Dreams

Today I woke up after having dreamed a very crazy dream. It was one of those dreams where your heart is pounding and you are thinking...."what just happened?" Today, I felt like my dream meant something, like it was a warning of some kind. Although the dream was frightening, I feel grateful that I had this dream today. I am grateful that God speaks through dreams sometimes and that he allows us to see situations as they really are. I am not one of those people who believe that all dreams have a deeper meaning, but I do feel that there are those occasional ones that are meant to be impactful. Wouldn't you agree? Regardless of your belief system or where you think dreams come from, I would venture to say that everyone has a dream every now and then that stops you in your tracks and makes you think. That dream that stays with you throughout the day and that you feel must have some connection to something in life because it was too powerful not to. That was today for me. I feel that God gave me a dream today as a warning. I just pray that I heed the warning.

Grateful

Today, when I was walking into work, I suddenly realized how blessed I am. I love my job...I am actually doing what I want to do. I get to work with adults from all over the world. I get to share with them about culture, life, and most of all I get to teach them English. I feel blessed for my position, and the fact that I am actually getting to do what I wanted to do. In one way I achieved a dream I had set. Which brings me to think that I should start setting more dreams, and pushing towards them. I feel like it is important to have things we are working towards, you know? I have a few things in mind, but not sure which way "we" (I say "we" now because there are two of us now-Lee and me) will go. It's interesting to see all the changes that have taken place in the past year. Last year at this time, I was in Spain, having just been proposed to. And now, I am married, working and living and loving life. Where will we end up? I like that it's a "we" now...I don't just daydream about what "I" can do, but I also dream about what "we" can do and accomplish in our lives. What God would like "us" to do? For me, maybe unlike some couples, I like the "we." I like the partnership and companionship. I am grateful for so many things in my life. I want to always remember, that come what may, I will serve God and be grateful for the gifts I have been given. I am not deserving of good...I've done nothing to warrant it, which is why I need to always keep life in perspective. To always look at who is really in charge. I just wanted to note today that I am grateful for life, for Lee, and for my job.

13 Days

I am currently spending this evening frantically trying to come up with an amazing English lesson for tomorrow. My assignment: teach two lessons about anything...which seems easy right? Cuz I can literally teach the students about ANYTHING...cool, right? Um..yes it is cool, but how am I supposed to decide what to teach. I have narrowed it down to wanting to teach them about American culture, and maybe even do a snippet on Tallahassee. So, I guess that narrows it down some, or does it? I mean what is American culture? I've come up with this list: Football (American...not soccer), Tailgating, House Parties (this is not so common in other parts of the world), Roadtrips, Churches, Rivers, Beaches, Boating, Baby Showers, Weddings, Universities, Parks, Fast Food, Mexican Food (love it!), Various Foods in general...ok so obviously this is not a comprehensive list, like at all...It's hard to do a lesson on American culture though because what should I focus on, how do I want to display our country? Anyway, once I get finished distracting myself with blogging :) I will get back to brainstorming...

So, since I have been getting more busy lately, I haven't been watching the days past as much, and so I looked up the other day and realized that I am leaving soon, yes very soon... 13 days in fact. I am eager to get back that is true, BUT I will miss a good few things here. Here is what I will miss:

The "cafe con leche"...love it.
The students at my school where I have been interning.
My supervisor, Diana-she's made my stay here so much better!
My roommates and the time in the afternoon that we spend eating together
Making coffee at home for myself, and my roomies
Walking in Valencia
The fresh food, and the local workers that have always been so nice
The teachers and their efforts to speak the few words of English they know
The families and random people who have showed me kindness
Speaking Spanish more, and just listening to Spanish everywhere
Have I mentioned the students? I will def. miss them...some of my favorites are the Seniors and the 12 year olds... :) Good times...

I am sure there are plenty more things...but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Well...I better get back to it!

See you all soon :)

The Bullfight.

