Well that was fun...

So, I have now been home in the US for over a month and I thought it would be a great time to wrap up this blog. First, I want to thank all of you who read a post or two of mine over the last year. I was fortunate enough to be a blogger for CIEE and I hope you learned something, or at least was entertained, while exploring my blog. Now, on to the final post, which will be broken into Final Days in Spain, Last Days of traveling, and the big surprise.

___________________________________________________________

That is me eating snails.

My last week in Spain led me to trying many different tapas with my uncle. This included chicken heart, pig liver, and snails. My last night in Algeciras we went out for snails, and I had no choice but to try them with my family. You basically take the snail, and if the head is sticking out, you grab it with your teeth, pull, and slurp it out. If the head isn't sticking out of the shell, you take a toothpick and pull it out, then repeat the previous steps. They are a seasonal delicacy here in Spain, and they are eaten by the plate load (as you can see in the picture). Honestly, they were a little too slimy for me, and of those three foods I tried my last week, the chicken heart tasted the best (it really was actually pretty good, after you get past the fact that it is chicken heart...).

The toughest part about leaving was saying goodbye to friends and family. I already talked about saying bye to Motril, but it was tough saying bye to my family. The Monday morning (!?) I left Spain I went to Daniel's school to say goodbye. Picture? Picture.


I then hopped in the car with my uncle and headed towards Malaga and the airport, taking in my last drive along the coast of Southern Spain. Once arriving, we said our goodbyes and I was off... to Dublin!

___________________________________________________________

Dublin, you may be asking? Yes, Dublin. Morocco = Bogus. I really didn't go there, so you can completely disregard the below post. Why? Story time...

Many of you know my girlfriend Rachel, who I missed dearly while in Spain. The Morocco post was for her, to misguide her into believing that I was coming home on June 17. I actually traveled to Dublin, Ireland for two days and flew home to the United States on June 15, successfully surprising Rachel two days early, who I successfully led into believing that I was, in fact, in Morocco. More on that below, but first Dublin...

I arrived that Monday (June 13th), checked into my hotel, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Later that night I got a map from the front desk and using the power of the internet found sites throughout Dublin that I wanted to visit and planned out the next day.

I woke up the next day and caught the bus to the center of Dublin. I could go into a lot of detail about where I went, but this is already a long post, so I'll summarize.




The first place I went was an old prison called Kilmainham Gaol. It is perhaps Irelands most famous prison and has a rich history involving the many revolutions that took place through Ireland. U2 even filmed a music video in the prison.

I then made my way to the Guinness Storehouse, the museum Guinness has made out of the old and original brewery. Guinness still brews on site, but the Storehouse is all things Guinness for tourists to check out, including a top floor, 360 degree glass inclosed bar that overlooks the city of Dublin. I enjoyed my complimentary pint and the view...



I then walked through parts of the city and grabbed lunch in the famous Temple Bar district. I returned to this area later, but took off towards St. Patricks Cathedral after lunch, passing by Dublin's castle.




From there I walked down to Trinity College and enjoyed the beautiful campus, which unfortunately had some construction...

Next (packed day I know, it ended up being just over 9 hours of exploring the city), I went back down to Temple Bar and stumbled across THE Temple Bar where a guy was trying to break the Guinness World Record for consecutive hours of playing guitar. He did it. I was there for the 50 hour mark.



After enjoying another pint and taking in the live music, I took off for the center of town and snapped a few pictures, including the famous Spire of Dublin.



From here I hopped on a bus back to my hotel and prepared for my flight back to American the next morning.

___________________________________________________________

As mentioned, I led Rachel into believing that I was going to be in Morocco the 13th-15th and that I would have only minimal contact with her. It was all part of the plan to go to Dublin and fly home early to surprise her. All went as planned, and I even arrived in Chicago one hour early, which allowed me to go home, shower, and freshen up before surprising her for dinner. In short, she thought she was meeting my good friend Phil for dinner, but when she arrived she found me sitting there, waiting for her. She. was. speechless. I even had to leave my booth and walk up to her to give her a hug because she was so shocked and confused that I was really there.

