Opportunities

Well this week much of the group is starting to feel like Denia is our new home. Each of us has our own separate routine that keeps us busy all week long with our host families, our jobs from ethnographic studies, our conversation partners (friends) from a local high school, our acquaintances from the UNED, etc. We still have that American love of a routine engrained in us, and most of us have our routine down pat. For me, and many others, a major part of that routine is the afternoon siesta which we’ll have a hard time leaving behind when we leave Spain!

Along with getting our routine set we are also starting to notice how busy our lives are! The fact that our time in Denia has a definite end adds a little pressure to our schedules. Because each day we are one day closer to leaving Denia and returning home, we have this sense of having to do as much as we possibly can each day.

My favorite slogan has become - ¡Aprovecha! – direct translation = take advantage! This week the group as a whole has had many opportunities to take advantage of. During the middle of the week we had 3 days of straight sunlight. One day it got up to 23 degrees Celsius which is about 73 degrees Fahrenheit. You could spot out a Calvin student from a mile away – we were the only people in Denia walking around in short-sleeved shirts and flip-flops…but we don’t care if we look foreign…we like the sun!

Another opportunity we had to take advantage of was an optional excursion to Benimaurell. Benimaurell is a pueblo (small town) in the mountains. Our bus driver, Ricardo and his family have lived in Benimaurell for many years. Ricardo provided us bus transportation to and from Benimaurell for free – which made for a fantastic, cheap excursion to take advantage of.

Benimaurell was founded a muslum town in the eight century and remain that way until the Christians kicked the moriscos out during the inquisition and repopulated the city with people from Mallorca. Ricardo shared with us the rich history of his pueblo and we had the chance to apply some of what we’ve learned in our classes.

On Saturday we spent the whole day hiking through the “cañón del infierno” – canyon of hell. This was a good workout for all of us. The paths were the paths designed by the arabs since many hundreds of years. The paths wound up and down the mountain like serpents. We arrived at the bottom of the canyon two times before coming all the way back up again to Benimaurell. 300m below the canyon is the subterranean river “Río de Lucifero” – River of Lucifer. The water from this river is siphoned up naturally through the ground and was available for us to drink at various fountains along the way. It is some of the purest water in all of Spain.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend mass at the church. Calvin students made up nearly 2/3 of the congregation. The priest was very welcoming. Maria Elena even played guitar with the rest of the worship band. After mass we were on our own and everyone made their own adventure. Some students climbed the “caballo verde” – the green horse. This mountain is called the green horse because its two tall humps make it look like the saddle of a horse. When the Christians came to expulse the moriscos they all gathered around the base of the mountain because according to legend their “caballero” was going to come sit on the saddle to lead them to victory over the Christians. Needless to say, their legened leader never came and they lost the battle. Also at this time other students returned to the cañón del infierno to explore on their own and revisit the waterfall that we came across the day before. Some students also decided to stay at our hostel and relax around the fireplace.

While not everyone went on the trip to Benimaurell some folks stayed home. It is always nice to spend time with our host families. These students keep busy doing church activities, soaking up the sun on Denia’s beach, catching up on homework, etc.

As a whole this past weekend was a great time to take advantage of. The group bonded more than ever. We’re coming to realize that we would have never known each other if it weren’t for this trip and that would have been a shame. More and more I am realizing how many opportunities I have here in Spain and I find myself saying at the end of each weekend – I am the luckiest girl in the world.

--Written by Sarah Orndorff