Family week: I owe an update. I’m sorry. I’ve just been super busy these days. So since the last time I wrote my family came to visit. Well, my mom, sister and brother in law. We rented a sweet Audi and traveled around from the airport to Quintanar, to Consuegra to Toledo to Madrid to Avila to Segovia and back to Quintanar. It was a really good time. For me it was my first time in Consuegra and Avila. Both were nice. Consuegra has a castle and the typical windmills of La Mancha. Avila was super cute and charming. I loved it. I got a little sick in Toledo into our time in Madrid but nothing major. We made my Mom walk a lot. We laughed a ton. It was a whirlwind tour but it was enjoyable for everyone. I got to drive the Audi for a bit too. I’ve missed driving.
Holy week: Santander- The week after I worked a ton ‘cuz I had some classes to make up since I had missed them when the family came. But it was all ok because the weather was nice and I was no longer waking up exhausted. And on Friday started the Semana Santa holiday. I headed off to Madrid and caught a train to Santander (actually was close to missing it). I couch surfed and stayed with a family. They were super great. I liked them right away. After eating a little something the dad took me around on a tour of the town. In the evening the daughter Paula (who was like 18) took me for a botellon with her friends on the beach and that was fun. Saturday I went and explored more of the town and sat on a dock at the beach and enjoyed the nice weather and read a book. In the evening I watched the Madrid Barca game with the dad and 2 other American couch surfers that were spending the night. The dad was super impressed with my knowledge of futbol. On Sunday I went to Santillana del Mar, a small town like 40 minutes in bus away. The family recommended it to me and I’m glad I went. It was gorgeous. I loved it.
Bilbao- I left Monday morning for Bilbao. It was like an hour and a half in bus. It was the most comfortable bus I’ve ever been on. I found my hostel with very little problem. Just as I was checking in, a girl from Australia was too. We ended up going out and exploring together. She was great. We got along perfectly. And she’s futbol obsessed too (but sadly a Barca fan). In the evening we went to a bar to watch a futbol game (it was only appropriate) and we ended up making friends with the bartender, Joseba, who we walked home that night because he lived basically next to our hostel. He couldn’t believe that Louise and I had only met that day, he thought we knew each other for a long time because of how well we got along. We went back to visit him the next morning because he promised us free coffee. Then Louise and I went exploring in the old part of the city. Bilbao is an interesting city. There’s not too much there. It’s known for the Guggenheim Museum but everyone told me it wasn’t worth the 13 euros to go in, so we didn’t. the best thing was the puppy made out of flowers in front of the museum. We searched for a basilica and never found it, after walking up a giant hill (cuz we couldn’t find the elevator). In the evening we met up with Joseba and one of his friends and they showed us around a bit and introduced us to the whole “pinxos” thing (Pais Vasco’s version of tapas). It was funny because the boys didn’t really speak much English and Louise didn’t speak any Spanish so I had to translate everything. But I didn’t mind. I kinda liked it. Louise left on Wednesday morning. I went to the Fine Arts museum ‘cuz it was free and then went to a park and napped and read a book. Then I got together with Joseba again and we watched the other Madrid Barca game where Madrid won the Copa del Rey! Woo! I was really excited. Him, not so much cuz Barca is his 2nd team. (Seriously, why does it seem that everyone I meet is a Barca supporter?)
San Sebastian- I left Bilbao Thursday morning and took another bus to San Sebastian, about an hour an half away. I struggled to find my hostel because all the streets have 2 names- one in Spanish and one in Basque but both names aren’t always displayed, and certainly never at the same point. But I arrived. There was a girl from China in my room also traveling alone so after I settled in a bit we went off exploring together, literally walking allll over the city. It was beautiful. I loved it. It was really hot out too. But the city is just cute and has a good ambience to it AND there’s a beach. In the evening I talked with another girl from our hostel who was from Sevilla. She was pretty cool. I went to bed kinda early because I was so tired from all the walking. Friday we explored some more. The weather was ugly and overcast. In the evening I ended up going out with another group of kids from our hostel. There were 2 other American girls, 2 people from London, and 5 from Australia and they were all super cool. I loved them. And it was great because we had all just met that weekend and we all got along super well as if we’d know each other for a while. We went out for pinxos and I had to help the one guy Dan out a bit cuz he doesn’t speak any Spanish so I had to tell him what everything was and order everything for him. Tim who works in the hostel was like “yeah, we’ll pair up the kid that knows nothing about Spain with the girl who’s practically Spanish and then we’ll have nothing to worry about.” Haha. later we all went out for drinks and then just danced for the rest of the night. It was a ton of fun. At one point me, Dan and Matt got separated from the group and I had to take care of the boys cuz they had no idea where we were or how to get back to the hostel (such bad senses of direction) and Matt said “this is like some sort of joke… There’s an American, an Australian and an Englishman walking down the streets of San Sebastian…” the next morning Matt, Arianna, Rachel, Jack, Scarlett and I went to the beach. Weather wasn’t great- a little overcast but not too cold. It started to drizzle so we went for icecream and then hung out talking in the lounge of the hostel. We said our goodbyes to Biffie, Matt, Brittany and Dan and that was sad. Then the remaining few of us went out for more pinxos in the evening and later just hung out talking. they were really a fantastic group of people. I’m so glad I met them. I would have been bored and lonely without them.
