End of Spain and more!

It has been a LONG TIME! Haha. So much has gone on!  School was coming to an end (hence the busyness)…and now I am SO happy to say that it is DONE. Hallelujah. I couldn’t stop repeating that fact on the last day of school, after I finished my art history exam on a beautiful, sunny day.  But here I sit on the bed in the basement of an Italian family’s home in Lecco, Italy.  Summer has begun, and boy, is it sweet so far.  Brynn, a good friend of mine, has planned our entire Italy trip, and thanks to her, we have hit the JACKPOT.  She found Pietro, a 19 year-old guy on couch surfing, and so we are staying with him and his family for three nights. For free! I recommend couch surfing to anyone.  He has been so nice, and we’ve just had two of the most wonderful days here.  We just got back from a long hike up mountains that Lake Como surrounds.  Imagine a huge lake with reddish-roofed houses sitting along the contours of this lake.  Beautiful. And the weather—spectacular.  Yesterday we walked in the rain around their neighborhood, getting to know Pietro and his lovely 16 year-old sister, Serena.  And last night their aunt Rosana, who had come down from Switzerland, cooked us a delicious meal of breaded pork chops, fresh salad, bread, a big block of cheese, and strawberries and ice cream.  Yum!

But before we get to into our Italy trip, I want to catch you up on Sevilla and how it ended up.  School got busy, but not bad at all.  All of Semana Santa, or holy week that leads up to Easter Sunday I spent in Sevilla, which was a good time to get work done while everyone was taking vacations.  Also, I got to spend good quality time with Ana, my Spanish friend who is going to App State this fall (!) and my Spanish intercambio (or English learner partner through school), Laura and their friends.  Semana Santa is a HUGE deal in Sevilla and in other parts of Spain.  There are large, heavy pasos (or floats) that are incredibly intricate, and they are literally carried by strong, stubby men underneath throughout the streets.  A band of trumpeters and drummers follow them, along with other Ku-Klux-Klan looking Nazarenos, who walk and carry crosses to supposedly gain penitence for their sins.  This entire presentation is practiced during the course of the entire year for just this one week.  It is an important part of their culture, especially for the really religious people, as the pasos carry sculptures of Jesus and Mary and are named according to a certain theme of the crucifixion/resurrection scene.  It was very interesting to watch among the really crowded people!

Then Mom, Dad, and Mr. and Mrs. Nierste all came to visit me!  Or rather, I was their excuse to travel throughout some of Spain and Portugal haha.  We had a delightful time.  My favorite part was taking a ride through Sevilla with them on a horse and buggy.  I had the challenge of translating for them what Ricardo, our “driver” was telling us about the history of the different sites.  It was really good practice and such a relaxing ride.  We went out for tapas and ice cream, I showed them the street I live on (my favorite street so far in Sevilla), and we saw flamenco at my favorite venue!  It was really cool to show them around “my” city and spend time with them.

Morocco came next!!  It’s funny; I really never had the desire to see Morocco until hearing multiple times about how cool it was.  So Max, Brynn, and I all went during Feria, which I’ll get to later (yet another vacation week off—there’s so much time off in Sevilla for these celebrations!).  We flew there and spent two nights (one full day) with a family who is mutual friends of Max.  Good people!  Three very smart, home schooled kids.  The parents are from the States, but have lived and raised kids in Casablanca for the past fifteen years!  It was cool to spend time with them over lunch, a traditional meal called tajine, with potatoes, veggies, and chicken, all in a huge pot that you use bread to eat it out of.  Also, we got to see a market, and the dad brought us to see a mosque, the second largest in the world!  It was beautiful, and so was the weather.  Then we were off to Marrakech, which was so so cool.  That was quite the cultural experience.  Markets swarming with people, Moroccans trying to sell you henna, orange juice, spices, clothes, meals… left and right.  From mosques everywhere you can hear prayer calls throughout the day.  Vibrant colors of the spices and clothes, crowds, smells of flat bread and spices—this place was busy, stimulating, lively, hectic, and fun.  I absolutely enjoyed this place.  I recommend it very much!  It’s a different world, just a little ways away from Spain! 

We came back in time to see a little bit of Feria, and boy was that fun.  This holiday has historical roots, mimicking the gypsies of long ago who sold livestock from their homes that resembled tents.  So right by my apartment is where this takes place, a huge area of tents that are uniquely decorated like houses called casetas.  These are either private or public, and Brynn, Kristen, and I were invited to go into Ana’s private caseta, where her family goes, and everyone orders classic Spanish food and drinks (which we did—delish!).  There’s music and Sevillanas, which is their type of flamenco dance that the whole world seems to know from birth.  Most people are dressed up, especially the women, who wear long dresses with lots of fabric, long, dangly jewelry, and their hair up with big flowers in it.  Very fortunately, the mom whose son I teach English to GAVE me her flamenco dress!!! Can you believe that? So the night I got to go the Feria I wore it, and after the caseta, our whole group and I went to a different caseta and danced the night away; I was there until almost 3:30 am!  It was a BLAST. 

