It's coming to a close

Today is my last official day in Sevilla. I leave this evening for London, Edinburgh and Dublin. Then will finally make it back to the states on December 18th.

As a group last week we were in Madrid for the Thanksgiving break. It definitely took our minds off missing all the festivities going on in the states. We even had our own mock Thanksgiving meal at our hotel. There was spaghetti, scrambled eggs, chili, green beans, fruitcake, and so much more. It was really great!

The capital is really great. It has such a New York feeling to it. It was definitely a lot colder than we were expecting. Sevilla is finally cold now, but Madrid was even more cold.

Two of the biggest things we saw while in Madrid were El Escorial and La Granja. Both of these are palaces for the kings. El Escorial is actually the burial site for all of the past kings of Spain. We got to go into the tomb room and see all of their tombs. It was very moving. Both the palaces are humongous. The library at El Escorial was to die for, as well as the gardens in La Granja.

On our way to Madrid we were also able to stop in the nearby town of Toledo. We were only there for one day, but what parts we saw were great. I would definitely like to go back there. We also got to see the windmills that are mentioned in Cervantes' Don Quixote.

The trip went by really really fast, but we had a blast.

I am sorry that I cannot write more about this trip...but time got the best of me. I leave this beautiful place in only 8 hours, and I am nowhere near ready!! Physically or emotionally!!

I am sure that I will get another post in for yall. Whether it is while I am still in Europe or back in the states...you will hear from me again!!

Thanks so much for reading!

Paris

Sorry for the huge gap between posts. The semester is coming to a close, so I have been trying to cram everything that I can into these last 2 weeks.

A few weeks ago my friend Phoebe and I went to Paris. It worked out great because she had a friend that lived in a nearby suburb, so we got to save money not staying in a hostel.

Paris was everything that I ever imagined it would be! We went to the Eiffel Tower the first day. I always wondered what it would feel like to be standing in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower. And now that I have that feeling, it is just unbelievable. Of course we waited in the hour long line to go all the way to the top. Paris was literally neverending. It just went on for miles and miles. We timed it just right too because we were able to see the tower in the daylight, and by the time we got to the top the sun was setting, and we got to see the city lights. It was the perfect moment.

That same day we visited the Sacred Heart and the Moulin Rouge. The Sacred Heart is a beautiful church on a hillside. It offers another one of the most beautiful views of the city. The Moulin Rouge was....well interesting. It is not of the most appropriate streets, obviously. I just wanted to see it because I am completely in love with the movie Moulin Rouge. We had to try out the local cuisine - crepes. AMAZING!! I ate a chicken and cheese one for the main course and then a strawberry one for dessert. I could live there just for the crepes!!!

The next day we tackled Notre Dame, Arch de Triumph, The Louvre, and shopping on the town. We started in the morning with the Louvre. We knew that we were going to have to rush through it to be able to go to the other sites that we wanted to. But we still stayed there for a little more than 2 hours. We saw Egyptian exhibits, Italian sculptures, and paintings, paintings and more paintings. The Mona Lisa was a little disappointing, as most people say. She is just so little! And you can only get about 30 feet away from her before she is blocked off. I am not sure what thay much space does...but oh well! The Notre Dame was fabulous as well. Once again we went to the top and saw all of Paris. The view never gets old. We saw the Arch de Triumph while we were shopping. It is quite the site. We saw a bunch of other historical buildings and sculptures...but I cannot remember them all :)

One of the best things of the trip was staying with Phoebe's friend. It gave us the opportunity to experience how a French family lives. And we got legit French breakfast, and all the hospitality we could ask for!

I knew that trip had been too good to be true. Nothing had really gone wrong yet, so it was only a matter of time. On Sunday when Phoebe and I left for a flight we got extremely lost on the metro and train. We asked directions and got back on track, so we thought, only to find out that they sent us in the wrong direction. So we had to back track and get on the right train in the right direction. So our flight leaves at 5:20 pm and we get to the airport at 4:45pm. We go to check-in and the lady at the desk says that we missed our flight. I said, "what?" We still have at least 30 minutes!" She said that we wouldn't have enough time to get through security, even though security was literally like 100 feet away from us. She said we would have to buy another flight. A COMPLETELY new flight. They wouldn't just "penalize" us and make us pay a little fee, we actually had to book a whole new flight. So we go to the information desk to find out what our options are. They lady there spoke a little English, but we could tell she didn't want to have to speak to us. There was another flight back to Seville that night so I asked her how much it was, and she said that we would have to call Vueling, the airline company. She started to give me their number when I told her that we only had Spanish phones and that they don't work here in France. She replied with, "I'm sorry about that." And wouldn't help us any further. To make it even better our new flight was at the OTHER airport in Paris. So 20 euros for the bus to the airport and 150 euros for the flight later, we were finally on our way back to Seville. It nearly ruined my trip to Paris. It is really sad when just the attitude of the people in a country can change your whole view of that country. I loved Paris don't get me wrong. But I will not be going back to France for a while. I had given the French the benefit of the doubt to be nice to me, and they failed miserably.

But I am glad that I got to mark Paris off my checklist

Barcelona

A group of me and 5 other girls flew to Barcelona for a weekend. This is one of the only known cities in Spain that we do not visit as a school, so we wanted to see it on our own. Our first day there we decided to just take in the city and walk around. We walked to their main plaza and visited the shops. We came across and amazing food market that had every kind of anything you could ever want. It was fabulous! I bought a dragonfruit. If you have never tried one before, don't be fooled by their looks. It is a bright pink fruit with a white speckled inside. So you would think that this tropical looking fruit would taste good...wrong. It had no taste at all! We ate some local Barcelonian food for dinner, and it was fabulous! Our hostel was kind of in a shady neighborhood, but the hostel intself was really nice.

