so much i have seen...so much I have to say..so little time and internet access to tell about it.

we call ourselves the fellowship.  The fellowship includes the 8 of us who stayed after our Spain program to travel from Paris, Edinburgh, and London.  This has only further added on to the biggest adventure of my life.  When I return to Los Estados Unidos, I will give a full and overly detailed report. But for now..I LOVE EDINBURGH.

SEE YOU ON THURSDAY! CAN'T WAIT TO COME HOME :) 

Me Voy. Que Lástima, Pero Adios.

Once again, my favorite artist Julieta Venegas just knows how to sum up my feelings.  There are really no better words than these..."Me voy. Que Lástima, Pero Adios."  English Translation: I'm going. What a pity, but goodbye :)

On Friday, the 31st of March, I left Spain after living there for 3 months.  This always happens to me with goodbyes...their reality doesn't hit me until like 2 months later.  Therefore, you can bet that in 2 months I will be in Salt Lake on my bed, depressed I'm not in Spain anymore.  On my last couple nights, it started to hit me that I was leaving, but something inside was telling me not to let that sadness get in the way of enjoying my last moments..so thats what I did! I tried not to think about it and just soak in those precious moments.  I tried to take note of every little detail about daily life that I had started to let grow old or mundane. For example, I took especially long amounts of time just meandering up the stairs that we used to cross the train tracks everyday.  I tried to always keep an eye on the beautiful green hills that surround Alcalá, as if to engrain them in my memory.  I tried to just listen to the beautiful Spanish language and the accent of the Spanish people, in hopes I will never forget it.  Spaniards speak so beautifully and with such pride.  I love the theta and the "B" sound they use for V's.  There are so many little quirks I noticed and tried to pick up in the past 3 months, and I will miss hearing them so much.

Once again, this experience has been incredible in every way.  I can't wait to come back to the United States and apply what I have learned.  I miss my own family so much and I cannot wait to make my parents listen to my Spanish prayers at dinner..if thats what I have to do to keep this Spanish up, I will do it!  I didn't cry until I gave my host dad Santi a hug..even thinking about that moment still makes me tear up.  I will never ever forget my Spanish family.  The following are a series of goodbyes:

 The Center for Young Single Adults in Alcalá. They suprised us for our last week there!

 SANTI!!! What would we do without him?

 Yay for Elder Ioan! He's going to Romania on a mission!

 Adrian (He saw us on Spanish TV)

 DANNY!

 JULIO (according to him, my future husband)

 Kendel. (She's also American, teaching English in Spain)

 The woman who taught me everything I know about Spanish..VISI

THE BUS! im gonna miss public transportation!

 Ricardo! One of my first homeboys in Spain. He's from Peru!

 Miguel my host brother! He came out with us on the last night!

 Legit first friend in Spain. Santi!

 One and only father in Spain. Also named Santi! We bought that paddle for him for father's day!

Paddle. I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS!

 SOPHIO! I fed him way more than I probably should have.

Our cute little Chalet and the Spanish Soccer mom van.  That open window on the left was mine and Kim's room. I LOVED waking up every morning to look out on this street.

Mis hermanos and padre :( Aren't they all so cute?!

 Spanish mother..no words to describe the sadness..

Goodbye train rides, and madrid suburban area, and grafitti.

One thing I do know for sure, "HASTA LUEGO" Madrid!
Hasta Luego directly translates to "until next time"
I can assure you. There will be a next time :) 

Me duele, mi corazón.

My heart hurts. This is my last week in Spain and I can't even believe this experienced has flown by so fast.  I feel like I am just starting to understand the culture, speak the language, and feel entirely apart of my family!  I had to walk to school early this morning in order to study for my grammar exam, and as I meandered these lovely Álcala streets, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity I have had to become so acquainted with this Spanish life.  Looking back, it really wasn't easy.  There were times I was frustrated and overwhelmed with all sorts of new surroundings. However, I have grown to love everything about this place, even the things I don't understand about the culture.

