I started writing this yesterday, but here it goes...
Ok, so I know I should be finishing up my Arab paper and presentation for Wednesday (since my professor was nice enough to understand that my stupid Dell computer is a piece of crap so I couldn't finish it for today)... but I don't know, I'm just not in a very focused mood. I also am very unmotivated and didn't go on my run yesterday or today :/ BUT, one thing I know I still need to and should do is write about our weekend in Extremadura a couple weekends ago:
Ok, so I know I should be finishing up my Arab paper and presentation for Wednesday (since my professor was nice enough to understand that my stupid Dell computer is a piece of crap so I couldn't finish it for today)... but I don't know, I'm just not in a very focused mood. I also am very unmotivated and didn't go on my run yesterday or today :/ BUT, one thing I know I still need to and should do is write about our weekend in Extremadura a couple weekends ago:
On Friday morning, we met up with the group at 8:15 and were off to Mérida. The drive was about 3 hours long. When we got there, we walked through the city a little (it wasn't that big), visited an old Roman amphitheater and theater and then an archeological museum that had objects from Roman times also. The amphitheater was really cool to see after already visiting the old Roman city of Itálica with my class the previous Thursday. Although Itálica was really interesting to see, since it was the Roman's first settlement in Spain, it was mostly just ruins, whereas the ones in Merida were ruins, but were more intact. The museum wasn't too interesting since we were told that most of the sculptures were just random people, but what I enjoyed most at both Itálica and the museum was seeing all the mosaics. At Itálica, there were mosaics in each house originally, and they were themed. For example, one house contained a room with a bird mosaic built into the floors, therefore it was referred to as "The House of the Birds". The coolest mosaic was probably at one of the other houses though, that had an image of all of the Gods and Goddesses that represented the days of the week.
While we were at the museum on Friday, we also visited the old crypt. My friend, Alex, immediately asked me when we got inside, "How many people in here are dead?" which brought back funny memories of Grandpa because he always used to ask me that. It's nice to know that even though he's gone, I still think about him and nice memories or even corny jokes like that come back all the time; they help me smile a little when I remember him. It's still very surreal to me that I will never see him again though--I almost cannot believe that. Almost every place I have gone to, especially those where we go on hikes or are in nature, I think about how much he would love to be there and wonder if maybe he has been there already. While I wish he could still be alive to be receiving my postcards and hearing about all the cool places I've been visiting (and know that he would enjoy to know that his granddaughter has become more of a "world traveler" like himself), I'm a little happy that since his time was coming that I had time to spend with him before I had to leave--and that he didn't pass away while I was over here in Europe. Another girl on the trip said her grandfather just passed away on Sunday, which I can't even imagine how hard that is for her; she said her mom has been hysterical and of course she can't go home...if that happened to me I would feel so helpless. Sometimes I suddenly have the urge to cry, but have mostly been remembering the good times with Grandpa. Lately I have also been wondering if God chose to make me strong the day he passed away and throughout the entire time I was home to support my Grandma and Mom. Before he died, we constantly reassured him that we would all be okay and that he could stop struggling, but I also asked him to promise to watch over me and show me that he was with me when I came to Spain. I have still been looking for signs that he is here with me and wonder if it's enough that certain things I see or hear remind me of him; or if there may be a bigger sign that I am missing. Maybe it's as simple as the fact that I haven't forgotten him that matters, though, which is something I was a little scared of happening.
After we left Merida and went to another city in Extremadura, Trujillo, we walked around the city, saw an old castle/fortress and also visited a medieval type/themed market outside our hotel. Trujillo was beautiful and reminded me of what I would think Ireland would look like (except less hilly)... It looked like a cute little antique town, and our hotel actually used to be a palace. The market was probably one of the coolest things though--it had traditional foods and pastries/desserts, unique gummies (like vodka and mojito flavored ones) and various different stands with nice jewelry (better quality than in morocco), toys, pottery, dried fruits and nuts (and dried kiwis, which I have never seen before and actually got to taste one of my friend's). The funniest thing that we found there that also reminded me of Grandpa (which I would have gotten for him if he were here and I'm sure he would have loved) was a little ceramic bird whistle that sounds exactly like a bird. My friend Alex got it and whistled it outside our friend Mary's door that night (she wasn't there with us when she bought it), and Mary thought it was a real bird--once again, this simple prank reminds me of something he would also do if he had one. I am just beinning to realize how similar my friend Alex and I are; she also loves soccer, is a Christian, is just as sarcastic as me, and right now is dealing with a similar problem with her dog that I dealt with Persia a few months ago. A few weeks ago, the vet found a rare cancer in her dog and said she only had a few weeks to live... but I'm glad to say for her that her dog is still with her mother (who shares a special bond with the dog like my mom did with Persia...)
