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I miss Kansas because sometimes, during the Spring, you are in the mood for a good old fashioned, crazy, terrifying lightning storm- most likely with tornadoes involved. Ya know what I mean? Of course you do.

Nothing but boring, old sunshine in Spain. Who am I kidding, I'm not going to complain about sunshine! If that is the most I can complain about, I'd say life is pretty good. Here are some of my Spanish experiences I haven't written about yet...

Semana Santa was like a month ago now, but the amount of photos I have from it is intimidating. So intimidating, in fact, that I have only edited one photo from this entire week. I will get around to it eventually. The week consisted of massive processions with men carrying giant religious sculptures and handing out candy. A very interesting sight indeed. But they are literally every day of the week, and honestly if you see one, you see them all. They are all the same, but the men wear different colors everyday, and some days have different themes. Like one day was complete silence. Another is at night, in the dark. All around a cool experience.

Las Fiestas de Primavera were the week following Semana Santa and this week is full of more parties and parades. It's a little like Carnival in Aguilas, with scantily clad woman dancing, drunk people everywhere, and people throwing toys all over the place. Definitely a cool cultural experience. My mind was blown some of the time.

I spent the weekend in La Carrasca en Sierra de las Cabras. It's a mountain town home to exactly 19 people. Far from absolutely everything. The first day I was there I went on a long bike ride through the countryside. I saw one car the whole time. I rode into "town" as well and talked to a couple kids in the street. They were astounded to meet an American with a weird accent. The second day, I was violently ill and I almost threw up on some sheep crossing the road as I took photos of them. The third day I hiked a mountain. Good times.

Volleyball is over now, but there is a beach league this summer. The team ended up third in Spain. I had an amazing time, but I have to say it wasn't the same as playing for my college team. I was more disconnected...and maybe it was the language barrier, maybe it was because I was only there half the season, and maybe it was because I had just met all of these girls and they have known one another for a long time. The president asked me to play for them next year, but I don't think I'm going to. If you would have told me five months ago that I would be turning down this opportunity I would have called you crazy. It's a combination of my knees sucking, me not really connecting, and a few other things. Part of me would love to stay another year, maybe get that connection finally, learn how to speak Spanish perfectly, and generally be entrenched in Spanish life. But I think at this point in my life I would rather start chasing another dream. Maybe it's time to hang up my volleyball shoes and start paying attention to the other things I want to do. I can't express enough how happy I am I did this. If only to know that I could do it. Volleyball has been the love of my life for so long, since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. It was there when boys weren't. It was there when I was angry, happy, sad, and a million other things. It's always been the thing I could do when I didn't want to think about anything. I could forget my problems for the two or three hours of practice a day and think of nothing but playing. That is a great feeling. That focus is incredible. It's not like I'll never play again. I just won't compete indoor at this high of a level. I never said anything about beach ;) I need a partner this winter in Florida.  Who's in?

I went to Bolnuevo beach last weekend with some American friends. I had an amazing time and every Spanish beach I have been to is incredible. The Mediterranean is such a unique and wonderful body of water. I have about a million photos from this weekend I need to edit as well. We went to Mula for a festival the next day and had a great time hanging out with all the locals. I'm pretty sure we were the only foreigners there.

There have been more times than I can count where I stop doing whatever I am doing and think, "Whoa, this is my life. EPIC!" I love those moments. It happens when I'm having a conversation with Spaniards in a tiny town in the middle of Spain called Mula. It happens when I walk through the streets of Murcia ever morning. It happens when I'm swimming through the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean, and it happens when I'm riding a bike through a Spanish mountain range and come across sheep on the road. I'm thankful each and every time and I look forward to the rest of my life feeling like that.

Swimming in the Mediterranean