My birthday was a success. :) We went out thursday and my friends surprised me with a dinner and all that jazz. So sweet of them. They paid for my drinks, paid for my supper, and got me gifts. I dont think they needed to do ANY of that. It was GREATLY appreciated. They lessened the blow of not being home on my birthday. :)
couldn't ask for a better day.
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing, so needless to say in my last post when i thought thursday=relaxing night, eh no. didnt happen haha. This week is going to fly by! The (tentative) plan is to go to Morocco on Friday to Sunday and so I'm hoping this political turmoil going on doesn't effect plans. If it does, I hope i get my money back but non the less.
The weather here has been quite idea. like 65 a day if not warmer. This week i think is even supposed to be a little better. I am hoping that the rain goes away!
I will update a little later on in the week. I have been having so much fun here and I will also start to take my camera around more so i can share more "everyday" photos with you all. :)
Loveyou and miss you much!
Hasta./TQM.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
rain rain go away! i thought this was Sevilla!!
So as you can see from my title, its been kinda rainy here the past couple of days.. NOT FUN. I didn't have an umbrella the first two times and then FINALLY i buy one, and it rains for like a half hour of me using it, and then stopped. joy. whatever, at least im prepared now! haha
Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. IM SO EXCITED. I wish i could be with my family and friends at home but i know the girls here will make it a good time for me! haha. I got a package from my mommy and seees yesterday! it had peanutbutter in it which made it even more great. (: they are so super. I like getting mail almost every day. haha it makes me feel special.. so keep it coming guys! :)
FINALLY I am all booked up for Spreak Break! We (Blair, Madelon and her friend Brittany, and I) are going to Barcelona, then Rome, Florence, and Balogna(haha) Italy. :) AND i go to morocco next weekend with madelon, blair, rachel, and a few other people who are in my program going through this other program. I just am nervous for that so we dont get salmonella.. or whatever. I guess people who went through ISA las year got it, but NO WORRIES. ill pull a Charolette on Sex and the City and only eat pudding from Pukipsi! haha just kidding. I also have a trip planned to the Balteric Islands! They are in the mediteranian. I am going to Palma Mallorca with Madelon, Blair, Naralyn and Jen. It is going to be so fun! Asside from me spending money on trips i also get to go to Portugal, Ronda(Tomorrow), Cordoba, Grandada.. oh boy. and I still want to make it to a bullfight and a few museums and some other stuff too and places like Malaga, Cadiz... ohh my itenerary is packed to the max but i am ALSO very much enjoying sevilla.
Now im going to an Intercultural thing, and then out with my friends for a relaxing night hopefully some flamenco! and then tomorrow its off to Ronda for the day and OUT because ILL BE 21! haha.. im so excited if you can't tell or didn't see what i wrote before.
Anyway. Ill hopefully blog soon, might be sat. or sunday after the "big night"
Hasta/TQM.
Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. IM SO EXCITED. I wish i could be with my family and friends at home but i know the girls here will make it a good time for me! haha. I got a package from my mommy and seees yesterday! it had peanutbutter in it which made it even more great. (: they are so super. I like getting mail almost every day. haha it makes me feel special.. so keep it coming guys! :)
FINALLY I am all booked up for Spreak Break! We (Blair, Madelon and her friend Brittany, and I) are going to Barcelona, then Rome, Florence, and Balogna(haha) Italy. :) AND i go to morocco next weekend with madelon, blair, rachel, and a few other people who are in my program going through this other program. I just am nervous for that so we dont get salmonella.. or whatever. I guess people who went through ISA las year got it, but NO WORRIES. ill pull a Charolette on Sex and the City and only eat pudding from Pukipsi! haha just kidding. I also have a trip planned to the Balteric Islands! They are in the mediteranian. I am going to Palma Mallorca with Madelon, Blair, Naralyn and Jen. It is going to be so fun! Asside from me spending money on trips i also get to go to Portugal, Ronda(Tomorrow), Cordoba, Grandada.. oh boy. and I still want to make it to a bullfight and a few museums and some other stuff too and places like Malaga, Cadiz... ohh my itenerary is packed to the max but i am ALSO very much enjoying sevilla.
