Life in Third Grade...

Things started out rough for me in third grade. I am just about to complete my second full week of full-time teaching. The first two days were absolutely awful. If I didn't have such a great experience in Lapel, I probably would have started questioning my choice of professions. Things started to get better on Wendesday, and I implemented a new behavior system for an individual student who gave me a lot of trouble. By Friday, I was completely ready for the weekend. I was stressed out with the students, planning, completing job applications, and working on my Teacher Work Sample. Salamanca was the perfect remedy!

Some changes happened over the weekend for the student who had been giving me a lot of trouble. It is a hard situation, but I think he will be able to be a happy child now. Monday morning was still kind of rough, but Monday afternoon.... yay! I walked out of there after laughing and having fun with the students. That was my first time in the 7 weeks that I've been here that I left the school thinking, "Wow, that was fun! I want to do that again!" I had many, many days like that in Lapel but they had sure been lacking here. I finally got one! Ever since then things have been getting better.

The students still talk constantly and, sometimes, they are just flat out rude, but we are working on that. I implemented a new class-wide behavior system and that seems to have been working. It is still a struggle knowing what is Spanish culture, what is rich/private school culture, and what is disrespect. It is an interesting environment. The students are done testing/pushing me, though. At the beginning I think they wanted to see how much they could get away with. They quickly realized that amount was very small. At one point I heard a student mumble, "Man, she's tough." That made me happy!

The student who was quite difficult at the beginning is now quite chummy with me. He has such a great soul. The wonderful young man he has always been is now getting the opportunity to shine through. He keeps asking me, "Miss Jessie, when are you leaving? Is it this Friday or next Friday?" I told him that next Friday is my last day and he was like, "Ok, good, cause I have to get a picture of you before you go!" He has been such a source of joy in my days. His personality has been so fun to experience, but it gives me goosebumps to give him a "Miss Jessie caught me being good" card on his desk constantly throughout the day for his positive behavior. It makes me SO happy to see him setting positive examples for the other students. This guy is going to be hard to say good-bye to, that's for sure!

We went on a field trip today to the ayunamiento, the Town Hall of Berango.

My third graders with the mayoress of Berango

Una Pasada.... Salamanca and Segovia

Aaahhhhh…. It’s SO good to be back in Spain. I missed “experiencing” it the two weeks I was away. I was only out of the country for one week, but being at home and going to school don’t really seem like ‘Spain’ to me. Whenever I meet someone new when I’m traveling and I tell them that I’m in Bilbao, the response is always, “Why Bilbao? Bilbao is the most un-Spanish place in Spain.” I, of course, didn’t know this going into the experience, and it has been just fine for me, but I love the weekends when I can travel and experience the real Spain.

This past weekend was, for me, the epitome of Spain. Before I got to Spain, I had ideas in my mind of what Spain would look like and be like, and this weekend that all came to life for me. I have seen and experienced other very Spanish things, for lack of a better word, but this weekend just seemed different to me. There was an incredible amount of history and culture, and I love learning about that more than I ever imagined I would.

Igor picked me up at 4:30 on Friday afternoon and we hit the road to go to Santander to pick up his friend Oscar, who joined us on our weekend expedition. After a few café con leche breaks, we arrived in Salamanca at about 10:30. One of Igor’s friends has two pisos (flats/apartments) in Salamanca, but one is just a secondary house that doesn’t get used very much. We were lucky to be able to stay there for free, and it was just on the edge of the historical zone of the town. Perfect! We parked the car there and then started walking to the tapas zone… where else? We finally got there, and there were SO many to chose from. Good thing in Spain the custom is to try them all and go from one to the next to the next to the next… The first place we went to was incredible. Just like in Madrid, you get a free tapa with every round you order. The first tapa we got was ribs. Yes, that was the free dish with the drinks we ordered. They were delicious! But that’s not all, the next tapa was grilled pork pieces on a skewer with some kind of sauce on it. Tasty! We decided that it was time to change, so we moved on to the next place, and then the next. Basically, we ate dinner for free and only paid for drinks. (This system of free tapas follows an imaginary line. In general, if you are in Madrid or anywhere in the southern half of the country, you can count on free tapas. Sometimes the free tapa will be peanuts, but more commonly it will be some kind of sandwich, meet, or potatoes with sauce over them.)

