10 May 2026

First to all the moms in the US, Happy Mother’s Day! For all the sacrifices our moms have made, for the lessons they have taught us, the values they have instilled in us, and the love they have given us, Happy Mother’s Day!

Another strange week of, success, connection and conflict to share with you….

I finished my class on Integration into Spain and Valencia culture this week. Given that everything was in Spanish, and there were many details that I missed, I am happy to say that I got 38 out of 40 questions correct on the final exam.

I’m still waiting for word on my Student Visa renewal. But my attorney thinks this milestone will help in the future.

On Tuesday, I tried going to the beach. But it was just too cold and windy. So I didn’t stay long.

That night, my friend Tomás hosted a gathering at his house. It was fun to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and to meet some new folks. And he made a wickedly delicious Whiskey Sour!

On Thursday, choir was particularly painful. The director was in a foul mood and twice stopped to either mock me or yell at me. I honestly have no idea what his beef was. You may remember he was doing this a year ago. So at that time, I spoke with a board member and took a couple months off from the choir. Things had been better until this week. So after thinking it through, on Friday, I sent an email to the university office of Diversity and Inclusion. I described the situation and asked for their advice. We’ll see what kind of response I get.

That night after rehearsal, my friend Tatiana invited me to a concert on Friday night. Tatiana, from Columbia, is a student at University Polytechnic Valencia, studying Art Restoration. The concert was with students and volunteers from the American Center, a part of the university that helps locals connect to US culture and opportunities. What the orchestra and choir lacked in finesse, they made up in joy and enthusiasm. It was such a refreshing and delightful evening. Then Tatiana invited me to a comedy show afterwards, called Girls and Gays. It was also in English and very fun! I didn’t know there was so much entertainment happening in English!

Tatiana and I were talking about movies and decided to meet at my house to watch the original Devil Wears Prada movie. So we did that this afternoon. This week, we’re going to see the new sequel. No spoilers!

Saturday was a cool, rainy day. So I stayed home and baked. I baked a carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies and made some pralines.

My friends Hans and Sue, came and spent the night, last night (Saturday). They had been on a cruise and flew into Valencia, landing at 11:00 p.m. So, rather than taking a two hour bus back to Denia and then driving another 30 minutes to their house in Alcalalí, I was happy to host them for the night.

We slept a little later and then went for brunch before going sightseeing.

Hans is originally from Sweden. Sue is American. They live between Alkalalí and Park City, Utah. We walked, past City Hall, past the Cathedral and to the Towers of Serrano, where we came upon a weekly Tango event.

After a break sampling the traditional Valenciano snack, Horchata and Fartons, (Horchata is a milkshake-like beverage made from Tiger Nuts and Fartons are a pastry designed to dunk in Horchata without falling apart), we went back to the City Hall for a mascletá.

This weekend was the annual celebration, honoring one of the patron saints of Valencia, “Our Lady of the Forsaken.” There were activities all weekend, including a daytime fireworks/ pyrotechnics show (mascletá) at 2:00 p.m. today. Hans and Sue loved the intensity and excitement of it all.

Afterwards, they took the bus home, and I caught up with Tatiana and watched the movie. Then I called Alice (the mom that I adopted in Idaho), and then got to talk to my mom in Kansas. It was wonderful catching up with both of them and wishing them a Happy Mother’s Day.

Oh! One other interesting thing that I wanted to tell you about this week, is an ad campaign that I’m seeing everywhere, sponsored by the European Union.

There are versions of this ad promoting science, education, free press, and free speech.

I’ll leave it to you to consider why the EU thinks this is important to be promoting at this time.

As always, thanks for reading. Here’s wishing you the freedom to connect with friends and loved ones always.