MORROCAN' out in BLUE TOWN... literally.

Hey peeps. I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this post up. I have just seen my blog as this almighty daunting task for the past two weeks, and I have literally wanted nothing to do with it. However, today in Sevilla the sun is out and the high is 80 degrees. I suppose my good lunch, the good weather, and my good spirits have somehow inspired me to stop hating "No Hablo Espanol".

Two weekends ago, Elena, Annalise, Cece, and I went to Morocco through a travel agency here in Sevilla.  I have always wanted to dip a toe or two in the pool of Arab Nations, and being so close to Morocco here in Sevilla, I would have felt stupid not to take advantage. It was really a great deal. We paid 180 euro for two nights and three days in Morocco. We were put up in 5 star resorts, and everything was paid for, except alcoholic beverages. Good thing people don't really drink there, I would have been broke.

Cece and Annalise took a bus to Sevilla down from Salamanca where they are currently living. We caught the Discover Sevilla (travel agency) bus, and drove down to the southern most coast of Spain. Here, we hopped on a ferry, and crossed the Straight of Gibraltar. That is right ladies and gents, on the other side of our short ferry ride Africa dwelled, and I suppose still dwells... The ferry was actually very cool, here is a pic.

The next day, we went to a town named Chefchouen. I can honestly say that it is probably the coolest place I have ever been to. And, yes I do pride myself on going to cool places. Funny story: I was wearing my Blublockers, a brand of sunglasses that literally block out the color blue while you wear them. I was walking through the town and the tour guide kept talking about how blue the city was and why. I wasn't really listening, and just kept wondering why he thought everything was blue. Everything looked normal to me, just like any other little town. Then Elena asked me what I thought about this little "blue town" then it hit me, I was wearing my sunglasses... I took them of and it was like the Heavens had opened up. I was flabberghasted at how beautiful everything was. The entire city was painted a cross between turquoise and sky blue. It was probably one of the prettier things I have seen. Here is a picture, and as usual, it is not doing it justice.

I am a raging idiot. I literally did not even know that everything was this color for at least thirty minutes.

We puttered around Chefchouen for a day. It was very cool. We ate the best food ever (I don't even know what it was), we haggled with the locals, the girls got henna tattoos, and we enjoyed the sun. It was a fantastic day, and that is about all I will say about that. Here are some pictures from the day.

DA GIRLS.

This is at the entrance to the city. I loved it.

OHMYGOD shoes.

 MOSTER HATZ.

 Aladdin dance?

The men and their strange robes in Morocco...

It certainly is... I knew I was supposed to come here.

So pretty.

Henna henna henna.

Sadly, the bombings in Libya started the weekend we were in Morocco. Also, there was a scheduled protest in Tangiers, the city we were supposed to go to next. The next day we had to flee the country. We ended up only missing out on about a half a day and exploring a new city. 

Our last stop on the trip was to visit a coast line where we went into caves and saw a beautiful coastline. This part of the trip made me extremely lethargic. I don't know if it was because we were kind of forced to leave, or because it was so beautiful on that beach. But it hit me really hard that I would probably never go back there. Which led me to sad feelings about my program wrapping up soon. Well lets not dwell on that. Here are some pics.

 CAVES.

 WOWWWWZA!

Chillin with ma camels...

I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Morocco. Everything and everybody was so colorful there.  It is truly unlike anywhere I have been before. I even got to hear the call to prayer a few times on the streets. It is seriously 100% different from my norm. It was so good to get out of what was comfortable, and it was so good to catch up with my best friends. 

Life is so good.

Carna-WHAT?? CARNAVAL!!!!!!!

Sorry for the ADPi/AOPi reference in the title... I am still obsessed.

What I am talking about is the Carnaval festivals that were held in Spain last week. As you all know, all Spans..... and I love a good party. So why not take advantage of dressing up and acting like crazy people just for the heck of it?

That is not entirely true... It is not just for the heck of it. The French and the New Orleans Crew have Mardi Gras, Northern Europeans have Carnival (notice the spelling difference, very important... NOT), and the Spanish (and people in Latin and South America) have Carnaval. These festivals are for the people to get their party on before Lent starts. Let me tell you, from first hand experience, they sure know how to do it. What good catholics they all are.

