Weekend in Valencia

By Kent Truckor - Guest Blogger studying in Spain

I have started my second week of classes and things are going well. I continue to meet individuals from various countries, which is excellent. In my class, there are students from China, Turkey, Austria, France, Belgium, England, and Hungary. It is a fun environment because everyone is going through the same thing of the battle of learning a new language. The past weekend was good, Valencia held the 4th meeting of The Catholic Families of the World and Pope Benedict the 16th was in town. Two of my friends and myself checked out some of the events that took place and the weather was nice for it as well. The majority of the event took place at Santiago Calatravas Campus for the Arts and Sciences which is truly amazing (check it out online to see for yourself or better yet come to Valencia to see it in person!) The streets were filled with the symphony playing music for the event and the night ended with fireworks. I was able to see more of the city this past weekend and have found that the center of the city is very beautiful with all of the old winding streets, buildings, fountains, and statutes that you would hope or expect to see in an older European city. Up to this point the experience has been terrific and I look forward to gaining a stronger grasp of the language in the weeks to come. Adios!