Family Reunion in Ciudad Real

This past Friday I took the train to Ciudad Real (about 2 hours North of Sevilla) to visit the spanish family that hosted me during my stay in Summer 2010.  It was so nice to spend time with them and see some familiar faces.  Friday we went to go see some newborn Yorkie puppies that they were interested in buying in a few weeks; they were so tiny! Later that evening, I hung out with my host sister Sara. We went into town to do some shopping then stopped at a bar for a drink and panini with her friends.  Saturday I went with my host mom to her sister's apartment, then we walked around the market in Ciudad Real, stopped at a tapas bar for a couple of tapas, then headed back home for a big family lunch.  All the aunts, cousins, and even their grandma was there! It was so much fun.  Later I went with Sara to a park to hang out with her friends some more and when we got back, we had some sandwiches for dinner.  Sunday, we went to the local fitness center where Sara and Mer (2 of my host sisters) went to do Zumba; there was a race going on that day and lots of other activities as well (like Zumba).  Then, my host parents dropped me off at the train station and made sure I made it to my train! I got to ride the AVE which is the high speed train in Spain (it was fast and easy!). I had a great weekend with my old host family, but glad to be back in warm, sunny Sevilla!

LA FERIA!

La feria de abril is a festival in Spain and there is one in Sevilla every year. It was such a fun week of no classes and lots of activities! The festival starts at midnight on Monday night with the lighting up of the main entrance (this year it was designed to look like the Plaza de España). Tuesday I went with my host parents to their daughters "caseta" (tent) to have some tapas and drinks for lunch. We also got to ride in their horse drawn carriage around the festival for a bit.  Feria is like walking into a completely different city that only comes for a week. It was so beautiful and colorful! All the women are dressed up in flamenco dresses and everyone is dancing, drinking, socializing and enjoying life.  Wednesday I got to dress up in a flamenco dress with my host mom and her daughter! It was so neat, but also extremely hot with such high temps this past week! Thursday I went to Matalascañas which is a beach in Huelva with two friends. It was the perfect day to just relax on the beach after two full days of feria! On friday I left to visit the spanish family that hosted me during my study abroad experience in Summer 2010 (new post to come!). When I got back on Sunday, I worked on some homework, then met up with a friend to go see the fireworks at midnight which is the end of feria.  We stopped by a pub for a mojito on the way, then watched the fireworks from a bridge that crosses the Guadalquivir River. Such an amazing week! Can't believe I only have 3 weeks left!

In my flamenco dress in
front of the "caseta"

           

the beach in Matalascañas, Huelva

Mojito time before
fireworks

Mallorca

This past weekend I took a trip to Mallorca with my interest group. Mallorca is part of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It was a great weekend with the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. We left Sevilla Friday morning in a bus to go to Malaga. We stopped in Malaga to visit a castle/museum, then we went to catch our flight from Malaga to Mallorca. When we arrived in Mallorca, we met up with our guide to go on a tour of the city. Saturday we went to the caves of Drach, where we took a tour of the caves, saw a classical music concert and went on a short boat ride through the cave. Next we went to a natural park along the coast and stopped or lunch on one of the beaches. Lunch was so delicious! We had some appetizers (croquetas, roasted green peppers, fish, and fried potatoes), salad, paella and vino of course! Next, we had free time to lay out in the beach and swim in the crystal clear water! Sunday morning we visited a castle in Mallorca, then were off to the airport to catch our flight back to Malaga, then our bus back to Sevilla. Such an amazing weekend and beautiful island!

Paris and Dublin :)

On one of the love lock bridges in
front of Notre Dame

Hike through the countryside in
Howth, Ireland

Well I don't have classes this week for Holy Week, so last Friday some friends and I headed to the airport to go to Paris and Dublin for part of the week! I had an awesome time & we packed so much into the little time we were there. Paris blew me away! Never thought I'd love it so much & Dublin was amazing. Already want to go back! Our trips went very smoothly, our hostel in Paris was a little sketchy, but we all made it out alive:) haha. I flew back into Sevilla on Tuesday and was welcomed by some warm weather! It was freezing in Dublin (so pretty much like the weather at home in good ole Indiana)! Sevilla is an amazing place to be for Semana Santa! They have different processions everyday of the week & it is so beautiful and such a neat experience! The rain has put a damper on some of the processions, but my host mom took me out Wednesday night and Thursday night to see some. Thursday night we left at midnight and didn't get back until 8:30 am! I definitely didn't know what I was in for that night, but it was a good time:) Today my main goal has just been to catch up on some sleep (I've done a pretty good job).