My friends (Andrew, Brad, Nick, and Elena) and I  took a plane to Alicante (city on the Mediterranean coast in Spain). We chose to go to Alicante, because Andrew has a friend studying there. We did not know much about the situation, but we were told to bring costumes. This brought about the almighty question of what I should be. I could be a San Ferminean (bull runner), gypsy (obvious choice of mine), butterfly/fairy (like most of the female population in Spain), or something else.... After talking it over with Kev, he had convinced me that a cat would be the best choice. So I went to a costume store and bought some supplies. Oh, how excited I was.

I forgot to mention one very IMPORTANT detail... Cece and Annalise met us in Alicante. I don't think I have ever been more excited to see anyone in my whole life!

I really wish that I could tell you all that I broadened my horizons by taking full advantage of being in a beautiful beach town in Spain, like Alicante. However, I must confess, that we did indeed act like idiots and got way wild for majority of the trip. When we weren't out on the town, we were in bed trying to recover from the previous crazy night.  I can honestly say that it was one of the best weekends of my life. Maybe it was the fact that Cece and Anna were there, the wonderful dinner that the boys cooked for us girls, the wild partying, or the outrageous amounts of laughter that I emitted. I recall telling my sister that i am ready to come home now, I am satisfied with my trip. And for that, Alicante, I thank you very much.

I did get some righteous pictures, enjoy.

AHHH. The Mediterranean Coast. So Beautiful.

Part of the dinner that the boys made for us. So sweet. And yeah, that is guac on the right!

Cece with her close friends behind her.

Andrew and Brad=weirdos. 

Besties. I tell them everyday how I can't wait to introduce them to my friends back home. They are so great.

Brad+Blue Hair=Love at first sight. Andrew and Annalise are freak-a-zoidzzz.

Prom pose with Nick! I don't really know where that came from...?

One of my favorite pictures of all time. The sleeping "girl" in the background, Annalise's black eye situation, and my fake smile make this picture AMAZING.

Stoop Kid doesn't want to leave his stoop...

Oh My God... You look just like Shakira.

CRAZY CARNAVAL!

Thanks for reading! Catch up with me next week. I am going to Morocco, as in Africa, this weekend. Jealous? Well, wish me luck!

Life is good.

Dirty Bit MAAAAAAN. Granada for a girls' weekend... kinda.

Hello friends! I deem it positively necessary to fill you all in on my trip to Granada this weekend. Granada is a small city in Andalucía (state-like province that I am living in here in Spain), with a lot of culture to cover in just one day.

Granada is in circled in the red. Sevilla is to the west not too far away.

Andrew's friend from home was visiting Granada the same weekend. He wanted to meet up with him so badly, but did not want to travel alone (A.K.A.- he didn't want to want to fund a trip all by himself...). He convinced Elena and me to go along with him, but it wasn't a bad idea, seeing as he took care of all the travel arrangements. I could not complain.

When we got to Granada we walked around the main square that surrounds la Catedral de Granada. This Cathedral is the second biggest, Sevilla's being the biggest (duhhhhhh). We hung around there for a little while, browsing the little shops and stands where you could buy souvenirs. By the way the gypsies are wild in Granada. They try to force you to buy rosemary form them, and they grab you to read your palms. So aggressive, and so entertaining to watch. My favorite thing I saw was little spice stands. They were so colorful, and they smelled so good. Here is a pic of one:

SO PRETTY!

After we moseyed around the town for about an hour, we decided it would be in our best interest to find our hotel. We found it easily, settled in, took quick showers, then started drinking wine before we went out for dinner. I am the first to admit that I am a rather loud person, especially when wine is involved. I can say the same about Elena and Andrew. However, at this particular moment we were not being loud, when a man staying in the hotel with us stormed up to our room. He yelled at us in his native Spanish about how we were being too loud, how his six kids were trying to sleep, and how he was going to call the police. Excuse me, WHAT DUDE? Firstly, its 9:30, and I know no one is Spain is possibly sleeping at this hour. Secondly, who goes on vacation with six kids? BOLD MOVE MAAAAAAAN. Thirdly, we better leave just in case this maniac calls the cops, because Lord knows I cannot keep up with rapid fire questioning in Spanish. I didn't much feel like being arrested for a noise complaint. 

After that fiasco, we went to a little Italian restaurant, because we were dying for some pizza. We got a bottle of wine and we shared two pizzas. 

YUMMMMM. So much better than in the States!

The next day we woke up and headed out for our self-guided tour (thanks Rick Steves). It was about a seven stop walk, and it outlined all of the must-see sights of Granada. We saw this man on the way to our first stop, and I fell in love with him. You would never see this in the US. He is so talented, and his painting is so beautiful.

