Tuesday, March 31, 2009

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

What is wrong with me???? I feel like the theme of my life recently is sleep. But then again, when does this theme NOT have a strong presence in my day-to-day living?

Last night, I went to sleep at 11:30, and I was pumped about that. Then Lindsey came to collect some things around 12:30, and although she was quiet, I woke up. Unfortunately I couldn't go back to sleep until around 4:00. Another miserable night.

I woke up and caught bus 89 to school. This morning was Cultura and Literatura. We watched movies in both. For culture, we watched 'Los Años Bárbaros' (the barbarian years) set in the time of Franco's dictatorship in Spain. It was actually really good. In literature, we watched cartoons of Don Quijote de la Mancha. They were funny.

After class, I took the bus home and had lunch with Matilde, Papá, and Miguel. We had a rice dish called Arroz de Vigilia (literally Rice of the Vigil) - a typical dish of this time around Easter. It was rice with garbanzo beans, spinach, bacalao, and all in a delicious sauce. We also had mussels and brad, and for dessert, strawberries.

When we'd finished eating, I came upstairs and watched the latest episode of Gossip Girl - (PS. WHATTTT? BLAIR AND NATE? AND CHUCK AND VANESSA? gross) and then at 4:00, I went to sleep. I set my alarm for 5:15, but of course, I didn't hear it. I slept until 8:45, at which time Lindsey came to wake me up. She and Daniel were here for dinner, and it was just about time to eat.

Dinner was amazing. We had pura de verduras (vegetable purée) with bread and two types of tortilla - regular patata and then spinach. Spinach twice in one day was definitely a treat for me. Papá broke out a bottle of wine for dinner, from the region of Navarra, and from the year 2000. It was really good. For dessert, we each had a little slice of pastel de calabaza and strawberries. Talk about delicious.

Afterwards, I met up with Jessica and Macy, and we walked around town, exploring parts of the city we still hadn't seen. It was great to just hang out with them. They have definitely become some of my closest friends. I absolutely adore them. They were in Sevilla this weekend, and then they leave tomorrow afternoon to go to Florence until Monday, so I won't be seeing them for a while! But that's okay, because in a few short days I'll be headed on an adventure of my own.

Anyway, I came back home around 12:30 and since then have been hanging out, Skyping my mom, and taking care of business. Sleep is pending!

'Sta luego!
Leigh

Monday, March 30, 2009

Rain, rain, go away!

Today was a gross day in Valencia, Spain. Cold and rainy. I can't really complain, because it is a rarity, but when the rain comes, life is hard. Not having a car makes getting out in rainy days unpleasant. Needless to say, today was a lazy one.

I woke up with little time to spare and unfortunately had to catch a cab to school. Luckily it was cheap. Class today was Conversación and Cultura. Poor Virginia was sick, so we got out early. I hung out with Megan and Katye downstairs in the cafeteria. In culture, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I have to stop this insomnia phase I'm in, seriously.

I was supposed to have my 3:00 class today, so for my lunch break, instead of going to Zumo Del¡s or ISA as usual, I went to my class early, turned out all the lights, and took a nap. I was hoping I would feel refreshed when I woke, but I was even more dead than before. Lucky for me, our class ended up being cancelled. I think our teacher doesn't like getting out in the rain. She is always impeccably put together, and it would be too much for her hair to try and come to class. That's my theory at least.

So, alas, I caught the bus home, and hung out upstairs all afternoon. Resting, but not sleeping. Trying to get back on schedule. I watched movies. What's new?

For dinner, it was just Matilde and I. Lindsey hasn't been around for the past few days. Her boyfriend, Daniel, is in town, so she's been staying with him. Which means I have the room and the family to myself. It does get kind of lonely sometimes, but I don't mind the me time. Anyway, we had vegetables - carrots, potatoes, onions, and lettuce - and chorizo, and my favorite, pumpkin cake. Afterwards, Matilde fixed me an infusion to maybe make me tired. Hopefully it works. My goal for tonight is to get some much needed rest. I'll let you know how it goes.

Harta con la lluvia,
Leigh

Sunday, March 29, 2009

A Day with the Sáiz-Ferrero Family

Although I fell asleep super late, or rather, early in the day, I woke up, no problem, at 10:00 to get ready for church. I headed out around 10:40 and walked to Calle Sueca to go to church with Dovis. I sat with him and his family. His brother Samuel came, too - I'd never met him before today. The service was beautiful, and long! We took communion, too, which was neat. I've done it once before, in Calle Quart. Very cool.

The service ended around 1:00, and we stayed and chatted until about 1:30. At that time, we all piled into the car - Juan, Laura, Samuel, Dovis, and me - and headed out to their pueblo (20 minutes from the centro centro of Valencia) because they had invited me for la comida at their house!

We arrived, and sweet Laura insisted that I sit in the living room while she prepared lunch, but I would have none of it. I explained to her that I'm not much of a cook and I need to learn for my husband. She understood :) So from 2:00 to 3:00, Laura and I enjoyed each other's company whilst cooking together. I made the salad all by myself - minus Dovis' cutting the pineapple and mixing a bit.

At 3:00, the feast began. We had: paella with rabbit, chorizo, chicken, and murcia; HUGE shrimp; octopus; sepia; salad; potato salad; bread; and for dessert, and amazing cake that Laura made with one layer vanilla and the other a coffee flavor. We had wine and coke and water to drink. It was absolutely, hands-down, the best meal I've had in Europe. Laura is an incredible cook! The smell alone would leave you pining for this meal for days.

We finished at 4:00, and all of us withdrew to our rooms - mine being the living room - to take a siesta. Laura joined me in the living room, each of us taking a couch and a blanket. We all slept from 4:30 - 7:00. Juan and Laura actually woke before me, and tried to wake me up for a few minutes before I actually awoke. How embarrassing - and typical of me, huh?

At 7:00, we said good-bye, and Dovis and I headed back into town. The only kind of music Dovis has in his car is rap. His favorite is, of course, Christian rap (he will go on and on about an artist named T-Bone) but he is a die-hard fan of 'Pac and Snoop. He's obsessed with all things 'West Coast' and has a fierce admiration for all black people. He kills me. Here is his facebook profile picture.... he is hilarious.


Anyway, we were headed to "Día de la Amistad" at Miguel's church, Centro Cristiano Esperanza. There, we met up with Markos, Samu, Lis and Celia, and of course Miguel and all my friends from the other time I went with Miguel - Jemi, Vicky, Jorge, César. It was a night of worship, fellowship, and good food. Although I honestly couldn't fit much else in my stomach after such an amazing lunch.

After the service, Dovis, me, Samu, Lis, Markos, Miguel and Celia went to meet up with Dani (another random friend), Lukas and María to hang out. We ended up sitting in Burger King and just talking and hanging out.

That's one thing I LOVE about my group of friends. There's never any rush - no hurry that would cause stress or frustration among anyone. And we just hang out and enjoy each other's company. Doesn't really matter where. The important thing to them, to us, is just being together.

At about 11:30, Miguel took me home, and since then, I've been catching up on my blog and preparing for a full week of classes!

La nueva hija de Laura y Juan,
Leigh

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Saturday Night's Alright...

Due to my late night, I again slept in. This time was even better, because the rain was not kidding today. Megan, Anna and I were going to go to Xátiva to check out the castle, but there were serious thunderstorms there, and we decided against it. So I woke up around 1:30 and hung out. Watched The Office episode of the week - by the way, what's up with Michael quitting and Pam going with him? This is going to interesting.

