May 12, 2019 - Mekayla Dodson

Our first complete weekend in Spain has been a blast! It has been filled with new food, new experiences, and plently of opportunities to learn about the Spanish culture. On May 11th, we attended a bull fight in central Valencia, but on May 12th we spent the day on the beach for some much needed relaxation. On this day, we brought out all of our towels and layered on the sunscreen to enjoy the sea and the breeze. While the water here is pretty cold, everyone still enjoyed seeing the Mediterranean Sea for the first time and swam anyways. After basking in the sun and looking for seashells, we all gathered to play beach volleyball for about an hour. 
Kites on the beach.
We split into team RJ and team Ronnell but never ended up keeping a score of any of the games we played. While we are not professionals, we had a great time playing and created many funny memories in the process. We had a lot of trips, falls, and fumbles, but it all made for a great time. Afterwards, a majority of our group ordered merienda, a snack between lunch and dinner, and a nearby restaurant with great food. Additionally, there was a kite festival going on at the beach, where we saw around 30 kites ranging from normal sizes to about 20 feet long, which was very interesting to see. In total, we spent about 3 hours of well-needed time on the beach this day. To make things even better, no one left sunburnt! 
More beach scenery.

 While we have attended scheduled tours and class times this past week, I think we all enjoyed just spending some quality time with eachother this weekend. It was nice to be set free in the Valencia and try the food, see shops, and bond with one another. Through exploring on our own, we have all gotten so close with eachother in only one week and I know that we will only grow closer from here. I think that running lose in Valencia and going wherever our hearts take us has given us so much insight on the culture and the country. Within only 5 days, most of us know our way around the city, how to use the busses, and even a little bit more Spanish. I know that all of us are looking fowards to the following weeks with one another and I hope that we can continue to try new things, visit key landmarks, and immerse ourselves in the Spanish culture.  

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