Getting involved.

Well, senderismo (hiking) was very fun yesterday. It was also very exhausting, but so worth it. I’ve been wanting to get into naturey things, so this was a good introduction to it. It was a very lovely town in Huelva. I don’t really know what the town was, but I know it was in Huelva. This was a legit hike too. For a little bit I was concerned it would be wimpy and not be worth it, but we had to work. Steep hills, rocks. To the point where you couldn’t always be looking around you because you had to make sure you wouldn’t trip on any rocks.

Today I went to the old folks’ home to volunteer. It was fun, but I feel like it’s so much more laid back and unorganized than volunteering in the United States. I arrived, waited about 10 or 15 minutes for someone to come talk to me, then just followed a nun who led me to the room of a resident just to talk. Then I helped with the coffee time. I had to help a woman who was very picky about her coffee. She had cookies in her coffee, but I had to really stir them in because she didn’t like crumbs. I’ll tell ya. Then I accompanied a woman named Trinidad to what they refer to as “el teatro,” or the theater. That was a really confusing experience.

One of the sisters was setting up the elderly folk, and saying something about a boat, and how we needed to be in the shape of a boat. So, we were divided into two groups that were in the formation of “boats” and I and another volunteer were serving as captains of the boats. Then we did some basic exercises. I don’t understand if it really is a play they’re going to perform one day, or it’s just a way to make exercise fun, but nonetheless it was good.

Then I returned home and Colleen and I ventured to buy our train tickets for Carnaval. Our tickets are successfully purchased and our friends Sal and Mara are going to join us for a day at the beach with our packed lunches, followed by the party that is Carnaval at night. It should be a great time. Colleen and I want to be a bull and a matador as our costume, but we’ll see what the costume store has to offer us.

Classes are going fine. There’s a lot of reading, which is different than anything I’ve really had before. So it’s in one way easier, and in another more challenging. I suppose I shall just keep trucking along and we’ll see where it takes me.