Saturday, January 16, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Christmas Vacation
Christmas vacation was certainly very different for me this year. To start off I had nearly three weeks of vacation instead of the usual two we get back at home. My family went to a small pueblo called Gemuno near the city of Avila for vacation. Angel's mother lives there but she is seriously ill. Angel has been with here since December 12 and now she was in the hospital.
The road trip was about six or seven hours long. However, in the end we arrived and met Angel at the hospital. His mother didn't seem to be doing well during the majority of the time we spent in Gemuno. However, she was moved to a residence (nursing home) and on the very last day I saw her she seemed and looked a lot better.
Well we arrived in Gemuno on December 20th. It was nighttime so I wasn't able to see what the pueblo was like. Feli had told me several times that it was very small but I couldn't imagine it at the time. I was also warned that it was going to be a lot colder than Sabadell so I had packed my clothes carefully. The reason why Gemuno is colder is that it is at a higher altitude than Sabadell and the wind is brutal. Avila, the city near Gemuno, is the city with the highest altitude in Spain.
I wasn't sure what we were going to do because I had no friends here and didn't know the area so I came prepared and brought some books. When I woke up the first morning Feli took me to the balcony of a room on the second floor and showed me Gemuno. There was not much to see...
There were a lot of fields, a group of very small mountains to one side and Avila, which was about 10 km away. I had slept pretty well because there were absolutely no noises you normally hear in a city. So the day began, they had a ping-pong table, which we spent many hours playing and it gave us lots of entertainment. I had so much free time and was able to read and watch a lot of Spanish TV. One thing that I enjoyed was the fact that Gemuno was in the Comunidad Autonoma de Junta de Castilla y Leon. Spanish was only spoken in this Comunidad and I didn't have to hear any Catalan!
Days passed and we visited Avila, watched Tv, played ping-pong and read. Avila is a lot smaller than Sabadell. However, one thing Avila is famous for is its muralla. It is an impressive medieval wall surrounding the old part of Avila. It is one of the most well preserved walls from its time period. It was a marvelous sight.
The road trip was about six or seven hours long. However, in the end we arrived and met Angel at the hospital. His mother didn't seem to be doing well during the majority of the time we spent in Gemuno. However, she was moved to a residence (nursing home) and on the very last day I saw her she seemed and looked a lot better.
Well we arrived in Gemuno on December 20th. It was nighttime so I wasn't able to see what the pueblo was like. Feli had told me several times that it was very small but I couldn't imagine it at the time. I was also warned that it was going to be a lot colder than Sabadell so I had packed my clothes carefully. The reason why Gemuno is colder is that it is at a higher altitude than Sabadell and the wind is brutal. Avila, the city near Gemuno, is the city with the highest altitude in Spain.
I wasn't sure what we were going to do because I had no friends here and didn't know the area so I came prepared and brought some books. When I woke up the first morning Feli took me to the balcony of a room on the second floor and showed me Gemuno. There was not much to see...
There were a lot of fields, a group of very small mountains to one side and Avila, which was about 10 km away. I had slept pretty well because there were absolutely no noises you normally hear in a city. So the day began, they had a ping-pong table, which we spent many hours playing and it gave us lots of entertainment. I had so much free time and was able to read and watch a lot of Spanish TV. One thing that I enjoyed was the fact that Gemuno was in the Comunidad Autonoma de Junta de Castilla y Leon. Spanish was only spoken in this Comunidad and I didn't have to hear any Catalan!
Days passed and we visited Avila, watched Tv, played ping-pong and read. Avila is a lot smaller than Sabadell. However, one thing Avila is famous for is its muralla. It is an impressive medieval wall surrounding the old part of Avila. It is one of the most well preserved walls from its time period. It was a marvelous sight.
More days passed and the holidays soon began to roll in. The first important day was December 22th. It is the day of the National Lottery, which every Spaniard plays. This year on the news they said that the average that each Spaniard spent on this lottery was 70 euros! Soon Christmas came along. On the night of Christmas Eve we had a special dinner of various seafood (shrimp, squid, and noodles) that Feli cooked up. It was delicious. Next day was Christmas. Christmas isn't really a popular gift-givnig day. Instead they exchange gifts on Januaray 6, El Dia del Reyes.
On Christmas Day we went to a city about an hour away called Salamanca. Salamanca is home to one of the oldest and well-known universities. Some great sights there are the University of Salamanca, the Cathedral, La Casa de Conchas and a great plaza. It was cool city and my host family told me that it is a great center of learning. I was also surprised to see many people out and many stores open on Christmas. "This Christmas I gave you my heart the very next day"... Christmas was certainly very different this year but I still enjoyed it.
On Christmas Day we went to a city about an hour away called Salamanca. Salamanca is home to one of the oldest and well-known universities. Some great sights there are the University of Salamanca, the Cathedral, La Casa de Conchas and a great plaza. It was cool city and my host family told me that it is a great center of learning. I was also surprised to see many people out and many stores open on Christmas. "This Christmas I gave you my heart the very next day"... Christmas was certainly very different this year but I still enjoyed it.
