Spain July/August 2011 Part 1

Ok, so in my last post I said that I wasn't going to go into too many details of my trip to Spain since I had already written an armload in my private journal. Well, I couldn't help myself...the least I could do is post some pictures and give a lil' bit of a recount, right? Oh, was it ever amazing. Oh, was it ever epic. And the best part is, I knew this would be so months before I even set foot on Spanish soil...My plane. Iberia turned out to be okay, and the best part was not having

anybody sitting next to me on my flight there...I was able to lay down and put my legs up! This had NEVER happened before. What luck!

You know you are on your way to Spain when they offer you Fanta Limon. Oh, joy!

I was so excited that I had to take a picture of my airline food. It's nice to be able to enjoy the small things in life.

Sevilla! I've been to this place so many times, I've lost count. However, I could happily live here forever...I love the heat, the dialect, the people, and of course the pretty buildings...

Downtown Sevilla. What's not to like?

Me (left) and my good friend Donna. It was so nice to see her again!

Horse carriages always abound right in front of the majestic cathedral.

Happy and tanned.

A nice garden, with my friend Angel seen here.

A view of the cathedral from afar.

A nice little restaurant.

Another nice little restaurant.

P.S. scroll down for Part 2 (and if you fancy seeing more pics of Sevilla, go back to my archives of 2006)

Spain July/August 2011 part 2

I love the Spanish flag. Surprised? Didn't think so...

I love how they display their fresh foods..so real, uninhibited, you know?

Ah, Sevilla. The Plaza de Espana. I never tire of this place, no matter

how many times I have been. If given the chance, I could live here.

Beautiful.

Me posing on the steps.

Salamanca, at the main plaza. It was pretty grey that day, and surprisingly a bit chilly.

I loved the look of this coffee cup. Cafe con leche, mmmmm...

A view of the university tower.

On our way to the Islas Cies, some beautiful islands off the coast of Galicia. They say

this area has some of the best beaches in all of Spain.

On our first day there, it was so sunny and beautiful.

I loved the beaches! The sand was the whitest and softest I had ever felt on my toes. I was very happy, as you can tell :)

Looking out off of steep cliffs...

The next day, it rained and was very misty. I somehow enjoyed the fog, however. I had the

impression that I was in Ireland all of a sudden.

That's me in the distance, ecstatic with the wind, mist and fog.

A cave.

Going to downtown Santiago de Compostela.

It was rainy and a bit chilly. There were sooo many wonderful and delicious

bars in this town! This is the site of the famous St. James Cathedral, the final stop for

the pilgrims...truly a site to see.

One of my favourite pictures. Here is the Cathedral from afar...

Got tired, blistered feet? Put them in this water and the little fishies will eat all your

dead skin away...amazing. Perfect for all those pilgrims. I had never seen such a thing.

(Sigh) A beautiful bar's terrace.

Wide chimneys.

In Lugo, where ancient Roman walls still stand, enveloping the city centre. Incredible.

That such a thing is still standing is mind-boggling.

A cathedral in Vigo.

Gijon's main beach...it wasn't sunny at all, yet the beach was fairly busy!

In Tazones, a very small pueblo in the North...mainly busy because of restaurants and a

nice little beach.

A view of some mountains on our way back to the South...the temperature difference was enormous (10 degree difference from the top to the bottom).

...thoughts on the eve of a new school year...

School/work restarts in 2 days. Thank goodness, because when you have this much time to think, you only have so many thoughts before you end up going in circles and asking yourself the same questions over and over again. "What the heck is going to happen to me in 2012?" "Will I make my European dream a reality, and if so, will it be a good experience or will I wind up getting a nice slap of reality in the face?" "Do I have a chance of teaching internationally?"

And so on, and so on. Honestly, in a strange way, I am welcoming the stress of a new school year if it means that my mind will be focusing on completely other things, rather than my pathetic, endless stream of where-am-I-going questions.

Let me worry about meeting IEP demands, lazy students, and all those beautiful other things associated with school. My mind's gonna be so busy in the next few weeks and months...and maybe that's a good thing! Let's hope it will be a good year overall.

There are many students that I look forward to seeing again too, thank goodness :)

Well, whatever is going to happen this year, one thing is certain, it will be b-u-s-y. I'll be concentrating on my work at my school, and also focusing on sending off CVs internationally and possibly attending a teaching fair in Cambridge Massachusetts. Yup, busy is the word. But, that's okay.

I had such a good summer. Probably one of the best of my life. Vegas and Spain were amazing. I really relaxed a lot and took it all in...I enjoyed every single moment of everything. I wrote a lot in my journal as well. I read 4 books, took walks, met up with friends, and listened to a lot of music. I guess you could say it was the summer of ME.

It's already slowly starting to get cooler. Yesterday was a very hot and humid day, but today it feels more like fall is trying to push its head in.

I could write endlessly about what I did in Vegas and in Spain...but I already wrote that information in my private journal. There are some things that should be kept private, no? Let's just say that Spain will always be my "happy place" and that I will keep going back (if I don't end up living there again) until I die. The only souvenir I bought for myself while there was a little heart-shaped keychain with the simple word: "Espana" written on it. That's all that I needed, really. It says it all, in my opinion.

I consider myself very fortunate to have such a good teaching job here in Canada. I truly love what I do. However, I feel that I can use my languages to a better and fuller extent in Europe...I just feel like I have so much to offer over there. Sometimes I feel bad for wanting to leave a great country such as Canada, but I just feel like there's something else out there for me. Am I wrong? Am I right? I just need an opportunity, an open door, to see if teaching languages at an international school would be worth it. Thank goodness that my job can give me a 2 year leave of absence...well, here's hoping I get an opportunity to use this.

I know there will be challenges. Oh boy, will there ever be. I love complicating my life.

But, those risks...those challenges, make us feel so alive. And in the end, isn't it all worth it?

H.