La Vida Sevillana

The trip to Greece turned out to be probably the best trip I have taken since being abroad. The historic monuments we came face-to-face with in Athens, monuments of which we had only read about or seen photos of, combined with the beautiful serenity of the island of Poros, made for a trip full of variety and discovery.

Athens is different from other foriegn cities to me simply for the Greek mythology I'd read before, giving the entire city, and even country, sort of a mysterious, legendary feel. I was glad to arrive over the country during the daylight hous as the plane soared over numerous massive land masses that made up the islands. Even if I didnt know I was going to Greece, I might have guessed it flying over it.

Jigna and I realized as we made our way to the hostel that evening that this was both our first times in a country where we knew not a word of the native language. Thankfully most people spoke fairly good english and were extremely friendly, willing to point us in the right direction. After two buses and a lot of walking, we made it to the hostel and decided to explore a bit. We were surprised to find out that, at least our immediate surroundings were no different than most any other big city we had visited. Jigna, TJ and Alison didn't arrive until after 1 o'clock in the morning.

Our first real day in Athens we walked first by the Spiridon "Spiros" Louis Olympic Stadium, named after the man to win the first Olympic marathon race there. The stadium was the site of the 'first Olympic games of modern times,' in 1896. Continuing on towards the famed Acropolis, we passed by and stopped into the Temple of Zeus. (All of us were actually able to get into all the sites free since we had University of Seville student cards and as so, appeared to be a part of the E.U.) Begun in the 6th century B.C., the temple, or Naos tao Olimpiou Dios was not completed until the 2nd century A.D. Only 15 of the 104, 17-meter-high, original columns remain standing. Completed under the reign of emperor Hadiran, he dedicated the temple to Zeus, the king of the Gods.

Finally, we made our way to the high point of Athens, literally. The Athens acropolis is the best known high city in the world and on it we were able to see the Temple of Nike, the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, and of course the famed Parthenon. It was strange standing next to the ancient monument, enduring as a symbol of Athenien democracy, after only seeing pictures and books but knowing exactly what it looked like. The building is a temple built to the Greek goddess Athena in the 5th century B.C. In some of my photos, you can see some of the decorative sculpture on the inner borders of was the ceiling, decorations that are considered some of the high points of Greek art. We explored the rest of the Acropolis and towards the end I took quite a spill on the slippery rocks on top.

The next day we decided we had seen the main sites in Athens and insead of exploring the city more, we took a day trip to Mycenae, one of the oldest known cities in the world. When we first got off the bus we thought we had gotten off at the wrong stop. Imagine standing in a ghost town with one gas station. The one guy at the station got us a cab though, or should I say rickety station wagon with a taxi triangle on top, and we got to the site eventually.

The period in Greek history from 1600 BC to 1100 BC is acutally named the Mycenean period. We saw burial sites and entry ways, floor plans, column remains, and aqueduct, and even a cave that led down to an underground cistern where they used to get water. You could feel the age there. Settled between two huge pointed mountains and with a far-off view of the sea, I tried to imagine what it must have been like so, so long ago. We made our way down the cave, because it was there and we could. It was pitch dark so we used our camera flashes and a small flashlight on TJ's keychain to get to the bottom. Nothing special was to be found at the end but, who can say they've been to the end of a cave in an ancient city?? Afterwards we walked down the mountain a bit to visit Agamemon's tomb. Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae and if you've ever seen Troy, you'll remember him as the king who fought "for his brother's "honor" at the loss of his wife Helen. It was hard to believe that such a tomb could be built in ancient times, a perfect cone on the inside.

The next day was the day we had all really been waiting for. The day we went to Poros. We had some complications getting there when our boat cancelled on us and we had to buy new tickets. And then we got an hour anf 15 minutes into the ride and had to turn around because something got stuck under the boat. We finally made it to Poros around 6 pm and were able to catch the amazing sunset. Our hotel was situated next to one of the only real beaches on the isalnd. We were surprised but realized it was only one of the many islands tourists had to choose from. The view from our windows and balconies and breakfast table on the porch of the hotel was to die for. Never had I gotten to stay next to such a beautiful view. More of a tourist destination in the summer months, the island we mostly deserted save for the residents. We were the only people at the restaurant that evening. We spent most of our time laying on the beach and walking into town for food. One morning we walked into town, bargained with a taxi boat, and got an hour boat ride around the island for 15 euro a person. We sat on the front of the boat taking in the sun and took turns driving the boat a little. It was one of the most peaceful vacation sites I have been to and would very much like to go back to the Greek islands, and really all of Greece, again in the future.

