Feria

So, it's been almost two weeks since the last big party that brought Sevilla to a stand-still (Semana Santa). Obviously it's time for another party! Feria is an unbelievable party that's held on the outskirts of my barrio: Los Remedios! Our week of school was kind of funny leading up to this celebration. We had Monday off because of Spanish Labor Day, then we had school Tuesday and Wednesday, and finally we didn't have class Thursday. So, two days worth of school, and then a party of color, music, dancing and of course rebuijito

Entrance to Feria just after watching it be lit up

Rebujito is the traditional drink of Feria in Sevilla. It's made with about 1/3 or 1/2 Manzanilla, the rest filled up with either Sprite or 7up and then as much ice as is humanly possible to fit in the jug. It's an unbelievably refreshing drink, which is a good thing because in late April/early May it is HOT in Sevilla, it frequently hits over 80. The combination of the dancing and the heat would make most people either head to the beach or at least shed a few layers... but not the Spanish. Ooooh, no. This festival is when the already fashionable Sevillanos take it to a whole new level for fancy: Flamenco dresses.

Some CC-CS girls enjoying some Rebujito in their Gitana dresses

The dresses we see during Feria are unbelievable. They run the gamut of colors from reds to blues to pinks, to blacks to whites and even browns. The more surprising thing is that I have NOT seen a single woman who was not flattered by her Flamenco dress. I am a fan of people watching, and this week has been an absolute blur of unbelievable Spaniards wearing their dresses or their suits and dancing, drinking and generally enjoying their days and nights! I will admit that my absolute favorite Spaniard in her dress has to be our host-mother's granddaughter, Lucia. She came over to get dressed and then go to Feria with her whole family (after we had a big family lunch that was full of good-natured shouting, hitting, joking and laughing). She is 3 years old and was dressed up in a sky blue dress with a blue flower in her hair and little Flamenco heels on her feet that she was stomping around in the house with. It was adorable and I truly wish I had had the presence of mind to take a picture, but I was too mesmerized.

One of the MANY carriages the rich use to arrive

Feria isn't over yet, and I really wish that it wouldn't end (and not just because we don't have classes). We have had a blast and will continue to enjoy the evenings!

Wouldn't be a proper post if there wasn't a bridge for Patty

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

Our first real "vacation" (Yeah, I know, I need a break from the constant adventure that is my life in Sevilla) is Semana Santa or Holy Week. The Spanish take their Easter celebrations seriously and Sevilla's celebrations are among the most extravagant with people preparing all year to carry processionals, play in the bands or dress as Nazarenos. After so much hype about all the festivities in Sevilla, of course Ross, Michael and I went to Barcelona (Give us a break, we have wanted to go to Barcelona for a while).

Our trip to Barcelona was mostly off the cuff and I'll admit a little haphazard. Ross wanted to use his Eurail pass and taking the Ave (High speed train) was more expensive than flying, so: Michael and I flew out Friday morning and Ross "trained" out Friday at a more reasonable hour. This was my first experience flying Ryanair. It was a cheap experience, but that is the airline that attempts to nickel and dime its customers more than any other airline I've heard of. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. So we arrived and jumped on the train from the airport to the hostel... I accidentally made us get off a little early, we got turned around and it took a much longer time to arrive than it should have. Michael was a good sport and didn't get mad, we had time to kill, anyways.

Once Ross got there we checked in (We had made the reservation in Ross's name... whoops). The hostel was quite nice, but bizarrely filled with middle-schoolers on school trips. But we hadn't gone to Barcelona for the hostel experience... we went to see the sights.

And oh my gosh were the sights amazing. Friday we went to Montjüic, where we saw the fort where Castro killed many political prisoners, but our sight-seeing began in earnest on Saturday, which we have now aptly named "Gaudí Day." This was without doubt my favorite day while in Barcelona. We started at the Sagrada Familia (Which was absolutely stupendous). The work of Gaudí and other architects certainly has made this the most unique basilica I have ever seen. It seems transcendental in its formation and all the sculpture simply adds to the mystery and awe at seeing it. All three of us spent a long time taking pictures of the outside, the inside and all around it!

