Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Let's Review, Shall We?

October 22: Bachata y Merengue
Well, I am a bit behind with my blog. So pardon the long post, but I am going to combine a few of the latest events. Nothing too exciting going on this week. I've been working a lot of hours at school, and also been bringing some work home with me (halloween preparations, etc). Outside of school, I'm keeping busy by going to dance class three tims a week. :-) Yes, you read that correctly. The girl who never ever dances is finally taking dance lessons...and LOVING it! I've been going for the entire month, and am actually learning pretty quickly. I can now say with confidence that I can dance the Bachata and Merengue. I've completely fallen in love with the music and I'm now even one of those nerds that practices infront of my mirror. But that is only temporary...until I find my Spanish soulmate to dance with. Other than school and dance, I spend most of my time out in the plaza or in the bars (which are more like cafes -- just for clarification). The time here has been going really quickly...and I wish it would slow down! It is hard to believe I have already been here almost a full month. Good news is, I have 8 more to look forward too!

Okay, now onto other things:

October 17: Fiesta en la Calle
Spaniards are notorious for being night owls. The fun doesn't really start until 1 or 2 am, right? I know this, and I've lived this. But despite the fact that I lived in Granada for 4 months in 2006, and have been in Ubrique just shy of a month, I still don't have the Spanish routine down. A few of the auxiliars and I thought we would try to have a true Spanish weekend, but were not entirely successful:

9:30 pm - Ate dinner
11:30 pm - Hit the bars
12:30 am - Wander around to waste some time
1:30 am - Return to bars
3:00 am - Head to Pentagono (a dance club)
3:05 am - Absolutely no one at Pentagono
3:15 am - Return to bars and ask why no one is at the dance club. The answer: "Its too early, wait till 4:00 am". (Riiiiighht...3:30...too early...why didn't I think of that?!?!)
4:30 am - Still at bar...but beyond tired.
5:00 am - Return home, hit the bed.

Maybe next weekend we will take part in the siesta (aka...sleep before we go out in order to survive the night). Nevertheless, it was quite fun looking like idiots as we wandered around town trying to figure out where all the people were. And although we met plenty of unusual characters, I came across some of my students' parents (wonderful people!), and had some enjoyable, lengthy conversations with them...and even got a few free drinks (water and coke, but still, with this exchange rate, each saved euro is fabulous!).

October 11-12: El Campo
Not only do I despise bugs with a passion, but I'm completely terrified of spiders...and not too fond of gargantuan beatles (which seem to be quite common out in the campo [countryside] of Ubrique). Nevertheless, there is nothing I love more than being outside, and I'm not afraid to get dirty. This weekend I spent three wonderful days (holiday on Monday) out in the country at a friend's ranch. The ranch, complete with a flock of sheep, a pregnant pony, and 30+ dogs (8 of which were brand new puppies), definitely allows one to live a little more on the "wild" side. But that is only where the story starts. After kickin it at the ranch for a while, we headed out to canoe/kayak around the nearest lake (which is surprisingly very large). After canoeing for a couple of hours, we returned to the ranch for almuerzo (lunch). After almuerzo, we ventured to a nearby pueblo, Algars, to go to the stables. We each took a horse, and ventured off into the sunset. ...You think I'm being dramatic, but it is entirely true... I've never really ridden a horse before, or really had the urge to do so, but I have completely fallen in love with it. Perla (mi caballo) was delightful: we trotted a little, galloped a lot, and meandered around while enjoying the amazing scenery. After about 2 hours of riding around, we returned to the stables, headed to the ranch to pick up our things, and went back to Ubrique. I couldn't have asked for a better weekened, and I hope this is just a taste of the many weekends to come.






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