Just wanted to let everyone know where I will be spending the weekend.
Palma Mallorca.
(in case you want to come)
Palma Mallorca.
(in case you want to come)
TQM.
sorryboutit.
love, me.
(ps. will update when i get back)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Lisbon, Lisboa, Lishboa... Portugal
Click to View Photos From my Portugal Trip!!
Portugal was amazing.
We went on this trip with ISA so obviously there was basically all the educational/learning experiences involved as they can pack in for a weekend.
We left Friday morning at 8 which means i was up at 630 getting ready to go. Lucky me. Madelon and I slept the entire way there, all 6 1/2 hours of it. Which was good because when we got there, we had a free couple hours to get settled in to the hotel we stayed at and go find some lunch. Luckily most of us had our moms pack bocadillos (which i have explained before are like a sandwich on french bread) and so we just ate that in the hotel until we left for our first couple excursions of the weekend.
The first of all, a little background on Portugal. Much of Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, was destroyed in a 1755 earthquake. Much of the city had to be rebuilt from the ground up and Lisbon lost many historic things. There was one church that stayed completely intact though (which we did get to tour). Their language and much of their architecture is influenced by the Muslims. There are about 7 (i believe) or so places in the world with the official language as Portuguese. ( Brazil and Portugal are two primary Portuguese speaking nations,Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau and São Tomé e Príncipe; Portuguese speakers are also found in Macau, East Timor and Goa.... got that list online so i don't know how correct it is.. hahah!) To me i was very surprised because i only thought it was Portugal, and Brazil. There are even places in the US today where many Portuguese people had came to from the past. There are around 240 million speakers, which makes Portuguese the sixth most spoken language in the world!
all the more reason for me to start my quest on learning Portuguese. :) It sounds so pretty and yet if they speak slow enough, and someone speaks Spanish slow enough, you can have a conversation. WHICH, in fact, i did to with our cab driver one night when we were going to dinner. He spoke in Portuguese and we spoke in Spanish and had a really easy time communicating. Funny the way it is.
Now, onto the excursions...
Friday after we got there and had lunch, and got checked into the hotel, We went to visit this Castle. I apologize for not knowing the name of it or the history about it but I assume it used to be a castle during the times of the conquest and reconquest. The view we had of Lisbon was beautiful from the top and sorry for not being sorry but we deff. got ourselves kicked out because all of us were climbing on the castle walls and on the ledges to take some daring (swweeett) photographs! haha ISA directors were not mad at all just kinda was like oh well and we continued on with our tour of Portugal.
After this we walked through a bario (neighborhood) and over by the Tagus river. It was a lovely stroll down and then got back on the bus to go to the Hotel. It was a short 'excursion' day but that was definitely O.K. with me. At the hotel we got to relax for a while and then Madelon, Kelly, Blair, Narolyn, Jen and I planned on going out for supper. We went and got a beer (which was worlds) better then the Cruzcampo here.. haha... and decided we really just wanted American food. Blair had mentioned she saw a Hard Rock Cafe (I know,cliche but what can you do) and since things were so insanely (like 14 EURO for a cheeseburger =20US$) expensive, we all split with each other. It was definitely worth it. That night we just kind of all hung out and some of the group went out and some of us stayed in.
The next morning, they had chocolate cake for breakfast (yeah. they CLEARLY have priorities here.) annnd i guess they had eggs and toast, sandwich meats, cheese, fruit, yogurt, sausages (ew) and deserts and cereals. Sidenote: the eggs i have had at hotels here, are actual eggs. meaning they taste like bob's and they could completely knock down any eggs put up against it here in the US. seriously. yum.
Furthermore, Madelon and i take breakfast buffets like this as an opportunity to pack a free lunch. And i mean we take that opportunity. We each made ourselves 3 little bun sandwiches and ate a lot of breakfast so we wouldn't be that hungry at lunch. (this is a usual thing as you can tell since day one in Madrid. hahah)
Anyway, Sat. we went on a panoramic tour of Lisbon and also went a visited the this really cool place (aka Kelly's home.. inside joke i suppose). it was nice because we were free to explore as we wanted and didnt have to sit and listen to a guide, hence the Kelly's home reference, meaning we made up our own story, and it was good. hahahah ohh boy. great day.
