Weekend Fun

I’ve almost hit my one-month anniversary of Navalmoral: Part II. Things have been going very quickly, but slowly at the same time. The weekdays drag on and the weekends fly by.  But isn’t it always like that?

Work has been really good.  Little by little I’m getting the hang of teaching the little four year olds.  We don’t have any books or a curriculum, so it’s up to me to plan absolutely everything for my 11 classes, ages 4 through adult.  All of my mornings are spent making worksheets, looking up things online, and going to print things off at the printer down the street.  It’s a lot of work, but I’m enjoying it and above all, I’m just happy to be back in Spain.

The weekend after San Miguel, Whitney, Emma, Oscar, Josemi, and I went to Josemi’s hometown, about an hour and a half away, for a festival.  In the small town of about 3,000 people, Whitney and I, “las rubias,” stood out like sore thumbs.  After an afternoon of cañas, learning how to play the castañuelas from Josemi’s mom, eating Super Paco hamburgers, visiting a country house, and seeing some amazing fireworks, we began our night out in Alcúescar with a ride on the Toro Loco.  I had heard about this common fair attraction all last year, but I had never seen it.  Just picture a regular mechanical bull, but designed so about 6 people can sit on it, placed next to another bull.  The two bulls are on a platform that moves ridiculously quickly, and the actual bull moves up and down too.  Whitney, Oscar, Mamen, and I were the only ones brave enough to do it.  It definitely ended up being one of those “Spanish-things-that-would-never-be-allowed-in-the-States-because-of-all-of-the-potential-lawsuit” things. But it was a ton of fun and a week later, my legs were still sore from holding on so tightly.

Parade of people offering flowers to the Virgin.

I was a natural.

That night, we botellóned, introduced “Cheers to the Governor” (a wonderful drinking game) to the Spanish people, and Whitney and I became the celebrities of the town, meeting everyone and their cousins and being introduced as “Las Americanas!”  We danced the night away at one of the two discotecas in town and got back to Josemi’s house around 8.00 am. We were greeted by Josemi’s dad, already enjoying his morning coffee after a full night’s sleep.

Sleeping until a little after noon, we went to see a church auction before heading back to Navalmoral.  Best part of the auction- they were auctioning off a live rooster…I kid you not.  The rest of the afternoon, after driving back, was spent being lazy at home, resting up before work the next day.

This past weekend, I went to a city called Ávila with my friend, Juan. The city is about a two and a half hour drive away and the trip took us through super curvy mountain roads. The views were incredible.  We spent most of the day walking on the medieval walls that surround the entire city.  We breaked for lunch and a much needed café con leche at one point and then, right before heading back home, we took a walk through the fair that was in town. They too had a Toro Loco…but with four bulls! Also, they had a super cheap rip-off of the Tower of Terror. Don’t think I would trust that ride. After the day, we were exhausted, but when we got back to Navalmoral, we rallied, met up with friends, and headed out for some fiesta.

Incredible.

A beautiful city.

Terrifying.

At El Abuelo.

Sunday, Whitney and I were incredibly lazy all day and didn’t do much of anything. We had been planning to do a big apartment cleaning…but of course, that didn’t happen. That night, the event we had been waiting for for weeks happened…the premiere of Gandía Shore! That’s right…just like Geordie Shore, the British version of Jersey Shore, there is now a Spanish version which takes place just south of Valencia.  It was all I could have asked for, and more. With our Telepizza, we watched Spanish trash with the names “Labrador,” “Core,” and Arantxa make fools of themselves and it was excellent. Just two more days until the next episode!

It’s started to get rainy and cold in the past few days, so leaving the house is becoming a chore. I’m starting a new class today…two hours with a beginner level adult every Friday. I’ve got to get creative and think of ways to fill two hours with one person.