Sáb May 1 (21:20)
I am desperately behind in my journaling, so I’ll attempt to catch up with everything that’s happened in the past… long while…
First of all, our trip to Morocco. For Semana Santa (the week before Easter), we had the week off of classes, and the first part I spent on an ISA excursion to Morocco (Yup. Africa.). It was fricken sweet!!! Definitely something I have never experienced before. It was definitely an adventure. Yup. An adventure.
An adventure which began Friday morning (March 26) with a million hour (approx) bus ride which left at 4 in the morning.
Then took the ferry across the vast blue, and when we landed we were technically still in Spanish territory. It took a while to get across the border, then we drove for another million (approx) hours until we reached Fès.
Oh, and the concept of a “rest area” doesn’t really exist in Morocco, so when the bus pulled over for a servicios stop Quique said, “Vale, chicos. Get your toilet paper, go find a tree… you know what to do.”
Different culture—THIS was recognized immediately. Women covering their heads—it’s still seen, even in the more modern areas. And the traffic—whew. There are no pedestrian crossing signals (okay, that’s a lie, I saw one), so you just cross the street where you feel like and pray no one hits you. And, well, none of us died, so the system seems to be working, at least. And just—I don’t know, Morocco was just something I had never seen before!
Saturday we went to the Medina, the huge famous market within a maze of unlabeled village streets. That was such a great day!!! Granted, we did stay in a huge group, and could only go to the stores we were brought to and not venture on our own, but, I mean, I like not getting lost in third world countries, so that was okay I guess. We were taken to a rug store (couldn’t break me—came back rug-free), a weaver [bought a turban ;) ] , and a natural beauty products/spices store. That store was my favorite! They had us try all their oils and lotions and what-not. I bought some of their mint tea (but not the mandrake root, which apparently turns your tea into Viagra), some cinnamon (best smelling cinnamon EVER), and some other spices (I intend to have fun cooking next semester). After the spices store we had lunch.
Oh my goodness. Moroccan food. It’s so good! So many vegetables, and spices (in comparison with the fairly bland and meat-filled Spanish cuisine… it was a nice break).
Okay, we also visited a leather tannery (that… smelled… horrible…) and a clothing store. Some of us (myself included) tried on some traditional Moroccan dress… it was pretty attractive.
So those were our outings in the Medina. Later that night we went to a folk show with music, belly dancers, a magician… that was a blast as well!
The next part of our trip after Fès was camping in the desert. Yup. Sahara desert :) THAT was so awesome!!!!
Our bus took us as far as it could, then we took Jeeps through the desert to our campsite. That Jeep ride was seriously one of highlights of my trip. Besides the fact that it was, well, a Jeep ride through the desert… our driver drove super fast, and it was bumpy, and I was sitting in the very back, and it was seriously like an amusement park ride! I had SUCH an adrenaline rush! OMG.
Get to our campsite, basically there’s this huge social tent and two long rows of fabric tents for us to sleep in, surrounded by dunes of sand, and open sky, and more dunes, and more openness. Geena, Ashley, Amber, and I claim a tent and then immediately go out to explore the desert. We’re walking, enjoying our first views of the desert, and get approached by these two Moroccan (more correctly, Berban) guys who start talking to us (because of all the tourists they see, they know a little of many different languages. They’re Spanish was stronger than their English so we ended up mostly speaking Spanish with them… hey more practice!) and offer to lead us on our hike, seeing as they know the desert. We’re like, okay, cool. So we’re walking, and talking, and then they ask, “Do you want to go up to the top of the tallest dune?” And we go… why not? So not ten minutes after we arrive to our campsite, we had begun what turned into an unpredictably long (like two hours) journey, up to la Gran Duna. That was… a lot of work. But so worth it. By the time we got up to the top it was night, so we had a great view of the desert lit by moonlight. It never really got pitch black at night in the desert, because of the moon.
The next day was full of adventure. It started off with getting up really early and watching the sunrise. That was cool. Some of us even went as far as doing some sun-salutation yoga (with the desert sunrise, it was pretty legit). The next part of the day was our camel ride. I was paired up with Liz (We had a quite aggressive camel; he was at the back of the line but was NOT a fan and kept creepin up on the camel in front of us. We named him Abu). That was just such a classic moment. Here we are, all 40-some of us ISA kids, and pretty much everybody is wearing a turban, all on camels. It was so legit Sahara desert! We got off the camels in the middle of nowhere and our guides led us up to the top of this dune (I was like… been here, done that…) where we chilled for a bit before heading back down (by that I mean jumping/running down which is suchhh a rush) and returning to our camels. The end of our camel trek took us too this village, which we explored for a bit. After a while there our ISA directors informed us that there was a sandstorm coming and that we would have to stay there for lunch instead of heading back to the campsite, i.e., we were stranded. That was also very legit Sahara desert.
So we’re brought into this large building and given an impromptu (but still very delicious) lunch while we wait for the storm to settle. Eventually it does and most people head back, but I along with some others stayed behind to get a henna tattoo and then walked back.
What we returned to was a site to see. Everything was just covered in sand. Covered. But we didn’t have much time to stare in awe, because almost as soon as we got back, the storm started up again and I spent the next couple hours in the social tent talking with people, playing cards and making friends with some students from the Granada group while we all were waiting for when we’d be able to walk outside without inhaling sand.
Later that night after dinner, we had a dance party, Moroccan style. Whew, what a hoot.
The next morning we packed up and left the desert. I absolutely LOVED camping in the desert, it was just such an experience. But after two nights, and most of us not showering (though they did have four showers, they were kinda ghetto and most people chose not to use them, so we were all pretty smelly and sunscreen-/sweat-/sand-covered by the end. I however did end up experiencing the desert shower… at night… in the dark… fun fun), we were all ready to leave.
Our next destination was Meknes, which wasn’t quite as exciting as our other stops. It’s a more modern city, we just walked around and did some shopping our one night there. Finally on Wednesday we drive for a million hours again, recross on the ferry, drive for a million more hours and get home to Sevilla.
Overall it was a fantastic trip and I am SO glad I went. One thing we got to experience was bartering. Not really in stores where prices are more fixed, but in open markets and stuff, you’re pretty much expected to barter. My international marketing professor told my class once that in Morocco you shouldn’t buy anything unless you can drop their initial price down to 40%. And the people act like they’re offended, but it’s all part of the act. And you can walk away, and they’ll come after you. I bought a ring in the desert village we visited only after I had argued for forever AND walked away (twice). It’s fun, but man, it’s hard work :/
One thing I was getting sick of though… When we were in the desert all the Berber kids kept being over-friendly to us and then asking if we’d buy any of their crap. It got old, and I got really annoyed. Maybe that makes me a horrible American? But they wouldn’t leave us alone. If you want to sit alone and just enjoy the desert at night? Nope, not gonna happen, some guy’s gonna come sit next to you and talk up a storm even when you flat out ignore him. And then ask you to buy something. I got SO sick of it. I had so much fun in that desert, I could have easily spent more time there, but I was just getting so fed up that I was excited to leave when that time came.