After the Sagrada Familia we started the trek towards Parc Güell, and we decided we needed to find some lunch. We opted for the cheapest option available to us: sandwiches from a supermarket. For all three of us we got plenty of food for lunch and a little extra leftover for dinner for about 12E. This is definitely the way to go for people on a tight budget. Parc Güell was pretty spectacular, and after we ate our sandwiches we hiked all the way to the top and took a little siesta. Parc Güell had that Gaudí touch with lots of curves and a touch of whimsy. It was a great place to spend the afternoon eating, relaxing and hiking around. After we were done in the Parc, we walked down the hill towards Casa Mila (which we didn't go into because of the long line and large price tag... can't do everything). Then we saw the Block of Discord. When you're walking through the city and then all of a sudden you stumble upon a Gaudí it almost feels like you have tripped into another dimension. Basically we walked all over kingdom come and saw some very interesting buildings.

Sagrada Familia: Nativity Entrance 

Parc Güell!

Sunday was our old-town day. We checked out the Cathedral (During Palm Sunday no less). We got to go inside for part of the mass and as we were leaving the Cathedral we got to see some traditional Catalan circle dancing. It has a specific name that I can never remember, so you'll have to ask Ross about that one. After the circle dancing broke up we went to the Picasso Museum, which was absolutely incredible. I loved getting to see a lot of his earlier works and some sketches of his, plus a whole room filled with his studies on Las Meninas de Velazquez. After that we went to Las Ramblas and ate tapas. The pickpockets or "carteristas" are famous on Las Ramblas, so we were very cautious with all our belongings and even came out unscathed! Victory! After a nice lunch of Paella, pizza and tapas we walked to find a park to lie down in. (We're well accustomed to our siesta now, thank you very much!) While in the park there was a big old hippie festival going on, so we got caught up with the music, the dancing (which was hilarious) and we walked all over taking in the sights and sounds of the hustling bustling city. Dinner was pasta at the hostel (nice and cheap, thank you very much!)

Palm Sunday

Hippy Fest

Sunday was a nice lazy day after the last three days traipsing all over the city: we went to the beach!

Barcelona was an unbelievable city, but it was great feeling like coming back to Sevilla was basically coming back home. Now that we're back, it's time to take in all the sights and sounds of Sevilla during this most holy of weeks!

Oh yeah, Barcelona had some pretty gorgeous bridges: So here's the best one I found!

Happy Birthday! 4/19!

The Best Adventures Aren't Planned

Don't get me wrong: I loved Granada, it was a great weekend with some good visits and some awesome people. The school does a good job with the hotel, the trips, the food, etc. Sure, I would have liked some free time in the Generalife (Gardens at the Alhambra), but over all it was a great trip. If you're in Andalucía and you miss Granada... you're going to regret it.

No seriously, it's amazing

That was a very strictly regimented trip, and it involved a lot of "Oh no, it's WHAT time?!" And then running to our next visit, whether it was the Alhambra, the Cathedral, o lo que sea, it always felt like we were catching up and rushing. And that's usually the way it goes with such strictly regimented trips. Why the rant about schedules and appointments, you may ask? Well, because they go against the way I've traveled my whole life: Standby. Whenever we travel somewhere, we're always on standby. Sure sometimes that makes things a little difficult or you might have to change your plans, but what's so bad about that? Sometimes the best adventures aren't planned.

Take this weekend for example. It quickly turned into the most fun weekend that I've had here in Spain...

It all started with Kayla asking if any of us had a desire to go to Ronda, a city about 2 hours from Sevilla by bus. Sure, why not? I mean, I'd been there with my parents before, but it would be fun to go with some friends and get to see it in a new light. The very next morning I was on the bus with Jim, Michael, Livy, Dadkins, Kayla and Morgan. We got there and wandered a bit and had lunch. From lunch we went to find the tourist information office (right next to the oldest bullring in Spain). Michael and Danielle were the first inside, and they started looking at a map. They both looked at us and said "You're going to think we're crazy... but why don't we spend the night?" We agreed, but said that it would have to be someplace cheap. We decided on "camping" and asked the lady. Without permission from the park and without a tent, etc. She said it would be a bad idea. So, we asked about this place that was a little outside the city, apparently along a nice hike and it had bungalows.

