If there is no struggle, there is no progress. -Frederick Douglass

To have child-like curiosity is what everyone needs in the world. Children have such an innocence about them that allows them to venture out and try new things that as an adult they are taught to fear new things. As a traveler of sorts I find that it is best to approach every aspect of what I do as a child. For instance, in the United States I never ate fish or sea food of any kind. Every now and then I'd be the brave girl and try something but for the most part I wasn't presented with many opportunities to try such foods and if I was had such a mind set that I couldn't bring myself to do so.

Since I have been in Spain I have eaten more fish and sea food then I ever have in my entire life. And I like most of it! When I arrived at my casa and met my senora for the first time she asked me if there was anything I wouldn't eat. Since I came into this trip looking at it as an opportunity to venture out and try things that are apart of the culture here in Spain I told her there wasn't. She was very pleased. Since then at least once a day I have some sort of fish. My Spanish right now isn't exactly where I'd like it to be so most of the time I have no idea what I'm eating or at least the specific type of what I'm eating.

She serves a lot of tuna prepared in different ways. This was the one fish I always thought I would hate, but I find myself enjoying everything she cooks. Except espaca, it's a cold tomato soup with cucumbers in it, very famous here but I can't stand it. My senora prepares a lot of what I just call fried shapes, fried shapes are all different shapes and have different types of meat in them and sometimes are just seasoned breading. I like them a lot but they aren't anything special.

I didn't take this picture but this is what it looks like!

One day she made me the famous dish of Sevilla which is a fried rice with shrimp, octopus and oysters in it. I brought myself to try to shrimp and they were pretty good with the rice but the oysters had so little "meat" in them it didn't seem worth the trouble to get it out to eat. But the octopus... oh the octopus... I couldn't do it. Until last night when she made a green pea with salsa mixture that had octopus in it as well, it wasn't bad but was too chewy so I didn't like it so I ate around it. My favorite food so far is probably sopa de creama, just a cream soup but it's amazing!

(Funny Note: after I had typed this first part my senora came and got me for lunch. I twas the rice dish I just described haha! and empanadas, something that was very popular in Chile, with tuna and tomato sauce)

This past week I started my first rounds of real classes, not the intensive period any more. I'm really starting to panic about my language skills and am going to look into getting a Spanish tutor through the my center. Studying alone is not helping me because I do not learn that way.

But speaking of tutoring, I am actually an English tutor! It's great! I have three little kids that I started tutoring this past week. We meet twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, for one hour each, 8PM to 9PM. The first day I had no idea I was going to start lessons yet so I had nothing planned. Their mother is a teacher at a school and knows English, not completely fluently but knows a lot. Not only do I have this great opportunity to work with these kids but I also get paid 10 euros an hour!  The oldest is Alberto, 13, followed by Theresa, 11, and Maria, 7. They all have such different levels of English skills it will be difficult to teach them all at the same time. Last Wednesday I only worked with the girls and we reviewed a lot of different words for the youngest to learn since the older knew them already.

These children remind me of how I should remain in my studies with Spanish. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. When you're afraid you don't do. I must devote more time and find better ways for me to understand the language if I wish to return home any more fluent then when I came.

For the first three weeks on Thursday my program had setup mandatory visits to historical sights in the city of Sevilla. The first week my group went to the Cathedral that I pass by everyday on my way to class. It was beautiful but after a while of being there and not understanding the language with which the history was given in I was ready to leave. We climbed up the tower before we headed out to get a view of the city from the current highest point in Sevilla. I say current because they are building a skyscraper on the other side of the river right now that is a big controversy. Some people think it's great because it brings a new modern aspect to things while others believe it is a sore sight that ruins the landscape of Sevilla.

The second week my group went to Italica. These are Roman ruins just outside of the city. My favorite teacher lead this group so I found it a little more enjoyable. The downside was everything was outside and it was very hot so by the end of this trip I was hiding behind ruins for shade and protection from the sun. It was strange to actually see Roman ruins in Spain even though I know historically speaking the Romans used to occupy the region. I love history so trips like these fascinate me.

During the last week of the intensive period I went to Alcazare. This is a building close to my school as well that doesn't have as much of an appeal until you go inside. I'm not exactly sure what it's original purpose was but over time it was decorated by Muslims and Christians alike. It is so detailed and intricate. Every little thing had so much detail on it that it was gorgeous.