We had basically the whole day for free time so we conquered the Lisbon Metro (seriously everyone, im getting SO PRO at this) and went to one of the Largest Malls in Europe. It was fun but then we found this GIANT store that was like a Target/Sam's club and obviously got lost in there for a while. Madelon and myself got lost for Jen and Narolyn so we just decided to go back to the hotel. We hung out and just had a really really fun night at the hotel. We had planned on going out but I got tired afterwards so I didn't but the other girls did. Then Sunday we basically got up and came back home to Sevilla.
It was a really nice time in Portugal and I am so glad I get to go back in 2 weeks to Lagos with Discover Sevilla. :) So pumped. This week I am starting to work on final projects and papers. i can't believe it is almost April, I know i have said that before but it is so surreal for me. This weekend I am going to Palma Mallorca which is in the Balteric Islands in the Mediterranean. SO EXCITED TO TAN!!!
haha. well. i hope things are going well for all of you. Don't forget to look at the link at the top for my photos! anyone can click on it weather or not you have a facebook.
TQM/Hasta.
Portugal was amazing.
We went on this trip with ISA so obviously there was basically all the educational/learning experiences involved as they can pack in for a weekend.
We left Friday morning at 8 which means i was up at 630 getting ready to go. Lucky me. Madelon and I slept the entire way there, all 6 1/2 hours of it. Which was good because when we got there, we had a free couple hours to get settled in to the hotel we stayed at and go find some lunch. Luckily most of us had our moms pack bocadillos (which i have explained before are like a sandwich on french bread) and so we just ate that in the hotel until we left for our first couple excursions of the weekend.
The first of all, a little background on Portugal. Much of Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, was destroyed in a 1755 earthquake. Much of the city had to be rebuilt from the ground up and Lisbon lost many historic things. There was one church that stayed completely intact though (which we did get to tour). Their language and much of their architecture is influenced by the Muslims. There are about 7 (i believe) or so places in the world with the official language as Portuguese. ( Brazil and Portugal are two primary Portuguese speaking nations,Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau and São Tomé e Príncipe; Portuguese speakers are also found in Macau, East Timor and Goa.... got that list online so i don't know how correct it is.. hahah!) To me i was very surprised because i only thought it was Portugal, and Brazil. There are even places in the US today where many Portuguese people had came to from the past. There are around 240 million speakers, which makes Portuguese the sixth most spoken language in the world!
all the more reason for me to start my quest on learning Portuguese. :) It sounds so pretty and yet if they speak slow enough, and someone speaks Spanish slow enough, you can have a conversation. WHICH, in fact, i did to with our cab driver one night when we were going to dinner. He spoke in Portuguese and we spoke in Spanish and had a really easy time communicating. Funny the way it is.
Now, onto the excursions...
Friday after we got there and had lunch, and got checked into the hotel, We went to visit this Castle. I apologize for not knowing the name of it or the history about it but I assume it used to be a castle during the times of the conquest and reconquest. The view we had of Lisbon was beautiful from the top and sorry for not being sorry but we deff. got ourselves kicked out because all of us were climbing on the castle walls and on the ledges to take some daring (swweeett) photographs! haha ISA directors were not mad at all just kinda was like oh well and we continued on with our tour of Portugal.
After this we walked through a bario (neighborhood) and over by the Tagus river. It was a lovely stroll down and then got back on the bus to go to the Hotel. It was a short 'excursion' day but that was definitely O.K. with me. At the hotel we got to relax for a while and then Madelon, Kelly, Blair, Narolyn, Jen and I planned on going out for supper. We went and got a beer (which was worlds) better then the Cruzcampo here.. haha... and decided we really just wanted American food. Blair had mentioned she saw a Hard Rock Cafe (I know,cliche but what can you do) and since things were so insanely (like 14 EURO for a cheeseburger =20US$) expensive, we all split with each other. It was definitely worth it. That night we just kind of all hung out and some of the group went out and some of us stayed in.
