18, 303, 2

18

The number of countries I've visited this year. From Morocco to Ireland, Finland to Turkey, and in between- all different, unique, and although I've been asked many times, impossible to pick a favorite. The final country on my adventure wasn't Spain, but a week relaxing in southern Portugal with Julia. It was a much needed lazy week and a great break from the Madrid heat, and a perfect way to relax and unwind after a long and at times trying year. Eighteen countries later the journey has wrapped up an my next stop is home.

303

The number of consecutive days I've been out of the US. While traveling, and especially while relaxing in Portugal this past week, the countdown often doesn't exist and fades into the back of my mind while I am busy learning phrases in new languages, trying delicious and ever interesting food, drinking in new cultures, and truly enjoying the experience.

I was once told that the lives of ex-pats are full of great highs and bad lows but never a dull or monotonous moment. Traveling was always a high; more often than not the days of living in Madrid were the lows. I'm really glad I took this experience but it was disheartening at times. I'm definitely open to living abroad again- I'd love to move back to Chili for awhile- but I'll probably only ever return to Madrid as a visitor, not as a resident. On the surface it appears close to home, which is part of its problem. The appearance of another bustling, modern, western city but instead I'm mostly met with cold people questioning why I'm there. Obviously this isn't true of everyone; my pilates teacher and my banker are two of the nicest people I know- always willing to help, and I will truly miss their help, support, and friendship. I will also truly miss my fellow ex-pat friends, particularly Julia and Cassie- the fearless three willing to take on everything Spain and this program threw at us. The rolling stones that we all are, our paths are sure to cross again!! Siempre hasta luego, nunca adios.

2

"Welcome Home" The number of words awaiting me at passport control to welcome me back into the United States! It's still surreal that this year/adventure/chapter in my life has moved onto another. Semisonic said it best, "Every new beginning comes from some other begin's end." This blog has come to a close; thanks to everyone for keeping up with all my ups and downs and unforgettable adventures. I'm off to start a new beginning. Another exciting adventure surely awaits and I'm off to seize it!!

Hasta Luego,

C

Aprovechando hasta el ultimo momento

Taking advantage until the last minute

This past week has been jam packed with good times! Our last week of work was ridiculous- they were having to come up with things to do off the top of their heads and there was absolutely no need for us to be there. Oh well, we got to hang out and survived!

Wednesday was the beginning of all the final weekend excitement! Wednesday was Cassie's last night in Spain, so of course we went out to celebrate! After only a quick nap I had to get up to work on Thursday, and after my last day of work I took off with some friends to La Pedriza (where I had gone hiking back in January). We spent the whole afternoon rock climbing! In fact, we didn't stop until the sun had set and it was 11 at night!?! After climbing we set up camp by the river and slept under the stars! It was gorgeous weather so we didn't bother with a tent. It was really nice to be camping in the mountains again, not to mention much cooler temperatures than in the city. Friday through Sunday I had a couchsurfer staying with me which was really cool. We went out Friday night because it was Leigh's last night in Spain, and Saturday we walked around Madrid for a bit and then watched the PRIDE parade on Gran Via and then went to the concert in Plaza Espana. It was a great party and in true Spanish style we didn't get back till 8am both nights.

Today is my last day in Spain as tomorrow I leave for Portugal for a week before heading back to the States! I've pretty much finished packing, but it still hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving. Portugal will be the 18th country I've visited since I was last in the United States. I guess traveling so much has made me used to packing, but I'm sure once I leave with all my bags instead of just my backpack it'll start to sink in. For my last night in Spain there's a group of us going out for tapas here in Alcala. Nothing as extravagant as the past few nights as I do have to get up to catch my flight to Portugal tomorrow.

Well Spain, it's been real. Chau!

Winding Down

When you look back on an experience you remember all the fun times and good things, you don't remember so much all of the struggles and inconveniences. Although I still have over two weeks left before returning home I'm starting to think about how my year is coming to a close. Most of the other auxiliares finished work this week with the kids, and have left or are leaving in the next few days. I also have a week in southern Portugal after I leave Spain, so although I won't be home for awhile I leave Spain in just over a week. It still hasn't completely hit me yet that I'm leaving but once the goodbyes start it will begin to sink in. I've definitely had my share of rough patches this year but right now they were just bumps in the road. As things wind down there is still so much I want to do in these next few weeks and the reality is hitting me that I am going home. I am really excited to see my family and friends in the States again but overall this year has been great and I will be sad to see it end. I still have time to go exploring though, so I'm off to make the most of the time I have left!!

Last day with the kiddies!