So, yesterday I went to my first ever bullfight. I was very nervous to see this all happen, because as many of you know, they kill the bull. I didn't know if I could handle seeing that, nor if I necessarily wanted to. So then why did I go right? Well, I went because bullfighting is a tradition in Spain that has been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years, and I felt like I should form my own opinion about it, and just see what it's all about. So, I went with my supervising teacher and her husband (they have been incredibly kind to me, and I am so grateful for them). We drove (it was so nice to be in a car!) to a city near to Valencia that is having a similar festival like Fallas in Valencia. So, my supervisor's husband is not an expert or anything about bullfighting, but he does know a good bit, so he was my "tour guide" to some degree through the whole thing. So, we arrived to the Plaza de Toros (The Bull Ring) which is a round, big building that has arched windows on the outside and looks like a stadium in the inside. There is a big circular area at the bottom with white lines going around it, which is where they fight the bulls. So, my "tour guide" explained that there would be six bulls killed (yikes! I was thinking) and that there are 3 toreros (that might not be the correct word, but the man that actually does the final dance/fight/killing of the bull.) With each torero there is a team of people who work with him. So there are three parts of the fight. First, the bull comes into the ring (the bull has never been there before, and there has never been training because before this the bull has lived a very nice life with great food and open fields). The first bull that came in was so disoriented, and this made me really sad because he seemed so confused, and you could tell he just wanted to go back to his pasture...I found out later that other bulls were much more aggresive and came out fighting...but anyway, moving on. Once the bull comes in, the first team of people work with him, with pink blanket-like things, and basically they get him angry, and then these men on horseback come out and poke the bull in the back of the neck, and make him bleed. So I was told that they do this, so that the bull does not lift up his head so far during the fight, and it reduces his strength to some degree. So, the second part is when a separate man comes out and takes two things and pokes it into the bulls back/neck. (So, during the time that the first bull was experiencing this, I saw the bull’s blood, and then I began to wonder if I could in fact handle seeing it) So, they do some more running around, and getting the bull more angry, but then the final part begins. The torero comes out, and it is just him and the bull. At this point the bull is bleeding, but still def. has some strength. So this is when the real dancing/fighting happens. It is pretty intense because the torero could literally die any second, but yet he is so confident, and seriously it is artistic and rather like a dance. It is not as violent as I had thought actually. The body of the torero has to be extremely straight and stiff, and he has to show no fear. As the bull gets more tired and more tired, the torero lets him rest some and then continues again. At this time the torero is not hurting him, the only injuries he has is the ones that were already given to him (One stab, and 2-6 smaller "pokes"). When the bull is energetic the bull will charge the man, and he will use his red cape (now it's red and not pink) and the bull will run through this. Again, this was not rehearsed, and so each bull is different, so depending on the bull, it could be more or less dangerous. So, as the bull gets tired, he doesn't run all the way through the red cape, so he might buck his body up when he is closer to the man, and that is when it is really dangerous. During one of the fights, the torero was struck in the leg (I didn't see any blood, but there was a hole in his clothes). So, then there is a signal, and the whole stadium is quiet, and the torero gets the bull towards the middle of the ring. Then there is a moment when the stadium is silent, and the bull and the man are facing each other, and the torero stabs the bull with a long sword-like thing, and if he does it right, the bull dies immediately. But, that is really hard to do, so it doesn't always happen that way. For the six bulls I saw killed, only one died immediately, so then if the sword actually doesn't go in, the torero has to try again (one of the guys had to try 3 times...which was hard to watch), but after they stab the bull, and if he doesn't die right away, the stab him in the neck and kill him quickly so he doesn't suffer.

After the bull is dead, the crowd cheers and waves their white rags and newspapers if they think the torero did a good job. If he did do a good job and the president of the bullfighting ring thinks so too, then the president will put out a white rag and the torero will have won an ear. The ear of the bull. So literally they go and take an ear of the bull, and the torero has that as a prize. If they do an excellent job, he may get two ears. Only one of the torero's in one of the fights got an ear while I was there.

Ok, so it was such a new experience for me. I wondered if I was going to cry or something because of it all, but what I had to tell myself was that this is a tradition that has gone on for so many years and that to these people, it is very normal. Like, very very normal. So like we go to a football game and scream and hoot for the players, and yell insults to the refs, they do that to the toreros and to the president. I think one of the most interesting things was looking at the people who go. There was a variety of ages, but I would say it is definitely more followed by the older generation. I smelled cigars, and I saw a lot of old, weathered faces...and that was interesting.

Did I really enjoy it? Hmm, I guess I feel undecided. I don't like that they kill them, but what my "tour guide" said was that the bulls live a great life up until then, and if they were just slaughtered in general for a butcher house, they would not have the chance to fight...and also, they do use the meat of the bull to eat afterwards. (I know this is true because I saw the raw meat in a truck as we were leaving, and the actual bulls being butchered in one of the rooms. So...that made me feel a little better. I was surprised that I didn't leave feeling completely disgusted, and maybe that is because of how it was all explained to me. I still don't feel like I would want to go every weekend or anything, but I am glad I went just to understand a little more about it.

