LAGOS!!!!! free drinks, crazy waves, and crazy dogs...

Lagos.. first beach... GORGEOUS!

Beach day 2!

at the end of the earth!

Surfing!


LAGOS PORTUGAL WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

It was like a week long spring break jammed into a 3 day weekend! It was wonderful!
FRIDAY: we take the 3 hour drive to lagos and IMMEDIATELY hit the beach. The first beach we went to was GORGEOUS. To our front was gorgeous ocean and to our back was gorgeous cliffs. It was so nice to jsut lay there and relax. I also saw some of my texas friends which was nice and meta bunch of their friends! That night we went to dinner at some chinese restaurant where the waiter gave us free shots! But the shot glasses had pictures of NAKE MEN on the bottom of them! HILARIOUS!!! After that we went to a bar called Joe's Garage and then my friends and i decide to go back to the hotel to go swimming! So we did, and the best way to get to the pool from my room is to climb over the balcony... stupid i know... but i paid for it with a giant bruise on the back of my leg! Then we ran around trying to find the hot tub, and when we couldnt we made one in our bath tub! haha it was a mess!

SATURDAY: We were supposed to take a sailboat cruise but it was too choppy so the sailboat stayed in the dock and they took us on rides on rescue speedboats. You know the ones that hit waves and fly into the air... it was a BLAST!!!! then one of the 2 boats broke down and we had to "rescue" them and get the people into our boat!! haha then they took us back to the sailboat for bottomless sangria and relaxing. Some people played sangria pong with fruit chunks! Then we went to the beach where they had free beer and food/drink specials. Then we just laid on the beach. It was wonderful. That evening they took us to the point in portugal that was considered to be the end of the world. It was GORGEOUS! There were all of these big gorgeous cliffs! We sat on the edge and watched the sunset. Then we went to dinner, had some portuguese wine and went to a couple of clubs. That night I went in the pool again with some other people and just played around in the hotel with my friends.

SUNDAY: My friend and I were supposed to go surfing! but the bus forgot to pick us up!!! So we got picked up by some friends of the surfing place's owner... it was a bit sketchy but 100% safe. We got to the beach where everyone was about an hour later than them. But we didnt miss too much. So we got our wetsuits on and our boards and then ran to warm up. As we were running a dog came and ran beside us. It was cute at first. THEN IT BIT ME! It was a good thing I had my wetsuit one or else it would have been bad! He was just playing but it HURT. And it left a nasty bruise even through the wetsuit! So i got over that and then learned to surf!!!!!! I was SO MUCH FUN! But HARD! I got up on my feet 4 times and 2 of those times I didnt fall off at all! I got halfway up a few more times and ate it even more times than that! It was a blast! even though I was insanely sore the next few days. Then we just had a snack and went back to the hotel to pack and head home.

IT WAS AN AMAZING WEEKEND!

Futbol

Last night Cindy and I went to a Seville futbol game! I have been wanting to go since I got here! I was a lot of fun! It would have been more fun had we won and had it NOT been raining.... but oh well! It was still cool to see! Next Seville must.. bullfighting!

Seville socer field!
Everyone with their umbrellas
A team member getting on the bus!

Casa Anselma

So Thurs night we went to Casa Anselma which is an AMAZING Flamenco bar in Triana (the neighborhood next to where I live). It was soooo cool. I have seen Flamenco a lot, and even though my favorite was Feria, as for shows, this one wins!

It was so much more authentic and had crowd participation and stuff. At one point a blind guy got up and sang and he was precious! Plus, Anselma (bar owner) is from Dolores's home town and knows her son-in-laws family and stuff! So I felt I had a connection even if it was a stretch! haha I loved it!

Here is a video of some people dancing flamenco at Anselma!! (ps - I know how to do that dance!) :-)

Last night of Feria

So last night was a great last night of Feria for me! Me and 2 or my friends went to my room to have a botellon and we could see all of Feria! IT WAS GORGEOUS from way up high! So bright and colorful!!! Then we headed off to Feria.

There we met up with Grace and Jen and Graces friends. One of which was a guy named Jake. He did the Wells program 4 years ago and lived with my friend Grace's senora.

Turns out he is from Austin Texas.
Turns out he is Jewish.
Turns out we know a lot of the same people.
Turns out he is my friends older brother!!!

It was so bizarre!!! We were just talking about who we knew and he says... oh your my brothers age and I asked who is brother was and I knew him! It was all just so weird! But we all hung out all night and had a blast! It was me, Ashlee, Nicole, Grace, Jen, Jake, Jake's friend, Grace's French brother Alex, and Jen's friend Aaron. It was a lot of fun and a great last night!!!

