The Adventure Continues

A look back at 2012.

2012 was a year full of blessings, new experiences, and changes.


I rang in the new year with Robby in Dublin in the middle of our UK adventure- after sightseeing and theatre-going in London and before heading up to Scotland to join Aileen and her wonderful and inviting family.  But the travels did not end at the end of Christmas break. I was fortunate to be going back to one of my favorite places in the world, Spain, to continue my work as a Language and Culture assistant at I.E.S. Alta Axarquia in the mountains of Periana while living in the beach town of Torre del Mar, Malaga.

In February I faced a challenge and embarked on my solo-travels of Spain. But through that challenge I grew and learned a lot about myself.
March continued the adventure. I started applying for jobs back in the US and my parents arrived to the Costa del Sol.
In April, I was blessed to see the way the Spanish culture celebrates Holy Week (Semana Santa) and I became tour-guide for my parents. It was incredible to be able to show them a little about my life that I had made for myself in Spain.  Also, during April, I took the huge step of buying my ticket to fly back home, a strong assurance that no matter how much I wanted to stay in Spain, I would, in fact, be coming home.  At the end of April, Taylor came to visit me and we adventured up to Madrid, where I had fallen in love with Spain 2 years before.  Returning to Madrid gave me hope that I was not saying goodbye to Spain forever. It would still be there when I return.
May came around and the time I had left in Spain was dwindling. I celebrated my birthday with an amazing group of people who I had become so close to over the past 8-9 months.  It also warmed up enough for me to take my first swim in the Mediterranean of the year. It had been warm enough to soak in the sun on the beach before this, but finally a day came in May when I was finally able to fully enjoy the perks of living in a beach town.  May went by so fast, filled with days at the beach and meals and afternoons with friends.




Towards the end of May, I traveled to France with Jeff Ralston and I saw yet another city and another flavor of Europe.  The last days in Torre del Mar were filled with celebrations of friendships, hard goodbyes, and fun happy hours at Vox.  Then, the time came when I had to say goodbye to Malaga- my Spanish home.  But although I was saying goodbye to one chapter of my life, I knew more great adventures were to come.
In June, I traveled to Berlin, Italy (Rome, Orvieto, Florence & Venice), and Ireland (Dublin and Galway), with Laura. Although it was a strange transition time for me, being neither in my Spanish home nor in my US home, I saw some amazing things that this world has to offer and I got to experience it with my wonderful sister-in-law.  And with that last European tour, my trip of a lifetime drew to a close.

It was great to come back to my family and give Twix a huge hug. Then shortly after arriving home, we moved to our new house. This was a huge season of change for me. I had barely begun adapting to life back in the United States and already, I had to adapt to a new house as well.  But the move went well and it was all in the same area so I still had some consistency in my life. In June, I took a short break from the craziness of the move and figuring out what to do next in my life to go camping with Julie and Keatyn. I knew adventures weren't over when I left Spain and this was proven true when a storm swept in and took down a tree on our campsite into our fire.  We all came out alive and unharmed but it definitely wasn't your normal camping trip.



Mitchell and Laura stayed with us until they began their trip to California in July.  During this month I was busy working at the Cheesecake Factory, nannying, applying to jobs and trying to figure out what I should do with my life.  I was also plugged into a great women's small group and we have been meeting since then, sharing and growing together.
In August, I continued to figure out what to do next in my life.  I didn't like the floundering feeling where I didn't have a strong clear direction of what was supposed to come next. All my life, I've known the steps to take and the direction I was going way in advance.  But for one of the first times in my life, the direction was unclear and I really struggled but grew in relying on God. Knowing that he knows the plans for my life, even when I do not, and that they are better than any plans I could make for myself.  I met up with Eddie in August and we reminisced on our Spanish adventures by going to a Real Madrid game here in Philadelphia. At the end of August, I received a life-changing email from Immaculate Heart of Mary wondering if I was still interested in teaching Spanish. An opening had just come about and they received my resume from Archmere. I set up an interview and got the job that day and then the following Monday, started up with teacher in-service week and planning and preparation for the school year.  A week later, I taught my first Spanish class.
September was full of planning and preparation.  I spent hours upon hours in school preparing for the lessons to come.  Not much went on in September around my crazy teacher's schedule, but I did host the bridal shower for Kim and I squeezed in a swing dancing night as well.
October continued on as September did.  I became more confident as a teacher and planning slowly became easier.  I also grew in friendships with people from Ogletown Baptist Church which I had been attending.
In November, I took a weekend to travel up to Gordon College to see Dance Team perform at Midnight Madness and to see the Theatre Departments production of Working. It was good to go back since I hadn't seen the campus since the summer before Spain. But it also was a great moving-forward part in my life.  I had a wonderful experience at Gordon which I wouldn't trade for the world, but that was a chapter in my life, just like Spain.  Things might have been great there, but there are things even better ahead of me.  I also went down to DC/Arlington for a weekend where I saw Eddie and then I went to see Sergio and I met some of his friends and then had a blast salsa dancing with him and going to see his church the next day.
December came so quickly.  At school, I was working on getting certain things done before the Christmas holiday. I went on the NYC field trip with my 8th graders and saw the Radio City show. Things wrapped up at school well even though the last week was hectic between the christmas concert and different field trips. But I did see Elf about 3 times over the course of that week.  Christmas was good and full of delicious food. It was good to be home for Christmas this year with family since last year I just skyped with them. But I did miss Mitchell for the holiday. Shortly after Christmas we celebrated the wedding of Kim and Matt. I am so incredibly happy for those two and the wedding went beautifully.
And that brings us to today. New Years Eve. The last day of 2012.  It was a year full of adventure, goodbyes, change, and growth.  I don't know if 2013 will be able to top it, but I'm sure excited to see it try.