Then…my friend Caitlin came! (Some of you know her as Wotan haha.)  And this was very, very nice.  She is my friend from high school and college, but ironically, her visit was the most amount of time we have ever hung out.  We took walks, showed her that same flamenco venue, had tapas, I took her to our friends’ picnic in Sevilla’s largest park, we had ice cream at Rayas, the best ice cream I’ve had in Sevilla…we just had a good time, with lots of good conversation.  Also, one day we went to Ana’s house (Kristen, Brynn, Caitlin, and I), and Ana taught us how to make Spanish tortilla and salmorejo, a cold tomato soup.  We feasted and had a great time.  She was such an easy guest to have, and fortunately, her hostel was literally two minutes from my apartment!  She says that that was her favorite weekend in Europe so far, and that makes me so happy!  Right now she is studying in Copenhagen, Denmark for a semester and is loving it.  It was so cool of her to come visit!

The semester ended bitter-sweetly.  I don’t consider my adventure to be over, since I’m in Italy right now, and Scotland is to come (! Unbelievable!), so I won’t go into the reflective state just yet.  But school was a really good experience, I think, and the exams ended just fine (which is a miracle…I really had not much motivation to study super hard).  The other night we went out to some bars and just danced so much.  At the end of the night, the dj played “Thriller”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, and other oldies…literally the PERFECT end of the night.  I got so into it haha.  The office of foreign exchange students (they are SO nice and good to us!) planned out an end of the year party at Isla Magica, a theme park!  So all of us foreigners went there and had a blast riding the rides.  Then we had tapas and just mingled and then after a while, we said our long good byes, some of which were really bittersweet for me.  But I hope to see people again; it’s cool, we now have friends all over the country!

Well, it’s about time for dinner, and Pietro is upstairs, probably ready to start cooking.  So bye for now, lovely people! Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by!     

Bartunada and more

Hello, hello, hello!

It's been a while, and I have gotten busier and lazier with this. But I gotta do it! I hope this finds you all very well. 

So. This blog post is a big summary of my past three and a half weeks haha. I'll try to stick to keepin it short and simple.

Ok. So Barcelona. What a wonderful experience. Went with two girls with whom I have become really close (thanks a lot to traveling, but overall, thank the LORD!), Kristen and Brynn.  What wonderful people.  We flew with Ryan Air, which has really bright, colorful seats. Ok, I think I'm just gonna have to accept that I am detail-oriented haha. Something I've really learned about myself while writing these blogs.  Barcelona has a pleasant atmosphere. With trees and cool alley ways and plazas. But, let me tell you, the coolest thing we saw was by far La Sagrada Familia. Wowee. It's this giant, drip-castle looking church, constructed/designed by Gaudi (and they are still working on it, past his death!). It's the most unique architectural masterpiece I have ever seen. And everything is symbolic. He used fruit (what?) and trees and bright colors. Nothing really matches inside. It's a little bit trippy, actually. But magnificent. The pillars inside tower like trees of a forest, which was his intention. He was really into nature, and much of what he built for this church mimicked things that fascinated him in nature. What a unique guy! And a great thing to see.

We spent our nights at this cool hostel, full of bright colors and high up bunkbeds and good cereal for breakfast.  One of our days was beautiful, and the other was a complete, hilarious adventure in the rain.  "Where is that mammoth?!" Says Brynn, as we're soaking in the rain.  She was determined to find this giant mammoth in this park, and the rain did not stop us from reaching it, nor did it stop us from going to the ports and the shore of the Meditteranean Ocean. It was a dreary day with no one outside, but we still had a blast with each other. We ended up eating lunch at this Tex-Mex place, owned by a delightful Bolivian family.  Talk about random.  We had used their bathroom the day before and decided to come back and give them business the next day, they were so nice. Soft tacos. Yummy.  What else? We saw the chocolate museum.  The best part was our ticket, a nice bar of dark chocolate.  It was crazy weird though, the museum...I mean, who thinks to build Louis Armstrong's face and a scene from Up...out of chocolate?  Ya might as well buy a poster of either of those things and look at it every day, and eat the chocolate.  That's all I'm sayin.

Honestly can't remember more of that trip. Oh!! We went to the magic fountain at night, which is this large water fountain in front of steps for all to plop down and watch the water show.  Blasting music, anything from oldies to Disney music, and vibrant colors, all spurting out of this fountain. We danced and had a ball.

