You may want to grab a coffee.

Coke? Chocolate bar? As long as it's not Hersheys. They don't practice fair trade and utilize child slavery.

World issues aside, this is going to be a long one...

Our last night in Valencia was the Fiesta of San Juan, one of the biggest fiestas of the year. It was bitter-sweet because our host parents had gotten us excited for this festival starting our first week in Valencia, but in the back of our minds we all knew that although it was finally here, it was our last night together.

The tradition is to make a list of things you want do in the next year and a separate list of things you want to change or leave behind. The entire city posts up on the beach all night with a bonfire (wood supplied by the city!) and at midnight, you burn your list of what to change and run into the ocean and jump 9 waves for good luck. The beach was packed, but most importantly we were all there together :)
At the port there was a techno concert full of people. I felt like I was at Lollapalooza on the beach in Spain, fo free. The next day we said our goodbyes and most of the group traveled to Madrid by bus to fly back to the US. I went to Madrid and checked into a youth hostel for 2 nights. It was full of people my age with computers and bar downstairs. It was so easy to meet people and explore Madrid with new friends. Another set of goodbyes later, I was on the bus to Bilbao. I found my next hostal which is very nice and clean, although the demographic ranges more from 15-45 years old.

Today I ventured into the city sola, and spent most of my time in the Guggenheim. My favorite work was by Jenny Holzer. It is a permanent light installation designed for the museum. On the outside sayings about love, such as "i hear you" and "i remember you" scrolled the screens in English and then in Spanish.
If you walked to the other side of the screens, facing the wall, the same sayings scrolled in Vasco, the "forbidden language" (in her words) of the Basque Country. The Basque people are considered another nationality in Spain, there is a rich history of nationalism, including violence and terrorism in an attempt to take over the Spanish Government. I think that having a Basque flag in your house in Spain could be compared to having a Confederate flag on the wall in the U.S.
Another favorite exhibit was called the "Didactic Wall" which included popular songs of the 60s in europe and the US. It featured bands such as Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. I assume it´s called the didactic wall because of the progression the music industry and our societies found in the 60s, but it didn't explain. I stayed for awhile watching people ages 7-75 sit down, tap their feet, strum their fingers on an invisible air guitar, or get up and dance to the music.

I have 2 day-excursions to the mountains, and a weekend in San Sebastian before Christiana comes to Spain!

Thanks for reading! :)