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.