At around 3:00 I talked with Megan, and she also had slept in. We decided to do something with ourselves, so I showered and got ready, and then we met at 5:00 at el Puente de Aragón and walked down to Starbucks! Starbucks is definitely a popular hot spot for kids ages 11 - 15, as we found out. But we had a good time, just talking and enjoying our caramel frappuccinos.

At 7:15, we bid each other farewell, and I, once again, headed to Calle Sueca for another service at Dovis' church. His parents were there this time, and it was SO good! I hadn't seen Laura and Juan in a month, so it was a nice reunion. Also, Dovis gave the word. He wants to be a pastor of some sort, and rightly so, because he was amazingly well-spoken and his message was wonderful.

After the service, around 9:00, Dovis, Johnny and I went to pick up Josué, and then we met up with Markos, Samu, Lukas, Mela, Miriam, Elias, Marc, Andreas, Rut and Montse to have dinner. We went to this AMAZING Chinese buffet and stayed there until about 3:00. It was such sweet time. I love hanging out with my precious Spanish friends because more than any other time, naturally, I get to really practice my Spanish. And I understand everything they say, which is so encouraging!

At 3:00, Elias took me home. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep until around 6:00. I don't know what's wrong with me.

La durmiente extraña,
Leigh

Friday, March 27, 2009

Free Fridays

I did not wake up this morning until about - 1:00. Poor Matilde had to come in to wake me up for lunch, and in the end, I didn't even eat with them. I was too tired. This is what happens to me when my sleep schedule gets off and I stay up until the wee hours of the morning doing God only knows what. Ugh.

The upside of the matter is that today wasn't a spectacularly gorgeous day - in fact, it was overcast, slightly rainy and definitely more chilly than normal. So it makes me feel a little better to know that I didn't waste a good day.

When I was finally up and moving, I got dressed and ready and went downtown to my favorite zumería to meet Macy, Jessica, and Macy's mom. We hung out for a while in Zumo Del¡s and then headed towards the centro centro to get some coffee in a wonderful coffee shop. We headed back around 7:15, because they were going to catch their flight to Sevilla for the weekend. I went home and hung out with Matilde for a while.

At 9:15, I walked to the church in Calle Sueca, where Dovis and Johnny go, for a reunion of prayer. A lot of my friend were there - Dovis, Johnny, Muriel, Philip, Jazmín, Cristina, Markos, David, Lukas, Josué, Mela, Samu, and then some new friends - Daniel (Johnny's brother), Eva, Eli, Dina, Andreas and Marc and Montse and Rut (Lukas' friends from Barcelona) and more. We worshipped for a while - Johnny and Philip led - and prayed and wrote letters to the Lord and worshipped some more. We were there until 1:00 and it was amazing.

Afterwards, a group of us went to a club, Wah, to dance. It was me, Jazmín, Johnny, Josué, Mela, Lukas, Dina, Eva, Eli, Dovis, Samu, Markos, Cristina, and the Barcelona friends. Definitely a crazy time - but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards, Jazmín and Dovis and I split a pizza, Fanta and pastry, and then Dovis took me home.

I went to sleep around 5:00. Another randomly entertaining Valencian night.

Pasando bien,
Leigh

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Baggage Claim

Today was a lovely day! I awoke at 8:00 for school, only to find a gift on my bedside table. Iberia Airlines had texted me to inform me of the arrival of my bag at the Valencia airport! Although I was completely thrilled at the news, it did change the look of my day. I had been planning on taking the train out to Sueca to visit Anne and Muriel, but instead, I had to drive out to the airport and recoger my luggage. Oh well.

So I got ready, had coffee and a mag, and then headed on to school. Because I woke up on time, I leisurely walked to class. It was a gorgeous day. Valencia has really blossomed, what seems like overnight. The orange trees in the park are in full bloom, so the city has it's own natural perfume. I absolutely adore it.

Today we had Composición with Edu and Literatura with Verónica. Spring fever is definitely going around, but it's a good thing. Our teachers are in better moods, and class has a lighter feel. I saw my friend Jacob, who I met along with Rachel and Stephen a couple weeks ago at church, at school. They are here with UGA, and they are all super nice. Anyway, Jacob and I chatted for a while during our break. It was nice.

After class, Papá (sweet thing) picked me up from school and drove me to the airport. However, I didn't have my passport with me, and no other form of ID was acceptable, so they didn't let me get it. We drove back home and before coming back, had lunch. César was there today, so it was him, Papá, Miguel, Matilde, and me. We ate Arroz al Horno, César's favorite. It's another kind of rice dish, made in the oven instead of on the stove. It as incredible. We also had mussels and bread and fruit. Super delish. After lunch, with my passport in hand this time, Papá and I drove BACK to the airport. We listened to music and sang along - he and I both love the Beatles, so we have a really good time together. It was nice a) being in a car for a change, and b) spending time with my sweet papa. I FINALLY retrieved my luggage, and we were headed back home.

After I unpacked and got everything into it's place, I chilled out. I took about a 30 minute nap, and read my new spanish book - La teoría de Nancy - that Matilde lended to me. At about 8:00, I headed out to meet my friends at the Estación del Cabanyal - the other train station . This is where we meet to mendiguear - when we feed our homeless friends. Tonight, it was Markos, Lukas, Dovis, Johnny, María, Toni, Alison, Daniela, Samu, Eduardo (our pastor!), Nievas, and Miguel. My group was Markos, Lukas, Dovis, Jonny, and Toni. We went in Johnny's and Dovis' cars. We started out on Blasco Ibáñez and then went to the centro centro - la plaza redonda, FNAC, Quart - and then headed back around 11:00. We parked by the cabanyal and sat in Johnny's car and listened to music for a while, then went to the banco - the benches - and met the others to talk about how it went and what not. We prayed, and then Johnny, Lukas, Markos, Dovis, Samu, María and I stayed to talk. Samu was having some ladyfriend issues, so we gave him advice until about 2:30 in the morning, when we finally left and Johnny took me home. It was an amazing night. I also enjoyed getting to know Johnny a little bit more. I haven't spent much time with him before now, so it was neat. He, like so many of my amazing Spanish friends, is a man after God's own heart, and it's so encouraging to see the way he lives his life.

I just can't explain in words how full my heart is right now. I have found a group of friends who not only desire to be Jesus' hands and feet, but put themselves out into the world, in their city, in their barrios, and materialize that desire. It has inspired me to change the way I live back home. I feel like I've just been passive for so long. I want to get out there, not let opportunities, life, people, pass me by. Ah! Valencia is teaching me so much more than just Spanish and I LOVE IT!

Llena de amor, pasión, y felicidad,
Leigh

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I've Got To Admit It's Getting Better

This morning I was sick - again. Fever of about 100. I woke up at 8:15 and had some natural juice and some medicine - again. I tried to be productive all morning. I caught myself up on the latest news, read some Spanish literature, and tidied up the room.

For lunch at 2:00, we had lentil soup with a vegetable medley. It was pretty delicious. I felt really worthless having not been to school in so long that I sucked it up and caught the number 89 to my 3:00 class. It was actually a good transition - we just watched a movie in Spanish. I also got my test back. Another 9.75 - and it was a really difficult test, so I'm pretty satisfied!

Afterwards, I walked home. I stopped by my favorite store, Tandy, chatted with the store owner for awhile, and bought some shampoo and conditioner. I got home around 5:30 and hung out with Matilde until dinner. We had a mix of pura de patata and de verduras, with a delicious fish and bread.

