We are now in Lorca, a small town at the top of a hill that consists of a single street of houses. We walked 13 kilometers today in an effort to recuperate our ailments. While we survived the much shorter trek ¿we were originally going to go another 9 km to Estella? .. those are supposed to be parenthesis, but this keyboard is messed up... we are still in rough shape. Dan discovered that his Chacos did not aggravate his blisters so walking was a little better, but now he is feeling sick to his stomach. I still have shin splints in my left leg, but there is now a bruise which makes me wonder if they are actually shin splints.
So, here is our new idea. Tomorrow we are going to walk the 9 km to Estella because it is a bigger town that might have some sort of public transportation. We are going to catch a bus toward Burgos and then hopefully stay in Burgos for a couple of days to see the cathedral and relax a bit. Then we will cross the flatlands to Leon via train or bus where we will resume walking. This shorter trek will still take us by all the places we wanted to see, and will give us about 3.5 weeks of walking which is still fairly substantial.
To our future selves who may be looking back upon this and thinking that we messed up and wussed out: We are walking through a desert, sweating more water than we can consume. We are walking an average of 14 miles a day for about 8 hours each day. The trails are rocky and have steep climbs and descents. There is very little shade. We cannot sleep well at night. The daily routine of making sure our most needs are met is exhausting. We do NOT need to walk every single foot to feel like we have accomplished something.
Something Spanish Grandpa said to us yesterday really struck me today. He was surprised that we were going all the way to Santiago at our age and wondered what kinds of sins we had committed. He said it as a joke, but really... we are people who like nature, who like experiences. We are not overly religious and lack the type of motivation that a devout Catholic would have to atone for their sins. I can see where they would find that atonement, as every step brings you more pain, isolates you from your home and surrounds you with people who will help carry you toward your goal. We have met people from all over the world; Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Korea, Canada, Finland, Sweeden, Holland, Slovenia, Brasil, Italy... it is amazing to be a part of such a community. Amazingly enough we do not know anybodys name. Instead we refer to them by nicknames we have given them such as Hurt Foot, Pirate Pilgrim, Boa Lady, Purple Lady, Overfriendly Spaniard, Crazy Foot lady... it is really cool to see the same people every day and form a bond. Honestly, for me that was the hardest part of deciding to skip a few days of hiking... we are going to lose our travel buddies. But, it is what is best for us as a couple... especially now that Dan is not feeling well.
I will keep you all updated as often as possible. Do not worry parents, we are in a country with a socialist healthcare system so if we ever need anything it will be super affordable, and we are doing all we can to stay healthy and not push ourselves too hard.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Days 2-4 and the cold hard truth
At 6:00 am the lights in the hostel abruptly turned on, giving us a pretty clear signal to get on our way. We headed away from the mountains and through a Witchcraft Forest where people practiced witchcraft in the olden days. We also passed through Hemingway´s favorite fishing town which had two little canals flowing on wither side of the street, so each house had a little mini bridge to get to their front door. It was absolutely gorgeous. We hiked to Zubiri after a massive downhill slope that was really rocky and steep and killed our knees. Zubiri was one of my favorite towns so far, it had everything, including a river with an old Roman bridge.
Day 3 of the hike we left Zubiri and headed towards Pamplona. The hike was long and hard, because we hadn´t made it as far as our map suggested we go the previous day so we had to make up for some lost time. We went about 24 km entertaining ourselves by singing Will Smith songs for as long as we could. We finally arrived in Pamplona and settled into the first albergue we could find, which happened to be run by a lovely German couple. We summoned the energy after a couple of hours of resting to go into the city and explore the sights. We saw the path of the running of the bulls which was already being prepped with large wooden gates and barriers. We also did a Hemingway tour and saw his favorite bar and cafe in Pamplona. We got our pictures taken with a Hemingway statue in his favorite cafe and even had a beer with Papa.
That night... was pretty rough. We went to bed at around 8:30 pm, but that night Spain played against Paraguay in the World Cup and won! It was also the Saturday before San Fermin started and it was crazy in the city... which meant that we were kept awake by drunks wandering past our albergue shouting, dragging trees around, and playing music until 5 in the morning. When we woke up at 6:00 and left for the day there were still drunks wandering home with drinks in hand. We passed through the main square in town and it was completely trashed. Pretty disgusting. So, because of how crazy it was in Pamplona and our complete lack of desire (and sleep!)to be around such a scene (even though we´d be missing our chance to see the running of the bulls) we decided to head on towards Puente de La Reina with just two hours of sleep under our belts.
