Frustrated Love

The Roller Coaster of Life

After two days in Cuenca, I can easily see why my professors warned me that I would be very frustrated during the first week. Needless to say, today was quite an experience for me. Yesterday I posted that the name of Marta's daughter is Sophia. Well, today I learned that her name is actually Iciar. Luckily I was not calling Iciar by her name or I would have looked extremely rude. Therefore, due to my frustration, this blog post will be totally in English.

In another aspect, I have been very frustrated because I do not know how to get around the city. Cuenca is a rural city, so it is possible to walk from one part of the city to another in approximately an hour. I know that Mrs. Marta gets tired of having to drive me everywhere, so I decided to walk to the hotel that the other students are staying in until the residence hall opens at the University of Castilla. Mrs. Marta gave me a map, and drew a maze or directions for me to follow on my walk. Little did I know though that the streets are not labeled like they are in America. I was very fortunate that God decided to bless me with a sense of direction today because I do not know how I made it to the hotel!

When I got to the hotel, the other students and I went to the park with the teacher's aids from the University of Castilla. There are three teachers aids. Their names are Ramón, Ana, y Silvia. I am glad to have their company because they have been keeping us sane. Our trip to the park today was my favorite part to my day because I actually had the chance to relax. We had so much fun and laughed for hours in the park, and I will never forget this experience.

The last frustration of my day was figuring out how I was going to get home. Mrs. Marta told me to take the bus, but I was under that the impression that the bus cost five euros. I did not want to pay that much, but I waited at the bus stop anyways because I knew I could not walk home alone at night. This part to my day was pretty lonely and scary. I was sitting at an unfamiliar bus stop, and everyone who passed by just stared at me. I guess I stand out or something?

I waited for an hour by myself for the bus to finally arrive. When I got on the bus I found out that it only cost one euro to ride. I was so happy and relieved! I had been stressing for no reason. In conclusion, I have decided that I need to remind myself of how blessed I am to have the chance to be here and to stop stressing over little things.

Casas Colgados

Yesterday afternoon on our excursion, the teacher's aids from The University of Castilla took us to one of the most historic parts of Cuenca. We met at the hotel and walked to the big bridge of Cuenca. The bridge is located in the countryside near Mrs. Marta's parent's summer house. The sites along our walk were unbelievable. Cuenca is such a gorgeous city!

When we got to the bridge we took a lot of pictures because while standing on the bridge it is possible to see the entire town. At the end of the bridge stood the "Casas Colgados". In English, this means "Hanging Houses". The houses looked like cabins sitting on hills to me.

After we saw the houses, we continued our journey to the top of the mountain. Along our walk we stopped in the corridor of the "Cathedral de Cuenca". The architecture of the church is absolutely magnificent. Another student made a comment to me while we were looking at the cathdral that "In America, we don't have anything made from the stone in Cuenca". Well, I thought about it, and then I turned and responded to her, "No, we don't have anything like this, but you have to remember that The United States of America did not exist when most of these buildings were made." I had never thought about the architecture of another country this way.

When we finished taking a break from our walk, we kept hiking up the mountain until we reached the top. At the top of the mountain there were fields of grass and patches of stone. A lot of people were reading, talking, and having picnics at the top of the mountain. The people of Cuenca are so lucky to have such a relaxing area to read. I am absolutely in love with the atmosphere of Cuenca.

"Show Your Love of Reading"

When we were sitting on the top of the mountain, we looked over to the left and saw a man sitting on the cliff reading a book. This reminded me of EDU 330, and I thought, "This would be the perfect picture to have in my future classroom!" Hopefully, if I can gain the strength, I can walk back up the mountain and read a book on the cliff myself.