squirrels.

Today's adventure was filled with castles, churches, and chipmunks?!


That's new.


Villena is a small city about an hour from Alicante. My host family and I went there for a quick trip, as we also visited my host grandparents. It's a small town of about 30,000 people with a castle, bullring, and all the other Spanish traits of a small town.


We didn't actually go inside the castle today, but on the way to Villena we passed two other castles. According to my host parents, it is normal for a village to have it's own castle. Most of the castles are empty, (meaning not the type you enter and see glorious things from years ago) but offer an incredible view of the city below.


After visiting the town, we went over to another part and saw a church/building that serves an important role for the village- especially for the Moors and Christians Festival held every September.



We stepped outside the building as I continued to take more pictures. The significance of the building I don't completely understand myself, but it is famous for the area.


As I was adjusting the settings on my camera, my host family starts to get all excited. I guess I looked too instensely focused with my camera, as my host family was yelling at me, "Quick! Mary Beth! QUICK! LOOK! NOW! HURRY!"

In a panic, I turned around expecting to see...well, I'm not really sure. My original guess was a shooting star. Sad to say my idea was shattered when I came to terms that we were standing in broad daylight. So I whipped around frantically looking for 1. an UFO or 2. a response of complete laughter from a "Made you look!" type of joke.

Neither happened.

So I, ready with my camera...saw nothing. "What? What?" I started to ask, looking around at everything.

"THE SQUIRREL!"

My train of thought: "What?! What's it doing?! Is it close? Infected with rabies? No. That's impossible. How would we ever know that? Is it eating something it shouldn't be? DID IT STEAL SOMETHING?! Climbing a tree?! Flying?! Doing something interesting?!"


And nothing. The squirrel was simply just...there.


My second train of thought: Alright. You got me. *I did a complete circle to see who was sneaking up behind me with I-don't-even-know-what prank up their sleeve.

There was no one. I turned to my host family. So?

"TAKE A PICTURE!"


I tried.



You see, the problem is that I was caught off guard and had no time to change my camera settings. I was going through some shock though. A squirrel? They wanted me to take a picture... OF A SQUIRREL?


Out of curiousity I asked, 'why,' as I tried to shoot pictures of an object too small and too far away. I knew the pictures wouldn't come out, but hey- it's the thought that counts, right?


My host mother slowly started to walk towards the living creature, as I follow in hopes of getting a better picture. I shortly stopped in confusion, as her interest in the squirrel had me rather startled.

The squirrel shortly disappeared behind a wall. I looked at my host family.

"Wwwhat?"

My host mother and sister told me they had never seen a squirrel before. Ever.

I can assure you that was the last thing I was thinking. It so happens that I'm from Minnesota, and we're the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Squirrels are the pesty animals that kids can use as shooting targets. People hunt squirrels. (I think. Maybe just for practice?)

Infact, squirrels are so common they don't even have them in zoo's. Squirrels are in zoo's but are free to run around and do whatever the heck they want because they are not 'exotic' animals and are nothing but an everyday nuissance. Right?

I gave my host family a second look. Are you kidding me?

It's possible I asked this question another dozen or so times. I was given the same answer. That was the first squirrel in real life (minus "the books where they have really bushy tails") that they have ever seen. They continued to explain how they don't have them here. It was not a joke.

I am still confused.



Personally I can't imagine going to adulthood without seeing a squirrel. I mean, it's like walking through a park and not seeing a bench. They're there- usually ignored, but they're there and expected to be there. To be there without thinking it's un-normal or anything.

Never in my life would I expect to be talking to an adult who has never seen a squirrel. I thought about it a little longer, trying to think of how many squirrel's I've seen since I've been in Spain. The problem is I don't go around and look for them. Or count them.

Have I seen a squirrel since I've been here?

A few for sure. How many, well... that's a better question. But atleast one. Right? I'd like to hope so. How could I have NOT seen a squirrel??


The search begins.

-mb




On another note- when I made the 'yuck' comment about a snail that was found... my host father asked me: "So you think a snail is disguesting, but a squirrel's not?"
I continued to say that 1.- Squirrels usually leave people alone. 2.- You only get rabies from them if you get too close. and 3.- We don't pick them up off the ground!

I can say I've had a lot of squirrely excitement for one day...