But um besides that Morocco was freakin fantastic and if you ever get the chance to go, you should!!!!!!!!!!! (but go with a company, don’t try to travel by yourself)
Dom, May 2 (21:00) - a continuation of the update
We arrived back to Sevilla from Morocco on Wednesday, in the middle of Semana Santa. This event is huge in Sevilla. Other Spanish cities have Semana Santa processions, but they’re the best in Sevilla. Basically, there are these processions essentially all day and night. Some people march and play music, others hold crosses/candles/other items, and then it takes a group of 50ish people to haul around one of these beautiful, I guess we’d call them floats. Each float is of a religious figure or scene, and they’re so intricate. So so intricate.
On Thursday of Holy Week people dress all in black and women wear these black headdress pieces. I at first didn’t know about this and then I dressed all in black because Maribel convinced me to :) And Thursday night is supposed to be the best night for Semana Santa. Geena and I had Maribel tell us which were the best floats and where were the best places to see them when, so we mapped out a plan ish and went out to el centro that night with Ashley. We were seriously there, at Semana Santa, until five in the morning. If we had to wait a while for our next procession, we’d pop into a bar and sit and talk and chill for a while. At one point we had a good chunk of time to kill so we ended up going to the club Catedral for a little over an hour to dance, haha.
Semana Santa is definitely… not something we have in the States. Centro (and the metro) was completely crowded, the whole week. Definitely glad to say I’ve experienced it.
Friday afternoon my parents arrived in Sevilla (to visit me for a week!), so I met them at the train station after getting, well, limited sleep :) They checked into their hotel and we just chilled for a while before I took them into centro so they’d be able to see a bit of Semana Santa. After watching a procession we walked along the river, through Plaza de América, and met Diego, Maribel, and Geena for a “family” dinner. That was such a hoot! Neither Maribel nor Diego speak English, and my parents don’t speak Spanish (well, okay, Dad has had some, and he was trying, and Mom was attempting too but most of what she had to say was French), so Geena and I had to be interpreters for the evening. It was so fun! Maribel and Diego were really welcoming and my parents had a great time. After we left the restaurant we went back to our apartment for hot chocolate and Maribel’s homemade deserts. By this time we had all drank a bit, and eaten quite a lot, and my parents were still suffering from the whole time change/jet-lag thing, and when the adventure ended at almost 1:30 in the morning… Well, I just hope it was a good “Welcome to Spain” for mis padres :)
Even more keeping Mom and Dad still from recovering, we got up super early and caught a 7:00 train to Granada the next morning for a day trip. It was so nice to revisit that city, because I did truly LOVE IT. It was good to see and go to places that I’d seen before, but we also did things I didn’t do on my weekend there, so it was a good day. The only disappointment was that we couldn’t get in to see the Alhambra… When we got there, even though it was only 12:30 all the tickets for the entire day were sold out (So, as a warning, if you ever go to Granada—which you should—buy these in advance). The day wasn’t too packed with activities, just some window shopping, eating, walking… a lot of walking. By the end of the day, we were… quite pooped. Mom and Dad especially… seeing as they were pretty much still jet-lag fresh. But it was a good day.
The next day was Pascua (Easter)! I went to mass with Maribel, Diego, Geena, and Ashley, then met my parents for lunch and we had a relaxing rest of the holiday.
more of the update to come
miércoles, 5 de mayo de 2010
lunes, 22 de marzo de 2010
Vie Mar 19 (21:10)
Today was our excursion to Ronda. Ronda is so nice! A small quaint little town… on a cliff… overlooking a creek… next to mountains… ¡precioso! We saw la Plaza de Toros (the bullring) and la puente (bridge). Then some of us walked around Old Town, ate our bocadillos… very relaxing and enjoyable day.
Dom Mar 21 (23:05)
Finally we’re getting the weather we were promised! There was a three week period where it was sooooo cold here, and raining almost everyday. It was so… miserable! And everyone kept telling us that that weather wasn’t normal—apparently Sevilla hasn’t had that much rain in 50 years? Ugh it seemed never-ending… But finally things have turned around :) The past couple days have been warm (like, 70s). I can finally take a shower and walk out without getting goose-bumps. And it actually feels good to leave our window open. Today Geena and I went over to Amber’s and did an hour and a half of yoga and other exercises with Jessica and Ashley. After that, I went running, wearing shorts and a tank top… and came back sweating. It felt soooooo gooooooood, sweating in the sun! Maybe I’m just weird, but it excited me. Then I just stretched and did some more exercises in my room. It was a very athletic day. I love days like that. Working out with friends is so fun but then I also like running solo for meditative purposes.
Some people are telling us that we don’t want this warmer weather. That it can get HOT here. My response? Bring it. I would much rather be too hot than too cold. Though I have noticed in the past few days that it is more humid here than I’m used to. But I’m not going to complain, ever. I could be in Marquette where there’s snow :)
I do need to rant for a bit though: There are just some aspects of Spain that I can’t get over. Like how people are so disorganized in the streets. Common sense that we walk/bike ride the same as cars, stick to the right and people going in the opposite direction can pass on your left, logical, ¿no? Well people here don’t really give a shit. You try to cross the street and it’s mad chaos. Then they look at you all angry if you’re in their way, but seriously people, if you’d stay on your appropriate side then we wouldn’t be in this little fix. Otra cosa—the bathrooms. How hard is it to supply proper human hygiene supplies? I really don’t get it. Europe has been around for centuries longer than us, I really don’t see why it’s so difficult to keep updated with the latest in bathroom technology, such as toilet paper and soap. And, AND, WHY does everyone think it’s necessary to make comments to people they don’t know when they pass by? Like “¡guapa!”, or “¡corre, bien, bien!” when I’m running. I do miss living in a smaller town, because in Marquette and DeWitt I can go running whenever/wherever wearing whatever I want essentially worry-free. And I’m over running along busy streets :/ There are a lot of parks here, but I have to run ten minutes to the nearest one anyway, so running in public is inevitable, unless I biked to the park, which, frankly, not really into. Ughhhh. And their eating schedule!!! I’ve become accustomed to the coffee/toast breakfast, and the later lunch isn’t that big of a deal because sometimes I don’t eat lunch until later. But dinner…at 9:30? Say we have lunch at 3, that’s a six and a half hour span of time sans eating. Not cool. And we get done eating at 10, then it’s only an hour and a half till I get ready for bed. Then that food just sits there as I sleep. That’s some energy I could have used at, oh, 7 or 8. I would hate to criticize an entire nation’s culture. But I’m just sayin.
Oh. They also eat a lot of fried food. I mean, I love trying new delicious foods. But I also love not consuming copious amounts of fat.
I might stop complaining for now. Yesterday I went to the cine with Maria. We saw Shutter Island, dubbed in Spanish (I never really adjusted to seeing Leo with a Spanish voice). It was a really cool experience! I mean, I of course couldn’t understand every detail of what was said, but for the most part I understood the movie with it in Spanish. I think I might try going to the cine more often, because it’s very good Spanish listening practice. And I’m a movie buff anyway, right?