So what I've realized is that the quality time with others is really what matters on trips.  To me, anyway.  We could be seeing the coolest things or be trudging through the rain and wet, down to the underwear.  But really what matters is the fellowship we have.  Such good conversations about things that matter, like faith, encouragement.  Man, He's good to bless me with these friends. 

"Portu-gal. You the gal."  That was Kristen's and my rap for the weekend when we went. What a beautiful place.  You'll hear that from everyone.  We stayed in a wonderful hostel, with wonderful people. And guess how much it was per night? 7.99 Euros.  Including good location, internet, sheets, breakfast, and food to make lunch with. Yeah, baby! Oh, and there was a guitar to play. We met really cool people, and we sat in the "family room" and chatted together.  On bean bags. 

Kristen and I went to Belem, which is a delightful neighborhood within Lisbon, known for their pastels de Belem or something like that.  Guess what we did for lunch? Ordered three of those babies and ate them in a park.  Thank God for the gorgeous weather.  The belems are like cups of eggy/crispy french toast, dazzled with cinnamon and powdered sugar. So pleasing. 

The next day we went to Sintra, a trainride away from Lisbon.  Every time I saw that name, I thought of good ol' Frank Sinatra.  Completely different from this place.  It was like this whole different, quaint, jungle-like/town world.  Again, beautiful shorts weather.  We got to witness the coming of a bride at a church that overlooked beautiful scenery. We trecked up the windy hills (not for pedestrians) to get to this medieval castle and crazy cool palace, with yellows and reds and blues, and the inside reminded us of the Biltmore house.  Then we walked down the mountain while snacking on shortbread cookies and stayed for dinner.  Inside this dimly lit, empty place (where they were playing Jamie Cullum--what?!), we were one of two "couples".  Totally felt like a date hahaha.  Again, great conversation. Oh, and at the castle, we met this couple celebrating their 30-somethin anniversary and got to hear their crazy story.  He's Italian, and they met being in a circus. Portugal was truly magical.  And it was chill--the days were played by ear. 

And lastly, Granada.  Totally a Boone feel.  But an actually city.  Went with Brynn, Kristen, (and her mom joined us!), Sara, Molly, and Kaitlyn.  We laughed so much.  And again, got to enjoy stunning weather.  Our hostel was really great, too...organized and fun. A French guy who works there was playing flamenco guitar while waiting for his giant pan of paella to be ready to serve us. This place is more geared towards the college age, I think.  We saw lots of dreads and baggy Aladdin pants. We went to La Alhambra, which is a massive palace built by Muslims. Such intricate detail.  And one recurring theme through it all was water, which is actually a very important symbol of Islam.  There were fountains all over the place.  We just laughed so much!  We met this awesome couple from Holland, and boy, was she funny.  She spoke for the couple, basically, and she was crazy!  In a good way.  We first met by commenting on how cool her bright Teva shoes were and soon we were friends ha.  We also met this lovely Swedish couple and their baby, Dante, who made me want to move in with them and nanny him.  Such blue eyes and joyous smile. The next day, Molly and I decided to hit up the el Monasterio Cartujo, or Carthusian Monastery, which our art history professor had recommended.  So glad we followed his advice. It was... And there was a flock of plump, cute old Spanish women there, and some of them sang to a statue of Mary; their pretty voices filled up the entire hollow sanctuary.  After maneuvering through really sweet Arabian sidestreets, we all ended up in the gypsy "caves", which, were far from the dark, fiery, bat-inhabited caves we were expecting haha!  Instead, it was a very Greece-looking community, jumbled atop (or carved into, rather) a mountain, with white, laundry, and smiley people.  Oh, and cacti!     

So that was my past three weekends, in a coconut shell.

All this traveling.  It's been a great experience so far, and I am so blessed to have the means to do all this.

But isn't it all selfish? 

I have struggled with this very question for some time now.  Today, I have been reminded that everything we do should be for God's glory.  I have been reminded that there is more to life than seeing the world, there's showing this hungry world the Truth and the greatest Love there is.  Does that mean stop traveling? I don't think so. Mabye even quite the opposite.  Just check my motives.  Gosh, how lovely His wisdom and how gently He puts you in your place!  Just thought I'd share this valuable lesson with you all. Your thoughts are totally welcome. I hope you all have a joyful week. :)

Love,
Allison :)       

Bon Jour!

Hello, all!

I hope this post finds you well.  Today is March 5th.  Lots have happened since our last "chat."  Let's see...

This past weekend was a long weekend, due to two holidays that Sevillanos celebrate, Dia de Puente and Dia de Andalucia.  So, four of my friends, Molly, Kristen, Kaitlyn, Sara, and I, all went to France! Why not?

