La Vida Loca de Espana!

heyy everyone!
i am just returning from a beautiful trip to the spanish coast line better known as costa del sol (the coast of sun) which borders the Mediterranean Sea. i went with 3 other girls from my program and it was wonderful. i was able to get a sweet discount at the marriot from my oh so glorious job last summer and we were able to stay in a 2 room apartment right on the beach for a price cheaper than a hostal. it was great. our apartment was beautiful and had a full kitchen, 3 tv's which aired stations in english, spanish, arabic, french, and german- i know, craziness. the hotel had 3 outdoor pools and 1 indoor. one of the outdoor pools was a kids pool and had you guessed it, a WATER SLIDE! needless to say, i was in my element and made friends with about 4 ten year old boys from britain who just about killed me. they were able to convince me to try all these different slide techniques including going down on my knees. believe me, this is easier said than done. it took about 10 tries before i mastered the technique.
besides the 4 of us, we were surrounded by oldies and families, clearly few other college kids can afford the marriot hehe. majority of the people were from britain so everything was in english. there were also alot of german people there as well. all of the workers at the front desk spoke at least one other language besides spanish. one of the ladies in particular spoke spanish, english, and german- it was wild. the security guard, carlos, who we became friends with spoke 5! craziness!
overall, the trip was just what the doctor ordered- late mornings filled with sleep, much relaxation, and tons of sun. i loved every minute of it. the hotel was located along a highway so we became frequenters of the bus and took it to 3 of the surrounding towns: Estepona, Marbella, and Puerto Banus. All the towns were lovely and we got to explore all of them a little. Puerto Banus was wild, definitely the land of the posh. we decided to go there saturday night and were knocked off our feet. all the cars were mercedes, bentleys, you name it. there were yachts all over the place. and get this. usually when we walk around seville, clubs will try to get us to come in by saying they will give us a free chupitto (shot). not in puerto banus, they offered us champagne. what a different world. i felt like a mini celebrity for the night.
things in sevilla are good so far. they are midweek of semana santa (holy week). this is one of the biggest holidays of the year and is very important to the people of sevilla. the local churches have floats of the passion that they carry around the city for the week. tomorrow i am going to go venture out and see what the festivities are like. other than that i have some school projects that i should be working on.
the weather is beautiful, i actually am getting some color, no more pasty white for me!
hope things are going well for you all.
miss you!
steph

Heyyy everyone!
I have finally climbed out of my hole and am updating you on life. The last few weeks have been wonderful full of fun, excitement, and various adventures. I survived Spanish midterms, and am now into project mode with big projects in all of my classes occurring in the next few weeks. In addition to the copious amounts of hours I have spent being a slave to my desk (hehe) I have been doing some traveling. I took a day trip with my group to a woodsy area outside of Sevilla called Mulva where we saw some Roman Ruins and took a 3 mile hike. It was a nice escape from the city for a little. I felt like I was back home in MA.
Besides Mulva, I went on a day trip to Cordoba, another city in southern spain which houses a large mosque which was beautiful. The mosque was converted into a cathedral and shows interesting influences of both Muslim and Christian architecture.
So get this...I went to the BEACH! I know in March, what a thought. I went with some of my roommates to Matascanas, a beach about an hour outside of Seville. The beach was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the water was well a little cold, but hey, we can't get everything. We were there all day and I got some color which is a nice switch since Rosa my host mom often times looks at my legs and says in spanish- "que blancos!" which literally translates to "how white!" hhahaha.
this past weekend was our group's program to Extremadura. This is a region of spain that borders Portugal. Friday we went to visit a roman ampitheater and theater in Merida. The ruins were really pretty, we were also able to see a small museum that had other ruins. After this we went to a town called Trujillo where we stayed in a beautiful hotel with perhaps the most comfortable beds I have encountered during my time in Spain. Saturday we departed from the hotel and set off for a 10 mile hike through the mountains of Spain. The hike was full of small mountains, rocks, and beautiful scenery. There were rolling hills, beautiful trees, flowers, animals, and all types of vegetation all over our hiking area. The hike was exhausting but really exciting when we finished. We ended up in a small town called Guadalupe which houses an amazing monastery where we spent the night. This past morning we went on a tour of the monastery and saw the cathedral attached to it, it was full of Gothic architecture, frescoes, and so many beautifully decorated walls and ceilings. Overall the trip was a blast. We saw perhaps the most amazing sights I have witnessed during my time here in Spain.
The next two weeks will be busy at school but then we are coming up to holy week where we will have the week off. I am planning a beach trip to southern spain's coastline with a couple of friends.
Hope all is well with you all! Miss you!!!
Steph

