Sierra de Aracena & Bullfight

On Friday, I went on an excursion with my group to Sierra de Aracena. We woke up early and got on the bus for the 1.5 hour journey up to this mountain range of the Sierra Morena. 

We arrived in the village of Aracena to begin our two hour climb to our lunch spot. 

The sky looked very ominous, but we all came prepared with raincoats. As we started our walk, we were greeted by some happy pigs in a big pig pen. If you knew me between the ages of 8-13ish, you know that I was completely obsessed with pigs. I even didn't eat any pig meat for about five years! Needless to say, you can imagine my excitement.

The hike was... LONG. We went at a pretty quick pace, and there were so many rocks and other rough terrain that made it hard to ever look up from the ground. However, we took occasional stops to appreciate the stunning, mountainous scenery around us.

Olivia, Kathleen, Me, Caroline

One of the coolest parts of this hike was the random animal farms we saw along the way. Besides the pigs in the beginning of the hike, we saw cows, donkeys, horses, dogs, cats, and more!

We stopped for lunch in another small town up in the mountains. All of our host moms had prepared bocadillos (sandwiches) for us to eat. Eva (my host mom) always comes through with the food. My chorizo & sharp cheese sandwich on a soft baguette was just what I needed to refuel for the second half of our hike!

After an hour-long lunch break, we started back up again. Of course, we stopped to get a picture of our awesome crew. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have met such awesome friends so quickly! They have made everything so much easier. Love my Sevillanas! :) (That means you, Carolina!)

The next day, Saturday, we slept in and had a calm morning at home in preparation for the event later that day: the bullfight. Our student group (API) had gotten us tickets for the show, and we knew that it was too big of a part of the Spanish culture to miss. So, we got dressed up and went to the Plaza de Toros, the bullring in Sevilla that I mentioned in my last post. The building is so beautiful and so "Sevilla."

Plaza de Toros- I actually snapped this picture from the bus on the way back from Sierra de Aracena the day before!

Clara from BC!

Selfies in anticipation!

I was a little nervous about seeing six bulls be killed. My host mom tried to help explain some of the cultural aspects: the order of events, the music, the costumes, etc. It definitely helped to try to think about it as more of a cultural show, rather than just animals getting murdered. That is not to say that it wasn't sad, but I am glad I stayed the whole time to get to know about something that has been an important part of my new country's culture for centuries. I'm not sure if I'd return though...

One of the torreros walking around the ring after what was considered an exceptional match.

And then we danced the night away in the rain...

¡Chao!

A

Sevilla: First Week Summary

¡Hola!

Somehow, I'm almost to the two week mark in Spain! I can't believe it. I've been in Sevilla for a little over a week now, and although the time has flown by, I already feel like this beautiful city is my home. I wanted to give a little (OK it didn't turn out to be so little) summary of my first week here to catch you all up on what I've been doing.

Wednesday
As I wrote in my last post, I arrived in Sevilla last Wednesday night and met my host mom, Eva. Olivia, my roommate, and I are already in love with our madre! She is so welcoming and is the best cook in the world (sorry, mom). On Wednesday night, we settled in to our new rooms. Getting everything organized made it all start to feel real. This is my room for my junior year, fit with a big drawing of the bullring here in Sevilla, Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza. I love this drawing so much and have since bought postcards with the same image of the outside of the bullring building. Let's see if I still feel this way after I attend my first bull fight tomorrow... I'll keep you posted.

Thursday
We got up bright and early (once again... it didn't end 'til Sunday) to tour one of Sevilla's most famous spots: the Seville Cathedral, a.k.a. la Catedral de Sevilla / Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla. It is the third largest church in the world, but the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Pretty cool!

The Cathedral is right in the middle of the city center, and it is (as expected) GIANT!

The building above is right across the street from the Cathedral. It's my favorite building in Sevilla so far. :)

We took a tour through the inside of the Cathedral. It was very grand and the ceilings were higher than I could have ever imagined. 

We also saw Christopher Columbus's tomb (above). Although there are five different sites in the world that claim to have Mr. Columbus's remains, the bones in this tomb have been DNA tested and are indeed his!

La Giralda tower

After our tour of the inside, we got to climb up to the top of the Giralda tower. One 35 story walk later, we were high enough to see a 360 degree view of the entire city. The white-washed buildings with red roofs, all the different towers and cathedrals, the pools-- it all just screamed "SPAIN" to me and made me so happy that I picked such an authentically Spanish city. 

