It is currently 93 degrees outside. I only have one outlet, so I have to choose between plugging in my laptop and plugging in my fan. I'm sure you can guess which one is the current victor...
P.S. You're welcome.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Me broncee a la playa?
I have had a veryyyy long weekend. I had a midterm in class on Wednesday, and we went to the Alcazar on Tuesday, so I haven't had real class for almost a week!! Amazinnggg.
The midterm went well. I only had to study for a couple hours, and even that was too much. Our instructions for the test were to "write as much as you know" on two buildings in Sevilla. It took me 2 pages front and back to write all that I know, so I'm thinking I'm in the clear.
This weekend has been prettyyy lazy. The temperature's been in the 90s and 100s, so there is literally nothing you can do all day but lay around and sleep. My friends and I went out at night, but we're still trying to figure out the bar scene in Sevilla. For some reason, we have an uncanny ability of going to clubs on their off nights and not going to them when they're happenin'. Don't worry, it's a work in progress.
Last night, however, me and my two roommates Sydney and Tara got into an invite-only club - without an invitation. Sorry for the shameless bragging, but I was prettyyy proud of myself.
Yesterday Ian, Sydney, Tara, and I went to the beach in Matalascana. The beach was beautiful, but getting there was an absolute nightmare. I checked online for the bus times but each website I went to gave me different times, so I just went with the most common. We slept through our alarms so we didn't make it to the 9 AM bus, but we aimed for the 10 o'clock. Welllll turns out the next bus didn't leave until 11. Hanging out in a bus station is reallll fun.
Then, when it came time to line up for the bus, we were the first in line since we'd been there since forever. The only problem was that the screen at the bus station had the wrong bus number written down. So we had been standing in line for the wrong bus. When we went to the right bus, people were pushing and shoving trying to get on. Ian got on that bus, but the 3 of us girls got the bus doors pretty much closed in our face. Luckily I speak enough Spanish to ask the people around me what was going on, and they told me that another bus was coming.
Sooo we got on the bus!! Yay! Only an hour until the beach!
Until we got stuck in standstill traffic. All in all, it took twice as long to get there.
But once we got there it was completely worth it. The beach was warm, the environment was friendly, and water was warm enough to swim in! My roommates were all about tanning, but, due to my pasty-ness, I spent a lot of time in the water. I seriously wanted to spend as much time in that water as I could, since I couldn't even remember the last time I was able to swim in the ocean without freezing to death.
What's more, is that I didn't get burned!! 3 hours in the sun and I got tan, but I didn't get burned! (If you have ever seen my skin, you will recognize that as a true miracle). Okay, so I cheated by reapplying sunscreen every 5 seconds, but I am still proud of my derma-responsibility.
The beach trip was just what I needed. And I'm sooo excited to go to a beach next weekend... In PORTUGAL!!
Don't worry, I'll keep you posted - probably more often than you actually would like.
Hasta luego!
The midterm went well. I only had to study for a couple hours, and even that was too much. Our instructions for the test were to "write as much as you know" on two buildings in Sevilla. It took me 2 pages front and back to write all that I know, so I'm thinking I'm in the clear.
This weekend has been prettyyy lazy. The temperature's been in the 90s and 100s, so there is literally nothing you can do all day but lay around and sleep. My friends and I went out at night, but we're still trying to figure out the bar scene in Sevilla. For some reason, we have an uncanny ability of going to clubs on their off nights and not going to them when they're happenin'. Don't worry, it's a work in progress.
Last night, however, me and my two roommates Sydney and Tara got into an invite-only club - without an invitation. Sorry for the shameless bragging, but I was prettyyy proud of myself.
Yesterday Ian, Sydney, Tara, and I went to the beach in Matalascana. The beach was beautiful, but getting there was an absolute nightmare. I checked online for the bus times but each website I went to gave me different times, so I just went with the most common. We slept through our alarms so we didn't make it to the 9 AM bus, but we aimed for the 10 o'clock. Welllll turns out the next bus didn't leave until 11. Hanging out in a bus station is reallll fun.
