Saturday was a full day of site seeing that took my breath away. The first place we visited was Cangas de Onis which is a cute little town but has a lot to offer. After getting off of the bus (the bus ride was an adventure itself because this area is situated high up in the mountains), we immediately walked up to el Dolmen prehistorico where la Capilla de la Santa Cruz, or the Chapel of Santa Cruz  is which was the first Christian church in the area and dates back to the times of the Romans.

Next we walked over to el Puente Medieval also constructed by the Romans. It is situated on the main street and is one of my favorite places that we have visited because it is nature’s eyecandy. The weather at this point was also treating us well so that made everything even better! Wow we are so lucky 🙂

On Wednesday we all got to go on an excursion after class to a close-by coastal town called Gijon. The weather wasn’t awful but it definitely not the weather one imagines at the beach. Nonetheless we had an excellent time exploring the little town. First we went to a museum that focuses on the traditional Asturian life. It was quite interesting although I didn’t go on the entire tour because I stayed back to help interpret for one of my classmates. Since I’ve always considered being an interpreter this was a really fun experience for me and it was totally worth it.

Next we went to visit the fisherman’s town part of Gijon. The route we took had incredible scenery of not only the ocean but also the European style little streets. We ended the whole thing with a trip to an ice cream shop…and can I just say that they have got the perfect recipe for ice cream figured out here in Spain!It was artisan’s ice cream but the texture is like no other here and the flavors are delectable! To any future travelers in Spain: NEVER pass up an ice cream opportunity.

Monday night my host, Pepita, and Lexi and her host, Nieves, all went to a fiesta up in the hills. I asked what the occasion was but all Pepita told me was that it was a family gathering… That being said I think it was more of a family gathering bringing whoever else they wanted because there were so many people, I’m guessing about 300. I was really excited because Maria Jose (Pepita’s daughter and the person I stayed with the first week I was in Spain) was going to be working at this event in the kitchen so I got to see her. I also got to see Jose, her husband, and their daughter Maria. The week I had stayed with Maria Jose and Jose, Maria and Pepita had been in Madrid together so Maria had bought me a little gift of a notebook and a pen; so cute! At the party there were two bouncy houses for the kids so Lexi and I watched Maria release some of her energy out on those before too many people got there. Then we went for a walk around the country to explore and Maria taught us what different bugs and plants are called. She found a baby snail for us to hold and we named it Charlie.

When we got back the food was ready and I enjoyed the tortilla de patata which is kinda like a cross between an omelette and a quiche but not really…anyways, I love them so much so I was very satisfied. Additionally there was a lot of sidra, of course. Then once it hit 10:30 the band, Domino, came out and they were a lot of fun to watch. I have limited knowledge of the dances here but it made my night to watch everyone have a great time together dancing the night away. Many of the women in our group are definitely fanatics about dancing and didn’t hold back at all. I loved it!!! However, since Lexi and I had school the next day we went home before the party ended.

It was a long road from Oregon to London. Literally. Late flights and layovers caused us to be the last group to arrive and after a 10 hour flight the fun was just beginning. Going through the boarder was horrible. Apparently we needed a hard copy of a letter from CCSA, with their header on top, stating our reason for being in London. No one told us that we needed this and the lady at boarding patrol was really snarky, calling us unorganized and such. Later we’d learn that EVERYONE had the same issue but at the time I convinced that she was going to send us back to the states. Anyway, once past security we whipped through the airport, so that aspect is a blur. Once in the bus, we headed straight to the campus. Along the way I noticed that the vehicle lanes are very narrow with no room on the side of the road and they drive very fast. Once at the campus, we hit the ground running by going on a walking tour of the surrounding. Mind you, since we were late, we were not given lunch and this tour wasn’t even of the campus itself, which is highly disappointing. From what I’ve seen, this campus is beautiful.

-Kallan

Well I finally made it here!

The trip over was an adventure; the first plane we rode up to Vancouver was the smallest I’ve ever been in. The Vancouver airport was really pretty!

Fish tank in the airport

We almost missed our boarding, because we were out getting french fries. Once we got on the big jet we had dinner and I watched American Hustle. (good film). Oh, and ate some airplane food. I was so tired but I couldn’t fall asleep, planes are just way too uncomfortable.

mmmmmm yum

When we got into the London airport we almost didn’t make it past passport control! talk about a scary encounter. When we finally got through I found myself very calm. In fact I still am. I think that must be a side effect from the jet lag, I’m in London I should be bouncing for joy!

I did go on a vary quick walking tour and attempted to get a sense of direction. We do a lot of walking, so I’m definitely going to be in great shape by the end of the trip!

Classic Phone Box

Tomorrow we go into the heart of the city to do some sightseeing and I am very much looking forward to it!

As my time in London comes to an end, all I can think about how thankful I am to have had this opportunity. I am so blessed to have met all of the people I have met and experienced all of the things I have expierenced. The culture here has been more similar to American culture than I expected. I think that I have interacted more than I expected with the culture here. Although I spent a lot of time with friends, I did allow myself to explore the city alone a little bit. It was so liberating to be in a foreign country by myself knowing that I could do whatever I wanted.

I am sad about leaving this beautiful city but I have to say that I am looking forward to getting back home. I miss my family and my friends and can’t wait to be reunited with them. I will miss the business of the city and all of the wonderful people I have met here. 

Until next time

Bridget

I have been with my host family for a whole week now and I am so happy to be here. Laura is so patient with my spanish and has been very helpful over the past week. My first week of classes went well, I have three different classes and only one is taught in english. I don’t think either of my other professors speak engilsh and if they do they are really good at pretending they don’t. But even though the classes are taught in spanish I am finding that I am slowly understanding more and more and it is not as overwhelming to only hear spanish.

There are a lot of things here that are very different from how they are in America. The food is probably the most noticeable change; my stomach is still adjusting. The eating schedule is also different. Here we eat the largest meal of the day for lunch. This meal is called comida  and if you don’t finish your food at comida, you eat the rest for dinner. After comida, everyone takes a siesta before continuing with their day. I have found that I should not take siestas because I fall asleep for too long. Another thing I have noticed is that when someone comes in the house or leaves the house, they make sure and greet or say goodbye to each person in the house.

I have been keeping plenty busy while I am here. There is more homework for my classes than I was expecting which wouldn’t be a problem, but I keep forgetting I am here for school because it feels like a vacation. On Friday everyone in the group went out to eat for the forth of July and Saturday we all went and hiked la Peña de Bernal.

Before going I was expecting something like Multnomah Falls, but this was much more challenging. It was very steep the whole time and the last 20 minutes of the climb we were using our hands and knees and working to find secure footing as we scrambled up the side of the rock. But the view at the top was so worth it. The pictures I took definitely do not do it justice. And I will admit that standing at the top (as far as we could go without literally rock climbing) made me feel like I could do anything! My knees were shaking pretty badly when I got back down to the bottom and I am still a little sore, but I would do it again in an instant.

On Sunday I went to church with my neighbor and it was a solid 3 hours of nonstop spanish. When I got home I took a good long nap because it was so exhausting to put so much focus on translating for that long. I didn’t understand all of it, but what I did understand was really good. It was so cool to get to be a part of what God is doing in another country and really amazing to meet people who believe in the same God and have received the same message in a different country and a different language. They were all very welcoming and helped me if there was something I didn’t understand. One woman gave me her phone number and said to call her if I ever needed anything.

Overall it has been a pretty tiring week, but I am having a wonderful time, making lots of new friends, and learning about the culture and the language of the people around me. I am looking forward to this coming week and this weekend I will be heading to Mexico City to see the pyramids!