I have been procrastinating my homework since today is such a beautiful day! 73 degrees and sunny! perfect! I have two 8 page papers due at the end of the week and it has been so difficult to focus on any of it. So I guess you are wondering, well why are you writing a blog then? I guess I have more on my mind than the Muslim conquest of Spain...hmm.
With only 3 more weeks left of my time here, I cannot help but think about what I have done here, what I still have yet to see, how I have grown, and what I have learned (or what I will learn about myself when I come back). My friends and I can't help but reflect and reminisce about good times we have had and become a little sad thinking about it all being over so soon. This semester has just flown by, and thinking about how soon it is going to end really makes me sad. It is so bitter sweet. When I think about leaving, I get sad and wish I could live here forever; but then I talk to my family and friends at home and think about the coming summer and I can't wait to get home and see everyone. It is such a strange feeling. un sentido extrano. I feel like I am getting pulled in two different directions with my feelings and I can't figure out which one will eventually be stronger.
I have been taking mental snapshots instead of just ones with my camera, to be able to "practice" remembering the smells, sights, tastes, and sounds of this beautiful city. I am so glad that there are at least two people that I can show Sevilla to and I know to them it doesn't seem like much, probably just another vacation city on a trip. But to me, it has been home and I keep thinking that I will come back after summer vacation for fall semester, just like any other university in the US. But I am not. The city, culture, and language feels so comfortable to me now. I feel a part of it and it a part of me that I cannot change or will ever forget. I know that sounds so cheesy but I know I will really miss this place, miss the people, the gestures, the language, the food, the feeling of walking at a snails pace through the streets just to soak it up because you can and should. Why must we always be in a hurry? Already I can feel myself tear up when I think about leaving and saying good bye to this life and friends that has become so much a part of me. There is always a chance that I could come back on vacation, but this experience of studying here and creating a personal connection with the people will never leave me. I am not sure if I feel so strongly about Sevilla because I have lived here and it was the first time I have come to know a culture really well, or if I truly feel a special bond with it. I am sure its both and I don't think there is much of a difference between the two. They are both connected.
I am scared to go back to the US a little bit too. I am so excited to see my family and friends again but I am scared to get there and wish I was still here. I know it will be very hard and the re-entry of culture shock is supposed to be so much worse than the first entry into the country. I will definitely need help, not sure how or in which form, but I will need help and support. I dealt with re-entry culture shock when I went to the Texas/Mexico border and nearly flipped my life around due to the strength of it. It will just be surreal to think that I was in Spain when I wrote this blog, that I am in Spain right now. It feels so much like home that thinking about looking at it from the US will be surreal, as if I never left and this whole semester was just a dream. :)
Okay....Back to reality...I know I will be fine when I get back because it will be soooooooooo amazing to see everyone I have missed!!! Its just good to think about this kind of stuff and reflect about what I have done here.
Love you all, better get going on these two huge papers...argh!
Please send me notes and comments if you want! I miss getting them! can't wait to see most of you in MN and OH this summer! :)
Love, besos,
betsy
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Best Week Ever....Spring Break with Andy!
I have a sense that people are getting restless for a new blog update! sorry! It has been a busy last few weeks and not to mention I came back from spring break to find the internet broken! I don´t have too much time now but I will do my best to give as much information as I can.
