The Finnnnaalllll Countdown. Live in the moment!

Let's see 38 days til America, 23 days left in Spain, 11 days left working at the high school, 7 private tutoring lessons left, 2 more beach weekend trips and 2 weeks traveling in Central Europe. How do I feel about all of this?! Pretty darn excited. It's actually many mixed emotions. While I don't think anyone would ever want to stop traveling and seeing the world, I certainly miss the roots and familiarity of my motherland. I could really go for a nice long bike ride around Kitsap County, a juicy Red Robin burger, bottomless fries and a milkshake (with REAL milk). Maybe even a hug from my mom. Or how about listening to real English as you shop, walk down the street or listen to the radio. I'm sure some these things may seem a bit shallow but it's amazing how you start to miss the small things and really crave them. More than anything though, I am quite ready to be done working with misbehaved Spanish children. I spend most of my hours at school doing nothing and I'm ready to start feeling productive with life again. At least I say that now. Aside from work I am keeping busy, living in the moment and enjoying my final days in Spain.

Throughout the last month and a half I've been doing various random activities and not straying far from Seville. About mid-March there was a very well-known festival in Sevilla called Feria (which literally means fair in English). Most towns in Spain have their own Feria but Sevilla's is known for being over the top. I was excited to see what this Feria was all about. Basically it is a week long event that takes place in a designated zone in one of the neighborhoods in Sevilla. There are 1,048 privately owned casetas (or little booths/houses) that are set up by upper class Sevillans. These casetas are small and inside there is a bar, kitchen, dancing area and tables to sit. Each is uniquely decorated. Because these are private, you must be invited/ know someone to get in. This aspect is unique to Sevilla whereas in other towns they are open to the public. People go and spend all day and night there. They eat, drink and dance until maybe 7am. Mind you some still manage to go to work the next day. What makes it so special is the atmosphere, decorations and dress of the people. There is caseta after caseta for many blocks, you can easily get lost. There are colorful lights and decorations surrounding the streets. Most women are dressed in typical Flamenco dresses, which are extremely colorful and elaborate. Most men are dressed in suits and ties. Mind you it is about 80degrees during the day and a bit cooler at night. There is the "calle de inferno" or street of hell that has any amusement ride you can imagine. I went a few nights just to experience it. Fortunately some of my American friends have Spanish friends with casetas we could enter. My favorite part of Feria was observing the passion and love the Sevillans expressed for their culture. For some people Feria is more important than any other holiday and they spend all year preparing and getting excited for it. I am almost certain I will never seen anything like it again. It's nice to see people dedicate their time to something that makes them happy and is shared among family and close friends even if it means you don't sleep for a week. I wish I saw more events like this in America.

Me, Abby and Katie (Americans). They decided to wear Flamenco dresses!

La Portada or the entrance to Feria!!

Casetas...

Tried to get a close up of the caseta!

April hit and so did the HEAT!!! After being a bit sick and in need of some happy vibes I hit up the beach of Cadiz with a friend. I swear the beach brings happiness to all!!!

Last weekend, I went on a day hike with 2 friends. We took the train about 85km outside of Sevilla to a small town called Cazalla-Constantina. The train drops you off on the outskirts of the Sierra Norte National Park. Luckily with a bit of previous research and asking a local we found our way to the start of the 10km trail to Las Cascadas de Hueznar (the Hueznar waterfalls)!!! Along the way we came across a herd of goats and cattle. We actually walked right through the herd. Never been that close to a cow in my life. MOOOOOOO! The scenery was very green, with fields of purple and red flowers and rolling hills in the background. Anytime I've been in the wilderness in Spain I always think about how much I've taken the PNW for granted. I've grown up staring at the Olympic Mountains and Mt. Rainier and spending time in the great outdoors, not something that everyone is fortunate enough to experience. Most Spaniards don't really understand or can conceptualize the PNW. The trail was flat and pleasant, crossing the Hueznar River a few times. We walked through a long tunnel just before cutting off into a side trail that we just hoped was the right one. Sure enough before we knew it we were standing at the top of this small, but pristine waterfall. It's surroundings reminded me of being at the Amazon River in Ecuador. The colors of the water were beautiful teal and green. Overall, it was a perfect day filled with sun, smiles, water and a taste of home.

