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

Internet, finally!

So yeah... not much has happened therefore I haven't written anything for a while. I finally got internet at my place though. It's this black box that you plug into the wall and then into your computer and it's called "insta-net" which it literally is, once you decifer the spanish instructions. I'd post pictures (like ben is begging me to do) but I only have one adapter and therefore cannot plug my internet and external hardrive in at the same time so i guess you'll have to wait in suspense, sorry Benjamin.
Speaking of Ben... haha I booked my flights to Italy to meet up with him and one of his friends for Easter Week. I'm meeting them in Milan, but the day before I might take a day trip to Vernoa (where Shakespeare set "Romeo and Juliet"). Then we're headed to Naples and finally Rome for Thursday and Good Friday! Since I am one of the cheapest people you'll ever meet I have decided to purchase a plastic bowl and spoon and go on a "cereals of the world tour." I plan on saving oodles of money by doing this (seeing as they don't refrigerate their milk) and saving the boxes to make a sweet mural or something when I return. Don't worry though mike, the beer labels will accompany the cereal! Beer and Cereal, what more could I need.
I'm in sort of a lull period right now where not much is going on. I plan on grabbing my camera and photographing Sevilla at it's finest this weekend to document my city so that should keep me busy but the traveling will begin in March. Weekend by weekend here's the plan:

Granada, Madrid, Morocco (free!), Milan, Rome, Sevilla for Easter, Mom and Dad in Sevilla for the week, then hopefully my last travel week Dublin to Vienna to Bled, Slovenia and end in Budapest! (Hopefully the cereal keeps my bank account full because the transportation to these places is not cheap! But hey, when in Rome, or anywhere in Europe for that matter!)

I'll be sure to keep you posted when I return from these adventures! And as for my spanish, I can pretty much understand what people are saying but still sound slightly illiterate when trying to reply but my Senora, Eloisa, told me the other night that I speak better now than i did when i got here! That's awesome, so now instead of being absolutley horrendous, i'm only terrible! Classes are going well though too, so hopefully i'll slowly pick up more phrases and become conversational by the time i leave.

Please Email me updates about everything that's going on in America! But don't write about any American food, it would be too painful for me to read seeing as i miss it so much.

Hasta Luego,

Zukis

Epic

Sorry I haven’t written in a while but things have been pretty busy. Last week I went to a Soccer… excuse me Futbol match between the Spanish national team and England! (Yes, I saw David Beckham play) It was absolute insanity! I brought my camera of course but that ended up being my downfall. About 8 of us went together and we were walking into the stadium through these massive amounts of Spaniard and Englishmen and I stopped for a half a second to take a picture, and when I looked up, my friends were gone! Good job Erin, this is probably the worst place to lose your friends. Regardless, freaking out was going to do me no good, so I had my ticket and went to my respective gate. Since our tickets were only 10 euro (ridiculously cheap) that would make sense that the gate was for the English fans. Perfect, a sea of drunken Englishmen and me in the middle, in my Spanish Jersey with a Spanish flag painted on my face, all by myself. Praise the Lord I speak English and explained my situation to the English guys (luckily older, and not drunk) making fun of “the yankee” they ended up naming me. I explained it was my 1st soccer game ever and that I lost my friends. All of a sudden, a bottle smashed probably 3 feet away from me, and all these English fans (drunk of course) put up their hoods and started running at these Spanish fans. Not a good situation. I began to panic. Like clockwork about 20 spanish police showed up on horseback (we’re not talking little donkeys here, try stallions) and started pushing us around. My new English bodyguards surrounded “the yankee” and told me to keep my head down. The camera immediately was put away so I didn’t get any pictures of the insanity but luckily they just pushed us to another gate where I ended up finding my friends and thanking my English Saviors. The game was absolutely crazy too. People here don’t just root for their team, they LIVE their team, it’s part of their soul! Our seats were awesome too. Behind one of the goals and 7 rows up. It was epic and an awesome experience. (Churchy, you would have been in heaven)

This weekend I also went to Cordoba, a town about 2 hours away that has a sweet mosque with a cathedral build right in the middle of it. It’s really famous so if you care to know more just wikipedia it. I’d tell you but it’s all online. After that we went to a vineyard and went wine tasting. I learned I don’t like wine, in pretty much any form. But we only tried 3 so I’m sure there’s one out there I can tolerate. Aside from that, classes have started and hopefully my traveling will too! Hope everything is going well back in the states!

Intensive Language Class - Check

So it's friday and i'm finally done with my intensive 2 week language course. Praise the Lord. School work should start to come at a more normal pace, and hopefully traveling will start to pick up.
Last week I took a tour of the Catedral (no i didnt spell it wrong it's spanish) and Giralda and it was incredible. It's the 3rd largest Cathedral in the world and i can definatley see why. Other than that i've been laying low. Canning, I tried churros con chocolate today for the first time and they were very good. I sat next to the river and devoured them! Thanks for the recommendation, wish i could send some to you!
The rest of the food i've been served has been... interesting. Eloisa, my senora, has proven to be a very traditional cook, i guess traditional is the right word. Lentil soup, some sort of black sausage that my only guess would be bull, and other things i have yet to learn their origins.
I bum around the city pretty much everyday and have learned my way pretty well. It's absolutely gorgeous, except when you catch a stray dog pooping in the middle of a crosswalk. Haha, perfect placement, i almost waited around to watch someone step in it but i didn't have time. Regular classes start monday so we'll see how those fair, and yes they're still in spanish, unfortunately. I'll try and keep everyone updated!