Today was our last day of work while the kids were still in school. It's a (religious) holiday here tomorrow so no one has class; the kids go back Friday for their last day but since we don't work Fridays this was our last day with them. It was a bit crazy since the teachers really don't have anything for them to do (since grades were due last week) and the 6th grade graduation was going on today. All the 6th graders were dressed up and they pinned blue ribbons across their chests to their shoulders- it was a cute idea but it looked a bit odd. I did have my fifth graders without another teacher- that was an interesting class. All but 4 of them actually participated in the English game I did which was impressive considering it's the low level English class and none of them (nor I) care about this school year anymore since we all knew it was basically over. I handed out stickers to everyone in my 4th grade class (one of my favs!) and they were all sad and said good-bye, so that was sweet! Anyways, it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving yet but that's probably because I still have another week of work left. Although the reality is starting to set in now that I don't have travels planned every weekend- I am really going to miss that!

Asturias

This past weekend Cassie and I went to Asturias, also known as Cider country! It's located in northwestern Spain making its climate very different from Madrid's. There was green (grass and trees) everywhere; I hadn't realized how much I really missed being surrounded by green. The Picos de Europa are also located there so it was nice to be in the mountains for a bit. We did do some hiking one day which was nice, and we also got to relax on the beach another day! We tried some cider cheese from a market as well as drinking lots of cider from the bottle. Cider in Asturias is poured from extremely high up, and the glass is only filled a little so that you down the recently poured cider in one gulp. The cider tastes much better freshly poured :) We visited three towns in Asturias- Oviedo, Aviles, and Gijon. Our CS host in Oviedo is the tallest Spanish person I've ever seen; he's literally almost 7feet tall which made hearing him a bit difficult but he was really nice. Our CS host in Gijon was actually from South Carolina and made us corndogs for dinner! Similar to our CS host in Mallorca he also had lots of space so there were more couchsurfers there which was awesome!

Tenerife :)

This past weekend I went to Tenerife, an island in the Canary Islands, with Julia and Cassie. We had a blast! We rented a car so we were able to see all of the island and I got to drive!!! It was the first time I had driven since the beginning of September!! I forgot how much I missed it. We stayed in a bungalow on a finca (like a small family farm) which was incredible! The bungalow was fabulous and we had a view of El Teide on one terrace and a view of the ocean cliffs on the other terrace! El Teide in the volcano on Tenerife and the highest point in Spain (the Canary Islands are volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean belonging to Spain and off the coast of Africa)! Highlights of the trip include: relaxing on a black sand beach, seeing giant waves, driving along the spectacular coastlines, climbing El Teide (although we did experience some altitude sickness at over 11,000ft- we were walking super slowly and our breathing was normal but our hearts were racing and we were a bit lightheaded. I've been higher up before and not had problems, but I guess before I was just walking around not hiking up from 7,000ft), and seeing the point where the North Atlantic meets the South Atlantic. There was actually a line in the middle of the ocean where the currents meet. The north Atlantic is very choppy and more of a dark blue/grey color, where as the south Atlantic is a brilliant blue color and very calm- it was crazy to see both standing on the rocks. The island is absolutely gorgeous and I just wish we could have spent more time there!!!

Art Test

Today in school one of my classes had an art test- they had to make an origami boat and frog from the 2 sheets of paper they were given. I (wrongly) assumed that if they had memorized how to fold the paper to make the items they would be given a 10 (out of 10). However, the teacher seemed to be partial to some student's frogs/boats. Even though to me they looked exactly the same some students received a 10 while other received an 8. Both of these are excellent marks as far as the Spanish standard of grading goes, but it was strange for me to witness first hand how something so similar could be graded so differently. It's art, so there is no right or wrong answer, but I guess there's more to it then just folding paper. Then again I've never been an art person so maybe I'm just missing something.

Copenhagen

This past weekend I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to see the city and visit Christina (a friend I met when we were both studying in Chile). Luckily for me the weather was much warmer than my previous visits to Scandinavia. This weekend it was absolutely gorgeous- sunny and in the 70s with a bit of a breeze! It was a bit strange that the sun set around 10pm and rose around 4am, but lots of sunlight meant more time to do things! June 5th is actually Denmark's independence day, but Christina told me that somebody gives a speech and that's really all that happens- no closings or celebrations or anything. This weekend, however, was CPH Distortion! According to wikitravel Distortion " is longest and wildest party you could ever go to. Over 60 parties in five days in each of the city districts, outdoors on the city streets and squares, in the clubs and three seriously huge parties. Over 32,000 people usually partying away between Wednesday and Sunday." And that's exactly what it was- a huge street party. There were tons of people everywhere and everyone was drinking, dancing, hanging out, and just having a good time!