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. -Aldous Huxley 

Discovering the cultural differences in Spain has been quite an experience. From how they manage their days and their sleep patterns to how the manage their love lives. While I was out with my Spanish friends we talked about the cultural differences between our countries and when people get married. This topic came up simply from the fact that one of our friends had two weddings to go to the following week. Generally in Spain people live with their parents until they are about 28 years old. They will date during this time but will usually move out when they get engaged and live with their fiances. But they won't get married for a long time afterwards, a long time can be 6-12 years! This is so different from American dating, on average. I love finding out these little cultural difference that you wouldn't normally think to ask about. I'm learning more so everyday not to assume that everyone lives life the way you do. 

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. -Dr. Seuss

There are so many things in my life that I have been so grateful for. By appreciating the little things on my travels in Spain and Europe I hope to keep sight of how blessed I have been and am. From the funny futuristic gun sounds that the traffic lights make when it's time to cross the street to the old historic buildings that have more to say than anything in the United States ever could for the sheer fact that they have been around longer to see more things. Everyday on my way to the center for class I pass by some of the oldest buildings in Sevilla, Spain. That's amazing! Not only am I in Spain studying a language, that one day I hope to speak fluently (crossed fingers!) but I get to go past some of the most beautiful scenery in the city on just my daily route. It never ceases to amaze me how much God has blessed me on this trip.

Last Friday I went to a bull fight in Sevilla as well. I mainly went because I knew and respected the cultural aspect of the bull fight for the Spaniards and wanted to personally experience this myself. My program here, CC-CS, offered tickets for a bull fight at the Plaza de Toros De Sevilla for only 12 euros so I jumped on the opportunity.

Honestly I cannot say that I enjoyed it but it wasn't so much that it upset me. In general I don't tend to have a weak stomach and this held true on this adventure as well.  However, I can argue for and against the bull fights here in Spain. WARNING: THE NEXT 3 PARAGRAPHS ARE DETAILED ON THE FIGHTS AND IF YOU HAVE A WEEK STOMACH MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THEM!!!

On one hand, before the bull fight the bulls have the best life possible for a bull. They live in green pastures and life is made easy for them. essentially they are pampered up until the fight. After the bulls have been killed in the fight every part of the bull is used for something. From their horns to their hooves, the Spanish people conserve the bull. Without the bull fights toros would have become extent a long time ago, the only reason they have been preserved is for the purpose of the fight. To clarify, toros are a specific breed of bull that only exist in Spain. In the eyes of a Spaniard bull fighting is not a sport but more of an art. The matadors must do everything precisely or their lives and the torment of the bull are at threat.

On that note, the toro only dies if the matador stabs him in the back of the neck in just the right spot to sever the spinal cord and cause instantaneous death. But, as is the case with many new matadors, if they are not skilled enough and miss the mark over and over the bull will suffer. This is when if the torro is down they will approach it to stab it in the correct place to make sure it does not suffer. The bulls do not stand a chance however going into the fight because right before they are released into the arena they are stabbed in the back so they come out confused. Then there are several matadors that have the bull chase then to wear down his energy. Men riding horses, that are heavily covered in armor (you can guess why the horses need armor) and have been blinded so they do not run when they see the bull, have long spears that they use to stab the bull when it charges the horses.

Then before the actually matador and bull start the show, three other matadors come out with decorative spears and stab the bulls in the back with them and they remain in the bull the rest of the fight. Finally the matador comes out with a red cape and begins the fight. He times it just right, or whenever he feels like it, and attempts to stab the bull behind the neck. I say attempt because he does not always succeed. Then more matadors rush out and back him into a corner and proceed to try and find the mark. After the bull has been killed three mules come out decorated and the bulls body is attached to a harness and drug out of the arena. I stayed for three or four of these fights and then decided I had seen enough, simply cause it was the same thing over and over and I had no desire to sit and watch more when I could go to mi casa and relax before supper a bit. All in all, I can see it as an art and appreciate the cultural aspect of the bull fight.