I am going to miss this place so dearly.  I have been so stressed out trying to fit in all that I want to this past week.  I have been meaning to go into Madrid and go to all the museums and parks and just try and see everything I have meant to for the past 3 months (Luckily, the list isn't very long..I haven't wasted a second here!)  This has been really hard to follow up on though because I have been trying to study and get ready for my 2 week extravaganza after Spain.  I must say however, I have spent my time more wisely than ever with my family.  I had a thought today: I can come back to Madrid and visit again...I can see the parks and museums and cathedrals...but I will NEVER be able to enjoy playing soccer with the local ward boys every week..singing Karoke, eating tapas, and going out dancing until 4:30 in the morning on the weekend in Álcala.  I will never be able to play paddle with Santi for like hours upon hours during the day, while making new Spanish friends at the park.  I will never be able to spend as much time hearing Gloria say "MUY BIEN" after we successfully speak spanish, and hear her sweet laugh.  I will never be able to watch Jesus and Miguel laugh their heads off at dinner because Santi said something rather cruel.  I will never be able to ride into Madrid in a car in order to see Bulls being maliciously slaughtered.  I will never be able to live and laugh and learn with this family again. For this reason, we have spent the past week soooooooo well. Take a look :)

Last sunday Gloria took us out to this benefit concert for a girl with a rare disease.  None of us could figure out what exactly that disease was..but her name was Sarah and she was adorable.  Basically, it was a show consisting of all art forms.  People were standing and singing and just having a good old time. Definitely an awesome cultural experience.  After, we went out for Tapas and to watch some people dance at a bar.  Gloria told us the previous week that we don't go out enough, so she wanted to show us what it is like to experience the night life in Madrid. hahahhaa.





The following Thursday we all went in to see "El Rey de Leon" together.  We bought Gloria a ticket as a gift, because she has never seen the movie or anything and has always wanted to!  I wasn't sure if the music would be in English or not, but I was excited regardless.  It turned out they had translated the whole thing into Spanish and I loved every second of it.  It was so easy to understand because I already knew the story and music, and it was so fun to see how they translated it.  Our mom ADORED it and loved how they added a lot of Spanish humor.  My favorite song was "Él vive en ti," or "he lives in you," referring to Mufasa and his promise to Simba to always be there.  The music was amazing and the costumes and everything were so clever.  It really was, like my roommate Aly says, a spiritual experience!

Friday we mainly just hung out in the house, trying to recover from an exhausting week.  We also played soccer once again that wednesday at this awesome giant sports complex.  I was a little worried at first playing again, scared I would fall on my face..but nothing happened at it was as fun as ever.  Friday night we went out to get tapas and ice cream with a bunch of the girls and a couple boys from church.  We stampeded a Karoke bar as well and showed Spain how to sing like an American!

Right before this, I had a moment I will never forget.  I already talked about how we bought our dad Santi a new racket and gave it to him right before this night.  It obviously put him in a very good mood so our he gave us a ride down to meet with everybody. On the way down we blasted the song, "Danza Kaduro," a very upbeat Spanish song, and just sang and dance the whole way through town.  It was this moment of pure joy, love for this country and language, and love for our dad Santi.  That moment just perfectly exemplified the strong relationship we have built for him, and I will always think of this moment when I hear that song.

After Karoke, we met up with Gloria, her daughter Susana, and another student from Japan. They took us to this dancing club called the Casco Antiguo, its a dance studio where they instruct Latin dancing.  They had a bunch of guys there with shirts that said, "bailas?" on the back, and they taught you how to dance! We learned salsa, chacha, and merengue, and a bunch of fun line dances.  All the people there know how to dance soooo well! Me and my roomies are determined to become that good when we get home.  We had so much fun just enjoying our time watching young and old and listening to the rythmic music.  After 3, the instructors left and the place just turned into this discotec, so we just all danced together in a circle. Let me tell you, Spaniards do not dance like us.  Aly and I were going crazy to all the songs and everyone kept laughing at us and looking at us soo weird.  This one guy kept coming up to us to try and ask us where we were from, even though it was clear to everyone there we were Americans. Oh how I love the stares we have gotten for the past three months! We stayed till 4 in the morning and I do not understand how Spaniards do that every weekend! I do feel a lot more cultured now though!