Since dinner, I've been skyping with SK and chatting with some Spanish and American friends on fb chat - something I've actually begun doing with perhaps a little bit of frequency. It's nice being connected to people.

ALSO! A big thanks to my wonderful sister, Sarah, for revamping my boring blog with some paisley pizzazz! Love ya, sis!

Mejorando,
Leigh

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I Will Survive

Instead of waking up this morning refreshed and back on Spanish time, I found myself ill. I'm talking a 102 fever. Ugh. So instead of getting  ready for school when I woke up at 8:30, I got ready for a day of utter boredom and achy joints. I had some juice and Advil, then went back to sleep for a couple hours.

When I woke up, I downloaded the new Gossip Girl episode, which unfortunately took several HOURS to download. Poor Matilde didn't realize I was still here and forgot to call me down for lunch. When she came up to our room to get our clothes and found me in bed, she was so startled and worried and embarrassed for not feeding me, all at once. "Tranquila!" I told her. I didn't want her to feel bad. So we went downstairs and she fixed me some fish (the whole thing, head, bones, scales... all of it) and a little slice of pizza. But I didn't have much of an appetite at that point.

So I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Gossip Girl, working on some schoolwork, and being really bored. For dinner at 9:00, we had pasta, some homemade pizza with salsa de tomate, queso, and chorizo, and salad called rinrin... patatas and bacalao with lots of olive oil. I stayed down in the kitchen for a while watching the news and talking with Matilde, then came back up to my room..... again.

I checked my email, and my mother found out that in fact, my luggage is still in Boston, but they are (hopefully) sending it to London, then Madrid, then Valencia. So maybe, just maybe, it will get here by Thursday or Friday. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

My plans for the rest of the night: sleep. Heal. Be ready for the Valencian sunshine tomorrow.

Tu pobrecita,
Leigh

Monday, March 23, 2009

A Regresar

Sunday
Post-party depression. With the purpose of the weekend accomplished, there was only one thing left to do. Pack up and get back to real life. And for me, the real world (as Dad likes to call it) is in Spain. So I woke up this morning, showered, and got my bags packed for the long journey home.

Dad and Sarah took me to DFW at 10:30, and I waited to catch my plan, which left at 1:00. But I got a surprise! Turns out Allison Kajs (my amazing college friend whom I love with all my heart) was also flying out of DFW, at my same gate no less, 45 minutes after me. We got to visit for a brief moment, but it was so sweet!

But I was off, headed to Boston. I sat next to this amazing couple, the Cushings, who are believers and were just so friendly. We talked pretty much the whole time, and when we were saying goodbye, Ellen gave me their email and phone number in case I'm ever in Boston. She was so precious.

When I got to Boston, I had about a 2 hour layover until my flight to Madrid. I bought some Dramamine and chapstick, and then waited. Finally, we boarded at 7:30 EST and were off to cross the Atlantic. This time, I sat next to a man named Lorenzo. Originally from Portugal, he has lived in France, Russia, Germany, Spain, and Boston, and can speak all 6 languages fluently. Incredible. I tried to sleep some, but planes just aren't very comfortable.

Monday
We arrived in Madrid at 7:00 am, Madrid time. And much to my dismay, at baggage claim, my suitcase was nowhere to be found. I filled out some paperwork with Iberia, and then went to find my next terminal. I had to take a shuttle to get there, but finally I did. About 4 hours before check-in even began. So I tried to kill time. I watched an Office episode, and a Gossip Girl episode as well. I read. I napped a little. Finally, I checked in and went to my gate. And sat around some more. Altogether, my layover was 8 hours.

FIIIIIINALLY I got on my Ryanair flight to Valencia, and arrived around 3. I went to check in with Iberia again, because they were supposed to have sent my bag on an earlier flight to Valencia. It wasn't there. And the man at the counter was not very friendly, which made it all seem so much worse. I left my phone number with them, so hopefully they will call me soon and have my bag!

I caught the metro to the Xátiva stop, then walked the rest of the way home. Matilde was there to greet me, and was concerned about my luggage. But I told her not to worry, and then went up to my room to rest.

At about 8:45, we had dinner. Angel hair pasta soup with tortilla española and a fruit salad consisting of pineapples, strawberries, and oranges. It was delightful. After dinner, I came back up to my room, and since then have been watching Phantom of the Opera. Did you know that the phantom is actually played by Gerard Butler? My favorite actor, by far, he has also starred in 300 and PS. I love you. What a talent!

Descansando,
Leigh

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Wedding Weekend!

Thursday
I woke up around 4:30, unable to sleep very much due to my lingering jet lag. I laid in bed until about 7:00, at which time I lovingly woke Alexis up (calling her name loudly and turning on the lights) and we went down to breakfast. I love continental breakfasts, and this one was especially delish.

When we'd finished, we showered and got ready for our adventure of the day: SPA, as Lydia called it, otherwise known as the nail salon. The five Smalley girls (Mom, Sarah, Lexi, Lydia and me) headed to Romie's to get mani's and pedi's. It was relaxing, to say the least. Lydia wanted to know if they were going to put pickles on our eyes :)

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, rested up a little bit, and then went with Jeff, Sam, Sharon, Laura and Claire to Chuy's AGAIN for some delicious Mexican food, which we complemented afterward with some frozen custard from Harry's.

It was a good day.

Friday
Lexi and I slept in a little bit this morning, until about 9:00. We again got the continental breakfast, and then hung around for a while. By this time, all the groomsmen had arrived (Thursday night was the bachelor party, and they got to play football in the SMU stadium!). For lunch, we ordered pizza for all the guys, and while Sarah and I wrote our toast for the dinner, we also enjoyed a couple slices.

During the afternoon, we didn't do a whole lot more than get ready for the evening. At 5:00, the wedding party met at Park Cities Baptist Church for the rehearsal. It went smoothly, and afterwards, we headed to the rehearsal dinner. It was beautiful! At my table were Sarah, Clay, Ashley, my cousin, Stephanie, Lauren's cousin, Lauren's two sisters, Kaitlin and Allison, and their boyfriends, Eli and Jack. The meal was amazing.

And the toasts? Sarah and I began with a highly embarrassing poem all about Patrick, and then Patrick's friends took the stage. It was so hilarious, watching Patrick rubbing his temples and shaking his head. Oh, the shame. Lauren's friends spoke, too, and she took it all like a champ. But all of them were very sweet, also. My dad made everyone cry, and my mom was just silly, with her props and all. And Lauren's parents were very sweet and well spoken.

We finally finished up around 11:00, and everyone headed home to get some rest for the big day! When we got back to the hotel, Carly Chambliss, one of my precious d-group girls, was there and we got to talk for a while! It was SO great to see her!

Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Big Day.

The bridesmaids luncheon was this morning at Taverna at 10:00, so we were up and going by about 8:00. The food was amazing, here, too. I had eggs benedict on an English muffin with smoked ham. Mmmm. We all just sat and talked and got to know each other. For our gifts, Lauren got each of us a beautiful glass jewelry box with our initials engraved on it, and a set of earrings and a necklace of gold and saltwater pearls that a friend of hers made. They are BEAUTIFUL.

We got back to the hotel at 12:00 and rested for a bit. Then the fun began. We got all dolled up and headed to the church at 4:00, where we donned our dresses and began the smile marathon. We took separate girls and guys pictures before the wedding, but waited to take group shots until after so Patrick wouldn't see Lauren until the doors opened for her to meet him at the altar.

