HELLO! Very long time no see. Since my last post all sorts of things have happened so I'm not really sure sure where to start. The main reason for my absence from the blogosphere was a two week trip back to Blighty for Easter. It was a simply wonderful time and consisted of such delights as watching some friends perform their improvised comedy show (check them out, they're swell: http://www.soop.org.uk/), various meals in and out with friends and family at home and away, popping to Southampton to see Hairspray at the Mayflower, being treated to a swanky night out in Bath, being a guest at a lovely wedding and a visit to the optician. Yes, that counts as a delight. I love going to the optician. Don't judge. As ever, the two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye and now I'm back in the English department at Calderon de la Barca high school with only 6 weeks standing between me and the very end of this Spanish adventure. It's the final countdown. And that's actually pretty darned sad.
My last week or so in Gijón before Easter turned out to be a rather eventful one. I had a spontaneous solo adventure to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia for the weekend. Jean and Laura had already planned a weekend away to Granada but I'd decided not to join them, feeling pretty sick at the thought of the 24-hour round coach journey that they would have to endure. But passing up on a travelling opportunity only to sit on my tod feeling sorry for myself all weekend didn't seem to make much sense so instead I took the plunge, booked a hostel for one and set off. It was a very daunting prospect and I set off in the mindset that it would be a lonely and unenjoyable experience but that I'd endure it for the sake of doing something instead of nothing. But I'm happy to report that I was incredibly pleasantly surprised. There was no boredom, no lonliness, no nerves or fear. Luckily, it's a flippin' stunning city so I was constantly entertained by merely looking around. There's a wealth of museums, galleries, parks, beautiful churches and squares and the cathedral most certainly lived up to its international reputation. I think I managed to see pretty much everything that I'd wanted to in the time that I was there - I stayed for two nights which turned out to be the perfect amount of time - one night more and the lonliness may well have started to creep in. One of the nights I ended up being taken under the wing of a Spanish family as I ventured into a church for a choral concert. The invited me to stay at their house and told me to visit them in the Summer. It was strange, but amazing. The whole weekend was a fantastic experience and, as cheesy as it sounds, I'll have to admit that it was just as character-building and horizon-expanding as travelling alone is often advertised to be.
When I arrived back from Santiago I had a few days at school and then whizzed off again, this time to stay with a Spanish friend in his hometown of Navia, which just so happens to be where Alex has been placed this year. We met up with Alex and went to a mahusive outdoor Easter party complete with 4 different stages upon which denim-clad groups of spaniards regaled us with disco covers of English and Spanish chart music into the early hours of the morning. It was very surreal and very entertaining and I ended the night soaked in beer and rain (and I dread to think what else) and totally exhausted. We partied like true Spaniards.
And since coming back after Easter the pace has stayed pretty darned... well... pacy! This weekend mi madre flew across the pond to visit for a few days and to get a feel of Gijon. This meant a weekend full of eating, drinking and being generally merry. We wandered around the city and along the coast as I tried to point out different spots of interest and to regale Mum with stories of my adventures here so far. On Friday night we went out to have a few glasses (which turned into plenty of glasses) of wine and found ourselves right in the middle of the Feria de Abril, a festival which celebrates all things Andalucian. All of the waitresses were dressed up as flamenco dancers and the wine and tapas were coming at as faster than we could keep up with. At one point a couple stood up from their table and proceeded to dance some intensely steamy flamenco about 2cm from where we were sat. It an absolute stroke of luck to have stumbled across such an authentic Spanish experience. Mum reckoned they knew she was coming.
On Sunday morning I took to the sea for my first ever surf lesson. The sun was shining and the waves were perfect. Had I not been nursing a hangover from the night before I would have been overflowing with enthusiasm. As it was, the struggle to get into my wetsuit alone (it brought to mind images of an eposide involving Jim Cary as Ace Ventura and a Rhino...) nearly killed me. But once in the sea I had an absolute blast and am seriously itching to go again despite every muscle in my body, some I didn't know existed, aching like they've never ached before.
There's lots planned for this last stint in Spain, including a trip to Lisbon, another to Barcelona and a weekend away in San Sebastian. The sun is shining, I'm excited, BRING IT ON.
X