Saturday we played paddle with Santi, Jesus, and Pablo once again..but we were so tired from the night before and decided we wanted ice cream..so we dragged Jesus with us down to the plaza Cervantes to the recently opened heladeria.  He is such a cutie. We then taught him how to play American football, and of course he was good at it like everything else.  We were having so much fun we didn't even want to leave to go into Madrid that night for our Opera.

Did I mention that rollerblading is super super popular in Spain and I have been wanting to do it since I arrived here? Finally, my dream fulfilled :)

Love this girl with all my heart :)

Sunday was our last day at church, which was seriously really hard.  I owe so much of my learning experience to my weekly sunday church attendance.  Here, I had the spirit by my side, helping me to understand what was being said, literally, and spiritually in my heart. I owe so much of my ability to listen and comprehend Spanish to church and members here in Álcala.  Santi and Gloria came to sacrament meeting to here us sing, and everyone was just so nice to them and reached out.  Guillermo, our favorite person ever, gave a talk and my mom noted how much she looked up to him and could tell he was a really good guy. 

One of the cute boys in the ward, Joan, who is a convert of the church and is now going on a mission, wrote me a letter telling me how good of an example I had been to him and how grateful he was to me for helping him learn some English.  He gave me a magnet from Madrid and I told him I would write him letters on his mission. He is such a sweet heart and I look up to him so much for his example and friendship.  

I didn't think I would cry, mainly because I am just so used to saying goodbye to people I have come to love, and have just come to terms with the fact that if you love someone, there really are no goodbyes.  However, after sacrament meeting and our singing, my cute friend Alicia came up to me, and she was just bawling.  She is one of the cute old ladies from Relief Society who I always sat by and talked to about her grandkids who live in Utah.  She always gave me advice about learning Spanish and she is just the cutest little lady. I lost it when I saw her crying and it made me realize how the gospel can just bring people together, even if they cannot communicate that well.  I got her email address and told her that next time she comes to Utah to visit her son, I want to see her. 

 My Spanish teacher Teresa also came to hear us sing! Cutest Spanish teacher ever right? We are obsessed with her!

 GUILLMERO! We love him. 

We quickly ran home to grab Jesus and Miguel and then Santi took us out to this Asian buffet and it was DELICIOUS.  It was like mongolian barbeque meets chinese buffet meets Spain.  It was a celebratory feast for our departure with the whole family. 

We also had tickets to a bull fight that night, and some of the girls who had bought tickets decided they were too scared to go see it, so we brought Glori and Santi instead! This way, we got to drive into madrid with a car which was sooo much nicer than the train.  Santi used to work at the Plaza de Toros in Madrid, cleaning up all the blood..so he was really excited.  Gloria had never seen a bull fight in real life, so she wanted to see what it was like as well.  At first, I was really grossed out with all the blood and the brutality of killing the bull. But then, once I got used to it..I kind of liked it...hahahah

 One of the best people I have ever met.

Walk of Victory around the Plaza

This week we have our finals, graduation, one last free day, and then we are out of here.  We have mainly been studying (which means we really haven't been studying, but like to say that we have) playing with our family, and preparing to go.  Santi keeps on saying how he wants to come to Salt Lake City this summer so he can see all the national parks and go to Las Vegas.  We told him if he does  that we would show him around EVERYWHERE. He tells us the new prices for plane tickets everyday.  It is talks like this that remind me that I will see them again someday, I know it for a fact.  I am so grateful for all they have given to me these past 3 months and I have been changed because of them.  They are the most open, pacient, hospitable, and selfless people.  They love teaching their culture and language and sharing their hearts and homes to the world.  I hope to have a family and household just like them someday.

Seeing as this is probably my last blog post in Spain, I want to declare the outcome of this experience:
I have learned to be patient with others and myself..because soo many people are patient with me.
I have learned to embrace another way of life and thinking..the way we do things in the United States is no better than anywhere else in the world.
Laughter is a universal language.
Making good decisions, NEVER leads you astray.
I am loved by people everywhere, and I feel so blessed for it.
Our world is full of history and we have a responsibility to learn about it.
I have learned to live each day in the moment, and not to live each day worrying too much about the future.
I have learned that when you get out of your comfort zone, you always have the most memorable experiences.
Don't murmur, complain, or be prideful.  Life is meant to be hard, obnoxious, and frustrating..just embrace it and learn from it.
You can be yourself, even in another country and language.
Love EVERYONE and don't second guess yourself.

