So we went to Alicante and visited my host family, and how fun it was! Memories of Alicante and living with a host family for five months flooded back to me as I stood in their apartment building and rang the doorbell! It was so great to have Dan see where I lived and intimately know my life in Spain two years ago, which is what started this whole crazy journey in Asturias.
Before we went to my families house, we arrived late in Alicante (around 12 am), missed the bus to the city from the airport, and paid 25 euros or something for a taxi. Then, we walked through the city late at night to get to our couchsurfering host's apartment, which was absolutely incredible. His apartment, we discovered only the day before, is directly in front of Playa Postiguet. He was unbelievably generous and gave us his keys when we arrived. Literally, his keys. He couldn't find his second copy, so he literally gave us HIS keys. The kindness of strangers reminds you again and again that there is so much good in this world.
So, we had a little room to ourselves in his apartment, couldn't figure out how to use the sink which did not have the nozzle attached, so we brushed our teeth in the shower as he had gone to sleep right after we arrived and he showed us around.
We woke up early and went for a run around Alicante for about an hour, which was glorious. We ran through the main area of the city and then up towards my apartment and then back around to the beach. I was reminded how much I loved this place, but also, how I really believe Asturias, in general, is more beautiful than Alicante, and fits me better than Alicante did.
After our run, we went to the beach, sat for a while and tanned (TOPLESS! YAY. Oh how I missed it). Of course, we also bought some 40s and drink them on the beach for old-times sake. We took a dunk, "our shower," as the shower in Santi's apartment was more like a pathetic trickle of water, and went back to the apartment to change and get ready for lunch at my families.
We got to Alicia, Roberto, Andrea and Allie's house and it was so amazing to see them again. I felt almost like I'd never really left when I got there. They had a new student, Grace, and we all ate lunch together (without Andrea, who was in school). We discussed lots of things, from my time in Asturias, to what they've been up to, to various other topics. It was really so fun to see them again. We had a delicious meal of roasted chicken, tortilla de patata, tortilla de championes y alcachofa, pan de aceite and ensalada. It was all wonderful, and oh how I missed my madre's cooking. Dan and I then walked with Alicia and her sister, Raquel, to pick up Andrea from school and we chatted a bit more about our lives, got to the school, and found Andrea. I was FLABBERGASTED when I saw her. Her grandfather had said at comida that she was very beautiful and tall and so much older looking, and BOY, does he not lie. Two years had passed and Allie looked basically the same, but for an 8 year old, 2 years is like a lifetime. She is 10 years old now, the same height as her 14 year old sister, and has long curly hair. I remembered a small little crazy chica who jumped on my bed at 9 am while I was hungover and begged to play games with me. She looked at me in the school and seemed a little surprised herself, she didn't say much. It was really an experience which made me feel a lot older, haha!
That night, Dan and I met up with Grace, the new student, and we went to my favorite margarita place. It's so funny how all the same people were working there--the bald guy who Fama loved, the little Mexican dude. We had huge jarras of margaritas and a pina colada, and it was delicious. It made me think how much I really have changed while being in Asturias. It's unbelievable how much I used to drink while in Alicante and now, I could barely have more than 2 margaritas.
The next morning, we woke up early and met Raquel because we were all going hiking together at a place with a dam, a resevoir, and old roman steps. Dan and I had to hold Yaki, Raquel's dog who doesn't like driving in cars and throws up when he is nervous. That was pretty funny. The dog, luckily, on the way there, did not throw up.
The hike was gorgeous, we were gone for about 4 hours or so, ate comida at an old abandoned house at the top of the hill, took lots of photos, discussed many things such as nutrition in schools, and generally got to reconnect. It was then I discovered that I was their last student, Grace is the first one that they have had since me. That was pretty funny, they normally had a student every semester and every summer. Roberto said that after me, they were "contento" and didn't need another student, hahaha. In reality, it was because the boss of the placements had left CIEE and they were not in contact with the program for a good while.
