Lizard Spotting Number Two

Sunday March 30, 2008

Allison saw the lizard…I repeat…Allison saw the lizard. Therefore, the creature was not purely a figment of my imagination. Allison told me the last time that I saw it that if anyone else saw the lizard we could name it…thus our lizards name is Larry. Larry the lizard, the alliteration gives a nice ring to it don’t you think?

 I’m still struggling with the plague today, but now I have cough drops so we’ll see if that helps any. If you have any magical cure that you know about, I would greatly appreciate it.

 Today I learned that I’m officially going to the Colbie Caillat concert when I get home and I couldn’t be more excited. Jess, one of my best friends from Simpson and guitar connoisseur, and I are die-hard fans and we play and sing Colbie songs together at home. She found the tickets and we are going when I get back! Pretty darn cool…

Last Call For Mail

As much as I hate saying this…my time in Sevilla in coming to an end, therefore this is the last call for mail. If you have any mail that you are sending or want to send, send it within the next couple of days. I’m not sure that I will get it if you send it after this week! Ah, the end is near…I will be seeing you soon!

Ew, sick.

Saturday March 29, 2008

Today I am sick. Gross, ick, disgustingly sick. All I’ve been doing today is staying in my bed. I feel like crap, to say the least. I have the voice of an old man and a pretty sweet cough going on. Encarna made me tea, so that was nice of her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I don’t exactly like tea, but it tried to down it anyway. I think that the 80-degree temperature outside is making matters worse because all I want to do is leave the house! Also, I’m a little bit lonely because Allison is gone with Tim all this weekend and Sam is in Conil. But I guess that’s the best if all I should do is sleep. But on a brighter note I listened to Dane Cook, painted, cleaned my room, did some homework and watched 5 episodes of Will & Grace. I think I have a problem with just sitting around not doing anything, even when I feel bad. We’ll I’m just a bundle of joy today, so I’m going to go back to sleep. Hopefully I start feeling better before school starts back up on Monday!

Internship Interviews

Friday March 28, 2008

Today I had two phone interviews for perspective internships. They both went really well and I’m glad that I am able to do phone interviews from so far away! People have been very helpful and pretty understanding of my situation.

 After the interviews I got myself some ice cream, I think I deserved it, and sat in a plaza in the sun. It was a pretty chill afternoon by myself. At night Allison, Tim (her friend who is visiting from Latvia), and I went out for tapas. Tapas are like small appetizers and Sevilla is known for them. Neither Allison nor I had tried them yet so we decided why not!? We got 6 different types of tapas and shared. They were all pretty different but very good overall. I even tried Bacalao, which is the fish that is the most well-known and popular in Andalusia. After tapas we went to the Carbonería to watch a flamenco show. The show was really good and my favorite thing was the flutist. He was amazing! (Anchorman style). Afterwards we strolled by the Cathedral, La Giralda and stopped for ice cream. Overall, it was a very Spanish end to a pretty good week. 

The Fresh Price of Bellaire

Thursday March 27, 2008

After classes today we had an “intercambio” or “exchange” with a couple of classes from the Language School in Sevilla. These students are learning English; therefore we prepared small presentations about different “American themes/pieces of culture” and spoke to them in small groups. My group spoke about the US’s educational system and about the life of a student. Afterwards there was a Spanish potluck type of thing. Melissa and I ended up staying until after 9pm and afterwards we made plans to hang out with a couple of people after dinner. We ended up meeting up with them at a bar in the Alameda around 11pm. Allison and Tim, Allison’s friend from her home town that now teaches English in Riga, Latvia, showed up for a couple of minuets and then left. He is visiting this weekend and he’s a pretty nice guy. But I digress, the entire night we spoke Spanish and talked about everything from 9-11 conspiracy theories to The Fresh Price of Bellaire. Interesting fact: they have The Fresh Prince here in Spain, but obviously it’s all dubbed in Spanish…even the intro song. Afterwards we left the bar and headed to Lo Nuestro, a flamenco bar, to learn how to dance Sevillanos, the traditional dance of Sevilla that everyone dances during Feria (which is in two weeks). We spent the next four hours learning how to dance, talking in Spanish and having a good time. I finally got home around 5:30am after a long, but very good and very “Spanish” night. 

Leave Your Big Mac At Home

Wednesday March 26, 2008

It’s a good thing that I didn’t bring a hamburger to class today…because today we were told “the rules for eating in the classroom.” We now know exactly what we can and can’t bring to eat for snacks in between classes. Things that we cannot bring to eat: hamburgers (yeah, because I usually bring a hamburger in my backpack for a quick snack), vegetables (darn, there goes my eggplant fetish) and fruit. Can you say random? I literally started laughing out loud when she told us that we couldn’t eat hamburgers in the classroom. I haven’t had a hamburger in months, let alone, why would I bring one to school?

 I received a picture c.d. in the mail today from a couple of my parent’s best friends (Gary and LaVonne) and it was a great idea! Most of the pictures are from back in the day (2005), but it was still fun going through all 200 of them and reminiscing. A lot of them made me laugh. The c.d. has a lot of pictures from my graduation party. With this being said, I can’t believe that it’s been 3 years since I have graduated from high school! When I get back it will already be Molly’s turn to graduate. Ah, I’m getting old! I remember when we used to have slumber parities and bake cupcakes at Gary and LaVonne’s and now, we are all grown up. How scary!

 Today Encarna cleaned our room and bought a mosquito repellent machine (I’m not quite sure that’s the technical term, but for our purpose it works) for our room, finally! This past weekend I killed 9 mosquitoes in two days, so lets hope this little machine works miracles. While she was mopping she moved our stash of shoes out from under our bunk bed and told us that she was going to take all of our shoes and sell them to become rich. I think that Encarna thinks that we have a lot of shoes, which is really funny because those shoes aren’t anything compared to the collections that we all have at home.

 In international news: Mattel has created a “Spanish Barbie” as a part of their Dolls of the World collection. This doll is clad in a black and red flamenco dress, wears the traditional lacey head covering and carries a black fan- the whole stereotypical works. The cool thing about this doll is that its style is based off of the Andalusian style of flamenco. Why exactly is that cool? Andalusia happens to be the region of Spain that I live in! The dolls are 22 euros here, so keep your eyes open for the new “Spanish Barbie” to hit the States.

What Ricky Martin Song Would You Sing?

Tuesday March 25, 2008

Today was our first day with our new teacher Carman, who is Tracy "replacement." Tracy made it back to the States unharmed and will be having her baby in the near future. But Carmen is a really relaxed and intelligent lady. She is going to make the transition really easy, and I already like her a lot. In general, we have really lucked out with our teachers here in Sevilla; they are all really good resources and amazing to work with.

