Last week/weekend was kind of crazy. I don't know if I ever talked about it before but we moved. As in, Gloria moved (long story, kind of impromptu) and I moved with her. She's totally the best señora in the world so it's worth it to live with her but it ended up being more of a hassle than I expected even though it's just down the block. The new place is very nice but the old place really felt like my home and it was a little sad to leave. I even set up my new room exactly like the old one. We finally have hot water but the internet is still in and out and a box of my stuff hasn't turned up yet...I'm trying not to let it get to me.
Luckily I got out of the crazy mountains of boxes for the weekend because we had our program trip to Granada. I probably say this about everywhere but Granada really was one of the prettiest places I've ever been. I didn't realize it would be as cold as it was (although it's in the mountains so I should have figured)but it's known as one of the prettiest places in the world to view the sunset (Bill Clinton even said so!) We saw the chapel where Isabel and Ferdinand are buried and it was really interesting. Unfortunately you can't take pictures--not like my camera worked anyway. After that we did some souvenir shopping and I actually found some of the coolest, least tacky stuff yet. Saturday night we just chilled in the hotel which was perfect for me since the movers/cleaning people had woken me up at 8am pretty much every day this past week and I was dead tired.
Sunday was our day to go to the Alhambra and this is where things got a little frustrating. The Alhambra, the 12th century Muslim fortress/palace, is the most visited site in all of Spain and you need to reserve tickets in advance. When we got there, after standing in line for quite a while, we found out our reservations had been for Saturday which was not what they told us. Our directors spoke with as many employees as they could and ultimately we were allowed to see the gardens and some of the palaces but not allowed to enter the most famous part which SUCKS. The parts we did see were very pretty and our tour guide told us some great history/stories. We might get to go back but who knows where I'll be when they reschedule. Might try and go with my parents too but that could get complicated. I SUPPOSE if I just have to come back to Spain another time to see it, I´ll live but seriously...it's like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower.
I better stop complaining though because this weekend I go to Morocco! (Actually leave for the Spanish port city tomorrow after class and we spend tomorrow night there and leave for Morocco Thursday morning.) I'm really really excited and a little bit nervous (our packing list tells us to bring toilet paper with us...) I don't really know what to expect but hopefully it will be as incredible as I've heard it is.
I get back Sunday night and then--parents come Monday!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
refrescos sin limites!
So I spent this weekend in Sevilla and had a lot of fun!
The highlights:
Wednesday: We went out at ended up at a nice club that was packed with Americans and played half top 40 hits and half strange Spanish techno.
Thursday: We went to see El Orfanato, the movie Spain is submitting for Oscar consideration. It was very well done but I don't know why I always end up getting talked into seeing scary movies! I really don't enjoy them and I end up paying to sit for two hours with my hands over my eyes. I'm also a little confused about its selection; it was a good movie but horror films rarely win Academy Awards and this story isn't particularly original. Whatever.
Friday: We went out to eat at a yummy Spanish restaurant, hung out by the river for a while (so pretty!) and then made our way to a club. We got there at about 2:45am and it was almost completely empty. I was sleepy and ready to leave by about 3:15 and then all of a sudden it filled up, I got a second wind and the rest of the night (morning) ended up being a lot of fun. I still think Spanish people are crazy with their schedules.
Saturday: This is kind of sad, but I had not had a real cheeseburger since before I left for Spain and it was really getting to me. Luckily, a group of kids planned a trip to a hilariously tacky "American" restaurant in the bus station mall. It's called Foster's Hollywood and honestly if I had eaten there in the United States it would have been mediocre or worse and overpriced. But since it's the first American food I've had in over 6 weeks it was incredible. AND THEY HAD FREE REFILLS. Besides all of you, soda fountains are one of the things I miss most about the US. Here you pay 2 euro for a 8oz bottle of diet coke because nobody has it on tap! I think I drank more diet coke than I even wanted to at dinner just because I could. Kinda sad, I know...but seriously, 6 weeks without unlimited diet cokes and a cheeseburger? That's pretty good for me! After that we went to the movies and split off into a few different groups. I saw Flawless, or "Un Plan Brillante" as it's called here, with Demi Moore and Michael Caine. It's about a heist from the London Diamond Corporation in the 1960s. It was cute, nothing incredibly special, but entertaining. Should be out in the states in a few weeks. (Weird that it came out here first, we usually get movies in English way late.)
