#please excuse my Spanish lol I’m not fluent

[hungergameshyperfixation]

¡¡¡La tienda “Books a Million” (o “Libros un Millión”??) tiene la versión de “Sunrise on the Reaping” / “Amanecer en la Cosecha” en español!!!

[postcards-to-home]

Ojos Que No Ven, Corazón Que No Siente

Hola, soy Nicole y soy de Estados Unidos. Hola, Nicole. ¿Y por qué querías aprender español aquí? Pues, a ver, estudié español durante 4 años, pero nunca lo practiqué en persona. Ahora es el momento. ( it was a dream—oh, how could I even explain that?) We were just strangers, sitting in a semi-circle, brought together by our shared decision to learn Spanish in the charming city of Valencia. As we traded reasons for being there, it was obvious: a shared love for reggaeton and a collective hunger for a change of pace had united us all at Taronja.The tangled path that led me to that very seat was far too complex to explain in my A2-level Spanish. A2? Please. I know I’m at least a B1—but no me importa, I’ll go with the flow.

We were just strangers, sitting in a semi-circle, brought together by our shared decision to learn Spanish in the charming city of Valencia. As we traded reasons for being there, it was obvious: a shared love for reggaeton and a collective hunger for a change of pace had united us all at Taronja.The tangled path that led me to that very seat was far too complex to explain in my A2-level Spanish. A2? Please. I know I’m at least a B1—but no me importa, I’ll go with the flow

"Can you watch my bags while I’m in the bathroom?"

I glanced up, earbuds in, and saw a stranger asking me in perfectly fine English. Without much thought, I nodded, “Sure.”

Later, when I got to my seat assignment, I noticed the seat next to mine was empty. It’s going to be her, I thought, almost certain. Sure enough, just before the gate closed, there she was, strolling down the aisle, the very last one to board.

She was on her way to Mallorca, and while there was plenty we could have talked about, we ended up sharing lunch at the Madrid airport, chatting about nothing in particular. Over bocadillos, she taught me the “proper” way to apply tomato and olive oil. It was a small moment of significance. It was the tiny bread crumbs the universe left me to remind me we are never truly alone on our path.

Onward to the next leg of my journey towards Valencia, I found myself wedged between a herd of Chinese kids, their chatter filling the cabin. I nodded just enough at the flight attendant for them to mistake me as fluent, which earned me the honor of being told that if the plane went down, I’d be responsible for operating the emergency exit doors for all these kids. My eyelids could barely stay open, but there I sat double checking if these kids spoke Spanish or mandarin- neither, English lol.

The universe was lining me up for success, I just didn’t have the whole map to know how beautiful it would all unfold.

After landing, a hand reached out to help me wrestle my overweight bag down from the overhead bin—a nearly 50-pound beast, half my size, and my lifeline in case everything went sideways. Time to find a taxi I thought.

Cars weren’t allowed on the street where the school was, so I lugged my bags toward what I thought was the key pick-up for my apartment. But there was no key pick-up in sight. Hmmm.

Out of options, I called my mom to look up hotels for the night. I figured I’d crash somewhere until the school opened the next day. Sweaty and smelling like hot garbage, beads of sweat rolling down my back under my big ass backpack, I was about to spiral into problem-solving when I noticed a girl approaching the school.

The street was empty—it was siesta time, and my stomach was about screeching loud enough to echo. The blonde girl stopped at what looked like an electrical box on the side of the building, pulling out a set of keys. I didn’t waste a second.

“Excuse me!” I called out, quickly introducing myself and asking where the hell she’d gotten the instructions for the keys. Turns out the school interns had forgotten to send them to me. Ha, interns.

As luck would have it, we realized we were staying in the same building and naturally decided to share a cab to Carrer de Rodríguez de Cepeda. Once at the apartment, the plot thickened—we were roommates. If I’d gotten my keys just a few minutes earlier, the whole connection might have been missed.

“Joder,” I muttered to myself when I saw the place—no air conditioning. At least we were on the third floor.

Unsure of the neighborhood and running on fumes, we opted for McDonald’s, laughing over informal introductions and marveling at the fact that one of us could get a beer from the fountain tap for under 3 euros. Afterward, we decided to navigate to the beach, walking a mile and a half just to dip our toes in the sand.

It was 8 p.m., and the place was packed—crowded, lively, and absolutely beautiful. A chaotic end to a chaotic day, but one that already felt like the start of something unforgettable.

