We made it!!!

2,050 miles! 28 towns! 20 new friends! 6 flats! 5 weeks! 2 houses repaired! 1 amazing bike ride adventure!

Can't believe it's over so soon!

Thanks for all the support, prayers, an donations!

More reflections to come soon:)

Spain is in the finals!

This is from last friday but internet failed.
Monday June 25 - I had class in the afternoon luckily because my alarm decided not to go off. I woke up at noon and made it to class on time at 12:50. After class I ate my bocadillo in the rio before heading home for a nap. It was a girl birthday on Monday so went to Portland to celebrate with her.

Tuesday June 26 - Tuesday was a beach day. I had early class and got to the beach around 2. It was just genna and I which was nice because I was able to take a good siesta under my umbrella. Sam joined us after a bit and we went in the water which was surprisingly warm.
After the beach we had a big dinner at home. My roommate's mom and aunt came to visit her for ten days. They came to dinner at our house. This was especially fun because her mom doesn't know any Spanish and my host madre doesn't know very much English. Karlie and I had to translate between them. It was weird hearing my host madre, Blanca, speak English. She pronounces words so different. Even though I didn't know karlie's mom it was nice to hear about life in the US. Blanca made a big dinner and was all dolled up and we used the nice table cloth and cups. It was a nice evening.

Wednesday June 27 - being productive here is harder than at home. School work is never on the top of my to do list. I came home from school around four and was going to get ahead on some school stuff before watching the futbol game. In the three hours I was home I did a little bit of research for my project and wrote my essay the 20 minutes before I left. Studying on my bed just results in a siesta.
We watched the game at our usual bar near school. It is crazy how into the games I get. If I were home I probably would not watch games and would hear results from Jon but here I cheer and intently way h the games. This game went into penalty kicks and Spain came out with a W!! Spain is going to the finals!! The bar erupted with noise when Spain made the goal to win the game! I got flagged at the game meaning the Spanish flag covered my face and arms as you can see in the picture. It was such a fun night. On the way home we stopped at the carnival and took a ferris wheel ride . The city view was really cool again.

Thursday June 28 - Today was another beach day! I got to the beach at 130 after my two classes and relaxed until around 630. The water was beautiful and beach siestas are the best.
It was my friend Eileen birthday so we went out and celebrated her birthday after dinner.

I am off to Madrid for the weekend with three friends! I am so excited!

Rounding the last turn

Wednesday (6/27) we rode into Fort Lauderdale, FL. I rode in feeling exhausted, sun burnt and worn down. Tom and I were sweepers that day but most of the time we were fixing my flat ores. After 4 weeks of no flats, I got 2 on Monday and 4 this day. The front tire just didn't want to hold air.

During the ride we experienced heavy rain, light rain, beautiful ocean views, ginormous beach houses on both sides of the road, light breezes and heat. After the last rest stop the group and I met up with a man named Scott who has been following our ride. He helped me with my flat tire and even carried the old tire when we replaced it with a new one.

That night we ate with a community Presbyterian church and watched "We bought a zoo." I really liked the movie and it made we want to visit the Detroit zoo soon! I also visited 2 bike shops to get some fresh tubes and CO2 cartridges for Tom.

Thursday (6/28) we rode to Homestead, Fl. It was about 67 miles. The ride was flat and hot but we had few problems. There were a lot of turns when we went through Miami and so we stopped a lot to chalk for the people biking behind us.

When we got to Homestead some of us went down the street to get food. I got pizza and ice cream and it was delicious! It was a Cuban place and the woman kept talking in Spanish and then changing to English.

Today (6/29) we rode into Marathon Key, FL. It was around 80 miles. I rode with Tom, Alyssa and Christian for the majority of the day. We only made the first rest stop too because we got too far ahead of the van after that. At mule 53 we stopped at Robbies Marina to feed Tarpon! Then at mile 70, Tom blew his back tire. We spent the next hour or two waiting for support and sitting in the ocean! It was so cool and relaxing. The rocks were slippery and rough but we had flip flops to walk around in.

Tonight for dinner we went to a great spot near the 7 mile bridge. It had a pool and like 3 bars and a long dock and a beautiful sunset! We ate really well!

Tomorrow is the last day!! Ahhh!

