Is it really November already???

So it has been a nice week in Valencia. Wednesday wasn’t anything particularly exciting. I woke up and went to the school where I help kids with English. I really really enjoyed it. This time there were only 3 kids in my group of 15 year olds and it was a lot better than bigger groups because each person really got a chance to talk. In the beginning this one boy was so shy and quiet but by the end he was explaining parts of Spanish history to me. It’s awesome to see them improve, even when it’s just over an hour. My 10 year olds were on a fieldtrip so I went home after that.

I didn’t have class until 3, but my professor was sick so he assigned us to go to a couple museums. We went to one, which was a little strange, but it had some cool stuff in it. Of course that night we went to Montaditos and ate sandwiches and drank tinto.


Creepy dude in the museum

Thursday we watched Mar Adentro in my film class. It was a great movie, but just really emotionally draining to watch. It was about euthanasia, so it kind of makes sense. In my history class Ignacio’s father came to talk to us about life during the Civil War in Spain. It was so cool getting to hear him talk, but our class was supposed to end at 4:30 and he talked until 5. The only reason that was a problem is because Belen had organized a trip to the Spanish movie theatre to see Los Ojos de Julia at 4:50 and we missed it. I just felt really guilty because it was my suggestion and she came all the way here and nobody went. Ahh I felt so bad. Oh well, not like I could have done anything.

I actually ended up going for a run and then going to bed really early Thursday night. Probably for the best because Friday at 9 we left to go to Xativa. It’s this town like 45 minutes away from Valencia and has this ancient castle. We went into the museum and then climbed up. It was actually more of a hike than I anticipated haha. Erin and I got to the top and then were really hungry so broke away from the group and went to a café. We thought we’d see everyone walk by on the way back.. but umm we didn’t. Hahaha so I got a call from Alicia saying they were already at the bottom of the mountain and if we missed the bus it was our responsibility to get home. Luckily, we made friends with some Ukrainians (who we told we were twins) in the café that worked there and gave us a ride down to the cathedral. Then we met up with some people and got pizza and some good old Cruzcampos for lunch.


A view of Xativa from the top of the castle




We got back and I think literally every single person in our study center passed out for a solid nap. I definitely slept from like 5:30-8. I actually woke up to a text from my Spanish friends saying they were in a bar nearby and that I should come have a drink with them. So I met up with Alejandro and Seve and it was so fun. I love hanging out with them because they don’t speak any English whatsoever. And it was really nice because they told me they could tell I’ve improved since I went on the Camino and that I’ve been practicing a lot. They’re awesome and invited me to dinner, but Caitlin and Maddie and I had other plans already.

I ended up having such a good ladies night with them and it was so awesome just to go explore all sorts of new places with them. It was a really relaxed Friday night and I think we got home around 2:30 when the last bar kicked us out because they were closing. I hung out with some people in the study center until maybe 4 and then went to sleep.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Valencia so I better go take advantage of it!