22 June 2025

Summer in Valencia is hot and humid.

Fortunately, my apartment has pretty good air flow. So far, I haven’t had to turn on the air conditioning.

And spending as much time as possible at the beach, is also a great way to deal with the heat.

On Wednesday this week, I said “so long” to one of my classmates. Colette is from California. She’s the first of a group of long term students who will be wrapping up their studies at Euroace. She’ll be traveling to visit family in Taiwan before she returns to Valencia in September. In class, we started talking about experiences that she hasn’t had yet. When I learned that she had never tried cremaet, I immediately offered to buy her lunch after class and to treat her to a cremaet. That turned into a spontaneous party where eight of us went out to lunch.

Cremaet, you may remember, is coffee with some rum, vanilla, and lemon. It’s a delicious after lunch treat.

None of the class had tried it. So, I was thrilled to contribute to their cultural edification. Everyone loved it.

On Thursday, Vicente and I went to the home of my friend Rafael to watch the Wicked movie. Rafael hadn’t seen it. So, he was another one I helped expand his cultural awareness this week!

On Saturday, I went to Vicente’s house and we watched the Broadway production of Hamilton on Disney+. Introducing a Spaniard to this interesting part of American history and the incredible production was yet another cultural enrichment opportunity.

Today (Sunday), we drove to Sagra, a small village about an hour away. Vicente went to meet Nati, a distant aunt who wants to sell some property. We drove all over looking at small plots of land with orange and other fruit trees. If you know anyone who wants to be a gentleman farmer in rural Spain, Vicente can help you out.

That was my week. How was yours?

Afterwards, we ate a delicious lunch by the community swimming pool.

On our way back to Valencia, we stopped in Gandia for a couple hours at the beach.

Respectfully,

Your Valencia based Cultural Attache.