Going postal

This weekend we spent the night in Daytona Beach, FL! The ride on Saturday (6/24) was very enjoyable. The first 40 miles of riding the sun was rising over the Atlantic Ocean and it was beautiful! I swept with Tom and we spent lots of time marveling at the large beach houses! At the 40 mile mark I switched sweeper duties with Alyssa. So Maranda , Kelsey and I headed out together! We jumped on a bike path and had great fun acting like kids. Out of no where this group of 20 serious cyclists passed us on the road. We started talking back and forth with them and ended up joining their pace line! It was very hard to keep up but also gave me lots of adrenaline! When we arrived at the church I was welcomed with a giant stack of mail! It was a beautiful and exciting site! Kelsey C and I went through our loot and loved everything!

On Sunday (6/25) we went to cracker barrel! I had delicious apple pancakes and a yogurt parfait, yummy. Church was contemporary and I likes the music a lot. The sermon was about Sarah and Abraham. It confused/frustrated me. For the ret of the day we did chores and relaxed. I even played the piano, I forgot how wonderful it is. Maybe once I'm settle in Newaygo I will try and find someone to give me cheap lessons. My mom would like that idea.

Monday (6/26) we biked 94 mike in tropical storm Debbie. I got my first flat tire!!! And then my second flat tire!! All before the first rest stop too. So I changed the tubes and the back tire and was golden from that point on. The wind and rain was hard to ride in and it made me tired. I was pushing my pedals and still only going 15 downhill. St. Sebastian church hosted us and made us surprise dinner. We went to a local ice cream shop and I got a double scoop of strawberry cheesecake and oreo, yum!

Today we only rode 63 miles to Port St. Lucie. It took us longer than usual because there is still lots of headwind .
The little bit of rain we got felt refreshing! Check out the sweet mailbox I found!

Headed further south tomorrow, will be to Key West on Saturday! Wow, time flies!

A weekend of firsts

This weekend was my first...

Carnival in the Rio

Ferris Wheel ride at night

noche de San Juan

time staying on the beach all night

bonfire on the beach

time to witness a legitimate fight

ride in an ambulance

time in an ER waiting room

time at the Spanish hospital

Friday June 22 - This was one of the fridays we had class, so I went to class in the afternoon:( After I took a siesta I met up with Genna, Sam and Anna to shop at a few stores around our houses. I got a new shirt for only seven euro! I headed to Portland to watch part of the Greece vs Germany game. Germany beat Greece 4 to 2. I was planning on going to a jazz festival with a group of people but on the way there we heard there was a carnival in the Rio so we decided to check it out. We arrived at the carnival around 1145pm, so it was fairly empty still. we rode the ferris wheel first. The city was beautiful from the top of the Ferris wheel especially at night. Below is Sam, Genna and I on the ferris wheel.

We rode a couple more rides and headed home around 1am. As we were leaving people were just getting to the fair. The night life here is so much later than back at home. 

Saturday June 23 - I slept in until noon which was really nice. I had to be productive in the afternoon and finish an essay for class. Saturday was the La Noche de San Juan which is a huge fiesta here in Spain. The beaches fill with people who stay there all night long. The tradition is to have a bonfire and at midnight jump over the fire to cleanse yourself from your past. It is also said to write down a wish and put it in the first or let it go in the Mediterranean sea. So around 5 we headed to the beach ready to stay there until sunrise at 635 am. On the bus to the beach we met a guy from South Carolina who was traveling alone in Valencia. He latched on to our group real quick because he knew no spanish so doing anything was very hard for him. The beach was not too crowded when we got there so we stalked out our area. Spain provides free firewood so we got some wood and dug our fire pit in the sand. The guys next to us were clearly experts at this, they brought their own wood and kindling and laughed as they watched us beginners. Below are three of the boys digging the hole for the fire. I was a very good supervisor of the job haha.

   

Before sunset we soaked up the last of the sun rays. I walked the twenty five minute walk down to the port to check it out. The Mediterranean Sea just doesn't get old. It is so beautiful! Below is Genna, Anna and I!

At midnight I jumped over the fire and ran into the water. I let my wish go into the sea, hopefully it comes true! It was crazy the amount of people that were there including people of all ages. I warmed up by the fire after my midnight swim. Our group began to multiple as we made more friends. We met people from all over the world. I took the chill path and sat by the fire most of the night. Around 2am things started to get weird and I could see why everyone warned us to guard our things while on the beach. Sam, Genna and I brought all of our stuff in one backpack so we wouldn't have as much to worry about and we did not bring anything of too much value. One of us was always with the backpack all night. Unfortunately other people in our group were not as careful. A handful of bags and shoes were a bit further from the group with no owners nearby. A guy in our group noticed someone walking and looking around our stuff. He went over to confront him and prevent him from taking our things. 

