updates

my soccer game went very well the other night!  The grass fields were all taken, and since I only brought soccer cleats with me I played con pies descalzos barefoot with a bunch of the guys.  It was an intense but friendly game that lasted about 2 hours, just what I needed.  One of the professors at the school is in contact with the women's soccer team at the University of Valencia to see if I can play for them, I really hope that'll work out, I'd love to play more often!

Yesterday [Saturday] my school group had our second outing {our first was to Peñíscola}, and this time we went to the Oceanográfico.  This is the largest water aquarium por toda Europa in all of Europe, and is part of the City of Arts and Sciences here in Valencia.  It was an amazing trip and the architecture was breathtaking.

(these structures are enormous and simply incredible.  I'm honestly surprised there aren't more accidents on the roads surrounding this area, because every time I pass by on foot or in a bus I can't take my eyes off of them!!)

Each building contains a different entretrenimiento [entertainment attraction], the biosphere, live animals,  an imax cinema, a planetarium, etc.  If you want to read more about it-- which I recommend you do-- here's a link in English http://www.valencia-cityguide.com/tourist-attractions/the-city-of-arts-and-sciences.html ]

On Sunday I went to a nearby beach called Pinedo with my madre y su hija [and her daughter]. This was a nice smaller beach than the more crowded one I am used to going to.  It was alongside a large port filled with large cruise ships and boats, and that day there were a number of sailboats on the horizon line.  While at the beach we layed out on our towels, chatted for a while and walked the beach before grabbing a cafe on our way home.

On the 15 minute drive  home we passed a very tall green house with a thatched roof, my madre mentioned that this was the old-style of Valencian homes.  This house has now been turned into an authentic restaurant, and both my madre and her hija recommended that I take my family there when they visit, so dad, Ally, and Steve-- you guys already know one of the trips on the agenda =)

Further down the road we passed museums as we went through the City of Arts and Sciences as we neared our casa.  Christina (my madre's daughter, she's 30 and really relaxed and cool), mentioned that the 2 of us should visit one of the museum's on a Sunday because that's when they're free.  I'm looking forward to this during one of the coming weekends.

 Later that day I walked around the city and wandered through the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, which is easily becoming one of my favorite spots.  (I'll post a pic soon).  Then later I met up with my friends Jackie, Brooke, and Kendra to go to the 2nd annual Feria de las Tapas at the port along the water.  There were hundreds of people and long lines, but the wait was definitely worth it to try some authentic Valencian tapas.  Tapas were coined during the reign of Alfonso X, who liked to have a small amount of food with his wine/drinks.  Small plates of food were served to him on top of his glass of wine, as to prevent flies from entering the drinks. [top the drink-- tapas].

The four of us are becoming really great friends, and are leaving for a weekend trip to Sevilla this Friday.  I'm growing more excited each day and can't wait until we hop on the plane [with only a backpack-- they charge a ridiculous amount of money for a carry on, so we'll be traveling extra light].  Sevilla is south of Valencia, and is much hotter, so we won't need too many clothes [sweaters,jeans, etc] anyway.  One of the main attractions of Sevilla that I'm looking forward to is Flamenco dancing!! Flamenco is a traditional dance of Spain, there are many different variations throughout the country (up to 80).  Sevilla is supposedly the best place to see it though, the most authentic.  I'll be preparing a presentation on Flamenco Dancing for my cultural conversations class anyway, so will be able to give you all a more detailed and informed description in a couple of weeks.

also-- my time management skills are becoming a bit of a problem, so there's never a better time than now to improve them.  I've been needing to do this for a while, so I finally bought a small weekly planner (in Spanish of course), and will keep on track with my deadlines for school, intercambio dates, dates for my fútbol games, and my internship program which I will be starting at the end of this week.  I thoroughly enjoy every activity I've become involved in, but obviously it has been hard to keep school at the very top of my list, and need to make sure that I stay organized and not fall behind with assignments. Although I do have to admit that my Spanish past and wider vocab has definitely helped me.  Translating words and phrases throughout the past 5 years has really payed off.
I'll leave you all with a picture of me riding a valenbisi bike through Valencia.  This is the bike stop on the corner of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (one of my favorite parts of my ride to and from school).

ciao!!