Paparruchas!! ('Bah humbug,' courtesy of A Christmas Carol dubbed in Spanish)

But first:

soy una taza

una tetera

una cuchara

un cucharon

soy un plato ondo

un plato llano

un cuchillito

y un tenedor

soy un salero - cha cha cha

azucarero - cha cha cha

la batidora - cha cha cha

y la olla express - eeeeeeeeeeeeeee

mira como duermen, los peces en el rio

mira como beben, por ver a dios nacido,

vuelven, y vuelven, y vuelven a beber,

los peces en el rio, por ver a dios nacer!

...random songs that i learned today that i had to write down so i wouldn't forget.

well, as i'm writing this it's 11:15 pm and i'm getting ready to go to bed. today was my last day in sevilla - but first i'll do a quick review of the week just to catch everyone up:

monday - exam. boring.

tuesday - exam.

wednesday - exam. evening we had a final get-together of the entire group, and my friends and i went out for tapas afterwards at our favorite tapas joint. perfect. that night was also really cool because the entire city was enveloped in fog that would give the bay area a run for its money - very surreal and romantic.

thursday - last day of class. that evening we said goodbye to our spanish friends over coffee, and then walked around the centro and saw the christmas art fair.

friday - said goodbye to Melanie and Yue. walked around Triana, got a turron ice cream, bought some presents, lunch with the family, walked around la alameda in the afternoon, then the centro, saw the cathedral one last time, went out to dinner at the arab bathhouse-italian restaurant san marco.

saturday - wallowed. no seriously, i slept until 1:30, didn't do much else, went for churros with some friends, and then spent the night in.

sunday - last hot chocolate with Colleen at our favorite neighborhood hangout, Guadalquivir. last lunch with the family, amazing of course. then the kids and i went to the nervion plaza movie theater to see cuento de navidad, aka a christmas carol, which was so much fun. last dinner with the family just ended - bea gave me a drawing that she had done for me, i gave her a drawing that i had done for her, and i gave rocio my present of loose leaf tea, a tea ball, and a mug.

It's literally heartbreaking. I'm going to miss nearly everything here - my family, who is seriously now family, walking around the centro, the river at night, the torre de oro, turning a corner and seeing the cathedral, the amazing food, pushy spanish senoras on their way to do the morning shopping, buying fresh andaluza bread at polvillo, turrones, having all my clothes perfectly ironed, listening to norah jones with rocio, smelling the bakery across the street on my way to school, coming home and talking to the kids, family reunions, my tiny room, the tiny shower that sprays water everywhere, our apartment, our belen, and generally, speaking spanish. However, I am happy to be leaving in the state that I now find myself - I can legitimately say that I adjusted here. Things that are Spanish are no longer foreign, my life has become normal, and Sevilla is definitely a second home to me. This is a sincere lamentation, and not just a sadness to be leaving behind a beautiful place where I enjoyed myself to return to a home where I'll feel more 'at home.' Yes, Colorado has been my home longer, but four months is also a pretty long time. this semester has been amazing, but these past few weeks at home are the ones that i will absolutely cherish the most.

so much love, and i'll see you all on the other side of the pond dentro de poco!

besos fuertes y deseos para las navidades y festivales fantasticos -

Kiti

xxx

"Tienes que 'atostumbrarte' a este frio!!"

- Bea during breakfast, making fun of a very tired Katie who accidentally said 'atostumbrarte' (aka not a Spanish word) instead of 'acostumbrarte' in a pre-coffee sleepy stupor. This is funny because it's a pun on tostada, aka toast, and 'to become accustomed,' because we were talking about how cold it is here.

...jokes don't translate. never mind.

This past week has been incredible - basically defined by me shirking my duties to cram in as much as possible. After I got back from London, I went to the Cathedral on Tuesday evening to celebrate the Festival de la Inmaculada with Belen and Jose, which was so fun - everyone was gathered in the main square by the Cathedral, around a statue of the virgin Mary, where Los Tunos sang and performed. Essentially, Los Tunos are a combination between mariachi and acapella with a religious twist. The different troupes are formed from faculties in the university, social clubs, or smaller cities - we got our picture taken with a group from Malaga, who were a bunch of goofy teenage guys. Their costumes are also important to mention - they wear the Goya-esque three-pointed hat, breeches, and black capes with patches that look like girl scout badges, and of course sashes in colors that are particular to their troupe. When one group performed a song called "Clavelito," the entire crowd started to sway and sing along, and it was overall an atmosphere of quiet chatting and attentiveness. I know that this is kind of a lame description, but it's kind of hard to explain - it was so fun though! In the huge crowd, I couldn't really see, and Jose essentially forced me on his shoulders - luckily I wasn't the only one! Hahaha. The other wonderful part about that night was the gentle rain, which was just beautiful, and the newly-mounted Navidad decorations all over the Centro. There were lights strung between the streets, figurines of the Tres Reyes Magos, and eight-foot planters of pointsettias everywhere - definitely the most Christmasy it's been thus far.

I then had to force myself to study for my geography exam on Thursday, and when that was over, my friends and I went out for tapas on Thursday evening to celebrate. We went to a bar called Las Golandrinas, where I ordered pisto con bacalao (a white fish in ratatouille), and though I once again said that I didn't need anything to drink, was still brought a tinto from the waiter. Oh lord. Needless to say, it was a super relaxing little excursion, and a wonderful way to end the week.

On Saturday, I had more to look forward to - friends from Barcelona came to visit me, and I got to feel like an expert Sevillian and show them around! It also proved to be an excellent opportunity for me to see some sights one last time (tear...) - we hit up the Alcazar, toured the university, walked through the Murillo Gardens and Santa Cruz, got THE MOST AMAZING PAELLA in Arenal, saw the Hospital de la Caridad (which I had yet to see, and houses the awesome Valdes Leal paintings), and finally went to the Cathedral and walked around the centro. At the Cathedral, we saw a special performance put on by the kid's choir and the altar boys - they performed "the dance of the seises," and were dressed in little blue bull-fighting outfits with big feathered hats. It was one of the cuter things I've ever seen.

Sunday was the great decorating day here at home - we put up our nativity scene, which was quite the intricate process. They mounted some plywood on top of a cabinet, arranged old tree bark in the background to look like mountains, put up a night sky, and covered the board with sawdust, rocks, tinfoil, and a million tiny figurines that we had to unwrap (and reglue some appendages, in some cases). The funniest part to me was the figurine of an assassin with a bloody knife in his hand, holding a dead baby upside down - apparently this represents the decree that all babies were to be killed to prevent Jesus from becoming king. However, it still found a place in our scene amongst the pastors and peasants and chickens and lambs, and in the end it turned out quite impressive! :0)

That evening we got together with the entire Costas-Guerrero family one last time, which I now hold as one of my most wonderful memories from my stay here. They had all of us students go around and share our favorite memory with the family, mine of course being the day that Rocio and I went to the market. We munched on sandwiches, took about a million pictures and videos, danced, tackled eachother, laughed, and chatted - I love having experienced being a part of a big family. They're absolutely crazy! In the end, we all arranged ourselves in front of a self-timed camera to take a final family picture, which was quite the ordeal to organize with a million squirrely kids (and adults!). I love them all so much.

Well, I lament to say that I am DYING of cold here - suddenly the temperature dropped to a chilly 10 celcius, and the combination of our minimal heating in the house/nonexistent heating in the open-patio layout of the university means that I am only warm in a. my bed (occasionally) and b. the shower. I'm probably running up their electricity bill like whoa with my spaceheater, but as I'm typing this, my hands are still thawing. Forget that I'm from Colorado - I'll never boast again about my cold tolerance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hug my heater and put on a third pair of socks.

I get by with a little help from my friends

I just got back last night from LONDON! Though comparisons are difficult, I would say that it was definitely in the top two trips of the semester (tied with Galicia). Though the weather was chilly, the accommodations meager, and the food...well, British, we passed with flying colours.

I got in to Stansted at midnight on Wednesday, and proceeded to navigate the transportation systems all by myself - thankfully I had enough money (and my wits about me) to make it to Marc's flat, on the Queen Mary campus in the East End. After a very late night, we began our sightseeing the next day - Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the London Bridge, etc. My favorite part of the Tower of London was the crown jewel display - soooo manyyyy sparklyyyy objects! The British monarchy isn't ostentatious at all, clearly. We saw Milennium Bridge, which had a very special significance to Marc/the rest of the Harry Potter world - apparently they shot the big auror fight scene in HP5 on this bridge. As this had very little pertinence to my life, I proceeded to roll my eyes and nonchalantly stroll across. From there, we saw St. Paul's Cathedral, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus, where we found superbly cheap tickets to go see Avenue Q that evening! The show was amazing, despite the Brits' fake NY American accents (HA), and we both left the theatre feeling very cultured indeed. :0) That night we ate out at an Italian restaurant in a valiant attempt to avoid British cuisine. It was divine.

That day, I had one Very British Moment - coming out of the Tube (the London Underground), the sounds of a street performer playing "Imagine" wafted amongst multiple banners proclaiming "Happy Christmas!" It really hit me that I was in London!