so i spent the last 4 days in london and had such a blast. it is perhaps the closest thing you can get to america while remaining in europe. the people were nice, the city was clean, and the sights were splendid. i went with 5 of my roommates and another friend from api. we started our adventure aboard the lovely ryan air, the cheap airline of europe. i describe it best as a party bus with wings. the plane was huge and filled to capacity. there were only about 3 flight attendants and they could barely keep the plane under control. people were running around everywhere, talking, drinking, it was literally a circus but fully entertaining at the same time. we arrived in the london airport around 12 only to find out that this particular airport is about an hour and a half outside of central london. we boarded a bus and headed to our hostel finally checking in around 4am. the first hostel was ok, we shared our room with 2 other spaniards which was rather comical. over half of the hostel was spanish so for our first day and a half in london i spoke more spanish than english. this hostel was located in hyde park which was a great location. thursday we went on a free walking tour of the city and were able to see all of the main tourist sights including buckingham palace, trafalgar circle, big ben, westminister abbey, the houses of parliament, st. james palace, amongst others. after the tour we went out for our first slice of english food. we went to a chian over there called wetherspoons, it was delicious, the perfect escape from the staples of jamon and bread in spain. i had a lovely pie with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and chili, it was delicious. next we went to a free prayer service inside of westminister abbey, what an experience. wa is beautiful, so nicely decorated. it is the royal tomb of british aristocracy and other famous people. at night we met up with one of the girl´s friends at a bar. friday was hectic, we checked out of our first hostel and headed to greenwich, a small town outside of central london for our second hostel experience. this hostel was nice, it was above a bar. the staff and other people staying there were very friendly and nice. after checking in we hit the tube and stormed london. we went all over- picadilly circus, leicester square, china town, soho, ending in camden town which is kinda like the punk rock center with tons of outdoor markets with clothes, shoes, and sunglasses. we ate a typical fish and chips lunch and walked around. after this we headed back to the hostel. while on the way back, we walked over the tower of london bridge, and what a sight it was. everything was dark and lit up, a breathtaking view of the thames river and london. we returned to the hostel and spend the night in the pub downstairs. saturday was another busy day. we went to st. paul´s cathedral, the second largest cathedral in the world (sevilla is home to the third largest the architecture inside was astounding, really beautiful. we climbed almost to the top, the dome was closed for construction and were able to see london from above. it was a great view of the city and all of its sights. after this i got to experience harrod´s perhaps one of the coolest places ever. it is this ginormous department store in central london with everything you can think of. it is huge and ridiculously expensive. needless to say i could afford nothing in there but it was still fun to look around.
saturday night we went to redding, a small town 20 minutes outside of london to meet up with one of the girl´s friends. it was a quaint little town and quite pretty. we watched the rugby game between england and ireland in a local australian pub which was mobbed with people. it was really cool, a slice of enlish culture. i had no idea how rugby worked but i think i am a bit more clued in now.
sunday was the end of our trip and we went out with a bang having a lovely full english breakfast which was delicious, very different than my typical spanish toast in the morning. we arrived back in sevilla around 10 and since then it has been busy busy with midterms. so far so good, i have about another week more of busy school work but oh well. london was great though. i def miss speaking in english. hahha.
this weekend i am heading hopefully to cordoba to see the world famous mosque there and then saturday api is taking us to mulva on a day trip. i believe it is a hike and nature walking, who knows, we shall see.
hope all is well with you all! miss you!
steph