Olivia and I went home for an amazing paella lunch prepared by our host mom, Eva. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I was so stuffed and didn't know if I was going to make it through my impending bike tour. I am going to do a separate post about all the food I've had- it's been that good. I haven't eaten out for a single meal since I've been here, because I know it wouldn't be as good as what my host mom makes. I've even started calling her "Eva la cocinera" ("Eva the cook/chef"). It is very typical for Spaniards to eat every meal of the day at home. Even working adults usually come home to eat lunch, which is usually served between 2:30-3:30 pm and is their biggest meal of the day.

Next up was a fun bike tour through Sevilla. Biking is really big here- more so than I've ever seen in a city. Every single sidewalk has a separate bike lane, and they have an awesome bike rental system with tons of different locations where you can pick up or drop off a bike.

Some tourist at the Guadalquivir River (the river that divides Sevilla into two sides)

Being very safe and taking pictures with my iPhone while riding a bike...

Our bike tour ended in Plaza de España, which is about two blocks from my house. Plaza de España is a huge plaza in the María Luisa Park that has incredible architecture, tiling, bridges over a small mote, a big fountain, and all-around ambiance that will make your jaw drop. No picture can actually capture its beauty. I had a picture of Plaza de España as my background for a few months before I came here, and I still was shocked by how big and amazing it is. It's been in a few movies, including Star Wars.

More Plaza de España

Can't get over the tiles!

Friday
On Friday, we went to a pretty boring reception at our school: Universidad de Sevilla. It was nice to see the school, though. Universidad de Sevilla was founded in 1505!! The main building, where I take all of my five classes, was built as a tobacco factory in the 18th century, and was converted into the school building in the 1950's. The building is huge and is filled with beautiful arches, staircases, and fountains.

The main entrance of the university

After the school reception, we walked over to the Alcázar, the royal palace in Sevilla, to see the gardens and public areas. The Alcázar is was so amazing and detailed that I'm going to do a separate post about it. Stay tuned, but here's a "sneak peak."

Saturday

On Saturday, we went on a beach day trip with a new company called Planet Spain. Their representatives came to our university reception and told us about this 20 Euro all-inclusive day. I'm so glad I decided to suck up my exhaustion and go. For less than 30 USD, I got to spend the day with all of my new friends at two beaches and a national park, with a HUGE paella lunch and sangria included.

Beach #1: Cuesta Maneli

Giant paella lunch for 50 people

Doñata National Park: the site of our paella picnic

Cervezas on the next beach: Matalascañas

Love my roomie, Olivia :)

Sunday

We were so exhausted from getting 4-6 hours of sleep each night for an entire week! I am an at-least-8-hours kind of girl, so I was ready to sleep the day away and not care! Olivia and I both slept until after noon, and had a relaxing day in preparation for our first day of classes on Monday.

Monday

The first day of classes was here! As much as I would have enjoyed for my class-less vacation to continue, going to class made this whole experience feel a lot more real. I started to feel less like a tourist and more like a local as I packed a notebook, walked to class through the Prado (park), and listened to 6 hours of Spanish lecturing/discussion. I am taking five classes: Contemporary Spanish Film, Spanish American Literature, Spanish in America, Publicity and Propaganda, and Contemporary Spanish Women Writers. Each class is two hours long and has two sessions a week, which makes for a total of 20 hours a week of class for me! I enjoy some more than others, of course, but they are all pretty good classes. The work load seems very manageable, too.

My walk to class

First day of school pic!

Tuesday
Both Monday and Tuesday were filled with lots of errands around the city, like getting a phone, hair appliances, going to the bank, etc. These errands let us explore more of the city on the way, so we had lots of fun and got to know our area!

Flamenco in the streets

On Tuesday evening, Olivia, Laura, and I went to check out the Metropol Parasol, a.k.a. Las Setas (the mushrooms). It is the largest wooden structure in the world, and has an awesome view from the top of the whole city.

Wednesday

We were still getting used to going to class. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have three classes, which means six hours of class. It feels a little bit like high school all over again, but at least my classes are pretty interesting. When I got back from my 5:00-7:00 pm class, Olivia and I went for a sunset walk through Plaza de España. ¡Qué romántico!

