Sure, I still get stared at everyday. But I am becoming more of a local everyday, too.
Hello, everyone! It’s been a very long time since I provided an update, so I am going to try to be as brief as possible, while still giving all the deets of what I have been up to in Spain.
In all honesty, I haven’t provided any updates because I have been going through some lows the past couple of months. Yes, I understand I am in Spain, but that doesn’t always mean I’m living the most incredible life or experience. Mental health can still be an issue no matter your location in the world. So, if you’re reading this and ever ask me how I’m doing and I reply with little enthusiasm, please remember this.
I left you all hanging in December. And let’s be real, left myself hanging. The purpose of my blog is to stay connected with family and friends back home, but also to write down the stories of my youth so I can reminisce in the future. Anyway, here we go…
I spent the first week of December in Thessaloniki, Greece, the city that made me fall more in love with traveling and with myself. I wanted to visit my old stomping grounds (where I studied abroad) and visit some friends, and the trip happened to be my personal birthday treat. I enjoyed a coffee and gyros with my friend, Stasa, and had a birthday drink on my hostel’s rooftop bar. Turning 23 is kind of depressing, really. What’s fun about being 23? Please let me know.
I love traveling for many reasons, but I think one of the coolest parts is meeting new people. I made friends with three guys from Belgium who were staying in the same hostel as me, and the four of us hung out for several days around the city. I took them to my favorite Greek family style restaurant, where they surprised me with a birthday dessert and singing, and to my favorite 80’s classic rock club. We had a blast, and also decided to relax at the beautiful Pozar Thermal Baths about an hour outside of the city. We taught each other different things about our cultures and I was even able to share some insights into Spanish culture. Did you know Belgium waffles are actually not a big thing in Belgium? They’re only for the tourists! I also met a girl, Clara, who was taking a solo trip from Paris, France. We talked for several hours over a bottle of wine and tested out our rock climbing skills at a nearby studio. She said I could bunk with her if I ever go back to Paris, so I will definitely take her up on that offer!
Much of my time in Greece was spent by myself, wandering around the city. I think I boosted Miltos’ economy for the week with all of the freddo espressos and spanakopita (spinach pie) that I ordered from there. I also ventured up to the 7 Towers for a view of the city and found a great little café where I treated myself to some yummy Nutella pancakes and another freddo espresso. Before traveling, I never understood the hype behind Nutella. Now I do.
After a relaxing and much-needed week in my lovely Thessaloniki, I headed back to southern Spain and continued through the motions of going to classes every day. The week leading up to Christmas break was both funny and annoying. Very few students come to school during this week, so I spent a lot of time in the teacher’s lounge just scrolling through social media. The teachers make the week fun, though, and usually set themselves up with a few musical instruments during the 10:00-10:15 and 12:15-12:30 recesses. They sang some lovely Spanish Christmas music, and I kind of just tapped my foot to the beat. Thankful for masks hiding my confusion haha.
FINALLY, the day came where I hopped in a car share to go to Seville to pick up my parents from the airport! They arrived on December 24th, their first time leaving the U.S. Having a travel-bug child really pays off, in my opinion. :) They stayed with me for a week, during which time we rented a car and explored new cities, and I also showed them around my favorite nearby attractions. They were able to see and stand in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in Tarifa, hike up “The Rock” in Gibraltar, have a glass of white wine by Maria Cristina Park in Algeciras, indulge in the typical tapas in Málaga, enjoy lunch with an overlook of the deep gorge in Ronda, and walk through the beautiful streets of Granada. Wow, we did a lot! Most nights we relaxed in my living room and enjoyed a good movie. I think having them here helped all of us overcome some sadness, but I think it really helped me restart and appreciate Spain again. Living in Algeciras is just a bit too depressing sometimes, so I am very thankful for their visit!
