Europe Style

Europe Style...

Sevilla DOES have:
Many Smokers
Many Dogs
Many Bike riders
Many Pedestrians

Sevilla Does NOT have:
Customer Service
Personal Space

Today We had Pizza, Isabel style
The sauce was tomato and zucchini... chunky
The cheese was powdered parmesan
Then there were ham slices and olive oil, of course.
It was very salty.

I am officially on SPRING BREAK 2010 EUROPE STYLE
I'll be back on Wednesday.

Soon it will be Spring Break

Well I'm preparing for my trip to Zurich and Vienna. We leave on Friday morning so it's super soon. There is so much to think about: money, flights, transportation in the cities. It's quite overwhelming.
The city is getting ready for Semana Santa, the holy week. They are constructing giant bleachers in the street. They have filled in the train tracks so that the train is currently non- functional. In my art class yesterday we went into one of the churches and saw the giant sculptures that will proceed in the streets next week. They are huge floats with statues of Mary or Jesus and lots of silver and candles. It's really quite shocking.

Block formation? That is false.

Today I had the adventure of going from school to my tutoring job. To take main roads, I would have to make a wide box, so I decided to follow my map and just go straight there. The centro of Sevilla is like a maze. There is zero block formation. I had to zig zag all over the place to get there. It was fun to see some more of the tiny city streets.
Just for fun, I checked google maps to see what they have to say.

The google map instructions for walking include 17 steps and 10 turns and the distance is only 1.2 kilometers.

Some more Pictures of Granada

Since I describe this town as "Hippy" it makes sense that one can find a lot of graffiti. This is one of my favorite wall paintings of all time. It says "The trees are alive."



The Palace Gardens were called Generalife. Although this has nothing to do with the English phrase "General Life," we all found the similarity to be uncanny. It was a great source of entertainment.


We went up a mountain to encounter a little white Arab neighborhood. Here is a pretty little casa.



While in the mountain neighborhood, we saw this bride. I'm not at all sure of why the others are wearing cowboy hats. That's really untraditional.

Why you're glad you live in America

Gas in Sevilla is about one Euro per Liter. This comes to about $5.40 a gallon. I'm so glad to be a pedestrian in this city.

I had a pretty nice adventure this morning. After church in Triana, I walked with some friends to the bridge of Triana to a churro stand. We sat outside, but I did not eat any churros this time because they are a little rich for me and it was almost lunch time. At this point, I was two bridges down from my house and I had thirty minutes to get home. I was going to take a bike, but the bike station at the bridge wasn't working, so I walked along the riverside. An old man began a conversation with me. I told him I was an American student and he began to tell me things about Semana Santa and Sevilla and the tower we were walking past. It was a fun encounter and good practice. Then, at the middle bridge I got a bike and rode home. The home bike station was full, so I had to go over a few streets. I spoke in all Spanish today, except when talking to my mom.
Today was a good day.

Granada

Friday and Saturday was our trip to Granada! Granada is a city about three hours to the East of Sevilla. It's a bit smaller, but still a city and very hilly. There is a castle and a palace on a mountain and it's very scenic. The city has more of a hippy feel, with scarves and artwork spilling out of the shops, and people playing guitars in the plazas. There is also a huge Arab influence in the art and architecture. The most exciting thing about Granada is that when you buy a drink, you get a free tapa, or snack.

We left for Granada Friday morning, hoping that it wouldn't rain. We went into our hotel, which was pretty swank. We had some time to wander around then and eat the bocadillas (sandwich) that our Senora packed us for lunch. The worst thing about Granada is that we had no directions and received only a sub-par photocopied map from our school.
We went on a visit to the Cathedral. The catheral in Granada is of course, smaller and very bright. Everything was white instead of gray. Then we got to see the royal chapel, which is the burial place of Ferdanand and Isabella. This was fun because it is one of the things we have studied and analyzed in our Art History class and we got to see it in the flesh! The alter pieces are spectacular in real life.


