My weekends have all been quite different so far, and my "core" teachers and friends have been sharing me in October. :-) One Sunday I went to the cave in l'Espluga de Francolí and the monastery in Poblet with Larua and her family (husband Jordi and 3-year-old son Quim). It was a rainy day, so being in a cave was perfect. It's a lot smaller than Mammoth Caves, but it was still neat. The tour was in Catalán, but Jordi was thoughful enough to get me one of those hand-held recorded devices that explained things in different languages. They didn't have one in Spanish (my personal preference), but they had one in English (British English, of course. :-P). I actually found the explanations pretty boring and full of evolutionary concepts, so I just listened to about half of what was available. But the cave itself was really neat! Poblet, the area with the monastery, was also fascinating. There's just so much history in Europe! We managed to catch a tour in Spanish, and the area was really beautiful. We had lunch together in a very Catalán restaurant, and I made a big discovery that day with Laura and her family: Quim is another person when he has a nap. The whiny, frusterated child transformed into a lovable, cute chatterbox after a 20-minute nap. So I finally had some fun with Quim, even though we don't always understand each other. :-)
Another trip with Laura and her family was to Jordi's village, El Pla de Santa María. There was a fair that day, and for the first time, I was able to see the famous "gigantes" (giants) of Catalunya. They're sort of hard to describe, but they're basically different people made out of plaster, decorated, and hollow inside. A real person goes inside the gigante and walks around, dances, etc. Each town has different ones, but they're usually of kings and queens, fishermen, ladies, etc. They're so cool! One thing I DON'T like are the capgrossos--big heads. I have issues with things like bobbleheads, and these distorted plaster heads are disturbing. :-) After the fair, we went to Jordi's parents' house for dinner. WOW. They have a huge, beautiful house! I met both of his parents and his sister, and they're all really nice. Jordi's mom is really into ceramics and pottery, and she's made some lovely things. I had a fun time with the family, and Quim was his happy-had-a-nap self. He's also very...inquisitive. He took our plates away after we ate, and he asked me loudly in front of everyone else why I didn't eat my other olive. While I discovered that I really love olive oil, I don't like olives. They're just too squishy and strong-tasting. Anyway, we were all telling Quim that I was too full. :-)
Another Sunday was with Anna María and her husband, Oscar. They also have a really nice flat, and they love to travel, so there's lots of trinkets from Egypt, Mexico, etc. They've been married for three years, and Anna especially has been so kind to me during my time here. Anna and I walk around the wall of Montblanc on Tuesday and Thursday evenings when we can, and I'm starting converstaion classes/tutoring with her on Monday. She has a pretty good knowledge of English and is always quick to help me with Spanish. Anyway, we had lunch together, and then Anna and I drove up in the mountains and saw two villages: Prádes and Villanova de Prádes. Prádes was beautiful, and the whole village is made from unique red rocks. Villanova was just average, but it was good to compare the two. What Villanova DID have was a spot on some rocks where you can look out and see the beautiful mountains and trees. Ahh! It's just so pretty here! That evening, Oscar, Anna, and I had dinner at their flat (Spanish tortillas...and I helped make them!), and I was able to call home.
Another weekend excursion was with Javi and his family. We met up with about four other families (friends of Javi and Cati) and drove up waaaaay in the mountains to collect, of all things, chestnuts! Chestnuts and mushrooms are a BIG deal in Catalunya. We did a lot of hiking as well, and it was such a glorious day to be outside. One woman from one of the families is from England, and she's been here for about 20 years. She teaches English, and I think her husband might have a dual nationality in France and Spain. They have two boys, and they brought their dog! So I had a whole day to play with a dog as well. :-) Silvia (the woman from England) and I talked for awhile, and she's really nice. I have to say the one of the most unique things I've ever heard was a person talking in Spanish with a British accent. :-) All of the families were nice, and there were quite a few kids running around. My favorite might have been Andres, an eight-year-old chatterbox who told the same corny joke about 200 times throughout the day. There were probably 30 people total, and I think he told everyone the joke (something about cars and Tarragona. I didn't really get the context. But I know that it was corny. :-)). Haha! I collected a HUGE bag of castanyas (chestnuts) that I later threw away. :-) There's just no way I could eat all of them, and I'm not a huge fan of them in general (they taste pretty much like walnuts). I also kept hearing rumors that some have worms in them, and that was enough to make me ditch them. :-) But it was a fun day!
And this past weekend, I went to Valencia to meet up with a friend. That trip deserves its own post though!
So because the teachers are so nice and friendly, I've been able to see and experience things I couldn't have done on my own. I will definitely do more things with them, but one thing I'm aching to do is attend a church. I'm going to try this Sunday! :-) It's really hard finding public transportation on Sundays, and there aren't any Protestant churches in Montblanc. However, I finally found out that a train goes to Lleida from Montblanc on Sunday mornings!
Anyway, that's all for this post. Thanks for reading. :-)
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