Sunday: No highlights. I did absolutely nothing.
It was nice to have a completely stress-free week/weekend and not worry about packing or making a flight or bus, but now my batteries are recharged and I'm excited to start traveling again.
That's all for now, I'll find some fun pictures later.
Hasta luego!
The highlights:
Wednesday: We went out at ended up at a nice club that was packed with Americans and played half top 40 hits and half strange Spanish techno.
Thursday: We went to see El Orfanato, the movie Spain is submitting for Oscar consideration. It was very well done but I don't know why I always end up getting talked into seeing scary movies! I really don't enjoy them and I end up paying to sit for two hours with my hands over my eyes. I'm also a little confused about its selection; it was a good movie but horror films rarely win Academy Awards and this story isn't particularly original. Whatever.
Friday: We went out to eat at a yummy Spanish restaurant, hung out by the river for a while (so pretty!) and then made our way to a club. We got there at about 2:45am and it was almost completely empty. I was sleepy and ready to leave by about 3:15 and then all of a sudden it filled up, I got a second wind and the rest of the night (morning) ended up being a lot of fun. I still think Spanish people are crazy with their schedules.
Saturday: This is kind of sad, but I had not had a real cheeseburger since before I left for Spain and it was really getting to me. Luckily, a group of kids planned a trip to a hilariously tacky "American" restaurant in the bus station mall. It's called Foster's Hollywood and honestly if I had eaten there in the United States it would have been mediocre or worse and overpriced. But since it's the first American food I've had in over 6 weeks it was incredible. AND THEY HAD FREE REFILLS. Besides all of you, soda fountains are one of the things I miss most about the US. Here you pay 2 euro for a 8oz bottle of diet coke because nobody has it on tap! I think I drank more diet coke than I even wanted to at dinner just because I could. Kinda sad, I know...but seriously, 6 weeks without unlimited diet cokes and a cheeseburger? That's pretty good for me! After that we went to the movies and split off into a few different groups. I saw Flawless, or "Un Plan Brillante" as it's called here, with Demi Moore and Michael Caine. It's about a heist from the London Diamond Corporation in the 1960s. It was cute, nothing incredibly special, but entertaining. Should be out in the states in a few weeks. (Weird that it came out here first, we usually get movies in English way late.)
Sunday: No highlights. I did absolutely nothing.
It was nice to have a completely stress-free week/weekend and not worry about packing or making a flight or bus, but now my batteries are recharged and I'm excited to start traveling again.
That's all for now, I'll find some fun pictures later.
Hasta luego!
Monday, October 15, 2007
...y despues, Dublin!
So Dublin was a blast, BUT my camera died and for some reason didn’t like the Irish batteries so I have about 7 pictures total and they're not even very interesting. I will steal Jackie and Christine’s but for now, a recap of the weekend:
I arrived Thursday early afternoon, but Jackie, Christine and Christine’s friend Ricky weren’t due in until late Thursday night. I felt pretty proud of myself for finding the hostel on my own and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening roaming around the city. I ate dinner at a cute university pub in Trinity College park and met some Irish students. Made it back to the hostel around 9 or 10 and watched a little TV and met some other travelers. I thought I’d be bored and lonely all day but it actually was kind of relaxing and fun—although I was relieved and excited when my friends walked in!
We spent Friday morning doing the main sightseeing things in Dublin: St. Patrick’s Cathedral (which charged an entry fee so we didn’t go in—how lame for a church to make you pay just to walk inside!), Christ Church Cathedral and we took a tour of Dublin Castle which was helpful because it gave us quite a bit of Irish history as well. We went to the Guinness Storehouse for a self-guided tour. Really cool place, but I absolutely hate beer so after our little sample I used my voucher for a Diet Coke instead of a free pint.
