Introduction

 Me greeting a horse like horses do, since I obviously am one

 Look! Blue mountains (apparently some of them in Portugal), vast fields of olive trees and nature.

 Old, old stone walls make me feel as if I'm walking in an old story book.

 Upper part of Casas del Monte - see all the terraced fields?

That's the farm areas of the different families in the village.

Lower part of Casas, still quite high up.

That first photo of me and the horse? In my perfect imaginary photo, I am wearing a summer dress that is slightly ruffled by the breeze, as is my perfectly styled hair, while I look at the camera and the horse looks at me and I have my hand around it's neck. In reality, I just enjoyed being outside and around animals again - our neighbours keep their horses around my parents' house, but I don't really see them much in winter.

More animal photos coming up, and I will reminisce about my childhood.

Journey home, first

 Mountain with snow. For me, not so exciting, for Alicja, definitely.

 Some bridge over the Madrid river. Fantastic place to be at sunset.

 Going back to a healthy, non-deep-fried-everything life.

 At Charles de Gaulle. I think they put one entire brie into this single baguette.

That's right, I bought macarons as well. When in Paris, you know. They're all right.
They taste like the Norwegian kransekake, only with added taste (pistachio = nom).

And hello. Since I came back at Thursday midnight, my days have turned into a blur of Red Cross and family (my grandmother's 85th on Sat, congratulations, photos to come) and more Red Cross and more family and ordering tickets to go to Falmouth (more on this later) and whatnot. I plan to clean my apartment at some point. I plan to go through all my (scarcely 300, I've been very good) photos from my trip, edit and pick out some I can show to you. I plan to do ALL OF THE THINGS as usual, and I'm managing some of them at least.

Until then, I will utilise my most important Spanish expression:
Mañana.

It's my birthday soon

Reminder reminder reminder

I love birthdays

Here's a short wish list (mostly to be easily accessible for my family) (other people, Facebook greetings make me happy)

1. More Moomin Mugs, namely Stinky,
and the Hattifatteners (Nor: Hattifnattene)

2. Body Shop Cocoa Body Butter,
to make my Norwegian winter skin happy again.

3. Some kind of wooden round hair brush.
Like a round-brush. Made of wood.

Two things

1) I am home
2) I'm already busy with Red Cross and family and all the things I should have done ages ago. Soon!

Plaza Mayor, Salamanca, photo by Alicja

Look, it's me again! Sat all alone in Plaza Mayor while Alicja went to sit in the shadow, clever as she is. That building in front of me is the city hall, no big deal, it's less than 300 years old and therefore new. When you're reading this, if everything is in order, I shall be on a plane to Paris, having just started my fourteen hour airport-to-airport journey. I actually started my journey yesterday from Casas, and will be travelling for about 34 hours. See you in Norway! (Or England. In a few months. Or in South Africa in a year or five.)

People (including me)

Photo by Alicja/stranger that borrowed Alicja's camera. 
Plaza Mayor in Salamanca was really something.

Alicja, Fabiola, and me: Poland, Puerto Rico, Norway.

Dudes, Salamanca. I want to study there. Everything is old, and everything is beautiful, even the boarded-up houses that are falling apart get a romantic look in Salamanca. We spent a lot of time going around saying things like "wow, this is old", "what church is this again?", "THIS, I need to photograph", "is this a church, a cathedral, or part of the university?" and so on. We arrived at noon on Monday, and left at three on Tuesday, and I would love to go back and actually get to know the city - although it felt like we managed to see and do much more than we'd hoped.

On Monday evening we met up with Fabi through Couchsurfing (loving this site more and more), and her group of Puerto Rican friends, and went to a few pubs and bars and just talked and had a really good time. They were so grand, really. We sauntered home at around one o'clock, several hours after we planned to. Tuesday was spent walking around towers (I absolutely love towers, and being high high above the ground - Alicja not so much), sitting at the Plaza Mayor looking at people, and being accosted by an old man who wondered whether we'd seen the astronaut at the church, or the lucky frog. We hadn't. We were shown the astronaut, then strolled back to the bus station and went home, very happy and very tired.

