Mr. Kuk's Excelente Aventura

We have been living in Spain for almost six months now, but until a few weeks ago we hadn't yet traveled to some of the most notable cities in the country. Luckily, we were able to enjoy this journey a few weeks before the coronavirus chaos really hit the country. We had a break in the girl's school schedule and my volunteer responsibilities thanks to Semana Blanca, which is an annual week-off in late February. I am very envious of the Spanish school calendar: a week off in late October, two and a half weeks of at Christmas, a week off in late February, a week off at Easter, and a few other random holidays sprinkled in here and there. Becky and the girls actually started the journey without me as I finished up my last day of volunteer duties. They met up with our good friends, the Loftus family, in Madrid. If you are interested in reading more about their experiences in the capital, check out Becky's blog at akukskitchen.com. A few days later, I took a bus up to Madrid an...

When we made plans to come to Spain, I think that I underestimated the amount of effort that it would take to learn a second language. It is not that I thought I would pick Spanish up by osmosis, but I thought just living in Spain would be enough to learn the language in nine months. I quickly came to realize that it would require consistent effort and an intentional plan to reach my learning goals. In this post, I want to share some of the things I have been doing to learn Spanish. 1)       Intentionally seeking opportunities to interact with Spanish speakers Although there is an English speaking church near us, we intentionally decided to attend a Spanish speaking church. This has been a great opportunity to meet and interact with Spanish speakers (I say Spanish speakers instead of Spaniards because there are a lot of people who have immigrated from South America). The sermons are in Spanish, but translated to English, which provides a great...

Several years ago, we targeted the Málaga area as our preferred home base for a sabbatical year. Ever since that time, I have anticipated visiting nearby Ronda. Perhaps you will recognize this town, set atop two plateaus separated by a steep gorge and a waterfall, from the classic children’s book The Story of Ferdinand or from the more recent animated film Ferdinand . From the moment that I saw pictures of Ronda, it immediately went to the top of my “must-visit” list. A view of Ronda from the movie Ferdinand. The beauty of Ronda was shrouded on our journey toward the city, as our bus wound along steep mountain roads through the cold rain. We had a few hours to kill before checking into our AirBnb apartment and had not counted on dealing with inclement weather. To pass the time, we lingered in a café and I walked with the girls to the main bridge, Puente Nuevo, which separates new Ronda from the original city. Even in the rain, the gorge that separated the city was impres...

While I was growing up, I was certain that I never wanted to live in a big city. I thought they were too crowded and dirty and I had no desire to be in a concrete jungle. While I wouldn't have described myself as a country boy, I loved nature, camping, and other outdoor activities. After moving to Baltimore, I came to appreciate the positive aspects of living in a city: efficient transportation, access to cultural events, and the ability to interact with a diverse range of people, to name a few.  At this point in my life, the ideal location is a place that allows me to enjoy the benefits of both worlds. I have enjoyed many aspects of city life in Baltimore, but also appreciate living near a large park and being able to easily escape the city to go hiking along or swimming in the Gunpowder Falls. Likewise, our recent trip to Portugal also possessed the perfect combination of adventures in the city and in the countryside. We started off by joining Santa and his reindeer on an ov...