Traveling, Becoming more fluent

Last night when I was coming back from being out with friends, I may have been bruised by a hoof. Why a hoof, you might ask…Well, that is because the Señora that I live with has a pigs’ leg in the kitchen…but don’t worry, she’s not crazy. It’s normal. It’s so that she can have Iberian ham, jamón ibérico, freshly carved whenever she wants it.

In the last few weeks, I have done a lot of traveling, learning and meeting new people. Since my last post, I went to Lagos and Albufeira, Portugal with my friends and many other students on the We Love Spain trip. We visited a huge cliff, which was considered to be the edge of the world back when people thought the world was flat, long before Columbus stumbled upon The New World. We also visited caves that were very impressive. Most of all we went to 3 beaches, relaxed and enjoyed the fact that summer is a lot longer over here. It was a truly an awesome weekend!

I started a weekly volunteering opportunity at a school in a less affluent part of Sevilla, helping the teacher out with class. There are a few other students from my program, CIEE, who are volunteering at the same school. The children are very cute and although I can’t always understand what they’re saying to me at first, I enjoy volunteering there and it’s a great experience.

The most noteworthy and exciting thing about the last few weeks is that my parents were here for 11 days!! We had a wonderful time in Sevilla, Granada, Estepona and Ronda! Each place is magnificent and unique for distinct reasons. Sevilla has so much history and has the largest historic quarter in Europe. Granada has the Alhambra, the residence of Moorish kings from back when Spain and Portugal were under Moorish rule and were called Al-Andalus. The Alhambra is so well preserved and sits atop a large hill with an awesome view. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold in Spain. Estepona is less Spanish and more touristy—there are many British and German tourists there, but it is located on the Costa del Sol, right on the Mediterranean Sea. Not to mention you can see the northern tip of Africa. Ronda is located in the mountains and the ride up from the coast was a bit frightening—definitely not for people with a fear of heights and we saw mountain goats! Ronda has a 130 meter river gorge that split the rock into two and the “New” bridge, completed in 1793 connects the old and newer parts of the city. The views are really spectacular and my parents and I thought it was one of the most beautiful places we’ve been. The view from our hotel balcony was unbelievable! Orson Wells and Ernest Hemingway spent a lot of time there and Hemingway based part of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” off of it. Even Michelle Obama has visited Ronda.

My Spanish skills have also been put to the test many times lately, especially when my Señora and my parents met; she doesn’t speak English and my parents don’t speak Spanish, so I had to translate everything both times that we went out to dinner together. It was very tiring and a little stressful, but I was very impressed with myself afterwards. In general, I’ve been practicing my Spanish listening and speaking skills more and more as I continue to make friends with Spaniards.

I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying all the fall activities that I miss! (Aka apple picking, pumpkins, lots of Halloween decorations and foliage, among others). I will make sure to celebrate Halloween here, though it’s less of a big deal. Heads up: I’ll be in Morocco and Gibraltar next weekend from Friday to Sunday with another We Love Spain trip. We’ll be making stops in Gibraltar, Tangier, Ceuta and Chefchaouen. But I’ll be back for Halloween and we have the Tuesday after Halloween off for All Saints Day! I’m hoping to go to Isla Mágica (Magic Island) the theme park in Sevilla on Halloween because they are having haunted houses and other fun and festive activities.

Hasta luego,

Jennie xoxo