Friday we woke up a bit earlier to go see the Globe, which was definitely a higlight of the trip for Marc and myself - between his active participation in multiple Shakespeare productions and my perpetual dorkiness, Shakespeare ranks high on our list of life priorities. We had a fabulous tour by a nice Scottish lady named Margaret, took a million pictures, and visited the gift shop, of course. After the Globe, we saw Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, the Eye, Westminster Abbey (and St. Margaret's Cathedral, which we decided was the TGIFriday's of churches due to the numerous 'pieces of flair' adorning the walls), and finally, the Tate Art Museum. We returned to the flat after an exhausting day/evening (because in London, the sun begins setting at about 2 pm, no joke) to prepare dinner. I made a Spanish tortilla and Spanish-style eggplant for us, which came out excellent as per Rocio's training. Yes, I beat those eggs adequately!

Saturday was Shopping Day, but in the morning we hit up Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park. The park had a little winter carnival, which was superbly cute, and it cost us mucho trabajo to pass up the hot chocolate and roasted nut stand. We proceeded onward to Oxford Street, Harrod's, and Bond Street, which are, of course, the main shopping zones of London. Harrod's was incredible - the holiday collection was Wizard of Oz themed, and each designer had designed their own pair of ruby slippers, which were on display in bejeweled cases. It was so ostentatious that it made me want to barf - in addition to a champagne bar, 30 'eateries,' and it's own gift shop (Harrod's label for poor people), it was just overflowing with labels and tags and ribbons and bows and plush carpeting. So after being reminded time and time again of the inadequacy of our socio-economic status, we left in search of more modest stores.

Apparently we picked the right day to shop - December 5 is the 'black friday' of London, and the streets were absolutely packed with shoppers and Christmas cheer. We made a pit stop at an outdoor Christmas market before proceeding onward to my personal London favorites - the Top Shop and River Island. We had to take a break in a cafe, taking refuge in some hot chocolate and apple pie, and when the rain began, we headed home to the flat for some chicken tikka (an Indian classic) and a pub night. At the pub I had a cider black - apple cider with black currant syrup. Sooooooooo delicious! We hung out with the flatmates, one of whom was from Wales and another from Rugby, England, and chatted it up before returning home.

Sunday we went to the Brick Lane market, which was one of the more distinct markets I've been to - in addition to its world cuisine (literally), it boasted indie-boho-antique jewelry, hats, and clothing. I had quite the shopping success, though I won't say for whom!!! :0) Hilarious anecdote - I was talking with one of the artesans at her booth, and she asked me if I was American. I said yes, and she said, "I like your accent! It's a lot less jarring than most Americans!!" HAHAHAHHAHAA

It was so tough to leave - I loved being with friends from NU, and the city was a blast. On the downside, it's rawther expensive (frickin pound!), a little chilly, and all the stylish Londoners make me feel bad about my dress. But here I am, back in Sevilla and on the downhill run. I leave two weeks from today, and I have four exams to begin studying for...let's be honest, that's absolutely the LAST thing that I want to be doing when I have so little time left. I'll make the most of it - tomorrow is the festival of the inmaculada, aka celebrating the divine conception, so I'll probably head to the cathedral for some very Catholic goings-on.

Much love!x

(because apparently the Brits all sign their messages with an x at the end)

thanksgiving at the julio de costas-campuzano household, and other fairly spanish tales

In spite of my essays, frivolous map assignments, and other ´schoolwork,´this week was quite culturally and gastronomically productive. Seeing as we had yet to see flamenco since the beginning of the semester, Melanie and I decided to take a night on the town (GASP I know, right?). Jokes aside, on Wednesday night we went to Triana, the adorable neighborhood next door -it´s very oldsey-Spanish, with ceramic stores, bars, white houses, and flowerpots EVERYWHERE. Also, the principal population happens to be 65-plus, so it´s very safe at night and the atmosphere is very relaxed. We got to the flamenco bar, where we looked around for a while trying to figure out if they had sangria or not, and then took our place in the circle of chairs. It wasn´t terribly crowded, and we chatted until the band started to prepare, when all of a sudden, half the population of Sevilla started filing inthe door. Apparently we picked quite the hoppin joint, as far as neighborhood flamenco bars go! It was soooo much fun - at first the band just played by itself, adding a soundtrack to the chirping bar owner with far too much eyeliner, but after a while the people in the crowd started to dance. The brave ones took their place in the middle of the circle and performed for the entire room! Everyone was super involved, especially the man in front of us who would jump out of his seat at the end of each paso and yell, ´BIEN! BIEN!´ We stayed out until 2 - good thing class isn´t until 11 on Thursdays!

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving - I never realized how illegitimate it is, as far as holidays go. It´s an excuse for Americans to pretend like we have culture and tradicion, because in essence, it celebrates nothing. Yes, it celebrates the generosity of the indigenous Americans, but this has very little pertinence in regards to our society today (especially because we killed them all afterwards. It´s like a viking holiday or something - people share their food and land and then you slaughter them and have a party). Anyways, the only ´custom´that´s related to Thanksgiving is eating - and after being in Spain and experiencing their veritable cornucopia of culture (no pun intended), it´s frankly really lame. Don´t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving - I love coming home for break, getting together with neighbors and family, and especially eating copious amounts of cranberry and pie. However, celebrating this über-American tradition in Spain is not on the top of my radar, which made me quite the exception and not the rule here at the JYS office. I swear, all my compadres could talk about was how much they were missing Thanksgiving - personally, I would say that dryers and Japanese food rank higher on my list. Anyways, the point of this rant is that we did have a semi-Thanksgiving-esque luncheon at home - Rocío made us pumpkin soup, chicken with mushrooms, potatoes, and cinammon pudding. And it was delicious. And I gave my thanks for being in Spain.

Friday I had the ENTIRE day to myself; as such, I decided to go shopping around the centro, which I literally have yet to do. I´ve been quite frugal in my time here, as hard as it may be to believe! So I had an amazing morning - I walked around by myself, walked back through Triana, and then came back for lunch at home. It was quite productive, though I can´t say what I bought! You´ll just have to wait and see. That evening, Yue and Colleen and I hit up a cafe in Triana for some ice cream and chocolate. Quite lovely.

Saturday marked the day that I had been waiting for - PAELLA with Mireia and Belén! However,that morning I also made an unexpected trip to my hermanito´s middle school to watch his soccer game with Rocío, which was hilarious. Soccer moms will always be soccer moms - when Alfonsito got substituted into the game, she yelled, ´Mi niño! Mi niño! Anima Alfonso, anda!!!´ And the whole way back, although Alfonso isn´t really the next Kaká or Renaldo, she sang his praises and said that they WOULD have lost by more if it weren´t for his decisive playing (4-8 final score).

Anyways, we went over to Mireia´s house at 2 for the paella lunch, and ate migas, which is basically Spanish stuffing with garlic and sausage, and her delicious shrimp paella, of course. The only difficulty about shrimp here is that they ususally don´t come peeled, so you have to break off the head, pick off the legs, peel it yourself, and usually dig the feelers out of the rice. Needless to say, this cannot be done without hands. However, I didn´t want to be rude, so I was still fruitlessly trying to use a fork - Mireia said, ´while i appreciate your attempt to be civilized, here in Spain we are descended from the Moors and don´t care about manners!´ It is pertinent to add, however, that I did finally manage to peel a shrimp using JUST a fork. Afterwards we played Sporcle, thanks to my suggestion. It was rawther a hit with the Spaniards. If you don´t know what sporcle is, go to sporcle.com and prepare to get addicted.

The lunch turned into coffee hour, which then turned into a crepe run with José and Belén - I didn´t get back from my lunch until 10 at night! It was so much fun though - we got to meet their Argentine friends, discussed Obama and international relations, and shared stories about life in Spain. I seriously love meeting new people here - everyone´s so interesting, and you learn so much. I liked their accent, too. That night we watched the Sevilla game at home, and I SLEPT.

The next morning we got ready to go to the art market in Triana - however, it had been raining, so it turns out that it wasn´t happening this week. Instead, we just went to a bar. Never forget that it´s totally acceptable to have drinks at 12 in the afternoon in Europe - while I politely refused, because I knew that I had to do homework later, I was brought a wine anyways. The entire family met us at the bar, and we had shrimp and olives and picos, which are like tiny breadstick crackers. We then bar-hopped to a family favorite, a little old Triana tavern located off the beaten path where we ate solomillo and radishes (and more beer for the rest of the fam). Once again, the entire population of Triana was out doing the same thing - in a town of over a million people, it´s amazing how many friends of the family you can run into. It´s such a culture of schmoozing and nibbling and laughing and drinking, and THIS is what makes tapas great.

To conclude, this week has been amazing - last night Rocío taught me how to make a Spanish tortilla, which proved to be quite informative. She put me to beating the eggs, which was quite difficult when the only tools you have are a very shallow bowl and a fork, but in the end I managed to mix them well. When I presented my handiwork, she said, ´this may be acceptable in the United States, but here in Spain, we beat eggs like THIS!´ and proceeded to beat those eggs so violently with her fork that I swore that they were going to fly all over the kitchen!

Well, that´s it for now - I´m about 15 minutes away from leaving for the bus station, which will take me to the airport where I fly into LONDON! Stay tuned for the adventures of my last trip, and much love from the EU to the EEUU!