Now im going to an Intercultural thing, and then out with my friends for a relaxing night hopefully some flamenco! and then tomorrow its off to Ronda for the day and OUT because ILL BE 21! haha.. im so excited if you can't tell or didn't see what i wrote before.
Anyway. Ill hopefully blog soon, might be sat. or sunday after the "big night"
Hasta/TQM.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Anchovies??
I know I have not updated lately being as I have been leading, not the very exciting life lately.. I know that might seem hard to believe being that I'm in Spain but seriously...
Everyday I have class from 10 till 2 basically, and then Monday and Wednesday I have class from 6 to 8 pm. That pretty much eats up my life Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday... and the weekend because they assign SO MUCH homework.
We have taken a liking to this Mexican restaurant that is in Nervion which is about a 45min walk from my place or a 30ish min walk with a 15ish min. metro ride (look at how urban i am taking the metroo.. haha). ANYWAY they totally love us there... Making it a weekly visit I think. haha (: plus their food is amazing so its hard to not want to go, AND the ISA office gives us a coupon for a free beer so then it is def.f hard to pass up.
I still love it here although I do get homesick at night mostly because I can't do anything to take my mind off of it. I also have acquired a cold here which is also not helping the not being at home part. I did go to the Pharmacy and explain to them that I was congested. Here the word (Eme, your word of the day) is Constipado (CON-stee-pah-doe) and I was sure to point to my nose because I dont know if that verb has more than one meaning. ha!! Oh boy..
Life at the house is pretty nice though. Esperanza is such a nice lady and I can't get enough of her grandson! Marco is is name. We spent a half hour or 45 min today playing with the knob from a cabinet. SO ADORABLE. He is staying with us for a few days because his mom, Esperanza's daughter, is having another baby! A girl. And I so hope that she brings her by! (: I really enjoy having kids around the house.
It is almost my birthday! 21. WOW. I feel old. not ok. haha. BuT we are going to go to a Flamenco show on the 19th to post celebrate a little bit. The other day we toured the Real Alcazar and also the Cathedral of Seville. I loved both. The Alcazar tour was very long though so the Cathedral one, we (Madelon and I)stayed for a little bit but then explored by ourselves. I have a lot of pictures up on my Facebook for you to see. It takes a super long time to load them on here so you will just have to venture over there and check them out. (:
Other than that, today I went to Plaza de Espana (with Madelon and her roomate, Brittany) which is prob. thee most gorgeous place i have been to here. AMAZING. I didn't have my camera today but I will be going back. So beautiful.. ah.. (: and then we walked back towards the "centro" and got icecream and ran into one of the Gilbralter girls, Anna that we met on the Metro the other weekend. So fun seeing her. We went shopping and I got a few things but I really want to plan my trips.. it is just hard to resist when they are in "sales" right now so everything is SUPER cheap.
I had anchovies today also. well, parts. I tried. and it wasn't like they were from a can and they weren't bad but they still had skin on them, which you just eat aparently, and they still had their backbone in them... idk.. I knew they ate fish different here so I kind of expected this and it was not totally bad, but I felt so bad for not eating more, I just couldn't wrap my head around it.. idk BLEH.
Anyway, I have a lot of homework ahead of me and not much more of the weekend, being that it is Sat. night and I'm in. (my feet hurt and I still have that cold so I dont really want to be out haha)
Loveyou and miss you lots.
Hasta./TQM.
Everyday I have class from 10 till 2 basically, and then Monday and Wednesday I have class from 6 to 8 pm. That pretty much eats up my life Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday... and the weekend because they assign SO MUCH homework.
We have taken a liking to this Mexican restaurant that is in Nervion which is about a 45min walk from my place or a 30ish min walk with a 15ish min. metro ride (look at how urban i am taking the metroo.. haha). ANYWAY they totally love us there... Making it a weekly visit I think. haha (: plus their food is amazing so its hard to not want to go, AND the ISA office gives us a coupon for a free beer so then it is def.f hard to pass up.
