The time that I have had in Spain so far has been amazing, and a trip that I will never forget. The first week here has been filled with so many great experiences. When we first got here we got to meet our homestay families right when we got off of the bus. I was a little nervous to meet the family that I was staying with, but as soon as I met the mother I knew that it would be okay. She is very friendly and I feel very welcomed in her home. My homestay mom a great personality; she is funny and her facial expressions help when I don’t understand what she is saying. She speaks very little English, which is hard sometimes, but I speak some Spanish, so we can usually have good conversation. I have really enjoyed all of the food here; my mom makes delicious meals that are also very healthy. In our home we have two dogs names Nicolas and Poncho, they are really cute and good company.Nicolas looks like my dog at home which is comforting.
This past week we had a walking tour of Valencia, we got to see the historical side of Valencia and the central city, it is amazing how beautiful everything is. It seemed that every time we turned a corner, there was a new site to see that was just as beautiful as the last. We also got to go on a biking tour of Valencia. We rode our bikes down the river and the scenery was gorgeous. Our group also had the opportunity to go to a paella cooking class at the farm of Toni Montoliu in Meliana, Valencia. We got to see Toni cook the paella and got to help prepare some of the ingredients. Our group got to go on a tour of the farm and got to see all of the fresh ingredients and pick them to put into the food we ate for our meal. The paella was really good.
Yesterday our group had out first service learning activity at the Feria de Primavera (Spring fair). This is a social event for the community to fundraise for people in the community with intellectual disabilities. At this fair there was music, food, and many activities for the children. Sarah and I put hair wraps in the children’s hair, it was fun and nice to work with the kids. Other people in our group helped with face painting, zip lining, rock climbing and other activities for the children. After the service learning we went to a soccer game at the stadium called Mestalla in Valencia. The two teams that played were Valencia C.F. vs. R.C. Celta de Vigo. It was cool to see a soccer game in Spain and I had a lot of fun! This first week in Spain has been more than I could ever ask for and I can’t wait for the next two weeks!
The gelato here is amazing and they even shape it into a flower
This is Glenda, Henry, and I at the paella farm.
The soccer game and the stadium!
This is alongside the bike path while we were on the biking tour