That night I went out with my friends intercambio, Spanish speaking partner, to a couple of discotechas near the river. Going out with our Spanish friends is a great way to improve our Spanish skills and help them improve their English. In Spain the cultural dynamics of going out are completely different than in America. This has been something that I am still getting accustomed to myself. Basically, night in Spain doesn't start until about 11 or 12 at night. Afternoon lasts from about 2 or 3 and goes until 11 or 12PM. So we were out until about 4 in the morning and my American friend, Sam, and I were so tried at this point that we were barely awake but the Spaniards were still going hard. We decided it was time to head home since we lived on the other side of the city, but I'm pretty sure when we left our friends just went to another club! Nights when I don't go out because I want to study or just sleep, which is often, my senora always wonders why.

The next day I slept in as much as sleeping in is in Spain, until 11AM.  When I woke up my senora had coffee for me for the first time, which gave me the impression she thought I was hungover (to clarify I was not), but I was happy I had coffee for free for one! People in Spain can stay out so late because of siestas. This is a designated time of the day, from about 2-6, when most (I say most cause in the touristy parts of the city some shops stay open), all the shops and restaurants close down. In my casa we eat lunch between 2 and 3 everyday and supper between 9 and 10. Most people, like me, take suenos (naps) during siesta time and it is glorious.

When I finished my nap on Saturday I decided to see if my friend wanted to go to the Plaza de Espana with me for about an hour since I had not been before. She jumped on the opportunity to go again, once I got there I understood why. The night before Lola and Javier and told us a fun fact about the Plaza, scenes from Star Wars had been filmed there! So before I went I looked up some pictures and sure enough it was true! This added another level of excitement to my visit. I was not disappointed in my visit. The Plaza de Espana was beautiful and completely breath taking at times. While we walked around we say three different wedding parties taking pictures here which made me think of new lives starting together and making a new home separate from what one has known before.

For my friends back home that have kept in touch with me while I'm away they know how much of a struggle the previous week and even that weekend had been for me. It was Homecoming week back at Georgetown College and I felt that I was missing out on so much. I was excited for the fun and excitement my friends were having but couldn't help but to long for home and the people there that week. I know this may sound silly since I'm on the adventure of a lifetime here in Spain, but one can't help but to long for where the friends that have become like family are. My friends and experiences here have been amazing and I don't want to wish them away so quickly without taking time to appreciate them. Missing those from home and feeling unmissed at times is something new to me. I've never been home sick per say in all of my travels before. Granted, this is possibly the longest I've been away from people I care so dearly for.

All of this reflection has led me to concentrate the thoughts that maybe I was placed here, aside from the obvious to learn a language that I hope to use for greater purposes, to focus on the One who has always promised an eternal home for me. I know when I return to my home in the great bluegrass state those who care for me will welcome me with open arms and I am excited about that reunion. While I love Spain and can make any place my home, no matter where I am in the world there will always be other places and people I long for. Even upon my return to my state I will miss things from Europe and even things from other states. But missing things isn't always a bad thing, I believe it means you appreciate what you had when you had it and if the opportunity arises again where you can experience it again you know it will be just as good as the first time.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. -2 Corinthians 5:1

A Day in the Life of a Girl in Spain!

Ok, this might be a long one so brace yourselves. In this blog I'm not going to be talking about one particular thing. Instead I am going to try and just talk about the little things that are different that I would like to take note of in the future. Sometimes I will mention particular events but for the most part there is not timeline per say for this entry.

I guess the first thing I will talk about is the roads (calles) and sidewalks here in Sevilla. Now I'm not sure if all the roads in Spain are like this but from what I gather they are. Before I arrived I knew that since Spain was a much older country then the United States that the roads would be outdated of sorts, aka cobble stone. Which gives the city an authentic look to it and just makes everything appear more precious. I love looking down a cobble stone street in the morning. As you can imagine though this makes walking on them slightly more difficult, especially in heals. My suggestion here is not to wear them unless you know you wont actually have to walk very far in them or wear wedges. Sadly I don't even own a pair of wedges but the good news is I don't need the extra height. Though I am considering purchasing a pair while I'm here simply for the fact that some outfits look better in heals.

For the first few days I walked all the way to my school for classes and I live in one of the farthest areas in the city from the center. My feet began to feel the cobble stone very quickly however. Now I own a card for the bus, metro, and tram but still have a good distance to walk to get to the tram. Slowly my feet have become accustomed to the roads and have developed callus' but every now and then my feet suffer from a long night out in the city. Also it doesn't help that I'm naturally a little clumsy added on top of uneven roads.

