tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7638621259661924952024-03-13T21:48:10.154+01:00Quiero volarElisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-44816465153105997052011-05-13T22:17:00.000+02:002011-05-13T22:17:12.846+02:00The Homeland-->The EndSummer vacation has officially started! In reality, this whole semester has pretty much felt like a vacation with a little bit of schoolwork, which has suited me just fine. I didn't study even a fourth of what I normally do for Madison classes, but I still think I'll come out of this with similar grades. One of the reasons I didn't study as much as I should have for my final exams (which were yesterday and Wednesday) was because I was in Prague until Sunday night. I decided that since I'm Czech, learning about my history trumps studying for finals. And I am sooo glad I made that choice.<br />
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My friend Vanessa (I went to London with her as well) and I flew out on Thursday morning and were able to spend the majority of the afternoon meandering around the city. I could walk that city for days. The buildings are gorgeous. All of them. Their gymnasium even looks like the buildings in the picture.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefYsDBocgSZjduevhVjSCRGwpboJpGIcsyewDZmdTqxYa4F5Ew4NK84HMIrLhjd_JF6WIGTTEap96aUY_Jatzl08j7Bu4wpq7QIXLkPvpJpT4ybWebSBE7a5lIB-SByTPDJ4xZZHQ_t6X/s1600/P5040043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefYsDBocgSZjduevhVjSCRGwpboJpGIcsyewDZmdTqxYa4F5Ew4NK84HMIrLhjd_JF6WIGTTEap96aUY_Jatzl08j7Bu4wpq7QIXLkPvpJpT4ybWebSBE7a5lIB-SByTPDJ4xZZHQ_t6X/s320/P5040043.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> We got dinner at a nice pizzeria which was really good and very cheap, a college students dream. Walking back to our hostel, we saw a beautiful sunset which made me so excited for the next few nights. I have a slight obsession with sunsets and in Sevilla it's kind of hard to see them because of the buildings. <br />
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The next day we got a free tour where we saw pretty much all the main attractions of the Old Town and the New Town. The tour ended at Charles Bridge, aka where I spent the majority of my money. It is a pedestrian bridge only so, fittingly, it is were all the unique jewelry and art is sold. We probably spent a total of 2 or 3 hours on that bridge throughout the weekend. Specifically at one jewelry kiosk.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronomical Clock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The bridge leads to the side where the Prague Castle is along with Petrin Hill so we decided to go to the Castle first. My favorite part of that was the Cathedral which held one of my other obsessions: stain glass. It was amazing. I don't think I'll ever get sick of walking into churches throughout Europe since they're all so different and unique and have so much history. That night was another gorgeous sunset. Let's just say that by the end of the day I had filled my camera's memory card. We also stopped at the John Lennon wall which was really neat. The graffiti is all about the Beatles, loving life, etc. No one seems to have the guts to put anything bad on that wall.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the city walking up to the Castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the John Lennon Wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love love love</td></tr>
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The next morning we went back to the Old Town Square and actually went inside all the buildings that we had seen on the tour, which consisted mostly of more beautiful churches. That afternoon we decided we wanted to go to the top of Petrin Hill which is the highest point in the city. We knew we would obviously have to walk up the hill, but we weren't expecting it to be quite the hike. We definitely weren't dressed properly (it was actually really really warm when we were there) and had bags full of souvenirs and gifts dragging us down. But, it was so worth it. The view of the city from the top of the mini Eiffel Tower was amazing. And there is a garden up there that apparently has thousands of different varieties of roses. Unfortunately they hadn't started blooming yet, so my next trip there will have to be when the are :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. James Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Nicholas Church, which houses one of the largest chandeliers in Prague</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start of our surprise hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving being in nature again</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of the tower :)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tuWzhgdO0m7xGpGuD5q5EF0xrlwg6OiHYRSEKFEnJWySynfe1t1Ogfaozo9KmI76wYg9gWY8vSp31IORoL0iYslQN3-BpxGi7m7kBIIUYHQdWhWZSmN0SbrSnhsedw5ubtf3Xl-TeHu9/s1600/P5060069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tuWzhgdO0m7xGpGuD5q5EF0xrlwg6OiHYRSEKFEnJWySynfe1t1Ogfaozo9KmI76wYg9gWY8vSp31IORoL0iYslQN3-BpxGi7m7kBIIUYHQdWhWZSmN0SbrSnhsedw5ubtf3Xl-TeHu9/s320/P5060069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBqPBemReq8-p0ZeERIu3Z0I5MXps6ilbk6IFgTnDc55SjWcK46V5FFqshdQ2efcSZxb4eIW3OG2J5syThDQ4qIh_5H8vimlqG4E2TilslZToVjRKXlEettPCwN6nqvuCx0g7tn7tCyX/s1600/P5060037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBqPBemReq8-p0ZeERIu3Z0I5MXps6ilbk6IFgTnDc55SjWcK46V5FFqshdQ2efcSZxb4eIW3OG2J5syThDQ4qIh_5H8vimlqG4E2TilslZToVjRKXlEettPCwN6nqvuCx0g7tn7tCyX/s320/P5060037.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the gardens which are probably starting to bloom now</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our last morning we spent just walking around the city. There was another marathon going on (we seem to find those in every city) which is always fun and exciting to see. Although I was in no way ready for the exams coming my way, I felt so content and happy leaving Prague. When we left Paris, I was sort of sad about it thinking things like "What if I never get to go back" etc. and although I love Prague just as much as Paris, I didn't feel or thing like that. The phrase "Don't be sad it's over. Be happy it happened" (which I have heard many many times from my mom) has never really set in with me. I've always enjoyed my experiences to different places and would never have chosen to not go, but I've always been a little down after big trips or even just stages in life. But leaving Prague, I was so happy and I think that mentality has finally set in without my forcing it which is really good seeing as though I go home soon.<br />
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I'm very excited to come home. Last night, we had a goodbye dinner and drinks event on a rooftop patio of a hotel where we had the Giralda as the backdrop of our pictures. It was a very fun night, but definitely bittersweet. I am glad that I'm staying extra time to go around the city, see my favorite places for a final time, and just relax instead of being all stressed about having to pack right now. Definitely a good choice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlKklrJmIfcrZaOxW1B9ZiJ-ytRaEbUlHITnlygqJvQyoYNT-2JmM95uFEtfRigbJ199gBGAi8zS87-5K2qF1_FdIk8HTsW2N3zxjAbXSARnRAafetZkYr6FHyrVjA5ReA-FIsZlRTxyf/s1600/P5110021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlKklrJmIfcrZaOxW1B9ZiJ-ytRaEbUlHITnlygqJvQyoYNT-2JmM95uFEtfRigbJ199gBGAi8zS87-5K2qF1_FdIk8HTsW2N3zxjAbXSARnRAafetZkYr6FHyrVjA5ReA-FIsZlRTxyf/s320/P5110021.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily, myself, and Lydia with the Giralda in the background :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>My mom and sister come on Monday!!! In about 60 hours!!! I am ecstatic for everything that brings with it: them meeting my family, showing them the city, eating the food, and Italy! We're leaving on Tuesday for Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome and then will be back for one final day in Sevilla before heading home on the 24th. Time really flies. Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-78531737180540523172011-05-04T21:55:00.000+02:002011-05-04T21:55:37.515+02:00La FeriaIt's been quite the busy week in Sevilla. More tourists, no school, hardly any work, and Feria. To start the week off, my friend Spencer and I tried to go to a corrida, a bullfight, on Sunday. (Un)fortunately it was rained out. We ended up going the next night and it was definitely an interesting experience. I thought I was going to be completely repelled by it, as I'm sure thought most everyone who knows me, but I don't think that was the case completely.<br />
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To start, the ambiance of the bullring, I suppose you call it, is actually pretty neat. Everyone gets dressed up for the corrida and everyone is really friendly. You have to be since you are all sitting very close together. They sell candies and other things you would find at baseball games such as peanuts that most people take advantage of. When the fight actually starts, people would say "Bien" or clap when they liked something and they would whistle if they didn't like something. If they didn't like one of the toreros, when they left the ring no one would clap. That's the worst thing for a torero.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ring</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the first day we went when it got rained out</td></tr>
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It took us a while to figure out what they are looking for when they were cheering, and it's not that they like a good stab. I think it has a lot more to do with the actual art of it, which sounds really weird, I know. But the way that the torero uses the cape and tries to get the bull to circle him is sort of like a dance. The intense pauses where they are standing facing each other hold a lot of energy. And the crowd really hates when there is a "bad" kill, not a clean kill. I won't go into detail about that, but we saw one that was awful and I did tear up a little. Obviously I would never advocate for an activity that ends in the death of 6 bulls all for the sake of entertainment, but there seemed to be more going on than that.<br />
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So that was on Monday night. On Tuesday, we spent the whole day preparing for La Feria de Abril. This fair goes back to the 1800's. There are what's called casetas all over the fair grounds, which are private, but if you know someone you can get in (which we did). Usually the casetas have a private bar and a flamenco singer with a small stage for people to dance on and chairs and tables. Besides the casetas, there are actual fair type things such as Ferris wheels, rides, and the normal carnival type games. And, of course, the dresses. <br />
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Pili and I spent the day getting my and Paula's dresses ready. I was lucky enough to wear Pili's old one so I didn't have to spend over €150 on a dress. I picked up Paula from school and we went home and got ready. Paula had told me on the way home that she now had a boyfriend so she had to really make sure she looked her best :) They tried to teach me how to dance the Sevillano (although Paula doesn't know it yet either), but there was no way I was going to learn it in one day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pili doing my hair with one of Paula's friends in the background</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoQMlXzHsVobvBUjfHNcybn86NmXFVLICMIk-uddf9InA9T9sV8RJfYyTtgyeQzIPkp-mVoz2wTqdkohbgLR3wa4IOymGzL3tmF5SUCpWBzzy8wbwFxdQRAesZjd9X5kBY6trt-XZUI-8/s1600/P5020015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoQMlXzHsVobvBUjfHNcybn86NmXFVLICMIk-uddf9InA9T9sV8RJfYyTtgyeQzIPkp-mVoz2wTqdkohbgLR3wa4IOymGzL3tmF5SUCpWBzzy8wbwFxdQRAesZjd9X5kBY6trt-XZUI-8/s320/P5020015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTx_YeU6TH78b7isayKMj3dR8oML4QCel9ELHSakxKR0qbxv1zO8FKWH0Fk46PzlwQVzIBysoLTSkeYzWr9_yI3s4VLVkCSUpQO61Gbsm-OtWCFzrEQx8UZEOIYFofrDtBUj3GAyl9zsE/s1600/P5020020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTx_YeU6TH78b7isayKMj3dR8oML4QCel9ELHSakxKR0qbxv1zO8FKWH0Fk46PzlwQVzIBysoLTSkeYzWr9_yI3s4VLVkCSUpQO61Gbsm-OtWCFzrEQx8UZEOIYFofrDtBUj3GAyl9zsE/s320/P5020020.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paula and I at the fair :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> After we were all ready to go, we met up with the normal group that I spend most of my Friday afternoon's with when I'm in town (Pili's mom friends who are hilarious and all their kids who are Paula's friends) and my friend Spencer. We walked to the fair grounds and found our way to a caseta. The flamenco singer was amazing, and she was also the mom of the baby we had babysat the night before. It was quite the show. Anyone can get up and dance on the stage so there was a pretty big variety of dancing going on.<br />
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Again, the ambiance of the place was amazing. When we were getting ready, I felt sort of like I was getting ready for Halloween or something, as do I think the little kids did, but when we were watching people dance, you could see the elegance in it and how this isn't a game of dress up. This is just their straight up culture. You can see the emotion in their face as they dance (Pili kept telling us that the Sevillano dance was an art of seduction, not "culo" which means ass) and it isn't an act that they put on for everyone; it's for themselves too and their culture in general. You can feel the intense energy that radiates from them and can't help but get caught up in the music and the dance itself. It was really an amazing hour and a half watching it all and soaking it in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnjqAxvdnLWiLnYE9iVAhd24dbF9fobaLbQnmquN8vYtwCyxb3-jI30KWsB-sNPYH0KFo7MjF1UujWrIn128PIe84XP5gAhlSycgJQ7mGfYQovZSYyS12pNRiiEF0bz3bIEtEWzhqp6L1/s1600/P5020036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnjqAxvdnLWiLnYE9iVAhd24dbF9fobaLbQnmquN8vYtwCyxb3-jI30KWsB-sNPYH0KFo7MjF1UujWrIn128PIe84XP5gAhlSycgJQ7mGfYQovZSYyS12pNRiiEF0bz3bIEtEWzhqp6L1/s320/P5020036.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria Jose, the singer and our neighbor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9Psw5jaJZdVmVGTWTDv6B3iTO_s6_nTdGhkKRqBgHa7xHhhQkpokNKUute2X_A8Eym_LivYc6pmF9a9JNIbvtKhHlBoLm7YwLYEA5rSEa3gnUNVHzuJXPT7PvM2-EZj6Eu5hggYIm_me/s1600/P5020037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9Psw5jaJZdVmVGTWTDv6B3iTO_s6_nTdGhkKRqBgHa7xHhhQkpokNKUute2X_A8Eym_LivYc6pmF9a9JNIbvtKhHlBoLm7YwLYEA5rSEa3gnUNVHzuJXPT7PvM2-EZj6Eu5hggYIm_me/s320/P5020037.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of dancing. And I love her dress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The next stop was the actual fair part. Basically, think of any fair you've been to, add a couple extra Ferris wheels and everyone walking around in huge flamenco dresses and you have the fair section. It really was like walking around the fair/ride section of State Fair with rides that are a little more extreme. It was pretty odd to look up and see the bottoms of all these dresses. I was pretty worried the whole time about getting Pili's dirty since the ground was basically dust, but no one else seemed to give it a second thought. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNYYboNrTkK93UF_Cyp9qbRYBna6PGWOqiN3mKLdItCB9rRjzRnE6zVRKfGBxjeFVIUQ1_r9Y4LtJlztKF8DKrVuNytXF_4BHo2QeZdsEt_wuZ3AMv2A8wyJlFIwBOLPgXxRk2-pd3zTx/s1600/P5020042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNYYboNrTkK93UF_Cyp9qbRYBna6PGWOqiN3mKLdItCB9rRjzRnE6zVRKfGBxjeFVIUQ1_r9Y4LtJlztKF8DKrVuNytXF_4BHo2QeZdsEt_wuZ3AMv2A8wyJlFIwBOLPgXxRk2-pd3zTx/s320/P5020042.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2ZYSsyj0B0_hf0t7PdASiRmUroVAOb2hBlPUcrBGq1DSh43WBOZec-zNhpr-2I4rUmqnsChDojP3ZbWwm3aYyZR9SBb93wtByMmetgzm3rsODEfD8vU8oixmE9Y2DbGCY1pDNX9mS-O8/s1600/P5020043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2ZYSsyj0B0_hf0t7PdASiRmUroVAOb2hBlPUcrBGq1DSh43WBOZec-zNhpr-2I4rUmqnsChDojP3ZbWwm3aYyZR9SBb93wtByMmetgzm3rsODEfD8vU8oixmE9Y2DbGCY1pDNX9mS-O8/s320/P5020043.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>All in all I think what these past few days have actually showed me is that I'm really accepting this culture as a different way of life, not worse or better than mine. Normally I would look at a bullfight and think something alone the lines of "How can they do that all for entertainment?! I'm so glad that isn't a part of our culture", but it is more than entertainment. As for Feria, I cannot think of anything we have in the States where people get dressed up like it's Halloween and that is the time when they feel the most elegant. Their respect for their culture by dancing and just being elegant in general is hard to compare with anything else. This whole realization in itself I think has been building the whole time I've been here, trying new things, accepting things that seem so weird to me, but I think this week was when it really solidified. I'm not judging their way of life anymore (because if there is anything I would judge, I think it would be the corrida!), and hopefully this trait will stay with me for the rest of my life to make me a very open minded and close to judgeless person.Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-13269153248204191642011-04-29T00:14:00.000+02:002011-04-29T00:14:19.468+02:00Semana Santa and Arab BathsLast week we had off of school for Semana Santa. Unfortunately, as I said in my last post, it was expected to be rainy for most of the week. It was. I still was able to see some of the things that go on luckily.<br />