Dios te bendiga en el año nuevo!
God bless you in the New Year!

-Kaitlyn

Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid won 3-0 tonight. That seals it. I am pleased to announce the new champions of La Liga: Real Madrid!!  The streets are exploding with cars honking and dogs barking and people shouting.  They're proud of their team, and so am I. Hala Madrid.  Champions for the 32nd time, 11 times more than any other team.

May Day Reflections

I can't believe it's already May! I only have a month left here in my position in Spain.  Like I said in my last post, I'm going to miss it here a lot.  I'm having the experience of a lifetime.

Something that crossed my mind recently was that anytime before when I met someone who had lived abroad, more than just studying abroad, I was really impressed and just enamoured by the thought of that. I thought those people were so cool! But now, guess what?! I'm one of those people!  I made a dream happen and I couldn't be happier.

This is going to be a very busy month with people coming to visit, me visiting other places, and on top of it all, preparing for my trip with Laura and coming back to the USA.  And you know what they say about what happens when you're having fun. Time flies.  I'll be home before you know it.

Taylor-Time

I had the pleasure of hosting Taylor for a week and a half right after my parents left.  A lot of my friends became very homesick after their parents left, but I think having a friend here, made the transition back to Spanish independent living easier.



I loved showing Taylor around the city. Seeing his enthusiasm reminded me of how absolutely lucky I am to be living here. Every once in a while he would say, "Wow, I'm in Spain!" It was really humbling in a way. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I need to work harder to not take it as much for granted.

The weekend that he was here, we went up to Madrid.  It was amazing, of course, since it's my favorite city in Spain.  We took a free walking tour so that Taylor could see all the important parts of the city in the one day we were there as well as hear the history and fun stories about the different places.  We also made sure to go to my favorite part of the city- El Retiro.  It became one of Taylor's favorite parts of the city as well. There's something magical about nature set apart from the hubbub of a city. El Retiro is so well designed that you can't see any skyscrapers or big buildings or indications of a huge city from within the park.

Our hostel was right around the corner from where I lived when I was studying abroad so we walked to the plaza right across from the piso and I pointed out, "look, see that window up there. That's where I used to live." And I told him the story about how every afternoon, an accordion player would come along the walking street playing music for the restaurant patrons and I would just dance to the music in my room.



Unfortunately we only had one full day in Madrid since we had to be back for the Titanic Party on Saturday night. But I'm still glad I got to go back.  I don't think I'll have time to go back there before I go home. But I'll be back eventually. Tengo ganas de regresar a Madrid y viajar desde allí a los otros sitios a que quiero viajar.

So Saturday night, we had a Titanic party since it was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the titanic.  We all dressed up in our finest cocktail dresses (which weren't very fine since we don't really have any of those in our closets here).  Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't do all the activities that we had wanted that would have taken place on our terrace, but it was still a fun gathering with good friends.

For the rest of the time Taylor was here, we just enjoyed the relaxed Spanish lifestyle, took in some sun, and played card games. He taught me this really fun card game and I taught him the card game, Spite and Malice.  (Gigi, if you're reading this, I've passed on the game, and I think Taylor enjoyed it so much that he'll teach his friends too.  Thanks for teaching it to me!)

Taylor and I had some really good talks about what it will be like to go home. He had been traveling around Europe for 6 weeks and was going home a few days after Spain. And it got me thinking.  I'm really looking forward to coming home, but it kinda scares me too. I'm sure a lot has changed since I've been gone. I've changed too.  I've also adopted this culture as my own and I'm going to have to re-assimilate into the American lifestyle. And I don't know if I want to. I love the attitude towards life and culture here so much.  But I'll have to. I don't really have a choice, do I?  I can't wait to come home, but I'd just love to bring my favorite parts about the Spanish culture with me.  Anyway, just some thoughts. Please excuse me if I'm depressed when I get home. It's not that I don't like being around you all, I really can't wait for that.  It's just that, after all that I've been through, the cold winters, the lonely afternoons, the solo travels, I've really had an amazing experience.

