I woke up this morning to the sounds of fireworks in Sagunto, a true sign the Fallas vacation has finally arrived! At last, finals are over and we enjoy five days free. A lot has happened but with every day so busy and the internet the way it is (sometimes I think dial-up would be faster!) it's been a bit difficult to get blogs up and posted! I'll try to get you all caught up on the latest.

Our trip to Valencia for El Ninot was postponed on the first Monday so we ended up going last week. Ana was very excited about it and told us we would go rain or shine. We also stayed for La Mascletá which is basically 5 straight minutes of the loudest fireworks you've ever heard. They do it at 2PM every day in March leading up to Las Fallas, followed by the official "Valencia en Fallas" song. It's all a bit strange to me, but it's the biggest holiday in Valencia and everyone loves it. I'll explain Fallas more in detail as we go to the festivals every day, and since Ana taught us all about each day of Fallas in Folklore class, hopefully we'll know exactly what's going on. 

Last Sabbath those of us "new" to Grupo E got to go eat at Ana's house after church. Ana, like all the teachers here, works so hard at ESDES but also puts in so many extra hours doing activities with students, inviting them over for lunch, running errands with them, or talking to them about how everything is going. Eight of us ended up going and she made some fantastic food followed by dessert, chatting, and infusión (tea!). She spent time talking to each of us about where we are from, what our lives are like back in the States, and what our parents do. Even though she's known us for almost six months, it was nice to have some time away from school to chat. 

Lunch with Ana was a great way to relax before finals week. Sunday was very busy with a potluck from the culture class, studying for tests, getting our books read, and writing last-minute papers. It's amazing that I couldn't even fathom writing a paragraph in Spanish last August and now we write papers all the time! Sunday night a group of us studied Literature together and Monday the test was pretty easy. We had a History final on Wednesday and then the core class finals started Thursday. Thursday night we also had to teach our English class in addition to studying for Grammar and Conversation. It was a busy week but by yesterday afternoon I couldn't believe the second trimester was over! 

Instead of vespers last night, Rachel, Sara, Eloise and I went over to Cristian's house and made dinner and cookies. It was so much fun to be together and actually be in a house on Friday night. Since I'm not in Conversation with Cristian any more I don't talk to him a lot, and I was happy to discover that I understood him perfectly. We stopped at Mercadona on the way and got some pasta and bread for dinner and then Eloise led the effort in making monster cookies for everyone. They were so delicious and tasted like being at home. We stayed at Cristian's house for several hours and it was the most Spanish I've ever spoken at one time. However, I am realizing that we are getting to the point where it's easy to forget that someone is even speaking Spanish because they are just talking and we can finally understand. 

On the way back we thanked Cristian for having us over and talked about how the teachers at ESDES always open their homes to us. When we went to Ana's apartment last week she told us "Now you know where I live, so if you ever have any problems, you come straight here! Unless it is between midnight and one AM. Then wait until I'm awake." Teachers here love sharing their food, their families, and their lives with us and even our parents if they visit. It doesn't matter to them that our Spanish is grammatically flawed, or that we would rather eat dinner at six than at nine. They accept us with our awkward differences and show us what it's like to spread love to a bunch of Americans that wound up in Sagunto.

In only two weeks this quarter will be history and we'll be celebrating Las Fallas here in Valencia. With only ten school days left everything has been quite busy and I haven't had time to do much more than homework, reading, and preparing for finals. Some of our classes have already begun presentations and final projects. In Literature today we will be acting out parts of Don Juan, which we read earlier this quarter and had to cut down to easy-to-read scenes and then perform. Spanish Literature has become one of my favorite classes I've ever taken, which shouldn't surprise me because I always enjoyed taking literature classes in English in high school and at Union. We've learned about a wide variety of styles and writers, but most of what we read is some sort of poetry or verse. We've read social-political discussions by Leandro Fernández de Moratín, dramas such as Don Juan adapted by José Zorilla, and even fábulas, or fables, just like we have in English.

Lydia always finds fun ways for us to do our homework, and one project we had to do was read several well-known Spanish fables and then find one of our own and read it to the class while explaining what it meant and what the moraleja, or moral, is. Here's one we read in class, La Lechera, that I enjoyed reading, and the rough translation in English. 

