Just sayin, my host mom is the bomb. Two of her daughters who live in the States are here visiting, and they are laying in her bed in their pjs laughing and talking and not even watching anything that is going on with the movie. I will add to this post later about some more of her awesomeness, but for right now, just know that I adore Esperanza. (And my real mom, Barb, but that goes without saying.)
Just wanted to say a quick hello! This week is midterms, and this weekend I’m going to Paris!
This weekend was super fun! I was still super tired after getting really sick on Thursday after eating Octopus – AH!
Anyways, Friday, I recorded a music video (more to come on this laterrrrr!) and Saturday we went to Cádiz!
Check out this view!!
This is Melissa and I at the top of the Cathedral, where I took the first photo! It was such a beautiful, warm, sunny day!
Saturday night, after resting up, showering and having dinner at home, we decided to go out dancing! We had such a great time!
Sunday, we spent the day in the park – attempted to do a little studying, and shared my awesome bici pass and the girls rode it around the park!
Okay, my dears, luego!
I went to Morocco this past weekend. All I can say is ¡WOW!
But I guess you want to hear a little more than that, eh?
Vale, here it goes.
We (I went with 4 other friends, the 5 of us met during orientation because we all live in the same neighborhood, Los Remedios, and now we do pretty much everything together) went to Morocco with a tour company that caters to International Students in Sevilla. Sounds like it would be crazy and unorganized drunkeness, but it wasnt at all – thank goodness. We left Sevilla at 9am on Friday (remember, no one has class on Friday, Im thinking for this purpose?) and bussed to Gibraltar, a British territory at the very south of Spain. We spent the afternoon there, wandering around, taking in the AMAZING sites. Grace, Mallory and I even took a cable car up to the top of the rock to experience the monkeys of Gibraltar. I had already been to the top of the Rock when I was in Spain last time, and was really excited to not have to drive up the windy and narrow roads that should most definitely be one way. Anyways, WHAT A VIEW.
After Grace got attacked (almost quite literally…) by these ravenous monkeys of Gibraltar, we went down the mountain, back on the bus, and to the Ferry we went! We took the ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta, an autonomous city of Spain that is really on the tip of Morocco? (look it up…) Anyways, then we had to wait in the bus for an hour while our tour guide took our passports into border control. Then we bused to the hotel that was really incredible! It was a beachfront property and Jill and Megan and I were lucky enough to get a room facing the beach! THIS is what we woke up to!!
Wow.
That morning we woke up, watched the sunrise, went to breakfast and took off to Chefchaouen, a small town in Morocco where all of the buildings are BLUE. It’s really amazing to see because I am not lying, quite literally EVERYTHING is blue. And all different shades! Its really cool. Other towns do it too, they all have their own colors. AND this paint serves a purpose – it keeps the mosquitos out of the house! Mom, Dad, you ready to paint our house blue?
After – back on the bus!! We got to Tetouan for lunch. A sensory OVERLOAD. Loud musical performances, bright and spicy food, great teas, dancers, a MAGNIFICENT building – it was just great.
Then, more markets! Right up my alley. And really, all of these streets were not streets, they were alleys – STUFFED with vendors of all kinds. Ill say it again, almost everything on this trip was a sensory overload. (Dont take this as a bad thing!)
…to be continued.
I’ve put off writing this blog post for WAY too long! I cannot believe I haven’t updated you all before now, and now there is just a montón of things and stories and facts and people to tell you about! Vale, c’est la vie. (Yeah, Spanish and French, who do I think I am, blah blah blah.)
I guess what Ill do is make one post about recent travels, and Ill have to add to it later, and then Ill write another post about daily life, classes and my new BIKE that I have!
I just have to tell you – THIS is how hard my life is:
1 – Yesterday was a Holy Day = No class (meaning I had A WHOLE WEEK off.)
2 – My friends and I went to the park for the afternoon
3 – It was around 70, and sunny, not a cloud in the sky
4 – We couldnt agree on when to travel where, and what we should do this weekend, picnic on Saturday or Sunday? Should we go to the beach?
In conclusion, my life is surreal and I am living blissfully in my dream and none of you should wake me up, ever.
To end this post, I guess Ill add one of my most recently favorite fotos, and when I have more time that I want to devote to it, Ill figure out how to use my FOTOS page better, right now it takes forever to load!! (If you know anything about this, please advise!)
Yesterday was my first day of class! If you are wondering why classes started on a Tuesday, they didn’t – They started on Monday, I JUST DONT HAVE CLASSES ON MONDAYS. OR WEDNESDAYS. OR FRIDAYS, for that matter! I have class Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is absolutely amazing, leaving me 5 days to simply LOVE this wonderful city and country and continent I’m in (and do my homework.)
My schedule looks like this:
9-10:40 Escritura Academica y Pensamiento Critico (Academic Writing and Critical Thinking)
11-12:40 El Islam en la Espana Musulmana (Al-Andalus): Arte y Cultura (Islam in Muslim Spain, which is called Al-Andalus, through art and culture)
Then I go home for lunch at home, or Esperanza will pack my a bocadillo, a sandwich.
I’ll go straight to the University to take my curso para extranjeros, my “course for foreigners” which is funny because we are all Americans. :[ and then I have to run (but really) to the CIEE building where all of my other classes are for my 4th class, about 10 minutes away.
3-5 Transicion Politica y Democracia en Espana (Political transition and Democracy in Spain)
5-6:40 La Novela y el Cine: Dos Modos de Contar una Historia (The novel and cinema, two ways to tell a story)
I really enjoyed yesterday, all of my professors are pleasant, and I think I’m going to like the classes and this schedule!
Also, I just booked my trip to Morocco.
Yesterday was so, so, SO much fun.
I found this video on the internet a long while ago and it really got me thinking. Where would you like to wake up tomorrow? Honestly. If you could wake up anywhere, where would it be? I find myself asking this question a lot, to myself and to others. I like the question and can usually find out a lot about a person from a simple and straightforward response. Usually, I’m able to see how content I am with that day, week, or month. Doesn’t mean I can wake up there, doesn’t mean I can change a crazy day or a crappy week. But at least you know.
This question is getting easier and more FUN to answer. Sometimes it’s someplace insane, like here, other times it is my dorm or my couch at home.
No matter how strange it is, and don’t really think of why – where would you like to wake up tomorrow?
For today, my answer is here. Right where I am.
I have a feeling this answer won’t change for a while.
April Calendar
Please note: IM NOT COMPLAINING.
I got back from Granada this evening. It is in Southeast Spain with an amazingly important history that I loved hearing more about -For those of you who don’t know, I did research this fall regarding convivencia in Spain, when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in relative peace. Sevilla is a crucial location to the work I did, but Granada and Cordoba (a trip coming up!) are also so very important! Granada has views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, whose peaks were covered in snow, and cacti. I found this hysterical. I wish I could’ve gotten a good shot to show this hysterical juxtaposition. Oh well, this will have to do. ;]
The walls of La Alhambra, with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the back.
Wow, right? How about this? Inside La Alhambra, of which you will have to google the history, not because I don’t know and love it, but because we all know I need my beauty sleep -
Also – TWO WEEKS?! Wow, sometimes it feels like I’ve only been here for a few days, other times I feel as though I’ve been here for months already. I’m still okay with both! I love this “honeymoon” phase of falling absolutely in love with this city and country, and I love that is immediately felt like home. There is something so very comfortable about this country. Maybe its the heaters that are under the tables we eat at in these pisos, maybe its the holas, luegos, lisps and bread that is just so comforting. Anyways, I’m not complaining.
you LIVE for siestas.