So, the walk today was difficult. We had a lot of rocky trails and a big uphill towards the Alto de Perdon, the literal Peak of Forgiveness. We met a nice Spaniard that we nicknamed Spanish Grandpa who told us all about the surrounding area and gave us candy when it was time to leave. We liked him =) On top of the mountain ridge was a wind farm. We had never been that close to windmills before and you could actually hear the massive amount of air that they were pushing around.
So, around the last 8 km things got really tough. We started hurting pretty badly. Part of it was probably the combined injury from 93.2 km of hiking, and part of it was the extreme downhill climb after the Alto de Pardon. Dan has blisters pretty badly and has a lot of pain in his feet. We´ve bandaged them several times, but nothing seems to be working with the stress he´s putting them under. We even stopped at one point along the trail and several other pilgrims wandered by-apparently talking about feet is the cool thing to do here- and gave their lovely advice in hindsight. One lady even touched Dan´s feet and bandaged them herself. Nice, but weird because she didn´t ask first, just grabbed his tootsies and started touching. As for me, I was doing great. Surpringly, amazingly great. Sure, my back was preventing me from lifting myself up and Dan had to help me up everytime I wanted to move... but my feet were good, and I was felling less and less sore everyday. Until about 6km before we arrived in Puente la Reina. Then the shin splints started. By the time we got to the albergue I could barely walk. So now we´re both gimps just barely hobbling along and wondering how we´ll make it through another day.
We´re weighing our options now as to what we´re going to do tomorrow. We might take a day off to rest if it´s still really bad. We could also hike about 10km instead of the 20 we had planned and just stop at an earlier stop. We could take a bus to a city that´s further down the trail. We don´t know yet. We just had a fabulous buffet dinner and we´re going to head to bed soon to get off our feet and try to heal as much as possible and then we´ll reevaluate in the morning.
For all of you at home we wish you a very happy 4th of July. We finally found another American and we joked about finding a book of matches to celebrate. Watch some fireworks and enjoy the barbecue. We´re thinking of you all.
Day 3 of the hike we left Zubiri and headed towards Pamplona. The hike was long and hard, because we hadn´t made it as far as our map suggested we go the previous day so we had to make up for some lost time. We went about 24 km entertaining ourselves by singing Will Smith songs for as long as we could. We finally arrived in Pamplona and settled into the first albergue we could find, which happened to be run by a lovely German couple. We summoned the energy after a couple of hours of resting to go into the city and explore the sights. We saw the path of the running of the bulls which was already being prepped with large wooden gates and barriers. We also did a Hemingway tour and saw his favorite bar and cafe in Pamplona. We got our pictures taken with a Hemingway statue in his favorite cafe and even had a beer with Papa.
That night... was pretty rough. We went to bed at around 8:30 pm, but that night Spain played against Paraguay in the World Cup and won! It was also the Saturday before San Fermin started and it was crazy in the city... which meant that we were kept awake by drunks wandering past our albergue shouting, dragging trees around, and playing music until 5 in the morning. When we woke up at 6:00 and left for the day there were still drunks wandering home with drinks in hand. We passed through the main square in town and it was completely trashed. Pretty disgusting. So, because of how crazy it was in Pamplona and our complete lack of desire (and sleep!)to be around such a scene (even though we´d be missing our chance to see the running of the bulls) we decided to head on towards Puente de La Reina with just two hours of sleep under our belts.
So, the walk today was difficult. We had a lot of rocky trails and a big uphill towards the Alto de Perdon, the literal Peak of Forgiveness. We met a nice Spaniard that we nicknamed Spanish Grandpa who told us all about the surrounding area and gave us candy when it was time to leave. We liked him =) On top of the mountain ridge was a wind farm. We had never been that close to windmills before and you could actually hear the massive amount of air that they were pushing around.