I still love it here although I do get homesick at night mostly because I can't do anything to take my mind off of it. I also have acquired a cold here which is also not helping the not being at home part. I did go to the Pharmacy and explain to them that I was congested. Here the word (Eme, your word of the day) is Constipado (CON-stee-pah-doe) and I was sure to point to my nose because I dont know if that verb has more than one meaning. ha!! Oh boy..
Life at the house is pretty nice though. Esperanza is such a nice lady and I can't get enough of her grandson! Marco is is name. We spent a half hour or 45 min today playing with the knob from a cabinet. SO ADORABLE. He is staying with us for a few days because his mom, Esperanza's daughter, is having another baby! A girl. And I so hope that she brings her by! (: I really enjoy having kids around the house.
It is almost my birthday! 21. WOW. I feel old. not ok. haha. BuT we are going to go to a Flamenco show on the 19th to post celebrate a little bit. The other day we toured the Real Alcazar and also the Cathedral of Seville. I loved both. The Alcazar tour was very long though so the Cathedral one, we (Madelon and I)stayed for a little bit but then explored by ourselves. I have a lot of pictures up on my Facebook for you to see. It takes a super long time to load them on here so you will just have to venture over there and check them out. (:
Other than that, today I went to Plaza de Espana (with Madelon and her roomate, Brittany) which is prob. thee most gorgeous place i have been to here. AMAZING. I didn't have my camera today but I will be going back. So beautiful.. ah.. (: and then we walked back towards the "centro" and got icecream and ran into one of the Gilbralter girls, Anna that we met on the Metro the other weekend. So fun seeing her. We went shopping and I got a few things but I really want to plan my trips.. it is just hard to resist when they are in "sales" right now so everything is SUPER cheap.
I had anchovies today also. well, parts. I tried. and it wasn't like they were from a can and they weren't bad but they still had skin on them, which you just eat aparently, and they still had their backbone in them... idk.. I knew they ate fish different here so I kind of expected this and it was not totally bad, but I felt so bad for not eating more, I just couldn't wrap my head around it.. idk BLEH.
Anyway, I have a lot of homework ahead of me and not much more of the weekend, being that it is Sat. night and I'm in. (my feet hurt and I still have that cold so I dont really want to be out haha)
Loveyou and miss you lots.
Hasta./TQM.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Primer dia de las clases!
This weekend i slept, a lot. I attempted at going out on Sat... that lasted for an hour. HAHA! I need to get with the times. This weekend forsure we are going out thursday. I am so excited there is a discoteca very close to calle alfalfa which has lots of cheep drinks like shots or beers for one euro. not that im here to drink heavily like some americans but its nice to have a good deal if im going to go out with friends.
ANYWAY, today was the first day of classes! Im in for it this semester i think. I have one class that seems easy. My first class of the day is at 10am and it is Business Spanish. i at first thought it was going to be a vocabulary class but now it seems more like a business class, just, taught in spanish.. we will see. im not excited about the mandatory fieldtrips that are sometimes on random fridays when we do not have class.. but what can you do! The second class im taking is at 12 (so i have an hour break to just study or whatever) and that is Spanish Culture and Civilization. I am actually excited about this class too because it first of all, seems easy(lets just say, a few units are on Flamenco dancing, food, and family.. (: haha ), and second it is going to be really interesting. i LoVe learning about new cultures and all of that so im excited. The third spanish class i have for the day starts at 1 and it is with the same teacher as the 12 o'clock class. Jaime Abeja. He is very chill and i like that about him. Seems very nice and likes that we want to learn and take the classes he teaches. Anyway, the third class is Spanish Literature. I thought i'd be ok but once i saw the syllabus i was like.. UMMMM we will see! haha thank goodness Madelon is in my class also and can help me out since she basically has read EVERYTHING we are going to be reading.(: thats what friends are for! haha
Finally i have one class at 6pm to 8pm on Mondays and Wednesdays that is an International Marketing class. I felt like i learned so much already. This teacher, Nano, is so crude but in a good way, idk he is just AWESOME. plus, he is deff pretty good looking for 40 and i bet he was a lady killer back in the day so he is deff. not hard to pay attention to.. haha
The days fly by here because after my class at 2 i come to my homestay and have lunch, and then i go back for my 6pm class because i meet madelon after her 4pm class to catch up and whatnot in th emiddle. I unfortunately dont get to see Blair until after 8pm class if at all during the school week so that totally sucks! when i do see her though its like its been forever! I am so glad that i met those two girls here i dont know what i'd do without them.