We summed it up in Spanish as "Tener los pies en la tierra" (keep your feet on the ground) or in English as "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." I love literature class because it's amazing to me that when I first came here, I couldn't read a paragraph without having to look up every single word, but now we read in class and everyone understands the basic points and we work through harder vocabulary together. I just finished a 250-page book for my conversation class, and while I certainly did not understand everything that happened, I got to practice readying quickly without stopping and had a pretty good idea of each chapter. It's amazing to me how much we've learned in two quarters and I'm so happy we still have one whole quarter left. Some people have begun counting the days, anxiously waiting for each week to pass, but for once in my life I'm not in a hurry. I love learning Spanish and I can't wait to see what next quarter has to offer! But first, Las Fallas, which I will explain in the coming days and weeks!

Hello! If you're just joining me today, scroll down to read the posts about our trip to Barcelona and Andorra in order, starting with "Peering into the Pyrenees," day 1 of our trip, and work your way up. 

On the last day of our tour, we had a lot more to do than just load up the bus and head back to Sagunto. Instead we had a whole day planned with walking tours before boarding the buses at 6:30. All morning we walked through the neighborhoods behind La Rambla, including the gothic neighborhood and two cathedrals. It was getting chilly and the wind was starting to pick up, so we hurried through the tour and enjoyed splitting for lunch to sit in a warm place and relax. Several of us decided to go to Wok to Walk, a nearly fast-food asian place for under 5 euros, just like Lemon Grass in Valencia. It was delicious and we all enjoyed more fresh squeezed juice from the market before going to Starbucks for some warmth and wifi.

With three hours of free time we were soon ready to continue our tour, but since we had an appointment at the Picasso museum we had to wait for the whole group until 3:15. Once we arrived we had to wait for quite awhile before dividing into groups of 20. The museum was highly guarded and had more security guidelines even than I recall we had at the Louvre. Finally my group was allowed in and we found that everyone else was still there, wandering through the collection without sticking together as we had been instructed. 

We started out with some of Picasso's earlier paintings, and as we moved on they got stranger and brighter. I have seen Picasso's work before in art history books and classes, and I've never been a really big fan of any of it. Here's the thing. I spent a maximum of 15 minutes in the whole gallery and left with the first group that had been let in. There was just nothing about it that sparked my interest. But how? you may ask. How can you not care about such a famous artist? Because it's not something that I want to look at for more than a few seconds, and honestly I don't find any of it very appealing. But you don't understand what it means, you don't appreciate it for what it really is. Ok. Well that's ok with me. I appreciate art that I enjoy looking at. If I don't like the way it looks, I'm not going to be excited to see it even if it is famous (like nearly everything at the Louvre). Got a history museum? I'm there. Archeology museums of natural history? Just tell me when. Science museums, aquariums, planetariums? My favorites. But drop me in an art gallery and usually I'll have seen all I care to see pretty quickly. My favorite forms of art are those I see on packaging, logos, and concept art for Disney or Pixar movies, usually done by artists who never get the credit they deserve. Knowing that, you can see why I was done so quickly and spent the rest of the time chatting with friends while we waited to load the bus. Some people really enjoyed the Picasso museum and I'm glad it was part of our tour. I know he was a famous Spanish painter and it's cool that I got to see his paintings here in Spain (although we didn't have time to go to the Dali and Goya exhibits at Montserrat).

Our group of nearly 90 wound our way through the streets of Barcelona back to the hotel where we retrieved our luggage from the storage room (yes, quite a task) and waited for the buses to pick us up. Just as the sun went down we went on our final tour on our way out of town, a bus tour of the Olympic Village from the Summer Olympics of 1992 in Barcelona, just weeks after I was born. We caught a glimpse of the stadium and other essential olympics buildings before it got completely dark. On the bus on the way back Cristian put The Prince of Egypt in for us to watch, in Spanish of course, and I tried my best to sleep a little. We got back at eleven last night and after sleeping in a bit, I've enjoyed a relaxing Sabbath, a hike with Shannon, lunch with friends and I'm looking forward to talking to my family later!

