Crap, I have a Blog?

SO Sorry for not updating everyone but I've been busy enjoying my last few months, weeks, and now days in Sevilla. But here's an oober quick summary of everything:

2nd vacation:
Munich -> walked around and saw everything, had a giant beer and giant pretzel in the english garden causing me to be entirely too buzzed and slept if off in the park like a hobo. Saw an extremely interesting and yet very depressing concentration camp, "Dachau" the second day and caught a train to Salzburg, Austria.

Salzburg -> Claudia (old family friend) met me at the train station and brought me to her place to stay. Next day bummed around all of Salzberg (which is INCREDIBLE), and got lost going home (had to catch a cab that some nice British people paid for, long story). Second day went to St. Giligen (cute little town used in Sound of Music). Took a cable car ride to the top of a snowy mountain and hiked around a bit. Left for london next morning.

London -> saw everything possible without losing my life savings because the pound is so strong. Saw the play "Wicked" which was awesome. Stayed about 2 days and went back to Sevilla.

Sevilla -> "Feria de Abril" = CRAZY flamenco festival with tons of dancing and drinking and horses (and horse poop).

Since then I've been studying and trying to enjoy my time here. Went to "Isla Magica" (amusement part) with Andres and family, then had a HUGE family bbq the next day and definatley got alittle buzzed again but hey, when in Spain at a "Spainish tailgate/bbq" why not. I only have 2 days left now and while part of me wants to come home and see everyone, I could definately stay here for A LOT longer. How about everyone just moves to Sevilla?! I promise, you won't regret it!

Hasta pronto,

Zukis

Mis Padres... en Sevilla?!

Yup... so the folks just visited Sevilla and it was a tons of fun! My mom had been in Europe before (a long time ago though) and this was Pop's first time out of the motherland! They got here on Monday and after a semi awkward encounter with Antonio and Eloisa, and me translating everyword, we headed out for the streets of Sevilla! We saw the Cathedral, Barrio Santa Cruz (a few times because it's awesome) and other important places in the city. We stuffed our faced with Jamon Iberico (very typical spanish ham, almost priscutto style) and patatas ali-oli (spanish potato salad). The weather wasn't that great so we didn't end up taking a day trip to the beach, and just walked around different Barrios in Sevilla. Mom loved looking at the flamenco dresses and dad caught a glimpse of his childhood while riding my public issued bike up and down the pedestrian filled streets continuously ringing the bell and looking like a fool. All in all, after meals of menu translating and following me around the city's winding streets they headed back for Madrid today to catch their flight home tomorrow morning, but not until they ate their weight (literally, their weight!) in food that Eloisa cooked us for lunch. She made all of my favorites and they were GLORIOUS! Spanish Tortilla, Albondigas (meatballs), Arroz (crazy good rice), and Merluza Frita (fried fish of some sorts). Oh, and the 5 of us polished off 2 forties (considering me, my mom and eloisa are pretty small, my dad was probably feelin' it) hahaha VIVA ESPANA!

This week I'm going to go crazy doing work because I leave on Friday for Munich, Germany then Salzburg, Austria where I'm staying with a family friend for a few nights, and ending my last trip in London! After that I only have 2 weeks left here. Where did the time go?!

Hasta Pronto,

Zukis

Italy and Semana Santa, Sevilla

So if this post were to be detailed, it would be a book and I would get zero of my homework done before my parents arrive tomorrow, so it's going to be short and sweet.

Italy was AWESOME! I started in Venice for the 1st two days by myself and just roamed around. There aren't any streets with cars, just canals with boats and then pedestrian walkways. It is absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately there was no romantic gondola ride seeing as I was by myself and it costs 100 Euro. Thats more than I spent taking the train there and back, plus housing and food! But I watched plenty other people do it!

Then I went to Milan to meet up with Ben and his friend from Lancaster (whose actually from Minnesota) Jordan. We only spent about 24 hours in Milan, and saw pretty much all there is to see unless you're into shopping. We climbed to the top of the Duomo (4th largest cathedral in the world, the largest gothic style one), ate some pizza, and walked down the famous shopping streets. Nothing was purchased, we would have had to sell our soul if we wanted anything. We had a late afternoon flight to Naples and didn't see too much of Naples (our hostel was outside of the city). Instead we headed for Pompeii (INCREDIBLE-go if you have the choice, I actually want to go back, 4 hours wasn't enough) and Sorrento (limoncello up the wazoo, it was beautiful too).

