Week 24: Getting ready to get a move on… and welcoming Alex, again!

Last week I swore to myself that I would get out after this weekend. This week has been another chill week in Toledo, and while there is much good to be found in getting to know the place you’re studying in, I’m starting to get a little restless. So, on that note, this week has been very routine, except for a very special visitor for the weekend!

Monday was my second big day at my internship, which went great! I presented myself with my Prezi to four different classes, and I even capitalized on the opportunity to teach the students about some cultural differences, as simple as what a PB&J sandwich is.  It’s amazing how much I have to think about how I speak English. Another thing I didn’t realize until recently is that Europeans learn British English, because of course they’re way more likely to travel to the U.K. than anywhere else that speaks English. It was also Groundhog Day, to which the groundhog snubbed his nose at us all and said six more weeks of winter for you all… Oh well. In Toledo, winter isn’t too bad, thank goodness.

Tuesday was another three-in-a-row day for classes, and at this point, it seems like a hard vie between Tuesdays and Thursdays for which day is more difficult. Granted, I have four classes on Thursdays and only three on Tuesdays, and Tuesdays is only the morning… but still, Tuesdays can be a chore sometimes, especially when I’m struggling to stay awake in classes. Tuesday afternoon and night were pretty chill, as I didn’t have too many plans with friends, but I did get some homework done.

Wednesday brought two more theology class periods, and they were interesting as ever. The professor in that class is quite the character, as I think I might have mentioned before. Every class with him is like watching a show; after introducing an outline of what he will lecture on in the class, he asks us “Is it interesting? Very interesting? SUPER interesting? MEGA interesting? HYPER interesting? Wow!” And he asks it in such a way that is both comical and lets us know that he is passionate about the subject, and wants to get us engaged in the course material. This was also my fourth day at my internship, which went swimmingly - pretty much the same story as Monday, talking to teachers, introducing myself to classes, and planning for next week.

Thursday was another difficult end-of-the-week day, as I actually had four classes basically in a row. History is always interesting, as we’ve had some spontaneous debates in class recently about censorship in Spain vs. in the U.S. The professor’s thought is that in a country like the States with freedom as such a fundamental ideal, why censor anything (such as sexual content)? I agree on a logical level, but on a moral level, and from personal experience, I object to this opinion; there are certainly reasons why we censor sexual content on prime time television in the U.S. The one thing that kept me going this whole day was that Alex was on her way to visit! I met her at the Madrid airport when her flight came in later at night, and since it was so late, we had booked a hostel in Madrid, since no public transport would be running that late to take us back to Toledo.

She's finally here!

On Friday Alex had requested to see Madrid a bit, and so we walked around the city. We saw the beautiful Retiro Park, took in all the beauty around us, as well as a mid-morning snack. Eventually, we made our way over to the Reina Sofía Museum, where we got in free for showing our student IDs! We enjoyed the modern art there, and even participated in a chalk exhibit (exactly as I did a couple weeks ago in Paris!). After grabbing a relatively cheap lunch in a café (that filled us to the brim!), we made our way by bus back to Toledo. (That’s one thing I will NOT miss about Lille - here, to get from Toledo to Madrid or vice versa, by bus it’s always 5.43€, and by train it’s always less than 13€. Not so between Paris and Lille; prices always fluctuate (and are ALWAYS more expensive). Anyways.)

A statue of Miguel de Cervantes outside the National Library in Madrid.

We took a peek in the National Archaeological Museum on Alex's request. She really enjoyed it!

The Reina Sofia museum in Madrid.

Sitting by the Puerta del Alcalá, an arch that used to be one of the five main entryways into the great city of Madrid.

Once we made it back to Toledo, Alex met my host family! That was a cool experience - even though she doesn’t speak Spanish and they don’t speak fluent English, we were able to communicate pretty well (with me and some of my host siblings stepping in to translate every once in a while). My host family was nice enough to even let Alex stay in the study! Once we dropped our stuff and finished our chat, I took Alex for a vuelta del valle - a walk around the valley, where all the beautiful views are of the city. Once Alex had really seen Toledo, we then decided to head out for the night. This isn’t too big of a deal in Toledo, but nonetheless, it was an opportunity to have some fun. Funny enough, we ended up having a very (stereotypically) Irish night - we went to a bar called O’Brien’s, and we spent some quality time with each other and our friends Guinness, Jameson, and Bailey's. It ended up being a great night - we had a fun time!

My favorite view of Toledo, with my favorite person in the world! <3

After Alex met my host family, she insisted on taking this picture. It will certainly be a nice reminder :)

Alex in front of the Puerta de Bisagra, the entrance to the medieval city.

Twins take Toledo!

View of the river.

The golden child...

Enjoying the Río Tajo.

A night out, made Irish by our friend Guinness here.

Saturday was more of a chill day, both figuratively and literally. In fact, the day was so cold and the wind was so strong that Alex and I decided not to go out at all; we just spent the day cozied up in my host family’s house. Alex had brought some homework to do, and so we spent the day working on homework and snuggling up. In the evening, Teresa, one of my two host sisters, brought some friends over, and we all ended up playing Just Dance for a while, which left us in stitches (only figuratively) because of the weird and wacky movements we had to copy. Sunday was pretty tranquil as well, except for mass at the cathedral in Toledo in the morning which was absolutely gorgeous, showing Alex around my school located not too far from the cathedral, and taking a stroll along the walking path that circles the city between the medieval wall and the river. Since Alex’s flight was very early the next morning, we had decided to book another night in Madrid, and so after getting a later bus back to the capital city and finding some dinner and churros y chocolate, we found our hotel and spent a pretty short night talking and preparing for her departure.

Churros y chocolate in Madrid. A fitting (midnight) parting snack.

Since she left on Monday morning, I’ll leave the (short) rest of the story for next week. This week, however, has been pretty good, but again, I’m starting to get a little antsy about actually getting out and traveling somewhere. Fortunately for me, this will start next week, when I go to meet Rob, Walker, Michal and Eric in Poland! As for now, I’m just glad to have had the opportunity to see my sister, and also for just being able to spend another week in Toledo (and in Spain, and in Europe!). That’s all I’ve got for this week - until the next, ¡hasta pronto!