Day 1 – Arrival in Valencia (Sunday, April 6, 2025)
After weeks of anticipation, we finally touched down in sunny Valencia! We were warmly welcomed at the airport and driven straight to our home for the next two months. The excitement was real — blue skies, palm trees, and the promise of tapas just around the corner.
Once we arrived at the house, the reality set in. Let’s just say… it’s functional. The place is okay, but pretty basic. The kitchen has just the bare essentials (we might need to get creative with cooking), and cleanliness wasn’t exactly the priority of the last guests. Some rooms are tiny — like, “can-barely-fit-two-bags” tiny — but hey, it’s all part of the adventure, right?
After settling in and choosing rooms we spent the evening unwinding, soaking in the first vibes of Valencia.
Day 2 – First Day of Spanish Classes (Monday, April 7)
Today marked the start of our Spanish course, and we were all a mix of nervous and excited. Our teacher Jesús turned out to be an absolute gem — super friendly, patient, and full of energy. We dove right into the language and were already forming basic sentences by the end of the day.
Post-class, we went grocery shopping. We whipped up a simple dinner together — nothing fancy, but it felt good to eat as a group. Later, we took a walk through the city center, enjoying the warm evening air and charming streets. Valencia at night has its own kind of magic.
Day 3 – Finding Our Flow (Tuesday, April 8)
Another day, another Spanish lesson. The rhythm is starting to feel natural — class in the morning, then the rest of the day to explore and enjoy. After class, we hit the local market again and cooked a delicious meal together. This time we got a little more adventurous with the ingredients.
In the afternoon, some of us decided to go for a jog — ambitious, considering we aimed to reach the beach. Turns out our route planning needs some work, but we got a great workout in and discovered a few new parts of the city in the process. No beach this time, but we’re getting closer.
We wrapped up the evening on our little patio, sipping cervezas, laughing, and sharing stories under the stars. It already feels like we’re forming our own little family here.
Day 4 – A Slower Morning & Spicy Evening (Wednesday, April 9)
Today’s Spanish class didn’t start until the afternoon, which meant we had the morning free — a rare treat! Some of us did laundry, others took care of the kitchen situation (we’ve now declared a mild war on the lack of cutlery), and a few even squeezed in a mini workout session in the yard.
Class in the evening was once again a lot of fun. Jesús really knows how to keep us engaged, and we’re picking up phrases that are actually useful for daily life here.
Dinner was good tonight: red lentils with roasted vegetables and garlic-chili shrimp. We’re slowly turning our basic kitchen into a gourmet zone — not bad for not bad when you consider that one knife was more than just blunt and the other was a tiny swiss knife.
