Toros

Just got back from a bullfight and have to say it is one of my favorite things I have done in Sevilla. I feel like a boy, but I actually thought it was really cool, and am surprised at how much it didn't bother me.

It's huge to these people, like a Spanish Kentucky Derby except they kill the animal instead of race it. They all dress up really nice and go out and drink before and during the event. Tickets are pretty expensive(ours were 86 euro although API paid for them)and the people are very well to do. Great cultural experience though, got to see five fights and one bull snap its horn out of its socket from running into a wall too hard. Pretty graphic and it was obviously in a lot of pain, but the other bulls were stabbed about seven times before they were actually killed so at least it didn't have to go through that! Probably not the most humane thing, but who doesn't like a man in tight pants!

Una broma, here are some pics. I wanted to add a video but blogger is being lame and is taking thirty minutes to upload it.

Maroc

I don't even know where to begin. Four days in a different country you see a lot of things especially when that country is in Africa and is extremely different culturally, economically, and politically! The food was amazing, the people a little strange and creepy, the shopping cheap, and the countryside beautiful. I had amazing couscous, was followed by strange men asking "how many camels for you?"(among other things), had a great time perusing the millions of shops, and saw some amazing views. All in all we went to three Moroccan cities, Fez, Chef Chaouen, and Tetuan. Fez is the largest Moroccan city but my favorite by far was Chef Chaouen. It is a really beautiful town that looks like it came straight out of the Greek Isles. Everything is painted blue and white and the city is surrounded by some amazing mountains. It is beautiful! I also had a great time getting to know all of our different tour guides. Our main guide, Mohammad, was a very interesting man who liked to tell us all about the Moroccan culture. For example, one of the first things he told us on one of our many bus rides(about 17 hours in total) was how Moroccan men like their women strong and fat. This way their bones don't poke them when they are laying on the ground, they provide good warmth in the winter and good shade in the summer, and they don't have to buy a washing machine because the strong ones are good with a washing board! It's funny how open and straightfoward they are with women considering they don't let them out of the house with being completely covered and having asked permission first. One of our other tour guides was introduced to us by Mohammad as having two wives and always looking for a third and that "maybe after today he will have four." Ya, he had one arm and was missing a few teeth so I don't think any of us were going after that. Such characters those Moroccans! Very nice people though, I really enjoyed their humor although I'm pretty sure they were not joking most of the time. Here are some pics from my cultural experience.

Semana Santa

Semana Santa is over! I just got back from Barcelona with Mom and Molly and had a great week! Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong(They arrived about 10 hours later than they were supposed to, didn't have their luggage until monday...) but with all of that we still had a great time in Sevilla and Barcelona. I had the whole week off because of Semana Santa which is the holy week that they celebrate in Spain the week before easter. It is particularly a big deal in the south and especially Sevilla so the city was very crowded this past weekend and there were many processions that we unknowingly and unwillingly got trapped inside of(a little frustrating). It's pretty freaky too because of the resemblance to the KKK. Google it and you will see what I mean. I'm glad I got to see some of that tradition though.

After Sevilla we spent 3 full days in Barcelona and saw all kinds of things like Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Gaudi's Casas, La Rambla, the Picasso Museum, the beach, and much more of Barcelona's charm. I absolutely loved it! My favorite place I have been so far. It really is a city that has everything. It is a big city, which I love, with tons of things to do, amazing architecture, the beach, and the mountains. If only they spoke Spanish there and not Catalan! We also got warned a lot by random people to be careful because we are three blondes and stand out quite a bit.(Lots of pickpocketing there) For the most part though I felt really safe and had an amazing time. It was really great to see my family too although I think it has had a reverse effect on me because I have all of a sudden been hit with a strong spell of home sickness! It was absolutely beautiful in Sevilla this weekend though and that has helped my spirits quite a bit. I got to wear shorts today! Anyways, I would definitely recommend Barcelona to anyone coming to Europe and definitely plan on going back someday, something I have not really said about any other place I have been so far. It definitely is a must see.

I am really excited for my last 7 weeks here though because the weather is absolutely beautiful now and I have lots of amazing trips planned! Still is really hard being away from home though, I miss all my friends like crazy it's almost best not to talk to them as much because it makes me miss them even more!!! I know seven weeks is going to fly by though and I will be wishing I had more time! Sorry kinda short this time, I'm exhausted and want to go to bed. I will try and post again in the next couple days! Hope you are enjoying!

Here are some pictures of Barcelona and the fam...

Life lately

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted on my oh so amazing blog. I have just been so busy with midterms and traveling and planning for more traveling. I have also been spending a lot more time outside because alas it has stopped raining!!! Knock on wood but we have had lots of 70 plus days where I have just gone down to the river with some friends and hung out and got some sun! Speaking of sun, I just got back from the island of Tenerife which is part of the Canary Islands. We were really only there for two days and I wish we could have stayed there longer so I could have gotten even more sun but I actually wasn't too impressed with the island. Granted all we did was lay by the pool(which I really can't complain about) and really didn't do any exploring at all but I think we were all expecting some tropical paradise. Maybe I am just feeling that way because we were at a resort in which we were the youngest people there by about 50 years and I have now seen enough men in speedos and 60 year old women without swimsuit tops to last me a lifetime! Oh, Europe. I also ate more food than I thought was humanly possible because we upgraded to all inclusive and since we were 10 girls with no one to impress pool side we definitely took advantage of the situation. To have 80 degree weather though and come back with a tan line is pretty exciting even if the beaches weren't the nicest!!! The island was also pretty impoverished which is not what I was expecting. It just makes me realize how lucky I am to live where I live and have what I have!