On the third day of our trip we got to sleep in a bit, enjoy the hotel breakfast, and began our tour at ten. Our first stop was the Parque Güell not far from the Sagrada Familia. If you've seen any photos of Barcelona, you've probably seen this park with its strange architecture, tiled benches, and "wave" tunnel. It was a pretty big park and we only had an hour and a half so we had to walk through rather quickly. In addition to strange structures and walls of tile, the plant life and flowers were lovely and there were even parrots flying around, building nests in the palm trees.

The Güell park was not originally intended for public use and is not situated very well for the thousands of tourists that visit. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, architect of pretty much anything strange that you will find in Barcelona. Built from 1900-1914 for the Güell family, it was originally on the outskirts of the city, but as Barcelona grew and surrounded the park and it became more and more of a tourist attraction, it was soon engulfed by tourists and travelers from all over the world.

Today the park serves as a main attraction and display of the work of Gaudí as well as a nice place to get away from the streets of Barcelona. It's still busy in the park but we enjoyed walking through the paths and taking photos with more personal space to stroll that one would find in Las Ramblas. The higher points offer a good view of the Barcelona skyline and a closer look at the Sagrada Familia, rising above everything else.

After we left the park it was only a short drive to one of Spain's most known icons (besides bulls and flamenco dancers): La Sagrada Familia. I researched this strange church a bit last year and all I could think was that it was quite odd and would be interesting to see, but doubted I would love it. I'm happy to say that I was wrong, it was actually one of my favorite churches I've seen (and at this point we have seen a lot). After a bit of history I'll tell you why.

The Sagrada Familia is probably Gaudí's most famous work, even after his death and the fact that it's been continued by other architects. Construction began in 1882 and Gaudí joined the project in 1883. It is still not complete even though it's been in progress for 130 years, and I heard that it could be even fifty years more until it is finished (although wikipedia states that the completion date may be as soon as 2026). Like all things Gaudí, the church is not like anything I've ever seen and is different on each side. One side has this odd, almost drippy style, that, when you look closer, is actually scenes of the early New Testament such as the birth of Christ and visits of the wise men and shepherds. We each received an audio-guide in Spanish and I was delighted to discover that I understood basically everything it was telling me, and I didn't even have to worry about taking a DELE listening test with it. 

The Sagrada has three main towers which represent Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The other side has carvings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and what is believed to be Gaudí's self-portrait in the middle. Another side also has fruits of Cataluña atop each pillar, something colorful that I enjoyed and found quite fun.

Once inside, the excitement of taking photos and staying close enough to Loli, our sponsor, took over and it was harder to focus on listening to the audio-guide. Unlike the "drippy" looking side of the outside, the inside of the Sagrada seemed clean and simple, although still odd and unlike any other cathedral I've seen or will ever see. The tall pillars are made to look like tree trunks and where they join to the ceiling is supposed to be like looking up into the leaves of trees as light filters through. All the white was a nice break from the over-the-top gold and red churches we usually see. Work on the stained-glass appeared to have just begun and only the front of the church and several windows were complete. Of course the stained glass was my favorite with brilliant colors filtering in on the white interior. 

Our tour seemed to go by very fast and all to quickly it was time to leave. Even though it's not a typical cathedral and is very different, I really loved seeing it and was refreshed because it was so unique compared to all the other churches we see everywhere we go in Europe.

The buses took us back to our hotel and from there we had the afternoon free for lunch and activities. Jon and Seth and I found some delicious pizza just off the main road and went to the open air market. There I found probably the cutest candy I've ever seen–tiny chocolate hedgehogs! I got one for myself and a white chocolate for Rachel along with a tiny chocolate mushroom! If you know me well then you know that this discovery was way better than any dinner or fancy sit-down food I could have gotten. Later that night I  walked around the port and then went back to the market with Rachel, Seth, Anisha and Beth and we got even more fresh fruit juice to finish off a perfect day.

On day 2 of our tour we checked out of our hotel in Andorra and boarded the bus to Barcelona. After an hour or two, we stopped at Montserrat, a mountain above Barcelona with strange peeks that share an uncanny resemblance to South Dakota's black hills near Mount Rushmore. Atop the mountain sits the Santa Maria Abbey, consecrated in the 1500s and home to the Escolania de Monserrat Boys' Choir. Click here to go to the official website of Montserrat.

