I am sure you have all been waiting anxiously for an update from me. I have finally settled back in after spending ten days on the beaches of Southern Spain. The night before leaving, I met a friend for some tapas and drinks so I was a little tired when I had to get up at 6am for the drive. I figured this would work to my advantage however so that I could sleep on the long drive. It is about 6 hours from Madrid to Puerto Real, where we were staying, but I knew with two kids we would need to make a few stops. I was right! The family made sure, however, that our stops were in places that we could explore. This was definitely different than our culture where I expected maybe a 20 min bathroom break and fast food, we actually got out and sat down at a restaurant and then explored the city. We were probably there for an hour and a half! This was my first glimpse of how modern Madrid truly is compared to the rest of Spain. I saw the first of many castles, old churches, and monuments in Trujillo and also indulged in a traditional Spanish breakfast of fried churros. The rest of the trip went by smoothly and the landscape was breathtaking. All of the pueblos are visible from the highway, there are mountains galore, and even palm trees. Spain is truly a unique country, and Maria and Javier reinforced this by telling me how Spain is the vacation spot for all of Europe. I also learned a lot about the Spanish conquests and they told me all about how different the various regions of Spain are based on the influences there, for example Celtic influence in northern Galicia. We saw areas where towns were small and close together and others where they were sprawling and far apart, all based on the speed of the conquest. Maria had packed some snacks and bocadillos, little sandwiches, to eat on the road and I noticed that even the chips like Cheetos and Bugles taste different here! A little more bland…maybe they add less sodium or other processed things but I´m not sure.
The first day in Puerto Real was spent at the pool with Eloisa while Maria, Javier, and Francisco traveled to the market to buy food for the next few days. We stayed at Maria´s father´s two bedroom condo. I shared a room with Eloisa. A few times during the night she got scared because she didn´t remember where she was and woke up in an unfamiliar place. She even ended up in my bed a few times! We ate lunch out every day on vacation and had a home cooked dinner…funny again because opposite of what I would expect on a vacation! Although we stayed in Puerto Real, we took advantage of the proximity of other towns in Andalucia, the southern region of Spain. We visited Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Arcos de la Frontera, Chiclana de la Frontera, Jever de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa Maria, and Conil de la Frontera. Apparently, all of the Frontera names are in reference to the areas that were used for defense. All of these towns were up at the very top of large hills with large walled areas. Cadiz is on a peninsula and was very large compared to all of the other places we visited. It is the oldest city in Spain, I think. I also enjoyed seeing the American influence in Puerto de Santa Maria because it was one of the ports used by Christopher Columbus…the word America was used in a lot of the street names as well as massive ships in the middle of the rotundas named after the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Seeing this side of Spain made me realize how unique it is that there is such history in Europe. We just don’t have anything near that old in the United States. My host family pointed out that is one of the reasons why America is on the forefront of so many things, since we are so new in respect to the other countries. We didn´t have to deal with existing traditions within royal families, feudalism, etc. I thought this was an interesting way to look at it.
Of course, a trip in Spain wouldn´t be complete without trying new foods. One day in particular, we ordered a feast of seafood. We had lobster, calamari eggs, shrimp, langostinos, etc. etc. The three of us could barely even begin to eat all of it. The best part was that it was of excellent quality and cheap because we were right next to the Atlantic.
One day I took the RENFE train to Sevilla by myself. The city is a must-see in Spain but it was just too difficult to take the kids. The ride was about an hour and a half and only cost 15 euros roundtrip. I spent the whole day from 9am to 6pm exploring the city and it was absolutely breathtaking. Sevilla is the sister city to Kansas City so I was excited to see that the train station was located on Avenida (Avenue) de Kansas City. The Country Club Plaza is modeled after Sevilla and this was evident when I visited the impressive Plaza de España with its colorful tiles and brick as well as the Giralda Tower of which there is a replica on the Plaza. This was a fun experience for me, but I was definitely more than EXHAUSTED after walking all day. I impressed myself though by showing up alone, grabbing a map, and seeing everything I could see. I still have my KState ID so I end up getting in a lot of places free or for reduced rates. After the end of 10 days, I was sad to leave the beautiful beaches be cause I had yet to spend any time laying out in Madrid. On the way back, we stopped in Merida which is known for having the most well preserved Roman ruins in Spain. The sites were definitely impressive…I cant explain it all in words but I promise pictures will come! The trip was good for bonding even more with the family and the kids. We were around each other 24/7 instead of only after they got off work and it was very enjoyable. I am feeling a lot more comfortable communicating solely in Spanish. I am getting very adept at understanding the tv shows and news even though sometimes I still like to have Spanish subtitles so I can read them simultaneously.
A few more observations I have made over here in Spain: Everyone recycles. Even on the streets and playgrounds there are separate compartments for plastic, paper, glass. They love sweets! I think I mentioned before that there are Nestle ice cream stands on just about every corner but even McDonald´s sells donuts and cakes that they just don´t have in the U.S. because postre, or dessert, is a big thing here even though fruit is often chosen. Also, American culture definitely permeates. I would expect that in other Spanish speaking countries that are closer like Mexico but I have been surprised just how much here. Spaniards speak a lot in commands, which at first comes off as abrupt. I have just realized they don´t sugarcoat as much as the English language. We might say “Would you mind holding this for a minute?” Whereas they simply say “Toma”, or Take It. It kind of caught me off guard for a while wondering why no one was being polite! But I just realized that they don´t bother with the extra words and sometimes I imagine that I try and insert too many words when asking for something in an attempt at politeness when really I just need to cut to the chase and say what I need!
Oh, and I have made some friends who work at the U.S. Embassy so I am finally getting able to go out to the bars and clubs which has been fun. I definitely got a lot of sightseeing done on my own time but it has been a bit of a relief to have time to just speak freely in English. You never realize how much you take for granted even the ability to communicate without thinking about it! I still miss everyone back home and can´t believe I only have 6.5 more weeks here.