Finally we ended our time in Rome which words cannot even describe, except: HUGE! Here's a list of things we saw/did:
Colosseum
Roman Forum/Palantine Hill
Pantheon
St. Peter's Bascilica (no pope spotting)
Vatican Museum
Sistian Chapel
Spanish Steps
A bunch of plazas
Catacombs (not the intense ones, the free ones, naturally)
A Giant park that I don't know the name of but was awesome
Tons of other monuments/ruins while walking around

Overall it was an awesome trip and there's some funny stories to be told, but maybe just the "funny if you were there" type stories.

I came back on Saturday at around 2:30pm and immediately headed out for the streets to catch one of the famous parades. Mission successful and saw La Trinidad (which has 3 floats) and have boat loads of pictures. I had agreed to follow around Andre, my english student the following "morning" because he was a Nazareno (bascially looks like the KKK people). We met up at 3am and while he was in the "parade" I walked with his dad and sister for about.... 7 hours and then came back and crashed! I have tons of pictures and videos and stuff so I'll be sure to explain the whole process, it's really quite fascinating!

Now I'm off to try and read two books and write a paper before my parents get here tomorrow morning. There will definately be a siesta in the midst of all that too. Only a month left, YIKES!

Miss and Love everyone,

Erin

Madrid and Morocco

Sorry about this lack of blogging but I have been ridiculously busy. I have to do all my work during the week because I'm traveling during the weekends now, and sorry but this blog gets trumped by everything else. Two weekends ago I went to Madrid and had a blast even though I wasn't even there for 48 hours. I ended up taking a midnight bus that got me there at 6am, so I sat in the station for an hour waiting for it to be light out so I could walk around the city. I walked around for about 4 hours (absolutely exhausted seeing as there was no sleeping to be had on the bus) and passed (emphasis on passed and not entered) the very famous museums of "The Prado", Reino Sofia, and another that I don't remember the name. I bummed around and hung out in the Plaza Mayor for an hour waiting to meet up with Mike, Tina, Nikki, and Brittany. Around 11 we met up, went to Parque Retiro which was awesome, and then taught the girls, who had traveled from the states that day the art of the siesta. Unfortunately I did not siesta because the housekeeping lady was going to bring towels to the room so I had to wait up for her. It didn't help that Nikki and Brittany got a double and basically smuggled me in. We ended up pushing the beds together and I slept in the crack! After their siesta and the towels never arriving we went and met Mike's host mom, Pilar who was awesome! Then we searched far and wide for a place to eat that was open (it was 6, which means everything is closed) and found some random buffet that fit the bill. After that we went back to the hostel, Mike and I laid around while the girls got ready for about 3 hours, and around 11 we all left to go to a "Botellon" with mike's madrid friends. A botellon is where you drink outside with friends. So we busted out our 2 bottles of wine for the 5 of us that cost a total of 2 euros, and then made our way to the club Kapitel (which doesn't actually open until 12). It was insane! There were 8 different floors, all with a different type of music and we definately danced on every single one. I won't go into details because I don't have much time but basically we did Karaoke to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and then danced the night, and morning away till 5:30am. Mike and I decided it would be a good idea to walk back, but the girls were ridiculously tired so we got them a cab and sent them back. We would have jumped in too but it's illegal to have 5 in a cab in Spain so we walked back, but not without making a stop at 6am at the oldest chocolateria in Madrid for some churros con chocolat! They were incredible, except mike got 2 orders of churros and we were STUFFED by the time we finished, but it was totally worth it. We got back, I showered because I was gross, and went to bed at 7, and we all got up at 11 to go to El Rastro. It's a giant outside flea market with tons of people everywhere. Unfortuantley I had a bus ticket back at 2 so could only stay for a while, and good thing I left because the metro was running late and I nearly missed my bus. The driver was about to close the door and I sprinted on! Overall it was a great weekend and even though I didn't see tons of stuff in Madrid, I was only going to hang out with my friends, so Mission Accomplished!

Last weekend I made the journey (gratis, or free!) with my program of 28 people to Maurecos (Morocco!). I'll keep this short and sweet and be sure to explain in full when I get home but we went to Tetuan, Tanger, and Chefchaoen. Overall it was incredible, an awesome experience with some great photos that I'll show you all when I get home! I have to go run and read 2, 100 page books, prepare a presentation, and then do the regular weekly homework assignments by thursday because I leave for Italy (Venice, Milan, Naples, Rome) Friday morning and then when i get back my parents are going to be here for a week! Sorry for the brevity of these messages but don't worry, I'll talk your head off when i get home! Time is starting to FLY!

