missing motril SO much this time of year. no specific reason, i wasnt even in motril this time last year (i was in norway for christmas!) but just have to express how much i think about my life there. the people. the mediterranean. the time.

sigh.

i have amazing friends.

A week or so ago my amigo Alberto said to me “why is your blog only in English?” and I said well because the people who read it speak English…and he said “what about me? or other Motrileños?” So I realized it’s about time I write a post in Spanish, and dedicated to my amazing friends in Motril. I apologize to those who are English-only-speakers but bare with me until next time.

Quiero dedicar este “post” a mis amigos geniales de Motril. Alberto me dijo que necesito escribir en Español y aquí estoy. También Alberto me pido “palabras” que nunca podría decir porque como siempre, lloro. Ahora que he pasado 4 días (solo 4?) fuera de Motril… he reflexionado de, bueno, todo. Me siento que he tenido tanta suerte de vivir en Motril. Es un lugar especial; en el medio de las Sierras y el mediterráneo, una ciudad pero casi pueblo, todo esta barato, y la gente son increíbles. Este grupo de gente que he conocido es un grupo genial; gracioso, amable, y siempre divertido. Como todo, con tiempo me sentí muy “cerca” con todos después de cada fin de semana a La Zafra, varios cortijos, botellón, nuestro piso, La Nube, etc etc. (claro que todo incluye comida…jeje). Aunque me siento mas cerca con algunos que otros, todos de los amigos de este grupo siempre me mostraron amabilidad. Mi tiempo en Motril fue distinto de mi tiempo en Sevilla porque (bueno, muchas razones) he tenido una vida, un trabajo, pero por la mayoría fue porque de mis relaciones con la gente. Quiero decir gracias a este grupo (sabe quien son) por la gran amabilidad, la invitación a entrar tu vida (tu grupo, las fiestas, los cortijos etc etc), las conversaciones buenas, las sonrisas que hemos compartidos, y Antonio (a la Zafra, claro).
VALE VENGA VAMOS

con este grupo, siempre hay sonrisas

con bernardo y los hermanos mejores
I love you guys. Por fa por fa por fa, seguemos en contacto (gracias a Factbook, esto es mas o menos fácil, no?)

Esa foto es una de las primeras, y en blano y negro, algunos de mis favoritos.

OS QUIERO, I LOVE YOU.

A nuestro despedida y con algunos guapos

ps – sé que mi español todavía es fatal, solo significa que tengo que regresar.
una cosa mas....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

long overdue

I am upset with myself for not writing in so long, however, i think subconsciously i was avoiding it because i knew i would write about "the robbery" incident which i chose to block out of my mind for quite some time. (For those of you who haven't heard, long story short: someone broke into our hostel in San Sebastian and came into our room while we were sleeping and stole our (me, kime & meg) money, cameras and ipods. it was a horrible experience, but in the end it has taught me that i don't NEED these things despite how lost i feel without them and now i will appreciate them even more).

enjoying a sunset on our roof

Wow, the time has come. I only have 9 days left and it is really hitting me. The past few weeks I have really been realizing how much I am going to miss this place, this life, these people. I am really, really nervous to go home and have (bigger) responsibilities, finances, and stress in my life. I cannot express how lucky I feel to have had this experience and in this beautiful place. No, Motril is not quote-on-quote beautiful, but I love it so much and the surrounding area is just phenomenal. The past few weekends I enjoyed some last visits to Almunecar and Granada -- two of my favorite places. I spent some quality some with good friends in both places and I will miss them dearly -- I have been fortunate enough to meet some really special people here. This past weekend we had our fiesta de despedida (going away party) and it was a great success. Andrew, Meg and I made some great typical American dishes and had the best night with our close friends here in Motril. It made me so happy.

