Should have been posted a week ago...

Ok, so here’s another quick update!  Last weekend was just the best.  Mom, Dad, Daniel, and Amanda in Spain to visit me.  Kind of surreal, but fantastic!  We stayed in Cáceres Thursday, seeing all the sights (towers, museums, palaces, etc.), then met with Toñi, the program coordinator.  It was so fantastic – nice for Daniel to get to see her again, and my parents enjoyed meeting her.  And what a gorgeous day to sit outside in an open-air café – sometimes Spain knows how to do it right (when it’s not raining).  Nice for Mom and Dad to experience where Daniel and I have lived.  And I think they agreed that it is a special place!  We got up Friday, drove to Trujillo and saw the castle (in the cold wind which I’m sure Mom didn’t appreciate), then drove to Mérida to see the Roman ruins.  That was amazing – they recently discovered the impressive amphitheater and theater, which added to the bridge, aqueduct, and more make this a nice Extremaduran jewel.  Drove for a while ending up in Cádiz, on the southern coast.  Renting a car is fantastic for highway driving – it’s faster, more comfortable, more flexible and free, cheaper for 5 people, more enjoyable, all of that stuff.  Driving a car in European cities is a TOTAL MESS!!!!!  All the little scooters whizzing by, the endless roundabouts which no one heeds the yield signs or lane-change rules, and there is NOWHERE to park.  Probably still worth it for the highway driving (BTW good work Spain on the excellent roads), but driving in the city is not fun.  Nice job, Dad!  Had quite a bit of trouble finding rooms in Cádiz, ending up in an overpriced janky “3” star, but at least they had breakfast.  Saw some of the historical sights in Cádiz (it is Europe’s longest continually-inhabited city), before heading to the beach.  This is not anything I would do on my own without a severe amount of coaxing from Mom and Amanda, but I had SO much fun!!!!! 

 We all got totally drenched in our street clothes as some waves took us by surprise, but it was all worth it for the great and fun memories (like changing into fresh clothes in the dark parking garage – good times!).  Sunday we toured Seville, seeing the beautiful Moorish-style Alcázar (which competes heavily with the Alhambra in my book), Europe’s biggest cathedral, and some other great Andalucian sights.  That’s just one of those places you’ve got to see!  Unfortunately my camera lens was jammed with sand, so no pictures…  we returned to Cáceres Sunday night, and I saw my family off Monday morning.  It was a sad goodbye, but I’m SO happy they came to visit and tour Spain with me.  Daniel and I got to brush up on our translation skills; we saw some great Spanish cities, but most importantly just spent quality time together!  I will miss their presence here, but not much time to think about it – this week has been BUSY BUSY!  Homework, classes, tutoring, going to speak at an elementary school about cultural differences (great experience), program excursion to Salamanca today (terrible timing but beautiful city), trying to find and learn to use a fax machine from Europe, and above all preparations for Holy Week vacation next week.  I leave Thursday for a 10-day 10-city solo tour of the north of Spain.  Pretty crazy plan, but it’s flexible enough that if I don’t feel like I get enough time in any city I can always hang around an extra day.  That’s the difference between being a tourist and being a traveler as my Spanish podcast “Nómadas” says.  And it seems like I’ve been doing a lot of that lately (both traveling and being a tourist).  After an entire semester, I should be a pro!  Hope to be able to update y’all during the week, but Internet guarantees in Spain should never be assumed.  Just one of the many endearing qualities that can be totally refreshing but drive you crazy all at once.  Here’s to discovering more!

So this is what I wrote last Wednesday night, and should have posted, but didn´t because, well who knows.  No internet on Thursday, and this is the first USB port I´ve found on my travels.  So, here it is!!!  I´m now totally in mid trip, and really enjoying it!!!  New post soon (hopefully)!