This past weekend I was able to spend some time outside of the city and venture into the great outdoors! My intercambio Mireia lives about half an hour south of Valencia, so on Saturday my friend Megan and I caught a train to meet her and her friend Carlos. After driving a bit further to their town, we met Mireia's mother (who was very sweet), and then headed to the local McDonalds for dinner. Usually I try to avoid places that we have in the US, but it was interesting going there because it was crazy packed, since the locations tend to be much more spread out in the smaller towns. Afterward, we went to drink some cokes at a local pub, which is the best in the whole town! (and the only one in their small town, ha). Since it was Megan's birthday, we also surprised her with a small cake when we got back to the house, then called it a night.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to grab some breakfast before heading for the hills. I can't believe how the Spaniards can function on just coffee, but that tends to be all that they will have for breakfast; the toast and fruit was just for us Americans. From there it was a twenty minute drive to the start of our hike. Our friends tried to tell us that the first fifteen minutes were the toughest, and while it may have been one of the steeper parts of the trip, it was on a gravel road, compared to very rocky traiils in some other parts. I think they were just trying to encourage us that it was downhill from there, but it wasn't really... Anyway, the first place we hiked we called the egg, since it was a big white dome on top of one of the hills, with a colorful mural inside. We then hiked to another spot to see a massive cave, which was probably forty feet tall, and a hundred deep. The last location was the peak of the tallest mountain in the area. It was crazy windy at the top, but the view was priceless! We could barely see the city of Valencia in the distance, as well as the lake Albufera, several other small towns, and of course the sea and other mountains. Pictures just don't do it justice! Though we hiked from about eight-thirty in the morning until almost three in the afternoon, I think we are probably going to go with them to another mountain soon!
Overall, it was a very great trip. I loved how we were able to frequently switch between English and Spanish, and though the long hike was tiring, we all were able to gain some valuable practice speaking as well. I also appreciated the depth of some of our conversations, such as being able to speak with them about the Catholicism here in Spain and compare it to the Christianity that we believe, especially to the degree in it ought to impact the life of a believer. After about a month here, I am really starting to see some results in my ability to converse, and though I still have a long way to go, I am thankful for how much God has blessed this trip so far. Particularly, getting involved in a local church and being able to learn vocabulary to be able to pray to and worship God a bit more clearly in another language has been remarkable. No matter the language, or how broken our sentences, he already knows our hearts; just one more reason to be in awe of our creator!