La Tormenta

Before coming to Spain, in order to prepare what to pack, I had set the weather widget on my Macbook to tell me every day, the forecast for Segovia, Spain. To my excitement, the numbers continued to read in the mid 70s as seven glowing pictures of suns shined through the computer screen. Cassie and I got together and decided to pack dresses, in order to conserve room, and to limit ourselves to four pairs of sandals and two pair of sunglasses. As our date of take-off got closer, everything seemed to be going our way with nothing but sunny skies ahead. Until Monday.

Like a magician, Mother Nature had turned over her cards just at the moment we weren't looking. When I pulled up the forecast that morning to decide which dress to wear, every sun had been replaced by dark gray clouds that cried blue drops of rain. Suddenly, what Cassie and I thought was preparation became an unnecessary section of our wardrobe, and a very long section at that. Wearing jackets and scarves borrowed from our host families we quickly went shopping for our own warm clothes because everyday except Thursday, has acted just like a hooked fish, cold, wet, and ready to twitch and surprise us at any moment.

Yesterday, was the beginning of the Titirimundi festival here in Segovia, a week of títeres, or puppets, with different shows from performers around the world circulating the city. Because many of the indoor acts we already reserved, we planned to spend our afternoon at La Plaza Mayor, watching "Dirk et Fien," a presentation by Belgian acrobats that perform all pieces on a giant piano. We hadn't taken more than a couple hundred steps over the cobblestone when Mother Nature decided to change our plans. What started as a low grumble began to roar across the sky, accompanied by buckets of water. We were caught in the middle of la tormenta.

Children shrieked and shoes (very nice Spanish ones at that) scuffled over the stone to find shelter. Our group found a cozy gelato and espresso shop to step into, coincidence or not. Even after finishing our treats, the rain still came down, sheets of water separating us from the performance. Keeping the same attitude as we have had from the beginning, we decided to brave the elements and make the trek toward La Plaza Mayor.

Twelve soaked shoes and one brand new umbrella later, we arrived, and as we had feared the show had been canceled. Despite the clouds that crawled across the sky and the weather channel, we still chose to look on the bright side of the situation and decided to take the opportunity to do some shopping.

Though many will comment on how awful it is that the weather was poor during our trip, I truly believe that it is not the weather that is miserable, it is the people. Sure we had hopes of sun and sporting our new shades, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves. We have a very special group on this trip, that in spite of what happens around us continues to stay positive, be creative, and have fun. We are just so happy to be here in Spain, not even for one second will we let ourselves feel "under the weather."