I first met Pritch on mine and Chad’s second date. Chad brought him along, and I brought Allison, a soul sister and someone who I thought could give the thumbs up on Chad. He had taken me to a really nice Italian place that was like his second home for our first date, and I was bringing him to my favorite Mexican restaurant. Don’t worry, honey, I’m not telling the whole story, but let’s just say the vibe was markedly different.
Well, most of you know what happened next. Both Pritch and Allison did give the thumbs up, and that 2nd date turned into a 3rd and 4th and soon enough, Chad and I were married. We had Emily shortly after, and then 3 years later, we had Boden. We asked Pritch to be Boden’s godfather, and he said yes. Life unfolds as its supposed to. We were busy raising kids, Pritch moved, life went on, and we lost touch.
About 6 years ago, Chad was at our friends’, Vicky & Craig, wedding. So was Pritch. They caught up, & it had been like no time passed at all. And earlier this year, Boden took an impromptu trip to Spain. He and his friends not only got to meet Pritch, but they also stayed with him. Boden enjoyed the time so much, especially getting to “meet” his godfather. For me, it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve seen them. I’m so excited to reconnect. I think old friends are the best ones to meet again.
We’re going to stay with Pritch and Jodi (his cool wife and also Chad’s friend since high school) and their 2 daughters for our first couple of days in Spain. A little over a year ago, they let go of almost everything they owned, packed 8 suitcases, and moved from Oregon to Spain.
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It’s been awesome to reconnect. Pritch, Jodi, Chad, and I went on a day trip to Toledo today and laughed ourselves silly in between seeing the sights. Toledo is an UNESCO World Heritage site, a medieval city that was once the capital of the Iberian Peninsula and the center for the holy Roman empire when it was ruled by Charles V. “It is known as the city of the three cultures for the cultural influences of Christians, Muslims, and Jews reflected in its history.” (Wikipedia)
We saw the house of the most famous flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucia, which is now a boutique hotel. (It is named Enter Dos Aguas, which is his most famous album, and is the most adorable hotel.) Next we went to the Convento de Santo Domingo El Antiguo. That’s the monastery where el Greco did his first works after starting his career in Spain. He is also buried there. Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada de Toledo was next. It was built originally in the 13th century and was the seat of power of the Iberian archbishop. The scale and opulence of the cathedral was just amazing. Finally, we walked through the Jewish Quarter to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where we saw one of el Greco’s finest works, the Burial of the Count of Organ.
When we got back home, I interviewed the family for their perspectives as expats. (So happy they played along!) I asked their best and worst, as well as what they’ve learned about Spain. Here you go, reflections on Spain from Pritch, Jodi, Ellie (12), and Sam (11):
I asked them what they like most about Spain.
Pritch lived in Spain growing up and attributes that experience as the motivation for living abroad with his family. “I’m trying to pass some of that along to my children & wife. The timing is right for our kids to learn and travel and enjoy living in a place that is completely different from what they’re used to.” He said when he moved to the US, “my outlook on the world because of my cultural experience was so different.”
“In the States, within the first five minutes of meeting a new person, someone will say, ‘What do you do?’ In Spain, you might know someone for months and never know what they do because they won’t ask you…but they will ask if you’re happy. Nobody cares about how you make money.”
He talked about the foundations of Puritanical values in the US, the underlying current to “cover yourself up, work hard, no joy, then you die.” In Spain, he sees a “freedom of body, love of life, belly laughs, singing, dancing, joyfulness versus working yourself to the bone.” He said he sees that “the values we have may very well propel our country but also create some big social problems. It’s an end game focus vs. enjoying life you are going through.” “I wanted my children to grow up in an environment where they knew life was about celebrating life, and I didn’t feel like they were getting it in the States.” Pritch added, “My #2 best is that there’s futbol every day everywhere.”
I asked Jodi what motivated her to move.
She said, “I like doing 180s in life, changing it up. Getting relaxed and a little complacent and then changing everything feels really nice.” Mixing things up has been a mix. “There are things that are wonderful and things that are hard, but it’s awesome. Everybody in Bend had the exact same story of how they got there. [Here] I was talking with one of the moms, who was new. She said ‘we’re Ecuadorian, but living in Abu Dhabi for the past five years.’” Jodi loves that everyone is new with new stories.
Jodi added a story about her perspective on Spain. “After the war in Ukraine, surveys were published in the newspaper. The questions were so different, and the answers were at 80-90% agreement. There’s no question you could ask in the states with 90% agreement. 60% at best. The questions were emotional ones, testing the stress level of people from a government level. For example, ‘how does the Ukraine war make you feel?’ ‘Has this world event made you cry?’
Ellie said her favorite part of Spain so far is her neighborhood & getting to hang out with friends every day. She enjoys having friends from all different countries and getting to use the trains. Sam agreed. She is especially enjoying having easy access to other places as they travel throughout the country and Europe.
They both also really enjoy the history and art here, “like knowing how old everything is. People say something is old in the States, and it’s only 200 years old. There are things here that are BC and I’m like what/whoa?” Sam added, "history is really awesome about Spain with the art. One piece of art without any words tells the history. Really amazing.”
Then I asked what has been the biggest challenge.
Ellie and Jodi agreed it’s been learning Spanish. “You might meet a really awesome person but they don’t speak English and you don’t speak Spanish. It’s a challenge.”- Ellie Jodi said, “I miss talking to the checkout lady at the grocery store. I miss small talk with strangers. It doesn’t happen anymore for me. I don’t talk to people out and about in any casual way. It’s not a frustration of buying shoes and needing my size. It’s just a void. That’s what i get for taking German.”
Sam’s challenge, as one might expect, is “moving to a new school because it’s harder to make friends if everybody has already known each other for a long time. I’ve never gone to a new school before.”
Pritch said, “You have to adjust your thinking. This is a different culture in Southern Europe. Spaniards are willing to live with mediocrity and not worry about things not working right.” “So what if your celiing leaks, it will be fine, let’s go have a beer,” was the response he got about that situation in his home. It took 8 months before the ceiling got fixed.
He said it’s a challenge to move, but “it’s the right hurdle for us. I like that we get to figure this out together. We love that we get to hear different stories from people of where they come from, who they are. [They are] interested in life. Spain is a social place. It’s not just picking your kids up from a playdate. Be prepared for dinner and wine and 3 hours of talk.”
If that’s the case, we’ve been very good Spaniards today. Eating dinner at 9pm, lots of chatting, and celebrating life together.
FOOTNOTES:
Pictures—I keep intending to put photos in, and always forget. Please keep checking Instagram for Chad’s pics. @walkgentlyblog
Writing prompts:
have you ever done a 180 in your life? if so, what happened?
one thing we talked about was how being in places with this much history makes us want to relearn what we were taught in school. what stuck with you to this day from your history classes?
Just visited downtown Charleston, SC this week (we live in Davidson, NC) and loved the historical feeling of it’s old town (they say it’s 400 years old) although most buildings were more like 200ish and it reminded me a lot of Philadelphia architecture, where we lived for 5 years—-but no historical place in the states compares to where we lived in Southern Italy. There the ruins show homes, businesses and community areas from 2000 years ago. And every spot has had something happen on it century after century, posing interesting questions when it’s time to build anything, especially the subway in Naples!!! 😳😜🤪
P.S. You just made me recall visiting Toledo in 1987! Thanks for that!
I traveled on mostly my own for 3 months in Europe, but your experiences of living there and talkng with friends who have been living there gives a whole different perspective. You are giving me so much to think about. Thank you.