Salamanca travels

Alicja walking back up the two-mile-long hill from the bus stop

From Monday to Tuesday (only two days! And only 24+ hours! I can't believe it wasn't longer) Alicja and I were in Salamanca, also known as Way Most Awesome Old City of All European Time. Go read about it. I have a ton of photos (about 80-90, that is) which I will edit and post sometime in the nearish future. Let's hope I manage to get them out in March. Tomorrow I'll post some stolen photos from Alicja and Fabiola, our new Couchsurfer-friend from Puerto Rico.

Sunsets and kittens and roses on mittens (or...yes)

 Hello overused photos of beautiful landscape

 We don't have these signs in Norway. This confuses me.

Hello Alicja at sunset

These photos were taken a week ago, when Alicja and I walked to Segura de Toro, the neighbouring village, to see the sunset, and get some excercise. All we do here is eat and sleep and learn a little Spanish and work a little on the farm. This day was exceptionally beautiful, and I hope I have some better photos on my camera that I can edit and post when I get home.

Going to Madrid on Wednesday, staying over at a Couchsurfer's house (first time, very exciting) and spending all Thursday travelling. I have a few hours around lunch time at Charles de Gaulle (Paris), where I plan to eat plenty of croissants, macarons and at least one baguette.

Until then, happy days in Spain, enjoying the weather while I can and stuttering out some Spanish now and then.

Hei morfar

Gratulerer med dagen.

Nå er jeg i Spania og sier Si, claro sånn litt mørkt og trekker ut ordene, og etter å ha vært på kafe og betalt river jeg regningen halvveis over for å vise at vi har betalt og de kan beholde resten og nå går vi. Sånn som du.

Yesterday

No, this was several days ago, in Hervas.

 Nice little touristy type of town, seemed big in comparison to Casas del Monte.

In lack of a better photo to illustrate. Yesterday, Gabriel, brother of Ginna and son of Marcela, came back from his Workaway (the program I'm travelling through) experience in Ireland. He was supposed to stay for five weeks, and go to another Workaway stay in Stavanger, Norway at the end of March, but he decided to cut it short after three weeks and return back home. I wanted to highlight this to say that (obviously?) all volunteering experiences are different, but also to say that you have to be clear about the conditions you'll be working under and with during your stay. Gabriel was told that they were redoing a whole house, and needed help with this, and would do language exchange so he could learn better English. Also, through Workaway, your host is supposed to provide at least two meals daily. In Ireland, he found out that he was working only with other foreigners who didn't speak English, and his hosts spoke with very broad Irish accents, so his language didn't approve. Add to this that he had to live in a caravan, work six hours a day (the maximum is supposed to be five), had a dingy bathroom in the house with rats and rubbish all around, and got only half the food he was supposed to, I'm actually surprised he didn't come back sooner.

Alicja and I have been very lucky. We have our misunderstandings with each other and the hosts, but no more than you would expect when living in very close quarters with people you don't really know that well. I would recommend this experience to anyone who asks, but say that it is important to write back and forth with the hosts, and make sure you all know what they are expecting of you and what you are expecting of them. It might take some time, but will spare you a lot of problems.

In other news, today Alicja and I are going to Caceres. Hopefully I'll remember to get some photos for the blog as well, otherwise you might have to wait until I get home...
EDIT: We were going to Caceres. Got up at 6:45, got a lift down to the bus stop (30 min walk) at 7:30, stood at the bus stop in the middle of the road from 7:42 to 8:35 before we decided that a bus that is 45 minutes late is probably a bus that is cancelled. Proceed to walk up massive hill to get home and wake up the house at 9.

Plasencia

 Beautiful streets, somewhere on my camera is a photo of my future house

This one goes to my family: Having donuts in Spain is a bit of a strange tradition... And pineapple juice!

On Wednesday Alicja and I jumped on the local school bus to Plasencia and spent a few hours in this city/town/not quite sure what to call it. I thought it seemed at least twice the size of Tromsö, but my Wiki friend tells me it's only 40 000 inhabitants. Ah well. We were mainly in the old, walled city in the middle of town, walking up and down random streets, visiting the New Cathedral (from 1600 or thenabout) and episcopal palaces and whatnot, before we went home and I had a headache and was diagnosed with sunstroke by my host and given the full aloe vera (from their own plant) treatment. Ay, dios mio. It was nice to do something slightly different one day though.

Que linda!