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So, Semana Santa in Sevilla is a big deal. Starting Palm Sunday and going through Easter, cofradias go through the city. These are processionals with two floats (usually) included in each. The floats are called pasos, one of Christ and the other of the Virgin Mary. Sometimes a third float is included that is of a scene. Each cofradia is put on by a religious brotherhood that starts at the home church and makes its way to the Cathedral and then loops back. I think the first actual brotherhood was formed in the early 1400's, but that could be wrong. <br />
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To start the cofradia, there is a cross carried followed by nazarenos. These are people dressed in outfits that look like the KKK with their pointed hoods. Not all of them wear white though. They wear the colors of the religious brotherhood. Some of the nazarenos walk barefoot which is pretty painful on the cobblestone. They do this as a penance. The number of nazarenos can range from the hundreds to the thousands. It all depends on the number of people in the brotherhood. Anyone can be a nazareno. We saw a lot of little kids, but obviously they did not walk for the whole time. The nazarenos also hand out candy :) They walk before the pasos, after the band, in between, all over. I'm sure there is an actual order to it, but that too can be distinctive to each brotherhood.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nazarenos. They hold the long candles so that they can see at night.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barefoot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little nazareno taking a break :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG37InVHF_NMsL_1q661vPnMQ3YxbYQff9EEFQANA13bzXBTS_rgetE02nCLSfGdLpXk6q2NFP8iAjfOTovV906RrR73auwsuHf34GFRE6T4UHtFJbzfYP-sP_AjSCG-UXzlC4f1HVdt9i/s1600/P4190046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG37InVHF_NMsL_1q661vPnMQ3YxbYQff9EEFQANA13bzXBTS_rgetE02nCLSfGdLpXk6q2NFP8iAjfOTovV906RrR73auwsuHf34GFRE6T4UHtFJbzfYP-sP_AjSCG-UXzlC4f1HVdt9i/s320/P4190046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading over the bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then there is a group of alter boys before each paso with incense and other such things.<br />
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The floats are carried by men called costaleros. Weeks before Semana Santa I had seen people carrying something walking in the street around midnight and I had no idea what it was. Now I realize they were practicing for Semana Santa. During the cofradia (which can last up to 14 hours depending on how far the home church is from the Cathedral), the men take breaks and put down the float and after a while, they switch men. Some of the men we saw had wounds on their neck from holding it up. The actual floats are very very detailed and some were made way back in the 16th century. A lot of tradition. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was when I saw them about six weeks ago practicing at night</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Un paso de Cristo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Virgen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWPvbbvKXM_CKOWjGkjO_6QvUQBupSKZE8qVB2xHbL9cA1NzDEuWub7AmxD3TuWDR_WABZzRC-YJY-bAdjSVp2OcVQOWO-3_o-BT5eUmL5rRW7a4s2ddYXHUfl87Gp2UvUijBhhA7MAKF/s1600/P4190075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWPvbbvKXM_CKOWjGkjO_6QvUQBupSKZE8qVB2xHbL9cA1NzDEuWub7AmxD3TuWDR_WABZzRC-YJY-bAdjSVp2OcVQOWO-3_o-BT5eUmL5rRW7a4s2ddYXHUfl87Gp2UvUijBhhA7MAKF/s320/P4190075.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cofradia that had a scene paso called "misterio"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChj-LsDOkqf94ZvGqA2iVs08pQFYVvl0rxFWmPypxsdLVt4deWUo-5W8h9hXWdvqvRE4TxE3IrDXxahX0LmQFabq0GQGB943NSpCnw7gN_jnaU8wArLPZy-uO4xRK0zTj3Jf92HnY8lQP/s1600/P4230005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChj-LsDOkqf94ZvGqA2iVs08pQFYVvl0rxFWmPypxsdLVt4deWUo-5W8h9hXWdvqvRE4TxE3IrDXxahX0LmQFabq0GQGB943NSpCnw7gN_jnaU8wArLPZy-uO4xRK0zTj3Jf92HnY8lQP/s320/P4230005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People who live in the apartments throw flower petals on the pasos. Very pretty sight.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrJOjZJEinuZa-_3vCRpZWf4jstFx-DC7uf5Q614BRh9pcu0Di_mpZAicmqJG00_FdTn5PQW9Z96D-ytVtYJwhhSETqUaNvhGeYeS3g66AfyeXaIy5sJ4y7V5aA4hrPsfYvC8vDxTnOmM/s1600/P4190053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrJOjZJEinuZa-_3vCRpZWf4jstFx-DC7uf5Q614BRh9pcu0Di_mpZAicmqJG00_FdTn5PQW9Z96D-ytVtYJwhhSETqUaNvhGeYeS3g66AfyeXaIy5sJ4y7V5aA4hrPsfYvC8vDxTnOmM/s320/P4190053.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some costaleros on a break on the right. That's their protective headgear...basically towels </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Some cofradias have a band after each paso and after the paso of Christ, sometimes there are people who dress like the nazarenos (but not exactly) who carry crosses.<br />
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As for the crowd, if you want to see a paso while it's sitting in the church waiting for the cofradia to start, you are basically going to touch every person you pass. It is like being at a very very crowded concert where you pretty much can't move. Add heat to that equation and then you understand why there are ambulances around the corner. Last year my 21-year-old host sister Maria was taken away in an ambulance due to a heat stroke.<br />
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The day that each cofradia goes out is the same every year. They have these little booklets that tell you which ones are going out and has a map for each day and also give you streets and times where each cofradia should pass. Very handy and necessary.<br />
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However, as I said, this year was very rainy. Hardly any cofradias went out on Tuesday, none Thursday (which is supposed to be the best of the best), maybe one on Friday and maybe one on Saturday. On Sunday there is only one cofradia and luckily it was very nice out for that one. On the news, they would update everyone about every ten mintues about when pasos will leave the church and if they will. There is also one news station that covers only Semana Santa ongoings for the week. People crying filled the screens this year. They have been practicing and getting ready for so long and then to not be able to go? I can see why. And with all the tradition it can be very sad. I guess this was the second year no cofradias went out on Holy Thursday so people were very very upset. Everyone can still go and visit the pasos in the church, but it is far from the same.<br />
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On Wednesday I saw about four pasos. One we saw as it went over a bridge and we were able to see it very well. We stayed in the same spot for the whole thing and were there for about 2 and a half hours, so it was one that had a smaller brotherhood but it was also the longest in the sense that the home church was the furthest away from the Cathedral. After that, we went closer to the Cathedral since that is where all of the cofradias are headed. It was harder to see in that area because there were a lot more people, but it was still very neat.<br />
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Due to rain, we didn't do anything Thursday or Friday. Then on Saturday, we went to Pili's mom's house for dinner. I know Pili's family well now, so it was a very relaxing meal for the nine of us. It wasn't anything fancy, just a spread of mostly different types of fish on the table in the livingroom, people wearing pjs, etc, but it was still nice to get together. I think they threw this dinner together more for me since I was sort of starting to go stir crazy in the house doing nothing the three previous days.<br />
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On Sunday my host parents and I went to the final cofradia which was in Pepe's (my host dad) sisters' neighborhood so I was able to meet his side of the family. We went out for tapas after being very very crowded in the streets trying to see the pasos, but again, I think we went more for my sake. They kept saying how they can't remember the last time they saw one on a Sunday since there's only one and it's in a different neighborhood. I really appreciated them coming with me, it was just a very different Easter than what I normally have at home. I didn't see my host sister's until around 11pm that night whereas at home, my whole family gets together.<br />
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All of that got me to thinking about the assumption that Spain is very family oriented. I think this is true in the sense that basically the whole extended family lives in the same city so they see each other very often. In the sense of doing actually big family get togethers though, I think that is more characteristic of America since families tend to be more spread out. I've talked with a few other friends about this who are in homestays and they think the same thing. We were all kind of shocked that Easter Sunday was not a huge day for them when they had this huge buildup of a week.<br />
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I skype called my brother that day so I could talk with a lot of my extended family since a lot of us get together the celebrate. It was nice to talk to everyone! People here have been asking me if I'm ready to go home and I've been sort of back and forth, but talking to my family has made me that much more excited to come home, which is a lot better than feeling depressed about leaving.<br />
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This week, I had a final paper due and two presentations, so it's been pretty busy. I have one more paper, finals, and then that's all! I still feel like I have a lot to see in Sevilla and things to experience, so I'll have to make time. One thing that I did today was go and get an arab bath. There was a competition in our program between 11 groups of about four people where we would get a list of things to find in the city and had to take a picture with those things. Each person/place/thing was a certain number of points and you had to get it in by 5pm on Fridays. Well, my group won first place. The prize was an arab bath for each of us. This included three different bathing areas: 1) an area with a hot bath, a cold bath, and a warm bath, 2) an area with a sauna and jacuzzi, and 3) a saltwater bath. We had an hour and a half to go between all of these areas, drink mint tea, and, the best part, find time to fit in our 15 minute masage. It was amazing, to say the least.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our group: Emily, Spencer, me, and Kaitlan with a famous flamenco singer we had to take a picture with</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm now off school again for another week and a half due to the Feria de Sevilla which I will explain next time. Hopefully I'll have time to post before I head to Prague next Thursday, but if not, happy Mother's Day to all the mothers!!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-21755519413772461452011-04-21T17:37:00.000+02:002011-04-21T17:37:42.273+02:00LondresTo start, one thing I cannot wait for about coming home is not having to think of the exchange rate. Everything is going to seem so inexpensive, especially after being in London where one pound was about $1.65, so everything seemed very very expensive.<br />
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My friend Vanessa and I flew out on Thursday night after class and, after waiting in line for customs for over an hour an a half, made our way to my friend's place to stay the night at around 2:30am (thanks again Grace!!). After sleeping on nice leather couches (so much better than airport seats), we spent the morning walking around Hyde Park. The flowers were in bloom and it was so pretty. We saw the Peter Pan statue, Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, among other things. It was a very relaxing morning, which was what we needed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOK48j61kEpfNmuVC_ubNZM2dwqVUjwMsZGm8Bub21EXl9oS_F7b7DiQgYMQ8MLogqm17h46uJ3fgzo2b_K6NIqHJsXmLFA-qwQrD3RGxzKVkKqRmbQ5G8LUErRrhve0P0ducgXcTfPWW/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOK48j61kEpfNmuVC_ubNZM2dwqVUjwMsZGm8Bub21EXl9oS_F7b7DiQgYMQ8MLogqm17h46uJ3fgzo2b_K6NIqHJsXmLFA-qwQrD3RGxzKVkKqRmbQ5G8LUErRrhve0P0ducgXcTfPWW/s320/Picture+3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanessa, Peter Pan, and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHfwef5eeZbvGF39ZLB_KnNYU6tCipVRN31Fsq-Ihhbi0EdMWUHNg1dLRVtFQgvb2qdtoHrqK22rxdeUKGEvTyHM85FanC907Z0AHN7E-ayoIIOMhmWQWvEGM9MUgRwXlJ2jYnnupnqzX/s1600/P4140038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHfwef5eeZbvGF39ZLB_KnNYU6tCipVRN31Fsq-Ihhbi0EdMWUHNg1dLRVtFQgvb2qdtoHrqK22rxdeUKGEvTyHM85FanC907Z0AHN7E-ayoIIOMhmWQWvEGM9MUgRwXlJ2jYnnupnqzX/s320/P4140038.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVyhWLBDlc-OiR2VnivySGZlCimt6P1nkRqCwv92wLKbFkRTy9ecVpmbiU4W6YssxyFvq5-yTZyiz1YZ2egQ5T8gQ_d0kbdZXouWAZrEpCtaJyhyjbVbIdW_BR1yDrmgTru53LHa-RG9H/s1600/P4140043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVyhWLBDlc-OiR2VnivySGZlCimt6P1nkRqCwv92wLKbFkRTy9ecVpmbiU4W6YssxyFvq5-yTZyiz1YZ2egQ5T8gQ_d0kbdZXouWAZrEpCtaJyhyjbVbIdW_BR1yDrmgTru53LHa-RG9H/s400/P4140043.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlR45B2fxZLpmjJYZLyrJZibqzT67HqGzR8Oz50PAnO8AhFTPQBn02Oho4l6XGMrqTqDjuTX8TE-qWJz0a4yMP80cDBe8tPsa-ejY5ksNZ2Xf1XWXDxcirQyh8rirfhHtF9AUsKsnJXivW/s1600/P4140060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlR45B2fxZLpmjJYZLyrJZibqzT67HqGzR8Oz50PAnO8AhFTPQBn02Oho4l6XGMrqTqDjuTX8TE-qWJz0a4yMP80cDBe8tPsa-ejY5ksNZ2Xf1XWXDxcirQyh8rirfhHtF9AUsKsnJXivW/s320/P4140060.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princess Diana Memorial Fountain</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1ralBo0WcK1Q4i7UAgN8N9xqiYl3aI4jpUuvgkI0zK11enf9faGEZNBTkW9JEOEi3s-BYZ9F0W7585KRxKetNUHQqD_xGtB6_ATbJxBahPhfWa1u76k2xVW_v5_2gEt_u-GDnYYwsPFw/s1600/P4140069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1ralBo0WcK1Q4i7UAgN8N9xqiYl3aI4jpUuvgkI0zK11enf9faGEZNBTkW9JEOEi3s-BYZ9F0W7585KRxKetNUHQqD_xGtB6_ATbJxBahPhfWa1u76k2xVW_v5_2gEt_u-GDnYYwsPFw/s400/P4140069.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>After that we got on the tube to find our hostel. Unfortunately, it took us over an hour to get there due to construction, a fire alarm, and not understanding streets. We finally made it, dropped off our things, and headed to the National Gallery. It holds western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th century and was free so that made it all the more enjoyable. Trafalgar Square is right in front of the Gallery, so we grabbed a sandwich and hung out there for a bit. In the Square they also have the countdown clock to the 2012 Olympics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEOclmnrYqFP8EusAFo7_ijdw8LdELBMh0YrlijeNJ4-___FL5OQQXHAOxDaqpWVp0Fqmq_dDO6lCT9dxx1TFtjHd-s47jXJYhyphenhyphen_LeIrYYFDUTMpggyHKSfn_yQbwTRayqcle6SQqRG8b/s1600/P4140010_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEOclmnrYqFP8EusAFo7_ijdw8LdELBMh0YrlijeNJ4-___FL5OQQXHAOxDaqpWVp0Fqmq_dDO6lCT9dxx1TFtjHd-s47jXJYhyphenhyphen_LeIrYYFDUTMpggyHKSfn_yQbwTRayqcle6SQqRG8b/s320/P4140010_2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The National Gallery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgvVhM7fYvPMx-KifOKaTIMZ_m3Tacko7vjC5PqEI2LCE2RYKjNs3CAupShAyPKDHizR6XQDKw-wpCOvIpOiOzXyLnmjSh1EvS3CvO349ODW7JnqYYCch2dDWV4QZnwBkjSJ9mQR3_yIF/s1600/P4140006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgvVhM7fYvPMx-KifOKaTIMZ_m3Tacko7vjC5PqEI2LCE2RYKjNs3CAupShAyPKDHizR6XQDKw-wpCOvIpOiOzXyLnmjSh1EvS3CvO349ODW7JnqYYCch2dDWV4QZnwBkjSJ9mQR3_yIF/s320/P4140006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trafalgar Square (setting up for a concert we thought)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That night we met up with my friend again at a pub near her apartment and it was really nice to just sit, have a drink, and talk. It was more of a laid back environment, which you don't find in Sevilla that much. When people go out here, they go all out as in you are dressed up, makeup perfect, etc. and so it was really nice to just hang out and speak English for a night.<br />
<br />