Then we had lunch and did a lot of walking around. Maybe I just didn’t do enough research before the trip but it kind of felt like there wasn’t a whole lot in terms of must-do sightseeing (especially compared to Paris!) Still, it was a great city to walk in—very compact—and I really liked the atmosphere. Also, this is really cool: my Let’s Go tour book said the Irish government recently spent 40 million Euro on a big arts endowment so there were really talented street musicians and performers and painters scattered around the city. We ate dinner in the Temple Bar neighborhood—the trendy, artsy (and kinda touristy) area of Dublin and went to a pub afterwards. I had kind of hoped to hear some live Irish music as advertised…but I think we walked into what seemed to be some kind of American disco hits night. Still fun.
Saturday we hit up Grafton Street—Dublin’s prime shopping area—went back to Trinity for a bit and ended up having a picnic lunch in St. Stephen’s Green. We did a lot of wandering and souvenir shopping (I got the Irish good luck ring I’d wanted for a while) and made it into the National Museum of History for about an hour before it closed. After a delicious Japanese meal it was too early to go back to the hostel but we didn’t want to go out (I had to wake up at 4:30am to leave for the airport!) so we decided to see The Heartbreak Kid. It was…definitely no There’s Something About Mary but it had a few laughs and I miss going to the movies all the time. Dublin was actually a nice break in general—it was great to be able to order food and ask for directions in English. The Irish people in general were also very nice and friendly. When I go back to Ireland someday I’d really like to see more of the country. I’m told there are some great day trips from Dublin in both directions to smaller towns with a lot of character, I’d also love to see where my relatives live!
During my trip I definitely felt like I was still in Europe but Dublin felt more like Chicago than Spain. That being said, walking into my building here in Sevilla after the trip really felt like coming home. Traveling has been great, but I’m excited to stay here this weekend. I’ll definitely have a more productive week when I’m not cramming everything in Monday-Wednesday! Other than my camera and iPod difficulties, life is great. The weather here is still amazing, classes are interesting (but don’t require much work outside the classroom…), the kids I work with on Mondays are crazy but fun, cooking classes start Wednesday and Gloria is probably the best señora ever.
I’ll update sooner next time so it’s not a crazy long post like these two. Congrats if you made it through.
I arrived Thursday early afternoon, but Jackie, Christine and Christine’s friend Ricky weren’t due in until late Thursday night. I felt pretty proud of myself for finding the hostel on my own and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening roaming around the city. I ate dinner at a cute university pub in Trinity College park and met some Irish students. Made it back to the hostel around 9 or 10 and watched a little TV and met some other travelers. I thought I’d be bored and lonely all day but it actually was kind of relaxing and fun—although I was relieved and excited when my friends walked in!
We spent Friday morning doing the main sightseeing things in Dublin: St. Patrick’s Cathedral (which charged an entry fee so we didn’t go in—how lame for a church to make you pay just to walk inside!), Christ Church Cathedral and we took a tour of Dublin Castle which was helpful because it gave us quite a bit of Irish history as well. We went to the Guinness Storehouse for a self-guided tour. Really cool place, but I absolutely hate beer so after our little sample I used my voucher for a Diet Coke instead of a free pint.
Then we had lunch and did a lot of walking around. Maybe I just didn’t do enough research before the trip but it kind of felt like there wasn’t a whole lot in terms of must-do sightseeing (especially compared to Paris!) Still, it was a great city to walk in—very compact—and I really liked the atmosphere. Also, this is really cool: my Let’s Go tour book said the Irish government recently spent 40 million Euro on a big arts endowment so there were really talented street musicians and performers and painters scattered around the city. We ate dinner in the Temple Bar neighborhood—the trendy, artsy (and kinda touristy) area of Dublin and went to a pub afterwards. I had kind of hoped to hear some live Irish music as advertised…but I think we walked into what seemed to be some kind of American disco hits night. Still fun.