Besides Distortion I got to do other "normal" touristy things- like go on a boat tour, wander though Christiania (a part of Copenhagen that's like a free society with it's own rules, or rather lack thereof. The only rule I noticed was the no photos signs- probably because of all the open table drug selling going on in the middle of the streets), pass by Tivoli, eat delicious food, climb the tower to get a great view of the city, see the Parliament, the Palace, visit the beaches, and just enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery that is Copenhagen! Of course I also got to visit The Little Mermaid statue which was neat :)

Early Dismissal

During the months of June and September all of the schools in the Comunidad de Madrid get out at 1pm. This means that the end is near and that I'll have a lot more free time during the afternoons- not only because of the earlier dismissal but also because my private classes are all coming to an end this week. The afternoon schedule has changed and everyone is gearing up for and anxiously awaiting summer vacation here (although I know it's already started in the States). I also found out that the term actually ends June 11th even though the kids are in school till the 24th. Grades are sent home with the kids on the last or second to last day of school, so in order to have them done in time the term technically ends June 11th. I have no idea how none of the kids have caught onto this, but lucky for the teachers they think all the work they do after that is still graded/counts otherwise it would be even harder to control them than it already is. Alas, we have finally arrived in the last month of work!

I also find it ironic that today, the first time they're let out early because of the heat, it's actually sweater weather and feels like fall- sunny but in the 50s and windy!

Granada!

This past weekend I traveled south to Andalucia, more specifically to Granada to visit a friend from high school! She's been studying in Granada all year and we were finally able to meet up this past weekend. Since I've been to Granada before it was more of a hangout/reunion weekend rather than a sight seeing weekend, although we did fit in a few tourist spots- notably El Mirador which is a great viewing place (hence the name) for La Alhambra. There was also a beer fest going on in Granada that weekend, so that was neat. It was a great, relaxing weekend and I was really glad we finally got to meet up while in Spain!

Turkey anyone?!

Last time I was in a country that spanned more than one continent I only stayed on one continent, this past weekend I was in Istanbul, Turkey and was able to visit Europe and Asia! (For those of you who are curious Chile has land in South America, Antarctica, and Asia.) Istanbul (or Constantinople if you'd rather) really is a cross cultural place. While Turkey is a Muslim country, and that is very apparent, there are signs of other cultures, but it isn't the hodge-podge of cultures I was expecting. It has it's own unique culture but I wouldn't really classify it as a mixing of cultures. Istanbul is a pretty city and the people there are all really friendly. It's also a massive city with lots of traffic, but we managed to get around using the metro, ferries, and walking. We saw all the main sites including the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Egyptian obelisk, the Gala Tower, the Basilica Cistern, the palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Bazaar, etc. We took a ferry ride (which was the same price as the metro!) across the Bosporus and spent a few hours walking around the part of Istanbul located on the Asian continent. There was a board-walk type thing on the Asian side that was great for running/walking and there were also benches so you could just sit with a beautiful view! Another highlight was the Turkish baths. They were very different from the baths I went to in Budapest. The Turkish baths were primarily a large warm room (like a sauna) with marble areas for laying on. There were also 2 small pools you could lounge in, but the main area is the marble. We got bubble scrubs/massages that were incredible!! So relaxing! While we were there we also got to meet up with a family friend from the States who's family is living there for 2 years. We went to dinner with them at an amazing Asian restaurant on the Bosporus with a great view overlooking the city at sunset; it was spectacular!

All of the food we had in Istanbul was good! Some notable food we ate included: kumpirs- they are basically a stuffed baked potato but they are huge, seriously a dinner for 2 not a snack; kebabs and black tea of course; and the ice cream was a performance. The ice cream had xanthan gum or something in it because it had a chewy feel to it, not like bubble gum but similar. All the flavors tasted the same, except for the lemon which has some sort of "woah sour" ingredient that none of the other flavors had. But you don't get ice cream from the stands in Istanbul because you want ice cream, you get it because of the show the ice cream scoopers put on! The scoops they use are really long metal sticks basically and there's a bell at the top of the stand they constantly clank with the scoop. Because of the xanthan gum in the ice cream they can also preform tricks, like taking all of the ice cream out of the container and pretending to put it on your cone- and it stays there while your friend can pull out a camera and snap a picture! They also turn it around, upside down, etc and make you think you've dropped it, hand you different/empty cones, etc. It really is very entertaining!!