The month of January was kind of slow, but I did have the opportunity to travel a couple of weekends with some friends! Tori and I spent a weekend in Seville, where I quickly discovered my absolute LOVE for the city! She studied abroad there in the Spring of 2020, just before COVID hit, so she was able to show me around. We wanted some seriously good pictures out of the trip, so of course, I suggested we coordinate outfits. We killed it, but never even got pictures together hahah. Oh, well. We checked out a lot of great places, including: Las Setas, Plaza de España, the Alcázar, the Cathedral, the river, and so much more. Might have also enjoyed a night out. :) Thankfully, Seville has some decent iced coffee, and we both fell in love with Panther, a café with killer sandwiches, tasty cold brew, and these delicious little “panteritas” or flavored croissants.
Another weekend, Tori, Nat, and I headed back to Granada and stayed just one night at the cutest hostel. Granada is easily one of the prettiest cities that I have ever been to, and most Spaniards will list it as their favorite city, too. We walked around a bit to appreciate the beautiful architecture, splurged on Starbucks a couple of times, and rocked the night away at the well-known Mae West. What a time to be alive. That’s all I’m going to say about that trip.
As February rolled around, I learned how to really stretch my penny since my school took a hot f***ing minute to pay me for the month of January. If you need lessons on how to be resourceful, I gotchu. I do attribute a lot of my saved money to the local outdoor market and FINALLY learning the best two stands to go to for my veggies. I’ve figured out how to spend 10-20 euros on groceries for an entire week! Go. Me.
Drum roll, please! Back to Seville I go, this time to meet Hattie! She flew in from Minnesota on February 17th and we met at the Santa Justa bus station. We had that typical “see each other from the distance, walk closer, turns into a run, squeal and hug” reunion. I absolutely LOVED having her here! This time, I was the one to show someone around Seville, and boy, can we not stop thinking about that first day. It was absolutely perfect. After checking into our hostel room, we spent the afternoon just sort of wandering around. Again, walking by Las Setas, the Cathedral, Plaza de España where we watched some free Flamenco, Panther for food, the river, and ended our evening with our own little tapas tour. She was craving some patatas bravas and sangria, so of course, we ordered those. We also enjoyed Spanish tortilla and a couple of other goodies. Some of my favorite days during travel are those that are completely and 100% spontaneous, taking each moment poco a poco (little by little).
On Friday, February 18th, we took a short flight to Valencia to spend the weekend. Hattie studied abroad in Valencia right before COVID, too, so she has had a sort of sour taste for Spain ever since. Thankfully, this trip changed her outlook, and she was able to fall back in love with her city and the country, and I was able to grow my love for Spain even more. Valencia was incredible! We stayed at a fabulous hostel where we met so many new people from all over the world. Queue friends from the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, and probably a few more places. Our first night, we participated in the hostel pub crawl and ventured throughout the city to new spots. Found out I don’t mind Heineken? Or a gin and tonic? All things I used to despise. We had a blast, but unfortunately, I experienced some theft on our walk home. All good now, but my phone was stolen right out of my hands from a guy on a bicycle. Y’all know I am fast as heck, but a bike is way faster. Adios, my iPhone SE. On Saturday, we met up with Hattie’s host mom from her study abroad and chatted for an hour or so. It was so cute to see how happy they both were to reunite. We also each enjoyed an espresso martini, scoured Berska for some sales, and bought some food for a picnic. Some new friends persuaded us to join them at Unic for a quick drink, so we went and had so much fun. If you know me, you know I absolutely love to dance, and I think I quickly became the center of attention a few times haha. I also pretended I knew how to salsa dance with one of the Uruguay guys at one point! On Sunday, we met up with one of our new friends from the pub crawl and rented bikes, riding throughout the city to the beautiful arts and science museum for our picnic and out to the beach for a quick little siesta. We met even more friends at the hostel that night, but called it an early night from how tired we were. Monday morning we ate at a café and headed to the airport to finally go back to southern Spain.
