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Thanks to everyone who has been reaching out. For those who missed it, I’m actually in Denver right now. So I’m doing great. Here’s what I have heard. After getting more rain in 24 hours than they might get in some years, the floods were devastating. Valencia city is doing much better than the surrounding…

It’s been an unusually quiet couple of weeks. School is good. I have a new teacher. The school changes teachers every few months so that we get exposed to different accents and styles. I can truly say that each teacher has brought unique value and perspective. And the other students are pretty cool too. I…

The weeks fly by! The big news last week was that I contacted my attorney to start the process to renew my student visa for next year. I’m needing a lot more Spanish studies. And I’m loving living here. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I have had plenty of cultural and…

Wow. What a crazy, full week! It started with the arrival of another Couch Surfer, Francesco. Francesco lives in Barcelona, but is originally from Venice, Italy. When we had time together, he spoiled me with his Italian cooking. He’s an attorney by education. But he works in hospitality and marketing. When I wasn’t in school…

I realized that it had been more than six months since my last dentist appointment. So, I checked my insurance and sure enough, it includes dental care. So I scheduled a check up. I got there Monday and learned that I get a free cleaning and check up every six months. Unfortunately, cleaning and check…

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…

The last couple weeks have been godsends. First was my time in Bilbao with Eric and Dan last week. And this weekend, my former boss, turned colleague, and now long-time friend Jim came to see me. Both Eric and Jim have been roll-models for me. They came to Spain more than ten years ago to…

First, thank you to each of you who responded either privately or on the blog about the struggles I expressed last week. Sometimes, all you need is a compassionate, listening ear. Thank you. I’m home in Valencia after an amazing time in Northern Spain, visiting my friends Eric and Dan (from Boise) who go to…

What an interesting week it’s been. We had a big concert on Saturday night in Buñol, a small town about thirty minutes outside of Valencia. A lot of my friends said they’d be there. So I’ve really been looking forward to sharing my choir experience with them. We sang the 5th Symphony “Return to Middle…