describir y narrar en el pasado

It was fun. He was a teacher. She was Cuban. He was young. She was in Spain. It was raining like cats and dogs. He was on the roof of the apartment. She was sick. He was disappointed. It was an accident. He was there. The dog was a German Shepard. 

Who would think there would be so many options in how to express those ideas in Spanish? Where English is limited by one verb and one tense. Spanish has multiple ways that can change the meaning, the connotation.