Coddiwompling

It blows my mind that I have been in Valencia for 261 days (almost 9 months). The time has flown by and I am absolutely not ready to be finished here. But I am so excited to see my family and friends, my people!!  The past 9 months have been filled with adventures, lessons, love, chaos, and lots of growth. I have gotten to see the improvement of the English language with my kids and have seen improvement in myself with understanding the Spanish language (not so much the speaking Spanish on my part). I have been able to see a whole other culture and see a part of the world I hadn't before. I was able to visit new cities and meet incredible people. I have marked down my favorites to visit for a longer period of time in the future. I have had lots of ups and a few downs, but all great adventures come with both.  When I first applied to this program, I really had no idea what I was getting into. I applied on a whim and convinced myself it was right as the date to leave ap...

I HAD MY FIRST VISITORS I HAD MY FIRST VISITORS I HAD MY FIRST VISITORS I HAD MY FIRST VISITORS After only 8 months of living my life in Valencia, I finally got to give a full explanation of how happy this place and these people make me in the best way I know - introducing new people to my original people and showing my places. Grammy and papa were able to see my new city finally and I can only hope they loved it as much as I did. We skipped the touristy parts and headed straight to where I am everyday - the school. AND IT WAS EVERYTHING I COULD'VE HOPED FOR. The kids were so excited to meet them and were able to practice their English with them and ask them all sorts of questions. They were able to meet the teachers I work with and they met 1 family member from all 3 of my host families. I was overjoyed to share my people with Grammy and Papa and it brought me so much joy to see the instant connections. once a teacher, always a teacher It made me that much more exci...

 Last trimester has already begun and I cannot believe I am in my final months of my first teaching abroad experience. It has been nothing short of amazing, all of it including the difficult teaching days and the days where I quite literally fell off my bike. Or the day I lost in pingpong and pool (but won in bowling) and I had to wear a monkey onesie around Valencia - but I got wine, jamón and queso so who really won? Also I have never heard "que mono" more than this day.     There have been great days of day trips to the villages around Valencia. Hiking to the tops of beautiful mountains and hour train rides and lunches on the tops of mountains. This hike was in Llíria, Spain. All of the days, including these rascals. This day everyone was dressed up in costumes (for their favorite books) when I got to school, so naturally I had to run home and grab my costume. The kids loved it and so did I. Can you spot the monkey in the back?  I never...

Our spring break was twelve days of no school, so I had to take a trip to see some of the places still on my list AND to return to one of my favorites.  Vienna, Austria: "drink coffee and eat cake"  DONE.  Vienna was a beautiful city, but as a twenty-three traveler, who thrives with more outdoor activities AND someone who is on a budget, it was not my place. It was quite expensive and there weren't a lot of free activities. But the cake was delicious at Vollpension Café and I had to keep drinking coffee because the wind was relentless.  Ljubljana, Slovenia: A DREAM!!!!!!!! The capital was  maybe a  20 minute walk from one side to the other. It has it's own personality and immediately became one of my favorite destinations. The hostel was cozy and home-y with a lot of solo travelers. Add that it was an hour bus ride to two beautiful lakes and the perfect backdrop of mountains. It is one of those places that gives you a book for a euro because t...

When I was on my flight over to Europe, I dreamed of all the things I would do, all the things I would experience, and all the possibilities that could end up changing everything. I hoped I would grow in ways I couldn't imagine and begin living a life unlike the one I had known for the past four years at the University of Houston and the eighteen years in Boerne before that.  And I did. I found a life different from Boerne and from Houston. I found another place that feels like home. When is a place considered home? I'm sure it differs for everyone, but for me it is when I feel comfortable wandering alone, when I have people in that place I care about, when I can get around (for the most part) without google maps, and when I truly feel happiness in the place. Not the kind of happiness that tags along with visiting a new place on travel, but the happiness that fills you up when you are doing nothing, nothing special, just living your everyday life with the people around yo...