I wish we would have had more free time here because there is a hiking trail to the top, a museum or two, and several little shops to by honey and nuts and jams. Instead we gathered around for a short explanation from our history teacher and had about half an hour to take pictures before we headed into the church to hear the boys' choir. The performance lasted only about 15 minutes but I enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me of my dad and I knew he would love being there in the huge cathedral with me, listening to choral music.

The Escolania del Escorial is one of the oldest boys' choirs in Europe. They perform Monday through Friday at Montserrat and for vespers on the weekends. The song we heard was in Catalan so it I couldn't understand it. I didn't realize how different Catalan was until this trip, where signs and public notices are nearly impossible to read. Everyone still speaks Spanish (or English in Barcelona) but lots of written notices are in Catalan, similar to here in Valencia where signs are in Valenciano. Anyway, here's a video of them singing Angels We Have Heard on High so you can get an idea of what they sound like.

After Montserrat, we boarded the buses and headed down the mountain where we stopped at a scenic overlook and picnic area to eat our sack lunches. The scenery was beautiful and everything about it reminded me of traveling with my family through the US, stopping at roadside overlooks, eating together and enjoying the view. We ate and rested in the sun until enough time had passed that our bus drivers, who have to stop every 2 hours for 40 minutes, could drive again. Lots of people work really hard to make these trips possible for us and the bus drivers have some of the hardest work. They have to do everything from fight busy city traffic and roundabouts to drive us up windy mountain paths, and they are always friendly and ask us if we are having a good time. 

At last we arrived in Barcelona and Cristian took the bus microphone to point out interesting things we passed. Soon we found ourselves ascending yet another mountain, this time Tibidabo, even closer to Barcelona and home to two churches and an amusement park. The view was great and we could see La Sagrada Familia rising above the city. However, it just seemed like a strange place to all of us since it is basically a mountain with a church, another church built on top of the first church, and a small carnival underneath. 

Finally we descended into the city and headed straight for Las Ramblas, a main street in Barcelona with shops, restaurants, and tons of tourists. Our hotel was right on the main street and it was a bit difficult to get everyone unloaded with all our luggage. Check-in with a group of nearly 90 is always a difficult task, but our sponsors have everything worked out pretty well and soon we were settled in our room, overlooking the busy streets of Barcelona. 

My favorite place we went that night was La Boqueria, a large open-air market with more fruit, candy, meat, and juice than you can imagine. It was only a few hundred yards from our hotel and fresh squeezed fruit juice went on sale at the end of the day for 3 cups for a euro. My favorites were banana-cocount, kiwi-coconut, and coconut-guava. 

That evening I walked around a bit with Seth and Jon and then headed back to my hotel room early, tired from our day of travel and ready for a good night's sleep. Luckily I brought my earplugs so even the ramblings of the Ramblas and the metro beneath couldn't keep me awake.

Buenos días y feliz Sábado a todo el mundo! It's been a really long time since I've blogged and I intend on getting back into it full-swing. I've had a rough last month or so and I want to thank everyone who has been there for me and supported me through everything. I have such a supportive friend group here in Spain and I've felt so much love from across the ocean as well. 

Anyway, we just got back from a school trip to Barcelona and Andorra and I'm going to try to get all my blog posts done today! It's funny how suddenly having even slow internet here at school is better than hotel internet where we've been. 

Our first day we drove all the way from Valencia to the tiny country of Andorra on the border of France and Spain, nestled in the Pyrenees. Basically the country consists of a ski town, two valleys, and a few slopes. It wasn't too cold when we arrived and it looked to have been awhile since snow fell, but the peaks were still snowy and the town was still full of people walking around in snow pants, carrying boots and polls and boards. 

Other than skiing, Andorra's main attraction is the thermal spa, which uses no "artificial" heating and consists of several large, warm pools, a hot tub or two, a "roman bath," and several sauna rooms. After several hours of free time to find food, we met up and walked a few blocks to the spa where we were ushered in and told we needed to be quiet and speak in soft voices. Once inside we realized that this was really more of a suggestion as children ran past yelling in Spanish and French. Instead of lifeguards (which we thought the place needed) there were "shushers' spread throughout the pools attempting to hush small children and even adults who spoke too loudly. It was a nice idea but didn't work too well since it was sort of like an indoor water park. 

