To start off this amazing week, we headed to the Aguadulce beach in Almería about an hour and a half away from Guadix. We got on the bus straight after classes and were on our way! After a few hours of swimming in the sea and hanging at the beach, we headed out for tapas to end a great day. Tuesday, we had our second birthday of the trip, which included a water balloon fight as well as a full-on cake to the face to top off this day! Each day this week, we had classes led by the nicest instructors. We fully immersed ourselves in the culture by taking flamenco dance classes and ceramics classes: all led in Spanish. While this was a bit difficult at times, the teachers were super patient and helped us expand our language skills in a new and authentic way.
The rest of the week we were super active and participated in many outdoor activities. Wednesday, we had the absolute best day hanging out at the pool in Castril. We hiked to a river and did a tour of caves. This hike included going through narrow walkways and a swinging bridge over the river! Everyone really pushed themselves and courageously made it to the other side of the river. We had a great end to the week by going to the fiesta de Santa Ana in Guadix on Friday night. We danced the night away under the strobe lights of the D.J. and even won the singing competition! I really enjoyed seeing so many of the Guadix natives come together and have such a fun night! All in all, we continued to immerse ourselves in the lives of the natives and pushed ourselves to new limits. I am super proud of all we have accomplished on this trip and am so grateful to be part of such a close-knit group of people. While leaving this place won’t be easy, I’m so glad that I got to make new memories and experience this culture with all of my new best friends and my amazing leaders!
Mary
