hola mis amigos!!!
so, i hope everyone had a nice christmas or hannukah or winter break, whatever you had. and i hope everyone is planning wonderful new year's parties! and wishing i was there....sometimes i wish i was there, and other times i wish all you people were here, and mostly i'm just having a really good time.
now, i'm in Sella, which is about 10 minutes inland from La Villa Joyosa, which is about an hour north of Alicante, which is pretty far south on the eastern coast of Spain. So i've been here for about 2 weeks. This place is called La Huerta de Gloria. I am living with a family, on their farm. They grow olives, mostly, and other fruits, like oranges and avocados. They also have a guesthouse, hosting people who want to go climbing, sea kayaking, or hiking. We are in very beautiful mountains, not too high, but there are lots of high mountains around us. About a week ago, there was a big storm here, raining at the house, but it snowed up on the tops of the mountains. We drove up there, and played in the snow, throwing snowballs, and we made a snowman, until the snowplow came, and we had to save it as fast as we could by moving it to the other side of the road. There are 2 kids here, Dylan is 3, and Isabella is 5, and i spend a lot of time hanging out with them, when i am not helping with the guesthouse, cooking, cleaning, and serving meals.
When i first got here, they had already finished the olive harvest, which they told me was a good thing, because it was hard work. But i helped them finish the last of the filtering of the olives because there's a lot of leaves and branches and other stuff. They harvest olives by putting nets on the ground under the trees, and the wind knocks them all down, and whatever doesn't fall, they hit the branches with sticks, i think.
That was the first day, and the only day i've actually done any farm work. Except tomorrow, i think i will help sow some garlic with Violeta's father (the kids' grandfather).
A couple days after i arrived here, a group of 8 guys from England came to go climbing and kayaking. I got to go climbing twice, which was great, because i had never climbed before. And now i don't know why since i was in boulder for 3 years. But anyway, the first climb i did was a 5, and it was really hard but i did it. The next day, i tried a 5+, just to see if i could do it, but i couldn't. I kept falling and slamming against the rocks (for those of you who don't know anything about climbing, there were ropes and harnesses involved, don't worry) The guys told me they would have been really surprised if i had been able to do it on my second day climbing.
I didn't go kayaking because there weren't enough boats, but that's okay. Now, Johnny and Violetta are on a 3 day kayak trip up the coast with a group of people. So i'm helping the grandparents watch the kids, and getting the place ready for a big group that's coming on the 30th for the New Year.
My first time away from home on Christmas was actually really nice. Papa Noel came, and even i got a few presents. I helped the kids make presents for their parents and grandparents, and i made some toys for the kids too.
It is really beautiful here, and the weather is a lot better here than the last place. I am not speaking as much Spanish here because Johnny's from South Africa, and Violeta and the kids speak really good english, so we always speak english. Violeta's grandmother only speaks spanish, so i speak to her sometimes in spanish, and i practice my spanish sometimes with the kids as well, but they speak english to me.
I will be here for one more week, i think. And then i'm going to Ibiza for the rest of January. Ibiza is an island of the east coast of Spain. Anytime i tell people i'm going there, they ask, "to party?" because Ibiza is famous for raves and tons of all-night clubs and parties, but i think that's mostly in the summer. I'm going to a farm, with goats. i love goats. but maybe i will party one night or two. After Ibiza, i think i might go all the way to the canary islands, because i heard from a nice guy from holland with a backpack and speaking english, that there is a rainbow gathering there. i missed the one in colorado, so i think i'll try to go to this one. anyone wanna come?
So, Happy New Year everyone, i love and miss you all. i wish i could write e-mails to all of you or call you, but that is impossible. that is why i have this blog. but if you e-mail me, i promise i'll write back. hi-cee@wildmail.com
oh, and i learned how to juggle, but i need to practice. all we have to juggle are oranges, so i haven't practiced in while because i got tired of eating oranges after i dropped them too many times.
oh, and one day i promise i'll put so many pictures on this thing, but not this time.