While we were walking around the city Friday night, I think my mouth was hanging open the whole time, and it wasn’t because of the amazing tapas. Everywhere I looked, there was another incredible building, cathedral, school, or plaza. I was compared to an owl many times this weekend because of my wide eyes trying to take everything it and my head turning in all directions quickly so I wouldn’t miss a thing. Igor told me to relax because we would see it all on Saturday tranquilly. The major plaza of Salamanca (Plaza Mayor, 1729, Felipe V) is so cool. If you’ve seen the movie Vantage Point, then you have seen the major plaza of Salamanca (although it is a reproduction in the movie). So cool! It was beautiful at night with all of the lights on. But again, Igor said to just relax because we would see it Saturday. I think he also wanted to go enjoy more fiesta, too. I didn’t object.

Plaza Mayor at night

Saturday morning when we woke up (as in 11:30 because of going to bed so late), it was slightly rainy, and I was nervous that it would ruin the sights. We had a typical breakfast of coffee with churros and set out on our way. It is hard to describe everything that we saw, but I will do my best. The whole afternoon was spent walking and looking at all the different buildings. Our first stop was the cathedral, and all I have to say is… HOLY COW!

There is an old cathedral that was completed in the year 1110. Yes, 1110. Crazy. Usually when they built a new cathedral they would either destroy the old one or build the new one on top of the old one, but that is not the case in Salamanca. They kept the catedral viejo and built the cathedral nuevo right next to it. The construction of the new one was started in 1513 and was completed in 1713. The details on this monstrosity were absolutely incredible. There are so many things pay attention to that you can’t possible see everything. Even the secondary doors blow my mind. Absolutely amazing. We were able to walk through the old cathedral and go to the top of the new one. The view of the city was gorgeous!






From there, we walked to the university. The University of Salamanca was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It was acknowledged in 1254 by Pope Alexander IV as being one of the four great Universities in the world, along with the universities of Oxford, Paris, and Bologna. A frog is the symbol of the city, and there is an incredible entrance to the university that has un monton of details etched in the rock. There is a large medallion with the Catholic King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella. They’re considered the protectors of the university. There is a frog hidden amongst the details, and it is said that if you can spot the frog you will have good luck. It was difficult for me to see, but we found it!

Can you find the frog?

There it is!


We then went to the Convento de San Esteban. Construction began in 1524-1610. Christopher Columbus did some important planning and thinking in this exact location, living here for a short time.



After that, we walked by the muralla, the part of the wall that used to surround the entire city, and we went to an old Roman bridge. It was built in the year 89. Yes, a year that is in the double digits. And I walked on it. It is still very much intact and incredible!



There is a novel very important in Spanish literature that is similar to Romeo and Juliet, but I can’t remember the name, but Salamanca is where it is set and written. We went to the park where the main characters shared their first kiss, fell in love, and so on. Apparently it is very important to the story, and I’m sad I can’t remember many details about it. I will have to look into this… and read the book!

We spent the afternoon/evening just relaxing in the Plaza Mayor. The people watching there was great. Igor and Oscar made fun of me for enjoying it so much. Once again- an owl. It is typical here, for a bachelor or bachelorette party, to get dressed up in some costume with all your friends and just do crazy things. That made for some great people watching! From there, we began our evening. We met up with some of Igor’s friends and started the hop- place to place to place. One of Igor’s friends has a lot of connections in Salamanca, so we were able to go into a discoteca (dance club) that used to be a monastery and was built hundreds of years ago. …Spaniards. From there, we were invited up to the piso of a friend, and we met up with a band of university students who play European folklore music typical of the area, and they dress in typical, old clothing. La tuna is the word for the band. It is a tradition more than five centuries old. Well, of course we didn’t only chat with them in the street and listen to their music, they were invited up to join the fiesta! … Spaniards. I love Spain! It was a fun and crazy night, and it ended at 6am. I think we all would have liked for it to continue, but we had places to be and things to see the next day.