Buses, Cities, and Beaches

So...I am not sure why but the last few weeks have been very busy. Here are some of my overall thoughts of the places I have visited and just life in general:

Madrid:

-Big city with a lot to do
-AMAZING Art. I went to El Prado (Saw "Las Meninas," a lot of Goya's works, and just incredible art in general.) It was awesome to stand there and look at original paintings from 400 years ago...that blew my mind. I also went to another art gallery that had Monet, Van Gogh, and I enjoyed that so much because there were less people, and so I could spend more time looking at each painting. At El Prado there were SO many people that I had to come back to some paintings just to get a good look. I came to the conclusion that art really should be viewed by yourself and taken in for as long as you need. I personally would hate getting a group tour of an art museum...just my opinion.
-Saw the Royal Palace that was the home of previous Spanish kings...I thought that was impressive and just cool to think about the kings and queens living there.
-I saw the play "Les Miserables" which turned out to be incredible. I payed 21 Euro and was literally on the absolute back row of the balcony, and it was still cool.
-I got ripped off at a restaurant...which royally ticked me off...and made me angry at the people who take advantage of tourists (a word to any Americans that do that to foreigners)
-I was paranoid about my bag being stolen because I kept being told over and over to watch my stuff
-I took a day trip to Toledo (a very, very, very old city) and got to see a building that used to be a Mosque, then a Synagogue and then a Catholic church...and that just baffled me, and I found it fascinating. I LOVED Toledo. The people were friendly, the city was beautiful and the history was inspiring. I got to see one of El Greco's famous works and it could hardly compare to the picture in the art books.

Las Fallas:

Ok, so Fallas is the major, major, major festival in Valencia. It is an all-out party for like a week straight. I was gone for a few days of it because I wanted to make the trip to Madrid and Toledo, but I did get to see a good bit of it. So Fallas started as a tradition a long time ago with carpenters. The carpenters would throw out their left over wood from the winter and burn it outside of their houses, and then later they started forming the wood into something that was criticizing their community or neighbors. It ended up being a political or social statement, and it also served as symbol to burn the old or bad and start fresh. So, still today they celebrate Fallas and it has evolved into a giant festival. Instead of burning left-over scraps they make (take all year to make) giant dolls or monuments made out of wood, Styrofoam and other materials. They then burn them on the last night of Fallas. There are 300 Fallas in Valencia, so you can imagine how crazy that could be! Around each Falla is a Falla house made up of people who are “Falleros and Falleras” and these people are deeply rooted in the festival and actually pay a great deal of money every year towards the festival. The Falleros and Falleras have a “house” which is basically a private tent where they eat, dance, and drink together. So basically if you are not a Fallero or Fallera then Fallas is quite different for you. You would celebrate the festival, but you would not celebrate it to the degree that the other people would. The falleros and falleras also dress up and march in a parade in the streets with flowers in their hands. They then offer flowers to the Virgin Mary (a huge monument placed in the Plaza del Virgin,) and the people of Valencia decorate this monument with all the flowers…it was incredibly impressive. So, I could go on and on about the customs and happenings of Fallas, but that was just a snippet. I enjoyed it a lot…

Barcelona:

I just got back from Barcelona Sunday night and I had a great time!

-mountains, beaches, and old streets
-I met up with Estibaliz (my Spanish friend), and Royce and Hannah from the States who -Are currently living in France. We all walked around, talked, and just had a good time together.
-La Sagrada Familia was incredible (I recommend looking it up online, it was very cool)

In general, I thought Barcelona was very, very cool. Since it is on the beach it seems a lot more layed back than Madrid and I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was in Florida for a moment :)

Life:

So, my life has been getting better and better. I am less lonely because I have been busier lately, and I am enjoying being here. I still miss Lee, and home and all, but life is good :)

Hope all of you from Tally and elsewhere are good!

Vicki

Ps. I may see a bullfight this weekend.

You Can't Help But Stare

So, as of late two different teachers at the school that I am interning recommended people that I could have an "intercambio" with. An "intercambio" as mentioned in one of my previous blogs is simply a friendship between two people who want to practice each other's language. So...I welcomed their suggestions and have met up with two different people this week. Today was particularly funny because I felt like I was on a blind date or something. I was waiting for the girl to arrive and I kept staring at everyone that came near the building where we were supposed to meet. I felt bad staring at everyone, but I was trying to figure out who the girl was. It's kinda a fun thing meeting a random person just because you never know how it will go- if you will have anything to say to each other....and it's especially interesting when it involves a second language. Today was great though. The girl is the daughter of one of the teachers at my school, and she and I are around the same age, so I think we can be friends (I'm pretty happy about that because I have been rather lonely lately).