 September 2009

 March 2010 (within ten minutes of my first meeting with my two weeks old niece)

 Summer 2010

 January 2011

 Summer 2011 (being fed to the horses)

Summer 2011 (I think)

And today, March 6th, my fantastic, strong, beautiful and clever niece (not kidding, she got all the good genes, there are none left for my children, sadface) is two years old. These were the images I could find quickly scrolling through my blog, since I have left my computer in Norway. We've all loved her from the beginning (So small! So cute! Related to me!), but now she's really becoming her own little person. After playing Dina-games of me running after her around the dinner table about forty-seven times, she will play auntie-Sunniva-games when I say "let's sit down and look at the fire. Now look at it. Oh, it's nice and warm. Look at the fire." or "let's sit here for a while and just stare at your mother. Just look at her. Now she thinks we're crazy. Keep staring." She's a democratic little creature, for a while, anyway.

I don't care if all that's left for my children are the ugly, stupid, allergic genes, I want to adopt anyway. And Dina Sofie Gulbrandsen is such a marvellous creature. Happy birthday my love!

Hey, I'm here too

 Although first, hello beautiful landscape

 Helloooo rain clouds

 Hello, ten minutes later, sunshine and last years olives

 Hello, Carol (?), Ginna and Alicja (a bit dark, but again, no editing)

And finally, hello Alicja, Ginna and Sunniva! I exist!

Happy days. Arepas, chicken, salad, pasta, paella, food food food. And walking in the mountains, and sitting at the farm trying to learn Spanish and being frustrated, and making sentences in my head but not being able to get them out, or sometimes but not all the time, and watching Steve Martin films with Spanish voices, and cleaning the house and sitting still and fiesta and siesta and whatnot.

Here's some names for your google map/google earthing: Casas del Monte (where I'm staying), Segura del Toro, the neighbouring village, Zarzas de Granadilla, a slighthly larger and slightly further away small town, Plasencia, Caceres and Salamanca (larger towns with lots of history, where I hope we'll be able to go soon).

Río Alagón

 This is in midwinter, when everything is brown and it's less pretty than in summer. Still beautiful.

 Marcela and Antonio took a few detours to show us places like this, and make sure we got some photos.

Antonio and Marcela

I've got tons more photos that I will edit when I come home. We also went to a farm to see some goats and talk to a horse - they're making sure we see everything that is this area. To me, being around farm animals is quite nice and reminds me of being little and visiting the farms near my parents' house, but to Alicja it's quite new. There will be some random photos of me standing next to a horse and/or holding a kid (of the goat type). Happy days.

Albergue Aurora Boreal

Love this. There is no Aurora Boreal in Spain, except for in a hostel name.

More, more landscape and sheep

 Hello, beautiful rugged mountain landscape

 Hello, sheep (no possibility to edit photos, apologies for poor quality)

Hello granjas! With mountains and rocks and more ruggedness

I feel weirdly at home here. Or, at least outside. In the house, I'm always slightly uncomfortable because my Spanish is so bad, and Alicja can communicate so much better than me. That's the way it has to be though, and it's what I've chosen.

Outside... This is like a strange mix between the Spain I visited as a child (Costa Brava), the England where I studied (Cornwall) and the Norway I grew up in (Tromso). I'm very excited about all this nature that wants walking in. I'm very happy about the weather that lets me wear a cardigan and no jacket or scarf. I'm so happy that I'm doing something, after nearly two months of unemployment (which I know is not long. Still, though). And I'm doing something for my future - I want to speak Spanish, and I'm going to.

Have to remind myself sometimes. Anyway. Happy days (in general). Get some photos of the granja and the house soon. 

Enjoy our extra day! 

Caminando con Alicja

 My Polish co-workawayer

 Lots and lots of farms/gardens (granjas) all the way up the mountains

Casas del Monte seen from near the family's farm

Today, Alicja and I went for two walks around the granjas area: one in the morning, which was great, in about 15 degrees and cloudy weather, and one in the evening, when the dark came upon us quite suddenly and we had to turn back as to not get lost. Anyway, it's been good to move around a bit. I'll get some photos of Marcela's fantastic food one of these days, but in short: There's a lot of it.

Casas del Monte

Photos stolen from my Polish co-workawayer

Hello,

I'm here, I'm alive, and all that.