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The trip to Lagos and Lisbon, Portugal turned out to be even better than I had expected. The Portuguese are some of the nicest people I have met in Europe; their graciousness pales in comparison to Spaniards. Although this might have been partially due to the fact that we stayed first in Lagos, a town that operates almost completely on tourism, we continued to find the same sort of hospitality and patience in Lisbon as we had found at first.

Lagos is undeniably one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visted. The blue water, tall cliffs and pebble-y sand that doesnt stick to you were my favorite parts. Although there was a cold wind and a couple scattered rain showers that blew through during our stay, we were able to lay out on the beach at least a little bit. The cool thing about this area is that there is not only one long stretch of beach, as in most beaches, but also little beaches scattered throughout that are surrounded by these towering cliffs and which you might not have e even known were there. We took a boat tour around the cliffs that went in and around the caves of the coast which revealed even more small beaches we didn't know about. Our boat tour guide only spoke Portuguese but he'd been giving tours long enough to remember the english words for things he wanted to point out like "shells" stuck to the sides of the caves, faces that appeared in the rock formations that looked like a "chinese" person and other formations that looked like various animals such as a "camel.

My senora had just finished teaching Tara and I the night before I left for Portugal how to prepare Spanish tortilla. Now that the three girls and Will and I were at the grocery store in Lagos to buy food for our stay we decided to attempt cooking it ourselves. It took a long time but, after peeling, slicing and cooking the potatoes and then adding eggs and sausage and letting it sit in the oven for over an hour, we had a pretty decent-looking tortilla if I say so myself. We tried it again a couple nights later, this time adding Will's homemade tomato soup and together they made an amazing meal that we all enjoyed.

When I come back to Europe I plan to come back to this place for sure. It was nice to get away from the busy city life of Sevilla for a while and just lay around on the beautiful beach or walk though the town. Not only was it super-cheap, but the staff at the apartment were incredibly accomodating and did everything to ensure we had a pleasant stay.

On Monday, April 2 the girls and I caught a train to Lisbon while Will took a bus home. I hadn't originally planned to include Lisbon on the trip but decided at the last minute that I might as well visit the capital of Portugal while I was at it. Kate and Kit were coming in on a bus and had booked a hostel with me in one place while the other three girls were to stay in a different hotel. Completely by coincidence, both the hostal we stayed in was the building directly next to the hotel of the other girls...how that happened I don't even know but it definitely made things easier for meeting up.

Kate had gone through the trouble of getting my passport for me from my roomate in Seville, which I had forgotten the morning we left. I took a huge risk in deciding to get on the bus to Lagos without it but the bus driver said that although they usually stop the bus and check everyone's passport, there were other ways to get into Portugal without one, like a ferry (which I never did see). Fortunately, during the 6 hour bus ride I realized I had a copy in my wallet that I printed off and put there before I left for Spain in January (thank you study abroad guidelines!!). I hoped this would be sufficient. Will and I sat in the first seats of the bus and I was the first one to had over my two crumpled pieces of paper that I hoped would get me into another country. He looked them over for a little while and had pity on me saying he could be picky if he wanted to before giving them back to me. Then he gave Will a hard time, although he actually HAD his passport, saying he couldn't find his Seville stamp, when it was actually there, just lost among all the others. The guard took his passport for a while, fingering it as though it might be fake. It made a funny story later at least, me with my zerox copy good to go and he will an actual passport getting the suspicious eye.

As it turned out, I didn't actually need my passport in Lisbon or on the way back, but at least I had it in case. Lisbon was a big change from the calm serenity of Lagos. I wasn't too excited when we arrived to be in another big city surrounded by cars and people and loud noises, but after Kate and Kit arrived we settled in for the next two days. The next day we visited the castle of Saint George high on a hill in Lisbon from which you could view the whole city. Kate bought a small painting from an artist on the sidewalk there who painted with coffee! Even after it dried you could breathe on it to release the coffee smell. Afterwards we followed Jessica's guidebook and went to a small retuaraunt it mentioned on the way down the hill from the castle. We ate a full, authentic Potruguese meal for only 4 or 5 euros and then gave in to the temptation of the pastries in the window there. We saw other monuments for the rest of the day like the monastery and the Tower of Belem, once used as a prison. For dinner that night and the next, we bought groceries and had a pic-nic in the hotel room complete with sandwiches, chips, wine, yogurt and cookies. It was like having a girls sleepover again.