I named my blog "A lady in Spain," but I think now, it is safe to say, "Spain has a place in me."  I am no longer in this country, the country is in me :)

Our dear friend Guillermo Lopez from the ward sent us this email today and I think it sums up perfectly the experience.

Hi guys! It is I, once more :D How are you doing? I hope you are enjoying to the max this week, and that your finals are going well enough. I'm sure you are doing a great job on them.

       I wanted to let you know that I am planning on going to play soccer on Wednesday at 6:30pm, in case some of you still didn't know it. So I'll be there to open the gate and everything. How could I miss our ultimate soccer challenge? :D

       "And by the way, you don't need to reply to this email, but I also wanted to thank you for being such wonderful people and have allowed us to be part of your Spanish experience. We all are going to miss you lots, and I specially am gonna miss you. You might think that we are used to it, since many BYU groups have come before you, but I have found that I'm still not. Usually I haven't been able to get involved with you guys to much after my mission because of my architecture studies and my Church callings that always keep me on Sundays busy and running around after our ward's priesthood holders... That's why I just got to hang out with you if I had girls living at home and they invite me. But this time, although there were no students at home, I've been doing stuff with you and enjoying it so much, that now I already miss you, my friends :) I might hide my feelings very well, but yeah, you are such special sweet daughters of God... You have been one of the best BYU groups ever, and I love you guys, and I'm sure the Lord will bless you a lot throughout your lives. In the next years some of you will go on missions, others will get engaged soon... So, only good things have the Lord ahead for you, so don't be too sad, haha. If we endure to the end, we will be all together with the people we love in Heaven, so... we can use that feeling of "missing each other" to motivate us to press forward to get there. Fo sho, my nizzles!!

          I'm gonna go to Utah and California some day, so I hope I'll get to see you, if not all, as many as possible. Now I feel more attached to the US than to Spain, because most of my friends are now there, and the dearest ones for me are from my mission and from BYU :) If I don't make it for this Summer, I'll be there in the next couple years for sure. Till then, we will keep in touch through FB and I'll let you know about my life updates. You always will have a special room in your crazy Spaniard-friends' hearts, above most of the students that came previously.

         Take care!! And see you on Wednesday and tonight if you go to the FHE. Hugs and Spanish two-kisses ;)"

We've Mapped..Spain

Well folks. That's it! The Spain portion of this series is just about over. Which is rather sad, considering that's the main event.  Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly looking forward to meandering the remains of the continent after, but I must admit there is something about this place that I am having a very hard time parting with.  


We have officially finished all of our scheduled trips, and what an adventure it has been.  We have visited every major region in Spain besides Galacia and Asturias.  My aunt Victoria's mother, as well as my Spanish professors have quoted, "You guys have seen more of this country than most spaniards."  Thats valid, of course.  But there is such a difference from popping into a city for a couple hours or days, than actually living there.  I think that is why Alcalá will still be my favorite.  Alcalá is by no means a touristy city.  It's not even that special.  Its one claim to fame is that it's the birthplace of Cervantes, the famous Spanish writer who wrote Don Quijote.  Regardless, I have lived here. By lived here, I mean I have laughed here, I have cried here, I have learned here, I have friends and loved ones here, and I have personal and memorable experiences here.  My blog will never be able to portray them all.  Let's face it, my life here in Spain has been way cooler than my blog will ever advertise it to be.


I will dearly miss the busses, my bedroom window, my green bedspread Gloria got just for me, Jesus's laugh (its a little frightening)  Miguel making fun of Kim, everyone in the household making fun of Kim, walking everywhere, chocolate and churros with the girls, talking to the old women at church and hearing their advice about life, playing soccer with our boys, the youth center with our local stake youth, the conversations aly, Kim and I have to and from school and everywhere else we go together, the cute Spanish old people and the cute spanish kids, classy europeans, train rides into madrid, the cute old couple missionaries at the youth center, the squinty boy named Pablo at church,  Teresa and her obsession with cats, Visi and her incredible ability to teach my Spanish, in Spanish, CHOCOBOMS from Alcalinga, paddle with Santi, kitchen chats with Santi, helado, and soooo much more. 