me, alisha & emilio / the gang at our going away party

Today was a sad, sad day. I woke up and prepared for my last day of infantil (preschool) classes and felt bittersweet about it. I did my final 2 hours of singing fingerplay songs and was on my way out when all of my preschoolers surprised me in the entry way waiting for me to say goodbye and give me a present (a book full of drawings they made for me). I lost it. I have complained all year about these kids over and over again...but here they were, saying "don't leave us!" and bombarding me with hugs and kisses. More importantly, I felt that the teachers finally gave me appreciation and that made me feel really good. I left the infantil building and just cried and cried. I finally got myself together for my next class but my two favorite 1st grade classes were going to the theater and I had to be around for "recess" so I couldn't go with them which was sad...but during "recess" the principal and teachers planned a mini-going away which of course, I lost it again. My coordinator gave me a beautiful jewelry box from Granada and our principal gave us stuffed toros (bulls) -- typical. I wanted to tell them how grateful I was for everything they had done for me, but words wouldn't come out because I was so emotional (damnit, Mom, I really did get your genes....). But I have already written them a card/sign that I plan to make sure they know how much I appreciate them.

the 2 pictures above are with the preschoolers (4 year olds) and below is 1st grade

Tomorrow is my official last day AT the school and then Monday I will go on a field trip to this Zoo outside of Malaga. I am going to try and keep it together tomorrow, but lets be honest, I will be a mess. These kids brightened my days (even if it was only 3 days a week!).

another preschool class ^

what I am going to miss most about my school (to name a few):
-my 1st graders spending the 1st ten minutes of class discussing what happened at recess; "alberto kicked me" "julia doesnt want to be friends with me" "today i played with alba and we had so much fun" "ivan pulled down my skirt"....etc. It is probably the cutest thing ever.
-getting notes such as un veso, te kiero when it is supposed to say "un beso, te quiero" (a kiss, i love you!)
-seeing kids really excited when they know something in English.
-talking with my teachers while the students are working and hearing more about their lives.
-our secretary, Andres, who makes me laugh every day.
-my kids chanting "heidi! heidi! heidi!" as I walk in, as if I am famous.

the "playground" outside my school with beautiful flowers blooming

i love my mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so lucky to have the mother that i do. I hope you know I appreciate you every day. Mom, thank you for everything you have taught me, encouraged me to do, and supported me through. You are an incredible woman, I love you so much.

I have some pretty incredible "other mothers" in my life -- to my aunts who I love and appreciate so much (especially Janet and Marcia who took care of me like their own daughter through my years in Worcester), and to Nain who continues to amaze me with her kindness and love. Today I am thinking of you, Papa and missing Grandma... ♥

4 weeks.

today, i have 4 weeks left here in spain. its hard to know how to feel. it is a mixture of being excited, happy, sad, anxious and nervous. i am going to miss so many things about my life here. but of course i am so excited to see my family, friends, and home. i went on a walk to the beach the other night at "dusk" and took deep breaths, long stares, and tried to take it all in. the view of the Sierra Nevadas, the Mediterranean, and ugly but beautiful Motril...i became happy to realize how much i love this place i questioned in the beginning. it will be sad to leave...on to the next chapter of my life. (but dont ask me about any specific details on that chapter...)

view of sunset from our roof. what a lovely evening.

FERIA

Sevilla holds a special place in my heart. It is a magical city. Of course I love it because I studied there and it brings familiarity and I feel comfortable there but lets face it, it is beautiful. As I have said before (and before and before) the orange tree aroma, the river, the buildings... I just love it there. I have struggled with the fact that people here in Motril (or all of Granada province) have a "thing" against Sevilla but I am holding to my strong connection with it.

This past weekend I went for Feria for round 2. It was good to spend more time there this time around, but hombre, it was exhausting. We had beautiful weather and just being in Sevilla again was great. Our 1st night at Feria was great because we had some lovely Sevillanos invite us into their caseta, or "tent" to experience Feria with them and their friends. I was so excited to be back in the groove of Feria with the incredible attire, beautiful music and dancing.

Of course Feria is a blast but it truly is a special cultural experience full of tradition. It is something that is difficult to describe without seeing it for yourself but where else can you find everyone dressed up either in Flamenco dresses, fancy suits, flowers in their hair meanwhile horse carriages wandering the streets, guitars being strummed, and the constant flow of rebujito -- THE feria drink which is a special wine mixed with 7up... it is really unique. Both nights we had people inviting us in (perhaps because we are cute American girls -- key word, girls...) but the whole weekend we were treated so nicely by the Sevillanos.