We landed in Paris all nice and smoothly and walked around the city.  The weather was what we had imagined the weather would be like in France: chilly and grey.  But it was a nice change.  Honestly, I don't remember doing much on that first day besides walking around and getting a feel for the city and eating and checking into a hotel that was quite funny...the others saw on the hotel's ratings online that it had bedbugs.  So Kaitlyn whipped back the sheets and did the check for us.  No bedbugs!  That night we tried to find a place to eat dinner. Finally we came upon a seemingly happenin place; there was a very long line to sit down!  And it didn't seem too steep in price from the looks of it.  Sara and I had already eaten our bocadillos that we had packed before, so we were set and nicely content for the night.  Well, little did we know...if we sat there, we had to eat.  And not only did we have to eat, but the meal was thirty flippin euros.  A three course meal. We talk about how we should have just left, but salads were already in our places by the time we got back from the bathroom. Shoot! So, we ate like gluttonous kings, oh, and packed it in--all the never-ending mustard-themed meal of salad, beef, and french fries--because there, they don't have leftover boxes.  Haha, forgot about that cultural difference.  So we were half irritated, half "Well, let's live it up, then!" the whole time haha.  'Twas a "great" learning experience.   

The next day we met Kristen at the trainstation (she had taken the over night train with her handy dandy Eurorail pass).  We went for a true French breakfast and then went exploring.  First to Notre Dame (which had an amazing exterior--intricately sculpted!). I had kind of a weird experience; there are people in the streets there who have papers with info of a deaf association.  One woman, who I thought was deaf, asked for money, and so I gave a little.  Well, turns out those people are not deaf at all; a policeman came up to me and asked for my info so that she could be arrested. Yikes. What the heck was I to do? I really didn't know.  Didn't want to be the tattletale at all. But I did it, and I gave him a fake address, which he said was ok, just as long as I appeared to be an actual person on paper.  This moment really stirred me up for a little, because of the uncomfortable position I had to be in.  But again, it was a learning experience.

That upset feeling wore off when we arrived at the magnificent Leuvre! If you haven't heard of it, it used to be a palace, and it is like a mall inside with escalators and different department stores of massive movements of art. I really liked what I saw of the Renaissance work I think it was, and I remember this two-story ceiling, red room of such warm, large images and a very ornate, spectacular ceiling.  But overall, I found myself feeling overwhelmed in that museum! Just so much art!

But then we hit up the Musee d'Orsay, which, let me tell you, was the highlight of Paris for me.  I did not realize how beautiful impressionist art was until I went there. I'm telling you, it was breathtaking.  Monet, Renoir, Van Gough, Degas...I could have looked at those paintings for much longer. They really amazed me, especially Monet's intentional brushstokes of multiple colors that don't seem to make sense for what they are coloring from upclose, but totally work. Dad, I now know why you like him so much!

After delicious crepes of Nutella (yeah, baby!) and a hilarious, loud waiter, we walked to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up at midnight...'twas a long day.  So we made our way back by a roller coasterly taxi (the metro closed right when we tried to catch it!) to the hotel for a restful, bugless sleep. 

The next day we went back to the Eiffel Tower to walk up to the top...well, some of us took the elevator. Kristen had her large bookbag with her, and after waiting in the line, they said she could not go up with it. We tried by saying in Spanish (our common language link), "But if she were that fat, you'd let her on!" Haha but it didn't work.  Long story short, she and Sara got to go up while I stayed with their stuff and Molly and Kaitlyn after they came down.  I have already been to Paris and climbed the Tower when I was ten (!), so for me, it was no big deal to miss it.

Then my favorite part...Angers (pronounced "On-jay)!!

We took a four hour train ride to this small, lovely city.  And boy, was this a good part of the trip. We all agreed that it was a great rest from the bustling, busy Paris. Turns out there are three students from Appalachian State studying there, and one of my old professors is teaching English at their university.  Bingo!  We got to the dorm at night and were not able to enter/the girl who organized this for us was not there yet/our only working phone had just died...HA! So that was an adventure. Josh, a little angel (actually, he's a pretty big guy), came to our rescue and could not have been more hospitable and helpful.  In fact, after a good sleep in an unknown girl's tiny dormroom (It was hilarious; we all five slept in there, three in one twin bed/chair for the feet and two on the floor), he spent the next day with us.  He was a joy to have along. 

We met up with Rick, my old professor, the next day, for a lovely brunch of scrumptious lunch crepes (mine had sausage, mushrooms, and cheese! Yum!).  We enjoyed his company so much, with his enthusiasm and love for learning and culture that drew us in. What a guy. 

Then Josh took us to Le Chateau, which is a large castle but truly medieval looking.  Inside, he showed Sara and me a grand room with the king's commissioned tapestries hanging on the long wall.  The dark room functioned as just that, a showcase of these lit up, magnificent murals of fabric.  And do you know what they were of?  The Apocalypse!  And Josh knew the symbolism of each one that captured my interest like crazy.  Now, it's time for me to finally read Revelations. I gotta do it. It sounds EPIC.