Tonight, fireworks from the fairgrounds which I will watch from my roof.
Tomorrow... back to school.. BOOO!!!!!

FERIA DE ABRIL!

on
So this week is Feria de Abril which means no school! YAY! I have been to like 3 days of school in the past 3 or 4 weeks! SO CRAZY! haha But so what Feria is is half a normal fair with rides and attractions and stuff and the other half is thousands of tents where there is food and drink and Flamenco all night every night! Its so much fun!

You have to know someone though b/c the tents are private. Luckily and friend of mine has an in at a few tents so we go where she goes!

Also, since I have been taking a Flamenco class I can actually dance with the Spaniards! Its so much fun! And there is a special drink for Feria called Rebujito. Its a weird wine with sprite... its REALLY good!

Its also really cool to see all the girls all dressed up in Flamenco dresses! They are all SO gorgeous!!! Its Spain at its BEST!!! And its really cool when people grab guitars and start playing and singing real flamenco instead of playing a tape! Thats my favorite!!!

This is the dress I wore last night. It is one of Dolores's daughters old ones. Its definitely NOT the hottest most modern dress but it was a dress and it was free and I liked it! It was fun to pretend to be Spanish!!! I was in the dress and dancing flamenco and speaking spanish!!! YAY!!!! I have been to Feria every night this week!! I love even just sitting and listening and watching!!! I know I will tire of it by the end of it but right now I LOVE IT!!! Its SOO cool! I think we should do it in America! haha

Catch up time

ok so for any of yall who still read this:

SEMANA SANTA: This was very cool and very strange. It rained when I got back from London until Thurs. BUT that was the BIG night anyway so ya... Cindy and her friend and I went to see the Triana procession, and even though some spaniards got a bit uppity about being crowded it was pretty cool. The people that wear the pointed hats and looked like the KKK scared me a bit at first but were just interesting by the end. During the processions, people carry "Pasos." These are HUGE antique floats covered in big wooden figures, candles, flowers, canopies and whatever else that are carried but a minimum of about 40 men. Its pretty crazy to see them carry it!
The next day I went with Dolores to see the Triana procession again during the day. Then I went to see MY FAM!!!!
I took a cab to their hotel, and as we drove up i got a call from my mom telling me they were stuck in Madrid! OY! So I went home for a nap. Then I went to see them! I WAS SO UNBELIEVABLY HAPPY TO SEE THEM!!! I just wanted to hug them all day! But instead we went to Miguel's house, Dolores's ex husband, to see a procession. We missed it but they got to meet everyone. Then I took them around town a bit and to the centro to get some tapas at a bar. When we got to the centro there was a procession going on and it was really cool! It was the first my family had seen and they were impressed. After fighting our way through the crowd we managed to get into a bar to eat. It was yummy! Then we had to fight out way back through to get to place for them to catch a cab. On the way we ran into some friends, so carly and I went with them to watch some flamenco.

Then next day I showed them around the centro during the day. We saw the cathedral and tried to see alcazar but the line was too long. Then we just walked around a bit, saw Blake, Elissa, and Jen for about 30 sec and went back for lunch. Dolores made us a HUGE lunch and it was DELICIOUS!!! Then we were off to Barcelona!

BARCELONA & ITALY!: In Barcelona we saw the Gaudi architecture which was pretty freakin cool! It looked like a dripping candle or something! So strange! We also saw the Picasso museum, Dahli museum and "jewish qt." It was all very cool, except the jewish qtr that was just a dark alley with nothing jewish we could see.

the next day was ROMA! And even though it was raining and freezing it was cool! We saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the rest of the old city of Rome. That night we went to wonderful restaurant where the waiters were really funny and were goofing off with us b/c we were being very loud and silly! The next day we saw Vatican City, had a WONDERFUL lunch, and went to a castle, piaza nuvou, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps. Trevi was probably my favorite part of Rome. We stayed there for a while and took TONS of pics! We loved it!
The next day we went to Pompeii. If you ever have a chance to go there DO IT! Its so cool. Its not ruins, its a totally preserved ancient city! There were even whole preserved bodies! It was crazy. There was also fast food places, shops, houses, and brothels with paintings or the services you could request! SO FUNNY! Then we ended up a really crappy place for lunch where the owner made us eat all of the lentil soup we ordered b/c they were the "most famous lentils" available. OY!