Today was our excursion to Ronda. Ronda is so nice! A small quaint little town… on a cliff… overlooking a creek… next to mountains… ¡precioso! We saw la Plaza de Toros (the bullring) and la puente (bridge). Then some of us walked around Old Town, ate our bocadillos… very relaxing and enjoyable day.
Dom Mar 21 (23:05)
Finally we’re getting the weather we were promised! There was a three week period where it was sooooo cold here, and raining almost everyday. It was so… miserable! And everyone kept telling us that that weather wasn’t normal—apparently Sevilla hasn’t had that much rain in 50 years? Ugh it seemed never-ending… But finally things have turned around :) The past couple days have been warm (like, 70s). I can finally take a shower and walk out without getting goose-bumps. And it actually feels good to leave our window open. Today Geena and I went over to Amber’s and did an hour and a half of yoga and other exercises with Jessica and Ashley. After that, I went running, wearing shorts and a tank top… and came back sweating. It felt soooooo gooooooood, sweating in the sun! Maybe I’m just weird, but it excited me. Then I just stretched and did some more exercises in my room. It was a very athletic day. I love days like that. Working out with friends is so fun but then I also like running solo for meditative purposes.
Some people are telling us that we don’t want this warmer weather. That it can get HOT here. My response? Bring it. I would much rather be too hot than too cold. Though I have noticed in the past few days that it is more humid here than I’m used to. But I’m not going to complain, ever. I could be in Marquette where there’s snow :)
I do need to rant for a bit though: There are just some aspects of Spain that I can’t get over. Like how people are so disorganized in the streets. Common sense that we walk/bike ride the same as cars, stick to the right and people going in the opposite direction can pass on your left, logical, ¿no? Well people here don’t really give a shit. You try to cross the street and it’s mad chaos. Then they look at you all angry if you’re in their way, but seriously people, if you’d stay on your appropriate side then we wouldn’t be in this little fix. Otra cosa—the bathrooms. How hard is it to supply proper human hygiene supplies? I really don’t get it. Europe has been around for centuries longer than us, I really don’t see why it’s so difficult to keep updated with the latest in bathroom technology, such as toilet paper and soap. And, AND, WHY does everyone think it’s necessary to make comments to people they don’t know when they pass by? Like “¡guapa!”, or “¡corre, bien, bien!” when I’m running. I do miss living in a smaller town, because in Marquette and DeWitt I can go running whenever/wherever wearing whatever I want essentially worry-free. And I’m over running along busy streets :/ There are a lot of parks here, but I have to run ten minutes to the nearest one anyway, so running in public is inevitable, unless I biked to the park, which, frankly, not really into. Ughhhh. And their eating schedule!!! I’ve become accustomed to the coffee/toast breakfast, and the later lunch isn’t that big of a deal because sometimes I don’t eat lunch until later. But dinner…at 9:30? Say we have lunch at 3, that’s a six and a half hour span of time sans eating. Not cool. And we get done eating at 10, then it’s only an hour and a half till I get ready for bed. Then that food just sits there as I sleep. That’s some energy I could have used at, oh, 7 or 8. I would hate to criticize an entire nation’s culture. But I’m just sayin.
Oh. They also eat a lot of fried food. I mean, I love trying new delicious foods. But I also love not consuming copious amounts of fat.
I might stop complaining for now. Yesterday I went to the cine with Maria. We saw Shutter Island, dubbed in Spanish (I never really adjusted to seeing Leo with a Spanish voice). It was a really cool experience! I mean, I of course couldn’t understand every detail of what was said, but for the most part I understood the movie with it in Spanish. I think I might try going to the cine more often, because it’s very good Spanish listening practice. And I’m a movie buff anyway, right?
miércoles, 17 de marzo de 2010
Córdoba, Granada, y Sierra Nevada
Mié Mar 17 (9:15)
This past weekend we had our excursion to Códoba and Granada with ISA. We left early Friday morning and spent the morning/afternoon in Córdoba. Córdoba was just a cute, historic, picturesque city. We saw la Mesquita and walked through the small streets, strolling and looking at some shops. Then we left for Granada and arrived that evening. Oh my goodness, Córdoba was nice, but to me it doesn’t compare with Granada. I… fell in love. Again. I mean, I love Sevilla, I really do, but… I decided if Sevilla ever blew up or something I’d want to go to Granada to finish the semester. Haha. Or—this is less violent—if I ever come back to Spain, I’d want to stay in Granada.
Let me tell you why Granada is so perfect for me. It’s smaller than Sevilla, but this is a good thing, because I’m not (and never have been) a big city girl. It’s nestled right next to mountains. MOUNTAINS. I lovvve mountains, always have. It’s just a gorgeous city. Another unique thing about Granada: You walk into a bar, almost any bar, order a drink, and they give you a free tapa! It’s fantastic! I don’t know how they stay in business giving away all that free food, but I’m not gonna complain. And, it gets better; Megan (who studied in Granada two summers ago and so knows the ropes) told us about this amazing ice cream place. I went there Friday night, and that was it. They got me. I was there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Friday night we went to a flamenco show. This past week was like the week of flamenco. I went to an elite show one night, to la Cabonería flamenco bar a couple days later, and then we had this. Flamenco really is amazing. It’s such an artform. There’s guitar, and clapping/stomping, and singing, and of course the dancing. It’s just something you have to experience.
Saturday we had a tour of the Alhambra, a really spectacular palace with amazing gardens. Simply beautiful. One of the most important monuments in Spain.
The ISA bus left that afternoon, but some people including myself decided to stay behind. We got a hostel for the night and had the chance to explore Granada some more. Then on Sunday—OMG!!!—we went to the Sierra Nevada ski resort!!! That was so fantastic! I got to snowboard. In Spain. Hahahahaha. And it was gorgeous sunny weather. Nothing compares to mountain skiing. It was… amazing.
This past weekend we had our excursion to Códoba and Granada with ISA. We left early Friday morning and spent the morning/afternoon in Córdoba. Córdoba was just a cute, historic, picturesque city. We saw la Mesquita and walked through the small streets, strolling and looking at some shops. Then we left for Granada and arrived that evening. Oh my goodness, Córdoba was nice, but to me it doesn’t compare with Granada. I… fell in love. Again. I mean, I love Sevilla, I really do, but… I decided if Sevilla ever blew up or something I’d want to go to Granada to finish the semester. Haha. Or—this is less violent—if I ever come back to Spain, I’d want to stay in Granada.