The next morning, they had chocolate cake for breakfast (yeah. they CLEARLY have priorities here.) annnd i guess they had eggs and toast, sandwich meats, cheese, fruit, yogurt, sausages (ew) and deserts and cereals. Sidenote: the eggs i have had at hotels here, are actual eggs. meaning they taste like bob's and they could completely knock down any eggs put up against it here in the US. seriously. yum.
Furthermore, Madelon and i take breakfast buffets like this as an opportunity to pack a free lunch. And i mean we take that opportunity. We each made ourselves 3 little bun sandwiches and ate a lot of breakfast so we wouldn't be that hungry at lunch. (this is a usual thing as you can tell since day one in Madrid. hahah)
Anyway, Sat. we went on a panoramic tour of Lisbon and also went a visited the this really cool place (aka Kelly's home.. inside joke i suppose). it was nice because we were free to explore as we wanted and didnt have to sit and listen to a guide, hence the Kelly's home reference, meaning we made up our own story, and it was good. hahahah ohh boy. great day.
We had basically the whole day for free time so we conquered the Lisbon Metro (seriously everyone, im getting SO PRO at this) and went to one of the Largest Malls in Europe. It was fun but then we found this GIANT store that was like a Target/Sam's club and obviously got lost in there for a while. Madelon and myself got lost for Jen and Narolyn so we just decided to go back to the hotel. We hung out and just had a really really fun night at the hotel. We had planned on going out but I got tired afterwards so I didn't but the other girls did. Then Sunday we basically got up and came back home to Sevilla.
It was a really nice time in Portugal and I am so glad I get to go back in 2 weeks to Lagos with Discover Sevilla. :) So pumped. This week I am starting to work on final projects and papers. i can't believe it is almost April, I know i have said that before but it is so surreal for me. This weekend I am going to Palma Mallorca which is in the Balteric Islands in the Mediterranean. SO EXCITED TO TAN!!!
haha. well. i hope things are going well for all of you. Don't forget to look at the link at the top for my photos! anyone can click on it weather or not you have a facebook.
TQM/Hasta.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Cultural Differences as told by Katrina
I thought I would do an informational blog about the cultural differences in Spain compared to the United States so you can get a little taste of what it is REALLY like to live here. To start out, everyone walks everywhere...everywhere... or rides a bike.. or a moped.. even in their fancy business suits. Classy. There are many people that have cars but it is so expensive to buy a parking space (we´re talking about 40,000 Euro here people)
Further than that, I honestly have not seen a "house" here at all. What I do see are many apartment buildings located on top of businesses or simply and apartment building between buildings with parking below or down the block. No one rents here because "to rent is to throw away your money" I learned in class about "cultura de propieded" (culture of property for a direct translation). This basically is about the people who choose not to move to find a job or not to rent because they love having their own things (ie my own house, my own car) In fact, When i visited a company here called Abengoa, they work in sustainable development, and they said that because they have so many workers, they offered to let them have these passes that would allow them to ride the bus to work for free and the workers were so attached to their cars that they declined. Eventually maybe people will come around.
Unfortunately sleep-overs and making cookies/watching movies at 'home' is not allowed here. Some señoras (host moms) do allow friends to come over but the majority of Spanish life is lived outside of the home. You go to a café or to a restaurant or the park, basically you go anywhere except the home. People here enjoy their privacy and you can relax at your home as much as you want, but they really are not for friends. Not that in the 'States' the size of the apartment i am living in currently would be a no friend zone. Its actually quite large. Friends are outside of the home so along with walking everywhere, another reason aside from work or school would be to hang out with friends. Also, the novios (boyfriends/girlfriends) have to meet outside of the house to make out.. this they pretty much do anywhere they please, park, plaza nuevea, a bench, laying on the road, on a moped, by a fence, on a dumpster, you get it. SERIOUSLY. that is the situation.
