Day 5

There is nothing quite so great as Barcelona in the springtime.

In every year but this one, that is. After many years of extreme drought, a large storm system has parked itself over most of Spain and except for the day I arrived, it has been cold, windy and rainy every day, all day and night. Depending on which weather app you trust, it is predicted to continue like this either every day for the foreseeable future or almost every day for the foreseeable future. And apparently because the storm started out really windy in Northern Africa and stirred up a bunch of dust, the rain falling here is actually dirty rain. 

But no me importa. The big idea I had for this trip was to volunteer at a nonprofit and I hooked up with Bayt al-Thaqafa. Its primary mission is to empower Muslim women, but they also serve a wider population and on Wednesdays and Fridays I’m teaching Spanish to a group of what turns out to be mostly Algerians. 

I guarantee that all of the questions and doubts you may have about this are questions and doubts I also had, but it is turning out to be a fantastic experience. The staff, teachers and students are all incredibly friendly and welcoming. I’ve met some terrific people, and the students are really appreciative. So, “you go,” me. The classes normally have around 20 students, but Ramadan is this week and next, so we only have 10-12. It should pick up later in the month.

One of the other volunteers lamented that his English is terrible and he wished he had an opportunity to improve it, so he and I are meeting after each class to practice English conversation. See, world? Not all Americans suck!