Spain Summer Course, June 18-28

This is, sadly, my last JJ episode from Spain--my suitcases are packed (except my computer, which I saved out for last), my room is swept out and empty, and a large number of my possessions are cast aside to make weight restrictions in the airport. In just a few hours I will be leaving for Italy to start a new chapter of my journey, but I wanted to tie up Spain properly before going on my way.

Working at the school here, I have enjoyed being involved in every part of the summer Spanish program for its first week. It was wonderful to put, at last, faces to the names of people whose applications I'd processed. I picked them up at the airport, translated for the orientation, gave the tour of the campus, and went on the excursions. The translation work has, perhaps, been the most unexpected but rewarding aspect of the job. Not a single day passed from the day they arrived until yesterday where I didn't get some form of oral interpretation practice.

Just in the first weekend, there was translating for the orientation, the weekly excursion to the beach, the Sabbath afternoon excursion to the City of the Arts and Sciences, and a long, nasty speech on the history of the castle at Peñíscola on Sunday. That trip was lovely, though, blessed with much better weather than the last time I'd gone there. After the visit to the castle Papa Luna had inhabited, we actually got to enjoy some time at its beautiful beach. The water was perfect. . . and the sun was great, right up until I got back and realized I had sunburns in places I didn't realize were possible.

I attended the sevillanas classes right along with the kids on Monday, enjoying the teacher they use for the summer course. That night there was an opening dinner that featured a proper tuna band (they're sort of like troubadors, but traditionally poor students asking for soup by singing) and ladies in sevillana dresses, myself included. The interpretation was ridiculously hard, as the speaker had a strong Argentine accent.

On Tuesday night, there was a festival, La Noche de San Juan, which is almost a Spanish version of the fourth of July in how it's celebrated. Everyone gathers on the beach and has a picnic, building a campfire. We roasted marshmallows over ours. At midnight, there are fireworks, and after the fireworks, everyone runs into the water and jumps over ten waves for luck. Those who want to be really lucky go back to their fire and jump over it. I did that, and ha, I feel lucky.

The next day was the excursion to Sagunto--my last excursion to Sagunto. In the process of translating Ana Fernandez's speech about the history of the city, I was able to find the answers to some of your questions. Yes, Hannibal did bring elephants to Spain through Sagunto--he tried to use them to cross the Pirinees mountains after his famous eight-month siege of the city. Morvedre, the random name written on the obelisk next to the Mercadona that people have been asked about, was the Arab name for the city, meaning "Old Walls." It is still used to describe the old section of town. No, I still cannot pronounce whatever "Cartagineses" means in English. And, incidentally, yes, Franco did use the castle during the Spanish Civil War to store weapons and prisoners.

I spent most of the rest of the week preparing for the Italy trip while translating for ESDES where needed--finding a sketchbook for my art course in Italy was no easy task, or the art pencils to use in it. On Friday night, I did my first actual formal vespers translation for a general church audience, and I was shocked at how well it went--the speaker was easy to work with, even if it was a bit of a marathon of a sermon for the listeners. The more oral interpretation I do, the more I like it, even if it's a real brain trip.

Sabbath afternoon, after church, I went with a member of ADRA to do a food run. They take a van and collect food and bread from the cafeteria and four bakeries, then hand it out to various places in need, such as the gypsy neighborhood Clot de Moro and the ADRA camp made for Morrocan immigrants, Casa Nueva. It was quite an experience in seeing a side of Sagunto I hadn't known much about before, those who need the ADRA food donations to survive from day to day. The van started to break down halfway through, but we made it back to the school with no problems.

And now, I finally have to accept that I'm leaving Spain. I've grown attached to it, and it's hard to leave a place where I've thrived so well. Someday, I'll definitely have to find an excuse to come back. If anyone out there is thinking about coming for the summer or the year, really, I recommend it. It's an unforgettable experience that'll get under your skin like nothing else.

Working Vacation in Spain (June 3-17)

It's hard to put a name to the time I spent between the two language courses. I was working for ESDES four hours a day, but for the most part, I had a lot of time on my own to deal with in one way or another.

At first, I spent a number of afternoons hiking on the mountain behind the school, because there were some trails I'd never seen before and I was concerned about getting enough exercise. I liked to go up and write up there, take in the view over the edge of a journal or a Bible. My two weekends were a little more interesting than that, though. The first Sabbath on my own was actually quite busy--I participated in Sabbath School for a change, needing the social contact, and had lunch at Pastor Ortiz's house.

