Más vida en Sevilla!

Soo… where to begin again? The past few weeks have been fairly uneventful my literature class ended and I now have afternoons free and only three classes… school is soo much easier than Carolina especially since I just have to pass my classes and my grades don’t really matter! It has been raining still and I usually just hang out around the house most afternoons after I siesta… but recently the rain has stopped and I just wander around Sevilla maybe get a pastry or shop a little bit! The forecast predicts very little rain in the next week so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way!

Ronda! We went to a little town called Ronda about an hour and a half away yesterday and it was actually really fun… despite the fact that there is pretty much nothing to do in Ronda besides look at the bridge & the oldest bullring in Spain! Although don’t get me wrong the views are gorgeous and pictures just don’t do it justice! We actually hiked down & back up the cliffs like twice. The first time we went down one side through a mine (where slaves had to carry up water… a real buns & thighs workout… pretty glad I wasn’t a Spanish slave) but we came out at the little river… on the way back up there were 365 steps and so my friend Cameron decided to make it a game of days in the year and let us know when she thought we passed a holiday. Once we made it to the top we decided our new years resolution was to workout more and we proceeded to go eat Italian food… yes I realize the irony in that! We asked for agua del grifo (tap water) & the waitress said they didn’t have any so instead of paying 2 euros for bottled water I sneakily poured some from my water bottle into the glass! I felt soo cheap but what can I say I am definitely a college student studying abroad! Afterwards we got some ice cream from McDonalds… tastes just like home except that I got a cono de kitkat off the euro menu (basically an ice cream cone with a kitkat in it)! We looked at the view from the other side… there was a man playing guitar and it was really beautiful… it seems like everytime I am just hangin out taking in some view theres always some perfect backround music to go along (violin at night by the cathedral… small woodwind type band in the center as I sit and write postcards… & yes even some people playing snoop dogs gin and juice cd as we botellon ie drink by the river at night… like I said it just doesn’t get much better than that! haha) Anyways back to Ronda… we then hiked down the other side with the view of the bridge and hung out down there for a while… it was really fun taking pictures & acting dumb all of my friends here are entertaining & I love that I get along with them so well! After hiking back up again we went back to the bus station and attempted to purchase tickets for the trip back… I would just like to state right now that I think the Spanish way of life is very nice sometimes definitely much more laid back & with that said… it is soooo inefficient! We arrived in Ronda about 11:30 & the counter to buy tickets back was not open (you can’t buy a ticket for there & back at the same time) so we went about our day & decided to come back later. We were pretty much done with Ronda by about 3 and headed back to the bus station to get tickets back for 6 bc we didn’t want to be stranded in Ronda. When we got there it was about 415 and they still weren’t open so we asked and were told 430 so about 445 the guy finally rolls up and opens the window and we buy tickets and go get coffee and wait. About 530 we realize that our tickets have the next days date on them & we then freak out and hurry back only to find the ticket counter closed again & our entire group (like 15 people) as well as other people trying to get tickets. When the man finally comes back he corrected our tickets & told everyone they just had to try to get on the bus. So when the bus pulls up everyone runs over & tries to get on however the bus filled up and two people in our group couldn’t get on so they had to wait an hour for the indirect bus which took 3 hours as opposed to 1 hour & 45 mins! I really don’t even understand how something can be sooo inefficient… are they expecting us to spend our whole day waiting for them to open & hope we make the bus? But anywaysss despite this minor stress the day was very laid back and Ronda was beautiful!