   This confrontation resulted in a fight and one of our guys in the ER. There were four guys that were fighting 6-8 South Americans that were stealing our things. The fight was worse because it was right next to the fire. As soon as I saw the first punch I immediately grabbed our backpack and stepped away. There was yelling in spanish and english. Our boys were quite intoxicated at this point and very very angry. A kid from our group got kicked in the face while he was down. His face immediately was swollen and bloody. The fight settled as the South Americans ran away. The instant shock of what just happened set in to the group. Two girls realized their backpacks were no where to be found. We tended to the kid who got kicked and we called 112 which is equivalent to 911 in the US. Sam, Genna and I were the ones who were there so we went with him to the police. The police were on the edge of the beach and directed us to the medics. We walked him to medics where it was determined he needed to go to the hospital. I was the lucky friend that rode in the ambulance with him to the hospital. The EMTS were very nice and spoke slowly so I could understand them.

     Ambulance rules are different here than at home though. At home cars pull to the side of the roade and stop when they hear sirens. Here they sow down a little but do not really move that much. We arrived at the hospital. They moved friend from stretcher to a hospital bed. I then had to check him in. This seems like an easy task but it has its challenges. The first challenge is that this friend I have only known for four weeks and all I know about him is that his name is Eddie. This is clearly a nickname for Edgar or Edward, I guessed correctly with Edgar. But his last name I had no idea. So I had no idea his address in spain nor his birthday either. I was a wealth of information. Second challenge was that the front desk was behind glass so it was hard to hear the lady speaking. She spoke very fast spanish and mumbled a little. I managed to get him checked in and then I headed to the waiting room. 

         I found a seat and sat. The room was freezing cold due to the air conditioner and I was wearing a damp swimsuit with a sundress. There were announcements that I could not understand so I just hoped they weren't pertaining to me. After about an hour of sitting there watching tv in spanish, Genna and Sam came. They took a trolley over to meet me. We waited together for another hour and half until finally we recognized one of the announcements. They said his name! We went down and picked him up. He walked away with nothing broken and just a really bad looking face. We grabbed a cab and took him home. 

    So then I found myself walking home carrying an empty cooler and my wallet. The sun had risen and it was already very warm. The streets were empty and the city was quiet. As I unlocked my door my watch read 8:31 am. What a night! I set out the day before with intent of watching the sunrise from the beach of the Mediterranean Sea but instead I watched the sunrise from the emergency room waiting room at a clinic in Spain. After a long crazy night I came across this bible verse 

'What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?' Romans 8:31

We're half way there - Livin' on a prayer

     This week is the half way mark on my trip here in Spain. A month ago yesterday I was saying goodbye in the Detroit airport and a month from tomorrow I will land back in the DTW airport. It is crazy how much has happened since then.
     Today as I walked to school I was reminiscing on that first day when my madre picked me up from the bus and drove me to our apartment. Everything was so unfamiliar to me. Now the roads that were foreign then I now know and are comfortable navigating through. I have already taken midterms for my classes and I am beginning to work on papers and projects.  I traveled to Xativa, Peniscola, Barcelona and Porto! I have planned trips to Madrid and Rome in the remaining four weeks I have here. It is so cool how easy it is to travel around Europe once you are here. I am excited to go to Madrid and Rome but also to continue exploring Valencia. This week was a good exploring week her in Valencia. Here is a recap.....


Monday June 18 - My alarm did not go off so I woke up when I usually leave for class...oops! I showered and got ready real fast and I managed to make it to class on time! My class on MW is a spanish literature class which is tough for me because I am not very good at literature in english let alone analyzing spanish poems and plays. The professor is a fun guy but the material is rough. In the afternoon I went out with a friend to explore the neighborhood area we live in. We walked down some new streets and managed not to get lost.


Tuesday June 19 - I had class in the morning and then I came home for lunch which was nice. Lunch is the big meal of the day here so it is nice to spend time with my madre and hermano and get a big meal. We had a lasagna type dish, it had Alfredo sauce and spinach in it. It was good. I have tried so many new things here. I did some homework in the afternoon and took a really nice siesta. It was a friend's birthday on Tuesday so she wanted to celebrate but unfortunately nothing was really happening on a tuesday so I ended just taking a nice walk around town. The city still amazes me with beauty and tranquility. 