Because the ESDES visit to the Science Museum is scheduled for the day I leave, I headed out to the City of the Arts and Sciences of my own volition to see it that Sunday. I got out at the Cabanyal stop in Valencia instead of the usual, and found it interesting to see a different part of the city on the way--cheaper fare and closer to where I wanted to go. The entrance fee to the museum was less than for a movie ticket just about anywhere, and well worth the price.

The first exposition I explored was all about the science behind Marvel comics. It explored things like mutation, the actual abilities of a spider, and even infrared technology. Upstairs, though, was where all the good stuff about the human body was--everything from DNA to voices, it was all there and very interactive. There were scales to measure the proportion of water in your body, fun little tests meant to prove what causes adrenaline rushes, and even a drawing test to highlight how men and women remember the same painting very differently. There was also an exposition on the effects of drugs. It had a booth one could stand in to see what an extasy trip is like. It gave me a headache. The next floor down had an exploratorium, with the usual delights, such as a reverb mike. There was also a "dream house" and a natural history exhibit of the Mediterranean, which was interesting.

The next weekend there was an excursion to Elche through the church, and it was wonderful to get away for a bit. Even though it was just a youth rally of sorts, not a sight-seeing visit, I enjoyed seeing the beautiful palm trees there and having communion for the first time since -cough- Greece. I definitely felt need of it after all that time; a year's too long to go without it. I enjoyed being forced to spend time with Spaniards by dint of being the only American, and I found myself wishing everyone got that opportunity at some point as a language student. It was good for me, at least.

Having made, at last, a friend with a car, Manuel, he took me to visit some of his friends in the agricultural zone La Huerta. There's little pockets of farms and fields there, with irrigation systems that date back to the Arabs, yet are still in active use. Manuel's friends were elderly men, whose faces showed the length and difficulties of their lives. When they gave us lunch, it was the best meal I've had in Spain; it had come straight from the field to the table. These men showed me their workshop, as they are also craftsmen--I was astonished by what they could work in wood. They sent me off with a new leather bag (new to me, at least) that someone had given them, for which I was grateful; my old one was very worn.

Then, Manuel and I drove off to Albufera, where there is a lake nearly as vast as Tahoe. In the village of Albufera stood some of the traditional Valencian homes, barrakas, with white walls and high, hay-thatched roofs. Many of these had crosses on their doorframes. It happened to be the festival of Corpus Cristi, and the village was hung with embroidered cloths of many colors. We followed a processional which visited a shrine in each neighborhood to pronounce a blessing on all the parts of the village, lighting candles and scattering rose petals in front of the images of the saints. On our way back to Sagunto, we had horchata, then I prepped for the adventure I'd been prepping for myself since I first laid eyes on the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, the opera house in the City of the Arts and Sciences.

This company was undertaking, for the first time in the history of Spain, a full production of all four of the operas in Wagner's epic (16-hour) Der Ring des Nibelungen. I could only afford to see the first two (though the tickets were only 19 euros with a latecomer discount), and it was unforgettable.

The first one, Das Rheingold, was absolutely amazing, using technologies I'd never before seen on stage. My favorite part involved the Rhinemaidens at the beginning, who were actually suspended from the ceiling in tanks of well-lit water. I also delighted in the fiery dragon created for the shapeshifting of the dwarf. Every minute of it was thrilling--from its famous overture to the giants to the gods on lifts. The fortress of Valhalla at the end was made up of actors suspended from the ceiling in a fantastical configuration--in short, really cool. I was lucky enough to come out of this one to fireworks, which reflected dazzlingly off of the buildings and the water.

I was shocked when my friend Katherine, straight off of a plane from the US, wanted to join me for Die Walkurie. The trip over gave us time to catch up. The opera itself was a bit much even for my attention span--five hours. It took a lot of stamina to wait patiently through the boring love triangle in the first act and the gods' hissy fits in the second to reach what I'd really come to see--"The Ride of the Valkyries" done in its actual context, with all of the vocals. It really is thrilling, and the end, where Brunnhilde is surrounded with fire, is cool, too.

That was how what I'd consider to be a vacation here in Spain finished--my personal time, at any rate. Parts of it were boring, but all considered, it wasn't bad. I hope that life is treating all of you just as well, and that I can write at least once more before heading off to Italy on Sunday. Happy late Father's Day to all the fathers out there--thank you for all you do for your children.

Closing Ceremonies (May 17-31)

Since I seem to be a month behind on my blog and the summer course starts tomorrow, I thought I'd do my best to sum up everything that happened at the end of the year long course in one post. I'll do my best to keep it short, but it's a lot of ground to cover.

