We finally made it to Sitges … and are celebrating with Cava!

On Wednesday morning, Nando, our three daughters, and I took a train from Sant Adria de Besos to Sitges. Actually, two trains. Fortunately, Junior and I had taken our two large suitcases the previous day to Sitges, meaning that, with a little help from the girls, we did not have very much to carry. Still, Tatiana, Soraya and Raymi made sure to complain at least a few times during the six-block walk from the center of Sant Adria de Besos until the train station.

Once we got to the train station, and everyone calmed down, I began to tell the girls a story, which they love for me to do. I recently read the novel, The Help, and decided I would recount the story from that novel where a maid put her feces into her employer’s mother’s chocolate pie. I thought the girls would get a kick out of the gross factor there. They did. And, once we got on the train, I recounted them every other bit of the story I could remember. By the time we got to the Sants station, where we needed to transfer, I had told them most of the memorable parts of the book.

At Sants, we transferred to another train that would take us straight to Sitges. On the way there, they forced a few more pieces of the story out of me, and I told them the part about where Celia Foote went to the Society Benefit in her hoochie-mama dress. One more reason to read more novels: It gives me material to recount to my daughters during long train rides.


When we finally arrived at our apartment, the girls couldn’t have been happier with it. It really is a nice place, with hardwood floors, and is tastefully decorated. It also has a lovely wooden porch that looks out onto the garden and swimming pool. I am sitting there now, with a baguette, some cava, and Spanish cheese, as I write this blog entry.

I was pleased the girls were so happy with the apartment, as that should make everything easier. It is not exactly in Sitges, but in a sort of suburb on the outskirts of the city. It is a 2km walk downhill to Sitges, and definitely a 2km bus ride back up the steep hill. Luckily, there is a bus that takes us straight into town. Also, just in case, there is a small store a few minutes walk away where I was able to get my cava, cheese and baguette.

One thing I love about Spain so far is that Spanish products that are practically considered gourmet are so cheap here! Obvious, I know, but still! I got a nice bottle of high quality olive oil for about $3.50, a great bottle of cava for $7.00, and some decent olives for $1.00. And, that was at the corner store. Can’t wait until I go to the real store!

And, of course, I can’t wait until I get to explore Sitges tomorrow. Today, I decided to stay in and get everything packed away and set up.

The joys of being plugged in....

I finally found an adapter! My laptop had completely run out of battery, as had my iphone. Without these two devices, I felt quite out of touch. Thus, an adapter was high on my priority list today.

My nephew was sure I could find one at the variety store across the street owned by Chinese immigrants. I looked and looked, but there were none. The storeowner had no idea what I was talking about nor where I could find one, so I asked another customer. She told me I needed to go to a real hardware store, and that there was one just a few blocks away. I ventured down the block and made it to the hardware store. The person who attended told me that he only had adapters for when you when want to go from Spain to another country, but not vice versa. He recommended I try El Campo - a large Target-like store just across the street.

El Campo, it turns out, has a little bit of everything, from groceries, to furniture, to power adapters. In El Campo, I looked up and down the wide aisles before I finally found a universal power adapter, a pretty neat gadget that lives up to its name - universal. You can use it to change U.S.-style plugs to European or UK style-plugs and vice-versa.

The only worker in the store who actually was able to help me find an adapter turned out to be an African immigrant, who took an adapter with him to London when he traveled there. The adapter cost 11 euros, and he told me I probably could get a simpler one elsewhere for cheaper. I considered it an 11 euros well-spent.

With my adapter, I just needed one more thing: a cell phone. I bought a vodaphone for 19 euros, that came with 12 euros worth of pre-paid time. Not a bad deal.

With an adapter and a cell phone, I am plugged in!

Getting settled in Sant Adria de Besos: Our First Day in Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona on Monday night, and my husband´s family came to pick us up from the airport. Of course, a full carload of relatives came. When we deplaned, my niece, two of my nephews, my sister-in-law, and my brother-in-law were waiting for us in the lobby.

