Colleen Jones- May 20, 2014

I am forever grateful for this experience and still can’t believe I am here in Valencia. This trip has been a real adventure for me. Being given the opportunity to travel worldwide is something I never had anticipated before in my entire life. I experienced my very first plane ride ever, and I must say that while it was an exhilarating first time experience, being stuck on that thing for 8 hours was slightly torturous.

Initial communication with my host family was extremely intimidating. I do not speak any Spanish and they do not speak any English. Luckily, my four semesters of Portuguese greatly benefited me. Thank goodness for similarities in romance languages! Communication is definitely a struggle, but figuring out ways to get the point is extremely rewarding.

The city of Valencia is absolutely beautiful. I love going to the beach and enjoying the outside weather every second I can. Different parts of the city have very different atmospheres, which I find to be more and more surprising every day. Some parts are historical and have an antique feel to them, while others are very new and modern looking. The vast differences make the views of the city the least bit tiring.

Today we volunteered at a school for our service learning activity. While I wasn’t able to communicate much in Spanish with the children, they made sure to make fun of the English speaking accent I had with my pronunciation of the Spanish words I actually knew how to say.They were very intrigued by the fact that I couldn’t speak their language. At one point, there were six kids around me pointing to my jewelry and tugging at my clothes saying “Cómo se dice en Inglés?!”, meaning “How do you say in English?!” It made me laugh that they were so fascinated by the language barrier.  

My roommate and I live in one of the furthest homestays in the city, and we both unfortunately may be the worst two people on the trip with directions. We have gotten accustomed to getting lost all the time, but we have come to think of it as more of a constant adventure than anythingnegative. I mean, if I have to get lost somewhere I am more than okay with it being in Spain. Because of us getting lost so often, we have seen parts of Valencia that are so far away I am sure nobody else has gotten the opportunity to see.  

I have been thinking about life in general on a much deeper cultural level. Being immersed into an entirely different culture makes you much more aware of both your own culture and other cultures, and increases your grasp of the world around you. I feel like I have become a much more confident and independent person because of the challenges I have come across in the duration of this trip. I truly cannot wait to see what the remainder of this trip has in store for me.  

At the paella farm

The farmer throwing lettuce for us to catch

The streets of downtown Valencia

Alex Meyer- May 19, 2014

It has been a week since we arrived in Valencia, Spain. It is weird to think of it that way though. Since we have been here time has flown by so fast, but at the same time it has felt like we have been here for a long time. What I mean by that is everything around the city seems so much more comfortable to be around and more natural then when we first got here. I am also getting accustomed to the different traditions or culture of Spain. In Spain, people do not eat lunch until around two and the lunches they eat are the biggest meals of the day. On top of this, they do not eat dinner until later than 9. This has been something that has been hard to adjust to while in Spain. However, like everything that is different I am adjusting.

A great part of being in a foreign country is getting to try new things. Since being here I have tried to learn how to salsa, eat many new Spanish foods, and I went to my first futbol game. The futbol game was my favorite event so far. Seeing the excitement of the local fans is acting the same as if the game was a college football game. What surprised me the most was how they wouldn’t stop cheering for long, even when the opposing team scored a goal 5 minutes into the game. Learning how to salsa was also fun, but I have never been a fan of dancing before. The Spanish food has also been amazing. Getting a chance to try so many new foods has also been great.

This last weekend we volunteered at the park for a festival to help mentally impaired people.  The ride I mainly worked while I was there was this rock wall, but when the kid would get to the top of the rock wall instead of climbing back down they would go down a zip line. It was exciting to see how exciting or nervous the children would be, and at the same time helping out the community.

On Sunday this past weekend, I also had a chance to go shopping around downtown, or in the old quarter. The old quarter here is so beautiful with the old architecture, it is so amazing. They also have a market where people sell a mixture of items from tourist items to items that citizens of Valencia could actually use, such as pots and pans and other cooking instruments. It was awesome to be able to see these people selling items in the market. Life in Valencia so far has been exciting and fun, it is sad to think that we are already done with one week, but we still have two more weeks to hopefully have more fun and experience more.

