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?
lunes, 22 de marzo de 2010
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? :)
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