This past weekend JR and I went back to his hometown of Talavera to celebrate his 25th birthday (May 18th). This year, his birthday coincided with the Ferrias (or fair) that many other cities in Spain also celebrated for San Isidrio. After a long night of karaoke on Thursday, we hopped the bus to Talavera Friday afternoon - only about an hour away from Toledo. We would be staying at his grandma Carmen's house (more commonly known by the family as "Peque") and JR had warned me about a few things beforehand. First, that she's so deaf she often talks to [View Full Entry]

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I just realized today that after 8 months working in Spain, I still haven't posted any pictures of the place where I work! Don't get too excited though...Sonseca doesn't have a whole lot to offer but furniture and mazipan factories. I'm including pictures of my school, colleagues and some of my students that are in the bilingual program. They're the ones I've become the most attached to and will probably miss the most... [View Full Entry]

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May 2nd, 2008 marked the 200th anniversary of when the Spanish rose up against the French occupation under Napolean (May 2nd, 1808). Therefore, every May 2nd is a national holiday in Spain - with this year being especially special because it was the 200th anniversary. Goya painted two famous paintings on the subject: "el 2 de mayo" and "el 3 de mayo" which are hanging in the Prado Museum in Madrid. There are currently several exhibitions going on in Madrid commemorating the day. I got a 6 day holiday out of the deal because the pueblo where I work had their [View Full Entry]

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I've been back and forth, on the fence, round in circles, made a decision and later renigged - but I can now say it's OFFICIAL: In July I'm moving to the most stereotypically American of all the American states - TEXAS. Dallas to be exact. Get out your cowboy hats and your lassos, we're gonna grill up some burgers, set off some fireworks, and put on the country music! I'll be flying from Madrid to Dallas on June 14th to look for apartments and jobs for about 2 weeks with Jess (the same Jess you've read all about in my blogs). [View Full Entry]

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José Ramón Martín Salvador (also known as "JR" in my blogs) graduated last Friday with a degree in "Administración y Dirección de Empresas" - we'll just call it "Business" for short. On Friday there was a ceremony for close family and friends of the 64 graduates with tapas and refreshments immediately following. That's right - there were only 64 graduates in his college - less than the class of 2003 at Portsmouth High School! Afterwards, there was a dinner at a nice restaraunt outside of Toledo followed by a dance at a nearby discoteca. Everyone had a ball! Here are the [View Full Entry]

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Twenty-three is sort of a wierd age - since the age of 16, every birthday symblozies some kind of landmark in life - driver's license at 16, right to vote at 18, and we all know what 21 brings...but after that, there isn't much to make each year "special". So this year, I had to spice 23 up a little and head to the islands for my birthday! There are two sets of islands that belong to Spain: the Canaries, and the Balearic. We went to the Balearic, which are situated in the Mediterranean and made up of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza [View Full Entry]

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Guys I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling up to writing an elaborate blog right now so I'm just gonna give you the bare minimum facts... Last weekend, Celia, Jess and I decided to get to know our region of Castilla-La Mancha a little better and take a trip to Consuegra and Cuenca. Consuegra is a tiny town that is famous for its old windmills (which is one of the icons of La Mancha, along with Don Quixote). On Friday we made the trip, took some good photos, and spent the night back at my apartment in Toledo about an hour [View Full Entry]

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Celia and I flew into Marrakech, Morocco Thursday evening to meet her brother CH and travel around the country for 4 days. I had never been in an Arab country before and was anxious to see what it was like. From talking to others beforehand, it seemed like one of those places you either love or you hate. Celia and I had packed the barest of essentials - long sleeved shirts and pants to cover our bodies, and scarves for our heads - all in one small bag to make it easier to move around. We would be travelling to a [View Full Entry]

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No other country in the world celebrates Semana Santa (or "Holy Week", the week preceding Easter) quite like Spain - I'm now sure of that. Nearly every city in the country holds traditional, usually solemn processions where men from different Catholic brotherhoods wear outfits that look exactly like those of the Ku Klux Klan. But don't worry, it was the KKK that stole this religious symbol and turned it into something ugly and negative in America. Many times, the men who walk in the processions carry crosses over their shoulders as a way to ask God for forgiveness for their sins. [View Full Entry]

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I'm going on my 6th month living in Spain, and I've taken literally hundreds of photos along the way. I just wanted to post a few that don't correspond with any of the trips I've taken - some are from work Christmas parties, some from hangin out with the chiquis, and some from the beautiful town where I live... [View Full Entry]

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