Before I start crying, I better talk about how incredible this past week has been.  


Disclosure: Remember how I had a serious black eye? Well yeah, in all these pictures...I still have a black eye. Please forgive me for looking like a pirate. 


Monday last week: Regular Spanish day with class, religion, and soccer. then, the accident. fell on my face trying to be trixy with the ball, bled all over the court, my short, and shoes, and had to go to the hospital.  Though it was painful, what a cool and unique experience I had there. Let me tell you, it is NOT like healthcare in the U.S. Talk about some serious wait time.  Cute Aly waited there for me the whole time.  Good thing Gloria was there, or I would have been so lost.  The doctors had to speak to me in Spanish like I was a little baby, because I was just really confused. haha 


Tuesday:  Class, paddle for like 5 hours with Santi, Jaclyn, and Kim in the beautiful spanish spring.  FHE and chat time with the fam...this is what I like to call a typical day in the life of us. 


Wednesday: Class and Reina Sofia to see Guernica by Picasso. 


This is the famous painting done to exemplify the tragic bombing of Guernica by the Germans under the direction of Franco. Though I don't think this is the way I would have chosen to portray it, after studying the history of this time and visiting the actually city of Guernica, it truly is brilliant. 

So, after visiting Guernica I went to lunch with my Aunt Victoria, her sister, and her mom. We went to a family owned, local Galacian restaurant and it was delicious.  I loved Victoria's sister and her mom! They were so sweet and patient with my Spanish, and Im not gonna lie...I did feel pretty legit speaking in Spanish the whole time. 


 


You might be wondering why I am wearing a Real  Madrid shirt? Well its because we went to see REAL MADRID play Moscow in the Champions league game that night! I have ALWAYS wanted to experience a European soccer game, and let me tell you, they know how to do it right.  Everyone was going crazy, running around the San Bernabeu Stadium like it was the end of the world.  Some British guy filming a documentary about Ronaldo even interviewed all of us, and my friend Adrian told me he saw us on TV this morning!  Yep, thats right I've been on Spanish Televison!  All the Russian fans just came up to us every two seconds and begged us to be in their photos as well.  I'll never forget walking into the stadium and seeing the grass! I seriously got the chills.  Ronaldo scored 3 of the 4 goals, and I must admit, though I think he's annoying, he is a dang good soccer player.  I have now officially cheered on my two teams :)

One word: Majesic. My favorite thing though was when I had to explain to all the girls what offsides was each time it was called..especially when they would stand up and cheer way loud, thinking it was a goal, but they had called it offsides.  All the men surrounding us were just laughing at our stupidity.  But hey, what's new in this country?

Thursday: TRIP TO THE BASQE COUNTRY! First we stopped in Burgos, a lovely little town known for its Cathedral.  It is also a stop for the Camino de Santiago, which is a pilgrimage Christian walk to Santiago de Compeostela and is very significant for a lot of Catholics. I thought Burgos was such a lively and fun little place, with beautiful buildings.

One of my favorite Spanish Plazas thus far.

I loved the expression on these cute lady's face.

Our final destination was Bilbao, which in all honesty isn't that pretty of a city.  It is far more industrial than any city I have seen in Spain and there tends to be a foggy mist covering the city most the time.  We mainly went to see the Guggenheim museum done by Frank Gehry, which was absolutely fantastic.  It is this awesome building inspired by a fish, a boat, and whatever else you can imagine, right along the river front.  It is also connected to this huge bridge over the river.  We found out that Bilbao was playing Manchester United that night, and wanted to go see if we could get into the game, but our directors were really hesitant.  At first I was a little upset, but then once I realized how neat the museum was, I was so grateful that I stayed and embraced it.  We then went back to our hotel (chalk full of Man U fans) and ate a Spanish buffet.  I'm about to unveil a little secret for you..if you ever have to make a choice of which international buffet to go to, don't choose Spanish. That's all I have to say about that.

