My first birthday...asturiano style!!!

Well, I am 3 more days away from Spring break! It should be a blast. Ashley and I have our bus tickets and hostel for San Sebastian. I've had a few adventures in the last few weeks. The first one was a walk in the mountains. I went with a group of students walking through the hills to a old church. It was pretty cool, but the view from there was spectacular. I saw some more of the rural life.

The next adventure was my 20th birthday. I actually had classes on my birthday which was not as bad as I thought. During my first grammar class my teacher taught us how to sing 2 different versions of happy birthday, Spanish style. Then I had a break that we played cards in and then my least favorite 2 classes. After that I had an extra grammar class to make up for one week that we didn't have classes. During her break, my friend went and bought a pint of haagen-dazs chocolate, chocolate chip ice cream and spoons. We went into the hallway to eat it because we aren't supposed to eat in the classroom, and invited a bunch of others to eat with us! So logically there was a huge crowd from my class out in the hallway when the teacher came by. We invited her to have some and she jumped right in and helped us finished it off. Then she proceeded to tell us the best two places in Oviedo to get ice cream! Later that night I went with Leslie and Abigail to the space ship mall to get ice cream or pizza...and when I went up the escalator, almost everyone from UNI was there singing happy birthday! It was a good time and a happy birthday asturiano style :)

I've had quite a few cooking adventures as well. My madre has been teaching me some pretty sweet recipes and Ashley and I have made tortilla espanola and since we found some marshmallow like substance, we attempted to make rice crispy bars. They weren't exactly the same, but a good substitute.

My most recent adventure was with Ashley and her padres here. They invited me to go on a trip to the coast with them. We drove up and along the coast and saw two old light houses and watched a storm come in from the ocean. Then when we got back we had a typical cena asturiano (asturian supper). She served some chorizo, bread, cheese, fried potatoes, and squid. Yes, I ate squid...and it actually wasn't too bad. Then we drank some sidra (the typical alcoholic cider here in Oviedo). For dessert we had strawberries and cream! It was absolutely delicious and a good time getting to know her family!

Now I just have spring break to look forward too!!!

Santiago

Alright, so I know that this is much overdue, but I am still alive! I have been having a good time! The first thing I have to update is with school. I have had my first rounds of tests and they turned out well! Hopefully they will continue to improve though. I have been learning a lot and continuing to gain confidence.

The next new and exciting news is my plans for spring break are set! I am going on a retreat with the other young adults from my church. We are renting a bus and driving back to Malaga where we are meeting many other church groups there at a camp. Then we will be having some awesome worship, Bible Studies, games, and time to get to know each other. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it will all be in Spanish? It will be a really good learning weekend.

Then there is Santiago. Last weekend we went to Santiago de Compestela where thousands of Pilgrims come every year. The cathedral here is famous for housing the remains of St. James (Santiago). This year is also a holy year (every 10 years) so we were able to see the flying incense burner (batafumerio) and the holy door open. It was really awesome, but it could have been better if we didn't go in the middle of a hurricane. We were soaked walking through the streets, but it was worth it.

This weekend was nice and relaxing. We went on a three hour hike to a random little church in the mountains. It was fun and good exercise. When we got there the scenery was beautiful. I still cannot believe all the amazing things that God has created here! I look forward to getting to see a few more places before I leave!