If you’re like me, you love Game of Thrones and eat up everything there is about it. A few years ago, I stumbled upon a filming site for the series and was enthralled. I needed to go to more places. Luckily, here in Spain, there are tons of places to go to. So, when my friends left for San Sebastian, I stayed in Bilbao and took a half-day trip to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything. The truth is, I haven’t had a lot of time to travel and do things. Between working in a concertada, having Masters classes on Friday evenings, and working for an internet company on the weekends, I’ve been grounded to Madrid. But I had to do something. We had a long weekend, or puente, so I chose to go to Bilbao.
Guys, I’ve been so lazy. I haven’t written anything since the Real Madrid game I went to (I have another coming next week!), and I never wrote about my trip to Zaragoza. So finally, a month later, since today is a national holiday and tomorrow is another day off my school, I thought I should finally get it together.
Zaragoza is located in the Aragona region of Spain. It’s a decent sized city, with a population of over 600,000. If you’re looking for a wedding dress, you’re in luck! There were wedding dress shops on nearly every street. The best were the ones right next to baby stores. Get ready! Zaragoza has some pretty neat things to see and do, while still being affordable. I’ve picked out the best for you.
I was having a conversation with my friend about soccer last weekend and we were talking about Champions League. I thought it started later in the month, or even in October, but after checking an app, I found out that Champions League started this week! The Champions League is a multinational soccer competition among the best teams in Europe. It makes for some exciting fútbol. Real Madrid is the current reigning champion from the past two years (and the most-winningest with 12 titles), so I had to go to a game.
When I saw the game was in Madrid, I got extremely excited. I live a mile away from the stadium, so I don’t even need public transportation to get there. So I checked online and there were seats available! There were seats available in the front sections, even! Compared to the cost of American sports tickets, these were cheap. At first I thought it would be a bit weird to show up by myself, but then I thought, “Oh well, who cares?! This is an incredible chance that may never happen again!”
I was sitting on the bed with that feeling like I couldn’t do it. I wanted to book the next plane home. Then, someone walked in, I wiped away the tears, and took a nap. Since then, I haven’t had any more doubts.
I’ve been in Madrid for five or six days now. After living in Catalonia for two years, I was scared in how it would be different to live in the capital. So far, so good. I’ve been lost and found my way, I’ve wandered around, I’ve learned new things. This is Madrid.
I hate packing. Is there anything worse than packing other than unpacking? Tomorrow, I leave for Madrid, but I am so far from being ready to go. There are so many guides online on how to pack for trips abroad. Let me tell you what not to do, by a notorious overpacker.
Yesterday, August 17, I was putting on my make-up, getting ready to go run some errands. I had it on the news because that’s the channel my mom had been watching. I wasn’t really paying much attention. Then, about 11:30 EST, they announced a vehicle had run into a crowd of people. I texted my parents right away. There wasn’t much information coming out, though. People were still walking around, maybe only three or four people were hit, maybe it wasn’t terrorism. I left my house.
I came back an hour or so later. One person confirmed dead. Thirty or so people injured. The death and injury toll kept rising though. I felt anger. I felt sad. I’ve walked those streets hundreds of times. That H&M on the corner of the start of La Rambla and Plaça Catalunya was a favorite of mine. I’ve eaten at a restaurant down there even though I didn’t want to because only guiris eat on La Rambla. I’ve strolled down the street, taking in the essence of Barcelona and enjoying the culture.
And now someone has attacked it.
To make matters worse, later that night, we saw a story about Cambrils. Five people were shot dead by the Mossos (Catalan police) with bomb belts after running over several people and killing one. I lived in Cambrils for six months back in 2015. It’s a quiet beachside town with no more than 35,000 people. In the summer, the tourists come to enjoy a quiet beach vacation.
And now someone has attacked it.
I have friends still over there. I asked some of my old students if they are ok. They are ok. But they are scared. Who wouldn’t be? I’m scared. I leave for Madrid in ten days and I don’t want to be worrying about terrorists when I should be enjoying it. That’s what they want, though. They want us to be scared. We can’t let them keep us down.
The next few months are going to be hard. Security is going to amp up. It’s going to be hard to ever walk down La Rambla and not feel a sadness. I was nine years old when my country was attacked and I learned we aren’t as safe as we think we are in our country. Now, my poor students in Tarragona are learning the same thing. They’re being told to stay at home and their festivals are being canceled.
The worst part is that most of these people were tourists. They were visiting another country on a vacation. Maybe some people had saved up for years to be able to travel to Barcelona and now it’s been ruined. I don’t want people to think bad things when they talk about my favorite city. I don’t want people to not feel safe to travel to my favorite city.
We can’t let them win. Tots som Catalunya.
About a month ago, I got an e-mail from an interesting start-up called Interlinear Books. They offer what they call “subtitled books”. At first, I was unsure. Would the English “subtitles” get in the way of reading the books? I don’t know any of these stories, will they still be good? Let me tell you my opinion: this is the future for language learning.
Four years ago, I went to my first Rockies game. I had liked the Rockies before, but I really began to love them that day. My only problem: I live nowhere close to Colorado. Every year I look at the schedule and hope that the Rockies will play the Nationals or the Orioles. Finally, I convinced my parents to buy me tickets to see the Rockies play the Nationals! Play ball!
One of my dreams is to get to travel for work. Last weekend, I was given the opportunity to do just that. This summer, I’m working with international students who have come to my home city to learn and improve their English. Part of their program was a 4-day trip to New York City. It had been eleven years since I last went to New York. Fun and chaos ensued.