The dread DELE test for which we had prepared all year long came, was incredibly grueling, and went. To celebrate the completion of this grueling ordeal, we went to Port Aventura, an amusement park in Cataluña. It was a long trip to get there, but through it I enjoyed the company of Chelo's cute little son, who was a real ball of energy. It felt good for me to be back in an amusement park--the adrenaline rush of a roller coaster, the smell of the brakes, the sound of the cranks at the top of each drop. It felt like being in southern California again, although there were some key differences from my usual haunts there. For one thing, its theming was based around places, not fantasy, and it almost made it even more enjoyable.

When I beheld the section devoted to China, my breath was taken away. It was so lovely with its tiled roofs and spacious dimensions. Even though I rode just about everything in the park, my favorite part was doubtlessly the show Chinatown. Not only were the various acrobats and contortionists beautifully put together in ways that captured the imagination, it was tied together by a lead "magician" who mixed Spanish, Catalán, English, and French with a natural subtlety and flair that captured the show's delightful mix of everyday life and fantastical acts.

The next evening, we were finally taught how to make paella, the national dish of Spain. It's amazing to see the process, the ceremony surrounding its making. To make paella really is a social event as much as a culinary one.

That Friday we had our Clausura, or graduation ceremony. Donning orange and blue ribbons, we marched in to Pomp and Circumstance and heard beautiful music from a variety of groups, including the local choir and some of our resident Oakwood music majors with their rendition of "Pie Jesu." While the teachers handed out the diplomas, they said something nice about each student. My tutor said, ha, that I was like a sponge designed to absorb the Spanish culture. Strange emotions came while hugging all of the teachers on the platform--I can see why they were crying. I'll certainly miss them when I leave. The evening finished off with horchata and fartones, some students leaving the very next day.

I spent the weekend having lunch at the house of some of Jenny's friends on Sabbath, then going on a doomed excursion to Peñíscola. It was the first time it had rained on that excursion in 30 years, and we had to go back early. Fortunately, I'll be going with the new batch of Americans this Sunday, so I'll write more about the place itself later. It's known for its lovely beach, and the castle that looks out over the water--the home of an obscure pope at one time.

Then, on Monday, we had our last dinner together as ESDES for the year at China Long, one of our favorite restaurants. We had a good time, laughing, singing, and even dancing until there was this collective sense of, "Wait. . . I've still got to study for finals this week," and we returned to the school. As soon as I emerged from my exams that week, I headed up an excursion to Sagunto for the German group that had come--the first official part of my work for ESDES. I actually learned some things about the town I hadn't known before, like Hannibal's siege of it and the existence of a museum I'd never visited there before.

It was hard to watch all my classmates leave, Jenny in particular. I tried to cram as much time together with her as possible before she left, hosting two sleepover nights in a row, watching movies and laughing into the night. Then, she left. . . and then I wasn't an ESDES student any longer, an American. I was now just another volunteer, a part of the life of the campus.

As for now, the campus is filling back up with Americans again. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on everything else before too long, but for now I just want to take a moment to wish everyone who's just returned from a year abroad luck. . . and that they never forget what they learned in their host country.

Random Festivities, May 10-13

The week after the museum visit was riddled with random events. The first one was on Sunday, where almost the entire morning was eaten up by our ESDES market. This is how we sell things that we can't take back with us to the US. I didn't make a lot of money (not having a lot to sell), but it was enough for me to buy a CD by one of the local Theology majors who used to be a harp virtuoso. I was a little sad about my hand-crocheted scarves, which went for less than the original materials had cost, but since I originally made them to donate to ADRA, I can't complain. I couldn't sell my worn leather boots, so I donated those to ADRA. I have a feeling that before I leave, even more of my possessions will end up there, but I don't mind.

The next evening we had an ESDES party at our director's flat in Sagunto. The weather was perfect, the sun just right. Juan Antonio Lopez lives on the top floor of his building, and there's a beautiful view of Sagunto and the castle from there. The food was delicious--pizza, tortilla española, and virgin sangría. We all spent the evening talking, playing many rounds of Psychology, and just laughing and enjoying each other's company.

Two evenings later was a school-wide banquet. After class, Jenny did my hair in elaborate curls which were surprisingly durable. I donned my purple suit and all the girls boarded a bus bound for Valencia. We were supposed to find our dates waiting for us in the City of the Arts and Sciences, but I was lucky enough to have Regina, a German volunteer, as my date. We laughed about how this was because we were too good-looking for the guys.