Then we were off to FLORENCE! I loved this city. We went to see the David which is HUGE! I had no idea it was 15 ft tall! It was really cool to see! We also saw the Duomo and the Cathedral which was incredible from the outside! It was so colorful and intricate. We also saw the Birth of Venus and others at the Ufizzi. After we were done touring we went back to the hotel and go our room which wasnt ready before. So Carly Ari and I were given a room fit for a princess! There were 2 sets of big wooden double doors to get in, a chandelier, a gorgeous wooden mirror and a big bathroom! Plus it was right next to the breakfast area! So convenient! That night we just went to dinner b/c it was rainy and gross.
The next day was PISA and LUCCA! We got to climb the leaning tower of Pisa! It was so funny because you would just be climbing and all of the sudden you would just fall to one side! Then you would even out and fall to the other! In Lucca we rode bikes around the city to see the sites. I had more fun on the bike than I probably should have! I could have just ridden around all day! It was SO beautiful there and so much fun! And it was here in Lucca that my dad and I got A 7 SCOOP CONE OF GELATO... EACH!!! and we both devoured them! YUM!! That night we went to La Giostra, which had an amazing atmosphere and food! The best part though was that Ari had a piece of veal that was bigger than her head! IT WAS GIANT! and hilarious!

The next day was VENICE!!!!! We were all SO excited for Venice, esp Carly. When we get off the train and walk outside, where there would normally be a street to catch a cab, there was the canal! SO COOL! But the nas we are about to take a water taxi to our hotel, we find out our hotel is on the outskirts of the city. Its not even in Venice, not to mention... it was a bit crappy! Esp after the other one in Florence! So after we make our way back out there, drop our stuff, and take the 30-45 min bus ride back into Venice, we finally get to tour. We grab some lunch and tour St Marks Cathedral in St marks Sq, and the Dodge Palace and jsut walk around a bit. I didnt feel very good and we headed back after dinner.
The next day was amazing though. It was totally free for whatever we wanted to do. We got up and headed to the first jewish ghetto and saw same GORGEOUS temples, then we just walked around and shopped all day! When we got tired we took a Gondola ride which was AMAZING!!!!!! Dinner that night was also amazing and the whole day was just a great end to the trip!

Saying goodbye was hard. I didnt want to leave my family. I wanted them to stay and for Daniel to come. We missed him throughout the whole trip. But I had a lot to do since I missed a week of class. But when I got back I had no make up work! It was crazy! Oh well!

Then this past weekend I met Blake, Jen and Elissa in Amsterdam! And that was a blast! Thurs night we met Lindsey and went to the Red Light District which was INSANE! It was weird to see these women working their windows but also eating dinner or texting on their phones! So funny! Then next day we saw the Anne Frank house, had pancakes from the pancake bakery, went to a Spanish Portuguese Temple, The Jewish History museum, The Dutch resistance museum (which I loved! It was all about the strikes and stuff the Dutch did on behalf of the Jews), and then we went to the Sex Museum which was just strange! That night Blakes uncle and cousin took us to dinner. It was Indonesian and yummy!

The next day we went to the Van Gogh museum and when we got back we had a British roommate named Ned! (Or Nedward, or Dennis haha). Then her uncle took us out to the countryside to see tulips, and even though they weren't in bloom the flowers that were there were GORGEOUS!!! Then we went to some island which was weird where we sat and had coffee and apple pie and stuff. That night we went to dinner with Elissa, her friend, their 5 hostel roommates and Ned. Then we went to a comedy show called Boom Chicago where they picked on Ned a bit. It was funny, not hilarious, but funny!

Now I am back in Seville and its Feria de Abril! And I'm so excited because it ANOTHER week off, a fair, and a whole lot of culture experiences jsut waiting to unfold! YAY! Cant wait!

OY!

sorry guys! i have been bad! I will soon update about:

Semana Santa
Italy
Amsterdam

LOVES!

LONDON BABY!

So lets recap the last week or so.

So moroccan food left me a little treat and i almost didnt go to london. On thursday i skipped classes, dropped a class and sucked it up enough to head to LONDON! I met up with Laura who I met in Morocco and stayed with her at her brothers flat for a few days. We went and saw the tower of london, crowned jewels, Buckingham palace, st pauls cathedral, tate modern, and all that good jazz.

one night i met up with my love sarah pierce and we had dinner and went and saw Spamalot (SO GOOD!) But the coolest part was that Alan Dale (AKA Bradford Meade on UGLY BETTY) played King Arthur. It was precious! He couldnt dance to save his life but he pulled off the singing quite well. Plus the show was just great in general. And to see that in London with the real accents was great!

When laura and her friends left I went to stay with my cousin at his flat in west hamstead. it was nice! he took me to dinner and i got to go do the things laura and her friends had not wanted to do. I saw the changing of the guards, westminster abbey, churchill's bunker and a couple of other thing. (st james park, parliament sq, etc...) That night alan (my cousin) took me out ot a few pubs for a pint for st pattys day! it was so much fun!

now i am here in seville and its semana santa and im really excited to see the big parades tomorrow night! and then my family comes on fri for a week in italy! YAY!!!!!! SO EXCITED!