And it's not over yet!! Todavía queda un mes y media!

Parent- time

My parents were here! I know I'm really behind in my posts, so I'm going to make this a picture post.

One of the first days in Sevilla, there was the union strike. A lot of things weren't open or running since they were protesting the new Spanish government's proposed budget cuts and reforms.

"Sunny" Sevilla. Sevilla has on average more than 300 days of sun a year.  But it was cloudy and/or rainy the entire time we were there.  We enjoyed the beautiful city nevertheless.

Since we were in Sevilla right before Semana Santa (Holy Week), we could go into the different churches to see up close the floats that are carried along the streets in the Semana Santa processions.  Sevilla has probably the grandest Semana Santa and people come to Sevilla from all over Spain. So seeing the beautiful floats here was especially extraordinary.

We also took a tour of the bull fighting ring of Sevilla.  Bull fighting is a tradition still holding strong in Sevilla.

We went to Plaza de España during one of the sunlight moments.  Plaza de España was built for a world conference. It has architectural elements from all over Spain and Spanish history.

After Sevilla, we went to Ronda.  The old part of the city is located on one side of this huge canyon because it had great defensive properties (and great views to go with it).  This bridge unites the now larger city and is the symbol of Ronda.

At the bottom of the canyon is this beautiful river.  During the days of the defensive city, they had a problem of running out of water when under siege. So they built a tunnel (with 365 steps) down to the canyon and slaves/servants would pass the water up to the city.

After Ronda, my parents went to Gibraltar while I went back to Torre del Mar. After Gibraltar, my parents came over to Torre del Mar for a few days.

On Wednesday, we headed into Málaga to watch some Semana Santa processions.

We also went to the Balcón de Europa in Nerja and then the caves of Nerja.  In the cave was this huge column which is, according to the Guinnes Book of World Records, the largest cave column in the world.

Of course a trip with my parents would not be complete without Geocaching. One of the caches near the caves led us to this gorgeous place.

I loved having my parents here. It was the perfect touch of home to ward off the homesickness and get me through the rest of my time here.  I hope my parents enjoyed it as much as I did. But let's be honest. They were in Spain. Of course they did. Who wouldn't?

Diary of a sola traveler - The Final Chapter

One of the most interesting things that I'm seeing here in the city of Córdoba is the mixture of the Arab and Catholic. Or rather, the superimposition of the Catholic over the previous Arabic structures.  The Mezquita is enormous and gorgeous and it is filled with undeniably Arabic architecture and decoration.  It has rows and rows of arches and columns and all of the entrances have their key-shaped frames. The walls are covered with the plaster impressions and colorful tiles.  However, mixed into, yet standing out, are clearly catholic pieces.  Around the perimeter of the mosque are the capillas, the small chapels dedicated to different saints. And then, smack dab in the center of this beautiful Arabic structure is a catholic cathedral with the organ, the Eucharist, and the statues of Jesus on the cross.  It was somewhat of a jolting experience because the catholic church part of the mosque is somewhat hidden from different sides due to the walls of the choir stalls and the wall behind the altar.

But the Catholic on the Arabic does not just apply to the Mezquita.  The Catholic King's Alcazar is situated right on top of old Arabic baths.  It's quite the combination if you ask me.  Up in the Leon and Castilla regions of Spain, a Spanish architectural style, Múdejar was developed. Múdejar is a synthesis of the arabic, jewish and christian architecture due to all of these cultures living side by side in the Spanish peninsula. Although much of that style can be seen in these structures (or should I say, many of these structures can be seen as influences in the múdejar style), here in Córdoba, they remain pretty distinct.

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As I'm on the bus from Córdoba to Málaga, my Semana Blanca trip is pretty much over. I saw a lot this past week and it's safe to say that I'll sleep well when I get back to my own bed. So at the beginning of my trip, I was pretty nervous about traveling alone. Now, when it's all done, here's what I think about it:

Pros:
--You can do things at your own pace - I especially like this for museums.
--You meet other people. - If the hostel is good, you will meet other people since you won't be stuck in your own group of friends.

Cons:
--It gets lonely at night if you're not in a good hostel. Especially in the winters when it gets dark early so you get back to the hostel earlier.
--There's no one to take your picture at a lot of places.
--You can't talk with a friend about what you're seeing and experiencing.
--Bus rides and flights are super boring.
--Taxis cost more since you can't split them with anyone. Plus, you want to take them more since you're traveling alone and don't want to get lost or walk alone in the dark.
--It's extremely awkward to eat alone in Spain.
--You don't laugh as much. If you laugh out loud at your own thoughts, you'll look pretty crazy.

Overall, it's more lonely and boring. I don't think I'll travel alone again unless there's no other way I could see the sights that I want.  I don't think I would have been able to go to Mérida or Cordoba with anyone else, so I'm glad that I did this. But my first instincts about traveling alone were correct. It's really not as fun as traveling with friends.  I'm glad I didn't go to Italy alone. It wouldn't have been close to as good of an experience as it will be with Laura.

