When in Spain...

This week has just flown by. Last weekend Abbie left me for Ireland… She’s been dying to go there to “get back to her roots” and “hang out with some other gingers” and since I’m holding out on Ireland until my mom comes in May, she had to go whenever she could find travel buddies. I stayed in town and went to Cadiz for Carnaval. Carnival is celebrated the week leading up to Lent where Spain plays host to some of Europe’s largest Carnival festivals. Cadiz and Tenerife are known to host two of the largest Carnival festivals and since we are only an hour and a half bus ride from Cadiz we decided to sign up with “Discover Sevilla” a touristy organization here that provided the transportation to and from.

Denise, Emily, Maddie and I dressed up as Indians. Not very original, seeing as I have been an Indian at least… 5 times before now, but it was easy and familiar and I thought “why not?”. After spending the day walking all across Seville with Denise, we finally found headdresses and decided to buy cloth and make togas for our costumes. Denise’s host mom said we could all come over to get ready so we spent the afternoon at Denise’s doing our hair, makeup, somehow making togas that somewhat resembled Indian attire, and face paint. Denise also introduced me to Grooveshark, a really cool website that is somewhat like Pandora but you can make a playlist of all the songs you want to listen to, it isn’t a random selection.

We get to the Discover Sevilla buses around 8ish, and have to wait maybe 45 minutes to get on. Ms. Rachel Culwell saved my life and brought me 3 montaditos because I was dying of hunger. We get in a VERY long line and finally are able to board bus #5. I thought we had had to wait for forever, but then after Cadiz I realized there were… 12 or 14 (I forget) buses and that we actually got pretty lucky. Besides this poor girl vomiting the entire way to Cadiz, it was a pretty nice ride over there. I knew our bus leader, Rufus, as he was one of the first random friends I made here in Sevilla. He’d just started doing some work with Discover Sevilla. He wants to be a magician so he had a great time walking up and down the aisle doing card tricks for everyone; he was quite a hit.

We get to Cadiz and there isn’t really any way to describe the atmosphere. Crazy. Packed. Loud. Dirty. Fun. Reckless. If I had to describe it, I would say it was like… Mardi Gras x3 except you could not go inside any of the bars, or use their restrooms, PLUS everyone was wearing costumes. We pretty much ran around in groups taking pictures with anyone dressed funny. Although looking back, I feel as though half the time I was in Cadiz, I was looking for a bathroom. Denise and I actually got lost trying to find one for about an hour and a half, which was a little bit scary, but thank goodness we were together. We did see some great costumes though… lots of pirates, Indians, cowboys, policemen, superheroes, smurfs, men dressed as women, chickens etc…

smurfs! one of my favorite costumes that we saw

The aftermath... stolen picture from a friend

Overall it was a very cool experience, up until the end. There was absolutely NO system to get us back onto the buses and it was literally like standing in an angry mob. Everyone was drunk and tired and cold and very unpleasant and the police were there trying to keep us from rushing to the buses when they pulled up or being too far into the intersection, but they treated us like we had done something wrong. They were pushing us all backwards when there was honestly nowhere to go and they even pushed this girl to the ground which was so crazy to me. After I saw that, I just walked to the back, sat on the curb, and said I would wait until the last bus. It was really disheartening to see that and honestly a little scary. But we finally made it home around 630, about 2 hours after we should have been home. It was a very cool experience but I’m not sure if I’d choose to repeat it if I had the chance.

This past Tuesday, I turned 21 which is just crazy to think. I still feel like I scale everything as if it were the year 2000. I think 1980, 20 years ago; yet now it’s 2011 and I’m finally 21. It’s probably better that I turned 21 here in Spain, seeing as how in the U.S. people are a little more rowdy when they turn 21, and I’ve had a few months here to ease myself into the whole legal drinking thing.

The night of my birthday we went to a Japanese restaurant called Mingthao. It was FANTASTIC. Little did we know that it was a buffet (it had a menu as well, but… let’s be real, who wouldn’t choose the buffet) and it was very very well priced. So everyone except Ali chose to get the buffet, and let me remind you, in Spain, dinner and breakfast area really light and lunch is the largest meal of the day. Well, we look around and everyone has a little bit of food on their plates, and usually only one plate per person. Well then come in this group of 10 hungry hungry Americans and we just go to town on the buffet. We also went back for seconds and even thirds for some, and unlike the rest of the people at the restaurant who put 2 or 3 things on each plate, we each had just piles of food one on top of the other on our plates. They had all sorts of great rice, chicken, and sushi as well as egg rolls and French fries and lots and lots of fruit.

The whole group at Mingthao! 