After seeing the exterior of this amazing castle and hearing more about it from Josh, we headed down to meet the others (Erica, the girl who connected us, from App, and her friends) for a cheap Greek kabab dinner. Yum!  THEN to a free concert at a bar/venue.  The first band was a high school one to our surprise, and then the last one of three was really good and older.  It was interesting, the mix of ages and how many of the songs were in English!  By the way, I think I fell in love with French on this trip.  That might be my next thing to accomplish, learning it. 

Ok I'ma try to make the rest really short, because I'm talking too much, and I hear snoring...the next day we woke up early, took the train back, went to the COOLEST bookstore I've ever been in.  Walls full of books.  Up until the ceiling. With wooden ladders. Totally like Belle in Beauty and the Beast. But this was an English bookstore! Random, right? The employees had British accents. It was like a little microcosm of England, all in one tight, creaky, quaint bookstore.  The second floor had a piano that Kristen and I played.  This store made me want to be a reader like nothing else.  I need to get a'crackin.

For our last dessert before seeing Kristen off on her trainride back to Sevilla, we ate crepes, creme brulee, apple tarts...and then saw her off.  Then the four of us saw good last minute sights, Moulin Rouge and Arc du Triunf.  Super cool, especially lit up at night.  Then back to the hotel.  Here's a funny story for ya: There were four of us staying in a three person room.  To be cheaper, and we knew we could squeeze (especially after that dorm room!). Some of us were worried about it (rightfully so), while we were not at all.  Turns out, we hit the sack at about 12:30 and at 1:30 were startled by a loud telephone ring.  Before we could register what was happening, the ring stopped. Went back to sleep for five and were startled again by knocking on our door. Fright.  Sara, the brave one, got up and answered it while Kaitlyn hid in the bathroom. My heart was pounding. He had found out that we were one too many, and demanded ten euros (not bad).  Then he left and we had nothing to say, we were so startled.

We left that next day--flew back to sunny, lively Sevilla.  Long story long, this trip to France was more of a learning experience than anything. It was super crucial to have. I learned that it is important to follow the rules, even if to me they seem unimportant and easily maneuverable. But I guess that's part of living righteously, right?  I don't feel like being sneaky like that again. It's just not a good thing. 

On a lighter note, we had fun. And we bonded along the way.  The sights we saw were amazing.  The food, exquisite. Much laughter, many NICE people in France, contrary to the rumor that the French are not nice to American tourists. We were treated so nicely!  Overall, it was a great trip. Things did not work out sometimes, but we learned to work around them!  Thanks for listening!

Love,
Allison :)   

        

Hola!

Hello, everyone!  Haha I say everyone, but I really don't know if more than like a handful of you read this.   But that's ok; to the handful, I say, "Thanks for your interest!"

Wow.  That's all I can really say to describe my life here in Spain.  Lots has happened in the past few weeks.  But now I have gotten into a bit of a routine, which I have found out is better for me.  Who knew?

On Mondays and Wednesdays I have one class in the late morning, and I take a metro there (the metro is about a 6 minute brisk walk (which is typically the kind of walk I have to do) away.  I stay there, at my school, for about four hours, and I use that time to eat my bocadillo that my host mom packs for me (a delicious sandwhich with ham or salami and cheese on a large, fresh loaf. This is one of my favorite things to eat in Spain.  Delish.  Anyways...so I eat lunch (on Wed's with my new friend Brynn and other guys I met during the two week intensive course I attended when I first got to Spain.)  And then I have time to do homework and such...then I take the metro again to a family that lives in Montequinto, a small, nothing much to do but nice town.  There lives a very jolly family, and I teach English to one of their two boys, Salvi.  Salvi is an energetic eight year old with the funniest sense of humor!  He has me rolling a lot of the time.  At the end of our hour-long English sessions during which he tries very hard, we usually play rock paper scissors and Simon Says.  I always leave from there, smiling, because every time is a good experience. Not to mention I leave with a new, crisp bill each time :)  I didn't think I'd be working here, but I am glad for the experience and for the money. 

Tuesdays and Thurdays I have my favorite classes--three of them back to back and ending in time to take the metro back for lunch at the piso with Guille and the girls.  And for the rest of the day I have free.  These past few weeks I have been devoting some time to converse in English with Angel, a guy who had emailed the school, asking for someone to help prepare him for this job interview that was to be conducted in English.  He really wants this job, and he just had the interview this past week and said that it went very well and that I would be proud.  Thank the Lord!