Then, when it came time to line up for the bus, we were the first in line since we'd been there since forever. The only problem was that the screen at the bus station had the wrong bus number written down. So we had been standing in line for the wrong bus. When we went to the right bus, people were pushing and shoving trying to get on. Ian got on that bus, but the 3 of us girls got the bus doors pretty much closed in our face. Luckily I speak enough Spanish to ask the people around me what was going on, and they told me that another bus was coming.
Sooo we got on the bus!! Yay! Only an hour until the beach!
Until we got stuck in standstill traffic. All in all, it took twice as long to get there.
But once we got there it was completely worth it. The beach was warm, the environment was friendly, and water was warm enough to swim in! My roommates were all about tanning, but, due to my pasty-ness, I spent a lot of time in the water. I seriously wanted to spend as much time in that water as I could, since I couldn't even remember the last time I was able to swim in the ocean without freezing to death.
What's more, is that I didn't get burned!! 3 hours in the sun and I got tan, but I didn't get burned! (If you have ever seen my skin, you will recognize that as a true miracle). Okay, so I cheated by reapplying sunscreen every 5 seconds, but I am still proud of my derma-responsibility.
The beach trip was just what I needed. And I'm sooo excited to go to a beach next weekend... In PORTUGAL!!
Don't worry, I'll keep you posted - probably more often than you actually would like.
Hasta luego!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Que ridiculoso!
Sooo for those of you who don't know, I am a complete idiot. I booked my ticket home for August 4th thinking it was 2 days after my program ended. Yeahhh my program definitely ends on JULY 25th!! So I called the airline and booked the last ticket available on the 28th. What does this mean?
1) I shelled out 170 unnecessary dollars.
2) I will have 3 whole days to explore Madrid before coming home! and..
3) I'm coming home a week earlier!!!
That's right, mark your calendars ladies and gents, I will be returning to our glorious state on July 28th at 7:45 PM. Chicka chicka yeahhhh.
Besides being an idiot, my life has been pretty slow for the past few days. Today I went to the Alcazar in Sevilla, which is the oldest palace still in use in Europe. It was beautiful, except it was wayyyy too crowded. Sadly, I have grown to despise tourists (and try to convince myself that I am not a tourist anymore) so it made it a little frustrating. The palace is still beautiful, and it's cool because it's a mixture of all sorts of eras and architectural styles.
Tomorrow I have my first and only midterm. Of course I am procrastinating. I'm even contemplating going downtown and getting some ice cream instead of studying...
I decided finally, that in lieu of my little flight mixup, that I will not be going anywhere over the long weekend. I was thinking about going to Morocco, but it's just too expensive to go anywhere worth going to. This weekend is Corpus Cristi which is a huge religious celebration, so I thought I'd stay here and check that out. Also, I'll probably find my way to the beach one of these days...
That's all for now. Hasta luego!
1) I shelled out 170 unnecessary dollars.
2) I will have 3 whole days to explore Madrid before coming home! and..
3) I'm coming home a week earlier!!!
That's right, mark your calendars ladies and gents, I will be returning to our glorious state on July 28th at 7:45 PM. Chicka chicka yeahhhh.
Besides being an idiot, my life has been pretty slow for the past few days. Today I went to the Alcazar in Sevilla, which is the oldest palace still in use in Europe. It was beautiful, except it was wayyyy too crowded. Sadly, I have grown to despise tourists (and try to convince myself that I am not a tourist anymore) so it made it a little frustrating. The palace is still beautiful, and it's cool because it's a mixture of all sorts of eras and architectural styles.
Tomorrow I have my first and only midterm. Of course I am procrastinating. I'm even contemplating going downtown and getting some ice cream instead of studying...
I decided finally, that in lieu of my little flight mixup, that I will not be going anywhere over the long weekend. I was thinking about going to Morocco, but it's just too expensive to go anywhere worth going to. This weekend is Corpus Cristi which is a huge religious celebration, so I thought I'd stay here and check that out. Also, I'll probably find my way to the beach one of these days...
