Córdoba and Sevilla

I have been a bad blogger lately. The truth is, I haven’t had much time or energy to reflect and share with you all my most recent adventures, and I haven’t left Ubrique in some time either. I will be honest, though this is the adventure of a lifetime, not every day is made up of fun and sunshine and rainbows and butterflies. That’s life. Living abroad is fun, but it can be difficult sometimes, too. These past few weeks have been… interesting to say the least. I won’t go into details because the ever-optimist in me says to save the blogging only for stories of fun and traveling. So, voila! Here is an entry from a few weeks ago when I took a weekend trip to Cordoba and Sevilla. Enjoy!

Sunday November 6, 2011

Last weekend we had our first Puente – a long weekend break from school. (It’s called a Puente meaning bridge because if the holiday falls on a Tuesday, in this case All Saint’s Day November 1, the schools bridge the holiday from the weekend and take off Monday, too. Apparently it happens often, so I’m pretty excited for more vacation time!) Apparently the holiday is to celebrate ancestors that have passed away (similar to Día de los Muertos that is celebrated in Mexico, but not to the same extent). Most locals used the free time to spend with family and friends, so some of the other American girls and I took this opportunity to travel a little bit around Andalucía. We spent 2 days and 2 nights in Córdoba followed by 2 days and 1 night in Sevilla.

I had never heard much about Córdoba, but I’m very glad we went; the city was beautiful and there was a ton of things to see and do. As a typical Andalusian city and the capital of the province of Córdoba, there were lots of old streets with fun shops, restaurants and cafés, parks with pretty fountains and lights, and of course interesting characters out on the streets. One amazing thing about Spain is that there is an incredible amount of history and culture here including but not limited to influences from the early Iberians, the Romans and the Moors. To name a few touristy sites, we visited the great mosque and cathedral, the Jewish quarter, the alcazar (Moorish castle), beautiful gardens and the Roman bridge. We also ate some delicious food including the gigantic, world-famous Tortilla Española from Bar Santos (twice, it was so good!)

Cathedral at night

Eating world famous Tortilla





Roman Bridge





Interior of Cathedral





Biggest Tortilla I've ever seen

  In Cordoba, I also attended my very first Flamenco show. It was pretty incredible, I have never seen anything like it. Unforunately, the speaker was broken, so the beautiful Spanish guitar was difficult to hear over the clapping and singing. I plan to attend another show, probably in Sevilla in the future.

On the third day, we caught the train back to the incredible capital of Andalucía, Sevilla. The train ride was such a treat from the buses that we typically have to take out of Ubrique. It was very relaxing and nobody got sick this time. :) We grabbed a cheap hostel for the night and did some exploring of Sevilla. This included the very famous (and very large) Cathedral, another alcazar, the Torre del oro, the Guadalquivir river, plazas, parks, gardens, a fun outdoor market, and a modern structure with an awesome view of the entire city. Monday night was also Halloween. Though it is not celebrated in Spain to the extent as it is in the States, some people still dress up and/or go out to celebrate. During the weekend we saw a few niños dressed up in costumes – ALL of which were in classic frightening costumes, such as vampires, ghosts, or skeletons. I did see one little princess, that was a nice change. On the night of Halloween, Seana, Kendra and I decided to make friends with some fellow travelers and attend the hostel pub crawl. I met some cool people from Brazil, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, the States, France, Italy and England. While the sites, the food and drinks are excellent, I still say my favorite part about traveling is meeting and conversing with people from all over the world. It’s so much fun to swap stories, even if you have to mix three different languages to attempt to communicate. You and your fellow travelers share a common bond: traveling outside of your comfort zone. They become your BFFs if only for one night and sometimes you even cross paths in the future. It’s a pretty awesome sensation. Anyways, we didn’t have costumes, but it didn’t matter because only a few people dressed up. Mostly, they just like to paint their faces really scary. There was also one guy dressed as Jesus. Though Halloween is not very popular here, there is a Spanish holiday in February called Carnival that is a HUGE celebration and everyone dresses in fun costumes then, so I am looking forward to participating in that tradition!

