Cádiz, Peñalara, and Toledo

Hi everyone! Hopefully this will be the last post for the summer, and I'll be back in the States soon! I'm looking forward to catching up with you all and enjoying a Michigan summer. The school year has finished, as of Thursday, June 24th. It was a bittersweet goodbye for sure. All my students and colleagues have been so kind and helpful. Even though we only really knew each other for less than a year, I was teary eyed when I had to leave. Having seen them all and interacting with them everyday for eight months, I really grew fond of my people. And the small town of Buitrago del Lozoya. The time I spent in Colegio Peñalta will always be special to me. But, I also recognize that it is time for me to welcome new opportunities! As I've mentioned before, I have renewed my application to stay for another school year! Wooohooo! But, I haven't received a school placement yet, and therefore cannot renew my visa yet, meaning that I can't leave the country at the moment. With that being said, I am currently living with a lovely family as an AuPair/English play partner until I'm able to come home! The kids (ages 5 and 3) are so fun, and are keeping me busy reading, playing, and coloring all day!

Up until this point, I have been traveling a bit and enjoying the scenery, food, sun, and beach!

Buitrago del Lozoya is absolutely stunning and in Madrid is quite a popular spot for people in the city to visit on the weekend. In this small town, you can hike, kayak, and stroll through the streets. My friend Steven, who I had meet hiking, and I went for a day to kayak in the river and for me to show him around!

While living abroad and teaching has been an overall wonderful experience, the hardest part is saying goodbye to friends I have meet along the way! I know that I'll see them again, and that we'll stay in touch, I'll always have a special connection to them and remember the experiences we've shared as foreigners in a new country, both good and bad! This photo was from the last night we were all together... we spent the day in the park drinking beers and then out for the last pizza dinner together!

As a result of covid confinements, the girls and I only just had a girls trip a few weeks ago to the Southern coast of Spain, to Cádiz, in Andalucía. We spent our days on the beach, riding bikes, eating, drinking, and enjoying each others company. Some of my favorite moments from our trip was renting bikes for the day and riding next to the beach, climbing the cathedral tower for views of the city, playing in the waves, watching futbol, soccer, in the Irish pub, catching the sunset, and a tapa dinner on our last night! I'm forever grateful to have met these girls in Madrid!

The next few pictures are from my most recent hike! And I have to say that it was definitely one of my favorites so far! We started from Cotos, an area that was once a beautiful ski resort, but is no longer in use, and hiked up, up, up, through the pine trees, and past several ponds. The air was fresh and cool, and the views left me speechless!

Lastly, here are some pictures from a day trip I took to Toledo. By bus, it was less than an hour from Madrid. Toledo is an incredibly historic place to visit, with beautiful architecture all around. However, apparently Monday is not a good day to visit. Not sure if it was due to covid, or simply because it was Monday, but many of the sites were closed. I was still able to make the most of my time there, but will absolutely return in the future to see the things I missed!

I hope to be seeing you all soon, and to share more stories in person! Thanks for reading!