April 15

I woke up at 8:00 to another overcast sky. I showered and headed down to the cafeteria. I had some orange juice and toast with strawberry jam. We were out the door just after 8:30. I couldn’t believe that it was already my last Thursday of regular classes. This semester has just gone way too fast.

In Literature class Celia gave us a study guide for the final and we had a presentation from Greg and Kristen. This class has just been great, I have a renewed interest in Literature thanks to this class. In Culture class we had a substitute and we spent the class talking about bull fighting. Adrian also showed us clips of toros por la calle which are different versions of “the running of the bulls”. All of the with the exception of 1 do not harm the bull. Toros de la Vega is the brutal exception in which the town lures a bull up on a mountain and they all have lances and take turns stabbing it. It is unfair and I was troubled by it.

After class, we headed back to the dorm. I was so excited because about halfway home the sun started to poke through the trees. It looked like it was going to be a great day to be outside. I hung out in my room until lunch. I made a ravioli sandwich and had some French fries. Shortly after lunch, a group of eight of us decided to head to El Rio to enjoy the great weather. We ended up finding an empty field and played 4 on 4 ultimate Frisbee then soccer with the same teams. It was fun to switch up between the two sports.

After we got back at around 6:30, Diego and I went to Alberto and all of his friends “man pad” and we watched the Real Madrid vs. Almeria soccer game. It was a great game, Almeria (a team that should have been dominated) scored first. Real Madrid ended up pulling it out but it was an interesting game. I didn’t realize how late it was getting back and I had to rush to meet the six guys I was going to the Valencia soccer game with. I ran upstairs, grabbed my ticket and we were out the door.

The game was great, we went to Manolo’s famous bar before the game and had a drink. We made it to our seats just as kickoff started. The game was against Bilbao. Bilbao is in sixth place and they needed to win this game if they had any hopes of playing in the Europa League tournaments. Our seats were great, they were upper deck but we had a great view of everything going on. I also enjoyed it because you could see the Micalet (the large cathedral tower that my parents and I climbed), it reminded me of the view. David Silva had two fantastic goals and Valencia won a great game 2-0.

After the game got out, I was exhausted. Joe, Greg and I took a taxi that let us out right near Doner Kebab. We grabbed a late night snack and headed back to the dorm. I decided to stay in for the night and get a good night sleep. My bed never felt better.

April 14

I woke up and had a feast for a breakfast; I had two pieces of toast, a café con leche, a glass of apple juice, a bocadillo and I grabbed two packs of breakfast crackers as I was out the door. The weather was cloudy and the streets were wet from the rain Valencia received the night before. It was also noticeably colder; we were so lucky to have the weather we did when my parents were here. In business class we had a presentation and corrected all of the homework we had from over the break. We went over the format for our final, which thankfully is not cumulative.

During my break in between classes, I went to the computer lab and started to work on my final grade for culture. We have to write a four-page reflection paper that basically compares and contrasts our culture to Spanish. We also have to explain what we like and what we don’t like about both cultures too. It was actually pretty easy to write, my ideas flowed pretty easy and I knocked out a page and a half.

In composition we learned our last piece of grammar about prepositions. As been the case all year, when she started to teach us all of the rules fell into place and it started to make sense. Her best way of teaching is she writes on the board anywhere from 2-4 different options to compose a sentence and then asks us to choose which one we think is right and tell her why. After we finished our preposition work we were dismissed and headed back to the dorm.

For some unknown reason, lunch was great. I made a spaghetti sandwich and doused it in olive oil. After lunch, I updated my blog and sent some of the pictures from this past week to my dad. The rest of the afternoon and early part of the night I hung out with everyone on my floor. It has been great to be living where I am because it reminds me a lot of the fun we had freshman year where everyone always has their door open and people can just freely walk and hangout in whichever room they please.

For dinner we had curry chicken and rice that was really good too. Two good meals have been hard to come by at the Rector lately and I was very satisfied. After dinner, I hung out for a while and then decided to head to O’Haras to see Juanjo. Diego came and met up after a while. After about twenty minutes Ben and Joe came then twenty minutes after that Scott, Ashely, and Mary Claire came too so it turned into a pretty good crowd.