I'M 21!!! AND I WENT TO AFRICA!!!

YAY! So my 21st was all I could have hoped for without the big American blowout! First of all, Dolores made me a GIANT apple tart for me and all the girls on my program and it was DELICIOUS! she also made us a ton of fresh hot chocolate and set the dining room table all nice and pretty for me! She is so sweet! After we ate the tart and hot chocolate she opened a bottle of wine for me!

That night me and 2 of my friends went to Antique, a high end club here in Seville. First of all, we did not know but the night we went there was a guest list and we weren't supposed to be allowed in, but since it was my birthday they let us in! I'm such a high roller! haha Anyway, it was a TON of fun and we made friends with a Swiss Soccer team! They were SO much fun!

The next day, cindy and I went to MOROCCO!!!! It was SO COOL! We stayed in Tetuan and saw the Medina there and went to Tanger and Chefchaouen. Chefchaouen was a PRECIOUS little town that was painted all blue and white (white for peace and blue for the gods). Also, the second night I was there I couldnt sleep, so at 530 am I heard a weird ghostly noise outside my window, so I went out on the balcony and I realized it was the first call to prayer of the day! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL! I heard somewhere between 4 and 6 callers in different minarets and it was like a song that echoed all over. And it was still dark out and there were still stars out and it was just an INCREDIBLE experience!

PLUS we met people from ALL OVER! We met a ton of people from Holland and Germany, one from Poland, one from Hungary, TWO from ICELAND! Who the F lives in Iceland? haha And did you know Icelandic was a language?? I didnt! But ya it was an AMAZING birthday weekend!

Also, its time to reveal, I have been having a hard time here. I think it was a combo of culture shock and homesickness and a bit of lonliness that I didnt know how to handle... especially all at once. But ever since the day I went skydiving :-) every day has been INCREDIBLE! I cant believe it is already march and I only have until the end of MAY! :-(

But I am SO excited because my family will be here in 10 days! YAY!!!!!!

Dolores and me on my birthday!
21! YAY!
Dressed like a Moroccan woman!
CAMELS!
Chefchaouen! blue and white town! SO CUTE!

Mis Clases

Ok so I guess I should write about my classes since I mean I DO go to school 4 days a week even though some people think I dont! haha Ok so lets see. I am taking 5 classes but only wanted 4. I went through 2 weeks of not knowing which sections of each classes I wanted to take and then got down to 5 and couldnt figure out which one I wanted to drop so I am in 5. Its not too bad, none of them are too hard.

Foneticas Corectivas y Conversacion:
So I originally had a prof who was crazy! If someone pronounced something wrong he would make them repeat it 10000000 times! And even when they said it right he would say it was wrong. He did it to me once and when I got home I asked Dolores about it and she said I was right! SO THERE! haha But I switched professors and I like my new one better except we have only done 2 or 3 things related to phonetics. We keep doing 3rd grade busy work! Oh well! I do have my first real assignment in this class do Monday! Man I need to get on that and not be on here! haha

Grammatica II:
I like the prof a lot. She is very nice but we have a bunch of busywork homework. Not such a huge fan but I dont actually think any of it gets graded, just corrected? I dont know. Its not too bad and we learn some colloquial stuff which is good.

Flamenco:
So I am taking a class about the cultural influence of the Flamenco on Andalusia. So far its kind of a bust. The guy talks for an hour and then we watch or listen to examples for an hour. All I can say is that he shows us the beat patterns written out and expects us to be able to identify them among a slew of other noises and distractions in a video or audio clip. No one can. He will ask the class a question which is normally followed by a good 5 min of silence before someone answers incorrectly! haha OH and he writes like a 2 year old. Unless I am writing exactly what he says down AS he is saying it, I can NOT decipher what he meant with the chicken scratch he puts on the board! OY! This 2 hours can be tough!

Tres Culturas:
If the 2 hours of Flamenco is bad this is pure torture! This is supposed to be a class about the influences of Cristians, Jews, and Muslims on Spain. But he rambles on for 2 hours straight in a monotone voice about things that dont fit within this category! And then he jumps all over the place. Yesterday we were talking about stuff from the year 580ish. We get to something about jews and all of the sudden we are talking about the Holocaust. Needless to say the ENTIRE class was lost! 2 hours of this class feels like 10! Its awful! I just dont get it. And the worst part is that I was SO excited about this topic. Oh well!