Then our professors left us to have three hours of free time in the city and find our own way back to the hotel. We went into a lot of shops and also got Gelato! Dinner in the hotel was fancy. We had steak and vegetables and also ice cream.
Friday night, I went out with some friends who had a friend studying in Granada. This was fortunate because she knew exactly where to take us for tapas. At the first place, I had "Vino sin alcohol" aka.. white grape juice and a tapa of bread with egg and artichoke. At the second bar we had fresh squeezed orange juice for 2 euros and a free hamburger tapa. The Hamburger tapa was delicious! We got a little lost going home but we successfully asked for directions.

On Saturday we had the delicious hotel breakfast, and then went to the Alhambra, the castle on a mountain with an amazing view, the palace of Carlos V, something else we have analyzed in art class, and El Generalife, which was the garden. The palace is very Arab, because it was constructed by Muslims.

After the tour, we took a bus down the mountain and up another mountain to El Alabyzine, which was an old Arab neighborhood. It consisted of white houses built on the side of a mountain. We came to a very hippy plaza with people selling jewelry and art and of course, guitar music. We also saw a bride, which was fun. We then made the trek back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch we took the bus back to Sevilla.
Pictures soon to be seen.

Dear Shorter College, It was worth your money.

New Words I have Learned in Spain

Abrigo
Beca
Cajon
Calabacin
Calcetin
Cerveza
Copa
Cuchillo
Destacar
Espagueti
Estrofa
Fracaso
Garbanzo
Ladrillo
Lenteja
Madera
Movimiento
Muro
Nata
Pantalla
Paragua
Pashmina
Pavo Real
Planchar
Red
Retablo
Teclas
Tenedor
Verso
Vidrio
Vino
Zumo

Note: This is not important to most people who are not Me.

The Facebook Story

So, Isabel and I are friends on facebook and she was on Facebook the other day and saw my status, you know... She told me that I have to write my status in Spanish from now on because I'm in Spain. When I'm in America, I can use English, but now I am in Spain. Well, I got on and changed my status to "Isabel dice que yo tenga que escribir mis titulos en espanol porque estoy en Espana". Well, she thought that was pretty funny but she pointed out that I had forgotten the ñ. In Spain, there is a key for that. She was very shocked that my keyboard lacks the ñ key and we started looking all over my computer for a way to type it, but to no avail. As the situation escaladed we also managed to turn my whole facebook page to Spanish. What a feat. Now all of the buttons and things are in Spanish.
Today I got hot reading outside. I will have to buy sunscreen soon.
Today was a good day.

La Iglesia Del Salvador

Today I went on a visit to the second largest church in Sevilla, which is actually substantially smaller than the Cathedral. This church was no less breathtaking, and in my opinion, more beautiful on the inside, as far as artwork goes. But of course, the cathedral is undefeated in architectural wonder. The Iglesia del Salvador has giant intricate alter pieces (I want you to know that I was thinking of a Spanish word for alter piece just now and I actually had to translate Spanish to English!!). The art here coincides with my Art History class a little bit which is also exciting. The church is from the Baroque style, meaning that the decorations are overflowing, over the top, and not organized. There are Angels coming out of the walls, and all over the place. It's really amazing to see. This church was renovated in 2008 and also has a functional pipe organ. After the visit, we got churros con chocolate Again! My second time this week. They're a little overwhelming that close together. I recommend eating churros con chocolate no more than a few times in your life.
Today was a good day.

Life Goals Accomplished so Far

Do Homework in the Park
Eat Churros con Chocolate
Try Cafe con Leche in a Cafe
Read in Plaza de Espana
Buy Plane Tickets for Semana Santa
Buy Plane Ticket to Paris


I had an issue coming home today. I took a bike and rode it down Asuncion, the new street in our neighborhood. It's almost finished and will be all pedestrian when it's done. Already, there are tons of people and children in the completed parts. The bike was a really good idea at first, but when I got to my street, there were no empty posts, and I couldn't return my bike. The next one was full also, and I had to ride all the way to the Los Remedios Bridge, where there was one vacant post. I guess I just came at an abnormal rush hour time. Usually it's not a problem going home, but in the mornings the stations near school get really full as well. I think a man comes with a truck and takes the bikes away to reverse the morning rush hour bike build up.