It was also really nice for me to show Kime my favorite places in Sevilla and a taste of my life while studying there -- since I have talked so much about it to her for so long now!

I am sad that it was probably (or definitely) my last visit to Sevilla for a long, long time but it was a great way to spend my last visit; with good company, FERIA, and sun in a beautiful city!

el tiempo vuela! (time flies!)

Why is it so easy for me to spend hours browsing the internet and yet so hard to sit down and write in my blog? sillyness.

Time has been flying by which is scary. I now have exactly 6 weeks left of school and 7 here in Motril. I am trying to enjoy every moment because I know it is going to go by faster and faster. The past 3 weeks I have been graced with my family's presence. And i might add, SUN! after 3 months of rain, I cannot believe how lucky we were with SUN! SUN! SUN! If I attempted to write about everything we did it would not only take me forever but probably bore you, my dear reader.

Some highlights:

-Pops and I ventured up the windy roads to the town of "Capileira" -- the highest town in Las Alpujarras which are the mountains south of Las Sierras Nevadas; just an hour from me. This town is a beautiful little white village with many trails to explore and vistas to enjoy.

-Mom, Pops, Anna and Oistein and I explored our 1st nudist beach: Playa de los Muertos and Pops enjoyed a brief skinny dip while we enjoyed the incredible view of the Mediterranean.

-We relaxed, cooked yummy meals, and drank Spanish vino y cerveza in our incredible timeshare in Vera/Garrucha.
-My 23rd birthday was spent in Granada showing my family around one of my favorite cities in the world. We walked the streets, saw the view from San Nicolas, spent hours in the incredible Alhambra, experienced a Semana Santa procession, and after some difficulty enjoyed some delicious Moroccan tapas at one of my favorite places.

-Papa had to return to AK, Kime arrived and filled his space and we found the most incredible beach. Of course, nudist. It ended our stay in the Cabo De Gata (national park) area in the most wonderful of ways.

-Anna and Oistein left us too soon and Mom and I began our stay in the beautiful Motril. Mom enjoyed coming to school with me -- got a taste of my life here and we made our way to Sevilla.

-Being in Sevilla felt like being home again. Mom immediately fell in love with the city (and the SMELL! oh the incredible Orange tree aroma of Sevilla....) We enjoyed simply walking around and of course the Alcazar impressed Mom and although it was my 8th time, I was happy to be back there. We discovered the secret of Triana barrio (neighborhood) --it's ceramic and tile. We had too much fun digging through the dusty tiles and admiring the streets decorated with typical Spanish tile fashion.

-Mom and I took a day trip to Cordoba and marveled at the Mezquita (Mosque now "Cathedral"). What an incredible place (again, even though it was my 3rd time) the history in one building is just too much. The combination of such different religions makes for a beautiful and strange place. Of course we ventured to the Synagogue (one of the last originals in Spain) and through the cute, white streets covered in flowers.

Although I tend to become stressed about being a "hostess" I cannot say enough how good it was to have my family here. It was nice for me to show my life here in Motril to my mom and dad, to relax on the beach and laugh with Anna and Oistein, and then of course to show Mom everything I ranted on and on about in Sevilla. I am so happy they were able to come and enjoy the sun with me! I miss them already.

It has been nice to "relax" again in Motril and now I'm off to Sevilla again this week! It is Feria! Feria is one of Sevilla's main celebrations; historically the start of the bullfighting season but it is a week of, well, partying; what Spaniards do best. During the day it is very fair-like with rides and fair food and at NIGHT: Sevillana (flamenco-esque) dancing, singing, and drinking! I was only able to experience Feria for 1 day last time so I am going back for round 2 and this time with Kime, Meg and Laura.
this photo is (actually stolen from a friend i studied with in sevilla) from Feria 2008.

I must add that last weekend my amazing Motril friends threw me a surprise birthday party (belated because I have been gone!) at my amigo's cortijo (cottage-type-house). I appreciated it so much and of course it was so much fun. I am so grateful for mis amigos here! They are so good to us.

above: bernardo & me at my birthday shindig! and me with the girls i teach privately; lola reyes and mar!

Until next time...