Andy arrived in Sevilla on Thursday April 2nd. I met him at the train station in Sevilla and was very worried because he came on the train 3 hours later than I thought he would be arriving. It was so great to see eachother face to face (versus through skype) and start a great vacation together. Once we checked into our hostel, we went to my house to get my bags and he got to meet my host parents and my friend Joaquin that works at the kiosk across the street from my house! Joaquin thought he was really tall, strong, and good looking! haha It was weird to have to start translating everything for Andy because I am used to being around other people who also understand Spanish. I didn´t mind whatsoever but I always forgot that Andy wasn´t able to understand them. That night we went out for tapas for dinner....a necesity when arriving in Spain and afterwards I took him to a flamenco show at my favorite place called La Carboneria. He had real Spanish sangria for the first time there! The next morning we saw the Cathedral and climbed the Giralda tower to see all of Sevilla. I had a surprise for him that was originally planned for the day before but had to be moved since he arrived later than I thought to Sevilla. It was an appointment at the Arab Baths that included a 15 minute massage! It was so relaxing and the perfect way to start a vacation together! they had baths of different temperatures with salts in them and the whole place had aromatherapy and only source of light was candles scattered throughout the edges of the baths. How romantic no? We then bought ingredients to make bocadillos, ham flavored chips, and Kas soda and had a nice picnic in Maria Luisa Park! We went for a run and met up with my roommate and her visitors at a rooftop bar then had dinner at Cien Montaditos for cheap! phew!
Next morning we were a little rushed to make our bus to Granada but we made it there and how fun it was! Our hostel was in a central location (thank goodness!) and had a georgous view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance. It wasn´t all that nice and the other people staying there were definitely characters that we had some discomfort dealing with. Since we arrived on Palm Sunday, that night we saw a lot of the Semana Santa processionals which was really cool to see. To explain the tradition: Holy Week is HUGE is Spain, and throughout the whole week each church has a float with sculptures on it that depict a different part of the Passion. The floats are carried by the brotherhood of the church it came from and I heard that each guy carried 250 pounds on his shoulders while carrying it. They carry it very slowly and to the beat of a band with drummers and other musical instruments. It really looks like a parade. There are people EVERYWHERE and its nearly impossible to cross streets when it is going on. There were vendors of baked potatoes on the streets with a whole line of toppings to add on your potato while watching the processionals. Aside from this aspect, we went to the Alhambra that night (it was not as crouded since we didn´t have a reservation). It was beautiful to see at night in comparison to seeing it by day when I went to Granada with my program. We also tried more middle eastern food such as shawarma and other gyro type food from the old Arab neighborhood. It was so good!!! The next day we watched the sunset at the Mirador de San Nicolas (St. Nicolas viewpoint). It was absolutely so gorgeous with a view of the whole Alhambra and the sierra nevada mountains in the background! The mirador had a lot of hippies selling homemade items and music to dance to. It was so fun! We spent a total of 3 days and 2 nights in Granada and caught an overnight but to Lisbon, Portugal. :)
The bus ride was pretty miserable but we both did our best to keep a positive attitude since, after all, we are in Europe, ha. We arrived in Lisbon at 6am with about 45 minutes of sleep total. When we arrived at our hostel, they didn't have a room ready for us until 2pm however they were nice enough to let us leave our luggage in a storage room and sleep on the common room couches for a few hours. After getting some more sleep, we met up with Joao at 9:30 for breakfast. Joao is a former riding student of my mom's from Lisbon who was an exchange student in MN for a year. He is in his second year of college now. It was fantastic to have such a great tour guide such as him! He drove us all over the whole city, telling us as much as he remembered from history classes about the monuments and such. We spent the whole morning with him until our room was ready at the hostel. It was great to have someone who spoke the language and offered his services for free! :) He was such a gentleman too! After getting some lunch and taking a well-deserved nap, the staff at the hostel recommended a tiny little restaurant for dinner. We arrived and were put in tiny little tables, all pushed together so that we were each sitting elbow to elbow with complete strangers. Really makes you realize the American perception of personal space! It took a while to figure out what the menu said and I ended up ordering something that had pig ear in it!! by accident of course! Luckily I just thought it was fat and didn't eat it but found out later from some Spanish women sitting next to us who told me what it was. yikes! fun experience though! Our whole meal was only 16 euro including a bottle of wine. Great deal for sure. The next day we met up with Joao again and he took us on a coastline tour where we saw all the little villages that are on the coast and saw some beautiful beaches! He left us in Cascais and spent the day there on the beach. We loved the beach so much that the next day we spent the entire afternoon there! In the morning of our last day in Lisbon we saw the huge open market and toured the Castle de Sao Jorge. We saw a 360 degree real-time view of all of Lisbon through a periscope that was originally invented by Da Vinci! It was the only one in Portugal at is at the castle in Lisbon. We spent the rest of the day at the beach in Cascais and had our share of icecream stops along the way. :) We spent two nights and three days in Lisbon also and took the night bus to Madrid after that. This bus ride was A LOT better and we were able to sleep pretty well.