At the end of dinner Rachel proposed that everyone go around the dinner table and say their favorite memory of me (yes, Mom – I know, just like we do at home haha). It was really really sweet and it was just one of those moments where you just kind of have to sit and take it. It’s almost a little awkward because people are just saying the nicest things and as much as you appreciate what they’re saying, there isn’t really an easy way to convey your appreciation. Poor Maddie who had only known me for about a week had to go last… haha but it was a really great dinner and I’m so glad that I’ve made such great friends in such a short time. I feel as though I’d invite each and every person there to my birthday dinner in the states – that they are that good of friends after only a little under 2 months. They all pitched in an extra euro or two to pay for my dinner which was very sweet. 

After dinner, most people headed home due to tests and early classes, but Mackenzie, Rachel, Denise, Abbie and I went to the area around the cathedral. We were invited in for free birthday shots to a bar called The Jungle and then made our way over to Tex Mex for a jarra of Sangria. We had a great time just hanging out and talking. Mackenzie always starts off our conversation with something along the lines of “Favorite memory of…” or “Most embarrassing time that…” and then “GO!”. So we started off with “favorite birthday party” and “hardest thing about being abroad thus far”. It was great to just sit in their company and talk for a few hours about whatever. I’m glad I didn’t get too crazy on my 21^st.

The only shot I took on my 21st

Wednesday,  I met up with a friend for tea in the afternoon. We talked in Spanish mostly to practice and he gave me me this packet of proverbs in English and their translations to Spanish which will become relevant in about 2 paragraphs. After that I walked around el Centro for a bit to kill time because Rachel and Mackenzie were taking me out to dinner again. I really think it was meant to be that I met these two girls. They’re two of the sweetest and most genuine girls in the world and I love hanging out with them. One of the things I admire most about these girls is that they are SO very strong in their faith and so comfortable talking about it which has been really good for me because it’s made me realize that that is something I want to play a larger part in my life. Rachel actually lent me her bible last week and borrowed one of her friend’s extras so that I could have one this semester. I’ve read a little everyday and it's something I want to continue doing. I don’t think we met by accident. Rachel and I had met in College Station one time at the study abroad office and exchanged names and we ended up facebooking just a little bit, and she told me at my birthday dinner (second night) that she’d been praying for me and our trip since then and that she had even told Mackenzie about me way back then. What are the chances? For birthday dinner number two, we decided on Dominoes since we had already been there once together and it was just a little piece of America in the middle of Spain. We split 2 large pizzas which is helping to turn our “big girl” jokes into a reality… The pizzas were absolutely amazing. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them now. It was such a sweet gesture.

 That night at Cien Montaditos we ran into MJ and I showed her the packet of proverbs my friend had given me and her reaction was “OH mah gowed, I need dis in my life”, I love her accent. So she begged me to let her keep it for the day and she said she was going to scan it and put it on her phone so she’d always have it on her. So we spent a good hour going over all those with a bunch of kids from ISA which was a blast. For example, “Finders keepers, Losers weepers” translates to “El que se fue a sevilla, pierde su silla” which literally means – “he who went to Sevilla loses his seat”.

At cien, we met up with Sarah Scott (a girl that went to St. Agnes with Abbie and I) and her friends from TCU. One of her friends asked where we went to school and as soon as I said A&M she asked if I knew Jordan Brown, who just so happens to be my roommate, small world. Another one of the girls with Sarah was me and Abbie’s really good friend Allison Branca’s roommate sophomore year who I had met once or twice, again – small world. We hung out at Cien for a bit then headed to Tex Mex again and ended the night at a club called Bestiario. They even played my favorite song in honor of my birthday. (previous blog post)

Toast!

We both celebrated our 21st birthdays here in Spain!

This week has just made me feel really grateful –  for my family, this opportunity, and for my amazing friends. Tomorrow I set off for Lisbon, Portugal, and even though the weather is supposed to be awful, I am very excited. 

"Danza kuduro Remix " Letra - Don Omar Ft Lucenzo Arcangel Daddy yankee ...

Del Dicho al Hecho Hay Un Trecho

The last week or so has been very busy and… naturally, very fun. Yesterday was Día de Andalucía and therefore we didn’t have school. This day just commemorates the day that Andalusia was officially declared an autonomous community of Spain. I was hoping there would be festivals or parades or something of the sort, but after spending “todo el finde en la calle” as Cuca says, I concluded that it’s really just a day of relaxation as the streets seemed to be very packed yet I never saw anything that had anything to do with it being a special day. Most of my friends all left Sevilla to travel but since I wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t made any plans I decided to stay.