Because Barcelona is so huge we decided to dedicate the next day to taking the Barcelona tour on those double decker tour buses. This was the easiest and quickest way to see the city. We saw cathedrals, the FC Barcelona futbol stadium, Olympic games museum, the marina, and lots lots more. We were not able to go to the beach because time just got the better of us.

The frustrating thin about Barcelona is that they don't speak Spanish. They speak Castilian. It is similar to Spanish...but definitely not the same.

We booked our flight with Ryanair, which is one of the discount airlines here in Europe. That being said, there is not always the best choices of flight times, and they usually fly into the small airports on the outskirts of the cities. The airport we flew into was about an hour and a half away from the actual city. This was not as much of a problem when we arrived in Barcelona, but it was on the way back. Our flight left at 6:40 am. So we had to catch a bus at 3:45 am to get to our flight on time. We made it, but were definitely not in the best of moods. :)

Barcelona is definitely a city that needs to be seen over the course of a week; as are most of the cities in Europe :)

Last Weekend in Seville

This last weekend was pretty much my last weekend here in Seville before I come back to the states. I have one more at the beginning of December, but it is just before finals, so I wouldn't be able to travel anyways. This weekend I will be in Barcelona, then to Paris, then Tangier, and then Madrid. I will also be spending about 4 or 5 days in London before my flight home.

We had several birthdays this past weekend that we celebrated. So a lot of our time was just spent chilling by the river. It is the most beautiful sight at night. On one of our outings we met the futbol team from Betis as well as some Seville basketball players. We tried to speak our best Spanish and get free tickets...but so far we have come up empty handed. Darn it :).

Spain has just recently started celebrating Halloween. The only thing is that they understand it as a scary and gory holiday. They don't know that it can be happy as well, and that you can be clowns, and princesses and animals. Everyone that dressed up were either zombies, witches, or bloody in some way. But they are getting the hang of it. None of us dressed up to much. I bought a princess crown...but that was the extent of my costume.

My classes have been pretty tough lately. My literature class just requires a lot of reading and translating. In my culture class we have had several presentations about events and celebrations that take place in Seville. We also watch movies, and then interpret and discuss them...in Spanish of course :).

However, I finished my internship last week!! 70 hours!! So now I will finally have my afternoons free to explore the city and do all the things that I just didn't have time for!

Since I can see the finish line ahead, I get more homesick everyday. But at the same time I know that as soon as I step foot in Dallas, I am going to want to come right back. So I am trying to take every opportunity to make my last 5 weeks amazing!

Ronda

I cannot believe that it is already November!!! I just have a little more than a month left in Spain, and since I am traveling nearly every weekend until then, the time is just flying by!

2 weekends ago me and 2 friends traveled to the small city of Ronda for a day trip. We left bright and early on a 7 am bus and arrived at Ronda at about 9:30. Ronda isn't very well known throughout Spain, but if you ever get the chance to see it, you must!! I think cute little cities like Ronda are the heart and sould of Spain. Ernest Hemingway called Ronda one of the most romantic cities of all time. Several of his books were inspired by his travels there.

We wanted to do as much as we could in the 8 hours that we were there. We started off just walking the streets of the city. We soon ran into El Puente Nuevo - the New Bridge. This bridge was built in the 19th century to replace to old bridge. The town of Ronda is split in the middle by a river and is at the top of some amazing gourges.

We soon found ourselves exploring and hiking in the gourges. We climbed up waterfalls and mountains, walked down into mines, and strolled through several gardens. The weather was absolutely perfect! A little hot, but there was a constant breeze that kept us cool.

We also visited a museum that had an Inquisition exhibition. It was very creepy but interesting to see all of the instruments like the guillotine that were used.

In most of our school trips we spend so much time in catherdrals and museums that it gets a little overwhelming at times. I loved that this little trip was completely unplanned and we just walked around and saw what we wanted to see.

Viva Roma

I haven't even come close to traveling the whole world, but the rest of the world definitely has some competition. Italy was by far the best place I have been in my 22 years. I would go back tomorrow and live there if I could, it is that amazing!

3 of my friends and I decided to take advantage of the long 4 day weekend and go to Rome. Several other students went to Dublin, but Rome sounded more appealing. Our flight left out of Madrid on Wednesday night, so right after class we took a 6 hour bus ride from Seville to Madrid. Our bus arrived late and we literally had to run through the airport to make our flight, but we did. We land in Rome around 11:30 and take a bus from the airport to Termini Station. Normally we would have just walked to our hostel, but being that it was 1 in the morning we decided to take a cab. The cab driver to advantage of us not knowing any Italian so we paid double, but at that point we just wanted to get to our hostel.

Our first impression of he hostel was a little iffy, but it quickly proved to be an awesome place. We got free breakfast (toast and cereal) and free dinner (pizza and pasta), and also free internet, so we were quite happy. Since we hadnt eaten all day, we set off into the city at 2 am. Of course nothing was open. We walked around until we found a little cafeteria, where we again overpaid. Our cokes were 4 euros and sandwiches 5. But we were so desperate that we paid it.