Even though we are traveling relatively lightly, there was no way that all five us of plus all five of them plus our luggage was going to fit into my nephew´s car. So, we split up and I rode home with my niece and nephew and the luggage, and the rest of the family took the train back to my sister-in-law´s place in Sant Adria de Besos, a northern suburb of Barcelona.

Upon arriving in Barcelona, there were two things I needed: cash and an adaptor. I tried getting cash at the airport ATM to no avail. I have two debit cards: Citibank and Bank of America. I wanted to use my Citibank card because my BofA account charges $5 for non-BofA ATMs. With no luck with the Citibank card at the airport, I decided to try and get cash near my nephew´s house. I tried a few banks, but, apparently the ATMs couldn´t access my Citibank savings account, and I ended up having to use my BofA card. There are no charges with that card at Deutsche Bank, but the Deustche Banks are all in the center of Barcelona. The good news is that I finally got my hands on some euros. It was too late to get the adaptor, so we went back home after getting the cash.

The rest of our family ended up taking about two hours to get home from the airport, meaning that they weren´t home until 10pm. This, of course, is a normal time for supper in Spain, so we got some pizza and red wine and ate and chat together before we all crashed around midnight.

I woke up right at 9am this morning, so hopefully this time zone change will be no problem. When I woke up, my sister-in-law and niece had already left for the day, leaving just me and my three daughters in her house. My husband went to sleep at his brother´s house so they could hang out until later and catch up. It´s been ten years since they saw one another. We saw my husband´s sister and her children in Peru in 2007, but his brother was already living in Spain at that time.

My sister-in-law left me a note with the keys, so I ventured outside in search of some breakfast items and the adaptor. I need an adaptor to plug in my computer, as the outlets here are completely different and the plug simply does not fit. In Spain, like in many parts of Europe and Latin America, instead of having Walmarts and Targets that have everything, there are small specialty stores. In search of an adaptor, I went to a bookstore, a paint store, a drugstore, a toystore, and a supermarket. No luck. I then went to an outdoor market and asked in one of the stands, but they only sold hardware for computers. I guess I will have to wait to get an adaptor.

As I was trying to obtain an adaptor, I realized I don´t exactly know how to say: "Do you have an adaptor that allows me to plug in a three-pronged plug into a two-pronged outlet". I think the word I am missing here is "pronged." So, I said: "Do you have an adaptor that allows me to plug a thing with three thingys into an outlet with two thingys?" Some people understood me better than others. This reminded me of many previous trips abroad looking for various household items. It´s not until you get to the hardware store that you realize you have no idea how to say "faucet" or "stopper" or "nuts and bolts." Anyway, no adaptor means I am typing this on my nephew´s computer.

I did have good luck with getting breakfast items though. The first thing I needed was a coffee. I found a corner cafe run by Chinese immigrants. I wasn´t too sure about getting a coffee from a Chinese coffee shop, but I decided to see how it was. I ordered a cafe con leche, and it was delicious. From there, I made it to a small supermarket and got yogurt, fresh cheese, baguettes, and a pint of strawberries for breakfast.

Sant Adria de Besos is an immigrant neighborhood, full of immigrants from Pakistan, South America, Africa, and China. For this reason, the coffee shop was owned by Chinese immigrants, and it is next to a kebab restaurant and a market with Pakistanis selling shoes and clothes. I have yet to explore it much, but I am sure I will have the opportunity.

This afternoon, however, hopefully, we will be moving into our apartment in Sitges. I have reserved a place, and if all turns out well, we will move in this afternoon!

How to Travel Abroad for a Long Trip with the Family: Seven Steps to Be Ready

The idea of traveling abroad for over a month with your entire family can be overwhelming. However, if you have a large family and are going to spend a significant amount of cash on airline tickets, it often can be well worth the time and money to stay abroad for longer than a month.

I have packed up myself, my husband, and my three kids for extended trips abroad on at least a half a dozen occasions. In this post, I explain how we do it.