So, around the last 8 km things got really tough. We started hurting pretty badly. Part of it was probably the combined injury from 93.2 km of hiking, and part of it was the extreme downhill climb after the Alto de Pardon. Dan has blisters pretty badly and has a lot of pain in his feet. We´ve bandaged them several times, but nothing seems to be working with the stress he´s putting them under. We even stopped at one point along the trail and several other pilgrims wandered by-apparently talking about feet is the cool thing to do here- and gave their lovely advice in hindsight. One lady even touched Dan´s feet and bandaged them herself. Nice, but weird because she didn´t ask first, just grabbed his tootsies and started touching. As for me, I was doing great. Surpringly, amazingly great. Sure, my back was preventing me from lifting myself up and Dan had to help me up everytime I wanted to move... but my feet were good, and I was felling less and less sore everyday. Until about 6km before we arrived in Puente la Reina. Then the shin splints started. By the time we got to the albergue I could barely walk. So now we´re both gimps just barely hobbling along and wondering how we´ll make it through another day.
We´re weighing our options now as to what we´re going to do tomorrow. We might take a day off to rest if it´s still really bad. We could also hike about 10km instead of the 20 we had planned and just stop at an earlier stop. We could take a bus to a city that´s further down the trail. We don´t know yet. We just had a fabulous buffet dinner and we´re going to head to bed soon to get off our feet and try to heal as much as possible and then we´ll reevaluate in the morning.
For all of you at home we wish you a very happy 4th of July. We finally found another American and we joked about finding a book of matches to celebrate. Watch some fireworks and enjoy the barbecue. We´re thinking of you all.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The first day
First off... Dan has arrived!
Secondly... I´m writing on an international keyboard and I have 16 minutes before my time runs out on the computer, so forgive me in advance if I make any typographical mistakes.
So. Dan´s first day in Spain started off a little rough. The metro workers have been on strike so the metro was shut down from the airport. Meaning, for the first time in my life I had to figure out how to use the bus system. It took us 2 hours to get back to the hotel, and then we napped like no tomorrow. We took the train the following day to Pamplona and happened to see random castles and mountains along the way. Once in Pamplona we met with our arranged taxi (a minivan that takes pilgrims to various points along the trail) and arrived in the beautiful and olden city of Saint Jean Pied-de-Port. I successfully had a complete conversation with an old Frenchman who didn´t speak English or Spanish (yea my year and a half of French!) and we stayed in a hostel for the night.
We set off this morning at 6:30. We knew in advance that today was going to be one of the most grueling days of the camino, but it was still surprising how much it kicked our butts. We crossed over the Pyrnees and have the sore backs to prove it. At one point we stopped for a break and looked out over the from our gorgeous vantage point. We both decided that we had never in our lives seen mountains like that before. The little villages below were shrouded in fog and we were hiking above the clouds. There was nothing but mountains and more mountains, but up where we were there were all these different herds of sheep and horses just wandering around without being fenced in. It was so cute because some of them wore cowbells and you could hear them from practically wherever you were. There were also a bunch of vultures circling as if they were waiting for one of us to drop, and we think someone did at one point. There was a helicopter that flew over us which we think was a Medevac taking someone off the trail, but from where we were on the trail it looked like it was headed straight towards us altitude-wise. Literally 90% of the hike was uphill, and then the last 10% was a crazy series of switchbacks going back down to about the height where we started. The last 10% was what killed our knees and feet though, and (although Dan is sore too) I´m rigid like Pinocchio because I´m so sore.
Tomorrow we´re not going to go the recommended distance because we have to kill time so we can arrive in Pamplona late enough to see the Running of the Bulls. We can only stay in each town one night and then we have to move on, so it´s a little bit of us playing the system, but also taking it easy after the truly hellacious day we had today.
So... we don´t know when the next time we´ll be able to update you all. Just know that for the next couple of days we´ll be taking it easy on relatively easy terrain so I´m not anticipating any problems. Tonight we´re sleeping in a refugio with around 100 other people and Dan and I are on the top bunks =(. Gotta head out, my time´s almost up. Love you all, and take care!
Secondly... I´m writing on an international keyboard and I have 16 minutes before my time runs out on the computer, so forgive me in advance if I make any typographical mistakes.
So. Dan´s first day in Spain started off a little rough. The metro workers have been on strike so the metro was shut down from the airport. Meaning, for the first time in my life I had to figure out how to use the bus system. It took us 2 hours to get back to the hotel, and then we napped like no tomorrow. We took the train the following day to Pamplona and happened to see random castles and mountains along the way. Once in Pamplona we met with our arranged taxi (a minivan that takes pilgrims to various points along the trail) and arrived in the beautiful and olden city of Saint Jean Pied-de-Port. I successfully had a complete conversation with an old Frenchman who didn´t speak English or Spanish (yea my year and a half of French!) and we stayed in a hostel for the night.