Kayla was taking the picture

I was quickly elected to make the phone call, and called. It sounded like the man was holding the phone a foot from his face. After a lot of "Cómo?" "Perdón?" and "Lo siento, señor, no puedo entenderte..." We had made a tentative reservation and we went out to explore this incredibly old interesting city. After the city part got boring, we decided to check out the new bridges. There are 3 main historic bridges in Ronda. To give you a sense of age there is one called "Puente Nueva" (New Bridge) and that was finished being constructed at the end of the 18th century... Yeah, Ronda is fairly old. We got down to the bottom of the valley. Jim decided he wanted to get wet, so of course the rest of us (minus Morgan and Livy) jumped in the ice-cold water (Not recommended, of course). It was a ridiculous blast and we enjoyed sitting there and watching some other people go spelunking right next to us!

After that, however, it was time to grab groceries and head to our bungalow. We figured the 4km hike would be nice and easy and we'd get there around 8:30. Boy oh boy were we wrong. Turns out it was 5km alongside a highway (okay, so the distance wasn't that different, but you try hiking along a highway in the dark carrying groceries and having to call every 20 minutes to make sure you're on the right path in your second language). Needless to say people were complaining, but no one was talking about turning around (we had come so far!).

We definitely don't look homeless...

All was made right when we made it to our bungalow, though. It was perfect. We spent the night laughing, listening to 90's music, eating our groceries and laughing. Did I mention that my sides still hurt from laughing so much? I loved Ronda, and I loved the people I went with. Viva España!


I hope Patty didn't think I'd forgotten to show her the bridges!

This picture also has me in it... I hope she doesn't mind.

Getting Warmer (again)

The temperature in February was unseasonably warm, which lead to lazy afternoons by the Guadalquivir (the river running through the middle of Sevilla... what? Hadn't I mentioned that yet?!) And plenty of shorts-wearing and general happiness. Then for some reason March decided to happen and it rained and it was cold, and it was rare to see people without their umbrellas. In fact, I myself bought one... the day before the rain stopped. Oh well, all purchases can't be well timed (in fact they rarely are). The last week has been gorgeous though, knock on wood, and I've gotten to have some more wonderful experiences out of doors here in Sevilla.

ONE nice day and the sun-dresses come out!

this last weekend the OLA trip organized by the school was to el Parque Doñana, the largest wildlife preserve in Spain, and if I'm not mistaken, Europe. It's an important stopping point for birds migrating to and from Africa. Needless to say we saw some amazing birds, and we even rode horses through the park, onto a beach, and then back through the park to the stables. It was unbelievable, and I learned some great Spanish from Lery (who organizes the OLA trips and Lolo who was our horse-guide). For example the extremely Andalucían frase: "No ni na" which basically is used to answer EXTREMELY in the affirmative: "no ni nada" is where it comes from, but because the Andaluces always eat the ends of their words, nada becomes "na". It roughly translates to "No one, neither, nothing." The joke that Andaluces always eat the ends of their words is widespread, and even Mama Antonia said that after eating all of her words she's not hungry! At least they have a good sense of humor about their horrible Spanish.

This horse's name was "Conan"

The parks here in Sevilla are not to be missed, either. Each one offering unbelievable chances to explore and of course offering up surprises one wouldn't see in the states: like outdoor free workout facilities.

Adding weights is a matter of personal preference. Jim prefers a "Michael" sized weight

Last week I also got visited by my Profe from the states: Profe Hawes! We had a great talk over tapas and I got to relate a lot of my experiences to him while I've been here (hard to believe it's been almost two months!) Some of that talking actually translated into good advice. 

First of all: Never give up an opportunity to speak Spanish. I stop and talk to people here that I simply wouldn't in the states: for example the Red Cross workers. I know that I don't have anything to contribute (I mean come on, I'm a poor college student, who are they kidding?) But I will stop and chat about what they're trying to do and it's an interesting exercise in oral comprehension as well as actual coherent speech production. 