On Thursday we visited Vatican City. We hoped that since it was a weekday that it wouldn't be so crowded. I imagine it was less crowded than it would have been on the weekend, but it was still packed with tourists. We started with the Vatican Museum. There was so much art to look at, I am sure that we could have been in the museum alone all day. A few of my favorite peices to see were Salvador Dali's Angelic Landscape and a Van Gogh piece. Obviously the highlight of that day was seeing the Sistene Chapel. You are technically not allowed to take pictures, so I made sure that I was really sneaky about it, cuz you can't just not take pictures of it! We were literally in there for about an hour, just staring at the amazing work of Michelangelo. It is utterly breathtaking. You can't even describe it; that's why everyone should see it at least once in their lifetime!

From then we had our first Italian pasta for lunch...delicious! St. Peter's Basilica was next. The plaza itself was a sight to see. It is one of the largest churches in the world. Because we went in the late afternoon, the lighting was not the best. But because we were there at 5 p.m. we got to sit in on a mass. Even though we didn't understand a word, the environment and experience was spectacular. There was a choir that sang, and their voices would echo off the walls and give me goosebumps. It was such a beautiful experience. I was really disappointed when I realized that the Michelangelo's David is in Florence, not Rome. But then I saw the Pietà and it made up for it. This is the sculpture of Mary holding Jesus in her lap just after he was crucified. It seems impossible for someone to be able to carve something that beautifuly by hand out of stone. There were hundreds of other sculptures and alters that were incredible.

We decided to walk home from there so that we could see more of the city. I think the city is just as beautiful during the day as it is at night. Tonight was a memorable night for many reasons. At our hostel we met 6 other Americans that are studying in St. Petersburg, Russia. We immediately fell in love with all of them! So, we all went out to get gelado. Gelado is everything you ever dreamed it would be! My first cone was of vanilla with frozen blackberries and strawberries. We walked around the city with our new found friends and decided to go to the Trevi fountain. What a sight to see!! Especially at night. There are a lot of interpretations of the rules of the wishes, but everyone agrees that if you throw a coin in you are ensured to return to Rome. I threw in 3 coins, to ensure a marriage (so they say), and made a wish on each one, just in case. Afterwards we went to a nearby bar/cafe to get coffee and hot chocolate. My friend Alyssa and I were starving so we grabbed a pizza on the way. It was the way pizza should be...not sure how to explain it...but it was legit. We hung out at the cafe for a while and got to know our new found friends. I really bonded with Abbi and Tim. Abbi and I are so much alike, it's crazy! And you just can't not love Tim. He knows Russian, Chinese, English, and a little bit of Spanish, and he is an amazing singer as well.

Our groups parted ways Friday. They spent the day at Vatican City while we went to the Colossuem and Roman Forum. We actually visited the Pantheon first. Funny enough, I got the Pantheon and the Parthenon mixed up. I was a little disappointed when we came up to the building. But after I got my buildings and countries right, it was just as cool as the Parthenon would have been. For lunch we decided to eat American style and eat at McDonalds. Rome is a very expensive city, so we were trying to save our money for the museums rather than food. Next we came across El Piazzo de Bonaparte. There is an enormous white building that looks like a birthday cake. When you climb to the top you get a spectacular view of the city. It was phenomenal.

Alyssa has a friend who was stationed in Naples. We had originally planned on spending a day there, but he just got reassigned to Djibouti, so he just met us in Rome instead and came with us to the Colosseum. It was flooded with tourists from every country you can think of. That was the fun thing about Rome; hearing all of the different languages. It is such a melting pot. We all definitely got goose bumps once we climbed up the stairs and saw the view inside the Colosseum. The Gladiator can only show you so much. And it's thanks to that movie that no one is allowed down below anymore :(. As soon as the movie was released tourists came from east and west, just like they do now. We came at the perfect time as well, the lighting for pictures was perfect. Alex, Alyssa, and Valeria wanted to go and eat, but Lorraine and I wanted to take full advantage of our ticket so we went to the Roman Forum as well. You can actually walk in and around all the ruins. We got to walk through gardens and through Caesar's house. We could have easily spent all day amongst the ruins as well. There is just so much history it's impossible to soak it all up.

We had one last day in Rome and decided to dedicate it to shopping. Where do you go for shopping in Rome? The Spanish Steps of course!!! This is basically designer lane. Although we couldnt afford anything, we browsed the stores like we belonged :). Our group got split up and I spent the day with Alyssa while Lorraine, Valeria, and Alex explored the city. It was frusterating not being able to have a phone to call and ask where they had gone too, but we enjoyed ourselves all the same.

We went out for gelado again with our Russians and came back to the hostel and shared stories and pictures from our day. A group went out on the town again. Alyssa, Lorraine, Tim, Abbi, and I decided to just chill and talk at the hostel. We all had to be up early to catch our flights in the morning so we just wanted to take it easy. The night ended with us singing Christmas songs (harmony and everything). Those were the only kinds of songs that we all knew the words and tunes for. :)

Our flight left Rome at 7 so we were up at 4:30 to catch the bus at 5:30 to the airport. We said our goodbyes to our Russians. They were off to Milan for a day before they headed back to St. Petersburg. It was another close call and we had to run to the bus, but once again, we made it.

We all wished that we could have stayed in Rome a little longer to get a better feel for the city, since we had already gotten the touristy part out of the way. I would recommend going hands down to anyone, even if you don't like the history part. This is a trip that I will never forget...and if I start to hopefully my 600 pictures will help me remember!!