The ceremony began at 6:00. It was absolutely beautiful. It started off with a couple singing "Be Thou My Vision" and then the processional began. Finally, Lauren entered the church one last time as Lauren Pearce, and it was breathtaking. She was absolutely flawless! The dress was so beautiful, her hair was perfect, and her smile was one of pure joy. Patrick teared up.

After the ceremony, we finished up the pictures, then headed to the Belo Mansion for the reception. A lot of my friends had come for the wedding - Lee, Alex, Taylor, William, Eric, Paul, Mac - many of the guys that Patrick discipled through jr. high and high school. The Chamblisses were there, as were the Waters and the Winklers. It was so fun! The band was amazing, and we just danced and danced. Finally, it was time for the bride and groom to head on to their honeymoon. Allison Pearce caught the bouquet and Jamie Trussell caught the garter. We did the train outside and made a lane for them to run through, throwing rose petals as they did. We hugged and kissed them goodbye, and then the night came to a close. It was perfect.

I wasn't nearly as emotional as I'd been at Sarah's wedding, but it does feel a little strange for my brother to be married. But I couldn't have picked a better companion for him. Lauren brings out the best in him, no doubt about it, and I know they will make each other happy!

Content,
Leigh

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dallas

So, I woke up this morning, or rather this afternoon, at 2:00. I slept a solid 14 hours. It felt great. I showered, got dressed, and shortly after, Sarah, Lexi, Lydia and my mom came with Patrick to the Pearce's to pick me up. We stayed for a while and chatted, looking at all the wedding gifts, and then we headed on to the hotel. Lexi and I are sharing a room, and for tonight, so are mom, Sarah, and Lydia. We relaxed in our hotel rooms for a little while, and it was nice.

At 5:00, we headed to Chuy's, this wonderful Mexican restaurant, to have dinner with Lauren's parents, Ed and Cheryl, and Lauren. I ordered cheese quesadillas but didn't eat them because I got too full on the chips and dip :)

After dinner, we all stopped back at the hotel to drop off the gift bags for the guests, and then the girls headed to Kroger to get groceries.

We came back to the hotel and guess who we saw - Aunt Sharon and cousin Laura and Claire!!!!! So great being together. Since then we've just been relaxing. It's nice.

Being back in the states is really weird. It's strange hearing English all the time. I definitely dreamed in Spanish last night, and have been thinking in Spanish since I got here. It's also strange how big everything is. I miss my Spanish friends, for sure. But at the same time, it's nice being with my real family. I just don't know how I'm going to do it in May, come home for real. Ahh! Good thing I don't have to worry about that now!

Your Spanish girl,
Leigh

Running My Stateside Games

Monday & Tuesday
I slept in a little Monday morning, and it was so good. I finally got up around 11:00 and got ready for the day. I headed downtown at around 12:45 and met up with Cristina, Jazmín, Abi, Manu and Josué to watch the mascletá. I don't know if you've picked up on it, but everyday from March 1 to March 19 at 2:00 in the afternoon, there is a mascletá in the Plaza Ayuntamiento (the centro centro, where the city hall is). Anyway, when that was over, Jessica and Macy came to find me, and from there, we just walked all around the city center, looking at fallas, enjoying all the little stands set up on each street corner. We went to a Mercadona and got a few items, ten had a picnic in one of the many little parks around the area. It was so peacful.

We walked around most of the afternoon, and I finally headed home around 7:30. I relaxed a little bit, packed my bags, ate dinner at 9:30 (tasty spaghetti) and then got ready for the night. I was headed to meet Jessica and Macy at our normal meeting spot at the bridge when MAcy called me. Jess had been taking pictures of one of the fallas near their house when the man at the berbena (block party) saw her and invited her to come have paella with them. I went to meet them, and we all had paella and drinks with the super friendly people at the Falla Palau. The paella had rabbit, chicken, and snails. I'd never eaten snails before, but I tried it (the fabulous woman there was showing us all how to) and LOVED it. After eating, we went into the tent with our new friends and danced to the Elvis band that was playing. So amazing!

Around 1:00, we left to meet up with our other friends to watch the Castillo from the Puente de Aragón again. It was Cristina, Jazmín, Manu, Markos, David, Gaby, Mela, Miriam, María, Samu, Lukas, and of course, Macy, Jessica, and me. It was even better this night that Sunday night. Which is quite a feat. Afterwards, Jessica, Macy and I went to find their friend Celeste, who was visiting from Florence. From there, we met back up with Lukas, Markos, David, Gaby, Miriam, Samu and mela in the Plaza de la Virgen, and then headed to a berbena that was playing awesome electronic music. We stayed there for a while, until about 4:00, and then Jessica, Macy and me ran into Megan, Anna, Morgan and Ronnie. We walked around with them for a while, then starting heading back around 4:50. As we were walking by a churros place, one of the employees gave us two huge bags of churros and buñuelos for free.

I finally got home around 5:30, grabbed my bags, and then caught the bus to the metro station. I took the yellow metro a couple stops, then transferred to the red and rode that on out to the airport. I caught my flight to Madrid at 8:00, got there around 8:45, and then checked in for my flight to Philadelphia. I waited a couple hours in the airport, then at 11:30, left for the states! When I arrived in Philly, it was about 2:30 local time, but 7:30 at night for me. I slept a little bit on the plane, but having pulled an all-night, I was still really tired.

I hung around in the Philly airport for about 4 hours, and my flight was delayed about 45 minutes. Finally, we were in the air. I got to Dallas about 9:30 CST. Patrick picked me up from the airport shortly after I arrived. We went to his new house so I could have a look around - definitely the cutest house in the world. They are going to be so happy living there! After that, Patrick took me to the Pearce's house. I tried to be social, but I was so tired that I ended up just heading on to bed.

Back in the US... A,
Leigh

Monday, March 16, 2009

Perfection

Sunday
I woke up and got ready, then caught the number 7 bus to church in Calle Quart. There, Samu greeted me, and I sat with him. The service was beautiful, and Pastor Eduardo preached about morals and whether or not our morals are reflections of the teachings of Jesus or not.

After church, Jessica, Macy, me, Miguel, Samu, Markos, Martín (a new friend from Argentina), David, and Raquel walked downtown to attend the Mascletá, where we met up with Josué, 
Mela, and Miriam.
When the mascletá had finished, all of us, minus Miguel and Raquel, went to find Cristina, Jazmín, Abi, Miguel (Sevilla), Lukas, and the Holland guy because Cristina's family had invited us all to paella at her house. Her dad is an incredible paella cook - and although there were over 25 of us (more people came, including Manu (Jazmín's friend from Barcelona), Vincent, his sister Nancy, and Ramón) we each ate to our heart's delight.


We finished eating around 4:30 and just hung around until 5:00. 


At that time, we changed into more lazy clothes and headed to the beach. It was Cristina, Jazmín, Josué, Manu, Miguel (Sevilla), Macy, Jessica, Miriam, Mela, Abi and me. Even though the water was freezing, we all ran and dove in - in our clothes! It was sooo fun and spontaneous and we had an absolute blast.


We changed out of our wet clothes on the beach, then Jess, Macy and I headed back home to have dinner. For dinner at the Abarca- Villoldo residence, we ate buñuelos de calabaza with chocolate. And that was it. It was so delicious, but I only ate a few because the idea of only dessert for dinner was not especially appetizing. After supper, I showered and got ready, then met up with Megan, Macy, and Jessica at the Aragón bridge. From there, we met up with Bev and went down to a Falla close y and I got a Kebap to eat.

