Saludos!
So, super long time no write. Sorry about that! There are a few reasons for that: our wi-fi broke twice in the last month or so, and my boyfriend was here for a visit. So I'm finally writing another entry that is long overdue. Life here has been fairly routine as far as my teaching has gone. I'm coming home very soon so have had to talk to my students about that. I'm helping some of them with the process of finding new English teachers.
I'll get to the most exciting part of the last month: Smiley came here to visit me! I can't believe I am lucky enough to have had my boyfriend visit me in Spain! It about killed me waiting for him to arrive, but it was worth it. I went up to Madrid and met him when his flight came in. We spent 2 nights there and saw the city, mostly just hitting the most common sights (El Prado, El Museo Reina Sofia, Parque Retiro...), but we also took a trip to visit the Don Quijote/Cervantes statue. I read El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha in one of my Spanish courses at PLU. I took to referring to him as my "homeboy" and wanted to show the statue to Smiley. DQ is seriously an amazing novel and well worth reading (even in English, though I'm proud to say I read it in Spanish). It is considered to be the first ever novel and was published in 1595 or so.
Ok moving on. After Madrid, we took the bus back to Seville (it's so much easier to tolerate a 6 hr bus ride when your sweetheart is sitting next to you!) and spent time here. We also took a trip to the beach in Cadiz! The weather was plenty hot and we enjoyed being on the beach and relaxing. In Sevilla, we were lucky enough to see a La Liga soccer match! We got to see Sevilla beat Real Sporting 2-1! One of my English students has a carnet (season tickets) and helped us get a free ticket so we only had to pay for one instead of 2 tickets. It was so nice of him to do that for us! Getting to go to a La Liga game together meant a lot to Smiley and I since we are both huge soccer fans and La Liga is like the top of the top in terms of professional soccer (with the exception of the English teams, of course).
I was also able to introduce Smiley to my Spanish friends which was a lot of fun. I ended up translating a bit but I think my friends enjoyed practicing their English! Before we knew it, it was time for Smiley to head home. I did not handle it well :( Let's just say there were tears at the train station when I had to let him go back to Madrid to catch his flight home. I know it's not that long before we'll actually be living in the same city, but it's not easy saying goodbye, especially such a wonderful week together.
So since he's left, I've been pretty homesick. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I kinda fell apart. Living halfway around the world is really hard sometimes. Our wi-fi broke the morning Smiley left so that was kind of a double whammy. I felt very isolated with no way to call or email home unless I went to a place with wi-fi. It got fixed about 5 days later. Anyway, I'm trying to enjoy my time in Spain before I leave because I know it'll be a very long time before I come back. I don't have any major plans for the weekend. I feel like I should travel to a new city but I don't have the motivation to go alone and my friends can't go this weekend. Most likely I'll visit the art museum, catch a movie, Skype with Smiley, my mom, and my cousin Jamie, and hang out with my roommate Raquel and her friends. I like hanging out with Spaniard so I can practice my Spanish. On Friday I am going to a Flamenco show with Carmen and her friend Barbara.
That's about it for now. I'm really looking forward to being home. I'm trying not to dwell on being homesick even though it's been overtaking me lately. As my dad would say, I'm in the home stretch! Returning to Seattle is not so very far off. Be well and I'll see you before too long!
Un beso,
Ashlita
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Imagine all the evergreens...a NW girl in a land of orange trees.
Buenas,
Long time no write. I've been teaching English and seeing things around Seville and trying to keep myself busy. I do confess that I've been quite homesick lately and haven't quite known what to do with myself. I have been trying to meet new people but don't quite know how exactly. It's not easy being far away from everything you know. I miss my family, boyfriend, and friends. Lucky for me, my boyfriend is coming to visit me in 10 days! I cannot wait!
While this is a lovely city full of history and stories, I really do miss my evergreen state and even the rainy days I am so accustomed to from living in Seattle. The weather here is like summer still. It's over 90 every day and humid to boot. I love seeing the sun, but I'm ready for the cooler weather to kick in. Today I was out in the hottest part of the day and noted a readerboard said it was 37 degrees. 40 degrees Celsius is 100 Fahrenheit, so I'll let you do the math on how hot that makes 37.