The last day of our trip, some of the girls did some shopping. Seana and I did some more walking around the city with very many stops to sit and rest and admire the good weather and our beautiful surroundings. (I swear I need to buy a pedometer, I must have walked hundreds of miles since I’ve come to Spain. The proof is in my shoes that are worn out after less than a month, and the fact that all my pants are finally too big on me, score!) We figured all of the walking we did entitled us to 2 heaping scoops of delicious gourmet helado. It was fantastic. We caught the late bus home in time to get a good night’s rest and prepare for classes the next day. 2 days was certainly not enough to get the full Sevilla experience, but I know I’ll be back again.

Kendra Almendra

All in all, it was an excellent weekend getaway. I haven’t left Ubrique since and I have been enjoying my relaxing time here. Since I’ve finally received my first paycheck, I am trying to save up some money and am starting to plan some more trips for the springtime. The wintertime may potentially consist of some very special visitors, so I am getting very excited for things to come! The time is going to fly by, though… it already has!

Besitos

Cadiz Round Two

(Monday, October 24, 2011)

On Friday Clint, Deborah and I headed back to the city of Cádiz for a second attempt at securing our documentation in order to avoid potentially being deported one day. We were a little anxious and frustrated after our experience with the headache of a visa process and the multiple warnings about Spain’s strict yet unorganized system. However, the province of Cádiz is probably one of the most laid back provinces in the already very relaxed region of Andalucía, so the NIE process turned out to be insanely quick and easy.

We got up bright and early to catch the 6am bus out of Ubrique. (We had heard it was necessary to get to the Extranjería first thing as there’s typically a line out the door, but we didn’t encounter a single other person.) I had planned to stay for only a few hours to complete the process, grab a bite and relax on the beach then catch the evening bus home. Cádiz had different plans for me however. Armed with only a bathing suit and one change of clothes, I stayed the entire weekend and didn’t come back to Ubrique until 10pm Sunday night.  The lure of the beach and the good weather was too much to say no to (had to take advantage before the rain comes, yuck!) Can you blame me?

The weekend consisted of meeting up with other friends, spending virtually all day on the beach, eating at La Gorda multiple times, beautiful sunsets over the water and dancing the night away at La Punta. Since it is off season for travel, I think we were the only Americans out that night and it was a little bit uncomfortable. The people didn’t seem to be quite as friendly and receptive as they are in Ubrique, but we shook it off and the weekend was still a blast.

Sunday, I meant to catch the early bus home but my alarm didn’t go off and I was a zombie anyways, so it didn’t happen.. I decided since I’d made it that far, I could handle one more day in Cadiz and catch the late bus home. It was not as nice out as it was windy and mostly cloudy and even rained for about five minutes, but we still sat on the beach this time donning more layers. We also met up with jonny, another auxiliary from England staying in Cadiz. It was a pretty tranquil day minus that crazy person on the beach that stopped to admire Alysha’s beauty and begged her to take her sunglasses off for a good 15 minutes before we escaped. After that improvised long and fun filled weekend, I passed out on the bus ride home (which is a blessing because it means no motion sickness on those crazy mountain roads.) Though this was probably my last chance to catch some sun in the beach town, I have a feeling come spring I will be spending a lot more time in Cadiz.

Nevertheless, there’s no place like Ubrique… Last week’s series of stressful events may have put a moment of doubt in my mind - I won’t elaborate on that because I’ve had some time to reflect (perk of not having wifi) and I’ve realized that not every day is going to be perfect, even if you are living in a picture perfect postcard-esque town. It’s important not to dwell on the bad things though. Getting out of Ubrique and enjoying another city for a little bit was just what I needed to kick start myself a little bit (I’m convinced that sun, sand and sea can cure everything, including the awful hangover I had Sunday morning).  Cadiz is becoming another favorite place of mine, but leaving Ubrique always seems to make me appreciate it a little bit more when I come back. Whenever the bus pulls in and I see the sierra towering over the white washed town I’m just as excited as the first time I got a glimpse of that amazing view. In addition, it always feels good to come back to some place where the places and faces are familiar.

Here’s to having a balance between enjoying my time in Ubrique, and taking advantage of exploring some more. Up next: spending the holiday next weekend in Cordoba and Sevilla. More adventures to come!