Watching the processions for
Holy Week with my host mom

Two more weeks of class, the. It's spring break round 2 for me!

Family reunion in Madrid!

I took the bus to meet Mom, Dad, and the two baby sisters this past weekend in Madrid! Saturday they arrived a few hrs after me & I joined their tour group for a visit to El Prado museum. Then, we went to dinner in a cute restaurant near our hotel:) Sunday morning dad and Mac went with the group to Segovia and El Escorial for some sightseeing there (rainy day!). Mom, Keelin & I stayed back in Madrid to tour the royal palace and cathedral, have lunch at the market & nap! Then, we met Dad & Mac for a cooking class for dinner! We took a taxi to the school (which didnt have a street number which made things difficult), but we made it there eventually. Keelin and I were in charge of making the tortilla espanola, Mom made paella, Mackenzie did the appetizers and lemonade, and Dad took pictures! It was delicious! Afterwards, Dad and I ventured out for some beers in celebration of St. Paddy's Day! I left on a bus Monday morning to get back to Sevilla in time for my evening classes! Great weekend & so good to see the family! They brought me some yummy treats and a new laptop, so pictures will be coming soon!! Morgan, you were missed!

Halfway through!

                                                         

Well, I just finished with all of my midterms! It's been a bit of a stressful week, but I'm so happy that exams are over. Just got back from an afternoon sitting by the river and getting a little sun with one of my friends to celebrate the end of our exams:) Tomorrow, I leave for Huelva to go on a hike through the countryside with my interest group, then Friday night/Saturday morning I head out to Madrid to meet my parents, Mackenzie and Keelin!! So excited!!

Granada

Last weekend I went to Granada with my program! We left Saturday morning by bus & ate lunch upon arriving to our hotel. To was delicious! Next we were off to tour a neighborhood, visit the mosque of Granada, and tour the church where King Ferdinand and Queen Elizabeth are buried. Then we had free time to enjoy the city and go out to dinner. Sunday morning we had the opportunity to visit a monastery which was really neat. It's only used as a museum today, but it was cool to see a building with such simplicity in some areas and such elaborate decoration in others! Then we went back to the hotel for another buffet lunch! After lunch, we dedicated 3 hours to touring La Ahlambra! It is such a beautiful palace with breathtaking views of the city! All in all it was a great trip:)

Sevilla, Sevilla, Sevilla

Today I went to my very first Spanish futbol game! I absolutely loved it! The game was dedicated to American citizens living/studying in Sevilla, so we got discounted tickets and a free Sevilla scarf! Sevilla won (4-1) & I loved being able to see all the chants/cheers of the spaniards. They love their futbol!

Getting to the game was a little frightening & unbelievable though. I was walking from class to the metro (subway) stop to get to the stadium with 3 other girls. A homeless man was walking towards us and I could see him staring at me from a few feet away (which didn't seem too out of the ordinary). Then as he got closer, he lifted his leg around and kicked me as he was passing. I screamed & with my umbrella in hand, I was ready to hit him, but he kept walking so I didn't feel the need. It was one of the most frightening/shocking moments I think I've experienced. Then of course the tears began streaming down my face a bit from the shock & feeling quite violated (& at the same time I had to laugh because seriously who does that?), but all is good, we made it to the game, enjoyed our bocadillos (sandwiches--packed lunch), & got to see Sevilla win!

Morocco. Marruecos. Maroc

My trip to morocco was amazing! It is such a beautiful country. The hotel we stayed in was pretty nice & the dinners we had on Friday night and Saturday were delicious! We got the our hotel late Friday night, so our adventure started Saturday morning. The first city we visited was Chefaouen. On the way there, we saw some breathtaking mountains and countryside. Chefchaouen is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen! The whole city is painted in different shades of blue. For lunch, we ate on the rooftop of a restaurant and got to see an amazing view of the city! During our free time, I got to test out my bartering skills (I got ripped off on my first purchase haha, but oh well).

