Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bad day, but good weekend.

This post is mostly going to be me complaining about my day so beware. I'm using this blog to vent (even though my day wasn't THAT bad) but if you'd rather not read about it you can skip to the next paragraph. :) First of all, this morning I was putting in my contacts and somehow lost one. (I never found it either). When that happens, I know it's going to be a bad day. Anyways. Lately, I've been walking to school with two other ISU students in my group - Emily and Rob. Recently, the weather here has been somewhat cold and rainy so in the mornings, the three of us will get online (since it's free, as opposed to using a text) and decide whether or not we're going to walk. Yesterday we didn't because of the weather, but today Rob decided that we should walk... it was a little chilly out but he said that there was only a 30% chance of rain today. So I walk outside and I could tell it had been raining but it was barely sprinkling when I left so I agreed it would be fine. The three of us starting walking towards campus (which takes an hour) and it started to rain a little harder... but still nothing terrible. After ten more minutes, it really started coming down... along with gusts of wind. Needless to say, by the time we got to the University, we were soaked. Everything in my backpack was soaked as well. All of my notebooks, papers in my folder, textbooks... I also forgot that my phone and iTouch were in there. Luckily, they both still work. Oh, and my umbrella broke due to all the wind. So I had to sit in class for the next 4 hours, shivering in my drenched clothes. Not a fun day to say the least. On a happier note, I have decided to stay inside for the rest of the day; eat an amazing lunch, take a nice, long siesta with the brasero, and maybe I'll even get to watch last night's episode of "Glee"!

The amphitheater in Merida, Spain
Puente Romano bridge: Me, Emily, Keely
Okay. Now some positive things. This past weekend was a good one. On Friday, the group went to Merida, Spain. We toured the city for a few hours, had a couple hours on our own, and then ended the day by visiting a museum. Merida is full of Roman architecture, and it was really neat seeing the amphitheater and the bridge. The Puente Romano bridge is actually the longest of all existing Roman bridges. During our free time, 4 other students and I decided to walk across the Puente Romano bridge and back.

On Saturday, most of the group decided to climb "La Montana" in Caceres. It was quite an adventure - crossing streams, climbing rocks, eating our sack lunches at the top, and taking a siesta. We met for churros in the morning at the Churreria near where Claire and I live, and then we spent all afternoon on "La Montana."

On Sunday, 5 other girls in the group and I went to church for the first time since being in Spain. The church we went to is a nondenominational Christian church, and the pastor is actually from Story City, Iowa! The service started at 11:30 and didn't get over until almost 1:30 so it was a little long compared to what I'm used to. I understood almost all of the hymns, prayers, and announcements... but hardly any of the sermon. After the service, the pastor invited us all to his house for lunch. We got to meet his beautiful family, eat some American food (lasagna), and talk about our Spanish/American lives. The pastor and his wife are missionaries who have lived in Spain for about ten years now, and they have 3 children who are all bilingual. They told us if we are ever feeling homesick, we can come over anytime and have some American food, watch movies, or just hang out. It was just so incredible that this family didn't know us at all and they were so welcoming by making so much food for us all, sharing their life story with us, and offering us their home when we're feeling homesick. Sunday was definitely on the top of my list as one of my favorite days in Spain thus far.

No travel plans for this weekend... just going to spend a nice, relaxing weekend in Caceres!


1 comment:

  1. I am so sorry you were caught in that horrible downpour. Glad the week ended on a positive note. Church sounds like it was a good experience meeting the pastor and his family. Love, dad

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