Salsa

Since it seems everyone here knows how to move and it's clear that I have no real dancing talent, I decided to sign up for dance lessons. This past week I began salsa lessons along with some of the other auxiliares, Kendra, Debra, and Alysha. I heard about the opportunity because it takes place weekly at my second home in Ubrique– the Hotel Ocurris. The instructor, Juan, is a native of Cuba (those Cubans know how to move!) who lives in Arcos de la Frontera and commutes to Ubrique three nights a week to teach salsa. FYI I have never taken a single dance class in my life. When I go out with my friends, I often bust out cheesy moves like the Crazy Leg (see Atun Con Pan) and the classic Aqueous-move-that-has-not-yet-been-named (see below). However, I love music and I like to think I have a little rhythm, so I put aside my shame and decided to attempt to learn some legitimate (and fun!) dance moves. It’s only the first week, but I think I’ve got my work cut out for me!

...that's why I need dance lessons.

The class for beginners is on Monday nights at 8 in the Ocurris basement. Before and after, and on Wednesdays as well, there are several more advanced levels (which I hope to move up to before my time is up here in Ubrique!) My first lesson went surprisingly well. Though it was a lot of information to take in all at once, we learned the basic steps first solo and then with a partner. There weren’t as many men as women who signed up, so we had to pass the boys around and share. There were some adorable grandpas that were surprisingly really great dancers! It’s essential to have a good partner because basically the male leads the dance while the female spins and swirls around and looks pretty.

Then there are Fridays…. Juan doesn’t actually teach a class on Friday; it’s more of a free-for-all kind of dance party. Pepe opens up the bar downstairs, Juan puts on a wicked playlist, and people of all levels of experience come to dance the night away, practice their moves, and have a little fun. Though we had only taken one class, Kendra and I thought it would be a good idea to at least go check it out and maybe learn something from watching the pros. Boy, did we learn something.

I’m pretty sure we were the only ones there from level 0 and, as per usual, the only foreigners making it even more difficult to understand when people tried to talk to us. Fortunately, everyone was super nice and really helpful. All of the expert dancers grabbed us by the hand, one after the other, and kept teaching us more and more dance moves. Not only had I only taken one class of basic salsa, but I had never been exposed to the bachata or chacha music that I heard that night either. Somehow, I managed to learn quickly enough on the spot not to embarrass myself too badly. Similar to learning a language, or anything else for that matter, I believe it is most beneficial to throw yourself out there, not be afraid and just practice practice practice. The pros ended up spinning and twirling and throwing us around, and I don’t think I could tell you exactly what moves I accomplished today. Here’s what I know I did learn, though.

1)      Don’t think about it too much. Though you have to have a basic understanding of which direction to move your feet, if you over think the dance moves, you will likely tense up and therefore screw up. It’s important to breathe and relax!

2)      Feel the music. This goes along with number one. Once you clear your brain a little bit, you can really listen to the music and let your body move along with it. This is extra important because sometimes the music is fast, sometimes it’s slower, and sometimes it even changes in the middle of a song. You and your dance partner have to be on the same page as the music at all times.

3)      Trust your partner. Salsa is a type of dance that heavily relies on the male to lead. Though the man is not always moving or twirling as much as the woman, the small gestures he makes with his hands, feet and body in general actually control the woman’s dance moves.

4)      Wear good shoes. If you want to do it right and look elegant while dancing, it’s necessary to have a good pair of tacones (high heels). However, tonight I learned the hard way that my black stiletto pumps were not a good choice. This weekend will definitely consist of shopping for a new pair of comfortable, safe dancing shoes.

5)      Have fun! If you want to be a pro, you will probably have to put in at least 7 hours of practice daily. Lessons once or twice a week plus a little practice in the mirror will probably suffice if you are just aiming to get decent. Regardless, it is important to remember to have fun with it, because that’s what it’s all about!

Kendra dancing with our instructor, Juan

All in all, it was a good first week and I’m eager to learn more. I’d like to take it kind of seriously and maybe potentially be somewhat good at something. Perhaps I’ll even continue to dance in the future, who knows! For now, I’m just having fun. Here’s to hoping I don’t injure myself or anyone else in the process J

Atún Con Pan

(Friday, October 14)

Thursday evening, I was invited to dinner with some of the professors from school. We went to the same little place on the Avenida where I had dined with Javi and his friends from Jimena last Tuesday. Needless to say, it was even more delicious the second time around. We ordered some tapas to share that blew my mind! The skewer of shrimp and swordfish might be one of my new favorites. Revueltos campaneros were also very good (scrambled eggs with lots of good stuff inside.) I even tried chicken liver, which wasn’t that bad! I can’t say of all the items on the menu that I would choose to order it again, but I would eat it if it was put in front me!