My Spanish roommate Ruben had a friend from Germany visiting a while back. Gerald stayed with us for a week and I really enjoyed his company. He spoke great English so it was nice to be able to just chat like a normal person in my apartment and not feel like things would get lost in translation. He cooked us MASHED POTATOES and a fried pork dish that was good. We all went out one night. At one point there was a German, American, Canadian and 2 Spanish people sitting at the table. It was really cool to be surrounded by so many cultures yet all be speaking Spanish. I've definitely learned young Europeans are very different from young Americans. They are more easy going about life and their future. Gerald told me in Germany most people finish their undergrad around 25 years old. They also know how to party ALL NIGHT long. I had to go home around 4am and was later informed from my friend that stayed with them til 7am that they were bashing Americans for being lame. I'm sorry that in America bars and clubs close at 2am and in Europe they open at 2am.

My tutoring lessons have been going well and I really feel like I'm making a difference in the kids lives. There are days we all laugh and have a great time and of course there are the days where I'm thankful there aren't my kids. Rosa, the 9 year old who is fluent in English, and I have been playing a lot of "theatre". She loves to make up a scenario and we take roles of random characters (or maybe multiple) and just create an hours worth of fun. I told her about the 11 year old Raul from the high school that confessed his love for me. Rosa of course thought that was the funniest thing she heard and now she loves to play "theatre" with different scenarios involving Raul and Mandy at school. You can only imagine how that goes. Playing with Rosa takes me back to the days when my sister and I would play "Police" in the driveway, with our scooters, my police play kit, cardboard "jails", etc. Oh to be 9 years old with a crazy imagination. Much to my surprise the other day she said the words "shoot" and "geez louise". My mind clicked and I realized she really does listen to me cause I say those "kid appropriate" words a lot.

With the group of four that I teach I decided to take them on a "road trip" through America. I printed out a puzzle map of the USA and then we had a toy car that went to various cities starting in Seattle and ending in New York. They each had their own blank map of the USA they would fill out as we went along. I picked out places and things I thought they would like being 6 years old. That turned out to be harder than I thought. I pulled various pictures from Google. Sure they recognized things like Disneyland, New York and various animals. They loved the Sea Turtles of Hawaii, Mount Rushmore, Wisconsin Cheeseheads and images of New York. They always seemed to be confused that I didn't actually take the photos. I had a picture of a action shot of a football player. They thought it was incredible and wondered how the person took such a photo and that if I took it!!! I'm pretty sure this trip through the USA taught me more than they learned. I guess you forget how much kids don't really understand, how naive they are, and they really are sponges. I'll have to remember this for the day (far far far from now) when I want to be a mom.

Chloe and Sela are two sisters, 6 and 9 years old respectively, that I also have the pleasure of working with. They are probably my favorite. Chloe hates to learn English but she's really really good at it. She's very smart just lazy. It's a challenge to find ways to play and interact with her in English so that she's not bored and she's learning. Last week we played with flashcards of different feelings/emotions. I would make a face and she would have to say if I was scared, happy, sad etc and vice versa. Her personal favorite was switching rapidly between hot and cold as I would take my jacket on and off rapidly and an apparently humorous manner. I think we learned at least those 2 words quite well that day. With Sela, she's easy as she will do about anything. We play charades, hangman, theatre, 20 questions, do worksheets, Go Fish, whatever I want. It's exciting to see her conversation skills improving. She knows a lot of words but it's putting them all together that's hard for her.

Side note: I graduated from college a year ago tomorrow. It's been crazy to think a whole year has gone by already. But I have to say the last year of my life has been one of the most enriching and rewarding of all 22 years. Graduating college, being named an First Team All American Rower, falling in love, traveling to China and Palau with my family and living and working in Spain...AND the best part is it doesn't stop there. Only more adventures to come. How did I get so lucky?! I continue to search for the answer.

May all be well wherever you are.  Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Saturday's Sunset...these happen regularly here...incredible! And all from my apartment!

I live in Spain, I vacation in Italy...

You know when your life is absolutely unreal when you say “I live in Spain but I vacation in Italy”. There’s something so incredibly absurd about that statement that you chuckle at yourself. It’s one of those classic moments you keep waiting for someone to wake you up from a dream, but the dream just keeps going.