That I was in the United States.

That I was home.

Home.
___________________________________________________________

It has now been over a month and I am enjoying my summer back in Michigan. I have been busy preparing for my new job (!) that I start this fall, teaching US History and Government at a charter school in Grand Rapids. It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since I left for Spain. Unreal and what a year.

January 17, 2011 and Morocco.

Well, today marks exactly a week until my arrival home, but I am not done traveling yet...

On Monday morning I will be hopping on a ferry here in Algeciras and be heading to Morocco for 3 days and two nights. I will be heading across the Straight of Gibraltar to Ceuta (the Spanish colony in Africa) where I will make my way across the border into Morocco and catch a taxi to the nearest Moroccan bus station. From there, I will hop on a bus to Chefchaouen, a town famous for its blue buildings.


I will spend a night there (Monday night) and then Tuesday morning head to Fez, where I will spend all day Tuesday and Tuesday night.


Wednesday I will head up to Tangers, where I will spend the afternoon and catch one of the later ferries back to Tarifa where my uncle will be picking me up.

Wednesday night will be my last night in Spain, because Thursday afternoon I fly to Dublin, and then Friday morning back to Chicago! I am not sure if I will get a chance to post another entry before I arrive back into the States, so this may be my last ever post from Spain. Crazy.

I will be honest, I am a little nervous about traveling through Morocco. I will be alone, but I was also alone in London. The biggest thing will be the language. But I really don't intend on interacting that much, and have installed a small French-English translator on my iTouch. That will hopefully be enough for me to do the basics. I am basically just going to experience the culture, and see why so many people I have talked to have told me Morocco is a must if you have the opportunity. I will be sure to include an entry and pictures of my trip once I get home.

Anyway, for all of you who have read my blog the last 10 months, thank you. I know there were times where I strayed away from routine posts, but overall I have enjoyed keeping it and giving all of you the opportunity to read what I have been up to here in Spain.


Thanks and I will hopefully see most of you upon my arrival home!

Quarter of a Century. Yikes.

Monday was my 25th birthday, and it was also the second year in a row that I have celebrated my birthday outside of the United States. Last year:


This year:


That is me sitting on the beach in Bolonia, Spain. It has become a frequently visited place for me while here in Spain, with Monday marking my fourth time there (once with my uncle, aunt and cousin back in August, once with them and Jay back in January, once with them and my parents in March, and again Monday). Emily accompanied me this time around; she came to Algeciras with me to celebrate my birthday with me and my family. It was an extremely relaxing day with the afternoon spent at the beach and an easy going night at my aunt and uncles home. Emily even made me a apple pie! A great birthday here in Spain and another one that I'll never forget.

Peace. Out.

This is officially the last blog post I'll write from my "piso" in Motril. It has been a great year in this awesome apartment, and I am going to miss opening up my blinds every morning to the Mediterranean Sea. But, it is time to go.

Emily and I are heading to Algeciras, where Emily will be celebrating my birthday (Monday) with me and my family before coming back to Motril.

I will be staying with my family there until I leave Spain. So, more to come, but from Algeciras.

Peace.

Last Day of School.

First, video:

Second, pictures of gifts:

One Motril Football (soccer) Club jersey, one photo printed t-shirt of Rachel and I dressed in flamenco apparel, a ruler with a personal message written from a student, a mug with a picture of Rachel and I with students from my first eso course (7th grade), a card signed by all of my students from first eso, a map of Spain where each province is a student's name in my second eso course (8th grade), a notebook with written messages from each of the students in my second eso class, a card made by a student and a container full of "dreams."

I was totally surprised and had a lot of fun. What a great year with these kids and I am going to miss them all!

Al-Andalus.

Moments before we all jumped into the pool together.