Lisbon, Portugal

I once again apologize for the huge gaps between my last blogs. these last 2 weeks have been full of travels. The last 2 weekends I was in Lisbon, Portugal; and I just got back from Rome.

I went to Lisbon with my school group. We had just finished our first set of classes so we spent a much needed 3 day vacation. While there we saw a monostary as well as a cathedral where Vasco de Gama, the explorer who went from Portugal to India, is buried. The rest of our 3 days was to be spent however we wanted.

One of the highlights was eating at a Brazilian steakhouse. The Spaniards do not eat much beef, so we were all very excited to enjoy the unlimited amount of beef (and other meat) that the restaurant offered. We called it an early night because we wanted to start the next day off early.

We visited El Cristo Rei. This is a statue of Christ that mirrors the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a humongous statue overlooking the city of Lisbon. Right after that a large group of us visited the Oceanarium. I have never been to a "real" aquarium before so I was in awe of everything we saw. We saw penguins, otters, puffins, sharks, octopus, sun fish, etc. etc. It was amazing!! That evening we decided to explore the city and shop. Lisbon is famous for their cork, so you can find pretty much anything made in cork; like hats, belts, and pencils. After dinner we went to the local hotspot, the barrio. In a few words it was just a mob of people that hang out on the streets; it was actually more claustrophobic than fun, but it was a part of the experience.

The next day we went to the nearby town of Sintra. We visited these amazing gardens in Quinta de Regaleira. There were secret passage ways, caves, and a beautiful estate. For dinner we went down to the docks and ate an authentic seafood meal. It was delicious. We also got to witness 2 Frenchmen make a scene and buy a lobster and set him free into the ocean.

Early the next morning before we had to head back to Seville, a few of us went to the flee market. The stands opened at 9:30 and we had to leave at 10, so we didn't have much time to look, but we saw some cool shops nonetheless.

Everyone was exhausted when we returned (it's about a 5 hours bus ride), and wasn't looking forward to class the next day. We started the new semester on Tuesday, but only had class until Wednesday because we had another long weekend that started on Thursday.

Before my most recent trip I had enjoyed Portugal the most. It has the most beautiful beaches, their towns are so quaint, and they speak English!!

Finals Week

We started our finals week yesterday. I had my oral exam. It went pretty well...I struggled a little bit, but I think I did ok. We just discussed various themes that we have covered over the semester. Today we had our listening exam, which was very easy. We watched clips from a few videos and answered questions about them. And then tomorrow is the written portion. I will be studying all day for that part. A bunch of us are going to a Chinese restaurant tonight and then going to study the rest of the evening.

We leave at 7 am on Friday for Lisbon, Portugal and won't get back until Monday. This will definitely be a well deserved rest for us! Then I will only have 2 days of school and then I am off to Rome!!

The weather couldn't be more perfect than it is right now. It peaks at about 85 and there has been a slight breeze lately. We have had a few rainy days as well. School is finally in full swing all across Seville, so you see all different types of students walking the streets in the mornings and afternoons.

I worked my 50th hour yesterday for my internship. Only 20 more to go! It has been a good experience for sure, but I will be glad to have free afternoons again! Everyone else has been able to do so much more exploring of the city than I have, so it will be nice to get to do that as well.

Thus far...

Some of you have been interested in hearing more of the little things that have been going on while I have been here. So here goes.

My internship is still in full swing. I have about 44 hours as of today. All of the women we watch over have grown accustomed to us, and I have grown attached to some of them as well. The only downside to the job is that many of the women either have alzheimers or have had strokes. So it is always hard when they are having a bad day, because when its bad its bad. We try to keep them occupied with crocheting and the garden and those sorts of things. This one lady Carmen who has more bad days than good, sometimes will just grab your hand and want to hold it while we sit on the porch. The job takes a lot of time and hard work, not to mention the actual class work that we have to do, but I feel like it will definitely be worth it. I hope that when I am done with my 70 hours that I will still have time to visit them a few times before I go back.

The first half of the semester is just about over. We have our finals on Monday and Tuesday. Then we go to Lisbon for 5 days and then the next round of classes will start. I will be taking Intro to Literature, Spanish Life and Culture, and will continue to take History of Spain.

I have become a little frustrated with my Spanish lately. I have grasped the hard things but just keep forgetting little vocabulary words that I should know. I am however getting a better ear for the language. I can seperate words better and usually understand! So there has definitely been progress.

I had a dream last night that I went to a grocery store and found Dr. Pepper. It was the best dream ever!! But unfortunetly it can't come true :(. I will definitely have a list of food that I will want my mom to bring with her to the airport. But there are a lot of foods here that I will surely miss as well. Croquetas for one. They are a tapa, or a kind of appetizer, at most cafes. The easiest way to explain it is that it looks like a mini corndog, but inside is pureed pork and cheese. I will miss the churro and helado stands on every corner, and the Magnum McFlurry. Haha yes, I have caved and eaten at McDonalds. But only the icecream. The Magnum McFlurry has dark chocolate chunks and dark chocolate fudge swirled in. It is to die for!

The half way mark of my stay is already around the corner. I can't believe how time has flown. I only hope that the next 2 months will be filled with lots and lots of learning and fun new experiences, just as the first half was.

Lagos, Potugal

Last weekend was probably my favorite trip up to date. We started the trip off by going to La Rabida which is where Christopher Columbus set sail. So we walked around and saw replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Soon after we drove another 2 hours to Lagos, Portugal. Some say this is Europe's best kept secret. And I would definitely have to agree with them!