Granada y La Alhambra

This past weekend was my trip to Granada, Spain with my program. We caught the bus bright and early at 8:00am and most slept for the 3 and a half hour ride there. Luckily I can't sleep on buses so I got to see all of the vineyards and olive oil trees that we were passing. As we got closer you could see the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background, it was beautiful! We got to our hotel, dropped off our stuff in our rooms (me, Megan, and Erica shared one) and stuffed our faces at the buffet lunch. Then came the highlight of our trip, and the main reason we journeyed to Granada. The Alhambra. Granada was the last Muslim Capital of Spain, and this was the palace of the King and Queen lived before Christians finally conquered the city. Not too shabby if you ask me. The mix of incredibly detailed plasterwork, tile work, and wood ceilings completely covered in gorgeous Arabic designs was mesmerizing! Fountains and reflection pools in the perfectly maintained gardens leave visitors speechless, but luckily our professor was doing plenty of talking about the history and pointing out all the specific details. I highly recommend googling this and looking at pictures, it is INCREDIBLE! After that we had some went to an Arabic Tea House and had Moroccan Green Tea with Mint (unbelievable, I’m a tea girl not a coffee one). Finally they gave us some free time, and then we headed back for dinner, which was another very filling and wonderful buffet!

Now, I'm not one to go out very often, I don't get wasted every night like the rest of the students here, and show up to class hung over and looking like death. But my usual excuse, and a legitimate one if you ask me, is that I live about an hours walk away from where the rest of the students live and don't want to walk back by myself at 5am. Unfortunately this wasn't going to work tonight, and the hoard of girl that is my program (28) attacked me with full force when they realized I was willing to make myself look like a girl and accompany them to the bars that evening. Before I knew it hair straighteners, makeup brushes, and perfumes were coming at me from every direction! I was overwhelmed but sucked it up and realized that I’ve made it almost half way through my trip without this happening yet, but I thought I had left this part of my life back in the states. FALSE. Once the painting and sculpting of my new fake appearance was complete everyone stood back and proceeded, as girls always do, to oooh and ahhh and snap an unnecessary amount of pictures. It was going to be a long night. Luckily, it didn’t turn out to be that bad because I ditched between the bars and discotheque (dance club). The bars weren’t bad but we were just a giant group of Americans meandering and majority of which were looking like complete idiots which I would prefer not to associate with. So after the second bar Alyssa, Brittany, and I decided since it was 2:30 or so, to head back to the hotel since we had to be up in about 5 hours for another busy day. The cab ride home was pretty sweet because we managed to strike up a conversation with the driver that started about the weather in Granada to whether or not he was in agreement with Obama and his ideas. We were all pretty proud of how well the conversation went. We’ve come along way from where we started just saying, “I hungry” “I go sleep” haha. Not much sleep was had for me though since my 2 roommates came back around 5ish completely trashed, it was entertaining to joke about in the morning, but at the time I wasn’t in the cheeriest of spirits. The next day we got to walk around the city and saw where Queen Isabel and Fernando (I forget what number, maybe the 3rd?) were buried which was cool, and then we headed home.

Overall it was a really fun trip and I’m very glad I went. Today I went to another soccer game. This one was during the day and between two Spanish teams so it wasn’t as intense, and I went with my English student, Andres, and met up with his friend Manolo on the bus. Over all it cost me 3 euros it helped me procrastinate for my 3 exams, 2 compositions, and other assignments that I have to do this week! Next weekend I’m off to Madrid to see Tina, Nikki, and Brittany who are visiting Mike. I am VERY excited!

The Ensayo

So, just as my diligent "english student" promised me, I went with him and his father to their second "Ensayo" for Semana Santa yesterday, or I should say this morning (10pm to 3am). First a little background knowledge on what an Ensayo is all about:

