Geez Louise

I like Spain so much more than I imagined. Now, if only I could find a way to extend my time here...

Halloween

Boo!

Well I had fun with the students yesterday. We (2 other teachers and I) decorated part of the high school the day before . The next day was dedicated to playing Halloween related games with the English classes. I think the kids enjoyed themselves. I did.

Mango, this one's for you.

So, I ran in my first race (of sorts) last Sunday. I s-u-c-k-e-d. And by sucked, I mean sucked. I came in dead last, though by some mixup, the officials put my running partner as coming in last.

I thought I had enough stamina to run in a 6k, but obviously not. I'm pretty sure I saw a tortoise go past me. And he had one leg bandaged.

But anyway, the spectators were really supportive and kept saying that finishing was the most important thing. And my running partner said that counting from the back, we were the firsts. What an optimist. Haha, good times though.

So after the race, there was a raffle ' un sorteo' (add that to the myriad of Spanish words that I learned) and even though some 30 or 40 prizes were given away, I didn't get a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.* Menos mal though since most of the food that they were giving away was fattening. Anyway, my running mate won 2 bottles of wine and 2 boxes of cookies, so looking at the situation from another point of view, I won 1 bottle of wine and a box of cookies. What more could I ask for?

For a while now, my vision of hell has been of a place where I would have to run non stop. Something like an everlasting treadmill. Only God understands how much I dislike running, yet I still think it's the best exercise for me. So I plan to run again. Just after I've practiced more and psyched myself up.

*Actually, I got a fabulous shirt which I have worn every day this week. It's pretty sweet.

We didn't really find mushrooms...

But I found this:






Oh the carnage!

Two weeks ago--Burgos

2/4 of my hosts and what great hosts they were.
Someone shares my dislike for taking pictures.
My other host.





I went to Burgos, which if I understood correctly, is competing with several other Spanish cities to be considered the cultural capital of Spain.

Anyway, I was invited there by a very nice family that I had met the weekend before. They housed me and took me around the city.

Stand out things:

The architecture
There are tons of examples of old European architecture. If you're interested in Roman, Gothic, Baroque, or neo classical architecture, then Burgos would definitely be one the places to visit.

The shops
I needed a sweater and some gym things. I found them and more for a reasonable price.

The food
Burgos is famous for it's morcilla, or blood sausage.

The cathedral
They say it's the most beautiful cathedral in Europe.

The castle
The castle has this cool map of the city engraved in the metal encircling the look out point of the castle. See the first picture.

And most importantly, if I'm not mistaking, Burgos was the home of El Cid, an almost mythical figure in Spanish history.

Stuff

This weekend I went to Burgos. I'll write more about that in a following post. For now, I just want to mention the three songs stuck in my head besides the theme song for Fisica o Quimica.

The last song has added significance because it is about the train attacks that occurred March 11, 2004 in Spain.

1. Esclavo de sus besos

2. Lejos estamos mejor

3. Jueves

Water for me

Coffee with some fellow teachers. Good times.