While in Istanbul we also took overnight buses in order to visit Sofia, Bulgaria for a day! We had to stop to go through passport control/customs around 2am each time, but other than that the overnight buses were a great way to spontaneously add another city/country to our travels! Sofia was great, but I'll have to go back to Bulgaria to visit the gorgeous mountains in the country! Sofia's main sightseeing stop is the Alexander Nevski Church (the only picture from Sofia I've posted, the rest are from Istanbul), but others include the Banya Bashi Mosque, Hagia Sofia, the Parliament, Culture Museum, lots of parks, etc. We also had some ice cream in Sofia, and it was absolutely delicious! Made from real fruits and so good!! Another really cool thing about Sofia are the mineral springs. They have mineral springs all around the city and there are fountains all across the city where you can get water! We used it several times to fill up our water bottles, which was nice considering how it's starting to get pretty hot over here now. 2 countries, 2 continents, great food, views, and people- it was truly a great weekend!

Mallorca

Absolutely incredible!! There is no other way to explain the island or my trip there; it truly was amazing! (In case you’re not sure, Mallorca is an island in the Balearic Islands which is a Spanish Archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea.) We went there to celebrate my birthday weekend and relax on the beaches. The island has amazing white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water! We stayed in Palma, the main city, but we also rented a car and went around to see the rest of the island. The northern part of the island is famous for its cliffs, the notable one being Formentor. It really was gorgeous! We drove through the mountains in the northeast of the island which were beautiful and also got to see the port city of Soller. I now know why so many British and German people retire there. Beside the breathtaking views the island has, it also has really good nightlife. True to Spanish style every night we went out we were out till after the sun came up the next day. I went with my friends Julia, Liz, and Mailys and we stayed with couchsurfers. There were 2 Spaniards, a Brit, and an American at the house so it was a good Spanish-English mix but we all spoke Spanish the whole weekend. The hosts were really busy because of finals and what not, but they were really nice when we were able to hang out with them! They had a huge flat with lots of pull out couches; they had so much room they also had another group of couchsurfers staying there. The other couchsurfers were studying in Germany but from Mexico, Peru, and Poland. We all got along great and hung out together the entire weekend. We spent the entire weekend celebrating, dancing, visiting spectacular sights, and chilling on incredible beaches- it really was the perfect birthday weekend J

Jury Duty, Earthquakes, and blackouts

Getting called for jury duty is never a fun task, but getting called for jury duty when you're living abroad can cause some added troubles. I was called for jury duty in June but I'll still be in Spain. In order to have my date postponed I need to do several things, among them getting an official letter from my school saying I'm working here until June 30th. I've been trying to get this simple 2 sentence letter from them for a couple of days. I asked about it again today at break and was told, "We can't do things immediately, this is Spain" well, yes by now I am VERY aware of that! I am kind of sad not to be able to do jury duty because I think it's an important duty that needs to be done, but that could just be because all of my classes are currently talking about the Spanish constitution and the rights and duties of citizens... oh well, I'm sure I'll get summoned for it again. I finally got my letter after a 45minute debacle today involving waiting on signatures and the scanner being broken but them trying to fix it and ending up with me just faxing it anyways. unnecessary tramites, but it's done now.

There was a 5.1 earthquake in southeastern Spain yesterday. It did a fair amount of damage in Murcia (the region where it was located) but it could have been a lot worse. It was felt slightly here in Madrid- my blinds fell down but that was all. Hopefully they can scrounge up some money somewhere to rebuild. On a side note the IMF jas just placed Spain in the same category as Greece and Portugal, so things aren't looking good financially.

The lights went out at school today during break and everyone just kinda looked around and then continued eating and talking in the dark (it's cloudy here today so not a lot of sunlight coming through the windows covered by curtains). A few minutes later a really loud beeping sound started. Only the assistants seemed to hear it. About 5min later one of the teachers noticed it and asked US what the noise was. How the hell are we supossed to know?! No one bothered to leave their snacks and eventually the noise stopped on its own and the lights came back on a few minutes later. Pues, de verdad tio, estamos en Espana...

