paz afuera.

In a matter of minutes, I will be leaving.  It's weird to think that it's actually happening, that the last five weeks went by just as fast as I knew they would.  But the last two days were the absolute perfect way to say goodbye.

On Thursday night, there was a festival for la Noche de San Juan.  We went to the plaza by the Cathedral to see some really weird performance (not even the Spaniards understand it), almost get hit by fireworks, and then throw wishes/things you want to forget into a giant bonfire.

After, we went to a few discotecas and danced like it was 1999/going out of style/our last night in Spain.  We walked around and talked and got chased by a wild boar to finish off our night (or morning if you want to be exact).

Yesterday was probably the most beautiful day I've seen in Oviedo.  The weather was absolutely perfect and there was just something about the air that made everything pleasant.  We graduated, talked with friends, hung out in the park, got ice cream, sat and chatted in an open cafe, bought some flowers, and talked more in the park.

It was one of those days where I was just trying to soak up every moment.  Once I got home, I went with my family to the Tennis Club for drinks on the terrace.  It was really pleasant and we talked about school and food and fry sauce (or "pink sauce" as my brothers call it).

Paul (19) is on the left, Jaime (18) on the right.

It was sad to say goodbye to them, but I really hope and think that we will keep in touch.  And it is going to be sad to say goodbye to Spain.  But life goes on, and I'm so excited to see you and the family and my friends.  And I'm excited to spend time with girls at tennis camp next week (and the next three weeks).  And I'm excited for Lake Powell and Brightwell & Logan coming home and this one wedding that I have to go to in August and our family trip and summer days and etc.  So I think I've got enough good in my life that I can happily move on to the next adventure.

¡Adiós España!  And I'll see ya tomorrow mom.

more goodbyes

Goodbye to Sidra and those who drink it.

Goodbye to weird Spanish ping pong tables.

 

Goodbye to the festivals of Oviedo.

Goodbye to my apartment.

Goodbye to class.

Goodbye to [some] friends.

Goodbye to the University of Oviedo.

Goodbye to Campo de San Fransisco.

. . . and still more to come.

And so it begins.

I've started the process of saying goodbye.  It's probably not the best way to do it--I should do the whole rip-it-off-like-a-bandaid thing--but whatever.  This is a big goodbye and it's strange to think I might very well never see these places/things/people again in my life.

As I was walking home yesterday, I decided to start thinking of things that I wouldn't miss so that I'd feel a little better about leaving.  This is as far as I got:

- The smell of smoke and people's alcohol breath.

- The weird eating schedule.

- The milk. (Which I've actually gotten used to.)

- The Euro-Dollar ratio.

- No air-conditioning.

It's not a very persuasive list, but it's a start.  And so far, we've said goodbye to . . .

. . . the amazing candy shops . . .

. . . chocolate con churros . . .

. . . the photogenic elderly . . .

. . . and the best croissants in the entire world.

And there are only more goodbyes to come, so stay tuned.

Tomando el Sol.

"A perfect weekend to say goodbye to Spain" is what Guillermina said to me today (in English) as we cleaned up after lunch.  I wish there was a way to explain truly how wonderful this weekend was--and I'm going to try, obviously--but I just don't think any words or pictures could really do it justice.

Yesterday started off with our group canoe trip down the Sella river; and if anything has reminded me of Utah, it would be this.  The scenery was very similar to what you might see going down the Provo river, but it was really calm . . . and really shallow.  Dave and I were partners and for the first half we attacked anyone in our group that we passed (mainly Chase and Bronwynne) and that was a lot of fun.  But Dave also turned against me and put the front of our canoe underneath a waterfall so I was pretty much just sitting in the river.

But whatever.  Luckily we were smart and played it calm during the second half after lunch (because we knew that everyone would want to get revenge) and had his camera out so that no one would attack us.  Instead, we connected to Chase and Bronwynne's canoe and just chatted as we slowly floated down the river.

After the river trip, the bus dropped Megen and me off at Ribadesella so that we could head over to Guillermina's beach house.  I have to admit, I was kind of nervous about spending the weekend there--I think just because I didn't know what to expect--but as soon as we stepped off the bus I was so happy that we decided to go.

After we got to the house and settled in, we went with Guillermina up to one of her brothers' houses (she has 11 siblings!) to get some fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  And when I say that, I mean that we took long clippers and cut oranges off a tree and hydrangeas off a bush.  (I'm really bummed that I didn't have my camera for this, because it turned out to be really cool but oh well.)

