My trip home to Eau Claire was amazing, but not without its complications. David came home with me which was really nice. Unfortunately we got caught in the worst travel week ever with about the worst winter conditions ever, in both Europe and in North America, which made for an exhausting journey. Every leg of our trip (planes, trains and automobiles) was delayed for some reason or another (mostly having to due with snow) but it was definitely worth the hassle.
I had so much fun getting to see most of my family and I was lucky enough to see a few friends who were home for the holidays. The downfall was that I was sick almost the entire time and really sad when I had to say goodbye to my parents before heading back; I may or may not have had a little melt down... But I'm so happy I was able to go in the first place.
When I got back to Spain I stayed in Pamplona to spend the second half of the Twelve Days of Christmas with David and his family. Some of the highlights were dressing up in costume for New Year's Eve (a Pamplonica tradition) and getting to see probably the world's most famous soccer team (Real Madrid) play against Osasuna in the Reyno de Navarra.
I actually went alone because poor David has 7 final exams to study for and my other friend who usually goes gave his ticket to his sister, but I had a blast just the same. It was so exciting! I also really enjoyed celebrating el Día de los Reyes Magos (The Day of the Three Wise Men, a.k.a. Epiphany) which is when the Spanish celebrate Christmas. I went to see a traditional "calbagata" parade in downtown Pamplona like I was a little kid. It was great. I even got some candy :)
I got back to Valladolid on Thursday and I've actually really been enjoying my last few days of freedom before school starts again--tomorrow, eek! I've just been hanging out with my roommates and some friends and actually meeting some new people which has been great. My roommate, Victor, accepted a new job in Cadiz (in Southern Spain) so he actually moved out two days ago which was kind of sad. But we had a nice going away party for him and it was really fun. We were lucky enough to find a new roommate right away, a French girl who arrives tomorrow to complete her last year of undergrad here at the University of Valladolid. I'm really excited to have another girl around. It's funny because as a general rule Spanish people really don't like the French and so all of my friends have been voicing their opinions (rather, stereotypes) they have about French women, which has been really entertaining. Some of my best gal friends from when I studied abroad in Chile were from France and I actually lived with a grand total of five French women while I was there so I'm not as worried as everyone else seems to be. My former roommates were as diverse as a group of five random young women from the States would be, so that makes the outrageous generalizations all the more hilarious. It's a nice gesture; they want me to be forewarned. I guess I will find out what she is really like soon enough!
For now it's back to the old routine. I'm trying to get to bed at a decent time so I will be ready for my first day back at school. I also have to wake up a little earlier so I can go to the store and buy a birthday treat to bring to the other English teachers. I guess in Spain when it is your birthday you are supposed to bring something to work to celebrate. I feel like that's a bit, well, I don't really know the word-- just kind of weird. But oh well, I am like half Spanish by now so it's no big deal. On Sunday I slept until 3:00 in the afternoon. Gross. Anyway, now its back to grind. Decent bedtimes and "madrugando" (getting up early).
Love from V-town,
Katie
Whew, those Lorenze's are gooood lookin'. :-)
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Jullie