chuch and todo el domingo

Today I went to church at the school.  They have a service that meets there, and it’s mostly missionary families, but there are some community people who come as well.  Everything is in Spanish.  Sunday school was from 11-12, and then church was from 12:30-2:30!!!  I was exhausted by the time that I left.  I actually did understand a lot of the discussion in Sunday school and in the sermon.  It’s still a lot harder for me to talk than to understand.  Much of the music was just translated to Spanish lyrics, and I now know, for future reference if I want, that there are headphones with translation available.  If I go to that church again I'll probably just try to listen in Spanish.  I understood the majority, and even though there are some particular words that I don't know, church is still powerful because the congregation is really neat.  One of my favorite parts today was when the children's church group came into the service and sang a song and played instruments that they had made.     

The niños playing their instruments- cups taped together with rice inside :) 

After church, my cooperating teacher and her husband invited me and three other teachers from school over for lunch.  They live in Alovera, which is about 20 minutes in car from Camarma.  Their house was really big- in comparison to other Spanish houses that I’ve seen- but I expect that this happens more and more the further you get from the big cities.  We had a lentil soup with vegetables and ham, bread, salad, and brownies for lunch!  It was fun to hear everyone’s stories about their prior teaching or work experience, where they live in the states, and where they’ve taught abroad.

When I got home, I was planning to just relax and go for a run, and then get ready for bed early for school tomorrow.  I was working on this post when Pilar asked if I wanted to ride with her to Alcalá.  She said she was tired of studying and wanted to look for a new jacket but also wanted to help me get my train tickets to Sevilla!  She drove us to Alcalá, and we went to El Corte Ingles.  If you followed my blog while I was in Sevilla, you probably remember reading about El Corte Ingles.  It's basically a mall department store on steroids, combined with a grocery store, a major sporting goods store, and some mechanical stuff/car parts.  This particular El Corte Ingles was "just" four floors, but each floor is massive.  

El Corte Ingles from the outside.

El Corte Ingles also has a travel agency- travel agencies are big in Spain? not sure why exactly, but I remember learning this in high school Spanish- called Viajes de El Corte Ingles, and so Pilar and I went there first to get my tickets.  I can't buy any train tickets online because I don't have a Spanish bank card (always the problem), so Pilar knew that this would be the best option.  The travel agent was able to help us find the cheapest train and the best times for me and on the dates that I wanted, and I was able to pay in cash.  Plus, there's no extra service fee.  Pilar also asked the poor travel agent about every other trip I had mentioned possibly wanting to take, so I now know exactly how much it will cost me to go to London by plane, Barcelona by train or plane, Rome by plane (note: this wasn't even on my list, but she asked the travel agent what she thought the best cities in Europe were, so here we are), and a few others on any given date at particular times.  Anyways, I walked away with tickets to Sevilla in March, and I couldn't be more excited.  I also get to take the AVE, which is a high-speed train that travels just among major cities in Spain and France.  I can get to Sevilla in 2.5 hours as opposed to 7 hours in a bus or regular train.  A flight would be a faster trip, but I would end up spending more time in the airports, and I can easily (supposedly) navigate to get on the AVE in Madrid.  

Tonight we at a "little supper:" leftover spinach, pizza, eggplant, bread, crackers, desserts, another kind of bread, broccoli, a leftover chicken dish, and applesauce.  We also watched a TV show that reminds me of Jersey Shore or the Kardashians, but it's a reality show about gypsy families who live in Seville.  They're super rich, and I asked Pilar how they got so much money, and she said no one knows for sure.  Also tonight, the wifi came back!  Pilar thinks her neighbor turned it off for the weekend.  That seems like the opposite time that I'd be turning off my wifi, but maybe he was gone or something.  Anyways, I at least know that it is likely here for the week and can plan accordingly.