A few days after my arrival in Valencia, we were invited to Jesús and Maite’s house in La Vall d’Almonacid, a tiny village in the mountains an hour north of Valencia. Like many of the village’s residents, Jesús has had family living in the village for generations. It is packed in early August for their summer festivities, but we just missed it, arriving a couple days before the bulls and most of the people got there.
 |
| a man at work |
In the past few months, I have developed a crippling postcard addiction which I am going to blame entirely on my amazing mother, without providing any evidence or explanation. Anyway, I enjoy trying to find the cheapest postcards in a city and then sending them across the ocean. To do that, I put them in the lion’s mouth at the post office over the word EXTRANJERO. There was a little kid watching me put them in and I asked him if he’d like to feed the lion, so if any of you received a postcard, it may have been mailed by a young Spanish boy.
 |
| there was an old lion who swallowed a postcard |
The process of getting a visa has been very stressful. In a couple of days, it should be entirely resolved as I’m getting my Spanish residency card on Wednesday, but for the past few months, a lot of worrying has been done. At the beginning of August, we went to Madrid for a meeting with some Spanish government people. After our meeting, we were able to indulge in America’s favorite pastime and went and saw a musical.
 |
| something more relaxing and less taxing on the brain |
Our return to Valencia was unpleasant. Madrid is excruciatingly hot in August and we had the pleasure of spending an extra two hours in the train station because of massive delays. A train got stuck on the track between Madrid and Valencia resulting in a ton of delays. The worst was that people kept flooding in, but no one was leaving. We were packed in like sardines.
 |
| in a crowd of thousands |
Our new apartment in Valencia was just a few blocks from the Mediterranean, which we made good use of. Valencia has a beach made of fine sand that stretches many miles down the coast. It was great. Also great? The fridge we had in the apartment. Aside from the fact that the freezer door on the inside had lots of trouble shutting, this orange fridge made our apartment glow. It was definitely out of place with the rest of the apartment’s decor, but boy, we knew we were home when we saw that fridge.
 |
| orange |
My dad is an incredibly early riser. During the month I spent with them, he tried his best to make me one too. While I did often make it to the beach for sunrise, I also often took naps on the beach from like 8am to 10am.
 |
| at sunrise |
My mother’s sleep schedule is more similar to mine, but that’s not what this paragraph is about. It’s about how my mother took lots of pictures of lots of things. Speaking of, if I said that I would get you the photos that my mom took of us and I still haven’t done that, please reach out to me. I’m sure my mom has them and I can try again to get them. Anyway, look at my happy mother taking a photo of the beach!
 |
| a picture of a picture |
One of my favorite things to do in Valencia was play tennis with our coach, Dani. Dani is an amazing tennis coach and an amazing human being. If you are in Valencia and want to play tennis, you should take lessons with Dani! I hadn’t taken lessons for a while and I was really excited to be learning some new skills to add to my game.
 |
| before tennis practice |
After tennis, my dad and I would often stop at the Moroccan place on the corner of our street to pick up some hummus and chocolate croissants. This picture was taken on my last day in Valencia, right after tennis. It was really hot that day. And really humid.
 |
| after tennis practice |
Another addiction that I’ve developed in Europe is whistling. The problem with this addiction is that I’m really bad at whistling. I have improved dramatically though and can almost successfully whistle simple tunes like “Happy Birthday.”
 |
| anyone can whistle |
My mom got this sick hat for the beach. Worried about getting sunburnt on the back of my neck, I stole her hat for a few minutes. I think it was pretty good look.
 |
| bearded hat thief |
From mid-July to mid-August, I did not shave. At first this was because I was being lazy. Later, I was still being lazy, but I also figured that I might as well give my facial hair a chance to grow out and see what it looked like. It was certainly an experience.
 |
| boy without a pearl earring |
I did have a good time shaving my facial hair and tried various cuts over the course of a week. Facial hair is funny. Personally, my favorite look that I could never pull off belongs to the one and only Ambrose Burnside, Civil War general named after a bridge in Antietam, Maryland.
 |
flynn rider who? |
I spent the last few days before my departure to Paris back at La Vall with my Spanish host family. There were a lot more young people there which was cool. I hung out by the pool and went out to dinner with my host brother and his friends. It was a calm few days full of socializing.
 |
| hanging with the spanish fam |
I love dogs. This is Hooke. He’s a good dog. Isn’t he cute?
 |
| a dog’s life |
I spent one last night with my parents in Valencia before packing my bags and hitting the road. I definitely broke airline regulations with how much luggage I brought on board, but they did not check the weight or size of my bags so I made it to France without any issues.
 |
| onward and upward |
Like most of my friends back on the other side of the pond, I had a sort of move-in experience, leaving my parents and getting ready for a year of independent growth. It is strange to be alone in a country. The truth is, I’m not really alone. I have a fantastic host family here and am in contact with people from home almost every day through a nifty little device I carry around in my pocket. Life is good.