 In other news, I had my ONG tonight and I didn’t drown any children. It was another successful week. Although there was one kid who kept chucking nerf-ish balls at my head, and the thought may have crossed my mind. Other than that we had a really good night, swam a lot and joked around with the kids and director. I think that I may have agreed to go to a karaoke club to sing Ricky Martin this Thursday, so I’ll let you know how that works out. If you have any favorites of Mr. Martin’s, just let me know and I’ll see what I can do! I’m pretty sure it was a joke, but sarcasm is sometimes hard to pick up in a foreign language. So if I find myself singing, I’ll take pictures and make sure to share the stories!

 Today was our host moms “saint day.” She is named after Saint Encarnation, hence Encarna, and we had to celebrate somehow (she insisted), therefore we had peaches for dessert. I didn’t really understand it, but it worked out in our favor nonetheless. I mean honestly, usually when I want to celebrate something, I eat peaches. Who doesn’t? What a win-win situation! 

Lets Be Serious, Who Doesn’t Love Getting Tests Back?

Monday March 24, 2008

 Ah the first day back after a week long vacation, yuck. To top things off, we got two midterm tests back today that we had completed before our break. Not what I would call a great day, but life goes on. Far too many other things are good in my life to let that get me down. After a not-so-fun day of classes I came home to find three letters waiting on my desk! Woo hoo-mail call! I received a card from my parents/Molly, a sweet postcard from Meridith and a card from Aaron as well. I love getting mail; it was the highlight of my day. After lunch I called Jessie Springer (Ernst to me still) and it was really good to talk to her. I haven’t talked to her much since I’ve been here, other than the occasional e-mail, and I miss her. The rest of the day was spent drafting 5 pages for a final paper. The rough draft is due on Wednesday and it’s exactly that, rough. I guess we’ll see how the final project, 10 pages all in Spanish, turns out! On a brighter note, the weather was amazing today, proving to be yet another gorgeous Spanish day. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to want to stay in my room while doing homework. I might just have to do my homework by the river or in a park, ah what a life!

Easter, Well Kind Of

Sunday March 23, 2008

To bring Semana Santa to an end I figured that Seville would have huge plans for Easter-fire works, awkward costumes, tightrope walkers, but no. They’ve got nothing. Easter doesn’t really exist here in Seville, which seems pretty sad to me and it leaves me a bit confused as well. I understand that the death and resurrection of Jesus is and was pretty important, but what about the light at the end of the tunnel? What about the resurrection? Since Sevilla had a lack of Easter spirit Sam, Allison and I celebrated in our own way. Allison and I kicked the day off right by taking Easter pictures and then going to mass. When we returned home Sam had gotten Easter presents for us all, which consisted of 3 Cokes and 3 desserts. Can you say, delicious? We ate our “family lunch” a.k.a. pasta with tortillas españolas, drank from our Easter straws (thanks Mom), and ate the desserts. Not exactly the nice family meal that I would have had at home, but it worked with my girls here. It was weird not being in the States for my first “family holiday,” so I decided that I would call the family. Everyone was to gather at my house for lunch and I called to say hello. Grandpa answered the first call, but I couldn’t hear anything (oh, Grandpa!), so I had to try back a second time. It was good to talk to them all; I haven’t done that in a while. I’ve got to admit that I did miss being there. I felt a little left out all day when I received messages from friends, called Aaron and talked to the family, but it was to be expected. Overall it wasn’t the plastic grass, egg hunt, family gathering, and going to mass that I’m used to but we did what we could with it!

American Food

Saturday March 22, 2008 #2

You know that you are missing American food when you would give your left arm for a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. In all reality it’s worth maybe 12 cents in the States, yet here, it’s a delicatessen. A super cool friend of my mine sent me a box of the coveted noodles and powder cheese, and I think I ate half of the box in 3 minutes flat. You know how they have hot dog eating contests?  They should have mac n’ cheese eating contests. I’m willing to bet that after four and a half months of being deprived, I would be the prized mac n’ cheese winner.

 In other random food tangents, today I had a huge craving for popcorn. I’ve had a few bags sent my way but apparently the Spanish microwave doesn’t believe in making popcorn. The other day I put a bag in for four and a half minutes, and here were the results: fourth of it was popped, a fourth burnt, and half it of it was still in kernel form. I’m not quite sure how that worked out but it was a pretty special experience that left me nothing but confused and craving popcorn. Allison and I left the sick bubble that I call our room and hit the streets for a study break. We ended up buying a few Cokes and walking around for a while, until…I saw it. There was a 8ish year-old boy eating a bag of popcorn. I turned to Allison and asked if she want to “take him out and steal his popcorn” but she thought that it wouldn’t be such a good idea. So, it left us with no other choice than to search for the vender. We find the vender a few minutes later, and realize that you can have your “bag” of popcorn a.k.a. 4 kernels for 1.5 Euros. No way, it wasn’t happening. Allison and I headed back home and we passed a movie theatre on the way. Then, it hits me. What goes well with movies? POPCORN. The smallest box that the movie theatre sold, which was still huge, was only 1.5 Euros. How perfect! Like an awkward American, I walked into the theatre bought the box of popcorn and exited the theatre. Allison and I took our popped goodness and sat on a bench, drank our Cokes and enjoyed life. We got a few awkward looks, but I think that it was well worth it in the end. 

The English T-Shirt Dilemma

Saturday March 22, 2008

If you were to buy a shirt with words on it, would you read the shirt before you bought it? Would you make sure that you understood what your shirt said? Furthermore, would you at least somewhat be in agreement with what your shirt said? With thus being said, I introduce you to the t-shirts (in English mind you) that I have seen Spaniards wearing:

n                To bad to be good. (On a 70 year old woman)

n                I heart bad cats. (Really now? Because I’m a huge fan of the “good cats.”)

n                My girlfriend is on vacation. (Worn by a guy who was all over a girl…hopefully it was his girlfriend or maybe he should look into going into advertising)

n                Sex girl. (Not sexy, it was indeed just the word sex)

n                Available to speak. (Encarna’s completely annoying granddaughter, Angela, wore this shirt. It actually fits her really well, but I’m pretty sure she had no idea what it said.)

 My favorite shirts are the ones that don’t really make any sense at all. I feel as though they put random English words on a t-shirt and call it a day. Obviously if it’s in English it must be cool. Moral of the story, don’t buy shirts with words on them, especially if they are in a different language. And if you really feel the urge, at least look up the words and know what you are advertising on your chest. 

Where’s Meridith When You Need Her?