I spent all Friday morning and early afternoon in the park. I’ve talked so much about how I want to spend more time there and read and just relax and tomar el sol but I never seem to have the time, although… I have started walking home from class everyday (no matter how hungry I am) just to spend more time there.  In Nicaragua it was so easy to sit back and relax and just do nothing and be so content doing it. It’s hard to compare these 2 experiences. I seem to spend so much of time here in Sevilla planning what I’m going to do next. I go to class, then I go home to eat. When I get home, I check my facebook and spend most of my time sitting on the computer planning what’s next on the agenda. I think that my days felt so much longer in Nicaragua because I didn’t have this option, and having a plan for anything at all was pretty rare. Abbie and I concluded that the one day we did not have internet was the longest day thus far in Sevilla.

So lately, I’ve been trying to spend less time on Facebook and more time out of the house  exploring the city or at the river or in the park. I set out Friday with no plans. I just started walking and let my feet take me. Of course, first stop was the park. It was the first time I walked through the park without a destination. I wasn’t headed to school, to the river, to meet friends, or to the centro, I just set out to have a daylong adventure doing whatever random things that crossed my path. There were tons of people having picnics, laying in the sun, reading, or playing with their kids. I went to an area of the park I hadn’t been before (pictures below) and just stopped to really try to take in the beauty of it all. I ended the walk after about an hour or so in Plaza de Espana. Like I’ve said before the Plaza de Espana has mosaics of many Spanish cities that stretch the entire length of the building. I decided to choose a city and read my book (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Christmas present from Charlie). I chose Cadiz since I’m headed there this weekend, and read about 50 pages before I literally couldn’t bear the heat anymore and decided to go back into the park to find an area in the shade.

The Plaza de Espana has these little mosaics stretching
the entire distance of the building, each representing
a different Spanish city. I spent Friday morning reading
here until I could no longer stand the heat and had
to move into the shade. 

This was my first reading place. It only lasted
about 10 minutes before Abbie called, so I've decided
I need to give it another change. Isn't is beautiful?

Friday afternoon I went with one of my friends who teaches English here in Sevilla to a really cool bar on the rooftop of a hotel. It had an amazing view and it was so beautiful and sunny outside. Lo pasé bien. I remembered late that afternoon that some of my Italian friends had told me about a concert in Nervion featuring the band “Ska-P”. I hadn’t even had a chance to YouTube them before deciding to go. I called them a few times and after playing a little bit of phone tag and somehow getting directions via text, I made it to the concert. It was honestly like a scene from a movie. The venue was littered with beer cans and bottles and there were people everywhere. There were police at all the doors and as we entered the gates, we saw people were trying to leave but the police wouldn’t let them, which for some reason made me think something awful had happened inside and people wanted to leave blah blah. That wasn’t the case though. They were just trying to take a break before the next act, so taking advantage of this opportunity we decided to sneak in the door as everyone exited, saving 15 euros on the ticket. The bands were great and in between acts they were playing a song from a Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” which I thought was really funny. Despite the fact that for most of the concert I had to consciously try not to breathe through my nose due to the overwhelming scent of body odor and having to always, at all times be aware of which hardcore Spaniards were trying to start mosh pits within 10 feet of me, I had a really great time.

You know... just fitting in.
Still can't figure out how to rotate pictures.

View from the stairs.
This was actually taken in between bands, so a ton
of people went outside at this point in time.

The next morning, one of my friends called me and invited me to “El Túnel de Triana” a restaurant that is in Triana – another neighborhood in Sevilla. The best piece of advice given to me before leaving for this trip was from Kristen Clauss who studied in Granada last Spring. She told me when an opportunity presents itself “don’t ever say no” – and don’t worry (DAD) I obviously do not follow this advice with all opportunities that I come across, but this advice has stuck with me and I’ve shared it with others (how I convinced Denise to come with me to the salsa class). So I went home, changed, and made my way to Triana. This restaurant is owned by this precious couple – a really sweet animated man and his very very pregnant wife. Every Saturday at three o’clock they make paella (typical Spanish dish usually consisting of rice and seafood – riquisima…) and feed whoever is there “gratis” – or for free. It’s customary to buy a few drinks but they don’t ask for anything for the paella. So I went there and met a few cool people and just talked for a few hours.

That’s one thing I love about Spain. Something like a casual lunch can take up a third of your day. The people here really just like to sit and talk… and talk…. and talk… and talk.  Luckily I only seem to meet very interesting Spaniards (and French/Italians etc…) so I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of Spanish life so far. Next we made our way to a bar that’s right on the riverside that I’d been wanting to go to forever. We meet up with a bunch of people from all over and spent a few hours there. It was crazy because at any one point in time it was really a shot in the dark to guess which side of the table was speaking in what language. There were some people who could only speak French and a little English, whereas others could only speak Spanish and French, and others who could only speak English and a little Spanish, and others who were fluent in 4+ languages.  I’ve decided that if I do ever decide to try to take on another language, it will definitely be French; I think it sounds so beautiful. After a quick dinner and botellón by the river, we went to Obbio again (the gay club) which, like before, did not disappoint.