In the Plaza Mayor at about 5am. Check out all the people, and it was considered empty.

After an awful, early greeting from the alarm clock, we packed up and got on the road to Segovia. We got there and headed towards the Alcázar of Segovia (the Castle of Segovia). It was originally built as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and a military academy. Construction started in 1120. Isabel and Ferdinand reigned here from 1474-1502, and it was during that time that Christopher Columbus went to them and asked for the ships to find India. He didn’t tell them of his theory about the world being round for fear of being though of as crazy and being able to realize his dream. I stood in front of the thrones in the receiving area. My feet were in the same exact position, SAME EXACT POSITION!, as those of Christopher Columbus. I stood in the exact spot where my life began, according to Igor, and it’s true in a way. If one little detail might have been different in those moments Columbus was there, things would have been different for the world. Wow! Incredible. Period. We also saw a cathedral there, which it was neat, but then we headed for something even more mind-boggling.


The same spot!!!


It is not knows exactly when construction of this monument began or ended, but experts believe that the Roman Aqueduct was built the second half of the first century. (People say that Spain is more Roman that Rome is.) It is still completely as it was when it was built. Water does not pass through it, but it could if it was necessary. The amazing thing is that the stones aren’t held together by cement or anything like that, it is just stone on top of stone on top of stone… and it’s still standing as it was 2,000 years ago. This thing is huge, and it stretches for about 6km, more than 3 miles. How could people build something like that 2,000 years ago!?! There aren’t even words.





We stopped on our way home at the incredible Catedral de Burgos (a Gothic-style cathedral). Construction began in 1221. It is starting to crumble and the rocks are “sick” and there wasn’t money to pay to conserve it. The US offered to buy it and preserve it, but they planned on taking it piece by piece back to the States. What a stupid idea!?! It was around that time that Spain became part of the European Union and they said that they would pay to conserve it. I’m glad! It is way cooler in Burgos that it would be anywhere back in the States!




We finally made it back to Bilbao at about 11pm on Sunday night. What an incredible weekend. I absolutely loved everything about it. The whole time I was there, I was thinking, “This is Spain!” The culture. The architecture. The customs. The people. The fiesta. The history. It’s in Salamanca. I kept thinking, “If I come live here next year to teach, I will come to Salamanca.” The funny thing is that I have said that in every new place I’ve been to. I love Spain!

Italia

I left the house and got to the airport about three hours early, and I don’t really know where my calculations of time got off. I guess I was just really excited to get to Italy and see Lisa! I had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany, and I was really excited to get another stamp on my passport. Much to my dismay, I did not get a stamp in Germany or Italy… oh well. I had to take a train from the airport to meet Lisa in Milan, and I was confused about how it worked and where I needed to buy my ticket. I asked a man that I saw if he spoke English, and he responded that he didn’t but he did speak Spanish. I was in luck! He helped me purchase my ticket, and he waited for me by the train to make sure I got on alright. I sat across from him on the ride, and we spent the entire time chatting. He is originally from Peru, but he has been living and working in Italy for 20 years. It was fun chatting with him and being able to practice my Spanish. It is a lot easier for me to understand the Spanish of someone from Latin America than it is for me to understand the Spanish of someone from Spain. It was great!

I got off of the train and Lisa, my best friend since forever, was there waiting for me! It was ssooo good to see her. While we were together, we tried to think of the last time we spent this much time together, and I think we came up with our Canada trip that was five or six summers ago. We probably spent more time together this past week than the last four years combined. It was so much fun! I was excited to go to Italy, but I think I was more excited that I was going to spend the week with Lisa.

Sunday was Easter, so we woke up and went to a cathedral for an Easter service. We were excited and expecting an extravagant. Nope. We just caught the last part of the service, but we were let down by it. The service was all in Italian, obviously, but it seemed like any old service. Lisa and I were expecting fancy dresses, stylish shoes, and big hats but a lot of people were just in jeans. It was kind of weird. Maybe we missed something. After that, we headed back to Lisa’s apartment and just relaxed the rest of the day. It rained all day long, so we just laid low and hung out. Lisa got a chocolate Easter egg from a trip she went on, so we broke into that. It was delicious! Nothing was open because of the holiday so we just cooked dinner, played lots of King’s Corners, talked, and laughed. Together again!

