Day Ninety: Spanish Dance Class

I battled another Tuesday!!! Classes were good, and really I should get used to being in class for six hours in a row since I’m about to start teaching, but nonetheless it’s still always a challenge. I was actually more attentive than usual today, probably because I basically ate a full lunch for breakfast to keep me awake and full, but still, by the sixth hour all I could think about was lunch. It didn’t help that the main thing we talked about for that hour was food in Salamanca.

After class I came home for lunch, then finished up a show and did some self-care things. Then it was time to teach my host mom’s granddaughter. Sometimes I think she’s actually the teacher and I’m just there to throw some learning opportunities into the activities she comes up with. I think she’s reaching serious burnout, though, because it’s been so hard to get her to focus on anything that isn’t a game recently. I don’t blame her. Ends of semesters are hard and playing is way more fun. I’m just glad I get the chance to spend time with her and add some help and learning into the mix.

Today was got our first email about details for getting home. I got sad when I saw that my roommate is leaving on an earlier bus than I am and I realized that we’re going to have to separate soon. It feels unreal that that’s happening in a little over two weeks, and I felt dreamlike when I was walking through the streets today, like none of this has actually happened and I’m about to wake up. But it is real and it’s still happening. It’s just taking more and more effort to remember that. But something tonight really helped with that.

This evening my program set up free Spanish dance lessons for anyone interested. I went, just to get out of my comfort zone, with three other girls, and it was so. fun. I’ve loved to dance since I was a kid and it’s something I miss a lot of the time, but tonight was also just something so different. We learned three types of dance: Flamenco, Sevillanas, and Group Flamenco. I already barely remember it which makes me sad and is also what I knew would happen without being able to record it, but it was such a fun experience. I loved the rhythm and the steps and everything except the hand motions. Those threw me off, I think because that was the most different part of the dancing for me, but it looks beautiful when it’s done well. I wish that I could go back and take classes there more often, or learn more about what they consider to be correct form and weight placement in the dance steps. It was beautiful and something I am so glad I got to experience here.