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!

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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.
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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!

Fail.

It's Thursday, and I haven't posted any type of reflection. Fail. I have a good reason though, but that will have to wait.

Anyway, I am heading to Algeciras tomorrow evening with Emily to hang out with my family. It is also Jay's last weekend here in Spain before he flys home--he has completed his study abroad program and is fresh off a trip to the Netherlands and London. I am really looking forward to it, but also looking forward to my Uncle's newest family member--a new Goldren Retriever puppy. It is going to be FUN.

I will hopefully have an entry early next week about the weekend festivities, and then try and get that reflection post up by the end of the week.

Have a good weekend!