Cine Espanol Contemporaneo:
I LOVE THIS CLASS! Comtemporary Spanish Cinema. Basically we watch spanish movies and talk about them. And the last one we watched he gave us English subtitles! ps- it was great! La Lengua de Mariposas (The tongue of the Butterfly) is WONDERFUL! The professor is really nice and I do like this class alot! It the only thing that gets me through my 3 cultures class every tues/thurs!

I am also taking a dance class, Sevillanas, which is kind of like Flamenco. It is through the university but its a graded class or anything its just for fun and I like it alot! YAY!

And now I am getting SUPER excited b/c my birthday is on Friday and I am about to start a 3 week whirlwind of vacations! YAY!

PARACAIDISMO!

I WENT SKYDIVING TODAY!!!!! it was so incredibly amazing! there are NO words!

Paris holds the key to my heart!

PARIS WAS INCREDIBLE!

First of all, it was wonderful to see Blake! And I met her friends Jen and Brittany (Spanjer) and I love them too! When I got there on Thurs it was just me Blake and Jen. We went to dinner and I got a pizza that had a sunny side up egg in the middle! SO WEIRD! But delicious! Then we went to Amorino for gelato! YUM! They even shaped my gelato like a rose! So pretty and yummy!

Friday we got up and went to Notre Dame. Jen and I went to the top and pet the gargoyles! Then we headed to the Old Jewish Qtr and walked in a small Sephardic synagogue and got falafel at L’as du Falafel, a restaurant endorsed by Lenny Kravitz so you KNOW it was good! We headed off to the Champs Elysees to shop and eat and see the Arc de Triomphe. We ate at a delicious restaurant! Then b/c Blake felt worse we took her to the doctor off the Champs! SO ODD! But within 30 min she saw the doctor and was walking out of a pharmacy with her meds! I wish America was that efficient! We took a quick pic of the Arc and headed to the Musee d’Orsay. Josh met us there! He looked so French and fabulous! The museum was really cool b/c it was built in what was originally a train station! VERY pretty! Then we went home to wait for Spanjer, and got a crepe on the way. I ordered one w/ “apple compote” thinking it would be sliced warm apples or something and it was applesauce! Haha Still good though. Then the fun really started!

We ate dinner that night at a restaurant called la Refuge de Fondue. Let me tell you, if you are ever in Paris GO EAT THERE! It was HILARIOUS! First of all its fondue (yum) second of all they serve wine in baby bottles!!! It was so wrong to drink alcohol from a baby bottle but it was SO much fun and hilarious! Plus the people sitting next to use were very fun and funny! After we had our fill there, we went to the Moulin Rouge to take that picture, and headed back to the hotel where we got yelled at for having 4 people in a 3 person room. So we had to get another room. OY

Saturday we got up and went straight to the Louvre. Thanks to Josh we knew there was an underground entrance so we walked right in with no wait at all! We went and saw the Venus de Milo and hung out with Mona for a bit (Mona Lisa). Then we headed over to take another pic of the Arc for Spanjer and went up to Sacre Coeur, a church at the highest point in Paris. We sat on the steps in front for a couple of hours listening to a cute Italian play guitar and sing while a psycho lady that must have been on SOMETHING danced like a crazy person! SO FUNNY! Then we went to the artists square and had lunch. Shopped for a bit and went to the big dept store that is the Harrods of Paris for a bit. Then we went back to the hotel to relax before going to the EIFFEL TOWER and having dinner.

The Eiffel Tower was incredible! We went to the top and while we were going up the light show went off. It was like being inside a GIANT disco ball! The view was gorgeous! When we got down we went to dinner at a very French restaurant where they wrote the day’s menu on a chalk board and put it on your table. (The waiter brought us one in English.) I had quail stuffed with foi gras over lentils which was FABULOUS! Then we headed back to take pictures in front of the tower and watch the light show which was nothing less than beautiful. Then we headed home since we had early flights the next day.

I didn't want to leave! I LOVE PARIS!

Intercambio

OY! So I am having the hardest time finding an intercambio! (This is a person I meet with occasionally to practice my spanish and they practice their english.) But at first I had this cute woman named Teresa. She was so sweet! But she was 30, a teacher, married, and so we had not too terribly much in common. Also, since she was a teacher she would talk so much and try to be too teachery about it that I barely could participate. So I am looking for others. There was a whole confusion with them. I was supposed to meet one (maybe 2) yesterday. The first one was a no show but I was not sure if that person was or was not coming or even who it was. It was very weird! So then I went and met the second one. Again, he was a good deal older than me and I couldnt understand him. Even when I told him to slow down he didnt. I just want a university student! I need the practice like WHOA!