My daughters at the park during our trip to Guatemala

At the moment, we are about to embark on a 7-week stay in Barcelona. Thus, it’s a good time for me to provide some tips on how one goes about this.

Step 1: Passport and visa check.

At least three months before you leave, pull out everyone’s passports and make sure they are not about to expire. Do some online searching to make sure no one needs a visa. This simple step could potentially save you a lot of trouble and frustration later.

Step 2: Buy the airline tickets.

Because I have to purchase five tickets for my family, I always want to ensure I get the best deal possible. At the same time, I know that I can easily spend hours and hours online trying to get a good deal. To strike a balance, I keep an eye on the price of the tickets for about a month. That allows me to have an idea as to how much I should spend and what a good deal would be. Then, I dedicate one afternoon to researching all of the online options and purchasing the tickets. Two tips for getting cheaper tickets: 1) If you don’t live in a major city, it can often be cheaper to purchase one ticket to a major city and another from that city to your overseas destination. If you do this, it is advisable to have a very long layover or to purchase your overseas tickets for the next day. This year, we are flying to Washington, DC on Friday, and out to Barcelona on Sunday. 2) The more flexible you are with the dates, the better chance you have of getting a bargain.

Step 3: Look for housing.

If you are traveling abroad and plan to stay in one place for more than a week, you often can find furnished apartments to rent. Furnished apartments usually cost the same or less than hotels, and have the dual advantages of being larger than a hotel room and the possibility for doing your own food preparation. A little online searching – via craigslist.com – for example, can often lead to many possibilities. With Google maps and forums such as the Lonely Planet thorntree and tripadvisor.com, you can get a pretty good idea about the area before you choose a place to stay.

Step 4: Pack lightly.

For our family of five, we can fit all we need into two large suitcases and three smaller carry-on rollies. Packing lightly makes traveling much easier. If you arrive in a city with six or ten suitcases, you need all kinds of special transportation just to get you and your bags where you need to go. If you travel with just a few suitcases, getting around and getting settled is much easier.

Here is what we pack:

• One suitcase full of my and my husband’s clothes and shoes: For myself, I pack no more than 30 items of clothing – including dresses, slacks, shorts, and shirts. That is more than enough to have plenty of variety at least for one season. My husband fills the remainder of the suitcase with his clothes. I usually pack a couple of towels and maybe a sheet, depending on where we are going.
• One suitcase full of the kids’ clothes. For the kids, I pack seven to ten outfits each. That will last them at least a week before it’s time to do laundry. We minimalize the number of toiletries we pack, as you usually can get what you need wherever you go, and split the toiletries between our and the kids’ suitcases.
• One carry-on rollie with my books and computer. This is my work suitcase, and I fit in there whatever I need to get work done: my laptop, kindle, digital recorder, books, papers, flash drives, and writing utensils.
• One carry-on rollie with the kids’ toys and electronic distractors. I finally relented and let the kids get Nintendo DS’s when I realized that they are a great, compact way to keep the children entertained while we are traveling. My 10-year olds also got iPod touches for Christmas, and these are also great and compact for traveling. We also pack a portable DVD player, blank papers, crayons, markers, and books to keep the kids entertained.
• One carry-on rollie with my husband’s jewelry-making supplies and books. My husband is a musician and a jeweler, so he packs up his rollie with whatever he needs to keep himself occupied while we are abroad.
• Then, each of us gets one backpack into which we put whatever we want. I pack reading materials for the plane. My kids pack their favorite toys. My husband packs snacks and his instruments.

Step 5: Get everything ready well in advance.

It alleviates a lot of last-minute stress if you can be packed and ready to go the night before you leave, or several hours before you go. After you pack, you can relax and have lunch or dinner out. Leaving everything to the last minute is guaranteed to produce lots of stress.

Step 6: Gather the troops and head to the airport.

Double check that you have the passports, tickets, cash and credit cards. With those things in order, everything else will be fine.