The next day we started off by going to the British Museum, which was very close to our hostel and so cool. We saw so many interesting things including one of the first images of Buddha ever, mummies, and the Rosetta Stone. We spent a few hours there before making the trek to the London Tower (which was a really pretty walk by the river). The London Tower was very interesting as well. We saw the Crown Jewels, scratchings made by prisoners who were held in the towers, the site where people such as Queen Anne Boleyn were beheaded, and many ravens. The view we got of the Tower Bridge was really pretty too. The London Bridge was not as impressive as we were thinking it would be due to the fact that it has a song named after it, but I suppose since it was originally the only way to cross the river however many years ago that it has history on its side.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9xoo01F30w7J_rM31D9l8hqEjHqig2oZCUdwx6n3y8ln3rPK2Q7tglvBBd_G9HhiQxQgrE_hkc80GBVLpNKmf0oCvKHuhCPqzvFfZt4EB78Py6gJgsURPSVRS5ip7pgSL57QPBtVc91U/s1600/P4150004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9xoo01F30w7J_rM31D9l8hqEjHqig2oZCUdwx6n3y8ln3rPK2Q7tglvBBd_G9HhiQxQgrE_hkc80GBVLpNKmf0oCvKHuhCPqzvFfZt4EB78Py6gJgsURPSVRS5ip7pgSL57QPBtVc91U/s320/P4150004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The British Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGSKcY89MuYD4rr71xf9xoFvJLWQGxGvtdNfq-94VTo-r_By5oNIPQ6QNBDg2JLadh4gL-RL5DlCiozt_VRhcW4PEeWv848m01p2UEsobLd7VZ7RBXSiST0dBVRArdmffnBIF3VQQnEls/s1600/P4150024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGSKcY89MuYD4rr71xf9xoFvJLWQGxGvtdNfq-94VTo-r_By5oNIPQ6QNBDg2JLadh4gL-RL5DlCiozt_VRhcW4PEeWv848m01p2UEsobLd7VZ7RBXSiST0dBVRArdmffnBIF3VQQnEls/s320/P4150024.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rosetta Stone</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEVrDSWbwS31vzWS5qgNwoEqEIPgW0HXtc9rjMRALeLJ_EkcIkCGkAbYRQuPeEYMIVJ2QiAlv0Zrpb4_6OW9sYgH4IauZ9AYRg2Pglg8y-JG_9jfIgXiy2mrozjfeFTzTgk__lD2Yzpf0/s1600/P4150028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEVrDSWbwS31vzWS5qgNwoEqEIPgW0HXtc9rjMRALeLJ_EkcIkCGkAbYRQuPeEYMIVJ2QiAlv0Zrpb4_6OW9sYgH4IauZ9AYRg2Pglg8y-JG_9jfIgXiy2mrozjfeFTzTgk__lD2Yzpf0/s320/P4150028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Parthanon</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hgf8pIu41SrV9UedyTdwcegQomy1OCxWXkLgUBgqvAas5KyHlb4ElMVOmuRkGp7YS0QykrVQ8bKi1BVBTDK8B7rYxh8d1rjOkqqPpuk-tLnNrnQNyHEYf4yYbneSOxsjBra5A8eSmJrY/s1600/P4150044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hgf8pIu41SrV9UedyTdwcegQomy1OCxWXkLgUBgqvAas5KyHlb4ElMVOmuRkGp7YS0QykrVQ8bKi1BVBTDK8B7rYxh8d1rjOkqqPpuk-tLnNrnQNyHEYf4yYbneSOxsjBra5A8eSmJrY/s320/P4150044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYlblcg93UrebXacZFGE2oauI9DEw1nnen2C0dp-Dk7_GjQXaJuFAh0lY-Jx2KLRkqc1foc9IAWAiIz1LR66zK1jbJDwQg1ZrQgQcj8kX3bNWZ7UXYsfDax2zpgwf03DM2NomfCH0JYPr/s1600/P4150047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYlblcg93UrebXacZFGE2oauI9DEw1nnen2C0dp-Dk7_GjQXaJuFAh0lY-Jx2KLRkqc1foc9IAWAiIz1LR66zK1jbJDwQg1ZrQgQcj8kX3bNWZ7UXYsfDax2zpgwf03DM2NomfCH0JYPr/s320/P4150047.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tower Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbz2kN8_oZsSgoFZNFacvmHlUI_PboBYe-YFNvsWy5NEvosnlF7pHgxOvWtWDP-spcc2aEE3qmNxtUXXTXSR_ZBrHHqXFPof-mNe01nd_FKvzfKYJ8fBbXHquPSHGfULtsuGHYQxspQ2l/s1600/P4150057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbz2kN8_oZsSgoFZNFacvmHlUI_PboBYe-YFNvsWy5NEvosnlF7pHgxOvWtWDP-spcc2aEE3qmNxtUXXTXSR_ZBrHHqXFPof-mNe01nd_FKvzfKYJ8fBbXHquPSHGfULtsuGHYQxspQ2l/s320/P4150057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scaffold Site</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9toQb96J7ezQ3gvrZkkYjQepGb6n-uwM4oA3HTqHTOKk_Bko4SdDY-knY49UrzN2VGMlwqsry5vdfZBxLNIqfHb9rdLgbZdLshGLC1jLQw4O82Rc16TwIxQbDzUfnNPxpsFr7W-ZKJVkF/s1600/P4150062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9toQb96J7ezQ3gvrZkkYjQepGb6n-uwM4oA3HTqHTOKk_Bko4SdDY-knY49UrzN2VGMlwqsry5vdfZBxLNIqfHb9rdLgbZdLshGLC1jLQw4O82Rc16TwIxQbDzUfnNPxpsFr7W-ZKJVkF/s320/P4150062.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ravens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After that we stopped to see St. Paul's Cathedral, which was beautiful outside. We only saw a little bit of the inside, but that was gorgeous as well. That night we went out to eat at this nice Indian restaurant and had some amazing food. It was the one time we really splurged on money, but we figured that since we were going to Les Miserables later on that we should make a night out of it. The show was amazing! I've had the music stuck in my head ever since which suits me just fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfJntn6MZIuS-WYaL11Sl2YS7stsUEOWBT3hja1gvDWDFm8AFDZPXiuEv1rrgDKQceV3cmrPHU0kmPROgiWNn2tefQESAIsG7GqZHvuflSI42-CclAI8yBR6-0_2NGzSX_xIPXIiWakx4/s1600/Picture+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfJntn6MZIuS-WYaL11Sl2YS7stsUEOWBT3hja1gvDWDFm8AFDZPXiuEv1rrgDKQceV3cmrPHU0kmPROgiWNn2tefQESAIsG7GqZHvuflSI42-CclAI8yBR6-0_2NGzSX_xIPXIiWakx4/s320/Picture+4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Les Mis!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4hyg-B2AZwFFfMznOlvvPLhQo8Xg3kR4w2ifUC6hVCvncLRQOrBF6WaFB0BsVY1dC-9ep1jXVuGFh5ZRkQZphQA46SHX9XNX4OlbItOvk32A79VvILa5D7Xd5Fm7gnyehMucnXZtOT_1/s1600/P4150069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4hyg-B2AZwFFfMznOlvvPLhQo8Xg3kR4w2ifUC6hVCvncLRQOrBF6WaFB0BsVY1dC-9ep1jXVuGFh5ZRkQZphQA46SHX9XNX4OlbItOvk32A79VvILa5D7Xd5Fm7gnyehMucnXZtOT_1/s320/P4150069.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Paul's Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-S6baL1UP1Xu5zujeWTc3cLP7GZEJDgQ9ZztmBeE_MUk4_eHMo5ijeSZclGfWLk4QrkV8Dm_2S1c_o9boFuv-qhdS_Cm5JbuW7nD3PpW7QSx1VdRW4oBjKdp9wqde94C_5M_49mO5fuE/s1600/P4150078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-S6baL1UP1Xu5zujeWTc3cLP7GZEJDgQ9ZztmBeE_MUk4_eHMo5ijeSZclGfWLk4QrkV8Dm_2S1c_o9boFuv-qhdS_Cm5JbuW7nD3PpW7QSx1VdRW4oBjKdp9wqde94C_5M_49mO5fuE/s320/P4150078.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> For Palm Sunday we started off by going to church at Westminster Abbey. Yet another gorgeous gorgeous place. And it's located right by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament so we were able get some very good pictures around that area. The London Marathon was also going on and ended at Buckingham Palace so we were able to follow that on our way there. It was a little crowded, but races are always exciting. We took a break on the grass by Buckingham Palace before deciding our next move, which was to head to a different part of town and see Harrods, one of the first department stores. That evening we walked around the area we were staying. There were so many little squares full of blooming flowers all over the place. We went to bed semi early that night since we wanted to fit some things in the next morning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p0sNEEGgtarkaUa1UAuZV3tFAu1Kceegq2_eefMiS_HnMs-d28MFymqHVSujv8mmAteEMVLOuVHgxLrtbwHKuFsZdi_1t9-HPuAkcb0ftNzc4H2234DBN6gMObX-B-AT7tJIZM6RxBzb/s1600/P4160005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p0sNEEGgtarkaUa1UAuZV3tFAu1Kceegq2_eefMiS_HnMs-d28MFymqHVSujv8mmAteEMVLOuVHgxLrtbwHKuFsZdi_1t9-HPuAkcb0ftNzc4H2234DBN6gMObX-B-AT7tJIZM6RxBzb/s320/P4160005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Westminster Abbey</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Ben and they Eye</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buckingham Palace</td></tr>
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After packing up and storing our bags in the luggage room at our hostel, we went to King's Cross Station, where they have a sign for Platform 9¾ (Harry Potter), but unfortunately that area was under construction! That was a bummer, but on our walk there we ran past a bookshop were every book was two pounds and in English! I got two books for about $6.65 which even in dollars is inexpensive! Before leaving, we went to the British Library since we had time. I am sooo glad we did. In the Sir John Ritblat Gallery, we saw original work by Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, an original manuscript of the book Crash, original scores by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Hayden, Ravel, and Mendelssohn, the original Beatles' lyrics (one on the back of a birthday card) to Yesterday, Help, Hard Day's Night, and Ticket to Ride, letters by Leonardo da Vinci, Darwin, and Freud, and also saw the Magna Carta. There was so much more along with all this, but these were my highlights (kind of long I guess).<br />
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We made it back on that night (Monday) ready to see what Semana Santa was all about in Sevilla! Unfortunately, it rained pretty much all of Tuesday and is raining again today. Yesterday I was able to go out and see what goes on in the city. Hopefully I can do that some more before the week is up (although I do have a lot of homework to do) so I will tell you all about the processions next time!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-85404561102941585562011-04-13T00:48:00.001+02:002011-04-13T00:49:20.615+02:00Third ContinentHard to believe that I'm about to be finished with my three weeks straight of weekend traveling. Last weekend was amazing. I went to Morocco with my study abroad program so it was another weekend that was completely planned for us. Of course there are pros and cons to having less flexibility, but I think the pros definitely outweighed the cons this weekend.<br />
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We left early Thursday morning to take a bus ride (about 2.5 hours) to where we would catch the ferry. I'd never really been on a boat like that before and it was sort of windy so when we walked around the ground would move unexpectedly and it felt like I was wearing the "drunk goggles" they gave us in D.A.R.E. It was only about a half hour boat ride or so and it took us to Ceuta which is a Spanish province but on the continent of Africa. We then caught another bus and got through to boarder to Tetuán, the city where we spent the day and where our hotel was. Our guide for the day was "Michael Douglas" and he was awesome. We learned some Arabic words and felt completely free and comfortable to ask him questions about Islam all day. It was very interesting to hear the answers and reasons behind Islam from someone who is Islamic. <br />
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That day we went to la Escuela Taller de Tetuán which was an art school where students learn the ins and outs of all the intricate details of their art. There was everything from painting on wood to cutting it to doing work with metal, etc. The pieces were amazing. Hard to believe that students did them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsVNKaKQ-WtmK1CKl80ZPLyTR7PPdznaT3f4xJ88WCszqiJBBKBCNLEoMD6ZdTdd4CqDygoKyo8oFiBR5WZHSKn2tQ7_8HDbdZUyvUhvTW4wceMFV5139NiOU4s2mEq80mkuRj-EFclws/s1600/P4060079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsVNKaKQ-WtmK1CKl80ZPLyTR7PPdznaT3f4xJ88WCszqiJBBKBCNLEoMD6ZdTdd4CqDygoKyo8oFiBR5WZHSKn2tQ7_8HDbdZUyvUhvTW4wceMFV5139NiOU4s2mEq80mkuRj-EFclws/s320/P4060079.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhdNoheb1l0mfr6CmOElOkFIfGxbNX5Y262FVjOrQtyqEB38tbcHtODzum8eFc4qAW3wsiWeWv3Bl2fGCL4HvZ_LZMx2s9crBIdNVrW6LRUfCNOgCtXUBaJq16xMXsNzJ9anI6eNETEnz/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhdNoheb1l0mfr6CmOElOkFIfGxbNX5Y262FVjOrQtyqEB38tbcHtODzum8eFc4qAW3wsiWeWv3Bl2fGCL4HvZ_LZMx2s9crBIdNVrW6LRUfCNOgCtXUBaJq16xMXsNzJ9anI6eNETEnz/s320/Picture+3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our group plus "Michael Douglas" right next to me on the bottom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After that we had a typical Moroccan lunch complete with vegetable soup, shish kebabs, couscous, steamed veggies, and mint tea and cookies to complete it. Mint tea is amazing there. We checked into our hotel then and headed out to the city.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmm mint tea</td></tr>
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Tetuán is a city that contains a medina which is a section of the city that has very narrow and confusing streets. Tetuán's medina has 1,800 streets, and it is a very smaaaaall area. For that reason, and because it was a pretty crowded market, we had about four burly men with us as guards. It was not my favorite part of the trip. The streetw were very crowded, dirty, and smelly when you were deep within the medina. It was a good experience though. We saw a tannery, something that I will never ever do again, learned about some of the natural self-cleaning products they have, and talked more about Islam with our guide. All in all it's a day I wouldn't take back, but I wouldn't necessarily repeat it again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5v0AJ3aDMnYEZ51lToPtWtrv9kDWyy1diFFZPEgD6mVHGixzXspvvPdnMGjh_Of4fvUhCmxb7LVMs9tqG9AtJ-ah3jikkPCIs7BoBdU6skU1jOBXkfc9DjYly-VZfTNq16VZvkC4dhc8/s1600/P4060109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5v0AJ3aDMnYEZ51lToPtWtrv9kDWyy1diFFZPEgD6mVHGixzXspvvPdnMGjh_Of4fvUhCmxb7LVMs9tqG9AtJ-ah3jikkPCIs7BoBdU6skU1jOBXkfc9DjYly-VZfTNq16VZvkC4dhc8/s320/P4060109.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In his hand is natural shampoo and the pile of stuff are natural teeth cleaners</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tannery...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9d0aaL1QR3gggQqH4OYkjlNVcsnc2UDNfGaBEFYNEq-lK0OjuntgQQ34-NGFjxN53EEVRc6darWphe-Nr1wDuPBBzgoPLbmWTZqfVdmq1DdboR1abNHBkEPL2O0xCyHig_qDRONQLSNN/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9d0aaL1QR3gggQqH4OYkjlNVcsnc2UDNfGaBEFYNEq-lK0OjuntgQQ34-NGFjxN53EEVRc6darWphe-Nr1wDuPBBzgoPLbmWTZqfVdmq1DdboR1abNHBkEPL2O0xCyHig_qDRONQLSNN/s320/Picture+10.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the market</td></tr>
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The next day we went to Tangier which is one of the largest cities. We went to their Coke Bottling Company and got to see the whole assembling process. I sort of felt like I was coming out of an episode of Mr. Rogers when they have the "intermission" type thing and see what's going on in the world. It was pretty cool actually. To make it even better, six of us were wrapped in plastic wrap and then we all got to sample some of their drinks that are only sold in Morocco.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKK1OcUDL2lss-SYbJEWVaaqeCB04lhJLnm0yv9W4yr4HkLVLS3NMu9fFQ7QI8QYFiSpQSRqqViXbJQI8v34rxZs_bhJn9BRhgflzoIkqf5Id43rFDvly_j4V5_mI40qTmGIRvBsDJCgb9/s1600/Picture+2_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKK1OcUDL2lss-SYbJEWVaaqeCB04lhJLnm0yv9W4yr4HkLVLS3NMu9fFQ7QI8QYFiSpQSRqqViXbJQI8v34rxZs_bhJn9BRhgflzoIkqf5Id43rFDvly_j4V5_mI40qTmGIRvBsDJCgb9/s320/Picture+2_3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Lauren, and Alison at the Coke factory</td></tr>
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Then we took a beach break. Unfortunately we didn't have swimsuits, but it was still amazingly beautiful. After about a half hour there we went to have the best lunch ever. I think it was something called chicken pastry, but I'm not sure. All I know is that it was some of the best food I've tasted. And there were french fries, tea, and cookies which made it all the better.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD38KTIXmCGPvNsfUNz19aWNU99y2GIyGzBVSHSYU5rqROHyzP3pAf_bvgxif3wDQCI1CuhYTaJWmobH73nZtizfIMJw2fFJdZg0jFGJ5hyphenhyphen6e0VCloqMV5kGFY9Vbo3SkGlbBhkcLpATiy/s1600/Picture+4_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD38KTIXmCGPvNsfUNz19aWNU99y2GIyGzBVSHSYU5rqROHyzP3pAf_bvgxif3wDQCI1CuhYTaJWmobH73nZtizfIMJw2fFJdZg0jFGJ5hyphenhyphen6e0VCloqMV5kGFY9Vbo3SkGlbBhkcLpATiy/s320/Picture+4_4.png" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of us</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7-somTwGR7eNyRtg4vuDyNSs7nPFxzGxTjwXYIgD7mQsCTmveQADPBFgc5BqRdonqInZRdIqkamkbwvYQO4JVWYBpcB4gHSUMwiodTVQdxoi0h_arcgJpE6q4G6dsaZlCkcj0SH0o-7W/s1600/P4070030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7-somTwGR7eNyRtg4vuDyNSs7nPFxzGxTjwXYIgD7mQsCTmveQADPBFgc5BqRdonqInZRdIqkamkbwvYQO4JVWYBpcB4gHSUMwiodTVQdxoi0h_arcgJpE6q4G6dsaZlCkcj0SH0o-7W/s320/P4070030.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Las Cuevas (caves) de Hercules were next which was really neat since there's a cutout of Africa backwards in the rock so that sailors could find their way, or so the story goes. Soon after that, we rode camels. It was fine until I felt some slobber on my ankle and looked down to find that the camel behind me was all about going after my foot. It was definitely the troublemaker of the group and didn't give up even though one of the "trainers" was next to it the whole time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to put in another beach shot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweMRFkksWyIVADIy1AhxNmz5DvVYemLO5SJUnRS6uSh1-tQwWsc9ULqeJQdZc_TRs9ULutDjXCc9CE04_Xd2SML5H4ES9fex0gWR18RACtiD733koTN8ynRf4AK7O7Wu_qGQgTX-e9tIK/s1600/P4070054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweMRFkksWyIVADIy1AhxNmz5DvVYemLO5SJUnRS6uSh1-tQwWsc9ULqeJQdZc_TRs9ULutDjXCc9CE04_Xd2SML5H4ES9fex0gWR18RACtiD733koTN8ynRf4AK7O7Wu_qGQgTX-e9tIK/s320/P4070054.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Africa! (backwards)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HMWZgWtNliddeIIN8SlBUzwvaG3U4ux9bj4Pt9-TJo_cn9LR6CwlS_ka32b7J_dHh-f19bY1OszbzVXpibxdcxsg-OGlU7yGL3R7KfU2kpWV1iDK1lXzWR_fYlrDgmuOFDy-MtMKmb5h/s1600/P4070062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HMWZgWtNliddeIIN8SlBUzwvaG3U4ux9bj4Pt9-TJo_cn9LR6CwlS_ka32b7J_dHh-f19bY1OszbzVXpibxdcxsg-OGlU7yGL3R7KfU2kpWV1iDK1lXzWR_fYlrDgmuOFDy-MtMKmb5h/s320/P4070062.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caught in the act</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFspDhzIk-PclwgBat7n624nR3FNnXaHcYiQ8htns7HqIa6BEYotKQSMQA36P9gUn4ddAdL74b3ZA3UysCY3q0igtfoKiDpqHFRvEXRzTrLIFL6hRzMY6Gahyphenhyphen4VHVfXEXuKGfqcUrJbT_/s1600/P4070071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFspDhzIk-PclwgBat7n624nR3FNnXaHcYiQ8htns7HqIa6BEYotKQSMQA36P9gUn4ddAdL74b3ZA3UysCY3q0igtfoKiDpqHFRvEXRzTrLIFL6hRzMY6Gahyphenhyphen4VHVfXEXuKGfqcUrJbT_/s320/P4070071.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still paranoid at the end of the ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The rest of the afternoon was filled with shopping in the market. This market was a lot smaller and less crowded, so we were allowed to go off on our own for a couple of hours. Bargaining was a necessity in Morocco and I think overall my friend and I did well. That night we had a relaxed dinner and went to bed pretty much right away.<br />
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Our final day was by far my favorite. We went to a city called Chefchaouen. The drive there alone was worth the trip. The whole time in Morocco I would see things that reminded me so much of El Salvador, but this drive made me feel like I was in El Salvador at times. Insanely beautiful. Chefchaouen is a city in the Rif Mountains that just sort of appears on the hills.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty drive</td></tr>