Second of all: Figure out which big purchases you can avoid. Now, most people would counsel to get rid of the small daily purchases we make as a way to trim the budget. I've found that the exact opposite is true over here. I wouldn't give up my daily café con leche at Bar Regio for anything. Everyday before going to school I grab my 1,20E (look at how Spanish I am, using a comma instead of a period) and I go to that bar. If a friend is going out for drinks, go. I know it's not as big a deal for guys as it is for girls to avoid shopping, but... do you really need that new jacket? Those boots? Sure they're on sale for 30E but just think: that's 25 coffees at Bar Regio. I won't remember if I bought the jacket, but I'm sure to remember getting an ice-cream in the shadow of the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe. Make memories, stop buying stuff.
Bring your camera... everywhere. Sure it's easy to have your friend tag you on Facebook albums, but what if you want to take a picture that they didn't? That's a memory you could potentially forget! Everyday here seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't let that perfect picture get away from you.

Obviously there is an unbelievable amount of advice that could be offered, and I'm sure I'll continue adding it as the semester progresses, but that's a pretty good start.

Remember that river I was talking about? Well, Patty would still like the fact that there needs to be a LOT of bridges to cross over it:

:D

Cádiz: New Friends and New Vocab

Spain and the Spanish people continue to flabbergast me at how welcoming everyone is. For example I had not signed up for the OLA trip to Carnaval in Cádiz, but because of a last-minute cancellation... I got to go!

Lery (the organizer of all the OLA trips through CC-CS) was great. All it took was a simple phone-call to advise him of the situation, and voilá I was getting ready to go to the bus! A quick stop at a Chino shop (They have EVERYTHING, but good luck finding what you need beneath all the piles of stuff) procured me a costume (cowboy) and then off to Cádiz and one of the largest Carnaval celebrations in the world! The bus ride was a blast, everyone was so excited to be going (I think everyone was really excited because *I* was going... Right?), and everyone was already in their costumes.

Party Bus!

Once in Cádiz it was crazy. People from our group kept getting separated, found, separated, lost, found, separated... It was a mad house! Luckily everyone made it back to the bus and everyone ended up mostly okay. I felt very badly because some girls had their phones/wallets stolen. That served as a grim reminder that no matter what crowd you are in you need to remain vigilant. It seems too often that people in our program become victims of petty theft whether it's through pick-pockets, or even a less-subtle grab-and-run variety. Sevilla and Cádiz as well are incredibly safe cities as far as your physical safety goes. I can walk home at 3am and not feel any fear, but everyone still needs to be wary!

But that's just the bad stuff. The great stuff was the atmosphere. Everyone was happy, everyone was celebrating and everyone was in costumes! It was considered socially acceptable, nay, necessary to meet as many people dressed the same as you as possible! People dressed as Bull Fighters (Torreros) that had never met each other before ended up hanging out all night! That aspect was absolutely one of my favorites. I love meeting Spanish people, and this was an incredible opportunity to meet people! I met people from Galicia who offered to take me out if I ever made it up that far north.

It was an absolute SEA of people!

As always, it was also a great time to practice colloquial conversational Spanish. Classes are great, but one of the best ways to learn is just talking. Talking to whomever will listen. Whether it's the waiter at my favorite café, a new Spanish friend at a bar (or Carnaval) or even just the Red Cross worker asking for help in the street, opportunities to learn are always presenting themselves in Sevilla.

Whether on the street or in the classroom... Here's some new vocab!

Bollo- loaf of bread (or a hit, like golpe)
Municipales- City police
Costillas- Ribs
Hito- Big discovery
Cojo- Gimp
Sordo-Deaf
Tuerto- Blind in one eye (Described to me as "like a pirate)
Chungo- Dodgy or stupid thing
Chulo- Cool... literally means "pimp"
Perder la pista- Lose contact with someone
Despista- Clueless person
Chatear- To chat on IM or some other manner on the internet

Of course there are unbelievable amounts of other words that pass through my brain and don't make it onto the blog... these are just some highlights!

Another Highlight: Bridges!

