19 February: Toledo and The Big Compliment

Hola! I feel like my title could be the title of a children's book. I like it.

So it's 11 pm but it feels like 2 am, I'm so exhausted! Today was spent in Toledo- a 3.5 hr trip each way in an "autocar" (like a cross between a van and a bus?) driven by a maniac. For realzies. Toledo was the #1 Spanish city on my list to visit and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.

We (meaning myself and the other 3 girls from ISU who went- along with 11 Erasmus [Europeans studying abroad] students) had no idea what to expect and were pleasantly, if a little bemusedly, surprised to discover that we were completely let loose upon arrival and told to return to the bus stop 5 hours later. Rather dazed (and a little queasy) from the trip, we grabbed a map from the tourist office and randomly started walking. The four of us had a delightful day stopping in cafes, wandering and getting lost in the streets, and taking photos like it was our job. I'm sure we didn't see any of The Things to See in Toledo, but nevertheless it was a delightful day. Enjoy just a couple of photos so I don't need to wait an hour for them to upload (see Facebook for more):

 doesn't this look like a postcard?

Lovely, right?

So, onto part 2 before I head to bed: so we were accompanied on the trip by a mysterious woman named Carmen. We have no idea where she was from or why she was there or anything, but we were told she was in charge so we just went with it. I small talked with her a few times, but not much. So after we had gotten back, my roommate and I were walking home from the bus stop and stopped at one of the stoplights. We were chatting in Spanish about how we're going to start slowly easing bread out of our diets (we eat way too much) when suddenly the lady in front of us turns around, and it's Carmen. We strike up a conversation and are chatting a little when she asks us where we're from.

Side note: If you ever had speech with a Wycoff or a Voss, you know that the ultimate compliment you can receive in speech is : I Believe You.

Today, Carmen gave me the study abroad equivalent of this compliment. 

When we told her we were from Iowa (generic response), she asked, "Both of you are from Iowa?" We said yes and she responded, "Oh! You [pointing to Hannah] seem American but you [pointing to me] didn't seem so American." 

You could have knocked me over with a feather. So, moral of the story, I've been on cloud 9 this evening, because a Spaniard- after talking to me 3 times- told me I didn't seem very American. BEST DAY.

Later she offered to do intercambios with us, so that's super exciting, and I look forward to it!

Finally, on our bus ride home, the post-sunset sky-for the second night in a row-was all the colors of the rainbow in order, starting with red on the bottom and moving ROY G BIV up. It was beyond gorgeous.

Praises to God for:

-the glory of His creation

-the opportunity to go to Toledo

-beautiful, beautiful weather

-a sweet host mom who packs us yummy food whenever we go anywhere

-frozen yogurt (oh my gosh)

-safety

-good health

-that even after visiting an amazing city like Toledo (my high school Spanish teacher calls it "the jewel of Spain"), returning to Cáceres is a sight for sore eyes :)

Hablamos pronto!