I lent a random French guy my sunglasses cause it so
sunny so he traded me his. Harry Potter?

Night view by the river at the Puente de Triana

Saturday, I was pretty much useless. I woke up, ate, slept, showered, slept, and then went to see Black Swan with my friend Pam who I met the day before at el Túnel de Triana. It was a pretty interesting/disturbing movie but Natalie Portman did an amazing job and I think she definitely deserved the Oscar. I made my way back home to see Abbie after the movie then spent the night walking around barrio Santa Cruz (the area around the cathedral – absolutely beautiful) and made a pit stop at an 80’s party where I was somewhat of a hit only because I knew the words to a few random pop 80’s songs that they were trying to sing. It was a blast.

I spent Sunday exploring Sevilla and sitting at different cafés talking to different people. As Abbie and I finally set off for our walk home we mentioned how much we love just getting lost in the city and coming home realizing we’ve probably walked 10 miles that day. We spent one of our long walks playing games that we usually play on family road trips. I introduced Abbie to “Yellow Car” – a somewhat brainless game that the Lee family taught me. Pretty much when you see a yellow car you scream “yellow car” and you get a point as long as it isn’t a taxi or service vehicle. So far I’m the only one with any points. Abbie taught me her families game where you have to find words on billboards, street signs, store names etc… that start with each letter of the alphabet starting with “A” and you have to go in order until you finish the alphabet. I still don’t actually no how to keep score but it was fun never the less.  When we finally made it home, I ate and managed to fall asleep at like… 10 (Abbie says 8…) and slept the whole night through which I really needed.

On the bridge, torre del oro in the background

This morning I woke up at 7 and made my way out to Ronda Pio XII to continue my volunteering with Fundación Gota de Leche. I went last Thursday as well to get a feel for the program and loved it. The Fundación does may things but I’m involved in the part of the program called “Desayunos Saludables” which means Healthy Breakfasts and offers breakfast to underprivileged children at these schools every morning. We go in around 8 and set everything up then the kids come around 830 to eat. Most of the kids that utilize this program are immigrants. After only having come one time, a few of them even remembered my name (I know “Maria” isn’t all that difficult, but I was really pleased regardless). I already have a few favorite little kids who are already comfortable joking around with me – Brisa and Fernando; although every single one is adorable. They range in age from like… 5 to maybe 11 or 12 I’d say and although some are painfully shy, they’re all for the most part pretty talkative and upbeat especially considering it’s 8:30 in the morning. I love starting my day this way. I asked Rosi (the lady in charge of the program at Pio XII) if I could come on Thursdays if I was able to and she said that was fun so I think I may start going twice a week if I can manage to get myself out of bed – which is never an easy task.

After going to the elementary school this morning, I came home to check my email and make sure I’d finished any homework and made my way to class. I was much more attentive than usual – most likely because I’d been up for awhile and really enjoyed both of my classes – Grammar and Phonetics. At 3 I met Carmen, my intercambio partner, to talk for a few hours and just sat at a restaurant outside in the sun and chatted for 2 hours.  She’s a really sweet girl and I just love how much she wants to learn English. She’s so eager and enjoys learning new things so much and honestly, she’s read probably twice as many English literature books as I have which… is somewhat depressing seeing that my parents OWN a bookstore. We talked all about our weekends and also all about the places in Europe that I have yet to visit. I wrote down all sorts of different places I need to go and things I need to see when I go to Paris, Rome, and London. She also told me about a whole lot of the different regions in Spain where I could go for a weekend or where I could take my mom when she comes. I’ve started to carry around my planner so that I can write down the things that people tell me or the new words or phrases I learn and I’m going to try to start reviewing them whenever I find myself on the bus or waiting in between classes or things like that.

After meeting with Carmen I spent an hour catching up with Denise at Cien Montaditos as I waited for Abbie to leave class, then we walked home and managed to run into Emily who was jogging in the park. We’re currently just bumming around… I think everyone is too tired from this weekend to leave their houses so an episode of Jersey Shore and a blog post later, I’m going to bed. 

Estamos Camino de la Frontera Disfrutando a Poquitos la Vida Entera

To say I've been busy lately with school and a pretty packed social calendar would be quite an understatement. I haven't written in over 2 weeks and every time I think about writing a new blog entry I just get overwhelmed. I'm going to try to just highlight the things that have been going on lately.