As we travel throughout the day of los sevillanos (those who live in Seville) next comes the main event, eating. Now, In the US as you all well know, we eat 3 giant meals a day with the main meal being suppertime. The first and foremost difference, they don't do that here. In fact, the only similarity I would throw out there for the two are that there are 3 meals (sometimes more depending on age, size, diet, etc). A normal eating day here starts out with breakfast. This can be around 8 in the am we will say for an average time, and is usually something along the lines of café(coffee), pan(bread), cereal(which i get at my homestay and generally choose the fruit from the lunch before), fruit, or a little something speacial (aka tostada con jamón(york) tomate y acete de oliva or for those who dont speak spanish or have any idea what i'm talking about, its like a toast sandwhich with ham (jamón york is more like the ham in the US otherwise there is jamón iberica which is.. different to say the least) and olive oil). Prob's my favorite breakfast ever. There is a place right by school where i get one around 11ish (some days when i am not hungry for breakfast) and a cafe con leche... lets just say they know Madelon and I. Otherwise i usually just get toast with oliveoil tomato and salt. eitherway, still, DELISH.
On to lunch. This is the largest meal of the day. Yes, I know, crazy, you actually have a chance to work of what you eat. miracle. seriously. You usually eat at 230-4 (2 is still early) and is usually a few different platos (or like entrees/plates/whatever) and the first one is usually lighter than the other like a salad with olive oil (catching onto a theme at all yet??) vinegar and salt and maybe a few extra things like tomatoes corn... cucumbers, normal salad ingredients. The second plato is the main one i would say. Sometimes my host mom makes things like pasta but normally its some sort of meat and some sort of starch/carb like rice or potatoes or noodles even. You always get your own loaf of bread (seriously, non carb eaters, you will not survive here. its a way of life). yes a loaf like a... 'my size'... and for dessert, Fruit. Which again, sometimes we get something special like homemade arroz con leche (basically like a rice pudding but so much better). haha
Dinner on the other hand, is very light. This is eaten between 9-11pm. Sometimes i do go out for tapas or anything really, but portions are always smaller than in the US. At my home stay every night my lovely host mom makes us each a sandwich, the contents of which vary from day to day, and we usually get chips, pudding or yogurt, and chocolate (of course). Sometimes there is a little merienda (aka snackish.. which can be a bocadillo (aka sandwhich on a baguette) or something) between lunch and dinner but that is generally for younger kids.
As you can see there are quite a few differences within Spain and the US and I haven't even got in to the government and the people!! (which I wont do because, as well as my teacher teaches, it is still boring.)
There is however a PLAZA just about every turn you make. These are fun to hang out in just because you can eat your bocadillo, or just chill or anything you want basically. Little kids like to chase the pigeons or play fútbol aka soccer which is SO adorb. (Plazas are where you can see people making out as well, very popular ones are in parks). Speaking of children! The children/babies here are dressed up like DOLLS. not kidding. If i wanted to impose on someones life i would have taken a legitament photo of it because the baby is ALWAYS in realllly nice clothes whenever it is out in the calle (street). Boys wear tights with their shorts and or long socks. Smocks when they go to school, almost everyone has a school uniform, and the carriages? don't even get me started! can we say l.u.x.e?!
But enough about that, going to the doctor here is a breeze. You get medicine right a way, i got in right away, they literally have a cure for everything here, and if not a cure, something for you to take to deal while you have it. .L.O.V.E.
The style is is so different as well. its deffinately tights, leggins, skinnyjeans, very classy clothes (like me going to class in a nice business type suit) the shoes are all heels which i am still trying to figure out how in the hell they can wear those all day long on cobblestone streets. I on the other hand am happy sticking with flats! haha :)
The rio aka the river. I LOVE. I am pretty sure ISA said 'don't go' but i mean, my host mom said it was alright and i guess i would listen to my mom over anyone in the states, SO i go. i mean, everyone goes. to just sit and relax by the river, to tan to listen to music to botellon (aka pre-game).. run.. you can do anything by the river, and believe me, people do.