I live in an apartment here in Sevilla with my señora. Most people in Spain live in flats. My apartment is very small but I don't need anything larger for myself. Some students in my program live in flats that are the whole floor of a building and one girl even lives with a family that owns a four story "house". I say "house" because it is more like townhouse I guess is the best English word for it. However, my apartment complex is a private community which means I have three keys to get to my casa, house. One is for the front gate, and those who have cars have a private parking garage as well. The first few times I tried using my key I had some problems getting the gate open but I think I have figured it out now. The second key is for the front door of the building and the last key is the front door of the apartment.

Now apartment doors here are very different then apartment doors anywhere else I've ever seen. On the outside there is a single knob on the door but it is in the center instead of to the right and does not actually even turn. When you want to open the door from the outside you must have a key that is inserted in the normal location to the right. As you turn the key it is the same effect as turning a door handle. To leave, there is a normal handle to the right that turns, but to close the door you must use the random middle knob on the outside to pull it shut. Locking the door means turning the key the opposite direction until you hear the door bolt twice and then pull out the key. So basically I'm super safe in my house :)

On Mondays and Wednesdays I have night classes which means for me I only have two hours between classes for lunch. It is impossible for me to make it home and back for lunch so I have my señora make me a bocadilla, and sandwich. Usually she packs a fruit and a juice box as well. One day she had packed me a peach and while I was standing on the tram it ripped a hole in the bag :/ it was a little embarrassing and after that I had to carry my whole lunch in my hands to my school. In hind sight this isn't such a great story I just thought it was kind of funny.

My señora is amazing and talking to her has become easier so this is very encouraging for me. She washes and irons all my clothes, its part of the program requirements but it's still nice. I try really hard to keep my room clean here but sometimes some things just get out of place and I will come home from class and my room will be straightened up. She cleans and changes my sheets for and cleans up my bathroom. I feel bad about all the work she does but it's also all apart of the program so she does it all the time. This is her tenth year hosting students! I love all the food she makes me and have been trying a lot of fish and like it. For lunch the other day she made a Sevillan specialty that is rice with shrimp, some sort of shell fish, and octopus. I tried the shrimp in it and liked it but it is a lot harder for me to get over the mental mindset of not liking sea food to try to shell fish and octopus. One day I will be brave enough to try it!

This weekend I was supposed to go horse back riding on the beach but not enough people signed up for the trip and it had to be canceled. So on Friday a few friends and I went up to the stadium, which is really close to my casa, and bought tickets for the futbol, soccer, game the next night. This was a really big game because it was between Sevilla and the Real Madrid. The next day I went to the center and did some shopping and bought a jersey for the game that night. I was so excited! Everyone outside the stadium before the game were crazy. They were all chanting and singing the songs of Sevilla for the game. Of course there were police everywhere to keep things under control but they were needed. They even had police men on horse back there as well.

Within the first five minutes the first point was scored. Sevilla! After the player made the shot he proceeded to do a back flip and the crowd went wild! It was so intense. The first half of the game was more exciting then the second. But the game went into over time none the less. Sevilla won 1:0! Afterwards we went to a bar that is owned by some Romanians that we meet through my friends host señora's grandson (he is 24). We all just sat around and conversed in Spanish and it was great! They gave us some free drinks even and helped us with our Spanish. The Romanians that own the bar are brother and sister, technically he (Maddy) owns the bar and he is only 20 years old! His sister(Christina) has only been in Spain for two months and didn't study it before she came and is fairly fluent. This gives me a lot of hope with my own endeavors at learning Spanish!

Where the World Ends...

This weeked was amazing! To start off, on Friday I went with my amigas to go out in the city of Sevilla. First we went to an Irish pub that was hosting a party for international students just to get a feel for what was going on there. We didn't stay very long before we decided to go ahead and leave to meetup with our other firends. My program here in Sevilla has something called intercambios, these are simply native speaking partners.  Sam, my amiga, had been in contact with her who invited us to come join her and her friends for the evening. The plan was to go to a bar called Chile and afterwards go to a discoteca, I think you can guess what that one is.

We made it to the bar before our Spanish friend did so we decided to go in and see if she was there. As we went to enter the building we were stopped by the doorman. He asked us how old we were, drinking age in Spain is 18 for those that don't know. We told him our ages and he said we had to be 25 to go into this bar. Yet afterwards we had to wait outside for our friend and he never stopped anyone else from going in and never even asked what age anyone else was. So we have come to the conclusion that he did not allow us to come in because we are Americans and were clearly speaking English as we walked in the building. To personally experience this was kind of infuriating to me.