So I took a trip to Italy that consisted of 9.5 days, 5 cities, 5 American girls, 6 days of rain, 5 pizzas, 9 glasses of wine and 4 gelatos. What more could you ask for?! I had a week off work as it was Semana Santa or Holy Week (for us English speakers). Semana Santa consists of religious processions throughout the main areas and streets of the city. The holiday takes places throughout Spain but Sevilla is well-known for having one of the more elaborate Holy Week’s. I debated staying the week to not miss this unique cultural experience but many locals told me if you’re a foreigner seeing one night of processions was enough as they tend to be a bit repetitive. In fact many people leave Sevilla to take a holiday while tourists flood their city. Practically being a local myself, I decided Italy would be my destination of choice. I was fortunate to visit Rome and Venice with my family when I was 14 and only have fond memories of our adventures and since then have wanted to return.  I was rather excited to leave Spain. I was ready for a different language, some real pizza, fresh Tuscan air, no teaching and new scenery. Perhaps this sounds a little ridiculous seeing how my daily life is spent living in Spain, but I suppose any place you live after awhile you need a break from. It allows you to feel refreshed and re appreciate where you live. Our route would be Rome-Siena-Florence-Lucca-Pisa. Here’s how it all went down!

Took this while flying to Rome!!!

Rome. Not many places like it. The Vatican. The Pope. The Coliseum. The Roman Forum. Trevi Fountain. The Spanish Steps. Quaint neighborhoods. Piazza Novana. The Pantheon. Sunshine. Having been 14 when I saw all of these hot spots for the first time I was excited to see how my perspective of the city would change from the viewpoint of such a mature 22 year old college graduate J. I immediately felt very overwhelmed in Rome. I can’t decide if it was part culture shock and part the pure magnitude of the city or maybe both combined. We went to grab dinner when we first got to Rome. It was a rather embarrassing experience. We were all pointing at things trying to speak Italian somehow but only Spanish would come out. Made us realize how much our brains have been trained to resort to Spanish when you find yourself in a foreign land. Most major European cities are full of history, Rome is no exception. It just does it bigger and better with all the attractions I mentioned above. It’s crazy to turn the corner and suddenly have an ancient, giant, dirty, limestone building staring you in the face. For me more impressive and up to date is the Vatican City. I remember seeing it all when I was younger but this time around it was 100x more interesting and meaningful.  We hired an authentic, long haired, greasy Italian tour guide named Tebario, to take us through the Vatican. I have never met a man so passionate about his city and his job. He would close his eyes half the time when explaining things in is jumbled English. I felt like I was sitting front row at a theatrical performance. He informed us 799 people live in Vatican City  including  1 gardener, 1 Pope, 20 Swiss Guards, 50 Cardinals and more. The Vatican City is the last monarchy in the world. When describing the Sistine Chapel I was reminded how back in the day, paintings were media. It was a way to pass stories and messages along. That statement really stuck out in my mind especially after seeing the Sistine Chapel and thinking about how we communicate in today’s world. Makes me wonder if someday there will be tourist attractions talking about Facebook, blogs, emails, Twitter etc.

Our Vatican tour guide aka Batman and the girls!

 

The Coliseum!



Fortunate for us, we arrived in Rome just days after Pope Francis was elected. By luck we spent Palm Sunday with the Pope in the Vatican, along with 1000s of others and their palm leaves. Standing inside the Vatican walls within a few hundred feet of the Pope was a very moving experience. I have never been in one area and felt such a positive, excited and respectful vibe from a diverse crowd. Most crowds I’ve been around are at athletic events or concerts where there are always people being obnoxious or creating negative energy against the opposing team. At one point, the Pope was driven around the Vatican in a car to just to wave and say hello. The car would occasionally stop as babies were being passed through the crowd so the Pope could kiss or bless their child. I kept wondering what would happen if the crowd had passed a full grown adult through the crowd to be kissed by the Pope. While taking in the entire moment, I kept thinking it was somebody’s dream to be standing there right then and how I had just happened to be so spoiled and lucky to be traveling to Rome on “holiday” while teaching in Spain.

Hanging out with Pope Francis on Plam Sunday. No big deal.