After chefchauen, we headed back to our hotel for dinner & hung out for the rest of the evening. Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to visit the city of Assilah. Assilah is a walled city with a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. There are very pretty and unique paintings on the sides of buildings throughout the city as well! We had some free time to spend the rest of our dirhams (currency of morocco), then we hopped back on the bus to go to lunch.

The restaurant we stopped at for lunch looked a little sketchy at first, but was nice once we walked inside the building. The lunch we had was pretty good (loved the salads here!). After lunch, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the caves of Hercules. Another beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean (the rock surrounding the viewe of the ocean is in the shape of Africa..pretty cool). Next we made it to Tangiers to ride camels near the beach! It was a little nerve racking when the camel stood up and sat back down, but other than that I really enjoyed it. Then it was off to the port for another ferry ride and bus ride back to Sevilla!

Oh & just to paint a picture of the ferry ride...the water was pretty rough toward the end, so the boat was rocking a lot. Our tour guides told us (100 students) to get up and stand by the door 15 min before we get to the port, so we could get off first (there were so many people on the ferry!). So we're all falling on top of each other because we're standing during the rocking; then I took a look at the people still sitting down..lets just say, there were more barf bags than I'd ever seen in one room..gross! Then, we were all shoved (literally) out the door of the ferry & on to the bus. Definitely a crazy and unforgettable experience! It's good to be back in Sevilla!

February, it's been a good one!

It's been a busy 3 day week, but a fun one! Monday night some friends and I were treated to a pizza party for our friend Leah (her mom picked up the tab! So sweet). & the pizza was delicious! Last night (Tuesday night), I went to a concert in the patio of my school; the musicians played some Arabian music, which was very beautiful. Today, I ran into one of my flamenco classmates on my way to class, so naturally we stopped for some strawberry mojitos on our way;) yum! After class today, I met up with some other friends to eat dinner at 100 montaditos (a restaurant where everything is 1€ on Wednesdays!). It was packed, but the food was good and it's always nice to hang out with friends. When I got back to my apartment, I had a flan for dessert and my host mom gave me a handmade coin purse! It's so cute! She said its a little something for me to remember her by; very sweet! Tomorrow we don't have class because its El dia de Andalucia (basically Independence Day for the southern region of Spain). Then Friday I head out to Morocco!!

Moroccan feast

Today my host parents, their granddaughter and myself went to a family friends apartment (who also has an American student) & had a gourmet meal of delicious Moroccan food! It's getting me very excited for my trip to Morocco next weekend!! After lunch, we had some tea and sweets from morocco as well:)

After Mass this morning, my host mom took Irene (9 yr old granddaughter) & me to a few churches to look at some of the statues for semana Santa. On the way back, we got stuck in a procession that was taking one of the statues from one church to another! It was pretty cool, but it was also a huge crowd; what can I say...I like my personal space! But it was very neat.

I just got back from going to a restaurant for some tapas with two friends! The food was delicious & I think we won the waiter over by the end of our meal. We had some queso manchego, lots of bread, I had cod fish, and we shared an omelette with asparagus. It was all very delicious!!

Cordoba

Just got back from a day trip to the city of Cordoba, which is about 2 hours north of Sevilla! This was my second time visiting this city & I liked it even more the second time around. We had a local guide give us a tour of the mosque, which is now a cathedral (the Romans just decided to build a cathedral right in the middle of the mosque which makes it the only building of its kind in the world!). Our guide also took us to a Jewish synagogue and we walked through the narrow cobblestone streets of the Jewish neighborhood. To end the tour we went to the Christian kings' palace and saw the beautiful surrounding gardens. Then we had some free time to do our own exploring, so naturally my two friends and I went to a cafe/bar for some food! We ordered tortilla de patata (a crowd fav!--Basically an omelet of eggs and potatoes--This bar is famous for their gigantic tortilla de patatas, so we each got a slice). Then we took some time to walk around the city and window shop:) very exhausting, but it was a great day!

