After the turbulent bus ride to Tangkou, all I could think about when I got off and looked around was, where is hotel and how far of a walk is it? A friendly man in a dark blue Adidas track suit greeted us, pulled out a card with his restaurant (in English!), and began chatting with us. He wasn't selling anything, he was just friendly. He introduced himself and asked us where we were staying. He knew where our hotel was and said he would take us to the hotel. Our instincts were good and sure enough, within minutes we were in the hotel parking lot unpacking our suitcases from his car. At the check-in to the hotel, the host asked for our passports and I looked around and my life flashed before my eyes. I ... read more

Along with the sixteen classes I teach each week here at my high school (55 kids per class = around 960 kids), I agreed to also teach an additional two classes on Wednesday afternoons for a group of bright, motivated kids for an English Club (EC). They asked Jenny to help me (thankfully!) so we both get together and teach thirty-two of the top English speaking students at my school and we really enjoy these kids because they can express themselves in English fairly well, even though they are in their first year, Grade 1, of high school English. The English Club gets a few perks, the main one being a day-long field trip this semester with me and Jennifer where the object is to have fun but also speak English with us all day. This ... read more

Back in sunny, Tampa,. Florida. Back to my most excellent bed. My overgrown yard. Back in traffic. Back to work. Back in traffic. Back at Starbuck's gulping down Venti Iced Latte's like a madman. Back to telling stories to my friends instead of living them. Back to normal life. Back to dreaming of my next adventure! Nothing helps though - my heart and mind are still running through the early morning streets of Pamplona, the excitement of the unknown barreling down on me like a tsunami of people and beasts moving at an astounding pace - then suddenly overwhelming me, enveloping me in a hurricane of sound and smell of sweaty fur and hoof, then leaving me as fast as they approached. The elation at not getting run over by the mob, or trampled by bulls, ... read more

We've been enjoying ourselves here in this beautiful city. Madrid is a mixture of the old Spanish culture and the new, hip and young blood that is thriving here on the great food, cheap attractions and entertainment, and a never ending supply of new visitors (like us for instance.) I'm headed off for the world's only art walk in the world which includes painting, sculpture, architecture and nature, in one of Madrid's most attractive areas: Paseo del Prado. I hope to see three museams of global renown: the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofia National Art Centre. I may also have time to see Goya's Madrid, I'll let you know when I get back this evening. Back from walking for five hours in the art section of Madrid and still only got through ... read more