The next day we decided to go on a small trip outside the city to a place called Sintra, an old Moorish city. We took a 30 minute train outside the city to this wonderful little town full of colorful houses and buildings and castles. We visited one of the castles, the pena palace, which is the most important example of POrtuguese architecture during the romantic period. The castle was begun in 1840 as a royal summer residence on behalf of the German Prince Consort of Queen Maria II. We took pictures from its towers and windows and looking in on some of the rooms full of original furtinure.

We made it home that evening to the hustle and bustle in Seville for Semana Santa but I must say that I enjoyed Portugal more than any other trip thus far and would recommend it to anyone visiting Europe.

 

Going to Barcelona was my first experience in navigating the Spanish airports alone, to go somewhere I’ve never been and without so much as a telephone number to call once I got there. Of course, I went to Barcelona to meet my friend Leslie who is studying abroad in southern France, but, as we lived in separate countries we were unable to call each other’s cell phones very easily. I realized this only as I stood at the empty baggage claim area at 1 am with my suitcase and a worried look on my face. Thankfully though, Leslie had been waiting for me near the door of the airport, and after thinking she was going to have to spend the weekend alone, screamed as loud as I did when I saw her.

We made it into the city by cab, this was to be our first hostel experience ever and unfortunately since we booked separately, had to stay in separate rooms. We were too tired to care, but had to laugh when we woke up the next morning in a room full of strangers. There was no time to waste the next day. With only two days to explore as much of Barcelona as possible, we scooted out the door and made our way first to Parque Guell not knowing that we were embarking on a trek across the entire city to find it. After we had walked off the map that was in my guidebook, we had to ask strangers where the place was. When I say we, I mean I had to ask strangers as Leslie speaks no Spanish.

When we finally got there we realized why it is called one of Gaudi’s greatest works. It reminded me of something out of Willie Wonka or Candyland. In actuality however, the park was supposed to resemble nature in a lot of ways. There was a covered plaza full of columns with not a single one standing vertically but instead slanting in all directions. There was another part that just looked like a tunnel, but upon learning more about Gaudi’s work found out that it was supposed to mimic the inside of a wave in the ocean, which can be seen in one of my photos. Another part of the park was a huge open area surrounded by one incredibly long, curvy, twisty bench, said to be the longest in the world. From the bench and from even higher areas in the park, you can see all of Barcelona stretched out before you all the way to the ocean.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece. In the making since the late 1800s, the church is still uncompleted. Inside are more of Gaudi’s interesting art forms. The ceiling in my opinion is the most beautiful part. The columns that stretch to the top spread out like branches whose large ‘leafs’ form one big canopy over the whole church. Upon first glancing at it however you wouldn’t think trees or branches or leaves, you would just think it was a strange array of columns and an artsy ceiling until you read about it and look a little harder. We took the elevator to the arc that connects two of the towers of the church and got to experience more expansive views of the city.

For the rest of that day and part of the next, we explored Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s most famous street. Along the whole street there are street vendors and performers and even animals for sale like birds and rabbits and guinea pigs. We went to this huge open air market where the fruit was just picked or the fish just caught. I bought a half kilo of strawberries for only a euro. The next day we started of with Picasso. First off, we went to a place mentioned in my guidebook called Els Quatre Gats, or Four Cats, where Picasso held his first art exhibit. The building was beautiful but hard to find tucked back in a tiny little street and exists today as a small restaurant. We then made our way to the Picasso museum where we must have spent a couple of hours taking in the different periods of his work, most of which came from his earlier, teen years. The most famous work in the museum was Picassos “Las Meninas,” his version of the original by Velazquez. I managed to sneak a picture, although not without a reprimanding from the museum worker, of a poster that illustrated the faces of each person in the version by Velazquez compared to those of Picasso.

That night we went to another part of the city where there is music and a colorful fountain show for two hours on most nights. We took photos from almost every level and angle of this fountain as it changed color and size and shape, as you can see in my photos on webshots.

We managed to pack in a lot over the course of two days and walked a large portion of the city, not only hitting its finer points but allowing ourselves to stroll around in between them.

On March 16th, I finally set off for one of the white towns of Andalucia with Will.  We'd been planning to go for a while and decided to make a full day of it, catching the bust at 7:30 am.