I arrived yesterday after a long, long journey which went extremely smoothly, except for the last hour on the bus (Madrid - Aldeanueva del Camino, ay dios mio) when the bus driver decided he needed to make sure I was okay, which was very friendly of him, except that this consisted of shouting at me in Old Man Spanish, and shouting even louder since I didn't seem to understand his regular loudness of shouting. Ah well, todo bien, I was picked up by Gina, her stepfather, and Alicja (who has spelled her name out for me. Thank you). Straight from their house to their granja for a fiesta of pan, pollo, an amazing onion-and-orange-salad (I know!), and gallons of home-made wine.

These people are amazing. They are so friendly and warm and fantastic. I think they were disappointed in how little Spanish I speak, especially since Alicja has studied Spanish and can form sentences and all, which I'm completely incapable of. Gina is learning English though, and her level in English is about the same as my level in Spanish, so I'm hoping we can both benefit from it and I'll be able to hold a conversation when I go back to Norway.

More to come! They've got wifi and are very kind to lend me their computers whenever I need to. Also, Alicja and I have been very lucky to come to a family where most of the work is done over summer, and we don't have that much to do, other than help out in the house or the granja, and learn Spanish/English with Gina.

Maybe one day I'll take a jpg photo so I can upload my own photos while I'm here (haven't brought my laptop, and usually photograph RAW for better quality.

Anyway. Having a good time. Will try to upload every few days or so. If not, I'm too busy stuffing my mouth with arroz con leche, pan, paella, conejos (quizas mañana!) y pollo asado.

Now for some news (spectacular)

All my luggage. For three weeks. Please appreciate the effort.

I'm going to Spain. Tonight, I'll be flying to Oslo. After hanging around Oslo airport all night, I shall board my morning plane to Amsterdam, run between my planes there, and hopefully land in Madrid at 12:10 on Saturday. From there I will take the metro to the bus station, and a long distance coach to Aldenueva del Camino where my hosts will pick me up. Phew.

Since I started listening to The Indie Travel Podcast, or maybe since I started reading Yes and Yes, I've wanted to do something like this. There are several sites out there, the ones I know of are Workaway, Helpx and WWOOF. Being able to travel to a country and just work for food and lodging? Yes, please.

Now, since I want to go to South-America this autumn (I've applied for this Red Cross Youth program just now), I'd better start learning Spanish. And I've tried getting books from the library, verb dictionaries, those split Spanish/English books, etc. Yet I know by experience that I speak much more if I'm surrounded by a language all day (хорошо) than if I study the grammar (ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist).

Some people think I'm just going on a holiday, which I'm really not. The area I'm going to is called Extremadura for a reason. Some people think it's a waste of time and money, since I don't have a job, and I won't be able to speak Spanish properly after a few weeks anyway. Why do you think I'm always saving up though? I haven't bought a drink when I've been out in months. The last time I spent a lot of money was on my haircut in November. Also: Got to start learning a language somewhere. I'm not learning it here. If there is one other language I want to learn, to have in addition to English and Norwegian, it's Spanish. And, not having a job means this is the perfect time to do something like this. I'm still applying to jobs.

Anyway. I'm doing this. My plane leaves for Oslo in six hours. I'm dead scared, intensely excited, and relieved that I am finally doing something. I hope I'll be able to update here now and then during my trip. Bye bye!

Thorvald Stoltenberg

                                                                Creepy stalker photo of someone I admire, by me
I can't talk to people I admire. I never take the chance to go and shake their hand and say: Well spoken, or I admire your work, mostly because I wouldn't be able to say those things, and would end up saying OMG you're amazing and fantastic and I love you and can you please be my uncle/godfather?

So: Thorvald Stoltenberg (please read his wiki, he has done everything and they write it better than I do) is the previous President of the Norwegian Red Cross Society. This is the second time I've heard him speak, the last time was when he was President, back in 2007. His speeches are always incredibly long-winded, and he'll go off on a tangent and you'll wonder what this is all about - until he just collects all the loose threads and goes BAM! We've got to compromise with each other, and have hope, and all those big floaty ideas, which he manages to anchor in memories of his childhood in the 1930s.

He is also the father of our current Prime Minister. This is why I love Norway, it's so tiny.