From there, we went and met up with everyone else at the Puente de Aragón: Cristina, Jazmín, Mela, Miriam, Miguel (Sevilla), Manu, Markos, Gaby, David, Samu, Lis, Marta, Esteban, Sara, Lukas, María, and Dovis to watch the Castillo that began at 1:00 - a huge and AMAZING fireworks show located in the río (park).

I do mean amazing, too - it puts to shame anything I've ever seen in the States. In Spain, it's longer, louder, and more colorful.

Afterwards, Cristina, Jazmín, Miguel (Sevilla), Manu, María, David, Gaby, Macy, Jessica, Megan, Bev, Josué, Dovis, Markos, Lukas and me went to a berbena - block party, basically, specific to each individual falla (aka barrio) - that had amazing dance music and just danced until 4:00 or so. It was really fun - we had dance offs between girls and boys, Americans and Spaniards, random groups. I absolutely loved it.

When we'd become all danced at, I headed home, and now I'm going straight to sleep!

Contenta con el día más perfecto del mundo,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): Markos, Raquel, Miguel, and David at the Mascletá; the delicious paella made by Fran; Mela, Miriam, Cristina, Abi, Macy, me and Jess after our amazing lunch; after bathing in the freezing Mediterranean: Josué, Mela, me, Jess, Miguel (Sevilla), Jazmín, Manu, Macy, and Cristina; most of our group at the Castillo: Sara, Esteban, Cristina, Me, Macy, Gaby, María, Mela, Jess, Lukas, Miriam, Miguel (Sevilla), Marta, Samu, Lis, and Dovis

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Las Fallas Han Empezado, ¡Al Final!

Saturday
I woke up this morning and got ready, after only a few hours of sleep. Miguel came and picked me up and we got a little bit of breakfast before we headed to the río (park) to meet up with our friends and share breakfast with the homeless. There, it was me, Miguel, Cristina, Jazmín, their other sister Abi, their baby brother Dani, and both their parents, another Miguel visiting from Barcelona, and Markitos. We stayed there until 12:00, playing fútbol and hanging out with our friends. It was amazing.

Afterwards, Miguel dropped me off at home, where I showerd and then had la comida with my family. It was el Día de Santa Matilde, so it was a special day for mamá. We had patatas con chorizo, bread, mussels, and fruit.

Next, I headed to the beach. It was a long walk, but I thoroughly enjoyed it because it was a GORGEOUS day. There, I met Macy, Jessica, and Megan, and we just laid around, taking it all in. It is SO nice living in a city with a beach. I'm in love with it.

We left the beach around 5:20 and took the streetcar back to Jessica and Macy's. They changed while I ran to the local consumo to buy cokes and cake for tomorrow's 'fiesta'. Then, we headed to the Aragón metro stop to meet up with Cristina, Jazmín, Abi, Lukas, and Miguel (Barcelona) to go to Visión. This is the same youth gathering we went to a month ago, in a church in the Patraix area of the city. The theme this month was Sumérgete, and the pastor talked about how we need to really submerge ourselves in the bible, not just reading it but understanding it and applying it to our lives. It was great. Again, the worship moved me in an incredible way.

The service finished, I grabbed a bocadillo to eat, and then we hung out for a while. It's so cool knowing so many people there. My friends there were: (Jessica and Macy, of course) Cristina, Jazmín, Lukas, Abi, Dovis, David, Anne, Muriel, Anna, Phillip, Johnny, Josué, Johanna, Alison, Samu, Miguel, Miguel (Barcelona), Vicente, Ramón, Jorge, Vicki, Gemi, Daniel, María, Markitos, Melanie, Pedro, and Victoria, not to mention all the people we meet while we're there and just hanging out. I love it.

We finally moved the party to the Palau de la Música, where we went down into the river and listened to the concert that was far away. After a while, I started getting tired, and apparently everyone else did too, because around 1:30, we all headed home. Sweet Anne was so concerned about me walking by myself that she insisted I let Phillip take me home on their way.

Fallas has officially started! There are going to be events all the time, at all hours of the day and night, from now until Thursday, when, at midnight, they burn all of the Fallas. It's so crazy - it's basically like one huge block party. People are EVERYWHERE and I love it.

La Fallera,
Leigh

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bulls & Boys

Friday
So, today was cool. I slept in until about 10:30 then watched a movie in Spanish with Matilde - Vicky Cristina Barcelona. They're all so proud of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Afterwards, I showered and got ready. I headed to the Plaza Ayuntamiento to meet up with my friends, Cristina, Jazmín, Macy, Jessica, Markos, David, Phillip,  Anne, Ana, and Muriel. We watched the Mascletá, and then headed to Plaza de la Reina to have lunch. I got little things called mantaditos: miniature bocadillos. It was delicious. I also got a little bit of gelato. I have no self control there.

At 4:30, I left to meet up with Megan to go to the bullfight!!! It was so awesome. There were three toreros: Salvador Vega, Luis Bolivar, and my personal favorite, the youngest (18) Rubén Pilar - who won. Each of them had two bulls, for a total of six. The fights are so cool. First, there is El Pasello, in which all the players march around the arena. The players are: El torero - the bullfighter himself, Los Picadores (2) who come out on horses with a lance and pierce the bull, Los Banderilleros (2) who look like the bullfighter but just run at the bull and stick darts in its back, Los Peones (several - including the bullfighters who are currently not up to bat) who play with the bull with pink and yellow capes so that the bullfighter can get a feel for the motion and tendencies of the bull, and lastly, Las Mulillas - who drag the dead bull out of the arena with horses at the end. After El Pasello comes el Toreo de Capa.


Here, the Peones play with the bull, and then the bullfighter steps in a does several passes with his red cape, bringing the bull very close to his body, but never letting it touch him. They look really comical when the do this, because they have specific ways of carrying themselves and certain stances they take for perfect form.


Next is el Tercio de Varas in which the men on horses come out and stick a lance in the bull when he charges them. Sometimes, it seemed like the bull was going to dismount the man, but miraculously, he always stayed on. Following this is el Tercio de Vanderillas.


Here, the Banderilleros run at the bull and stick colorful darts into his back. This happens four times, the two banderilleros each taking two turns. Once they stick him, they run and jump out of the arena, because they carry no cape to distract the bull. Next is el Tercio de Muleta. Again, the bullfighter performs a series of passes with the cape, but this time, he brings the bull still closer to himself, preparing the bull for the kill. The final stage is La Estocada.


Before killing the bull, the fighter asks permission from the judge to kill (because sometimes if a bull does exceptionally well, he will be saved) and then dedicates it to a person in the crowd, or the whole crowd. He then prepares for the kill. First, he draws back, then profiles himself toward the bull, then he lunges toward the bull, plunging his sword between the shoulder blades of the bull. If the bullfighter has done well, the bull dies very soon after, and then the men come in on horse back, chain the bull, and take him out of the arena. Rubén Pilar was the most successful of the three - both of his bulls died almost immediately.


Our seats were really cool, too. We were in the middle of a bunch of Spanish guys, and apparently, it's custom to share EVERYTHING you bring - chorizo, bread, cheese, drinks - so they were constantly insisting that we 'mincha' (snack) with them.. it was funny, but also a great experience. We got the real deal. They are all just so friendly. Also, when we told them we were from the States, they started calling us Obama. Always the case.