Diary of a sola traveler Part 3

2/28/12- Sevilla

The atmosphere here in the south is so obviously distinct from that of the north. Sevilla, by size of the "old city" feels much bigger than that of Barcelona, yet it still has the charm of a small city. Today was also the Día de Andalucía, so everyone was off work and enjoying the warm weather Sevilla has to offer (Sevilla is  probably the warmest city in all of Spain, not counting the Islands). And I thought the day at the beach in Barcelona was warm. That has nothing on the weather today. It felt almost as if it were the end of Spring/beginning of summer. And it's still February!
Like I said, the atmosphere is so quaint here. The streets are narrow and you never can tell where it will take you. All the little restaurants have their tapas and everyone is sitting outside.
The hostel that I'm staying at does organized "tapas crawls" but unfortunately there aren't any on Tuesdays. The downside to traveling alone is that it is incredibly uncomfortable to eat at a restaurant by yourself here. Eating out is a very common thing, but it's always a social thing. You hardly ever see anyone sitting at a table alone.

I wasn't so rushed here in Sevilla. I was here for orientation for this program and I'll be here again with my parents in no time at all.

2/29

Sitting here on tis bus from Sevilla to Mérida, I feel very homesick actually. It may be a residual effect of traveling alone. The things I see, although magnificent and unique, don't give me the same sense of awe as before. Maybe it's becoming "normal" to me to see things like this and I'm getting accustomed to it. It also could be that half of seeing these things is experiencing it with other people.  In a way, I'm really ready to go home. I miss the strong relationships I have at home and even doing normal day-to-day things with friends could be just as exciting at this point. I know this feeling will come and go within the next couple of months and that when I feel like this I need to think positively and enjoy this unique experience.  I miss real, lasting, deep relationships. And with how important those are to me, this is really hard.


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These entries should be called the bipolar ramblings of a sola traveler. I just spent a really nice evening with the people with whom I am couch-surfing. Now Mom and Dad, when you read this, don't freak out. They're both auxiliares de conversación too so knew we had that in common and I know they had an FBI background check to get the visa to come here.
Although I really miss the true, deep friendships I have back home, I do enjoy meeting new people and getting to know them. I like encountering different cultures and perspectives. So far on this trip, I have had great conversations with people from Canada, Australia, England, Panama, Portugal, France, Venezuela, Argentina, etc.  That is really amazing. But in Sevilla, I was pretty much just left to myself and my own thoughts and those kinds of situations seem to tend to make me sad and homesick. But for the next day, I'll be here with these couch surfers and I'll have people to talk to and eat with and all will be good. I only have on day in Cordoba by myself so hopefully I won't go too crazy there.

3/2

Mérida was amazing. Pretty much everywhere you looked, there was another Roman ruin uncovered. You could even get the feel for the whole ancient city pieced together, between the Temple of Diana, the theatre and the residential buildings, etc. Just by walking the streets of Mérida, I was walking where people back in the Roman Empire walked everyday.  Apparently building contractors don't like to do construction here because inevitably, they will come across ruins and then have to go through all the red tape that comes along with it.
The Roman theatre was obviously my favorite part of the ruins. It's what drew me to the city in the first place. A lot of people are disappointed because it is so reconstructed, but I appreciate that they did that so I could see more or less how it looked when it was in use instead of being random rocks and stones that are really old in some sort of unnatural pattern.  They still kept areas of the theatre pre-reconstruction so you can see more or less how they found it, but the general appearance of the theatre was restored.  I'm sad that I won't be there for the Mérida theatre festival where they actually put on classical shows on this theatre. But I still sad in the seats for a bit and just imagined a show there.
Also, last night, I met another theatre major. He's and Auxiliar too, and it was great to finally talk theatre with someone. It's definitely something that I've been missing over here. So far, I think Mérida has been my favorite place of this trip for a couple of reasons. One, it's a completely new city for me. I had already done Barcelona and Sevilla, so I didn't want to do the same touristy things every time. Another reason is that I was with people. During the city explorations in Mérida I was by myself, but that I was fine. I actually think that I prefer to do museums alone because I can move at my own pace. But I had people to eat with and talk to. Edward and Fanchon fed me so well, more than I could ask for and they were so incredibly nice. I don't think I could thank them enough. Not only did they give me a place to stay in Mérida, but their company probably kept me sane for these last couple days of this journey. So thank you!

A section of the old Roman aqueduct

The Roman theatre

The Temple of Diana

The original entrance to the Roman city

The courtyard of a Roman house

Now I'm off to Córdoba. I'll get there this evening, so I'll probably just take it easy at the hostel tonight and do all the sights and then tomorrow evening, I'll head home. I can't believe that I've already been traveling for over a week on my own. It's gone by both slowly and quickly at the same time.