Ronda was pretty much the only trip I have taken in the past few weeks… last weekend I spent a day park hopping by myself which was nice and relaxing… I think in the next few weeks I am going to attempt to do some of the lesser known things in Sevilla so we shall see how that goes. As far as daily life we continue to eat the same interesting foods… some of which I like better than others there are really only a few things I just cant stand to eat one of which is this soup with like ham meatballs in it? Last time we had it I wrapped all but a couple in my napkin when she left the room and then ran to my room to throw them away… I should probably say something but I just don’t have the heart to tell her and we rarely ever eat it anyways. My favorite is still croquetas but I really like this soup with beef and garbonzo beans in it and garbonzos con espinacas (spinach with garbonzo beans… a typical andalucian food) is actually really good. Carmen always asks if we want oranges and so I eat those fairly often… I like oranges a lot I just hate the like pulpy part so it takes me like forever to peel them and I make a huge mess! Hopefully this week Rachel and I are going to get paella at a restaurant that was recommended to us and I have a few other typical dishes that I am determined to sample before I leave! We finally made it to this tapas place everyone recommended and for good reason because it was amazing. We had this almond chicken that was sooo good. I will have to go back and take a picture.Carmen always watches the news during dinner and points and says mira mira when she thinks something is interesting... though I usually dont think so. They also play like popular American music in the background which I find distracting & end up just tuning out the news.. the other day it was definitely taylor swift! Her tv is practically the oldest tv I have seen in like the past 10 years.. she was actually supposed to have her new one delievered on Tuesday & here it is Sunday & the old one remains... o those efficient spaniards! I really dont know how people can stand it! Anways about Carmen nothing is really new.. she calls her daughter rebe short for rebeca which I think is cute and rebeca usually answers "que quieres?!?" ie what do you want? I guess mother daughter relationships are pretty much the same everywhere haha Carmen's other daughter Miria is expecting a baby in may so she likes to talk about that... although she talks about just about anything.. she told me about all of her past pets yesterday... most of the time with her stories we understand the subject and just kind of infer the rest... I think it would be interesting to know all of the things she has actually told us.. it would probably be pretty different from our versions!

As far as the night life I love being of a legal age to drink here! Its wonderful although we usually just buy wine for really cheap at the store and then drink at home or by the river before going to bars and then eventually a discoteca. I mean I don’t really go out that much but it is fun and definitely very different. Like I said before the other night we (some girls and I) were down by the river the other night and Spaniards were playing snoop dog out of their car! I love how even though most people don’t speak English they listen to English music and it is almost like guys here get to a certain age and learn how to say at least one of the following: “I speak English” “What is your name?”or something else along those lines… I’m not sure why though because it is very obvious they do not speak English… I also still fail to see the logic behind the lame attempts to get attention they make to get attention. When we were leaving the river though my friend asked a group of guys for a cigarette and every one of them literally hopped up and practically ran over and tried to share their joint with us and then sell us weed… it was hilarious! only in spain! I don’t really have any lessons that I think I have learned lately. I have met some interesting people here though! Tons of people from other countries mostly Germany or the UK… I met a couple people from Iceland not sure why I think that is like the coolest thing in the world… the girl is really sweet despite the fact that I cant pronounce her name for life of me… it really just sounds like random sounds to me! I also met a really nice guy from Palermo the other night at the discoteca & talked to him for a while when I was waiting for my friend. The only other interesting story I can think of is that the girls I am traveling with over semana santa got stuck in their elevator last night at like 4am! I am soo thankful that it wasn’t me and super impressed that they were able to call for help and get out! I probably would have been stuck in there til someone tried to leave in the morning! I am now a little afraid of using our elevator which is like 4 sq ft.. not exactly somewhere Id like to be stuck especially since I don’t speak Spanish that well!

Anways I suppose that is enough for now! I think we are just about officially 2/3 of the way through school and I am just over halfway through my time in Europe… next weekend is my last free weekend in Sevilla so hopefully it will be sunny & gorgeous & I will have a lot more to write about!

Besitos to all!

(for pictures check out fb or I might try to do albums on snapfish or shutterfly or something soon)

Vida!

Si soy MUY perezosa! Yes that means I am very lazy! I am such a slacker I know that I am terrible about updating my blog and I am very sorry for those of you who may actually want to read it! I actually started writing about two weeks ago and didn’t finish and now here I am with twice as much to tell!