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We toured the city which was probably my favorite part due to the blue and white walls. They paint the bottom half of the walls blue and the top half white due to a tradition that started when the town was Jewish (now Islamic). They repaint the walls four times a year which I think is just amazing dedication. The whole culture in general of the town felt so much more inviting and just comfortable. It is definitely a place I could see going back to and maybe even staying for a longer period of time. We got to shop around again that afternoon and then had lunch and headed back to the ferry to take us to Sevilla.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PC would be proud of the amount of the pictures I took here</td></tr>
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On Sunday, my friend found out about something called el Encuentro de Alternativas which was a festival about taking care of the environment. Basically it was a hippie festival, something I would never have expected to find in sophisticated Sevilla, and was so much fun. Good music, good food, good shopping stands, good company, just overall a good time and nice break from the formality of Sevilla. I love Sevilla but I do miss all the diversity of Madison so it was nice to see and participate in a different part of Sevilla.<br />
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School is finally starting to get a little stressful. I have two group projects coming up the week after next and with the weather being in the 80s, it's pretty hard to get work done. Plus, we have off school next week for Semana Santa aka Holy Week. I'm leaving this Thursday night to go to London with my friend Vanessa and am very excited. We have tickets to see Les Miserables on Saturday night! I'll get back on Monday night and will spend a few days in Sevilla before going to my family's beach house for probably the majority of the weekend. May be a little tricky to fit in school, but I'll do my best :)Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-43537857818520026592011-04-05T22:00:00.000+02:002011-04-05T22:00:17.535+02:00Paradise in PortugalThis past weekend, a few friends a I went to Portugal through "WeLoveSpain" which is basically a travel agency for students studying abroad. We left on Friday morning and got the Albuferia about two hours later. It was a perfect day so after checking into our hotel (which was very nice), we headed to the beach for the afternoon. That night we got some pasta and made dinner in our kitchen. I was rooming with Lauren and Emily and then our friends Tori and Danielle joined us for dinner too. That night, we went out with everyone who was on the trip to three different bars. They were all a lot of fun, good music, close to the hotel, and we just felt safer overall since the people in charge of the trip were the ones to find everyone and say "Meeting outside in 10 minutes to go to the next place".<br />
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The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel which was the biggest breakfast I've had since being here. Scrambled eggs, cereal, toast, etc. A nice break from the small Spanish breakfasts. That day we went to Lagos. Our first stop was Ponte de Piedad. It was a gorgeous lookout with lost of cliffs. We ended up spending the day on the beach near the cliffs. It was a lot cooler that day, but still warm enough to be in a swim suit for the majority of the time.<br />
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On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at "El fin del mundo" or "The End of the World" aka what people used to think was the end of the world. Again, it was a very pretty area, but by that point, we were all very very cold.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieipW7fXDlosE_ziTpg-9DdxbFH2Z8lvBkYmVeFjqcGms6mk646hmj9NI9z8QqzT0VgavxOTG8aM7yWyeuVirk2lT29RS8N6mFsuo-iF9-U11XUgmDfitcjovPkjIwuiRzil6PhufbUWrl/s1600/P4010110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieipW7fXDlosE_ziTpg-9DdxbFH2Z8lvBkYmVeFjqcGms6mk646hmj9NI9z8QqzT0VgavxOTG8aM7yWyeuVirk2lT29RS8N6mFsuo-iF9-U11XUgmDfitcjovPkjIwuiRzil6PhufbUWrl/s320/P4010110.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>That night we attempted to make Mac n cheese by melting cheese with milk on the stove and adding it to some pasta. Unfortunately, we failed, but it made for an entertaining hour or so. And we still ate it. We had another night out and a few different bars from the night before.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tori, Lauren, me, and Danielle</td></tr>
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Sunday, unfortunately, was very very cold and a bit rainy. We spent the day in town doing a little shopping and then sat in a nice restaurant for an hour or so before heading out. All in all it was a very good trip. It was nice to be in a place where we weren't rushing around to get to museums or trying to figure out the metro etc. I've missed seeing nature type sights too so it was a very good break.<br />
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On Thursday I'm headed to Morocco with our program. They split us up in two groups so the first half of the alphabet already went and have given us a lot of tips about bargaining in the markets, how much money to bring, what shoes to wear and etc. I think it will be a really fun trip because, again, we don't have to spend time figuring anything out since it's planned by our program. We'll leave early Thursday morning to take a bus to the water and then we'll take a boat over! When we get there, we're going to be in safe areas as well as have a security guard with us, so no worries!<br />
<span id="goog_1049940459"></span><span id="goog_1049940460"></span>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-40309744731162302102011-03-23T01:35:00.000+01:002011-03-23T01:35:57.924+01:00Halfway Done?Hard to believe, but it's true. Today marks the exact middle of my trip. 9 weeks in, 9 week to go. I think I'm in a good place right now though when I think about being halfway done. I'm not feeling terribly sad that I only have 9 weeks left and I'm not feeling like I'm ready to go home sooner. I'm excited to go home and see everyone, but I'm also excited for everything that's coming before. I think that's a good place to be.<br />
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As I said in my last post, midterms happened last week. They went pretty well, but I'm still glad their over. Not nearly as hard as Madison exams where you have 150 pages of a book to basically memorize, but it's all in Spanish, which makes the 60 pages or so a little more difficult to solidify in my mind. I think my Spanish overall has been getting better but not as much as I thought it would. Still time to fix that though.<br />
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After exams, a group of five of us celebrated by going to Paris!! To start, you definitely need more than 48 hours in that city. It is amazing. We got there on Friday and after settling into our hostel, we went straight to the Louvre (for free too!). We saw the Mona Lisa, some of Michelangelo's work, and a lot of new pieces that I really enjoyed. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrln1MRMBB1k5vJTt_C667NIwNB_IYdekzckrFqTCLNMJEZcVaw1s3rCiSdGbSOE7kzErPoSvU-IqN1KrC1O7Ak5gM1nHvfGqOPsA3eavNcQcaH2URTJw2a82NPeI8e5xadlEswppgw8_N/s1600/P3170009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrln1MRMBB1k5vJTt_C667NIwNB_IYdekzckrFqTCLNMJEZcVaw1s3rCiSdGbSOE7kzErPoSvU-IqN1KrC1O7Ak5gM1nHvfGqOPsA3eavNcQcaH2URTJw2a82NPeI8e5xadlEswppgw8_N/s320/P3170009.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgsWiKdeUBfUgOH9YYb17GXKQB_JTj_Q6NwNR1-Svt9JcEm7KOP7Yr8n56grOO6G5ni8ghXWPEZ4DzZFxV23pWK9MjZEUJJENObLTVkjqC2X0pkBnpFLFBhCW5rhS4uRM5L0HkaSsiaJt/s1600/P3170028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgsWiKdeUBfUgOH9YYb17GXKQB_JTj_Q6NwNR1-Svt9JcEm7KOP7Yr8n56grOO6G5ni8ghXWPEZ4DzZFxV23pWK9MjZEUJJENObLTVkjqC2X0pkBnpFLFBhCW5rhS4uRM5L0HkaSsiaJt/s320/P3170028.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh6l7YZxYMKmMoG3E9s2PKJZE2w1ghyphenhyphenFTt78ScSUXn8RHv8Yq2VIEsGBkWwAAYAxeaT2n7KpQDXpusjanpGIzuCR2DVfCa8RXOG4ldOnhFR3t2ph8D11ay8H3ffBrVQfv3xEhaKUMUp4X/s1600/P3170071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh6l7YZxYMKmMoG3E9s2PKJZE2w1ghyphenhyphenFTt78ScSUXn8RHv8Yq2VIEsGBkWwAAYAxeaT2n7KpQDXpusjanpGIzuCR2DVfCa8RXOG4ldOnhFR3t2ph8D11ay8H3ffBrVQfv3xEhaKUMUp4X/s320/P3170071.JPG" width="240" /></a>Then we went to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night, even though it was raining. The best word I can find to define that night: enchanting. I didn't expect it to be as impressive as it was. I've seen x number of pictures of the Eiffel Tower so I guess I thought I'd seen all there was to see of it? I'm not sure. All I can say is that I was wrong. It was amazing. We grabbed some nutella-banana crepes and hung out taking pictures for probably close to an hour. This is in tie for the number one moment of Paris.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi918QxpfhfxT4qkXur84_98ojK8Jamw8E0H0-_ydqPxQc4cH5n7nk6627xVxJhIZa8JH83lsXJeeUGnbAgIcjMCHGsAQOSSbG87iZc2EffCH6jAYvpUPCh2dFIoecIHwKS94OjnPY_TQQD/s1600/P3170089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi918QxpfhfxT4qkXur84_98ojK8Jamw8E0H0-_ydqPxQc4cH5n7nk6627xVxJhIZa8JH83lsXJeeUGnbAgIcjMCHGsAQOSSbG87iZc2EffCH6jAYvpUPCh2dFIoecIHwKS94OjnPY_TQQD/s320/P3170089.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmG5k1k9zDDfHYCJ9H8mOR1N_1BSKXeiAHHFL8f3uTkg8R83zDx7gl04IP2Tg25NnyRnB8MLn68UnfsI9fQqhwiW4JOEBchB4MHB7viqM7r6coGKIQ_3vksqz9ByTYlDrts-s4XlmhW7n/s1600/P3170079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmG5k1k9zDDfHYCJ9H8mOR1N_1BSKXeiAHHFL8f3uTkg8R83zDx7gl04IP2Tg25NnyRnB8MLn68UnfsI9fQqhwiW4JOEBchB4MHB7viqM7r6coGKIQ_3vksqz9ByTYlDrts-s4XlmhW7n/s320/P3170079.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious crepe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4in1qdEdsW2ZmOvsLgWHiNAu2F0IkXk4Gk_hgSuc28ibrFPOR7hIOBUksJTgf394LV2ATkdRs6FBX5-VMcTas1EYonZETXhBgTA2AQtwMTal6exmQ__k0JF46Jp5p1BgJzGFaBWZR8tD/s1600/P3170084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4in1qdEdsW2ZmOvsLgWHiNAu2F0IkXk4Gk_hgSuc28ibrFPOR7hIOBUksJTgf394LV2ATkdRs6FBX5-VMcTas1EYonZETXhBgTA2AQtwMTal6exmQ__k0JF46Jp5p1BgJzGFaBWZR8tD/s320/P3170084.JPG" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCMQrhIgETH7A7kkDBioVdQJIDernXBfeKYqMnIJOszKb5mbRFUbH5HLa5WgNQ1BuhR89nijrzcYKDiEOyBHvjt0KfdbEjsv0VyAfPsOWgiZFfPtVuV2yzXSTy89ENHLtsmIWMpEMS4Ng/s1600/P3180043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCMQrhIgETH7A7kkDBioVdQJIDernXBfeKYqMnIJOszKb5mbRFUbH5HLa5WgNQ1BuhR89nijrzcYKDiEOyBHvjt0KfdbEjsv0VyAfPsOWgiZFfPtVuV2yzXSTy89ENHLtsmIWMpEMS4Ng/s320/P3180043.JPG" width="320" /></a>The next day, after navigating the metro, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and saw the Opera Garnier (Phantom of the Opera). Then to the Musee de L'Orangerie, which is what the Eiffel Tower is tied for first place for the best moment in Paris. The museum has two oval rooms that are two different scenes painted by Monet, "The Water Lilies". One is full of his famous water lilies and the other includes weeping willows. However, before you enter to the rooms, you go through a white room that has nothing in it and was designed by Monet as a decompression space between "the city's agitation" and his work. I love Monet and walking in there was an amazing feeling. The way he created this peaceful environment was completely unexpected and great. We were there for about an hour. There was more art downstairs as well that we were able to see. But those rooms are another new happy place to go to when feeling stressed, that's for sure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LG1ieHrbnNq4IamLWzveGuBHNPoVIHJop1Ou39SrN6HeKl0crnSzxzKzjcsOeCJAR0vuKmOC3vEGslTR7sMLCh5YwZkXMWH9tKMCVpO0JFII0gMmUl5bQaFCVkM7ZEu_2Rtqn5NwWTJT/s1600/P3180034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LG1ieHrbnNq4IamLWzveGuBHNPoVIHJop1Ou39SrN6HeKl0crnSzxzKzjcsOeCJAR0vuKmOC3vEGslTR7sMLCh5YwZkXMWH9tKMCVpO0JFII0gMmUl5bQaFCVkM7ZEu_2Rtqn5NwWTJT/s320/P3180034.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After that, we headed to the Notre Dame. Another breathtaking place. There is so much history there that you just get this overwhelming feeling when you walk in. Even sitting outside eating our croque monsieurs was amazing. Unfortunatley we didn't go up the towers. It was very cold (in the 40s) and we were not dressed appropriately and the line was very long. Guess I'll have to save that for the next trip :)</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarh4oxCp1Gb0M4hTSP6nzLAkEqSFX1NdLx4EXC-aCj36S38yGlnMJxHb5rTQSV2vqFLqUo4rjcb2CrlduRTQNcWIHBZVViuFcgNuDCQ_jca8_WB7Czn8oUdLfjVBRQZayMNcTF47LOwDQ/s1600/P3180058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarh4oxCp1Gb0M4hTSP6nzLAkEqSFX1NdLx4EXC-aCj36S38yGlnMJxHb5rTQSV2vqFLqUo4rjcb2CrlduRTQNcWIHBZVViuFcgNuDCQ_jca8_WB7Czn8oUdLfjVBRQZayMNcTF47LOwDQ/s320/P3180058.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friend Rosie (who is studying in Paris!) and I</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then we walked around for a bit, stopping for more crepes, and went to Shakespeare and Company which is a bookstore that housed writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemmingway back in the day. We then went to the Montmartre area and saw the Sacre Coeur which is another beautiful basilica. Right outside it was a great view of the city.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaALOS5kBpfiAVxZmfFuwr1EJ6LrvOUDZc-TH9kO7wZR9RkfAq-oaRDVoKb-AweEE-TnbbtGeBlRKviW9vznhDPmOf0kc7a0uwQb-cqike15xv2ZFTqQ8lr9ROLkuIAwPNGUNQsC0_Glj/s1600/P3180106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaALOS5kBpfiAVxZmfFuwr1EJ6LrvOUDZc-TH9kO7wZR9RkfAq-oaRDVoKb-AweEE-TnbbtGeBlRKviW9vznhDPmOf0kc7a0uwQb-cqike15xv2ZFTqQ8lr9ROLkuIAwPNGUNQsC0_Glj/s320/P3180106.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That night we went to a nice dinner with my friend Rosie from Madison who is studying in Paris. We had also gotten to see another friend of mine who is studying there as well on Friday. Rosie then showed us the Moulin Rouge, Hotel de Dieu, the Bastille Prision, and another wonderful crepe stand. The next morning we ended our trip with another visit to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately we had to leave before the lift was open to go to the top, but I guess that will be another thing to look forward to next time :)</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Au revoir/Hasta luego!!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-71780250226229138752011-03-07T22:59:00.001+01:002011-03-07T23:01:48.760+01:00Learning in Class?I had a very relaxing, family weekend, and that will be the same for the next week or so. Next week we have midterms, so I'll need to be actually studying unlike the past month. Crazy that it has already been a month that I've had actual classes. I have learned a number of things however, many outside of class:<br />
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1) Spain living (as expected) is very different than American living. Although I've gotten used to eating a tostada (basically toast, sometimes with meat on it) at 10am, a bigger lunch at 3:30pm, a snack at 7pm (sometimes not even necessary), and a smaller dinner at 10pm, there are some things that strike me as even more different. For example, there is siesta time. It is usually between 3-5:30 or so. Obviously this sounded amazing when coming over, and still is an enjoyable time; the whole city basically shuts down. I forget that occasionally and find myself planning to run a quick errand after my 4:30 class, but unfortunately that is never an option. In general, it seems much more laid back here which on one hand is great. They really enjoy life and don't have to make time for family, fun or anything else. Enjoyment is number one on their list. And that is great. But on the other hand, they are going through a major economic crisis right now and sometimes I can't help but think that they could maybe be doing more. I'm probably out of place by saying that, but the time that is spent on some things I can't help but wonder if it really needs so much time. I am in no way judging, since I am living this way as well and enjoying it, but it's just interesting to compare. All cultures have their strengths and weaknesses, my own and the one I'm living in now included.<br />
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2) People are more similar than they are different. Coming here, I thought I would be thrown into this totally different world, which in some senses I am. As I said, the lifestyle and culture are very different. I had also thought that the people would be very different, more proper due to all the style tips I got before I left about not bringing too many t-shirts or sweats. But in reality, everyone here is just living their lives like everyone at home. They just have different hobbies, different histories, different upbringings, and speak Spanish. Listing it out makes it seem pretty different I guess, but it seems like lives everywhere follow the same basic strategic plan: you're born, learn to walk and talk, go to school, learn about your country's history, go on field trips, find your hobbies, etc. The steps are more similar than I had thought. I was surprised when I wasn't faced with the shock of how different life was or the feeling of intense homesickness that I had prepared myself for. At first I took that as a bad thing. I didn't think I was living in the culture enough, not putting myself out there enough. Then I thought, I'm in Spain, not seeing my family or friends for over four months, living with a family I didn't know the names of until two days before I moved in. I think that's pretty out of the box. So then I got to wondering why I wasn't homesick or anything, and I realized it was because everything was already a little bit familiar. My host mom is still a typical mom making sure I have sunscreen, my 10 year old sister Paula is still a typical 10-year-old, I still attend a university although they may grade differently and speak in Spanish, and I've still found friends that I like to do things with. I think that I was so focused on finding the differences that I was almost disappointed in myself when I could only find a few. I didn't realize that it was because there are so many similarities in the people who are simply living in a different culture. There are definitely differences, don't get me wrong, but the regular phrases such as "boys will be boys" and "mother knows best" still stand here. <br />