Speaking of the Lord, I can't tell you how good He is.  To be honest, I have not been mentioning Him so much in these blogs, for fear that someone might be offended or that they feel preached to.  It's been like pulling teeth for me, to not share about His goodness and what He's been teaching me and how He's blessed me.  Because honestly, that is why I am in Spain.  For Him.  To do work in me and teach me and strengthen me.  But most of all, I want to be used.  To bring light and love and truth to others all around me.  And if I refrain from talking about Him, I deprive you of who I genuinely am and my full experience here.  So if you don't like that, well, ok.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I want to share about my trip to Madrid.  Sara my roommate, Kristen, (my actual friend now who also goes to App and was just an acquaintance there), Anna her roommate, and I all went this past weekend.  Kristen took the train, because she has a nice pass (!) and the rest of us took the six hour, cheaper bus ride, which wasn't bad at all.  A scenic route with a beautiful sunset--who could argue with that?  We got there and stayed in Los Amigos hostel, located right in the center of Madrid.  Props to Sara, who got us this hostel!  It was our first time experiencing a hostel, and it was awesome.  Bright colors on the walls, nice people from everywhere, and a good price.  The idea of hostels I like very, very much.  We slept in a room of ten, and we spent our first few hours of the night talking to these three Swiss guys in Spanish.  We got to know a Brazilian really funny dude, three Australians (one of whom has my same birthday!), and a very nice U.S. girl, Kate.  It's really cool, because everyone just eats breakfast together like we're a family.  I give this hostel an A+!

The next day we went to Prado, a museum jam-packed with famous paintings and sculptures from all kinds of art movements.  That was definitely a highlight.  It's so funny to think that I would dread going to places like these with the rents when I was younger, that I would look at art for a second and then be onto the next one.  Oh how my taste has changed! 

Later that afternoon we went to the Parque Retiro, with a lake that you can boat ride on and steps or grass to sit on.  The weather and timing was perfect, as the sun was going down.  I had the sheer pleasure of seeing and listening to a boisterously fun combo of saxophone, stand-up bass and other instruments played at the side of the lake.  I had a ball dancing.  It's funny how so many street musicians play well-known American songs!

Speaking of music, we went to a free jazz bar that night!  It was such a fun atmosphere!  And they were seriously talented musicians, one from California, actually! At one point mid song, he got off the platform, grabbed a chair and went back on, took off his shoe and sock and played his trombone with his bare foot! Played just as well!  Samuel, I immediately thought of you haha. 

The next day we met up with Lucas, a friend of my intercambio at school (intercambios are Spaniards from school we get paired up with; they want to learn English).  Well, I still had not yet met my intercambio, but we toured all day around Madrid with this guy.  It was a looong day, but we got to see parts of Madrid that we wouldn't have otherwise seen.  Lucas was very enthusiastic and willing to help. After departing from him, we went to the Ren Sofia museum, which is of modern art.  Not my cup of tea, but it was fun coming up with silly names for the pieces of art with Kristen and Sara haha.  That night we ate a fried calamari bocadillo and later went out for dessert at this crowded, popular treats place with Kate from the hostel.  Delish, delish.

And finally, we took the goofy fun Brazilian with us to this morning/afternoon, crowded flea market our last day.  I keep saying crowded, and that definitely describes Madrid in general!  But it was a good opportunity, to see the very capital of Spain!  Why not!  How could we not?! It was definitely a good experience, and at the same time, it made me appreciate living in Sevilla even more, if that could be possible.  I do think I landed in the perfect spot, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Before I make you fall asleep (this is soo long!), I just want to say this weekend has been sooo good!  Out to dinner for tapas with Brynn, Sara, and Kristen to celebrate Brynn's bday! And then frozen yogurt!  These girls are going to be my good friends here (and everywhere, I hope); they already are, I can tell. SO grateful for them. We had a great time and got to know each other very well (we talked for hours!).

Starting yesterday, the rest of this weekend has been Spanish and Spaniard filled!!  I've been needing it!!  Finally met up with my intercambio, Laura, and we went strolling around the center--beautiful day. Last night went on an adventure with my new friend, Max, to a small family of impoverished gypsies.  Don't worry, Mom and Dad. We were totally fine.  Then met up with a girl, Ana, and her friends later (Ana is coming to App State in the fall!! Best decision ever!!) We all really connected, laughed a lot, and we switched off talking in English and Spanish.  I hope to hang out with them all again soon. FINALLY, at 11 pm, to a bar with Sara and her intercambio and his friends. Lots of Spanish-speaking, and I hope this continues!!

Well, that's all, folks!  Keep in mind, I want to hear about your lives!!  Not just share about mine! 

God bless you,
Allison :)      

Almost a month!

It is crazy to think that it's been that long.  I'm sitting in a pink comfy chair in a sleek yet comfy Italian ice cream shop.  Still in Sevilla, though haha. Across from me is one of my lovely roommates, Sara.  We came here to do homework, but I just can't get myself to do it right now.  And it had been a while since I've posted, so...why not? 