So, the city of Valencia has been undergoing some major changes in the past week because "Fallas" is next week. Fallas is a giant festival involving street food, fireworks, and the burning of giant monuments....So, small shops are opening up on the streets, Christmas-like lights are being put up, and streets are slowly getting crowded. The most interesting thing I have seen so far is the 2:00 p.m. "Masclata'" which is a firework show (less lights and more sound) that lasts for about 5-10 min. So every day at 2:00 P.M for about two weeks this goes on, and so many people come out to watch and listen to it. I have gone twice and it's interesting, but not like amazingly awesome. What is awesome though, is the amount of people that show up! So...this festival is big...like BIG, and oddly enough I think I am going to go to Madrid and miss some of it :( but the problem is that I have time off next week and I really want to see other parts of Spain...so, I figured I would try to mix it up and see Madrid for the first part of the festival and come back to Valencia for the last part of the festival. I've heard if I see two days I will have seen Fallas....so as of today, at this moment, that's my plan. If anyone knows anyone in Madrid let me know cuz I am planning on being there next week for about 3 days...

So, as far as everything else in Spain...pretty much everything is fine, apart from my missing Lee. I keep telling myself that time will fly…it’s down to 7 weeks now…crazy right?

Well anyway…

Hope all is well in everyone's life, and see you sooner than later!

Vicki

The North

So, I am sorta back into the swing of things since my fiancé left....but now I am counting the days. I am trying not to...but for some reason lately I have been sorta ready to get back home. Well, I am sure that partially that is because Lee is there, but also I have been just a wee bit homesick lately :( I know that seems weird because I am experiencing new things all the time, but I guess when you leave somewhere then you can see how good it is. Maybe it's the whole, "the grass is greener thing..." maybe...

Anyhoo, so I got to visit Estibaliz this past weekend in the north of Spain in an area called Navarra. I took the overnight bus (I would NOT recommend this) to Pamplona where she and her brother picked me up. I then slept for about 4 hours and got up and had the busiest, most random, fun day of my life. Ha. It started with breakfast at a little place near Esti's apartment, then Esti, her brother Rueben, and her sister Christina, and I went to a spa. It was one of those spas that have like cubes of hot water, cubes of cold water, pressured water, water with flowers in it, ice water ect ect. It was really fun :) and relaxing. So after the spa, we went site-seeing for a bit. I bought some shoes and we just wondered around Pamplona a bit. They showed me where the bulls run, and a fountain that crazy English men climb as an annual ritual. We also went to the old wall, and just saw a bunch of different things. Later we went for "lunch" but this was at about 4:30...and we ATE, omg, did we eat...like literally appetizers, a first plate, a second, a dessert, and then coffee... Such a good meal, but I swore I would never eat again. So, then we went shopping some more after that, and got ready to go out for the night. We ended up seeing a "Big Band" group that was one of Rueben's friends. I liked it, but by that time, I could have fallen asleep standing up. We ended up arriving to Esti's parent’s house in the country at 3:30 a.m. which is where I flopped into bed and didn't stir till 12 the next day.

The next day was completely different than the first. I was at Esti's parents house which is out in the country in a small town called, "La Ragga" I think. Ok, so it was a little town out of a movie. It had small streets, old, old buildings and a beautiful church that stood tallest in the town. Her dad and mom showed me all around, and it was such a fun day. We also went to two nearby towns, one called, "Olite" I think and the other I completely forgot the name. Each town was so unique and very cool. In Olite, they have a castle, and it looks like it was transplanted from another world. So, that day was also really, really busy, but what made it more exhausting was listening and speaking in Spanish....I have learned that Spaniards speak all at once, and they speak loud...ha. So, by the end of the weekend, my brain was so tired, and my stomach was sooo full, but I had the time of my life. I took the overnight train back, and started work the next day!

So, now I staying home today because I am sick...ha...not feeling too hot, but probably because I have been going non-stop for a good while now. I am hoping that with a couple days of recoup, I will be fine. :)

Anyway, hope you all are good, and see you in 10 1/2 weeks.

-Vicki

ps. I did try some random drink that consisted of wine and coke (sounds nasty) but was good, and also beer and lemonade...another random combination, but tasted pretty decent.