 

After that, we helped prepare dinner and then took a little nap while it was cooking.  There were four little kids at the house too, and one girl reminded me so much of Kathryn . . . it was weirding me out and made me really miss her.  We ate dinner out on the patio with a few of her siblings and then went straight to bed (well . . . we laid on our beds with the lights on for probably and hour or so and then finally realized that we should just go to bed).

And although yesterday was fun, today was absolutely perfect.  We woke up, ate breakfast on the patio overlooking the ocean and then went on a little walk.

Afterward, we changed into our swimsuits and went down to the beach for four hours.  The best part about this beach was that there weren't a ton of people, and so all we could hear were the waves as we laid there.  And the water was the clearest water I've ever seen.  It felt fresh too . . . I have no idea how to explain it but I was amazed.  Around 3 we had drinks up on the boardwalk and then took showers before lunch.  

Lunch was out in the backyard and we had tortilla de berenjena (eggplant), toritas de maize (like cornbread scones), tortellini, bread, cauliflower, and paella.  So delicious.  I asked them how to make paella and they told me it was a cook's secret.   They then told me a little bit how to make it, but I think their secret is safe because I only understood the ingredients and what you cook it in.

The house we stayed in is really cool--built in the Bauhaus period and it has tons of art.

After lunch, we sat out in the garden and took a siesta and read.  Around 7, Meg and I went and got some ice cream and then went back and loaded up the car.  On our way home, we stopped by this old house up in the mountains that Guillermina's family owns--very old and very cool and in a very pretty setting (of course).  Mom, it was something you would just love to fix up and turn into a B&B or something.

It's so weird to think that in a week I'll be on my way home.  I really don't want to leave Spain, but I guess that's a good sign.  All I can say is that I've made a list of things left to do and it's going to be a very busy, very fun week.

The [free] Weekend.

It's tough to beat a vacation within a vacation, let alone describe it.  But let me put it this way:  when I am enjoying the beach too much to go on a hike (to see a bird's eye view of the city), then it's got to be a pretty good beach.

 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves--there was quite a journey to get to the beautiful beaches of San Sebastián.  We arrived in Bilbao at 5:00 a.m. -- and this being Spain, we knew nothing would be open for a good three or four hours . . . so we decided to "post up" (as Dave likes to say) in a park and take a little nap.  Some people were just heading home from the discotecas and I'm sure they thought we were either crazy or drunk (or both), but it definitely created a great memory.  (And you know that I can sleep pretty much anywhere, so I was just fine.)

After our little nap, we explored Bilbao . . .

 

. . . and then we checked into our hotel (and I took pictures of the room, as promised) . . .

. . . and then we went to the Guggenheim and explored the streets a bit more before going back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we just played games and told scary stories and other such slumber-party activities.  It sounds like an uneventful day, but it was a lot of fun to explore the city--the architecture was really cool.

The next morning we had a quick bus ride to San Sebastian and found our hostel pretty easily (thanks to girls in our group who looked up the maps/directions before).  Outside of our hostel, there was one of the protesting campsites, and Alex and Dave decided to join in on some of their games . . .

I was going to join in, but they finished this game right before I got a chance to.  After that, we headed down to the beach and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the weekend--only leaving to eat, sleep, and dance.

 

 

Our hostel:

Dinner at a pizza/kebap place (I finished my pizza when Khalid still had half of his left)

We met a lot of friends from different countries (most of them were from Australia, and Dave and Alex actually gave them the first discussion on the beach one day) and everyone there was really nice.  I still have yet to meet someone mean here--but then again, I might just not understand them if they're being mean.

As much as I loved the beach during the day, I also really enjoyed it at night.  There is just something about the evening tide and sound of waves in the dark that is so tranquilo, I just love it.  At one point, Dave, Stephen, and I just sat by the dock and talked while we stared at the reflection of the lights on the water.  We also played games on the beach at night, and that was a lot of fun too (until some crazy drunk hobo came along, and then we moved to a different spot). 

[We sat on this sand couch until the tide came and ruined it.]

Basically, I just love the beach, any day, any time. (hint for our family trip in August, unless Havasupai is an option.)  We were all really sad to leave, but life goes on . . . and we're still in Europe so I can't really complain.  Have I said thank you enough for this?  Because it really is the greatest thing ever.

*side story: We saw some missionaries at the bus stop, and so of course I screamed out "elders!!" and waved them over.  I'm not too sure how excited they were to talk to us, but they were way nice and seemed like a good companionship.  Hopefully once my friends get back I won't be so over-enthusiastic whenever I see the white shirts and name-tags.