Friday March 21, 2008

I’ve been lucky so far because I haven’t been sick but then again luck always seems to run out. Today was my unlucky day and I am officially sick. I woke up and felt like crap. I didn’t want to move, eat, and talk, so obviously something was wrong! I woke up said, “No way” and I feel back asleep until 2pm. I got up and ate a little something for lunch, and read for a couple of hours. Before Sam left to run she got me a garbage bag, a pack of Kleenex’s, throat drops, some medicine and a juice box for me from her stash from when she was sick. It was nice of her! I feel asleep again and just hung out until dinner. It’s one of those sicknesses where you just don’t feel like functioning because everything is a little achy. Oh, did I mention that I sound like a man? So my super sweet roomies have taken it on themselves to call me Manuel until my voice gets better. Being sick in the States is not fun but it’s ok because you can chill, watch a movie, hang with friends that feel bad for you, get special emergency doctors appointments because your best friends dad basically owns the pharmacy, and things of the such. But being sick here sucks because all you want to do is to go outside and explore but lets be serious, Spanish isn’t easy when I’m feeling good, I can only image how I sound now that my head feels like its stuffed with cotton balls! I’ve started taking some of the medicine that I brought and lets hope that it works quickly! I guess if I had to get sick its better that it’s this week when I don’t have school, but it’s still pretty lame. 

Sardines Anyone?

Thursday March 20, 2008

 Today is “Jueves Santo” (Holy Thursday) and it is one of the biggest days in Sevilla for all of the pasos and for the Holy Week celebration. Tonight at midnight is the time that Jesus “dies” and all of the most famous pasos in the city leave their respective churches to head to La Catedral and back. The first one leaves at 12:30am and they continue leaving until around 4am. Most of the pasos are gone this night for around 10-14 hours on foot. So, in the spirit of the holiday, we decided that we were going to go out around 11pm and stay out into the wee hours of the morning to catch the pasos. We found a spot on the curb in the center of the city where most of the pasos pass and we sat and waited for the first paso to go by. The paso closest to us left the church at 1:05am; therefore we had some time to play the name game. I’m especially good at the double S’s, for the record, so watch out if we ever play and you throw that letter at me. Anyway, we waited on the curb for 2 hours and finally the paso called “El Silencio” (The Silence) began to pass by. The cool thing about this paso is that everyone is in dead silence…the crowd, the Nazarenos, everyone. There was something like 800 Nazarenos and then the two pasos as well, so we were there for a while. Afterwards we walked more towards the center to catch the “Jesús del Gran Poder” (Jesus of Great Power) paso, and we go stuck like sardines for a good two hours. I wanted to fall asleep standing because it was 3a.m. so I took it upon myself to rest my head on a hugely tall guy in front of me. He kind of looked at me awkwardly but it worked for me. And don’t worry; Sara took a picture of the matter. After the two pasos had gone by we fought our way out of the crowd. I was almost attacked by a Spanish guy that was trying to tell me how beautiful I was (in really poor English) when Allison grabbed one of my arms and Sara grabbed the other and got me out of the situation. It was sweet because it was something that you would see the secret service do. Allison turned to the guy, said “NO,” swooped me up and we hurried away. I think we killed his self-esteem, and rightfully so. We got home after making our way through the thousands of people around 4am, and I don’t think that I’ve ever been so happy to be in my bunk bed. (Yah, bunk beds!)

Mother Nature

Wednesday March 19, 2008

So Mother Nature is a little pissy this week and she started her tirade just as I was walking out the door to go down by the river to draw. She sent down a gi-normous lightening flash and a monsoon just as I unlocked the door to leave. Therefore, I stayed inside all day and read for roughly…6 hours? What a glamorous life. Allison came back a little later with a Coke for myself and a Diet Coke for herself and we indulged. It was a good day to watch Will & Grace, so we took advantage of that as well. Kudos to Jack, Karen and the gang for saving the day…once again. 

A Forgotten Tale…

The house has been a little chaotic this week sense all of Encarna’s “kids” (the youngest is 22) are home for Semana Santa. What do you like to do when family comes in town? Eat! Therefore, I begin my story of our glorious family dinner. The whole family was in the kitchen and Sam and I were just finished up eating (Allison was still in Latvia) when suddenly Sam freaks out and stands on her chair. I look at here and ask, “Seriously Sam, what are you doing?” The only word that could come out of her mouth was “bicho” a.k.a bug. Apparently Sam “saw” a large cockroach on the floor that had now scurried under the table and she was in shock. The girls fled the room, which only left Juan Antonio (Fatima’s boyfriend) to search the kitchen. He threw on his superman cape and started the search. Picture this: four girls screeching from the hallway (in English and Spanish), Sam frantically hopping down from being paralyzed on her chair, and Juan Antonio throwing chairs across the kitchen. After a few moments Rocio came to play the role of Robin and together their team…was stoppable. They found absolutely nothing. When Sam finally came back into the kitchen she was immediately standing on top of her chair again and refused to come down. Therefore, I thought that this would be the perfect time for my dance interlude with the Spanish song, “La cucaracha.” Ironic, because Encarna knew the song as well and started singing along. “La cucaracha, la cucaracha ya no puede caminar…” (It’s a Spanish song about a cockroach.) It was a sight to be seen. I think we almost made Sam cry…it was probably the part when I told her that the cockroach was in her bed and that’s why we couldn’t find it…yeah that probably wasn’t the best, but it was funny so it worked. Afterwards we all started talking about bugs in general and I told Fatima the story of when I had found the lizard in the bathroom. Rocio started laughing and said that she had seen a lizard in there too, this of course she had failed to tell me before, and proceeded to insist that the lizard lived in the bathroom. How glorious! I asked Rocio what color her lizard was and her answer was green. If she were playing the matching game, she would have failed because my lizard was orange and those colors just don’t match up. Unless our lizard is a chameleon then we are talking about a different prehistoric creature…which now that I think about it, I don’t know if I like that idea. I think I would rather settle for one lizard rather then a plethora of lizards. To end the escapade Encarna then pointed out once more that lizards eat bugs, therefore we would be fine with the “cucaracha” problem and that Sam could come down off of her chair. Although, Sam was not convinced and seemed to think that her cockroach could take my lizard down any day. I’d like to challenge her to a dual, but then again I’d rather not see either creature ever again. 

Out of The Office Notice

Soo...here's the deal.

A. Happy St. Patrick's Day late...(they don't celebrate it here, how crazy)

B. Happy Easter early!

C. I'm not going to be able to use the Internet much until next Monday so if you don't hear from me, that is why. Apparently they like to close everything during national religious holidays...who knew!

My First Paso!