Back home: I left the next morning on a train to Madrid at like 9ish and tried really hard to get home in time for church but I couldn’t. I almost cried in the bus station. It was Easter Sunday and I just wanted to go to church. Plus I haven’t been to my church in town for a while and I miss the people there. I ended up hanging out with the boys. I watched them play some card and board games and then we made some food on a fire. Monday was still vacation and for me a day of nothing but rest, unpacking and laundry. And today was back to work. Wooo. So yeah, now you’re caught up. And this was the short version :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"do you serve pigs blood"
Monday
-I’ve been waking up feeling completely exhausted. As if I didn’t just sleep 8 hours. Not a good feeling. But other than that I feel fine.
-I took a 2 hour nap. It was glorious. I love Spanish siesta
Tuesday
-another day with no energy = another 2 hour nap
-one of my 4 year olds saw that I had a package of gummy bears in my pocket and she asked if they were for her and I told her that they were for me and she said “but teachers don’t eat candy.” Not sure where she got that idea from.
Wednesday
-one of my 5 year olds gave me the finger… wonder where he learned that from
-my high schoolers confessed some good stories to me. When they asked if I had any similar, luckily I could honestly say no.
Thursday
-I went to school in the morning to make up for a day that I’m going to miss later. I felt like it was a waste of time. I just followed Piedad around and didn’t do much. Whatever.
-After my classes Eddie and I decided to go to Cuevas for just a little bit, both insisting we’d be home early… then I ran into 2 of my new friends Santi and Fran (I go to church with his parents but since he studies in Albacete he can never come) and their friend Carlos and I sat and talked to them for a while. And they made me move on to another place, promising me I’d be home by 1:30… but it really was a lot of fun. They’re super funny and not quite as crazy as the others. And they gave me a new nickname: Shunny Delight.
Friday
-the weather was gorgeous. Like 80ยบ with lots of sun.
-around 4ish, Esther, Eddie and I went to Alcazar de San Juan to pick up Casey and his friend Ansel and off we all went to Toledo. The boys had never been for tourist purposes. It was a lot of fun being there with all of them. They’re all so funny. Casey was in this really random mood where he was cracking jokes all the time. In English and in Spanish. We also discovered that we’re like “kindred spirits.”
-we walked around the city for a while before going to Esther’s piso where we watched a movie. But Toledo is absolutely beautiful at night.
Saturday
-after coffee Esther and the rest of the “family” drove me to the bus station and got me on literally at the last minute and off I went to Madrid. I met up with Libby and did lunch and ice-cream
-later we went to pick up my race materials. The runner’s feria was super disappointing compared to that of Philly. However, they gave me the most random stuff in my goodies bag. My favorite being chicken broth. What?
-then I went to meet up with Alisa and off the 2 of us went to the Santiago Bernabeu for the Madrid vs. Sporting game. The stadium itself is incredible and we had sweet seats. In the 6th row in one of the corners. I conveniently picked the corner where my Ramos would be defending. It was perfect because my Granero played as well and he took a good chunk of corners right in front of us. It was a special game because they honored (the original) Ronaldo, one of Madrid’s historically best players and because Higuain played for the first time in months. It’s soo good to have him back. I’ve missed him
-however, Madrid lost 1-0. Off of a fluke goal. We had control the whole time and we didn’t play awful, we just couldn’t get it.
-the young couple sitting next to us were super nice. I liked chatting with them. And there was a fight a 2 rows in front of us between 2 Sporting fans and an old Madrid fan. There were several times I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Crazy.