Light Hearty Bavarian Meals and the most art I´ve ever seen in my life

Essentially, these characterize my last two trips. Not together, of course - the first would be Germany, and the art would be in regards to Madrid, where I went this past weekend. However, I´ve been slacking on the bloggage, so I´ll have to compact them into one big story.

First, Germany - we left Sevilla on Wednesday night (the 11th), and flew to Stansted airport in London for the first leg of our trip. Unfortunately we had to spend the night in the airport, but we were not dismayed - I snuggled up under an overhang on the nice tile floor to catch a few z´s. We left nice and early that morning for Munich (after I accidentally spent more than 2 pounds aka 3 euro aka 4.50 dollars on a tiny cup of coffee in a sleepy stupor), and arrived in the beautiful city around noon. Definitely a change from Spain! We broke out the gloves and peacoats, and started walking around. We had the good fortune to have a Munich insider available to us, because one of the guys on the trip has a random connection in Munich. So we met his friend Sabrina, who goes to school at the University of Munich, and she was really enthusiastic about taking us around. We hit up all the major sites - the Glockenschpiel clock tower, the opera house, the university, the English gardens, the church, and the outdoor market, which I loved - they were selling sausage, cheese, produce, honey, and christmas garlands that smelled like cinnamon and anise. We also saw the Hofbrauhaus, the famous German beer hall, which was absolutely ridiculous - huge Bavarian women carrying giant beer steins and plates of sausages amidst accordion and tuba music coming from a not-at-all-stereotypical band. Sabrina said that the Hofbrauhaus was for tourists, and insisted on taking us to a real restaurant - the Augustiner Bierhaus. The food was INCREDIBLE - though I´m not one for meat and potatoes, the shwine and knudel was delish.

The day was so much fun, and we basically got to see the entire city - we really power-walked the streets, which is protocol in Germany. Everyone walks very quickly, and it was repeatedly referred to as ´the land of punctuality;´so much, in fact, that it wasn´t even a joke anymore. We ate apples bought from vendors on the streets, munched on Milka brand chocolate the ENTIRE time, and enjoyed conversing in English for the first time in a while. I also accidentally stole a piece of cheese from a man at the outdoor market!!! However, he was really nice and understanding. Word of advice for future German travelers out there: samples in Germany = not always samples.

The next day we took the train to Fussen, a tiny town in the Bavarian Alps. The ride was so beautiful - I would gamble to say that Germany has some of the best landscapes in all of Europe, at least of what I´ve seen thus far. We rested up at our mountain lodge-like hostel, complete with huge old-fashioned wrought-iron keys, and the next day left for our tour of the fairytale castles up the hill. Apparently this prince Ludwig grew up in the first castle we visited, called the Hohenshwangau, and then decided to build his own castle, the Neuschwanstein. They were so incredible - very anachronistic and over the top, and located in the most beautiful mountain-scape. We spent about 7 hours hiking around the castles, taking tours, and taking pictures - we watched the sun set over the hills and got to see the castles lit up at night. When we returned to Fussen, which essentially shuts down at about 5 pm (downtown Littleton, anyone???), we managed to find the PERFECT restaurant for dinner, where I ordered a much-deserved hot chocolate and some potato soup in a bread bowl. The waitresses at that restaurant were also hearty Bavarian women, and instead of carrying around steins, carried around tiny barrels of beer that they would pour directly into their patron´s mouths while standing above them. This was quite a spectacle, and only reinforced my strong dislike of beer. Sorry Germany, I´ll just have apple juice. :0)

So now Madrid - I don´t have as many personalized stories, mostly because we just hit up the major sites. We took the 6-hour bus on Thursday the 19th, and immediately went to see the exhibits at the Caixa Forum and the Reina Sofia (which I loved - Guernica is AMAZING!!). Friday we hit up the Basilica de San Fernando de los Angeles, the royal palace, and the Prado, where we spent 4 hours. Saturday was relaxing - just shopping in the morning and the park in the afternoon, which I loved - the leaves were changing, the weather was crisp, and the sky was grey, which made it a perfect day. Sunday we went for churros and chocolate in the morning and walked through El Rastro, the famous Sunday market in Madrid. We completed our stay with a visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza, where we spent another 3 hours! In summary, as is stated above, basically the most art I´ve ever seen in my life. I loved seeing all the culture and learning about the paintings (which was supplemented well by my knowledge from my Spanish art class), but overall, Madrid is not nearly as beautiful nor culturally Spanish as Sevilla. I was so happy to come home to my familia, the friendly Andalusians, and the wonderful weather!!!

At this point, I´ve gone on 7 trips - while I´ve enjoyed traveling immensely, each time it becomes harder to leave Sevilla and my family. So returning from Madrid was wonderful because I will, from here on out, be spending most of my time in Sevilla once again. The weather is getting crisper, the decorations are being put up, and the classes are winding down - I leave exactly 4 weeks from today, and I have a lot to look forward to in the time that remains.

Random Vignettes about the week

Last week I went to the Sevilla European Film Festival with some friends to see a French film by a Swiss producer. It was called Lourdes, and it was about a paralyzed woman who regains her capacity to walk. The festival was held at the old opera house of Sevilla, el teatro Lope de Vega, which I get to pass by every day after class. The outside, which is normally quite beautiful and impressive, was all lit up, making it even more beautiful and impressive, and we got to enter on a red carpet! However, there were very few people there, so it wasn't really a 'grand gala' of high society as I had hoped. Oh well. But the inside of the theater is even more elegant, and I loved the experience of the festival - they had a couple speakers come from all across Europe, and I enjoyed hearing their speeches in different languages and then in Spanish or English translations afterwards. Translating and lenguage confusion is a part of daily life in Europe, but it's something that we never get to experience in the US. I think that it's an absolute pity.

So about the film - it was pretty much the perfect movie to exemplify 'European film' - not too much dialogue, not really any soundtrack, a lot of straight-on shots, and generally fairly dry. Some parts were ironically funny, but not overwhelmingly a crowd-pleasing piece of entertainment. I did, however, enjoy interpreting the end - I feel that I actually "got it," which I suppose is positive. And funniest of all, apparently that was the film that won the festival! Well, at least I guess we got to see the best.

On Wednesday of last week, I had to get up in front of my regular university class to give an oral presentation about the geography of Austria (kill me now, please). I say this not out of a dislike for public speaking, but first and foremost because of the inanity of the project. I don't think I've had to do a country presentation per-se since I was about 10. And I say this secondarily because apparently I do have a fear of public speaking in Spanish - I was so nervous when the presentation began, but it was mainly because the professor only left me 15 minutes when I really needed 25. So I had to speak really fast, and try and cram everything in - but in summary, I think that the presentation actually went really well, from what I can remember. However, I barely know what happened because I went into fight-or-flight adrenaline mode, and didn't calm down for the next 3 hours. It was SO intimidating - speaking in front of a whole bunch of European students and native Spanish speakers. However, someone complimented me after class, so it couldn't have been too terrible! And now I feel hardcore to be able to tell the story. :0)

The funniest thing in the world happened during lunch the other day with the fam - so my hermanito Alfonsito REALLY dislikes basically all food products, but reserves a fiery dislike for garbanzos and lentils. This very day we were having garbanzo stew (which happens to be a personal favorite, the kid is crazy), and he would have none of it. Now, his complaining and verbal abuse of my senora is a pretty frequent occurrence on the gastronomic front, but today his parents got fed up and sent him to the kitchen. As he was leaving, my hermanita Beatriz said, "Don't we have the weirdest family in the world?" It was hilarious.

I am constantly reminded that I am in a predominantly Catholic country, from the millions of churches to the painting of the virgin mary in my room, to my newfound ability to explain the iconography of catholic saints and virgins. However, I am also constantly surprised by the predominance of catholocism in daily life - for example, yesterday we were told by our art professor that we are going to hell. To contextualize, he was explaining a painting done by some Spanish dude, and asked us if we knew what some churchy thing was in regards to storing sacraments and whatnot. Of course, the answer was no - the majority of us have not been brought up in Spanish Catholic churches. This prompted him to say that we were therefore all going to "el infierno" (hell), which was funny at first, but then it made me think. I don't like being told that I'm going to hell, even as a joke, because in this instance it actually IS what he believes. interesting.

Another interesting anecdote about class is breaktime - in our 2-hour lectures, we sometimes get a 10 minute break to relax and recharge. However, until today I didn't realize that this is mostly so that the professor and students can take a smoking break! I can't even imagine.

I'm sure I have many more engaging stories, but those are some of the funny observations that I came across this week. On to part 2 - adventures in Deutschland!

How Sevill-ized!

Posting twice in one week is a rarity indeed. But I had THE MOST AMAZING night last night, and therefore had to write about it.