Bridges really are gorgeous at night

End of Intensive Period and my Birthday!

Oh hey! This blog's been featured on the Perspectivas section of the CC-CS Website! Now I guess that makes this an "Award Winning Blog." Sweet! If you've come here from the CC-CS Website, welcome! Feel free to peruse the stories of my adventures (and by extension those of my friends). Also feel free to follow this blog!

Life in Sevilla continues to be incredibly interesting! The "intensive period" of classes is finally over: Which means that there is no longer 4 hours of 1 class everyday. Our schedules are now varied and, to be honest, a little more interesting. Instead of simply "Contemporary Spanish Usage" I now am taking "Spanish for the Healthcare Professional", "Advanced Composition" and "Psychology of Learning a Second Language." All classes that are much more capable of holding my attention (And it helps that it's not for four hours). Of course my Spanish is continuing to improve by leaps and bounds, although Prof. Ware might shudder when she hears my new accent (Fairly heavy on the Andalucían... very light on the S's...).

Last weekend was a fairly big one: My 22nd Birthday! However, I had to get up early, which is always an absolute pain in the butt on your birthday... Good thing the reason I had to get up was to get to a bus so that we could go to Morocco!! A lot of my friends were able to come, which made everything so interesting. It was a shame, but Ross, Kelsey and Stephanie had to back out at the last minute because they were worried about the riots and protests that are sweeping Muslim nations. I don't blame them for their hesitance, but there was nothing stopping me from going, especially when the Embassy still gave us the green light. (Most of the protests in Morocco were located in the South: We were heading to the North).

The first stop on our trip to Northern Africa was something that readers may remember: Gibraltar. We had the option of paying a little extra and going up to see the monkeys and the cave again, but we opted out of it. I felt a little silly having been there the week before, but we saw some things that we hadn't seen before, and then Jim and I bought some Cuban Cigars (Instead of a birthday cake). I had forgotten to write about it before, but the last time we were in Gibraltar we learned about the origins of the name Gibraltar: it's actually Arabic. It's amazing how many civilizations have fought over that small rock in between two huge continents. At one point it was conquered by a man called Tariq: and it was called Gib Al Tariq (Basically Tariq's rock).

After our stopover in Gibraltar, we hopped back on the bus and headed out to Algeciras to jump on the fast ferry to the Spanish port of Ceuta in Northern Africa. There we had a small amount of free time where we bought some duty free Whiskey (To add to the "birthday cake"). From there: a small bus tour of Ceuta and then on to Moroccan Customs! We were under very strict orders to not take pictures on the border, especially as the security man was taking our passports. After a while waiting in various lines (we didn't have to leave the bus, at least) We were finally into Morocco! I had never been to Morocco, and Africa was a whole new continent! Another one chalked off the list!

Jimmy and I

It was fairly late in the day, so we made our way to the hotel in Tetoaun, called the Dreams Hotel. We checked in (Jim, Michael and I shared a room) and then went to dinner. Dinner was great and was a very traditional dish of Lemon Chicken. Everything was included, except for the drinks (Still very reasonable prices). If You're in Sevilla and feel like going to Morocco, I would very highly recommend the company "We Love Spain" The people are great and everything is fantastic!

After dinner we enjoyed my "birthday cake" out on the balcony, and I found out that it was Jim's first cigar (a Cuban is a good introduction). In the morning we went to Chefchaoun: Truly the best part of the trip! It's a wonderful little village that is painted almost entirely sky blue: It was absolutely gorgeous. Our guide was a wonderful 4' tall man who spoke fantastic broken English, frequently relying on phrases like "Okie Dokie, Super Duper" when his vocabulary failed him. We all called him Yoda due to the striking resemblance, although I believe his real name was Toto. We got some time in Chefchaoun to do some shopping: I bought a Jilab that I haggled from 25E to 18... I do so love bargaining, and I wish our economy was more based upon it!

Mmmm... Cake!