Hey everyone!
So it has been awhile since I last updated, my apologies. Things have been rather hectic over here. School is kicking into high gear so I have been a tad busy. School is school, a bit boring but not too bad. My classes are good except Art History which is perhaps the most boring class ever created. It is painful to sit through but oh well, what are we to do. Other than that the university is nice. Very airy and open which is quite lovely with this wonderful weather we have been having lately. Today was beautiful, i went with 2 of the girls I live with to do homework by the river that divides Sevilla in 2. It was crazy, there were people everywhere. That is perhaps one of the most interesting things I have discovered about Spain so far, people here are always out and about. It can be 8am, 10pm, or 4am and there will be people young and old alike walking the streets. It is rather refreshing. Today however was perhaps the most interesting due to the volume of people. I went for a run (i know hard to believe, that bread is finally kicking in and needs to be gotten rid of asap) and had to weave in and out of people walking and sitting. There are all of these really nice cafes and restaurants on both sides of the river I would love to try some of them during the next few months. The nice weather is amazing though, considering for the 2 weeks before this week we got rain every day!
Last weekend I went to Morocco with a tour group called we love spain. There were about 20 other students from my program along with 20 or so other people. It was quite the experience. We were there for 3 days and went to three different cities in the North of Morocco. We left on Friday and took a bus to the south of spain where we boarded a ferry to Morocco. We got to see the rock of Gibraltar from afar which was cool. The ferry was really cool, extremely large. After the ferry we reached Morocco but had to go through the border, which was a bit scary. It was about 8pm and we were in the complete dark. There were random people running all over the place and jumping fences. All of the kids were freaking out, it was certainly an eye opening experience. The first city we went to was Tetuan. We arrived there in the complete darkness since most of the city has no electricity. Out hotel was nice and had a view of the Atlantic Ocean from the deck. It was beautiful especially in the morning. After we checked in, we were served a traditional Moroccan meal. We had a cream of carrot soup, and chicken with olives. It was really good. We checked out the next day and then went on a tour of Tetuan the next day. The town was very craftsy and representative of a third world country. After our tour of the city, we went to Tangier. What a 180 of change. We went from a slummy city with barely any electricity to a thriving industrial city. It was hard to believe we were in the same country had just entered the night before. In Tangier, we saw a native Moroccan show which was awesome. There were belly dancers, a man who balanced a tray of candles on his head, and little kids who were perhaps my favorite part of the night. There was one girl and one boy who were about 5 or 6 each. They literally were doing flips over one another. It was wild. The girl bent her body around itself. Her feet were coming through her head, it was wild, really cool. The show was a blast, a real slice of Morocco. It was really interactive, they had kids from our group come up and help which was really fun.
The next morning we departed Tangier and headed to Chechuan. To get there we had to go through the mountains of Morocco for about 2 hours. The ride was pretty windy and most of us were relieved to finally arrive at our next destination. We got a tour of the city from a little old Moroccan man who was in one word crazy. We went to a great restaurant and saw Moroccan dancers, a band, and had some more native food. We had cous cous, a beef stew, and kabobs, all of which were really delicious. The city was neat, very craftsy and artsy. After we left, we went on a camel ride! It was really short, just a walk around a parking lot but it was still really fun.
The trek back to Sevilla was long and tiring but we made it back! Overall, the trip was fun, we saw alot of things in a short time though. It was certainly nice to get back here though. I really began to realize on the trip back how much I like Sevilla. It is so charming and full of life and history. I think the people are growing on me, I am getting some smiles from time to time and an older man even started talking to me on the bus the other day. It was really nice.
I wish I could say that my spanish was improving in strides but lately it has not been used too much. Since I live with 14 other us students we never talk to one another in spanish. My goal over the next few weeks is to practice a few new words a day and try to talk to more locals. We shall see, each day at a time.
On Friday API (our study abroad group) took us on a tour of a section of Sevilla called Arenal. It was really nice, very old and historic. We got a tour of the bull fighting ring. It was really cool. We are going for a show in April, which should be interesting to say the least.
That is about all for now. Hope all is well with everyone! Let me know if you have any questions.

Stephanie

Hey everyone!
I am back from a fun weekend away in Granada. The trip was fun despite our poor weather. We arrived Friday and were shocked with the warm weather and sunshine. All of our trip leaders were like make sure you bundle up since it will be freezing. I whipped out the ski parka but it was clearly not needed on Friday. We went on a tour of the cathedral which was quite pretty, not as nice as the one in Sevilla but still full of lovely architecture and sculptures. We saw Ferdinand and Isabella's tomb, it was really neat, right in the middle of the cathedral. After this, we were let loose in the city only to find out that everything was closed for siesta. Granada's siesta is even more intense than Sevilla's. Nothing was open. We were forced to go to the bars and get some drinks and tapas which none of us were complaining too much about. After that I was able to meet up with Melissa and walk the city a little. Granada is quite nice, much more quaint and town feeling than Sevilla. The streets, buildings, and people are beautiful. From the city we were able to see the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains which were lovely. Once returning back to our hotel we were able to have dinner which was a buffet full of great food and some american favorites like pasta and french fries. After this we went to a flamenco show which was awesome. Two different dancing groups performed. They were great. The ladies were in full costume and were tapping up a storm. It was really fun, a true slice of spanish culture. At the end they started to pull members of our group up to give it a try and of course I was one of the lucky ones chosen. It was actually fun. Perhaps when I return to the states I will have some new dance moves hehe. After this we got a flavor of Granada nightlife which was ridiculously fun. We went to an old theater which is now a discoteca. It was huge, certainly a fun night. Saturday was raining and horrid. We went for a 3 hour outdoor tour of the Alhambra. It was beautiful. I swear the precision and detailing of the Spanish architecture is breathtaking. Every surface is full of their thoughts, feelings, and religious symbols. The moorish influence is evident in many aspects of the Alhambra. After the visit we did some shopping downtown, got lunch, and shipped back to Sevilla. Things are getting into full mode at school which is quite the switch. Classes are ok so far, we are just getting our feet wet so things are sort of boring at first. I think the Spaniards are slowly warming up to us. I was at the library today and one girl offered to let me use her computer, an encouraging sign. This weekend I am headed to Morocco for a three day excursion! I am going with a ton of kids from my residencia and API. I will let you know how it goes! Take Care!