We set off this morning at 6:30. We knew in advance that today was going to be one of the most grueling days of the camino, but it was still surprising how much it kicked our butts. We crossed over the Pyrnees and have the sore backs to prove it. At one point we stopped for a break and looked out over the from our gorgeous vantage point. We both decided that we had never in our lives seen mountains like that before. The little villages below were shrouded in fog and we were hiking above the clouds. There was nothing but mountains and more mountains, but up where we were there were all these different herds of sheep and horses just wandering around without being fenced in. It was so cute because some of them wore cowbells and you could hear them from practically wherever you were. There were also a bunch of vultures circling as if they were waiting for one of us to drop, and we think someone did at one point. There was a helicopter that flew over us which we think was a Medevac taking someone off the trail, but from where we were on the trail it looked like it was headed straight towards us altitude-wise. Literally 90% of the hike was uphill, and then the last 10% was a crazy series of switchbacks going back down to about the height where we started. The last 10% was what killed our knees and feet though, and (although Dan is sore too) I´m rigid like Pinocchio because I´m so sore.
Tomorrow we´re not going to go the recommended distance because we have to kill time so we can arrive in Pamplona late enough to see the Running of the Bulls. We can only stay in each town one night and then we have to move on, so it´s a little bit of us playing the system, but also taking it easy after the truly hellacious day we had today.
So... we don´t know when the next time we´ll be able to update you all. Just know that for the next couple of days we´ll be taking it easy on relatively easy terrain so I´m not anticipating any problems. Tonight we´re sleeping in a refugio with around 100 other people and Dan and I are on the top bunks =(. Gotta head out, my time´s almost up. Love you all, and take care!
Monday, June 28, 2010
15 hours!
First off: A huge thank you to those of you who have taken the time to follow or bookmark our blog. It's emotionally gratifying to know that you all care enough about us to follow along as we undertake what seems like such a monumental effort. I love the crazy combo of people, from our family members, to friends, to classmates, and even students (Hola Will!). Thank you for being there to support us.
Now, onto the blog!: I can't help but have a line from a cheesy 80's song stuck in my head "It's the final countdown!"
And if either my husband or father-in-law were here I know that they could tell me the artist, song title, rest of the lyrics, and/or the year the song was recorded, but alas... for the next 15 hours it's just me and I have no ability to recall such things (note to all: if you're ever on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" do NOT pick me for your lifeline).
Dan's first flight will leave STL in about 2 hours and I know right now he's sitting in the airport nervous as can be. 6 years ago-and I can hardly believe it's been that long- I was in the same exact position as him. I was getting ready to hop on the plane for a long stay in Spain and was equal parts nervous and excited about what lay ahead of me. In a strangely vivid way these past two weeks have really reminded me a lot of studying abroad 6 years ago. It's made it very hard for me emotionally because I'm seeing so many places that I remember seeing when I was alone, far from home, and wondering what my life was going to be like when I returned. I missed Dan so much when I was gone the first time, but our relationship survived, thrived, we eventually got married and now he's coming out to experience Spain to its fullest with me. It's a really beautiful full circle. We visited Madrid three years ago for 4 days, but this will really give him a taste of what life is like here in a country that is actually still in the running for the World Cup (:P).
We're going to stay in a hotel in Madrid the first night so he can adjust a little to the new time zone. We'll buy our train tickets up to Pamplona then, and then he's arranged for a taxi to take us to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port right across the French border. So, we will actually begin walking July 1st, and will probably arrive back in Pamplona for the Fourth of July before continuing towards Santiago.
I do not know how much Internet access we will have en route to Santiago de la Compostela, but we will try to update as much as possible. Any requests for photos or info along the way? Pictures of us with buildings? Pictures of the terrain? Pictures of the refugios where we'll be staying? Counts of how many km/m we walk each day? What food we eat? Who we meet? Funny things we see along the way? Anything else you can think of or would like to see? Let me know! I have Internet access for 12 more hours!