So my friend in the program got invited out to a dinner party by a Spanish girl in his class, and he then asked me to come along too. So we got picked up by this girl Belen and her boyfriend Jose, and we all drove to a little town on the outskirts of Sevilla to meet up with some of their friends for dinner. We chilled at their house for a bit, and went to a restaurant and had peppers and tuna and shrimp with garlic, and cheesecake for dessert. So essentially there's nothing terribly exciting about this story, but it marked my first intimate social event with Spanish people my age! They were astounded that I was only wearing a tanktop and jeans in 70 degree weather - Belen was wearing a turtleneck and a coat, and as soon as we got back to the car, she yelled, "shut the door, i'm FREEZING!!!" Oh Sevillians. I told them that Coloradans wear flip flops when it's 32, and they now think we're crazy. :0) However, the best part is that we have another dinner date in a couple weeks when we'll be back in Sevilla - Mirella, Belen's friend, is going to make us homemade paella! Apparently she's an amazing cook.

So, in summary, it was pretty much one of the best nights I've had since coming here. I basically want to be best friends with Belen. I'm sad that we can't see them sooner, what with travels and MIDTERMS this week - yuckkkkkkkkkk. So I'm off to the art market in downtown Sevilla right now, and then I'm going to come home and study. But overall - que noche!

besitos!

Galicia adventures

Perhaps one of my favorite things about Spain is that the weekends are almost always longer than the week days...and this past week was one of those. Therefore, we decided to take advantage of that by hopping on a bus, a couple metro lines, a plane, and another bus to Galicia! Yes, we did take the overnight bus to Madrid on Wednesday night, but I slept the entire time. So anyways, we got to Santiago de Compostela on Thursday morning, and headed straight to our house. On this trip we opted to check out "couchsurfing," which is where you are put in contact with people who live in the city you are visiting who are willing to house students for free. With some luck we found a 45-year-old man named Marcos, who had a house just outside the centro that was large enough for the 6 of us. So, as we figured, this could either be a really awesome situation or a really awkward one. Well, we reasoned, at least we're not paying!

So anyways, it turned out to be amazing. Marcos was SO nice, SO cool, and SO generous - he let us cook in his kitchen, crash all over his amazing house (which was very well-decorated, all modern and edgy, which I appreciated very much), play all his jazz cds (again, which I appreciated very very much), and even threw us a party. And we had really deep and awesome dinner conversations - direct quotes include, "I don't believe in borders," "I let my last couchsurfers use my car to travel all over Galicia for a week," etc. etc. I seriously can't emphasize how cool this guy was. And the party was amazing - it was at some Italian dudes' house, and there were like 50 Erasmus (European study abroaders) students there. We met Italians, Germans, and Brazilians, and carried out lengthy conversations in which none of us were conversing in our native language. It was so much fun! Haha the funniest part was talking with the Italians - they really do gesture a lot, and kept hitting us by accident when they got carried away. :0) But I bonded with this one girl over our mutual love of indie rock, so I would say that it was a highly productive night overall.

Friday we took a day trip to Pontevedra, a tiny town located on the river slightly to the south of Santiago. We tried roasted chestnuts (which are all that they are cracked up to be...OHHHHHH), toured the museum, played with random cats we saw in the street, and ate falafel...? Haha it was an awesome day. We returned to Santiago and Marcos that evening, and showered after a tiring day - I bring this up because one of the funniest things about his house was his shower curtain, which featured a white background and a black profile of a woman holding a knife (psycho-style). It was a fast shower.

Saturday we took the train to the third city on our whirlwind tour: La Coruna, which is located on the coast. It was SO BEAUTIFUL - cloudy, green, and tranquil. We spent about 2 hours walking around the cliffs, looking at the ancient Roman lighthouse and the sculpture park. It seriously looked like Ireland, it was so lush - we then headed back to our hostel, run by a super nice elderly man named Gabriel. One of the most defining things about La Coruna, however, was the huge population of futbol fans - that weekend, Galicia was playing Asturias in the stadium in La Coruna, and all the Asturias fans had come to La Coruna to cheer on their team. Although the game would not take place until Sunday night, they were out shouting in the streets, banging on metal signs, and harassing the Galicia fans starting Saturday morning. EVERYONE was dressed in futbol jerseys, so we kind of stuck out. We went out to amazing seafood restaurants in the "restaurant zones," which are literally back streets of the city that are lined with ONLY restaurants. We ate pulpo a feira (octopus! they cooked them in the windows of the restaurants by placing them upside down in buckets with hot water, so there were just buckets of upside-down octopi with their tentacles hanging out everywhere), mussels, shrimp (not de-headed or peeled, which was difficult but worth it), calamari, anchovies...I love seafood. I could not get enough. And we tried Ribeiro wine, for which Galicia is famous - and it was amazing! My hope has been restored!!!

Sunday it rained, but we were not dismayed - we hit up the Casa Museo of Picasso, which was housed in the apartment where he lived for 5 years in his youth. We got a private tour by this really cute guide lady, saw the original linographs that he did in criticism of Franco, and saw the original armoire that he painted a million times. This description sounds lame, but it was unbelievably fun. Then we went to the Museum of Mankind, a life science museum for children...whatever, we had a blast sniffing in the smelly interactive part, tasting sour salts and coffee in the tastey part, and in general, running around like we were 10.

Monday, yet again, we hit the road - this time, back to Santiago (where our plane would depart later that evening). We explored an outdoor farmer's market, cooked lunch in Marcos' house (eggplant and sauteed mushrooms...yessss), and toured the inside of the cathedral. We met a pilgrim who had walked the route to Santiago from Portugal - as coincidence would have it, he's from Chicago! So we bonded over that and he told us about his European adventures. Santiago is such a small town that we would end up running into him 2 more times that day...but I loved Santiago. It was almost like a smaller version of Monterey, with gray and white buildings with tons of windows and little patios.

So we headed back to the airport on Monday night via bus, flew to Madrid, subwayed to the bus station, and took the bus back to Sevilla. We walked home at 7 in the morning as the sun was rising over the river - I then powernapped for an hour and a half, and went to class on Tuesday. Despite awkward travel time, the trip was incredible - my voyages are just getting better and better!

Now it's time for random Sevilla anecdotes: right now is the Sevilla European Film Festival, which is a week-long ordeal. Also, I ate Spanish m&ms for the first time yesterday! They have their own brand (of course) called Lacasitos. Except they are flatter and bigger and come in vintage colors, so I told my family they looked like buttons. They thought this was hilarious. Also, during lunch the kids asked me if I spoke French. I said that I can count and say the days of the week - we then spent the rest of the meal saying the days of the week in French, and they complimented me on my accent (?) We also had a lengthy conversation about difficulties with pronunciation in Spanish and English - that's another thing I'm realizing, that it would take years and years and years to become fluent, but I will never sound like a native speaker. Speaking of which, next week I have to get up in front of my university class full of Spaniards and give a 20-min presentation...so that should be fun! Oh, I had my first midterm today, and I dominated that - yes, I CAN write 4 pages on El Greco!

I am staying in Sevilla this weekend, thankfully, because I actually have quite the surplus of things to get done. However, I'm leaving for Munich and Fussen next Wednesday night. GERMANY!!!!...and the adventure continues....

Let´s see if we can POSSIBLY make any more Disney references...

Hola! So this past weekend we went on our last group excursion, this time to Granada. I´d heard so much about the town, from it´s amazing location in the middle of the (Spanish) Sierra Nevada, to the adorable town, to the breathtaking Alhambra. Suffice to say, I was pretty stoked. On Saturday we wandered around the town, saw the church where Isabel and Ferdinand are buried, wandered the historic part of town, got lost and separated from the group, etc. It´s a strange mix of a town - on the one hand, very Mediterranean and historic, with twisty roads and white houses, and then suddenly it changes to a bustling urban city more modern than Sevilla. The more places I visit, the more I realize what a singularity Sevilla is - I literally have yet to come across a town that resembles it. While the rest of Andalucia looks pretty Mediterranean, I would venture to say that Sevilla is the most classically, romantically Spanish city of Spain. So I´m getting the real deal here!

Saturday night we wandered around town again, in search of a small cafe, because I was craving a hot chocolate really badly. But the fabulous thing about hot chocolate in Europe is that it´s moreso a dessert than a beverage - when we finally found a cafe, the chocolate they brought me was essentially a melted Hershey´s bar in a mug (or maybe Ghiradelli, quality-wise). It was straight out of Chocolat (sans chili pepper), and it made for such a fantastic night.

Sunday we went to the Alhambra, the palace of the Muslim rulers that governed Granada back in the day. We had an entire day dedicated to exploring the place, because it´s absolutely enormous - first we visited the gardens, then the Christian king´s palace, then the lookout towers and battlements, and finally the Arabian palace itself (all in the span of about 4 hours, leaving me with a rather striking sunburn). The title of this blog refers to how we were being tacky and classless Americans the entire time, comparing this architectural and historical marvel to essentially every Disney film ever made (Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Sword in the Stone, Mulan, some Lion King songs thrown in...). This aside, it was INCREDIBLE.

So this week I´m preparing for midterms/Galicia (except not in that order...). My whirlwind travels will take a break after this week, thankfully, because between trip preparations and reading my prior blog posts, I feel like all I talk about is travel. I feel like I should mention more about Sevilla and how much I love it here - I just talk about my trips because they are the exciting parts of my life, whereas Sevilla has simply become my home base. I don´t feel like a tourist anymore (though sometimes still like an outsider, which is entirely different), life with the family is just perfect, and I´ve essentially adjusted to life here.