Saturday we hit up Grafton Street—Dublin’s prime shopping area—went back to Trinity for a bit and ended up having a picnic lunch in St. Stephen’s Green. We did a lot of wandering and souvenir shopping (I got the Irish good luck ring I’d wanted for a while) and made it into the National Museum of History for about an hour before it closed. After a delicious Japanese meal it was too early to go back to the hostel but we didn’t want to go out (I had to wake up at 4:30am to leave for the airport!) so we decided to see The Heartbreak Kid. It was…definitely no There’s Something About Mary but it had a few laughs and I miss going to the movies all the time. Dublin was actually a nice break in general—it was great to be able to order food and ask for directions in English. The Irish people in general were also very nice and friendly. When I go back to Ireland someday I’d really like to see more of the country. I’m told there are some great day trips from Dublin in both directions to smaller towns with a lot of character, I’d also love to see where my relatives live!
During my trip I definitely felt like I was still in Europe but Dublin felt more like Chicago than Spain. That being said, walking into my building here in Sevilla after the trip really felt like coming home. Traveling has been great, but I’m excited to stay here this weekend. I’ll definitely have a more productive week when I’m not cramming everything in Monday-Wednesday! Other than my camera and iPod difficulties, life is great. The weather here is still amazing, classes are interesting (but don’t require much work outside the classroom…), the kids I work with on Mondays are crazy but fun, cooking classes start Wednesday and Gloria is probably the best señora ever.
I’ll update sooner next time so it’s not a crazy long post like these two. Congrats if you made it through.
Primero, Paris...
Ok, so I realize it's been a little while since I've updated...I've been busy traveling! I've written recaps of my first two weekend trips so I'll post the Paris one first from 2 weekends ago and then Dublin from this last weekend.
It’s hard for me to describe the city and our experiences without it sounding completely cliché, but I’m going to do it anyway. To be honest, I sort of expected Paris Paris
We walked around a bit before meeting up with Alysa and later Danny and Julia, who all came in from Nantes 
After a quick stop at a bakery for some pastries, we went to the Louvre. We didn’t even attempt to do it all—you’d need days. But we saw the highlights—the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the old Egyptian artifacts and Hammurabi’s Code. I'm not going to bother with my pictures of the famous works of art because they're unfocused and poorly lit. But this picture of the pyramid and the fountain OUTSIDE the Louvre is probably my favorite.
Well my first non-program trip was a success! Five of us Sevilla kids went to
It’s hard for me to describe the city and our experiences without it sounding completely cliché, but I’m going to do it anyway. To be honest, I sort of expected Late Thursday night (technically Friday morning) we arrived at our hostel which was…probably pretty typical of a European hostel. Definitely not the cleanest place I’ve been but I’m sure there are worse and we had our own room and a pretty good breakfast every day. We started out Friday morning at the Basilica Sacre Cour, which was right in Montmarte, the neighborhood we were staying in. We went inside and then climbed a whole lot of stairs (the French are BIG on long spiral staircases, FYI) up to the top of the dome. The view was incredible but unfortunately it was pretty foggy so the pictures aren’t as amazing. Still pretty cool, though.
We walked around a bit before meeting up with Alysa and later Danny and Julia, who all came in from 
After a quick stop at a bakery for some pastries, we went to the Louvre. We didn’t even attempt to do it all—you’d need days. But we saw the highlights—the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the old Egyptian artifacts and Hammurabi’s Code. I'm not going to bother with my pictures of the famous works of art because they're unfocused and poorly lit. But this picture of the pyramid and the fountain OUTSIDE the Louvre is probably my favorite.
After that we stopped for dinner at a very fancy and delicious restaurant, somewhat accidentally. We had unknowingly been looking at the lunch menu prices when we selected the restaurant and after we sat down and were handed the dinner menu we realized it was a slightly different range. We decided to splurge, and the food was really good so it was okay. After dinner we strolled around and made our way to the
On Saturday, we did the Catacombs in the morning. (Check this out for back story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris) It was probably the most morbid but one of the most interesting things I’ve ever seen.