Nonetheless we did not let the ruin our night and met up with our Spanish friends as planned. Instead we crossed the river and went to Calle Betis, this is literally the name of the street that runs along side the river and has a majority of the most popular bars in Sevilla. We walked down to a place we has never been before and ordered drinks and sat outside to have conversations with each other. Because everyone in our group either knew Spanish and English or were working on it our conversations became a mix of the two languages. It was a good time and our new friend, Javier, bought a round of drinks for everone! Funny story about Javier, when we were first introducing ourselves someone accidently called him Owie and that become his name for the rest of the night. Our other Spanish friend, Oscar, got made fun of from the time he held Lola's, Spanish amiga, purse while we took a picture and proceeded to hold it for the rest of the night.

After the drinks by the river we walked to a discoteca called Budha. We had been there during the week with a student travel company but this was our first time there with Spaniards. There crowd was mostly older people surprisingly though. They played good music however and we danced for a little bit before we headed home. The next day was our trip to Portugal and we wanted to get some amount of sleep before we left, haha!

The next morning we woke up early and caught the bus to Portugal! Of course as soon as I was on the bus I passed out. Along the way to the hotel in Largos we stopped and took a boat to Isla de Tavira,an island off the coast if Portugal. This was the best beach I have ever been to! Granted being from a landlocked state and being a poor person I haven't been to the beach very often in my life. However, the water wasn't as colder here as it had been at the beach in Spain the previous weekend. It felt great actually and the view was amazing. The water was so clear there too. We ate our packed lunches that we had our senoras make us first and then went down to the beach.

I made sure to have someone put sunscreen on my back this time cause I didn't want a repeat of last weekend. My friends and I decided to have a little photo shoot at one point on the beach, haha. We also walked down to a stone pier and took pictures at a little light house. Before we left we walked back up to the entrance to the island and looked at the little shops. I bought a necklace with and elephant carved out of a stone that was said to come from Brazil and was green. I thought it was really cute. Then we loaded up on the boat and went back to the bus to go to Largos. Once again I out on the ride.

We got back to the hotel and had about two hours to get showered before we went out again. There were three girls staying in my room with me but we all got showered and ready in plenty of time. Then we loaded up and I slept again. We traveled to Cabo San Vincete en Sagres, what was once known as the end of the world. Explorers used to come here and say this is where the worlds ends and if you go beyond that horizon you will fall all the world. We made it just in time for sunset and it was beautiful. Everyone in Spain kept telling us to make sure we brought a jacket because it was so cold there but I ended up thinking it was great at that time!

We got back and dinner was on our own so a small group of us, like four, walked into town to get food. We were aiming for a pizzeria but ended up stopping at a nicer restaurant. Instead of waiting we opted to seat at a table that already had three other people. One couple was from Germany and the other woman was from Holland. Neither group knew each other before that night but all spoke English. Shortly after we arrived the Germans left because they finished their meals. But it took a long time for our food to arrive so we just had very interesting conversations with our Holland friend. My food was a little disappointing but the others food was amazing. I ordered a white wine with my meal this time and have concluded that I enjoy white wine much more than red.

The next day my room had out alarms set wrong and ended up waking up way too early. We went and got breakfast and then came back and I slept a little more. We headed to the beach after that and it was amazing. Once again we had a little photo shoot and then headed to lay out. Before lunch three of us went on a small boat tour along the coast and through the caves, it was gorgeous! Lunch was cheap and at the hotel and wasn't the best in the world but then we went back to the beach for a bit. While in the water we saw some people on a rock off the coast and a few of us decided we wanted to do that. So we swam out there! Then we had to climb the rock! It was very intense, I got scratched up a little bit. Then we were scared to jump off because we feared hitting the rocks below.

So we had several people below look for us and then eventually some snorkelers looked for us. They ended up climbing the rock before we jumped and turned out to be from Madrid! Then we had to go to get to the bus so one at a time we got the courage to jump and swim back. It was a strange experience being in Portugal and hearing so many different languages on the beach. It was amazing however! Until next time!