Ronda, one of the most popular visitor destinations in Andalucia, is known for having one of the oldest and most important bullfighting rings in Spain as well as its spectacular views from the top of a massive rocky plateau.  A plunging river gorge known as El Tajo runs through the center of Ronda and is connected by three bridges.  One of the first things we did was to look for the famous bridge called "puente nuevo" which is seen in most photographs of Ronda.  Completed in 1793, the bridge is built over a nearly 330 foot gorge.  The architect of the bridge actually fell to his death from the top and many others were thrown from it during the Civil War.  Ernest Hemingway talked about this bridge in one his book For Whom the Bell Tolls; both Hemingway and Orson Wells lived in Ronda for parts of their lives.

Later in the day we made our way to Ronda's Plaza de Toros.  It was the first bullfighting ring I have ever seen other than in photographs.  It was smaller than I would have imagined but well preserved.  There are very few fights that are still held here during the spring but some are held in the fall.  We also checked out the museum where we saw some original clothing worn in fights there, some still stained with blood.  The classic Ronda style of bullfighting was developed by Pedro Romero who killed over 6000 bulls during his career as a torero and is known as the father of modern bullfighting.

We spent the rest of the day walking around, taking photos, staying out of the afternoon rain and looking in a number of shops.  Ronda is an excellent day trip destination and I'm glad to have finally gone after all the recommendations from friends.

 

The first glimpse of Granada on the SAS and AHS group trip last Friday was of the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance as our bus neared the city. We pulled into the Los Angeles Hotel, realized it was still a little to cold to go swimming, and a group of us made our way into the city mapless and with nothing but sketchy directions from one of the program guides. Unfortunately, they failed to mention beforehand that we would have an entire 7 hours of the day on our own to do what we liked. Had I known, I might have at least brought some kind of guide book along. But as it was we walked down the main avenue in the center of the city looking for something to interest us. It was a gorgeous day so it was nice just to walk around. The city is smaller than Seville, but you wouldn't know it walking around the busy city center. And just like in the center of Seville, tiny winding streets broke off from the main road leading to an array of bars and restaurants which we were eager to try for the free tapas we heard they gave you with you purchase of a drink. There weren't as many places to shop as I might have liked but we eventually made it to Plaza Nueva where we saw some touristy shops and stopped to rest by a fountain.

Next we continued walking north by the Darro River. We found a tourism office and got a map so we wouldn't get lost and just past the office and a church we came to a huge opening, a valley really, from which we could see the Alhambra looming over us like a giant castle. It was beautiful and quiet and there were some hippie guys playing music so we sat at a cafe and rested for a while. There were dogs everywhere and we tried to play with this one puppy but he was interesting in everything but us. We hadn't gotten to explore the city too much but TJ, Kate, Jigna and I were so tired from getting up so early that we took a different way back and took a long nap at the hotel. TJ joined the fun when we watched some episodes of Sex and the City on Kate's computer before dinner. We had Spanish tortilla and fish for dinner and then the whole group headed back out around 10 o'clock for a walk through the city and up this huge hill where, from a distance, we saw one of the most beautiful sites of the entire trip- the Alhambra beautifully lit in tones of orange and yellow next to the glittering city lights below.

The next day we got up early and made our way to the royal chapel or "capilla real", built as a mausoleum for Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand who conquered the city in 1492. Sitting in the Chapel, Rafa told us their story as we looked at carvings of their stone bodies lying in beds above the crypt. Rafa explained that the Italian sculptors included subtle peculiarities into the carvings to express, even hundreds of years later, ideas held about the monarchs. For example, the head of Queen Elizabeth appears to be heavier on the pillow than that of King Ferdinand, indicating that she was the more intelligent of the two. Next to them lies their ill-fated daughter Juana and her husband Felipe. Juana's face looks off to the side as if to say she was in disagreement with her husband. The capilla was supposed to be the final resting place of the monarchs of Spain and many generations were buried there. A tomb beneath the statues holds the caskets with the bodies of Isabel and Ferdinand, Juana and Felipe and their son Miguel who died as a boy, causing the crown to fall to a foreiner. Next we made our way into the Cathedral which looked a lot like the Cathdral in Seville, the only two differences being that this one was completely white inside and also let in a lot more light and was therefore all the brighter.

That afternoon we all got on a bus to go to the Alhambra which we stayed in for at least three hours. The name Alhambra means "the red one" which is said to refer to the color of the mountain it was built on and the color of the bricks that make up it's outer wall. The most well-preserved arabian palace of its day, the Alhambra was built in the 12th century for the moorish kings of Granada. The first part we visited was the patio of the palace of Carlos V. Inside this circular arena, the acoustics are beautiful and you can hear someone singing or talking in the center from anywhere inside. Kit Cox, a girl in the program sang a beautiful song for us in Latin. One of the other sites I was excited to see was the reflecting pool inside the palace where, once a photo is taken, it is hard to tell which way is up or down (see photo below). There are various other spots of interest inside such as fake doors to confuse possible attackers of the palace, and one room in particular where you can talk into a corner with someone talking into the opposite corner on the other side of the room. Eventually we made our way up a tower and snapped several more photos of the view from the top. From there, the Sierra Nevadas were the most beautiful, as was the rest of the city far below.