Tuesday March 18, 2008

 I had my first encounter with a Spanish library today. For my Service Learning class I have a 10 page final paper due where I have to have 4 outside sources. Therefore, I headed to the University of Seville’s library and failed aimlessly. They have the more complicated library system ever. All of the different subjects and split up into different libraries around the city, all which are not close to each other. After being completely frustrated I decided to try and public library. The public library was packed, but it ended up serving its purpose. I don’t think I’m ever going to complain about doing a research paper in English again. After trying to find information and resources for a Spanish research paper, I think anything is going to be possible in English. After the library I headed home to find that the post office had blown up in our room. Allison and I had a shared package from the Pi Phi ladies (I loved it!), I had an Easter package from my Grandma, and another package full of goodies from my Great Aunt Alice. It was a great day. It was the perfect surprise after failing the library excursion. The love and goodies are definitely going to help me get through the next two months! In the afternoon Allison and I decided to try and follow some of the pasos and try and see what we could. We heard one and headed in the general direction. It was really cool to see and hear. There was a lot of action going on and after an hour and a half of fighting the Spanish crowd we decided that we’d had enough. We went to a bar called “Egoista” afterwards for a couple of Cokes and just to relax. We have to get rested up for the next couple days of Semana Santa. The really busy and “hard core” days are Thursday-Sunday, yah for Holy Week! Ha. 

The Non-Existent Beach in Huelva

Monday March 17, 2008

Today we decided to try and go to the beach in Huelva. But the interesting thing is, there is no beach in Huelva. We obviously figured that one out when we got there but it wasn’t the most fun finding that information out. We talked to the information lady and she told us that there was a beach that was only about 15 minutes away. We bought tickets to that beach (Punta Umbría), and we were on our way 10 minutes later. We hung out on the beach for a while, went seashell hunting, had a photo shoot, ate our picnics and then headed back to Huelva. When we arrived in Huelva we decided to explore a super sweet park that we had found.  We played on the playground for a good hour. I think that I may have had more fun at the park, but that’s just the five-year-old coming out in me. And lets be serious, who doesn’t love teeter-totters and swings? Exactly my point. The bus ride from Sevilla to Huelva was only about an hour and a half but it was a lot longer on the way home because we there was a paso on the Trianna bridge and it was closed down for the time being. After today, I have been to three Spanish beaches, but I’m going to have to say that Conil is still my favorite of them all!

 After the beach I did a little bit of homework and showered. Allison came home right as I was leaving to meet Sara and Melissa at the bar for a St. Patty’s Day drink. We decided that since no one is Spain celebrates St. Patty’s Day that we would have to at least go out for a glass of wine. We sat and talked in the bar Piola for about an hour and a half and then we came home. Before going to bed I talked to Allison and we caught up on the weekends happenings. 

Random Facts About Semana Santa:

I'm sure that no one has any idea what exactly Semana Santa is...so here are a couple of the basics about Semana Santa:

*Semana Santa goes from March 16, 2008, Palm Sunday through March 23, 2008, Easter. During this weeklong celebration there are different “pasos” or religious floats that collectively make processionals throughout the entire week. These pasos last anywhere from 4 hours to 14 hours and many people from all over the world come to watch and appreciate them.

*Sevilla is one of the important cities for Semana Santa and is home to three of the most famous pasos in the country.

*You can rent a chair in the center of the city on the main road where all of the pasos pass by in order to see all of the processionals for 100 Euros a year. Many times these chairs/spots are passed down by family members and are very hard to come by.

*Everything is closed during Semana Santa, other than really large places and cafes/bars.

*Everyone has the week of Semana Santa off in Spain, everyone!

*Thursday-Sunday are the most important days during Semana Santa. At midnight on Thursday (technically Friday morning) the pasos leave their home churches, pass through the cathedral and head back to their home churches to symbolize Jesus’ death and to start the next four days of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

*It takes about 40-50 men to carry one paso, and these men trade in and out throughout the course of a processional.

*During Semana Santa there are men, dressed like Klan members from the KKK, who are called Nazarenos that are a part of the tradition of Semana Santa. They dress in these outfits and walk along in the processionals as a way to show penitence and grieving for the Passion of Christ. Although I know this information, it’s still creepy to see these men walking around in their white robes and pointy hats.

*Torrijas are a Spanish delicatessen that are basically like French toast with a honey or cinnamon and sugar topping. This food is a tradition during the week of Semana Santa and I had it for breakfast today!

*A hotel room normally goes for (at minimum) 200 Euros a night during Semana Santa, and must be booked months in advance!

 Hopefully this clears up Semana Santa a little more for you. It is all pretty overwhelming now but once a see a paso and experience the culture a little more, I’m sure that you will hear all about it!

Domingo de Ramos a.k.a. Palm Sunday

Sunday March 16, 2008

As Sam and I began our adventure to the church, “Jesus de Gran Poder” we quickly realized that there were a million extra people in the city for this week. The line to go into the church as snaked around the huge plaza and we were at the very back of it. This church is one of the three churches of Sevilla that are the most famous throughout the country during Semana Santa. After standing in line for about and hour, and making best friends with two little old ladies that were in front of us, we finally entered the church. The little old ladies acted as tour guides and pointed everything out in the church to us. If there is one thing that they love more than Sevilla, it’s Semana Santa in Sevilla. If I could have fit them in my purse, I probably would have taken them home with me because they were just that cute. The tradition at this church is to go inside, walk up to the alter, and kiss the statue of Jesus on his hands. There were masses of people who wanted in to do this “lets kick off the holy week right” activity. My personal favorite was the person whose job it was to stand and wipe off the hand after each person kisses the hand, yeah cleanliness.

After our Jesus kissing experience I struggled to use the Spanish Internet to talk to my parents and Aaron yet another time. There are masses of people in Sevilla for this week and most, if not all of the stores and Internet cafes are closed. I somehow found a place to get WIFI from and talked to them for a bit. Also, I got a response back from my internship quest. Hopefully everything works out well. I would love the opportunity.

