Hey guys! Now that I have taken a little time to settle in Valencia, Spain, I just wanted to update you all with what a typical day has been looking like here for me. People who I live with typically wake up later in the day than my, and I do my best to be up and out the door between 8:00 and 8:30 am, because that is the least busiest time I can be outside in the specific part of the city I’m living in. I will typically go and try and find some coffee at a local shop, and then I will go and exercise in the Turia park I mentioned in my previous blog. Let me tell you, this park has everything one could ask for. It stretches the length of the whole city and winds through it very naturally. It has playgrounds, different outdoors sport fields and courts, cycle paths, dog parks, and tons of different natural green integration that I have not seen replicated anywhere else. Normally I will either go on runs, or perform different bodyweight exercises, or anything else that lets me get out there every day. I also have class several times a week relating to different international businesses and how they are conducted, and these classes take up most of my afternoon and finish in the evening time. Starting at about 8:00 pm, that is typically when I will go do homework, or try and get out into the city itself to find different tapas restaurants, places to drink, or anything else that involves exploring.
I have begun to do research on the Turia Park I have been hanging out in a lot. The park itself was originally a river, but a big flood in 1957 led to it being drained and eventually converted into a park. What I’ve found very interesting is that Valencia, a city over 1,000 years old, was able to undergo such a massive project and be able to turn it into something so successful. One of the biggest things that I wonder about is also how were the city officials able to ignoring the obvious economical advantage of filling the riverbed with apartments and high rises, but instead converted it into a public park with virtually no points of the park contributing to its economic growth. I am planning on interviewing several people to help me explain the significance of this park, and I look forward to sharing my findings with you all!
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