After the bullfight, I said goodbye to Megan, and then my new friend Miguel came to pick me up. We drove around Valencia for a while, then headed to his church for a youth group gathering. It was really cool... I made a lot of new friends! Afterwards, we went with some people (Jorge, Daniel, Cesar, Vicki, and Gemi) to get pizza. When we'd finished, around 1:30, Miguel and I took Jorge and Daniel home, and then drove around some more, just talking. He's really cool. He and his sister were both adopted when they were toddlers, and he wants to go to seminary and be a missionary overseas. He was telling me his testimony. It was awesome.

He finally dropped me off around 3:30, and now I'm going to sleep! I have to get up early in the morning to go to the park with Cristina and co. to share breakfast with our homeless amigos!

Quedándome en Valencia para siempre,
Leigh

Friday, March 13, 2009

Falla-mania

Thursday
It was a leisurely morning - no class til 11:45. I woke up and made myself coffee and had a magdalena with it. Then I got myself ready and finished watching the Office. After that, I hit the road.

Today we just had Literatura. We're reading Lazarillo de Tormes, and it's really guay (cool). When we finished class, Melanie and I caught the bus back home. It turns out, Andrew was on the same bus we caught, so all three of us went together.

For lunch, it was me, Matilde, Papá, Miguel and Cesar. We ate fabada, which is like a bean soup with chorizo and butifarron - two types of meat. For dessert we had cut up strawberries in an orange and strawberry juice. Very tasty.

After lunch, I made tea and hung out with Matilde for a little bit, then came upstairs, worked on some travel plans, watched PS. I Love You, and skyped my mom and Jacob, for a second.

At 9:30, we had dinner: Broccoli, bread, hamburger patties, and for dessert, roasted pumpkin. It tasted alot like sweet potatoes, and was REALLY good.

Lindsey didn't eat dinner because she was headed out with some girls, so when she came down in a hurry, Papá offered to take her downtown to where she was meeting them. Because we'd all been wanting to go downtown tonight to see them starting to put Fallas up, Matilde and I hurried to collect our things and hop in the car with Papá. Turns out - both of us left with our house slippers on, which made for some good laughs when we realized it later in the car.

Once we'd dropped Lindsey off, we drove around the whole downtown area. 


The downtown is actually a really concentrated area border by two pairs of towers: Torres de Quart and Torres de Serrano. It's what used to be the ancient Roman city, and it's super cool. We rode around, looking at all the great Fallas lights 


and the Fallas that they've starting erecting for the 15th, at 12:00 am, when Fallas officially starts. It's so exciting and amazing!


We got home around 11:00, and then I left to meet up with Jessica and Macy. We did pretty much the same thing, except on foot, and we went a little bit outside of the city centre as well. We also walked more into Carmen (the neighborhood that never sleeps) 


and found a great band playing, where they were serving a HUGE dish of paella. And I do mean huge - the pan is about the size of my room here, and it serves about 1.000 people. Crazy, huh? And the band played a mix of American and Spanish music - even a medley from Grease. It was awesome! There was a group of cute old men on one of the apartment balconies across the way from the band, just dancing their little hearts out!


I eventually came home around 2:00, and now I'm just chilling! I might rent a movie from iTunes before hitting the sack.

If you get a chance, check out the TWENTY pictures I added to my UK post. Enjoy!

Also, I have no more school until the 24th! Woohoo!!!!!

Flipa la gamba,
Leigh

PS. To learn more about Fallas, go here:
http://www.valenciavalencia.com/culture-guide/fallas/overview.htm
http://www.valenciavalencia.com/culture-guide/fallas/about-fallas.htm

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

¡Un Día Espectacular!

Today was AMAZING! Let me tell you about it.

I woke up this morning at 8:00, went downstairs and made myself coffee, and then got dressed and ready for school. I caught the bus today, because I was a little bit too tired from not sleeping much (due to my late night stuyding) to walk to school.

Today, being Wednesday, is as always the best day of class. We had Conversación with Virginia, the best teacher ever, and Composición with Edu. In conversation, we played a game called 'Medio Limón' and basically, it's the game 'Big Booty', Spanish style. It was awesome. In composition, we watched a lot of youtube videos about bullfights and things similar to bullfights.

During the break, before my 3:00 test, I went outside to eat my bocadillo and enjoy the GORGEOUS weather. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, with a high of 70 degrees. Afterwards, I came back upstairs, where I found my entire Historia class doing the same thing as I was - last minute studying. At 3:05, Adela, our history teacher, came, and thus began our dreaded exam. The thing that made it so bad is just the amount of information that we had to know. Even though I absolutely love it, it's still a very difficult class. The test was hard, but I feel like I did really well on it. It was also SUCH a relief to be done.

When I'd finished, I headed over to the ISA office to hang out. I uploaded pictures, wrote my UK blog, emailed people... it was really productive. Then at 6:00, Jessica, Macy and me headed to meet our friend Jazmín, Cristina's younger sister, because she'd invited us over to talk with her and her mother. They are both trying to learn English, so it was kind of our own intercambio. They are both so precious, their whole family is. I love how welcoming the people are here... always opening their homes to us and offering us anything we need. It was amazing.

We stayed there about an hour and a half, and afterwards, I hopped on the bus to  come home for a bit, after which I went BACK to the school area to meet up with Jessica and Macy again. From there, we walked down to el Cabanyal to meet up with our friends to share food with the homeless. It was: Markitos, David, Gaby, Dovis, Cristina, Alison, Johanna, Samu, Johnny, Josué, María, and some new friends, too: Marta, Celia, and my favorite, Miguel.

We split up into groups to go to different parts of town. My group was me, Jessica, Macy, Markos, Cristina, María, Celia, and Miguel. Us Americans rode with Celia and Miguel. We went to a few different places all over town. During the drives, we just talked and talked and talked. Miguel invited us to his church Sunday night, and also to have Paella at his house Sunday for lunch. After knowing us for 20 minutes, he'd already invited us to spend time in his home. Like I said - so welcoming. And he is definitely a young man of the Lord. We're going to get married.

Afterward, at around 1:00, he dropped us off at home. Now I plan on catching up on the Office and SLEEPING!

Sorprendida y bendecida por el amor del Señor aquí en este país,
La vuestra,
Leigh

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Back in the cycle

This morning, we woke up and headed to class, on foot today. We had Cultura and Literatura. For culture we had a fiesta! Our teacher brought horchata and lots of typical bread of Valencia. In Literature, she handed back our tests... I made a 9.75/10, aka a sobresuperior! I was very excited.

After class, I went with Megan and Lizzie to the Mascletá (HUGE FIREWORKS SESSION) in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento and then we headed to the plaza de toros to buy tickets for the bullfight on Friday! I'm so excited!!!

Afterwards, I came back to the house for lunch. We had potatoes with chorizo negro (our sister, Marta's favorite meal) and it was DIVINE. I think it has become my new favorite food. She also made us eggs sunny side up, and of course, we had bread.

Lindsey and I came up to our room. I studied most of the afternoon, taking a couple of breaks to finish season 3 of Arrested Development - for the fourth time - and also to catnap.

Around 8:30, I caught the bus to Blasco Ibáñez to meet Macy, and we walked to meet the rest of our friends: Markitos, Carla, Toni, David, Alison, Johanna, Samu, Johnny, Melanie, María, y Josué. We were meeting to talk about 'mendiguear' - when we share meals with our homeless friends. We are going to start collaborating more with Misión Urbana, the organization intended especially for their needs. Am I making sense? I've been speaking Spanish ALL day and I feel like my English ha peorado.