Lots of things have happened in the past couple of weeks!  All good things.  I am still healthy, happy, and really enjoying life in Sevilla.  This past weekend was full of fun; on Thursday night (we have no school on Fridays!!! Can you believe it?!) I went to a discoteca.  This is the same thing as a club, and boy, was it fun.  I think it's safe to say that  that was my first clubbing experience. In Spain!  They played such great music to dance to, and Sara and I stayed until three in the morning!  But that's early for Spaniards; Some stay out til seven!  Then on Saturday, I went to the Cathedral with some friends. There are no words to describe it. But it took 120 years to build it, and it is the third largest cathedral in the world.  I've gone to Sunday mass two times there so far, which is a different but fascinating experience for me.  By the way, who knew that Christopher Columbus's tomb would be inside there? Crazy!  And from the top of the cathedral you can see all of Sevilla.  Luckily we went on a beautiful day.

That night we went to a flamenco show.  And THAT, in addition to the Cathedral, was one of my absolute favorite experiences here so far.  We couldn't quite find it at first, but then a nice Spanish couple brought us to a hidden hole-in-the-wall that opens up into a happening, jam-packed but homey place.  It felt like we were in a basement.  And it was free!  Jesus, my painter friend, had told me about it, and he was actually there!  Flamenco is a beautiful art.  We got to see three sets of tightly rhythmic clapping, fierce, heel-stomping dancing, heartfelt, chant-like singing, and incredibly fast but beautiful guitar strumming.  And for the last set of the show, the three flamenco players sat really close to us in a room that everyone had migrated to. How exciting was that!  So much energy infiltrated the room from these talented people who were like three musical peas in a pod. I plan on going back there many times. 

School has been wonderful.  I'm taking four classes:  Civilization and Culture of Spain, Latin American Lit (I know, why not Spanish lit, right? Well, it just worked out like that), Spanish, and History of Art from the Rennaissance until now.  All are taught in Spanish, but surprisingly, I can understand what is said most of the time.  So that gives me hope that my fluency is improving!  Rafa (short for Rafael), is one heck of a cool guy who teaches my art class.  Even the way he talks is like an art that keeps you glued the whole time.  He brought us to Italica today, a place in Sevilla of Roman ruins from 200 B.C. that I had no idea existed.  What a cool field trip! I like all my teachers, and I am so pleased with how smoothly things are working out.  Thank you, God!

Tomorrow everyone and their mom is going to Cordoba, just for a day trip.  It just so happens that everyone wanted to go on the same day.  It's a two hour bus trip away, and I have yet to do my research for it! Oh, last night, my roommate Ann and I went to UPO (my school) at night for the school choir's practice.  That was a funny, good time; the choir is so small with a bunch of older adults, and it felt good to sing for real again. 

Well, now that I've talked your ears off, I am going to do my homework.  Hasta luego! :)

    

Weekend Dos

Today is a dreary day--pretty cold (but nothing like Boone, of course) and ugly.  So what better day to add onto my blog!

This weekend was a blast.  Ten of us, including one Italian guy and one French girl, all went to Ronda for two nights and three days.  Ronda is a town about two hours north of Sevilla in the hilly region of Andalucia.  It is small, consisting of 40,000 people.  It was pretty darn cold and windy, but luckily I had my three jackets and gloves!  We went walking through the charming streets a good amount of the time.  The restaurants (which, a great deal of them were Italian, oddly) and apartment complexes and stores are all piled on top of and next to each other, lining the cobblestone, narrow roads.  And pretty much all around you is white-washed buildings.  It was really delightful and quiet, with enough things to do to last for our time staying there.  We stayed in a hotel which was a hoot; because there is not much hoppin at night, we all piled into our biggest room, the 4-person one, and danced and hung out with music there.  It was a good time, and being in Ronda was definitely a great bonding time for all of us. 

We spent a few hours exploring this gorge that divides the whole town.  It's hard to explain, but imagine vast green, hilly farm scenery with mountains in the background (that had snow when we were there!), and then the white town is perched on plateaus that go straight up from the green hills.  Pretty darn beautiful.  That was the highlight of the trip. Seeing that.  Then of course we threw our paper airplanes from the top of the plateau and watched them float down, one by one.

Now I'm back, and things have changed.  In a good way.  The day I came back from Ronda, there were two new roommates from Texas Christian University sleeping in their room.  And then later on, almost in time for dinner, Ann came in from her voyages around Europe. This will be her second semester here.  The other girls are Alex and Sara, one from Kansas, the other from Texas.  And boy, are all my roommates cool.  Just so sweet, all of them.  We talked for a while in the tiny hallway of our piso, for quite some time before dinner.  Turns out they all sing or have sung in high school.  That made me super happy, as you can probably imagine.  Ann, who just vacationed in Greece, Italy, and Austria, will be joining up with her home college's choir for a trip in Hungary this summer.  How cool is that?!  So yes, I like my roommates already. 