Monday was a bit nicer. We took our time in the morning, but we did get out a bit. We went to the Duomo, a big cathedral in Milan that was constructed in 1387. It was beautiful. We even got to climb the many, many, many stairs to the top and look out. The view was incredible! We saw all of Milan, and we could even see the Andes Mountains. We spent the afternoon walking around, doing a little eating of focaccia and gelato, and hanging out some more. Most restaurants were still closed, but a pizza place by Lisa was open. You better believe we went there and enjoyed every last bite. There is nothing like eating Italian food in Italy. Delicious!

Duomo in Milan

From (almost) the top of the Duomo

Soaking up some sun at the top of the Duomo

Pizza!

Tuesday was another beautiful day, and things were finally open! We did some more walking around, and Lisa showed me her university. We had a quick espresso there. (It is weird because the typical coffee drink in Italy is a shot of espresso, and it is typical to drink it quickly while still standing at the counter. The typical coffee drink in Spain is café con leche (coffee with milk), and it is served in a small mug, but you take your time sipping it, usually seated. I missed my café con leche while I was gone!) The grocery store was finally open, so we did a little shopping and stocked up for the week. We bought some supplies for dinner, eggs, and an Easter cake. Yes, Easter had passed by this point, but the cakes were on sale! We bought a “Zuppa Inglese” (whatever that means…) cake for just 2 Euros (about $2.75), and it was huge (and delicious)! We walked out of the grocery store feeling like we were buying food for a party, but, nope, it was just for us! We got home from the store and got ready to dye Easter eggs. Lisa’s parents had just been to Milan to visit Lisa, and they brought an egg dying kit for us, so you better believe we took advantage of that! It was a good night… happy hour in the apartment, King’s Corners, dying Easter eggs, cooking pasta with pesto sauce and chicken, and digging into our Easter cake!

Castle in Milan

Easter Eggs

Our 2 Euro Easter cake that lasted all week!

We woke up early Wednesday morning and went straight to the train station to catch our 8:15 train to Florence. We made it to our hotel without a problem and checked-in. The hotel was located right in the center of the city, so that was a major bonus! We left our backpacks at the hotel and went out to see what Florence had to offer. We did what girls do best… shopping! There was a huge market and we just had to explore it. We spent a few hours walking around, doing some shopping, and visiting some cool old buildings. (I missed traveling without my own personal tour guide… we didn’t really know what we were looking at.) We walked all around the town, which inevitably tired us out. This was a sure sign that we had to stop for gelato, and oh man- it was amazing! It revived us and gave us the strength to climb the 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo in Florence. The view from the top was incredible! It is amazing to think that that kind of construction was done hundreds of years ago. After that, we went back to the hotel to rest for awhile and get rejuvenated before our night out on the town. We took a short nap, freshened up, and went to paint the town red! We ate dinner at a cute restaurant recommended to us by Sarah Bingham, and it was really good! Good food. Good atmosphere. Good company. After that, we did some more walking and exploring, and we ended up sitting on the some steps in front of an old building listening to some guy sing songs. It was quite enjoyable. There was a group of grad students in front of us from the States (who are studying in Spain) that kept us quite entertained! One successful day down…

River through Florence

Eating our gelato

the Duomo... it's impossible to get it all in one picture

Lisa and I at the top of the Duomo... we both have goofy looks

The weather forecast showed rain on Thursday, so we were pretty bummed about that, but we woke up to the sun shining and blue sky. We endured breakfast at the hotel (it wasn’t very good), and then went out to do more exploring. After looking at the map, we realized that we saw most of what there was to see the day before. Florence wasn’t quite as big as we were expecting, but we still did some wandering around. We hit the market again (like typical girls), and did a little purchasing this time. We found a few plazas to sit in and soak up some sun, but then we were kind of at a loss for what to do. We decided to buy some drinks and snacks and find a place to plop. We did just that, and I think we sat in the plaza for at least two hours and did the ultimate “people watching.” It was rather entertaining, and we shared a few good laughs. It was getting late and we were getting hungry, so we decided to venture out and find some dinner. We had a drink and then found a pizza place. Oh my, was it delicious! Just like in Spain, you take your time while you eat. Lisa and I had a good time laughing and talking together. We called it a night after that.