Abbie arrived on the 4th and having her here has been fantastic. It's really nice not to have to take cabs alone or walk home alone and my wardrobe has doubled in size which is a plus as well. We've also taken very kindly to the pizza place across the street from our house. We've had to promise ourself that we will only do "second dinner" once a week due to how frequent our visits to the pizza place have become. Tonight was the last night (thsi week at least) that we allowed ourselves to go there and they brought us free desert and free chupitos which we took as a sign that we were becoming regulars and seeing as how Cuca makes us dinner every night we decided we should cut back. But regardless, it's a nice little taste of America whenever we're craving something.

We've also started spending most of our weekend days at the river. The people here go to the river and just sit and sun bathe (not in bathing suits - we were warned that that would not be the best idea). There are people all over just drinking, eating, playing sports, reading, and genuinely just enjoying being outside. It's been really nice the past few weekends so we've spent a lot of time there!

Rachel, Emily, Me, Denise, and Abbie at the rio!

We've also started to get a better feel for the city and it's night life. We've learned where the good deals are and where to go on certain nights. We've also learned which bars are very american and where the "guiris" are known to gather. A "guiri" is literally translated to a "foreigner" but I was talking with my intercambio and here in Sevilla it's sometimes used in a negative context, like an American who comes here, doesn't try to learn the culture or speak in spanish and just comes to party all the time and does so very obnoxiously. My friends and I have been trying pretty hard to steer clear of that lifestyle while we are here.

As I mentioned  in the last paragraph, I just started my "intercambio" today. I was assigned a student in the deparrment of filologia from the University of Sevilla to practice spanish with. We've decided to meet every Monday and Tuesday for 2 hours each day and on Mondays we speak only in spanish and on Tuesdays we speak only in english. Today was our first day and it went very well. Her name is Carmen and she loves english literature so I told her all about Becker's Books and called my dad after our meeting and told him to send me a bunch of classics for her next time they send me a package. I'm very excited tomorrow to hear her english.

What else to tell... We've booked our flights for Semana Santa in April - we are going to Barcelona the first weekend, then to Paris for the majority of the week, then ending the week in London and flying home. It'll be 9 days and I could not be any more excited. We've also just recently booked our flight to Rome for another weekend in April and we are debating now between Prague and Amsterdam for one of our last free weekends. In March, we will be going to Lisbon, Portugal and Cordoba and Granada with ISA and then Abbie and I are going to Madrid during one weekend to see Taylor Swift. Pretty much after this weekend (which Abbie is hoping we can go to Malaga or somewhere in Spain) we will be traveling a TON.

Tomorrow I have a meeting at 930 in the morning with a service organization called Gota de Leche. I think they are just training me but it could be an interview - I'm not really sure. What I hopefully will be doing is going to a school one morning every week to help prepare a healthy breakfast for a class and just hanging out with them. I'm not exactly sure how it will work but I'm excited for the meeting tomorrow. I'm also hoping to start volunteering at a soup kitchen here as well. We shall see...

We’ve also discovered a movie theater here that plays movies in English with Spanish subtitles. It’s called Avenida 5 cines and we’ve decided to see a movie every week. First we saw “The King’s Speech” and last week we saw “Hereafter” which Cuca told me was pretty awful and I wish I had listened. This week I think we are going to see “127 Hours” with James Franco which is the story of the hiker who had to cut off his own arm in order to survive after a huge boulder fell on it. Not exactly a typical movie for a group of 5 or 6 girls but we’re running out of options…  

There's still so much I could tell you all but I'm exhausted and need some sleep so I'll just post a few pictures to explain what else I've been up to.

Abbie, Denise and I at Buddha Bar - our favorite club.
3 stories with 3 different dance floors. It's quite the workout

Abbie and I have challenged ourselves to try all 100
of the CIEN Montaditos.
We've currently done about... 24.

More Buddha Bar

Abbie, Denise, Me, Emily, Rachel, and Christine
at Sevilla's oldest tapas bar in "el Rinconcillo"
on Valentine's Day

Boss... 

p.s. the title of this blog post is from me and Denise's favorite song. "El Secreto de las Tortugas" - of course Abbie hates it. probably only because I like it. and the fact that it's in Spanish... You Tube it if you have the time

La Vida Sevillana

So Spain continues to amaze me. I’m still so happy with my decision to come to Sevilla. It’s silly to think I was even somewhat nervous about the homestay situation, Cuca and I get along so well.  Cuca’s actually brought me dinner in bed the past… 4 or so nights. She’s such a sweet lady. I already know it’s going to be incredibly hard to say goodbye. I cannot wait for Abbie to get here, but I’m still really glad I got these first two weeks to get to know Cuca and the area.

