So I am sorry that I haven't written in the last few days, but there really hasn't been a lot to write. I've had a really chill and uneventful weekend, which can be kind of nice.
So Thursday I went to class and we learned about Lazarillo de Tormes and the social structure of Spain in the Golden Age and how this book critiqued the way things were. We also started to talk about Don Quijote and the kind of literature that made Don Quijote possible. Because we were having class at a weird time we also got out 15 minutes early, which was nice. We had a leisurely walk back to the dorm and I ate and took a nap. Around 3:30 we went to the Botanical Gardens.
This was a really cool experience since they look pretty much like a building from the outside, and then you go in and find all these plants. There were also a bunch of cats running around, which was fun. My favorite part was probably this section of cacti and other similar plants. It felt like going back in time to all these kind of primitive-looking plants that were bigger than I am. It was crazy. I sat there in the sun for a while after I looked around (it was a pretty small botanical garden) and read Lord of the Rings. It was really nice and really chill. I then came home and read some more and relaxed and ate dinner, and then went to bed. Most people on the trip left Thursday for a trip to either London or Amsterdam, so it was really quiet, which was nice.
Friday I woke up just before breakfast ended and ate something before going out to read some more in the rio. This was unquestionably the most eventful part of my weekend. There was a protest of some kind going on in some of the streets and the plazas that I take to get to the rio, so I had an.... opportunity to find some new ways to get places to avoid the protesters. The protest didn't seem to be getting violent, and I think that it involved a lot of disabled people, but there was a lot of noise and a high concentration of police around, so it was a bit nerve-wracking. I sat in the park and read for a while, watched people play with dogs, saw a bit of what it looked like up river, and then I headed back to the dorm. I relaxed for a little and ate lunch. Around 3:30 I went to go do that day's activity, which was a salsa lesson.
When I got there, however, I learned that everybody but me was somewhere else. Elena and Alexz and I all went up to the roof anyway and they taught me the dance, which was really fun. It actually looked really cool since the sun was behind us, and you could see our shadows dancing. Very striking image. And then we sort of just wound up telling stories and discussing movies and chilling. Then I went back to my room and chilled some more. Did some reading, some writing, talked to people. Dinner, shower, bed.
I woke up Saturday and started to do some research into places I want to travel in the next month and a half. I think I'm going to go back to Segovia for a day trip, Ronda for a weekend, and then do a ski weekend, all of which I'm pretty excited about! I then had lunch and went and read on the roof for a while. I hung out some more and then in the evening I went to a pastry/coffee shop thing and wrote, which was lovely. The food and tea was delicious, and the whole place smelled like fresh bread, which was just wonderful. I got back and went to dinner with some people and then I chilled for a while longer and we went out for tapas around 11.
It was a really nice night out, and we sat outside and actually most of us had tea, and I got some bread and cold cuts, and we just sat and talked. It was really nice. A very Spanish sort of evening.
Then I came home and watched Enchanted, which is a thoroughly underrated movie, and had a long conversation with my friend Sage about cynicism.
This morning I was planning on sleeping way in, but something was happening in Valencia today. We aren't actually sure what it is, but it involved the bells at the church across the street ringing. A lot. Normally they ring at random times for 15-30 seconds and it makes you feel good and then you proceed with your life. It also doesn't wake you up. This morning, however, they were ringing for a good 2-5 minutes straight every 15-20 minutes, making it pretty impossible for me to sleep. It was ridiculous. I felt like my city was under siege and I was being called to arms.
But I got up and read for a while before heading down to go to Mexican for our sunday adventure in food. We passed some people playing music and dancing in old-fashioned outfits. The whole downtown area was absolutely packed. It was crazy. But we went to this Mexican restaurant, which was pretty good. I didn't realize how much I missed Mexican. Now I just need Indian food. But it was a nice lunch and then we got ice cream and had a nice walk back to the dorm.
It was a lovely day, so we went up to the roof to read and write postcards and we chatted a bit, but then it got cloudy and a little cool, so I came back inside and read some more and talked to people. After that I had dinner and showered and now I'm headed to bed. I have class later tomorrow than normal for a Monday, but I still need my sleep since the bells woke me up this morning.
So it's been a pretty normal, beautiful, relaxing weekend here in Valencia. Next weekend, though we are going to Xativa, so there might be a bit more adventure!
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