Alex and Daniel, two friends I have made here were at O’Haras and we talked for a while. It was crazy because Alex is a huge R.E.M. fan and we started to talk about Athens. When he dropped the 40 Watt (a bar/venue for music) and Oconee Street (one of the streets in downtown Athens) I was surprised and really impressed. Diego and I arranged to meet up with them before we left which should be fun. I stayed for a while but left at 1:00 because I was pretty exhausted.

April 13

I woke up to Joe saying, “Dude, it’s 8:45 we have fifteen minutes until class starts.” I hoped out of bed and scrambled to get ready. My alarm clock broke a few weeks back and I have resorted to using an alarm clock that I downloaded for my computer. It actually works nice but a lot of the time my computer doesn’t turn on like it is programmed to do. Joe’s alarm didn’t work as well. We scrambled downstairs, skipped breakfast and caught a taxi to class. We were only about 7 minutes late and I was happy to be in a taxi because it was raining and cold. We had a funny conversation with the taxi driver in which we talked about all of the breaks that students here have from class. He was saying how unfair it was.

Celia didn’t mind us being a few minutes late. We started answering questions on narratives. We read an excerpt from a work called “Las Medidas Rojas” (the red stockings). It was pretty thick and difficult to understand at parts but it discussed the roles of the working class and showed a more vulgar view of a girls father that beat her because she wore red stockings (normally a sign of higher class). She ends up losing vision in an eye and some of her teeth and can never obtain her dream of going to America because those with physical disabilities we not allowed to make the trip.

In Culture class we started our last unit on art. It was great having just gone to the Prado because I had seen most of the works that we discussed. We talked about neoclassical architecture and looked also at some examples of architecture from Antoni Gaudi, the architect for Sagrada Familia and many other famous buildings in Barcelona. The cool thing that Gaudi did when he designed a building is he would also design the interior as well such as rooms and furniture.

After class, the walk back was rainy and I got drenched. When I got back, I changed into some warm sweatpants and felt much better. I updated my blog before lunch. At 1:30 we rushed down to eat. The lunch ladies weren’t done eating and needed time so we waited until they finally went back to the kitchen, when we tried to open the door it was locked. The ladies purposely walked by the locked door to get to the kitchen I think just to spite us. We had to walk all the way around the building to the other entrance. It was pretty unnerving.

After lunch, I spent most of the afternoon doing some small tasks I needed to get done. I changed my pin number for my debit card (now I finally can withdraw cash), ordered a new license (got stolen with my wallet) and did laundry. Dinner was a cheese plate and some croquetas that I made a sandwich out of. The rest of the night I didn’t do too much. I went to bed shortly after 12:00. It was a great day.

**The pictures are from the Royal Botanical gardens in Madrid.

April 12

I woke up at 10:30 and rushed down to the laundry room because I knew the washers and dryers would be in high demand with everyone just recently got back. I threw a load of laundry in and updated my blog.

We had steak that I made a sandwich out of for lunch. I am getting a little suspicious though, we have had steak a few times this week and a few of us think they are just heating up the old steak from this past week. It’s okay though, the light is at the end of the tunnel for when I can get back to normal food. And at least they always have good fries and orange soda.

For the first part of the afternoon I didn’t do too much, I showered and folded my laundry. After, Laura and I went to Negrito for a cup of coffee. I brought One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and read a lot. I have really enjoyed the book and from what my Dad said I think I am really going to like the movie too. After two café con leche, Mary Claire and Caroline joined us. We left pretty shortly after they came.

For the rest of the afternoon leading up to our weekly informational meeting about upcoming events I hung out in my room, catching up with Laura, Ryan and Dad. Our meeting was short, we don’t have any planned events and Aitor was just discussing our final exam schedule. I can’t believe this semester is coming to an end. For dinner, we had chicken wings and chicken noodle soup (another dish I feel like we have had way too much lately and probably are the leftovers).