Let me tell you why Granada is so perfect for me. It’s smaller than Sevilla, but this is a good thing, because I’m not (and never have been) a big city girl. It’s nestled right next to mountains. MOUNTAINS. I lovvve mountains, always have. It’s just a gorgeous city. Another unique thing about Granada: You walk into a bar, almost any bar, order a drink, and they give you a free tapa! It’s fantastic! I don’t know how they stay in business giving away all that free food, but I’m not gonna complain. And, it gets better; Megan (who studied in Granada two summers ago and so knows the ropes) told us about this amazing ice cream place. I went there Friday night, and that was it. They got me. I was there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Friday night we went to a flamenco show. This past week was like the week of flamenco. I went to an elite show one night, to la Cabonería flamenco bar a couple days later, and then we had this. Flamenco really is amazing. It’s such an artform. There’s guitar, and clapping/stomping, and singing, and of course the dancing. It’s just something you have to experience.
Saturday we had a tour of the Alhambra, a really spectacular palace with amazing gardens. Simply beautiful. One of the most important monuments in Spain.
The ISA bus left that afternoon, but some people including myself decided to stay behind. We got a hostel for the night and had the chance to explore Granada some more. Then on Sunday—OMG!!!—we went to the Sierra Nevada ski resort!!! That was so fantastic! I got to snowboard. In Spain. Hahahahaha. And it was gorgeous sunny weather. Nothing compares to mountain skiing. It was… amazing.
viernes, 5 de marzo de 2010
Puente
Mar 2 mar (23:00)
This past weekend was our Puente weekend. Yesterday was Día de Andalucía and in addition los estudiantes extranjeros had Thursday off of classes as well. So we had a five day weekend. Sooo I went to Paris and Barcelona with some ISA peeps (Ankur, Jessica, Heather, Chris, and Shane)! We flew from Sevilla to Barcelona Wednesday night, then we camped out and slept on the floor of the Barcelona airport because our Barcelona-Paris flight wasn’t until about 7 that morning. That was an adventure. We weren’t the only ones though—there were sleeping people all over the floor. Pretty hilarious actually.
So we arrived in Paris Thursday morning. When our plane landed people actually started applauding. Un poco extraño. We flew through this airline called RyanAir. Oh my goodness, RyanAir is so… ghetto. The seats were black and bright yellow, they were hard uncomfortable plastic and didn’t even recline! RyanAir is known for being a very cheap European airline (It only cost me 20 euro to fly to Paris—no complaints), and I guess you get what you pay for. But, if you ever travel with them, watch out—they get you. With these surprise fees and policies. Por ejemplo, when you buy your ticket online, they ask how many bags you want to check, and it’s a ten euro fee to check a bag. BUT, if you say you’re not checking any bags but the carry-on you bring ends up being too big, they charge you 35 euro to check it. They also say, in fine print, that they are not a connecting airline, and if you miss a flight because one previous was late, they’ll do nothing for you. Just little tricks like that. Those bastards.
But okay. Off the RyanAir rant. Get to Paris, check into our hostel, freshen up, then go explore Paris. We went inside Notre Dame. Precioso. Then during the evening we kind of just had a relaxing stroll, exploring the streets. We ended up at the Eiffel Tower (appropriate, ¿no?), which is amazing at night. Took some gorgeous pictures. Then we met up with some of Chris’s friends who were living in the city for dinner. The restaurant we went to was… a bit expensive… but I mean, we got legit French food (I had some casserole thing with duck in it… Mmmm), so it was justified. You need to really experience things when you travel, yah? So even though travelling is expensive, I think the money’s worth it, as long as you don’t go crazy. Anyway. After dinner we got dessert at little shops on the street.
Friday THE BOYS ABANDONED US so the girls had the day all to ourselves. We. Did. SO. Much. We went to the Catacombs, which, wow… It was just an experience. Then back to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daytime, to the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre... The Louvre was… everything it needed to be.
Saturday visited Musée D’Orsay. I can’t say I prefer that or the Louvre, because I love them for different reasons. Then the girls got quiche for lunch before I left with Shane and Chris for our flight to Barcelona (Ankur, Jessica, and Heather decided to come on the trip after we had planned/booked it, so their travel plans ended up being a little bit different). As soon as we arrived, we booked it to our hostel then to the stadium for the BARCELONA-MALAGA fútbol game!!! SO incredibly fantastically amazing!!!
The others arrived at the hostel around 2 in the morning, then we went out until 6. Ay ay.
The next day was busy busy busy exploring Barcelona with Heather, Jessica, and Ankur (Shane and Chris were still sleeping when we left, so we just… let them). We went to the beach, las casas de Gaudi, Sagrada Familia, el parque Güell… Un buen día.
Sunday Shane, Chris, and I had a 12 hour train ride to Sevilla… Needless to say, it was nice to finally get home.
Overall it was a really AMAZING trip!!! I knew before I came to Spain that I wanted to take a trip to Paris. I’d been there before, on the DHS marching band trip to Europe, but I had a bad experience… It was the end of our trip, people were tired and bitchy, it was hot, and honestly it wasn’t planned very well… We had a group trip to the Eiffel Tower, which was pretty sweet, but afterwards we only had like two hours of free time, which is NOT sufficient for Paris, and I didn’t get to go to the Louvre (which I really wanted to) OR see the city at night… Pues, I just wanted to take a trip back and see Paris the right way. And I’d say there was much success :) Barcelona was great too. It really is a beautiful city, even though it’s fricken huge!!! With the mountains, and the beach, and el parque Güell… ay, precioso. I thought about studying there because I’d heard what a great city it was, but to be honest, I’m glad I didn’t. First of all, I love Sevilla. I really do. Every time I travel anywhere Sevilla seems more and more like home to me. But todo el mundo speaks Catalan in Barcelona. And they’re so proud. They think higher of themselves because of it. It’s also a very touristy town, so many people speak English too. And castellano? So not cool. Got the boot. Whenever I tried to speak Spanish there, they’d just ask if I spoke English and speak in that instead. Imagine if I had studied there! I don’t think I would’ve improved my Spanish much at all. I’d just speak in English or learn Catalan. Blagh.
Anyway, that was my casual weekend vacation in Paris and Barcelona! Be jealous!
This past weekend was our Puente weekend. Yesterday was Día de Andalucía and in addition los estudiantes extranjeros had Thursday off of classes as well. So we had a five day weekend. Sooo I went to Paris and Barcelona with some ISA peeps (Ankur, Jessica, Heather, Chris, and Shane)! We flew from Sevilla to Barcelona Wednesday night, then we camped out and slept on the floor of the Barcelona airport because our Barcelona-Paris flight wasn’t until about 7 that morning. That was an adventure. We weren’t the only ones though—there were sleeping people all over the floor. Pretty hilarious actually.
So we arrived in Paris Thursday morning. When our plane landed people actually started applauding. Un poco extraño. We flew through this airline called RyanAir. Oh my goodness, RyanAir is so… ghetto. The seats were black and bright yellow, they were hard uncomfortable plastic and didn’t even recline! RyanAir is known for being a very cheap European airline (It only cost me 20 euro to fly to Paris—no complaints), and I guess you get what you pay for. But, if you ever travel with them, watch out—they get you. With these surprise fees and policies. Por ejemplo, when you buy your ticket online, they ask how many bags you want to check, and it’s a ten euro fee to check a bag. BUT, if you say you’re not checking any bags but the carry-on you bring ends up being too big, they charge you 35 euro to check it. They also say, in fine print, that they are not a connecting airline, and if you miss a flight because one previous was late, they’ll do nothing for you. Just little tricks like that. Those bastards.
