We got the whole low-down on the city. Which has a crazy history!! It was first founded by the Romans around 100 BC because it was a safe island (remember that big river from earlier? It used to surround the city--I later found out that they filled in the river because the flooding would get so bad that many people would die every year--they were going to make it a road but then the people demanded that it stayed green- for the people! Part of the city still has a big Muslim impact in the architecure and design from when they took over Spain way back when. Valencia is proud of all of the various groups who have settled and resettled there and left their marks.
Not a big fan of Franco though...but did I even have to say that?
The tour even gave me a chance to try locall churizo (I spelled that phonetically...its actually spelt with an X and really makes no sense). Anyways its a very sweet drink that looks like milk but its actually drained from a seed...very good, especially since I've basically only been drinking water (with the occasional coke or beer/sangria) while I'm here it was nice to taste something else.
This building looks like a fortress, right? Well it isn't. The center tower is where prisoners would be kept but the other two were used for administrationy reasons. Notice the flag on top--not Spain's flag but Valencia's (actually its Catalan the subregion of Catalonia where Valencia is located). As I think I mentioned before this flag is the most promentently seen in the town which is a subtle sign of alegience
One of the coolest things I saw was the Central Market and the Round Square Market (what a name). The Central Market was like Findlay Market (important public space in Cincinnati) times like 10. It has room for over 900 vendors and has everything!! The Round Square Market was, in the olden days, the main market of Valencia but as it needed to grow locations had to switch to Central Market. When I stopped by there I realized it was open air but there was a bit of a ceiling, it was explained to me that this was a "smart ceiling" and that they used it to collect solar energy, but still allow some sunlight to come through (trust me there was no shortage of sunlight here!)
Cool dome ceiling of the Central Market
Side view of the Smart Ceiling in Round Square Market
Another short of the ceiling
So after learning about all the city had (there was so much more but I don't want to overwhelm you) I met some people and we tried the local famous dish: paella which included chicken, rabbit, rice, white beans, and peppers...mmmm
Paella
The people I ate lunch with were from Austrialia, Kansas City and Colombia. I was pumped to be making friends and it really got me excited to keep talking to people because I still felt like I was in a bit of a social slump.
After lunch I took care of a few things and then sat in the common room and found people to talk to. I even got a few interviews in (albeit they were not from Spain they were from England and the Netherlands but I was itching to talk to people and everyone I had run into 1) did not speak english ...bummer or was not from Spain (two individuals who I thought would be perfect ended up being from Mexico and they just started studying here...double bummer).
But I talked to Bart from the Netherlands about what he thought about the EU and received the answer that he was fine with it but he remembers his country voting against the referendum and it just happening anyways. The Netherlands is too small and just kind of gets pushed into things.
This was contrasted with Kean, who was from north of London and it was interesting as he heard this becauseI think he realized what a position of power England was coming from in the EU. They are the big brat that can help shape things but is just being difficult and is a part of the reason smaller countries get pushed one way or another into things. Great! dialogue! They continued to talk about the different ways the countries played into one another on this stage which was great because I didn't have to ask questions, it was geniuine conversation! Kean was indifferent about the laws being made because he said that Britain mainly already had those laws and the other countries just had to catch up to them, Bart said, yeah, but those laws really aren't being enforced.
So what is holding the EU together? They didn't really know (as no one does, its kinda a hypothetical question--collecting social science data is such an interesting concept). Its a want that countries have to have this shared organization but we decided that some countries had different reasons for joing than others...the east wants the security, the west wants easier ways to trade and share cultures and no one understands what the south wants. They really probably just want to continue living their lives in the perfect weather they always have and keep being beautiful.
That was a really benefitial conversation for me having people start discussing from two different countries and compare. I hope I can do that more!
Kean had to go hitchhike to Barcelona (...yikes) and Bart went to bed but the social bug still had me in the common room people were just hanging out talking and a whole bunch of strangers from literally all over-some just arriving and some leaving- were discussing going and getting a drink before bed and invited me after we had been talking for awhile. I said yes and was so glad I did! Granted this age group of about seven of us was like 27-35 everyone was really nice to me. I met Steph and Jesse, two travelers (one from Canada and the other from Chicago) and we had a great conversation about traveling and life and we decided that we needed to bike the city tomorrow. Call me crazy but there hadn't been too many people who were in my life for more than a max of three hours (excluding sleeping in my large, shared bedrooms). So this was great. I made it back and was excited to have real people to associate with for a part of the next day!
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