Carrera de la Mujer

Today I ran La Carrera de la Mujer (the women's race) in Madrid. It's a 6.5km race through/around Parque Retiro that supports the fight against breast cancer. Fittingly, the shirts we received earlier at packet pick-up were bright pink, dry-fit tshirts. The race overall was pretty good, and I did it with another assistant who I work with- it was her first race ever and she finished and enjoyed it!! The start, however, was one of the most disorganized I've ever seen. It was basically first come for lining up in corrals, but there were a few ropes dividing sections that had been marked with under 20 & under 30min but no one paid any attention to them, or any of the other race rules really. The race had 20,000 female participants but so many of them were walking the race and still lined up in the front/in the under 20min corral. I had to walk almost the entire 1st kilometer because SO many people were walking that had lined up in front AND because there were lots of people walking with strollers, kids, backpacks, and there were almost as many men walking beside the women. Some of the men had on wigs and skirts just for show, but none of them (obviously) had numbers but were clogging the race path. I knew before starting the race that it was just going to be a fun race (which it was!) and not a PR/good time race, but I was still annoyed at how many slow people I had to navigate through. I did just kinda have to chuckle and say, well it is Spain. One of the reasons why I wasn't really running for a good time is because of my sunburn. It's now in the peeling and itchy phase, sweat just increases the itchiness. So post-race I didn't actually hang around that long (just to see & congratulate my friend) because I really wanted to go home and shower. Note to self: don't ever get sunburned again. Overall it was a really fun race with gorgeous weather! And it goes without saying that it was nice to see so many people up early on a Sunday morning running and joining the fight against breast cancer!

Quiebra & rain

My school is not the only one having trouble paying the assistants, almost all of them are. There are messages popping up all over the different forums we have with people complaining how they haven't been paid and have no money to pay rent. One girl said she wanted to go protest to the press about our situation. Personally I don't think that's a very feasible idea- the Spanish press probably doesn't want to hear about how foreigners aren't getting paid when the Spanish people themselves are having trouble getting paid. Anyways, I asked one of the teachers I work with if the teachers are having trouble being paid or if it's just the assistants. I was informed that the Comunidad pays the teachers directly rather than paying the school who then pays them. The teachers so far have been paid, and paid on time, but the Comunidad is bankrupt and the past few months has had to ask Corte Ingles (a big mall all in one store) for money in order to be able to pay the teachers. Wow.

Our 3rd orientation isn't until May 27th. I wish it was earlier so I could straight-up ask them sooner. However it looks like I'm going to have to wait until then. The problem is that I'm still owed money and if I leave I'll never see any of the money I'm owed, but if I stay then there is a glimmer of hope that I'll eventually receive the money I'm owed. I keep talking to people back home and everyone is shocked, "that would never be allowed to happen in the US!" Well, Spain, you never cease to amaze me...

On the note of amazement I saw Spanish firemen in action for the first time today. Luckily they weren't putting out a fire but they were responding to a mini-disaster. Spain is known for it's sun and while it is primarily dry Spain is in denial that it ever rains here. Seriously, you have some bushes and a river, obviously it must rain some. When I first arrived in September it rained off & on for 2 days (I wouldn't even say it rained that much) but the ground level school classrooms flooded. Every time it drizzles even a bit the sidewalk is incredibly slippery and I'm just waiting to fall. Well it apparently rained last night, but the streets were mostly dry and there were no puddles when I woke up so obviously it didn't rain that much. However, on the bus ride to Madrid I found all the water. There were highway entry/exit ramps closed because water had pooled there (I noticed the area next to the entrance ramp was a little higher than the ramp but was completely dry) and cars wouldn't be able to drive through it the water was so deep. Then we came to a part of the highway which had been closed to one lane because the fire truck was there and the workers were attempting to suck the water up off the highway. The bus rolled through the water next to the flooded lane but I wouldn't have wanted to go through that puddle in low riding car. Not only was just the highway (not the surrounding area) flooded, but the water had also brought trash onto the highway and there was trash everywhere. I've been here long enough and had to deal with enough shit that I just kinda laughed was like, oh well I'm going to be 20min late b/c the highway flooded, the good news is that I could still get through! I would suggest that my friends with civil engineering degrees come help the Spaniards design their roads/cities to deal with flash flooding (since that's what tends to happen when it rains in a primarily dry area) but I would want them to get paid for their work and Spain doesn't have the money to pay them. So there will be trash and giant puddles covering highways for the time being- just another typical day here in Spain!