We arrived in Madrid and because we were staying in a hotel instead of a hostel, they had a room ready for us! We took a nap and set out to explore the capital of Spain! We went to the Prado Museum first but since it was Good Friday is was closed, instead we opted for the Thyssen Museum which is across the street and though all the Prado traffic went there instead, it was still great to see again for me and Andy loved it. We then got some lunch and tried to go see the Royal Palace, which was also closed because of Good Friday! ha who would have thought! It was cold and rainy all day that day so we just went back to the hotel to rest before meeting up with my friend Cathy from St. Thomas who has been studying in Madrid for 8 months now! We met her cousin and her cousin's friends who none of them speak any English, only Spanish! We watched some Semana Santa processionals and had a beer with them. It was fun for me to finally speak Spanish again! Cathy, Andy, and I left them to have dinner at an AMAZING Mexican restaurant and get gelato at an Italian icecream place. We ended the night sharing a jug of Sangria and chatting for hours! It was such a fun time and great to see another friendly face! The next day we hit up the Prado Museum after standing in line for over an hour, had lunch at a place called El Museo del Jamon (the Museum of Ham) and had amazing bocadillos and fanta for lunch. We went for a run through Retiro Park, which is a HUGE beatiful park in the middle of Madrid with a lake and street performers everywhere. It was how I imagined Central Park in New York to be like. We ended our evening getting a romantic dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the end of our amazing vacation together and also our six year anniversary which is actually tomorrow! :) It was a sad goodbye the next morning at the Madrid airport where we departed but it is only about a month before I am coming home for good!
The trip was everything I thought it would be and fun for Andy and I to have our first real vacation together. We will always remember it and can't wait to for more to come in our futures!
My internet is finally working again which is why I have been able to catch up on this blog. This past week was a shock to be thrown back into school. Next week I have two 8 page papers due but leave for Morrocco on Friday! Can't wait for that! :) This weekend is my first weekend in Sevilla in about a month and a half! It feels good to not be traveling for once and stay put a little bit. Marathon training has been kind of struggling but I hope to be picking it up soon and getting some real long runs in this weekend! wish me luck!
Sorry all this info was just dumped in here so fast! I tried my best to update with everything since it really has been almost a month since I last updated! sorry!
Hope everyone is well and I should be updating more now that my internet is working again.
oh yeah!! My dad is coming for sure to visit me now! : ) He will be coming the last few days of my program and going to Barcelona together! Its so fun to get visitors!
Okay, gonna go do a long run now! Thanks for your patience!