The roomies and I had one last big get together with all of our Spanish friends yesterday. It was a solid afternoon of fun at our friends Alberto and Pablo's cortijo (cottage). With a pool, paddle court, ping pong and food and drink we had a great time just hanging out with everyone and taking in the beautiful southern Spain sunshine. We also had music going all afternoon and this song really stuck out as it was being played. It is obviously in Spanish, and the lyrics aren't too exciting in terms of talking about the culture of Andalucia (from reading them it sounds more like a love song...), but It is called Al-Andalus, which is what Andalucia was called under Moorish rule. I just really like it because it mentions many of the towns and places across Andalucia that I have learned to love during my past 10 months here and thought it would be appropriate to begin a reflection piece with it.

The below video is the song with different pictures from around Andalucia (not created by me, but that gives me a really good idea...). Check it out!

_____________________________________________________

Here I am, less than 20 days away from my return to the United States, the far and distant place I know as my real home, thinking about my West Michigan bubble, and how eager I was to step outside of it. I left it when I moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan in the fall of 2005, and have jumped even further away from it since graduation with my stint in Dallas, incredible first teaching experience in Honduras, and living in Spain for 10 months. But right now, that bubble, and everything inside that bubble, sounds great.

People I know here in Spain keep asking me if I am ready to head home, and for the most part I give them the same answer: yes, but it is bitter sweet.

Bitter:


Spain is Spain. It is an awesome country with an incredible history and unique people. Being a history geek, I have really taken the opportunity to explore many of the sites said in the song above, and many others not mentioned. I wake up every morning, open my blinds, and look out at the Mediterranean Sea. I get to teach my language and be around great kids, which is my passion. I’ve met some awesome people here as well, and the party yesterday was a great way to finish a great year of living in another country, learning the culture and language. I also have my family here with my uncle, aunt and cousins. I have had an awesome time hanging out with them and will be spending another week and a half with them starting this coming weekend. Overall, It is going to be tough to go home and leave my life here.

Sweet:

Another aeroplane

Another sunny place

I’m lucky, I know

But I wanna go home

Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

-"Home" by Michael Buble

Since January 10, 2010 almost 18 months have passed. During that time I have spent a total of 7 weeks in the United States, and a week of that was spent traveling out to Seattle and San Francisco. I am now going home to my friends, my family, and…

I am always looking for excuses to post that picture of her. Go Blue!

…what a long awaited reunion. With no plans in the future to leave any of them, I am looking forward to an awesome summer of Lake Michigan, camping and a few trips to see friends and family across the grand ol’ U.S. of A.
_____________________________________________________

Now for some fun--things I have learned while in Spain the last 10 months...

1. Breakfast is at 9, Lunch at 3 and dinner at 9 or later.
2. 2 AM is early for Spaniards on Friday and Saturday nights.
3. Roundabouts > traffic lights
4. A sixth sense for avoiding dog poop while walking on the sidewalks is required.
5. Spaniards do not move when you pass them walking on the sidewalks.
6. No matter how hot it is in April and May, jeans and sweaters are still appropriate attire to walk around town in.
7. Spain = Europe
8. New York = United States
9. Barcelona ≠ Spain
10. 30 and living at home is totally acceptable.

More to come about my time here in the next two weeks before I leave for home!

I promise…

Puppy Love.

Literally.


I love dogs and that is me with my uncle's new puppy, Dusty. His claws are sharp and he has puppy teeth, but it was great to be around a dog again.

Last weekend in Algeciras was a lazy weekend of beach and good food and family. Emily came along and we spent a good part of the weekend at the beach with my brother and cousin, Daniel. When we weren't at the beach, my aunt and uncle were spoiling us with good grilled food and were occupied playing with the puppy. Awesome.

I am working on the reflection piece now. Goal, get it posted tomorrow. Sorry its taken so long.

Happy Memorial Day from Spain and enjoy the long weekend!