Interesting Day

Today school was a bit painful anyways since my sunburn still prevented me from walking normally, but it was also painful because it was the day before the 6^th grade oral English exam, which meant that we spent almost the entire day practicing the same test with the 6^th graders. I of course got stuck with a group of seven 12year old boys. Whoever put the 7 of them together in a group wasn’t thinking. I gave up trying to control all of them (between turning off the lights, opening the windows, carrying their seats into the bathroom, asking me what “mother f***er” meant, etc.) as long as one of them was practicing the test with me (and that one kept rotating) I didn’t care. Eventually it got to the point where we were just talking about sports and they taught me the game they all play during recess. Honestly I know they’re all going to do more than fine on the exam and we were speaking in English (with prompting) so I didn’t care that we’d gotten off topic because at least they were all engaged in the conversation rather than drawing on the desks and themselves with a large green marker they had found. Finally we finished practicing and went to the last class of the day. I had 4^th grade (one of my favorite classes) and several kids immediately asked me if I had gone to the beach or told me they noticed I was burnt- not a single one of my 6^th graders mentioned anything to me about it. I knew I liked that 4^th grade class for a reason! Speaking of sunburn, the Spanish remedy is to put vinegar on the burn, several Spaniards told me that today. Thanks for the advice but 1) I don’t have vinegar and 2) I’ll stick to my aloe lotion since I finally have some.

I really enjoying talking to the parents of the kids I tutor because I actually learn a lot of interesting things about Spain, the Spanish, how they think, etc. Today I was talking with one of the mothers about the English exams. She completely hates them and thinks they are a waste of time- how can a child’s future be determined by one exam. The exams decide if the 6^th graders go to a normal high school or a bilingual high school (and hence have a much better grasp on English for future endeavors), no matter what their performance is in their classes at school. She told me that Alcala is trying to (and should next year) have all bilingual elementary schools. Meaning every single child in Alcala will attend a bilingual elementary school. The problem, she told me, is that they keep expanding the elementary schools, but not the high schools (there’s no middle school). She said the reason is that there aren’t qualified teachers to teach at bilingual high schools, but they should invest in getting qualified teachers because there’s no point for a child to spend 9years at a bilingual elementary school (they start when they’re 3 years old) only to go to a normal high school and lose all the English they’d been taught. It was interesting hearing her argument and honestly I agree with basically everything she said.

Another issue also came to mind- more bilingual schools mean more assistants. They’ve been increasing the number of assistants every year since the program started 7years ago, but they’ve been having financial troubles for the past 3 years at least. My coordinator said that our school has received funds late for the past three years, but until this year has been able to use its private funds to pay the salaries of the assistants (and just be reimbursed by the government). However, this past month was the first time they didn’t have the funds to pay us and hadn’t received our salaries from the government so on April 28^th, pay day, they told us we weren’t going to be paid, and in fact wouldn’t be paid until they received the funds from the government. Last time they at least gave us a month’s warning, this time it was out of the blue, on the day we were supposed to receive our monthly income. So yes, as of now I’m free labor… There hasn’t been any progress in the past few days, but if it doesn’t sound like we’re going to get paid in the next week or so I’m thinking of quitting and just traveling for the next few weeks till I go home. I don’t have enough euros to pay rent, so if I’m going to have to spend dollars I might as well spend them on something I enjoy doing. We’ll see how things work out. Hopefully I’ll get paid sometime this week; regardless, I’ll keep updating as the situation requires!

The Home of Paella

Monday was a bank holiday in Spain, so a friend and I took advantage of the long weekend to head to Valencia, Spain. It took us longer than normal to get there however, because about 20min after our bus left Madrid the driver decided that the bus didn't have "enough force" to carry all of us and our luggage to Valencia. So we pulled off the side of the highway and switched bused when another one came about 45min later. Ahh, Spain never ceases to amaze me.

Valencia was once the capital of Spain, and is currently the 3^rd largest city in Spain neither my friend Julia nor I had been there before. It’s a beautiful city in southeast Spain on the Mediterranean Coast. And yes, it is the home/birthplace of Paella! We had great paella every day we were there. We also got to have traditional Valencian Easter pastries- sweet buns in the shape of an Easter animal with colored sprinkles and a chocolate egg on top. We found a great bakery on a side street that served them as well as a bunch of other pastries- pizza type things, long bread with veggies/meat on it (like an open faced baked sandwich), a spinach/cheese pastry, etc. It was so delicious!!! (and cheap!) Besides food, Valencia is also known for Agua de Valencia. It’s a drink that has nothing to do with water; it’s cavo, gin, vodka, and orange juice. It simply tastes like orange juice, but when you try to stand up you find out otherwise. A typical Valencian drink worth having if you’re there!