Where to begin! I suppose I left off before we went to Córdoba a few weeks ago! Anyways really all I have to say about that is veni vidi vici! Really the only reason Córdoba is a must see is for La Mezquita which is huge and very pretty, the town itself is quaint, but a few hours was certainly enough time to wander around. And I know you may be thinking that Córdoba is wonderful and it was, but I guess I really don't appreciate the architecture as much as I should and I honestly just get a little bored! We have also since been to La Catedral en Sevilla and I actually liked it much better than La Mezquita. It is huuge! The biggest cathedral in the world (yes, guiness book said so!) and it just had more interesting stuff inside. To begin with Columbus' tomb is inside and he really is in it! There is also a crocodile hanging outside in the patio. The short story (from what I understood, this was in spanish) is that he was a gift to the king, but the king was afraid of him so he kept him at the Cathedral and all the people of Sevilla grew to love him and then he died and it was a huge deal but now a wooden crocodile with his skin hangs there. Also there is the Giralda, the tower of the Cathedral that you can climb up and get a great view of Sevilla! Besides La Catedral we were supposed to go to Italica (roman ruins) but it rained and we didnt end up getting to go but I probably will later in the semester.

We went to Madrid a couple weekends ago and it was a really fun, smooth! (we didn't have any problems getting lost or being late) trip! We rode the bus 6 hours each way (yes very long) but it actually wasnt that bad. I guess all my 3.5 hour drives to Carolina prepared me! We watched a couple of movies in Spanish which was interesting, it really helps if I have seen them before! When we arrived in Madrid we went to our hostel Las Musas which I would describe as interesting. It was just fine, clean and everything, there were just a couple drawbacks. The showers were pretty much just glass doors and you could basically see everything (yea we didnt use them) and the artwork on the walls was interesting. They were all sketches of naked women which ya know... I mean its not really my style, but whatever floats your boat. Buut, there were also a couple with a bloody vagina (yes I realize I am being vulgar and I apologize, but I told my mother and she said I must include this so thank her). It wasnt like blatantly there but ya know I am sitting at breakfast (consisting of the piece of toast I made- yes that is what they mean by breakfast included) and I look up at the art and then I look down and think... wait! did I just see what I think I saw and I look up and it is, as a matter of fact, a vag with blood! In the dining room! Really? I just didn't think that was necessary, but a nice hostel other than that! Anyways back to Madrid, we ate at a very nice Peruvian restaurant for dinner one night and an italian place the other night. Both were very good. At the Peruvian place I got basically chinese fried rice with chicken, the menu said arroz something con pollo and I figured I couldn't go wrong! There were also a couple guys singing and the atmosphere was great. At the Italian place I got Gnocchi which my friend Caroline recommended and it was really really good I would definitely get it again. We also ate at a McDonalds, I would just like to mention that was the only time I have eaten there so far so I think I am doing very good! I got a happy meal and the cheeseburger tasted just like it does in NC! In Madrid, we went to El Prado (art museum, there was a very interesting bearded lady, and another lady with a fro and a mullet which we think is why guys in Spain seem to think that mullets are wonderful!... yes, this is what my art appreciation consists of, but truly I like El Greco's style and I do know that the word rubenesque came from Rubens the painter... dont burst my bubble if you already knew that!), El Palacio Real(royal palace), El Rastro(flea market, just what it suggests... mostly junk), Teleferico (gondola ride thing to a park that looked like Africa and we got a great view of the Palace and as my friend Sarah got very excited about, some homeless people which was actually sad and I feel bad laughing about it but it was just the way she said it!)and Gran Vía (wanna be Times Square). So that was Madrid in a nutshell! When we got back it felt like we were home which just seems so crazy but it is nice to feel at home so far away! I like Sevilla soooo much better and I am so happy we do not live in Madrid!

