27 July 2026

Happy Monday from sunny, smoky Valencia.

Wild fires are burning across Spain, including near the city of Valencia. Please keep Spain and France in your thoughts and prayers as they battle these destructive and dangerous fires.

It’s been a quiet, hot, and humid week here…contributing to the fire danger and to my laziness. I just haven’t had much energy to do anything.

But there is significant news.

My resident visa application was denied. My attorney believes that this is an error and plans to file an appeal. He is contacting the authorities to see if there’s something specific that they are looking for. He tells me to have hope. So, that’s all I can do. I’m waiting to hear what he learns and what our next steps will be.

On a more positive note, my Spanish teacher asked me last week if I think I’m ready to advance to a C1 class. (Language learning goes from A1 – beginner, to C2 – fluency). I don’t feel ready, but I think we may make the change starting in a few weeks. We talked about taking one C1 class each morning, followed by a B2 class. I like that idea. It would be one class of new information, followed by one of more review and practice. Whatever happens, I am making progress, however slow.

I still marvel at how little I understand when listening to Spanish spoken. But I am gaining confidence in my ability to read, speak and write in Spanish.

Here’s wishing you a week full of progress and hope.