At 11:00, when we'd finished our meeting, I walked home and studied some more. Finally, I went to sleep. It was a nice day.

La chica que ya no sabe inglés,
Leigh

Monday, March 9, 2009

UK Loving!

Thursday
So, I went to class, like always. I had Composición and Literature. Both were uneventful. But AFTER... that's when the fun started. Dottie and I hopped on the metro (which was crowded because it was 1:30 and everybody was headed to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento for the daily 2 o'clock Mascletá. However, we finally made it to the train station and hopped our our 2:20 train to Madrid. When we got there, around 5:30, we took the metro from the train station to the airport. We checked in and waited for our plane to leave at 9ish.

We finally got to Dublin around 10:30, their time, and took the airport shuttle into the downtown area, where our hostel was. We stayed in Abigail's hostel on Aston Quay, right by the river Liffey. We dropped our stuff off in our dorm room (there were 4 bunk beds) and then headed to the Temple Bar street, Dublin's most notorious street for night owls, named for the one and only Temple Bar. Which is where we went.


It was so awesome!! There was this amazing live trio singing lots of well known classic rock and country songs.

We finally headed back to the hostel around 2, only to be surprised by what we found. When we dropped our things off earlier in the night, we didn't take note of our bunkmates. But it turns out that we were accidentally placed in a room with all boys, half of whom were sleeping nearly nude. And of course, all I had with me for pajamas was a simple little nightgown. Definitely an adventure, but we made the best of it.

Friday
We woke up early, to take advantage of the day and also to avoid awkwardness with our roomies. We got breakfast in the hostel (toast) and headed out! We walked around for a while.


Dublin is a really cool place. It's pretty small for a European capital, and walker friendly - it's not too spread out.


We headed towards Trinity college and got to know the campus.



Next, we went to the Dublin castle and took a tour there. 




It is so rich with history - I absolutely loved it. After that, we went to St. Patrick's cathedral.


It was very beautiful, but not quite the most impressive European cathedral I've seen. It doesn't hold a match to El Escorial, or even the cathedral in Toledo.

Our last touristy stop of the day was the Guinness Brewery. It was actually the storehouse, because the brewery is not open to the public, and it's officially the largest pint glass in the world - 7 stories high.


On the 2nd story, we stopped in at the cafe and got coffee and had our bocadillos, that we brought from home to avoid spending too much money on food. At the top there is a Gravity Bar that overlooks the whole city. Even though it was overcast, it was still a beautiful view.

When we finished there, we headed back to our hostel, strolling alongside the River Liffey as we went.


Elizabeth was actually in Dublin for the weekend as well, and got in in the afternoon. So we met up with her at the Temple Bar, went back to collect our things from the hostel, and then went to dinner at a nice restaurant called Fitzer's off of Temple Bar Street. We had fish and chips, which were SO incredibly delicious, and for dessert, I had toffee pudding with butterscotch syrup and vanilla ice cream. Heaven in my mouth, for sure.

Around 9:00, we headed to catch the shuttle back to the airport. Our flight was delayed until 11:30, and we finally arrived in Liverpool a little after 12:15. We caught a taxi to our hostel - the cab driver was amazing, and had that awesome Liverpool accent. We finally got there: 3 Mostyn Hall, Gainsborough Rd. off of Smithdown Rd. And we had our own room!! We went to sleep almost immediately. It was great.

Saturday
We accidentally slept in a little, until about 10:00. We woke up, showered, and got on our way. There was a shuttle that comes really close to Gainsborough, on Smithdown, so we went to catch it. By the way, all the public transportation in the UK is the double decker bus. We headed to the downtown area, to buy our train tickets for Sunday to London, and then we walked through Liverpool One - the largest shopping center in Europe. Guay. We were headed to Albert Dock.


When we got there, we immediately went to the Beatles Story museum. This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It walked through every step of the band, from when the boys were early teens and just starting their music to the end.


Afterwards, Dottie and I ate our bocadillos in the starbucks. Our next stop was the Tate Liverpool art gallery. On display was a collection of William Blake - so cool because I remember well studying him in AP European History. Also, on the two levels above, there was a lot of modern art, including Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. We spent a while here - it was great.

During the evening, we walked around the mall... taking it all in. They had everything. We stopped in the Apple store and met a girl named Patrice from California who is studying in Liverpool. She told us about the cool hot spots, but it turns out that the girls are CRAZY in Liverpool and basically every night is prom night. You can't get into anywhere unless you're wearing a dress and high heels. We were out of luck.

So we headed back to the hostel, stopping on the way at a superstore to get dinner. We stayed in, watching random British TV shows and chilling. We eventually hit the sack, because the morning would be early.

Sunday
We woke up around 6:30, got ready, and caught the shuttle to the Liverpool Lime Street train station. We caught our train at 8:15 and were on our way to Londrés! We got there around 11:00 and took the metro to Finchley Road, were a hostel was. We stayed in Palmer's Lodge Hostel, and even though we were in a room with 20 other people, it was definitely the coolest hostel I've been in. It looked like a mansion. It had a huge sitting room with computers, a nice restaurant downstairs, and a bar.

We settled in, then hit the road. Because we only had the afternoon, we got a hop on - hop off bus tour ticket and got moving. We saw so many things - Trafalgar Square,


Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben,

 
London Tower,


the Tower Bridge,


and basically every bridge, The Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace... 


and more! We even got to take a short cruise on the River Thames.


It did rain in the afternoon, and it was FREEZING. But it was still so cool to be in London. However, I had to remind myself several times of where I was - it definitely is still like any other big city, minus the awesome accent and rich history.

After our tour, around 7:00, we headed back to the hostel and chilled for a while. Then we went to the London train station, where we had to catch an express to the airport the next day, to buy tickets. On our way home, we stopped in a Thai restaurant for dinner. Amazing.

We went to sleep around 12:00!

Monday
We woke up before the kitchen opened and then caught the metro to the train station, where we then caught the express to London Stansted. Dottie and I had different flights, so when we got there, we checked in and headed our separate ways. My flight left at 11:30 to Valencia. I got to the VLC airport around 2:30 and caught the metro back into town. From there I walked home.

It was an amazing weekend, but I can't describe how amazing it felt to be back at home! Sweet Matilde was excited to see me, too. Because I hadn't eaten all day, she fixed me just about everything she had in the kitchen - pasta with potatoes, an egg sunny side up, a little bit of paella, bread and chorizo and queso, and then an orange. It was amazing.

I went upstairs, unpacked, studied all afternoon, took a little nap, and then for dinner, we had soup, bread, and fried artichoke. It was so good to be home and fed delicious meals.

La viajera,
Leigh

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Boringgg

The title says it all. Today was a boring day. Lindsey and I woke up late, and therefore had to rush to school. But we made it! This morning was Conversación and Composición, after which we had a short ISA meeting and then I went to the office to have lunch and finish up some homework. After that, I had my 3:00 class, which was great.

Afterwards, Ken and I went to the Mercadona to get a few groceries (I needed some things to take with me on my UK trip). We then met Dottie at the ISA office to print off our plane tickets and such, then we walked down to the train station to buy tickets to Madrid.

I walked home around 6:00 and did homework and packed until supper at 9:00. We had a soup with croutons and tortillas with this delicious 'mayonaise' sauce that Miguel made.