After dinner, I hung out in my room while most people worked on some papers that they have coming up this week. I am pretty lucky in that the three classes on this program I am not in have the most work. At 11:00 we went to O’Haras with a bunch of people to grab a beer for Ashley’s birthday. We all came back after a drink, after all we had our first day of class for 12 days. It was a great break though and I am excited to get back to my last two weeks of class.

**The pictures are from Toledo and the Cathedral in Valencia

April 11

I woke up at 9:50 to catch the last ten minutes of breakfast, but my bed felt so good I decided to sleep in. I woke up just before 12:00 and watched the last thirty minutes of Breaking Bad’s newest episode. I updated my blog and got some new pictures loaded up. At 12:30 I started looking for people to see if anyone was awake. Dave and I tried to get some people together to go to el Rio. We recruited Diego, Scott, D White, Katie, Joe and Rebecca. It took everyone a while to get ready and as soon as we thought we were ready we would recruit one more person. It was pretty funny actually.

We finally left for el Rio at about 1:00. The weather has been outstanding lately, never a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the mid to high sixties. The sky is bluer than ever and the flowers are all starting to bloom. It is a wonderful springtime in Valencia. When we got there we passed a men’s soccer league and walked for a bit before we found a nice green space to throw the Frisbee. Some of us kicked the soccer ball around and others threw the Frisbee. I chose the Frisbee.

We played for about 45 minutes until Rebecca and I decided to play paddle ball with the beach set she had gotten over Semana Santa. We played for a while as the other six played a three on three soccer game. At 2:00 there was a mini-mesclata (loud fireworks) and we heard a band playing. We know there is a holiday on Monday but we aren’t exactly sure what for. We all got pretty hungry around the same time and decided to head back to the Rector.

Lunch was chicken that was a little dry with rice. I am at my wits end with the cafeteria food and frankly I am excited to be heading back to be able to have my favorite American dishes like cheeseburgers and buffalo chicken sandwiches. After lunch, I used the afternoon to relax. People were still coming back from their trips so I caught up with them. I didn’t do too much the rest of the evening/night; I caught up on the Master’s leader board.

Dinner was gross and I left still hungry (I was spoiled eating so well while my parents were here). After dinner, I hung out in the dorms while most people got working on some papers that they have due for their history and cine class. Diego, Joe, Dave and I hung out for awhile until I went back to my room. I skyped with Laura before I went to bed. Even though it was Sunday, it was nice knowing there was no school until Tuesday.

April 10

I was pretty tired from my week of traveling so I took the morning to catch up on some rest. It was great, I woke up to lunch and Diego, Greg and D White had gotten back. We ate lunch and swapped stories. A few of us were looking for something to do so we planned a little afternoon excursion to the beach. It took everyone a while to get motivated and ready but we left for the beach just before 4:00.

The weather was great, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the mid 60’s. I ran in to a bit of bad luck, the metro machine ate my money and I didn’t get a ticket. Diego had the same thing happen to him earlier in the semester and he said it was really easy to get back. He said he would help me get to the office to get it back this week, which is nice.

The beach was packed. This weekend there is a kite festival and there were hundreds of kites in the air. We found a spot and posted up for a few hours with an ipod, some speakers, the bags of easter candy my mom brought me and two Lufthansa blankets that I got from the airplane. It was so relaxing. The breeze wasn’t strong so it didn’t get cold even when the sun started to go down. I did have a little too much candy though. We decided to head back at about 7:00. Right as we were leaving, two gyrocopters flew overhead and kept circling the stretch of beach that we were on. It was really cool to watch them. The metro ride took a while on the way back; it seemed like our tram stopped at every intersection and red light. We managed to get back to the dorm right around 8:00.

After we got back, I showered and caught up on all of the sports happenings in the U.S. with the start of the MLB season and the Masters. I am really hoping that Fred Couples will come up with a big win going into Sunday. Dinner was pretty awful; we had calamari that didn’t hold a light to the calamari that we had at Cal Pep in Barcelona. After dinner, I was pretty exhausted and decided to stay in. We all hung out in Diego’s room until about 12:30. After, I came in and caught up on me and Ryan’s TV show, Breaking Bad. I went to bed shortly past 1:00.