Today was a Good Day.

My adventure to Cordoba!

On Saturday I went with the missionaries to Cordoba to help with a kids program. I walked to the bus stop and met Christina and then Sharon and Angela picked us up on their way. Cordoba is about an hour and a half away, and it was nice to see some of the hilly countryside. It's all really green due to the rain and the Spring. In Cordoba, there was a Bible conference involving several churches and we were in charge of about sixty children, with the help of twelve other Spanish adults.
The program was set up like a mini VBS, with five different centers that the kids rotated through. I helped out at the craft table, which was chaotic for my taste, but it all worked out. Sharon told the other girls that I understand Spanish, but they have to talk Very Slowly. I think it was a really good experience to get to interact with Spain's children.
We got a bocadilla [ham sandwich] from the church and arrived home very late. I also got to have some muffins with chocolate spread, like Nutella, which was leftover snack. I spend the night in Dos Hermanas.
The next morning we went to a church in Nerrvion and it was pretty serious. They sang old school hymns and they sang them extremely slowly. That is not their normal church, but Carey was preaching there. I got to have a few Spanish conversations after church that went fairly well. One man asked me where I was from and then asked me what Georgia was called, you know like the sunshine state... the garden state... I love the questions that people ask me!
So apparently America changed time last night, but the EU doesn't change until the end of March. So for two weeks we will be a little closer: 5 hours instead of 6.
Today is my half birthday so I got to celebrate by going to a chocolateria and getting churros con chocolate! It was an extravagant affair.
Today was a good day.

The Coat

So about a month ago, there was this coat that I wanted for 40 Euro, but it was an XL. They had one in a medium, but it was a little different in color and stuff. I didn't buy it, but I went back last weekend to check and the price had gone down to 30 Euro. Well, last week I left my coat on the street, because I'm just ridiculous. I was really debating on whether or not to buy a new coat. The thing is, I feel like winter will soon be gone and I won't need a coat, and also I don't want to take up space in my suitcase. The deciding factor was when we realized it would be significantly colder when we travel to Switzerland. Because of this, I went a bought the coat today. It is very European and unique, with patches of different materials. I am very excited to wear it for about a week in Spain and a few days in Switzerland, and if all goes well, next winter in America.
Today was a good day.

Thursday is the new Friday

The Spring Break travel plans continue. There have been some set backs which I prefer not to disclose, but we are making progress.
Tonight after dinner, a Sandra Bullock movie came on and I was excited you know, because she just won an Oscar. The crazy thing about movies here is that they show American movies with Spanish spoken added instead of the original voices. I just kept thinking about how Sandra Bullock's voice is supposed to sound. I think it would be a bit frustrating to watch movies like this all the time.
I went to a cool place tonight that plays techno dance music and I got to dance. We also went to a bar that was decorated as a haunted house. There were parts of mannequins hanging from the ceiling. Other than the decor, it was really chill and we just got to sit and talk for awhile. We found this place with the help of a tourist book, which we decided that we should use more often.
Today was a good day.

Military Time, Got me again

In Spain, digital clocks, written schedules, and programs are in military time. That is because these people stay up so late at night, something could easily be happening at either 9 AM or 9 PM. It is strange at first, but I am now used to it. It doesn't take long to recognize the reference points: 14 is 2, 20 is 8. You know. My favorite part is when we get to twelve past midnight, such as now, and my phone reads 00:12.
I did have one military time related disaster. I was taking a nap and set my phone alarm for 4 instead of 16. I woke up at about five, which is what time my class started. I ran to class in a very disoriented manner and was about 20 minutes late.
The best part is that no one speaks in Military time. They only write it that way.

