The Glory of Spains

WOWZA, currently I only have about 3 more days here in Spain. I still haven’t grasped the idea yet and I feel it won’t hit me for a while. It’s going to be hard to transition from here but I am excited to be home. I was thinking about the things I will miss and the things that I will definitely NOT miss. Here are my top 5 me likey and top 5 no me likey (aka…good and bad).

TOP 5 BEST
1. Tapas: small little dishes of food. When people think of Spain, they think Tapas. The most amazing thing about tapas is that they allow to try all kinds of different foods in small portions. Such a smart idea, no?
2. Being able to travel anywhere in Europe by hopping on a plane. While here in Spain I have traveled to Dublin, Ireland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Morocco; Portugal (Lisboa, Sintra, Lagos); Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Caceres, Merida, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, and basically all of Andalucia). And at the end of my WHOLE trip I will have seen Amsterdam and Paris. Ehhh…I’m excited.
3. Living so close to the beach. I recently have taken advantage of this part of the living situation. I’m starting to run a little more so I have run to my friends house, changed into my swimsuit and jumped into the cold Atlantic. The most refreshing thing EVER.
4. Merienda (Snack). The Spanish meal schedule is super messed up. They eat lunch at like 3 o’clock and then at about 6 o’clock they have a Merienda, a snack. This involved a coffee, or tea, and a glorious pastry. P.S. They have really good pastries here. #1 reason why I am starting to run more because I really like them J. Then at about 9 or 10 o’clock they eat dinner. Isn’t that crazy.
5. Having my bike as a main form of transportation. This is the first time I have been without a car and I think once I return to the US of A I am going to continue this idea. There really is no reason why I shouldn’t transport myself in bike…makes since. Well, at least in the city limits of Ellensburg, right?

TOP 5 BAD (but good in their own way)
1. The men dressed up like no other with their shirt buttoned down to their navel with their chest hair spurting out. No joke my friends, it is true. The Spanish men (not all, but most) take more time on getting ready than us ladies do. It’s nuts and quite unattractive.
2. Smoking. I was surprised when I arrived here in Spain to find the majority of the people smoke. Kids start smoking at like 14 years old. And there are no regulations on where to smoke. I hate coming home smelling like smoke, it sucks.
3. The schedule. I have realized that I was not born to live in the Spanish cultural schedule. They are crazy. When they go out at night, they really go out. It’s not abnormal to stay out till 7 in the morning. I normally was the lame one to go home at like 3 o’clock. I just couldn’t keep up. I enjoy taking advantage of daylight more than night time. Ya know.
4. Mullets. Mullets run wild here along with rat tails. It’s a glorious site and makes me crack up. I should switch this to the top 5 best list.
5. Heating systems. Oh wait, there is none. Yea, I would have to say I spent my worst January ever here and there wasn’t even a trace of snow, crazy how that is. Andalucia is the most southern region so the houses are built for hot weather. During winter, inside is sometimes colder than outside. Most of January I was huddles up inside my bed trying to keep warm. Not a fun time.


Overall, it has been a great run. I am so blessed to have this experience abroad. I always dreamed of living in Spain but who knew it would actually happen, not I. I have a seen a lot of things and learned even more. It has been one of my most challenging years. Hard at times but in that I knew the Lord had something for me. That’s the glory of it all, no matter where you are in the world…there the Lord is.

I think the biggest thing that has surprised the most is the lack of spirituality. The majority is either atheist or belief that there is something bigger but don’t care to define that. It was definitely a crazy jump from Whitworth, my private Christian college to the REAL world. Fast learning curve let me tell you. I think that is the part I’m most excited about returning to the US…the amazing fellowship with friends and family that I have developed. I missed that most of all throughout this year. I love you guys. Sooo soon I will see all your faces!!

BARBEQUE!!!!

About 30 minutes from our town there is an American/Spanish Naval base. During this year we have gotten to know some of the American naval boys, OH, and they just happen to own a huge palace (which during the reign of the dictator, Franco, was a summer vacation home for some of his government workers, crazy eh?). Anywho, they invited over this last weekend to have a barbeque. The great thing about having friends from the base is that they can bring all the american food from the grocery stores on the base, sooo nice. We had s'mores, hamburgers, and even had a Blue Moon, soo good. It was a fun night of volleyball, pool, good food, and a nice bonfire!!! Here's some pics of the place.

La Feria de Jerez de la Frontera

Two weekends ago a couple of teachers from my school went to a nearby town, Arcos. There we had an amazing lunch at a friends house. After, two of the other teachers and I decided to stop by the Jerez Feria (almost every city has their own Feria). The Jerez Feria is known for it's elegance in dress, the horses and carriages, and the tents where people eat and dance. We met up with Miguel and we experienced, the Jerez Feria.

This is my good friend, Miguel.

La Feria de El Puerto de Santa Maria

La Feria (the fair) is a celebration that almost every town in Andalucia celebrate throughout this time of the year. Here is the best description I can give: it is where all the people in town come dressed in a gypsy/flamenco style dress (women) and men dressed like horse-back riders (only a couple actually wear that). At La Feria there are about 200 large tents (like little restaurants)where people go to drink, eat, and mainly dance "Sevillana." A fun time but SUPER hot, ridiculously hot. I went to Feria with a large group of my teachers. It was fun to go with people who are from there which means that they forced me to dance, "THE Sevillana". Not a good idea.

Here's a typical flamenco dress. It weighs a ton and is VERY hot. Good thing I was not wearing one because I was already sweating buckets. YIKES.

This is Miguel, he's one of the teachers at my school. I think his side job/hobby is organizing all the teacher dinners/activities. He always has a new plan. And I loved his dance moves, best ever.

This is me trying to dance Sevillana...don't mind the sweat stain, it was SOOO hot.

This was the next day when we made a trip back to La Feria just to try it out again, fun times.

PORTUGAL!!!

HOLLLLERRRR....Portugal!! This last weekend, a couple of friends and I headed off to glorious Portugal. It was a whirlwind of a weekend as we ran through the towns of Sintra, Lisboa, Lagos, and a little Island called Tivra.

Sintra was such a enchanting little town. The general theme that I got from the town was castles. All the houses are somewhat built in that pattern and there are multiple castles built throughout the mountain side. We went to a garden which was amazing. It was huge and had secret underground passage ways, cool castles, swamps, and just amazing all around!!

Lisboa I absolutely loved the most. The buildings are run down with paint peeling off and grass growing out of the sides. However, I feel that added to its character. It was like being on a movie set. The town was just gorgeous and on the waterfront. PRETTY!!!!

We spent one night in Lagos which is on the southern coast. We visited some amazing caves there. It's known for it's beaches but we failed to see those.

But we knew we had to go see A beach. So, on our way back to home we stopped at a little island with amazing beaches. It's actually really cool. On the island there are tents and bars. I'm sad we didn't know about it earlier because I would have liked to stay longer.

I LOVED the windows and the paint on the buildings. It had an antique feel to it.