The food was great and the company was too. All of the professors are really nice and welcoming (and fun, too!) My still-needs-some-improving Spanish makes it difficult to communicate sometimes, but they are always very patient with me.

After the dinner, we went to Morgans to hang out and have a drink. Morgan’s always has an interesting combination of Spanish/American/different types of music playing loudly, paired with Latina music videos on the flat screen tvs. (I like to pretend the music actually goes to the videos, it usually makes for some good laughs). The professors taught me a little bit about Spanish music, past and present. Irene, the visual arts teacher, says that the beat to reggatone music sounds like “a-tun-con-pan” which in Spanish means tuna with bread. It’s kind of random, but we decided you can use the words atún con pan for almost any beat… except for salsa which apparently is more like atún-con-pan-y-tomate.

In return for teaching me a little bit about the Spanish culture, I shared some classic American dance moves ranging from the Sprinkler to the Barnyard Dance to the Uncomfortable Bob… but the paso favorito de la noche, hands down, was the Crazy Leg. For some reason, they got a kick out of it! I don't know who this chick is, but it is the only picture on google images I could find to accurately represent said dance move:

Maybe I should actually learn how to dance....

Spanish Night Out

(Wednesday, October 12)

Tuesday night, I had my very first typical “Spanish night out” fully equipped with food, beverages, native Spaniards, and wee hours into the night.

The night began around 7pm when Clint and I went to meet Kendra for coffee. Little did we know then that we wouldn’t be coming home for another 10 hours or so. Kendra was with her roommate Javier, a science professor at Remedios and a pretty cool dude all around. He works in Jimena on the weekends, and this particular day (being a holiday) his Jimena friends where coming to visit later on. Javi took off to teach night class and said we could meet up later, so the three of us went to have a delicious meal on the Avenida (the Avenida España is literally THE Avenida, the one street where everyone in town goes to eat, drink, shop, walk, visit, rest, etc..) Debra and Shannon met us for drinks and some delicious tapas (fried rolls of asparagus, ham and bacon are a personal favorite of mine).

Javi returned around 1030 and we were soon joined by his friends Rosa, Nicolas, Silvia and Ismael. From the restaurant, we progressed down the Avenida to a local hopping joint for drinks and Spanish comedy (I’m always the last to laugh at jokes due to the time it takes me to process them in my head). Later we progressed further down the Avenida to the one and only Morgan’s Pub where I was enlightened to the wonderful world of futbolin (fuesball). I swear it’s almost as intense as real fútbol (soccer) is here. It’s a little more difficult too, because their little soccer players aren’t just blocks like the one I had growing up, they actually have little legs and feet! I need some serious practice.

 When Morgan’s started to die down around 315, we meandered over to the one and only discoteca (dance club) in town, Babel. Pepe and Andres had warned us not to go there by ourselves because we would be very out of place and it would not be pretty. We felt much more confident venturing there with our new Spanish friends. It wasn’t very crowded, but it proved to be a lot of fun. Our cheesy American dance moves (sprinkler, lawn mower, shopping cart) need a lot of work, but some locals have already started to attempt to teach us how to move the Spanish way (I though Bachata was supposed to be easy?!) It wasn’t until 5am that we decided to call it a night and head back (sometimes a Spanish night out lasts until the sun comes up. Dios mio!) The whole gang was super nice and I learned a lot conversing with them in Spanish, especially on the walk home. I truly hope we will cross paths again! It helps having Spanish friends, mostly because then other Spaniards are no longer afraid to approach the weird foreign people.  

The next day was also quite the typical Spanish day. It was a holiday so no there was no work or school. (October 12 is día de la hispanidad – a day to celebrate the discovery of the New Word and Hispanic culture. My typical Spanish day went like this: Desayuno (breakfast), walk, drink, walk, almuerzo (lunch), walk, siesta, dinner, relax, bed. And in between all the walking was a bit of sitting and conversing with friends. Pretty good life, eh? I also met some more English speakers – Adam from Connecticut I believe and Sophie from England. We had dinner with auxiliares at El Laurel (the restaurant, not the tapas bar!) and it was quite incredible. I could really get used to this whole sleeping and eating thing...

That's all for now!

