by Jenny Holmes

Created on: September 04, 2009

A large number of expats moving to Spain do not often get the chance to integrate completely within the Spanish lifestyle. However my husband and I have been fortunate enough to be totally involved with a large Spanish family in the campo just a few miles from Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.

When we retired we decided to move to Spain as so many pensioners from the UK often do but instead of purchasing a property when we arrived from the UK we decided to rent and saw an ad in the local newspaper for a 2 bed house. On viewing the property we found it was a large Spanish house owned by an elderly Spanish couple who lived upstairs with their daughter with the bottom half of the house for rent. It was surrounded by large areas of agricultural land mainly with fig trees and abundant vegetables. As soon as we walked into the property we felt at home and duly agreed the rent, signed on the dotted line and moved our furniture and belongings over from the UK lock stock and barrel.

Within a short space of time we had been introduced to the various factions of this family who were dotted around the campo and who used to visit on a daily basis. At that time our Spanish was pretty non-existent only able to say hello, goodbye and thank you and what other Spanish words I had gleaned from my phrase books seemed to fall on deaf ears as I was either pronouncing the words incorrectly or they were not understanding me and I certainly could not understand them. I found out later from my Spanish teacher it was because they were speaking Andaluz which even the Spanish from other parts of Spain are unable to understand.

We were rapidly told to call our neighbours Abuella and Abuello (Grandmother and Grandfather). 'Everyone does', they said. For a couple of 78 years and 86 years respectively they certainly had more energy than us a mere 65 and 60 years old. Working on the land all their life and still getting up at 7am every morning to plant, weed and look after the chickens made us greenhorns feel very inadequate.

We spent the first few months in our new abode decorating, planting out our terrace and generally making the place feel like home. Abuella was so pleased with the effort we were making and brought her elderly sisters around to see the English furniture and the beautiful decoration. I felt like charging admission every time she brought someone around to view.

One morning when all our own decorating had been completed, Abuella was seen with a paintbrush trying

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