Now, onto the blog!: I can't help but have a line from a cheesy 80's song stuck in my head "It's the final countdown!"
And if either my husband or father-in-law were here I know that they could tell me the artist, song title, rest of the lyrics, and/or the year the song was recorded, but alas... for the next 15 hours it's just me and I have no ability to recall such things (note to all: if you're ever on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" do NOT pick me for your lifeline).
Dan's first flight will leave STL in about 2 hours and I know right now he's sitting in the airport nervous as can be. 6 years ago-and I can hardly believe it's been that long- I was in the same exact position as him. I was getting ready to hop on the plane for a long stay in Spain and was equal parts nervous and excited about what lay ahead of me. In a strangely vivid way these past two weeks have really reminded me a lot of studying abroad 6 years ago. It's made it very hard for me emotionally because I'm seeing so many places that I remember seeing when I was alone, far from home, and wondering what my life was going to be like when I returned. I missed Dan so much when I was gone the first time, but our relationship survived, thrived, we eventually got married and now he's coming out to experience Spain to its fullest with me. It's a really beautiful full circle. We visited Madrid three years ago for 4 days, but this will really give him a taste of what life is like here in a country that is actually still in the running for the World Cup (:P).
We're going to stay in a hotel in Madrid the first night so he can adjust a little to the new time zone. We'll buy our train tickets up to Pamplona then, and then he's arranged for a taxi to take us to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port right across the French border. So, we will actually begin walking July 1st, and will probably arrive back in Pamplona for the Fourth of July before continuing towards Santiago.
I do not know how much Internet access we will have en route to Santiago de la Compostela, but we will try to update as much as possible. Any requests for photos or info along the way? Pictures of us with buildings? Pictures of the terrain? Pictures of the refugios where we'll be staying? Counts of how many km/m we walk each day? What food we eat? Who we meet? Funny things we see along the way? Anything else you can think of or would like to see? Let me know! I have Internet access for 12 more hours!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Dan's Turn!
Tomorrow I leave for Spain so I should introduce myself into this blog. For the past two weeks, Julie has been in Spain with her colleagues and students to lead a trip for the students, but soon I will join her and we will be hiking the Camino de Santiago. I heard about this trip when I was 18 in my Spanish 5 class and thought it would an amazing journey if I ever got the chance. Well, this summer, Julie and I made it happen. Many people have told me that this will be a "life-changing" experience. Honestly, I don't know what will happen. But follow along on this adventure as my beautiful wife and I travel her second home: Spain.
Two things I'm very excited to see:
1) The Festival de San Fermin(Running of the Bulls)
2) This church http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h1V6PF50xc
-Dan
Two things I'm very excited to see:
1) The Festival de San Fermin(Running of the Bulls)
2) This church http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h1V6PF50xc
-Dan
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
In Spain!
After a crazy series of flights with 15 teenagers in tow I have finally arrived in Spain.
It's odd to say it like that because it feels like I've been here for years already. We ended up having to spend the night in Atlanta because they had bad weather which made us divert to Memphis and miss our international connection. However, in the process of rebooking us onto the next flight they moved my ticket to a flight to Paris with a connection to Madrid. Sensing the errors of leaving 15 teenagers alone on a plane with a single escort they then booked me onto the same flight as the students, but in first class. It was lovely in first class, I must admit. It wasn't quite enough to make up for the night in Atlanta, but it was nice to have a little more room to stretch out and a dinner that lasted for two hours. In the end, I probably would have slept better if I had been in coach because I didn't get a single moment of rest next to my snoring neighbor.
Upon arriving we went to the hotel (after submitting lost luggage forms for one of our poor students) and then embarked upon what can only be referred to as a death march. After 5 hours of sleep in Atlanta, whatever moments they managed to snatch on the plane, and being awake at what would be considered 5am STL time we took our kids on a walk through central Madrid, through an art museum and then toured the Royal Palace. It was amazing to me because I honestly felt connected to each and every one of my kids. The feeling of being the one to make sure they didn't pass out in Goya's Black Period, protect them on the Metro, and animate them to wake up enough to enjoy the bizarre 12 foot long guns in the armory made this maternal instinct I had never felt before come roaring out of me.
