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So we have now started another chapter in this little adventure I call Real World Espana.We had two long weeks, seventeen days, in Madrid and while I loved Spain as a whole I have always said being in Madrid is like being in New York City.It is very fast moving and never sleeps.To some this is a great thing if you want to go out all hours of the night and always have something to do, but I am not into the fast moving city life.I like it however; I don't think I can live in a fast moving city.I need the quiet of a pueblo and time to stop and smell the roses and stop in the middle of the street without worrying about who I am holding up on their way to where ever they might be going.
Friday was our last night in Madrid, because we were finished with our course our professor thought he would be nice and take us out.He took us to a bar where he was a regular and introduced us to some of the regulars and his friends.As soon as I walked in the door he introduced me to two people who were not part of our program and I spent the whole night talking to them and drinking the most amazing gin concoctions I have ever had.I am not a fan of gin at all, but when you throw in some dried roses and a cucumber there is no way to say no to that.I left just as the party was at the peak.I felt I wanted to leave Madrid on a good note and not have any reason to not want to come back.I walked home with some friends and got my last doner kebab.For those of you who don't know what that is, it is this amazing shaved pressed sandwich kind of like a gyro.
I woke up Saturday at about seven in the morning ready to get out of town.I packed up the last few things I had to pack while somehow still leaving some important things behind and got ready for what was ahead of me.Eight hours on a bus and about ninety minutes on a train and we were at our new home.I am now in a city in the mountains called Sant Celoni, at a camp called La Granja.This place is amazing.I am not sure if I am supposed to be working or if I am at an adult camp.We wake up every morning to an amazing breakfast, because our chief is AMAZING, then we go hiking through the mountains for a few hours , play some basketball, have lunch, hike some more and then come home to dinner delivered to our apartment.I am not sure why these people are paying us or what it is we are supposed to be doing, but whatever it is, I hope it stays like this.This town is much more my speed.We are in a Pueblo in the mountains where Spanish is not even the language the people speak.So not only did I have one language barrier when I got here, not I have two.I am not complaining though because this place is amazing!!!
La Granja, is a camp for children that seems to be a lot more than just a summer camp.They help them with their self esteem and self image.I have a feeling that when we leave this camp the children will not be the only ones who come out of here with a better knowledge of self.I think there will be some tears shed in this came as well as some hearts ripped off peoples sleeves.From what I have seen I am not sure I will be the same person I was when I left America.I already don't think I am the same person and I have only been here three days.This is a challenge in many ways for me.I am learning to step out of the box of my comfort zone and try and experience new things.The motto for the camp is "Yes we can!"It worked for Obama, and these people seem to have it down to a science, because I have yet to see a child here without a smile on their face.I am curious to see what the next six weeks hold and I will keep you all posted as it unfolds.Until then, Goodnight world…..
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