love you all,
besos,
Betsy
The bus ride was pretty miserable but we both did our best to keep a positive attitude since, after all, we are in Europe, ha. We arrived in Lisbon at 6am with about 45 minutes of sleep total. When we arrived at our hostel, they didn't have a room ready for us until 2pm however they were nice enough to let us leave our luggage in a storage room and sleep on the common room couches for a few hours. After getting some more sleep, we met up with Joao at 9:30 for breakfast. Joao is a former riding student of my mom's from Lisbon who was an exchange student in MN for a year. He is in his second year of college now. It was fantastic to have such a great tour guide such as him! He drove us all over the whole city, telling us as much as he remembered from history classes about the monuments and such. We spent the whole morning with him until our room was ready at the hostel. It was great to have someone who spoke the language and offered his services for free! :) He was such a gentleman too! After getting some lunch and taking a well-deserved nap, the staff at the hostel recommended a tiny little restaurant for dinner. We arrived and were put in tiny little tables, all pushed together so that we were each sitting elbow to elbow with complete strangers. Really makes you realize the American perception of personal space! It took a while to figure out what the menu said and I ended up ordering something that had pig ear in it!! by accident of course! Luckily I just thought it was fat and didn't eat it but found out later from some Spanish women sitting next to us who told me what it was. yikes! fun experience though! Our whole meal was only 16 euro including a bottle of wine. Great deal for sure. The next day we met up with Joao again and he took us on a coastline tour where we saw all the little villages that are on the coast and saw some beautiful beaches! He left us in Cascais and spent the day there on the beach. We loved the beach so much that the next day we spent the entire afternoon there! In the morning of our last day in Lisbon we saw the huge open market and toured the Castle de Sao Jorge. We saw a 360 degree real-time view of all of Lisbon through a periscope that was originally invented by Da Vinci! It was the only one in Portugal at is at the castle in Lisbon. We spent the rest of the day at the beach in Cascais and had our share of icecream stops along the way. :) We spent two nights and three days in Lisbon also and took the night bus to Madrid after that. This bus ride was A LOT better and we were able to sleep pretty well.
We arrived in Madrid and because we were staying in a hotel instead of a hostel, they had a room ready for us! We took a nap and set out to explore the capital of Spain! We went to the Prado Museum first but since it was Good Friday is was closed, instead we opted for the Thyssen Museum which is across the street and though all the Prado traffic went there instead, it was still great to see again for me and Andy loved it. We then got some lunch and tried to go see the Royal Palace, which was also closed because of Good Friday! ha who would have thought! It was cold and rainy all day that day so we just went back to the hotel to rest before meeting up with my friend Cathy from St. Thomas who has been studying in Madrid for 8 months now! We met her cousin and her cousin's friends who none of them speak any English, only Spanish! We watched some Semana Santa processionals and had a beer with them. It was fun for me to finally speak Spanish again! Cathy, Andy, and I left them to have dinner at an AMAZING Mexican restaurant and get gelato at an Italian icecream place. We ended the night sharing a jug of Sangria and chatting for hours! It was such a fun time and great to see another friendly face! The next day we hit up the Prado Museum after standing in line for over an hour, had lunch at a place called El Museo del Jamon (the Museum of Ham) and had amazing bocadillos and fanta for lunch. We went for a run through Retiro Park, which is a HUGE beatiful park in the middle of Madrid with a lake and street performers everywhere. It was how I imagined Central Park in New York to be like. We ended our evening getting a romantic dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the end of our amazing vacation together and also our six year anniversary which is actually tomorrow! :) It was a sad goodbye the next morning at the Madrid airport where we departed but it is only about a month before I am coming home for good!
The trip was everything I thought it would be and fun for Andy and I to have our first real vacation together. We will always remember it and can't wait to for more to come in our futures!
My internet is finally working again which is why I have been able to catch up on this blog. This past week was a shock to be thrown back into school. Next week I have two 8 page papers due but leave for Morrocco on Friday! Can't wait for that! :) This weekend is my first weekend in Sevilla in about a month and a half! It feels good to not be traveling for once and stay put a little bit. Marathon training has been kind of struggling but I hope to be picking it up soon and getting some real long runs in this weekend! wish me luck!
Sorry all this info was just dumped in here so fast! I tried my best to update with everything since it really has been almost a month since I last updated! sorry!
Hope everyone is well and I should be updating more now that my internet is working again.
oh yeah!! My dad is coming for sure to visit me now! : ) He will be coming the last few days of my program and going to Barcelona together! Its so fun to get visitors!
Okay, gonna go do a long run now! Thanks for your patience!
love you all,
besos,
Betsy
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