That's all for now. Hasta luego!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Granada, la Alhambra, y el Corre de Toros
Saturday morning 5 of my friends and I left here for Granada, which is about a 3 hour bus ride away. At first I didn't like it and was creeped out by our hippie hangout of a hostel. After a while though, I began to appreciate the city for what it was and I finally grew to like it. It is just extremely different from Sevilla in that it has a hugeee Arab influence which really shows everywhere in the city. The streets above the downtown are windy and narrow and are lined with little shops selling products from the Middle East.
Saturday afternoon we went to the Alhambra. If you don't know what it is, I suggest you wikipedia it. We were really surprised we even got tickets, because they usually sell out by 1 PM or so. There are many different palaces on the grounds, and all of them are absolutely beautiful. The main one is just astounding - the walls and ceilings are covered with intricate designs carved into marble and wood. The views are also amazinggg. You can pretty much see the entire city from the top of the palace.
After the Alhambra, we went to get some dinner and then went shopping around the town. The tiny streets are all lined with the tiny shops, and we had some fun looking around and picking up some souveniers :-) We then went to go get ice cream (even though it was raining!) because ice cream in Spain is just wayyy too good to pass up.
Finally, we made our way back to the hostel. We ended up meeting 2 girls from Australia who had been traveling for 3 months and still have 3 more months to go. We also met a girl from Montreal and another from Puerto Rico. All 9 of us went out to what is known as a Teteria, which is an Arabic restaurant that serves tea, pastries, and hookah if you so desire. We all had a great time trying all of the different teas and desserts and ended up talking until 12 or so.
After a long and hard attempt to get into my tiny bunk bed (it was a triple decker and I was in the middle - just try to imagine how I may have looked attempting that one in the dark) and a good sleep, we headed back to Sevilla.
Last night we went to a bullfight, but I left after 2 bulls (there's a total of 6 per bullfight). I would call it less of a fight and more of a public slaughtering. There are about 6 matadors against 1 bull - really the bull doesn't have a fighting chance. I tried to view it in a cultural way, but I really had seen all I really wanted to see after the 2nd bull. Turns out, a lot of people in Sevilla don't like the bullfights for the same reason.
And here I am. In my architecture class we are going to the Alcazar, which is the oldest royal palace still in use, so that should be interesting. Wednesday I have my first midterm (soo soon I know!), so it may take me a while to post again.
And now for unas fotografias:
Okay nevermind on the photos, my internet is too slow. I will try to upload some within the next few days.
Muchos besos!
Saturday afternoon we went to the Alhambra. If you don't know what it is, I suggest you wikipedia it. We were really surprised we even got tickets, because they usually sell out by 1 PM or so. There are many different palaces on the grounds, and all of them are absolutely beautiful. The main one is just astounding - the walls and ceilings are covered with intricate designs carved into marble and wood. The views are also amazinggg. You can pretty much see the entire city from the top of the palace.
After the Alhambra, we went to get some dinner and then went shopping around the town. The tiny streets are all lined with the tiny shops, and we had some fun looking around and picking up some souveniers :-) We then went to go get ice cream (even though it was raining!) because ice cream in Spain is just wayyy too good to pass up.
Finally, we made our way back to the hostel. We ended up meeting 2 girls from Australia who had been traveling for 3 months and still have 3 more months to go. We also met a girl from Montreal and another from Puerto Rico. All 9 of us went out to what is known as a Teteria, which is an Arabic restaurant that serves tea, pastries, and hookah if you so desire. We all had a great time trying all of the different teas and desserts and ended up talking until 12 or so.
After a long and hard attempt to get into my tiny bunk bed (it was a triple decker and I was in the middle - just try to imagine how I may have looked attempting that one in the dark) and a good sleep, we headed back to Sevilla.
Last night we went to a bullfight, but I left after 2 bulls (there's a total of 6 per bullfight). I would call it less of a fight and more of a public slaughtering. There are about 6 matadors against 1 bull - really the bull doesn't have a fighting chance. I tried to view it in a cultural way, but I really had seen all I really wanted to see after the 2nd bull. Turns out, a lot of people in Sevilla don't like the bullfights for the same reason.
And here I am. In my architecture class we are going to the Alcazar, which is the oldest royal palace still in use, so that should be interesting. Wednesday I have my first midterm (soo soon I know!), so it may take me a while to post again.