While the Vatican was the most influential part of our two days in Rome, my other favorite places were the Trevi Fountain and the neighborhood of Trastevere. There’s just something about fountains that I really enjoy. Maybe it’s my inner fish or the rower in me that loves the water. Trastevere is a quaint neighborhood that portrays a more typical image of small, Italian streets. The area was filled with boutiques, bars, restaurants and local people. We stopped for the best eggplant parmesan I’ve ever had. I usually don’t like to blog about food as it typically is the least important component of traveling, but after living in Spain where their food is very bland and always fried, we were in heaven with the Italian flavors. Quite frankly I think my taste buds were reborn.

 Nieghborhood of Trastevere!

Throwing in a coin and making at wish at the Trevi Foutain!

Our next stop, about 4 hours North via train, was Siena. Siena is a small, medieval style town in the region of Tuscany. This area is known for their wine and the beautiful countryside. We stayed at a cultural enriching bed and breakfast for our one night in the town. It was run by two loud, semi-friendly Italian women. ( I actually heard them shout “mama mia!”) They cooked us breakfast in the morning and while we tried not to over indulge in the omelet, bread, meats and cheeses we were overwhelmed with them speaking Italian at us. It was highly uncomfortable. They best you can do is nod and smile. I didn’t take me long to fall in love with this medieval town. You can walk around it in about 2 hours but its small town feel and beautiful architecture that make it appealing to the senses. There was a parade happening with drums, men dressed in colorful jester costumes waving flags marching through the cobble stone streets. The local shop owner told us it was an annual festival, vague but all I needed to know. The majority of our day was spent in a village about one hour outside of Siena, called Montalcino. Our motive: a free winery tour by Poggio Antico. Our winery guide was a half Italian, half British man who was hilarious and made the process of wine making very intriguing. The company produces 100,000 t0 120,000 bottles of wine per year and exports them to places all over the world. The location of their vineyard, at 450m above sea level and with a Southwest wind exposure to the sea, provides them with ideal conditions for harvesting the perfect grapes for the finest red wine. Every winery has their method of wine production but it takes about 5 years to make each bottle of wine. The wine will sit for four years in giant oak barrels to absorb the oak flavor and then sit one more year in the bottle. I even learned to type of cork for a wine bottle is very important as often the wine will absorb flavor from the cork. A faulty cork can ruin a bottle of wine. It was asked why wealthy wineries don’t build private climate controlled vineyards. Our guide said wine making is a socialist activity. If it rains, it rains on everyone. If there’s a dry season, it’s dry for everyone. I liked that. After our tour purchased a variety of wine samples. I tried 3 different kinds and realized I’ve never had real wine before. I can’t say that I’m a wine snob yet and there’s no way I can afford to buy a 30 euro bottle of wine, but I might have to think twice about buying the 1 euro bottles of red wine. Perhaps a 3 euro bottle of wine!?

 At the winery in Montalcino!

The GIANT oak barrels where the wine sits for 4 years.

A real adult!

Wine tasting and our guide!

Town of Siena! Love the colors and green shudders.

Jumping for joy in the main plaza!

The festival!!!!

Our next stop was Florence (or Firenze in Italian). I knew very little about Florence before our arrival but from our brief walk from the train station to our hostel on the first night I could tell I would already like it. Our first day was unfortunately filled with rain and cold, which tinted the natural beauty of the city we saw the following days once the sun came out. It was quickly noted that Florence is well known for their leather with the many leather markets scattered throughout the city. My favorite scenic point was at Piazza Michelangelo which overlooked the entire city. Along the river the oldest bridge in Florence called Ponte Vecchio was the most dazzling. It was the only bridge to survive WWII and is lined with jewelry shops. Why expensive jewelry shops?! My guess is so people keep moving and so they don’t actually stop and shop. That old bridge probably can’t handle too much weight at one time J. Across the river we found the most recommended wood oven pizza restaurant in town called Gusta Pizza. Having seen the long line the day before we made sure we were there the following day well before opening time. Their menu is simple, cheap and short. I have never (and I mean never) had a better pizza. The perfect thin crust, the most flavorful tomato sauce, fresh roma tomatoes, freshly sliced mozzarella and arugula. Needless to say I wasn’t hungry until the next day. One of my favorite moments came at a point in the day when we were all tired and getting a bit grouchy. We just wanted to sit and not have to pay for a coffee. Thank goodness we heard a music coming from Piazza Repubblica (Republic Square). We sat and listened to a band of three men play the perfect feel good tunes. There was an older British man dressed in a suit tapping his foot and listening along. I’m not sure if it was the music itself or the way the man was responding to the music that attracted the surrounding crowd. At the end of each song he would clap with the biggest smile on his face and shout “bravo bravo!!” It was watching that man, who was clearly on top of the world by a very simple thing, which made me snap out of being grouchy and appreciate these small things in life. The other impressive landmark of Florence is the Duomo (meaning Dome in Italian). I have never seen a church so large nor elaborately decorated on the outside. My favorite was it had light green and light pink marble textures on the exterior. Florence is known to have “secret bakeries”. These bakeries are hard at work while the city sleeps, preparing for the next day’s pastry fill. It is said if you are able to quietly find these random bakeries among the dark side streets of Florence you will be well satisfied with the largest, tastiest, cheapest pastry your taste buds won’t even know how to handle it. Unfortunately we were never awake at 3am to go on such an adventure. Next time I suppose!