Therefore, I wanted to list some random tidbits that I love about my new hometown: one of my favorite things to do is walk home from the university by taking the back route by the park, which allows me to look at the entire city from across the river. Also, the other day, I went paddleboating on the Guadalquivir! I didn´t even know they had paddleboats until my friend pointed it out. Something else that´s exciting here is the advent of the holidays - even here, the preparation starts early, only in the form of the availability of Spanish Navidad candy. They are called turrones, and basically they come in a million varieties - they even have turron ice cream flavors in all the gelato stands. And finally, another Sevillian favorite is when it´s cloudy - in my opinion, the city looks the most amazing on gray days. The river turns green, the goldenrod and carmine buildings really pop, and it looks straight out of a picture.

So that´s all for now - can´t wait for Galicia, land of seafood and cloudy days! miss everyone terribly!! xo

A Birthday in Barcelona (I WAS shown some of that Catalunyan dancing)

Such a fantastic weekend. After an exceedingly short week (only tuesday through thursday morning) spent at home, I got the royal send-off by the fam for my voyage to Barcelona. Thus marked birthday celebration #1: lunch with the family (risotto and tiramisu gelato, mmmmmm). Thursday afternoon I packed my backpack, space-bagged my clothes, padlocked my purse, and headed for the tiny Sevilla airport. It was weird going back - we hadn't been since we were picked up by our families on September 3! But without any kinks, we were soon up in the air and headed for Barcelona.

When we landed, our group of 5 realized that we had done an exceedingly bad job of planning the transportation to our hostel. We didn't know which bus to take, which stop to get off, or where the metro was at the other end. However, after wandering around, being directed by some nice Catalan traffic controllers, running into 2 American girls who were planning on sleeping on the beach that night (and instantly feeling better about our own situation), we found the bus. When we arrived at the Plaza de Catalunya, we found the metro and bought our tickets - however, by the time we reached the gate, it was 12:02. Little did we know that the metro closes at 12 (what kind of public transportation is that??). So once again, we had to piece together the little information we had regarding the bus system from the plaza to our hostel, but finally determined the line and got to the hostel.

Now, after that unnerving 2-hour process, and also due to the fact that it was now about 1:30 in the morning, I was ready to crash and relax. Our hostel was a 20-bunker, and I was full well aware of this. However, I was still thrown for a loop when I saw our new habitation area - it wasn't dirty by any means, but it was meager. There was no dorm-style bathroom, only a little room with a sink. The shower was in the same room as the beds, separated only by a circular curtain. Needless to say, I was sketched out. I slept with my glasses on that night because I was afraid that someone would steal them (this makes no sense now, I think I was just ABSURDLY tired). Also, as I learned, German is a really creepy language when whispered by two unknown men in the dark right below you.

However, in the morning everything was better. Everyone I spoke with was super nice, I realized how clean the place was, and it came to be very homey after staying 3 days there. So Friday morning we embarked on the Great Barcelona Adventure - an early start in the foggy and chilly city, which was such a nice change from the 90 degree weather we left at home. First we walked to the Sagrada Familia, which was only 10 min from the hostel. It is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen - we would later return to tour the inside. After a cursory view of the outside, we walked up the hill to Gaudi's Parque Guell. Remember when I said how trippy the Sevilla Contemporary Art park was? Nothing, compared to this. It was huge, and the plaza area that Gaudi designed, with the benches, tile work, columns, and wave tunnel, was absolutely incredible. It was easy to spend the entire morning there, plus we got a great view of Barcelona's skyline.

After we walked back down the hill we grabbed some lunch (I finally got to buy an entire bunch of grapes all for myself - Spanish grapes are AMAZING) and ate in a sunny park area. Then we headed toward Las Ramblas, the kiosk and street-performer-lined area of the city. It was so much fun - they were selling pets (including ferrets, chinchillas, and ducklings), jewelry, and everything imaginable. We made a pit stop at La Boqueria, Barcelona's famous farmer's market - they had everything, from meat and fish that was so fresh it was practically flopping, to vegetables and fruits, to beautiful chocolates, to....animal innards and goat skulls. We immediately went back to the chocolate.

We continued down Las Ramblas to the dock and beach area - las ramblas del mar. It was so beautiful - imagine the Sydney Harbor scene from Nemo, only bigger and more coastal (please excuse that horrible metaphor, but it was what I thought of in that moment). We sat on the dock and dangled our feet over the edge, watching the sun set and smelling the waffle kiosks (so great!) Then we walked over to a neighborhood called Montjuic, where we would meet our Northwestern friends studying abroad and see a fountain show. This is exactly as it sounds - lights, music, and water shooting out at various intervals in sync with the music. It was rather disneyland-esque, if I may say so, and from that point on I would have "Forever Young" stuck in my head for the rest of the night. :0) Afterwards, we all went out to a dinner of paella and sangria on the ramblas. PER-fection.

The next day, we woke up super early again to get in line to see Sagrada familia, took the inside tour, got in the elevator, and exited at the towers. There are cupolas built in to the church everywhere, and each tower has a winding staircase - it's really meant to be interactive architecture. Again saw some of the best views of Barcelona from up there - in the picture above, we were up where that tree sculpture is, where there's a little bridge that connects the two middle towers. ...I postponed my fear of heights for a couple minutes. After we wound our way back down the staircase, we toured the exhibit explaining all the geometry and calculus of Gaudi's works, as well as how the cathedral is meant to look like a forest ceiling. I was continually blown away - I think we spent 2 or 2.5 hours in there, but I easily could have done more.

After we finally pulled ourselves away, we walked down to the ritzy avenue of town. I would say what blew me away the most about Barcelona was its architecture - it's so clean and modern and different from Sevilla! The city as a whole is very European, not really Spanish, so I was just constantly marvelling at the luxurious highrises and grid layout of the city (which has now become a rarity). We walked the avenue, saw some familiar sights (Lacoste and Swarovski), and saw the other Gaudi houses - Casa Mila, or La Pedrera, and the reptilian Casa Batllo. Then we took a detour to the cathedral and the gothic stretch of town, which felt more familiar - windy, shady avenues with cellists playing on corners and flowerboxes in the windows. We stopped at the Picasso museum, which was so cool - it features all of his early works, and a lot of his unknown stuff too. Also, the best was a huge exhibition on his millions of renditions of Velazquez's Las Meninas. I took some illegal photos, but they were worth the reprimands by disapproving Catalunyan guards.

After we left, we walked the ramblas del mar again (this time pausing for a longer nap in the sun), and returned to the cathedral becauseeeee...apparently every Saturday and Sunday, a large crowd of Barcelonians gather to join hands and dance outside the church! There was an orchestra playing, and all the little old men and women formed circles and danced together. It is a very serious dance, passed down for generations, secretly kept alive under Franco...so it was really amazing to witness. We eventually became a part of the fun when some nice old men taught us the steps and brought us into the circle too! They told us that everyone puts their coats and purses in the middle of the circle to symbolize community and sharing. I have never in my life experienced anything so moving, and it was definitely my favorite moment of the trip.

That night we celebrated my birthday with some sangria, and the next morning we went out for croissants and coffee before leaving the amazing city. I seriously have never had such a whirlwind vacation in my life - we walked an average of 16 miles a day, saw practically the entire city, spoke and danced with Catalunyans, and lived out of backpacks for three days. It was so painful to leave, but I know that I will go back again for a more thorough and leisurely trip next time.

However, I did get to spend the other half of my birthday in Sevilla - Monday night my friends and I went out for tapas, and today we finally concluded the celebration with ANOTHER family lunch with seafood paella and cake. This has sufficiently been the BEST BIRTHDAY WEEK EVER, and I feel so spoiled and loved.

Sorry it's been so long since last time! Much love from your world traveler, I'll try and be more diligent <3

...soon to come: Granada and Galicia!

So this one time, in Africa...

Indeed, I just got back yesterday from Morocco. I learned many things: that camels are very tall, Moroccan vendors are very pushy, and that I can survive with only a backpack for the entire weekend. And while it was not your typical leisure venue for vacationing, it was still an amazing trip; as I'm learning, part of seeing the world is having these amazing experiences that don't always translate as "good" or "fun." By no means do I want to discount the good people of Morocco, but I will say that their bathroom standards leave much to be desired.

So starting from the beginning: a madrugada awakening (which means "dawn" in Spanish, but I prefer to use madrugada because, to me, it holds the connotation of wanting to knife yourself because it's so early) on Saturday at 5 am, which is especially difficult because the sun doesn't rise until 8:30 in Spain. So I had breakfast by myself in the dark, triple checked that I had my passport, money, purell, backpack padlock, pickpocket-safe travel wallet, and garnier fructis mousse (i had room, don't judge), and hailed a cab (first time!) to get to our meeting point. It was quite bizarre waking up that early on a Saturday morning and driving through Sevilla - for Europe, 5 am is the hoppin'est time for bars and nightclubs, so there was plenty of activity going on that was continuing from the night before. Surreal. At the hotel where we met up, I found my group and familiarized myself with my surroundings. The entire group, consisting mostly of tired American students, 7 of which were from my program, a couple of nice Canadians, and some rowdy middle-aged Spanish women, boarded a bus for Cadiz, where our boat would depart in three hours. The boat was really awesome - basically like an airplane in terms of seating, only it was huge and had card tables and bars and slot machines. I could have stayed on that boat for a while instead of all the bus rides, but the Strait of Gibraltar is only about an hour's sailing distance.