We then went to the Plaza where there is a statue of Christopher Columbus asking permission form Queen Isabel to go on his trip to what he thought was the East. We, however, know he found America! Thanks, Chris. I learned this weekend that Isabel died thinking that Columbus had indeed found a shortcut to India, and Columbus died broke. Strange how the mighty fall, isn't it?

Here is a quick lesson of the history of Granada. It was the last city in Spain to be conquered by the Catholics during the Inquisition. There is a strong Moorish influence there, even today. There are spice markets everywhere (like I stated above), the people look a bit Middle-Eastern, there is Moorish architecture everywhere (even in the Cathedral), and yummy Turkish kebab (Not sticks with grilled meats and veggies, similar too gyros, but 10 million times better) restaurants EVERYWHERE! We took a short stroll to the open air market, where we found some righteous hats.

I wasn't aware that Aladin was studying abroad this semester.

We went on a tour of the Cathedral, and I am so sad to admit that this one is much cooler than the one in my hometown, Sevilla (yeah, I just said that Sevilla is my hometown). It was built on top of a demolished mosque, as a way of giving the Muslins a big fat middle finger. So, it had to be very impressive. It was also one of the first churches that was built that was not meant to oppress the poor people. Traditionally the churches were built to separate the poor from the rich during mass with putting the chorus in the middle. It takes away from the big picture of these cathedrals when they are built like this, but the one in Granada is different. It was big, open, and so beautiful.

High Alter- no justice is served but I did my best.

The doors were my favorite. So huge and AWESOME.

This guy was amazing. All the people in the church were laughing out loud at him. 

We made one more stop on our tour at an old arab bath house. It is where  the people used to go to bathe. It served as a meeting place to make deals, socialize, and just chill. The cool part was, that bath houses served as equalizers. When clothes and jewelry were off there was not way to differentiate between social classes. Very interesting.

Cool pose, Elena.

If ever the chance to go to Granada sneaks up on you, you should take it. It was a very cool experience, and I am so glad that Andrew duked us into going with him. Thanks for reading, check back soon. This coming weekend I am going to Alicante for Carnaval, and Cece and Annalise are meeting us! We were told to bring costumes, so my next post should be intriguing. Life is so good. 

FLAMENCO, FLAMENCO, FLAMENCO!

I have to start this post with an apology. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update you all on my life. I had an intense bout of writer's block. I couldn't find anything that I deemed worthy enough to write about. I had at least six drafts saved on my dashboard about the most moronic things. I could not bring myself to publish any of them. I found my cure, however, I went to a flamenco show last night. I truly believe that I found the reason I was meant to come to Spain.

We started the night hanging out at our friend's apartment. We all brought wine, and as most of you know, I LOVE WINE. So, the start of the night was a great success. After we hung out there for a hot second we met up with the boys and headed to the bar.

I must educate you on the history of flamenco. Flamenco is a style of dance and music that was developed and made famous right here in Southern Spain. It is often duplicated in other regions of Spain, but if you want to see the real deal, I advise you to come to Andalucía!

The bar we went to is famous here in Sevilla for being one of the most authentic and historic flamenco bars. Literally everyone I have talked to (Spaniards and Americans alike) has told me to go to the flamenco bar with the big red doors. I just googled "famous red doors flamenco bar" and it came up, so apparently it IS famous... It is called La Carbonería. Here is a picture of the (what else?) famous red door entrance.

Sorry I didn't take my own picture. I need to start focusing on remembering that I have a blog, and need to document things like this.

When we got inside the show was already going on. We ordered some sangría, obviously, and found some seats towards the back. We had a hard time seeing, so at first I was not all that impressed with this "so called show". However, I did spot the little girl that I am going to kidnap. The kids here are so freaking cute, I might actually turn into a baby snatcher. OOOOPS! Here is a picture of the flamenco star in the making.

You can't really tell here, but her dad was clapping for her and she kept dancing. It was freaking adorable.

The performers sang and danced for about thirty minutes. But then they got up, and walked out of the room. Then the entire audience walked into an additional room, because the performers were going to put on another show. I quickly followed the masses and found a great seat right up front. This is where the magic happened. 

The dancers and singers were amazing. They put so much passion and romance into their art. The singing is loud, the stomping is loud, the clapping is loud, and the shouts are loud. From what I understand, it is typical for flamenco performers to get so emotional during their shows that they literally weep. I didn't see any tears, but the singer did look like he was in physical pain majority of the time. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. I wish I had better words to explain it, but  I am just not that clever. Here are some pictures that further won't do any justice, but they are fun to look at.