Erin

Inter-NOT

So yeah... this internet thing is not going as smoothly as i'd hope, hence why the blog is being neglected. Sorry guys. I'm getting way more used to my host family, and the food isn't as bad as it was at first. I've gotten out and romped around the city a bit and am becoming familiar with which streets go where and so forth. It is a beautiful city with tons of character so i'm excited to take my camera out in the spring when it's warmer and snap some good pictures.

We went on a day trip this past weekend to Aracenea and saw some awesome caves, and of course i was just snapping away with my camera, even though you weren't supposed to. They didn't kick me out though!

The first class, it's an "intensive session" for the 1st 2 weeks of just language, is going well. It's a lot thrown at you all at once but i'm getting used to the accent of the area and understand a lot of what i hear. Speaking on the other hand i still sound like a dumb american but hopefully that will change too. I definately look like the dumb american with my t-shirts (they can never be abandonded) hiking boots in the rain and northface backpack! Either way i'm learning the city and the language and can't wait to start traveling. Morocco and Switzerland are on the top of my list now... and don't worry parents, i won't tell you about skydiving in Switzerland until AFTER i do it :)

I hope everyone enjoyed the superbowl a little extra last night for me because i ddn't get to see it. But to make up, I watched caddyshack on my computer yesterday. Thought i'd make you proud dad.

I'll try and keep you guys more updated than i have but i can't make any promises.

Echo de menos a todos! (That's probably wrong but "i miss you all!")

Elena (my family can't pronounce Erin, so i'm now Elena)

Chin Up

So this blog this is kind of a pain but i'll do my best.

I'm finally feeling better after a horrible first 3 or so days here. I've since moved into my homestay with Eloisa, Antonio, and Eloisa's sister whose name i have yet to catch amid conversation. My guestimate is that they're around 70ish and it's like living with grandparents. They want you to eat tons and always be happy, which i am neither of the two but i'm doing my best. They knew i was sick and figured the only way for me to get better was to eat tons of food for strength when in actuality that was the opposite. The rice they fed me with fishy liquid was too hard to get down and i told them i just didn't feel well. They spoke to my program director and realized that food was not the best idea at the moment. So since i was sick on Monday i missed the first day of class, but went to class today.

The language class that i'm taking for the first 2 weeks is at my level, at least so far, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that things stay that way with the rest of the classes i have to take. I haven't really met anyone because i missed orientation and that's when everyone formed their groups but hopefully i can work my way into one. As for now i'm going to try and find a place to buy some notebooks, a telephone, and an internet card, who knows how successful i'll be.

The have organized basketball, soccer and volleyball tuesdays and wednesdays so i'm going to try that, and unfortunately i'm not allowed to use the university's gym so that's going to be weird for me not to live there like i do at UConn's gym.

That's pretty much all i have for now, and hopefully things keep getting better. I'm trying to scope out a bar where i can watch the superbowl on sunday and if i'm lucky someone else who will watch it with me!

Hasta Luego

First day - not so great

So after much hassle we arrived in Sevilla 4 hours late with all of our luggage by some miracle. Dinner was weird: hardboiled egg with rice and gravy and what i think was some kind of pork dish. I was too tired to eat very much but i at least tried it.

Then we went in a carriage ride at around 10pm and it was gorgeous! It was just me and my roommate in the last carriage and we were both in awe by the huge buildings and how detailed they were! Sevilla is absolutely gorgeous with winding cobblestone streets and orange trees lining them all along the way. Word on the street is that you're not allowed to eat the oranges so there goes one option of saving money. After the ride my roommate and i went upstairs and hung out because we were really tired but some kids went out to the bar. Boy am I glad i did not join.

I woke up this morning feeling like I had been beat by a baseball bat in my sleep and got really sick to my stomach when i sat up. I'll spare you the gross details but I've been in bed all day drinking "Aquarios" which is a form of gatorade and trying to get rid of my fever. It's not been such a great day. Right now everyone is going to see Flamenco dancers but I wouldn't make it down the stairs so I'm going to pass.

Sorry for such an awful first post from Sevilla. I hope they only get progressively better from now on!

Much Love.

So everyone convinced me to write a blog because it would be easier to tell you guys what i'm doing so here it is. I'm basically going into this trip completely blind since i don't know where i'm living, who i'm living with, or what classes i'm taking, so i have no idea what my internet situation is going to be like. If I have to pay for internet, this is probably the first and last post you'll see but who knows. Cross your fingers that the posts turn into half spanish half english because that means progress is being made.