From there we went to Al Fresco, which is sort of like Fresh Choice, for a wonderfully delicious dinner. We were there until nine thirty or so, eating and laughing, taking pictures in our "gangster" 30's clothes, and then we boarded the bus again. Watching Flubber on the bus, I thought it was going to be over then and there at 10:30, but it had only just begun, to my amazement.

The men had completely redecorated La Frontera, our student center, to look like a jazz club. There were lit tiki torches in brackets on the walls, and candles and Chinese lanterns on small tables. There were shave ice drinks, and a group of guys who played live jazz music. Everyone started to dance, and it was fun. We were later led outside to watch as Diago, one of the Theology majors, juggle flaming torches and breathe fire. It was spectacular, even though he modestly said afterwards that he wasn't very good at it.

The last song sounded, long, sweet, and soft. Lourdes, our girls' dean, thanked the men for showing all of us a good time, and offered up a prayer to close the event. Handing me a glass of sweet, cool horchata and a farton (which is to horchata what crumpets are to tea), a guy gave me the weirdest compliment: "Your face is like Madonna's." This gave me a good laugh to send me off to sleep at last, having enjoyed a beautiful evening.

Anyways, I hope you all are lucky enough to enjoy such lovely evenings as summer comes. . . I wish you all well, and my congratulations goes out to everyone who graduated this last week and weekend. I'm very proud of my former Pathfinder girls graduating from 8th grade, as well as of my "little brother" who hates it when I call him that, so I'll refrain from using his real name here. Congratulations, is all I can say. Best of luck to what lies ahead.

Lladró, May 9

At last, I am able to update! It will take several entries to catch up, but I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed living them. . . I begin with a factory of sculptures of breathtaking beauty, the product of great care. . . Lladró.

Lladró makes all of its works of art in La Ciudad de Porcelana, the City of Porcelain, a complex on the outskirts of Valencia. I had vaguely heard of the company before, and even seen a pair of figurines, but I had no idea how extensive the process to make them really was. This explained the beauty of the complex, with its own swimming pool and human chess board--artists of that degree deserve to be treated well by the company.

The tour began with a few films on the inspiration and sculpting of the original models. After that, we entered the factory itself, where sadly, photography was not permitted. To me, it looked less like a factory than a spacious, well'lit workshop. We watched as they poured the moulds and opened them, taking great care to preserve the detail of the more delicate features.

Then, we watched as women cleaned the pieces and cemented them together with liquid porcelein. This is how the figurine takes its eventual shape. The next station was where the figurines were being painted, everything but the face. They paint with transparent paints that later change colors in the oven, so an orange cat will look purple when it is first painted--very fascinating. Then we saw one of the women painting faces. This is very difficult, as it is done with liquid porcelein to add depth to the expressions, and demands a very fine brush.

My favorite station, though, was the one where they make the tiny porcelain tiny porcelain flowers for the sculptures by hand. Watching her roll it and shape it was mesmerizing. I could never dream of being able to create something that small, detailed, and beautiful so quickly.

The guide led us out of the factory and into a museum of almost all of their pieces. I was amazed at their detail and life-like beauty. Naturally, this was reflected in the price--there was one piece going for 120,000 euros--but the quality was reflected in it. My favorite, I think, was not that one, but a series of three sculptures, each showing a couple. It showed the growth of love by flowers spreading over them throughout the series until in the last set, they were covered in bright flowers. The effect was breathtakingly lovely.

We went to an exposition of slightly less expensive pieces after that, but it was still out of any of our price ranges. I find it a wonder they can sell such things in this economy--though the beauty deserves the price.

After that, we went to an excellent horchatería, Daniel´s, which had wonderfully cool iced horchata and warm fartones, fresh from the oven. This is a very traditional Valencian snack, and Daniel´s is widely recognized as one of the best places in all of Valencia to get it, especially the fartones, which they bake fresh. I enjoyed this immensely, wishing I could return. But then again, there were even more delightful things to enjoy that week, which turned out to be one of the busiest of the year.

As for now, things are nice and slow, and I´ve been filling my afternoons with walks through the trails behind the school (this afternoon I had the fun of running into not just a rabbit, but a snake). I can now definitively say that I will be back in the States in the wee hours of the morning on July 30. Until then, I hope that those of you who have tests do well, and that those of you who are in graduation weekends enjoy the celebrations, and that everyone else has an absolutely wonderful summer.