Wednesday June 20 - I had my literature class and then a field trip to the Cathedral in Valencia for another class. I had three hours between class and the field trip so I explored. I couldn't find anyone to explore with so I flew solo. It was  godo time to clear my head and relax. I found a beautiful park to eat my bocadillo in. Below is the fountain in the area of the park where I ate lunch.

 The park was not very full so it was very quiet and I could just hear the water of the fountain. In the garden there was a mini city almost where it appeared children could ride their bikes or toys on roads. There were traffic lights and crosswalks. There was one small boy playing on the sidewalk when I walked through. Below is part of the area, which was quite large.

I continued my exploration of the garden which led me to an ice cream stand. It was in the 80s on wednesday so the ice cream sandwich that I got really hit the spot. I continued on my way toward the Cathedral. Below is the center of a roundabout I encountered on my way.

I took a scenic detour and found a park with trees that looked like they were from the Jungle book. The trunks were huge and complex. There was also a park with a playground. Once I regained my bearings of what direction I wanted to go in, I encountered a man that was not very happy with me. I was simply walking down the street minding my own business when he asked me if I was an American. This is not that odd of a question because people often are curious where we are from especially when we are all together and speaking english. This time was different though. Before I could respond to the man he began yelling at me. He waved his hand in the air and yelled F*** Obama and something about our government then continued to yell F** you at me. I did not respond to him at all and merely continued walking. It sure did scare me though. I made it to the cathedral where my class was meeting before the tour. 

The Cathedral in Valencia was beautiful. There were a lot of small chapels on the side of the main church which was cool. We were able to climb up the bell tour for only two euro so we took the challenge. Our teacher warned us that is was quite the hike which was true. It was spiral staircase all the way up and it got steep towards the top. The stairs were small and we could not see the top or bottom, just stairs. The view from the top was worth the climb though. We could see all of Valencia in all directions. We were able to tell where our school was and where we all lived, which was cool. Below is Sam and I representing AOII on top of the cathedral.

 The city of Valencia and me! There will be more pictures of city on my facebook if you want to see more.

 On the way home from the cathedral Sara and I stumbled upon a clothing store that was having a huge sale. We tried on a bunch of dresses and skirts. We both ended up getting a dress. They were only 8 euro. Apparently in july here there are huge sales so we are trying to hold out until then so we can get some good deals! I made it home just in time for dinner. We had potato tortilla which is my favorite dish here. After dinner we went to a bar called Portland after Portland Oregon and is own by a guy from there. Below is Genna, Sam and I with Chris in the background.

We met a guy who was wearing a Michigan State Shirt. We all got really excited! The guy didn't really know what MSU was, he just liked the shirt so bought it haha. It is cool how we meet people from all over while we are here. 

Thursday June 21 - I had my early class today which is never too fun. After a week of not being on the beach, today was a beach day. The buses went on strike starting today so the usual 5 minute wait for the bus was 45 minutes today which was frustrating because I just wanted to be at the beach.The beach was a blazing 90 some degrees today. I was sweating from just getting there. I had my umbrella so I stayed under that most of the day to not get too sunburned. The beach was packed with people today. When I stood still and just listened it almsot sounded like an amusement park because all of the noise. The water felt so nice after roasting on the sand. I managed to not get too burnt today and mostly just freckled. Today at dinner it was just my madre and me because my roommate is traveling this weekend. The conversation started slow and then my madre went to call her mom. She calls her mom every night to say goodnight. When she got back from her phone call we talked for almost a half hour. It was really good and I understood most of what she said. She was laughing and in such a great mood. It was really refreshing to know that I can be confident enough in my spanish ability to hold a conversation. It has been such a great experience living with a host family. I feel right at home here and my madre is so great! 

After dinner I was able to skype chat with Emmalilly, Madison and Cameron which was great! It was so nice to hear from all of them and about their adventures this summer. I cant wait to see all of them again. Hopefully I will be able to skype my parents and Jon this weekend!

Although I am not traveling this weekend is still going to be a busy. There is a festival on the beach all night on Saturday to celebrate Saint John and Formula One racing is here in Valencia on Sunday. Not to mention the homework I should be doing and the beach which is constantly calling my name. 