In Sevilla there are thousands of "pasos" or parades around the entire city for Semana Santa (Easter Week). Since I'm going to Italy with Benjamin, I am going to miss 95% percent of them, so I figured to get as close to the real thing as I could would be to go to an Ensayo. Every "paso" is different, with very distinct music (100% NOT Flamenco, that's for Feria de Abril), and even some parts are done in silence. The Ensayos are practice sesssions for the men that carry the "floats" i guess you could call them, with different Catholic sculptures and important events. For example there is a platform that is carried that has all 12 disciples, Jesus, and his table with tons of food, and is the "Santo Cena", what we know as the Last Supper. I go to see that set up last night but it was not carried around and is my favorite one! Pretty much every church in town has their own unique paso, and the church I joined last night has 3. All of the pasos have their own sculptures with tons of candles and flowers for the real paso during semana sanat, but for ensayos they just load on bricks for weight to simulate how heavy the acutal "float" is going to weigh on the day of the paso. I was talking to a gentleman who was walking alongside the ensayo and he was telling me that on average there is between 30-50 kgs of weight per person (with this ensayo there were 30 people under the platform, not including substitutes), but that it varies based on your height, and the way the street slants making the weight unevenly distributed. The video shows the exact people that I saw last night and it also shows how they head guy communicates with everyone whose under the platform. There is a hammer sort of thing they bang 3 times to get them in the ready, then he goes “YASTA” (or something along those lines), they all get in jumping position, and the farthest guy in the back goes “Hermanos, VA-MA-NOS!” (that guy was hilarious and was actually smoking while carrying his portion of the weight!) Then the head guy hits the hammer one more time and they all simultaneously jump (like feet off the ground with this much weight, incredible) and then land on their toes and slowly go down to being flat footed. It was very interesting, but very long, so I won’t go into all the details, odds are I’m the only one fascinated by them. I’ve added some youtube links for you to see what I’m talking about. You can see the way they communicate, the VERY SLOW way they turn, and the specific shoes they have to wear. I hope they all like each other because they are ontop of one another for about 7 hours during Semana Santa, you’ll be able to see how close they are in the video. There’s one of the 1st ensayo of this year (last night was their second) and the second video is their actual procession during Semana Santa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU4hi4gCfGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rsC6niHsAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDp6IG26gU8&feature=related

Sorry if this culture lesson was boring, but I was fascinated by it for 5 hours last night so I had to write something! Hope all is well back in Snowy CT!

Much Love,

Zukis

p.s. my "english student" who we can now call Andres (i figured out his name!) is one of the people who wears the KKK uniform. I told him I absolutely needed a picture of him in it when I get back from Italy and he said sure, and that he'd let me put it on and take a picture of me too! I have the Spanish culture in the palm of my hand! HAHA

Overwhelmed

So I figured I'd jump on and write something about yesterday seeing as it was extremely overwhelming. I thought it was going to be a normal saturday, but their grandson had been sick (he's 7 and loves playing hacky sac with me) so he was staying with us for the weekend. I ended up watching Indian in the Cupboard movie (in spanish of course) and then just hanging out. We had lunch as usual and before I knew it the grandson's whole family was there eating with us! They aren't the most patient side of the family with regards to my language barrier. They'll be in the middle of a conversation that I can't follow and suddenly turn to me and ask a question really fast. Needless to say i just sit there, smile, and just giggle out of stupidity. Then they all laugh and I'm sure say something about me that I don't understand. That's a typical weekend afternoon here so i'm getting used to it but yesterday was different. I had just finished my lunch when their other son's entire family showed up. Without even having time to breath and prepare my mind for the spanish that was about to bombard me I was being kissed and greeted and questioned from every direction. I sat there eyes wide, there was a very awkward silent pause, and then they all just started laughing. Another grandson, I'm guessing in the last few years of high school, ran hom (about 3 blocks) and grabbed his english homework and before I knew it I was tutoring this poor spanish boy tenses in english that i didn't even know existed! It worked out perfectly though because he was learning the same things I had just learned in my class so i whipped out my notes (luckily these are in spanish) and taught him when to use the "Present Simple" "Present Continuous" and "Past Simple" tenses in english while I myself learned the differece! Everyone else was finishing eating and when we finished i looked up and the table had been cleared and all i saw were two giant bottles of rum and a can of coke (clearly not an equal ratio of coke to rum). I slowly slid my cell phone out of my pocket and texted my friend telling him that i couldn't meet him at the irish bar because there was going to be a family party that i couldn't miss! Unfortunately, only about 5 shots worth of rum were poured into different glasses (none of which ended up in mine, damn) and they started describing Semana Santa (Easter Week) to me. I found out that one son and grandson were very involved in the processions and said when i get back from Rome i can go with them around the city! The grandson wears one of those crazy KKK outfits so I told him since I taught him English he has to let me take a picture of him in it. I might convince him to let me put it on, but i'll wait until my spanish improves.

Other than that, I'm just hanging out today since Sunday is pretty dead in Sevilla, but I have plenty of homework to keep me occupied. I hope all is well in the states and I'll start posting my travel adventures soon!

Miss and Love you all,

Zukis