Outside of the futbol stadium

At the game!

The zip lining course I volunteered at

Emily Kozak- May 18, 2014

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

Vanessa Garcia- May 17, 2014

I always wanted to visit Spain since I was little, and when I heard that Horizons was offering students a chance to visit Valencia I jumped at the chance to come. And so far this trip so far has been amazing! The sights and monuments are beautiful all around Valencia. I seem to be falling more and more in love with this city and Spain itself everyday.

Our host family is an elderly couple, Nora and Gustavo (or Gus as he likes to be called), in their late sixties early seventies, and they are the most adorable old couple I have ever met. Although Jasmine and I didn’t meet them until our second day in Valencia (they were on a trip that had lasted longer than they had planned, their niece was taking care of us while they were gone), they were so excited to meet us when we had walked through the door for lunch. Our first dinner together was quite interesting trying to figure out what was being said, but we were still able to communicate! My favorite memory of that night was when Gus had asked Jasmine if she was Japanese or Chinese, in which Jasmine replied that she is in fact Taiwanese.  At this both Gus and Nora got super excited and Gus ran to their little bookshelf they have in the living room and pulled out a Taiwan flag and placed it near the American flag. Theirreaction to Jasmine’s reply was priceless.

Jasmine and I aren’t really adventurous, but today we had decided to take a leap of faith and head to the mall with Katie Murphy. And boy was it an adventure just getting to the bus stop to get to the mall. We knew we were heading in the right direction of the bus stop but we couldn’t find it. Eventually we found our stop and headed towards the mall, our next challenge was to find the right stop. I’m telling you it’s never a dull moment with Jasmine and I because we never know where we are going. Once we finally made it we shopped around for a little bit when we came across a McDonalds. Now usually seeing a McDonalds doesn’t faze us, but this McDonalds had a separate little area for theMcCafe where they made the coffee and served little pastries. Now why can’t we have McDonalds like that in America?

 My host mother and father

The flower bridge we walked on while trying to find the bus stop.

Mcafe in the McDonalds

Glenda Hernandez- May 16, 2014

English translation: "You must be so tired! Do you want to fight now?" As I looked strangely at my newly-met host mother, she could tell I was confused. I asked her to repeat herself and I heard her say the same thing, except with hand motions indicating a shower. I then assumed that their word for shower was my word for fighting. A day had passed and I mentioned this to her and then she looked at me weird realizing the confusion. The word to shower is "duchar" and I kept on hearing "luchar." Up until today I still hear it as "luchar" instead of "duchar" due to her Spanish accent. Even though I speak Spanish, it is really strange hearing such a different accent from what I'm normally used to. Other words are different such as oatmeal, bathrooms, and belts.

   

Anyway, this trip has been a blast so far! I have had such a great time befriending everyone in our group along with my host family, Olga and Irene. Olga is an amazing cook and has come up with some great vegetarian/pescatarian dishes for me which are simple enough to make myself when I go back to America. I rode a Vespo for the first time with my host mom which was defintely a fun experience. The classroom time has been really interesting since I've been thinking about my trip in a more educational aspect. Even though this feels like a vacation half the time, it feels great knowing that I'm actually learning things which will make me a better engineer in the near future. I definitely want to be a global leader due to my love for travel and leadership positions. I know I will become a better one due to this study abroad experience which makes this trip more enjoyable than I initially could have ever imagined. 

Overall Spain is simply beautiful! I would definitely recommend this country to anyone who is considering coming here. The people tend to be friendly overall, but be prepared. They speak Spanish rather fast and their accents are sometimes difficult to understand. Running has been extremely enjoyable and each time I go I feel as if I'm running through thousands of Google images of Valencia. I cannot express how gorgeous Valencia and the rest of Spain really is out here. I have made many new friends on this trip although I haven't befriended any locals besides my host family. Vale!