That i think is enough for my cultural lesson today and will discuss this topic continuously as my trip progresses. Just heading to Portugal this weekend, no big. (!!!!!!) I can't even begin to explain in this size 'normal' 12 font how excited i am to be going. I am also going to get a head start on some of my final projects for classes since i will be traveling basically every weekend until i come home, which i am actually trying not to think about now because i love it here so much. o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d.
TQM/Hasta.
Further than that, I honestly have not seen a "house" here at all. What I do see are many apartment buildings located on top of businesses or simply and apartment building between buildings with parking below or down the block. No one rents here because "to rent is to throw away your money" I learned in class about "cultura de propieded" (culture of property for a direct translation). This basically is about the people who choose not to move to find a job or not to rent because they love having their own things (ie my own house, my own car) In fact, When i visited a company here called Abengoa, they work in sustainable development, and they said that because they have so many workers, they offered to let them have these passes that would allow them to ride the bus to work for free and the workers were so attached to their cars that they declined. Eventually maybe people will come around.
Unfortunately sleep-overs and making cookies/watching movies at 'home' is not allowed here. Some señoras (host moms) do allow friends to come over but the majority of Spanish life is lived outside of the home. You go to a café or to a restaurant or the park, basically you go anywhere except the home. People here enjoy their privacy and you can relax at your home as much as you want, but they really are not for friends. Not that in the 'States' the size of the apartment i am living in currently would be a no friend zone. Its actually quite large. Friends are outside of the home so along with walking everywhere, another reason aside from work or school would be to hang out with friends. Also, the novios (boyfriends/girlfriends) have to meet outside of the house to make out.. this they pretty much do anywhere they please, park, plaza nuevea, a bench, laying on the road, on a moped, by a fence, on a dumpster, you get it. SERIOUSLY. that is the situation.
As we travel throughout the day of los sevillanos (those who live in Seville) next comes the main event, eating. Now, In the US as you all well know, we eat 3 giant meals a day with the main meal being suppertime. The first and foremost difference, they don't do that here. In fact, the only similarity I would throw out there for the two are that there are 3 meals (sometimes more depending on age, size, diet, etc). A normal eating day here starts out with breakfast. This can be around 8 in the am we will say for an average time, and is usually something along the lines of café(coffee), pan(bread), cereal(which i get at my homestay and generally choose the fruit from the lunch before), fruit, or a little something speacial (aka tostada con jamón(york) tomate y acete de oliva or for those who dont speak spanish or have any idea what i'm talking about, its like a toast sandwhich with ham (jamón york is more like the ham in the US otherwise there is jamón iberica which is.. different to say the least) and olive oil). Prob's my favorite breakfast ever. There is a place right by school where i get one around 11ish (some days when i am not hungry for breakfast) and a cafe con leche... lets just say they know Madelon and I. Otherwise i usually just get toast with oliveoil tomato and salt. eitherway, still, DELISH.
On to lunch. This is the largest meal of the day. Yes, I know, crazy, you actually have a chance to work of what you eat. miracle. seriously. You usually eat at 230-4 (2 is still early) and is usually a few different platos (or like entrees/plates/whatever) and the first one is usually lighter than the other like a salad with olive oil (catching onto a theme at all yet??) vinegar and salt and maybe a few extra things like tomatoes corn... cucumbers, normal salad ingredients. The second plato is the main one i would say. Sometimes my host mom makes things like pasta but normally its some sort of meat and some sort of starch/carb like rice or potatoes or noodles even. You always get your own loaf of bread (seriously, non carb eaters, you will not survive here. its a way of life). yes a loaf like a... 'my size'... and for dessert, Fruit. Which again, sometimes we get something special like homemade arroz con leche (basically like a rice pudding but so much better). haha
Dinner on the other hand, is very light. This is eaten between 9-11pm. Sometimes i do go out for tapas or anything really, but portions are always smaller than in the US. At my home stay every night my lovely host mom makes us each a sandwich, the contents of which vary from day to day, and we usually get chips, pudding or yogurt, and chocolate (of course). Sometimes there is a little merienda (aka snackish.. which can be a bocadillo (aka sandwhich on a baguette) or something) between lunch and dinner but that is generally for younger kids.
