Hello all,
Sooo sorry I have not updated my blog in well...about a month...we have been super busy! But have no fear, I will tell you allll about it now. Maybe grab a snack and make sure to use the bathroom before you start reading :)
Last time I updated was when Copeland and I got back from Bologna...hmm let me think back:
The two weeks after Bologna we had tons of school work with 2 tests, some compositions, a presentation, and a couple quizzes. We survived it all even though it is extremely hard to do homework and study in Spain.
The first weekend back we went to a concert to benefit Haiti. It was definitely a different experience with the music in spanish and all but it was fun! On Friday we went out to a vegetarian restaurant and I had hummus YUM! The restaurant was in an area we had yet to explore but we really like it and want to go back soon! We met up with some friends from our group and did a little botellon-ing by the river. Basically that means to drink in public, which is illegal but not enforced. We all brought some wine and such and sat on the side of the river and chatted until we decided to head to Lobo, a bar across the street. Lobo was fun because it had some great old american pop music including Spice Girls and Hanson- awesome.
The next weekend we made a trip to Granada with the entire program. Granada is a city about 3 hours away from Sevilla and is right next to the Sierra Nevada mountains! Of course it was rainy. Not sure what happened but when we arrived in Spain this semester we must have brought the rain because it is only supposed to rain some 20 days out of the year and we have definitely surpassed that number already. We still had a great time visiting the cathedral, tombs of the Catholic King and Queen of Spain (reyes catolicos as they are known here in Spain)Isabel and Fernando, and a teteria! The teteria was my favorite part with a relaxing ambiance and awesome tea! I got mint tea with lemon and I drank every drop! Copeland and I also split a banana and strawberry crepe sooooo delicious! The teteria had an Arabian theme and was full of locals, which we were excited about because that always means its good! The second day we went to la Alhambra, which is large Arabic palace and fortess. Later it, of course, became a Christian palace, as it goes here in Spain. The Alhambra is full of Islamic arquitecture and beautiful views of the mountains and all of Granada. We spent about 3 hours walking through the military fortess and the palace with our trusty tour guide and professor, Fernando.
Last week a lot of the students in the program, including myself, started volunteering at a local private school called Claret, teaching English. My class is 12 and 13 year olds and they are SO CUTE! I arrived and their teacher, Rufino, told them they had to ask me questions in English and I would respond but also ask them a question. The first brave student, Carlos, raised his hand and said, "Hello, my name is Carlos. What is your favorite futbol team?" When I said, "Sevilla" all of the class erupted in YAYs and boos because there is another team in Sevilla called Betis so it is pretty divided. Carlos, however, had on a Sevilla sweatshirt so he was pleased with my answer. The questions proceeded and the hour-long class was over before I knew it. Carlos asked about 20 questions, never forgetting to introduce myself (again). He was seriously ADORABLE and was my favorite student :) They asked me everything from my favorite food (in Spain and America) to what I like to do in my free time. I also got, "Do you like graffiti?" Well, the nino sure did and even gave me a sheet of paper at the end with my name written in a graffiti-type font, which he got all the boys in his corner to sign. It was really a great experience to get to spend time with Spanish children, especially since it is so strange living without 3 younger siblings in the house! I am really excited to get to know them better through the semester!
This past weekend we went to Cadiz, a port city about an hour away, for Carnaval. Carnaval is a huge festival/party the weekend before and after lent. Everyone dresses up in costumes and drinks the ENTIRE night away. Copeland and I bought masks at a Bazar and bus tickets to Cadiz about a week before the event and were really excited about one of the largest Carnaval celebrations in the world. Well, we bought our ticket to leave at 7pm and return at 7am but when we were about to leave for the station (at 6pm) we realized our ticket was for the 5pm bus! So we quickly left and the man at the bus station let us change our ticket for free after a tiny bit of begging :) We were on our way! We arrived in Cadiz at about 9 and found a little restaurant to get some dinner before our night of partying. Next step- caffine. We got a cafe con leche then headed for a plaza where tons of people were setting up their own personal bars. We came prepared of course and started mixing our drinks alongside them. The costumes were hilarious with many (many) guys dressed up as girls, groups of chickens, firefighters, Bob Marleys, and even a few Spongebob Square Pants. Everyone just wanders and drinks; so we did the same. We ran into some other girls from our program in the midst of 1,000´s of people and hung out with them the rest of the night. It rained, per usual but we had our umbrellas and later went under a covered area. There are lots of food stands like at the fair so around 3 Copeland and I bought baked potatos! By 4:30 we were wet, cold, and tired so we went by the churro tent to escape the rain and grab some coffee and water. Then we waited for our bus while chatting with a friend we made from Georgia Tech who was studying in France and visiting Spain for his spring break. He actually dated a girl who went to Carolina and it turned out to be someone from Smithfield, where Copeland is from. Of course Copeland knew the girl since Smithfield is such a small town and once again we were extremely excited and surprised to realize what a small small world it it! We got back to Sevilla at 9am still cold, wet, and tired but quickly showered and went to bed! It was so much fun and an experince I definitely wont forget from our time here!
WOW, well I will try and be better about updating so I wont have to fill you in on three weeks in one post! On Thursday morning we leave for Madrid and Friday morning take a flight to Germany so I will post again when we get back next Tuesday! This is basically the start to traveling every weekend and visitors coming so we are super excited! I knew time would fly by but it is CRAZY that after this weekend it is going to be MARCH! I am trying to take advantage of every moment! Well, besides Copeland and I's one american splurge- The Bachelor! Yes, we watch it very week and we hate Vienna! Well, I'm going to do some school work before lunch! Hopefully Matilde is cooking up something good :)
Hasta luego!
Amanda