My favorite part was the outdoor pool area. A lazy river floated from the indoor pool, through a small doorway to a whirlpool under the stars. Shannon and Justin and I went out after the crowds died down and swam around the lazy river which we had to ourselves. It was dark out and you could see the stars above and look down on the little ski town below where people rested and recuperated for another day on the slopes. The water was just warm enough that even in the cold winter air you could float around and enjoy the stillness of the evening. I can see why after a whole day of skiing it would be nice to go for a swim to relax. 

I don't actually have any pictures of Andorra but here's a few I found online. Each image is hyperlinked to the original website.

Happy birthday to the best dad I could ask for! I wish I could be home to share the day with my family, but alas, I cannot travel four thousand miles for only one day. 

Actually, if I could pick, I'd probably spend the day with my dad skiing in the Alps, something that I know he would love maybe even more than I did. Maybe someday we'll have the chance to do that together. 

From my dad I get my love of the ski atmosphere, along with my love of writing, a hint of sarcasm, and yearning for travel. There are a lot of things I miss about being home, and one of them is spending time with my dad, cooking, watching the Ken Burns series of Nation Parks: America's Best Idea, and reading the hilarious blogs of James Lileks. 

Happy Birthday Dad, I hope one day I can be as wonderful of a parent as you have been for 20 years. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to see the world!

Yesterday afternoon ESDES took a group of students to Oceanográfica, a big aquarium in Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. It's also the largest aquarium in Europe with several buildings, a shark tunnel, and a dolphin show. 

We arrived and began our tour just before four, and since it was a weekday we nearly had the whole place to ourselves. The aquarium is set up in a series of buildings, organized by region: Arctic, Mediterranean, Red Sea (Mar Rojo), Dead Sea (Mar Muerto), and Wetlands. All the tanks and exhibitions are underground and the aquarium has two tunnels, a shark tunnel and a Mediterranean tunnel. They even have a "come sleep with the sharks" night for kids where you can bring your sleeping bag and stay on the floor in the shark tunnel. 

At four thirty everyone went to the dolphin show which was pretty cool. It was sort of like a smaller version of Seaworld, except the voiceover was in Spanish and told a story about the dolphins and how they became friends with the humans. At least I think that's what they were talking about. After that we had only an hour before the aquarium closed so we hurried off to see the Arctic. Sadly, the walruses were not "home," but we did get to see belugas and penguins.

We had about three hours until the bus came back to pick everyone up, so a group of us decided to walk around through the City of Arts and Science since none of us have spent too much time there. All the buildings are very cool, and include an opera house, Imax building, science museum, and more. As the sun began to set, we walked over to a mall where rebajas were in full swing and the sales were reaching 70% off in some stores. Justin, Shannon, Hannah and Ryan got Lemongrass (Thai food) while I grabbed a kebab and then we headed off our own ways for a little shopping. Justin ended up getting some new shoes on sale which was a great purchase. After walking around every single day for three weeks on Christmas break, you see why everyone tells you that when you go to Europe, take good walking shoes.

After shopping we returned to the science area to see everything at night, and since it was a balmy 65º in Valencia, we were not rushed to return to the warmth of the bus. The afternoon was a great break from Sagunto and we had a wonderful time seeing Valencia and spending time together outside of school.

For awhile now I've wanted to write about each of my classes, what we learn in them, and who teaches them. Since I've switched groups I'll also tell a little bit about the teachers I had last semester that I don't have anymore. And yes, probably every explanation of a class will be followed with "and the teacher is so nice!" because all of the staff here at ESDES are some of the warmest, kindest, people I've ever met.

There are four classes that you have to take when you come to Spain, and the rest are electives. This required classes are Grammar, Composition, Conversation, and DELE. Then you can choose electives such as Art History, History of Spain, Folklore, Spain and Culture, etc. Last semester in addition to the four required classes I took Folklore and Bible. This semester I'm taking History of Spain and Literature. 