Diary of a sola traveler Part 2

Feb 24th


Today I have written considerably less. And that can be attributed to one simple thing- I talked more. No, not like a crazy to myself. Maybe not in my native tongue. But I had people to talk with and share the experiences with me.  Last night at the hostel, I met three really friendly girls from Buenos Aires, Constanza, Agus, and Flor. We hung out at the night outing through the hostel as well. Then, we realized that we were all planning on going on the same walking tour through the Gothic Neighborhood of Barcelona. So we met up for that, went to the Picasso Museum and then just looked around some cute shops. It was really nice to have these people to hang out with and it was really cool that since I knew Spanish, these possibilities were opened up for me.




Feb 26th

Yesterday (Saturday), I met up with my Irish friend Peter and we walked around the Grácia area. The Grácia area of Barcelona is a newer part of the city. Very residential, but also has some really cools shops and pretty streets. We meandered from this area to the beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella. I feel like if I lived in Barcelona, I would be going to this park a lot. There were people just laying on the grass, people playing catch, people playing music. Just a lot of people relaxing and just enjoying the beautiful weather.
After the park, we went to a cool cava and tapas bar (Cava is the Spanish version of Champagne).  Leslie had recommended this place to me before coming and Peter's friend had recommended it to him, so we decided that we absolutely needed to check it out. It was really cool and the place was completely packed!  They had their very own brand of cava that was delicious (and not very expensive either) and you could tell that this was not just a place for tourists, as it seemed like it was mostly filled with Spaniards.  It was kind of a rush being in a place so packed. I felt like I was one of those old time stock brokers talking with my hands to try to get the bartender's attention so that we could get served.

Feb 27th

Sitting here on top of this mountain, I understand why there were monasteries and hermitages built here. The views are incredible and it is so peaceful. The breeze blows slightly in the trees and a bird lazily flutters by. It's a place whose magnificence makes you speechless. You don't want to intrude your voice into the silence.

This was written on top of Montserrat, a mountain with a monastery built outside of Barcelona.

The History of Montserrat according to "Sacred Destinations"


According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors in a cave (Santa Cova, the Holy Grotto), where it was rediscovered in 880 AD.

According to the legend of the discovery, which was first recorded in the 13th century, the statue was discovered by shepherds. They saw a bright light and heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the grotto and the statue.

The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery, suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay on Montserrat to be venerated there.

By the 9th century, there were four chapels on Montserrat, of which only one remains - St. Aciscolo's, which is in the monastery's garden. In the 11th century, the abbot-bishop Oliba founded a monastery on the mountain of Montserrat, next to one of the chapels. Many miracles were reported through the intercession of the Virgin Mary at Montserrat.

According to historians, it was then, in the 12th century, that the statue of the Madonna and Child was made. The Madonna statue soon earned widespread fame as numerous miracles were associated with the intercession of the Black Virgin of Montserrat.

Many of the first missionary churches in Mexico, Chile and Peru were dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat and many saints and popes have visited the shrine over the centuries. St. Ignatius Loyola made a pilgrimage to Montserrat after being injured in war, and it was soon after that he wrote his famous Spiritual Exercises.

Due to the great numbers of pilgrims that flocked to Montserrat throughout the Middle Ages, the monastery was enlarged from its original humble size. In 1592, the grand basilica of Montserrat was consecrated.

In the late 18th century, almost the entire sanctuary was destroyed during theNapoleonic invasion. But due to the widespread devotion to the shrine, it was soon restored.

In 1881, Montserrat's Black Madonna was crowned in accordance with Canon Law and proclaimed patron saint of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII.

The town and monastery were really beautiful, but the most beautiful part of the trip for me was the hiking on top of the mountain.  You had to take this incredibly steep train up to the top where many different hiking trails split off.  We took one that led us past this small chapel and an old hermitage built into a crevice in the mountain. Up a thin, steep staircase that was falling apart it was so old, and up to ruins of an old convent with incredible views.  From there we ended up taking a wrong path and getting lost, but it was worth it since even more beautiful views opened up to us.  We made it back just in time to catch the only bus back to Barcelona.  The woods and forests reminded me of hiking back home.  The smells, the sounds, the fresh air. It's something I didn't know I missed until I experienced it. I can't wait to go home go camping with friends and take Twix for a walk at Woodlawn (Yes, Dad, I'll take Twix for walks this summer).  There's something so enchanting about being in the wilderness, especially at the top of the mountain of Montserrat. It's pretty obvious why it became a place of worship.

 

Thoughts about Barcelona:


So by now, I've pretty much done all there is to do tourist-wise in this city. It continues to be incredible but I feel that a lot of the things to see, don't need to be seen twice (Except for the Sagrada Familia as it continues to develop as it's built). The only reason I think I would come back would be to see the people that I met here, and most of those people aren't even here permanently.
Barcelona, it was great to come and visit you again, but it might be a while until our paths cross again. Hurry up and finish your Sagrada Familia and I might come back.

