Tuesday we had the day off for Festival de Pilar, so our new friend Hugo, who has taken us under his wing, picked us up and showed us a few places around Ferrol. First we went to El Castillo de San Felipe, which is a castle that was built at the mouth of the ría almost 300 years ago to defend the harbor from the British armies.
After that we headed up a mountain where we got to see our first view of the open ocean. We were also able to see a bit of Coruna across the ría and the Tower of Hercules, which is the oldest lighthouse in Europe (or the world? Not sure…)
And finally……….. the beach! We got there about a half hour before sunset, so we took off our shoes and let the ice cold water wash over our feet as we wandered across the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL. Then we took a seat and watched as the sun set over the ocean. How perfect! For all you old farts out there who don’t have Facebook, I have links set up on the right of the page that will direct you to my online photo albums. You do not have to have a Facebook account to view them, but if you are at work you might not be able to see them because some companies block the use of Facebook. So if that happens, just look at them on your home computer.
We then got Hugo’s tiny little car up the top of a mountain to see a spectacular view of the entire city of Ferrol lit up at night. Before that though, we had to stop and get gas, and after seeing that it cost almost $100 to fill up a 14-gallon tank, I will never again complain about American gas prices.
Nothing much else exciting happened the rest of the week, except for a few inappropriate comments made by students (the least of which was when a student asked me how old you have to be to buy guns in the US... you can't buy handguns in Spain). Also, in most of my classes I'll get the students talking by asking them stuff like what kind of music they listen to (mostly Lady Gaga, Rhianna and Shakira) and then of course they ask me what my favorite music is, and I awkwardly pause for a few seconds before saying "ermm... well its not really stuff that you guys hear on the radio here..." and then I'll sometimes write a few names on the board for them. Mostly they haven't heard of any of it except the occasional kid who recognizes the name Arcade Fire. That is, until yesterday when I wrote Iron & Wine on the board and some girl says, "Oh I know who that is!" (though she followed it by saying she doesn't like them....) I sat there wondering how in the world she knew who Iron & Wine was, when it hit me.... Ahhhh Twilight. I forgot that they used an Iron & Wine song on one of the Twilight soundtracks.... I guess you can't escape the Twilight craze anywhere.
We still do not have internet at our house, and it looks like we may not be getting it for awhile. After searching everywhere for two weeks, we finally found a place (ironically, right across the street) that would let us get internet without signing a 12-month contract, but as we starting filling out paperwork we were told that in order to sign up we have to use a Spanish bank account that has been open for at least 3 months. Gosh, do they make it difficult for foreigners to get internet! So unless we can find some awesome Spaniard who will sign us up for internet under their bank account, it looks like we won’t be getting it for another two months… boo :(
Nothing too crazy is happening this weekend. Leslie is picking up her French friend right now who is going to stay with us for the weekend, and I think we might all go to Coruna tomorrow.
Sorry this post is a little dry and boring, I’m not really up to making it its usual colorful self (probably has something to do with our gas supply running out halfway through my shower and the water turning ice cold…) but hopefully next week’s will be better!
A few more things before I go:
First, Happy Birthday yesterday to Beautiful Brady, I hope middle age treats you well! Miss you like crazy :)
Also Happy Birthday today to my surrogate aunt, Ann Byrnes. Make sure Pammy and Danny take you out and celebrate!!
Last, but not least, Happy Birthday tomorrow to my super awesome Grandpa! Hope you spend it well!! Sending you lots of love from this side of the world!
Finally, my roommate found this link and I thought it was kind of funny: In Spain, The Siesta Gets A Wake-Up Call
So make sure you browse through the pictures if you haven’t already and check out this week’s soundtrack:
Regina Spektor -- Folding Chair
Bye Bye :)
Your blog posts rule. I get so excited for new ones and continually read the old ones. I think this is the fourth time I've read this particular one :)
ReplyDeleteAww thanks. I wish you guys would make a blog so I knew what you were always up to! I need a little piece of home over here!
ReplyDelete