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.
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