Diary of a sola traveler 1

(For the next week and a little bit I will be traveling around Spain. I'm keeping a journal with me wherever I go and I'll be transcribing those entries here when I get the chance.)

Feb 23, 2012
As I sit here in the airport, I'm slowly coming to terms with what is set right in front of me. I'm about to embark on a week and a half of adventure...alone. It's no secret that I thrive when I'm with people and that I hate being alone. But this journey is going to be me filled with my own thoughts. Just right now, I am sitting at the airport waiting. There's nothing to do and nothing to see. And noone to talk to. I'm sure this will be a common situation on this trip and I'll have to learn to deal with it.
I remember the first time I flew alone. I had just come back from Guatemala with CTI in highschool and I was flying back home. I'm sure I was nervous, but I knew what was doing and it went smoothly.
And I have gone many places not knowing anyone before and I havemade friends easily. But in all these cases, I was in situations where I met people in the same situation or program as myself.
This time, though, I travel solo through and through. I'm not just hopping on a flight by myself or meeting up with a program. This is all me. Iknow two years ago I would never have been able to do this. But I have grown since then and have gotten comfortable with what used to be outside of my comfort zone. No now I head even outside of these new regions of my comfort zone. I will need to be vigilant, outgoing, and I think most importantly I will need to have confidence in myself. I am more capable than what I give myself credit for.

My favorite quote is "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what they are built for."

So with that being said...
...here I go!

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Well I made it to the city and got situated in my room and then I decided to just take a relaxing stroll. Being good with directions, no map was needed for where I was going. I guess that helped a bit with the nerves. I strolled along Lad Ramblas with my head high and my hand on my purse and now I am sitting in the warm sun in Placa Catalunya, or Placa Pidgeon as I like to call it. Now, I'm sitting on the far side of the Placa from where I came from and to get to this seat, I had to cross this sea of birds. All was going well and I was watching where I was stepping when, all of a sudden, something disturbed them and I was caught in the middle of a huge pidgeon "flypede" (I can't call it a stampede since they weren't doing any stamping). I'm lucky I got out of there with a clean head, but I'm pretty sure a pigeon wing collided with my head.

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22*C and time for the beach! From Placa Catalunya I took a relaxing walk down past the statue of Columbus and on down to the beach. Today is such a beautiful day. The sun is shining, I don't even need to wear a coat, and there are so many people out and about. This is the Spain that I love. It's amazing how many people are out on the beach, too. I guess they're as excited about the surge of warm weather as I am. Luckily for me, though, it's still cool enough that everyone's still wearing their clothes.

Barcelona weekend Feb 9th-12th

Last weekend I flew up to Barcelona. You can find really cheap flights around here and this was a perfect example. Round trip from Malaga to Barcelona was a mere 25€. that's cheaper than a bus to Madrid from here.
Anyway, it was a great weekend. We spent one day at Park Guell which is a stunning display of Gaudi's architecture. It was so evident how much inspiration he gets from nature because so much just blended in beautifully with the surrounding plants and trees.

We also went to the Sagrada Familia. Last time I was there, the interior was still unfinished and there were construction walls blocking the view of the center. But now, all that construction is already done and it is a working church. It was absolutely breathtaking. Besides all of the detail, one thing I loved was that the floors were so basic and all of the detail and art in the architecture was above your head. So you were constantly looking up. The way that it should be all the time.

Another thing this trip that we did that I didn't do last time was climb up Montjuic. It wasn't so much a "climb" as a long walk uphill but once we got to the top the views of the city stretched all the way to the other side where the mountains cut off the expansion of the city. On top of Montjuic is situated the old fortress castle overlooking the port. Thongs like this just don't exist in the US. Also on top of this "mountain" is the Olympic stadium, lots of gardens and a "Pueblo Español." we didn't go into the pueblo because it just houses examples of the famous places and landmarks of places in Spain. We'll be seeing all of these things in real life eventually. I feel so lucky about that!

The last night we ended up staying up all night to catch our flight at 6am. It was tough to stay awake for all that travel and I think I came down with a cold because of it. But it was definitely worth it.

Que toda la vida es sueno...

...y los sueños, sueños son.

Yesterday I had my first dream in Spanish! I usually don't remember my dreams so it's possible I've had dreams in Spanish before but I think this is a great stepping stone. :) I don't remember much of it, since dreams have a tendency of floating back to the clouds where they came from, but I remember that a couple of the teachers in my school were in it.

Also yesterday, I taught dance in my two PE classes. I taught them some basics of hip hop and then taught a short dance to some choreography that I came up with. It was so amazing. Dancing and choreographing are two things I love to do. It made my day. I miss it so much and I wish I had more of an outlet for it, but I'll take what I can get. The kids loved it and begged the teacher if I could do it again so I think the week before Semana Santa after their PE exam I will do another day of dancing.