On that note, I just got back from watching a play. I understood the basic plot, but not much more than that. Girl loves guy. Guy goes away. They think he is dead. She marries. Guy comes back. They want to be together but cant. Husband kills girl and guy. OY!

BUT TOMORROW I MEET MY BLAKEY IN PARIS! And Dolores was SO CUTE! I have to leave straight from class and cant come home for lunch. So she made me 2 sandwiches, half of a big bag of chips and fruit for lunch tomorrow! She wont let me leave without it tomorrow! SHE IS SO WONDERFUL! haha

BERLIN!!!!

So I just spent the weekend in Berlin with Frede and Ilona and it was FABULOUS!!! Here is the summation of the weekend:

Thurs – Get there!!! YAY! Go find Alli who just HAPPENED to be there the same time I was, and we sat and had some German beer. Then we went to a bar that was retro of what was typical East Berlin style. It was really hippy and weird and I liked it! The best part though was this man who was dressed like an Indian, braids, headband, and all! HE WAS SMOKING A 4FT LONG JOINT! It was the funniest thing I think I have ever seen… you know… weed related! Haha And he walked around offering it to everyone in the bar! When he got to a kid near us he asked to see his passport before he offered it to him b/c he thought he looked too young! Haha

Fri – We walked ALL OVER! First we went to the Alex tower, the central point of what was East Berlin. Then we went to a chocolate place (German choc = YUM!), and the Brandenburger gate, and the Berlin equivalent to the White House, and Checkpoint Charlie (the checkpoint for passage b/w East/West Berlin. Lunch/Dinner at an Indian restaurant where we got yelled at by a big German bald man for being too loud (which we weren’t!) The we took some pics in a photo booth which are SO CUTE!!!!

That night we went to see a movie that was part of the Berlinale (Berlin Intl Film Festival). It was a Japanese movie about gay men in Japan. It was odd… good, but odd w/ WAY to many crotch shots! Haha But the coolest part was that the director, composer, and one of the lead actors were sitting in the row behind us! I got a pic with the actor!

Sat – We were all so tired! So we eventually got up and had “breakfast” at noon. But it was the BEST BREAKFAST I have had so far in Europe. (scrambled eggs, 3 kinds of ham, 3 kinds of cheese, fruit and yogurt, tomato w/ mozzarella, bread, butter, and jam! SO DELICIOUS) The we went to the Jewish Museum which is HUGE and very cool! Someone could spend ALL DAY in there! Then we went back to the house, but first we got some Currywurst for me to try! (Yay for German sausage!) haha

Ilona had to leave so Frede and I relaxed for a bit and then went out for Sushi! YUM! Then we went to another cool local bar where the waiter did NOT like us. But we were so tired we started falling asleep! So we headed back for about half an hour before I had to leave for my 6am flight.

Why I booked that flight I have NO CLUE! SO MUCH FUN! And I cant wait to go visit the rest of the Hassels fam in May!

OH, and it was FREEZING! It had been really warm the weekend before and dropped right before I got there so I was so cold! There were times when we each had on 5+ layers! Such a hassle to get out the door! Haha

...I want a taco...

ok so for those of you who know me.. you know how i love my food! Well today I am craving my mexican food like CRAZY! Its real bad! So I get home for lunch and we are eating something that has been on the stove cooking for 2 days. OH! And the ex husband Miguel is here so I meet him for the first time too! BUT the point of the story is the food. So it looks like meat in red sauce but the meat looks really dark purple and a bit weird. It is called Sangre, which means blood. I figured (hoped) it was called that b/c it was in the red sauce. Needless to say... I was WRONG!

IT WAS BLOOD!!!! chicken blood to be exact. they drain the blood from the chickens when they kill them and then boil the blood. At some point it becomes what look like blocks of sliced meat and then Spaniards feed it to unsuspecting Americans like me! haha OY!

It didnt have much of a taste, but I didnt eat too much of it just because it was weird and airy. So ya, Dolores fed me BLOOD for lunch today!

Like I said... I want a taco...

Lo Mismo (the same)

hey guys!

So lets see what has happened in the last few days. Classes started, and i still have not set my final schedule yet. I am struggling hardcore with the spanish BUT I am working on it. Spain makes men careless and mean! 2 examples:
1) went to a bar with a friend who is spanish. long story short, he gets into a yelling fight with the women who work there (one of which he used to date) and he ends up pushing one woman to the ground! knocked her flat! he didnt punch her or anything.. but push doesnt justify it. OY!
2) at a club that is WAY overcrowded! A guy is dancing and keeps leaning back all over me and my friends. so i put my hand on his back and give him a little nudge to let him know an he turns around, scoffs and shoves me! So my friends pushes him back to which he says, "you have to be a lot hotter to push me like that" SUCH a jerk. He ended up apologizing for saying that! again... OY!