Tonight we foreigners are invited by this program, "We Love Spain", to a pub for a get-to-know-you gathering.  I am so fortunate to live right by the center, because just as this pub is a short walk away, so is the action and the meeting places for all the times we've gone out.  I am very thankful for that, that I don't have to pay for a metro every time I want to go out.  Tomorrow we go to an orientation/reception and also find out our schedules.  And then the next day, I start classes.  Then ya know what else is great? No classes on Fridays.  Woo hoo!  I definitely need to do some research for some bound-to-be awesome weekend trips! 

"Thanks for stoppin by, and you stay classy."

Love,
Allison :)

Week 2 and more

Hola, amigos! 

It has been a while since I've added on here.  Life has been pretty chill these past couple of days, but there are a few things to share.  First of all, the weather is pretty darn nice.  Every morning is damp and chilly--same with the nights--but the midday hours are sunny and delightful.  Perfect for taking a stroll across the bridge over the Guadalvivir (I think that's the name of it) River. And at night, with all the lights reflecting on the water and a dark sky...magnificent. 

You know how I told you about how the people here don't really smile?  Well, that is true, but I don't want to give you the wrong impression of Spaniards.  I have found them to be very nice.  Of course, just like in any other country, you'll come across some sour apples, but most of them are sweet sweet sweet.  For example, I made friends with Chencho, a 50-something guy who works a kiosk on the side of the walkway.  We talked for a while, and I see him almost every day now.  The other day he gave me some of his toasted garbanzo beans that he was munching on...for free!  How nice! When he's trying to make money off of snacks like that! 

Then there's Jesus (no, not THAT friend of mine :) ), but the artist, who situates himself right next to the cathedral and creates beautiful pastel pieces every day.  That is his job.  Oh, and of course he has beside him his best pal, his little dog Senor Tom.  I talked to Jesus, too, who is also a 50-something year old with an aged face and smiley eyes.  Don't worry, I'm not trying to pull a Catharine Zeta Jones with these older men; they are just my friends haha. (She's freshly on the mind, because she, among other well-known actors in the States, are constantly on la tele while we eat lunch.) It's amazing how much Guille knows the names of stars from the U.S., and how much Spaniards pay attention to their business, even!

The food, as I've mentioned before, is wonderful.  Guille comes up with some crazy but good inventions (ham with finely chopped up left over tuna and lettuce salad on white bread) haha.  And something I really like is calamari rings.  But these are fried and big rings.  So addicting.  And of course, while strolling the streets, you hit dessert places left and right.  The icecream calls my name like crazy.  We have gone out a couple of times to get "tapas", or cheap appetizers.  That's the tradition here, to get them at about 9:00. One, two, three, four of them could make for a sufficient dinner.

Last night I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with a German girl and an American for tapas.  I noticed a guy about my age with a guitar on his back, walking briskly.  So, I followed him. I thought, "Well, maybe he's in a rush to a gig he's playing for!" Then, feeling like a major creeper, I went up to him; turns out he wasn't going to a gig, and he was half Iranian and half British.  Then he asked for my number.  Haha just kidding. But that woulda been cool if he had led me to a hoppin gig or something! I'll let you know if that happens. Following him did lead me to sitting on a bench with a girl I had seen earlier that day...small world.  Her name is Noura, and boy was she cool.  She is Muslim, with family mostly in Morrocco, but she and her immediates live in Amsterdam.  She has been in Spain for three weeks now (visiting a friend in Barcelona and going by herself to Sevilla) after finishing a semester in England.  She ended up joining us for tapas.  It was so interesting to talk to her about Islam, something I don't know a whole lot about, when we were on the bench.

On Sunday Kristen (from App State) and I went to the 1:00 mass at this incredible cathedral that's within walking distance from where I live.  And the mass was incredible.  I can't explain to you how intricate the architecture.  The mass was short, and I wasn't sure of what to do in some moments, but it was great, and I plan on going more times. 

Well, besides a very nice and short jog through a beautiful park, one time reading under a gigantic tree in that same park, sitting at the bar of a cafe to drink a lovely hot chocolate and read, and hanging out with Americans a lot, I can't think of a whole lot of what else has been going on.  However, tonight we all go to a partido de futbol! Sevilla against...I don't know.  But it's gonna be a blast.  And coming soon to computers near you, my blog about this upcoming weekend's trip to Ronda! With all other Americans (U.S.)! Haha there's like 11 of us. Don't worry, I won't just be in this bubble for long, once school starts. 

Love and peace to all of you!
Allison :)