                My intensive Spanish class has been going well. Tomorrow we start our final presentations – we have to be able to speak for 10 minutes about something and write a more detailed paper, with an outline and a powerpoint. I chose to do mine on El Palacio Real in Madrid because I really liked it, but I kind of wish I had chosen one of the artists we learned about at the Prado because I found that much more interesting and it would’ve been a heck of a lot easier to write about. Never the less I’ll be done with this project tomorrow.

My Class!

                I’ve done so much since I last wrote it’s somewhat hard to write about it all. I had a very very fun night last Wednesday. I started the night at cien montaditos with Emily and we met these three people from Italy. Then their friend from Sweden came. We hung out and talked there for awhile and then we went with them to Flaherty’s to watch the game, which Sevilla lost, but should have tied because the referees did not count a goal that clearly went in as we saw on TV. So we are just in heaven, Emily and I, because we’re speaking Spanish, watching futbol games, just doing everything we had been waiting to do. Then we meet all of their friends – who are from the USA. These people we met have the attitude about everything here that I hope to have when I leave. They’ve been here since the beginning of the school year and they’re doing a Spanish government program where they’re paid to teach English at schools here in Spain. The whole time we were with them they talked to us in Spanish and they were all such cool and cultured people. One of them invited us to a free salsa lesson the next day which we went to on Thursday which was a blast.

                That same night we had our “Salir con Espanoles” program which was super informal. We pretty much met a bunch of Spanish people in La Plaza Nueva and they took us around to bars. I only talked to a few cause there were probably 6 Americans to every 1 or 2 Spanish people but I did talk with one guy for awhile who told me he could’ve mistaken me for someone from Central America because my accent was so good which I took as a complement. We stayed with the group for about an hour then decided that “Salir-ing con Espanoles” is really just… meeting  Spanish people and going to bars and talking to them… which we could easily do on our own so we decided to venture out. We went out to an area called “Las Alamedas” I think, it was pretty far out, for another intercambio that a friend we’d met the night before had set up. That was fun as well but there were way more Americans then Spanish people so again, we left.

                We also got to tour the Alcázar this weekend. This is the royal palace of Sevilla which was built as a fort. We got to go in most all the individual buildings or palaces. We went to the "Patio de las Munecas" which means the Doll's patios and its the area where all the kings mistresses lived, and the "Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla" which is the bathing area of "Peter the Cruel's" mistress and we got to see the "Patio de las Doncellas" which literally translates to the Courtyard of the Maidens. In this place the king would give 100 virgins to the Moors every year to try to keep good relations. Something interesting about the Alcázar is that there were many buildings built by the Moors and the Moors apparently did not ever include animals or humans in their architecture or art when decorating the building but there are lions (symbolizing the kings) and a few humans in the architecture at the Alcázar because the king demanded it.  

Rachel, Denise, and I at the Alcazar

This picture is in a maze of hedges like this in one of the courtyards at the Alcazar

                Over the weekend we got our first real taste of the Sevillan night life. All last week it was very cold, especially compared to what the people here are used to. The weather, and the fact that we had only been out on weeknights did not allow for too many crazy nights in any bars or discotechas. Friday night we went to cien montaditos again – it’s becoming a new favorite of ours – only because it has the cheapest drinks, and then headed over to Calle Betis. We’d heard about this club called Boss that was apparently pretty hit or miss on whether or not you would actually get in. We met some ISA kids at a club I forget the name of only to hear that Boss was having a private party that night… so of course I wanted to try to go because I knew that wasn’t true. So Emily and I decide to leave and go to Boss and most likely only because we weren’t in a huge obnoxious group of Americans we got in. It wasn’t especially packed like the discotecha in Madrid but it had a very cool set up and there was a really good mix of people there. Of course we took a picture…

Emily and I at Boss

Saturday we spent the day running around the park and taking pictures at La Plaza de Espana. Rachel has an ever growing collection of solo shots of me. I’d say it’s creepy but I’m totally okay with it… 

     

             

       After the trip to the park we went in to el Centro to meet Denise’s friend Felix that she met during our intercambio and pretty much just sat with him at Café de las Indias. He brought a friend along and they were pretty cool to talk to. We went to a few bars with them before I was ready to go to dinner but then we met up with them again later to go to a discotecha.

                This weekend we also discovered Calle Alfalfa. It’s a random few blocks of bars right in the middle of el Centro and it’s always super packed. Anytime a car comes through everyone has to push their way to the walls to get out of the road. We had a lot of fun there this weekend as well. Saturday night we also went to a discotecha called “El Santuario” in el Centro. It was somewhat of an older crowd but we walked in, chose a spot, and had so much fun without ever leaving like a 10 foot radius of our spot.

