English

When I want to grab the car keys, my middle sister is holding up the shopping list right in front of me. “Where do you think we can get this…”, she asks me with a smile on her lips. “At the Aldi or the Mercadona?” I run my eyes over the list. “Lettuce, tomatoes, avocados…” I don’t see anything that stands out. It’s only when I reach the bottom of the list…

To say that our plan is anything but original is an understatement. We are not the first foreigners who want to start a successful Bed & Breakfast in Spain. But it is not originality we are after. In being our own boss, we hope to organize our lives more according to our own insights. With more freedom, time for each other and time to enjoy life.

“If you would like to interview me in my position as the Head of Field Service, please let me know…” She looks at me with a straight face. Without flinching I turn my eyes back on the screen of my laptop. I’m trying not to burst out in laughter. She, too, can not suppress a smile. Because while our father can’t wait to decorate the balconies…

While the driver is handing us packages of tiles one by one, one of the pool builders just walks by with the wheelbarrow, ready to empty the debris into the container. He glances at the tile supplier and the packages that we just carefully stacked together in the hallway. “Ah so you all went shopping? Fun!”, he exclaims jokingly while swiping the sweat…

While the guys stayed behind to work on the house, the three of us got into the car and drove one hundred and seventy-five kilometers to Francisco Segarra’s showroom in Castellón. Not wanting to be late for our appointment with Hind, we left half an hour early. Unnecessary. Because when we reach our destination two hours later…

“When are you leaving Zermatt?” “Friday evening”, I hear my sister answer two counters to my left. I repeat her words, when I am asked the exact same question a few seconds later. “Where are you traveling to?” “Spain!” My sister quickly corrects herself when she almost automatically wants to answer with ‘The Netherlands’.

“There is our culprit!” My father sighs as I step into our future breakfast room. The oldest and most experienced handyman of the three shakes his head in dismay. Finishing the bar they put together in less than two days took more work than they had anticipated. “Why the hell did you want the blade to be cut at an angle?”…

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, one can drink twice as much in Spain as in France. Where both men and women are allowed to consume two alcoholic refreshments per person per day in the second, is one in Spain allowed to drink as many as two (women) to four (men) alcoholic units per day. So when the Spanish Health Insurance…

From the corner of the room come sounds of frantic ticking. The youngest, as she announced this morning, is sitting at the table. Her head almost disappears into the screen. While I plop down in front of the television after a long walk and devour my usual toast with herb butter, she is completely lost in her work. The ticking then briefly gives way…

With a sigh she searches her card folder and hands me the one from her health insurance. The door slams shut with a bang. I follow her example and get out of the car as well. I put the card on the windshield and make a frantic attempt to scratch off the ice. It is eight o’clock in the morning, dark and cold. We never thought it could freeze.