I had some fun today wandering around town. My first stop was at the Festival de las Naciones. This festival is going on in a park nearby and there are stands selling food, drinks, and items from nations of the world. I like learning about other cultures so it was fun for me to check it all out. My nose took me to the Mexican food stand. I will go back there in a day or 2 for some good Mexican food, but today I settled on a fizzy orange drink and an empanada Uruguayan style. I also had a cookie flavored with anis...though I have no clue what country it represented. Anyway, it was a fun place to hang out. I plan to bring my boyfriend there.
After the festival, I took a walk through some lovely gardens here and into what used to be a home for old priests. It's now home to works by Velazquez and other famous painters and has a pretty courtyard garden in it too. I never get tired of the beautiful gardens and tile mosaics that are everywhere here!
Not a ton has happened since I last wrote. I've mostly just been teaching and exploring the city. I did go to the beach with my roommates and one of her friends last weekend and that was a lot of fun. I love the beach! Ever since being caught in riptide in Costa Rica, I've had a fear of going out very far in the ocean though, especially when there are many waves. I know that's kind of silly, seeing as I was in Costa Rica 7 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!), but that fear has stuck with me. It was time I learned how big and powerful the ocean is and how small I am. I still love being by the ocean though and breathing in the salty air. I'm heading back to the beach in a few weeks and cannot wait!
I'll write more soon. Hope everyone at home is well. Looks like I'm going to head home a bit earlier than planned. Will keep you posted.
Adios,
Ashley
Long time no write. I've been teaching English and seeing things around Seville and trying to keep myself busy. I do confess that I've been quite homesick lately and haven't quite known what to do with myself. I have been trying to meet new people but don't quite know how exactly. It's not easy being far away from everything you know. I miss my family, boyfriend, and friends. Lucky for me, my boyfriend is coming to visit me in 10 days! I cannot wait!
While this is a lovely city full of history and stories, I really do miss my evergreen state and even the rainy days I am so accustomed to from living in Seattle. The weather here is like summer still. It's over 90 every day and humid to boot. I love seeing the sun, but I'm ready for the cooler weather to kick in. Today I was out in the hottest part of the day and noted a readerboard said it was 37 degrees. 40 degrees Celsius is 100 Fahrenheit, so I'll let you do the math on how hot that makes 37.
I had some fun today wandering around town. My first stop was at the Festival de las Naciones. This festival is going on in a park nearby and there are stands selling food, drinks, and items from nations of the world. I like learning about other cultures so it was fun for me to check it all out. My nose took me to the Mexican food stand. I will go back there in a day or 2 for some good Mexican food, but today I settled on a fizzy orange drink and an empanada Uruguayan style. I also had a cookie flavored with anis...though I have no clue what country it represented. Anyway, it was a fun place to hang out. I plan to bring my boyfriend there.
After the festival, I took a walk through some lovely gardens here and into what used to be a home for old priests. It's now home to works by Velazquez and other famous painters and has a pretty courtyard garden in it too. I never get tired of the beautiful gardens and tile mosaics that are everywhere here!
Not a ton has happened since I last wrote. I've mostly just been teaching and exploring the city. I did go to the beach with my roommates and one of her friends last weekend and that was a lot of fun. I love the beach! Ever since being caught in riptide in Costa Rica, I've had a fear of going out very far in the ocean though, especially when there are many waves. I know that's kind of silly, seeing as I was in Costa Rica 7 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!), but that fear has stuck with me. It was time I learned how big and powerful the ocean is and how small I am. I still love being by the ocean though and breathing in the salty air. I'm heading back to the beach in a few weeks and cannot wait!
I'll write more soon. Hope everyone at home is well. Looks like I'm going to head home a bit earlier than planned. Will keep you posted.
Adios,
Ashley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)