I hope all is well with you where ever your summer adventures have taken you.

Pedal! Damn it!

Monday (6/18) 60 miles, we had to say goodbye to Kelsey and Amy:(

Tuesday (6/19) 57 miles, a camera crew and a walking tour of Savanna, GA.

Wednesday (6/20) = Day Off in Savanna! I ran errands with Alyssa, Kelsey C., and a past rider named Krystal. We went to a bike shop to get a wheel trued, to a bike shop and finally to Kroger. After that I went to Tybee Beach!! Tom, Krystal and Michael stopped at a cafe for lunch an then headed out. Krystal told us lots about the marsh and the animals that live there. We immediately went into the ocean after slathering in sun block. My tan lines looked mighty silly. The ocean was warm and the waves were perfect! They weren't big waved for the ocean but hey we're the biggest waves I've seen in a while. I was glad to avoid any encounters with fish or beach creatures. After some one in the water we went back to the beach to lay in the sun.

That night we had pasta dinner with the church. Christian and I talked with a couple that had been married for 50 years. Ryan gave a presentation about FC international work in Haiti.

Thursday (6/21) 85 miles from Savanna, GA to St. Simons Island. The ride was flat and the only hills were the ones on the bridges. The health club we showered at was super nice! There was a sauna, hot tub, steam room, changing rooms and 3 work stations! We took out time and got super clean:)

A weekend in Porto!

I just got back from an amazing weekend in Porto, Portugal! It was a relaxing weekend in a beautiful city. I will share some highlights and of course some photos!

1. We managed to figure out the metro and bus system in Portugal where everyone speaks Portuguese. Note: I only know how to say "Thank you" in Portuguese. On the metro on our way!!

2. Having an amazing hostel that we just happened to find on hostelworld.com. The location was great and the people there were so nice and spoke english! We meet people from France, England, Costa Rica and China while at the hostel. This is the street view of the hostel.

 The view of our terrace from our room!

3. Bus tour of the city that allowed us to see all around the city. We also took a boat tour on the river. The views were breathtaking. Below is one of the streets.

The city had beautiful bridges crossing the river.

 4. The atlantic Ocean. The waves were amazing and we were right by the pier and lots of big rocks. Girls on the beach:)

 5. The city views that we saw were great! Some of us with the river and city behind us.

 6. We ate dinner on the river and watched the sunset. Note: this photo was not edited and was the background to our dinner. Fresh salmon for everyone while I got french fries and fried eggs which I special ordered because everything on the menu including the child's menu had meat on it.

7. During dinner we heard drumming and then there were 25 or so drummer boys and men marching through the street. After dinner there was a festival parade in honor of Saint Joao. People were dressed up and marching in groups. The parade ended in a square where each group danced. They all danced to the same song. The people that danced ranged from 3 years old to 70 years. Although we had no idea what was going on because everything was in Portuguese it was fun to watch.  This is me a drummer boy. 

 8. I visited the beach again with Sam and Genna. Some alpha love with the Atlantic Ocean.

This weekend was nice because we didn't have an agenda so we were free to do whatever and see whatever. This was really nice and made it a relaxed weekend. Saturday was one of my favorite days since I have been in Europe. This weekend was full of laughter and confusion. Overall it was a marvelous weekend in Porto, Portugal! There will be plenty more pictures on facebook soon!

300 miles in 3 days

After a productive build day in Kinston, NC we headed south early on Thursday (6/14) morning. Tom took the early lead and we all followed like ducks in a row. The group rode together the first 25 miles. After a short rest stop and a race to the bathroom, the group was a little spread out. Alyssa and I chased the lead pack for a good 10 miles and eventually caught Tom. At the second rest stop we re-grouped and the girls rode together again. We spent the rest of the ride singing songs, playing silly games and driving the boys crazy. It was a fast 94 miles to Wilmington, NC.

In the afternoon, I went to the post office, walked around the little city with friends and took pictures of the river nearby. That night we had lasagna and rested for the coming bike days. Kelsey even made friends with a cockroach! Who knew they were so friendly, joke!

Friday (6/15) morning we took off headed for Garden City, SC. This day had lots of turns, confusing intersections, busy roads and a very hot beating sun! Alyssa and I missed a turn and did and extra 5 miles or so. Within 15 miles of our destination my headache really got to me and I started to wonder if I was dehydrated. I was with about 5 other riders who felt the same so we stopped at a gas station to replenish our water and get some shade. Because of my large water intake, 20 minutes later I felt like my eyeballs were floating. When we got to the church I threw my bike down and scrambled for the bathroom. My bike computer read 101.01 that evening. My first unexpected century ride!!