        Today on the way home I decided to walk the entire way (also because I ran out of saldo on my bus card…)  but I walked past this street vendor selling books. I told him that my Spanish is pretty decent and I want a book but I needed something that I could understand. So he gave me like maybe… an 8^th grade level children’s book that is all about Spanish stories called “Leyendas del Cataluna”.  I read a few pages today and it’s great because I can understand absolutely everything. They had other books like Angels and Demons or Pride and Prejudice but I just wanted something where I wouldn’t have to look up a word in every sentence. This will help me with forming my sentences and what not. Plus this guy said he sells there a lot so once the weather is nicer and I go to El Parque de Maria Luisa more I will be able to buy other books to read.

       Spain’s still beautiful as ever and the weather is slowly getting better. I’ve had a blast so far but I really just can’t wait to start classes at the University so my Spanish really starts to improve. I also can’t wait to get an intercambio that the University sets up. Hasta Luego. 

This is a picture of the University of Sevilla! Where I will be starting classes on Monday! 

Toledo y Mis Primer Días en Sevilla

Alright now a little about our trip to Toledo. We arrived late in the morning and were first given a panoramic view of the city by bus. I was lucky because our tour guide was undoubtedly more exciting than the other buses and he was giving the tour in all Spanish which I need to be practicing. I’m not having any trouble understanding the Spanish here but I get somewhat tongue tied every once in awhile when I’m trying to say longer sentences.

We started with the panoramic view and he gave us a little history lesson about Toledo. It was built to be a Roman fortress and was surrounded on three sides by a river, but then fell into the hands of Muslims and Christians. Toledo is sometimes called the Ciudad de last tres Religiones because when it became under Christian control, most Jews and Muslims were allowed to stay in the city if they proved to have a useful profession. Then Mario (our tour guide) took us on a walking tour of the city which included el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes which was a to commemorate Ferdinand and Isabel’s victory after a certain battle. We weren’t supposed to take pictures but Mario waited to tell us that until we had all already congregated and gathere inside and taken a lot of pictures. He winked at us all as he told us “Oh Wait, I forgot to tell you, you’re not supposed to take pictures in here…” Loved him.                                                                                  

We also went to The Santo Tomé Church where we got to see El Greco’s “The Burial of Count Orgaz”. Apparently this painting is seen by more visitors annually than all other paintings besides the Mona Lisa. It was so beautiful. Because El Greco was never able to win favour of the Spanish Court, he turned to the Catholic Church because apparently at that time in order to be successful you either painted for the nobles of the court or the Catholic Church… said Mario. El Greco spent most of his adult life painting for the Catholic Church in Toledo, but that was only one interesting part about the city. When I think of Spain I pictured something like Toledo. It was so beautiful and all the streets were tiny and narrow and winding and cobblestone and it was really like being in a labyrinth. It was absolutely amazing.

This is in the church where we were definitely not supposed to take any pictures, but our tour guide Mario decided to forget to tell us after we'd all very slowly filed in because we were taking pictures... 

The nightlife in Toledo was a little less exciting than Madrid but really I think it’s because it was freezing (much colder than usual) so 1. People did not want to go out and 2. We tried to go to a discotecha that used to be a church… (which… I erally don’t know how I feel about that) and there was a HEAVY METAL band playing a concert there which apparently the ISA people said happens… well, never. So we spent most of the night at a REALLY cool tapas bar that from the outside looks super tiny but once you go inside you go down some stairs and there is a really cool courtyard with lots of tables and fountains, and if you go down even further there’s another courtyard that looks similar that was really dimly lit and had really low ceilings. It had a very very cool atmosphere so we were kind of okay about missing out on the discotecha.

So the next day we left Toledo for Sevilla… My host mom was late to the meeting place because they changed it from 5 to 6 but she thought they also changed meeting points so she was waiting for me at the other buses stop. So she arrives about 10 minutes late and comes RUNNING out of the car speaking in Spanish so fast that I could barely understand ANY of what she was saying and was hugging me and was out of breath and super excited and… I just absolutely love her. Her name is Inmaculada but we call her “Cuca” and she is just about the happiest cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t know exactly how old she is but I know she has 4 children and a boyfriend named Blas who was driving the car and helped me with my luggage.

We get to her house and are just talking and talking and talking and I honestly wont lie, I was pretty impressed I could remember so much Spanish. We had absolutely no problem talking to whole time and she told me how happy she was my Spanish was so good and how she was so excited to meet me and we talked all about Emily Trevino (friend from St. Agnes now at TCU) who had lived with Cuca this past summer. I was super nervous to be there alone for 2 weeks but it’s been super easy and an absolute blast.