More days passed and I enjoyed walking in the peaceful pueblo of Gemuno. I walked up the small mountain twice. It was soo cool. I had a great view and it was very peaceful. Maybe one day I will build a house on top of a mountain. Another day we saw the movie Avatar in 3-D. It was an amazing film. Technology is advancing each day. And, yes, I pretty much understood everything.
Next came New Year's Eve. I was kind of sad during this period because I usually spent New Year's Eve with my family and some friends and we have a lot of fun getting together and playing games. This year the tradition was broken. I was in Spain and my family drove all the way to Mexico City! So it was just Feli, Abel, Oscar and I on New Year's Eve. Angel had gone to watch over his mother for the night. He and his siblings are taking turns taking care of her. We watched the ball drop at the Puerta Del Sol in Madrid. One thing that was very different for me, was that in Spain it is a custom to eat 12 grapes for good luck: one for each gong of the bell when the new year arrives. I am going to be honest: when the last bell rang I had a mouthful of grapes. I wasn't able to do it. We will see what 2010 brings.
Soon after what seemed to me many days, hours, and minutes in Gemuno we said our goodbyes to the pueblo on January 4th, 2010. We said goodbye to Angel's mother at the residence and we headed towards home. It has been a tough time for Angel and his family.
First, however, we were going to Madrid. Feli has a brother that lives there and he had left for London and invited us to stay at his house for two nights. The capital of Spain was awesome. I saw many cool places such as the Puerta del Sol, where we had had our TV turned to on New Year's Eve.
On the night of January 5th we saw the Cabalgata de los Reyes in Madrid (a huge parade.) I loved it. People in the parade threw out candy and I struggled with the others for the caramelos. There were hundreds of people watching this parade and the atmosphere was great. However, all good things have to come to an end and we soon headed back to go to sleep. The next day we were finally going back home.
Soon after what seemed to me many days, hours, and minutes in Gemuno we said our goodbyes to the pueblo on January 4th, 2010. We said goodbye to Angel's mother at the residence and we headed towards home. It has been a tough time for Angel and his family.
First, however, we were going to Madrid. Feli has a brother that lives there and he had left for London and invited us to stay at his house for two nights. The capital of Spain was awesome. I saw many cool places such as the Puerta del Sol, where we had had our TV turned to on New Year's Eve.
On the night of January 5th we saw the Cabalgata de los Reyes in Madrid (a huge parade.) I loved it. People in the parade threw out candy and I struggled with the others for the caramelos. There were hundreds of people watching this parade and the atmosphere was great. However, all good things have to come to an end and we soon headed back to go to sleep. The next day we were finally going back home.
On January 6th we headed out for Sabadell. It was a long drive and we stopped in a city called Lleida were we met more of Feli's family. We ate lunch with them and were soon on the road again. When we arrived in Sabadell it was 8 o'clock. What a journey it had been!
I put all my clothes away and made my room nice and tidy. I was then finally able to touch my computer. It had been two weeks or so without a computer. I knew I would probably have a lot of emails, especially from my mom. I connected with my mom on Skype (thanks to my Tia Linda) and we chatted for a while. She told me about their trip to Mexico City. It was a long drive for them but they had fun. Not only did they get to see my dad's family but they also saw some of my mom's family in Monterrey, Mexico and Austin, Texas.
The next day was the beginning of what I would call a holiday after the Christmas holidays. The Rebajas (sales) had begun. Pretty much every store in Catalunya had many sales and were promoting many things. I went out with some friends to go shopping and it was fun. I was finally in one of my familiar "homes."
This Christmas season I received a cell phone from my family as a gift. But I know that the biggest gift I received was being able to go with them to many new places and share with them new experiences. I am lucky even if I didn't finish all the grapes in time!
Be grateful for what you have.
I put all my clothes away and made my room nice and tidy. I was then finally able to touch my computer. It had been two weeks or so without a computer. I knew I would probably have a lot of emails, especially from my mom. I connected with my mom on Skype (thanks to my Tia Linda) and we chatted for a while. She told me about their trip to Mexico City. It was a long drive for them but they had fun. Not only did they get to see my dad's family but they also saw some of my mom's family in Monterrey, Mexico and Austin, Texas.
The next day was the beginning of what I would call a holiday after the Christmas holidays. The Rebajas (sales) had begun. Pretty much every store in Catalunya had many sales and were promoting many things. I went out with some friends to go shopping and it was fun. I was finally in one of my familiar "homes."
This Christmas season I received a cell phone from my family as a gift. But I know that the biggest gift I received was being able to go with them to many new places and share with them new experiences. I am lucky even if I didn't finish all the grapes in time!
Be grateful for what you have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)