The bones literally went on for miles and the walls were lined with plaques featuring all sorts of quotes about death that I only half understood as they were all in French, Latin or Italian. (Julia, Danny and Alysa certainly helped.) It was a strange experience walking up and down the rows and looking at a skull and realizing that these were actual human bones inches away from me. I actually tried to imagine the people they belonged to a few times and what they’d be thinking if they knew people were looking at them hundreds of years later. It was an eerie kind of interconnectedness. Overall, I’m really glad I saw them.
We had delicious crepes and cider for lunch and then spent some time in the Tuileries where I decided French kids are pretty much the cutest kids in the world. They had little sailboats that they pushed around the fountain in the garden. It looked like a painting. After that we walked around some more and then did a
After a delicious dinner at a Moroccan restaurant (that was impossible to order but ultimately worth the hassle) we went to go to the Musee d’Orsay. It was the “Nuit Blanche” in
Overall, an INCREDIBLE weekend. I still feel like there’s a lot a didn’t see though—it’s impossible to do all of
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Estoy enferma en España
So, I'm a little bit sick. Nothing awful--sore throat, stuffy nose, chills--the usual. Seems like it's been going around our program and it could even be changes in weather, etc. I'm doubling up on vitamins, drinking lots of water and trying to get lots of sleep so I should be fiiiiiiine.
Our overnight trip to Chiclana ended up being a lot of fun because we just got to hang out all together. The weather didn't cooperate, so we only made it to the beach briefly, but we had an awesome hotel room and honestly I was happy to just play games and visit. Coulda used some sun though--I still look shockingly white in photos.
Classes are going well so far and I think I've finally figured out what I'm taking! I think my schedule will work out well--keeps me busy but not too busy. Here's my typical week:
Monday:
10-12--Helping with English classes at a High School
1-2:30--El Mundo Actual: A history course about the world after WWII (I'm taking this now instead of the other regular University class I was going to take.)
Tuesday:
11-1--Cine: This class has been great so far--the professor is really cool and I think we'll be watching some great stuff.
1-2:30--Mundo
3:30-6:30--Español para Negocios: Still don't know how useful this class will be to me since I'm not a business major or anything even close, but it's fun.
Wednesday:
1-2--Mundo
3-6--Democracia and Dictadura: Love this one so far! I've already learned a lot about the Spanish political system (you know I'm a nerd and love that stuff!)
6:30-8:30--Cooking classes!
Thursday:
11-1--Cine
Then nothing the rest of the day because most weekends I'm traveling and if I'm not...well, I guess I just get long, relaxing weekends.
In less than 24hrs, I'll be in Paris! I'm willing myself to get better faster so I don't sneeze on the Mona Lisa...
Pictures and stories when I get back!
p.s. The times on these entries are totally wrong. I tried to fix it but it doesn't work. Just so you know.
Our overnight trip to Chiclana ended up being a lot of fun because we just got to hang out all together. The weather didn't cooperate, so we only made it to the beach briefly, but we had an awesome hotel room and honestly I was happy to just play games and visit. Coulda used some sun though--I still look shockingly white in photos.
Classes are going well so far and I think I've finally figured out what I'm taking! I think my schedule will work out well--keeps me busy but not too busy. Here's my typical week:
Monday:
10-12--Helping with English classes at a High School
1-2:30--El Mundo Actual: A history course about the world after WWII (I'm taking this now instead of the other regular University class I was going to take.)
Tuesday:
11-1--Cine: This class has been great so far--the professor is really cool and I think we'll be watching some great stuff.
1-2:30--Mundo
3:30-6:30--Español para Negocios: Still don't know how useful this class will be to me since I'm not a business major or anything even close, but it's fun.
Wednesday:
1-2--Mundo
3-6--Democracia and Dictadura: Love this one so far! I've already learned a lot about the Spanish political system (you know I'm a nerd and love that stuff!)
6:30-8:30--Cooking classes!
Thursday:
11-1--Cine
Then nothing the rest of the day because most weekends I'm traveling and if I'm not...well, I guess I just get long, relaxing weekends.
In less than 24hrs, I'll be in Paris! I'm willing myself to get better faster so I don't sneeze on the Mona Lisa...
Pictures and stories when I get back!
p.s. The times on these entries are totally wrong. I tried to fix it but it doesn't work. Just so you know.
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