This past weekend we went to Granada which was really pretty and I actually really liked it a lot. It is in the foothills of the sierra Nevada mtns so the views are gorgeous.. kinda reminded me of home! We didn’t really get to see much of the town cause we didn’t have much free time. When we arrived on Saturday (in the rain) we had to wait for about an hour for our rooms to be ready and we then went for a beer. I got a cruzcampo (I think it is like the busch lite of southern spain… everybody drinks it) and Granada is like the only city that still gives a free tapa with a drink so I got like this little piece of pork on a slice of bread with like some bruschetta it was pretty good, especially since it was free. I really think all of Spain should go back to that! Afterwards we met our group to go see la capilla the little chapel where Fernando and Isabel are buried along with their crazy daughter Juana “la loca” yea homegirl was literally crazy… I know this thanks to my art and culture class… I do actually pay a little attention! :) We also went to the cathedral where I think the highlight was a provocatively posing angel child… no I was not the only one in my group that noticed this, we were all thinking it and then somebody actually said it… I did feel bad thinking that in a church though. There were also these massive hymnals that I thought were pretty cool… again I just don’t have enough appreciation for the architecture… they are all kind of starting to run together now and I separate them with things like that! Again I apologize for my somewhat philistinian ways and continue to apologize profusely because I found La Alhambra (yes it is like the most famous islamic architecture in spain) a little boring as well! The views were gorgeous though! Definitely my favorite part! The architecture was pretty but Fernando (our teacher/tour guide) can definitely get a little boring. I really liked the ceilings one was wood inlaid designed while others were kinda stalactite looking and in the building with the baths there were star shaped holes in the ceiling which I loved… although it just occurred to me that that could be inconvenient when it rains so I will probably hold off on having my house built with them. Ha I know Im lame just go with it, I come by it honestly (eg my father)! I really wish we could have seen the lion fountain in the patio of the lions however it was being restored… I did however learn that are four little streams leading to it representing the 4 major Islamic rivers (nile tigris euphrates and ganges). And according to Ricky (my pet name for Rick Steves) there are 12 lions and they would spout water to tell time but when the Christians came they took it apart to see how it worked and it has not worked since… isn’t that cool! It can be an interesting fact you tell at your next dinner party.. again don’t judge me! Fortunately for us, it did not rain on Sunday when we saw the Alhambra! However, it rained pretty much all day Saturday making it too peligroso (dangerous) for us to go to the San Nicolas church and see the view of the Alhambra at night which I think would have been amazing! :( Yea I personally thought it was a buncha crap but not everybody can be as daring as I am… yes I am just full of it tonight. Im really gonna try to stop! Saturday night I went out with the girls I stayed with one of which had a friend studying in Granada so we met him and his roommate and went to a hookah bar where I smoked hookah for the first time ever! And we had tea… mine was strawberry and pretty good.. we also walked around a bit and got some drinks at a bar which about brings us to the close of this trip, however, I will mention a couple more highlights/ interesting lessons… 1. The breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning was fabulous I had a kiwi! (way more excited than I should be about that) and I stole some very good baked goods for later! 2. The shower was amazing! Especially since showers in Spain are in like the worlds tiniest bath tubs and we are only allowed like 2 minutes… pretty much heaven! 3. Now this one is a lesson… little old Spanish ladies look cute and sweet, however, when waiting in line for the bathroom, do not let them fool you.. they are ruthless and will continuously push past you for the next stall and you have to stand up for yourself and push past the cute little old lady cause gosh darnit you need to pee too! Ok thats it for my trip to Granada overall it was pretty enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it on a trip to spain… probably moreso that Madrid!

Sooo life in Sevilla! I would like to begin this section with my thoughts on rain. I am not a fan! Apparently it hardly ever rains in Sevilla we just happen to be lucky enough to catch the extremely nonstop rain that has been a occurring pretty much since we got here! That said I really wish I had brought my rain boots and I am praying for it to cease very soon! Besides that a few weeks ago Melanie, our German roommate, went home and Carmen's (our señora) daughter moved in. Her name is Rebekah and she is like 30ish I think, she seems nice and looking at her you would think she is our age, but she doesn't eat with us and we really have not talked to her at all. Carmen is super cute as always just talking away and Rachel and I nodding and trying really hard to understand, but it doesn't seem much easier. School is school, not horrrrible, but in a way kind of! I only have ONE more week of my literature class thank goodness because I pretty much hate it and after that I will have afternoons free! And only 3 classes! I can't wait! I have decided I will be going to the Canary Islands over Semana Santa and Morocco over Feria de Abril and I have also booked my flight home for may 18th from rome so I will be spending about 10 days in Italy after my program. Now I just have to figure out when I am going to Barcelona and hopefully a few more towns like Ronda and Cadiz or Malaga and Gibraltar. As far as other aspects of my daily life its fairly routine with classes and stuff but hopefully it will get more interesting once lit ends and I have afternoons free. Our food is interesting I find myself trying a lot of new things. I am actually very proud that I have eaten some of the stuff I have including little squid things and these little fish that basically had their heads cut off and fried (at first I thought they still had heads and I was terrified bc that I couldn’t do). My rule is basically I just cant be able to literally see what it looked like alive (ie no heads) I did get a tenicle looking thing though that I had to give to my roommate cause I just couldn’t eat it. We also have odd combinations of food like pasta with marinara sauce and hotdogs! Or tonight for dinner I had broccoli with marinara sauce on it. My favorite food is croquetas which look kinda like hushpuppies with stuff in the middle they are very good! I also really like flan, which I used to hate and chocolate croissants!