It sounds bizarre, but as much as I felt like I had connected with my students before, it can't compare to how I've opened up with these kids. I am not a touchy person.I don't really do hugs or pats on the back or anything beyond eye contact, but I was at the Alhambra yesterday and asked a student to take a picture of me and another student who was next to me threw her arms around me in this huge hug to be in the picture with me and I was totally OK with it. I had another student who broke down and was terrified before going into the family stay and I calmed her down. I hugged her and talked her down and make her confident enough to be the first one to step off the bus and greet her host family successfully with the traditional kiss on each cheek. Seeing her smile when she realized that she had done it was so rewarding for me I almost cried right there in front of a hundred waiting family members.
I don't think I can describe here how rewarding this experience has been thus far for me. I've grown so close to these kids, answered a milion questions, and helped to give them an even better experience than the one I was fortunate enough to have when I was their age. I am so indescribably proud of them and how well they've done. Our kids make the kids from the other schools we're travelling with look so amateur. They've been speaking in Spanish the whole.entire.time. Even our tour guide said he's never seen students speak as much Spanish as ours have been. They even created games to play on the bus to entertain themsevles, like MASH in Spanish. They are so awesome. So very, very awesome.
Maybe a little bit of that was due to how well we prepared them and were clear as to our expectations, but the other students in our group speak constant English and I've walked behind some of ours in the street during their free time and heard them speaking Spanish to each other, listened at their hotel room doors to see if they were asleep yet (while doing bed checks-so you know I'm not a creeper ;D ) and heard them speaking it to each other. It's so above and beyond anything I was able to do when I was in their shoes and I'm so excited to see where they go from here.
So... anyways, back to the trip. I've now been to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada and now I'm currently camped out in a hotel in Talavera de la Reina in case they need anything during their family stays. It's been so cool to go back and see some of these sights with a guide. I didn't even remember seeing the Alhambra from when I went 10 years ago (good God that makes me feel old) and it's just so nice to be back here in this country that I love so much.
This is the Roman aquaduct in Segovia. It's 2,000 years old and was being used up until a couple of decades ago when modern plumbing finally surpassed its capabilities.
The city of Toledo and the Tajo River as seen from the hill where El Greco painted "Vista de Toledo"
This was the view of the incredible Catedral de Sevilla and the Giralda (now bell tower originally built by Muslims in 11th century to announce the call to prayer) as seen from our hotel's balcony. Gorgeous, no?
A scene from the bullfight that we went to. This deserves a post all of its own considering I'm a former vegetarian and crazy animal lover and actually thought it was cool.
I'll try to upload some more pictures ASAP. Otherwise, I hope you guys back in STL are staying cool with the heat wave. We've been having slightly cooler than average weather here, and it's warm, but I know nothing to complain about.
Take care, miss you all.
It's odd to say it like that because it feels like I've been here for years already. We ended up having to spend the night in Atlanta because they had bad weather which made us divert to Memphis and miss our international connection. However, in the process of rebooking us onto the next flight they moved my ticket to a flight to Paris with a connection to Madrid. Sensing the errors of leaving 15 teenagers alone on a plane with a single escort they then booked me onto the same flight as the students, but in first class. It was lovely in first class, I must admit. It wasn't quite enough to make up for the night in Atlanta, but it was nice to have a little more room to stretch out and a dinner that lasted for two hours. In the end, I probably would have slept better if I had been in coach because I didn't get a single moment of rest next to my snoring neighbor.
Upon arriving we went to the hotel (after submitting lost luggage forms for one of our poor students) and then embarked upon what can only be referred to as a death march. After 5 hours of sleep in Atlanta, whatever moments they managed to snatch on the plane, and being awake at what would be considered 5am STL time we took our kids on a walk through central Madrid, through an art museum and then toured the Royal Palace. It was amazing to me because I honestly felt connected to each and every one of my kids. The feeling of being the one to make sure they didn't pass out in Goya's Black Period, protect them on the Metro, and animate them to wake up enough to enjoy the bizarre 12 foot long guns in the armory made this maternal instinct I had never felt before come roaring out of me.
It sounds bizarre, but as much as I felt like I had connected with my students before, it can't compare to how I've opened up with these kids. I am not a touchy person.I don't really do hugs or pats on the back or anything beyond eye contact, but I was at the Alhambra yesterday and asked a student to take a picture of me and another student who was next to me threw her arms around me in this huge hug to be in the picture with me and I was totally OK with it. I had another student who broke down and was terrified before going into the family stay and I calmed her down. I hugged her and talked her down and make her confident enough to be the first one to step off the bus and greet her host family successfully with the traditional kiss on each cheek. Seeing her smile when she realized that she had done it was so rewarding for me I almost cried right there in front of a hundred waiting family members.