My roomate rachel and i get along really well too so thats great! and we do stuff together more and more and are becoming closer as well.
all in all my time her in spain is not being wasted away(literally). I am finding myself absolutly obsessed with the city of Sevilla because it is SO beautiful! I can only wish the ones i love would have came with me or at least are able to see it sometime!
hasta./ tqm
ANYWAY, today was the first day of classes! Im in for it this semester i think. I have one class that seems easy. My first class of the day is at 10am and it is Business Spanish. i at first thought it was going to be a vocabulary class but now it seems more like a business class, just, taught in spanish.. we will see. im not excited about the mandatory fieldtrips that are sometimes on random fridays when we do not have class.. but what can you do! The second class im taking is at 12 (so i have an hour break to just study or whatever) and that is Spanish Culture and Civilization. I am actually excited about this class too because it first of all, seems easy(lets just say, a few units are on Flamenco dancing, food, and family.. (: haha ), and second it is going to be really interesting. i LoVe learning about new cultures and all of that so im excited. The third spanish class i have for the day starts at 1 and it is with the same teacher as the 12 o'clock class. Jaime Abeja. He is very chill and i like that about him. Seems very nice and likes that we want to learn and take the classes he teaches. Anyway, the third class is Spanish Literature. I thought i'd be ok but once i saw the syllabus i was like.. UMMMM we will see! haha thank goodness Madelon is in my class also and can help me out since she basically has read EVERYTHING we are going to be reading.(: thats what friends are for! haha
Finally i have one class at 6pm to 8pm on Mondays and Wednesdays that is an International Marketing class. I felt like i learned so much already. This teacher, Nano, is so crude but in a good way, idk he is just AWESOME. plus, he is deff pretty good looking for 40 and i bet he was a lady killer back in the day so he is deff. not hard to pay attention to.. haha
The days fly by here because after my class at 2 i come to my homestay and have lunch, and then i go back for my 6pm class because i meet madelon after her 4pm class to catch up and whatnot in th emiddle. I unfortunately dont get to see Blair until after 8pm class if at all during the school week so that totally sucks! when i do see her though its like its been forever! I am so glad that i met those two girls here i dont know what i'd do without them.
My roomate rachel and i get along really well too so thats great! and we do stuff together more and more and are becoming closer as well.
all in all my time her in spain is not being wasted away(literally). I am finding myself absolutly obsessed with the city of Sevilla because it is SO beautiful! I can only wish the ones i love would have came with me or at least are able to see it sometime!
hasta./ tqm
Saturday, February 5, 2011
First weekend
Sevilla is more georgous than i could have ever imagined it to be!! The architecture and the streets and the life itself is very enjoyable and relaxing.
Yesterday(aka friday) was the first day of "classes". We just had to make up credit hours so a few of us had to attend class.We took our spanish placement exams which let the school know where we are with our abilities in the language, got advanced. so pumped!! (: I was a little worried but i am so excited now! My marketing teacher is awesome. he is hillarious and has lots of stories to tell.. idk if his class will be difficult or not but we will see...
Last night we had a 'welcoming dinner' in Nervion which is like prob a 45 min walk away from my home, so we decided to take the metro. We stopped for supper at a Mexican restaurant (i know.. haha) and it was DE-LISH. I actually got to have some Mole which i LOVE so that made me happy! we also made friends with the waiter who was looking to do intercambios (which is when they would for example talk to us in only spanish or we would answer in spanish and they would ask in english or vice versa) which i'm looking forward to doing with whomever i get. Blair gets him. she dibbs-ed it. haha.