But okay. Off the RyanAir rant. Get to Paris, check into our hostel, freshen up, then go explore Paris. We went inside Notre Dame. Precioso. Then during the evening we kind of just had a relaxing stroll, exploring the streets. We ended up at the Eiffel Tower (appropriate, ¿no?), which is amazing at night. Took some gorgeous pictures. Then we met up with some of Chris’s friends who were living in the city for dinner. The restaurant we went to was… a bit expensive… but I mean, we got legit French food (I had some casserole thing with duck in it… Mmmm), so it was justified. You need to really experience things when you travel, yah? So even though travelling is expensive, I think the money’s worth it, as long as you don’t go crazy. Anyway. After dinner we got dessert at little shops on the street.
Friday THE BOYS ABANDONED US so the girls had the day all to ourselves. We. Did. SO. Much. We went to the Catacombs, which, wow… It was just an experience. Then back to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daytime, to the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre... The Louvre was… everything it needed to be.
Saturday visited Musée D’Orsay. I can’t say I prefer that or the Louvre, because I love them for different reasons. Then the girls got quiche for lunch before I left with Shane and Chris for our flight to Barcelona (Ankur, Jessica, and Heather decided to come on the trip after we had planned/booked it, so their travel plans ended up being a little bit different). As soon as we arrived, we booked it to our hostel then to the stadium for the BARCELONA-MALAGA fútbol game!!! SO incredibly fantastically amazing!!!
The others arrived at the hostel around 2 in the morning, then we went out until 6. Ay ay.
The next day was busy busy busy exploring Barcelona with Heather, Jessica, and Ankur (Shane and Chris were still sleeping when we left, so we just… let them). We went to the beach, las casas de Gaudi, Sagrada Familia, el parque Güell… Un buen día.
Sunday Shane, Chris, and I had a 12 hour train ride to Sevilla… Needless to say, it was nice to finally get home.
Overall it was a really AMAZING trip!!! I knew before I came to Spain that I wanted to take a trip to Paris. I’d been there before, on the DHS marching band trip to Europe, but I had a bad experience… It was the end of our trip, people were tired and bitchy, it was hot, and honestly it wasn’t planned very well… We had a group trip to the Eiffel Tower, which was pretty sweet, but afterwards we only had like two hours of free time, which is NOT sufficient for Paris, and I didn’t get to go to the Louvre (which I really wanted to) OR see the city at night… Pues, I just wanted to take a trip back and see Paris the right way. And I’d say there was much success :) Barcelona was great too. It really is a beautiful city, even though it’s fricken huge!!! With the mountains, and the beach, and el parque Güell… ay, precioso. I thought about studying there because I’d heard what a great city it was, but to be honest, I’m glad I didn’t. First of all, I love Sevilla. I really do. Every time I travel anywhere Sevilla seems more and more like home to me. But todo el mundo speaks Catalan in Barcelona. And they’re so proud. They think higher of themselves because of it. It’s also a very touristy town, so many people speak English too. And castellano? So not cool. Got the boot. Whenever I tried to speak Spanish there, they’d just ask if I spoke English and speak in that instead. Imagine if I had studied there! I don’t think I would’ve improved my Spanish much at all. I’d just speak in English or learn Catalan. Blagh.
Anyway, that was my casual weekend vacation in Paris and Barcelona! Be jealous!
lunes, 22 de febrero de 2010
Lisboa
Lun 22 feb (18:20)
This past weekend was the ISA excursion to Lisbon, Portugal. It was so fun! We left Friday morning and returned Sunday evening. We had tours of a fortress, the cathedral, and a panoramic bus tour of the city. And lots of free time. I went to this really cool museum with Julia and Maria. It had a lot of old art from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece... and other areas of the world. I think my favorite item there was an old Bible. Every single page had to have been made by hand—-it was amazing! The three of us also went to the mall-—the biggest mall in Europe! Haha we didn´t actually buy anything except we did get desert—-Julia got ice cream, Maria got a crepe, and I found a fondue place... strawberries, kiwi, and banana with white chocolate. It was pretty much delicious :)
The ISA staff told us that many people compare Lisbon to San Francisco. And I could see the similarities. To get into the city we had to drive over a bridge of very modern architecture (as we were crossing someone on the bus went “The Golden Gate!”), it had a tram, and it was hilly, though not quite as hilly as San Francisco.
Portugal definitely has Spain beat in the bathrooms category. It actually is possible to find public restrooms, AND I only went to one that didn´t have toilet paper. If you ever visit Spain, make sure you always have a travel package of tissues with you, because they are pretty much lacking in the TP department.
It was so weird to not be speaking Spanish all weekend! Spanish and Portuguese are similar enough that two people talking can kind of understand each other, but the ISA staff told us that many many people there speak English, and speaking (slash assuming that everyone understands) Spanish is kind of rude, so to just speak English. A lot of people did know English, but I had one waiter who didn´t know very much and a taxi driver who did speak it at all... I felt so dumb! I learned how to say basics, such as hello, the bill, please, thank you... But it was very limiting. When we returned to Sevilla I turned to Geena and Ashley and said “I´m so excited people speak Spanish here!”
So Sevilla has this, I guess you could call it a bike-rental system, called Sevici. There are these Sevici bike stations located throughout the city, and if you have a membership you can pick one up, ride, and then drop it off at any station you ride to, and if you have the bike for half an hour or less, you´re not charged anything. Pretty spiffy. Well, the other day my Sevici card arrived in the mail, and today I Sevici-ed for the first time. I was pretty excited :)
Last note of the day—-running in shorts and a tank top: The weather is appropriate, but Spanish guys still aren´t ready for that much skin.
This past weekend was the ISA excursion to Lisbon, Portugal. It was so fun! We left Friday morning and returned Sunday evening. We had tours of a fortress, the cathedral, and a panoramic bus tour of the city. And lots of free time. I went to this really cool museum with Julia and Maria. It had a lot of old art from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece... and other areas of the world. I think my favorite item there was an old Bible. Every single page had to have been made by hand—-it was amazing! The three of us also went to the mall-—the biggest mall in Europe! Haha we didn´t actually buy anything except we did get desert—-Julia got ice cream, Maria got a crepe, and I found a fondue place... strawberries, kiwi, and banana with white chocolate. It was pretty much delicious :)
The ISA staff told us that many people compare Lisbon to San Francisco. And I could see the similarities. To get into the city we had to drive over a bridge of very modern architecture (as we were crossing someone on the bus went “The Golden Gate!”), it had a tram, and it was hilly, though not quite as hilly as San Francisco.
Portugal definitely has Spain beat in the bathrooms category. It actually is possible to find public restrooms, AND I only went to one that didn´t have toilet paper. If you ever visit Spain, make sure you always have a travel package of tissues with you, because they are pretty much lacking in the TP department.