That is pretty much my daily life, but as far as experiences go I have had some interesting ones! 1. On the way back from the bus station to get my ticket to Madrid, I sort of got lost for the first time, I wasn't so much upset about getting lost as that I was very late for dinner! I thought I was going the right direction, but as it turns out that was not so much the case! I ended up walking like the opposite direction I needed to go and it got dark and I was by myself and it was slightly scary, but I had my pepper spray in my purse and I took it out (thanks mom and dad), so I felt better. After asking a couple ladies I figured out I had indeed found the right direction and I was about 30 mins late for dinner. My lesson here: look at my map and don't assume you are on the correct street. 2. Taxi drivers! The other night we were coming back from a club with a few of our friends and this taxi driver charged us like double to get to their house! (we know this because we go out fairly often) So they argued, but just paid it, he then reset the meter (only the jerky ones do that) and took us to our house and cleared it hoping we wouldnt see the price and told me 5 euro, I did however see the price that said 2.50 euro and I was very angry so I told him I wouldn't pay that and he said ok 4 euro to which I said NO! and asked where the price was (I didnt really understand his response). So we paid him like 3 euro and I got out and told my roommate to, but he drove across the intersection with the door open and then stopped and let her out. I think this was only because the door was open. The next night a friend went home in a cab by herself and the taxi driver stuck his tounge in her mouth twice and told her she didnt have to pay if she made out with him and she said no and he started driving away again and she paid him! I am really shocked at how terrible they are! My lesson here: Always get the cab number, sit in the back seat and make sure they know you want a receipt! 3. My roommate got her wallet stolen one night when we went out and she has had a horrrrrrible time trying to get everything that the banks need to get her money back… she has had to go to the police station as well as the us consulate multiple times and I feel terrible for her cause I know it sucks. My lesson here: Avoid taking credit cards out whenever possible (yes I know this and I don’t and my roommate doesn’t usually either but ya know if something can go wrong it will) so basically just be super duper careful whenever you have stuff like that!.. Also we saw a male dancer in these super tiny shorts at one club and of course I would find that hilarious and I was laughing like the whole time… I know Im very mature! haha

Sooo yea that’s about all Ive got for interesting experiences, however, Im sure there will be more to come and I promise to try to update more often although I make no guarantees! But considering that if you have read this far then you have read nearly 4 pages worth of typing and I commend you for taking that much interest… I do not want to have this much to write again so be assured I will make a solid effort to do better about updates!

Besitos to all! Buenas noches!

Semana Una!

Besitos to all! (little kisses on each cheek are the proper Spanish greeting!)

I will begin by saying that I will try to update once a week... which doesn't seem that hard... pero soy perezoso! (but I'm lazy) This is a long post because there is so much to tell... a lot has happened in the last week since it was our first one here. I suppose I will begin with my señora! She is really short! Now I know you all are thinking that I am short... yes, that is very true, however, Carmen (my señora) is shorter (it is possible!)... I am literally at least six inches taller than her, which I think is fabulous. Anyway she is really cute, she has two grown daughters and she lives alone with the exception of the constant stream of students living with her which is her job. There is also another student living with us from Germany, her name is Melanie and she is really nice... she speaks English which has been helpful! Carmen speaks sooo fast! The first few days I understood practically nothing, but lately I have been comprehending more. About the only things I really know how to say include the following: No, Sí (yes), Vale (Ok), Creo que sí (I think so) and Estoy llena (I'm full)... in reality, the last phrase is probably the most useful since Carmen would feed us everything but the kitchen sink if we didn't say that! Other than that, I mostly just say yes because, much like my own mother, she is always talking! Really though she is very sweet! She never lets us leave the house without a jacket and scarf and we have soup just about everyday! Today it was like 60 degrees outside and I was so hot, but everyone was walking around in their winter coats and scarfs like it was freezing. That being said, today and yesterday have been the only very nice days. It has actually been cold and rainy the past week and I really think it is actually colder inside than outside. We have little heaters in our rooms, but my poor roommate Rachel didn't bring any sweats for inside and she has been freezing! She bought some today though! I say my roommate, but we actually have our own rooms. Mine is adorable and I really like it except for the fact that it has been cold, but hopefully it will stay warm like it is now.