Dress like a Lady in España

Ok, before I talk about this week I will give a brief description of my trip to Gibraltar.  For those that are not aware this is one of the furthest south cities in Spain. While looking at  a map one might say to themselves that this city is in Spain. However they would be incorrect because it is actually a British territory! So I went to the United Kingdom this past weekend, no big deal. In Gibraltar you can see across the Gibraltar Straight and see Africa. It was ironically colder there than in Sevilla and seemed more gloomy, which we deemed fit since it was Great Britain. When you go up the rock of Gibraltar (misleading name since it's not actually a rock more like a random mountain peak at the end of the coast) there are monos everywhere, monos = monkeys!

Now the monkeys are cute and all but you have to be careful because they can also be violent. We didn't see this luckily! But they are also monkeys so they are kinda dirty and they will steal your glasses or phone if you have them out. Our driver had peanuts and was getting them to go on peoples shoulders and heads for them. Sounds really cool right? Yet I 1) didn't want nasty monkey on me cause we literally watched one just start using the bathroom and I didn't want that on my head and 2) the guy was dropping the nuts down shirts to have the monkeys reach in to get it and didn't want to get felt up by a monkey. There was also a cave in Gibraltar that we went and visited and it was nice.

Nothing too exciting has really happened this week honestly. I have finished my first week of classes only in Spanish! We have gone out a few nights this week because there are other programs here that offer weekend trips for students and since they want us to go with their program they throw parties for us. I have had so many different varieties of sangria so far because that is one of the cheapest drinks here they give it out for free at these parties. Now this isn't to say I'm drinking a whole lot, anyone who knows me knows I don't even drink in the states cause it's illegal. But since it is legal here I do drink but I know my limits and just want to reassure any friends and family that are reading this :) Also don't worry about me traveling alone cause there is almost always this guy from my program traveling with my group of amigas because we all live in the same area. 

My senora is great! She is an older widow and her children are older and live out of the house and have kids themselves. Sometimes they come by and it's nice. I feel like I haven't spent much time with her though because I always have homework or things to work on in my room or simply have plans to go out or have meetings to go to. We always talk during meals though so that's nice and I've noticed it has become easier to talk with her over the week. I might actually be learning! Wahoo! She has been helping me a lot too when I have questions. While I've been here I've tried to keep my room really clean but sometimes it's a little messy when I leave cause I don't have time to clean up before I have to run out the door so she has come in before and cleaned it up for me. I felt really bad about it so have tried extra hard since to keep it clean.

Traveling to school the first few days was the worst. We had been walking everywhere because we didn't know how to use the bus and tram system and wanted to save money. I live in an area called Nervion and it is about a 40 minute walk. Walking home for lunch during the hottest part of the day and even at 7PM became impossible with the heat. So one day me and my friend just winged it and tried to figure it out. After that day we haven't walked again haha! Just bought my bus/tram/metro card today so I will save even more money that way. We still have a good distance to walk since the tram ends about two blocks sort and one block to the right of where I live but it is a lot better needless to say. 

I love Sevilla! It is such a great city and I still have so much to see just here alone. Yesterday was kind of a rough day for me however. It was the first time I really just got frustrated cause I couldn't say what I wanted to say and it just left me sitting there in class wanting so badly to speak but not being able to. My program is only in Spanish and we are required to speak it all the time and it not we could actually be sent back home. At that time that wasn't my concern, it was simply not being able to explain something that I really wanted to explain. Later that day I left my agenda at my school so I forgot I needed to buy my book for a class the next day until the store was closed. If anyone knows me at all they would know how much this upset me since it was a workbook and I had to do homework out of it that night. At that moment I was just so fed up with how much harder everything seemed for me. Everything turned out fine my professor completely understood and I know it's only the first week so I will learn more as time goes on. 

Soon I will be planning my first trip outside of the program!! I have been talking with several people about different travel possibilities. We think our first attempt will be Paris :) I'm very excited! Tomorrow my program is going to Portugal and we be there until the next day. This will be a fun trip and I'm looking forward to it. Choa for now!

¡Cuando en España!

¡Hola a todos!  Due to popular request and my own desire to have some record of my time in Europe, in particularly Spain, I have decided to start a travel blog. Wahoo! I simply request that you not judge me too harshly on my grammar and sometimes spelling skills as I will not always be writing on a full night’s sleep  Also not all my posts will be regular since I’m not positive about my wifi situation as of yet and am writing this now probably days before I will post it so please be patient!