Ronda, España

Saturday March 15, 2007

 I started out the day not being able to be patient for the C4 bus. I waited at the stop for 20 minutes, which is really rare, and just as I was about to hail a cab to the bus station, finally a C4 bus showed up. Melissa and I got on our bus to Ronda at 10am and set out for another adventure. Have you ever heard the phrase, “don’t let the cat out of the bag?” Well there was a girl behind me on the bus who literally had a cat in her purse. Yes, it’s prohibited and yes, it’s a little awkward. Sometimes I don’t really get Spain, and that was one of those moments. After our 2.5-hour bus ride with Cat Woman we headed for a tourist info. booth in Ronda. You must be wondering, why Ronda? Well other than the fact that we just found it on a map…I must tell you why Ronda is cool. Ronda is a city that sits on an outcrop of rock in a basin surrounded by mountain ranges. There are two main parts of the city, which are broken in half by a huge gorge. Needless to say, the city is high up and has an amazing view of the surrounding mountain ranges. The coolest part about the city definitely wasn’t the places that we visited; I’d have to say that it was the landscape itself. But here’s the breakdown of the days adventures:

n                Plaza de Torros (Plaza of the Bulls), Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum): 6 Euros

o      I may or may not have been a bull and a bullfighter in this bullring, with the pictures to prove it. We went down into the inter workings of the bullring to see the pulley system and how the bullring actually works. I now know why the bulls are so mean when they come out into the ring, and it’s because they trap them into really small rooms with nothing but a thing of water. I’m sure that I’d be pissed too if someone locked me in a small room for that long. Interesting fact: there has only been one bullfighter to die in this bullring, what luck he had.

n                Puente Nuevo (New Bridge)

o      This bridge, which was built at the end of the 18^th Century, spans the gorge between the two parts of the city. I’d rate it close to the freaking sweet end of the new tourism rating scale.

n                Casa de Gigante (The Giant’s House): 1 Euro

o      This house was a Nazarí Palace back in the 13^th-15^th Centuries and it is known for its collection of plaster-works and Nazarí coffered ceiling. Although, I’d have to say that its name is a little misleading. I imagined a “Jack and the Beanstalk-esk” looking house, yet it wasn’t even close.

n                Museo del Vino (The Wine Museum): 3 Euros

o      Home of the most disgusting tasting wine ever made. Decorated by a 7-year old. All around an interesting endeavor.

n                Templete de los Dolores (Shrine Temple “Virgen de los Dolores”)

o      Baroque chapel that we stumbled upon trying to find our way to the bus station. It had cool looking pillars…?

n                Archo de Felipe V (Arch of Felip V)

o      The old gateway of access to Ronda in the 18^th Century.

n                Puente Viejo- Puente Árabe (Old Bridge-Arab Bridge)

o      More bridges because apparently its important to have those when you’re city is split in half by a gi-normous gorge.

n                Jardines de Cuenca (Gardens of Cuenca)

o      Gardens that have a sweet view of the Old Bridge. I conned a guy into taking our picture, but he apparently spoke English, so it was kind of humorous asking him in Spanish first.  You can tell when people speak English because they look at you really funny because they can’t believe that they can understand you (yeah, it’s because I’m speaking English), they actually smile, and most of the time they laugh at the comments that you are making and not just at you. 

n                Fuente de los Ocho Caños (Fountain of Eight Springs)

o      Named the most magnificent fountain in Ronda, and it was definitely on the lame side of the scale. This fountain would have had to shoot fireworks, blow bubbles, do cartwheels and play music to become anywhere near magnificent. The fountains creator King Felipe V and I obviously have a different point of view on what exactly is “magnificent.” Unicorns are magnificent, but this small awkward fountain, ya, not so much.

n                Iglesia de Padre Jesús (Father of God Church)

n                Iglesia de Espíritu Santo (Church of the Holy Ghost)

n                Murallas y Puerta de Almocábar (Gate and Walls of Almocabar)

o      Principle gateway and access to the city a.k.a. a huge yellow wall.

Ronda was sweet because it was smaller and you could just wonder around and find almost anything, except ice cream, in the city. On the way to the bus station we were craving some ice cream, so we ended up stopping at the convenience shop looking place to get frozen ice cream. I’m sure there are 234 different ice cream shops in Ronda, but when you are looking for them they tend to disappear on you.

 Overall it was a good day and we got home around 9:45pm, and I was just in time for dinner. 

Córdoba, España

Friday March 14, 2008

Today I woke up at 5:45am to shower, eat breakfast, and be at the bus stop by 6:30am. It was a little rough getting going, but Sam got up and helped me back my bag and made me breakfast, thank goodness! Melissa and I left Sevilla at 7:45am and we were in Córdoba around 10:15am. The bus ride wasn’t too bad and since we were practically driving the bus, we had a pretty good view. We bought our tickets the day before and we were still in the front row of sets. So, I basically felt like a bug on a windshield. After getting into Córdoba we harassed an information booth worker to point us to the nearest bathrooms and tourist info. booth. We found a map and then we wandered the city for the rest of the day. The itinerary is as follows:

n                La Mezquita-Catedral (Mosque-Cathedral): 8 Euros, audio tour.

o      We took the audio tour of the famous Mosque of Córdoba, which is considered to be the most important Islamic monument in the West. The Mosque was really unique to see with all of the changes and additions that it had been through. This mosque houses a mix of Islamic, Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The arches of the Mosque are the most unique characteristic of the building and it was interesting to have the audio tour so I could actually understand what things were and learn a little bit of the history behind the building.

o      Jackie Chan apparently trains for his movies on these steps, because there was a man who had no shirt or shoes on and was hopping from one high peak of stairs until the next. It was hilarious, so be looking out for Rush Hour 23 to come out, entitled “On the Steps of the Mezquita.”

n                Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Monarchs): free on Fridays!

o      This was a fortress in Roman times, a part of the Caliph’s palace in Arab days, and after the Christian conquest (1236) it became the castle and royal residence of the following kings. The best parts about this site are the gorgeous grounds filled with a series of large tapered ponds and the colorful gardens. There was actually a wedding going on while we were there and we decided to eat our lunch (that we packed because we are that cool and that cheap) in the park as well. I may have been a creeper and taken pictures of the bride and groom. In my defense, her dress was amazing.

o      Another interesting fact: the Alcázar has public restrooms. This is an important thing to know in Spain because they apparently don’t believe in public bathrooms. Therefore, if you are ever in Córdoba on a “free Friday” take advantage of entering the national monument, just to use the bathrooms.

n                Sinagoga (Synagogue): .30 Euro cents, and it wasn’t even worth that!

o      This is the only synagogue that still exists in Andalusia and is only of only three that are still intact in all of Spain. It was pretty lame, not going to lie. First off, it was .30 Euro cents because we weren’t from the European Union, and secondly it was one room. It wasn’t even a big room, just a room with pieces of Mudejar style architecture. If you ever come to Spain, do not waste your .30 Euro cents on it. Although, this “must see” did inspire me to want to open my own tourism business that rates monuments on a scale from lame to freaking sweet. So, at least something good came out of the synagogue, and it was an experience.

n                Museo Julio Romero de Torres (Julio Romero de Torres Museum)

o      This is a small 6-roomed art gallery of Julio Romero de Torres who is the most famous Córdoban painter. This gallery is situated on the Plaza de Potro, which is a plaza associated with Cervantes’ works (kind of cool). I went to this museum because my host mom suggested that I see it, which was a good suggestion because it was filled with a lot of really amazing Spanish style art. 

n                Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum)

o      This museum is another one of those “you get in free if you’re from the European Union” places, but I may or may not have gotten the security guard to give us free passes. Apparently all you have to do is be nice, speak in Spanish, and tell him how much you really like being a student here and you are learning a lot, blah blah blah. He told us to tell the people at the door that we were from Great Brittan, how funny.

n                Puente Romano (Roman Bridge)

o      We walked a crossed the bridge…yeah, its just a bridge to tell you the truth. It gave a really cool view of the rest of the city though!

n                Los Baños do Alcázar Califal (The Arabic Baths of the Caliph’s Palace)

o      We spend a good 20 minutes looking for these baths, and it turns out that we were literally standing on top of them. Amazing, huh? Who knew that the Arab baths would be underground? For future reference, look down and read signs.