Anyways, so we deboarded in Ceuta, an independent Spanish city in the north of Africa. It was AMAZING - all foggy and vegetational and whatnot, and I kept thinking, once again, of northern California. I really need to go to California after this trip. We got lunch at a tapas bar, some stellar ice cream afterwards, and then left for Tetouan, a city in Morocco where we would spend the night. Little did we know that our hotel was AWESOME, located right on the beach (they have beaches in Morocco?), and had a super chulisimo (legit) pool. So naturally my trip roomie and I threw on the suits and went down to the beach. Oh, side note - it is by far cooler in Africa than it is in Sevilla. What is wrong with the world?!

Upon arriving at the beach, we realize: NO WOMEN ARE WEARING BATHING SUITS. Como se dice Morocco foul???....we were stared at the entire time. so we huddled under our towels, cursing our program under our breath that they didn't send us a "norms of conduct in Islamic countries" leaflet. What do we know, we're just carefree Europeans!

The next morning we left for Shif-Chauen (sp?), a mountain village about 2 hours away. That was a really stellar drive - the views were incredible, and the town was really amazing too. All the buildings were white and blue, which apparently keeps the streets cooler and repels mosquitos. We toured a weaver's workshop, walked the tiny streets with our 4'5 guide who snorted some strange substance off of his hand every now and again, saw a million cats that look just like Cleo, and were stared at. We also used a bathroom that consisted of a small porcelain hole in the ground - these are the experiences that build character. While the rest of the bathrooms used on the trip actually had toilets, we all became accustomed to bringing Purell and kleenex to every bathroom, just to be prepared. They came in handy.

Next stop: Tangier, a larger and more urban city. We toured the cliffside, saw the point where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet, saw the royal palace plot, and rode camels! They have such strange legs - when they sit down, they literally look like a human kneeling. It's super creepy. Then we got some time to shop in the streets - I was expecting more along the lines of handwoven handicrafts, but what we found was a knockoff market to rival New York. Because I didn't come to Morocco to buy fake Chanel scarves (which lots of Islamic women in the streets wore as head coverings, which I thought was pretty funny/an exemplary instance of Westernization/hybridization), I went off in search of other goods for which to barter. I did find a stellar leather purse for my hermanita's birthday - success!

The next morning we returned to Tetouan to tour the city, stopping at a famous pastry shop, a spice market, and finalizing our Moroccan adventure by eating lunch in a palace. We had couscous and potatoes and some sort of meat that was definitely not beef - it was good, but for all I know I could have eaten camel!

The rest of the journey went swimmingly, but my favorite part was the 2 and a half hour bus ride back to Sevilla - my trip roomie and I chatted the entire time with a 16 year old girl from Sevilla who went on the trip with her family. I don't even know what we talked about, but it was so much fun, and one of the longest interactions I've had with a Spaniard that's not in my family!

So, to sum it up: 1. My Spanish strangely improved this trip. I do not know how, but it did, and considerably at that. 2. I feel more Spanish after this trip - experiencing the same feeling of being an outsider in an Islamic country with all the rest of the Spaniards on the trip gave me a feeling of solidarity: that overall, western culture is essentially similar. 3. I experienced such extreme culture shock this trip, and I can't explain why - there were no horrible occurrences, nor did this come from anything concrete. It made me miss home, school, and Spain all at once, and it taught me never to take anything for granted. 4. I will never again say in a poly sci class that America does not have a dominant presence worldwide - I saw such westernization there, and it was refreshing and sad at the same time. It was a lot more touristy, less authentic, and more awkward than I could have imagined. 5. I now know that this will be the low standard (in terms of luxury) for all of my trips this quarter, so it's only uphill from kleenex and purell!

catch-up part 2: viajes and experiencing Spanish healthcare firsthand

Continuing on - we had our first long Spanish weekend (because classes are done on Thursday, score), and on Friday we took a day trip by bus to Ronda, a Mediterranean city about 2 hours away. Of course we obligitorily saw all the historical sites, Roman bridges and ruins, art museums and Moorish underground bathhouses (in which we took jumping pictures, duh). However, the coolest part about Ronda was the ambience, tranquility, and AMAZING views - it's basically built on a cliff, and you look out to this huge valley below with mountains in the distance. As we looked out over the olive groves and pastures, we heard a man playing soft Spanish guitar in the park behind us. It was quite magical.

After wandering the twisty streets of white houses with flower boxes and tiled patios (and almost going into someone's house because we thought it was a restaurant, it smelled so good), we came across the perfect tapas bar. So we got a very Iberian lunch, with a stewed eggplant goulash, chorizo, queso, ensalada mixta, and sangria of course. It was such a pity to leave at the end of the day - I may have to go back. It was like the Breckenridge of Andalucia.

Then, Saturday morning our program took us on an excursion to a vineyard in Jerez, which was absolutely so much fun. I love wine, learning about wine, tasting wine - until I tasted Spanish wine. Guh. It's like 17% alcohol (a mild white, in their terms), and tastes like death. Oh well! Still a great afternoon. Then we took a bus tour of a beach town called Cadiz, and made our final stop for the weekend in Chiclana. When we got off the bus, we were BLOWN AWAY - the program had booked us a 4-star hotel for Saturday night! So basically we lived it up in the amazing rooms, tanned by the amazing pool, and hung out at night at the amazing beach. Then we stuffed our faces at the buffet and did it all again on Sunday! I even snuck in some beach yoga - Emily Rae, that one's for you. :0)

However, here is where our story takes an unfortunate turn: beach=bichos=bugs. I guess that some vindictive Spanish insect attached me when we were at the beach that night, and I got some pretty bad bug bites. One of them happens to be on my face. My extremely sensitive skin means that this has resulted in the incredible swelling of the entire left side of my face, and as such I went to the doctor today. I was actually very curious and a little excited to see what the healthcare system would bring, but I didn't want to sound like a dork so I didn't say anything to my senora, who brought me there. When we arrived I had to present my European health insurance card (with my name written as "hohnstone," nice) and passport, sign a very unofficial-looking copy, and wait in the waiting room. The building was very cold and industrial - I'm not sure if it was a hospital, or a public clinic, or a private one, but as long as the doctor saw me I didn't really care. Saw the doctor, described my ailment, got my face probed (face-touching, ahhhhh), and then got three prescriptions. The entire process took maybe 30 minutes, and I got a cortizone shot too. And it was really sweet, after the entire ordeal Rocio offered to buy me an ice cream for being brave. Legit! So hopefully my face returns to normal size, because I'm tired of wearing my bangs over my face like a misunderstood youth.

Moral of the story: there can exist simultaneously a public and private option with high-quality healthcare. Go Spain!

catch-up part 1: Sevilla U

Good lord I've been busy! So last week was the beginning of our classes at the university. It was a pretty smooth adjustment because our actual university classes didn't begin until Wednesday (as we found out Monday morning, in a rather disorganized fashion, but so goes the Spanish educational system). Second scheduling hiccup - trying to figure out why "miercoles" (aka Wednesday) is abbreviated with an X.

I have class at 9 on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 11 Tuesday/Thursday. My first is a history/culture class about Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, put on by a VERY Spanish professor. By this I mean that he wears really tight plaid pants and bright pink and purple button-up shirts, has sideburns shaved in a zig-zag formation, and is named Jesus. However, he is super nice, and the subject is so fascinating.

Next is Spanish film, which is shaping up to be the favorite - the professor is very deep and brooding, and we get to watch movies in class every Monday and discuss them every Wednesday. This week we watched Carmen!

On Tuesdays/Thursdays I have Spanish painting, which covers the period from el Greco to Picasso. I have always loved Spanish art, and am really excited to learn more - especially since I can travel and see all the works that we're talking about!

So classes up to this point are all "cursos concertados," which is U of S slang for "Americans only." So I have a good majority of people from my program in class with me, but it's not a genuine Spanish university atmosphere. As such, I am taking a legit university class called General Geography of Europe. The first day was so intimidating - I sat down by myself, and waited and waited for the professor to come and start class so I would feel less awkward, while Spanish students conversed all around me. It appeared that I was the only foreigner in the class (false, but I am the only American, as I found out). But then the professor arrived (10 minutes late, of course), and began to go over the syllabus and take roll. So it turns out that about 30% of the class is comprised of foreigners - only from other European countries, studying on the Erasmus program. For example, the people behind me in class today were talking in German. So I'm going to try and bond with my fellow foreigners, because it would be awesome to have other European friends! Maybe I'll find some Brits.

Monday was also considered a success because I managed to attend my first day of Spanish classes So after class on Tuesday, we realized: no homework=absolutely nothing to do. We're in this awkward interim between figuring out our schedules and beginning our extracurriculars, so essentially we are just left to do whatever. For me, this has been trip planning to the extreme: this semester I am going to Morocco, Barcelona, Galicia, Germany, Madrid, and London (at least). My friends and I did take a planning break to make an excursion to the Contemporary Art Museum, which is inside an old monastery (?). It was really trippy - the day was really gray and cloudy and we had to pass through this huge park with weird sculptures that were somehow emanating ambient music. But we arrived at the monastery/museum, and walked through the exhibit on optics (also trippy and mesmerizing). Such a cool museum! Of course, I WOULD forget my camera that day.