The weekend before this we went to three cities in the autonomous region of Spain of Extremadura and saw a lot of cultural things like old roman ruins, churches, we stayed in a monastery which is pretty cool, and also went on a 10 mile hike up a mountain. It was pretty rough but a lot of fun with some pretty spectacular views. Unfortunately though I do not have any pictures of it because my camera died half way through. Won't be making that mistake again.

I am now more half way done which I can not believe and am wishing I had more time here. Don't get me wrong, I get extremely home sick sometimes but 4 months is simply not enough time to do all the things I want to do! I guess I will just have to make use of the time I have and start living it up! Have a good rest of your week everyone!

Pasapalabra

Since our dining room table is in the family room it pretty much goes without saying that I know a thing or two about spanish television. For the most part it is a lot different. I absolutely can not watch the news. I thought the news at home were bad, but here there is absolutely no censorship which means the news are more often than not very disturbing and violent. Tons of nudity, violent protestors, war violence, i've seen it all. That being said we have fallen in love with one spanish program called "Pasapalabra" (pass the word) which is a very popular game show or "concurso" here. There are a sequence of alphabet games which earn time for two contestants who then square off in a final test in which they are given a clue to a word that starts with each letter in the alphabet(25 clues in total). If they don't know they word they say "pasapalabra" and it becomes the other contestant's turn. The person with the most correct words wins! Anyways you probably don't really care about this gameshow but it has become one of our little luxuries here and something we look forward to watching at dinner every night. It took us awhile to figure out how exactly the game works but now that we have gotten it we love it and it is even more exciting when we can understand what clues the host is giving(he talks extremely fast). I've added a picture of him, another reason to watch the show. A better looking Ryan Seacrest in my opinion.

Will it ever stop?!

It hasn't stopped raining for a month here and my 2,50 euro umbrella ain't cuttin it. I seriously think it has rained almost every day since I have been here and I heard someone today say that it is going to keep going for another month. It's not normal rain either. It's accompanied by lots of wind so consequently the rain falls sideways and there is really nothing you can do to keep from getting wet. We were supposed to go hiking on saturday with my program but it has been cancelled because should I dare say it, too much rain! Can you say weather prone depression?! Costa Rica is looking real nice right about now, why did I have to choose to go to a place that has had more rain than it has had in over 50 years! So frustrating, all I do is watch my tv shows. So lame! Please someone comfort me and tell me that I made the right decision in coming here, I'm going crazy over here!

P.S. If you would like to send me a feel better card or something you can send it to:

Academic Programs International
c/o Amy McCue
Calle Capitan Vigueras
n'9 plata 1 baja
Sevilla, Spain 41004

That's all for now.

Malaga

Spent a long weekend in Malaga. We had thursday and monday off of school so Jaclyn, Seana, and myself decided we wanted to go to the beach! We successfully took a train from Sevilla to Malaga and stayed in my first ever hostel. It was called the Melting Pot and very rightly so. I met people from England, Germany, Norway, Finland, Italy(story about him later), France, Turkey, Australia, California(I realize this isn't another country), and Columbia! Crazy! It was a pretty nice hostel though. I stayed in an 8 bed female dorm with a shared bathroom. It was a little cold at night but for 13 euro a night that's really all I can complain about. Every night we would hang out with our fellow hostelmates at the bar until 12 and then go out on the town! The city center is a good 30 minute walk but the Malaga nightlife is a lot better than I expected. Lots of Spanish bars all in walking distance of one another. We also went to the Pablo Picasso Museum, the Castillo de Gibralforo which is the old fortress type monument that overlooks all of Malaga, and spent a lot of time walking and taking naps on the beach! The water was freezing and the sun had to be out for it to be warm but we all got some color and had a very relaxing weekend! I can not wait for the Canary Islands in three weeks. The main beach in Malaga is kinda dirty and not very nice but the Canary Islands should be a lot warmer and absolutely beautiful. The weather in general is getting a lot better here. Still rains almost every day but is warming up quite a bit. I'm pretty sure i'm the palest person in Spain, I can't wait to go down to the river in Sevilla and get some sun! Don't worry Mom and Dad, I bought some sunscreen.

Oh, crazy story about the Italian guy. He was wearing a sweatshirt that said Cansas and underneath said Cansas City. It was the weirest thing ever. I asked him about it and he had no idea what it was but said he got it somewhere in Italy. I don't know why it was spelled with a C but seriously, what are the chances?

I'm glad to be back home in Sevilla though, it's my new home!

Hostel beds
View from the hostel
View from the Gibralfaro
Seana, Jaclyn, and me
The beach
Such tourists
Really, Really good mexican food. I'm not going to tell you how many times we ate here.