Before I head off for this weekend, I thought I'd give a little update of what I was up to last weekend!
On Friday night we went to Gijon, which is this small university town right next to the beach, for the international party. We ended up make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and they were a hit! I also got to try spicy mashed potatoes from Peru, some dumpling-like dish from Germany that was amazing, cinnamon applesauce, meatballs from the Middle East, homemade Italian pizza, and pasta. Needless to say, I was full at the end of the night. We also walked down to the beach and I ran next to the water, getting my shoes a little wet, but no big deal! It was beautiful, but I'd really like to go back sometime during the day to see it.
We listened to a lot of American music on the internet which was fun. We also got on Google Earth so my friend could show me where he lived in Spain. When I showed him my neighborhood and he saw all the houses crowded next to each other, he was like "Oh my gosh! Where is that?!" I was also talking to my host sister the other day about how much bigger our houses are and how much space we had. She couldn't really believe that everyone lives like that.
On Sunday, my friend and I decided we wanted to look for some trails to walk. My madre showed me this huge park on the map that led to some trails, so we took the dogs and went for a 3 and a half hour walk! It was a lot of fun and a nice chance to explore different parts of the city. Everything is so green here, and it rains kind of a lot, so it reminds me of Washington. The mountains are beautiful here too!
In a few minutes I'll be walking to the bus station to catch a bus with three other friends to Granada. It's going to be about a 12 hour bus ride. Woo hoo! Good thing we did that road trip to Colorado so I could prepare myself. My madre has supplied me with a tupperware filled with some kind of pasta and chicken (I think...), a huge baguette with a couple fish fillets, some manadarin oranges, an apple, and a coke. I should be good to go for awhile! Oh guess what? I tried one of my favorite dishes here so far the other day! It was calamares con tinta (octopus with its ink as the sauce) con arroz blanco (with white rice). It was soooo good! My madre also gave me some other type of mollusk/clam thing, not exactly sure what it was, but it was good too.
I'll post more pictures later!! Hasta luego!
PS- grandma and grandpa, thank you so much for the postcard! I was so excited to see it on my desk! Glad to know you had a good time in Arizona! Good luck going back to the Iowa cold...
Love you!
Isn't it such a gift to be interacting with regular people in Spain and to be able to share both the differences and similarities of our lives? Such is the treasure of travel... and it is such a mutual treasure. Your walk sounds like a wonderful adventure, as does your commitment to do a half-marathon there! I hope you have an amazing long weekend!! Love to you, J
ReplyDeleteKate, darling. I have been reading your posts. What a wonderful time you are having! What a blessing to get such exposure at a young age. Last night I was talking with Japan and one of my colleagues said Spain was his favorite country. I need to visit someday. I wanted to Skype with you. Is there a good time? Email me and let's setup a time. Much Love, Dad
ReplyDeleteHaha fun times, kate. So everyone liked the PB&J? I'm kind of jealous of your rain. I love it when it rains, and when it rains often. Here it's just crappy garbage snow. And lots of it. And chapped lips. It's like a winter wasteland. Anyway, remember that, and be happy about the warmth of your area! So... you ate an octopus in its own ink??!?!?! That's kind of strange... and it sounds hazardous. What did the ink taste like??? That's really strange.
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