 

       Ponte Vecchio with Chelsi!!!

 Making friends local restaurant owners! The nicest couple.

The Duomo!

Happy Birthday Shanda!

Florence!!

Listening to the band and watching the British man!

 

Our last 2.5 days of the Italian adventure were spent in two smaller towns, Lucca and Pisa. Lucca is a quaint, medieval city entirely surrounded by a star-shaped stone wall and mote. I’m not really sure why we had even decided to go there as after about 2 hours of essentially walking in a giant circle you’re like ok let’s get pizza and get outta here. I’m being semi sarcastic but it was half true. The town did have some unique cites including an old circular plaza with all yellow buildings with green shudders as well as many towers, one which has trees growing on top of it. With the small towns come the lack of English speaking individuals, yet authentic homemade Italian pastas, breads and sauces and street markets.

Typical view of Lucca street!

The circular plaza..hard to tell its circular, but trust me.

Pisa would be our last stop (tear drops). We had a break in the rain at the most perfect moment upon on our arrival to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, enough to even have a pretty sunset. I wasn’t really expecting too much besides an overrated tourist trap of a tower that was simply tilted to its side. And while that was 100% exactly what it was, I was in awe! I’m still trying to figure out why. Perhaps because it was very clean, it was leaning more than I thought it would be, it was bigger than expected and it made everything else look like it was leaning. What a tower! Google taught me the tower leans because of a very simple and boring answer. It was built on unstable soil. Will it ever fall over completely? I would say with the amount of pictures that are taken on a daily basis by tourist who are “holding” up the tower that it will continue to defy gravity and continue to attract people to Pisa.

                                             "I could eat a whole pizza after this workout!"

 

After many seconds of holding up that tower, one can only need to replenish those energy sources with pizza in Pisa. Duh. My final pizza would and could not just be anything ordinary with the typical tomato sauce, healthy vegetables or healthy ish meats but Pizza Patata. Yep, pizza with FRENCH FRIES on it and a hot dog type meat. In case you don’t know french fries are my favorite food and pizza is up there on the list too. So you can only imagine my salivary glands while patiently waiting this “not even in America”type pizza.

Speechless.

 

While flying back to Sevilla I was reflecting on the past 9.5 days and my time in Spain. It truly has been an unbelievable 7 months. Often I ponder how I even got here or had the desire to be here. I think back to the days when I didn’t like to venture out of the house without my parents, when I first entered public school and was terrified of all my new surroundings, when I traveled for the first time out of the country by myself to Costa Rica for only 3 weeks (and it felt like 3 months) and even when I left for college. And if I piece together how I grew up traveling with my family somewhere new every summer and how the more I matured the more independent and adventurous I became, it shouldn’t really surprise me that I chose to spend a year abroad in Spain doing something yet again out of my comfort zone. I was leaving tutoring the other day and the moms were talking about how they want to travel but never have time cause of their kids. We were talking about my Italian travels. One of the moms comments was “you’ve seen more than me!” with the laugh and smile that really struck me. Here I am 22 years old and I’ve experienced and seen more places and cultures first hand than a majority of people will see in their life. I have mom and dad to thank for that. I don’t know how I will ever re pay them. But I have to admit it feels good to be able to travel on my own and have all the skills, confidence and experience to do so at 22 years old. While I have 6 weeks remaining of teaching in Spain and I am absolutely itching to go home I couldn’t be more excited and grateful that my travels will only continue. I will travel around Eastern Europe with my college friend, Kenzie, for 2 weeks. Then after some summer fun and work in Washington, SAILING!!!!!

