Week 3 in Santander

This week has also been very chill. Earlier in the week I went to a poetry reading/flamenco performance at school. A woman sang one of Federico Garcia Lorca's poems while two men acted/danced it out. It was special because the last time the piece was performed at the Palace was when FGL's acting crew performed it. Pretty cool. After the performance, there was this fiesta that the school puts on every week. It was so much fun dancing and hanging out with some kids from my spanish class. This weekend I also took my first official trip to ZARA. Very exciting, would have bought the whole store, if I could have.

A big thing I did this week was book ALL of my transportation for my 3-week european adventure. I will be starting in Madrid then going to Barcelona, Paris, Brugge, Brussels, Amsterdam, Milan, and Rome! Very excited. If anyone has any tips for me or will be in the respected places during the month of September, please let me know!

School has been okay. I have a test tomorrow and a huge research project coming up. My topic is Monuments of Franco. I think this will be a very interesting topic, just because of how controversial it has been. The problem is whether to leave these monuments up in historical significance or taking them down in respect for those who lost family during Franco's regime. It has been interesting to learn about the history that really surrounds my everyday life here. I am very excited but also nervous to visit Madrid. El Valle de los Caidos (The valley of the fallen) is where Franco is buried. Ironically though, prisoners of Franco were the ones who were forced to build it. Trying to commemorate both sides that fell, in a place that is already controversial? I don't know. So far, I am a little lost on how people feel about Franco. I had an interview with mi madre but I could tell she was uncomfortable, responding to each question with si, or no. Hopefully, I will be able to find out more.

I hope everyone is doing well! Besos de Santander.