That night, we made our way to a hookah bar where we drank some strong tea inbetween running outside to check on the moon. The lunar eclpise was well on its way by 11:30 at night and I tried my best to get a decent photo. One the way home late that night we ran into a decorated donkey on the sidewalk. Only in Spain will you find a donkey tied to a tree outside a bar at 2 a.m...

The past two weeks after returning from London have gone by super-rapido. I finally have my classes settled after some switching around and rethinking. I sat in on one class I thought I was going to take, and knew after the first five minutes I was not going to keep it. The professor just droned on sitting at his podium in a low, quiet voice that I could neither hear no understand for two solid hours. I had to stay the whole two hours but ended up writing letters to my friends at home. My final schedule consists of Geografia General de España and La Esclavitud en America, which both count toward my Spanish minor at UNC, and Pensamiento Politico y Social del Siglo XX and La Historia del Cine, which both give me perspective credits for my journalism and mass communication major. All of them have good professors which speak clearly and loudly and are accustomed to having extranjeros, or foreigners, in their classrooms. All of the classes have at least some foreigners in them, although some more than others, but we manage to spread ourselves out and “mingle” with the Spaniards. And when I say mingle I mean look over their shoulders to make sure we’re getting all the right notes : )

The weekend after we got back from London, some of us UNC students decided to make a trip down to the Carnaval in Cadiz, you know, to see what all the fuss was about. Carnaval is an annual tradition held mostly in Cadiz but in the surrounding areas as well and is basically like Mardi Gras, but bigger. About and hour and 20 minutes from Seville, we took a bus planning to stay there all night and return in the wee hours of the morning. As soon as we stepped off the bus we realized it might have been worth the effort to organize ourselves some makeshift costumes for the night. We were the only people there not decked out in some sort of geisha, pope, nun, fairy, or unidentifiable creature outfit. So what did we do? We held our personal belongings tight and pushed our way through the winding city streets to the edge, the coast, catching our first glimpse of the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. By the time we made it back to the bus station at 5 am, the crowd to get inside had already formed. We made it to the first bus but had to get off and let on those whose tickets actually said they could take that bus. We caught the 6 am one, made it back by 8 and, needless to say, slept the entire day. It was worth seeing once, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to go back…

Last week I went to Samuel's church with him on Ash Wednesday. Called La Macarena, it was a beautiful church on the edge of the city. It was intricately decorated with large figures of both Christ and the Virgen Mary. Interestingly enough, Mary was the one at the front of the church while Jesus was at the side. However this goes along with what the program teachers have told us, that most people here pray to Mary. I couldn't understand much of what the priest said but it was nice to see how a Catholic church in another country operated. Similar to my church with a lot of standing up and sitting down, the only real difference was that they gave communion but no wine, however I did notice that the priest drank a cup. I asked Samuel why we didn't take it but he just said that was only something they did at their first communion.

Although the weather wasn’t amazing, Kate and I went to the Parque Alamillo today with our intercambio, Samuel. Everyone in the program was assigned an intercambio or someone from the school we attended for the month of January, EUSA, to talk to in English some and in Spanish some. While most of the Spaniards participate for class credit, Samuel only does it for fun and so we get to speak Spanish with him most of the time. We got to meet a lot of his friends and classmates from EUSA, and ate a pic-nic together. We had croquetas de pollo, tortilla Espanola, pasta atun, empanaditas de atun y tomate y quesos (chicken puppies?, egg omelet, tuna pasta, tuna and tomato little empanadas, and cheeses). Kate and I were the only Americans but there were also three German girls and three French girls there. We all played a game in the grass called “muerte” where there are two teams and you basically try to hit people with a ball and if you “die” you have to stand behind the game lines and hit someone to get back in. Afterwards, Dani, Belen, Samuel, Kate and I went to a café and talked of bullfights, Semana Santa and favorite TV shows despite the noise in the bar as an important futbol game was on.

