add another two to the list of creepy boys.

Choose to chance the rapids...

This four day weekend thing is something that I could really get used to! Sleeping in on a Friday is an amazing feeling! The only reason I forced myself to wake up was in order to head to the post office (correos!) to pick up a care package from my parents. It took the guys a few minutes to find my package, but after repeatedly saying "Allison Bat-is" as they searched everywhere for the box, it appeared! I happily returned to el piso and ripped it open, and I found lots of "sweet" (literally!) presents from the parents and some hair products -- yay!! Oh, there were also two jars of extra crunchy peanut butter, which is a necessity of life but nowhere to be found in Spain! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Later that night our newest friend Billy came over. He's from Cameroon, Africa, but he has been in the United States for two years as an exchange student in Alabama. Now he's doing an exchange at UPV through the same program as us!

We had some fun with Billy, but the best part is that he showed us how to REALLY use our oven! In my last post, I said that Ken and Nancy taught us how to use it. Well, they did.. sorta. We were able to light the top part of the stove through their amazing instructions, but when we had to adjust the temperature, the fire always went out! Billy, however, showed us how to light the bottom of the stove, and the fire does not go out when you change temperatures! AMAZING! In order to celebrate such a triumph, we cooked frozen pizza. It was good! The wine that Billy brought us was not so great, but we drank it anyway. Apparently it's something that has to grow on you, but why continue to drink it if you don't like it in the first place? I do not know...

We spent today, day number two of our weekend, at LA PLAYA (the beach)!! We made the two minute trek down the street and said hello the sand and waves of the Mediterranean.


Personally, we thought it was a bit too cold to actually get in the water, but we saw other people wading out in it. There were also a select few wearing VERY small amounts of clothing, but that's an entirely different story... Although it was February, there were still quite a few people out. Apparently the cool thing to do in Spain is not to play sand volleyball; the popular thing is to play sand soccer (or "football")!


These guys were playing for hours!! It was kind of neat to watch. Soccer is already a sport that requires so much energy; can you imagine for playing that long on the beach in the SAND?? Emily and I spent our time relaxing. We journaled, ate el principe cookies (THE BEST!!), studied the Word, and reflected on the past few weeks while streaming music from our ipods. It was such a calming, restful experience! Just being still and knowing that He is our God can do so much for your soul. It really helps you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed! I am amazed by the fact that I can feel so close to God anywhere, even if it's 5,500 miles from home! You know, sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean really often) I freak out about the smallest things, and I wonder why things, like my teeth, are happening. Today I think I finally realized something important, though (I'm sure God is wondering what took me so long..!). All of these little things may go wrong: my teeth may fall out, I may miss flights, our apartment may have horrible internet connections, etc, but the important thing is that I'm HERE! This little girl from Pryor, Oklahoma, has been given the opportunity to live in Spain for five months and experience Europe in whatever way she pleases. Is that not amazing?? That is such a HUGE blessing! Little trials may come now and then, but the fact remains that God chose me to come here. He placed me here. It's all part of His will, and everything will work out perfectly according to His plan! I am so blessed! If I complain to you or worry about some little detail, please remind me of this fact. :)

My favorite thing about our little beach are the mountains in the background. This picture really does not do them justice, but they make the entire thing even more spectacular!



We stayed on the beach until the sun started to set. This is looking back at Valencia from the water. Our apartment's back there and to the left! This is my town (by town, I mean huge city with millions of people) for the next few months!! Can you believe it? I can't wait for it to get warmer! I never thought I'd live on the beach, but here we are.. we might as well take advantage of it as much as we possibly can! Don't get too jealous, H!

Of course, no day would be complete without creepy men, right? Today we got not one but TWO! We're so lucky. So we're sitting on the beach, and we turn around to take a picture of the city behind us. Apparently the guy behind me thinks that I'm taking a picture of him, and he says, "Chicas!!" I smiled at him to be polite and then promptly turned back around in a fashion that would make my dad proud! A few minutes passed, and I sort of forgot about the encounter. It was getting late, so we decided to pack up and return to the apartment, but as soon as we stood up, one of the guys ran up to us and started to talk to us. He introduced himself as Sanchez, we introduced ourselves, and then he motions for his brother to come too. Well, soon we have these two strange men standing inches away from us and telling us how pretty our eyes are. Sanchez's brother was kind of quiet and reserved... or so we thought! Apparently his brother's Spanish isn't very good because THEY'RE NOT FROM SPAIN! They're from Russia! It took us minutes to figure out that they were from Russia.. they say it weird! Anyway, Sanchez focuses his attention on me and starts hitting on me hardcore. I'm not really even sure what all he said, but he ended up asking if we wanted to take a picture with him. I wanted to tell him no, but whatever.. we took a picture! Here it is:


That's Sanchez on the right and his brother on the left. As you can tell, his brother is way hotter, but unfortunately, I think Sanchez had already claimed me, and even if he hadn't, his brother didn't speak much Spanish and spoke no English! I guess ole Sanchez really loved our picture because he asked me to email it to him; I now have this creepy Russian boy's email address, and I will admit that I gave him mine. However, when he asked for my phone number, I played dumb and tell him I forgot it! I know that'll make you happy, Daddy-o! He did give me his, though.. too bad I don't plan on ever using it! He then proceeded to ask if we would like to go for a walk; we declined. He asked what our plans were for the night, and when we told him we were hanging out with a friend, he asked if we would like to meet him on the beach again tomorrow. Again, we said no. He kept telling us he didn't want to bother us, so you think he'd get a hint, right?? Nope! As I'm standing there talking to this man, he can tell that I'm getting cold, so he offers me his jacket. I then tell him I have one, so I don't need his. So what's he do? He reaches down and picks up EMILY'S jacket and put it around my shoulders!! Emily, meanwhile, is standing there freezing, but sweet little Sanchez is apparently only concerned about me at this point.. oh, lucky me.. He then tries to zip up Emily's jacket on me, but it doesn't work too well because I didn't put my arms through the sleeves because it's not my jacket!


There's Sanchez at work, trying to make me warm... Nice or creepy? You decide, but I'd probably go with the latter! Finally, we tell them that we just have to go, and they agree to say good-bye.. sorta. (Dad, you might not want to read the next part! :)) Emily walked off, and I started to follow, but then Sanchez runs up to me and points to his eyes and then at mine and FREAKING TRIED TO KISS ME! How awkward! He called me "guapa" (pretty) one last time and then waved good-bye as he told me he'd see me later. I ran to Emily and wanted to die of laughter, but I held it in as we walked away because I know they were still watching us.. so, yeah, that's my story of the creepy men from the beach. How do we always manage to get these people?? Emily wondered why Sanchez went after me and not her, but I'm thinking she was the real lucky one. Oh well.. it's a fun story, right? I got hit on by a Russian man in Spain, and he tried to give me Emily's coat to wear even though we were both clearly cold -- haha! Let's hope I never see that one again! :)

Now, for the moment you've ALL been waiting for.... the video tour of our CRIB (aka "el piso")!! Please take a few minutes to join us as we give you the grand tour and don't be TOO jealous of our awesome decorations, appliances, furniture, etc... Just hit the play button in the center of the picture/video!




Ok, I'm not COMPLETELY sure that's going to work.. so if not, I guess I'll try again later. Actually, I think it DOES work -- amazing! Enjoy! COME VISIT US!!! Seriously, how can you resist a piso like that? We may even share the el principe cookies with you and do your laundry for you! :) Anyway, I'm heading to bed! Love you all!

...and dare to dance the tide.