As you can see there are quite a few differences within Spain and the US and I haven't even got in to the government and the people!! (which I wont do because, as well as my teacher teaches, it is still boring.)
There is however a PLAZA just about every turn you make. These are fun to hang out in just because you can eat your bocadillo, or just chill or anything you want basically. Little kids like to chase the pigeons or play fútbol aka soccer which is SO adorb. (Plazas are where you can see people making out as well, very popular ones are in parks). Speaking of children! The children/babies here are dressed up like DOLLS. not kidding. If i wanted to impose on someones life i would have taken a legitament photo of it because the baby is ALWAYS in realllly nice clothes whenever it is out in the calle (street). Boys wear tights with their shorts and or long socks. Smocks when they go to school, almost everyone has a school uniform, and the carriages? don't even get me started! can we say l.u.x.e?!
But enough about that, going to the doctor here is a breeze. You get medicine right a way, i got in right away, they literally have a cure for everything here, and if not a cure, something for you to take to deal while you have it. .L.O.V.E.
The style is is so different as well. its deffinately tights, leggins, skinnyjeans, very classy clothes (like me going to class in a nice business type suit) the shoes are all heels which i am still trying to figure out how in the hell they can wear those all day long on cobblestone streets. I on the other hand am happy sticking with flats! haha :)
The rio aka the river. I LOVE. I am pretty sure ISA said 'don't go' but i mean, my host mom said it was alright and i guess i would listen to my mom over anyone in the states, SO i go. i mean, everyone goes. to just sit and relax by the river, to tan to listen to music to botellon (aka pre-game).. run.. you can do anything by the river, and believe me, people do.
That i think is enough for my cultural lesson today and will discuss this topic continuously as my trip progresses. Just heading to Portugal this weekend, no big. (!!!!!!) I can't even begin to explain in this size 'normal' 12 font how excited i am to be going. I am also going to get a head start on some of my final projects for classes since i will be traveling basically every weekend until i come home, which i am actually trying not to think about now because i love it here so much. o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d.
TQM/Hasta.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Why are our lives so perfect?
..hello ocean in march..
This week was a rough one, no, not because i went to the beach, but because i had midterms. I did very well on both though and now have two more next week which i am pretty confident about.
THIS WEEKEND was amazing. Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and my non-irish self obviously had to participate in that. Madelon and I dressed up in Green everything for school and then went out to the bars that night, green wig and all. Needless to say, I was the life or the party. We went to an irish pub called Flatterty's first. Yes they had green Beer.
 |
| Kandace, me, Brittany & Madelon |
Friday Madelon, Brittany and I just hung out by the river and tanned. It was so nice to just hang out and walk around Sevilla with the amazing weather we had. I also got a little bit of shopping done for gifts and got a bit of color sitting by the river. That night I just hung out at home, recuperating from the night before and preparing for Saturday at the beach!!!
Cadiz
 |
| all of us in Cadiz |
 |
| madelon and myself sunbathing |
 | |||
| LA PLAYA EN MARZO! que no! |
Saturday a group of us went down to Cadiz which is about an hour and a half away from Sevilla to hang out at the beach! (Costa de la Luz) The weather was ideal and the ocean was freezing. The whole day we tanned and played in the Ocean (yes, even though it was cold... once you got numb you were fine :) haha) As a group we decided that Cadiz during the day is completely different than Cadiz during Carneval! no comparison necessary. haha! Madelon and I left the beach around 4 to catch the 5oclock bus back to Sevilla. We stopped and got bocadillos (which are like a sandwhich on french bread) which were amazing.. seriously, the most amazing bocadillos we have had on this entire trip. haha.. and then caught the bus back to Sevilla and pretty much rested the rest of the night. The sun takes a lot out of you.
