Flat Jake in Spain

In Spain, my host family was Vilches Arcenegui family – Juan, Cristina, and Pablo, Cristina’s son who is 9 – one year older than me.

Spain is divided into 17 regions. My host family lives in Andalucia which is the largest region of Spain located in the southern region of the Iberian Peninsula. It is divided into 8 provinces with the capital being Sevilla. The town is called “Alcala de Guadaira”. That name comes from the Arabs who lived in the region for more than 500 years.

I arrived in Alcala de Guadaira on the 23^rd April, and the first thing we did was to get around Alcala. The town has 70,000 inhabitants and is 10 miles away from the capital of the region (Sevilla).

On the 25^th, we went to one of Juan’s cousins christening of two twin girls. First we went to church. Even though Spain is a multi-religion country, most people are Catholics although they are not very religious any more. It was a very big event. Spanish families are big. I mean, they enjoy getting together, parents, children, cousins, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents. They celebrate everything with their families: a baby’s birth, the christening, and First Communion at 10 years old, which is a really big day. At First Communion, all the family goes to church, and they have a big banquet celebration. And finally, the last event in any Spanish family is the wedding. So, the christening was the perfect event for me to meet the rest of the family. They were amazed of all the places I have gone, and they wished they could go with me just like my Daddy wishes.

I had a hard time trying to understand them because although I had already been taught some Spanish by Pablo, the people from this region speak quite fast so it was difficult to understand them. On top of that, Spaniards are quite noisy, especially when they get together like the day of the christening. Well, after the ceremony, we went to the “feria” to have a big meal. We started eating at 1400 hours (they do time in a 24 hour clock – 1400 in 24-hour clock is 2 p.m.) and finished at 1800 (6 p.m.). Why did it take so long? Because Spanish love talking so much! Everybody wants to talk with everybody! After that, we went to see the attractions; and, finally, I went off to bed after a long, fun day.

On Sunday, we went to the cinema to watch “Monsters vs Aliens” IN SPANISH. It sounded so weird. Then, I got to go to school with Pablo. He is in 3^rd course which is a level for children born in 2000. Education in Spain is mandatory from 6 years of age until 16. Then they can study 2 more years to prepare for the university. Pablo usually goes to school Monday to Friday from 0900 hour to 1400 hour (9 a.m. until 2 p.m). Then he stays to have lunch and then practice some sport or learn new skills like English language after 1700 hour (5 p.m.).

Well, I have been taken to Pablo’s school almost every day of my stay. Pablo’s colleagues were also delighted to meet me, and they all wanted to teach me all kind of plays. Spanish people love soccer and so do the kids. I wish I had pictures of Pablo’s school, but I wasn’t allowed to get any there because of security.

On April the 30^th, I travelled to Los Gallardos with Pablo and his father, Rafa. Los Gallardos is a very, very small village in the province of Almeria. We went there to stay for the bank holiday weekend. May 1^st is a bank holiday in Spain. They celebrate the day of “Work.” I had such a lovely time. We got to go to the beach. The weather was warm and sunny so I had the chance to see the Mediterranean Sea which is a warm sea. On our way back to Alcala, we crossed the very famous desert – The Tabernas’ Desert – known because many western American movies were filmed there – like “Laurence of Arabia” and “Conan”. In that desert, there is a complex called “Mini-Holliwood” which was famous way back in the 1960s and 70s for western movies like “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and “For a Few Dollars More.”

The following week, I accompanied Pablo again to school, and in the afternoons I was able to see his mum working in her studio. She quilts quilts using in a very big quilting machine like my grandma Sandi uses. And her machine came from Iowa here in the United States – all that way it was shipped to Spain because they don’t make these machines other than in the United States.

By the way, Spanish people have a funny way of eating. They usually have a light breakfast, toasts and coffee, heavy lunch between 1400 hour and 1500 hour, a snack of pastries or a sandwich around 1800 hour and then a light dinner at 2100 hour or 2200 hour. Also, they go to bed around 2400 hour. During the summer, due to the heat, they have something called siesta (a nap) that means sleeping for 1 or 2 hours after lunch.

The following weekend we went to Sevilla on Saturday. I was taken to a patchwork shop first. It was full of surprises, beautiful quilts, dolls, etc. I was presented to the owner whose children are Americans since she is a married to a gentleman from San Francisco, so they spoke to me in English. When we left the shop, we went to see the Guadalquivir, which is the river that crosses Sevilla. This river is famous because in the XVI (16^th) century the Spanish used the city of Sevilla as the main port to America. This city was the most important of Europe in those years since all the ships that went to America departed from here.

After that we went to Naboo land, yes, I am not joking. Well, the proper name is Plaza de España, Spain’s Square. This is one of the favourite places in Sevilla for tourists and Sevillians. It was built for the Ibero-American exhibition of 1929. He mixed a style inspired by the Rennaissance with typical elements from the city. Plaza de España was used for one of the scenes in episode II of George Lucas in “Star Wars SAGA Attack of the Clones.”

After that, we went to have lunch and stayed the rest of the weekend with Pablo’s family – you know, cousins, uncles and all that.

Finally, on my last weekend in Spain, we went to the Medieval Castle of Alcala built by the Arabs located at bank of the river Guadaira.

Well, it was quite an experience since I was able to see those old walls, and I could imagine the warriors, Arabs, and Christians fighting. It was a very hot and sunny day. We had a lovely time as well. Oh, we went to church as well. That little church was built in the XIV (14^th) century, and it was so different from what I am used to see in the States - very small with old stones.

Then we went to a neighbor’s house where we had lunch. Their house is very typical here.

The following day we went to have a walk in the banks of the Guadaira River (an Arab’s name), and I got the chance to see The Dragon bridge, also know as the Gardian of the Castle. It is so cool with all those coloured tessellations. It is the only figurative bridge in Europe.

And finally, on Monday, I said goodbye to my Spanish family and took a plane to Ontario. The host family will forward me back to school as soon as she gets me because I need to be back by May 29^th. The US Mail takes a long, long time to get anywhere!

P.S. Juan, Cristina and Pablo said they had a lovely time with me and thanks everyone for letting them be a part of my travels. I was a good boy!