A little bit of everything: Weekends with Javi, Church, Soccer Game, Happy February!, and More Random Adventures

Sorry for the long post, but I have a lot of cool things to share!

Weekends with Javi

The past two weekends here (January 22^nd – 24^th and January 29^th – 31^st) have been pretty quiet around the house because Carmen and María Jesús have traveled to “el pueblo” – a town just 30 mins or so away from Toledo, I am not sure what the town is actually called but they just call it the pueblo so I do too – to both take care of María Jesús’ mother and so that Carmen can practice dance. Carmen loves to dance and a group of girls practice at the pueblo all together. Carmen always shows me her dances when she returns home from the weekends, it is so cute!

Because it has just been Javi and I, it has been pretty quiet around here, but after the hustle and bustle of the week, I quite enjoy it, especially during this first month when I am still adjusting to everything. One of these past Saturday mornings when I woke up and went into the kitchen to greet Javi, instead of saying “I am doing well today.” he said, “It is a really great day!!!”  I think he really enjoys the quiet house too. I am also soaking in the quiet weekends now because throughout the rest of the semester I will be busier traveling on the weekends!

During meals when it is just Javi and I, often times we watch the news, which is really good because I am learning so much! After every news story, Javi asks me if I understood it, and if I say I didn’t understand the story, he explains it more to me.

Church

The past two Sunday’s my friend Chalena and I have attended a church in Poligono – a town 20 mins or so away on bus from Toledo – called Iglesia Evangelica Bautista. Thank you Jennifer for telling me about this church, we absolutely love it!

Both times we have attended, people have been so welcoming to us and want to know our names and where we are from. When they hear we are from Minnesota, they get very excited because one of the pastors is actually from Minnesota too, what are the odds! We have also met kids our own age and they have invited us to the youth group get-togethers on Saturday nights. Chalena and I plan to go to one of them sometime during the semester. At the beginning of the service, they introduce the new people so when the pastor says "we welcome Chalena and Sarah from Minnesota" everyone looks back at us and we give a little wave.

Also, the service is all in Spanish, but I can surprisingly understand almost all of it. It is such a blessing to be able to worship and hear Scriptures in a different language and still be able to understand it clearly, God is good! His truth can be heard no matter the language. We plan on returning to this church this Sunday, and some other girls from school were interested in attending as well so they are coming with us!

Soccer Game

On Sunday, January 31^st, my friend Emily and I traveled to Madrid for a Real Madrid soccer game!

Getting to the stadium in Madrid was surprisingly easy. We took the hour bus from Toledo to Madrid, and then hopped on the metro line in Madrid, got off and walked a bit, and then we were at the stadium!

As soon as we arrived at the stadium, it took my breath away! Wow was it huge! We got there early so there were so many people waiting outside the stadium. It was a little stressful with all the people, but getting in and seated wasn’t too bad.

Our seats were the second from the last row in the top section of the stadium – the stairs were so steep it was a little frightening! But we could see everything from up there, and it was really cool. The game was fun to watch too – Real Madrid won!

We had to leave a little early from the game to make it back to the bus station on time, but that’s ok because we were able to see Real Madrid score 4 of their 5 goals, and we beat the crowd out of the stadium. The bus ride home, however, did not go as planned. We thought that the last bus to Toledo left at 11, so we got to the station at 10:45 and waited, but the 11:00 bus never showed up. We met some fellow travelers from Mexico who were also confused at where the bus was, and we ended up talking to them just to pass time (however, we were so tired so talking in Spanish was such a struggle. Luckily, one of them could understand a little bit of English too). Finally, more people started showing up to the bus station, and then at about 11:30 a security person came over and told us that the bus to Toledo leaves at 12 at the next door. We were so confused and never found out what happened to the 11:00 bus, oh well.

We texted Javi before we left the bus station because we knew we would get back really late and since Emily lives with a host family in Poligono and it was a Sunday night, the buses stopped running at 11. Javi said he would come pick us up – wow what a lifesaver! Javi actually came in clutch twice that night because 1) He came to pick Emily and I up when we pulled into the Toledo bus station at 1:20 in the morning and 2) He packed me a huge sandwich for the game and Emily and I ate it during half time!

Despite getting back really late, the night went pretty smoothly and it was a fun adventure! Here are some pics! 

Happy February!

Wow, the time is really starting to fly by now. Valentine’s Day will be the one month mark. The first week was really long, but after the first week the weeks have just been flying by. I am looking forward to what is coming up. I am excited to continue to spend time with my host family, go to class, and explore Toledo with friends during free time! Also coming up in February, my friends and I are planning weekend trips to Valencia and hopefully Barcelona!

More exciting news: My mom has everything booked for her visit in March – we are going to visit Seville the weekend she is here and she will be here during the week in Toledo! Also, Zach is coming during my Spring Break! He is coming to see Toledo first and will be here for a couple days while my mom is here, and then we are going to see Paris and the Amalfi Coast, wow am I lucky!!!

More Random Adventures

Below are some more random pics of Toledo from my runs and casual strolls through the city. What a beautiful place this is and there is always something new to discover! I find it so interesting how this is a place where people live, but it is also a huge touristy area. I see tourists everywhere in the plaza, and a couple times people have asked me for directions. I guess I am not a tourist anymore because I am actually living here, it is still so hard to believe to be living in a place with so much culture and history. The saying here is – “every stone has a history.” How cool!!

The main plaza in Toledo - Plaza de Zocodover. It is usually filled with people, especially tourists. I walk past it every day on my way to school! On weekends, it is usually filled with people, especially high school kids. It serves as sort of a meet up/hang out place: 

Pretty pictures of Toledo from on a run:

Stroll to the Jewish-influenced side of the city (selfie): 

Pretty garden behind a church (can you spot the cat?): 

Studying in front of a window at the library:

Famous Toledo dessert – mazapan!:

It tastes like an almond-flavored sugar cookie! Yum!

Another famous Spanish dessert (but often times they have it for breakfast!) – chocolate and churros!:

My friends and I celebrated with this dessert on a Thursday after class – it was a splendid idea!

Until next time,

Sarah :)