Palacio de Lebrija and other shenanigans

This week I got the chance to go on a tour of el palacio de Lebrija; it was the home of a countess who had a very large collection of art. I definitely wouldn't mind living there!
So far classes haven't been bad, I still haven't had much homework which has been nice & really getting used to only having classes four days a week!
I've really been enjoying the company of my host parents. They're a pretty cute/funny couple & have been showing me around Sevilla & letting me experience la vida sevillana.
Last night I went out with some friends for free sangria to celebrate the weekend & this morning we got together at a cafe to book our hostels in Paris and Dublin!
Time is flying by!

1 month!

Well after being in Sevilla for a month, I'm fairly settled in and have a good routine. Classes are going well and the weather is starting to be just beautiful (highs of 65/70 & lows in the 50s). This past Thursday, I went out with some friends for Valentine's dinner. We found the cutest little tapas bar; I had smoked salmon and potatoes and we all shared a bottle of wine. In my free time, I've been loving going on walks to the Plaza de Espana, el centro (kind of like downtown Sevilla), and elsewhere around the city.

Carnaval in Cadiz

Carnaval was so much fun! We got on a bus at 8pm & arrived in Cadiz around 9:30pm all dressed up in our costumes; I was a princess! There were so many people there of every age, it was CRAZY! I had an awesome time with my friends here & around 4:30am we got back on the bus to head back to Sevilla!

1 week down, 11 to go!

Made it through my first week of regular classes! & I only dislike 1 out of my 4 professors haha. I have class from 5-9pm on Mondays and Wednesdays and 1-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So far, most of my classes are pretty interesting:) Last night, I had a meeting for my interest group (Paisajes Mediterraneos--we meet up for different activities a few times over the semester & take a trip to Mallorca at the end of April!) & we learned about all the different kinds of jamon (ham) and got to try them as well! People really like their jamon here! (Personally I prefer bacon). Having a great time so far though & getting very excited for the carnavales in Cadiz this Saturday!

Italica and Cadiz!

Last weekend I went with groups on day trips to Italica on Saturday and Cadiz on Sunday. Italica is a sight of roman ruins not too far away from where I am in Sevilla. Cadiz is a city along the ocean as well as the oldest city in Europe. I plan on going back to Cadiz for a weekend at the beach when the weather gets warmer!
Last night, I met some friends at O'Neills pub to watch the Super Bowl! It was a fun night, but a late one so I'm glad my first class isn't until 5pm tonight!

The second week of my intensive language course went well; we had our final exam on Friday. Today I start my regular courses! I'm taking one class at the University of Sevilla and the others I will be taking at the CIEE center.

Never Thought I'd Say This...

La Giralda

Jewish Synagogue

La Catedral

My three-hour long intensive advanced Spanish grammar class rocks! Mainly because my professora takes us to a cafe halfway through class for some cafe con leche (latte) and then we usually explore sites close by the CIEE center (my school) during our break as well--the students that don't have my class's professor are pretty jealous.  Today we saw a Jewish synagogue, then visited the nearby convent and our professor bought us some magdalenas (muffins) from the nuns.  They were to die for! Yesterday, she took us to a museum of modern art.  After class today, I went on a tour of the Cathedral in Sevilla and climbed up the 34 ramps to get to the top of La Giralda to see the most beautiful view of Sevilla! The Cathedral is HUGE; 3rd largest in the world. Needless to say I'm loving it here and the time is already starting to fly by!  

I survived the 1st week!

Cathedral in Macarena

Well now that orientation week is over, I'm kind of excited to start classes and get into more of a routine; these next two weeks I will be taking an intensive Spanish grammar course from 12-3, then after that I will have a regular class schedule.  So far, I've been taking advantage of the siesta (nap) here and I'm learning more and more about my host family every day...yesterday I just found out that we have a pet bird (it hasn't made a peep since I've been here). I also got to meet my host parents grandchildren yesterday.  They are so cute! Today, my hosts took me to Mass, then we went to the town my host mom grew up in (Macarena) and visited some beautiful cathedrals.  I'm making lots of new friends and loving the culture here!

Day One

Well, I survived my first day in Sevilla! After a long day of flights, a taxi dropped me off at my homestay where I met my host parents; they are quite wonderful (but of course nothing can top being parented by Lisa and Pete Harrington;)  This evening I met my small group and we went to an informative meet & greet with the onsite instructors, then enjoyed some tapas and sangria for dinner. We have orientation this week & start our first introductory language course next week.  Having a great time so far!