a couple of days with Linda at her home :).

After meeting with Linda, my host parents and I went to the supermarket to do the week's shopping. By far the weirdest thing I saw was the frozen pasta -- I had always considered pasta to be one of the easiest things to cook, but apparently it isn't easy/fast enough for some of the people here... Lol. Everything else in the store was mostly recognizable - they have a larger variety of meats but less fresh fruits and vegetables than California.

On a much darker note, the sky here is filled with ashes - everything smells and tastes of smoke. The fires are getting much closer, and the neighborhood next to ours has been called to evacuate. Many of the roads into the mountains are closing, and some of the people in our neighborhood have taken their pets and valuables with them to a safer location. Ana and I are still at the house, Salvador is at work. There is a constant noise of helicopters and planes overhead carrying water to the fires and the sirens of emergency vehicles on the roads. Ana does not seem to think we will need to evacuate, but I am uncertain as to what exactly is going on. I really wish I knew more Spanish right now -- it would be calming to understand more of the situation!! At the moment, though, I am safe and I trust Ana to do what is right.

Love from Marbella,
Shona