Malentendidos

No matter how hard I try or how much my Spanish is improving, I am still constantly making errors and learning from them every day. My favorite malentendido (misunderstanding) of today goes something like this:

First, you must know something about the Spanish language. They distinguish feminine and masculine words with the change of a simple letter: o for masculine and a for feminine. For example, chico means boy and chica means girl. In addition, if you have more than one, the masculine form is dominant. Therefore, while chicas represents only a group of all girls, chicos could mean a group of boys, OR a group of boys and girls. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but it’s pretty easy if you have a basic understanding of gender categorization.

For my particular case, let’s examine the word for teacher. A male teacher is a profesor and a female teacher is a profesora.While profesoras means a group of female teachers, profesores can refer to a group of all male OR a group of both male and female teachers.

It may seem confusing at first since we don’t distinguish many masculine and feminine words in the English language. However, any first year Spanish student knows and understands this rule as their profesores drill it into their brains over and over again. I am very well aware of the importance of gender categorization, but everyone makes mistakes once in a while.

Well, outside of the teacher’s lounge, there is a sign for aseos profesores – teachers’ restroom. Seeing that sign outside the room, I assumed (yes I know, assume makes an ass out of u and me) that this was a special bathroom for teachers not to be used by students. Well, I’m a teacher, I’m special, I can use this bathroom, right? I obliviously used this restroom today. Twice. I’m sure you’ve figured out my malentendido by now.

Aseos profesores are bathrooms for MALE professors.  Aseos profesoras are bathrooms for FEMALE profesors. Had I walked a little further down the hall and saw that I had two options, I probably would have made the right choice. But I didn’t.

I should have been tipped off when I heard a male professor walk in, stop, and walk out, probably frightened/confused by the pretty sandals and red toenail polish in the first stall. Furthermore, the urinal I noticed on my way out should have been a dead giveaway. I remember thinking, oh hey, that’s weird; I guess it’s true that they’re more laid back and comfortable here in Spain. They do have nude beaches, anyway… Still not realizing my mistake, I used the restroom AGAIN after lunch and walked right out into a group of teachers.

No one said anything until I was halfway down the hall, when my bilingual coordinator discretely came up to me and pointed out my mistake. I was temporarily mortified, but quickly laughed it off. To make it even more hilarious, the place where she stopped to talk to me was literally right in front of the female restroom that I had failed to see previously. Good job, me.

Misunderstandings occur at least once a day. The other day I noticed a “centro de salud” and thought it was the “welcome center.” Not sure at all how I came to think that, but  I almost went in until I saw the ambulance and realized it was the “health center.” Duh.  It’s even worse when you have a misunderstanding when actually talking to a native Spanish speaker. At first, I was embarrassed and would sometimes just nod my head and say “sí.” This is the absolute worst thing you could do because you don’t know what you’re saying yes to. It also makes you look like an ass. I did this the other day with a complete stranger. (To be fair, I was tired and my brain hurt from thinking in Spanish.) A man said something to me in the street after I dropped my keys. Even though he repeated it twice, I didn’t understand, but I just nodded and said “si” and started to walk away. He said “no no no” and looked really confused. When I still didn’t get it, he got this look on his face like he had just realized that a) I’m foreign b) I’m deaf or c) I’m really dumb. After looking at me funny, he slowly said “Me llamo Joaquin”. To make myself look even dumber, I reached out my hand for a handshake. Here it is custom to give a kiss on each cheek when meeting someone. I definitely should know better by now. I still don’t know what was said, but I know better for next time not to pretend to understand. Pepe has gotten to know me so well that when I nod my head, he knows whether or not I actually get it (apparently I’m a bad liar). Most people are very patient and will slow down, pronounce (big deal since the cadiz/ubrique accent literally leaves off consonants making it very difficult to understand) and explain things better once they get to know me. There’s no shame in asking someone to slow down or repeat!

We English speakers make mistakes regularly, and often times it’s embarrassing. However, our native Spanish speaking friends are capable of having misunderstandings in English as well. Today in one of my art classes, we were learning basic vocabulary for art tools used in the classroom. Number 2 on the list was “eraser: A piece of rubber or plastic used to rub out / wipe / erase something.” When I got to the 4^th word of the definition, “rubber” the class burst out laughing. Though their English is not very good, they learned from Great Britain vocabulary that a “rubber” is a “condom”. Out of that whole phrase, they all thought I was talking about condoms. I somehow managed to keep my cool on that one and not giggle along with the kids.