Step 7: Bon Voyage.

You are ready, and have what you need. Enjoy the great time with your family.

A Globetrotter in …. Cancun?

This spring, I had $300 vouchers for a Frontier Airlines flight. And, Frontier has direct flights to Cancun. This made the idea of traveling to Cancun for Spring break with my husband and three children very attractive. In just under four hours, we could leave behind a gloomy Kansas spring, and be on the pristine beaches of Cancun.

The only problem was I did not want to go to Cancun – famed for its high-rise hotels and Spring Breakers who get drunk and party ‘til they drop. Not my idea of an ideal vacation. As a former backpacker who has traveled the world with (and without) three kids in tow, Cancun seemed a bit too touristy for my tastes.

Of course, I knew that there are many small towns on the Mayan Riviera where one can stay. You can fly to Cancun and travel to Tulum or Puerto Morelos or another smaller town. These towns don’t have the party vibes and built-up atmosphere of Cancun.

Thus I began my search for an isolated palapa in Tulum where I could be alone basking in the Caribbean sun. After an extensive online search, however, I realized that Tulum is not the same as it was when I last visited in 1999. It has turned into an expensive eco-resort destination where beach hotels are $150 a night and up. And (gasp) many of them don’t accept children!

I thus looked into Akumal, where I found a decent condo for $80 a night. However, some online searching revealed that Akumal has a busy, small, crowded beach.

After spending hours online, I decided that I could not waste any more time trying to find a place from afar. We’d just fly to Cancun and figure it out from there. One thing I know about traveling is that, outside the United States, the best deals often are not online.

At the Westin, where Iguanas roam free

Feeling just a bit nervous about taking my husband and three kids to Cancun without any hotel lined up, I went on priceline.com. Actually, first I went on betterbidding.com to figure out what the going rate for a hotel in Cancun was. I couldn’t believe it! We could get a 5-star or resort hotel in Cancun for $55 a night. I placed my bid for $55 a night and we got the Westin, a very nice hotel at the more secluded end of Cancun. When they gave me the option to extend my stay one more night, I decided, “why not?” That’s how we spent our first two nights in Cancun.


And, I have to admit it was nice. My kids are partial to fancy hotels. I found out that the hotel has free parking. Since the taxi was going to be at least $30, we decided to rent a car for the same price. We got a decent car from Easy Way and thus were able to travel to the city of Cancun for dinner. In the city, the food is much better and cheaper than on the beach.

Tatiana at the Hilton Swimming Pool

We decided to rent a car for the week. That enabled us to leave our lovely resort hotel early in the morning after our second night and travel to Tulum to find a hotel. I’ll describe that trip and the hotel in another post. For now, I want to focus on one key point. We went back to Cancun after three nights in Tulum because I booked our last two nights at the Hilton in Cancun.


Our hotel in Tulum was $40 a night, and it was a two-star at best. The girls complained that the television didn’t work and it didn’t have a swimming pool. The hotel was far from the beach, and the room was small. For just a few dollars more, we could be at the Hilton. So, we went back and had a lovely, relaxing time our last two days in Cancun.

There you have it. That’s how a globetrotting backpacker ended up at the Hilton and Westin in … Cancun!

Relax and Have a Beer at Norman Manley Beach Park in Negril

Negril's famous Seven-Mile Beach is chock full of restaurants, hotels, and bars. One of my favorite places to have a drink there is also one of the cheapest.

At the very end of the Seven-Mile Beach, just before you cross over the bridge into central Negril is Norman Manley Beach Park. This public park has a wooden structure that operates as a bar every day from around 11am to 8pm, and until midnight on Sundays. The bar itself has no name. I usually refer to it as Sanchez's, as the current owner is called Sanchez.

The bar is almost never crowded, except on Sunday nights, when it is packed full of locals jamming to dancehall on a huge sound system.

Most days, you'll find a couple of people playing dominoes at one of the tables, and a tourist or a local having a drink at the bar.

