La Feria en Jaen

Yesterday we experienced the fair in Jaen!  This is a big event here in our area and people look forward to the fair each year.  We were told by several friends we had to go, so yesterday David and I met several of our friends in Jaen to enjoy the 9 day fair before it ended.  The streets around the fair were decorated with beautiful lights. Walking into the fair there were tons of shops with items such as scarves, purses, jewelry, shoes, and candy for sale.  Once inside, they have the typical rides and food stands.  The rides were similar to ones in the states, but seemed less safe.  For example, one ride was a big boat that swung back and forth pretty fast and high and the people riding were packed into a cage with no seat belts or any protection.  Just had to hold onto the bars around them.

                                             Kids would get up and stand in the middle of this ride as it was going

                                                  The cool lights! People were everywhere!

We ate some really good fair food .  We had a patate asada, which is a potato with cheese, corn, radish, ham, tuna, olives, and some other sauces.  We also had to sample the sweets!  A waffle with melted chocolate and whip cream!!!  Delicious!

                                                  Enjoying the fair

A couple of differences that we noticed were that the fair stays open all night. Rides, food stands, and shops stay open into the wee hours of the morning.  The fair also has huge tents dedicated to dancing.  These tents were so loud and were right next to each other so you would be hearing many different songs playing at once all full blast. It was difficult to talk!  Another thing is that people are able to bring in their own food and drinks to the fair.  This is great, but people would just leave things on the ground when they were done so there were piles of trash everywhere!

                                                           One of many piles of trash left on the ground

We had a great time. Really enjoyed seeing some of the other auxiliaries from the states, from Germany, and from Ireland!

Malaga

Last weekend, we took a trip to Malaga, Spain. Malaga is on the southern coast of Spain! We spent one night in Torremolinos, which is a few kilometers south of Malaga. David and I enjoyed a day on the beach where we laid out and relaxed. The beach was absolutely beautiful and we had perfect weather to enjoy being outside.

                                                          On the Beach in Malaga

The next morning we headed into Malaga to see some of the popular sites.  This was an adventure in itself as David and I have recently bought a car from a friend and were driving through Spain with his copied version of the internet map that failed to include any directions as far as where to go in Malaga.  So we spent the first part driving through town until we found a great part of Malaga to site see.  We came across a 5k that had just ended. There were tons of people with bib numbers on roaming the streets!  If only we had know they were having a run that morning!  We first visited the Malaga Cathedral which was absolutely beautiful. We were able to go inside where they were having a service and see the beautiful architecture.  Next we headed to Picasso’s Museum. Picasso is originally from Malaga and the museum contains a large collection of his work.  It was very interesting to read and learn more about him and his work!  Our last stop was Alcazaba, built mostly in the 11^th century.  It was one of the most important military fortifications remaining from the Hispanic-Arabic period.  It was HUGE and we were able to get great views of the city from the top!

                                                          Malaga Cathedral

 Malaga

I am so glad we got to visit Malaga while it is still warm outside! Hopefully we will get to return and see more of this city before the end of the year! More photos added to the slide show above.

Martos

                                                                     Map of Martos

Our first full week in Martos is quickly coming to an end and what an adventure it has been! David and I arrived on Saturday, October 1^st into our town of 24,000 people. We were picked up at the bus station in Jaen (the larger city about 20 minutes away) by Conchilla Bonilla, an English teacher at a primary school here in Martos. Her daughter and she took us on a tour of the town before dropping us off at an apartment that she rents out. We love our little town! Martos is great. It is safe and very family-oriented and the apartment we are staying in is above the main street with plenty of cool pubs and restaurants to eat at. We love being able to walk from place to place with no need of a car in the town. Interestingly though, most people here own a car. Our first day here there was a Tapas Festival going on right across the street from our apartment and so David and I decided to go try it out. I was a little intimidated as we walked into the festival with a ton of Spanish people and no idea of what to do! We figured out that we had to buy tickets in order to get tapas and drinks! We had a lot of fun trying to guess what each tapa was and settled on paella. It was delicious!

                                                                The Tapas Festival

The next day we decided it was time for a run/walk and we headed to La Pena, a mountain here in Martos. If you didn’t know Martos is surrounded by this mountain. In the older part of town, many apartments were built right by the mountain and therefore getting around in the older part of town requires walking up steep and tiny streets! We climbed up La Pena and found a cross and the ruins of an old castle. I was terrified climbing up the mountain as we did not follow a trail of any kind but made our own! Thankfully we arrived to the top safely!