I’m sure there will be more misunderstandings and many more not-understanding-anything-at-alls. I’ve learned not to be embarrassed or self-conscious because it’s normal; every day is a learning experience. Sometimes I think my brain might explode from the massive amount of knowledge it’s absorbing daily! Though it can be overwhelming and utterly exhausting at times, in the end it feels absolutely amazing to watch myself learn and grow a little bit every day.

Abrazos

Getting Oriented

o·ri·en·ta·tion  (ôr-n-tshn, -n-, r-)

1. Location or position relative to the points of the compass.

2. An adjustment or adaptation to a new environment, situation, custom, or set of ideas.

3. Introductory instruction concerning a new situation.

This past week has been all about getting oriented. First, I'm still learning my way around, practicing my navigation skills and becoming physically aware of where I am in town, as well as in relation to other towns and cities in Spain.

Second, I’m constantly still assimilating myself to this new environment that I've placed myself in and will probably be adapting and learning new things until the very moment I leave... if ever that is ;)

Third, I recently attended the Orientation for auxiliares de conversacion in Jerez de la Frontera, where I was not only oriented on my rights and responsibilities as an auxiliar, but was also orienting myself on my new surroundings and had the pleasure of getting lost after trying to orient myself in a city with one of the most complicated medieval street plans ever. See? So much orienting.

Recap of the events of last week: After hiking the Calzada Romana on Saturday, I allowed myself the pleasure of sleeping in quite late on Sunday. When I got up in the afternoon, I headed to the cafe to visit and steal wifi. Sunday night was also an excellent night for roomie bonding time. Debra was feeling much better and purchased the goods for Mexican fajita night! We prepared a lovely meal, (gracias to the man of the house, Clint, for slaving over a hot stove) and had dinner and drinks together on our rooftop terrace. The drinks continued to the living room where we practiced our Spanish - partially from Clint's grammar workbook and partially from my Dirty Spanish book (gracias Dave!). We feel it is equally important to use correct verb conjugations and adjective-noun agreement as it is to use local slang.

We are a very special group.

Monday was the first day we had to present ourselves at school. I had a meeting with the bilingual program coordinator and staff to discuss my schedule and role in the classroom. All of the professors seem very kind and helpful so I’m sure we will work well together. I will be teaching levels Primero ESO and Segundo ESO, which are the equivalent of 7^th and 8^th grade in the US (around 12-14 years old). The content areas I will be assisting with for the bilingual program are Math, Natural Sciences and Visual Arts. The way the bilingual program works is that the professors must teach 30-50% of their class time completely in English. This can get very complicated, especially when describing difficult concepts such as math terms and equations. That is where the language assistants, such as me, come into play. Our job is to help teach those classes in English, modeling proper vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation and also to encourage students to practice speaking English and use content related vocabulary. In addition we help create materials, bring fresh new ideas and a new perspective on education, and help the professors improve their English as well. This week I have mostly been observing and planning with the other teachers, but the students seem intrigued and excited to work with me, so I’m looking forward to really getting started next week.

Though I would have preferred to stay in Ubrique, I ended up having to leave town a few times this week. The first venture out of town was for the orientation in Jerez de la Frontera. Over the weekend I had met another language assistant, Kendra, who also enrolled in the auxiliar program directly through the government and would be going to the same orientation as me. (The other assistants that I live with applied to the program through a private program called CIEE, so they had an orientation even before arriving in Ubrique). Kendra and I decided to take the bus up to Jerez de la Frontera Monday night and crash there since the orientation was scheduled for 9:30am and the commute is quite long from Ubrique. It’s a good thing we decided to go early, or I’m not sure we would have made it! Immediately after my Monday meeting with the bilingual staff, I realized we could catch the 3:30 bus to Jerez if I hustled home and gathered my things quickly. Well, of course on my way out the door I run into one neighbor that wants to speak with me as well as my landlady, Maribel, who wants the October rent that very day. As I’m running out the door I ask if I can give it to her tomorrow because the others aren’t even home (and the rent wasn’t even due until Wednesday!) but for some reason she has a very strange persuasive nature about her (maybe it’s the enticing bright blue eye shadow over that permanent, wide-eyed smile?) and she convinced me it was necessary to pay her that very day. I booked it to the nearest ATM, back pack and all, and gratefully ran into my roommate Shannon who took the money for me. Kendra and I made it to the bus station with about 4 minutes to spare, thinking we were still somehow on top of our game. Of course we were wrong.