One last thing. Cultural differences/similarities between Spain and Italy. Both cultures are very loud and proud. The Italians seem to be much nicer to foreigners. They speak much better English. Both cultures enjoy their food and family time. Italy has a siesta too!!! But from 1 to 3pm not 2 to 5/6pm. Italian men are better looking than Spanish men. I found Italians a bit less stubborn than the Spanish. Yep, so that’s what I got.

Ciao!

Oh yes, and I made it back for the last night of Semana Santa. Here are some pics:

Wasn't sure what to think. Kinda cool. Kinda scary.

There are about 10 men carrying this float for hours at a time. Only stopping every few times ro rest.

 

 

 

 

Ninjas, Roses, Pilgrims and Frogs...

Greetings from Sevilla!!!

It has been quite some time since my last post and that only means one thing...many stories to tell! Here it goes!

Every February, the city of Cadiz hosts the Carnaval de Cadiz (Cadiz Carnival). There are multiple carnavals throughout Spain yet Cadiz is the most famous of them all. Cadiz is a beach town located about 90mins Southwest via bus from Sevilla. Throughout the year, satirical groups train to sing about politics, topics in the news and everyday circumstances during the carnaval. These groups are called chirigotas. During the carnaval the chirigotas preform all over Cadiz, wearing elaborate costumes, and participate in a competition. The people of Cadiz are known to be the wittiest among Spainards. Therefore, you can only imagine the satire that comes from such performances. I was able to watch some of these performances on TV yet didn't understand anything, but I couldn't feel to bad cause neither did my Spanish roommate.

The other component of carnaval is normal, non-chirigota people (aka ME!) dress up in costumes and flood the streets well into the morning hours during the weekends. Some people like to compare it to a cross between Mardi gras and Halloween in the States. One big party. I, of course, decided this was not an event to miss. My American friends and I dressed up as the Ninja Turtles. I was Michelangelo. We hand made our turtle shells, 6-packs and masks. The best part of my costume was my natural weapon of a ponytail of not one braid but THREE braids! Anyway, we spent the hours of 9pm to 6am in Cadiz among people dressed as Smurfs, cows, chickens, Power Rangers...you name it. Sometimes I think Americans are crazy, but Spaniards always have another level. Never have I experienced a mass of hundreds of people who had put a significant among of energy into their costume just to stand in the plazas and streets to enjoy beverages with old and new friends.

February 14th arrived and so did this!!!! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. You know someone must care a lot about you when they find a way to send you a dozen, fresh, beautiful, hand delivered roses to you all the way in Spain. Thank you JT!!!

I received news my college friend Emily and her mom and boyfriend were coming to Spain to complete the Camino de Santiago. This translates to the Way of St. James. It is a pilgrimage route leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de la Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where the remains of the apostle St. James are buried. The original routes start in France, cross northern Spain and end in Santiago. However, today there are many routes that start in various places throughout Portugal, Spain and France. My friends were doing the Camino Portuguese, starting in Porto, Portugal and ending in Santiago. Galicia is a much greener and wetter region of Spain. They also speak a different dialect that combines Spanish and Portuguese, it sounds beautiful but is hard to understand. The camino and visiting the province of Galicia have always been on my list to do and fortunately I was able to met them and complete the last 3 days of their 14 day journey with them. We walked 9km, 20km and 14 km for the last three days. Each day provided different scenery ranging from the back alleys of small villages, the highway and beautiful, lush country side. It was absolutely refreshing to be out of a city and enjoy the sounds of nature. The camino is well sponsored by the government making it very civilized. There are hostels along the way that are only 5 euros for a bed, warmth and a hot shower. We usually had the place to ourselves since it wasn't the season to do the camino. The whole route is marked with spray painted yellow arrows randomly placed on the roads and posts. Rather unofficial but it works! There are many bars along the route that welcome "pilgrims" and are excited to hear all about you and why you have embarked on the adventure. We had one eager bar owner run after us after we decided not to stop in his bar. He wanted us to sign his pilgrim book, take pictures and give us "good luck" kisses on the forehead. My favorite part of the camino was arriving in Santiago at the cathedral. We arrived just before the noon pilgrim mass as bag pipes were playing Amazing Grace. Having only done three days I still felt accomplished and could see why some (Catholic) pilgrims become emotional upon completion of the spiritual journey. We went to Catholic mass. It was spoken in Gallego so I had no idea what was going on but it was fun to be at church in such a significant and symbolic building. Emily and company received official certificates for their completion of the Camino, I mention this only as they had to confirm there was a spiritual motive for completing the trip. That seems a bit strange considering the number of non-Catholic and non-Spaniards that complete the journey. Overall, it was great to have a piece of home and be exploring a new area of Spain all at the same time.

