Valencia: One-and-a-half years later

Hi friends and family,

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day! We're sending you love from sunny Valencia.

For those of you who have been collecting our annual Valentine's Day cards over the years, we're trying something a little different this time. Instead of a card, we're sending you an update (and our love) via this blog/newsletter. If your fridge feels naked without a card, you can print this out!

The quick update: we are happy, healthy, and deeply grateful for our life here in Valencia. We're thriving and miss you all terribly.

Now for the longer version.

👧 Eleanor at eight

Eleanor just turned eight. Eight! She's lost a steady stream of teeth and grown new ones. She's taller, more capable, and increasingly her own person. It's a joy to witness.

Eleanor's halfway through second grade and absolutely loves school. By the time the most recent break was winding down, she was itching to get back. She adores her two teachers, one of whom speaks English and the other Spanish. Eleanor has a wonderful group of friends, and the school community continues to be one of the best things about our life here.

Some things have changed. She's branched out from her signature all-PJs-all-the-time wardrobe into dresses when the weather calls for it. And in Valencia, when it's regularly 30 °C (that's 86 °F) and humid during the summer months, even Eleanor makes a concession. But make no mistake: pajamas remain the default uniform. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Her big passions right now are crafting and engineering things, often making elaborate scenes and devices for her stuffed animals. She has a hammock full of them hovering over her bed - a plush menagerie!

And she's a world-class snuggler. Nothing beats curling up with her mom and dad.

Eleanor is still the same tender-hearted kid she's always been - just a bit more grown up. She's thriving in Valencia. We're so proud of her.

🔥 Fallas: Burning Man meets Carnival

Last year we had our first experience of Fallas, and it is truly a sight to behold. (It's just ramping up again now.)

Imagine a combination of Burning Man and Carnival, but set in an urban environment. Fallas started hundreds of years ago, dating back to the Middle Ages. Every neighborhood in Valencia creates elaborate, beautiful sculptures called ninots. They range in size, sometimes towering 50-60 feet tall. They're awe-inspiring.

Then, on the last night (the crema) they're all set alight. It's wild - and happens to be the one day a year when Valencia loses its title as the greenest city in Europe amidst the plumes of black smoke.

For about three weeks leading up to the big night, the city is a nonstop party. There are constant fireworks. And not just the nighttime, sparkly kind. Valencia does midday fireworks called mascletás, which are more about sound and feeling than sight. You stand in a crowd, the explosions start, and the shockwaves hit your chest. It's not something you watch. It's something you feel. Very unique to Valencia.

Our neighborhood, Ruzafa, is one of the epicenters for Fallas - which is amazing for the experience and terrible for sleep. The fireworks go late, the streets are packed, and it's incredibly loud. It sounds like artillery is going off, and our building shakes from time to time.

Last year was a great experience - enjoyed comfortably from our friends' apartment on the other side of the city. This year we're planning to get out of town for the last week, which is when things really ramp up. That, and school is canceled. Another good reason to get out of dodge.

💼 Working for ourselves

Both Cassie and Joseph are working for themselves and things are going great. We each have our own clients and projects, and we've settled into a productive rhythm.

Here's what a typical day looks like: We walk Eleanor to school together in the morning. Then we fan out into our respective offices and coffee shops around the neighborhood to work. One of us might meet a friend for lunch. We continue the afternoon, pick up Eleanor from school/activities, and then the evening is ours. Sometimes we go out with friends. Sometimes we come home, have dinner together, and put Eleanor to bed. Eleanor often proposes little soirees with friends after school - tacos most recently! Maybe we work a little more after bedtime if we need to. (Or maybe we collapse on the couch. Depends on the day.)

The Spanish pace of life has a way of helping you slow down and keep your priorities straight - namely, centering relationships. Work is important. But so is lunch. And so is the walk home!

👋 Visitors and community

We've been incredibly fortunate this year to have a bevy of visitors from the States. Welcoming friends and family to Valencia is one of our greatest joys. We get to share the place we love with the people we love. It doesn't get much better than that!

Being apart from friends and family (cough - that's you) has been the hardest part of moving here. Thank you to the two-dozen or so groups of people who have made the journey to visit. It was wonderful being with you and our time together has helped to bridge the gap between our original home and our new one.

Beyond visitors, our community here continues to grow and deepen. Between school parents, our Seattle crew (there are over a dozen of us here!), neighborhood friends, and the people we bump into every day at the market or the café downstairs, Valencia feels more and more like home. Not a replacement for our community back in the States, but an extension of it.

We've also been creating community with local Valencians. Joseph has taken up painting again, meeting with a group of Spaniards once a week. It's a great joy to reconnect with art, spend time with locals, and practice Spanish. Also, the other students are incredibly warm and welcoming, often inviting Joseph out for a coffee to break up the painting session. It's a lovely group of people.

🏥 Healthcare, still incredible

We've had a few more interactions with the Spanish healthcare system this year, and we continue to be really impressed. The quality of care, the speed, and the cost (or lack thereof) still catch us off guard. We keep expecting the other shoe to drop, and it just doesn't. If you have to get sick somewhere, we highly recommend Spain.

❤️ Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day

We started sending Valentine's Day cards years ago because we wanted an excuse to tell the people we love that we love them. That, and it coincides with Eleanor's birthday.

So here it is: we love you. We think about you all the time. We are grateful for you in ways we don't always know how to say.

Living abroad has taught us many things, but one of the biggest is this: distance doesn't diminish love. If anything, it concentrates it. You're here with us, even when you're not.

Thank you for being in our lives. And thank you for reading these missives.

We're sending you a gigantic long-distance hug. Happy Belated Valentine's Day.

With all our love,
Joseph, Cassie & Eleanor