This guy with the guitar was incredible. I think I need to marry him ASAP.

If I was a lesbian, I would want to be her girlfriend. She was so fierce and full of emotion and attitude. Total girl crush.

 They were all so talented, and it was so cool to watch the dynamic within the whole group.

Their shoes are so stinkin' cute, and they are what is responsible for the loud noises. It is awesome.

 New flamenco groupies...? I think, YES!

DA GROUP!

Flamenco is my new love, and I want to take a class so badly. I know I would be good at it, sorry for being an amazing dancer.... but seriously, I am looking into classes. 

I find myself trying so hard to capture everything in pictures here, but it is just not working out in my favor. I have gone to the coolest places in the world (in my opinion, but remember: I have an unhealthy obsession with Spain), and I just don't think the pictures are good enough. It is really starting to IRRRRK me. I am so embarrassed to admit that my favorite song while I have been in Sevilla is "3X5" by John Mayer. Seriously? That song was cool when I was in the 6th grade... but it is totally on my level, and I listen to it on repeat regularly. It is all about traveling and not wasting your time in new places by trying to justify all the amazing things you are seeing though a camera. New quote of the trip: "Today I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame." Thank you Mr. Mayer for your insight. I shall live by it for the remainder of my time here. But don't worry Mom, I will continue putting up albums on facebook with the camera you bought me (even though I deem the pictures less than satisfactory). 

Thanks for reading. Life is good.

No perps will get me if I'm on my bike. RIGHT??

In many well populated European cities, they have these companies that set up bike stations all over the city. When I say all over, I mean it- the stations are NEVER more than 300 meters apart. How it works is the citizens of the city can purchase a bike pass for around 25 euros, (or at least, I assume that is the going rate, that is what I paid here in Sevilla) and go to any of the bike stations, pick up a bike, use it for 30 minutes, and then put it back anywhere in the city that has a station. In Sevilla it is called a "Sevici". I am fully confident that purchasing my pass will be the best investment that I make while here in Sevilla.
Here is a picture that I found on the internet of what the stations look like:

Sorry I haven't taken my own picture yet, this one is kind of crappy. 

For those of you who I haven't talked to personally, I live in a neighborhood of the city called Nervión. It is a rockin' part of town, but for me, it is a bit out of the way from the rest of the city. Every morning for school I have to leave Pepi's house at 8:20, and I don't even start class until 9:00. I literally walk round trip to and from school for about an hour and a half every day. I hated it at first. I hadn't learned the shorter ways, I would get so tired, and I hadn't started to appreciate how beautiful my walk was.

However, I am movin' on up in the world of Sevilla. I bought a Sevici pass last week! Here is the downfall though, it takes like two weeks to process. WAHHH WAHHH. I have some righteous news though. My friend, Nick, bought a weekly pass, because he didn't feel like waiting on his real pass to come in. The best part is, that he lets me use it to meet up with everyone when we all go out together. It has been a life saver, because it cuts my travel time by like 25 minutes to get to La Plaza Nueva (place where we always meet up before we go out, because it is pretty central for everyone).

The real reason I got the pass was because of my concern for coming home late by myself. We all know that Spans stay out late, try like about 5 am. I am trying to be immersed in the culture, so I would be doing myself a disservice if I came in any earlier than that, right? Well, regardless of your opinion of my going out schedule, my friends and I stay out really late every time we go out. Walking by myself for 40ish minutes that late (or early rather) would just not be a good idea. Pepí keeps telling me not to walk by myself and whatnot, she gets so mad at me.

I am not going to take a cab every night either, I am not made of money. So, the bike is really my only option. I cannot complain though. I used Nick's week long pass all this weekend to get home. For the last three nights my most enjoyable part of the night is my ride home that takes about 20 minutes. I put in my head phones and zoom home. I. LOVE. IT. I cannot wait for my pass to come in.

Here is my favorite pic of the trip, I think. Stephanie, my roommate, took it for me. Pay special attention to the sheer joy on my face. I was seriously so pumped the first time I got to ride a Sevici.

I will keep you all posted on the matters of my Sevici riding (aka- when I wreck really badly).

I feel so blessed everyday that I am here. I think to myself, "This is so not even real. How did I get so damn lucky?" You all have to make it to Sevilla one day. I know it is a little out of the way when it comes to traveling through the Western Europe's popular cities, but I assure you that it is worth it. Thanks for reading, CHAO!

