Friends in Quintanar

On Wednesday of last week, I actually had plans in Quintanar. This probably doesn't sound like anything special, but I was so looking forward to it. See, the only friends I had as of last week lived in Toledo and Alcázar de San Juan. Alcázar isn't that far away, but I would still have to take a bus to get there. But on Wednesday, I was meeting up with people who actually lived in Quintanar.

This has actually been a long time coming. I think it was in my second week in Quintanar that I first met Vicki. My colleague at the high school had told me that she had a friend here who is American. "She's from Nebraska, I think," she told me. "I know her because I go to her fiance's house to watch football matches." A few days later, we actually ran into her. She was in a rush, on her way out of her apartment to go to lunch at her fiance's parents' house, but she gave me her phone number and urged me to contact her when I had a Spanish phone.

I got my phone awhile after that, and I messaged her to say that we should hang out soon. She agreed, but then neither of us reached out again for a few weeks. So finally, on Sunday of last week, I got in touch with her. I explained that I had been meaning to talk to her for ages but I kept forgetting, and I was hoping she could get together soon. "Have you met the British assistant who lives here?" she asked.

I had heard that there was a woman who lived here who is British, but no one was able to tell me anything else about her. Whenever someone mentioned it to me, I would ask if he or she knew of a way I could contact her, and they would say no. So I thought that maybe the British assistant and I would never meet.

But here was my chance. I said to Vicki, "No, I haven't had the pleasure, but I'd love to meet her." So on Wednesday, the three of us finally got together.

It was so great to hang out with them--Vicki because she understands American culture and Morgan, the British assistant, because of my desperate desire to have international friends. Morgan, as it turns out, is from the only place in England I have visited: London. She and Vicki are both really nice and have great senses of humor and best yet, they've both lived in Quintanar before, so they are a wealth of knowledge. Vicki has lived in many different parts of Spain because she's been here for 7 years, and Morgan is in Quintanar for a second year. They are both here as part of the BEDA program, which places assistants in Catholic schools. Side note: The variety of programs available to those who want to teach English in Spain is crazy. No one who wants to do it has any excuse not to do it.

School wasn't particularly exciting in the latter half of last week, Wednesday and Thursday, because I was with the infantiles, so I read them a story about a grumpy farmer who scared away his rooster, but he regretted it when no one knew when to wake up in the morning without the rooster's crow. When the story was finished, they colored a drawing of the farmer and all of his animals. So it was pretty easy but not the most exciting activity.

Then when Friday rolled around, I had errands to run. The first order of business was to pay my rent. In Spain, the process is very different. My landlord gave me his bank account number, and I can go to either my bank or his and make a deposit directly into his account. That's actually how I pay him rent. It's sort of crazy to me; I feel like it's such a security risk to let someone else know your bank account number, particularly a complete stranger like myself. Although I suppose it's also a risk for him to let me live in his apartment, too.

After I paid my rent, I also had to go to the ayuntamiento, or the municipal building, to get a proof of residency certificate for my tarjeta de identidad extranjera, or my foreign identity card. There are so many hoops I have to jump through in order to be here; it's a huge pain in the neck. But I explained what I needed in Spanish, apologizing for how bad my Spanish is, and one of the women who worked there told me I spoke Spanish quite well. She was exaggerating, but I really appreciated it. And I was pleased that I managed to get through it and get what I needed, so I'm definitely getting better!

Later in the afternoon, Vicki, Morgan and I made plans to have a girls' night. We got takeout from a kebab place (which is like the shawarma that I ate in Granada and compared it to a gyro) and went back to Vicki's apartment, where she had bought a ton of snacks and drinks for us. We watched Practical Magic, which Vicki was amazed that neither Morgan nor I had ever seen, and we played the Spanish version of Clue, which is called Misterio, and then we put on Hocus Pocus, which was sort of background noise while we talked. Hocus Pocus actually started over and played a second time the whole way through, and before I knew it, it was almost 5:00 in the morning (Even when I don't go clubbing in Spain, I still stay out too late.). Morgan and I finally went home, and I slept until the middle of the afternoon on Saturday.

Girls' night! (Spanish Clue is on the couch)

Saturday was a lazy day and I did nothing except a very quick run to the grocery store. But I'm glad I rested, because I needed it for Sunday.

Vicki had invited me to an event hosted by Morgan's school. It was a walk to the next town over, El Toboso, which is actually where Dulcinea from Don Quijote is from (When I came here, I thought she was from Quintanar, but I was misled.). Vicki told me she thought it was about 8 kilometers, which I estimated was about 4 miles, so I agreed. It would definitely be something different.

So when Sunday rolled around, I packed two bottles of water and a sandwich and I went to meet Vicki and Morgan for the walk. They explained to me that this is supposed to be a "Walk for Peace," but it's really just a title. Apparently a man did this walk years ago as some sort of peaceful protest or to bring awareness to our need for peace or something along those lines, but it has since turned into sort of a fun walk and something to do. It doesn't raise money or even really talk about peace, but I wasn't complaining.

Vicki, Morgan and I, walking to El Toboso

The walk was pretty flat, and we walked through the countryside, which means we were walking through vineyards. That's literally all there is around here; just grapes, grapes, and more grapes. It was pretty cool, honestly. The only downside is that the walk turned out to be 11 kilometers, which is almost 7 miles, so it was quite a hike. I could keep pace with a snail, as I'm sure everyone knows, but I managed to make the walk in less than 2 and a half hours, so I was pleased. Granted, my feet might never be the same, but it was an experience.

The walk ends with a mass at a church in El Toboso, which I chose not to attend, and then Vicki, Morgan, Vicki's fiance Luis Felipe and I had lunch, which was Luis Felipe's treat. So nice of him. Then he insisted on driving us over to Campo de Criptana, which is where some of los molinos, or the windmills, made famous by Don Quijote are. Luis Felipe even paid the 2€ for each of us to go inside the windmill, which was pretty cool. It sort of reminded me of going inside a lighthouse, albeit on a much, much smaller scale.

Los molinos and El Toboso in the background

View of El Toboso from inside the windmill

Morgan and I posing with the windmills (If you look closely, you might be able to see a rainbow in the background, above the silver car)

We finally went home after that, and I went to bed early that night. My mentor from the high school is in England for two weeks to take a course for her English certification, so my schedule is different until she returns. I went to philosophy, as usual, but later I went to geography, which was new. They watched a video about the national parks in Spain, which I enjoyed watching.

For my after school lessons for the week, I have Halloween activities planned. I found a song on YouTube that shows a bunch of different monsters, like a ghost and a witch and a vampire, which I show them to teach them some Halloween vocabulary. Then I read them riddles about monsters and they had to guess what it is. Yesterday's went well but I think it's above the level of my little 6-year-old hellions, so I have to figure out something else for them.

Today, the art teacher wasn't here, so I am going to music and citizenship, which should be very interesting. And this weekend, I'm going to Madrid to spend the weekend with my friend Blair, who I went to West Chester with but she graduated a year before me. I'm very much looking forward to seeing a familiar face. So hopefully I have interesting things to share about Halloween in Spain, but we shall see!