What else...??? I dont have too much more news... this weekend I go to Germany (Berlin to be exact) and im SO excited!!!!! This week is going to fly by! This whole month has blown by like NOBODY'S BUSINESS! I cant believe it!

OH! I am going to sign up for a Sevillanas class this week which is like ballet or something with those finger clacker things! CANT WAIT!

I miss all of you more than you know! LOVE YOU! Call me and write to me and send me messages! haha

mis clases

so i had my first day of classes today... so far nothing too exciting. i dont know that i like my phonetics class, maybe want to switch to a grammar class but if i do that i have to change my spanish cinema class and i dont know if i will like that class yet or not. i do like my flamenco class but it may be a bit tougher than i would like but oh well. have not had my fourth one yet... that is for tomorrow! miss everyone!

quick update

hey! so a quick update. not too much new stuff. went to the museo de bellas artes. some of my friends made friends with this guy valentine. we kept hanging out with him and he was super nice. then last night he got into a fight with some women who worked at a bar and knocked one of them to the floor, so im not hangin out with him anymore. the food has been good. my feet are killing me from all the walking. im super tired haha. i start classes tomorrow and im super nervous. i love the food but miss my mexican food. dolores now lets me do stuff on my own. my spanish still sucks. more later as im super tired.

OH! something funny! i love the hot chocolate here (cant have too much coffee b/c of my stomach) so i asked dolores to buy me some for home. she went to the store one day and told me she bought some but it was the cheaper brand. it was the exact same just cheaper... guess what she got me! NESQUICK! hahah oh man i cracked up!

A few pics!

MY ROOM


Climbing in a fountain behind the cathedral


The Giralda at the Catedral! I CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THAT!


El Torre del Oro - where they delivered gold from the new world

My school! Isnt it GORGEOUS! Doesnt look like a school! haha But I definitely got lost in there for and hour today looking for one of my classrooms! Good thing it classes havent started yet!

Mi Sobrino Adoptivo

So this is my senora's grandson (my adopted spanish nephew) ISNT HE PRECIOUS! His name is Arturo and he just turned 3 SO CUTE!

Mi Senora!

So... my senora Dolores is kind of crazy! I love her... but she is so funny sometimes! First of all, she thinks I don’t eat enough when I am eating more at each meal than any person should. I mean honestly, I make a bit of a pig of myself. Then, she is OBSESSED with my clothes being ironed and hung up. She won’t let it go. I have been here only a week and I think she has told me at least 4 or 5 times that all of my clothes need to be hung up so they won’t get wrinkled. If she sees something in my room that is too wrinkled she will steal it and iron really quickly and then put it back. She gets upset when there is a fabric she can’t iron or she can’t get one wrinkle out of something. She will show me and say, it’s so bad, it’s so ugly, and I can’t get it out! haha She literally irons everything! I think she may iron my underwear! It’s a bit overkill. haha And today, it was almost 6 pm and my bed wasn’t made. I was about to go sit on it to study some Spanish and get on the computer but she wouldn’t let me until she made it. She told me I wouldn’t sleep well if it weren’t made.

Also, I don’t know if it’s because I am new or that my Spanish kind of sucks, but she doesn’t let me do anything around the house on my own. If I reach for something on the table she will move it right next to me so I won’t have to. But if Jennifer (the other American living here who has been here since sept) reaches for something she doesn’t move it. When I asked for more toilet paper for my bathroom, she showed me where to get some and then she took it and put more in there. I tried to and she wouldn’t let me. It can be nice but sometimes I just want to do things for myself. It can get a bit absurd. Sometimes I try to help her in the kitchen with something and she will take me by the hand and sit me down at the table and turn the tv on for me. Today, when I was on my bed, I was barefoot and she told me my feet were too cold so she tucked me into my bed while I was working on my computer.

Some of it is nice, and I'm not complaining... it’s just hilarious! Another example of her oddity: there are 2 plates she won’t let us eat off of b/c they are “ugly” aka worn a bit, faded and scratched. But they are not good enough to eat on. AND last night we had croquettes (little fried balls with stuff inside) and I took one that she said was too ugly for me to eat so she tried to take it off my plate so I would take a pretty one! (I didn’t let her, I wanted the “ugly” one) haha so ya! that’s my senora as I know her so far!

Ill add a picture of her later!

SEVILLE!!!