From Chefchaoun we went back to Tetoaun for lunch. Lunch was... Lemon Chicken again. Still tasty, but weird that we got it two days in a row. Lunch was fun, and we had some great entertainment in the form of music and dancing. Then we went out into the market and we had a blast walking around and discovering Morocco's markets. The market was coupled with a tour of the city and culminated in a traditional herbalist. I bought some medicinal herbs and a present for my mother (Shhhh, don't tell her!)

After that we booked it on over to our hotel in Tangiers. We had dinner in a big tent with unbelievable food (meatballs in tomato sauce with eggs, great soup, tasty bread, etc.) Dinner had plenty of entertainment, too, especially when Michael was chosen to go up on stage with the fire dancer! Michael almost had his wrist broken when the guy tried to turn him into a human pretzel. After dinner we had some time to get dressed, because then everyone who went on the trip (around 100 people) went to the club and we danced well into the night. All in all it was an unbelievable last night in Africa, and I was sad to get up the next morning and have to leave.

Yay, Dinner!

Luckily we had a few more sites to see before leaving: and we got to see the point where the Mediterranean becomes the Atlantic! It was a very pretty lighthouse and then we checked out the "Caves of Hercules." I don't know exactly where Northern Africa sits in the Hercules Mythos, but the cave was quite pretty nonetheless. Oh! And we also got to ride camels, granted it was only for a couple of minutes. It was still a lot of fun, and we all got some great pictures of us pretending to be Sultans on camel-back.

Bet you thought this was going to be one of those camel pictures, didn't you?

The trip back to Spain was a good one, too, with all of us exhausted from a good time. Beyond that, everyone agreed that this weekend, while full of laughter was very light on the sleep. Suffice it to say that everyone's necks hurt when the bus pulled back into Plaza de Cuba from sleeping in awkward positions on the bus...

Another unbelievable weekend in an unbelievable adventure!

Oh, and of course:

African Bridge for Patty!

Gibraltar, and how I learned some Spanish

Whoo, it's been an eventful 3 weeks since I've been in Spain. I can't believe that it's been that long, but it feels like it's gone by in the blink of an eye. Everything continues to be amazing: friends, my house mama, classes and trips. Last weekend we went to Gibraltar for the day.

I literally jumped off a stationary bus to go hang with these kids

Gibraltar was pretty hilarious, and getting a monkey to jump up on your shoulders is something I won't quickly forget. Plus going into St. Michael's Cave was incredible. The way the place is lit up combined with the almost alien natural "architecture" makes for an extremely surreal experience. The town proper of Gibraltar has some unexpected gems as well, like the Trafalgar cemetery! Such a quiet and peaceful place, it's full of flowers and trees and winding pathways. It's almost a shame that it's chock-full of dead people! Gibraltar is also one of the places that seems to have more statues per capita than any other place. A LOT of history on that one little rock.

Seriously guys: I'm not a tourist

After Gibraltar, I was feeling a little under the weather (it seems like everyone was) so I didn't get to go to Zahara de la Sierra, but from all my friends' pictures and stories it was amazing, and I really wish I'd made myself get up and go, despite my exhaustion and cold. Oh well, it was an enjoyable day in, with plenty of rest. Then classes started up.

The continuation period is almost over, and Friday of this week is our final. I'll be quite happy when we won't have 4 hour classes, everyday, but it seems that I will still need to come into school for  9am everyday. Oh well. I'm used to it now, anyways. Class continues to be interesting, and it's great how often schoolwork and the real world collide. One of the interesting things we learned was how they pronounce Whiskey here in Spain. Apparently, they drop the "s" (like everything else... I apparently am not in España, but E'paña). So, my teacher told us that it is called "wiki." Full of this new knowledge I asked for "una chupita de wiki" at a bar. The bartender stopped everything and laughed at me for a solid minute. Apparently "whiskey" is still more said than what my teacher told us. All my hopes and dreams of acting like a Spaniard were dashed, and after she was done shaking with laughter she poured my shot. She must have felt bad for laughing at me, though, so she then poured me another one!

So, the moral being: Don't worry about getting dirty, making mistakes and people laughing at you: You end up learning some Spanish, making a friend and getting free booze!

Oh, and this BRIDGE is pretty awesome, too:

A bridge? For Patty? You betchya.