Other than this, my time lately has been taken up with poker games, coffee dates and wandering around the city with a friend from UNC, who teaches English here now, and her roomates/friends. That’s right, I finally learned how to play poker. And while I’m not in it for the big bucks yet, I think Vegas should get ready…

Next weekend, the SAS group goes to Granada! Alhambra here we come...

 

It was strange thinking last night on the flight and bus ride home that the “home” I was going to was Seville, Spain and not Belews Creek, North Carolina, but that’s how it felt, like I was home again. The trip went smoothly all the way up until the day we were supposed to leave. It was nice being able to wake up everyday without a plan pr schedule other than what we had thought of the night before, and just doing whatever it was we felt like doing that day. While I didn’t get to cross everything off my ‘to-do’ list, I did cross of a majority of the items and even add some I hadn’t plan on doing. Kate and I flew into Stansted airport at 11:30 (London time) and went about changing our money and looking for a bus. As soon as we stepped outside the airport we knew we weren’t in Seville anymore as the icy wind cut our faces. We got on the bus after paying 10 pounds to someone trying to hurry the line along although we could have gotten the round trip ticket for 14. The bust took about an hour and 20 minutes to get us to the Victoria Coach Station, now about 1:30 am, where we proceeded to ask someone how to get to the nearest tube (subway) station. We were pretty much laughed at when they told us the tube stopped running about midnight. So there we were in the freezing cold wondering what to do…the only thing was to walk a few blocks to the Victoria Rail Station where we found buses that would take us to Tottenham Court Road. We then had to ask people on the bus (luckily we could use our English here) where to get off. Finally, at about 2:30 we got off the bus, found ‘the gold man on top of the theater,’ as Laura described it, and made our way to 99 Great Russel Street. We had told Laura we’d arrive by 1.

The next day we awoke to snow falling outside the window of Flat 7. Laura and her flat-mates went to class and Kate and I got ready to face the weather. We made our way back to Oxford Street where the bus had taken us and looked in some stores. Not that we were intending to buy anything of course. It was just amazing how close Laura lived to everything. You step outside and you’re smack dab in the center of the city, literally. We got groceries for our stay at the nearest Sainsbury’s. Groceries were surprisingly cheap for their standards. About normal priced once to convert it to dollars. Thankfully, Laura had given us a mini lesson on the money the night before and we didn’t have to hold out our change with confused looks on our faces. The rest of the afternoon consisted of walking to Trafalgar Square where we visited the National Portrait Gallery and the ‘Monet to Picasso’ exhibit at the National Gallery. We saw some famous paintings there like ‘Sunflower’ by Van Gogh and ‘The Water-Lily Pond’ by Monet. That night we went to a pub with Laura and Joey and had our first cider- like a beer without the bad aftertaste- a Strongbow.

The next day Kate and I got day passes for the tube at 5 pounds each. We began the day at Notting Hill and walked down Portabello Road to the outdoor markets. Kate bought a fourth of a loaf of rye bread that was to die for. We warmed up in a coffee shop for a while but then it began to rain…flats were a bad idea so we had to go back to Laura’s so I could change and get an umbrella. Out again, we went to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park where my dad had said he had been present for protests during the Vietnam War. We proceeded to Buckingham Palace where we peered through the iron bars at the funny little men in fuzzy hats. To my despair, they were not wearing the customary red suits but gray ones instead…perhaps it was their rain attire?? After that we moved on to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. Across the river we caught a glimpse of the London Eye, also called the Millennium Wheel- a huge ferris-wheel type ride built in the year 2000. Finally, we made our last stop at the Victoria and Albert Museum where we saw a fashion exhibit with clothes from the 60s (complete with the fad that was paper dresses) and a photography exhibit with the work of photographers like Wee-Gee who I had read about in my photography classes. Back at the flat, we all went out for Mexican. The food was overpriced and the service was poor, unfortunately. We watched the movie Trainspotters and then called it a night.

Day 3- Kate and I went straight to the British Musem, only a block away from Laura’s flat. We made a bee-line for the Rosetta Stone and where we studied its ancient writings. We wandered around the rest of the place looking at ancient artifacts from Egyptian pottery, to Greek war helmets to Roman mosaic art. Most of it dating back to a couple thousand years before Christ. After we had our fill we made our way to Niel Street and The Tea House shop where Kate and I bought some English Tea. She bought flavored black teas like coconut and caramel while I opted for the jasmine green tea. We were lazy the rest of that afternoon and watched Runaway Bride until it was time to go meet Russ two tube stations away. I worked with Russ at Gwynn Valley summer camp in the summer of 2005 so it had been a year and a half since I’d seen him. He brought two friends and we all went out for a drink, where Kate and I had a pint of cider : )

