Full work week and Málaga day trip!
Updated: Nov 5, 2023
This Thursday marked the end of the seemingly endless paperwork and appointment journey to become a legal resident in Spain. My roommates and I crunched a lot of what we needed to do into our first month here, and I am relieved that we no longer have to worry about expiring visas or other timelines.
The rest of this week was very typical for me: 14 hours of work, siestas almost everyday, some podcast walks, etc. However, there were definitely some high/low points and very humorous moments that kept things interesting.
I haven't been feeling 100% since Monday and I think a large contributor to my sore throat and gross cough is the secondhand smoke from the bar below my apartment. It has been so warm here still that I leave my bedroom window open, but I have started an experiment of closing it when the bar is busy to hopefully keep the air in my room smoke-free. So far it seems to be working and I'm really hoping that in the winter months there will be fewer people looking to sit outside and have a cigarette.
On Wednesday I got more homemade gifts from my students including a bracelet that I've been wearing everyday since :) One of my 6th graders made a mini laptop out of paper for me and made sure to show me it was a Macbook (Apple is a very coveted brand to the children).
I arrived to my 5th grade class on Wednesday fully prepared to review the muscles and bones like I did in the two sections on Monday. However, Mariano had a different plan for me...teaching the reproductive system. I found myself doing repeat-after-me with 25 eleven year olds yelling words like "ovaries", "fallopian tubes", "prostate", etc at me. Once we had wrapped up the pronunciation part of class, Mariano started explaining further in Spanish and then the questions just started rolling in. It was near impossible for me to keep a straight face while I pretended to not understand what they were asking. All of it made for a hilarious retelling for my roommates, Ada, and mom. I really never know exactly what to expect when I go to work!
Thursday morning Sophie, Liz, and I went to the city hall of Motril to get our empadronamiento which essentially means getting our place of residence validated by the town. The appointment went quite smoothly and we celebrated outside when it was over. This was the last part of our paperwork checklist and we were all happy to have it over and done with!
The Motril Football Club came into my school to chat with students and promote their game against Málaga City this coming Sunday. I have never heard so much shrill screaming in my life when one of the players made the mistake of agreeing to do autographs...needless to say the children loved this quick break in their day.
After work, Sophie and I made the signature Ohio sweet treat, buckeyes, for a little party Skye and Renne were throwing. We put on some Halloween tunes and got to work on our chocolate covered peanut butter balls, trying not to make a massive mess in our tiny kitchen as we did so.
The party was so much fun and it was really great to have all of us Motril auxes in the same room. Lots of funny stories about children were swapped and we all bonded over some shared experiences. Also, the buckeyes were a huge hit!
On Friday morning Sophie and I dressed warmly (70 feels chilly to us now) and ran some errands around Motril including visiting our favorite bank teller, Álvaro. We had a second breakfast when we got back and then I caught up with one of my college friends Nina! The two of us hadn't chatted on the phone since I moved and it was so lovely to talk and laugh like we used to everyday.
That afternoon Skye and I went on another exploratory hike but this time we left from Motril center. We did a loop called Cerro del Toro as it was recommended to me by my landlady the week prior. Despite some less than great hiking on the road...the majority of the walk was amazing and I loved seeing the city from a different perspective.
We also befriended the cutest little dog who turned out to be quite the shoelace biting rascal. I think we were both a little worried that our new friend would try to accompany us for the rest of the hike, but thankfully the little pup ran back to its owner.
Our main group of six went out for tapas and drinks after dinner on Friday to see more of what Motril has to offer. After running into three of my students, one of Lauren's teachers, and a housemate of Skye and Rennes (Motril sometimes feels like a small town), we got situated at a restaurant. We did a weekly check-in over our drinks and discussed some upcoming birthdays we have to celebrate!
Saturday morning began in a bit of a panic with me waking up before my alarm from a "bad" dream about there not being any tickets available for the bus to Málaga. Apparently my subconscious is now linked to the Alsa bus company because this unfortunately turned out to be true. However, refusing to skip out on a day trip, Skye and I tag teamed a plan to use Blah Blah car and we were able to find a car leaving at 10:00 am for three people! Blah Blah car is essentially a ride-sharing app where you pay to carpool to wherever you and the driver are going. I had never used it before (I think I was a little scared of this modern sounding hitch-hiking) but with Skye and Renne along for the ride, I felt comfortable giving it a go.
I am so glad we tried Blah Blah car out because we had a great time getting to know the driver, Mario, (one of the teachers from Sophies school...again, Motril is a small world) and we cut the 1.5 hour trip down to an hour. We spoke half the time in English and the other in Spanish about everything from being new to Motril to traveling to food to cycling. Mario gave us a lunch recommendation for Málaga and also told us about some teacher gatherings that we will definitely be checking out later on!
The three of us grabbed a quick breakfast at a cute but crowded place before heading to the cathedral to take a tour. The Málaga cathedral is HUGE and I had only ever seen it from the outside. I was blown away by the high ceilings and the intricacy of the architecture, as is common with these buildings throughout Europe.
After the cathedral, I dropped the two of them off at the Pablo Picasso museum before walking over to see some flower gardens. I had visited the museum when I studied abroad and wanted to explore something new in the city! I also was scoping out some places to see/things to do for when my parents come next week.
I rejoined Skye, Renne, and two of their fellow Gonzaga grads, Katie and Clare, who are teaching in Mijas, at El Pimpi. The five us waited around in the courtyard for a table to open up but WOW was it worth the wait. Thank you Mario for this amazing suggestion!
We all got a drink and decided to split some tapas: patatas bravas, berenjenas fritas con miel de caña (fried eggplant with molasses), zanahorias asadas con hummus (roasted carrots with hummus), and cabra de Málaga con ajo (Málaga goat with garlic). I did not try the last one but the other three were absolutely fabulous. The patatas bravas were the best I have ever had...mom and dad get ready to dine at El Pimpi!
After lunch we walked down to the pier and stumbled upon a triathlon that was wrapping up the men's sections and about to begin the women's. There was a really animated announcer and really loud reggaeton which made for a super fun, exciting atmosphere. For whatever reason they also played the shark song from Jaws when the athletes were swimming...
We grabbed a drink at a waterside restaurant and talked all about the adjustment and future travel plans. The time really got away from us because Skye, Renne, and I had to hustle to the bus station to make our 7:00 pm departure. Meeting Katie and Claire was so fun and I am beyond excited to make some of our plans come to fruition so soon!!
This morning got off to a slow start with some laundry and other chores. I met Skye at the gym in Motril to sign up and go for our first workout. Once we were officially new members, we hit the treadmills and some weights. It being a Sunday in Spain the gym was nearly empty which was perfect for our first time. Tomorrow we are going to try a Zumba class after work and I am really looking forward to that!
After my work is done this upcoming Thursday, I am headed to Málaga again, but this time to meet my parents! I am so excited to see them and for them to be in Spain again. We are going to have a blast exploring the city and doing some biking and I simply cannot wait :)
~Alsa whisperer~ 🚌 🌝
Can't wait to see you and dine at El Pimpi!! And meet your friends! XO