Valencia: The First 24 Hours

It’s 10 minutes to 7 in the evening and I’m watching the sun slowly go down over Valencia from my balcony in the apartment.

When I arrived in Valencia with my peers we were met with a great deal of noise, since it was the final day of the week-long Fallas holiday, during which huge, cartoon-like figures which are worked on throughout the year are finally presented and set on fire. Along with this, every other group of children that you walk past in the street is setting off firecrackers. It’s like a slightly more extreme Bonfire Night, but lacking the history of some Jacobean terrorists breaking in to the political hub of the country and attempting to blow it up.

With my two fellow teachers, we set off to do a practise school run, figuring our way around the Metro underground. I had my first encounter with Spanish shops and supermarkets and counting Euros too slowly.

Ed in the supermercado

After a long day travelling, it was time to go to bed, and despite the constant fireworks outside, it was easy to drop off. 

This morning, I found my school again (it was exactly where it had been yesterday) and the receptionist was confused as to why I was early - all the teachers seemed to arrive AT 8am, when lessons began. El camino Espagñol? Perhaps it will be different tomorrow.

The English teacher at the school was very welcoming and rather lovely, and the kids seemed curious about me, but had lots of questions to ask - en Ingles!

School ended at 10 past 1 - yes, you read that correctly, although tomorrow it finishes at 5 - so I headed to the centre of Valencia and explored around the cathedral.

Overall, a lovely first day at my school and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in!

“What do we mean by stuck?”

“It’s when you cannot move; you are in one place.” **

**ACTUAL excerpts from an English lesson today.