Alejandro was kind enough to invite me to tapas with him and his friend, Sebastian, in Antequera. Sebastian is one of Alejandro's old teacher friends from Malaga. We saw a film pop-up tent museum and explored the old churches before heading to drink some beers and then eat some noms.
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Thursday night after checking into my hostel, I bought boxed mac and cheese from Cortés Inglés. YUM. Friday I picked up my ID card with minimal hassle - had to wait in line for an hour and a security officer escorted 3 people to the door and didn't allow more people into the Foreign Affairs Office until the spat was more or less settled. But in the end I got my card!! Yay for legally living in Spain! Here are some photos from my morning walk to Plaza de España for my appointment: Then I attempted to find the meeting point for the free walking tour. After wandering around with little success, I decided it wasn't in the cards and to just explore on my own. Well while exploring on my own, I stumbled upon a large group of people wearing bright orange jackets just in time for the tour...que suerte! We learned about the cathedral, palace, former orphan's home, fancy hotel, and Plaza de España. Not usually a big history person, but I really enjoyed the tour! After the tour, some English-speakers I met the night before at the hostel (the ones who told me about the tour) went to see the inside of the palace. We got a little separated while exploring the palace, so one of the Canadians, another Emma from the US, and I all went for some tapas as our tummies were grumbling. We returned to the hostel, and I went out for a run along the river. That night the crew of Canadians, Aussies, an Englishman, a German girl, a Californian, and me headed to the Carbonería to drink beer and watch some really awesome and free Flamenco. Very different setting than the show I saw a few weeks ago at a more expensive tablao with Jill but still super cool! This show was all male performers as opposed to the show I saw with Jill which had a female dancer. Good end to a eventful Friday. Saturday I woke up to get my running number. But after wandering around the city for a few hours, I arrived to the running store just after 1pm. The race organizers handing out the numbers had already left. I walked back along the river hoping to catch a glimpse of a regatta that I knew was going on that day. But unfortunately by the time I arrived to the part of the river where the regatta was happening, it was already over. While it was not a successful day per say, I still had a nice time exploring. I stopped by Mercadona to pick up some much needed peanut butter along with other odds and ends. I went back to the hostel to eat and relax. At the hostel I ran into some of my new found friends - it was the German girl's birthday, so we went out to get cupcakes/ice cream at Hercules Plaza, followed by beer and conversation. There was a group of kids playing soccer using the two Hercules pillars as a net...too cute! Saturday night was filled with some more beers (I know, I know...beer...great race preparation...) and card games on the terrace. By then our crew of English speakers felt like a family as we had spent nearly the whole weekend together exploring the city. Hugs were exchanged as I hit the hay a little early to rest up for my race the next day. Sunday I headed out of the hostel to Parque Alamillo. While it probably wasn't the smartest idea to walk 3 miles before my race, I'm also on a budget. And if I'm being really honest, I'm just a cheap person. On my walk, I saw la Cartuja (where Seville's High Performance Rowing Team trains). When I arrived at the park, I got my number and went to the bathroom about 50 times (my typical pre-race ritual). Immediately after crossing the finish line, they handed you a ticket with your official time, overall place, and place in relation to your sex. They handed me a ticket, and a little vomit came up. Oops. Guess that means I pushed myself. After grabbing a water and some orange slices, I went to spit in the grass. Lovely. I know. A one of the volunteers on a bike starred at me like I was crazy. Keep in mind, while this was a run against la violencia machista (violence against women), I would not describe it as a "fun run" or charity run. Most of the competitors were entered as members of running clubs and there were minimal walkers compared to the first race I did in Córdoba. So I didn't think it would be totally weird if I had to spit after the race.
I hung out in the park as everyone finished. Then they started awards. I didn't think I won anything because I saw on my ticket that I got 7th woman, so I was not really paying attention. But I should've paid attention... They called my name to go up on stage for 3rd place in the senior women category and and I had no idea who to kiss on the cheek, where to stand...I looked like a fool. But oh well. At least I made a fool of myself in the city and not in my little town. Definitely won't make that mistake again (if I'm lucky enough to place again, that is). Hiking and DrivingWednesday we didn't have work because it was Día de todos los santos when people clean the tombstones of their loved ones and leave flowers. Seeing as Jill and I do not have any loved ones buried in Spain, we went on an excursion with two of my coworkers, Alejandro and Alicia; Alicia's son, Manu; Manu's dad who was visiting from England; and Alejandro's friend Cati who works at the museum in Casariche. We went to a church/museum called Sierra de Aras at the top of a small mountain in Lucena. The views were pretty sweet! Alejandro explained to us that Andalusia has 2 geographical sections: upper and lower Andalusia. You can see the division between these two areas made by the mountains. Then Alejandro, Cati, Jill, and I (leaving Manu and his 'rents to explore with him by car so the little guy didn't get too tuckered out) headed to the Embalse de Cordobilla to see some flamingos. And to our luck we did! They were kind of far away though, so I didn't get any good photos of them. We got lost in the olive fields and snacked on our sandwiches next to the river. Then we all went out for some tapas/lunch and enjoyed some nice conversation in Puente Genil, followed by a driving lesson for yours truly. Alejandro is being super nice and teaching me how to drive manual so that Jill and I can borrow his car and have more independence if we want to escape Casariche. Did I mention how nice everyone is here?!?! Muay ThaiAlso this past week, Alejandro somehow convinced me to try out the Muay Thai gym that he's been going to. I had pretty low expectations because I don't think of myself as someone who likes martial arts. But the truth is, I've never tried them. While I'm not a violent person and definitely not a talented Muay Thai-er, it has actually been really fun! Don't knock it 'til you try it, as they say. The workouts are super hard and my abs haven't felt this sore in awhile, so I think I'm going to officially join the Muay Thai gym (as this is just my trial week).
After class yesterday, I was chatting with some of the others and they were asking where I'm from. I told them the US and they were surprised because they thought I was from England. When I told them I was from Philadelphia, two of them broke out into song. They were singing the Fresh Prince theme song in Spanish. Since arriving, I've been to Portugal and Gibraltar, gone on some pretty sweet hikes, seen some pretty cool things...but this was DEFINITELY the highlight of my life here so far. Today after class, I watched the instructor, Javi, fight one of the guys from the class. Javi is probably a head shorter than me and the guy from class is much taller and bigger than me and definitely taller and bigger than Javi. Javi DESTROYED him. Like I said, I'm not a violent person, but it was super fun to watch. Then everyone ordered sandwiches and pizza to the gym. We hung out, ate, and chatted. They gave me an official Casariche Muay Thai t-shirt, and I learned that Javi was the Runner-Up European National Champion for Muay Thai. He travels to compete in Mexico next year. Pretty cool, huh?! All in all, I'm enjoying life in Casariche. I know there will be lots of ups and downs, but after this week, I'm feeling pretty up! ¡Hasta luego! |
AuthorI'm Emma. I love food more than anyone will ever understand - specifically cheese, chocolate, bread and pretty much every fat & carb combo you can think of - apple cider donuts, ice cream, the list goes on. Fats and carbs just go so well together. Don't you think? Why is it when I'm tasked to describe myself, I always talk about food? I guess if you want to learn more about me, you'll have to read my posts about my year as a teacher in Spain. Archives
May 2018
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