 I finally got home around 11:30pm, ate dinner and headed to bed. It was a successful day, but a long day at that.

 

 

So What City Looks Good To You? Let’s Go.

Thursday March 13, 2008

 Today was the last day that Tracy, our teacher from Simpson, is going to be with us all. She is pregnant and can’t fly back during her third trimester, so she leaves tomorrow morning for the States. I have kind of mixed feelings about this; I’m not so sure how it will work out. I’m hoping for the best though. It’s kind of nice having someone who knows us and knows English well to talk to when we have problems. We have to send all of our assignments to her via the Internet and we have a new teacher for the 2 classes that she taught here. So far all of the Spanish teachers have been amazing so hopefully Carmen, the new teacher, will be as well. I can’t believe that I only have 4 weeks of classes left…ah. It’s going to go by quickly!

 After class/our going away party Melissa, a girl from Simpson, and I decided that we wanted to sit down and plan a few day trips for during our weeklong break. We have the following week off for Semana Santa. We sat down in the plaza and picked two random cities on the map, found prices, major monuments, and we headed to the bus station to buy tickets. Our following plans, tentatively, are as follows: Córdoba on Friday and Ronda on Saturday. For both sets of round trip tickets, our bill only came to 35 Euros apiece and I’m really excited to just go. We don’t really have many plans other than finding the tourist office, getting a map, and just seeing the sights. We have a Spain book that will hopefully have some information about these places, so we will have to look at that on the way there. This kind of trip tends to be something that I would never have done before coming to Spain, but now, I’m not so worried. We don’t really have a concrete plan, and it really doesn’t bother me all that much. These trips will be fun as well as cheap because the bus rides are only a few hours, we are taking a packed lunch with us, and we are returning home before dinner. Therefore, we wont really be paying for much other than for entrance fee’s and many times we get pretty good discounts for being students.

 Tonight at the pool, for my ONG, I had a good time. For some reason all of the kids were really wired, so it was a rather hyper time in the pool. The little kid Alvaro, he’s about 11, is really precious. He spent the entire hour trying to swim with his floaty after me, splash water in my face, and then give me a high five. Love him. He can barely walk and talk, but he has the best time and he really knows how to enjoy life. It’s really been a good time working with the kids at the pool that have disabilities; I swear that they have taught me more than I have taught them. But it’s always a great break from the week and the director, David, really appreciates the help.

 Also, Allison left for Latvia today to visit a friend and Fatima (Encarna’s daughter) came back to visit for Semana Santa. It’s going to be a busy week and I’m excited to have Fatima back. She is full of energy and is really fun and easy to talk to. I’m sure that all of the family will be in and out of the house this week and that will be a lot of fun. My favorite part about living in Sevilla is being part of a “family” here; the trip wouldn’t be the same without Encarna, Rocio and the gang. 

Yeah, Bach and I Hang Out

Wednesday March 12, 2008

 Lately I’ve been missing singing and choir in general, so I decided to try and find a choir to sing with there in Spain. I’m here for two more months, why not? I talked to one of the Spanish directors of our program and she set Josh (a guy in my class who also wants to sing) and myself up with a choir from the University. The choir is small, around 25 people, and is consisted of all students that are studying to be music teachers. Today I went for the first time to practice with the choir. The director, Alberto, was really welcoming and within the first 10 minutes we were sitting within the choir and singing along. One of the students in the choir went and copied his music for us and he was really helpful about the whole thing. The choir rehearsal structure was a little different, but it was great to be singing within a choir again. Plus, what a great way of combining two things that I love: music and Spanish. We rehearsed in a medium sized classroom at the university, which I had to take a bus (and get lost) to get to, and we were without a piano. The director used his tuning fork for every note and it was just all around a different structure for choir rehearsal than what I am used to. Afterwards the director told us about the concert set that they are practicing for. He invited us to join the choir and to sing at the concerts but the first catch with that is…the concerts are in Málaga and Ronda. These two cities are somewhat close to Sevilla and are in the southern part of Spain as well. The second catch is that the concert weekend is April 26-27. We leave for May Term on the 28^th; therefore those are the last two days that I would be in Sevilla. AH, what a dilemma. I’m thinking about trying to go for the first day and catching a bus/train back on the next day. I’m still trying to think about weighing the positives and negatives of each decision. Travel as an international student to perform with a Spanish choir or stay in Sevilla and soak up the rest of the city and spend time with my host family before I go? Hum. Nonetheless, after rehearsal some of the choir members went out to a bar for tapas (kind of like appetizers) and drinks. They invited Josh and I to come along and we gladly accepted the invitation. We sat around and talked for a while, I kind of explained why we were here, they asked questions about music/choir in the states and they insisted again that we come on the choir trip with them. They even went as far as taking down my e-mail so they could send me the audio clips of the music that we are working on. I don’t know how possible it’s going to be for me to learn a Bach piece within a month on top of all of my other school work…so we’ll see how all of that works out. After we left the bar, we hopped on the wrong bus, got lost, I found our way home, and I finally got home at about 11:30pm. I was hungry from missing dinner and exhausted from the 2-hour choir rehearsal and possibly from getting lost. (Whatever.) I ate and then 

Midterms Are Officially Over, YES!

Tuesday March 11, 2008

 I had two tests today, but now midterms are officially over and I am quite happy about it. After this week is over we have a week off for Semana Santa. Simply put, Semana Santa is a holy week, the week before Easter, in preparation for Easter. In Seville there are concerts, performances, processionals, masses and many other things related to the Catholic tradition. Therefore, Semana Santa is our “Spring Break,” which seems rather odd having a religious festival as your spring break time. The juxtaposition between a holy week and the normal happenings of a spring break is quite funny to me. Regardless, we have an entire week off of school and I’m exited for it. I wish that I could do a little bit more traveling but apparently that is expensive, so I’m going to have to sit that one out.

 Today I found four more internships that I am applying for, so wish me luck. I’ve decided that I’m going to apply for every internship in the city of Des Moines, if that’s what it’s going to take for me to finally get one. I’m determined to get some real experience in this summer. It has just started to hit me that I am actually going to have to become an adult in the near future and that seems a little scary.

