Bienvenido 2025
Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to my (hopefully) weekly blog updates! I have spent the past two-ish weeks getting back into my routine here in Spain after an amazing and full-to-the-brim winter break at home. The combination of skiing all day before my flight back and having a super stressful 18 minute layover in Paris meant that my first few days here were focused on rest and recovery. However, I'm happy to report that I've gotten back into the swing of things with the help of some surfing, hiking, and soup making!
One thing that helped me fall right back into my routine was going back to work after a day of playing catch-up. Returning to school and being reunited with my students has been so lovely and I feel more connected to them and my coworkers than ever. I also feel more confident preparing class material and leading the different sections of Art and English that I work with. So, all in all, getting back to work has been very nice and I'm looking forward to my next couple months at Colegio Cisneros.
In typical fashion, Elena and I couldn't go a full week without some sort of outdoors adventure and we took advantage of a perfect day last Sunday to go surfing! The water has significantly cooled since early December, but it was still so much fun. The first wave that crashed over me gave me a brain-freeze like sensation and my toes lost feeling almost immediately upon entering the ocean. Despite this, we were still able to catch quite a few waves and I think every time we go we get a bit better. Poco a poco as they say here.
The weather this past week has been unseasonally clear for Santander but also unusally chilly. Even though it is decidely warmer than the east coast of the US (mid 50s during the day and low 40s at night), my apartment does not have heat and so it is impossible to warm up after coming in from outside. The large windows in my room, that I love because of all the natural light they provide, do not help the temperature problem since they are so poorly insulated. But, that is a sacrifice I'm willing to make for my little balcony.
In the new year, I have started English tutoring lessons for some of the children of my coworkers. On Tuesdays I work with Héctor, one of my fourth grade students, and his four year old brother Rodrigo. They are both adorable and so eager to learn that the hour absolutely flies by! On Thursdays, I have a conversation and "game" hour with Lucas, Emma, and Carla, three eleven year olds who go to another school. So far we've played a game of Clue and talked a lot about their love for everything Harry Potter.
This week I'll be adding two additional hours to help a coworkers son with his Science and Math homework in English. I am excited to meet this new family and start working with Dorian since I really miss teaching science!
Seeing as this may be my last year in Spain (for the moment), I have decided to take the DELE exam before I leave. This exam is an internationally recognized certificate of lanuage proficiency offered to non-native Spanish speakers through Spain's Ministry of Education. I am going to sit for the C1 level exam in Salamanca on May 24th and hopefully receive my diploma this summer! I am excited to study these next few months in preparation and to prove to myself that I am in fact fluent in my second language.
May is going to be a big month for me because I am also slated to run my second half marathon in Biarritz, France! This go around I have a time goal for myself and I am looking forward to exploring more of Santanders' beautiful surroundings on my training runs. There is so much nature on the outskirts of the city that I have yet to visit and I think running is the perfect way to discover these new places.
Speaking of running, this Friday, two friends (Marshall and Valentin) and I went for a long run along the coast to the lighthouse at Cabo Mayor. It was an excellent run with all sorts of terrain and impeccable views especially since we timed it around sunset! This is definitely the first of many long runs with this group and I feel very lucky to not have to go solo on every outing.
Continuing a weekend of outdoor activity, yesterday a group of us took the bus to the seaside town of Liencres to do a nature hike along the goregous coastline! I had been meaning to visit this spot since arriving in October and Costa Quebrada certainly lived up to the expectations. The combination of rolling green hills and a jutting, rocky coastline is
quintessential northern Spain and I am already planning a trip back soon.
Marshall brought along a kite and midway through our walk the five of us found some nooks in the rocks and settled in for some snacks and kite-viewing. It was the perfect unwind from city life and made me feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful place.
After exploring a fraction of the pine forest that borders some of the coast, we turned around on our out and back trek to head back to town. We got a quick round of drinks, accompanied by a mix of supermarket snacks, to wrap up our outing before jumping back on the bus to Santander.
After dinner and a shower, our hiking group reconveened for a night of kareoke at the one and only Escándalo bar. Marshall and I sang Take me Home Country Roads by John Denver and it was a crowd pleaser for sure...Spanish people really love this song! I was quite exhausted from the hours spent in the sun and wind so I called it a night earlier than the rest of them. Overall, a pretty perfect Saturday!
These first two months of the year are going to be slightly slower paced travel wise as I get into a rhythm with my studying and running. However, I will still be posting blogs with pictures showing off all the beautiful aspects of this city I get the chance to call home. Hasta el próximo!
Go for it Jessica. Don,t miss a thing over there. What great memories you will have. I jogged for 35 years all over the world and loved every minute of it. My stress management tool. 1000 hugs. GR