It was so weird to not be speaking Spanish all weekend! Spanish and Portuguese are similar enough that two people talking can kind of understand each other, but the ISA staff told us that many many people there speak English, and speaking (slash assuming that everyone understands) Spanish is kind of rude, so to just speak English. A lot of people did know English, but I had one waiter who didn´t know very much and a taxi driver who did speak it at all... I felt so dumb! I learned how to say basics, such as hello, the bill, please, thank you... But it was very limiting. When we returned to Sevilla I turned to Geena and Ashley and said “I´m so excited people speak Spanish here!”
So Sevilla has this, I guess you could call it a bike-rental system, called Sevici. There are these Sevici bike stations located throughout the city, and if you have a membership you can pick one up, ride, and then drop it off at any station you ride to, and if you have the bike for half an hour or less, you´re not charged anything. Pretty spiffy. Well, the other day my Sevici card arrived in the mail, and today I Sevici-ed for the first time. I was pretty excited :)
Last note of the day—-running in shorts and a tank top: The weather is appropriate, but Spanish guys still aren´t ready for that much skin.
lunes, 15 de febrero de 2010
Carnaval
Dom 14 feb (22:50)
This weekend was Carnaval in Cádiz. Geena, Amber, Ashley, Megan, and I went together. It was an adventure of a weekend. We didn’t really plan the trip… at all… Most of us bought our bus tickets there only a couple days before, with an “abierto” (open) ticket back. Didn’t book a place to stay either. Just sorta… wung it.
Carnaval is crazy. It’s a huge festival/party in the streets that went on from Saturday morning all through the night. And everyone dresses up. It’s like Halloween—but not just for kids! Geena, Amber, and Ashley were mermaids, Megan was clad in all red leopard-print, and I rocked this “abstract parrot” look (mix-matching clothes, plus a bright pink boa and feather mask. It was pretty hot.) We ended up staying out all night and taking a morning bus home today. Getting out of there was kind of stressful; the bus station was absolutely packed and claustrophobic. Between the five of us we got the last three 7AM tickets back and two of us (Geena and I) had to wait an extra hour for the 8 o’clock bus. It also got really cold. But it turned out all right.
I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. I didn’t get too much sleep on Friday night, and so after being up all night when we got on our bus I pretty much passed out :) I slept the entire ride home, had some breakfast, slept till lunch, and then took another hour nap before finally showering and starting some homework. Today was a good… day of rest.
Ay ay ay… ¡Qué fiestas locas en España!
This weekend was Carnaval in Cádiz. Geena, Amber, Ashley, Megan, and I went together. It was an adventure of a weekend. We didn’t really plan the trip… at all… Most of us bought our bus tickets there only a couple days before, with an “abierto” (open) ticket back. Didn’t book a place to stay either. Just sorta… wung it.
Carnaval is crazy. It’s a huge festival/party in the streets that went on from Saturday morning all through the night. And everyone dresses up. It’s like Halloween—but not just for kids! Geena, Amber, and Ashley were mermaids, Megan was clad in all red leopard-print, and I rocked this “abstract parrot” look (mix-matching clothes, plus a bright pink boa and feather mask. It was pretty hot.) We ended up staying out all night and taking a morning bus home today. Getting out of there was kind of stressful; the bus station was absolutely packed and claustrophobic. Between the five of us we got the last three 7AM tickets back and two of us (Geena and I) had to wait an extra hour for the 8 o’clock bus. It also got really cold. But it turned out all right.
I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. I didn’t get too much sleep on Friday night, and so after being up all night when we got on our bus I pretty much passed out :) I slept the entire ride home, had some breakfast, slept till lunch, and then took another hour nap before finally showering and starting some homework. Today was a good… day of rest.
Ay ay ay… ¡Qué fiestas locas en España!
viernes, 12 de febrero de 2010
Un Poca Perdida
Mar 9 feb (18:20)
So I signed up to volunteer as a teaching assistant teaching English at the Claret school in Sevilla. I have a class of 3 year olds that I see once every Tuesday for 45 minutes. Last week we had a meeting/orientation at the school, I met la profesora, and met the class briefly. Today was my first day teaching. My class is sooo cute!!! Today they learned how to say “blue shoes,” “yellow hat,” and “red dress.” !!! 3 year old españolitos. They. Are. Adorable :) It lifts my heart. This is going to be a good semester!
On Sunday I really began to feel like a student instead of just a tourist. Geena, Ashley, and I went to Amber’s apartment. First we did an hour of yoga/ballet bar (which was SWEET and yesterday my ass burned like whoa which was awesome) then just sat down and really focused on homework for the rest of the afternoon/evening. It was really nice, both the exercise and the studying. I’ve been trying to peck away at my homework, like usual. But poor Geena. She kiiind of put all of hers off and ended up staying awake until 4 that night (/morning) to finish it! I went to bed before her and got up after her :/ But haha she said she learned. Oh, procrastination :)
Oh, yesterday I went out for a “half an hour” run which turned into an hour-long adventure because I got lost. I kiiind of ended up on some random other side of town. I eventually made it back home because I’m amazing, but, well let’s just say, if ya’ll ever go to Spain, beware that their lack of a grid system for their roads can be tricky :p
That was the first time I got lost in Sevilla yesterday. The second time was when Chris and I were looking for la Plaza del Altozano, the meeting place before playing a game of fútbol ISA had arranged. We missed fútbol, but at least we found the place eventually… so we can go next week :) But, um, I got a lot of excess exercise yesterday.
Buttt the best way to get to know a place is to get lost in it, ¿verdad?
So I signed up to volunteer as a teaching assistant teaching English at the Claret school in Sevilla. I have a class of 3 year olds that I see once every Tuesday for 45 minutes. Last week we had a meeting/orientation at the school, I met la profesora, and met the class briefly. Today was my first day teaching. My class is sooo cute!!! Today they learned how to say “blue shoes,” “yellow hat,” and “red dress.” !!! 3 year old españolitos. They. Are. Adorable :) It lifts my heart. This is going to be a good semester!
On Sunday I really began to feel like a student instead of just a tourist. Geena, Ashley, and I went to Amber’s apartment. First we did an hour of yoga/ballet bar (which was SWEET and yesterday my ass burned like whoa which was awesome) then just sat down and really focused on homework for the rest of the afternoon/evening. It was really nice, both the exercise and the studying. I’ve been trying to peck away at my homework, like usual. But poor Geena. She kiiind of put all of hers off and ended up staying awake until 4 that night (/morning) to finish it! I went to bed before her and got up after her :/ But haha she said she learned. Oh, procrastination :)
Oh, yesterday I went out for a “half an hour” run which turned into an hour-long adventure because I got lost. I kiiind of ended up on some random other side of town. I eventually made it back home because I’m amazing, but, well let’s just say, if ya’ll ever go to Spain, beware that their lack of a grid system for their roads can be tricky :p
That was the first time I got lost in Sevilla yesterday. The second time was when Chris and I were looking for la Plaza del Altozano, the meeting place before playing a game of fútbol ISA had arranged. We missed fútbol, but at least we found the place eventually… so we can go next week :) But, um, I got a lot of excess exercise yesterday.
