Highly anticipated blog update

Sorry about the absence of posts. I have been sick this week and have had lots of school work. I had my first quiz, a presentation on 'The Night Face Up' (a great short story), my práctica, an art history paper and my intercambio AND I was trying to get rid of a nasty little cold. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and I have knocked the cold away by sleeping a lot and eating 4-5 oranges a day. Ok where did I leave off last time...

Last weekend my amigas and I went to go get some famous Spanish hot chocolate! The definition for hot chocolate here is pretty much melted chocolate in a cup. Very yummy with some fresh churros which are just long donut sticks. That was amazing.We went to Valencia's best chocolate store called Valor. We all got a sample of the 5 most popular drinks- white chocolate, cold hot chocolate, Spanish hot chocolate and a dark hot chocolate.

You had to eat them with a spoon....or your churros....

Ok, so after the crazy sugar high we were on, we decided to go to the beach. My first time seeing the Mediterranean Sea! It is gorgeous. The beach is really big but I have a feeling that it is going to look really small when all of Valencia is there when it gets warmer. It was so nice to smell the ocean breeze and to see all the sail boats in the water.  We brought our bocadillos with us and had a nice little picnic on the beach and then walked on the pier that lies between the beach and the marina and port. 

Next, my intercambio. So I was a little nervous about meeting my intercambio. You never know what you are going to get...and I really had no idea what was in store for me....let's just say that it didn't work out. It was the longest hour of my life. I believe that his intentions were a bit different from mine, to say the least. He didn't go to school or have a job...he quit computer science because there weren't enough girls in the program so now he is pursuing acting. I told him that my Dad had gone to Google before and his eyes lit up and he asked me to go get another beer with him that night....eh, no thanks. He then continued to ask about how much I was enjoying drinking in Spain and telling me about all the bars and clubs to go to with him. He was very persistent so I had to think on my feet, literally. I kind of just stood up and told him that I needed to get back to school for a class. He walked over to try and give me besos (the kisses on the cheeks) but I really didn't want him that close to my face so I ran across the street, just barely getting hit by a car and walked around the corner.....intercambio was unsuccessful. Luckily, I can change. P.S. he wouldn't let me speak Spanish to him because he wanted to practice his English so he could go to America and meet ladies....en serio?

My práctica went great! I am teaching at a very rich, private Catholic school. I go there 2/3 times a week and take small groups of 3 people out of class at a time and help them with their English. It is really fun and interesting. All the girls ask me about the guys in America and Los Angeles and all the boys talk about soccer. Typical 15 year olds I guess. 

I had an experience with a new fruit this week! My madre walked into my room with a plate, a spoon and what looked like a tomato. I looked at her funny and she told me it was a kaki, a fruit! You turn it upside down, cut it down the middle and scoop out the insides. Let me tell you, this was the best thing I have ever tasted. It looked like the inside of a pumpkin with all the fibers but the flesh was almost like applesauce. So amazing! She said it was a native fruit of Valencia but it was only grown during a small period of time. Here it is.

What else....I went to a concert last night! It was the Valencia Orchestra at the Palau de Música. They played  Weber, Tchaikovsky and Hector Berlioz, some of my favorite composers. The guest violinist blew me away, Arabella Steinbacher. The conductor was John Nelson who was phenomenal as well. The lady at the ticket booth gave me an amazing seat, right in the middle of the first balcony. 20 euros well spent....Before the concert, we had a cooking class where we learned how to make some paella Valenciano and arroz mariscos negro. Paella Valenciano has chicken and rabbit in it and the Arroz Mariscos Negro is a black rice dish with little squids. The dish is turns black because you add squid ink which looks weird but doesn't have a taste to it. Both were mouth watering. We also made sangria and horchata flan! Horchata is a typical Valencian drink made from a tiger nut. It has a good, refreshing, sweet flavor to it. I took notes and they gave us recipes so I will make a Spain meal for everyone! Sans bunny....

Well I think that is about it here. We are going to go get some Valencia jerseys today because there is a big game on Tuesday that we are going to, The Champions League. One of the professors at the school was a fútbol player for Valencia but quit because his true passion is medieval Spanish history. He got discounted tickets for the students in our program and after the game, we get to go on the field and meet the players! Our madre is so jealous of us. It was be great! 

OH! Last thing, I swear. I was doing homework the other day and heard an awful noise outside my window. A horrific squealing. I looked out my window and a guy was walking his pet pig on a leash. Apparently people have pigs as pets here? I snapped a stalker shot.

¡Hasta Luego!