Some have seen the news from last week. There was a horrific apartment fire here in Valencia on Thursday that took the lives of ten people. Many of them were refugees from Ukraine. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire and why it spread so quickly. Of particular speculation is the siding and the insulation just under that siding. It was also an unusually windy day. That most certainly contributed to the spread of the blaze that completely destroyed the whole building.

My Ukrainian English student, Dima lives within eye-sight of the building, on the other side of the Turia Gardens Park. He took this photo from his back window.

It has been called the worst fire in Valencia history. As a result, all of Valencia was officially in mourning through the weekend. That meant my choral concert on Friday was canceled, as were all other city celebrations and activities in advance of Fallas that starts on Friday, this week.

On Saturday, I met with Danny for lunch and made some new friends. he created a party of twelve of us!

On Sunday, Danny made “Gazpacho Machengo at his apartment. I expected some sort of cold cheese soup. Instead, I learned that this is a chicken dish from the Mancha region (aka Man of La Mancha) that looks like a paella. But instead of rice, uses a particular type of cracker. It was delicious!

Afterwards, Danny, Rene and I went to Mercado Colon for drinks.

It was a quieter than normal weekend. I’m so grateful for Danny and his circle of friends. Despite the language barrier, they always make the effort to make me feel included.

My Spanish classes have been frustrating. I wish I could remember faster. I’m being told that despite the feeling of “no progress,” it’s happening, and in several months time, I’ll start noticing real progress. I’m sticking with it!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have my appointment with City Hall as part of the immigration process. It’s taken until now to get an appointment. I think I have everything I need. All prayers and good wishes are appreciated. After that, I’ll need another appointment with the local police department to get finger printed. Then, I’ll be an official and legal resident of Valencia.