Espana!

Things that happened before Spain....(that I can remember) We had an interesting discussion on the Declaration Of Human Rights and talked about if universal human rights even exist (an event sponsored by Social Justice club). Social Events also hosted the Blast From the Past Dance-everyone dressed up and it was hilarious! We danced to oldies until late. The night before Spain we had the cultural cafe (where people talk about the country we are about to visit and give tips/history/information etc.) and I was able to talk to the community about a foreigner's perspective of Spain, so that was fun.

The first day in Spain, Ryan and I went to Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia church and walked around Barcelona. It is a beautiful city, but everyone speaks Catalan so it was a little different than the Spain I am used to. We went to a panaderia and saw the main strip of Barcelona and some of Gaudi's famous houses. Then I exposed Ryan to traditional Spanish food (which he liked!) before returning to the ship so I could fly to the south to visit my Spanish family.

Pablo and I went to the airport together, since he was going to see his family in Madrid and I arrived later that night to Malaga. I was worried that my family might have forgotten me, but ALAS they picked me up! It was so good to see my brother and sister in law-Dory and Manuel and we talked a lot in Spanish. I got home that night to see my Mom and Dad (Mari Carmen and Manolo) and we had dinner before going to town to see the big Easter processions. It was an amazing procession of all the people dressed in the pointed hats and traditional Catholic attire (for Easter) and they carried all the scenes of Christ's life and Passion.

My other sister, Maria, and her boyfriend, Luis arrived and we climbed to the Sierra (the country/mountainside) for most of the day. It was beautiful and so nice to be outside. We also played a ridiculous game involving eggs (I brought it home!) that everyone should learn how to play. Then I had to say goodbye to my parents and Maria to go to Cordoba (about 2 hours away) with Manul and Dory.

In Cordoba, I went to school with Dory. She is a teacher at an elementary school and works with 6 year olds. That was the most fun day! I was exhausted but the kids were adorable and we had lots of fun. I taught the kids "Simon Says" and how to sing Row Row your Boat in English and they loved it. Then we went to the very famous Cordoba mosque/church with all the arches. The next day I went to lunch with Dory's teacher friends and to an "intercultural dance class" that the teachers at her school could attend. We learned the polka (which they claimed was American) and some other dances, it was pretty funny to watch all the older teachers dance. Then that night after dinner we went to an Arabic bath where you get a massage and go to pools of different water temperatures. It was very relaxing.

The next day I said goodbye to Dory and Manuel and flew back to Barcelona. As I was heading to find a bus back to the ship, Ryan surprised me!!! He almost missed me since my flight was delayed and I didn't have a phone, but I didn't know he was coming. We went back and ate paella (not as good as what I ate with my family!) and then got gelato. It was a good night!

My last day in Spain we intended to go to the Picasso musuem but ended up mailing boxes home and then spending the afternoon in the Gothic Quarter. Ryan was my tour guide since he learned during the week all about Barcelona. We were also filmed on the ship for some Spanish TV stations since we happened to go back to the ship during the day and no one else was around. So now we are famous! ha. Then we met up with one of Ryan's friends and he showed us around a little and we went to a big parque that is very famous and it was nice. Then we went back to the ship for ETL. Adios, Espana!