(The quote for the title of this post comes from my favorite Spanish play- "La vida es sueño" by Calderon de la Barca. Or "Life is a dream". I think the poetry is just so beautiful.)

Craving a challenge.

Could life get any easier than it already was? Well yeah...kinda.

This past week, Leslie and I switched our schedules so that I would now work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and now she is working Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
(It's hard to believe that this marks the half-way point of this year here).

Well, with my old schedule, I had a lot of English classes where I would prepare activities and conversation questions for small groups that I would take out of the class for part of the time. I had a lot of room for creativity and preparing. Now, with my new schedule, I have a lot of the bilingual social sciences, math, and social studies classes and only one English class. The teachers in these other classes have all of the planning for the bilingual periods pretty much already done. So they give me the worksheets and I go to class to read them out loud and help with pronunciation. Easy, right? Yes. My planning time has gone now practically to zero.

Now I know I really shouldn't be complaining about this.  I've even dubbed this year my "stress detox" year and there are so many worse things to complain about in the world. But, I need to be challenged in some way.  I need to make more goals for myself. I need to be more involved and proactive in my life over here. Although, I'm a bit at a loss as to how to do this.

I've already completed my goal of finding the best croquetas in town (which I actually found the first week I was here, but I had to check other places just to make sure).  I have been reading more. Yes, I've even been reading some news more.  I've been going on walks. I've been improving my Spanish by trying to talk more.
But none of these things really challenge me.
I want to travel more, but a tight budget tends to restrict that. I want to take dance classes, but there aren't really any offered in my small town that I have found. Intercambios sound awesome, but again, small town.

Any ideas? I could really use some?

Right in my backyard

The other day, Britt, her boyfriend Chris and I got together for coffee and then we hiked up to the old fort tower on the hill in Vélez-Málaga (the adjoining town to mine).  Here are some of the pictures from that day.

You can kinda see the ocean on the horizon at the top left of the photo.

The mountains to the west of Velez

At the tower fort

The mountains to the East of Velez. It had snowed up there the day before.

Also, last week was "el classico"- the matchup in soccer (fútbol) between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the two best teams in the league. We all went to a local bar to watch the game.

Christmas Vacation Part 2: Dublin and Scotland

12/31
Early early early this morning, Robby and I woke up, went to the airport and flew over to Dublin. There wasn't all that much open due to it being New Years Eve, but they couldn't close everything. We stopped by the Abbey theatre to buy tickets to that evening's show and we walked down the river to the Guinness storehouse since it was still giving tours. It was the old Guinness storehouse, but now it has been converted into a guinness museum and just gives tours there. I came into this museum knowing practically nothing about brewing beer, but I think I have a little bit of a better understanding now. At least now I understand what people mean when they talk about "hops."

With entrance to the tour, you get one free pint of Guinness, which if you wanted to, you could pour yourself. So and Robby and I went into the room and were taught how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and enjoyed a pint in a comfortable little lounge. I even have a certificate that I did, after all, pour the perfect pint.
After the Guinness Factory, we went to see the matinee performance of an Irish Translation of The Governer Inspector at the Abbey Theatre. The Abbey Theatre is Irelands National theatre, dedicated to doing new works only by Irish playwrights, keeping the storytelling tradition of Ireland alive. Although this play wasn't originally Irish, I think because it was translated by an Irish playwright, it counted.  Unfortunately I was extremely tired due to hardly any sleep the night before, but I still enjoyed it. I won't go into my review of the show here, but all in all it was a good feel-good play, but it wasn't something to rave about theatrically. Still really glad I got to experience seeing theatre at the famous Abbey Theatre though.
Then, at night, Robby and I rang in the New Year together in Ireland.
It was an amazing amazing year, and I hope that the next one continues to be filled with happiness as well. I mean, I am starting off the year in Ireland, that's gotta count for something.

1/1/12
It's the New Year!! 2012!! This morning Robby and I did our fair share of sleeping in, but not too much so as to miss out on being in Ireland.  Like I said, since it's around the New Year, much is closed, but we still managed to walk around the city, see the outsides of cool buildings and churches, and walk around a neat park.
Tonight, we were cooking in the kitchen in our hostel and met a girl from Canada, two guys from the US, and two guys from Germany. So after dinner, we headed out for a drink at a nearby pub for a little bit and then called it an early night.