We parted at the car and Raquel drove us back. It was so bittersweet leaving them, I felt like I was almost leaving my own family behind. I wished that we could have spent more time together and that our trip to Alicante wasn't so short, but alas, this really just provides me with another reason to keep coming back to Spain. Alicia said I am always welcome in Alicante and that her house is my house, so I will keep her word :)
After this hustle and bustle for two days straight, Dan and I went back to relax, had a scare over the plane tickets, went to Santi's to get them since we forgot them there, and laid out on the beach a little more before leaving. I was so nostalgic while in Alicante, I kept thinking about my time studying abroad whenever I saw American students on the beach, playing and chatting with friends. This has been the most amazing time in my life, here in Alicante and in Asturias, and I feel so lucky each day to have had such a life-changing experience living in another culture now for a total of one year of my life. (It will be a 14 months by the time I arrive back home on July 1). Spain will always, always hold a dear place in my heart. I feel as though it is one of my homes.
Dan and I got back to the airport and arrived in Santander late at night. Luckily we were able to couchsurf with our friends Manuel and Belen in Santander. We stayed up late in their living room with another couchsurfer (an auxiliar from Castilla la Mancha) and watched the Madrid vs. Barcelona soccer game. We chatted about various topics, mostly about teaching, as Manuel is a philosophy teacher. The next morning, we said goodbye to Belen (Manuel and the couchsurfer were not awake yet), were given sobaos by Belen (AAHH THANK YOU!) because Dan told her I fell in love with them after the first time we met, and were off to the beaches of Santander. We relaxed on the beach of danger (La Playa de Peligro) for a few hours, and then had the most delicious menu del dia of all time (a typical fabe stew of Cantabria and fish prepared in the Basque style). Dan had his paella, and he was happy!
We arrived back in Oviedo and rested a few days, went to Gijon, hiked the Senda del Oso (30 km-18.5 miles), oh how our feet hurt after hiking on pavement for 7 hours), hiked the Ruta de Cabo Penas with Ilee (had SMORES!!), hiked the Ruta de las Branas in Felechosa-Las Cuevas (thank god for well-marked trails!) and generally relaxed. On my birthday we went and got a menu del dia (fabada asturiana, escalopines al cabrales, vino, pan, postre) and then went to the Lupulo with Lissa, Koki, Alex, Pedro and Nacho. It was a really wonderful birthday but an even better week.
Now, back to the real world...I have one more day of teaching this week and then another long puente. Do I ever work? I think Dan, Lissa and I are going to do a long hike from Oviedo to Quiros (70 km), called La Ruta de San Melchor, a mini-pilgrimage. We were going to go to Sevilla for a road trip with Koki, Ilee and Hugh also but in the end plans changed because we would be driving for 8 hours of the day. We might still rent a rural house in Asturias for the weekend instead of hiking but as of now we are not sure what to do since we haven't gotten paid yet.
SOON...TENERIFE! Soon I will be on a beach, working on a farm, skydiving in the Canary Islands, hiking the tallest mountain Spain- a volcano. I'm so excited for Tenerife! Until then, I must teach for my remaining 15 days in the school (would be 18, but 3 of them I will be chaperoning trips with the kids for their gym classes...we will be going kayaking in la ria sella, hiking in Gijon and hiking around Lugones).
I'm definitely starting to get sad about leaving Spain (I still have two months left) I truly will feel as though a period in my life will be over once I arrive back in the states. I have decided that I will WWOOF throughout my entire life, I will take off time from my jobs (hopefully which are flexible), and go WWOOF in Asturias and other places in the world for extended periods of time. This way I will be learning more and more about gardening and sustainable agriculture while also saving money, practicing my Spanish and being immersed in another culture. Whenever I get sad, I need to just realize that I will be moving on to the next adventure in my life (Austin!) and will never lose my Spanish if I try to use it on a daily basis (at ICR, I will hopefully be conducting interviews this summer in Spanish, and of course I will speak in Spanish with Zahira.
I taught The Lorax this week for Earth Day. Truly a "cautionary tale," which sadly, still has meaning today. While watching it, I was reminded of recent environmental disasters, such as the BP oil spill. Have we learned anything in 30 years? Not quite sure. My favorite quote from the movie is the following...
I'll yell and I'll shout for the fine things on earth that are on their way out!
The kids really liked it too. Especially the humming fish and the bar-bo-lou suits. "I speak for the trees."
Hasta pronto!