Saturday (6/16) we rode to Charleston, SC. It was a great day of riding and also Kelsey's last day of riding:( During the ride we silently organized pace lines, which got us done quick! We rode on one particularly bumpy forest road and also over a large suspension bridge!! Another wonderful 95 miles!

For dinner we went to a local southern style restaurant. I tried fried green tomatoes and fried okra. I liked both. After dinner we went in search of ice cream and settled on Ben and Jerry's. Usually we try to find local ice cream places, but could only find froyo and gelato.

Today (6/18) we went to church, made food for the week, did chores, and relaxed. Kelsey heads back to Michigan tomorrow. It will be very sad to see her go, I can't imagine this trip without her. I am very thankful for the past 3 weeks we have spent together and know that they will always hold a special place in each of our hearts. In the next 2 or 3 months we won't see each other very often, due to jobs and camp.

Hope everyone is having a great Fathers Day! I love you Dad! Thanks for being a great Dad, role model, and supporter of my adventurous spirit!

The study part of Study Abroad

This week marked about half way through my study abroad this summer and with this came midterms. I am taking three classes so this week I had three midterms. They were spread out with one on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So I mostly just studied this week. I did go to the beach on Wednesday which was very nice! I even studied a little bit on the beach. I am so glad that midterms are over now though.

Last night Spain played Ireland in the EuroCup so we went to a bar near our school the watch the game. The place was packed full of people and we had to fight for a couple chairs. Everyone was cheering and in the spirit! When Spain scored their first goal the bar erupted with cheering and everyone besides us were on their feet. It was a fun atmosphere to watch a futbol game in! Spain won 4 to 0 which was even better!

I am off to Porto, Portugal for a girls weekend with 7 other girls from MSU today. I am very excited! It is supposed to be rainy and cold all weekend but we are going to make the best of it!

More Barcelona

Saturday June 9 - We got up at 930 to eat breakfast in our hotel and started our bus tour at 10 with tour tour guide. We drove all through the city seeing and hearing about all of the different areas and important things. We stopped at a park designed by Gaudi that was originally supposed to be a neighborhood. Nobody invested in it so it became a park. It is on a hill that overlooks the city so the view was beautiful. The main entrance had two buildings that were designed to be the guards house and a welcoming house. They were designed like gingerbread houses. One had a cross on it and the other a mushroom which represented the battle between good and evil. The cross was higher symbolizing good overcoming evil. The roads are seperate from the people so there a lot of bridges. Below we are under a bridge.

 Genna, Sam and I with the main entrance behind us.

 There were lots of people playing music in the garden. Some of them were really good.

We continued our tour through Barcelona. We went by the port and up through the Olympic Village. The olympics were held in Barcelona in 1992 and so is a whole are of the city that is that. Here are some photos of the view!

 Sending some alpha love to my wonderful turtle family! There were so many cute Turtle souvenirs in Barcelona!

After touring the city we shopped around an area called Las Ramblas which is full of people and shops.  We had dinner at a nice spanish restaurant. After dinner we went to a bar called Dow Jones. This bar is operated like the stock market. The proces change depending on the demand of certain drinks. So if a lot of people buy the same drink the price went up. Every 45 min it would crash so the prices would be at their lowest point again. There were a lot of Americans there so it was fun to interact with them and hear about their travels. It is amazing how easily we can hear when someone else can speak english. 

Sunday June 10 - We took a tour of the oler part of Barcelona on sunday. There are a lot of gorgeous churches in the city. We were not allowed in to see them because we were wearing shorts. They do not mess around about this either. There were security at every entrance and they would just turn you around if you were not dressed properly. We headed home to Valencia in the afternoon, another long hot bus ride.

It was a very fun weekend overall. The city was beautiful and full of cool architecture. The city was way more touristy than Valencia which was annoying because immediately upon entering a store we would get Hello and not Hola. This did not help us to use our spanish. But I loved Barcelona!

Feeling like a sitting duck

Yesterday (6/12) Kelsey and I volunteered to be sweepers. This means riding in the back of the group, fixing bike problems, and getting to eat dinner first!