We started classes on Monday, for the most part they are not too bad. They start at 9:30 Mon Tues and Wed and later Thurs and Fri. I am only taking four because I want to take the least amount possible while I am here. The only class I really don’t like is literature (which I think is hard in English!)! I am really only taking it though because it is only a month and a half long and therefore I will only have three classes as of Feb 25… so my rationale is that I should work harder right now while it is colder so the prettier days I have less to do (maybe?)! Anyways it is terrible though because it has a lot of work and I have to go back to school (a 20 min walk) after lunch at 5. For those of you unaware, here in Spain, everybody goes home for lunch from 2-5 (pretty much everything is closed!). So yes, I dread my walk back to school Mon-Thurs for that class and I already have a 2.5 page paper due on Monday, but it will payoff I am sure. I like my other classes much better. All my teachers are extremely nice and though 2 out of 3 don’t speak any English… they are pretty easy to understand I really like them. I also like that my classes range from 7 people to 25… a huge change from all my lecture classes! Anyways, I have one on class on art and culture and we actually took a field trip to Reales Alcázar yesterday (our teacher Fernando was our guide). The palace was gorgeous! (I will put up pics soon, but I forgot my camera cord at home and mom just sent it) I love all the Islamic architecture and the gardens. Tomorrow we are going to Córdoba, hence why I can’t go out tonight, since I have to wake up at 7 and I really want to enjoy the city!

I think about all I have left to talk about is going out! We have been out a few times, but we are still getting used to leaving later and coming back super later. They don’t really go out until at least 11:30 and come back at like 6 or 7! Nearly 5 is the latest I have gotten back so far, I am going to have to work on that! haha We watched the Sevilla fútbol game against Barcelona from a bar the other night which I really enjoyed... we actually talked to a very friendly guy from Argentina who invited us to a party! Afterwards it was a really beautiful night so we didn’t care so much that we were a little lost! We walked home past the old University and Cathedral and everything… there was even a man playing the violin it was wonderful… I hope to have many more nights like it!

Buenos noches!

BTW... that is a picture of the Reales Alcázar Jardines (not mine though)

Dia Uno!

We were the first group of people to arrive in Sevilla from our program. And by we, I mean myself and the five other girls I met at the airport in Raleigh with the same flights and in the same program. This flying experience was somewhat traumatic with security at every stop a significant amount of turbulence on the flight from Boston to Madrid and nearly missing both connections! There was also a poor little boy that cried quite a bit, not that I really blame him. I didn’t enjoy it either, but still it would have been nice to get a little more sleep. Anyway we arrived at about noon and we were the only people not to get our luggage so hopefully it will arrive very soon (like tonight!)!

After arriving and the mandatory parental check in, the six of us American girls went to get something to eat and ended up on a cute cobblestone street about a 5 min walk from the hotel. We got some tapas recommended by the waiter. One was really good, and the other one I didn’t enjoy so much. We did, however, learn that our Spanish is terrible (not that I didn’t know that) and we have a ways to go! We then came back and took a siesta before our meeting and group dinner. They tried to ease us into Spanish food so we ate chicken and french fries. Not quite American but pretty close. I had ice cream for dessert, but some people got fruit (ie a pear to be eaten with a fork and knife).

I absolutely love the little cobblestone streets and the pretty buildings and I am excited to explore in the next few days and go shopping while they are having sales! Tomorrow we meet our senora who is supposed to be great so we shall see!

Buenas noches!