Even Spaniards have lame weeks (comparatively)

You heard me. This week was our last week of orientation, which was rawther uneventful except that it involved some final exams. Wait, you actually have to STUDY when you study abroad? Oh yeah. As such, I had my first outdoor study sesh on Tuesday morning, which was also the first day of fall. Autumn is one of my favorite things in the world, and I am a little sad that the weather here is so warm that the leaves aren't going to change for a while! But as long as tea and cardigans are involved, I'll pull through somehow.

Anyways, I live right in the middle of two huge parks - Parque de los Principes on the left, and Parque de Maria Luisa on the right. So this day I went to the former and sat down at the cafe in the back, spread out my grammar homework and got to work. When I finished, I went for a walk and came home for lunch. How civilized!

Exams went swimmingly of course, and Friday morning we went to orientation at the university for American students. A few words of welcome, some jokes about soccer, and one long lecture about the library system later, we were left on our own to explore. Now, a few words about the U of Seville - it's a 500-year-old university that inhabits an ancient tobacco factory. It is host to two main schools: filology and geography/history. Filology classrooms are numbered regularly, while geo are numbered in roman numerals. There are no designated sections, persay, for each school, so it's kind of a mishmash of classrooms that hardly hold with ascending/descending locational protocols. So, as we came to find, class 207 is not on the same floor as XXIV, which is in a cluster with XXIII and XXV but also across from XI and 112. To complicate matters further, it would seem as though adequate Spanish cartography systems died with the Armada, so we could not find a map to help our cause. On the bright side, it's a really cool building and there's lots of baroque art and sculpture everywhere, so if I were to get hopelessly lost as least it will be within the confines of an aesthetically-pleasing Spanish labyrinth.

Friday afternoon I rested up, stretched and carbo-loaded because...a bunch of us registered for the 10.5K night run in Sevilla! It was called the Carrera Nocturna, and began at the Plaza de Mexico, went down the river, over a bridge, through our neighborhood and back up the river to the Olympic Stadium. 6 other people from the program joined me, and we were all joking that they should release bulls at the start of the race. It was a massive crowd - There were FIFTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE there! The run was amazing (we waved at our family as we passed by!), the city was beautiful lit up at night, and it was absolutely one of the best things I've done here thus far. Plus, at the end we got a sweet goody bag with a dayglo-yellow mesh muscle-shirt. yeeeesssssss!

Saturday we went to Cordoba, which was an amazing visit. They have a mosque-turned-church that is an architectural masterpiece, as well as a Jewish quarter and lots of orange trees! After our tour we got some free time to walk around, and I got a greek yogurt and honey ice cream cone. BEST ICE CREAM EVER. And today Melanie and I went to an outdoor art market by the museum, where local artists congregate to sell their paintings. It was incredible! We're definitely going back. So overall an amazing weekend, and tomorrow we begin our classes at the university!

Happy Yom Kippur, and wish me luck!

Me estoy acostumbrando?!

Busy week! Today marks two full weeks that I've been here. And what a difference, too - I feel like I'm starting to master the Spanish ropes. When we were at the art museum, a woman attending the table with informational pamphlets even pointed me toward the ones written in Spanish and not English! It was a small victory (of course, meaning that I immediately went home and told everyone in my house).

So the discoteca was insanely large amounts of fun, though very smokey and tiring. After dancing all night and staying out late we spent a relaxing day in on Sunday, reading and listening to music and napping and doing laundry and whatnot. Sunday evening was the birthday of one of the guys here on the program, who is staying with the mother of my homestay mom (so basically my Spanish grandmother). The whole family went over to their apartment, in all totaling 15 people - the grandparents, their 2 students, my "aunts" and their husbands, their 2 students, their twin sons, and my mom and roommate and I. Suffice to say, my Spanish family is significantly bigger than the fam back home! We had coffee and birthday cake and chatted (quite loudly and excitedly) for a couple hours. I loved the grandparents! The family is an absolute riot. They live in the same apartment building as one of their daughters (the one with twins and 2 homestay sons as well), and they yell across the courtyard at eachother from their open kitchen windows.

Monday we went shopping in the morning, something we had yet to do! New goal: buy some shoes from Pilar Burgos. In the afternoon we went to the Cathedral, which is like the second-largest gothic cathedral in the world or something like that. Whatever its standing, it's absolutely amazing. We climbed the bell tower (37 ramps!) and looked at the view of all of Sevilla. Lots of great carvings and paintings and gold-plated cherubs and petrified alligators (true story!), and one visit was definitely not sufficient to take in its glory.

Tuesday we went to the art museum, which was really amazing. Not exactly my cup of tea in terms of painting - lots of 17th century paintings, mostly religious content, but really fascinating to learn about, and very pertinent to the history and culture of Sevilla. My favorite was a 20-foot tall painting called "death of a torero."

Wednesday was an absolute blast - I went to the market with my mom in the morning, and we made a pit stop at a great coffee bar before running our errands. This market was incredible - huge stands of fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, and nearly-alive seafood. Anecdote: the clams were actually alive, and I jumped when I saw them spitting, which caused my mom to exclaim, "what's wrong?!" and then I had to stammer that the clams surprised me. We bought fresh prawns and I learned how to peel them, watched a butcher clean a 50-lb salmon, and learned how to prepare anchovies in garlic and vinegar. It was a super fun day in the market (and the kitchen), complete with some Norah Jones and good conversation. Definitely one of my favorite days thus far (and we had all the delish seafood for lunch that day!).

Today we went to a flea market uptown, which was interesting - not really something for the tourists to see, but I'm glad we did it anyways. I booked tickets for a trip to Galicia in the end of October, too! And before class, I went to a beautiful open plaza with a fountain near the university with a book and just sat and read and people-watched for a while. I can't wait to find my favorite places and things to do - right now it just seems like there's so much that I can't possibly discover it all! But as I said, it's only been two weeks.

<3

Spanish goings-on

The tail-end of this week has gone just famously. Thursday was a super chill day, and I just spent the morning hanging around the house and doing some homework (yes, I still do my homework, even in Europe). It was kind of a recoup day overall - that night we hung out with Esperanza and Rocio, watching Spanish mtv. Turns out that Jason Mraz did "Lucky" with a Latina singer named Ximena somethin-somethin, and it's absolutely fantastic. She's like a Hispanic Regina Spektor! So that's on my agenda - download some Ximena.

Friday was super fun and pretty busy though - in the morning we went with a small group to the Plaza de Toros, where they have the famous bullfights in Sevilla. It was really interesting to see the stadium and hear the history (and see the costumes!), but after hearing it in so much detail in both Spanish and English, I'm going to have to pass on actually ATTENDING aforementioned bullfight. They last 2 hours, and feature the brutal slaughtering of 6 bulls. Too much. Personally, I would rather go to a soccer game of the Sevilla Futbol Club (the home team, for which our family holds avid support and therefore we must as well) with mi hermanito.

In the evening we went to a (get this:) medieval Spanish music concert in the royal gardens of the Alcazar palace. Soooooo legit. It was cool and beautiful, under the stars and within the palace walls, and the entire place smelled of incense. It was really lyrical music, almost bardic, and there were lots of songs about Sevillian folklore (with flutey accompaniment). Just lovely.

Today (Saturday) we woke up early to go to the Roman ruins that are pretty close to the city. On the way we saw an outdoor fruit market, to which we will definitely be returning. The ruins were amazing to see - intact hopscotch games, mosaics, and a gigantic amphitheater. I was prepared for a nine hour hike of a massive pyramid or something, but it turns out that it was only a two hour excursion. Haha oh well. Then, after taking my siesta this afternoon and relaxing around the house, we went downtown to do some poking around. We eventually sat down in this big plaza area and sipped on some cafe glace con leche (iced coffee), and watched three different wedding processions! It was amazing. A fabulous week overall. And what better way than to end it than dancing at a discoteca!

Besos

Ser Turista

Yes, being super touristy is what we Americans do best. Before leaving the house the other day, I decided to put on my black euro-fabulous puma tennis shoes to give my poor blisters (ampollitos) a rest, and I asked my madre if my shoes were super American. Her response: "uhhhh....a little." I tried.

Yesterday we went with the fam to the archaeology museum in the morning, and then the adjoining park a little later. It was amazing! Sevilla/Andalucia is such a mix of cultures. The archaeological pieces come from the Romans, and there were statues, jewelry, and huuuuuge carvings. It was fantastically fun, plus we got to sound like experts in class when we were discussing Roman influence! However, I would have to say that the park was the most fun. It was more like a jungle than a grassy open space - with paths and fountains and little stairways to climb. Absolutely beautiful. My ten year old sister Bea kept stealing my camera, and she is surprisingly a fabulous photographer! So thanks to her, we have a lot of pictures from the day. I was having fun saying hi to all the ducklings in the pond, and my little brother was making fun of me. So I told him that from then on I would call him "patito" (duckling), and he calls me "gatita" (or kitten, like my name there -Kiti!). It's absolutely hilarious.