After supper, Lindsey and I just hung out in our room, cleaning, watching TV episodes.... not much exciting. But I leave tomorrow for Dublin, Liverpool, and London with Dottie!!! I'm excited for that :) Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog at the hostels, but if not, I will write a long one when I get back on Monday!!

Emocionada,
Leigh

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Rainy days and Tuedays

What an uneventful day.

Instead of having normal class for culture this morning, we were going to the Museo de Bellas Artes. But, when we woke up this morning, it was pouring down rain, and because none of us have cars or a really feasible way of getting around when it's raining, it was cancelled. So Lindsey and I had some downtown before our test at 11:45. We got ourselves ready and then lounged for about an hour and a half. After which we ran to the bus stop, getting absolutely soaked in doing so, and caught the bus to school. Our test was in Literatura. It was a pretty difficult test, but I feel pretty good about it.

Afterwards, we walked down to the Tobacco store to get another bus pass. On our way, we were enticed by a divine smell into a little pastelería next to the store. We ended up getting desserts to go. I got a small, chocolate dessert with chocolate mousse and hazelnut mouse and some crunchy deliciousness, with a fine layer of chocolate covering the outside. It was amazing.

When we got home, our parents were still at the eye doctor so we went ahead and ate the already prepared lunch. It was potatoes and peppers with chicken. Very delicious. Because it was POURING down rain, there wasn't much we could do except chill inside. And that's exactly what we did. Relaxed/Slept/Watched movies all afternoon. It was nice, but after being in the same place for so long, it can kind of make you go crazy.

Finally, we had dinner around 9:00. It was a soup with leek, potatoes, and codfish. For dessert, we had PEANUT BUTTER!!! I never imagined that I would miss a food so much. But after that first taste, it was nearly impossible to stop. We spread it on some bread with some peach marmalade. Man, was it amazing.

Since dinner, I've done absolutely nothing. It's kind of nice, sometimes.

La Perezosa,
Leigh

Monday, March 2, 2009

Field Trip

This morning was weird. I fell asleep last night watching Arrested Development so I woke up really confused. But I still got to school EARLY. I am getting so good.

Today we had Conversación and Cultura. For Cultura, we took a field trip to Sagunto! It was so cool. After conversation class, we walked to the end of Blasco Ibáñez to el Cabañal, the second and smaller train station in Valencia, to catch a train to Sagunto, about 25 minutes outside of Valencia. There and back, the ticket cost 3.25 euros. Cool, huh?

When we got there, we walked up to the old Roman theatre, and then we saw, but weren't able to go in, the castle. These ruins are famous throughout Spain because they are the oldest and most extensive. The castle is especially impressive. We ate our lunches up near the theatre, with a gorgeous view of the city.

When we walked back down into the town, we stopped in and had coffee, with our awesome teacher, because we had a little bit extra time. Around 2:45, we caught the train back into Valencia. Megan and I speed walked back to school, because I had a class at 3:00. My historia class. Of course my sweet teacher was totally whatever about me being late. "No pasa nada," she says.

After my late class, I caught the bus home. I came in and studied some more for my literature test tomorrow. At around 8:45, we had dinner. Vegetables - peas, carrots, potatoes - with bread and fruit and really delicious fish. For dessert, we had some more turrón. Lindsey and I came back upstairs to study some more. Around 11:00, we went down and got tea and snacked some, too.

Today was really cool. I got to talk to some people from our group that I usually don't have a chance too, which was awesome. Even though we are all so very different from each other in so many ways, we all have this one, huge part of our lives in common. I love it. I hate, though, that there are so very few Christians in my group. Please be in prayer for my friends that don't know the Lord. They are lost and they don't even know it!

Siendo una buena estudiante,
Leigh

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Mascletá

I woke up this morning around 10:00 and got ready. I walked to church this time, because Calle Sueca is much closer than Quart. I got there just as the service was starting, and a sweet man named Paco greeted me at the door. He asked if it was my first time coming to this church, and I told him that yes, it was. He asked me a little about myself, then led me into the sanctuary. I was alone, but luckily I spotted Laura (Dovis' mom). She was so excited to see me! I hadn't told her for sure if I was coming or not. I sat with her, Juan (Dovis' dad) and Dovis.

The worship was awesome. My friend Jonathan leads worship at this church, which was really cool. The message was given not by the pastor, who was out today, but by a young guy. It was based on the story of the disciples not washing their hands before eating, and the pharisees criticizing them to Jesus. He talked about how we sometimes do things because the law tells us it's right, but we lack the heart. We pray, but our hearts are numb. That in everything, we should have the love of God. It was great. At the end of the service, the associate pastor, got up and welcomed the visitors, a custom they practice. Of course, I was the only one. Apparently sweet Paco had passed on my information, because the pastor rattled off a list of things about me... my name, where I was from, what I was doing here. My face went BRIGHT red. Laura laughed.

After the service, Laura introduced me to pretty much everybody in the church. It was so funny but so sweet. I hung out and talked a while with Dovis and Jonathan and some of their friends, Isaac, Jon Mark, and Linda. As I was leaving, Laura told me about how Dovis is going this weekend to a place called Cuenca a ways outside of Valencia to spend time alone in prayer to find the will of the Lord for his life. He's just finished school and isn't sure where he is supposed to go next. How awesome. Anyway, she has invited me over for dinner sometime next week. She also told me that should I need a thing, to call her no matter what, because she is like my mom here. She is maybe the most precious woman ever. And sweet Juan echoed her words exactly. Such a sweet family!

Because the season of Fallas officially started today, I left church and headed to the Plaza Ayuntamiento for the Mazcletá at 2:00. By the time I got there at 1:30, it was PACKED!!! During the whole of Fallas, there are TONS AND TONS AND TONS of fireworks and similar things. That's what Mazcletá was. For 15 minutes straight, it was just crazy fireworks going on 10 every millisecond. Needless to say, it was the loudest and most insane thing I've ever experienced. All the people just get so excited. Especially the last minute or so, when they're going off 30 at a time, everywhere. It's so crazy!!!!

I met up with Jessica and Macy when it was over, and we walked around for a bit. Fallas is like a 3 week long carnival/theme park. There are quioscos (kiosks) everywhere, on every corner. Which is awesome, but bad for my health, for sure. We got horchata (the delicious drink that I can't really describe) and gofres (which are like waffles, but a million times better, with chocolate or whipped cream or ice cream or a mix). After, we walked back to my house to pack a lunch for me and get some stuff, to their house to do the same. Then we were off to the beach!!!!

We walked through a couple barrios to get there, admiring all of the Falla decorations along the way.


It was my first time at the beach, and it was absolutely gorgeous.


We hung out and studied a little bit, then we ran into Josh and Emily, who are the year students with the ISA program. They are married, have been here since September, are Christians, and are really cool. It began to get kind of cold, so we went into a little café and sat and talked for a while. At around 7:00, we headed back. I caught a bus back home, and chilled.

Matilde and Cesar got home from their weekend getaway around 8:30, and we had dinner: angel hair pasta in a soup, with queso, bread, and oranges with cinnamon. After, I came up to my room, studied, skyped a little, and now I'm headed to bed! Class tomorrow!!

Agradecida,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): a cute little street (with some Fallas decor) on the way to the beach, train tracks from the Cabañal, the strip at the beach with cute restaurantes and discotecas, the view of part of the Valencian coast, Hello Mediterranean Sea