A Plaza in Florence

Italian and European Union Flags on the City Hall

An archway

Some buildings

Friday morning, we got up and got going semi-early (early on college standards). We packed our things and went back to the market. Florence is known for its leather, and Lisa had been eying a bag for the last few days, so we went back and Lisa made the big purchase! We caught a noon train back to Milan and got to Lisa’s place at about 15h (3pm). We were both pretty tired, so we just took it easy. We were contemplating whether we should go out or not, but once we got our sweat pants on, started playing cards, and began chatting, time just got away from us. We decided that staying in sounded better than going out. We made a good salad for dinner, and we topped off the meal with more Easter cake!

We woke up to more sun and warm weather on Saturday morning. We got ourselves ready, packed a few snacks and a blanket, and headed to the park. We spent the afternoon sitting in the sun and talking the day away. (There was some good people-watching going on here, as well!) We got some rosy cheeks and decided to call it a day. We headed back to Lisa’s place and got ready for our last night together. We went to a place called Más for Happy Hour, and then went to a bar to watch part of the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona fútbol (soccer) game. The place was full, and people were getting really into it! It was a fun atmosphere to be in. After leaving there, Lisa and I decided that one final gelato was in order. It is just so good here! I will definitely miss that when I’m back in Spain.

The park was filled with people!

Awesome people watching! The picture doesn't show it well but these are purple pants... stud muffin

I think he was really tired!

Sunday was my last day in Milan. We just took it easy and I got things packed up. I left Lisa at about 3pm to head to the airport for my 5:30 flight. It was so fun to be able to spend so much time with Lisa. Like I said earlier, it has been a long time since we have been able to have quality time together. Throughout the week, we came up with a long list of things we want to do this summer since we will actually be in the same town for an extended amount of time!

Overall, I had a great time in Italy, but I found myself missing home. That “home” to me was not Woodstock, though, it was Spain. While I was in Italy, I was lost with the language, but I found myself thinking in Spanish before thinking in English, and I thought that this was a really good sign! I came to the conclusion that the only things Italy has that trump Spain are good food, gelato, and Lisa. It will be good to get back “home” and get into a schedule/routine again. I start full time teaching this week on Monday, and I am nervous about how that will go. I did a lot of planning between my Madrid/Murcia trip and my Italy trip so that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting things ready while I was gone. My mind had been on vacation for two weeks as well as my body. I guess reality has to start again… until I leave for Segovia next weekend…

Si, Si Madrid! with Lorca and Murcia, too!

Wow! Where is the time going? Four weeks have already passed, and in some aspects it seems like I've been here much longer with everything that I've done, but in other ways I feel like I just got here yesterday. I would like time to slow down a little bit, but I guess time flies when you're having fun!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Madrid. I caught a bus from Bilbao, and five hours later I was standing in the middle of the capital of Spain! Igor picked me up from the bus stop, and then we continued our SPAINexperience2010TOUR. We parked the car and started walking around the city. We found a restaurant and positioned ourselves in the perfect seats outside. We enjoyed some good tapas and good people watching (especially people tripping over the curb right in front of us). From there we went to a few more restaurant/bars, and after that had breakfast before going to bed. We had the typical breakfast of Madrid: Churros con chocolate... delicious! We headed to bed "early" (according to Spanish standards) because the next day was packed.

Churros con chocolate... chocolate for dipping and for drinking. It was ssoooo thick and sssooooo good!

We started Saturday out by taking a little stroll around a park, but it wasn't just any park, it was the Campo del Moro (royal gardens) that is situated right in front of Placio Real (the Royal Palace where the King and Queen of Spain live). We actually walked around the gardens on the property of the palace... the same gardens that the king and queen and prince and princess walk around in! So cool! After that, we bought tickets to take a tour of the palace. It is the only "still-functioning" palace that you can go inside. We went into the dining room that is used when they have company, like if the President of the US came to visit, and I think each side of the table had about 25 chairs. The whole palace was absolutely incredible! We couldn't take pictures, but I'm sure my mouth was hanging open the whole time!