Most of this post I had already written on my iPhone while on the bus ride home to Sevilla, and since it was a couple weeks ago, I'm not exactly sure what I should add. If you'd like to check out the pictures I took; there are many of the hike and some in each of the places that we visited, follow this link to my facebook photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084630&id=1086870495&l=1d628ae07b
Let me know if you have any questions about the trip, or comment here and I will answer :)
While we were at the museum on Friday, we also visited the old crypt. My friend, Alex, immediately asked me when we got inside, "How many people in here are dead?" which brought back funny memories of Grandpa because he always used to ask me that. It's nice to know that even though he's gone, I still think about him and nice memories or even corny jokes like that come back all the time; they help me smile a little when I remember him. It's still very surreal to me that I will never see him again though--I almost cannot believe that. Almost every place I have gone to, especially those where we go on hikes or are in nature, I think about how much he would love to be there and wonder if maybe he has been there already. While I wish he could still be alive to be receiving my postcards and hearing about all the cool places I've been visiting (and know that he would enjoy to know that his granddaughter has become more of a "world traveler" like himself), I'm a little happy that since his time was coming that I had time to spend with him before I had to leave--and that he didn't pass away while I was over here in Europe. Another girl on the trip said her grandfather just passed away on Sunday, which I can't even imagine how hard that is for her; she said her mom has been hysterical and of course she can't go home...if that happened to me I would feel so helpless. Sometimes I suddenly have the urge to cry, but have mostly been remembering the good times with Grandpa. Lately I have also been wondering if God chose to make me strong the day he passed away and throughout the entire time I was home to support my Grandma and Mom. Before he died, we constantly reassured him that we would all be okay and that he could stop struggling, but I also asked him to promise to watch over me and show me that he was with me when I came to Spain. I have still been looking for signs that he is here with me and wonder if it's enough that certain things I see or hear remind me of him; or if there may be a bigger sign that I am missing. Maybe it's as simple as the fact that I haven't forgotten him that matters, though, which is something I was a little scared of happening.
After we left Merida and went to another city in Extremadura, Trujillo, we walked around the city, saw an old castle/fortress and also visited a medieval type/themed market outside our hotel. Trujillo was beautiful and reminded me of what I would think Ireland would look like (except less hilly)... It looked like a cute little antique town, and our hotel actually used to be a palace. The market was probably one of the coolest things though--it had traditional foods and pastries/desserts, unique gummies (like vodka and mojito flavored ones) and various different stands with nice jewelry (better quality than in morocco), toys, pottery, dried fruits and nuts (and dried kiwis, which I have never seen before and actually got to taste one of my friend's). The funniest thing that we found there that also reminded me of Grandpa (which I would have gotten for him if he were here and I'm sure he would have loved) was a little ceramic bird whistle that sounds exactly like a bird. My friend Alex got it and whistled it outside our friend Mary's door that night (she wasn't there with us when she bought it), and Mary thought it was a real bird--once again, this simple prank reminds me of something he would also do if he had one. I am just beinning to realize how similar my friend Alex and I are; she also loves soccer, is a Christian, is just as sarcastic as me, and right now is dealing with a similar problem with her dog that I dealt with Persia a few months ago. A few weeks ago, the vet found a rare cancer in her dog and said she only had a few weeks to live... but I'm glad to say for her that her dog is still with her mother (who shares a special bond with the dog like my mom did with Persia...)
Most of this post I had already written on my iPhone while on the bus ride home to Sevilla, and since it was a couple weeks ago, I'm not exactly sure what I should add. If you'd like to check out the pictures I took; there are many of the hike and some in each of the places that we visited, follow this link to my facebook photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084630&id=1086870495&l=1d628ae07b
Let me know if you have any questions about the trip, or comment here and I will answer :)
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