                                                Picture of La Pena taken from our balcony!

Currently, we are living in an apartment with 2 other teachers from Spain. Both are male and speak English very well which has been helpful to us. They are super nice and have helped us figure out how things work in Spain. We are debating on whether we are going to look for an apartment of our own or stay with them. We will see what happens in the upcoming month as we get more settled and familiar with our area!

 We started work at our schools on Monday. David is working at San Felipe, a high school here and I am at 2 of their primary schools. I visited both of my schools on Monday! The kids are adorable but I am having some difficulty with the lack of Spanish skills! A few teachers can speak English, but most cannot and so it is quite humorous when they put me with a teacher who speaks no English! They are still working out our schedules but it looks like we will be working from Tuesday-Friday. Their school system here is so different from the American school system. The students are at school Monday-Friday from 8:30-2:00. They bring a snack and have a break at 11:30, but do not eat lunch at school. Lunch here is typically served from 2-4. On Mondays, teachers work until 2 pm with the students and then go on lunch and have to return to the school from 4-7 pm for teacher prep time. The rest of the week the teachers are free to leave at 2pm with the students and I watch many walk out of the school with the student’s right when the bell rings. So crazy! The teachers are also able to wear jeans to work just not shorts. I like that rule! As far as I have noticed most students are very respectful of the teachers.

We have LOTs to learn here and I am both nervous and excited about the adventures ahead! Please keep us and our family in your prayers during this time! Feel free to view the slide show for more photos! More updates coming soon!

Iceland

The first stop on our journey to Spain was Iceland where we spent 2 nights. It is a beautiful country. The weather was cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the land! On our first day, David and I visited the Blue Lagoon. This is a natural hot spring! Guests are able to enjoy time soaking in the hot spring, to visit the sauna or steam room, or to schedule a massage if desired. They also provide guests with a lovely face mask that felt amazing. This place was a great first stop for us because it is about 18 minutes from the airport and they provided us with free luggage storage. They also provided each guest with an arm band to use to get access into their lockers free of charge. The arm band was also used as money so you didn’t have to carry anything around. We spent the morning relaxing there and then headed into Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, about 40 minutes away. Once there, we walked around downtown where there were many cute shops, eating places, and even some graffiti art which we learned is allowed in Iceland.

                                               At the Iceland airport

                                               The Blue Lagoon

On day 2 of our stay, we rented a car to take around the island to see some of their famous sights. There are lots of tour buses that offer to take travelers to these destinations but I have to say that going around on our own was wonderful! We had the flexibility to stop when we wanted and to take the time to look around each place at our own pace. We first visited the National Park, which is located where the first governing body of Iceland met. It had a great view of the lake and some great videos full of information on Reykjavik. We then headed to the Geysir (Geyser).  It was really cool watching water spray up from the ground. We learned that there are several geyser’s located in the US as well. Lastly, we visited Gullfoss Waterfall. It was magnificent!!! It is so cool getting to see nature’s beauty in different places. I don’t know if the pictures do justice to what we saw.  Along the road in our travels we also stopped in several smaller towns and stopped on the side of the road to see some horses that were friendly and let us pet them. I think they were looking for food. We ended our trip in a small town eating some lobster soup and grilled lobster that was recommended to us by an American who lives there. It was delicious!

                                                                 The Geyser

                                                                  Gullfoss Waterfall

Iceland is a great place to visit and we would recommend going if you ever get the chance. It was clean and everyone was friendly. I felt safe and there are plenty of activities to keep you busy. The only thing we did not get to see that we were wanting to is the Northern Lights. Maybe next time.

 Fun facts:

·         The most popular spot to eat in Iceland is a hot dog stand. It is the stand where Bill Clinton ate on a visit to Iceland. He had a heart attack the next day.

·          The prime ministers phone number is in the phone book.

·         A delicacy there is cured shark meat.

·         Christianity and paganism were competing to be the national religion 1100 years ago and Christianity was chosen.

·         Iceland was settled by Nordic people during the 9^th century. Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings, although there have been changes in pronunciation and vocabulary.

·         The total population of Iceland is around 300,000 people and around half live in Reykjavik and neighboring towns in the southwest.

·         Icelanders do not have a family name. So children have a given name. Because they don’t have a family name phone numbers are listed in the phone book alphabetically by first name.