This weekend was glorious. My two friends Zach and Angie (from Whitworth) came over from Murcia, Spain where they are studying for the semester and Jackie and I got to spend the day with them, showing them around Sevilla! It was so fun and quite strange at the same time, walking them around the city like it's my home, which it is I guess.

Then later that day Jackie and I left with Maria and Charri for Arcos, where they have a summer home in which Charri's husband Joselite stays most of the time. Arcos is gorgeous. It looks a bit like Greece (not that I've ever been there) because all the buildings are white and there's this one huge mountain in the middle of the citty called "barrio arriba" or the upper neighborhood. It would have been amazing if it was on the beach. Too bad.

Okay so the house is AMAZING. Seriously when we walked through the door I expected it to be about the same size as the apartment here, but it's huge. It has a giant fireplace, all kinds of antique decor, and probably 12 different rooms. It's lovely. And they have a great little backyard and a roof you can go on and see a stunning view of the barrio arriba. Anyhoo, my point here is that Arcos is a great little town.

Saturday was the best day I have spent in Spain yet. Jackie and I were aware that there was a family reunion going on so we assumed it would be a big gathering of all the family in the area. You have to understand that, although Jackie and I speak pretty good Spanish, we sometimes feel like little kids following Maria and Charri around because we can't quite catch all they say to one another. So Charri dropped Maria, Jackie and I off at this ranch house which used to be owned by Maria's grandma who recently passed away (something I figured out much later). I want to retire in this house. It's in this huge, green open space with an amazing view of mountains from the backyard. I loved it. And in the living room was a huge fireplace and on both sides were TONS of beautiful vases the grandma had collected. It was such a hoomey little place. Mom you would have loved it.

We ended up being picked up by a cousin and going to a bar to meet up with the rest of the cousins (by this time we were starting to figure out this was a cousin hang out only). We ate delicious tapas and tinto de verano. Mmmmm. And we got to meet all the cousins! There were about 10 I think. All such lovely, fun, nice people! And everyone was between the ages of 20 and 30. Jackie and I have been noticing that there are very few awkward silences in Spain. Everyone always seems to have something to talk about. It's great! It was such a fun environment to be in! So much energy and fun.

After the bar we all went back to the ranch house for a dinner the house caretaker woman had made for us. Delicious. It felt like a Spanish-style Thanksgiving. And I cracked up because she had made buckets and buckets of sangria that were all over the house. After dinner Jackie and I went out walking around the ranch with some of the cousins. It was rainy but really fun. We almost got attacked by a swarm of bees when one of the cousins opened a bee cage. Poor choice on his part although I must admit I did encourage him. We came back to the house and the real fun began. A guitar and a drum were brought out and we had music for the rest of the night. Two guys were playing all kinds of Spanish songs and everyone was singing along and dancing and Jackie and I were pretending like we knew what we were saying and danced along too.

At one point in the night Maria told everyone I played guitar (but she's never heard me before, she just saw it in the room). Immediately everyone was demanding that I play. Ah man I was so embarassed and resisted at first but eventually gave in. I played a couple songs and everyone seemed to like it. I was nervous at first but it ended up being really cool. They kept asking me to play more and more songs. Later in the night I was talking to one of the guys who played guitar and I was telling him how I don't often play in front of large groups of people and then he said something that was really encouraging. He told me the fact that I was nervous about it, I'm in a foreign country, and I played well, is really impressive. He kept telling me to record an album. So that was great. Very affirming and inspiring.

It was a great great night full of meeting new friends, singing, laughing, dancing, eating, drinking and all around socializing. I love the laidback nature of the Spanish people. They are content simply hanging out in a ranch house until 4am. It was so neat to feel like I was a part of the family. It was a very unique experience for Jackie and I. Hardly anyone else in our program has siblings in their house, let alone families who take them with them on their weekend trips. I am so so grateful for God's blessings to me throughout this trip. Mmm I'm loving it.

Oh and very sad, but right when we got to the ranch house I turned on my camera to take a picture of the view and I was told my battery was dead. So I didn't get any pics of my favorite day in Spain. Sunday though we went to a park for this festival celebrating the Dia de Andalucia, which basically consisted of groups of people dressed up in ridiculous outfits, singing original songs, playing kazoos and dancing their hearts out. Crazy crazy Spainards. That's what the picture of the men singing is from. The one with the three ladies is of some family, Charri in the middle. Such a dear. Sorry this is so long. There's just so much to tell!!