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3) Retention of imagination is very very necessary. A few weeks ago I spent the day with my 10-year-old sister Paula. The things she would find for us to do were numerous and I'm sure she didn't even pull out all the stops. Putting on plays, doing science experiments, drawing, singing, and a lot of dancing just highlight some of what we did. There was a TV show or two in that mix as well, but I got to thinking about how these were things that we would do as kids as well and how now, TV, the internet, cell phones, Facebook, etc. seem to dominate our lives. Not that technology is a bad thing, I love it, but the ability to entertain yourself without it may seem impossible to some. After that day, yes I still watch some TV shows online and yes I still have a Facebook account, but I've also spent more time sketching, more time outside even if it's just to go for a walk, and more time talking with people than I had been since I'd gotten here. Technology can be and is a great thing, and the people who came up with it all had amazing imaginations. I do not think it was even close to their intentions to take away our imagination with theirs, so being aware that imagination needs to be kept intact is important to have in the back of my mind.<br />
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4) Something that I've learned from an actual class is the reason why we English speakers have such an issue pronouncing the "rr" in Spanish words. For the most part, we suck at rolling our r's. My "Phonology and Phonetics" class has taught me why. In our mind, we have abstract symbols that we associate with sounds. These symbols are different in every language and we learn them at a young age. There are also slight changes made in these symbols that we still somehow relate to one thing in our mind. For example, the "a" sounds different between the words "cat" and "<span id="search">have", yet our mind still knows it is an "a". Well, in Spanish, there are two different abstract symbols for the sound "r" and the sound "rr". In English, we only have "r". We also have an abstract symbol for "th" in our minds whereas they do not in Spanish. There is a significant difference between "then" and "den", but for them, "dedo" and "detho" will have the same meaning in their minds. Maybe that's just me being a nerd, but I think that's interesting. Guess it's good I like and am learning in, at the least, one class!</span><br />
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<span id="search">Something else I've learned is that I am a pro procrastinator over here, even more so than in Madison. So with that, off to finish my homework I go!</span>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-46868885942956572692011-02-28T20:38:00.002+01:002011-02-28T20:44:08.492+01:00Barcelona: Words Cannot Describe.If you are ever in Spain, Barcelona is a must. I knew this coming into the trip because that is one of the places we went in high school, but after this trip, I can say for certain that it is in my top 5 cities in the world.<br />
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We, my friends Jessica and Emily and I, left on Thursday night after class, so our flight got in around 8. Our hostal was right off of Las Ramblas, a pedestrian path that leads from the Columbus Monument near the Mediterranean Sea to Plaza Catalonia. It is lined with cafes, trees, human statues, little kiosks set up selling different things depending on which area you're in: flowers, animals, art, etc. Needless to say, we were in a great location. That night, we just got settled and had dinner of tapas so we would be able to wake up early-ish the next day.<br />
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Friday we went first to La Catedral de Canta Cruz y Santa Eulalia de Barcelona which means the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. This saint was 13 when she died, and there is a courtyard in the church where there are 13 white ducks to remind visitors of her age. Her crypt is also underneath the altar. It was a beautiful gothic church that had a great view from the top.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cathedral (under construction)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saint Eulalia's Crypt</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of the ducks in the courtyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the views from the top</td></tr>
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After that, we went to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat, or the Muesum of the History of the City. This museum held the archeological remains of the ancient city Barcino, where Barcelona came from. The remains go back to the first century AD. We saw where people used to do laundry, the fish factory, and the winemaking facilities. It was crazy to think of all the history there and how people were there however many years ago, dyeing clothes, making wine. Boggles my mind.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tinted blue from the dye that was used</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wine facilities. Really interesting to hear how they made it.</td></tr>
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We stopped to get lunch, which was very good (paella) and then took the metro to the Arc de Trimof. It lead into a really pretty sitting area, which was the start of the Parc de la Ciutadella. In a more central area, there was the Casacada Mounumental fountain which was designed in part by Antoni Gaudi. There were also many random art piece such as the elephant!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzL75YPygIwdM0K8jFVueUWn-ULVV-T-k1tTqD4V5uyJt31tsUNZPUaVM_ksEtufdgNz-BwOyYK4ZmHDoV-GD_4n63aY_n-GmSA8S5f-4AJAY8xaZ0Or1KQ3sVez5JcKa1te4hc0px6Zl/s1600/P2240109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzL75YPygIwdM0K8jFVueUWn-ULVV-T-k1tTqD4V5uyJt31tsUNZPUaVM_ksEtufdgNz-BwOyYK4ZmHDoV-GD_4n63aY_n-GmSA8S5f-4AJAY8xaZ0Or1KQ3sVez5JcKa1te4hc0px6Zl/s320/P2240109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arc de Triomf</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgsHmF0Vm0THMYx-ExCvqVQPeOBfHE3_WFVr1ws8l1crNXUh0QPhFK2GXm0f9L2KVuidvjUxbCwg7VhRApIet3r3nV_JSZ_iUJd5TkJ0roym1FHNWI7TubfaHPMPnd_cF7qWuuvjoAVe7/s1600/P2240111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgsHmF0Vm0THMYx-ExCvqVQPeOBfHE3_WFVr1ws8l1crNXUh0QPhFK2GXm0f9L2KVuidvjUxbCwg7VhRApIet3r3nV_JSZ_iUJd5TkJ0roym1FHNWI7TubfaHPMPnd_cF7qWuuvjoAVe7/s320/P2240111.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cascada Monumental fountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6DqN15Lz647gBU-6K6cNYRFDl0v_Uc7BNCuDgmKQ3k5Hi5pt02eWHAbzgZE1KEdj6HB5xENBem4lbfr5_gfuy69tzcBFf8huiTqhp9qvOuSFfSOCyUuxzqPK6GjkPnM-jEv7JHC-EDUL/s1600/P2240119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6DqN15Lz647gBU-6K6cNYRFDl0v_Uc7BNCuDgmKQ3k5Hi5pt02eWHAbzgZE1KEdj6HB5xENBem4lbfr5_gfuy69tzcBFf8huiTqhp9qvOuSFfSOCyUuxzqPK6GjkPnM-jEv7JHC-EDUL/s320/P2240119.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random huge elephant</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxyYPZHRroFCINJ-ypqv3yDhPGbmP_a9sPsj7TnIdHd0b5Cr2URhuZypJCPPo2XUBFoNhStxFhzPon-NdkUqzYvIZX7CMAeBpNTU069abbLxXJyz5f-NvYEUu3M5CCAHlVl9ZP0b5wqpH/s1600/P2240122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxyYPZHRroFCINJ-ypqv3yDhPGbmP_a9sPsj7TnIdHd0b5Cr2URhuZypJCPPo2XUBFoNhStxFhzPon-NdkUqzYvIZX7CMAeBpNTU069abbLxXJyz5f-NvYEUu3M5CCAHlVl9ZP0b5wqpH/s320/P2240122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another area in the park.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then, since it was a nice day (about 65 so still a little cool to swim), we went by the port and hung out near the water. The Columbus Monument was right there too so we got to snap some pictures there. After that, we walked down Las Ramblas back to our hotel to take a quick break before our next outing. That next outing was maybe the best part of the trip (tied with La Sagrada Familia).<br />
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We took the metro up to where the Olympic Stadium was in 1992 and saw the tailend of the sunset. It is on higher ground than the rest of the city, so there was a pretty awesome view. After that, we were heading back to another metro station when we stumbled across La Font Magica, which was pretty much magic. There was an amazing fountain light show. The first song was, of course, My Heart Will Go On. It went on for about ten minutes with different songs and then there was a second part which had a lot of American music. It was amazing. I took videos so if anyone is interested, let me know.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEive-PJ4hgA2l6ZpjjHM_pp-dNmXlHBD9yibT3YrDK-wa58G2VKb0IaQ951QHj4jBEL1psso5u68alz9iUGaztUWPN8c0q381DRvBZnBuT7mGaeNZZPRJc-nKaA2NzzGChaNPK9PvCH99_z/s1600/P2240006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEive-PJ4hgA2l6ZpjjHM_pp-dNmXlHBD9yibT3YrDK-wa58G2VKb0IaQ951QHj4jBEL1psso5u68alz9iUGaztUWPN8c0q381DRvBZnBuT7mGaeNZZPRJc-nKaA2NzzGChaNPK9PvCH99_z/s320/P2240006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View. The big thing in the middle is La Sagrada Familia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFWpdgyhjtvKGyenMl01XmQhE8a5KBAS6Mko8TKAn3ulmEKTHu2_A1Bg0q_AOG-7wIA3eyJ9V1Q1kQVPJcSYAnKGNJ5tGFcllMPRrR-VYs2HLl0dKXkKITPr3IgnD0Q8KjqXryvh8E8tN/s1600/P2240020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFWpdgyhjtvKGyenMl01XmQhE8a5KBAS6Mko8TKAn3ulmEKTHu2_A1Bg0q_AOG-7wIA3eyJ9V1Q1kQVPJcSYAnKGNJ5tGFcllMPRrR-VYs2HLl0dKXkKITPr3IgnD0Q8KjqXryvh8E8tN/s320/P2240020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset! The tower on the left is the Montjuic Telecommunications Tower </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9Jkb-5bB34Jol9NPx2z2Kh-dNJbuskSUBBvH2em3vq1snWWwVgaTI0UjdAxrT8h3iEYQZXfIVhD0kVCQ_MXkXrBXtu_DDgv2vL37JjECrgdAWHmPIeSh5tiEpr6ny8Ob_wIAHozb3lvY/s1600/P2240048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9Jkb-5bB34Jol9NPx2z2Kh-dNJbuskSUBBvH2em3vq1snWWwVgaTI0UjdAxrT8h3iEYQZXfIVhD0kVCQ_MXkXrBXtu_DDgv2vL37JjECrgdAWHmPIeSh5tiEpr6ny8Ob_wIAHozb3lvY/s320/P2240048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one of manyyy of the fountain pictures.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Saturday, we went to La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. But we'll start with La Sagrada Familia, tied for number one with La Font Magica. I knew coming into this trip that La Sagrada Familia would be the main attraction for me since I've been there before. It is a church that has been in construction in 1882 and is expected to be finished in 2026 and is designed by Gaudi. The stain glass and architecture in the church, as cliché as it sounds, literally takes my breath away. I was a major nerd this time and got one of the audio guides, but it was well worth the €3.50. It explained everything in the church and let me tell you, everything possible has meaning and most of it relates back to nature. There are going to be three facades. The Passion façade is done which represents the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It’s been done since 1986. The Nativity façade is all about the birth of Jesus and the main events in the lives of the Holy Family. The final one, the Glory façade is still to be built. It will be the main façade of the church. We took the lift up to the top and got another amazing view. Then we took this spiral staircase down the tower which had no railing. Even I was feeling a bit uneasy. My mom and friend Natalie would not have done it for about anything.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uFOaqs08PySCuIkBysMx8qpcZxRad_rt3u7O5DqVdD8_PIAstZykaX5B-VT-k-i1jjYYN9D-VAoe6nWXRo7gJffuyiJz-s545K9zIkn-GEnXkPID0s9xtDhGF4TysWv7zRL3qsoF70FE/s1600/P2250032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uFOaqs08PySCuIkBysMx8qpcZxRad_rt3u7O5DqVdD8_PIAstZykaX5B-VT-k-i1jjYYN9D-VAoe6nWXRo7gJffuyiJz-s545K9zIkn-GEnXkPID0s9xtDhGF4TysWv7zRL3qsoF70FE/s320/P2250032.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nativity Facade</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNTIT2Pq7Il2YsVtNTI1DKZgkfL8TWrxMYjGp7ElL7reZIlG-6ndBULhbuuZ3WZKLfYMK7D4KvRXE-lv2tPrE4vFijoz7oIPWjI19mbjHtN4bR2fCAZfrh8jngTxTxYQMJrChEYw91NCt/s1600/P2250019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNTIT2Pq7Il2YsVtNTI1DKZgkfL8TWrxMYjGp7ElL7reZIlG-6ndBULhbuuZ3WZKLfYMK7D4KvRXE-lv2tPrE4vFijoz7oIPWjI19mbjHtN4bR2fCAZfrh8jngTxTxYQMJrChEYw91NCt/s320/P2250019.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passion Facade, artistically the opposite of the Nativity Facade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDbXrBJaGmbId3SR4D7rrkz1304sd4MFdR58rn5KWzA5NXEC1wD4BDfBbf-HcBdpzNWXcW01T5OzMZnHp4yOOYIQdPHo9WuQ124IiaCMFVUHozeO2YmsEAjljRV3HG4A7dwdruG6RdNk4/s1600/P2250023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDbXrBJaGmbId3SR4D7rrkz1304sd4MFdR58rn5KWzA5NXEC1wD4BDfBbf-HcBdpzNWXcW01T5OzMZnHp4yOOYIQdPHo9WuQ124IiaCMFVUHozeO2YmsEAjljRV3HG4A7dwdruG6RdNk4/s320/P2250023.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbNf4QSREy9jVV8csIm7TAd6VU6GUhrHRwM6gH7xvfwOLqDEtC7kNlLQQvH68NNQuYR9vO6pP-qneYU2ypicObt4wlOwjbj0SHwD5-_nfgg1lHaDpHyrlvd6lp_UPBuMEPBj-wJWvlEYB/s1600/P2250045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbNf4QSREy9jVV8csIm7TAd6VU6GUhrHRwM6gH7xvfwOLqDEtC7kNlLQQvH68NNQuYR9vO6pP-qneYU2ypicObt4wlOwjbj0SHwD5-_nfgg1lHaDpHyrlvd6lp_UPBuMEPBj-wJWvlEYB/s320/P2250045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnffvuLkXdEdJYlqG-P1n5twO5uSX2sx2if_2CvBItpVWZKfRygDWQ2tWBdekiBLt5ysrPaby_I_RyBtofnF3IHipDApnTaFKB-So3Zl-VwMq7zM7Yd9y-V2HiTbBOySjz9fe-AI3yRkCp/s1600/P2250051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnffvuLkXdEdJYlqG-P1n5twO5uSX2sx2if_2CvBItpVWZKfRygDWQ2tWBdekiBLt5ysrPaby_I_RyBtofnF3IHipDApnTaFKB-So3Zl-VwMq7zM7Yd9y-V2HiTbBOySjz9fe-AI3yRkCp/s320/P2250051.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, so many pictures of stain glass</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdcR8_WiHkKIwJFl01-hLxCVxL7XxgJnprjKtErozfUQLXbI8y94Vn4s21L0aNCMkPI5ly_132vBC4Zha7BUhxFAjGDJDAGeGlqfGiByW3Tbl6wqxk20MmztqG5acmmh-WL8BKtCDtlVo/s1600/P2250046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdcR8_WiHkKIwJFl01-hLxCVxL7XxgJnprjKtErozfUQLXbI8y94Vn4s21L0aNCMkPI5ly_132vBC4Zha7BUhxFAjGDJDAGeGlqfGiByW3Tbl6wqxk20MmztqG5acmmh-WL8BKtCDtlVo/s320/P2250046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obsession.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-cVffJcz9gaBrvzehyYMKBT-e83-iaF2aOya17jlGWlcSg-DTQ0cZieCb9zxXjgjT3472o2MAumcKV-IcjzWgkA_4k5dvB6iLDvhd8C9tBB4QGNnci9h5tzqXlPGhun9sZI-lLWpfQzO/s1600/P2250056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-cVffJcz9gaBrvzehyYMKBT-e83-iaF2aOya17jlGWlcSg-DTQ0cZieCb9zxXjgjT3472o2MAumcKV-IcjzWgkA_4k5dvB6iLDvhd8C9tBB4QGNnci9h5tzqXlPGhun9sZI-lLWpfQzO/s320/P2250056.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Montjuic Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikn1XKZwEB60598eLzNz-5OpkJZ6DVPoHMt12ha4SsuVsHrkOOeq0zc1C8qYFL0UKGAuZPXJ7rZCf2zqzvy6wQHGv-o6CDD68CJKywNlraZp7So47jRQQV5xVTBIgAk0jGU7uz1O_OK1iS/s1600/P2250067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikn1XKZwEB60598eLzNz-5OpkJZ6DVPoHMt12ha4SsuVsHrkOOeq0zc1C8qYFL0UKGAuZPXJ7rZCf2zqzvy6wQHGv-o6CDD68CJKywNlraZp7So47jRQQV5xVTBIgAk0jGU7uz1O_OK1iS/s320/P2250067.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't really tell, but the sea is there behind all the buildings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