1/2
This is the trip of early mornings. With our hostel stay, we got a free bus tour of Glendalough, the Wicklow Mountains and the old Irish capitol, Kilkenny. Glendalough means valley between two lakes. We had a while to just walk around the woods and the lakes and also explore the old monastic ruins there. Robby and I took a wrong turn on one of the lake paths, so we ended up getting really turned around (Sorry Robby!) but we still had plenty of time.  The we went through the Wicklow Mountains where scenes from Braveheart and P.S. I Love You were filmed. On the top of the Mountain we got out of the bus for a photo opportunity and I walked on my first (and probably only) snow of year. The Bus driver was very chatty and had great stories to tell. He also had a great sense of humor which made the tour thoroughly enjoyable. For example, apparently at one point, we didn't run over roadkill...we ran over a dead leprechaun. And when we went over the bridge where a scene from P.S. I Love You was filmed, all the girls were supposed to let out a very long "awwwww".  Then our final stop was in Kilkenny which is the old Irish capitol city. There's an old Irish castle, a couple of abbeys and churches, and the Smithwicks storehouse. On the drive back to Dublin, there was some great traditional Irish music playing and the bus driver taught us some of the songs.  This was a particular catchy one:

At one of the "lough"s of Glendalough

The old monastic settlement there

The view from the bus over the bridge from P.S. I Love You

The castle at Kilkenny

Later that night, back in Dublin, Robby and I met up with our friend Julia and her friend Amanda. They had just gotten into Dublin that day for their Christmas vacation travels. We went out to The Temple Bar area and had a few pints. We ended up in The Temple Bar which had an amazing atmosphere (along with the overpriced drinks). There was a live irish band in there and I heard a few of the songs that I had heard on bus ride.  Even though the drinks were definitely overpriced at that bar, I absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was amazing.

1/3
Early early this morning we got up to take a bus to the airport to head over to Scotland. The wind was really bad that you could feel it shaking the bus and walking into the airport, it was hard to walk in a straight line. But our flight took off anyway for the longest flight of my life, even though it was only like 45 minutes.  The plane started its descent, but then had to pull up and circle around in horrible turbulence because the wind gusts on the ground were too much. I thought we were either going to die trying to land the plane or we were going to have to fly to another country and wait out the storm. We did land eventually. Not the smoothest landing of my life, but it was smooth enough to get us safely into Scotland. Our plans this day were to take a train up to Glasgow and spend our first day in Scotland with our friends Aileen and Steven. We're at the train station, and a message comes through the loudspeaker- all trains are cancelled until further notice due to averse weather. So we figure we'll just get a coffee and wait for it to get better and get on the first available train. Well...the roof of this train station is made of glass, so within an hour of us getting there, the whole train station was being evacuated. We didn't really know where to go, so we found a map and got ourselves to the bus station hoping for some luck there. But the wind was so bad that even the bus routes were suspended. We had nowhere to go and the weather was really too terrible to do any sort of sightseeing. So we just sat in the bus station waiting for busses to start running again. Luckily we didn't have to wait much more than an hour and a half and we finally got on a bus on our way to Glasgow. When we got there, we had a late lunch/early dinner with Aileen and her friend Maria and then went back to Aileen's house. After such a stressful and long day, we just stayed in and ordered pizza and watched movies. It was perfect and just what we needed.

1/4
After getting up and getting ready, we headed back to Edinburgh for the day. While there we went to the Camera Obscura which had a lot of really cool and fun optical illusions and we also went to the Edinburgh Dungeons. There we learned about  Edinburgh's creepy history full of cannibals and ghosts. I, not being able to handle myself very well in scary situations, held tightly onto Aileen's hand, and she, not being able to handle herself very well in scary situations, did the same. I'm sure it was quite a sight, seeing the two of us jump at every little thing. Robby got some good laughs out of it I'm sure.

1/5
Today, Julia and Amanda came into Glasgow after their trip in Dublin and Aileen and Steven showed us all around Glasgow. We went to the science museum, which was very hands-on, and we just played around in there for a while. It reminded me a lot of when I went to the Franklin Institute and the Museum of Play with Heather and Brandon. Loads of fun.
Then we met up with Aileen's brothers and some friends to have delicious burgers and then we went back to Aileen's house to get ready to go out for the night.

1/6
Today we all slept in, which was great after having so many early mornings on this trip. And then Robby and I went into Edinburgh. First we checked in at our hostel, since the next day we were flying out of the Edinburgh airport and then we walked along the Royal Mile, got some dinner, and then just walked around more parts of the city. We headed down a random street and on that street we passed one of the pubs I went to when I was here for the theatre class during the Fringe Festival. The whole city looks so different without the tents and the crowds. I got used to finding my way around the city using Fringe Festival markers, so coming up on this pub randomly surprised me, but it was a nice surprise. We met up with Amanda and Julia for coffee at the Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. We didn't stay out too late because we wanted to see more of the city during the daytime.

1/7
It's the day of our departure, but our flight doesn't leave until the afternoon, so we wake up early, check out the church and then go to the Edinburgh Castle. There's so much to see within this castle and the history is so interesting. It has never once been taken over forcefully, only surrendered. And I'm not surprised. It sits on top of a huge hill with many layers of walls and many defensive structures. We spent pretty much the whole morning walking around the castle and then we headed to the airport and got on our flight back to Málaga.

This was a wonderful Christmas break and I loved everywhere I went. It's good to be back in Málaga though where the weather is warmer and the days are longer.