The past few days have gone by in a blur. I have been getting accustomed to my new setting: Apartment flat on the beach at San Juan. The family is so nice and hospitable. The girls are definitely a handful, but so adorable it's worth it.
On Sunday I went with them to a birthday party for one of their 8 year old friends. It was a little different because they just held it outside their apartment complex in the garden/pool area. There were two birthday cakes: triple chocolate mousse cake and pineapple with frosting on top. They sang "happy birthday" and she blew out the candles on the chocolate one, then they sang it in English and she blew out candles on the pineapple one.
There is a pool in the apartment complex the family lives at, and I've been down with the girls several times. Sofia (7) can swim very well and can sort of dive (she looks like a frog jumping in). Claudia (5) can swim too, but not as well. They're not allowed in the deep-end yet.
At the house they watch a lot of cartoons, but their parents only let them watch them if they're in English. I've seen a lot of Peppa the Pig and Penguins of Madagascar. They also have these books that help them learn English, and I have been playing teacher a little bit already.
On Monday I went on a run to get more used to my surroundings; I went 4.5 miles down the coast and ended up taking a bus back. But I will say it helped me see where a lot of things are! Also, it was a beautiful scenery to run in, right by the sea.
My duties don't start until tomorrow, Thursday when the girls officially start summer break. This week I've been getting settled in while the girls are in school and the parents at work, checking out the beach, pool, and where the closest ice cream shops are. I haven't gotten sunburnt yet, (knock on wood) and I hope to return bronzed not red. I hope my skin gets accustomed to the sun here quickly!