After almost getting on the wrong bus, then almost missing the right bus, nearly 2 hours, one bus change, several stops in various pueblos and many hills and turns and nausea later.... We made it to Jerez! After making some friends on the bus, we debarked and headed for our destination only to get lost within the first 5 minutes. An hour and a half and several stops for directions later, and we made it to the hotel where the orientation would be held the next morning. The hotel was cheap and pretty nice, but the area on the outskirts of town was less than ideal. We were hot and exhausted from our journey but also famished, so we decided to trek back uphill into the city and look for a nice plaza to have dinner in. What’s another half hour or so of walking anyway? Obviously we got lost again in the first 5 minutes, but still somehow managed to hit the jackpot and stumble upon an alcazar, a cathedral and a lovely plaza with a fountain, carousel, and many cafes, one of which would serve as our dining spot. Our evening consisted of touristy pictures, paella and delicious seafood, gelato and miraculously finding our way back to the hotel without actually going through the less-than-ideal part of town.

The next morning we met tons of other auxiliares from the US, Canada, England, Australia, France, and Germany. Apparently the program is kind of a big deal for the government because there were several newspaper and television cameras surrounding the front stage and snapping random photos of everything and everyone. The Ministry of Education Officials were like celebrities. It made us feel kind of important I guess. The presentation itself was informative but a little daunting; I feel like I have so much to do still!

The rest of the week went by pretty quickly as I had to leave again Thursday evening, this time to go to Cádiz in order to obtain my NIE (foreign identity number). Again, I was reluctant to leave Ubrique because I’d like to spend more time getting acquainted with the town and the people here, but it was necessary to get the NIE process done and over with ASAP because we need the number for other super important things like bank accounts and internet. Nevertheless, I re-packed my bags (much lighter this time having learned from experience) and hopped on the bus after school Thursday with the other 3 roomies. Predictably, our journey to Cádiz turned into quite an adventure as well.

The 2 hour, hilly, stop and go journey caused extra nausea this time, but I managed to keep it together. We got in late Thursday night, explored a little, and planned on getting up very early Friday morning to beat the rush at the police station. Great plan. The problem? This Friday happened to be a día festivo (holiday ) particular to only the city of Cádiz. One thing about the Spanish culture – they absolutely love their días festivos. They have a holiday nearly every other week, sometimes more, and they do them right - No work, no school, everything shut down, parades, celebrations in the streets, good company and lots of eating and drinking, and sometimes they even bridge holidays so they have extra days off! Spectacular lifestyle… except when you actually need to get something done. Unfortunately, we were unable to complete our NIE process because the bank and the foreigner’s office were both closed until Monday. Kind of a big letdown since that was our main motive for busing it to the city. (From now on, I will always check the holiday calendar before making any plans!)

The plus side? We were in Cádiz… one of the oldest, most historical and beautiful cities on the coast of Spain! We decided to make a short weekend out of it since we were already there anyways. We booked another hostel for the second night and explored the town and the beaches. Cádiz is one of the oldest (if not THE oldest?) port cities in all of Europe.  It is a small island bridged off the western coast of Spain surrounded by the Atlantic ocean. Along the coast among the modern apartment buildings, you can see remnants of Roman ruins, a stunning, golden domed cathedral, and exotic trees that are over 500 years old! We also had the pleasure of meeting many other auxiliares that were placed in the city of Cádiz. They seem like a good bunch, so hopefully we will run into one another again.

After spending 2 weeks in the mountains, being in such a huge city was a bit of a refreshing culture shock – the city was full of life, different sights and so much history. I do love meeting new people and seeing the sights in different cities, but I really can’t wait to spend some more good quality time in Ubrique. After backpacking so much this week, it was so incredibly nice to come back to my piso, the comfortable little home I’ve made for myself here.  Though I can’t help but still feel completely foreign, every day I am beginning to feel less and less like an outsider here. It’s just a matter of time before I can really embrace the culture, and am in return truly embraced by the people as part of their community. Though I have been missing my friends and family intensely lately, I’ve already met some wonderful people. I’m sure with time I will find my niche and have a plethora of cool Spanish friends here in Ubrique. Here’s to hoping it’s sooner rather than later!

Saludos