Each group has almost all the same teachers, but when we switched groups we did gain two different teachers. Last semester I took Grammar from Maria Jose, a teacher at the secondary school who was the sponsor of Group D. She was always so kind and patient with us when we didn't understand topics, and she always made it fun in some way, with singing songs or playing games. Now I'm in Grammar with Pepe, who teaches E and F. Pepe is so funny and works really hard to help us to understand everything that's happening. I've noticed that one of his favorite things to say is, "Espera, tranquillos," (just wait, and calm down) when we are not sure if we understand a new concept. He takes everything one step at a time and tries hard to make sure everyone is caught up. He is taking English classes and tries out words on us once in a while, and we help him when he asks how we would say a phrase or word in English. I can tell that Pepe really cares about us and wants us to do well. 

For Composition, all the groups have the same teacher, Chelo. Composition class is held three days a week and it's one of my favorites. On the last day of class each week, we write a 150-word composition about any topic that Chelo gives us. Some are harder than others, but they are always fun and challenge me in vocabulary and writing structure. The other days we learn about how to write various other texts, articles, letters, arguments, and opinion pieces. When I first got to Spain and didn't understand hardly any Spanish, Chelo was the easiest teacher for me to understand. She'll do anything to help get her point across, and almost everything she says is accompanied by gestures and comments on the side. Chelo actually reminds me a bit of my mom, sort of like a tiny little hummingbird that's always cheerful and busy and makes you excited to learn.

Last semester I had Conversation class from Christian, who teaches groups A-D. Conversation is a harder class for me because there are so many phrases that we learn from hearing and speaking, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what would be an equivalent in English. We also go by topic, so each week we would learn about a different theme to increase our vocabulary: items in the house, food and containers, having a party, or going to the doctor. Christian always had fun activities to do in class to get us talking with each other and using our new words. One project he is doing this semester is movie-making with his classes. Since I'm not in his class anymore, I didn't have to do this project but a lot of my friends did and their movies turned out so funny! Here's the video my friends Jon, Eloise, Sara, and Rena made. It's a Spanish spoof on The Bachelor and it won first place:

I hope it's not too hard to understand despite being in Spanish. On Monday afternoon everyone went down La Frontera (aka student center) and we had a movie viewing of all the videos made in class. It was really fun and lots of the videos were very well done!

Anyway, this semester I have Ana for Conversation. Last semester she taught my Folklore class which I enjoyed, and now I'm really liking Conversation with her. We still go by topic but use lots of other resources besides the workbook which I enjoy. Ana has us read articles and then we talk about the vocabulary and our opinions. Our first topic of the semester? Rebajas (SALES!) which is sort of like Black Friday here in Spain. After Three Kings Day (January 5), the holiday season is pretty much over in Spain and so everything goes on sale. These sales last through January and into February at some stores. We also discuss more sober topics such as Euthanasia, and then useful things, such as any words you would hear while registering for classes at a University here in Spain. 

The other required class is DELE, which only meets once a week. In this class we just practice taking tests similar to the test we will have to take at the end of the year, and Ana helps us with the best approaches to different exams (listening, writing, grammar, reading comprehension, etc.). I must admit that I dislike DELE class greatly, since the practice tests are very hard, but no one really loves it, and I know it's just something we have to do.

For my extra classes I have History of Spain and Literature. Lidia teaches my Literature class and I love it! Right now we are reading Don Juan which is a strange play about a man named Don Juan and his endeavors to beat his friend at a rather strange bet. We also read poetry by Béquer and will continue with other works when we're done with Don Juan. This class is pretty big since it's groups A-F, but is entirely girls except for Justin and Ryan. Needless to say, in nearly all-male play, Justin and Ryan get to read aloud at least once a class period. I hadn't had a class from Lidia until this semester and I'm glad that I took this class! She's so nice and makes sure that everyone understands what is happening, and, like Chelo, doesn't hesitate to act out or explain further any words we aren't understanding.

Well, I hope this has given a little more insight into what it's like to be a student in Spain! Every day is different and I have learned not to be surprised by anything. For example, today we are going to Oceanográfico, the largest aquarium in Europe, a mere 30 minutes away in Valencia. However, we didn't know until lunch when we were leaving or how we were getting our dinner. Even though it may seem unorganized, I've realized that everything here gets done and nothing is forgotten, even though it's not the first way I'd pick to do it. All the teachers, faculty, and deans do everything they can to look our for us and help us beyond their job descriptions. Every day when the teachers pray at the beginning of class, they pray for us and each of our families back home, something that means a lot to me and shows that they really care about each of us.