Staying in Lagos was optional. Our school excursion only paid for one day, so all but 2 of us wanted to stay the weekend in Lagos. So I had my first hostel experience. I think we got very lucky because our hostel was amazing!! we got breakfast and towels and were walking distance from the beach for only 12 euros a night.

Portugal is known for their spicy food. Many of us have been missing this kind of flavor because in Spain they don't do spicy. So we took advantage of the local Portugese cuisine. They are also known for their green wine. Not being a wine person, I actually somewhat enjoyed it.

We couldn't wait to take advantage of the gorgeous beaches and weather that we had. The first day was a little cloudy and it actually rained for a few minutes, but our last day there could not have been more perfect. The beach at Lagos is not just one long stretch of sand. There are coves and caves that you can explore and walk through to get to different "private" beaches. I was completely awestruck at the landscape...I have no words to describe its beauty. But thankfully we are going back to Portugal in just one week! Our next trip is to Lisbon. I can't wait!

Cadiz and Granada

About 2 weeks ago a big group of us went to Cadiz. This is a beach about 2 hours by train from Seville. Supposedly this is the oldest city in Europe, but there is a lot of speculation about that. We spent the day on the beach just relaxing and enjoying the weather. It turned out to be a cloudy day, but on the up side we didn't get sunburned at all. The water was freezing at first but once you got in it was very relaxing. We also walked around the city and saw a Cathedral and lots of local shops. We came home with sand in every nook and cranny but it was definitely a worthwhile day.

We spent this past Friday and Saturday in Granada. We took a 3 hours bus ride early Friday morning. Granada is almost like a mini Seville. It's a lot cleaner and just cuter. We spent the day at the Alhambra. It is a fortress city and palace. We walked all over the gardens, palace, and military quarters. At the top of the military complex you get a perfect view of the city. The Alhambra also has a reflecting pull that mirrors the Tahj Mahal. That night we ate at a local Moroccan restaurant that was fabulous. We had all day Saturday to explore the city and go to the gypsy markets. Granada is very close to the Sierra Nevadas so it was pretty cold while we were there. None of us came prepared for the weather with our sandals and tank tops. Granada is known for its tapas and teas, so I made sure to try some of those while I was there. They also have a wide variety of spice markets. I bought some safron there that would have cost about 3 times that much in the US. I wish we could have stayed in Granada longer because I really enjoyed the city. We returned to Seville around 8 p.m. that night.

One of the reasons many of us have been missing home is because we are missing Texas Tech's football season. Saturday was the big game against Texas. But we were not willing to miss this game so we all woke up at 2 a.m. Sunday morning and came up to the school to watch the game. We had a bunch of technical difficulties in the beginning but by halftime we were able to watch the game. Even thought we lost, it was fun to feel like we were back home again. We went back home at 6 a.m. and slept until about 2 just in time for lunch.

I am getting to celebrate my birthday today in Spain. I was kinda scared because I knew it wouldn't be the same, but it has turned out to be fabulous so far! I got a package from my friend and my mom today, so that was a great start to the day. And then my host mom made/bought a cheesecake for me and my roommate (her birthday is tomorrow). And tonight we are all going to the river to have churros and chocolate. I have a huge test tomorrow so I can't celebrate too much.

This coming weekend we are going to Lagos, Portugal for another fun-filled weekend, so tune in soon for another play-by-play!!

Cordoba, Cathedral, and Bullfight

Hey everyone. I want to apoligize again for taking so long to post a blog. I got all my homework and projects done last week so I have a little more free time this week. I am going to start off talking about Cordoba, which we visited about 2 weeks ago.

Cordoba was just overflowing with history. I won't be able to recall everything that our professor told us, but I will do my best to give you a semi-accurate description. When the Muslims occupied Cordoba they built an unbelievabe mosque. There are over 900 columns throughout. If you think that's huge, think about this. When the Christians conquered the Moors they decided not to destory the mosque, but instead built a cathedral and dropped it right in the middle of the mosque. We also spent a few hours walking around the city and vistied the Jewish quarters. Even in the 8th and 9th centuries Jews were discriminated against. They were forced to live in tiny neighborhoods and their synagogue wasn't a fraction of the size of the mosque. We were hoping to spend more time in Cordoba, but the heat was unbearable so we called it an early day and returned to Seville.

The next day we stayed in Seville to visit the cathedral and royal palace. The cathedral in Seville is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the 3rd largest in the world. The second you walk in you head automatically looks up. The detail of every little wall and alter is so extravegant, it is unbelievable. I can barely put it into words what we saw. If that wasn't enough we walk up to this tomb and our professor says, "This is the tomb of Christopher Columbus' son." I was thinking, "Oh my goodness! How insane that I am standing right here!" Then he says, "Oh and over there....that's Christopher Columbus." .........I was speechless. I was 2 feet from Christopher Columbus!!!!!! I came to Seville thinking I was just going to learn Spanish. I never imagined that I would learn all of this important history, and see it with my own eyes! Seville's cathedral is also famous for the Giralda, which is a tower that extends 34 stories up. We were able to climb to the top and see the best view of the city. It was extraordinary. The royal palace was another site to behold. When the King and Queen of Spain visit Seville, they actually stay in this palace. We weren't able to see where they actually stay, but we saw many rooms that were once occupied by the royals. The palace also has the most beautiful gardens. The gardens were used for courting. There is a maze inside, and the couple would try to lose their chaperone in the maze so that they could have alone time. Students get in free to the gardens, so I am going to take advantage of that and spend an afternoon relaxing and doing homework in there.