 Tonight we attempted to go shopping. Yes, attempted. I use this because phrase because the streets were packed with people for some reason. I thoroughly enjoy browsing and possibly buying things, but tonight was just chaotic. There were thousands of people out today. Apparently people really like to shop on Tuesdays, rather odd I think. But it’s like that almost every night in the center. All of the new spring fashions are starting to come out, so I’m trying my hardest to not buy out Spain. I’m keeping pretty tight to my budget, so that is a good thing. Nonetheless, the shopping experience stressed Allison and I out so we had a “Coke” date, a.k.a. walked to the supermarket, got Coke and watched an episode of Will & Grace. Overall, it was a good end to a rather chill day.

 

 

It's The Halfway Mark...

Monday March 10, 2008

 Today it has been exactly two months since I left the United States to come to Spain. What a good time to reflect on how much has happened since I have left! It seems like I have been here forever, but I can’t believe that I only have half of my time left. Some days seem shorter than others but overall this semester seems as though it has just flown by. I can honestly say that this semester has been one of the best choices that I’ve made so far in my 21 years of existence. It’s hard for me to sit here and figure out all of the ways that I’ve changed, but there are a few things that I notice from time to time. I think once I get home I’m going to be able to see more of these changes and I think that people that I know really well will be able to point them out as well. When Aaron was here he mentioned that I had changed a bit, but not in a bad way. I think that my travels have made me more of a lax and go-with-the-flow type of person. Many times while being here there have been things that are completely out of my control, and with these things I have learned to relax a bit and let things happen.

 I’ve come to appreciate all of my relationships with people and with friends in general. I never knew now dependent I was on the people that I love. I talk to my parents every weekend and I always find myself asking how my grandparents, sister and the rest of my family are. It has just become a weekly routine to talk to them. I honestly think that I talk to them more now while I’m farther away than when I was back at Simpson. Ironic, I think. As far as friends, I’m constantly writing on people’s walls, writing e-mails and wondering how everything is going with them. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I haven’t completely been forgotten about. Their messages, Facebook posts, letters, packages, and e-mails, as dumb as it sounds, make my weeks here. I don’t know what I would do without them. I could be having the crappiest day ever, and a two-sentence e-mail or post really does turn my day upside down. I love hearing about how they are doing, keeping up with their lives, even if they think that they are telling me things that are “boring” or “dumb.” Everything is of interest to me here. It’s really interesting to see the people that have taken the time out of their busy days to keep in contact with me. You can really tell who you’re true friends are when you leave for such a large period of time.  But overall, I appreciate my friends and family more being here. I miss everyone quite horribly. I have to keep myself from looking at any of the pictures of them on Facebook while I’ve been gone because it brings me to tears every time I think about all of the memories that I have missed out on. But I have to remind myself while they are making stories without me at home, I’m creating my own here as well.

 So I guess this is a just a big “thank you” to everyone that has been there for me for the past couple of months. Your love and support means more to me than you can understand. I love, love Spain, but no one here could ever replace you. So next time you sit down to write an e-mail, send a card or message, know that it is greatly appreciated and that I miss you more than I can explain. Thanks Again…Love Emily. 

Election Day

Sunday March 9, 2008

Today is Election Day here in Spain. There are two major parties here in Spain: PP and PSOE. The weekend of the elections one of the previous major figures in the PSOE party was assonated. He was killed by ETA, the terrorist group from País Vasco, in the northern part of Spain. This kind of brought things close to home, but don’t worry. ETA is really good at killing only people that they want to kill, no innocent bystanders. So I’m good, well unless I make the largest terrorist group in the country mad at me, but I highly doubt that even I could pull that one off. So the results came in and the PSOE candidate won, José Luis Rodriquez Zapatero. He was the current president and now he is keeping his office. On a lighter note, Zapatero has really creepy eyebrows, so that’s always fun. They are somewhat sort of like a creepy clown, so its good that he had some good platforms because he definitely wouldn’t have won based on his looks. Anyway, it was interesting to see the difference between elections here and in the United States. They still use the written ballot style, there isn’t near as much propaganda, and there is no transition period like in the states. I don’t really care much for politics and I thought that this was interesting, so take it for what it’s worth. 

Yah, I'm a Slacker, I know.

March 3, 2008- March 9, 2008

 From the 3^rd through the wee hours of the morning on the 6^th Aaron was here in Seville with me. It was frustrating having to go to class everyday and then doing homework at night when he was here, but it was kind of a necessity. During the day Aaron did his own thing (only got lost a few times, had a minor mishap with a gypsy) and I tried to show him around Seville in the afternoon and at night. It has great having him around and being able to show someone from back home how I’m actually living my life here. I think that Aaron was a little bit overwhelmed/frustrated with the language barrier, but I helped him out as much as possible. He got along really well with my roommates and Encarna as well. I think that Encarna loves him; she was full of good comments and questions about him. She even went as far as having a special “Jonsey” dinner (she couldn’t pronounce Aaron) in which she bought Coca-Cola for everyone to share. She doesn’t even buy Coke for me! Ha! She also made him a lunch to go one day, she’s just a great lady. After our special “Jonesy” dinner Encarna put in a video of her daughter Fatima dancing Flamenco. This is the first time that any of us had seen Fatima dance and Encarna decided to show Aaron and us because “it was a special night.” During the week Aaron and I tried all sorts of quaint little Spanish restaurants and it was fun to be able, or at least have a good reason, to go out to eat. Aaron left at 4:15 on Thursday morning, which wasn’t exactly the most fun thing that happened last week, but it obviously had to happen sometime.

 This week I registered for classes for next semester and it looks like my schedule is going to be jam-packed full of things to do. I think that I’m going to really like a lot of the classes that I’m registered for.

 On Thursday afternoon I decided that I wanted to chop my hair off and get it highlighted so I headed to get it done. My haircut actually turned out really well and I’m in love with it. It’s a little Victoria Beckham-esk, but with a blonde twist. I got my hair washed, cut, colored and styled all for only $34 Euros-what a bargain! Thursday night I went to the play, Don Juan Tenorio, which was performed in an old Baroque style church. We were in the front row and our feet were on the stage. It was a great performance and a lot of fun to go to.