Buttt the best way to get to know a place is to get lost in it, ¿verdad?
domingo, 7 de febrero de 2010
Senderismo
Sáb 6 feb (22:15)
Yesterday UPO arranged for a trip to see las Ruinas Romanas de Italica. Very cool. Roman city thousands of years old, complete with gladiator arena and the works.
Today was an amazing day (and it’s not even over yet, lol). Geena, Ashley, Amber and I got up and caught a 7:30 bus out of Sevilla and rode for about an hour and a half to this little town called el Pedroso. We were planning on a day of hiking. It was absolutely fantastic. El Pedroso is this dinky town. We found a trail on its outskirts and hiked up for a while, then decided we wanted to walk along the Huéznar river. We walked a little over a mile along this highway until we reached the river. We stopped for a picnic lunch then walked along a trail by the river. When the trail ended we just sat on the beach for a while. The others attempted to tan and I took off my shoes and waded in the water, haha. On our way back we climbed up to this set of railroad tracks we found and walked on those until we reached town. Then we kinda chilled until our 6:45 bus arrived.
Omg it really was a beautiful day! Sunny all day long. As we were hiking it even got really warm, so we took off our jackets. It was so nice, so warm! It was just relaxing to get out of the claustrophobia of the city for a day. The open countryside was beautiful and the small-town atmosphere of el Pedroso was nice.
I am so tired right now… but at midnight we’re going out dancing at the club Catedrál. Bring it!
Dom 7 feb (14:30)
Okay, so last night we ended passing out and not going out... What can ya do? :)
Yesterday UPO arranged for a trip to see las Ruinas Romanas de Italica. Very cool. Roman city thousands of years old, complete with gladiator arena and the works.
Today was an amazing day (and it’s not even over yet, lol). Geena, Ashley, Amber and I got up and caught a 7:30 bus out of Sevilla and rode for about an hour and a half to this little town called el Pedroso. We were planning on a day of hiking. It was absolutely fantastic. El Pedroso is this dinky town. We found a trail on its outskirts and hiked up for a while, then decided we wanted to walk along the Huéznar river. We walked a little over a mile along this highway until we reached the river. We stopped for a picnic lunch then walked along a trail by the river. When the trail ended we just sat on the beach for a while. The others attempted to tan and I took off my shoes and waded in the water, haha. On our way back we climbed up to this set of railroad tracks we found and walked on those until we reached town. Then we kinda chilled until our 6:45 bus arrived.
Omg it really was a beautiful day! Sunny all day long. As we were hiking it even got really warm, so we took off our jackets. It was so nice, so warm! It was just relaxing to get out of the claustrophobia of the city for a day. The open countryside was beautiful and the small-town atmosphere of el Pedroso was nice.
I am so tired right now… but at midnight we’re going out dancing at the club Catedrál. Bring it!
Dom 7 feb (14:30)
Okay, so last night we ended passing out and not going out... What can ya do? :)
lunes, 1 de febrero de 2010
Primeras Notas
Dom 24 ene (12:30)
This is going to be an interesting semester.
I don’t know how much I’ll end up writing about in here, but hey, we’ll see.
So I love the ISA Sevilla staff. They are very nice, fun, and approachable. And it’s clear they want the best for us.
Madrid was okay. A bunch of us were saying that’s it’s simply a typical modern European city. To me it was too crowded and touristy and almost claustrophobic-like. Though I did buy some beautiful earrings there. We tried to go to the botanical gardens, but we didn’t get there in time :( Though we did see both El Prado and the Reina Sofía museums. Those were both magnificent. I’m so glad I’m an art student, it makes me appreciate all of that so much more. I also went out one night in Madrid. Haha that was fun :) That night Megan, Geena, Ashley, Amber, and I had dinner at this Italian restaurant (DELICIOUS), told some stories, then went to a bar. That was fun. There were some other international students there, from Stanford.
Toledo is BEAUTIFUL. Hilly, amazing old architecture, lots of history… ahhh :) I went running while we were there, not in the really beautiful part, in the more modern part, but it still was amazing. And I hadn’t run since I had left the States, so I had a lot of pent-up energy :) But yeah. Toledo = amazing.
The drive to Sevilla today was really [long but] cool. We passed through some BEAUTIFUL mountains and scenery. AHH, so amazinggg. About had to change my pants. Okay not really. But kind of.
Unfortunately it was raining in Sevilla when we arrived today… but all the locals kept telling us it NEVER rains here, haha. Anyway, our host couple is simply fantastic. It’s Maribel, and her hombre Diego, but Geena and I can’t figure out if they’re married or not… They act like it, but he “lives independently” according to our ISA housing sheet and I didn’t see him wearing a ring… though maybe that aspect of culture is different here? I don’t know. Probably one day I’ll just be blunt and ask them. But anyway, yeah, they’re great. So amables, and energetic/expressive. We can tell Maribel especially cares about helping us with anything we need, and especially with improving our Spanish. We’re gonna come home with Sevillan accents, lol.
Geena is like, the best roommate I could ever hope for. We got along great (as I had predicted) super fast. And we’re already super close, though I guess that happens when you spend three days with someone essentially nonstop. And on the matter of Spanish, at least in pronunciation, we’re pretty equal. I know more than her grammatically, simply because I’ve taken the language almost 5 years longer than her, lol, and today after we talked/walked with Diego for a bit, she was all, “Your Spanish is really good!” :) But we both have pretty strong American accents when we speak Spanish :-D so we’ll be let’s-get-this-fucking-Spanish-accent-down buddies.
I like Sevilla. I’m sure I’ll fall in love with it in no time :) I’m still kinda secretly afraid of big cities, and public transportation… but I’ll adapt.
I’m super excited for this semester. I was really nervous and self-conscious about my Spanish abilities, but now I’m not worried about it, I can already tell I’m going to be SO much stronger when I leave. It’s frustrating when Maribel corrects me (I need to work on rolling my Rs…), but I like getting my ass kicked, ¿verdad?
(23:20)
Today ISA gave us a (very) brief tour of the city center. We met at Plaza Nueva and they showed us some things and made sure we knew where the ISA office was. Afterwards I went running in the park María Luisa (SO gorgeous) with Julia. That was great. I love running :) And Julia is a good running partner.
Then came back, showered, had lunch (Maribel’s paella = YUM), and explored Nervión (our neighborhood). Just walked around and saw what’s around. Since it’s Sunday nothing is open, which was kind of sad, but oh well. Then took the metro into a more central part of town and explored some more, getting lost and then finding my way again and again. It was great :) At 6 I went with Geena, Megan, Ashley, and Amber to mass at la Catedrál. Muy interesante. Then we walked along the Guadaquivir river. By then it was dark, but with the city lights on, the area by the river was beautiful. We all started talking about how Sevilla was such a great and beautiful city and how we definitely made the right choice on where to study.