I don't think I can describe here how rewarding this experience has been thus far for me. I've grown so close to these kids, answered a milion questions, and helped to give them an even better experience than the one I was fortunate enough to have when I was their age. I am so indescribably proud of them and how well they've done. Our kids make the kids from the other schools we're travelling with look so amateur. They've been speaking in Spanish the whole.entire.time. Even our tour guide said he's never seen students speak as much Spanish as ours have been. They even created games to play on the bus to entertain themsevles, like MASH in Spanish. They are so awesome. So very, very awesome.
Maybe a little bit of that was due to how well we prepared them and were clear as to our expectations, but the other students in our group speak constant English and I've walked behind some of ours in the street during their free time and heard them speaking Spanish to each other, listened at their hotel room doors to see if they were asleep yet (while doing bed checks-so you know I'm not a creeper ;D ) and heard them speaking it to each other. It's so above and beyond anything I was able to do when I was in their shoes and I'm so excited to see where they go from here.
So... anyways, back to the trip. I've now been to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada and now I'm currently camped out in a hotel in Talavera de la Reina in case they need anything during their family stays. It's been so cool to go back and see some of these sights with a guide. I didn't even remember seeing the Alhambra from when I went 10 years ago (good God that makes me feel old) and it's just so nice to be back here in this country that I love so much.
This is the Roman aquaduct in Segovia. It's 2,000 years old and was being used up until a couple of decades ago when modern plumbing finally surpassed its capabilities.
The city of Toledo and the Tajo River as seen from the hill where El Greco painted "Vista de Toledo"
This was the view of the incredible Catedral de Sevilla and the Giralda (now bell tower originally built by Muslims in 11th century to announce the call to prayer) as seen from our hotel's balcony. Gorgeous, no?
A scene from the bullfight that we went to. This deserves a post all of its own considering I'm a former vegetarian and crazy animal lover and actually thought it was cool.
I'll try to upload some more pictures ASAP. Otherwise, I hope you guys back in STL are staying cool with the heat wave. We've been having slightly cooler than average weather here, and it's warm, but I know nothing to complain about.
Take care, miss you all.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Pre-trip Stress
I'm freaking out right now. I catch a flight in 6 hours and I'm nervous to take students out of the country. I've chaperoned many marching band trips, but never anything of this magnitude where I was in charge of so much.
However, I know that as nervous as I am, the kids are even more so. Just over ten years ago I was gearing up to take my first trip to Spain through the same program we're travelling with. I was so nervous and I returned a completely changed individual. I am so excited to see that again through the eyes of my students and to see them actually using the skills that we've been teaching them for years. It's going to be so amazing and inspiring for me as a professional. I can't wait. =)
After two weeks the kids will head back with my colleague and my husband will fly out to meet me. Then we'll head on to start the camino. I'm trying to put that out of my mind right now because I don't feel physically prepared at all. I walked 5 miles (not just 5K-we parked a good distance away) the other day as part of the Race for the Cure and my feet felt pretty good afterwards. I think they'll suffer after repeated abuse, but I feel like I've got a good pair of shoes and I'm as well equipped as I'll ever be. Now it's just up to me.
Wish me luck...
However, I know that as nervous as I am, the kids are even more so. Just over ten years ago I was gearing up to take my first trip to Spain through the same program we're travelling with. I was so nervous and I returned a completely changed individual. I am so excited to see that again through the eyes of my students and to see them actually using the skills that we've been teaching them for years. It's going to be so amazing and inspiring for me as a professional. I can't wait. =)
After two weeks the kids will head back with my colleague and my husband will fly out to meet me. Then we'll head on to start the camino. I'm trying to put that out of my mind right now because I don't feel physically prepared at all. I walked 5 miles (not just 5K-we parked a good distance away) the other day as part of the Race for the Cure and my feet felt pretty good afterwards. I think they'll suffer after repeated abuse, but I feel like I've got a good pair of shoes and I'm as well equipped as I'll ever be. Now it's just up to me.
Wish me luck...
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