I know, finally...

First, new address. If you've already sent me something to the old address, do not despair, it should still make it to me. But if you intend to send me something from this point forward please use the following address, written as closely to what I have here as possible:

Emily Ruth Kuhl
C/ Turroneros, N° 5 - 1°B
06420 Castuera (Badajoz)
España

I have heard, however, that you may need to write "Spain" instead of "España" because the US postal service is a little slow on the pick-up. :)

Next, photos to go along with this post:

Mom

Today I write again on paper. A houseguest has come to stay for a month and must use my computer to complete coursework. I feel so ancient with a pen and paper. :)

I have not forgotten my blog, you see, merely I have been busy and unable to have long enough to sit down and write. Genereally the only tie I have to myself on the computer I use to take care of business; blogging is low on the priority list. Since last writing I have done much that is worth telling. Chronologically first, I went to Granada. It’s a city in the south in the province of Andalucía. The city is half designed by Spaniards and half designed by Muslims, creating a gorgeous Arab-flamenco style to the architecture (no, that is not an official textbook way to describe the architecture, I just invented it). Beautiful.

I went to meet my delightful friend, Jes. We waited too long to make hostel arrangements and found it was way too expensive to stay all the nights of the 5-day weekend, so we just booked 2 nights. My journey was a three-part one, but I screwed it up halfway through… I stayed on a train too long and ended up in Seville rather than in Córdoba, which meant I had to pay for and catch a train back to Córdoba, where I stayed the night in the bus/train station because I had missed the last train or bus to Puertollano, and wouldn’t make a connection there to Granada. Arg. Luckily I didn’t get caught coming off of the train in Seville, otherwise I would’ve either been arrested for traveling for more than my ticket was worth or at least had to pay the difference in ticket prices. I would’ve had to pay in order to make a mistake. Ugly.

So I was frustrated. Spending the night in the bus/train station was not pretty either. There were several of us, but I was definitely the only woman. And not everyone seemed sober. So we got kicked out of the bus station at 1am. It was beginning to drizzle. Some of the young men out in the rain with me were asking me where I was going to stay the night. I would answer simply that I didn’t know and walk away because the conversation was definitely over there. Not a good situation. And then it got worse… it started pouring. I had walked across the street to the train station to see if they were open but they were not.

Sooo… I was under a pavilion with parked cars hidden as well as I could hide behind the bushes watching the rain come down so heavily that the bus station was beginning to disappear. The water was running past my just barely dry feet in rivers. I moved closer to the building in front of the glass doors so that if one of the “happy” young men decided to try something, the security guard would be just on the other side of the doors. But then the security guard came around the corner (handsome guy too) and asked if I wanted to come inside the station because it was safer than being out in the rain with all the men. It was like the first life ring that anyone had thrown me since coming to Spain. Not quite, but certainly the first stranger who’d offered help without knowing me. He took me just inside the door to a staircase that was kind of dark and told me to sit and stay. And I didn’t move for like 4 or 5 hours. I wanted him to know how thankful I was that he had helped me out by showing I could follow his directions. I was faithful.

And I survived thanks to the stolen Delta pillow and fleece blanket. Happy I stole them. That and the end of a ted in of bread and some liver spread I had brought with me. Saved my life, though my breath didn’t smell great.

I was, needless to say, tired and frustrated when I made it to Granada early-ish in the morning on Tuesday. I had booked my room for the 2 nights, meaning I had to pay the full 2 nights even though one of those nights I spent in Córdoba, freezing my ass sitting upright on concrete for hours. But I got to see Jes and meet her friend, the lovely Scottish Rachel. We walked around, shopped, ate, had a beer, and I got caught up on my emails at the hostel. Successful trip, though frustratingly expensive and just generally frustrating travel.

On the way home, the train from Puertollano to Córdoba was full all except for first class, which meant that I had to spend double on one of the legs of my journey just to get home for the 2 hours of work that I had to do that week. Pretty lame, but I like to show up when possible. I didn’t want to miss it since I was part-way home already and I would have had to get a hostel or something for the night anyway, so I did it, though I ground my teeth at the price. Other than that part, though, it was delightful. If I have to do it, I sure like first class. Someday, I’ll be on first class on an airplane. Someday.

The next day (Thursday), I raced to move out of my old apartment, into my new apartment, go to classes, and catch the train to Madrid… all before 2:30pm! I made it, but barely. I was definitely running to the train station.

I spent Thursday night in the Madrid airport on a cold marble floor. Yeah, I know, bad week for sleep. I didn’t take my Delta pillow and blanket this time, unfortunately, so I was rather chilly. It was a long night.

I welcomed my mom to Spain the next morning and we set out to find a place to stay. We ended up in a little mom-and-pop hotel really near the center. Mom and I learned the metro, explored the city, rented a car, and were regular badasses.

Then we headed to Castuera! I was ever so grateful for all the help my mom gave me in setting up my apartment. Monetarily she was a huge help, but even more than that, she helped teach me what setting up a household involves.

While she was here, we took day trips to Portugal and a bird park. Elvas, the city we visited in Portugal, was phenomenal! It was like 900 years old and the whole city was contained in a fortress, basically, built atop a hill to make for easier defense. And the Portuguese know how to do Christmas lights, so that was fun! My semester of Portuguese in Ecuador did me NO good. I recognized words, like obrigada, but other than that, it did me nothing. But we didn’t have too much trouble with the language, anyway, since most everyone spoke Spanish too. Oddly, the town of Elvas only had tourist maps in French.

And the bird park was great, though we didn’t actually get to do much birding. We hadn’t communicated effectively and we got out of the house too late and were just getting to the park at sunset. It was a bummer, but we found something left of a guard tower, climbed it, and had an AMAZING view. With the sunset over the lake.

Annnnd I got a parking ticket in Castuera, which was hard to deal with because no one knew what I should do to pay it. Beautiful. I paid it, finally, but I think it was lucky that I was able to because there were some serious complications.

Then we went back to Madrid, which was NUTS. My mom will forever have my respect for her ability to handle that much pressure in the car—going around huge, confusing, un-marked and untidy roundabouts like a champ. I would have died.

We decided we wanted to stay in a nice place for the last night, but even when we decide to go crazy and splurge, mom and I are outrageously reasonable women. Frugal, even. Instead of 40 euros per night at the mom-and-pop establishment, we spent a whopping 60 euros for our last night in Madrid. I know, wild.

We ate AMAZING lasagna and shared a bottle of wine at a great Italian restaurant. Really good.

It was sad to see her go. I open the invitation to anyone who wants to see Europe—come visit me! I’d love to have something to look forward to. Thanks, mom, for all your help.

And that’s installment #1 since last writing. Christmas break and travels with David still to come.