Campo del Moro with the Palacio Real in the background

Palacio Real

La catedral de Santa María La Real de La Almudena
(directly across from the Royal Palace- where crown is transferred, royal weddings happen, and mass... gorgeous inside)

From there, we just took some time to walk around the city. We walked through the Plaza Mayor, past the oldest restaurant in the world (yes, it holds the Guiness World Record- 1725), and through the Jardines del Retiro de Madrid, a beautiful park in the center of the city. We took a row boat out on a small pond and enjoyed a peaceful lunch. Igor said you haven't experienced Madrid unless you take a boat out on Estanque del Retiro (Retiro Pond). The artificial pond is right in front of a monument to King Alfonso VII. ¡Que guay! (How cool!) We also saw Palacio del Cristal (Glass Palace), and La Fuente del Ángel Caído (the Fountain of the Fallen Angel) that is an altitude of 666 meters above sea level. We spent the rest of the evening taking in Madrid, enjoying tapas (free "appetizers" with each round of drinks), enjoying street shows in the Plaza Mayor, and watching a few shows of the Noche de Teatro (night of theater).

Estanque del Retiro y Monumento al Rey Alfonso VII

Palacio del Cristal

La Fuente del Ángel Caído

On Sunday, we packed up and set out on the road to go to Lorca. The scenery along the way was incredible! The mountains were gorgeous and the sky was crystal blue. The area is considered 89% desert, so it was nice and warm! In Lorca, we met up with one of Igor's friends and got ready for the Semana Santa processional. It was incredible! I have never seen anything like it. Each barrio (neighborhood) is represented by a different color, and each has a different history tied to a different civilization. There is always an ongoing "battle-ish" between each paso (neighborhood), and there is a lot of cheering and chanting when the color of your barrio comes along. ¡Viva Paso Blanco! (We cheered for the white barrio.) The processional was amazing. There were hundreds of people involved, and it depicted the story of the Bible. People were dressed in costumes, did tricks with horses, and bands were playing music. The cloaks that the individuals wore looked like they were painted, but the images were stitched... by hand... using gold, silver, and silk. ¡Que guay! Then there were the pasos, the floats depicting a story from the Bible, that were decorated with flowers and candles. They were carried by individuals who volunteered to be in the processional. There were individuals who carried crosses, candles, and palm branches because of things they had done on the past year. It was very powerful. We saw the short version... 2.5 hours. The rest of the week, you have to pay 50 Euros for your seat and it is 5 hours long. I'm sure it would be totally worth it. Next year...

Waiting for it to start... "Viva Paso Blanco!"

Semana Santa Processional

Dancing horse

Hand-stitched cloak, some took ten to even one hundred years to complete

Lorca- Semana Santa

Sunday night after the parade we headed to Murcia (about 45 minutes away), where we would spend the next few days. Igor lived in Murcia for two years, so he has lots of friends and connections there. We stayed with one of his friends. Monday was spent walking around the city, looking at old buildings, cathedrals, and ruins, and stopping in various plazas to enjoy the day and have a coffee. It is hard to remember all that we saw and the name of everything, but it was all amazing. The Cathedral of Murcia was completed in 1467, and it was incredible. To think that construction started in the 1390s, there was not the technology we have today, and it was finished in 1467... the detail was out of this world.

Catedral Murcia- 1467


Choir loft and organ

What you see as you walk through the main door- the back side of the organ

There are many places in all of the cities where old buildings have fallen down. People are nervous to purchase the property to rebuild, though, in the instance that they discover remains of an ancient civilization in the process. The city was in the process of constructing a parking garage (in Spain they build down, not up like in the US), and they came across the remains of an ancient Arabic civilization that dates back to about 300 b.c. It blows my mind that civilizations more than 2,000 years old exist under the current one, and there is probably even more under that. ¡Que guay!