Then on that Sunday we went to a bullfight. I was very nervous at first because I knew that I would be the person that would cry when the bull died. One of our professors gave us a little info session so that we would better understand the fight. One way to look at it is art. If you really start to disect everything they do, then it is easier to understand. One thing that I kept telling myself was that when they kill the bull they either give the meat to an orphanage, or they sell it and give it to a charity. So they aren't just killing the bull for fun. As it happens, I really enjoyed the bull fight. We were lucky and saw a varied show. One guy got mauled but walked away with no broken bones or blood. One guy got an ear after his kill. The better you do, the more appendages you get. The best you can get is 2 ears and a tail. So this guy did a very good job. I wanted to go again, but the season ends at the end of the month and we have trips planned up until then. But I am glad I experienced it, and suggest that all of you at least try it, because you may end up enjoying it!

I am going to post a few pictures of each of the sites, so that you will be able to see what I did. Thanks for being patient with me!!

Coming soon...I promise

Sorry everyone that I have not posted a new blog lately. I have so much to blog about, but just can't find the time to do any of it!! I have 4 projects/papers due Wednesday/Thursday so those are my priorities right now. But as soon as we get back from our weekend trip to Granada, there will probably be 3 or 4 new posts. Thanks for being patient!!

School has OFFICIALLY begun

I have realized this week that my I need to re-prioritize my time here. I have spent the last 2 weeks just taking in the country and the culture and enjoying every bit of it that I could. I thought that I could continue this even when school started. Wrong!! There is a lot more work involved than I expected. So instead of going to the movies or walking along the river, many of nights have been filled with doing homework and translating stories. But then again, I am paying to get an education. But there is so much to do and see here!!

One great ascpect of going to school here is that we get the opportunity to have a tutor. Last night we were paired up with a Spaniard that is also a student. I guess the better word for them is conversation tutors. We are not really supposed to use them for help with homework, but just to practice speaking Spanish with "one of the natives". And also to network here and make friends. I was really nervous at first and was hesitant to have a tutor to myself. But it worked out that there weren't enough of them for each of us to have our own, so i shared 2 of them with 2 other Tech girls. This worked out so well because we all helped eachother and gave each other moral support. Speaking with them was definitely not as difficult as I thought. However, I am sure that they purposefully spoke slowly and annunciated every word for our benefit...but all the same I enjoyed myself very much. We will meet with them once a week for 6 more weeks.

My internship is still going pretty well. I never know what to expect thought because it just depends on where they need you at that certain time of the day. For instance, I have pushed people in wheelchairs around the garden and the halls, helped in the gym, spoon fed yogurt, served beer and wine (did you know they get a choice of having beer/wine for lunch and dinner?), and sat with a woman named Carmen and held her hand for 2 hours while she told me about her life; I didn't understand much...but I think she just needed someone to listen to her. I already have 14 hours done out of the 70 I need, so I am making good progress!

This weekend we have another one of our excursions. On Friday we will be going to Cordoba. I don't know much about it, but I do know that we are going to see a mosque that is there. And then on Saturday we will be back in Sevilla to tour the Cathedral. And then work begins again on Sunday!

I have been in the process of planning a trip to Rome with 3 of my friends...but everything keeps going wrong! I originally found the plane tickets for 35 euros each round trip, but when I went back to book it, they were already gone, and now the price is 3 times as much. So I am checking everyday for another deal and hope I can find one. I have also been trying to plan trips to Barcelona, Cadiz, London, Paris, and hopefully Morocco.

I will definitely post some pics of Cordoba and the Cathedral. I hear both sights are just breathtaking

Italica

I apologize because I should have done this post about a week ago, but totally forgot until now. Last Saturday we had our first excursion to the ruins of Italica. Italica was a Roman city founded around 200 BC and is about 9 miles from Seville, and all that is left of it today are the ruins. We are lucky to have Dr. Inglis with us on all of our excursions because he knows anything and everything about history.

When you first arrive at the city you see a huge stadium/ampitheater where they had gladiator fights. We got to see where are the animals would have been, and the fans, and also all the things that the movie Gladiator did incorrectly. It was so amazing to walk on all of this history.

We later moved on into the actual city, where you can see remnants of houses and courtyards. Many of the walls have since been destroyed, but the many of the tile floors are still intact, and are quite beautiful.

It turns out that one of the main reasons Italica is no more is because they were mysteriously dying. It was later found out that they were using lead pipes for plumbing...so they were dying from lead poisoning and didn't even know it.

I am going to add a few pictures to give you a better idea of exactly what we saw

Internship

One of my classes this semester is an internship. Basically I had to go out and find a job. I would work for 70 hours throughout the semester, without pay, at any kind of business in town. I wanted to go to a place where I would be talking a lot, because I know that I would learn so much more that way. My friend Lorraine and I went to an elderly center today. It is run by nuns and we were told that they are always looking for volunteers. They have also had Tech students work their previously. Lorraine speaks Spanish fluently, so it was comforting to have her with me. The nun we spoke to remembered the students that had been there before and helped us make our work schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will work 6-8pm; and Saturday and Sunday 10-2pm. If we have an excursion with our class then of course we will not work on the weekend. Both of our school schedules are a lot heavier the last half of the semester so we are going to try to put in as many hours now as possible.