Jamaicans often order a flask of J.B. rum with a Coke, a Ting or a Red Bull. That order will get you as many cups of ice as you need. If your not into hard liquor, you can order the classic Red Stripe, or my favorite, Dragon Stout. No alcohol, no problem: you can order a Wata or a juice.

Many days, after a long walk on the beach, I'd sit in Sanchez's bar and alternately gaze at the amazing Caribbean Sea and listen to the Jamaicans at the bar talking in patois about their next business venture. Sitting there, I'd reflect on how lucky I was to have this amazing view, to feel the cool breeze, and just being able to completely chill out.

Unlike many of the other bars on the beach, you see very few vendors at Sanchez's. Although Negril is full of tourists, there are also relatively few tourists at this bar.

Definitely worth checking out while you are in Negril. If you go, tell Sanchez that Tanya sent you....

Two Weeks Alone in Negril

I spent two weeks traveling alone in Negril, Jamaica.

When you travel alone in Jamaica, however, you really are alone only as long as you want to be. As soon as you are ready to engage with the outside world, there are plenty of people willing to talk.

I spent my first few days here enjoying my solitude. When people called to me on the street, I ignored them. When people tried to start conversations on the beach, I cut them off. I wanted to be alone. I particularly didn't want to be bothered with inane conversations: "What's your name? Where are you from? First time in Jamaica?" Yeah, those can be pretty annoying. I know it sounds rude, but I find that, if I am not going to talk to a person, it is better to completely ignore them than to respond to their shouts and try to explain to them that you don't want to have a conversation. People usually assume you didn't hear them.

After a few days, however, I felt as though I had regained my grounding, and began to talk to people more. I started talking to people I know from the last time I was here. I am here in Negril doing ethnography, but my first few days were purely observational. After a few days, however, I had some questions about what I was seeing, so it was a suitable time to begin to engage in conversation.

The first person I spoke with for an extended period of time was a Jamaican who lived abroad for many years, but has now settled back in Jamaica. We chatted for a bit about how you can tell the difference between a Jamaican from Kingston and one who has lived abroad. The differences are often subtle, as urban working class Jamaicans and urban working class New Yorkers often dress quite similarly. As I began to have more questions and ideas about my work on Jamaican return migration, I engaged in more and more conversations.

I met up with a friend who was deported two years ago, and we talked about how he has learned to survive here in Negril. He explained to me that he works with the guys who change money. He hangs around and is available to run errands for them whenever they need it. They have grown to trust him, and give him tips whenever he runs an errand. With that money, plus the money his mother sends from the US, he is able to get by.

My last four days here in Jamaica, I completely emerged from my shell. I realized I only had a few days left, and had to get as much ethnography in as possible. After being here for ten days, I had a good idea as to who I could talk to and who I shouldn't. I started having conversations with strangers. This turned out to be remarkably enjoyable and informative.

On Friday, as I walked along the beach, an older rasta began to chat with me.We walked for about two miles along the beach, and he recounted to me how he had traveled to the US and been deported, and then gone to Europe and had been deported as well. Now, he makes a living working at a local bar. He is a deportee, but I doubt anyone would know it without talking to him for quite some time.

On Wednesday, I went out to a bar and chatted with several people about my work. These conversations helped me get a better understanding of why some deportees are able to get by and others aren't. Basically, in Jamaica, you have to figure out how things work and find a place for yourself within that framework. For some, starting a small business is the only way they will be successful. Others are willing to accept the status hierarchies and submissiveness that go along with working for someone else and can do that to survive. Still others figure out a hustle on the streets that works for them and do that to get by.

The first few days I was alone in Negril, it had been so long since I had long periods of time to myself that I really had to embrace my solitude and get comfortable with myself again. Soon enough, however, I had to start engaging with people. And, I am glad I did.

When you are traveling alone, you have the choice as to whether or not you want to talk to people. It was nice to have that choice for a while.