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.