However, we were not aware that we were going to start working today! The nun showed us to this older ladies room and just plopped us in there and left! Now of course Lorraine had no problem with it, because she can speak perfectly, but I on the other hand had some trouble. The 2 ladies that we talked with were very sweet and funny...when I understood them :). Lorraine had to translate a little. And sometimes I would just laugh and smile and nod...and then they caught on and made fun of me for it!! :) But they were very sweet. We then took them to dinner and helped serve some of the people. Unfortunatly they separated me and Lorraine and gave us different tables. I was filling water for my table and then I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do next. The nun walked by me, said something, and then left again. She knew that I didn't speak Spanish very well, but wouldn't give me a chance to figure out what she had said. Five minutes later I am still standing awkwardly at the table not really doing anything and she motions to me to come into the kitchen. She hands me a towel and I start drying the dishes. I guess I wasn't doing what she wanted (which I don't know what that was!) so I got kitchen duty. :( HAHA it wasn't that bad. The ladies in the kitchen were nice. So I will be interested to see what I will be doing next time. I think the hardest part was just understanding them. Older people are definitely harder to understand, but especially when its in another language!!

It is going to be extremely trying and overwhelming, but that is what I need; to just be dropped into the language.

After work, we went to a grocery store for a few things. We ran into our professor while we were there. This is the professor that is doing the internship class, so we told him about how we got a job and everything, and he was very proud of us. We ended up grocery shopping with him and he put me on the spot and made me talk to the cashier. After I talked to her she said, "Estas aprendido?" (Are you learning?) I said, "Si, es evidente?" (Yes, is it evident?) She replied, "Yes." :( HAHA well I did my best!!

Besides missing all of my loved ones, I have been able to mostly adapt to everything here. I do dearly miss Dr. Pepper and 2% milk. As well as air conditioning (although it will be cooling down pretty soon). School is definitely gonna be picking up this week, so my plate is quickly filling up!

First day of class

So today was actually our second day of class...but all the same classes have begun! I had to remind myself that I actually came here to take classes. For a while there, I thought I was just going to be able to explore Spain the whole semester without school or anything! But reality hit yesterday with the start of classes. Honestly it was probably the easiest first day ever. I only had one class yesterday for an hour and a half. It was Advanced Language Skills. We went over the syllabus, bought our books, and started the first lesson. For this first week we are doing a basic review of grammar before we go deeper into more specific parts. This semster I am also taking History of Spain and doing and internship. My history class only meets on Tuesdays, but it is from 5-8. And I have not started the internship or gotten much information on it yet. We have our first meeting about it on Thursday. It seems like I would have a lot of spare time to do homework, but it is amazing how fast the time goes, and what it goes to. I will just have to get better at prioritizing!

I have definitely begun to miss American food already. Not to say that the food here isn't good, because it is, but I would do anything for a nacho belle grande from Taco Bell right now!! However, yesterday was my first experience with squid. Lola made a type of stew with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and squid. The stew wasn't actually that bad because all of the flavors and textures ran together. But on our salad we had some fried squid. it looked like onion rings, but was actually part of the tentacle of the squid. I have been trying to have an open mind about everything here, so I tried it. If it had had any flavor at all, it might not have been too bad...but it didn't. So it felt like I was chewing slimy rubber. I swallowed, but didn't eat any more of it. But other than that, I have not been traumatized yet by any of the food here.

It remains to be about 105 degrees everyday. So we try to stay inside as much as possible. Even though sometimes its better to be outside in the heat with a slight breeze than inside with no air conditioning. But the weather is perfect in the mornings for the walk to school, and then at about 9 pm around the time of the sunset, the weather is perfect.

After this first week of school, I hope to be completely organized here at home as well as with school and scheduling everything. And it won't be too long before I start to plan my trips to other countries! I can't wait!

The meeting of the family

So today was the big day that we were to meet out families. I was super nervous and excited at the same time. I came down from my hotel room and my host dad was already there waiting. Mariono is such a cute older man and he had a huge smile on his face when he met me and my roommate Lena. When we greeted him we got to kisses on the cheek. It was great! We piled our stuff into his car, and then took a taxi to his apartment. We were both so excited about what was happening that we didn't pay attention to wear we were going....this will come back to bite us later. So we get to his apartment in Ronda de Capachinos. We live on the 5th floor. But its really the 6th floor because they have a 0 floor or I guess ground floor. All of the housing here is the same. Everyone lives in apartment style housing on top of each other. We meet Lola, our house mom, as soon as we get there. She is also very cute and greets us with kisses. Her house is so lovely. You wouldn't believe the view that we have from out balcony!!! She takes very good care of her humble aboad. Me and Lena share a room with 2 twin size beds. We have a set of shelves each and share an armoire. We also share a bathroom that has lots of shelving space as well. I will definitely be very comfortable here!!

We decided to unpack a little before lunch. We finished around 1 and needed to buy a few things like shampoo and more hangers. So we know there is a chino store (basically a dollar store) right by the school. And we needed to figure out how to get to the school anyway. We looked at a map before we left...but for some reason we thought that we were masters of it and left it upstairs. So we are walking and walking and cant find Recaredo street which is the street the school is on. So we asked someone and finally found the school and chino store, grab a few things and leave. It's about 1:45 and Lola said lunch would be about 2 or 2:30. So we think that gives us enough time to get back. We know that Recaredo turns into our street Ronda de Capachinos so we are pretty confident that we will find out house. We get to Ronda and we are feeling pretty good so far since we arent lost yet. But now we are thinking...what does our building look like? I think its yellow? This is wear we wonder WHY we weren't paying attention when we are in the cab. So we mistake 2 yellow apartments for ours. We walk up and down Ronda de Capachinos and don't recognize anything. We ask about 3 people where we are....and they have never heard of our plaza. We actually live in Plaza Jose del Castillo Diaz, which is just off of Ronda de Capachinos. So finally its 2:30 already and we are hot and exhausted and completely lost and late for lunch! Lunch is the most important meal of the day, and it's very disrespectful to be late or to not show up at all. So we decide we better get a cab. Well the cab driver doesn't even know where we live. So now we are up a creek. I decide I better call Maya. She is the assitant director of the program and lives here in Seville. I called Maya so she can try to figure out what happened and where we are. She tells me that we are very close and that she will call me back while she works out directions. So she calls back 10 minutes later and says Mariono is coming to get us.We were so embarrased! We were late for lunch and had to have him take us home, and only for a few hangers and shampoo! But we got back ok and they totally understood and gave us better directions for next time. HOPEFULLY this will be the last time I get lost. (knock on wood).

Lunch was absolutely delicious. I cannot tell you exactly what it was. There was chicken, and then salad, and then a type of tomato based vegetable thing, and melon for dessert. We asked Lola what kind of melon, and she just said melon. It is a type of melon I don't think we have in the US. Kind of a mix between cantelope and honeydew. I am not a huge fan of either of those melons...but I liked this one.

So after our long adventure in the blistering sun, it was a little over 100 degrees today, we are exhausted. Thankfully we have siesta for about 3 hours everyday, so this comes in very handy.

Tomorrow we have a group excursion to Italica, some ruins here in Spain. We have to meet at a bus stop in the morning, so me and Lena are going to map it out tonight and make sure we can get there!

Seville at a glance

Hey everyone!!! Sorry that I have been a little bit out of touch within the last few days! The internet here is definitely not as convenient as it is in the US. I finally was able to buy an adapter for my computer.

Flying to Spain has actually been one of the easiest things that I have done thus far. Considering it was my worst fear...I am pretty happy about how things went. The flight to London would have been unbearable had it not been for the British Airways staff. I had to sit next to this bigger African man. He had to idea that since he didnt have any carry-ons that it would be ok for him to take up as much room as he wanted, and he smelled bad. So that was a fun 8 hour flight. But British Airways was so nice!! Not only do I just love their accents, but they were just so cheery about everything, it made it easy to forget that I was a bit miserable. My next flight to Madrid was fine as well. The only downside was that I was on the aisle, so I didn't have a window to rest my head on so I could catch a little bit of sleep. In Madrid I was supposed to meet up with Lorraine, another girl from the program, but she had missed one of her flights, so I was left alone again. I bought a small sandwich and coke which ended up being about $9. And the lettuce on the sandwich was brown...but otherwise the flight to Sevilla went well. And luckily (as this was another fear of mine) none of my luggage got lost!! I just had a problem getting it all to the taxi. I guess that happens when you have 4 bags to carry.

The taxi ride was very interesting. Basically in Spain, if you think no one is coming, it is ok to run the red lights. And also, the cars have the right away...ALWAYS. It doesn't matter if you are walking, on a bike, or even on a vespa, the car will run you over to get where its going. And the streets here are about half the size of our streets...if even that. So its definitely a balancing act staying on the curb while the cars drive by.

Since I have arrived I have walked the city numerous times, and have gotten lost...every time. This place is a maze!!! Today we took a group tour of the city, so it was the only time I didn't get lost. :) There are definitely new things to see everyday, and I can't wait to see all of them!!

I am on my way to lunch with the group, then we will go to the school to talk about our classes that we will start on Monday. And if you are wondering, the eating schedule is definitely a lot different. We eat breakfast at a normal time, but lunch is not until 2. Then you have siesta from about 2-5, and then dinner around 9 or 10. And everyone (I mean everyone! Little kids to grandmas) stay up till about midnight or later. They make up their sleep by having siesta.

Anyways, I hope I gave you just a little taste of what I am experiencing. I hope to be able to write in a little more detail from here on out. I meet my host family tomorrow, so I am sure I will have loads to tell you about that!!

Thanks for checking in!

Time is ticking!!

I only have 1 full day left in the US and I am freaking out!!! I got mostly packed today, and will probably just make a few minor adjustments tomorrow...but it is still so surreal that I am leaving on Monday!! I hope that I got to see all of you before I left. But as I quickly noticed, I am a procrastinator with everything, and therefore was not able to do everything I wanted to before I left. And I apologize if this meant not hanging out with you. So as my departure grows nearer, I wanted to leave yall with my address while I am Spain, just in cases you get the urge to send me something :) (which would be greatly appreciated). My address is:

Hannah Fordham
TTU Center in Seville
Recaredo, 44
41003, Sevilla Espana

One week left!!

Hey everyone! I am new at this blog thing...so I don't really know what I am doing, but hopefully I will get all the kinks worked out soon! I have 6 days until I leave for Sevilla. I am super excited, but very very nervous. I know that it is going to be an amazing adventure, but I would still appreciate all your prayers that I will remain safe, have fun, and since I am taking classes...learn something! I am going to at least try to post something once a week if not more often, so check back every once in a while and hopefully i will have new pics and posts for you to check out. Thanks again for all of your support and thoughts and tips and everything!! I love all of yall so much!!