Hoy fue uno de los mejores días aquí en España. No sé porque, pero estoy muy contento y feliz que es el fin de semana y siento buena, ahora, sobre mi Español. Tenía una semana muy ocupado pero ahora puedo relajar y disfrutar tiempo con mis amigos. 

Today was one of my favorite days in Spain so far. I'm not sure why but everything seemed to go pretty well today and I'm feeling better about my Spanish. I had a very busy week but now I can relax and spend time with my friends. 

This week consisted of lots of homework, reading books for class, monitor meetings, and orange harvesting. Sunday night I was feeling sort of bummed out about not accomplishing as much as I would have liked for a Sunday, so Justin and Shannon and I took a walk to the orange groves in the dark and ate several while we walked and talked. I never really ate oranges or mandarins until I came here, and now I'm addicted because they are growing everywhere and they are SO GOOD. Every time we walk into town or back, we walk through all the orange groves and I think about how much I love it here, and how I'm going to miss being able to just grab delicious citrus fruit whenever I want (don't worry, the farmers have already picked what they take and there are still tons left!).

On Monday, Pepe announced that we were going to have a Gramática exam on Friday and we began to prepare. Some day I'll write about each of my classes and teachers, but for now I'll just say that Pepe is one of the nicest, funniest teachers I've ever had, and he made sure we were good and ready for our test. I'm actually quite enjoying Group E while between spurts of panic and frustration. No, in all seriousness, I am stressed at times but I do like my new group a a lot and it's really not going to be impossible. Anyway, we had various other activities this week, a monitor meeting, teaching the niños, and doing homework. 

In preparation for our test, Hannah and I studied together for quite awhile last night. I'm so glad we can be in a group together and she's done such a good job of helping me to catch up with everything and to explain things I still don't get. We diagrammed sentence after sentence, went over the rules for the Subjunctive, and checked all our workbook pages. I was pretty nervous about the test but Hannah kept telling me that our studying would pay off and that he wouldn't try to trick us. Well, we took the test today, and she was right! It still was hard and took a long time but I think that it went alright. Pepe's tests are only ten points: six points for diagraming three sentences and four more points for various other exercises. Even then, it took a while but after that I was free for the rest of the day!

It was a beautiful day here, sunny and nearly 70ºF. I came back to my room, cleaned and swept with the doors letting in the fresh air, watched a Modern Family episode, and then headed to the caf for lunch. After lunch Hannah and I walked to Mercadona, enjoying the view of the ocean and the sunny day, and got a few snacks for the weekend. And, of course, on the way back, we were sure to harvest a few citrus snacks while we walked. 

Now it's Friday night here in Spain, and I am having a little down time before culto (vespers). It's so weird to think that around the world, my friends and family aren't even in Friday afternoon just yet. This week we've been having presentations by the theology students and they've been quite good. I've been able to understand a lot of what they are saying and their talks have been easy to understand and concise. After vespers I'm looking forward to talking to Mikey on the phone and probably drinking even more tea. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 70º (how can I not love this place?) so we might go on a hike and then go into Valencia tomorrow night for Jon's birthday. 

Oh, I almost forgot one more thing I wanted to share! On thing that makes my week is when I get mail. Mikey's been sending me letters every week since Christmas break, and my mom has continued sending postcards! She's sending me one from each of the places I've gone, and they are so cute and so much fun to get in the mail! Last week I got this one from Rome, the first place we went on Christmas break. I put them all up on my wall around my many maps of the world and Spain. I also got some cool vintage-poster postcards from Zermatt so I added those to my collection as well.It's not as cozy as my dorm room at Union, but I've managed to make the dorm here a place that I can call my home away from home. It sure feels good to come back here after a long trip! Speaking of trips, we have another school trip coming up at the end of February to northern Spain! I'm so excited, especially this trip isn't going to be as long and we will be pretty far away from Morocco and their salad. We even get to go to Andorra, which will be the smallest country I've ever been to! 

Well, it's going to be time for vespers soon and I'm thinking of all my friends and family back home. I miss you and love you all, and I can't wait to see everyone again, but for now, Viva España.