Avila

Before I start this post, I'd like to say there are two things I am VERY interested in letting you know about. The exchange program Erik and I participate in, and thanksgiving. That being said, time seems non-existent here. I hardly have time to write in my journal, and when I do, I upload the entries to this blog! So, if these next two seem a little hazy, allow me to clarify in just a few days!

Avila November 25

Erik and I woke up relatively early for our day in Avila. Will took us to a little café called El Colonial. The café was actually a bar, but cafes and bars in Spain serve as both (kinda interesting!). So we arrived, and even their bars are beautiful. Exposed brick, stain glass ceiling fixtures easily 10 ft. in circumference, stain glass windows, and hard wood floors. All of this in a coffee shop?! I was in heaven! An interesting difference between the cultures (that I’m still having a hard time getting use to is- they pay the bill after they eat (regarding coffees and self serve places). So we drank our coffees, were able to hang out for a little over an hour, and then asked for the check. Will had to go to school (he teaches English as a forgein language to Spanish speaking children) and Erik and I had the day to ourselves.

We spent much of the day revisiting the walls. Each part is so unique and contains so much history, all of the sides have their own separate story. We visited the cathedral of Avila, known for its many conversions (was once owned by the Romans). The cathedral as actually built into the wall, and is the strongest place in the entire wall. All of the streets are cobblestone, and many of the houses within the wall are still from the time period of 1500. A house from 1500?!?!?.. I can’t get over it. After re-examining the walls, we went down to take a look at the aqua ducts. We ate our lunch there, and enjoyed the sun.

We arrived back to the apartment at 3:30 p.m. and had a great talk with one of Will’s roommates, Marissa. She is brilliant, kind, and so motivated. We offered to make dinner for Will, and headed down to the supermercado to get some ingredients. He gave us directions there, and because it was only 5 blocks away, it seemed we should have no trouble finding it. HA. All of the streets of Avila are tricky. Whoever made them had a master plan of tricking the masses because logic is not with you in these roads. I genuinely believe that repetition is the only way to truly understand these streets. So, Erik and I walked over a mile to a different supermercado and got home with all of the goods around 6:45 p.m. Everyone in Spain eats so late, that the only people this posed a problem for were Erik and myself. We made a pasta dish with fresh tomatoes. It wasn't that bad considering our walk a mile back home doing a balancing act of breakfast foods (eggs), breakables (wine) and fresh veggies (tomatoes!).

The next day was going to be Thanksgiving and the holidays were definitely in the air. Later that night everyone got into baking mode. Rob came over to start the apple pie. Luciana was making a wild mushroom soup, Marissa was getting her corn bread pudding ready.. the festivities and begun! We opened some wine and had one of the best conversations I’ve had since I could remember. I don’t know if it was the wine, or my heart being so warmed from these people’s kindness, but the night was a complete blast. Everyone was coming together to create this holiday; although no one was with their family, everyone desired to spend it with people they cared about- which was a privilege Erik and I will never forget. All of these people, (Luciana, Marissa, Rob, and Will) are so well traveled, and have so much to share that I could listen to them for hours. Pictures came out of Machu Pichu, Asia, Hong Kong, Argentina- you name it. I couldn’t believe it, I felt like I was listening to the editors of national geographic.

I went to bed with a smile plastered on my face. Here we were, in a person’s house we had met only a day ago. They had given us our own room, with a warm bed, and a temporary place to call home. This would be more than enough to be thankful for, yet they exceeded every expectation I had. Their kindness, hospitality, and characteristics made it feel like I was visitng an old friend. I couldn’t sleep. I turned to Erik and said,'this is perfect.' This absolutely everything I could have ever wanted (and didn’t even know was possible) from this exchange. It really can’t get any better. I was so happy, I probably slept the whole night through with that smile.