To end the day, we went to Parc Guell which was completely designed by, you guessed it, Gaudi. This is another place that I've been to, but in high school we went through the park pretty quick if I remember. There is a lot of neat, different architecture and at the highest point, el Turo de Les Tres Creus, we had another pretty view. Would have been a very nice place to watch the sunset had it not been so overcast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurfB17gGWheI-K0_xKzviPy1PeuWwmnTAexrLmz4EianveVlEiyDx9ES4WzS24HjWzYgpJbgT6jCK6k0EdyzjFpVuCBfL1fvScKCVgAYMGVX3aokNDgaXe_pFLf9vepLHsmuOwdhYYW5C/s1600/P2250077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurfB17gGWheI-K0_xKzviPy1PeuWwmnTAexrLmz4EianveVlEiyDx9ES4WzS24HjWzYgpJbgT6jCK6k0EdyzjFpVuCBfL1fvScKCVgAYMGVX3aokNDgaXe_pFLf9vepLHsmuOwdhYYW5C/s320/P2250077.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty sure I'm sitting in a similar spot in our class picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHf8AhsiZ1_YIGxPtSZ0nObrJS8MF3caSFivmOHIZ4hFRi3h0l9FgjxSFGk7vbaGBXH-V6CBRaMkMX0EwsjQQhNrujdfB9TWl74UcRc7LVsDCFN_jQVuUQh-zHAe7pbHJz6dVYRkJlEHy5/s1600/P2250096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHf8AhsiZ1_YIGxPtSZ0nObrJS8MF3caSFivmOHIZ4hFRi3h0l9FgjxSFGk7vbaGBXH-V6CBRaMkMX0EwsjQQhNrujdfB9TWl74UcRc7LVsDCFN_jQVuUQh-zHAe7pbHJz6dVYRkJlEHy5/s320/P2250096.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica and I in a random area.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACGZ30JJAO6fff8vPX8LAy7h80QJEQFnmHkctLGh2xIMb5qtslKABaJXehKzZ1Z2-RAUwGbxiIz3k5mceYO7SAKUepC4J4dxI04BmCdPSM5xAIIcErSUgmry5EAmbGJ2P2dGetovJVzVq/s1600/P2250079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACGZ30JJAO6fff8vPX8LAy7h80QJEQFnmHkctLGh2xIMb5qtslKABaJXehKzZ1Z2-RAUwGbxiIz3k5mceYO7SAKUepC4J4dxI04BmCdPSM5xAIIcErSUgmry5EAmbGJ2P2dGetovJVzVq/s320/P2250079.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hall of On Hundred Columns</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBUVBKzj9nscciJAOcaUc8Twthc7ilXjYzqCceUsAeAdVf59p1usYCGtjDTQ_R5ZvOnSJk1I0yEIRiVU89bwuDI93JTaD8dmpFqfrinrzUs2qC9iSvaqVdYpxdgDdXnJ7dcBGYNlbbDb5/s1600/P2250088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBUVBKzj9nscciJAOcaUc8Twthc7ilXjYzqCceUsAeAdVf59p1usYCGtjDTQ_R5ZvOnSJk1I0yEIRiVU89bwuDI93JTaD8dmpFqfrinrzUs2qC9iSvaqVdYpxdgDdXnJ7dcBGYNlbbDb5/s320/P2250088.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Placa de la Nautralesa</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FbZjYpOHexX7GLmloKRo0Lrzj3b2ywQvIX29nEzg7473SqN0UnvJIltacWePkDJhbyjvVIAkOfVOMm_ZG3hl9VkReCXQuj6r0YoY2DxM2t17PbFFpIWexntLJxHCBtL1_8uTpEbELgEA/s1600/P2250087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FbZjYpOHexX7GLmloKRo0Lrzj3b2ywQvIX29nEzg7473SqN0UnvJIltacWePkDJhbyjvVIAkOfVOMm_ZG3hl9VkReCXQuj6r0YoY2DxM2t17PbFFpIWexntLJxHCBtL1_8uTpEbELgEA/s320/P2250087.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the bench. The entrance to the part is where the tower is.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3EHwsVabLJ9FLzVQvMkBJy3DoM_PB0bp9xC_UIMHLbbc9bEvKJsH9TbN8w4uuu68fk9rf5FrFQxsguCVbYh7oHEG44IPyYeMZ_4qrm7E2pIDElUzpZZC6j8neiILvRemf0kckNqkHTVl/s1600/P2250113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3EHwsVabLJ9FLzVQvMkBJy3DoM_PB0bp9xC_UIMHLbbc9bEvKJsH9TbN8w4uuu68fk9rf5FrFQxsguCVbYh7oHEG44IPyYeMZ_4qrm7E2pIDElUzpZZC6j8neiILvRemf0kckNqkHTVl/s320/P2250113.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On el Turo de Les Tres Creus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As if we hadn't seen enough, on Sunday we went back to the Olympic Stadium so we could actually go inside it. We also went to the National Art Museum of Catalonia where we saw a lot of neat art, mostly by artists I had never heard of. The building itself was gorgeous.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtlMEFkLw7PaxBmLl9Tvp5kBpGXmkmdaYsIUzUj_r0syD47VB8cmTkh057GeAS3bmDf5VqsiLmPoNnK2-1VNnsilqELN5T2q562jhXgjvDgST5enrOAhHPHFmzIdCJw5adkqgcIaIh0Vn/s1600/P2260118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtlMEFkLw7PaxBmLl9Tvp5kBpGXmkmdaYsIUzUj_r0syD47VB8cmTkh057GeAS3bmDf5VqsiLmPoNnK2-1VNnsilqELN5T2q562jhXgjvDgST5enrOAhHPHFmzIdCJw5adkqgcIaIh0Vn/s320/P2260118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the stadium!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHadiVWPRsVkz_S2fDIe2euhK7Rg4MYtByTlFC9ezm5pYBEK9iPcnudzv3vPrsD-PZgZQVClOqdA3TlN92AuSPoFezLMhgKvKfpg31CPCK1CHUH0j9c5D3dDbfE_HO0J2_mgyn6xZUWb-n/s1600/P2260121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHadiVWPRsVkz_S2fDIe2euhK7Rg4MYtByTlFC9ezm5pYBEK9iPcnudzv3vPrsD-PZgZQVClOqdA3TlN92AuSPoFezLMhgKvKfpg31CPCK1CHUH0j9c5D3dDbfE_HO0J2_mgyn6xZUWb-n/s320/P2260121.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily and I right outside of it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-W3HxcQeF_aq0V44yS7Cb3EWfqX3KJntNld7xcZpRKKwnl0ghex1tUezTw6r-KW_Nzf3L197x8yBu0Cz6QI_JroNZNkNdQZ8uERH-nxO2wCUxA6uKhrbRV5XsobBvNW4EHssa2yAdgLe/s1600/P2260155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-W3HxcQeF_aq0V44yS7Cb3EWfqX3KJntNld7xcZpRKKwnl0ghex1tUezTw6r-KW_Nzf3L197x8yBu0Cz6QI_JroNZNkNdQZ8uERH-nxO2wCUxA6uKhrbRV5XsobBvNW4EHssa2yAdgLe/s320/P2260155.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Art Museum. Gorgeous</td></tr>
</tbody></table>To end our trip, we spent the afternoon walking on Las Ramblas some more, checking out the jewelry fair that was going on, and giving our feet a rest. My feet definitely hated me by the end of the weekend, but it was well worth it!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-39897974543974375632011-02-21T00:08:00.000+01:002011-02-21T00:08:36.416+01:00A un euro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBfeC3i4lIBaRz4M0pPY1G6fzNzZEOUn8KFKzyB142y6Dq_HBk4D9xmR1rzaX5iraDgicWItIIuDJZeAAerqgH8rx7C9reHFbY-RtDhgUeh33hwXM3f-qlOFRz_zfibwEZjw8qy6aaKPB/s1600/P2150013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBfeC3i4lIBaRz4M0pPY1G6fzNzZEOUn8KFKzyB142y6Dq_HBk4D9xmR1rzaX5iraDgicWItIIuDJZeAAerqgH8rx7C9reHFbY-RtDhgUeh33hwXM3f-qlOFRz_zfibwEZjw8qy6aaKPB/s320/P2150013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huevos redondos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This weekend was pretty uneventful, although I thought it was going to be a weekend that was too full. On Wednesday I, along with eight other people in my program, went to someone's house (Ana) for a cooking class. We learned how to make lentejas (lentils, so I've made those before or at least ate them before via my roommate Calli) and huevos redondos, which are hardboiled egg whites filled with a tuna, tomato sauce, and yolk mix and then top it off with some mayo and a sprinkle of the extra yolk. It was all pretty good, but I'm not sure it will be something I make in the future (we all know how much I love yolk haha).<br />
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However, other food that my family has made this week has been awesome. Pepe, my host dad, made chicken wings the other night which were almost better than BW's. No sauce, but if there had been, it may have just won that contest. We also had a lot of eggs this week of different kinds which have all been very good. And last night, I had one of the best hamburgers ever. There were eggs on it also, so it reminded me of the Old Fashioned House burger. Yumm. We always have soup before our main part of dinner, and it's always so so good. Might be my favorite thing here.<br />
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On Friday, a few of us had planned on going to city about 75 minutes away called Jerez, but due to us not getting everything sorted out, we decided to go Saturday. However, Saturday came around and we went to the bus station a little after 10:30 thinking the bus left at 10:45am (as it had said on the website), but really the bus had left 2 minutes before AT 10:30. That was a major bummer seeing as though we had had reservations for a 2pm tour and the next bus didn't leave until 1, so we wouldn't have made it. <br />
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On Friday, though instead of Jerez, I went to the Torre del Oro. This was a watchtower way back in the day that was built in the 13th century. They restored it and made it into a naval museum with lots of replicas of ships and other historic artifacts and documents. It has some very pretty views from the top as well. It was such a nice day and after all the rain we've had, it was exactly what we needed to brighten our moods.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaHJzzrTovOcqV_zCb9fnZPCp6EqW-VsxS1Bq1JNwPk43bft2BzGpk7FsK4LWpupU6kbBkpGjCOLVFiaN2EM4SmXGUqPGnrvBy7Hnf14LjGPtAIKNhyphenhyphennfp9OK3KjKkqv0mN38djCNXXFZ/s1600/P2170021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaHJzzrTovOcqV_zCb9fnZPCp6EqW-VsxS1Bq1JNwPk43bft2BzGpk7FsK4LWpupU6kbBkpGjCOLVFiaN2EM4SmXGUqPGnrvBy7Hnf14LjGPtAIKNhyphenhyphennfp9OK3KjKkqv0mN38djCNXXFZ/s320/P2170021.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torre del Oro</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_xrLbXNNfFZCXDcj-kxS22zWoqDj4KvsNf6_6NxtSIcliEYpO1ZYvM4z185J7Mj6btRN4Y9vatrcNSmzrR29rYTvBe7CHn-BQ9PLswuSjVtlt5zfu0WVuveoQkUjhY_JjSsDcgnQH7ef/s1600/P2170033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_xrLbXNNfFZCXDcj-kxS22zWoqDj4KvsNf6_6NxtSIcliEYpO1ZYvM4z185J7Mj6btRN4Y9vatrcNSmzrR29rYTvBe7CHn-BQ9PLswuSjVtlt5zfu0WVuveoQkUjhY_JjSsDcgnQH7ef/s320/P2170033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catedral from the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGh2ns-fh9mfR_iungSuKE9uUjHnZqWI-L_fmpY4xvcWuLj-R0NM2ryoxzVt8_DQC75JjNd7PcyKE3SMvUsRKUX_ZJ770iOvH-WSyUZtC4QQZp7c6jdRF67yyEUeHzURX53OF-o9oMCrHs/s1600/P2170035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGh2ns-fh9mfR_iungSuKE9uUjHnZqWI-L_fmpY4xvcWuLj-R0NM2ryoxzVt8_DQC75JjNd7PcyKE3SMvUsRKUX_ZJ770iOvH-WSyUZtC4QQZp7c6jdRF67yyEUeHzURX53OF-o9oMCrHs/s320/P2170035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyHPIJplChm7Hq7lRMzKfAkz9nz2s8YLBz5kUGSKjsgkJnkJ7j-ooqLqcJOlBXoq7guRhEPL6iZK2HblXojUig933oQl1_G_6jWCjIjn0G_8to2262SQPni6FAxY04nAoirFUD9i37TqV/s1600/P2170041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyHPIJplChm7Hq7lRMzKfAkz9nz2s8YLBz5kUGSKjsgkJnkJ7j-ooqLqcJOlBXoq7guRhEPL6iZK2HblXojUig933oQl1_G_6jWCjIjn0G_8to2262SQPni6FAxY04nAoirFUD9i37TqV/s320/P2170041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would be a jawbone of a whale that was in the museum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Saturday I hung out with Pili my host mom and Paula the 10 year old. Watching Paula just hang out, finding things to do that don't always include the computer or a television made me realize how much imagination kids have and how I would love to go back to being 10 again for a day, concocting science experiments, making up plays to put on, things like that. Technology may be good, but it sucks up so much time and does start to limit our imagination I feel. <br />
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Today I went to a market with Pili and her mom. It was crazy. Anything you could have wanted besides furniture was there. I really mean everything. I could probably buy everything I needed for my future home besides furniture and be set to go. That includes clothes for anyone of any age and dishes and fabric and fresh fruits and veggies. Everything. After going, I will have the phrase "A un euro" sounding through my dreams. It means that whatever that person was selling cost one euro. And many things were only one euro.<br />
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After the market, we helped one of Pili's friends move, a mom that I've met multiple times before since her kids are friends with Paula. When we were done with the load, we went and had a cervesa outside since it was a pretty warm day.<br />
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Now, I just have to get a bit of homework done and the new week will start up again. Classes are still going fine. I have a feeling this is going to be a decently easy semester but also maybe a bit boring (the business classes will be that is). That is a good thing since I'm going to be traveling a lot. This Thursday night I leave for Barcelona for the weekend, and since we have our tickets and hostal set, nothing will change with those plans. I'm ready for a full, fun weekend!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-26450398337659477522011-02-15T16:16:00.002+01:002011-02-15T16:19:54.796+01:00Rain Rain Go Away!Well, I had quite the busy weekend. It's good to be busy though, and everything we did was well worth it. On Friday we went to las Ruinas Romanas de Italica. It was a roman city founded in 206 B.C. by soldiers who used it as a place to take their wounded during the Second Punic War (Spanish 223 really kicking in). It's where the Roman emperor Trajano (or Trajan in English) was born so there is a statue of him among all the ruins. We saw where residential buildings were, saw how they got their water from the Guadalquivir River (which was decently far away), and saw the amphitheater where gladiators fought. And the mosaics found throughout the ruins were beautiful.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUp3zxfI2FNQtt1OAgG7wataIhyphenhyphen5BQ2Culj6br7qfOzJyVeTwCmJzlVVC33EB8Sw9wo8TJbupLBP1452JE3q0253GWZ0k4PWM_-V8yxwW-dRut7O3QwOW_qcHjjZMlVj4_vHZUiyFTsX2F/s1600/P2100035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUp3zxfI2FNQtt1OAgG7wataIhyphenhyphen5BQ2Culj6br7qfOzJyVeTwCmJzlVVC33EB8Sw9wo8TJbupLBP1452JE3q0253GWZ0k4PWM_-V8yxwW-dRut7O3QwOW_qcHjjZMlVj4_vHZUiyFTsX2F/s320/P2100035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGzorrl5pFud73dsa6nskTi79XizqaYV02by9K7Dve2aFJID8gAJUyiFyKlAdSQhgr1H8qQgKgIAtw4h6UCrBr_U-c5VMOLjGUpygB5rWUwvEw8EFqDHhGJhTyh1ORwFE5l4osh2FKsDn/s1600/P2100016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGzorrl5pFud73dsa6nskTi79XizqaYV02by9K7Dve2aFJID8gAJUyiFyKlAdSQhgr1H8qQgKgIAtw4h6UCrBr_U-c5VMOLjGUpygB5rWUwvEw8EFqDHhGJhTyh1ORwFE5l4osh2FKsDn/s320/P2100016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic to honor Hercules</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amphitheater</td></tr>
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That afternoon, Maria (my 21 year old host sister) and I met Pili (my host mom) at the park where she goes every Friday with other moms. All the kids were running around while they talked, and I could keep up pretty well with the conversation. One thing they talked about for a while was the smoking ban in public places which began in January. Everyone here that I've met smokes, so it was interesting to see what they all thought of it (there were some who thought it was a good thing, but definitely not the majority). I also found out that it costs 800 euros to get a driver's license! That's $1,075!! Maria was shocked that it cost practically nothing in the States to get one.<br />
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On Saturday we went to Cadiz which is a city more southern and is basically a peninsula. It is right where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, or so we were told. It is also the oldest city in Andalucia and possibly in all of Southwestern Europe. The city is split in two sections: the new and the old. La Puerta Tierra, a huge wall, separates the two and is the reason why Cadiz was able to survive during many wars. Now you drive underneath it to enter the Old City. We spent our whole day there.<br />
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Our tour included seeing many historic sites including:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGvBHx7UAQdLwR2fgaQAHcCfp8FCpPEBwD4q8VyRSAgnWqnc_Or9vJ2yOVNrrYnPKh6w-Vmwj88uxlDFoQ6DWldqmnXhzvKUkrI2XSP8L9fyrHRszmVrItSz365yri_60O4bkKQ6mG6AR/s1600/P2110009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGvBHx7UAQdLwR2fgaQAHcCfp8FCpPEBwD4q8VyRSAgnWqnc_Or9vJ2yOVNrrYnPKh6w-Vmwj88uxlDFoQ6DWldqmnXhzvKUkrI2XSP8L9fyrHRszmVrItSz365yri_60O4bkKQ6mG6AR/s320/P2110009.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de Espana. This is the Monument to the Constitution of 1812, where Spain's constitution was originally signed.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de San Antonio where the Constitution was actually signed. This church was built in 1669.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cathedral. Beautiful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got to walk up one of the towers and see an amazing view of the city.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrLu8wFoWIT6vlaNtFAkn2sZhBtidkIE3OegvaLvk3fNlsmyXvTu8Pgm42jX30kjUs14aMjSEBbTl6usFVFD0MzMRktTYcGHIP5aGhZPtEJcWnE_tlglBB5BKOITqVIdCs_iXzX-kdb4y/s1600/P2110041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrLu8wFoWIT6vlaNtFAkn2sZhBtidkIE3OegvaLvk3fNlsmyXvTu8Pgm42jX30kjUs14aMjSEBbTl6usFVFD0MzMRktTYcGHIP5aGhZPtEJcWnE_tlglBB5BKOITqVIdCs_iXzX-kdb4y/s320/P2110041.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>After the tour, we had about 2 hours of free time. So, naturally, we went to the beach. It was probably about 75 degrees. Too bad we didn't have our swimsuits.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fBCzCGCl-0WulxSExDXkGRWPuNPlPHdIp0F3p_p0G-uAAVNzy1mMQs87pc29QDx9G8dz9JmeTeRKy2G9_8MJLMql9x2Aw23SE4fKNCwNa-N2jptdQxo-OQ4mUIFGdsZ9UWndi1K7sWIO/s1600/P2110071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fBCzCGCl-0WulxSExDXkGRWPuNPlPHdIp0F3p_p0G-uAAVNzy1mMQs87pc29QDx9G8dz9JmeTeRKy2G9_8MJLMql9x2Aw23SE4fKNCwNa-N2jptdQxo-OQ4mUIFGdsZ9UWndi1K7sWIO/s320/P2110071.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love love love.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcSgH6SXBRzKaHskoLmvcwI8OyuIEYuqn1w18uVh07yFCvjfqNQh_n6rMb3MH91xtCmgXZ9SlSWnUDJOr29Ir_UlINP_sIH_k8-cigYUX7aYypYmRnesVIkVcVTXDEKvAbialL9mVrYl3/s1600/P2110059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcSgH6SXBRzKaHskoLmvcwI8OyuIEYuqn1w18uVh07yFCvjfqNQh_n6rMb3MH91xtCmgXZ9SlSWnUDJOr29Ir_UlINP_sIH_k8-cigYUX7aYypYmRnesVIkVcVTXDEKvAbialL9mVrYl3/s320/P2110059.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh just a bunch of cats. There were many gangs of about 12 cats all over the rocks, just enjoying the sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wishing I had my swimsuit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWvcPtvDUgGzIeF4dv2Lnxpf9MwGMLlSlrfhUAUaz6yckWCmw8M2HtIRfD3AY0elDcshtWi4GWHIGvv1SdWNziK3yNeO6aMlLcyoAz8gb4ViqFRd4sQ9XlKZf65DcdM_5E170YczgUB35/s1600/P2110080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWvcPtvDUgGzIeF4dv2Lnxpf9MwGMLlSlrfhUAUaz6yckWCmw8M2HtIRfD3AY0elDcshtWi4GWHIGvv1SdWNziK3yNeO6aMlLcyoAz8gb4ViqFRd4sQ9XlKZf65DcdM_5E170YczgUB35/s320/P2110080.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There wasn't a lot of sand on the beach, but tiny tiny rocks and shells that were actually really comfortable.</td></tr>
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</a></div>All in all, it was a very good weekend. Had all of Sunday to relax and do some homework. The past two days, however, it has been raining and should continue to for a few more days, so we'll see if I end up going to Chipionas with my family where they have a beach house. It's very close to Cadiz. Oh, I also booked flights to Paris and Prague this past week and solidified my plans for Barcelona and Portugal. Almost all booked up for the whole semester!<br />
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Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. My mom sent me a package with sugar cookies (which my family has never had and is now obsessed with) and conversation hearts, so I was not without. Also, Grandma and Grandpa, I got your card and although you had no idea what the Spanish said, you were right in that it was very nice!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-74897088445882814972011-02-09T19:39:00.000+01:002011-02-09T19:39:46.388+01:00There’s a Granada in Nicaragua?This past weekend, I have found that success comes in many forms. The success of this trip/weekend started with my mishap of buying the wrong bus ticket last week and successfully getting a refund and ended when we watched the Packers successfully take the Lombardi trophy back to TitleTown at 5am Spain time. In between there were many more successes. Starting with finding a hostel at 9pm in Granada after realizing we had booked one in Nicaragua. And after finding that every other hostel in my travel guide was booked.<br />