And now for unas fotografias:
Okay nevermind on the photos, my internet is too slow. I will try to upload some within the next few days.
Muchos besos!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
La semana pasada
So I know I've been pretty M.I.A. on the blog thing, so I'll try to update as much as possible.
On Tuesday night we went to a Flamenco show. It was pretty cool to see, although flamenco music isn't really my thing. All of the dancers were extremely talented and wore bright, fun outfits to go along with it. There was this one dancer who was absolutely amazinggg, but her facial expressions were wayyy too distracting to even enjoy. It seriously looked like she smelled something absolutely horrendous throughout the entire performance.
The next day I went to Italica with my Architecture and Painting class. Italica is an old Roman city about a 15 minute bus ride away, so it was awesome to actually go see what we have been learning about. It was built in 200 A.D., so everything is pretty ruined except for the mosiac floors and some of the larger structures. My favorite part, though, was the amphitheater. It's not as large as the Colleseum, but I like it more because it has a lot less tourists. When we went, we were the only group in there, which allowed me to really get a sense of what it would have been like to actually fight in the arena.
That night, Laura and some of our friends went to a discoteca which was sooo much fun. I really enjoy dancing here more than in the U.S. because the guys are a lot less creepy and dancing is done with more space between the people. The whole vibe is just a lot more fun-oriented, which I like. The only downside is that keeping up with Spanish hours can be a little difficult when you have class 3 hours after you go to bed. I've definitely learned my lesson and I will not be going out on school nights for a looong time.
On Friday we went to Jerez and Conil. Jerez is pretty much the sherry capital of the world, so we took a tour of a vineyard of the brand Tio Pepe. Aside from the repetitive information and the constant Tio Pepe propaganda, it was cool to see how it was all done. The best part though, as all of my friends can attest to, was the unnecessary Disneyland-like train that chauffered us to every area of the vineyard. Honestly, we probably could have walked it quicker, but it was fun nonetheless.
Conil was up next. Conil is a little beach town along the Atlantic Ocean. It was cute, but it was pretty windy and cold when we got there. (Of course, being the most pale person alive, I still somehow managed to get burned). The highlight was my first half swim-half walk in the Atlantic Ocean, which was pretty amazing the people in my program as I am one of 2 people from the west coast. Don't worry, there are pictures to commemorate the occasion.
This weekend we went to Granada, but I will put that in the next post to break it up a little bit.
On Tuesday night we went to a Flamenco show. It was pretty cool to see, although flamenco music isn't really my thing. All of the dancers were extremely talented and wore bright, fun outfits to go along with it. There was this one dancer who was absolutely amazinggg, but her facial expressions were wayyy too distracting to even enjoy. It seriously looked like she smelled something absolutely horrendous throughout the entire performance.
The next day I went to Italica with my Architecture and Painting class. Italica is an old Roman city about a 15 minute bus ride away, so it was awesome to actually go see what we have been learning about. It was built in 200 A.D., so everything is pretty ruined except for the mosiac floors and some of the larger structures. My favorite part, though, was the amphitheater. It's not as large as the Colleseum, but I like it more because it has a lot less tourists. When we went, we were the only group in there, which allowed me to really get a sense of what it would have been like to actually fight in the arena.
That night, Laura and some of our friends went to a discoteca which was sooo much fun. I really enjoy dancing here more than in the U.S. because the guys are a lot less creepy and dancing is done with more space between the people. The whole vibe is just a lot more fun-oriented, which I like. The only downside is that keeping up with Spanish hours can be a little difficult when you have class 3 hours after you go to bed. I've definitely learned my lesson and I will not be going out on school nights for a looong time.
On Friday we went to Jerez and Conil. Jerez is pretty much the sherry capital of the world, so we took a tour of a vineyard of the brand Tio Pepe. Aside from the repetitive information and the constant Tio Pepe propaganda, it was cool to see how it was all done. The best part though, as all of my friends can attest to, was the unnecessary Disneyland-like train that chauffered us to every area of the vineyard. Honestly, we probably could have walked it quicker, but it was fun nonetheless.