Being sweeper stresses me out. During one particular busy stretch of road I became a little anxious. I felt that the other riders with me weren't being cautious enough and were putting all of us in danger. We were going at a slow speed, the cars weren't slowing down, there was a crack in the pavement, occasional grates and gravel, turning lanes and stoplights. Can you see how I felt like a sitting duck!?!? Someone was bound to get hit or fall and then get hit. The worst feeling ever was running through my head. The best I felt I could do was to continually call 'car back' and encourage the others to ride straight and safe. Needless to say I was very happy to turn off that road!

Right after that we got totally drenched with rain. Wet to the bone! We did go by a huge field of lavender and it smelled wonderful! The rain picked up pretty hard and we stopped under a store awning to wait it out.

On days when I am a sweeper I have more time to enjoy the scenery. Today I saw fake ducks an geese set up Ina pond, ponies, cows, and farms. I have no idea what crops they grow here, sometimes we just guess and go with it. I especially like seeing green tractors and thinking of what Jake would say if he saw how big they are. Going slow also puts us in more danger concerning dogs. Kelsey is getting really good at saying "NO, GO AWAY!" in a deep manly voice. Thank goodness for her, I usually end up screaming and pedaling like crazy.

We arrived at the Perry Fun Farm in Kinston, NC before 4pm! We met our goal! I was so happy to sweep with Kelsey, we had great conversation and I couldn't have gotten through the stress without her. If Kelsey takes the Rowanda teaching job, our days together are numbered:(

Today (6/13) was build day #2!!! We slept in and had breakfast at 8, a welcomed rest time. We headed out around 9 and got right to work. One group painted cabinets, a couple people went on errands, some organized supplies and then the collective group worked on railings for the front and back porch. We kept ourselves busy during the down times by cleaning up the yard and making each other laughter with probably not funny jokes.

This evening I helped organize food and we finished watching Bravheart.

Three big days of riding coming up, we will be in South Carolina by the end of the week!

Barcelona

Fri June 8 - A weekend in Barcelona began! We left Valencia at 1130 to Barcelona. The trip was through the school so we took a bus there full of 55 students. It took 5 hours to get there with a 45 min lunch stop. We arrived in Barcelona and went right to the Sagrada Familia which is a cathedral that has been being built for 90 years and still has a long way to go. It is maybe going to be doen in 10 years but that is will be a push. It was designed by Antonio Gaudi who is a well known Spanish Architect. He has works throughout the city of Barcelona. The cathedral will have one main tower that will be 500 feet tall when done. Surrounding that are four towers representing Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There are three entrances to the cathedral and each has four towers so 12 total which represent the 12 disciples. Everything in the cathedral has a biblical significance. The inside of the cathedral is based off of nature and looks like a forest. The huge tree looking structured have a foundation or "roots" that go seven stories down. Because of this they are really strong and support everything so the walls do not support much. This allows the walls to be more ornate than functional. The walls are filled with stained glass. The choir loft in the cathedral can fit 2000 singers! There is also a chapel below the main sanctuary.

We had a tour guide with us all weekend to tell us about things. She spoke in english which made it easy to understand what was going on but I kind of which she would have spoken Spanish because that would have helped me learn a lot. At the Sagrada Familia we got headsets. Below is Sam and I with headsets.
After the Sagrada Familia we went to hotel to check in. Our hotel was out of the city like 15 minutes which was kind of a bummer but it was nice. I shared a room with Jaclyn and Sam. our hotel was called Las Tres Torres.
Our room was made into a triple with a third bed in place of the night stand. I slept in the middle and at the head of the bed there were the three light switches so during the night I accidentally turned them on, oops!
At 930, we met back up again to go to Las Ramblas which is the main street in Barcelona. There are lots of restaurants, stores and people. Barcelona is much more touristy than Valencia. Every time we went to a store or restaurant the people immediately spoke english to us. I would try to respond in spanish so that I could practice my spanish. The streets were full of people trying to get you to go to their club or restaurant. We grabbed dinner at a burger place so I got tortilla potato. It was really good. We ventured out into night life around 11, which is way to early for anything to be happening. We walked along the marina which was really pretty. The marina in Barcelona is really big. The waves at the beach were much bigger than the waves in Valencia and were so pretty. We ran into some friends and found a place on the beach that was free so we tried it out. After about 40 minutes we decided to call it a night. We grabbed a cab home and passed out after a long day. 

More about my weekend to come!