April 9

I could not believe that it was already Friday, the last day my parents were here. The week had just been so great and had just gone way too fast. We met up at 9:30 on Calle de la Paz because my parents actually started walking my direction and we met in the middle. We went to Starbucks and got a coffee and some orange juice and we talked about how fun/comical our dinner was the night before.

After we finished our coffee my parents really helped me out and we went over to the hospital to pay my bill. It had been hanging over my head because I haven’t had a credit card, only the number and I was just nervous to go back. We took the metro over to the hospital and asked at a few desks until we were pointed in the right direction to the payment department. The ladies were so nice, they were asking me a lot of confusing questions that I didn’t completely understand but we finally got it paid. I was surprised because I thought with the ambulance ride, there would be a lot more damage done but thankfully it wasn’t.

After we lifted that huge burden off my shoulders, we went over to L’ Almoina because I wanted to show my parents the Roman, Visigoth and Muslim ruins that were right under the Cathedral. After we went to the desk, I found out a tour was mandatory and the English tours didn’t start until 4:30, which was too late for my parents because their train left back for Madrid at 5:50. I decided to show a little of my translating skills and we opted to take the all-Spanish tour that started at 1:00.

The tour was only the three of us plus the guide, which was good because she would pause after every few sentences to allow me to translate. When she played a video about the ceramics they had found, she was nice enough to play it in English. I didn’t translate perfectly, but I was surprised at how much I actually translated. The tour guide was actually so good though that my mom was able to pick up on a lot of stuff before I even translated it.

I was starving after the tour so we decided to look for someone. I couldn’t pull the trigger and decide anywhere so we walked around for a little over thirty minutes until we all decided that the lunch we had yesterday was so good that we should go back. I was so glad we did, the meal was better than the day before. We started with an awesome salad with Balsamic vinaigrette, fresh tomatoes, chunks of delicious cheese. I had bowties again with this Bolognese sauce that was so good. My parents got delicious entrees too, my dad had linguini with a really good Carbonara sauce and my mom had a cheesy orzo that was wonderful as well.

After lunch, we only had a little less than two hours so I decided to take my parents over to the Torres de Quart to have them climb up to the top. The view is incredible, not as great as the Micalet but incredible nonetheless. We stopped back at the dorm to drop off my leftovers from lunch and to see if Joe wanted to come along too. Of course knowing my luck, It was closed for siesta and wasn’t going to open back up until 5:30. My parents still got to see the whole façade covered in craters from canon balls over the years. We decided why not go grab a little gelato and a drink to enjoy the beautiful weather.

We went to Montadito’s and got some drinks and just talked. It was great, my parents really enjoyed meeting Joe. At 5:00 we needed to start making our way to the train station. We said bye to Joe and then headed over to the Hotel to grab my parents bags that they kindly let us leave behind the counter when we checked out. We went over to the train station and looked up where the train to Madrid was leaving. I stood with them in line and saw them off. It was so hard to believe that their trip was already over. I just had the greatest time with them; I ate like a king, saw three beautiful cities, viewed beautiful artwork, but most of all just enjoyed my parents company.

After I got back to the dorm, I saw the Mary Claire, Caroline and Ashley had gotten back from Portugal. I spent most of the evening comparing pictures and telling stories about our respective trips. I got to talk to Laura for a while which was great, our limited Internet access in Barcelona and Madrid coupled with her busy schedule (that is six hours behind) made it hard for me to talk to her. She had a large break in between work and an Arch society retreat so we talked for a little over an hour.

I was disappointed to be back with the cafeteria food. Every restaurant that I ate at while my parents were here was so good and the less than stellar hamburger (without a bun mind you) didn’t look very appetizing. After dinner, we all hung out for a little bit before we decided to go to O’Haras to grab a drink. They were having a Guinness promotion there so I thought I should have one. It was good to catch up with Juanjo and talk about everyone’s trips they had this past week. The girls were going to get another drink but Joe and I decided to turn in early for the night. I was pretty exhausted and my bed felt great.