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It ended up being a decent place to stay. It was a very nice older couple, and there were four of us so we were able to get a room only for us instead of sharing with other random people. After feeling secure enough to have a good laugh about what had just happened, we got ourselves ready for a night of tapas and dancing. From what I can tell, the tapas in Granada (the one in Spain that is) have been much better than the ones in Sevilla. And you get them for free with every round of drinks. After fully satisfying our appetites, we made our way to a club where we were the only Americans. I have to say, it has so far been the most fun night I've had here. Although I like everyone in my program, going out with a group of 25+ Americans can make it hard to talk with native speakers since we're probably pretty intimidating being the loud English speakers that we are, so it was nice to be able to actually talk with native speakers and test out our Spanish. <br />
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Then next morning we had tickets to the Alhambra. Unfortunately, we had only gotten tickets for the gardens, not the whole palace, but what we did see was beautiful. I feel that I will definitely be going back there, especially since I have the excuse of not seeing the whole thing. However, I did get to see a friend from home who has been in Madrid all year (Sam Fricker for those of you who know him!). We didn’t know that we were going to be in the same city, so it was really fun.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQ9-pUzMrsyhBWfYudQ4BTkIjrKvsH_ov1eAdMivYhNDAFgsdxNk3D89UHKagpe03tccNJ-Hdb7jLYZI-iVMgVjZ4s1J8jrGd7lvCKkQxugcsF6JoPadwMRKmaWCuLuPQMM1sSLyOE7KU/s1600/P2040039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQ9-pUzMrsyhBWfYudQ4BTkIjrKvsH_ov1eAdMivYhNDAFgsdxNk3D89UHKagpe03tccNJ-Hdb7jLYZI-iVMgVjZ4s1J8jrGd7lvCKkQxugcsF6JoPadwMRKmaWCuLuPQMM1sSLyOE7KU/s320/P2040039.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and I!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGs5nW8vOD34qqyvhIEL3o4iGpd-pTFRgH9nXrTVXhJo6AY1UVJpaVgkGWUjUHSSl2KEo8zsozpc2G43uf7LJ_E9xRucpC55N8qXoqbwa1mV2IKCFWenoP1O6-l3AeVvQUBEMJgxxyjgF/s1600/P2040040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGs5nW8vOD34qqyvhIEL3o4iGpd-pTFRgH9nXrTVXhJo6AY1UVJpaVgkGWUjUHSSl2KEo8zsozpc2G43uf7LJ_E9xRucpC55N8qXoqbwa1mV2IKCFWenoP1O6-l3AeVvQUBEMJgxxyjgF/s320/P2040040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sierra Nevada. Gorgeous.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3vzuhlquPrQdisnMtp2pZHdRe398zpoJZApDQYEfz7xErkLuEuMNSoRhrsYEnWTvSQTs80MCIZb3mTi_3crj-3bZhzSx2r9E1aLJ7BqkrQuuAEgsd6cLSL_UX1IAGyWEqYE9WwbO7ME5/s1600/P2040042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3vzuhlquPrQdisnMtp2pZHdRe398zpoJZApDQYEfz7xErkLuEuMNSoRhrsYEnWTvSQTs80MCIZb3mTi_3crj-3bZhzSx2r9E1aLJ7BqkrQuuAEgsd6cLSL_UX1IAGyWEqYE9WwbO7ME5/s320/P2040042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alison, Emily, Lauren, and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf9NZZPGVf4yn2XyEjUviaxrtc6-mwcHcSrT-ruav9g7BiKXm3ScMgi6NT3dfCrP7nfr0D2TXcAoZjdt6lS-VHKoze5VBnjdKiRELVggYpVklOTrT30umuNliA0jNGcddVnBOFd395Cr1/s1600/P2040043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf9NZZPGVf4yn2XyEjUviaxrtc6-mwcHcSrT-ruav9g7BiKXm3ScMgi6NT3dfCrP7nfr0D2TXcAoZjdt6lS-VHKoze5VBnjdKiRELVggYpVklOTrT30umuNliA0jNGcddVnBOFd395Cr1/s320/P2040043.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granada and part of the Alhambra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslEj7l0q2WZHGAHTJUVsRw6BHuTyl8HNRuCOi01izc99Px8rUqKaln_F0udWz81U74nnSn7YJziL0-h6UBC3cNcaoUdNj5PSI88ndeIUJAqjCq9lZsYrbHnrNI6UY_NyaiqJZoZ0diXz6/s1600/P2040063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslEj7l0q2WZHGAHTJUVsRw6BHuTyl8HNRuCOi01izc99Px8rUqKaln_F0udWz81U74nnSn7YJziL0-h6UBC3cNcaoUdNj5PSI88ndeIUJAqjCq9lZsYrbHnrNI6UY_NyaiqJZoZ0diXz6/s320/P2040063.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Later that day, we found a park and took a very nice nap in the sun. I felt like one of my cats just basking it in. After we finally roused ourselves, we went to the Catedral de Granada that Queen Isabella had constructed, and I was speechless when we walked in. It was huge and made me feel so small. Two of the girls had been in the Catedral in Sevilla and said if I was in awe about this one, I wouldn’t be able to speak for weeks after seeing the one there. Now I’m very excited to go see it. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjq2LnHamdBasxkIGk3qFng-nbMgweCFOB1dtGVfsaQds3I60sxgeZbsFHBbtDKyjEXtCdEhpb6xbgbXFIQdp_W6lFvnZsN-qosuube_0nROF5MguHVVKR1TgH3JJjmt-nprUcBEx4Tsv/s1600/P2040082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjq2LnHamdBasxkIGk3qFng-nbMgweCFOB1dtGVfsaQds3I60sxgeZbsFHBbtDKyjEXtCdEhpb6xbgbXFIQdp_W6lFvnZsN-qosuube_0nROF5MguHVVKR1TgH3JJjmt-nprUcBEx4Tsv/s320/P2040082.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBUQRAWUiZD7oBepOXcfngzkj7iYagY2lL_0km4B589TrkuouaYb1AIQWmL-xNbQMnSyL1YUcDVxxkOYheQjVacbuysJiLq7UtTRqCBxt2Mt1rM0NROb4qqow_kKoABcfq2ZthinIbZyo/s1600/P2040085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBUQRAWUiZD7oBepOXcfngzkj7iYagY2lL_0km4B589TrkuouaYb1AIQWmL-xNbQMnSyL1YUcDVxxkOYheQjVacbuysJiLq7UtTRqCBxt2Mt1rM0NROb4qqow_kKoABcfq2ZthinIbZyo/s320/P2040085.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>That night we met up with Sam and his friends again and went to a few tapas bars. Really really good food. We then went to a cave bar called Camborio which was a lot of fun. The upstairs, basically on top of the cave, had a glassed in area with dancing and the downstairs was the cave and had more regional music. The next morning we went to la Capilla Real which is where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand are buried. We got to see their coffins as well as her crown and scepter and his sword. I’m sort of a sucker for that type of stuff, so I loved it. (No pictures allowed!) We spent the rest of the day walking around the city, soaking it all in. The bus was, again, easy to take home, and when I actually got back to my house, I walked in to find a yellow lab that is 8 months old! Maria got him on Saturday so we now have a puppy running around. It’s nice to be able to get my animal fix ☺<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7DSoOnvtGaEou4a2FARWLtEx_VjCEYeHUsXx5x9O_kilO_5Lgk9bPrP-af9caJUgzeHg28JpirJvl1NDgGOgu0ublWptKQgOthh191li9LM-OBcUTcPwO5tT0WmJLMM9bbiROMZ9lxq_/s1600/P2070003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7DSoOnvtGaEou4a2FARWLtEx_VjCEYeHUsXx5x9O_kilO_5Lgk9bPrP-af9caJUgzeHg28JpirJvl1NDgGOgu0ublWptKQgOthh191li9LM-OBcUTcPwO5tT0WmJLMM9bbiROMZ9lxq_/s320/P2070003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iker!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7DSoOnvtGaEou4a2FARWLtEx_VjCEYeHUsXx5x9O_kilO_5Lgk9bPrP-af9caJUgzeHg28JpirJvl1NDgGOgu0ublWptKQgOthh191li9LM-OBcUTcPwO5tT0WmJLMM9bbiROMZ9lxq_/s1600/P2070003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Then, the Super Bowl. Although I am loving my time here (and not homesick at all yet…shocker), I would have done anything to teleport back to Wisconsin that day/night. We watched the game in the bar we had reserved and it ended at about 4am our time so we had to leave right away since it was a Sunday night/Monday morning. We had fun, but people here just don’t understand how much winning the Super Bowl means, so in reality, it didn’t feel much like the Super Bowl.<br />
<br />
I’ve now had all of my classes. I’m taking two Spanish classes and two Business classes, but they’re all conducted in Spanish. The first is a Spanish phonetics class which I think will be very interesting, and the Professor seems really nice and had been teaching Americans for 20 years so he's easy to understand. The second Spanish class is a translating class, which I didn’t even realize I had signed up for. I already do some translating for emails that go back and forth between my church and El Salvador and I love it but had never really thought about that as an actual job after I graduate. I’d be an insane amount of work, but something to think about… <br />
<br />
My first business class is Managing Cultural Diversity. We were only there for about 20 minutes and the professor didn’t seem very prepared, but I’m interested in the subject matter so I think I’ll still enjoy the class. The final class is European Economy, the one I was most worried about since I know hardly anything about it, but my professor seems really fun and into what he teaches which always makes the class better.<br />
<br />
Since I have class starting at 1pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, I’ve decided that I need to get up early(ish) and go see places in Sevilla. Planning trips elsewhere has been time consuming and stressful (probably the most stressful part of the trip so far), and last night I realized that I had hardly looked at the section in my travel guide on Sevilla. So today I got up and actually spent some quality time in the Plaza de Espana. The actual building part is government offices, but by the walls around it are all the provinces of Spain. The tile work is gorgeous, and I can’t wait until it’s warm enough for them to turn on the fountain! Oh and George Lucas filmed part of Star Wars: Return of the Clones on the bridges. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkc3e_rTm-_VDbD-FdqAcVZTKzTk4cpZd2EQcEoxGUrblfBA-IsvD1DRsL3O5jCJtV5m6fnmOwFfUkQg8Fgi01jAVuF4rJvt66RbEgyRJIHeOv2n5-QPg2WveZCPb_mWu0GhiSYzWxP-k/s1600/P2080098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkc3e_rTm-_VDbD-FdqAcVZTKzTk4cpZd2EQcEoxGUrblfBA-IsvD1DRsL3O5jCJtV5m6fnmOwFfUkQg8Fgi01jAVuF4rJvt66RbEgyRJIHeOv2n5-QPg2WveZCPb_mWu0GhiSYzWxP-k/s320/P2080098.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torre del sur (and the sign of the mini street it's on)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW2EzD4Eax1GTYlYVnYUbmdYL0po6zGNzzKUrMjk9lj-MuJHpglEMfFKhGfEvgSHW0dq5laS2CRufE-3EsLbRP1pJkDyrpioCzLb4oq9copHARnNWn3DDx2m1kCEjqmSOKNzEpwjZ8XOU/s1600/P2080030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW2EzD4Eax1GTYlYVnYUbmdYL0po6zGNzzKUrMjk9lj-MuJHpglEMfFKhGfEvgSHW0dq5laS2CRufE-3EsLbRP1pJkDyrpioCzLb4oq9copHARnNWn3DDx2m1kCEjqmSOKNzEpwjZ8XOU/s320/P2080030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wishing I had a panoramic camera, but here is part of it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw0o-w5568GAEwreblJTPxMTk2oAGVq-899FnXgeF8kipFN33L2b8VuJVEKZtP84G2atQpUI9ZSUKbH4JeeK8Wh3WjGuw2h-zyrBUrW-gzm-doFJtzHanotlali9SqudLZd8qgWHWcPLi/s1600/P2080034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw0o-w5568GAEwreblJTPxMTk2oAGVq-899FnXgeF8kipFN33L2b8VuJVEKZtP84G2atQpUI9ZSUKbH4JeeK8Wh3WjGuw2h-zyrBUrW-gzm-doFJtzHanotlali9SqudLZd8qgWHWcPLi/s320/P2080034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Center for the inside</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDerLHGrc9Ciju2ZLbflR8t7sxr6W1TelkOQfyS_WQkdlJUse3HOpne46lcW5wLEo173_-SW2j9DAii8_F3tYZkb5wOUGObl_996y94O1iobjamK1kxY70nO0tyz6_4l-TOz4r2rz1L8c1/s1600/P2080042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDerLHGrc9Ciju2ZLbflR8t7sxr6W1TelkOQfyS_WQkdlJUse3HOpne46lcW5wLEo173_-SW2j9DAii8_F3tYZkb5wOUGObl_996y94O1iobjamK1kxY70nO0tyz6_4l-TOz4r2rz1L8c1/s320/P2080042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same area, but from the side.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJ0PoGXp41w8jIlcXUyfudtklDVIpNVq3i-7hzzZIexQt-bzNWiLmXCQHk8MEFu1Ux5C-WQpSeBZX4gq1u0WGojSgdZh9P3RPVmNV8WjgjOVKvAyC4Pi94-sD3C_jY_R-TR3JGFCzfyRu/s1600/P2080048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJ0PoGXp41w8jIlcXUyfudtklDVIpNVq3i-7hzzZIexQt-bzNWiLmXCQHk8MEFu1Ux5C-WQpSeBZX4gq1u0WGojSgdZh9P3RPVmNV8WjgjOVKvAyC4Pi94-sD3C_jY_R-TR3JGFCzfyRu/s320/P2080048.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the little alcoves that surround it where the provinces are named</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPQKMzvSLp31Q6GSWlGAvik50eWZSm4LFHVKUHr-4zPPu9pKVoBf2b5Gx2fAN4JwvdTTphWeU57PjuNTkWUy1QixhKlK4Pmh7AkP-Q3hq8clVPkLrb6Y6sCQDzgioVJit35xmHKshrxDI/s1600/P2080072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPQKMzvSLp31Q6GSWlGAvik50eWZSm4LFHVKUHr-4zPPu9pKVoBf2b5Gx2fAN4JwvdTTphWeU57PjuNTkWUy1QixhKlK4Pmh7AkP-Q3hq8clVPkLrb6Y6sCQDzgioVJit35xmHKshrxDI/s320/P2080072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The center. Soon that fountain will be on!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbzOS25B02VFSQ4tBI20FSiPG3d73N0PuDmJfciDaXYEptBzydD1WqKCTMa6z3Pg4tLEaQCVDmbphc5hMx_dqudcOV0O7t6S0Gs5JMX6o4HkO9k8rAny2vO0MbY28IsN3KEb1u8g1yN4Z/s1600/P2080075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbzOS25B02VFSQ4tBI20FSiPG3d73N0PuDmJfciDaXYEptBzydD1WqKCTMa6z3Pg4tLEaQCVDmbphc5hMx_dqudcOV0O7t6S0Gs5JMX6o4HkO9k8rAny2vO0MbY28IsN3KEb1u8g1yN4Z/s320/P2080075.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hola!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju62Y4yH04TYzdHydISQzbqY5DuhzLPDUdI7t_X6nUtGThaqdBoMRjIWaELbjfiV1Rb3C-WD3PzLAtW17lz-tupnH38Ba5KyOcH_J7zkYRyP_EdPbpUsoP_x_lYtlMdBRvQPvJDl3-GHFZ/s1600/P2080092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju62Y4yH04TYzdHydISQzbqY5DuhzLPDUdI7t_X6nUtGThaqdBoMRjIWaELbjfiV1Rb3C-WD3PzLAtW17lz-tupnH38Ba5KyOcH_J7zkYRyP_EdPbpUsoP_x_lYtlMdBRvQPvJDl3-GHFZ/s320/P2080092.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right before sunset.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>P.S. Sorry this one is so long! I'll try and be better about updating so it isn't a novel!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-23625087426255766122011-02-04T15:46:00.000+01:002011-02-04T15:46:46.630+01:00Intensive Session Complete. Thank the Lord!Finally. Done with that class. It is because of that class that I have been unable to post anything this week. Two papers, a presentation, and an exam along with homework every night has made my last week quite boring. I'd get up, go to class, go for a run some of the days, then do homework and eat dinner. The only variation was on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
Emily and I decided that every week we're going to have what we call Tapas Tuesdays to split up the week a little (since we don't have classes on Friday during the regular session). Tapas are basically a bunch of little appetizers, and you get a lot of them for a group of however many you have. Being American and missing the familiarity of some food, we ended up getting pizza (with pineapple and ham..of course) and cheese fries. And they were delicious.<br />
<br />
Too bad about missing out on that snow day Madison got! But I suppose if I'm in 60 degree weather, you all should get a little love too. Chicago even made the news over here and my family was quite excited to show me that it was on TV. <br />
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Now, I'm leaving to go to Granada...literally meeting Emily to walk to the bus station in 5 minutes. It should be a great time since I was able to talk to a friend who was there last spring about where to go, and the Alhambra is there which I am sooo excited about. As of right now, Google can probably do a better job of explaining what the Alhambra is than I can even though we learned about it in our Spanish history class. After this weekend I'm sure I'll be able to fill you in!! We'll get back from Granada on Sunday at 8:30pm, so plenty of time to make it to our reserved bar by the time the Super Bowl starts...about 12 for us I believe. Then I'll start my regular classes on Monday (at 1pm so I'll still be able to sleep)!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-22416914874461035862011-01-29T19:42:00.001+01:002011-02-01T10:20:10.119+01:00Reembolso Por Favor!I have just accomplished quite the feat: accidently booking a seat on a bus to Granada for tonight (we're going next week) and having to trek over to the bus station and get my £25 refund. But, I'll start where I left off.<br />
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School is really really time consuming. We've had so much work to do over the past few days that I haven't done much else. Our exam yesterday was worth 30% of our grade, but it was also exactly what he showed us as an "example" on Thursday. The only part that I found pretty difficult was the part where we read an article about the economy in Spain and comment on it. I can hardly speak the business language in English let alone in Spanish, so we'll see what comes of that grade.<br />
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I've also realized how different this semester will be in terms of school days. I guess I forgot what it was like to live in a home with a family. You go to school, come home, eat, do homework, and hang out with family. Very different from Madison. And apparently it's also very American to go to cafes with friends to study, something that will also be hard to get used to. Today, however, Emily and I went to a cafe called Coffee Corner to plan out some trips, and it was a really good spot, one we think we will be able to do work and not look like total tourists.<br />
