Friday night my piano lesson was cut short because apparently the center closes at 8 on Fridays. Oops. I wasn’t home for long before the neighbor woman came in looking for us. When Brittany got home, we were to go up to her apartment for dinner. She made us noodle soup, salad, and chicken. It was SO good; definitely one of the best meals I’ve had here. We watched some assassins movie with her and her son who is like 40. It was a nice change of pace. We didn’t know when it was appropriate to leave, but eventually we excused ourselves so I could get to bed.
7:45 came way too fast. I got ready, made and ate my breakfast, and walked to the bus. Once all 20 of us were there, we started south. I wanted to watch the scenery, but kept falling asleep. When we got to El Rocio, our leader, Lery, like the cucumber, told us to leave our big bags on the bus. We walked around and he told us all about this outpost area. El Rocio is not a town, but rather a gathering place. Hundreds of years ago, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared in a tree here to some man, telling him to build a church where the tree was. There is now a huge golden alter in the church with a structure of the Virgin. These Catholics. Every year, the hermandades, or brotherhoods, from all over Spain come to EL Rocio for the processional of the Virgin. Sometimes brotherhoods come at a random time to do their own masses in the church. Each hermandad has its own huge house with a build-on place of worship where they come to stay, worship, eat, and spend time together. It sounds like a good old time! The ground here is all sand, which benefits the horses – the main form of transportation here. Currently, everyone in El Rocio is refurbishing and preparing for the big celebration season to come again. It was so cool. What a way of life!
Shortly after, we hopped back on the bus for another half hour. WE had about 3 hours to spend at the beach, and we certainly made the most of it. As we neared the shore, the ocean spread out in front of us. It was beautiful and glistening in the sunlight. I couldn’t wait to get my feet in it, but first, lunch.
Since nobody had been home and I hadn’t made myself a bocadillo, I had to get something there. Megan and I joined Lery, who reminds me a little bit of my dad and Mr. Smyser, at a table at one of the many seaside café bars. Lery helped me with the things I didn’t know on the menu. I ended up ordering 3 tapas. I got albóndigas, which are the meatballs in a yellow sauce, a mojata (or something like that) montadito, which is just a tiny sandwich with really good meat, and gambas fritas, fried shrimp! There were 3 shrimp in a thick, tasty batter, some cold rice with corn and carrot, and a creamy white sauce. I was afraid to try it at first, bit it ended up being the thick garlic used in Middle Eastern food. It was great and I put it on everything. Of course, I washed it down with a lemony Tinto de Verano. It was nice to eat looking at the ocean, but now it was time to get in it!
Megan and I sat our stuff far back on the warm sand, wince the tide was coming in. We ran down and put our feet in. As warm as the air was, the water was frigid! After taking a few pictures, Megan went back to lie on her towel and I walked up and down the beach for just over an hour. The view was breathtaking, and I love the salty smell of the ocean. I thought of the last few times I’ve been to the beach. Like junior year with my family, Val, and Sierra. That was SO fun. I think the last time I went was with Jenny Fert and her family. I remember carrying baby Ashton up and down the beach, and jumping in the waves with Dylan on my back. That was a wonderful week, too. I think it is impossible for me to be in a place that is so beautiful and nice and to not think of the people I would be sharing it with if I were home. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I know that those people all want me to have a great time and enjoy what I’m doing, and I am! It was so nice to walk by myself. But of course I think of other people, too. I have accepted that I will always think of other people. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as I don’t let it affect the fun I am having here and now. I think of those people and smile, knowing that it is snowing where they are and that I am enjoying the beach, and how fun it will be to tell them about it.
The shells, the sand, and the waves were all perfect. I went and lay in the sand by Megan, quite literally, as I didn’t have a towel. Eventually the bright sun made us nervous, so we retreated into the shade of an outdoor café. We got ice-cream – all chocolate for me this time. Soon we got back on the bus to hit up the Parque de Donana.
We got out of the bus and were asked how much experience we’ve had riding horses. Since apparently I had the most, I was assigned to a spirited horse named Corna. She was beautiful, and I loved her. She always wanted to go faster than the group and turn around when she got the chance, but I had no problems with her listening to me. I can see how she would have been a huge issue for someone who didn’t know what they were doing, though. In the line-up, Corna has to be second, so I rose right behind the guide and helped tell the other girls what to do when we came to certain obstacles like branches and hills. It was pretty cool. The woods were gorgeous, and it was even better when we got out to the beach. The only things that could’ve been better are A) that the group shut up a little and the one girl stopped being so rude, and B) that I could just go running down the beach with Corna and not walk in the line. Still, it was very enjoyable and the weather was perfect. We got back to the paddock and dismounted. I scratched Corna’s face for a bit, and then it was time to go. I think I may have drooled on myself on the bus. That sun really wore me out! The bus stopped at Triana again, and I got home right around 9.
Brittany and I heated up our dinner and watched another dumb horror movie about a demon child and a cop. It was pretty awful. I went to bed without any alarms set and woke up around 10:30. I showered and we ate our breakfast. Then we sat around. Then we ate lunch. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was on TV! As bad as it is that our host parents are still in the hospital, I have to admit, I really like this ‘our apartment’ feeling. I love watching TV in English and hanging out in the living room.
I left around 6 to meet Caitlin by the river. We sat there and talked while the sun lasted, and then we went and got delicious churros. It was super fun, and then I went home to eat upstairs at the neighbor’s again. This time, here American student, Gretchen, who we hadn’t known existed, was home. She’s a junior nursing major in Milwaukee and is here with another program. I like her a lot! We had our soup and tortilla de patatas with tomatoes and watched “Vengadores,” the Avengers.
