The Bug.

After my whirlwind Easter trip with my mom and a weekend to Denia, I had no ganas to do anything. I became a hermit; I didn´t go much farther than school and my house. But it was nice, actually. Sometimes doing nothing is necessary. I was able to do a few really unique things in Valladolid, thanks to great people who've taken a liking to me! ;) 

Maribal y yo in Fuensaldana, a pueblo near Valladolid.

Day trip to Leon was a success!

Cortos and free tapas in Leon.

Valladolid basketball game with fellow teacher, Antonio.

The people were really into the game... cheering, shouting at the refs... joder! venga! tio!

Kentucky Derby Party with fellow English teachers. I made my hat especially for the occasion: with toy horses.
Carolina, Nawell, Me, Will (the Kentuckian), Lauren, Katie, Natasha, Jen

However, this ¨doing nothing-ness¨ didn´t last for long. I was bitten by ¨the bug¨ again... Instead of running off to a foreign country, I decided to go back to some places that I knew I already loved... in Extremadura.

Weekend Uno
My first weekend, of three weeks segiudas, was spent with friends from last year in Navalmoral de la Mata, one of the places that makes me feel at home, when I´m so far away from home. We did nothing special, but it was all wonderful. We made it a fine weekend complete with a bbq on Diana's terrace (Americano style). I was able to visit friends and families from last year and really feel at home once again! I´ve recently learned I´ll be going back to Extremadura the following year, starting this September. I´ll actually be living in Navalmoral again, working at CEIP Almanzor (primary school) and a secondary school, IES San Marin, in Talayuela, a pueblo near Navalmoral. I'm excited about going "home" and hope that my last year in Spain can be just as good as the first...second...third...time! 

Admiring our bracelet collections.

Drinks at El Abuelo after dinner at La Taberna del Loco.

BBQ on the terrace! Really great night!

Jose Miguel decided to get Rachel wet... so she and Eric teamed up for payback. HAHA

Rachel and I decided to make a bucket list of things (ok, places) we wanted to do over the weekend. Our list included:

1. Sunbathing. (check!)
2. Playing beerpong in the park (didn´t have time!)
3. Kebabs at Quetapa. (after two attempts, check!)
4. Drinks-tapas-people watching at Zaragata. (check! check!)
5. Gargantas. (check!)
6. La Suite. (we went outside...check?)
7. Temple. (it's getting a facelift. no check!)
8. Casa Candy (didn´t make it here either!)
9. Canterville for dancing. (check!)
10. Los Claveles for dinner. (yummmm...check!)

This is us in Boulevard. It was only 4am... the night was still young. We got in at 8am (after churros!)

Garganta de Cuartos (Losar de la Vera) for some sunbathing!

While my friends (Diana, Eric, and Rachel) jumped off rocks, I sunbathed.

A visit to Madrigal de la Vera to visit the Devil's Waterfall. What a cool view!

Villanueva de la Vera for an afternoon drink.

A street full of plants. Can you find Diana in the jungle? haha

I didn't just stay in Navalmoral/go garganta-ing, I also made the trip back to Jarandilla to visit former students and teachers. I got chills just walking through the streets again, making the trek from the high school to the primary school like I did two days a week last year. The surprise was very exciting, hearing all the little whispers in the hallway "whittneyyy!" and also the not-so-quaint-whispers that were screaming my name from the window as I approached the building! Really, it was a great visit. After school, I went with Divina, Toni and Emilliano for lunch in the plaza and then for drinks in the Parador. It was a great afternoon, where the company outweighted the extremely-nearly-unbareable-weather!

Overlooking the Sierra de Gredos, Jarandilla de la Vera

Drinks on the patiro: Parador, Jarandilla de la Vera

Weekend Dos 
Last year I wasn´t able to go to the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festival in Cáceres due to a Comenius trip to Poland. No, I´m not complaining; I was more than excited to spend ten days in Poland... but I wasn't in Poland this year. 

I headed south on Friday morning, making it to Cáceres around 1pm. Kristen picked me up, it was so nice having someone meet me at the station - it's been awhile since that's happened; usually I'm the one meeting someone who has come for a visit, or, I'm traveling to an unknown place and no one is waiting to greet me! Anyway, we did some shopping and finally got some lunch, before taking siestas. We have turned Spanish. 

WOMAD was exactly what I thought it would be, a huge botellon (Spanish version of a tailgate party!) in the Plaza Mayor with bands playing there and also in Cáceres' old city. There were massive amounts of people everywhere! I actually saw quite a few students from last year hanging about, old study abroad friends, old teaching friends, old friends' of friends... Because it was festival-like, there were lots of "mid-evil" street vendors selling cous-cous and crepes... I may or may not have visited the crepes stand twice. Hey, they were good! 

Katie came to town on Saturday, and after stocking up for the night's festivities, we again took siestas and then headed out for round two - which ended late in the morning after dancing in Bahia, one of the discos. We had such a nice day together!

Plant covered buildings in the UNESCO Old City part of Caceres!

We were there, officially. ;)

Awesome bar for canas in the afternoon!

Plaza Mayor filling up...

Concert time!

With Kristen and Jade on Friday night!

WOMAD 2012

Botellon Aftermath: two words: TRASH CAN.
Oh wait, you speak British English? PUT YOUR RUBBISH IN THE BIN.

So, that's how my weekend adventures came to an end. I'm in Valladolid for a few weeks - until the end of my time here - and truly embracing it. It's taken awhile for Valladolid and I to become friends, and dare I say I'm gonna miss this place.... but I think I will. The goodbyes have began, and they aren't going to get any easier. All good things must come to an end, right?