While Hattie stayed with me, we took local excursions around my town, Tarifa, and Gibraltar. Unfortunately, it rained while we were in Tarifa, but the landscape is still so beautiful and we could still see a glimpse of Morocco! We were lucky to have fantastic weather for our hike in Gibraltar, and got in some wonderful photos and videos on top of The Rock. I think that hike is easily one of my favorite things I have ever done. We also saw a plane take off on the Gibraltar Airport runway! When crossing into Gib, you drive/walk across the runway, so they had to stop traffic and we were able to watch. So cool. Toward the weekend, we headed back to Seville to bid our final days together. After a quick negative COVID test and some good laughs, she headed back to the states. We have some Spanish plans brewing though…
The last two weeks have been pretty mundane here. I now work with 1ESO and 3ESO instead of 2ESO and 4ESO. I compare it to 7th-10th grade in the States. I like my 1ESO classes, but they aren’t afraid to roast me every now and then lol. Due to some fabulous redhead genetics (thanks, Dad) and obviously fair skin, my face gets red VERY easily if I am even the slightest bit nervous or embarrassed. “Teacher? Your face is red.” Yes, thank you for pointing that out, child. I have found that I really enjoy teaching 7th grade math! A huge change from having to teach 10th grade math last semester. Each class period is different and I have various levels of control over the class. Some classes, I lead the entire hour, while others I might just read a few things in English, while others yet, I kind of just stand to the side. I still tutor every Wednesday for an hour and a half, though hopefully I gain a few more students this upcoming week. Definitely could use that extra cash, that’s for sure.
When I first arrived in Spain, my Spanish speaking skills were pretty poor. I didn’t really remember much from my university courses and I was extremely intimidated by the rapid speaking combined with the Andalusian accent. I think having Hattie here and also being forced to speak Spanish in Valencia really put me into gear, because I am a lot more confident now and have grown my vocabulary extensively. I can hold a decent conversation at this point, and can read a lot more than I can speak, too. I successfully watched an entire movie the other day without having to pause and look up any words! The boys and I also gained a new roommate, Wafae. She is another language assistant at my school and comes from Morocco. Her languages are Arabic, French, and Spanish, so we are only able to communicate with her in Spanish. I think that has also helped us all improve a bit more. We are slowly teaching her some English, and she likes to say, “Hi, Google,” fairly often haha.
I mentioned the outdoor market and groceries before, but I wanted to touch on it again before wrapping up. I’m not very vocal about this, but I have a lot of issues with my stomach and what foods I can eat without having troubles. The outdoor market has been a God-send since it helps make a healthy diet way easier. I have fallen in love with cooking and trying new recipes that fuel my body while still making me feel incredible. Bloat, be gone! I have also 100% turned into the girl who says, “I have food at home.” Mostly because I know the food at home won’t hurt my tummy, but still, it’s resourceful. I have been searching the internet for lactose free and gluten free recipes, as well as incorporating quite a few vegan meals. If you’re reading this and have any recommendations, PLEASE share with me! Also going to plug my new favorite podcast: Gut Talk with Jill and Jenna. I have learned so much from them and I think you would, too (if you need the advice, of course). ** I don’t have Celiac’s Disease, I have just found that gluten can cause a pretty big sensitivity for me so I feel significantly better when I consume gluten free foods.
One last thing! Last Monday, I joined a local gym and will be participating in un desafío (challenge) for the next two months. Throughout these months, my team and I will do workouts together 2x/week, track our meals, and encourage each other through a group WhatsApp. There are 50-60 people in my team, and another 50-60 people on the other team! I have already made friends with a few of the people, and I’m homies with one of the trainers, so I am excited to see what the next couple of months have in store. Catch me getting ripped again. Okay, fine, I want to brag. I had to buy new jeans because my other pairs are too big now! Anyhoo, the gym is also a great opportunity to utilize my newfound Spanish skills, yay! I feel more and more like a local every day.
I know I said I was going to try to make this a short blog, but I also knew that was pretty much impossible. Hoping I didn’t leave anything out or add in too much information! Stay tuned for more adventures to come!
Hasta luego! XO