Then I went to bed and today I spent several hours looking at flights to London to go see Ann. They are ridiculously expensive. These airlines are committing so much highway robbery. Soon I have to walk to school for my piano lesson and then for choir. Wish me luck!
7:45 came way too fast. I got ready, made and ate my breakfast, and walked to the bus. Once all 20 of us were there, we started south. I wanted to watch the scenery, but kept falling asleep. When we got to El Rocio, our leader, Lery, like the cucumber, told us to leave our big bags on the bus. We walked around and he told us all about this outpost area. El Rocio is not a town, but rather a gathering place. Hundreds of years ago, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared in a tree here to some man, telling him to build a church where the tree was. There is now a huge golden alter in the church with a structure of the Virgin. These Catholics. Every year, the hermandades, or brotherhoods, from all over Spain come to EL Rocio for the processional of the Virgin. Sometimes brotherhoods come at a random time to do their own masses in the church. Each hermandad has its own huge house with a build-on place of worship where they come to stay, worship, eat, and spend time together. It sounds like a good old time! The ground here is all sand, which benefits the horses – the main form of transportation here. Currently, everyone in El Rocio is refurbishing and preparing for the big celebration season to come again. It was so cool. What a way of life!
Shortly after, we hopped back on the bus for another half hour. WE had about 3 hours to spend at the beach, and we certainly made the most of it. As we neared the shore, the ocean spread out in front of us. It was beautiful and glistening in the sunlight. I couldn’t wait to get my feet in it, but first, lunch.
Since nobody had been home and I hadn’t made myself a bocadillo, I had to get something there. Megan and I joined Lery, who reminds me a little bit of my dad and Mr. Smyser, at a table at one of the many seaside café bars. Lery helped me with the things I didn’t know on the menu. I ended up ordering 3 tapas. I got albóndigas, which are the meatballs in a yellow sauce, a mojata (or something like that) montadito, which is just a tiny sandwich with really good meat, and gambas fritas, fried shrimp! There were 3 shrimp in a thick, tasty batter, some cold rice with corn and carrot, and a creamy white sauce. I was afraid to try it at first, bit it ended up being the thick garlic used in Middle Eastern food. It was great and I put it on everything. Of course, I washed it down with a lemony Tinto de Verano. It was nice to eat looking at the ocean, but now it was time to get in it!
Megan and I sat our stuff far back on the warm sand, wince the tide was coming in. We ran down and put our feet in. As warm as the air was, the water was frigid! After taking a few pictures, Megan went back to lie on her towel and I walked up and down the beach for just over an hour. The view was breathtaking, and I love the salty smell of the ocean. I thought of the last few times I’ve been to the beach. Like junior year with my family, Val, and Sierra. That was SO fun. I think the last time I went was with Jenny Fert and her family. I remember carrying baby Ashton up and down the beach, and jumping in the waves with Dylan on my back. That was a wonderful week, too. I think it is impossible for me to be in a place that is so beautiful and nice and to not think of the people I would be sharing it with if I were home. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I know that those people all want me to have a great time and enjoy what I’m doing, and I am! It was so nice to walk by myself. But of course I think of other people, too. I have accepted that I will always think of other people. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as I don’t let it affect the fun I am having here and now. I think of those people and smile, knowing that it is snowing where they are and that I am enjoying the beach, and how fun it will be to tell them about it.
The shells, the sand, and the waves were all perfect. I went and lay in the sand by Megan, quite literally, as I didn’t have a towel. Eventually the bright sun made us nervous, so we retreated into the shade of an outdoor café. We got ice-cream – all chocolate for me this time. Soon we got back on the bus to hit up the Parque de Donana.
We got out of the bus and were asked how much experience we’ve had riding horses. Since apparently I had the most, I was assigned to a spirited horse named Corna. She was beautiful, and I loved her. She always wanted to go faster than the group and turn around when she got the chance, but I had no problems with her listening to me. I can see how she would have been a huge issue for someone who didn’t know what they were doing, though. In the line-up, Corna has to be second, so I rose right behind the guide and helped tell the other girls what to do when we came to certain obstacles like branches and hills. It was pretty cool. The woods were gorgeous, and it was even better when we got out to the beach. The only things that could’ve been better are A) that the group shut up a little and the one girl stopped being so rude, and B) that I could just go running down the beach with Corna and not walk in the line. Still, it was very enjoyable and the weather was perfect. We got back to the paddock and dismounted. I scratched Corna’s face for a bit, and then it was time to go. I think I may have drooled on myself on the bus. That sun really wore me out! The bus stopped at Triana again, and I got home right around 9.
Brittany and I heated up our dinner and watched another dumb horror movie about a demon child and a cop. It was pretty awful. I went to bed without any alarms set and woke up around 10:30. I showered and we ate our breakfast. Then we sat around. Then we ate lunch. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was on TV! As bad as it is that our host parents are still in the hospital, I have to admit, I really like this ‘our apartment’ feeling. I love watching TV in English and hanging out in the living room.
I left around 6 to meet Caitlin by the river. We sat there and talked while the sun lasted, and then we went and got delicious churros. It was super fun, and then I went home to eat upstairs at the neighbor’s again. This time, here American student, Gretchen, who we hadn’t known existed, was home. She’s a junior nursing major in Milwaukee and is here with another program. I like her a lot! We had our soup and tortilla de patatas with tomatoes and watched “Vengadores,” the Avengers.
Then I went to bed and today I spent several hours looking at flights to London to go see Ann. They are ridiculously expensive. These airlines are committing so much highway robbery. Soon I have to walk to school for my piano lesson and then for choir. Wish me luck!