Giant Flower Dog In Front of the Guggenheim

In your spare time, you should seriously go look up Frank Gehry. He is a genius.

This was my favorite exhibit in the Museum by Richard Serra called "The Matter of Time." The museum describes it 7 weather proof sculptures, weather proof steel, varying dimensions.  I call it, getting lost in art. You walk through the middle of these and the dimension of the sculptures totally mess with your perception. I felt like I was walking through Southern Utah slot canyons or something.  The very last one, I was seriously frightened for a bit that I wouldn't get out.  SO COOL! You aren't allowed to take pictures in the museum, but the nice guard man told me he would turn around so I could take this. I think he felt bad about my hideous black eye :)

The next morning we left Bilbao early and headed to Guernica to see the Ayuntamiento, or the old Basque council building, and the Peace Museum, constructed after the bombing a Guernica. I expected to feel a somber, almost eery atmosphere when we arrived, due to the tragic events of the past...but in reality, life has truly moved on there.  I watched a bunch of school kids running down the street waving their Bilbao scarfs and flags around, ccelebrating the game and waving to their parents.  It is a regular town now, devoted to moving on.  I could see this in the peace museum.  I didn't feel a sense of bitterness or hatred, but only a call for change.  I really liked the peace museum. The exhibits described the events and the tragedies, of course, but then they showed a clip about many of the conflicts the world has faced, and how it all needs to come to an end.  They showed a picture of Picasso's "Guernica" and described it as "La Semilla para La Paz," or the seed for peace.  

After Guernica, our directors told us they had four options for lunch, and we got to vote.  The first three were just entirely stupid and all had something to do with Mcdonalds.  The fourth option, however, was to pop into FRANCE for a couple hours, at a beach resort town, and have lunch!! AHHHHHHHH! just picture 23 college girls screaming with excitement and looking at each other in shock, and that is exactly what happened. The bus pulled out, and we were on our way.  Did I mention that Basque country in the north of Spain is absolutely BEAUTIFUL? Rolling hills, lush mountains, and an countryside feel.  I found this picture online, and it is exactly what we were driving through! As we winding through these lovely hills, Lindsay pulled out her speakers and we all screamed our lungs out to the song, "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson, only because there is a line in it that says.. "Lets get rich and by our parent's homes in the south of france." hahaha, we weren't even really going to the South of France, but it worked for us.  I will never forget that euphoric feeling of driving through the country side, on our way to france, listening to Ingrid. 

Biarritz France was our destination :)

Jacqui and Lance had looked up a really famous restaurant and pastry shop in the area, so thats where we headed first.  We each had 10 euros to buy whatever we wanted! This is what I chose: (A mango Macoron, and some delicious pastry with the richest chocolate I have ever tasted.  Oh also, this is where I offically ate the best Croissant of my life!)

After this, we had the rest of the time to ourselves.  We went down on the beach and basically just soaked in the fact that we were in France. Of all surprises I have ever been given, this might have been one of the best. 

After our blissful day trying to figure out any french we knew, we had to return to Spain.  We were staying the night in San Sebastian, the Spanish city mainly known for its beaches and beautiful scenery.  We arrived at this awesome hotel on a hill, overlooking the whole city and were then given a free night.    One of my favorite parts of this trip, but our awesome bus driver Jose Miguel. He was such a classy man. At this point in the trip, he could tell how much we love to sing and dance, so as we were headed down town he blasted this techno music and turned the bus lights on and off accordingly, as if we were in a club.  We all stood up on the bus and had a dance party driving down the streets as all the Spaniards looked at us from their cars and on the street. I think one thing I'll miss the most about this trip is how goofy all of us are together..we definitely know how to have a good time.   We walked down by the beach, rode a Carousel and laughed our heads off like little girls, talked to some Spanish boys from the Canary Islands, and walked down by the beach.  We ate dinner like the spaniards do and just ate some awesome Tapas at a bar, then called it a night. (Oh, we also finished off dinner with some ice cream, but thats just a standard part of our eating habits here in Spain.)

All in one day. Welcome to my life :) 

The next morning we woke up to the most beautiful sunrise over San Sebastian.  This room was my favorite hotel room of the whole trip because of our big window.  Kim and I went over and sat by it, and just looked out over the sunrise, while we listened to the song "Sunrise" by Norah Jones. I love the ability music has to captivate and illuminate the moments we experience.