Once we got on the Metro, we ended up meeting these two girls from Gibraltar which was SO MUCH FUN. They have english accents because its an english colony down there, they totally loved ours too which is funny because Madelon and I have very Northern accents and they thought it was absolutely hilarious.. even got of them to cry because they thought it was so funny. Good time. I think we are going to go out with them tonight, so that should be really fun.
Tomorrow I plan on sleeping in and trying to find a place to watch the superbowl! I know not a lot of places are open so basically i'm getting school supplies and whatever else i need for class on monday, today to get it out of the way. Its about 2 here and we are going to have lunch soon.
Have a good weekend!
Hasta./ TQM
Yesterday(aka friday) was the first day of "classes". We just had to make up credit hours so a few of us had to attend class.We took our spanish placement exams which let the school know where we are with our abilities in the language, got advanced. so pumped!! (: I was a little worried but i am so excited now! My marketing teacher is awesome. he is hillarious and has lots of stories to tell.. idk if his class will be difficult or not but we will see...
Last night we had a 'welcoming dinner' in Nervion which is like prob a 45 min walk away from my home, so we decided to take the metro. We stopped for supper at a Mexican restaurant (i know.. haha) and it was DE-LISH. I actually got to have some Mole which i LOVE so that made me happy! we also made friends with the waiter who was looking to do intercambios (which is when they would for example talk to us in only spanish or we would answer in spanish and they would ask in english or vice versa) which i'm looking forward to doing with whomever i get. Blair gets him. she dibbs-ed it. haha.
Once we got on the Metro, we ended up meeting these two girls from Gibraltar which was SO MUCH FUN. They have english accents because its an english colony down there, they totally loved ours too which is funny because Madelon and I have very Northern accents and they thought it was absolutely hilarious.. even got of them to cry because they thought it was so funny. Good time. I think we are going to go out with them tonight, so that should be really fun.
Tomorrow I plan on sleeping in and trying to find a place to watch the superbowl! I know not a lot of places are open so basically i'm getting school supplies and whatever else i need for class on monday, today to get it out of the way. Its about 2 here and we are going to have lunch soon.
Have a good weekend!
Hasta./ TQM
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Finally, Sevilla
Today, we arrived in Sevilla after a 5 hour bus ride. I pretty much ate eggs all day, tortilla espanola for breakfast (which is like a omlet/quise or whatever) filled with potatoes. DE-LISH. and then i had a sandwhich with that in it for lunch.. Paprika pringles (yummy also) and like a bite of worlds chocolatey-est pudding. and then eggs with i think turkey for supper with bread, yogurt, and fish. it was good. ya know. eggy.
Triana is absolutly beautiful. The sun was out today and the walk to el Centro is really actually really not that bad. I thought it would be long, but it wasnt at all. we're close to the river and in a very nice locaation. Our house is cute. Its super ince with a big "living space" and kitchek and bathroom. Our room is sufficiently big for two people. "Mom"- Esperanza is a housewife and very sweet. "Dad"-Felipe works for the Pres aparently! so i have NO idea what he does.. haha.. secretservice. no idea. haha
Tomorrow we go in early to take placement tests to find out where we are with our spanish language.. I need to get in Advanced, its very important.. so im a little worried about that. Then we find out what time/schedule of our classes and POSSIBLY have class tomorrow afternoon at 2. Which is a little weird because that is lunchtime and they are very insistant about us eating lunch with our families.. so.. kinda strange!! otherwise ill be eating lunch at 4 everday... which isnt exactly my cup of tea if you know what i mean.
Also, we have a welcome dinner tomorrow. That might be kinda fun so we will see. Usually there are no classes fridays so we can travel but tomorrow we need to get the credit hours aparently so yeah..
long day so i am going to go to bed early tonight.
hasta.