Sun?

Well, today started out as one of those bad - can't decide what to wear - late for school - lost my coat and got really cold - days. But it turned around pretty nicely. There was SUN today! I went outside to study by the river with Katherine and Dana. Then we went to the center for about three hours and guess what!
We planned Semana Santa Vacations!!!! We are going to Switzerland and Vienna! I'm so relieved to have some plans made, even though it is extremely stressful to figure everything out.

Flamenco

Today there was a Flamenco show at school. We had to ask to eat dinner early and then it was raining of course, so the walk wasn't pleasant. The center does not exactly have a theater type of situation and there were a lot of people there, so we sat on the stairs, which turned out nicely, because we were higher up.
So Flamenco.... There was a guitarist, a singer and two dancers. The dancers are not happy or smiley; they are very dramatic. There is also a lot of clapping and stomping, much like tap dancing. It was very unlike anything I had expected.

Visit to Dos Hermanas

Today I went to a suburb, Dos Hermanos, to visit the Owens, a missionary family that Mimi and Grandpa know. I didn't know how the buses worked and Sharon wasn't sure of the Sunday schedule, so she came to pick me up. I met two of her daughters, and she made snickerdoodles and we played a card game. She sent some cookies back with me and Isabel and Katherine liked them. When I ate the snickerdoodles with milk I realized that I have never had the milk other than in cola cao [with chocolate]. It does taste different, but not too bad. The invited me to come to Cordoba with them next Saturday to do a program for children.
Today was a good day.

The Weekend in Espana

As my friend once said, Life is very simple here in Spain. We have three day weekends, we don't do our own laundry, and we have no jobs, no club meetings, no band rehearsals. On Friday I slept in, and then worked on some homework and went for a jog in the park. In the afternoon, we went to a cafe, where I tested some Spanish cafe con leche, or coffee with milk. Then we traveled to the center for the Spanish movie, which was weird, like always. Isabel's niece came over to spend the night and for dinner. She is seven and has really blond hair.
On Saturday it was raining but I persevered and put on my rain boots and went for a walk around Triana, the neighborhood next to ours. We had some really good double desserts, like chocolate ice cream and home made pudding, thanks to the presence of Carmen, the niece. Later that night, we went out on the town and ended up meeting tons of kids from our program all on the same street.
For the past three days I have gone every day to the Park of Maria Louisa. This is the world fair park and it is so huge, I cannot comprehend it. It's like a mad jungle, and I have gotten lost. On the other side of this Park is the Plaza de Espana, the giant Arab defensive structure. It is under construction, but it is still the most beautiful thing I have seen in Europe. I sat there and read on Thursday and being inside of it is just overwhelming. I think I will be amazed every time that I go.

Van Hoose Vs. La Casa

Today I present
Van Hoose vs. La Casa
Van Hoose being located on the campus of Shorter College
La Casa being located in Sevilla Spain

Delicious Food: La Casa
Central Heating: Van Hoose
Laundry Getting Done: La Casa
Low Bathroom Occupancy: Casa
Presence of Toilet Paper: Casa
Hot Water: Van Hoose [normally]
Shower Curtain Coverage: Van Hoose
The best room mates in the World: Van Hoose, of course
Wireless Internet: La Casa!
Legit Furniture: La Casa
Distance from Class: Van Hoose
Distance from Shopping and Dining: La Casa
Cleanliness: La Casa
Presence of Friendly Pets: La Casa
Windows with a View: Van Hoose
Entertainment via Ryan and Nikki: Van Hoose
Accessible Friends: Van Hoose