Talked with my family tonight finally! I’m not homesick but I just needed a touch of home, ya? I think tomorrow I’m going to buy a cell phone through ISA, and Geena’s planning on getting one of the internet USBs.
When I was walking through Nervión today I didn’t see any good [internet] cafes where I’d be able to chill con mi computadora :( There are some down in the center of the city… ay ay ay…
Vamos a ver. Hasta mañana.
P.S. Teehe everyone says vale here :)
Mié 27 ene (20:30)
Kind of a bipolar day :/ I was sick all last night/this morning. I barfed a lot, it was really attractive. Don’t know exactly why, I don’t think it was anything I ate necessarily, I think it might just be one of those stupid 24-hour bugs. But I feel better now (don’t worry about me!), though I feel like I could pass out for the night and that would be okay. I think I might do that actually. Pass out early and then I can wake up early, visit the ISA office, go to la Universidad de Pablo de Olavide early to set up my wireless there, maybe buy my Historia del cine textbook, chill out. I really like that class so far. We’re gonna watch and analyze a lot of Spanish movies. Right up my ally, ¿no? Haha today was our first day of classes and that was the only class I attended. I have three more in the morning/early afternoon but unfortunately I felt it best not to go due to the million (approx) summersaults in my stomach. Great first impression, I know.
So Pablo (my university’s nickname, not a person) gave me 5 classes (=15 credits) when I only wanted 4 (=12 credits). But this week is the drop/add/try-out period. So I’m gonna go to all my classes and then next Thursday or Friday I’ll decide which one I want to drop. Not gonna lie, kind of excited to take an academic break. I’ll have a life for once maybe :) I’m glad they gave me 5 to start with though, because if I remember correctly I think I put that Historia del cine class on my pre-registration list at #5, but I’m prettttty much in love with it and it’s only the first day. So which other class will I like the least and end up dropping? Español de negocios, Español-inglés/inglés-español traducción, International Marketing (probably not gonna drop this one, it’s my only one in English and I have a feeling I may need it for a descanso de español :/ ), or Latinoamérica actual: prensa y cine? Eh, vamos a ver.
So I don’t understand something. Spaniards are all about saving energy because utilities are like barftastically expensive here, so they yell at you to turn off the lights and take the world’s shortest showers and the like. But Maribel leaves the TV on like… all day. Yesterday it was even on when she was in the kitchen and no one was watching it. I really can’t stand people who watch TV all day… it’s just not a lifestyle I have… But like, TVs eat up electricity. I'm also not a fan of hypocrites. No entiendo. Oh well.
So some notes about the Spanish culture: They say “Vale” all the time. Haha. It means essentially “okay.” But it’s SO common. Mariajesus (one of the ISA staff) says it lol with almost every breath (she said so herself she says it too much, haha), kind of like the word “like” in English. Okay, algo más—the personal space is much much much much much smaller. We get super close and touch each other when talking, and sharing besos (two “kisses” on the cheeks) is the proper way of greeting someone (for girl-girl or guy-girl). Guys hugging is also more common. I like it, it feels more personal. Spaniards are less personal however with strangers. In the US sometimes we smile at or say hi to strangers or passerby. That doesn’t happen here. People just look straight ahead. You’re kind of weird if you smile at someone you don’t know. AND, when walking, people don’t do that awkward oh-my-god-I’ll-go-to-the-left-no-the-right-omg-we-almost-ran-into-each-other thing. They just slip past each other. I love that.
The only real complaint I have so far is that because they’re so concerned about saving water and what-not, Spaniards try to do limited laundry. But my towel in the bathroom needs to be washed, it’s starting to smell… And Maribel has been using the same towel for the dishes, and when I dry them I feel like I’m making them dirtier than before…
Oh, so Geena and I found out Maribel and Diego’s situation. No they’re not married, but they’ve been novios for 19 years. !!! Sheeit.
A lot of the ISA students are talking about planning a bunch of trips while we’re here. And why not, because travel within Europe is apparently very easy and usually relatively cheap. We have a lot of time for travel, too. We don’t have class on Fridays, so every weekend is a 3-day weekend. We have one 4-day weekend. And we have two whole weeks off, one for Semana Santa and the other for Feria de Abril. I really want to go back to Paris (in fact, I refuse to return home until I do so) Sierra Nevada, and Barcelona. It’d be amazing to go to Italy, or Ireland, or England… but all that travel is gonna add up, I’m not really planning on spending a million euro this semester. And instead I think I may just focus on traveling within Spain. I really just need to sit down and plan where I’m going when.
But who knowsss?
Vié 29 ene (21:30)
Today we had a tour of la Catedrál and the Alcázar. I took a million pictures (approx) so make sure to facestalk me when I eventually post them :)
La Catedrál is the largest gothic cathedral in Spain and the third in Europe. I LOVE European architecture, especially their cathedrals. It was simply amazing. We saw the inside, which was gorgeous, and then also climbed to the top of its Giralda tower. From there we had an amazing view of the city of Sevilla.
The Alcázar is the royal palace here where the king and his peeps stay when he’s in town. Absolutely. Amazingly. Beautiful. Essentially it’s a Spanish-architecture palace surrounded by a huge garden. There are fountains, orange trees everywhere, and even a mini hedge maze! Let me tell you, if someone told me I had to live there, I would not be complaining :p
Oh, and there’s this place near the ISA office called Yogurtlandia—basically, I’m in love. That’s it. Frozen yogurt and a million topping and sauce options… Today, I had yogurt with cocao sauce, naranja topping, and candy-coated chocolate chips. Mmmmmmm. Um, yeah, pretty much my fave.
Sab 30 ene (20:50)
This morning I found a really nice 5(ish) mile route to run. I went down Avenida Eduardo then past María Luisa to the river, along the river for a bit, then made a loop and went back. Oh my gosh the Guadalquivir is so pretty. And today was just a classic beautiful day, the sun was out and it was warmmm. The rest of the day was spent just walking, enjoying the weather and the city, and shopping. AND I tried churros con chocolate for the first time. Needless to say, good day :)
So the other night we did this thing arranged through ISA called Salir Con Españoles. We basically just hung out with locals. They took us to this really nice but cheap tapas place where we just ate and talked. I love speaking Spanish with locals; it’s such a challenge, but it’s a fun adventure! And they always have interesting things to say. When I was talking with one of the girls, she said that my Spanish was good. OMG you have no idea how much that really really really really really really really really really reallllllly meant to me :) I’ve been taking Spanish since I was 13 and I feel retarded here. Anyway, after that we went to a bar and chilled and talked some more. It was a really fun night! I have an intercamio (Spanish and English students are paired up together to help each other) through Pablo; my partner has already emailed me back and I’m just super exited to eventually meet him and get to speak a lot.
Dom 31 ene (17:15)
I was out last night until FIVE in the morning!!! Nightlife here is crazy :)
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