Like most cities I’ve been to recently, Valencia is a very walkable city. Our hostel was in the center and close to the major sites. One of the highlights for me was an old riverbed that runs through Valencia which has been turned into a giant park! There were so many people running, walking, cycling, playing, walking dogs, hanging out, etc. I’ve decided there should be a park like that everywhere! The park ends near the ocean (where the mouth of the river used to be) and the buildings located there are some of the craziest yet coolest designs I’ve ever seen. It’s the science center and aquarium buildings but they are awesome looking; a must see if you are ever in Valencia! Another highlight of Valencia is of course the beach. While we were at the beach there was actually a kite festival going on so that was neat! There were all kinds of kites on display- dragons, jellyfish, a bear, fish, buzz light year, serpents, twirling kites, etc. Beside the kite display there was also a kite show going on. Expert kite handlers made up to 19 kites perform at a time (well one expert handler per kite)! Sometimes it would just be one kite, but all the kites danced/had a routine set to music. The songs were all pretty popular songs, so it was nice to have music and be entertained while we were at the beach. Besides jumping in the waves I also went for a run along the beach, okay to the end of the beach. There were actually quite a few people running which was cool to see. I however, should have either just ran on the beach or just chilled/jumped in the waves because it turns out I was on the beach too long and the sun kicked my ass. I got so sunburnt I actually had sunstroke- including chills and nausea the few hours after we got off the beach. Murphy’s law we went to the beach on Sunday and everything in Spain is closed on Sundays, including pharmacies where aloe lotion is sold. Monday was a holiday here in Spain, so most things were closed on Monday as well. After a lot of hunting, the 8^th pharmacy we went to was finally open and I was able to get aloe lotion. (I had regular lotion to put on the previous night so at least I had something.) The bus ride home was, well, painful but I made it. The funny thing is I really wasn’t out that long, but I learned my lesson- don’t ever mess with the Spanish sun, you will lose. Apart from my sunburn, Valencia was a lot of fun and a good place to relax on a long weekend!

Tips on getting authentic paella: don’t go to a place with a huge picture of it, make sure the menu requires it to at least be cooked for 2 people, if it’s part of a “menu del dia” it should be the second course, and make sure they bring it out to you in the paella dish they cook it in, not already served onto plates.

Budapest

My Budapest trip had a Brazilian flavor to it because my CS host was Brazilian. He introduced me to a lot of his friends (I had no idea so many Brazilians lived in Budapest) and I even got to hang out with the vice consulate of Brazil in Hungary! There’s also a really good Brazilian restaurant in Budapest that we ate at and I got to try typical Brazilian food and caipirinha (like a Brazilian mojito) so that was cool. Budapest itself is really cool- hills surrounding the river, and there are some gorgeous views from the top of the hills. The main attractions are the St. Stephen’s Basilica (which I got to go into Easter Sunday which was kinda cool), the synagogue, the Liberty statue, the castle district, the parks, the Parliament, the bridges, and of course the baths! We spent almost an entire day just lounging around in one of the bath houses from the thermal springs. There are so many different baths- some hot (+40C), some cold (+20C), some with sulfur water, some with mint water, some indoors, some outside, some with massaging jets, saunas, etc. There’s even a lap pool I swam in for a bit before relaxing in all the others. Besides the main attractions there were also some incredible street musicians, including one playing “drums” on water glasses! Budapest also has some really cool bars. They have old items, stuff you would think is trash, random animal statues/figures, etc decorating the bars. It gives them a really chill atmosphere which was cool. If I had to change one thing about the trip I would have spent a day and a half less in Budapest and gone to Vienna for a day instead. The 2 cities are only 3hrs apart but I didn’t realize this till I was already in Budapest. Oh well, Budapest was still fun.

Word to the Wise: make sure to count the 0s at the end of the Hungarian Forints. There are around 250euros to the forint so things can get confusing when paying for a meal in the thousands. Take your time and think about it so you don’t withdrawal 100,000 forints instead of 10,000.

Киев

My trip started with me reading things as “lower case b, backwards N, capital H, pi sign, 3”, etc. 2 ½ days later my trip ended with me slowly being able to pronounce words one letter at a time- I’d say that in itself made Kiev a successful trip! I don’t speak Russian (or Ukrainian) and no one there spoke English, so lots of hand motions and pointing were used. I managed to get by though and had a great time. On the plane there I actually met a guy living in Vienna this year who was visiting Kiev and had the same flight back as me. This was convenient because we both had the same amount of time to see/explore the city. We toured around/visited a few places together which was nice and we also enjoyed laughing at the English translations on menus. The winning translation was “pike perch fried in the nuts”- we seriously almost died laughing! The food was also delicious in Kiev, especially the goulash. My CS (couch surfing) host showed me a cheap (price) traditional restaurant so we got some really good authentic food there. The specialty is meat- they put it in everything. They have really good cherry dumplings for dessert, but also lots of “desserts” filled with meat- so be careful! It’s still good, just maybe not what you’re expecting. I couch surfed while in Kiev and had an awesome host! He and one of his roommates were actually American and his other roommate was Ukrainian but spoke English perfectly. They told me a few places to go, cooked a delicious dinner one night, and taught me a card game. I really couldn’t have met better people during my trip to Kiev.