So much has happened already and I feel like I’ve been here for weeks cause the days seem so long with everything I do.  I made it to Spain with only one casualty along the way, my airplane pillow was sadly left behind on the plane in Madrid.  It shall always be remembered as a good airplane pillow… Now on to the interesting stuff I guess. I spent about 8 hours in the Madrid airport and couldn’t even wait at my gate because they don’t post the gate numbers until an hour before departure.  It was kinda a scary experience trying to navigate my way around that airport alone since I had to take a shuttle to the area where new flights were.

Finally I was on the plane to Seville! I was exhausted because I couldn’t sleep in the airport for fear of having my belongings stolen. Luckily I had a window seat and was able to get a good view before I passed out. As the plane landed I woke up to discover the people beside me switched seats and it was a younger man next to me. He asked me if I was in the program with the Center in Seville, I was taken aback because I am and wondered how he knew. Turns out he is in the program too! We split a taxi to keep costs down for us instead of riding solo.

At this point I was regretting my inability to pack less belongings to bring to Spain because I know had two larger checked bags and one carry-on bag all on wheels but it was impossible to carry them all alone :/ somehow I managed though and when I got to the hotel we stayed in the first night I made it to my room with my other two roommates. Being the last to arrive I got the extra bed brought in the room but it was fine. The hotel had wifi so I was able to get som things done before 1) my computer crashed and 2) we had to go to orientation. They spoke in English to make sure we understood everything on the first day pero todo en Español ahora. (I should also mention this blog will be in Spainglish, so I hope you’re ready to learn a little!)

We had dinner afterwards, and my dad would be so proud, I tried tuna! They put it on the salad and I said ‘when in Spain!’ and tried it. The odd part is I liked it! The main course was a pasta type meal and was delicious as well. (I will probably talk about food a lot too…) After dinner a lot of the group went out into the city. I went with a small group to get some coffee and just sat in awe that I was in Spain. I’m in Spain guys! Wow! Haha, it’s still settling in my head that I’m here. We returned to the hotel and planned on going out again for drinks but I was already so tired and had to be up early so I just went to bed. When I awoke in the morning I had no idea where I was because the room was dark and freezing cold! But jumped in the shower to warm up and went down for breakfast.

We had a tour of the city and afterwards were placed in taxis and sent to our homestays for  lunch. My taxi driver was very helpful when I arrived and I buzzed my house number (everyone lives in apartments in the city) and my host mom met me when I got off the elevator. She is a tiny older woman who is widowed and has two grown children. I love how understanding she has been of my lack of Spanish speaking skills and has even started to try to help me when I ask how to say something. Basically a lot of smiling and nodding with me saying si a lot has occur, even though half the time I don’t know what she means. So of course I apologize a lot.

The first night at my house I went out with some people who live in the same area as me and we walked down to the river and checked out some different places. Spaniards stay up really late but we left at 3 AM and everyone else was still going, we had to get up early for our trip to the beach. In the morning I had cereal but instead of using cold milk they use room temp milk, I knew to expect this but I could not anticipate how much I would dislike it! We left early to find our bus stop and sadly I have made myself the person who can navigate a map and therefore am always directing the group.

First we visited the Monastery of La Rábida, this I were Chirstopher Columbus set sail for the Americas! It was very interesting, they even had replicas of the Nina, Santa Maria, and the Pinta that were life size and we were able to go on them. Afterwards we traveled to the beach and ate our packed lunches and stayed for three hours. Sadly I missed some spots when I was applying sunscreen cause I didn’t asked for help and got burnt badly in some places. But the beach was beautiful and I enjoyed laying out despite the later consequences. The Atlantic Ocean water was más fria! Though this was enjoyable given the weather. I forgot to bring my flippy floppies so that was an experience with my Sperry’s.

We got back to the house in time for me to get showered and ready before dinner/supper. They eat a lot later here then we do in the states. After I finished mi amiga, Samantha aka Sam, and I went to get tapas y vino and walk around the area to get an idea what was there. Tapas are literally a snack and there are several different things you can have. We decided to be adventurous and just ordered random things and they turned out to be really good! Oh and I had had fish again for dinner, and liked! This trying new things while abroad is great! We went home early, around one, because we were both going on the Gilbraltar trip the next day.

I will have to write about that trip later, even though it was this past Sunday. I don't have anymore time write now. Keep reading!