It's even PRETTIER at night. How could this be?

CANNOT WAIT to go on a boat ride through Plaza de España with Ben! I'm starting a list of all the things I want to do when Ben visits in the beginning of November, as well as when my parents visit for Thanksgiving week!

Thursday

On Thursday night, we went to a flamenco show at Sevilla's best kept secret flamenco bar, La Carbonería. I was freaking out the whole time- I loved it so much! I can't wait to go back all the time! I even bought a flamenco hair flower that was homemade the dancer. :)

Kathleen & me!

There you go- one week down in Sevilla. I love this place, and I'm so happy with my decision to stay here for two semesters. I can already tell my Spanish is improving-mostly just listening skills at this point, but my vocabulary is definitely expanding, as well. 20 hours of all Spanish classes a week + living with my fast-talking Spanish madre = a recipe for success! Next step: Olivia and I are going to try talking Spanish to each other. That will be a little harder. ;)

¡Hasta luego!

A

Orientation Part 3: Córdoba & (FINALMENTE) Sevilla!

¡Ay! I really need to catch up so I can finally talk about Sevilla. Here we go!

On our last day of orientation (Wednesday), we had another early wake up call, followed by a four-hour bus ride to Córdoba, Spain. Córdoba is a relatively small town in Andalucía, the "state" that Sevilla is in, as well. It is definitely one of the most picturesque places I've ever been. Everywhere you turn, there are winding streets with colorfully decorated buildings like these:

I just couldn't get enough! We had a few hours to explore and eat lunch before our 3:30 pm tour, so we walked around and found the cutest, tucked-away restaurant named "El Rincon de Carmen." 

Shortly after we sat down and ordered (of course) a pitcher of "tinto de verano," a Spanish guitar player came out and serenaded the room. He was so cheerful and really added to the whole experience. We pulled together 5 Euros as a thank you for the mid-afternoon entertainment. That was my only tip in Spain so far. (Note: Not tipping is the norm. Waiters are paid normal, competitive wages and tips are only for when you get exceptional service!)

We all really enjoyed our meals, service, and the general ambiance of the restaurant. It was a perfect end to a fun orientation with new friends. I really have found such a great group of girls already, which has made the adjustment so much easier.

Laura, Caroline, Olivia (roomie!)

Outside of the restaurant with Caroline, Alex, Olivia, Kathleen, & Laura.

Shout out to Chi-City with Kathleen, who is from Winnetka and goes to BC! We didn't know each other before we left- hard to believe!

Selfies with Caroline from New York :)

After we walked around for a while, we met back up with our group (API) to go on a tour of The Great Mosque (Aljama) of Córdoba. This amazing monument was built in 785 A.D., during the time of Moorish occupation in Spain. It is known as the "most splendid Islamic monument in the Western world." Since the original mosque was built, there have been many additions, including a Christian cathedral and bell tower. The architecture was so unique and gave us more of a taste of Andalucía's Muslim/Moorish roots.

After grabbing some "helado" (ice cream), we got on the bus to FINALLY head down to Sevilla! I couldn't sleep on the two-hour ride, which, as you may know, is so unlike me. I was so anxious to meet my host mom and finally see the city I would be living in until June! (With a break in between when I'll be coming home- don't worry!) Andalucía is historically known as the agricultural hub of Spain, and the two hours I spent staring at farms definitely proved that to me.

A huge statue of a bull? Welcome to Andalucía!

We arrived in Sevilla around 7:00 pm, and our host mom, Eva, came to pick Olivia (my roommate) and me up! We, of course, gave our "dos besos" (two kisses) as a greeting. Olivia and I could immediately tell that we were incredibly lucky. Eva is pretty young, super approachable, and fun! She has a 15-year-old son, but he was with his dad that night. She doesn't speak English, which I was very happy to hear. She speaks VERY FAST, but it's making me learn and improve quickly. I will be living with her for both semesters, so I can't wait to get close and really think of her as my "madre española."

Like I mentioned before, Olivia and I have our own rooms. It was such a pleasant surprise. Here are some pictures of my room:

Well, that's all for now, everyone! I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is my third day of classes, and they are going well so far. We live very close to the school-less than a 10 minute walk. It's been so great. I will update you more on my time in Sevilla tomorrow or Thursday!

¡Buenas noches!

A