 We ate breakfast, hopped on the bus, and headed to this tiny town called Santo Domingo de Silos, on our way back to Madrid.  This was a TINY town in the middle of nowhere and the only reason we went there was to hear the Monks and their Gregorian chanting.  It was kind of fun to pop into a non-touristy town though, where absolutely nothing was going on.  The people were soo friendly and even though the bartender made fun of me for ordering a hamburger at lunch, I still liked him. We stopped at a random slot canyon hike for 10 minutes on the way back as well, which was just so random.



Sunday: Day of Rest, which actually wasn't restful at all beacause we went out to a concert, tapas, and dancing bar that night with Gloria, but whatever..I LOVE taking advantage of every opportunity we have to spend time with our family. I will blog more about this later...

Monday: VALENCIA and Las Fallas. Ok, Las Fallas was hands down one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Las Fallas is the second biggest celebration in Spain, after the running of the bulls.  It takes place every year in March for 4 days in Valencia.  Las Fallas is a celebration of "Renacer," which means to revive or renew.  Basically what happens is the neighborhoods in Valencia spend all year making this GIANT dolls made of cardboard that they call Las Fallas, and then burn them on the last night of the celebration. They also string lights and fireworks everywhere and blow them up at all times throughout the weekend.  We arrived on Monday and brought Guillermo Lopez, a boy in our ward, to be our guide.  We met up with our other friend Santi and some other youth from Alcala. I am SO grateful they were there to lead us around because that city was CRAZY. There were people everywhere, and so much going on.  Our directors were so stressed out trying to keep everyone together and they just had no idea what was happening. Luckily Santi and Guillermo were there to show us around.  Santi used to live in Valencia and still has family there, so we basically just went to their neighborhood to watch the "Mezcletas" which are the fireworks. Ok, but these are not your typical everyday fireworks.  They hang them on string right between the buildings and light them so they go off in a procession.  I remember Santi telling me that they are so loud, you feel them.  The second one we witnessed, literally blew all of us back.  We were all screaming and laughing and just shocked at how loud it was! Not to mention, there were babies and little kids everywhere like it was no big deal. Santi said they are just totally accustomed to it because they see it every year.  All my guy friends in high school who were total Pyros, would have LOVED Las Fallas.  After the Mezcletas, we took a break and went down to the famous "City of Arts and Sciences" building and went to Gulliver's park and just played around.  Then, when it got dark enough we walked back around the streets and Santi showed us the 1st place prize for lights and 2nd place prize for Las Fallas.

Walking around at night was so much fun! It felt like a big carnival street fair.  We all tried the 

delicious candies and pastries as we walked.  My favorite were the Bunuelos, which are just delicious scone type things you dip in chocolate.  We ate Kebabs for dinner and just enjoyed the atmosphere.  We finally went back to the place Santi wanted us to watch the burning of one of the Fallas. We had to wait until 12 for the burning, but in the mean time they did some more fireworks which are so awesome.  The citizens don't even care that they blow out their windows sometimes and Santi said one time a Balcony fell off.  They all spend tons of money every year! This lady above is wearing the traditional "Fallera" dress, which costs about 3000 dollars, and they wear a different one every day.  These are the ladies who have the privilege of lighting the Fallas.

While we were waiting, I made friends with some of the local kids as they were throwing down little firecrackers.  This might have been my favorite part of the day.  We spoke to them in Spanish and they practiced their English.  We talked to them all about the fireworks and had so much fun throwing the firecrackers with them.  They were so giddy and excited and it reminded me of how I felt as a kid during the fourth of July. They were such cute girls and I will forever be grateful I spent my time truly divulging myself in another culture.

Las Fallas was unlike any thing I have ever experienced, and I absolutely love the concept behind it.  It is a celebration of starting new and being reborn out of the ashes.  I can now officially say that I have seen a city on fire :)  This was a perfect way to end our long string of adventures across Spain..fireworks, and huge burning sculptures.  We really went down with a "BANG." hahaha. Pun entirely intended.