I live right next to the MOST BEAUTIFUL park I’ve ever seen. It’s called “El Parque de Maria Luisa” and apparently its known to be one of the most beautiful places in all of Sevilla. Cuca showed me the parts where I enter and exit to get to La Plaza Nueva – where we met the next morning to tour el centro de la ciudad (center of the city). This area is beautiful as well. Sevilla has a train (subway station), a trolley, a bus system, and something called “Sevici” – where there are points all across the city with bike racks and for a set fee you can ride one of the Sevici bikes for 30 minutes for free  and return it to another Sevici stand and they don’t charge anything until after the first 30 minutes. So there’s lots of forms of transportation and Sevilla’s honestly not that big so walking is pretty doable almost all the time. I live about … 25 minutes walking distance from the ISA office where my 2 week intensive course is being held and about 15 minutes from the University of Sevilla (a HUGE building that used to be some type of factory).

Here are some pictures of things I walk by every morning on my way to school... I will definitely miss this. 

I have no idea what this building is but it's right in the middle of el Parque Maria Luisa. The weather hasn't been warm enough to go explore the park more yet, but that's something I'm really looking forward to. 

A random little sidewalk cafe in the park

I walked along the river the first day I met up with all the other ISA students. The other side of the river has lots of little bars and clubs so we will probably end up there a lot and take cabs home at night because its dangerous to walk through the park at night. 

Most all of the little strips of buildings in the "centro" look something like this with streets similar to this one as well. It becomes more and more condensed the further you travel inward. 

This is the MOST beautiful building I have ever seen. I wish I could show you all a panoramic view. Each side has two huge beautiful towers and the whole building has tiles covering the walls. There is a HUGE courtyard right in front which you can kind of see and large fountains all over. This is a building made in honor of Isabel la Catolica I think, and is in the Plaza de Espana. 

Another view 

The last few days I’ve just been getting to know the city and trying to adapt to the Spanish lifestyle…Here, as with most places in Spain, most of the shops close from about 2:30 to 4:30 for afternoon “siesta” which means “nap” in Spanish. So during this time everyone goes home to eat lunch and take a siesta and then the shops generally open again around 4:30 or 5 and stay open anywhere from 8 to 10 or 11. I’ve started to like it quite a bit because we have class from 9 to 2 so we leave class, have time to run some quick errands and then go home, eat, and nap. The perfect lifestyle. I haven’t explored the city as much as I’ve wanted to because its randomly been REALLY cold but what I have seen I love and I’m finally starting to get to know the city a little better.

I’ve tried some very interesting and for the most part delicious new foods typical to Spain and Sevilla in particular. One was called chipperrones en su tinta con arroz, and it was a type of seafood with a green sauce in rice, and it was absolutely delicious. I get fruit with every meal here which I like and often take to go because I’m still not used to this eating schedule so I get pretty hungry in the early afternoon. ISA treated us to dinner  tonight at a restaurant that means “the Gypsy” in Spanish but I forget how to say it. We had paella (a typical Spanish dish made with rice and vegetables) and squid (I also forget how to say it). Everything was so good. “Riquisimo”

My minds so scatterbrained cause we’ve done so much these past few days but I’m trying to give yall an idea of what I’m doing. Mainly just running around with Rachel, Emily, and Denise and trying to speak as much Spanish as possible. I met Cuca’s grandson, Luis, today and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen SUCH a BEAUTIFUL child. He’s about 18 months old and was napping today at the house when I got home. I really wanted to go out and run errands but I wouldn’t leave until he woke up because I wanted to meet him. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and I can take some pictures but he was just the most adorable (blonde) Spanish baby with huge brown eyes and he was completely bundled cause our house is FREEZING.

Okay I have lots of homework to do for this intensive Spanish course but its pretty easy – just kind of busy work. I’m really happy with my Spanish speaking ability at this point though. Rachel, Denise, and I are probably the most close to fluent speakers in our program which makes me really happy because we have the same mindset about this trip. We want to travel and meet people, but we also really want to try to assimilate into the culture here as much as possible. We aren’t interested in just partying and being an American experiencing Sevilla with other Americans; we actually want to get to know the people here and adapt to their lifestyle… This Thursday we are doing something ISA entitled “Salir con Espanoles” and we are meeting a bunch of people our age from Sevilla that are going to hang out with us and help us with our Spanish and I’m beyond excited. It’s a good opportunity for the people who actually want to become fluent and what not.

Well like I said, lots of homework. Sorry this post is all over the place. I miss everyone a ton!

Rachel, Denise, Me, and Emily at Flaherty's or Flanery's or something like that (Irish Bar). We came here the night the Bears played the Packers and the bar was wall to wall Americans... so we sat outside. haha.

Rachel and I at the ISA welcoming dinner