Conil was up next. Conil is a little beach town along the Atlantic Ocean. It was cute, but it was pretty windy and cold when we got there. (Of course, being the most pale person alive, I still somehow managed to get burned). The highlight was my first half swim-half walk in the Atlantic Ocean, which was pretty amazing the people in my program as I am one of 2 people from the west coast. Don't worry, there are pictures to commemorate the occasion.
This weekend we went to Granada, but I will put that in the next post to break it up a little bit.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Un dia peresozo en Sevilla
I've realized that Monday through Thursday I am going to have a lot of alone time between 12 and 3. All of my roommates have class until 2:30, so I'm trying to find creative ways to entertain myself during that time (besides sleeping and going on the computer - that's for after lunch).
Today it was a little colder (about 77 degrees) so I decided to go for a run. I decided that once again, I would try to get a little lost and then find my way back. Well, I think I picked the wrong route because I had to spend about 1/3 of my run actually walking on the heels of old ladies and married couples. I went up to Sierpes, which is the shopping district of Sevilla. Not only are there a lottt of people there, but the sidewalk is also approximately this big. So it's a little hard to get around people, especially when you don' t know the exact Spanish equivilant for "excuse me". But, all in all, it was a good run.
I also met some...interesting gentlemen that live down the street. They are car mechanics, and were outside working on a car when I walked by. They said "Buenos Dias." I said "uhhhhhhhhhhh...hola?" When I walked by the next time, they said "Good Morning." I wonder how they ever figured out that I'm not a native Spanish speaker...?
Tonight I'm going to the Flamenco show. It's the first night that me and my roommates are going to a discoteca, so it should be pretty fun. I'll have more updates tomorrow.
Adios!
Today it was a little colder (about 77 degrees) so I decided to go for a run. I decided that once again, I would try to get a little lost and then find my way back. Well, I think I picked the wrong route because I had to spend about 1/3 of my run actually walking on the heels of old ladies and married couples. I went up to Sierpes, which is the shopping district of Sevilla. Not only are there a lottt of people there, but the sidewalk is also approximately this big. So it's a little hard to get around people, especially when you don' t know the exact Spanish equivilant for "excuse me". But, all in all, it was a good run.
I also met some...interesting gentlemen that live down the street. They are car mechanics, and were outside working on a car when I walked by. They said "Buenos Dias." I said "uhhhhhhhhhhh...hola?" When I walked by the next time, they said "Good Morning." I wonder how they ever figured out that I'm not a native Spanish speaker...?
Tonight I'm going to the Flamenco show. It's the first night that me and my roommates are going to a discoteca, so it should be pretty fun. I'll have more updates tomorrow.
Adios!
Monday, June 1, 2009
El dia primero de clases
Today I had my first day of class. I am taking an Art History class called Architecture and Painting in Seville. It is going to be amazing! We are going to take a lottt of field trips so we can see everything first hand. I think we have about 2 field trips a week. This Wednesday we're going to Italica, which is an example of the Roman roots of Sevilla. I'm so excited! The only thing is that this class is going to move verryyy fast - I have my first midterm a week from wednesday!
After class I went shopping and had a great time. Afterwards, I decided I wouldn't look at a map and try to get home. And apparently it worked because here I am writing instead of wandering around the city like a lost puppy.
In not-so-good news, it seems that I'm getting a tad sick. Honestly, I think it's just because I'm constantly breathing in cigarette smoke. There are very minimal smoking laws here, so I always come home smelling like cigarettes whenever I go out. It also may just be the difference in climate from what I'm used to. I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of days.
Tomorrow we have our first excursion to a Flamenco show. I'll write about it soon!
Hasta luego!
After class I went shopping and had a great time. Afterwards, I decided I wouldn't look at a map and try to get home. And apparently it worked because here I am writing instead of wandering around the city like a lost puppy.
In not-so-good news, it seems that I'm getting a tad sick. Honestly, I think it's just because I'm constantly breathing in cigarette smoke. There are very minimal smoking laws here, so I always come home smelling like cigarettes whenever I go out. It also may just be the difference in climate from what I'm used to. I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of days.
Tomorrow we have our first excursion to a Flamenco show. I'll write about it soon!
Hasta luego!
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