As for the city itself it was unlike any place I’ve been before. There was a resemblance to Poland (hence their shared past as part of the former Soviet Union), but it had a different vibe. The buildings were mostly all grey/brown/clearly Soviet style, but the center area had been dressed up a bit. They had altered a lot of the facades so that some of the buildings appeared more modern than they actually were. There were lots of lights, even just placed hanging in front of the buildings to try to jazz them up a bit. There were lots of people walking around everywhere and at all hours which gave the city a very lively feel to it, even with the drab buildings. (Poland was missing this lively atmosphere.) Of course the river running through the center of the city helped give it some character as well, but I wouldn’t recommend taking a dip from any of the beaches since the water is still radio-active. The subway system is one of the deepest in the world because it was formerly Soviet bomb shelters. It has some of the longest escalators in the world and thank goodness they were working while I was there! You would literally be going up/down escalators for 5min to get from the entrance to the subway & vice versa. The city is also much hillier than I expected, which was honestly a nice change from Madrid (even if it took my legs a day to get used to walking up again).

Okay, so tourist attractions. There are tons of orthodox churches which are gorgeous. They are easy to spot because they tend to be painted blue or green or bright white and have gold shiny roofs which stick out from the other buildings. St. Sophia’s Cathedral and St. Andrew’s Cathedral are two of the more famous ones, but there are many others. There is also the Golden Gate Cathedral, the Arc of Friendship, several parks, the Motherland Statue (which is enormous and overlooks the river), WWII museums (with Soviet style music playing throughout the park & Motherland Statue area which adds a lot to the experience), the Pechersk Lavra area, the monastery caves, lots of government buildings and of course orthodox churches.

NB: the caves are very hard to find but not impossible, females must cover their heads in the caves and some churches (all to be respectful), the small candle is sufficient to light your way in the caves, and while they are cool and a completely different experience the caves didn’t live up to their hype (but maybe that’s because I’m not an orthodox Christian) but I would still recommend seeing them if you are in Kiev.

Praga

Everyone always says Prague is amazing and now I understand why. It truly is one of the coolest cities I’ve ever been to. The rooftops and buildings are so colorful; the green hills around the city and the river running through the city make it spectacular! I was in Prague with my friend Julia for 3 ½ days. We stayed at a hostel that was right in the center so we could walk everywhere. We got restaurant recommendations from the people who run the hostel, so we had amazing Czech food! Some of the best food was: beef goulash with potato dumplings, Czech beer, vegetable pancake things, all of the items at the vegetarian buffet (especially the yogurt dessert thing), and all of the pastries! We were there during their Easter festival/market so there were tons of little stands set up selling food, trinkets, and traditional pastries. We had some for breakfast every morning and then randomly. The most traditional pastry is this round bread thing (hollow) that’s cooked over a fire on a rod. It has sugar, cinnamon, nuts, vanilla, and some other stuff- really good! We also had a banana pastry in the shape of a bunny, a cranberry/peach/strawberry muffin thing, a gingerbread star, and some other goodies. Most of the people working the stands and around Prague spoke English so that was nice. I learned how to say hello, goodbye, thank you so that was good but luckily they could communicate in English. There were however a few funny translations (or just hilarious sayings) on the menus such as “a diet mistake” for dessert, “from piggy” for pork items, “from moo-cow” for beef items, etc.

Besides the food we got to see a lot of the famous landmarks- Charles’ Bridge, the castle, the cathedral, the Jewish quarter and museum, the astronomical clock, the Fred and Ginger dancing house, the tower, some parks, the chocolate museum, etc. If I had had more money with me I would’ve bought so much from the chocolate museum- it all looked so good!! We also accidentally crashed 2 weddings?! We had gone up to the top of the astronomical clock tower to get a great panoramic view of the city and on our way down the steps we ended up walking into someone’s wedding photo shoot! Of course we were laughing hysterically and they were still taking photos, maybe we’ll make it into their wedding album! The other wedding was just preparing to take the photo shoot but hadn’t actually started taking pictures when we had just walked out of the castle. Both happened on the same day so it was pretty funny; I guess it’s wedding season.

Random fact: the ATMs in the Czech Republic don’t charge any commission for withdrawing money even if it’s from a different bank!