OK So I have been in Seville for 4 days now and I love it! It is SO BEAUTIFUL here! And my senora is SO CUTE!!!! She is such a good cook too! She is trying to fatten me up because she thinks I dont eat enough! I think she is the first person to ever think that! haha So ya what have I done since my last blog...

Ok well I got here and moved in and started orientation for school. I live in a really nice place especially for an apartment! I live with one other american student, Dolores (host mom) and her daughter Maria del Mar, who is 38 I think. And I don't share anything with anyone! I have my own room and my own bathroom! I am supposed to be sharing with Maria del Mar but I dont see any of her stuff in there so I dont know! We have a dog named Sugar who is very cute but already chewed up something of mine! I was not too thrilled. OH! And one of the best parts of spanish life it this table that has a heating coil under it! So there is a big blanket-like table cloth over the table and you just put it over your lap and you get all warm and toasty! I LOVE IT! haha

So we have not done too much yet. We have spanish lessons every day and some other kind of Seville excursion or something to do. We did go to this big Cathedral and climb to the top of the bell tower and I could see the entire city! It was SO GORGEOUS! But then the bell rang and I thought I was going to have a heart attack! haha

I am excited to start school and stuff and I cant wait to travel! After I type this I am going to walk around in the centro and window shop! YAY!

Love and miss you all!

OH and my cell phone number is 034-692-870-294 (034 is the country code) but call me with a calling card or on skype! LOVES!

Frostbite... ish

I just went skinny dipping in the Mediterranean!!! It was cold. (sorry mom and dad if you read this :-) )

Granada!

Hey guys! So lets update from before. Last night in Valencia we went out and had "agua de Valencia" (their fruity version of a long island... SO GOOD!) But then they charged us 45 EUROS for it! And it was a tiny pitcher! So we complained, they gave us some money back and gave us a free bottle of champagne. But since it was a monday night the only bar open was a pub filled with old men! So we talked to them, in spanish, for about an hour which was quite amusing and kind of difficult! We also talked to the drunk owner for a while. Then we got lost trying to get back to the hotel. We asked this guy for directions and we figured out where to go but he ended up walking us back to the hotel since the city is kind of dangerous and full of pick pockets. (We were fine, there were 4 of us). So I thought this was SO nice of him, but it turns out he wanted more than just a thank you from me. haha it was funny but my friends and I got inside and laughed hilariously about it!

The next day we drove all day to Granada and saw a Flamenco show which was incredible! There were a bunch of asian tourist there who fell asleep during the show! it was really funny! Today in Granada we went to the Cathedral where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried and to the Alhambra which was VERY cool but it was kind of gross out. But we managed! (I was cold!)

Tomorrow we go to Costa del Sol... THE BEACH! so hopefully its pretty! yay! I also bought my plane tickets today for my first European excursion to see Frede and Ilona in Berlin! YAY! I'm so excited! More later! Email me and keep me posted on the happenings of your lives!

Muchos besos! (Many kisses!)

And now I am in Valencia!

Hola amigos! I have been in Spain for a few days now and its gorgeous! We have seen more cathedrals and monasteries than anyone would ever want to! But they are all SO GORGEOUS! So far, of the places we have been, I would pick Toledo to live. IT IS SO AMAZING! SO GORGEOUS! It is this little town surrounded by a river and its just the cutest thing ever! When we were there we climbed to the top of this big hill with huge rocks on top and could see almost the entire city! It was unreal! There is nothing like this in the states. I love the traveling but I cant wait to get settled in Seville. I don't think I have quite adjusted to the time yet. I am so sleepy! haha and the food is kind of hard to get used to, especially the breakfast! but I am working on it. I am also working on my Spanish because I am quickly learning that mine SUCKS! haha I dont know when I will have internet again but I love and miss you all and appreciate any and all emails, messages and posts!

Adios!

TOMORROW!!!

HEY GUYS! at this time tomorrow I will be in a plane on somewhere over the ocean! YAY! I hope that I manage to keep up with these posts! If you happen to check it and I dont post for a while then facebook yell at me! haha But ya, I will be traveling for 10 days when I get to Spain and may or may not have internet. So if I can post I will, but here is my itinerary for those 10 days!

JAN:

8 - DEPARTURE! YAY!
9-Madrid
10-Madrid
11-Madrid (Segovia)
12-Madrid (Toledo)
13-Madrid to Valencia
14 - Valencia
15 - Valencia to Granada
16 - Granada
17 - Granada to Costa del Sol
18 - Costa del Sol
19 - Cordoba and Seville!

Then I have a 10 day orientation! YAY!

I will get my cell phone when I get to seville but leave me your international phone numbers either here or on facebook/skype! YAY

Wish me luck! LOVE YALL!!!