Triana is absolutly beautiful. The sun was out today and the walk to el Centro is really actually really not that bad. I thought it would be long, but it wasnt at all. we're close to the river and in a very nice locaation. Our house is cute. Its super ince with a big "living space" and kitchek and bathroom. Our room is sufficiently big for two people. "Mom"- Esperanza is a housewife and very sweet. "Dad"-Felipe works for the Pres aparently! so i have NO idea what he does.. haha.. secretservice. no idea. haha
Tomorrow we go in early to take placement tests to find out where we are with our spanish language.. I need to get in Advanced, its very important.. so im a little worried about that. Then we find out what time/schedule of our classes and POSSIBLY have class tomorrow afternoon at 2. Which is a little weird because that is lunchtime and they are very insistant about us eating lunch with our families.. so.. kinda strange!! otherwise ill be eating lunch at 4 everday... which isnt exactly my cup of tea if you know what i mean.
Also, we have a welcome dinner tomorrow. That might be kinda fun so we will see. Usually there are no classes fridays so we can travel but tomorrow we need to get the credit hours aparently so yeah..
long day so i am going to go to bed early tonight.
hasta.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
like, seriously, ya know?
So the journey in Madrid has ended and we are in Toledo for the rest of the day (even though its already like 620 here) and its beautiful!
Our last day in Madrid was anything but crazy haha. Madelon and Blair and I explored the metro.. and shopped a little even though we didn't find anything.
Yesterday we went to El Museo del Prado and it was very interesting but kinda repetative from the class i took last semester on spanish history. Then we went directly to el Palacio Real and it was CRAZY. We only explored a few rooms but they are so gaudy and rediculously georgous! Of course pictures aren't allowed so you will have to just come and see for yourself if your curious!! (:
The rest of the day was to ourselves and we just kinda walked around.. took the metro (to the wrong exit) and continued to walk 6 or 7 blocks to the Hotel.
**ALSO note for the day: cobblestone streets, while beautiful and seemingly fit for the streets we pass through, totally suck for real life.
Today in Toledo, the historical capital of Spain (meaning it was the capital before madrid), and we saw the oldest church there, and heard some really cool stuff about that also like for example, the statues of saints and angles on the outside had a white stone head while their bodies were grey stone. I asked about it and this is because when Spain had the war with Napoleon, they cut the heads off of the statues because, you know it was the war.. and so they used the white stone instead of grey to show that it is not original, and also kind of shows the story in a way so that is awesome.
Then we went to this sort of park and it was totally beautiful (view area/ parque). Then we went to el Centro de la ciudad which was also, completely beautiful. walked around there and just kinda talked. it was BEAUTIFUL today, sunshiny.. and just nice. But now we are at the hotel and we go meet our host families tomorrow, which is kind of exciting.
Mandatory meeting now and then resting up tonight. Have to be bright and shiney for my spanish family.
Hastaa.
Our last day in Madrid was anything but crazy haha. Madelon and Blair and I explored the metro.. and shopped a little even though we didn't find anything.
Yesterday we went to El Museo del Prado and it was very interesting but kinda repetative from the class i took last semester on spanish history. Then we went directly to el Palacio Real and it was CRAZY. We only explored a few rooms but they are so gaudy and rediculously georgous! Of course pictures aren't allowed so you will have to just come and see for yourself if your curious!! (:
The rest of the day was to ourselves and we just kinda walked around.. took the metro (to the wrong exit) and continued to walk 6 or 7 blocks to the Hotel.
**ALSO note for the day: cobblestone streets, while beautiful and seemingly fit for the streets we pass through, totally suck for real life.
Today in Toledo, the historical capital of Spain (meaning it was the capital before madrid), and we saw the oldest church there, and heard some really cool stuff about that also like for example, the statues of saints and angles on the outside had a white stone head while their bodies were grey stone. I asked about it and this is because when Spain had the war with Napoleon, they cut the heads off of the statues because, you know it was the war.. and so they used the white stone instead of grey to show that it is not original, and also kind of shows the story in a way so that is awesome.
Then we went to this sort of park and it was totally beautiful (view area/ parque). Then we went to el Centro de la ciudad which was also, completely beautiful. walked around there and just kinda talked. it was BEAUTIFUL today, sunshiny.. and just nice. But now we are at the hotel and we go meet our host families tomorrow, which is kind of exciting.
Mandatory meeting now and then resting up tonight. Have to be bright and shiney for my spanish family.
Hastaa.
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