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My mom will be happy to know that I have tried every food that has been put in front of me. We had a type of artichoke soup one night, some spinach thing with garbanzo beans in it last night, and today had two types of fish, both which looked very strange but ended up being pretty good...not to say I want to have that every single night. They're also easing me into it a little, I think, by making mini hot dogs to go with some fried eggs. We had homemade pizza last night that had ham, peperoni, and, believe it or not, mushrooms. Again, not to say I now want mushrooms on my pizza if I were to have the choice, but I can handle it. And bizcocho. Ohh bizcocho, you will be the death of me. It is basically like a sponge cake, but better. <br />
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So, as I said, Emily and I met up today to plan our first trip and look at our calendars in general. We've decided to go to Granada next Friday-Sunday! Using my guidebook, we now have a hostel that is close to the Alhambra, probably the main attraction of Granada. After comparing prices of transportation, we've booked a round trip bus ticket for pretty cheap.<br />
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Then came the mistake. I was plugging in more dates to try and get to a page where I could click on the "See Map" tab to see where we would be dropped in Granada, and somehow I ended up booking a seat for tonight. Major stress factor since that seat was the equivalent of $41 and had already showed up on my online bank account. In my very broken, flustered, Spanish, I called the number provided and they told me I had to go to the bus station I was to be leaving out of. That was a good 40 minute walk away. So, I googled it, wrote down some directions, and headed out (unfortunately having to ditch out on my run). I got there with minor issues, walked up to the window and somehow managed to obtain my reembolso (refund). I didn't say much, mostly just I made a mistake, I don't want this trip, etc, and although I could tell the lady was semi annoyed, I did it. I walked out of there probably the happiest I've been since arriving here.<br />
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On the walk home, I was able to actually enjoy the scenery and the start of the sunset. It was gorgeous. In my agitated state, I had forgot to grab my camera, but now I will never forget it again. It was one of those sunsets that has some clouds (fluffy ones), but not enough to obstruct it. And when I was walking through the park, the buildings that it was reflecting off of were amazing. There will obviously be more sunsets, but this one was pretty perfect and came at the right time. (And I made it home before dark, no worries).<br />
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Today was one of the nicest days we've had weather wise. It's been in the 40s for a while, which I know is nothing compared to the 3 degrees it's been in Madison, but keep in mind that I packed for warmer weather. Today it got up to 58, I believe, and with one of my new coats (I only bought two), I was perfect. All in all, today was quite the day. I know I can get things done when I need to, but I've also realized how little Spanish I actually know. Just another tourist in a gorgeous city. Hopefully, soon, that will start to change.Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-14532462896015348802011-01-25T23:27:00.003+01:002011-01-26T10:59:00.014+01:00Navigation StationSo far the best purchase I have made this trip was a £3 detailed map. The best. I now know how to get to both buildings where I will have class as well as made my way to a few other places without any problems.<br />
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We went to the Alcazar this past weekend, which was amazing. It's the oldest palace still in use and the architecture is so intricate. You can see the differences between what the Moros constructed while they were in power versus the Christians. Definitely took me back to Spanish 223 (history class)! Below is a picture of my friend Emily and I there. I then came back home and ate lunch with my family (and the grandma who had a dog..animal time!) and took a nice siesta. After that, we found an American bar (Texas Lonestar) to watch the Packers!! It was super fun because of the win and because there were so many people from both places which made it exciting. And we had big American burgers. I know it's only been a week, but it was still nice to have. We had to pay £15 in order to reserve our seat for the big game, but I figure it's worth it to know we have a reliable place to go. Plus that comes with a couple of beers and wings.<br />
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We started school yesterday which was kind of a slap back to reality. I think we all kind of forgot that we had to do work along with getting used to a new life and traveling. We have two exams, a 30 minute group presentation, and three activities (each consisting of three interviews with random people and a 600 word write up), and other homework every night. A bit time consuming, but it will count for a 3 credit class! Then last night I had some good family bonding time. We had what is so far my favorite food: tortilla de patatas. I also had tinto verano which I'd had out before but is very good. It's a drink that is half wine half soda. Muy muy muy bien! I showed them pictures of family, friends, Madison, Tosa, El Salvador...basically anything that was on my computer. It was a fun night and made me feel even better about staying here. Then last night I got my first night of 8 hour sleep. I've been pretty jet lagged (and I suppose siestas don't help), so yesterday I let myself be very tired on 4 hours of sleep so I could try and get on track.<br />
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Today was another school day and then when I came home I went for a run with a friend in this huge, beautiful park that is three blocks away. Needless to say, I'll be doing that every day and returning to take pictures of the park itself. It's called Parque de Maria Luisa for those interested in searching it. I helped Paula study for an exam that she has tomorrow. She goes to a bilingual school so she was studying the circulatory system in English. Can't say I could help much with the science part of it, but I was able to quiz her.<br />
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Tomorrow my plan is to do a little bit of shopping before class to get some necessary items. Then I'll have class again, go for a run, and then join up with a group in my neighborhood to go on a tour of our specific neighborhood to see where CVS type stores are along with where to get the best tapas :)<br />
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Here are a few pictures of mi casa!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance, bathroom door directly to left and then kitchen is next, then living room and the others after.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the kitchen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is if you walk into the kitchen and go to the left..the counter to the right is in the previous picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the living room. There is a tv/bookshelf across from the table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right past the living room. My room is to the left, Pili and Pepe's straight ahead, Maria and Paulas to the right (after that dresser..you can't see their door)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy11W4ZIkTduuLyFjNWxkOzJT12JRn3wDQmSSODIi8BrDKXJJu_zei1bqHPpzrqIwQ5xwMhgAWlN_8H5brHEkcZRY01HVWokTjrW2_hVltVMApNa9S0YG90tQr2mTm2sP1bunLk6AfJ1Gy/s1600/P1200024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy11W4ZIkTduuLyFjNWxkOzJT12JRn3wDQmSSODIi8BrDKXJJu_zei1bqHPpzrqIwQ5xwMhgAWlN_8H5brHEkcZRY01HVWokTjrW2_hVltVMApNa9S0YG90tQr2mTm2sP1bunLk6AfJ1Gy/s320/P1200024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My room :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwOa_GyZJiJWR9JWGZ2iTemJkUPbwpyeJCA5UKXOjzDc05ROYbL73loqzWSUdPYZcnsb4N_XWzrgFk7htbTZM4nFLlfGE6dlGlA7O-GFpIw5cuTAMDmcx2Hmjks2kEtWMqLM5i98Z91ix/s1600/P1200027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwOa_GyZJiJWR9JWGZ2iTemJkUPbwpyeJCA5UKXOjzDc05ROYbL73loqzWSUdPYZcnsb4N_XWzrgFk7htbTZM4nFLlfGE6dlGlA7O-GFpIw5cuTAMDmcx2Hmjks2kEtWMqLM5i98Z91ix/s320/P1200027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not huge, but it'll work!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy1cBVfME8YYTwzwkdtHsXgJW7jyFIPpsJTm88MRskAgGMGfVSJT4H-Ud3F80fzVtdG2RZ3z6yVlnsA-3YsIy_up8UA97GZLfMuDzHF5fD9lzpwwTYAYUJ3x_4UaP1gFDTBkDDxAgA4Sr/s1600/P1200025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy1cBVfME8YYTwzwkdtHsXgJW7jyFIPpsJTm88MRskAgGMGfVSJT4H-Ud3F80fzVtdG2RZ3z6yVlnsA-3YsIy_up8UA97GZLfMuDzHF5fD9lzpwwTYAYUJ3x_4UaP1gFDTBkDDxAgA4Sr/s320/P1200025.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And everything I brought fit in that!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-52669998966394447252011-01-22T18:58:00.001+01:002011-01-26T10:57:58.223+01:00What Street?I am now all unpacked and settled in my new casa for the next 16 weeks. My family consists of: a mom, Pilar, a dad, Pepe, a 21 year old sister, Maria, and a 10 year old sister, Paula. Yesterday morning we had some more information sessions, and then Pilar and Maria picked me up from the hotel.<br />
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There are, I believe, seven or so different neighborhoods in Sevilla, and I'm in the one called Porvenir. My house is about as 10-15 minute walk from one of the buildings I will have most of my classes in. I'm not sure yet about the other building. My address here is:<br />
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c/Gonzalo Diaz, 1-2nd izquierda<br />
41013 Sevilla, Spain<br />
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I also got a phone today (finally!). My number is 627 857 618. It's nice because any calls or texts I receive, I don't pay for. So if you have an international phone card (or are willing to pay a lot of money to chat), feel free to call! I believe the country code for Spain is 34... <br />
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My family is nice. Pilar talks nice and slow for me as does Maria for the most part. I've only met Paula a couple times since she wasn't here when I came yesterday and since I've had so much to do with the group. I cannot understand Pepe at all. But maybe over time I'll get used to it and be able to pick out a few words from the mumbling.<br />
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It's a small apartment, but it works. There's three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. My room is also pretty small, but I'm able to fit what I need to in it. I'll put pictures up soon when I feel more comfortable with my family.<br />
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Ironically enough, they had a student here last semester from Madison, but I don't know her (not that I expected to). It'll take some time to get used to what the norms are in the house such as when they eat (which is really really different), work, and etc, but I'm sure it will be fine. Having a schedule again will be nice when school starts. And there is a park three blocks away where I can go to run which will also be nice.<br />
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The past two nights we've gone out to different areas of the city. Unfortunately, I never know where I am and follow people who do. The streets are very curvy and very confusing. No map has all the street names on it and there are no street signs; just the occasional name on the sides of buildings. This, again, is something over time that I will get used to when I know what buildings I need to go to. I've gotten lost a few times, but every time I make it back!<br />
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Tomorrow the only thing we have planned is a trip to the Alcazar which is a historical landmark. After that, I'm hoping to be able to lay out a map (or many) and gather my bearings about where things are and what is what. I'm not sure if that will make me feel better about it or confuse me more, but my family will also help me if needed. I also plan to do some shopping. Already I have lost a button on my new coat and a strap of one of my purses broke (for those of you that know, the new brown one that I was going to use for books). Que triste :( But right now they have Rebajas! This is a period where there are huge sales all over Spain. And it only happens twice a year, so we came at the right time.<br />
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We start our two week intensive Spanish course on Monday, so I will be in classes M-F from 12:30-3:30. I'm getting excited for it because I think it's going to help me a lot. Speaking Spainsh here is actually easier than I thought it would be. I find that the words are coming to me quicker and that I can understand most of what people are saying (at least those who talk slow enough). Hopefully I'll be able to say the same next time!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-35807634301476198582011-01-19T16:10:00.000+01:002011-01-19T16:10:15.460+01:00Droopy Eyed Girl Fights Jet LagWell, we made it. Not sure if I packed everything due to my room in Tosa being pretty messy now (sorry Mom) and things possibly lost in the shuffle, but I'll make due with what I have. And no luggage lost. All good news.<br />
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My mom drove me to General Mitchell at about 10:30am and they told me that my 12:35 flight from Milwaukee to Chicago was being delayed and that the day before, it hadn't left until 4:30pm. Since my connection was due to fly out of Chicago at 4:40pm, they put me on a bus to Chicago just to be safe. Can't have a trip go perfectly I guess! Luckily, I met a girl named Taylor who was supposed to be on that flight as well as my next one, so we ended up traveling to Madrid together. She is studying abroad for over a year (until next February!) in Palma, which is an island sort of near Barcelona. Talking to her made my measly 18 weeks seem much more doable. We also traveled with my friend Courtney from UW who was on all of my flights, so it was nice to have someone to figure everything out with.<br />
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The flight was long, especially since 2am Spain time was only 8pm Wisconsin time, so although I tried, I probably didn't fall asleep until 5:30am. Then they turned the lights on at 6am for breakfast. Not a long sleep, but that will just make tonight's even better.<br />
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As some of you can probably tell from the title of this post, a companion of mine that tends to join me when I'm traveling to foreign countries has returned. That's right. The "eye thing." At about 3am as I'm fighting so hard to sleep, I begin to feel it in the corner of my eye. Luckily my mom made me take my medicine in my carry on, so it should be gone pretty quick. Pretty typical though. Should have expected it.<br />
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Flying from Madrid to Sevilla was pretty quick. The first things I saw when I walked out of the airport were palm trees. Didn't really expect those, but they were pretty. Oh and one of the first songs on the bus we took to our hotel: Rihanna "Only Girl". Felt right at home.<br />
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After a nice meal of potatoe rounds, some type of meat, and some cold soup (they make it that way), I made my way back to my room for a nice shower, and here I am. I'm fighting the urge to take a nap, but since we don't start orientation until 6:30 tonight (so about 2.5 hours) I may succumb to the pull. Tonight we find out about our homestays (if it's with a family, senora, or couple) and will go over the schedule for the next couple weeks!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-763862125966192495.post-1022241381738386282011-01-12T02:55:00.000+01:002011-01-12T02:55:19.156+01:00The Countdown Begins!Actually, the countdown began probably 11 weeks ago. But now, it is only a week. A week from today I will be on my way to Spain. I'll leave Milwaukee at 12:35pm to Chicago and then leave Chicago at 4:45pm. That layover will probably be the hardest part, fighting the urge to call my parents to come pick me up. Obviously I would be so mad at myself for ever doing that (so I won't), but I sense that may be how I will feel. I should arrive in Madrid at 7:40am their time (meaning 12:40am Wisco time), and will leave from there to Sevilla at 11:50am. Once I arrive at the airport in Sevilla (about an hour later), the plan is to find someone holding a CIEE sign who will direct me to a bus that takes me to the hotel where we will stay for two nights before being handed over to our host families.<br />
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For those of you who do not know, I will be studying in Sevilla, Spain for the semester. It is in the southwestern part of Spain, near Portugal and Morocco. I am going through the Madison School of Business which partners with the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE). It is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that has many different programs and places where students can travel. One of my roommates has already studied abroad through them which makes me even more secure with this program. My specific program is Sevilla Business and Society. From the United States, there are about 90 students in my program. From UW-Madison, 24.<br />
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As of now, I still have a lot of errands to run and a lot of Spanish (grammar especially) to brush up on. My exams went up until the 23rd, then it was Christmas, then the Rose Bowl trip, and then it was two weeks before I left. I've made many lists, but now it's time to actually start the eliminating and packing process. We'll see what makes the cut into the suitcases. Wish me luck!Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15071773076995054586noreply@blogger.com5