I have been hosting couch-surfers the last two weeks.

The first was Abhi, a young man from north India, currently living and studying in France. He just completed his Master’s degree and will soon be starting his PhD in Nano Medicine. So he gave himself a vacation in Barcelona and Valencia. He was an ideal couch-surfer… both independent and sociable. When I wasn’t in school or other commitments, we cooked together and toured some of the local sights.. When I was busy, he went sight seeing and made friends on his own. Unfortunately, I never took a pic of us together. But he took this while we were shopping and trying on clothes with a girlfriend he met in Valencia.

One thing we did was tour the Les Arts opera house.

Les Arts is a lot like Lincoln Center in New York…with an opera stage, a symphonic stage and separate stages for dance, recitals, chamber and baroque groups. Photos don’t do justice to the size and scale of this beautiful building.

https://videopress.com/v/ITYk23hI?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Then, my friend Medi came for a few days from Nimes, France. I met Medi at the beach in the Spring. We shared couch-surfing stories and I suggested he stay in my guest room the next time he was in town. So this week, he did.

We enjoyed time with mutual friends, went to the beach, and went to the Hortensia Hererro Art Center, a new (2023) contemporary art museum in Valencia.

We also went to the beach on Friday with Martin, a tourist we met earlier in the week.

Martin is from Montreal and enjoyed speaking French with Medi and English with me. After the beach, we walked to Albufera, a national park, just south of Valencia. Albufera includes a lot of rice fields (which are just now starting harvest season). In addition, there is a lake with a beautiful view of the sunset. So we (and dozens of others) enjoyed the show as we ended our Friday.

My Spanish classes continue and I continue working with Dima on his English and building his YouTube channel. Choir is back to regular twice a week rehearsals after a few weeks of break for the summer.

I’m enjoying the feeling of “seasonality” that comes with the calendar marching forward. As people returned from their long August vacations, schools restarted, and routines resumed, it’s starting to feel like “home.”

The changing calendar also points out that I soon need to make plans for my future. The most simple option (and one I’m considering right now) is to just renew my student visa and continue studying for another year. I clearly need the additional time if I want to have passable Spanish, and I don’t know where else I could have this quality of life so affordably.

I hope your Fall is off to a good start.

As always, thank you for your comments, emails, WhatsApp messages and phone calls.

Love to All from Valencia!