For the past three weeks, I've felt like Spain has been slipping through my fingers. We've had Friday classes, which sounds bearable, but when each class is an hour and a half long--and the one that separates school from the weekend goes until 7 pm--it begins to take its toll. By the time classes are through, I don't have enough energy to do anything but rest. This weekend, however, began for me at 3:30 pm on Thursday. I had plenty of time to catch my Z's before setting out to learn from and enjoy my surroundings.
Friday morning, I joined a group of students from my program on a trip to the Fallas museum. Intricate and colorful constructions of people, animals and other social parodies were on display. These beautiful sculptures, made out of wood and papier-mache, are to be burned in the streets in March during the Fallas festival. It was fascinating to see the amount of energy that goes into making these structures when their ultimate purpose is to be destroyed.
I hopped on a train to Sagunto with seven other girls on Saturday. My madre had prepared me a mini pamphlet with information about each major site in the city. Her face completely lit up when I told her where we were going. According to her, visiting Spain without seeing the Roman ruins of Sagunto is pointless. I happen to completely agree. It may have been the beautiful sunny weather, the vast castle we explored, the friendliness of the local people, the two fuzzy cats whose ears I scratched, the ghost stories told in pitch-black dungeons, the adorable bright yellow house with the outdoor terrace, or the bond we shared over viewing all of this majesty together. That day has been my favorite so far here in Spain.
Dusty and sun-touched, all eight of us climbed into the train back to Valencia with sore muscles and laughter. We talked and gazed out the windows, dreaming of taking a long siesta back at home. The magic of the day kept me awake until I dropped (gracefully, of course) onto my bed to melt away some of the exhaustion. That night I met three friends at a cafe for some yummy dessert and encouraging conversation.
On Sunday, we had our usual feast. This week was my madre's turn to host. That meant homemade paella, the best I have ever tasted. We also had shrimp cocktail and crab salad, strawberries & whipped cream, apple tart and tea. And, of course, the cidra de manzana (apple cider), her favorite. The lunch was delicious, but the six of us ended up talking for hours. We didn't leave the table until 5:30 pm! Good company, but I was (noticing a theme here?) incredibly exhausted after that.
Quick siesta, then time to introduce Hector to the wonderful American custom of...s'mores! My apartment mate, Nina, found some makeshift s'mores ingredients. We had cinnamon/sugar cookies instead of Honey-Maid graham crackers, Milka bars instead of Hershey's, and cherry-flavored skinny marshmallows in place of Jet-Puffed. We cooked the marshmallows over the blue flame from a stovetop eye. They were definitely delicious, but not exactly the same! After this Spanish-American fusion of camping snacks, we all played Texas Hold'em and Nina & I tried to teach Hector some more English. Trying to prove that he is a true gentleman, he walked us ALL the way home with his trusty pony (bicycle) by his side. I even got to ride it for a few seconds!
That brings this weekend to a close. This week is midterm week, which is insane. I can't believe we've already covered half of our material. Spain is going by WAYY too quickly. In a way, that's a good thing, since it means I'm enjoying myself immensely. I can already tell it's going to be hard to leave this place. I'm off to go see, learn, and experience more! Chao.
Friday morning, I joined a group of students from my program on a trip to the Fallas museum. Intricate and colorful constructions of people, animals and other social parodies were on display. These beautiful sculptures, made out of wood and papier-mache, are to be burned in the streets in March during the Fallas festival. It was fascinating to see the amount of energy that goes into making these structures when their ultimate purpose is to be destroyed.
I hopped on a train to Sagunto with seven other girls on Saturday. My madre had prepared me a mini pamphlet with information about each major site in the city. Her face completely lit up when I told her where we were going. According to her, visiting Spain without seeing the Roman ruins of Sagunto is pointless. I happen to completely agree. It may have been the beautiful sunny weather, the vast castle we explored, the friendliness of the local people, the two fuzzy cats whose ears I scratched, the ghost stories told in pitch-black dungeons, the adorable bright yellow house with the outdoor terrace, or the bond we shared over viewing all of this majesty together. That day has been my favorite so far here in Spain.
Dusty and sun-touched, all eight of us climbed into the train back to Valencia with sore muscles and laughter. We talked and gazed out the windows, dreaming of taking a long siesta back at home. The magic of the day kept me awake until I dropped (gracefully, of course) onto my bed to melt away some of the exhaustion. That night I met three friends at a cafe for some yummy dessert and encouraging conversation.
On Sunday, we had our usual feast. This week was my madre's turn to host. That meant homemade paella, the best I have ever tasted. We also had shrimp cocktail and crab salad, strawberries & whipped cream, apple tart and tea. And, of course, the cidra de manzana (apple cider), her favorite. The lunch was delicious, but the six of us ended up talking for hours. We didn't leave the table until 5:30 pm! Good company, but I was (noticing a theme here?) incredibly exhausted after that.
Quick siesta, then time to introduce Hector to the wonderful American custom of...s'mores! My apartment mate, Nina, found some makeshift s'mores ingredients. We had cinnamon/sugar cookies instead of Honey-Maid graham crackers, Milka bars instead of Hershey's, and cherry-flavored skinny marshmallows in place of Jet-Puffed. We cooked the marshmallows over the blue flame from a stovetop eye. They were definitely delicious, but not exactly the same! After this Spanish-American fusion of camping snacks, we all played Texas Hold'em and Nina & I tried to teach Hector some more English. Trying to prove that he is a true gentleman, he walked us ALL the way home with his trusty pony (bicycle) by his side. I even got to ride it for a few seconds!
That brings this weekend to a close. This week is midterm week, which is insane. I can't believe we've already covered half of our material. Spain is going by WAYY too quickly. In a way, that's a good thing, since it means I'm enjoying myself immensely. I can already tell it's going to be hard to leave this place. I'm off to go see, learn, and experience more! Chao.
Another GREAT account of your time in Spain. These things you will remember the rest of your life and be able to tell your children and grandchildren some day. What a wonderful experience you are having.
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