Today I am going to go to the River to study for my midterms this week with Madelon and Brittany. It should be a good time. This weekend I go to Portugal and i am SO excited. We are going to Lisbon for the whole weekend.
This week i also had a tiny scare that i wouldn;t be able to make it back to Fargo on the 30 because there was supposed to be an airport strike and the airport would have been shut down, but luckily that got resolved!! :)
Anyway! I hope you are all having a fantastic time dealing with the snow/melting/flood situations back home. I am LOVING Spain and before you know it i will be home. only 40 days until i return to North Dakota!
Hasta/TQM
Monday, March 14, 2011
My new favorite quote...
Bad relationships are to end, so the good one's can begin. Let it go, be alone, love yourself & be patient for love.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Córdoba y Granada
This is a view from la Alhambra of the city of Granada. So breath taking. <3
This past week went by fast. I had one midterm for my International Marketing Class which i am pretty sure i did great on. I also had a 'quiz' (more like a midterm) for my Spanish Literature class. This was fairly easy and i did end up doing really well on that also.. except it counted for 20% of our grade.. so quiz my butt! seriously. rough. haha...
This this weekend I went to Córdoba y Granada with ISA which was only for Fri and Sat. but was deffinately a FULL weekend of culture. we went to Córdoba first and visited the(WOD) Mezquita which means Mosque in Spanish but is now a Catholic Cathedral. It was taken over after it was built so all the arcitecture is Moorish (the arches are a main site to see) but there was a lot of things that were done to it after the Catholic Kings took it over. The Cathedral visit was short but very beautiful and then we got back on the bus and went to Granada. Here we went to a flamenco show in some Caves which was so fun and exciting. They did awesome and Im glad i finally got to see a flamenco show. We also walked up this GIANT mountain which took an eternity and a half to get to the top to see a beautiful view of the city. I guess it was totally worth it but the walk down was equally as bad.. considering it was up then down then up then down th... you get it. haha! The next day we went to La Alhambra which was a palace of king Carlos I and also Carlos V (being as they are the same person). To sideswipe the history lesson here, basically it was his palace and there are many parts to it a summer palace and the gardens and many many plazas within the Alhambra. It took about 3 hours to view and although I was slightly over it at the end, It was very beautiful to see. Our guide was kind of a bore and did not really give us much time to take photos so Madelon and I, as per usual, just kind of stayed behind the group most of the time half listening and just kind of making up our own stories about what things were for.. (we did this in the Cathedral as well. haha..) Sounds like we were the bad kids but I do know a lot about both.. (plus the gave me a pamphlet for the Cathedral so you cant expect me to listen to someone talk about it so boringly when i can read about it myself) haha anyway! Almost TOO much culture for 2 days. BUT im glad we did it. (WOD)Silver(Plata) is very cheap in Granada y Córdoba so I did pick up a few things.. and Also just some random pressys for friends back home. I have come to the conclusion that I would much rather give gifts to people then buy things for myself here. I mean, I have bought a few but most of the things i have bought are going to family and friends. :)
Today we saw the BARCELONA futbol team walking out to their bus. yea, dont worry not a big deal or anything. Saw Gerard Pique who is a guapeton (super handsome man) and all the other players. Totally fun for a rainy boring day that i had today asside from that. Barce plays Sevilla tonight. I didnt go to the game because i had homework and it wasn't on TV so i couldn't watch it but im sure it was an awesome game.
