Long Weekends and Short Trips

There's no shortage of holidays here in Spain (and I don't work Fridays), which means I'll have plenty of time to travel around the country, and hopefully around other parts of  Europe as well!

Recently, in order to straigten out my documents, extend my visa, open my bank account, etc. I had to make a short trip to the closest "big city" called Don Benito. Though I had a number of problems with the paperwork (not worth explaining) I was able to enjoy the lovely place for the day. Despite the fact that the city isn't particularly large, it's known for great shopping. And, after the stress of dealing with the DMV-like office in Don Benito, what could make a girl feel better than some awesome shopping?

Below you can see my friend Sarah, and her tutor, María (they came with me to deal with business as well) walking around the shops in Don Benito:

 And a Church near the town center:

 Speaking of my friend Sarah, she lives in an awesome piso (apartment) in a small town called Talarrubias, not far from Herrera. It's nice to have a quick getaway spot if I'm dying to speak some english. Below are a few photos of her piso.

The gorgeous view off her terrace:

 The following weekend, we had Monday and Tuesday off so I planned a trip with a few of the other girls in my program. We started in Mérida (the capital of Extremadura) followed by Sevilla which is located in the region of Andalucia.

In Spain and most Latin American countries, every city/town has a center, usually called the "Plaza Mayor" It works out great for visitors and tourists because the main plaza always seems to be the easiest place to meet up with people.  

Below is a picture of the main plaza in Mérida:

Mérida, the one-time capital of Lucitania has been described as 'a mini version of Rome.' The origins of Mérida date back to 25 years before Christ when Emperor Octavio Augusto ordered the construction of a city to house retired soldiers of the V and X Legions. Much of modern Mérida is built on Roman foundations. Today, you can see the ruins of a Roman aquaduct, theatre and ampitheatre. 

Pictured below - the Roman Ampitheater:

 
The Roman Theater (though I'd call it a stadium):

The aquaduct that can be seen throughout Mérida (and yes we took a kiddie train around the city):

Following our trip to Mérida, we took a bus to Sevilla. During the trip we were able to enjoy some authentic Flamenco dancing, the beautiful main cathedral and... McDonalds! (And yes they serve beer at the ones in Europe)

Just a picture of beautiful Sevilla:

Looking up - the hostel we stayed in:

I couldn't go to Spain without seeing some Flamenco dancers, right? Though I couldn't help but think of Helga from Zoolander while watching the one on the left (below). However, in all seriousness, their steps and movements were pretty amazing and must have taken a lot of strenth and practice.

Along with its Spanish origins, Gypsy, Byzantine, Sephardic and Moorish elements have often been cited as influences in the development of flamenco. Something else that you may not know about Flamenco: the cantadores (singers) are the heart and soul of the performance, and the majority of the show focuses on them, not the dancers.

The Cathedral of Sevilla, this picture just doesn't do it justice. It's the largest gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world, also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sedes. The cathedral was originally built to demonstrate Seville's wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista circa 1400.

As an American, it's really crazy for me to think about how old some of these buildings are here in Europe!

I've really been enjoying all of these cities in Spain, sometimes it's hard for me to remember what I'm actually doing here (working).

Back at "home" in Herrera Del Duque I've finally moved into an apartment. I'm living with one of the other teachers, Davíd. He has been really nice and accommodating. Lucky for me, he's a language teacher at the high school so he can help me with my Spanish in exchange for a few English lessons.

Eventually one of my entries will feature my "daily life" including my apartment, a few pictures around my town and ridiculous stories about teaching spanish children. Skype me!

And so it begins

As I conclude my first of many weeks here in Spain, I already feel as though my life has changed drastically.

I'll start by saying that my first few entries will center around my activities, thoughts and "adventures." Later, to make this a little more interesting for anyone who cares to read it, I'll try to include more things I've learned about Spanish culture, places to visit and historical information.

I flew into Madrid on September 27, the day before a scheduled huelga general - "general strike." Strikes in Europe are interesting because they're planned and this one only lasted one day. It just happened to be extremely inconvenient for my travels.

Here you can see the strikers approaching a group of police in Cáceres:

After an extremely long and somewhat stressful journey from NC to NY to Madrid to my orientation city, Cáceres I felt some sense of accomplishment. I honestly wasn't sure if I would be able to survive thus far on my own. I took the early bus to my hostel and arrived much earlier than any of the other 120 people in my program. This was the most difficult part of my trip - realizing I was alone for the time being, though the feeling didn't last. I took some time to walk around the city and take a few pictures:

A vending machine with hot food? Genious!

Eventually I met almost one hundred english speakers at orientation who were all nice enough to offer up their couches in the various cities they'll be staying in while teaching in Spain. It was nice to have people to walk around the city and go out with. Here's a few more pictures around Cáceres:

After a night out: a lot of hills + walking with my flip flop accustomed feet = good for my calves, bad for my weak skin

We arrived during the first week of classes at the University. Therefore, we had the opportunity to witness the one week long public hazing session for freshman. Students had stuff written all over them in permanent marker and were allowed to participate in "Botellón" (basically a legal party in the street, it can only take place on certain designated days, I may elaborate later) - I guess actually going to class isn't important... ohh to be a Freshman again.

During orientation, one of the other teachers at the high school came to pick me up and take me to the little town I'm teaching in, Herrera Del Duque. His name was  Juamma, short for Juan Manuel, he is a math teacher and doesn't speak a lick of english. However, he has a great sense of humor and cracked up for ten minutes when I accidentally told him that my sister was 70 years old. I'm so greatful for his family as they're letting me stay with them until I find an apartment. His wife, Paqui is really sweet and always goes out of her way to accomodate me. They have two sons, Juamma (jr.) and Pablo (14 & 9 respectively).

Communicating with the boys while I'm living here has been pretty funny. The youngest one, Pablo just makes faces at me from across the table and I make them back. I guess it's just too much work to try to get the point across with words - and I know exactaly how he feels. The older one, Juamma always asks me what he should wear - to pick out the color of his shirts and pants, adorable!

On Sunday the family took me out to the country. We stopped in Guadalupe for lunch, the town was beautiful, particularly the Cathedral. Here are a few pictures from the town:

After lunch we went to a "Fería" which literally translates into an exchange. I beleive it was a center for hunting, fishing, natural resources and other outdoor activities in Extremadura (the rather rural region of Spain that I'm in).

Paqui's fun, single younger sister, Lola had me stand near a bunch of antlers and take a picture haha. On the way there I saw a ton of deer and they looked very different than the ones in North Carolina. Additionally, there were a lot of horses, sheep, goats, donkeys and some crazy looking birds.

Out back there was a place for kids to ride on mini four wheelers and climb a rock wall. Pablo rode on the mini four wheelers and Lola decided she should too, it was hilarious. You can see Lola in the below picture with Pablo approaching behind her.

There was also a guy letting kids shoot bow & arrows at targets, Lola insisted that I participate and she took a picture. You can see Paqui and Pablo (barely) behind me. Paqui always seems to be dressed to the nines - I'm not sure what she thinks about the limited amount of clothing I was able to bring here.

Here's a Palace I saw during the drive:

And a random picture looking out from my little pueblo, Herrera Del Duque - from the balcony of the house I'm staying in. More to come on my little town in the next few entries.

I've got much more to tell but this blog entry is already starting to get long and boring. Hopefully I'll have a Spanish roommate soon and I can write about that experience along with teaching classes and weekend travel. Until next time!