The next morning Laura took Kate and I to The Pancake House which is one of her favorite breakfast spots. It was also the only place I had ever seen a chicken and cranberry sauce bagel on the menu so of course, that’s what I ordered. After breakfast, Kate and I went to Covent Garden. There were a lot of people out that Sunday. It was the first day we had seen the sun and I guess everyone else was as happy about it as we were. We bough some candy, strolled through indoor shops and outdoor stands and even watched some outdoor theatre where a scraggly looking man performed his comical skit escaping from a strait jacket. He wore tights, a red crotch cup and a white t-shirt that read ‘beast.’ I didn’t ask. We met up with Russ and his friend James again and went fo frozen yogurt before it was time to go wait outside the red carpet. The baftas were going on that day right there in Covent Garden and we wanted front row seats to spot some celebrities. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosted an array of actors and actresses including Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Winslet, neither of which we actually got to see. That evening we went to the same bar we had gone to the first night and ate fish and chips. We couldn’t go to England and not eat Fish and Chips. Curiously, the plate was served with a side of peas, but I was only too glad to see that they weren’t mushy peas as a menu we had seen earlier actually had ‘mushy peas’ written out at something people order.

Day 5. The day we were supposed to leave. The day we got to the airport 10 minutes after check in had closed and they turned us away. Bewildered, we got in line after exhausting any other options and waited our turn to reschedule our flight at the lovely fee of 50 pounds. The flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until the next day so we had to go all the way back to the city and stay with Laura another night. The bus dropped us off early in the city so we ended us rolling our suitcases about 8 blocks down the middle of the city at 11 pm. The next day, we arrived at the airport at 3:15. The flight was to leave at 6. We were one of the first in line to check our bags and made it back to Seville by 9:30. Off the bus, Kate went home and I waited for another bus to take me to the apartment. It didn’t show after 30 minutes and I only had three Euro in my pocket, not enough to cover a cab home. So I proceeded to roll my suitcase along toward home when like a final kick in the butt, the bus goes zooming by. I had to laugh.

Overall it was a good trip, not counting the trip home of course. But I’m glad to be back and not planning on going anywhere out of the country anytime soon.

 

Londres

Class is over and now the fun can really begin!  I just took my final exam for my January Spanish course and now I have to write a paper for it due in March.  All of that will count as one credit and the 4 other classes I take at the University will count as 4 more.  I am so excited to get into real classes with real Spaniards.  I already bought a University of Sevilla t-shirt too.

Tomorrow I will head to London with a girl I've become friends with.  I'll write about that when I get back but I hope to have some real English tea and to go to Stonehenge as well.  It should be interesting to visit the site now since there have been recent findings about 2 miles away of an ancient settlement known as Durrington Walls.  Eight houses have already been escavated from the wooden settlement and I hope to maybe get the chance to see part of history being unearthed!

 The rain has finally subsided a little here.  It was going on a few days and putting everyone in slightly bad moods.  We had to go to a museum in the rain, not a very interesting museum I must say, but going in the rain made even less appealing.  It was called Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares.  We did get to see some of the embroidery women made during the 18th and 19th centuries for their "ajuar" or the clothes/linens they make for the house once they are married.  Apparantly this is what a lot of women spent the majority of their young lives doing, and even hah problems with their eyesight and back, for bending over, peering at a needle all day long.  Needless to say, their work paid off and is on display in all its intricate beauty.  We also got to see a wine bodega, or cellar, where they store barrels and barrels of the stuff.

Short entry but now I must pack, and plan the rest of this trip.  I forget how much work it takes to get around here when I try to do more than walk.  two buses just to the airport, then the tube and cab once we land.  Oy!

 Fun Fact:  the Symbol of Sevilla is No8Do, only the 8 in the actual symbol is more elongated like a twist of rope.  The name comes from the 14th century during the reign of Alfonso the 10th.  The piece of rope is called a madeja and the actual symbol, No-madeja-Do is a slight play on words and literally means "no me ha dejado" or "it has not left me."

  

We had an interesting conversation in class yesterday on the topic of immigration. For the level of ease I consider myself to be having with these classes, they are by far some of the more interesting I have had. We learned in both of the two classes how while Spain used to be an emmigration country where people moved mostly from the 'campo' to the city, from inside to outisde the country as well to find work, it is now wholly an immigration country. People come from all over, especially latin America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia which led to another conversation on discrimination. I was surprised to find out that even those from Latin America who speak the same language and have similar cultures were still discriminated against. While it is mostly against the women, who are many times forced to take jobs they are underqualified for, "inmigrante" carries with it a sort of stigma here. The topic of immigration is consistantly on the news stations and in the newspapers especially as hundreds of Africans land daily on the coasts of Spain in 'pateras' or 'cayucos.'