La Casa: 9
Van Hoose: 8

Cultural Realities

I had to change classes and today I went to my new Cultural realities class. In this class we just talk about aspects of Spanish culture, as well as read news articles in Spain. The new class is very small and the professor is serious about current events but not so much about the curriculum. This week's theme was culture shock. He asked me to speak first and I said that I didn't think culture shock is a problem, but homesickness is. I am not worried about the strange schedule, the different food, or the lack of dryers. I just miss my people. Really, the only drastic shock is not having a car to drive when it rains, but I can live with that. If I had my family or friends in Spain, nothing else would matter to me. The professor agreed with me and said that he found the term culture shock absurd. He said obviously everywhere is different and it's really not that shocking.
Crystal: 1 point
Cultural Realities Text: no points

New Classes

Today we began our new classes. I have a present day speaking class, Literature, and Art History. All of these are in the morning so it's a big schedule change for me. I now have to leave my casa at eight fifteen in the morning! The speaking class will be great! I already learned some stuff today. I am scared about the literature class because I know it will be a lot of reading. The art one should be very cool. We have to view works of art around the city and write an analysis of them.
Did you know the boy to girl ratio at the CC-CS is ridiculous? My art class has 0 boys out of 13, my first class has one boy out of ten, and the literature class has about two boys.
Last night I walked into the kitchen and Isabel was making tortilla Espanola. I watched her cook one because I want to learn. She let me cook the second one. It's like an omlet, but you have to flip it several times. My first flip didn't go well, but I learned it by the next few flips. Isabel said I deserved an applause. I still have to learn how to mix up the first part though; I only observed the cooking part. Rafael told me that if I learn how to cook very well, I will have a good husband.
Today was a good day.

Morocco!

The trip to Morocco was really neat! There were several things I didn't know. Morocco is and Arabic and Muslim kingdom, although it used to be controlled by France and Spain. The languages are Arabic and French, but it seemed that everyone also understood Spanish or English.
We left for Morocco on Saturday morning with a big group of Americans and a tourist agency. We rode a bus for two hours to the ocean and took a ferry across to Cueta, which is a Spanish controlled city in Morocco. It was extremely scenic with the Atlantic ocean on one side of us and the Mediterranean sea on the other. We went through customs and into Morocco to our hotel.

The countryside is beautiful. The mountains are all very green.
Sunday morning we rode to a small town called Chefchaouen. This was my favorite spot in Morocco. We walked through the old part of town with a really old crazy guide. He was really big on entertaining and kept throwing out Spanish and English phrases. He even described part of the city as "super duper".


The roads were narrow alleys, with tall buildings on either side. All of the walls were plaster and painted blue. There were no windows and the doors were tiny, like hobbit doors.

We went into a rug store and walked upstairs to see the loom. We did some shopping in the little stores and I bought a scarf.
We had lunch in another town, in an Arabic palace. There were performers and musicians and we ate with maybe two hundred people in a huge room. We had salad and chicken, and for dessert we had Moroccan mint tea. The tea was my favorite food from this journey.

After lunch we went on a second walking tour in a more crowded city. We went into a pharmacy slash spice store. At first I was skeptical as to our purpose, but the man gave a very interesting presentation and was a persuasive salesman, making buy two - get one free offers. They sold saffron, which is apparently expensive in the states, mint tea, and things like stress relieving oil, products to help the skin and the allergies, the memory and the bug bites. My favorite moment was when the man referred to them as "shpices." This place was not as quaint as the first one and the alleys were full of people and food vendors.
Dinner was another show affair with a magician and acrobats this time. After dinner we had a disco with the other Americans on the tour. It was fun to do some dancing.
Monday was a Holiday in Andalucia. We rode camels, which was uneventful and more related to a pony ride, owing to the fact that there were tons of Americans waiting for their turn. Each person got to ride in a circle for about two minutes. The plus was that there was ocean in the background.
We went into a cave that ends by the ocean. It was very spectacular with the waves coming in against the cave rocks. The ferry that we take across is very fancy and huge. The boat seating area was all inside, with a variety of table and chair combinations.
Overall I was glad that I went to Morocco and experienced part of Africa and Arab culture. I don't like being a tourist; I prefer being in other countries for a purpose and learning the daily life, but being a tourist proves to be sometimes unavoidable.