 My host mother dropping me off for class!

At the farm about to eat some Paella

The city of Valencia

Jared Andrews- May 15, 2014

Hello everyone! My name is Jared and I will be blogging about our fourth day in Spain, May 15. I can’t believe that it is already our fourth day here and I feel like I have learned so many things through my experiences in the beautiful city that is Valencia. When I first arrived at my host family’s house, I had mixed emotions when I learned that they spoke little to no English, but after now being here and getting to know them and communicate more effectively, I feel extremely welcome in their home. Their cooking has been magnificent and I have found that they consume significantly healthier food options than we do in the United States. While here, we have also had 3 teenage French roommates living with us until today; Pierre, Flavian, and Antoine. I never thought I would experience the culture of both Spain and France while being in Valencia and having these exciting boys staying in our house for a short period was an absolute blast.

May 15 is also a special date for me because it is my birthday and after getting sprayed with silly string and wished a happy birthday from my new French friends, I was very interested to see what exciting things would happen while being in Valencia, and trust me it did not disappoint. After class this morning, we went on a bike tour around the whole distance of the park in Valencia, where we got to see all of the museums, several monuments, and enjoy the amazing weather while eating a picnic outside. Valencia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and the scenery is definitely an asset to the amazing people that this city holds and I have found that the meaningful connections that I am making while here is what I value most out of this trip.Following our bike tour, several of us went back to walk through the city, do a little shopping, and have a bite to eat before heading over to the beach. After Vanessa, Jasmine, and I finally made it to the beach after getting slightly lost on the bus, the beach right on the Mediterranean Sea, was truly amazing. I am extremely blessed to be with a great group of people during my birthday, and it will be one that I definitely will never forget; I can’t wait to see what the rest of our journey holds!

I'm in the middle and my Horizons roommate Henry is on the right of me

We are with our new French friends

 This is where we ate our picnic during the bike tour

This is the science center I passed during our bike tour 

Henry Stewart- May 14, 2014

While sitting out the 4-hour bus ride from the Madrid airport to Valencia, I had a lot of time to anticipate what my home stay would be like.  Both negative and positive thoughts, eventually I had to stop myself from anticipating so much, and just accept that thinking about it won’t change a thing.  

We finally get to Valencia, and the bus stops so we can meet our host families and take our bags to our home.  I walk down the steps of the bus and see my host mother standing right there, so I give her the customary kiss on each cheek and I introduce myself.  As she started to waive down a taxi, I was surprised that she didn’t have a car to bring us back home.  I soon accepted that there was going to be a lot of surprises in the next three weeks that I would have to experience.

We walked into the main lobby of the apartment complex, and pressed the button to open up the elevator door to bring our bags and the three of us up to the third floor.  The elevator door opens up, and I can’t believe how small it is.  Jared, my host mother and I and our luggage cram into this small elevator, to which my host mother responded “Everything is smaller here”.  We walk into our new home and I immediately notice how much art is all over the walls.  The TV is smaller than what I am used to at home, and the coffee table in the living room is also used as the dinner table.  The bright Valencian sun makes artificial light unneccesary as there are many windows that are always open that light up our house.  

Initially, I was nervous about having such little space.  But now, as I am halfway through my second full day living here, I’ve learned that what my host family lacks in material possessions, they are rich in personal relationships and conversation.  My host family includes a stay at home mom, a father who works in the afternoon, and a daughter around my age who studies at the University of Valencia.  Conversation is never lacking, for example, my host father was extremely excited to tell me all about the three days he spent with Pablo Picassos daughter and how great of a person she was.  My host fathers brother is an painter himself, and is the artist responsible for a portrait of his “Tatara tatara abuelo” or Great Great Great grandfather.  

 My host family's living room

Family paintings