Since I last posted, I've seen and done a lot! I simultaneously have become quite lazy about keeping my blog up to date....I greatly apologize! So, I hope through this recap I can give you a small taste of the places I have seen in the past weeks!
#1:Madrid
Madrid became the city of walking. Most of the time I looked at a map and would decide on a general direction in which in could possibly find a monument or place of interest. One day I walked toward the Botanical Gardens. What I found was a massive park with a crystal palace! In the park I also came upon some wonderful musicians who played joyous tunes near a large pond. People sauntered past them, some throwing coins in their cases as a thank you. It was wonderful!
Another day I walked through the many halls of the museum Reina Sofia. I saw works by Picasso and Dali. It was a well spent afternoon.
One of my favorite walks was with new friends. One walk included meeting a bunch of people for dinner and drinks. Most of these new friends are also teaching English for the year with the same program. I enjoyed meeting people from Florida, England, and Ireland. Another walk I took was with a friend named Tom. We wandered the streets of Madrid for 3 hours just seeing what we could find! And what did we find? An Egyptian Temple. Yes, you read that correctly....an Egyptian Temple! A totally unexpected monument that neither of us intended to find. I don't think I would have seen as much as I did without this lovely walk with Tom. I thoroughly enjoyed my many walks in Madrid. I hope to do it again soon!
#2: The Basque Country
After my time in Madrid I made my way to Bilbo to visit my friend Melissa and her new host family. Melissa and her new family were such gracious hosts as they picked me up, included me in family outings and generally made me feel like one of the family! Not to mention they have two of the cutest kids I've ever met! It was fun to hear little munchkins speak Spanish (and Basque)! It was even cuter trying to teach them words in English! One of my favorite thing I did with the family was visit a Fire Station. The host father is a firefighter and he invited us to come see his station. There we got a full tour of the place and then.....we got to slide down the exit pole! It was so much fun! It was very cool to see the commonalities and the differences in the work these men do compared to what I know of firefighting from home. I am excited to see Melissa and her family again soon!
After a few days of hanging with the wonderful family I made my way to San Sebastian. There I met up with one of my brother's friends, Sonia. Sonia picked me up and greeted me as if I'd been an old friend! My brother had told me how wonderful She was but I had no idea how incredibly welcoming she would be! When we finally arrived to her town (Zarautz) we met up with a few of her friends for breakfast. At breakfast the girls said they wanted to go to France for the day for some shopping.....I almost fell out of my chair in excitement! We were going to France for shopping, so casually!!! We hopped in the car and drove about an hour. We enjoyed a wonderfully sunny day on the coast of southern France! The next day I said good bye to my new friends, still in awe of the amazing day we had! I promised to visit again soon and I will most definitely keep my promise!
#3: Caceres
And now I am in Caceres, where I will be living for the rest of the year. I have conquered one week of teaching kids ages 0-11, I have moved into my room at the school and I have befriended the students who are also living here. I am excited to explore more and meet more people! I will keep you all updated on more of these adventures!
XOXO,
CAZ
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