One of the big reasons why discrimination exists is because of the differences in adapting and integrating. While many come here in search of work or a better life and adapt well over time to their new homes, they are not looking to integrate with the Spanish, to learn the language and their customs, and so are never accepted into the society. This is especially true for the Asian population here. I only see them in groups, usually on tours of the Cathedral or Plaza de Espana and rarely at the local restuarants or cafes, but the population of Asians in Spain is larger than one might expect. They come here though not to live like a Spaniard but to open their stores and restaurants, send money home and eventually return home themselves.

Interestingly though, I found that some of the Spanish, or at least my teacher at my school have a certain affinity for the spanish spoken by Latin Americans. My teacher who is about 30 with two young kids says she remembers watching Little Mermaid in the 'Hispanoamericano' rather than 'Castellano' version and to this day loves how Latin Americans speak in a manner "tan dulce" and with many beautiful, clear words and phrases. She says its aweful to hear a Spanish person speak next to a Latin American and even has her own daughter watch The Little Mermaid in the same way. I can tell a difference myself of course, after always hearing the same kind of spanish growing up, but it doesn't sound so much worse to me. I do think that Colombian spanish is more beautiful but there are only a few things I particularly am having trouble getting used to. Most of all, the way they drop their "s" on almost everything that needs one! They say "Bueno_ Dia_" or "Hatha luego," sometimes insterting a "th" where an "s" is necessary.

The other noticeable differences are in some of their words for things. They use the word "bocadillo" for a sandwich you would eat, if you can't be in the house for lunch for example. At home I was always used to the word meaning a certain kind of fruity, almost gummy dessert. They also use the word "vale" for EVERYTHING. I have heard that single word more times here than I think any other. It's the equivalent of english speakers saying "okay" but I feel like they say it more, if not more unecessarily. I've even adopted the phrase I saw on the discover sevilla Web site "when in doubt, just say 'vale' ." Other than that they also use the word "marchar" a lot to mean leaving or going somewhere. Although I normally say "me voy," they usually say "me marcho."

A few other funny "simple rules" for living in Sevilla as posted on the Discover Sevilla Web site:

*Never ever walk around in sandals or without shoes, you'll catch a cold

*Olive Oil is a wonder drug that is supposidly non-fattening

*Air conditioning is potentially very dangerous and can make you very sick

*Hold onto your purse when someone asks you for directions

 

Vale?

 

-Angela

Since I have to study the information for my class, I thought I might as well share an interesting year in Spain's past called Spain's year. 1992 was a big year for Spain and for Sevilla more specifically. In that year not only did Madrid become the cultural center of the country but the Olimpics were held in Barcelona and the World Exposition in Seville. Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, the Expo was not only a celebration for the country but also brought together over 200 countries who represented themselves here during that time. My senora says it was a wonderful time with an overwhelming amount to see and do. The Expo meant huge developments in the infrastructure of the city. They re-routed part of the Guadalquivir river and built more bridges. The high speed train called the Ave that connects Madrid to Sevilla, and which I rode on my way into the country, was even built. The Expo lasted 6 months and brought millions to visit a country more culturally and technologically developed than had been the case during the Franco years.

Interestingly enough, I actually live on the small "island" of sevilla formed by the two strands of the River. Crossing the Puente de Los Remedios almost every day I can only imagine how vibrant the city must have been during those 6 months.

In more recent news, Andalucia is fast approaching its rainiest month of the year. Not only do we have to bundle up tightly but our umbrellas should be getting some good use soon too. While it hasnt snowed in Seville for some 53 years, it has been snowing in many other parts of the penninsula and even as close as a couple hundred miles away. At least we have Carnaval in Cadiz to look forward too. Although the beach shouldnt be much warmer than it is here, the festivities should brighten our soggy moods.

And lets not forget my trip to London soon! Booked just last week and leave on the 6th, I am thrilled to get to go see the touristy sights and old friends I worked with at a summer camp in 2005 in North Carolina. Among other things, I hope to see the Cadbury chocolate factory, Buckingham Palace and maybe even Stonehenge! The only let-down is going to the only European Union country that did not convert to the Euro (and who's exchange rate is even worse). But the experience shall be worth it : )