Today my group had a tour of the Alcazar Real, or the royal palace inside the private gardens in Sevilla. Again, more amazing pictures to come. It's really Moorish, with lots of tiles and fountains and gardens. Then we pre-registered for classes, and a couple of my friends and I went out for tapas after classes at 8! We sat outside at a corner table and had some sangria, which I had never tried, and some great tapas (including goat cheese, bull tail, and mussels!). It was tre's euro-fab. I still can't believe that I can just go to a tapas bar or get gelato after class. It's very surreal, and very relaxing. I was a little stressed earlier today because it seemed that I had a lot to take care of, but after blowing off steam I was so tranquil that I couldn't even remember what was bothering me in the first place. Everything seems balanced here, like nothing is out of control even at its worst. No coping mechanism like Europe!

La familia!

So today we went for a walk in Triana, which was awesome but also really hot. Then we had lunch with the fam - mealtimes are definitely my favorite. I look forward to whatever awesome food Rocio has made for us - always something cool and different. However, even more I look forward to spending time with the family and observing their dynamic. The youngest, Bea, is absolutely hilarious (as are all 10 year olds), and she always says, "what's up, boss!" to her dad when he comes in. It's also funny observing kids arguing and making fun of eachother in Spanish. Also, today we were talking about Thanksgiving and explaining it to them - apparently in school they learn about how the Spanish explorers went to South America and conquered the Inca and Maya, etc. Que interesante.

Also, we were having lots of fun quoting movies - Rocio and Alfonsito clinked glasses and (in Spanish) did the line from Pirates - "take what you can, give nothing back!" It was super funny recognizing it. And then we were talking about Chocolat, and I could do it do - "I'm undone, but it's not my favorite!" .... "Estoy deshecho, sin embargo, no es mi favorito"

I just love living with a family. Not only is the experience comforting and homey, but also I'm learning so much more speaking with natives the entire time! It's such an advantage, plus I learn random words, slang, and I remember everything so much easier. Spanish word of the day - "retozar," or, "to frolick! to romp!" looooveeeeeeeeee it.

Well, that's about it for now! Off to dinner soon, then to a coffee/ice cream shop later. batidos = milkshakes. So if you're ever stuck in the desert and about to die, and your only wish is a milkshake but a Spaniard happens across you first, now you will know. batido.

hasta luego!

La Playa, actividades, y cosas asi

Buenos dias! These past couple of days have been incredible. We didn't have anything formal planned for this weekend, and thank goodness because I slept superbly late on Saturday. However, my timing was perfect because I woke up just in time for lunch - 2:30 on the dot! We eat dinner at 10 pm or so, and the kids go to bed at 11. Crazy. So we didn't do much on Saturday, just recovered a little bit and went for a walk around the neighborhood. We live in Los Remedios, a neighborhood right across the river from the university, so we only have a 20-25 minute walk or so. Also, it gets faster as we get better at finding our way. :0)

Sunday was amazing. A couple of guys from our group organized a trip to the beach, one about an hour away called Matalascanas. We woke up at 8:30 (much earlier!) and had breakfast of very strong, citrusy Spanish coffee and delicious fruit and yogurt. Oh, tangent - food here is so good!!! We got lucky that Rocio is such a good cook, and the family eats pretty healthy with lots of vegetables and fish, and fruit or yogurt for dessert and breakfast. And, the other day for lunch we had swordfish! Que exotico. Blueberries are arandonos. We haven't had any yet but I learned how to say it. And apparently limes are not that common in Spain, just lemons. Interesante.

Anyways, the beach. So after walking to the bus stop, we got our tickets and took the bus to Matalascanas. It's kind of a super-touristy beach, but still very fun nonetheless, with a little shopping avenue outside and refreshment stands everywhere. Rocio packed us a simple lunch of ham and cheese on baguettes with juice boxes and fruit - super cute. We just tanned for a while, but then we swam out pretty far in the ocean (which was lovely, about the temperature of a cold pool but exceptionally salty) to this huuuuuge rock thing, which we climbed (with some difficulty and a few battle wounds). But then we got to jump from the top, which was about thirty feet high! Sick. While telling my family about my adventures at dinner, I had to pause for some time and try and frame that in meters. Difficult. Also, temperatures are in celsius - it was a shocking 43 degrees yesterday (which is well over 100).

So walking back from the beach, we had a small Spanish accident - I got some glass stuck in my foot, on which I had to perform minor emergency surgery with purell, tweezers and a swiss army knife. Exito! (aka success, that's one of my roommate and I's favorite words)

Today we have orientation from 5-8 pm, so I am up pretty early given the circumstances. I'm not sure what the average hora de despertarse is, but Alfonso hasn't gone to work yet and it's 9:30. Anyways, Melanie and I are taking the early afternoon to investigate one of the surrounding neighborhoods called Triana. I keep thinking of random things that I wish I brought, but I think we're going to arrange a care package soon! After skyping with my family last night, the son Alfonsito asked me what we were talking about, and I said that we were planning on arranging a care package from the states with presents. Que intriga!!!! he said. :0) (what intrigue!) hahahahaha

Aqui estoy!

Hola!

Oh my goodness I'm here! After much much time in the coldest and largest airport I've ever been in, aka JFK, we flew to Madrid and had a smallish layover before catching our flight to Sevilla. That was a pretty sweet airport - It looked kind of Gaudi-esque, with swirly bamboo-paneled ceilings and these supporting columns that were rainbow-colored and glass floors and all that. And really high-end stores like Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo as well as Spanish designers. I had a cafe con leche (they don't have skim or splenda!) and visited with my new friends from the program. There are three Katies, but here we are, respectively, Kiti, Cristina, y Katarina. Haha, I tried to tell people that I was going to go by Kiki, but my family insisted on calling me by my English name except they pronounce it "Kiti." (like kee-tee) So they call me "hello kiti!" How appropriate. :0)

So, about my family. We have a mom and dad, Rocio y Alfonso, and their three kids: Esperanza (13), Alfonsito (11), and Bea (10). They are so so sweet, super helful, and very doting. And the kids love hanging out in our room (I have a roommate, a super sweet girl from Brown named Melanie). We live in an apartment on a street close to the river, and I love walking around the town! It's very intimate and not too busy. So anyways, yesterday after we unpacked and got settled in our very narrow but cozy room, we had lunch with the family at 2:30. They made us spaghetti to make us feel at home, which is funny because I can't remember the last time I had spaghetti! We also had a salad with soft-boiled eggs and tuna, and fruit for a snack. I am so thankful they eat tons of fruit and vegetables and yogurt! It's just like home. I had my first siesta yesterday: four hours! I hadn't slept much at all in the past 36 hours, so this was a much-welcome respite. And last night for dinner (at 10 pm!) we had gazpacho and Spanish tortillas, which are actually like sliced potato omelettes. Superbly good. Even the kids stay up until 11 or 11:30, because dinner is so late.

Today was our first day of orientation, and we had a short session before we walked around the neighboring streets of the university. Tonight we have a flamenco class!

I can't even say close to everything that's happened, but I LOVE IT HERE. I can't stop smiling. And you'll have to excuse me if this is super stream-0f-consciousness or my grammar is strange, because as I'm writing this I'm actually having quite a lot of trouble thinking in English. Hopefully more to come soon, but in the meanwhile I'll be keeping super busy! Just know that I am safe and sound, and just loving Spanish life!!!

Hasta pronto!

Bienvenidos!

So I leave for Sevilla in t-minus 2 days. There remains quite a lot to be done, including packing my life into two suitcases WITH room to spare so I can bring stuff back. Frick. This will not bode well for this girl, who changes outfits at least once a day. More updates to come.

So the itinerary for Tuesday is (and I'm leaving Tuesday night the 1st because Denver fails and has no flights closer to our 3pm check-in on the 2nd in NY): depart DIA at 12:35 am, fly into NY at 6:30 am on the 2nd, claim luggage that weighs more than I, groggily chill in JFK for 9 hours with luggage that weighs more than I, and check in for Iberia flight at 3 pm. Only upside of this horrid sched is that I get to see my Gabbi! If anyone else is around JFK and feels like visiting me between the hours of 7 and 11 am, please do let me know. :0)

From there we leave for Madrid, flying for approx. 8 hours plus the six hour time difference from NY, arrive in Madrid in the early morning on the 3rd, then catch our connecting flight to Sevilla where we are swiftly picked up by our homestay families (and meet them for the first time). It's a good thing I'm so excited, because those 36 hours may just kill me. The game plan: I will be fuelled solely by Emergen-C, Audrey Hepburn movies, and Ambien-induced transatlantic nap seshes.

Anyways, I honestly cannot express how excited I am to be going. I was reading my uber-touristy pre-Sevilla guidebook the other day and get this: they have a tea bar/dance club. I was born to go here.

I absolutely adore you all, and hope that you have a fabulous fall quarter/semester/study abroad experience this autumn! See you in the winter!

Oh, look me up on skype too: katielynne18

Saludos,
Katie
(or Kiki, as I shall henceforth be known)

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee