Futbol, Madrid y Amigos Nuevos

So, just as the emails slowly became less and less frequent and consistent, so, too, are my posts on the blog slowing down already, as well! However, I would argue that that isn’t my fault – I was gone for most of last week! But that’s alright…I’ll fill y’all in on what’s happened in the past week now.

Last Sunday – a week ago – my new friend John (from Liverpool) and I went to a CF Burgos football match, which the burgaleses won, 2-0. The stadium itself is pretty unimpressive and small, and it only was about 1/4 of the way filled, but everyone there was clearly very devoted to the team and it was a good afternoon out for everyone, seeing as Sundays are always pretty slow in Spain. And to top it all off, it was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm, so we basked in the sun while chatting and cheering the team to victory. They even had an anthem for the team, which John is now convinced he must learn.

Monday was a normal day at school, but Tuesday through Thursday were the annual Orientation Days in Madrid for our program. I wasn’t required to go this year, since I’d heard it all before last year, but I figured that a) I didn’t really have anything else to do and b) I’d like to meet other people who were going to be in Burgos this coming year, so I went. The orientation was pretty uneventful and boring, as I’d expected, but being in Madrid is always a good time. I spent one afternoon having coffee with my friend Raquel (who worked with our program in La Rioja last year and has moved to Madrid this year), which was lovely, and then another night out with my friends Chris and Annalise, friends from my study abroad time in Granada who are now living in Madrid full time. I’ve met a number of their friends over the course of the past year, and so it was just fun to see them all again.

We also went out one night with a collection of people from Burgos and La Rioja this coming year, and I’m starting to develop some really good friendships with people from all over the place now. Luckily, Logrono and Burgos are really close to each other, so I think there can be a good amount of back and forth between the two places over the course of the year!

On Thursday, I had planned to go back to Burgos after the orientation ended midday, but John and I were convinced to head to Logrono instead to spend a few days there. So off we went on Thursday afternoon to Logrono, where we played the tourist (for John’s sake) and went out and enjoyed the tapas and familar bars of the city. We ended up in our favorite, La Musa, for almost all of Friday night, and that was just a great time. Lots of good friends and awesome music!

On Saturday morning, I actually went and visited with one of my tutees from last year for an hour and a half. He – Diego – is just the cutest 9 year old kid EVER, and his little brother Carlos, who’s three, is adorable, as well. And they were just so stoked to see me, which is always a confidence boost! Haha. But we sat and chatted for awhile that morning, and Carlos drew me a picture of him and me and signed our names to it, which was sweet. Something to put on my wall in Burgos!!

John and I also dragged Jennis back with us to Burgos for the day/night, and she fell in love with the city. It’s really gorgeous, I do have to say that, although COLD. Here’s a link to some pictures of the city:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2386688&l=a86a0&id=2501475 (The first seven photos are Burgos, and then the rest are from San Mateo)

We didn’t end up doing anything too exciting in Burgos for the night – actually, just delivery pizza and a movie! – but we had a good time nonetheless. And people are supposedly visiting me in a couple of weekends, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the nightlife that Burgos has to offer in the future!

I suppose that’s it for the past week or so. We are talking about heading to Zaragoza this weekend for the Dia de Pilar, the patron saint of the city and a national holiday in Spain (well, actually, the holiday is technically the Dia de Hispanidad on October 12th, but it also happens to be Dia de Pilar), and then possibly a quick trip up to San Sebastian to enjoy some coastal living! I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on what happens!

Besos a todos!

 

Logrono y las fiestas de San Mateo

Hola to all!

Having successfully spent a week here without returning home on the next available flight, I feel a lot more settled and confident that I can do this! Haha. I know it sounds dramatic, but this first week has been really rough. I forgot how hard it is to move someplace new and not know anyone, and then to have to settle yourself in and make a place for yourself on your own. It’s just darn tough! But things have gotten better with every day that passes. Here’s a brief update on what’s happened this past week:

1. I’ve spent all week at school, including actually going into one class on Thursday morning. I THINK I have a finalized schedule now, which would put me in the bilingual classes of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years in various subjects. I went into a History/Geography class of 1st years on Thursday and they’re all just so TINY! I guess they’re only 12, but I just can’t believe how small 12 year olds look! I’m sure I was never that small! But they all seemed eager to talk and excited that I’d be there for the year, so I’m hoping to get to know them better soon. This coming week should be our first normal week, so settling into a routine will be nice.

2. I joined a gym, and that has just made me feel so much better! Never underestimate the power of endorphins! I went a couple of times last week and it’s gorgeous – tons of new-looking machines, both cardio and weights, and I think it’ll be good for me, giving me something else to do with my time.

3. I had coffee with Chris, one of the Americans at my school, on Thursday, and he told me about this girl Megan who he also knew that was in Burgos kind of on her own. So I called her up and we met up and went out with Becky and Rachel on Thursday night, and she’s just super nice! And she seems glad to know more Americans in the area, so we’re slowly growing our group of auxiliares with every passing day! So that makes me happy.

4. I caught the bus Friday afternoon back to Logrono for the annual festival of San Mateo/the vendimia (grape harvest). We went out last night and there were just a TON of people in every bar. But TODAY was the official start of the festivities. Oh my goodness, the insanity! We went with about a zillion other people to the main plaza del Ayuntamiento (city hall) today to start off the celebration, and there were tons of groups of people with bottles of wine and gaseosa (a slightly sweet seltzer water), bags of flour and cartons of eggs. They basically then took those things and flung them around the crowd, dousing everyone within reach. Once the welcome ceremonies were over, everyone moved en masse to the old town part of the city and the bars were hopping!! Everywhere was FULL of people, with loud dance music pumping inside and people overflowing out onto the streets, enjoying their beverages. It’s basically just a huge excuse to get totally drunk all day long, as far as I can tell. It was fun to be in for a few hours, but we ended up leaving around 3pm to take a break and make some lunch. But we’re off again tonight to brave the crowds and see what kind of festivities are happening around town.

5. I have officially met some of the new people who are going to be in Logrono this year, and that’s been really fun! Some people had emailed me over the summer, knowing that I’d been there last year, and asked me questions about what to expect, etc. This one girl in particular, Jennis, had been emailing with lots of questions and then actually called a few times this past week with various things she was confused about. So we ended up meeting up yesterday afternoon, and she is just the nicest, most fun person ever! It’s such a shame that we’re not physically going to be in the same place! But since we met yesterday evening, we have just gotten along so well, talking about everything and wandering around, exploring the city together. Her combined with my friends from last year that I met up with yesterday and today, have made me feel so much more comfortable about being back in Spain. Even though we aren’t in the same city, we’re close enough that we’ll be able to visit a fair amount, I hope!

6. I met up with one of my teachers from last year, Inma, for a coffee yesterday evening, too, so it was good to catch up with her, find out how things are at my old instituto, and again, just feel connected to Spain. She and her husband also showed me around the kiosks and stands set up for the festival so I could get more of an insiders’ view of the whole thing.

So, those are the highlights of this past few days, I suppose. I’ll try to figure out how to make pictures happen on this page shortly so you can have an idea of just how many people were out today for this festival – which goes until Sept 27th, by the way, so it’s a long, all-week affair! – and the kind of crazy things they wore and had thrown on them. It’s just really nothing like I’ve ever seen at home before!

Hopefully this coming week will bring many more interesting and new stories to share with everyone!

xxx