Flying over Galicia!

One of my favorite photos of the whole trip. Captures it all!

The bartender that was so eager to have us stop in for pictures!

Arriving at one of our hostels!

 

 We made it to Santiago!

EMILY! So great to see her!

The weekend following Santiago, I worked for 2 days then enjoyed a 4 day weekend in Salamanca with a few friends from my program. The four day weekend was a celebration called Dia de Andalucia, which is a day celebrating this region I live in. Perhaps it's like Father's Day and Mother's Day but the Spanish actually have time off?! Who knows. Anyway, Salamanca is a city about 2 hours Northwest of Madrid and a 7 hour bus ride from Sevilla. Salamanca is a very small town, but home to Spain's oldest University. I would compare it to a Pullman and WSU, with the city is being built for the university students but 5000 times more beautiful and exciting. To sum it all up, Salamanca is one of my top favorite cities in Spain. It is clean, historic and peaceful. There are so many students that everything is very reasonably priced and the nightlife is superb. The air is fresh and the streets have a constant hum of people but there is no real city noise of buses, cars, motos, ambulances etc. We saw the whole city in one day. If you go into any souvenir shop you will find frogs and astronauts! Why?! Well there is an astronaut sculpted somewhere on the outside of the GIANT cathedral. We were able to find it but only after some man who was showing people where it was for money, showed us without us even asking him (we didn't pay him, and we didn't feel bad about it). "They" say it is peculiar that there is an astronaut sculpted onto the cathedral because the cathedral was built way before space travel was invented. I think someone just did a really good restoration and wanted to trick tourists. In addition to the astronaut, the university has a frog sculpted on the outside of it about the main entrance. Legend says students who don't find the frog won't be able to graduate!!! We found it once again, but only by cheating. They were selling postcards with pictures of where the frog was located rigth in front of the action.. Lame but I would've never found it!

The Cathedral!

The astronaut!...tricky tricky

Do you see the frog sitting on top of the skull?! Don't squint too hard. Imagine being on the ground and looking up and trying to find it!

 Plaza Mayor..asbolutely stunning at night!

 

 Street view of Salamanca!

 

The bulding on the right has seashells on the outside of it!

After having seen most of Salamanca in one day we ventured to a nearby city, Zamora, for the a few hours. We were pleasantly surprised to stroll down shopping streets among old churches, viewpoints over the river, and eventually a old castle and cathedral. It was nothing as spectacular as Salamanca but certainly I cool, non-touristy, off the beaten path spot to visit.

Crazy trees that were all connected to each other!

Besides the traveling, teaching and tutoring are going just fine. Everyday is a new adventure. I gave some lessons about how to bump and set a volleyball in PE class, a lecture on how to form scientific notation in 9th grade math class, and taught my tutoring kids Go Fish!!!! However, probably the highlight of the last month was playing "Kim Possible" with the 9year old who is fluent in English. Kim Possible is a cartoon on the Disney Channel, she runs around saving the world. So naturally, I became the Princess and Rosa was Kim Possible. I was "locked" in the tower of a castle (aka tied up with a rope she happened to have in her room (?!) to her blackboard) and had to be rescued by Kim Possible. Then we switched roles and I swear I Rosa wanted to be tied up! I didn't do it on my own will. Anyway, enjoy the pictures below illustrating our Kim Possible game.  I can't believe it's already March! In two weeks is Semana Santa or Holy Week in Spain. We will have a one week break and I will be traveling to Italy!!! I look forward to telling you all how that goes. With just 3 months left in Europe you start to see a different light on your experience. You start to appreciate the small things that much more. I'm getting a bit nervous to return home and dive into the "real world". But you can't avoid it for forever. But as you all know from my last email, I'm setting sail one another surreal adventure in September, so life is good!

 Please read last paragraph for description of these pictures :)

Hope life is fantastic wherever you may be!!!