Murcia had a Holy Week processional as well, but this was more solemn. Igor and I bought a Coke and some Pipas to enjoy while we sat on a wall and watched the processional. Pipas are Spain's version of popcorn. They are sunflower seeds in the shells, but there is a definite technique to eating them correctly. I have been practicing and am on my way to doing it as the Spaniards do, but it isn't as easy as it looks. We met two students from London who were on their way hitch-hiking from London to Morocco. We chatted with them and decided to go get tapas together. After tapas, we walked back to the car... or where we left the car. Igor looked down and found a yellow sticker just for us... towed. I think I found it more comical than Igor did, but we had a good laugh about it.

The view from our seats... Cathedral at sunset

A "paso" going by... notice the individuals carrying it. The pasos are very heavy.

A paso of Jesus on the Cross passing in front of the Cathedral

On Tuesday, we went to Cartagena, a town about 45 min south of Murcia. It is right on the Mediterranean and was a very important port. There, we got to walk through an ancient Roman theater (Roman Theatre of Carthago Nova). The construction started at the end of the First Century B.C. Because different groups have occupied that area, changes were made and each group had its influence on the area. It was incredible to see an exact spot where Augustus (the man that the month of August is named after) sat. To see ruins that are thousands of years old... I still can't get over it! The submarine and helicopter were also invented in Cartagena. From there, we went to La Manga, another city right on the Mediterranean. On one side is the Mar Menor and on the other is the Mediterranean. We got to sit in the sun and enjoy a coffee right on the beach!

Pillars/stage with seats behind

For the audience

Remains of a church

El Mar Menor- the view we had while sipping coffee (there was no zoom used in the capturing if this image!)

El Mar Mediterráneo

After Cartagena and La Manga, we went back to Murcia and met up with some of Igor's friends. I was kind of nervous because I don't have an outgoing personality, and I had no idea what to expect. I was even almost kind of dreading the evening. It was a blast! The friends were all SO nice and welcoming. Some even spoke some English so we had conversations where they would speak to me in English and I would respond in Spanish. There was lots of laughing and sharing. Our time together started at about 7pm and went until about 4am... nothing to dread at all. It was so fun! By the end of the night, I felt like I had an instant group of new friends. Many of them said things to me like... "next time," or "when you come back," and other things like that. I think I could have my choice of five different places to stay if I ever went back to visit. The people here in Spain are just so open and so nice! I love it!

On Wednesday, we were invited to have lunch/appetizers with two of Igor's friends. We went to their house and enjoyed appetizers with fresh vegetables from their garden and good conversation. I love that the lifestyle in Spain is not rushed. It is more focused on sharing, talking, and spending time with people than rushing around, working, and following a strict schedule.

We got on the road at about 6pm and started our trek back to Bilbao. We stopped in Madrid and had dinner (at 11:30pm -normal) at the oldest restaurant in the world- Casa Botín (founded in 1725). The restaurant has never closed; it even stayed open during the wars. It was kind of pricey, but Igor and I compared it to the Master Card commercials where it lists the different prices of things but ends with something like, "Some cow meat dinner: 17 Euros. Some chicken and rice dinner: 15 Euros. Two glasses of wine: 6 Euros. Dinner at the oldest restaurant in the world: Priceless" ¡Que guay!
At about 1:30am we got back on the road, but started to run out of gas... at about 5am... in the middle of nowhere. We had to stop in a town, sleep in the car, and wait for the gas station to open at 7am. Finally, at about 8:30am this morning (Thursday), I got back home.

Casa Botín

It was an amazing few days. The more that I'm here, the more I love it. The culture is so rich, and it just seems like people have their priorities in line. At 1am on a Tuesday night the bars and restaurants were still packed, but its not about the drinks or the food... its about relationships and spending time together. That's what I love. Some may see this lifestyle as lazy, but I think its beautiful. From a few different people a few different times, I've heard, "We work to live, we don't live to work." It is so true, but a definite change from the lifestyle I'm used to in the US. I've definitely seen and experienced things here that I hope I can carry with me.

... Now its time to prepare for Italy!