 Friday night we had a group outing with our newly acquired “intercambios.” A few weeks ago we went to the language school in the afternoon and met a few students, although their ages range from 20-70ish, who are learning how to speak English. It was a good time being able to sit down and have someone to speak Spanish with without feeling like an idiot. Friday we all met at a bar and we went around and talked to a bunch of different people. I met a girl and a guy, who are dating, and they talked to me for quite a while. The guy was also studying history, so it was interesting talking to him and finding out more about some of the Spanish traditions and history. We exchanged contact information with some of the Spaniards that night, so hopefully we will be meeting up again sometime soon. I also talked to a few people about possibly finding and internship opportunity with Spanish/Communications, and possibly in Spain. Don’t start to hate me already; there is nothing solid there yet. I also talked to one of the directors and I’m going to go to the University of Seville’s next choir practice with another guy from my class who wants to get involved in music here. Hopefully that works out and I’ll let you know how practice goes next Wednesday. He went this week and absolutely loved it, so I’m sure that I will too. To wrap up a good night, we headed to the “Churrería” and got some churros and chocolate before heading home.

 This past week we have started our Midterms and it really hasn’t been all that fun, then again it wouldn’t be fun back in the States either. I had one test while Aaron was here and then I have three more next week. Wish me luck!

 This past week we have had 4 15-18 year-old Italian girls living in the apartment downstairs. They have had a couple of meals with us and I don’t really care for them much. They are pretty interesting and they think that English is a beautiful language; lets just leave it at that. I’m counting down the days until they leave.

Disclaimer: I know this past couple week I’ve been slacking, but it’s been really busy! I will try and keep up more on it now that Aaron has left and since Midterms will be ending. I only have about half of my time left here and things have absolutely flown by. I can’t believe that I will be back in the States in 60’ish days. You are lucky that I really like you or else I don’t know if I’d be coming back

When in Conil...

Thursday February 27, 2008-Sunday March 2

 

For the past four days I have been in Conil sitting on the beach, sampling native food and drinks, playing cards, and just relaxing. It has been the best thing for my sanity and I decided to take a little bit of a break from the instant replay style blog. Instead I’ve decided to create a guide of things to do while in Conil, so here goes…

 

When in Conil….

n                Don’t do any homework, it’s overrated.

n                Find a bar that you like and visit it twice. You could end up being the bartender’s best friend afterwards.

n                Lie on the beach and enjoy life.

n                Build a sand monster with sand and seashells.

n                Start a collection of seashells but try to avoid taking home the entire beach.

n                Sleep-in past 9am.

n                Get lost and go down a barely lit street that has graffiti on the walls…

n                Rent an apartment for 10 Euros a night.

n                Act like an adult and make your own food: mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, pasta

n                Wear sunscreen even when its cloudy or else you will look like a lobster.

n                Wear a crown of leaves on your head, or a grouping of carrots. I did, and they both worked out well.

n                Get your palm read by an old man named Manila at “La Gloria.”

n                Buy two new rings because you want them, and later find out that they are 50% off.

n                Hang out with a pretty cool guy that may have flown half way around the world to experience Spain with you.

n                Get picked up and taken to the bus stop in a small lime green car with a driver by the name of Pochi.

n                Eat bread and cheese sandwiches for lunch because the grocery store and everything else is closed for a holiday.

n                Have a teeth-brushing party. While brushing your teeth is boring, it’s necessary. It’s better to brush with a friend.

n                Sell your boyfriend to a Spaniard for 30 Euros, making sure that the Spaniard writes you a receipt.

n                Learn how to play Phase 10 before you have a glass of wine.

n                Go down to the beach for sunset.

n                Learn how to light a stove without blowing up an apartment complex.

n                Have 2 hours talks before you fall asleep, slumber party style.

n                Watch “Talladega Nights” for 34 minutes.

n                Take a bus home and sit next to a man who smells really bad, and who will cease to smell bad for 2 hours straight.

 

There are many more things to do while in a beach town, but these are just a few things that I would suggest doing to have a good time. Overall, this weekend was a blast and I had a great time just relaxing on the beach. Did I mention that Aaron is here? Yeah, that hasn’t been so bad either. I thought that I would be a little bit overwhelmed when he arrived, but everything just fell back the way things were. It is nice having a little bit of the States here with me. I think it has helped my sanity immensely and I can’t wait for the rest of this week. 

Aaron Arrives!

Wednesday February 27, 2008

Lets just start out by saying that I didn’t sleep last night, for the record. It was kind of like the night before Christmas. I finally got up and went to class, which I struggled through because I couldn’t pay attention at all. After class ended I headed to the bar where I was to meet Aaron. If things were as planned he would be sitting at “Las Columnas” and waiting for me. As we walked up, Allison spotted a white arm in the distance and we automatically assumed that it was Aarons. After spotting a guy surrounded by luggage, I knew that he was our target. I walked up behind him and gave him a huge hug and then it kind of hit me that he was finally here! I couldn’t believe that he even made it to Spain, let alone to the bar by our house that I had given him. Apparently he had been waiting there for about an hour and a half and was more than ready to come with us to our house. I showed him his room and we moved all of his stuff in. Then we went upstairs; I gave him the grand tour of my house, and introduced him to Rocio. It was fun not being the one who had no clue what was going on for once. He knows a little Spanish, but the hardest part about “knowing” a language is actually speaking, which is quite intimidating and hard to do. We stumbled through that introduction with Rocio kissing him on both cheeks and he headed downstairs to shower before lunch. Lunch was a mix of Spanish and English, mostly translation, but its really nice having such a great host family who so kindly took him in as part of our family. He didn’t get to meet Encarna today because she had left already to visit her other daughter, Fatima, in Madrid for the holiday. After lunch we finished packing up and then headed to the bus station. We got on our bus at 5:30pm and we were on our way to the beach! After about a two-hour bus ride we arrived at our stop. Sam struggled with getting our luggage out from under the bus, as the driver almost shut her in the luggage compartment and drove away. Pochi (yeah, that’s the name of Encarna’s friend) came and picked us up at the bus stop and took us to the apartment. She’s a really nice lady, which I wouldn’t expect any less of her being Encarna’s friend and all. She showed us around the apartment, gave us maps, and told us where the best bars and restaurants in town were. Before leaving she informed us that she is our new “mom” for these next 5 days and if we needed anything we were to call her. After unpacking a bit, we hit the streets to find dinner. We ended up at a bar/restaurant called, “La Gloria.” It was definitely a small hole-in-the-wall bar and probably didn’t have more than 10 seats, but it was amazing. The bartender was great and we ordered dinner. We got a mix of different dishes but they were all delicious. As we went to pay the bartender insisted that we all have a round of shots, and he immediately took them out and poured them for us. The shot wasn’t bad, some sort of Vodka and fresh squeeze orange juice combo. We talked to the bartender for a while and he asked if were we from Canada (what?) and we rebutted that one for a while. He gave us his card, we paid (the shots were on him), and we headed out. We came home and went to bed, Aaron was tired from his travels (which I don’t blame him) and the rest of us were just being lazy. Why not? We are on vacation right?