This next week i dont have much planned except for ST. PATRICK'S DAY... which they don't celebrate here but LUCKILY [ ;)] there are many an Irish pub around here to celebrate in. I think you can even win a hat if you drink a certain amount. (don't worry, not in my agenda haha)
I miss home a lot but it is super exciting going on some of these tours and hearing the information and realizing that i already know some of the history that they tell us about because of other classes ive taken. I really do love this language and this culture and everything about Spain and have already decided I MUST return. I have to make the most of my time left here because i am already at the halfway point! Its crazy to think about that I only have a month and a half left of living my life here in Spain and it is kind of sad. As much as I miss home, I really want to improve on my spanish so much and become fluent that its hard for me to want to leave. I know that my time here is not done now though so I am going to be making the most of every day i have left here in Sevilla! :)
Hasta./TQM
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Cadiz
On the Bus on the Way to Cadiz(costumes: Hippie, Party, Pirate, Cadiz(aka me.. aka a party), Greed (from the 7 deadly sins))
This past week, to start out, we didn't have school on Monday which was VERY enjoyable! Who doesnt love a 3 day week? haha... Then Tuesday I went on a field trip more or less around Sevilla to find all these places where Miguel de Cervantes has left his mark. It was really interesting to know why some of the streets are called what they are called from back in his time. Then on Wednesday I went to the Dr. which was totally interesting. I had a sore throat and a cough so i decided not to chance it and just go to ahead with seeing the Dr. We got in right away and (there was 3 of us) and we had a staff member from ISA to help us if we needed it but Im proud to say i did really well. I even got "Katrin, I didnt know you spoke spanish so well.. Im not talking to you in english anymore" haha. Although, I wouldn't say i am fluent by any means I feel as though my spanish has really improved being here. I only wish i was here like, ONE MONTH longer and i think things could really improve for me.Thursday I went out to Buddah with Jen, Narolyn, Madelon, and Brittany and that was really fun. It is a 3 story dance club with different music on each floor. But there was also a lot of ISA people there so that was kinda fun with all those friends there too. Then I went home around 330 or so because i had to get up for another field trip for my Business Spanish class. We went to a place called Abengoa. It was actually really cook from what I got out of it all.. as in what the company does and how it runs and what not. Im pretty sure it works with sustainability and the environment... trying to like improve on more environmentally friendly ways of electricity. It was really cool. (BRINGS US TO OUR WORD OF THE WEEK... OR PHRASE: QUE GUAY! *kay guay* means HOW COOL :) )
Then on Sat. I went to the Carnival in Cadiz. While the bust ride was a wild time.. the carneval was an amazing experience. Everyone (old and young) dresses up in costumes and basically drinks in the streets.. the one problem is the lack of places to pee. There were many resturaunts open to sell bocadillos (sandwhiches) and beer. water. or juice, BUT they closed off their rest areas. Understandable to me considering the mess that the population left in the Burger King there. SO there was lots of peeing on the streets and lots of drinking and lots of costumes. Overall I had a great time. again, another experience i needed and am glad i had the opportunity to do. This week I am going to Cordoba and Granada for Friday and Sat we come back to Sevilla. I think that will be really fun.
On the bright side, I think Spring Break for me is almost Booked up. Also, Ive added another trip into the Mix. I am going to go to Lagos, Portugal in April. I am so excited It is going to be amazing. Beach. Sangria Cruise. Friends. Sun. Love it. And The weekend before that is Palma Mallorca. So that means LOTS of sunshine for this girl in April! Money is dwindling with all these trips but i have applied a budget to have for every week until i leave once that is all booked up. So HOPEFULLY i stay under budget! ha.. Im sure i will. I really like eating at home. She cooks such great food and its always something different and comforting. :)
Today I have been sleeping all day because I didnt get home until 6 am from Cadiz. T.I.R.E.D. Needless to say I have been nothing but a Lazy girl. I have a few MIDTERMS next week. Holy Cow. one for Marketing and one for Literature then the Following Week for Culture, and Business Spanish. So that means I am engulfed in my Room... Or HOPEFULLY if the weather gets nicer out by the river :) ... studying for the next 2 weeks or so. Then not even like 3 weeks later we have finals. Time is FLYING. Its crazy.
I miss home but i am so happy here as well. The time I have spent in Spain so far has brought around some minor changes in my life but i am adjusting to them as I can. I am so glad that I have my family and my friends to support me in whatever i do.
TQM/ Hasta Pronto
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