Our experience at Pueblo Ingles was very interesting, to say the least. I think Sarah would agree with me that in the 8 days in La Alberca, we exerienced a wide range of emotions; happy, sad, frustrated, excited, nervous, emotional...the ups and downs were volatile. It was tough sometimes, being as tired as we were, to push on. Were there times that we wanted to leave? Yes. Were there times when we were overwhelmed with joy from the program? Yes. Overall, looking back days later, I have to say that Pueblo Ingles has been the most tiring and rewarding volunteer experience I have ever done, and here's why.
It is amazing how well you can get to know a group of complete strangers when you are with them, conversing 8 days straight, for up to 18 hours a day. We came into this program with open minds, knowing that we were getting on a bus bound for a small town in the mountains 4 hours outside of Madrid. Once we were on that bus, there was no turning back.
If you read the previous post, you know how intense the days were, with little to no personal time, and very little sleep. The lack of sleep was the biggest issue for us. I can confidently say that I have never been so exhausted in my life. That being said, for those that know me know that I require a lot of sleep in order to operate, and the Spaniards are the exact opposite. The mornings were generally tough, hard to get up and get moving, which made it hard for Sarah and I to enjoy the first half of the day because we were so tired. Once lunch rolled around we were usually fairly awake, and we would then have wine with lunch and nap at siesta. The nights were amazing, filled with group activities, one to ones, and theatre performances. Dinner was late, at 9 PM, and wouldn't end until 10:30. At this point, most people had drank some wine, and the bar was open for group activity (a party, trivia, taboo, different games). By the time we went to bed we would be lucky to get 6 hours of sleep.
Despite the lack of sleep, the program was a complete success in many ways. On Monday night we had "party night'". Everyone dressed up and they turned the bar into a party atmosphere. Here is my favorite shot from that night.
That is one happy Spaniard
The next day, Tuesday, we walked into La Alberca town, a very old traditional Spanish town. Here we got to sample some of the best cured ham in Spain. This region is known for its pork, and I have never tasted ham and chorizo as good as this. They also taught us how to drink from a traditional Spaniard "boot", this got the day started off with a bang to say the least!
Jamon Iberico, Chorizo, and Wine
La Alberca is in the Pork Region of Spain
Sarah drinking from the boot. 25 seconds, she beat me by 15 seconds!
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