That first day of class, I walked in like I’d been there forever, a strange but comforting sense of familiarity washing over me.There were individuals of all nationalities present in that room,but I was the only american on campus those few weeks.Perfect, thats exactly what I wanted.Typically, I’d feel nervous in unfamiliar social settings, but this time was different—I felt an unexpected sense of peace and familiarity. To my delight, I also discovered I wasn’t the oldest person in the room, which had been my only real concern for the entire trip.

“Hallllooo, I’m Delphine—like dolphin, but Dell-FEEN,” she announced, grinning as she yanked out the chair next to mine like it had always been hers. After introductions in class, she casually dropped the story of being airlifted off Zermatt with a dozen broken bones, flashing the surgery scars to prove it. Yep, no question about it—we were destined to be friends.

Before I knew it, we were mockingly imitating the adolescent German boys in class, teasing their mispronunciations and rolling our eyes every time they missed the chance to roll their R’s. After class, Delphine and I figured out how to rent Valenbisi bikes and rode the path back toward our apartments, winding past the Serranos and Quart Towers and into the heart of the Jardín del Turia—once a riverbed, now a sprawling 7 mile long park and one of the most visited in all of Spain.

We laughed as we weaved through the crowds, ringing the bells on our handlebars to politely warn walkers and joggers. In skirts and sundresses no less, we pedaled under the heat of the Mediterranean sun, completely in sync and already feeling like we’d met before.

By the time I got back to my flat and finding the right bike path, I felt like a heavily glazed donut—sticky, exhausted, and weighed down by a backpack in 97-degree heat. God, I can’t wait to crash in some AC, I thought as I trudged up four flights of stairs. Ha, sike! As if a place with air conditioning existed for $200 a week. Instead, I flopped in front of my trusty desk fan and accepted my sweaty fate. Showering twice a day was my form of balance.

Pt 2/3 to follow..

[lansizhuis]

hello! i’m so sorry but i really have no idea how to check my mentions which always gets covered by other notifs /sobs so idk who else tagged me (hopefully i didn’t miss anyone?? if i did, please tell me!!) 

tagged by: @lee-luca​ @lianhuawu​ @shu-kaku​ @yilingpatriarch​

Rules: Answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to get to know better. 

Nickname: notti Height: all im saying is that i have no right to diss JGY Star sign: aquarius sun (virgo moon, capricorn rising lol yes i know all about my stars and zodiac) Last movie I saw: i just rewatched the pirates of the caribbean franchise for the nth time  Favorite content creators: i honestly don’t have a “favorite” bc i look at each work individually (i know it’s weird sshhh) but i can also easily say that all the artists im following in my twit are obv my favs  Do I get asks? yes! and im super slow in answering bc rl stuff but i promise i really do answer all hehe ALSO im super bad at communicating via typing and texts so chats are one of my worst mediums since i tend to talk very fast that my hands can’t keep up and i get bored bc of that sakfkajf i prefer talking and calling (this sounded like an excuse on my slow replies and it actually is whelp sorry) Favorite books: the picture of dorian gray, animal farm, maniac magee, sherlock holmes, the godfather, harry potter, inferno (so much more tbh haha but generally any mystery/crime/suspense/fantasy stuff and im most probably into it) Other blogs? @raftels​ is my main~ Following: 203  Lucky number: odd numbers in general What I’m wearing my stitch onesie bc ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind  Dream job: i wanna work in the interpol hahaha pls dont judge Favorite food: CHICKEN /sobs *holds hands with LJY* Dream trip: african safari!! my goal is to finally have it by 2020 and i wanna do it alone bc i honestly really just want to see cheetahs running freely and elephants walking regally  Play any instrument? piano! but i mostly only play classical music bc that’s what my mom wants to hear lol at her face when i sneaked in wangxian once Languages: fluent in english and filipino // elementary level on japanese and spanish Favorite song: colors of the wind (pocahontas) ahhhh also any of tohoshinki’s japanese ballads (love in the ice, bolero, etc) Favorite poem: Invictus by Ernest Hemingway (this poem defined my entire life istg and it’s coming back now bc it extremely fits TGCF’s heishui arc for HX and SWD) Favorite quote: “我命由我不由天” (this is when i knew i really fully lost it for SWD) Random fact: i once accidentally drank holy water when i was a kid Another random fact: im a veeeeery picky person in almost anything (trying to tone it down and i’ve succeeded by like 5%)

Tagging: any of my followers in the mxtx fandom that would like to do this!! i’d love to get to know you guys more and if you wanna change some of the questions pls feel free~