Sunday
-after a night of not sleeping too well, I got up at 7 am and off I went to run my half marathon in Retiro park. On the metro I met another American guy in my program going to do the same and then in the park we met up with an American girl also in our program and off the 3 of us went to get our time chips and to check our bags. It was nice not being completely alone and they were both super nice.
-once the race started we all got split up. But I ran the whole 13 miles (21 km), without stopping. I ran slowly, but I made it. However, km 18 and 19 were awful. I thought they were going to kill me. It was a 2 km long hill. I think every Spanish insult crossed my mind aimed at whoever decided to end a half marathon like that. Jerks
- I was pretty much dead when I finished, but I finished. I sat in the grass and rested and stretched a bit then went back to Libby’s where I took a nap. When she got back after church we did lunch and then I caught a bus home and that was my weekend :)
-I’ve been waking up feeling completely exhausted. As if I didn’t just sleep 8 hours. Not a good feeling. But other than that I feel fine.
-I took a 2 hour nap. It was glorious. I love Spanish siesta
Tuesday
-another day with no energy = another 2 hour nap
-one of my 4 year olds saw that I had a package of gummy bears in my pocket and she asked if they were for her and I told her that they were for me and she said “but teachers don’t eat candy.” Not sure where she got that idea from.
Wednesday
-one of my 5 year olds gave me the finger… wonder where he learned that from
-my high schoolers confessed some good stories to me. When they asked if I had any similar, luckily I could honestly say no.
Thursday
-I went to school in the morning to make up for a day that I’m going to miss later. I felt like it was a waste of time. I just followed Piedad around and didn’t do much. Whatever.
-After my classes Eddie and I decided to go to Cuevas for just a little bit, both insisting we’d be home early… then I ran into 2 of my new friends Santi and Fran (I go to church with his parents but since he studies in Albacete he can never come) and their friend Carlos and I sat and talked to them for a while. And they made me move on to another place, promising me I’d be home by 1:30… but it really was a lot of fun. They’re super funny and not quite as crazy as the others. And they gave me a new nickname: Shunny Delight.
Friday
-the weather was gorgeous. Like 80ยบ with lots of sun.
-around 4ish, Esther, Eddie and I went to Alcazar de San Juan to pick up Casey and his friend Ansel and off we all went to Toledo. The boys had never been for tourist purposes. It was a lot of fun being there with all of them. They’re all so funny. Casey was in this really random mood where he was cracking jokes all the time. In English and in Spanish. We also discovered that we’re like “kindred spirits.”
-we walked around the city for a while before going to Esther’s piso where we watched a movie. But Toledo is absolutely beautiful at night.
Saturday
-after coffee Esther and the rest of the “family” drove me to the bus station and got me on literally at the last minute and off I went to Madrid. I met up with Libby and did lunch and ice-cream
-later we went to pick up my race materials. The runner’s feria was super disappointing compared to that of Philly. However, they gave me the most random stuff in my goodies bag. My favorite being chicken broth. What?
-then I went to meet up with Alisa and off the 2 of us went to the Santiago Bernabeu for the Madrid vs. Sporting game. The stadium itself is incredible and we had sweet seats. In the 6th row in one of the corners. I conveniently picked the corner where my Ramos would be defending. It was perfect because my Granero played as well and he took a good chunk of corners right in front of us. It was a special game because they honored (the original) Ronaldo, one of Madrid’s historically best players and because Higuain played for the first time in months. It’s soo good to have him back. I’ve missed him
-however, Madrid lost 1-0. Off of a fluke goal. We had control the whole time and we didn’t play awful, we just couldn’t get it.
-the young couple sitting next to us were super nice. I liked chatting with them. And there was a fight a 2 rows in front of us between 2 Sporting fans and an old Madrid fan. There were several times I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Crazy.
Sunday
-after a night of not sleeping too well, I got up at 7 am and off I went to run my half marathon in Retiro park. On the metro I met another American guy in my program going to do the same and then in the park we met up with an American girl also in our program and off the 3 of us went to get our time chips and to check our bags. It was nice not being completely alone and they were both super nice.
-once the race started we all got split up. But I ran the whole 13 miles (21 km), without stopping. I ran slowly, but I made it. However, km 18 and 19 were awful. I thought they were going to kill me. It was a 2 km long hill. I think every Spanish insult crossed my mind aimed at whoever decided to end a half marathon like that. Jerks
- I was pretty much dead when I finished, but I finished. I sat in the grass and rested and stretched a bit then went back to Libby’s where I took a nap. When she got back after church we did lunch and then I caught a bus home and that was my weekend :)
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