¡Sevilla tiene un color especial!

Hola! I arrived in Sevilla (city that I am living in) on Thursday. The minute I got here, I knew this city and I would be fast friends. I don't know if it was the orange trees that line all the streets, the more than ideal weather (60's everyday), the ridiculously blue skies, or just the fact that I had been waiting for this day for months.

We arrived in Sevilla and our host families picked us up from the bus station. My mom, Pepí, came to pick me up. She is ABSOLUTELY perfect. I could not ask for a more wonderful woman to take care of me for three months. She is so freaking cute. She speaks no English, which is so good for me, because I literally can only use Spanish when I speak to her. Great practice, EH? She is the best cook in the whole world. She makes Steph and me yummy food for every meal. Do you think she would be weirded out if I asked her on a date or kissed her on the lips?

On Friday I had to meet everybody in La Plaza Nueva. It is about a thirty minute walk from my house, rather Pepí 's house, and we were running a little behind so we hopped on a bus and then took the trolley. Sevilla has these great trolley-ish vehicles that have the ability to move you around the city pretty quickly and without breaking the bank. Here is a picture:

At school, we had to take a placement test. For all the Spanish I have taken in my life (7 semesters), I have nothing to show for it. I suck so bad, but I will tell you with confidence, that it is getting better and easier. After the test, we took a walking tour of the central part of the city. Sevilla is so beautiful, I literally cannot even do it justice. I will, however, try. We saw Catedral de Santa Maria de la Seda. One word, BEAUTIFUL. It is the third largest Cathedral in the world, behind the Vatican and Notre Dame. OBSESSED. I haven't taken a picture that is good enough to post yet, stay tuned for that one.

My friends Annalise and Cece came to Sevilla over the weekend with their ISA program for an excursion. Which for elena and me, meant fiesta time in Tennessee (or I guess, Sevilla). In Sevilla everyone meets down by the river to pre-game. We met up with Annalise and Cece down there to have a few bottles of wine to start off the night. All of Elena and my friends that we have made came too! So, it was like a big wine party with our American friends. Here are some of my favorite pics:

Celebratory swig with Nick for his triumph over having no cork screw.

Me love my friends!

After hangin' with the hoodlums by the river, we all headed across the bridge to la Calle Betis. It is a road that has pretty much all the hopping bars and discotecas in Sevilla. The only downfall to it is that it is crawling with Americans. Not that I having anything against chillin' with my peeps. However, I am here to learn and be immersed into the spanish culture. Let's be real, that will never happen if I sit around and buy rounds of Bud Light with 9 million of my closest Americanos. So, as much as I loved it over on that side of town, I will need to find a new spot with a little more culture to offer. I got some great pics from the night though:

CHICAS LOCAS.

DA GROUP.

Jack Daniels? Weird.

Even aside from the awesome night life (I know, coming from me it is very hard to believe) this city is fantastic. I met all my friends at La Plaza de Espana the other day, and I finally came across what I had seen on the internet when I googled Sevilla. Enjoy this one:

Eat your heart out peeps...

While I am enjoying my time here, I have had a few rough days. Which, I suppose was more than expected. I had to say bye to Annalise and Cece and that just sent me into a whole new mix of emotions. I had a pity party last night, and did not even go out for the Super Bowl last night. I am sure disappointed in my non-American behavior.

However, today has been a much better day. I had class form 9am until 4pm. It kept me busy, and occupied my mind from how much I miss home. I enjoyed my 35ish minute walk home. Even though it is long, it gives me such good alone time with just my iPod and tunes to remind me of the people I love. Not to mention, I look like a total Span when I do it. Tonight I am meeting my friends in La Plaza Nueva, and we are discussing Spring Break options. It will be fun regardless of if we accomplish anything. They are pretty righteous people.

Oh, and if you are wondering about my Spanish... I happen to be skyping Kevin when Pepí got home this afternoon. We started talking about school, my lunches that she has been making me, and what my plans were for tonight. He told me that I was sounding great, and that he couldn't follow anything we were saying to each other. YAYAYA!! I can't toot my own horn too loudly though, he doesn't speak Spanish. hahaha. 

I count my blessing everyday that I am here. It feels so good to know that there are so many people back home that have me in their thoughts. Also, I cannot complain about the self-discovery and adventures that lie ahead for me. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Life is so good.