Viviendo la vida loca! (Living the crazy life)

Ok, so it's been quite a while since I've written on my blog. It's so crazy how life can get sometimes, but I'm sure that everyone can understand that. I really do feel like the days here are only 12 hours instead of 24 hours. I have no idea where the time goes! Let's see now... since the last time I wrote, I have had quite a few great experiences. One, being the "Canaval" in Cadiz. What a crazy night that was... Elena and I took a one hour bus ride to Cadiz that left at 10pm and didn't LEAVE for Sevilla until 7:45am! The night was filled with new people, crazy costumes, churros con chocolate, and A LOT of walking in the cold to kill the time. Although I had a lot of fun and am glad I went, I don't believe I'll be going back any time soon!School is kind of interesting... still kind of difficult to understand everything that's going on, but I do believe that it's slowly getting easier to catch on. We had our second composition and 1st test this past week and this next week is going to be killer... we have our 3rd and final composition due, another test, and our final exam: all within 3 days of each other! I guess that's what happens during the intensive period though (which ends next week). On Thursday, I went on a "field trip" with my school to the ancient Roman ruins called Italica. (Only a little better than the field trips of going to the apple farm and such...riiiight). Anyway, some of the remains were even built in the year 53! Although there wasn't much left to it, the history behind it was enough. My favorite part was the gladiator pit that was supposedly in the movie "The Gladiator", as well!Well, enough about school... although, that's why I'm here, right??:) I really have been trying to dig into the culture here. As always, the food, the nightlife, and siestas are my forte in that area. A lot of us went to a dance club, called Boss, on Wednesday night. (Apparently Wendesday nights are really big there.) If anyone knows me, then they know I love to dance and will sacrifice some sleep on a school night to do so.
On Friday night, several of us went to a flamenco bar. It was so amazing, although we were too far away to see the dancer's feet. I'm not too worried, though, for I will definitely be returning sometime soon! Here is a video I recorded:


This past weekend (on Saturday), about 6 girls including myself took the bus to Cordoba, which is about 2 hours away. It was So beautiful. Pictures can never do justice to the beauty in real life. Although my body was quite sore from both walking around all day and having gone running with Elena the day before (yes, I went running... I know!), it was worth every bit of pain.

Feels like home

Well, on Tuesday (2-5-08) I began my first dance class to learn a dance style similar to flamenco but is actually more specific to this region, called flamenco de Sevillanos. As most people know, I love to dance and was, needless to say, very excited about this class! I had no idea that it was going to be as complicated as it is, though. The combination of the feet, the arms, and the hands is actually muy dificil (very difficult). After the class, about 8 of us went shopping and simply checked out parts of the city. Everyday, I grow to love Sevilla more and more! On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go to a catholic mass service for Ash Wednesday at the local cathedral: the largest church in the world! Although I understood very little of what they were saying, it was definitely the most beautiful service I have ever attended. The architecture and ornate designs are breathtaking.Every Thursday during the month of February, our classes are only 2 hours instead of 4 in order to go on different "fieldtrips" to historic places in Sevilla. This past Thursday, my group went on a tour of Alcazar, a beautiful palace that I believe was built sometime in the 15th century! Again, it was very difficult to understand what our guide was talking about (in Spanish, of course)... but to be honest, no words were needed. Its beauty simply tells a story for itself.

Classes are starting to pick up a little bit, meaning both the work outside the classroom and the speaking and listening inside the classroom is becoming more challenging. I have found that both in the school and at the home, charades and pictionary are becoming very popular in order to understand one another! This evening, Elena and I went shopping for costumes to wear to the Carnival in Cadiz. The carnival has been going on for a while, but this Saturday, many people from my school, including myself, will be going to Cadiz (about 2 hours by train) and will be simply having a good time in the streets literally all night long! Elena and I ended up buying the cheapest wigs we could find that are short and curly... and bright orange! (and pink for Elena), along with crazy multi-colored fake eye lashes. I can't wait to go and take lots of pictures, but there is no doubt that we will definitely need to rest up first in order to stay up all night!
With that said, I am absoutely loving Spain and hope that this feeling never ends. It would be my dream one day to return here, for even in just a little over 3 1/2 months, I will not even be close to seeing all there is to see. Not only are the buildings and scenary so beautiful, but the people here are SO nice... and not to mention have some of the cutest children in the world!!
I am quickly becoming accustomed to the culture by taking part in the traditional "greeting" (an "air-kiss" on both cheeks instead of only a hug), siesta (nap time during the middle of the day... although, that's nothing new), eating large meals later in the day (lunch around 3pm and dinner around 10pm), exploring the night life, and so much more! Already I have fallen in love with the city and have only been here for a week. I can not even fathom the heartache I will have when the time comes to leave everything behind: new friends, new food, and especially my new family... for I at least know that home (in South Carolina) will be there awaiting my return. However, there is no guarentee that I will ever be able to return to this hidden treasure... at least not anytime soon!

"Estoy llena..."

This is my adorable family: mi señor y mi señora. What a day this was! Today was the first day of classes for us. They can either be from 8:45am-12:45pm or 5:15pm-9:15pm. Fortunately, my class will be held in the morning Monday-Friday during these 3 1/2 weeks. It is much like Clemson's Maymester. I will also be taking a Sevillian dance class, learning flamenco. After 4 hours of sitting in the corner of a muy pequeño (very small) room and trying to understand the Spanish of a woman who speaks even faster than the cars and mopeds that travel in the streets here, I was just about ready to return a mi casa. Elena (my roommate) has class in the evening, so after she left, JoseEnrique y Magdalena generously took me around Centro to find a good deal on a "pay-as-you-go" phone. Finalmente after 3 tiendas, we were able to find the perfect cell phone plan. They also took me to get some churros (the funnel-cake-looking-things) and some cafe con leche (coffee with milk). They were SO good. Before finally returning to the house after having already walked so much, Magdalena took me into 2 iglesias (churches). They were very beautiful and very peaceful.


I am a little sick right now, but I hope to get better soon. I definitely can not think clearly at all in English, much less in espanol and am forced to only recall about 3 phrases sometimes. One of Elena's and my favorites has quickly become, "Estoy llena," meaning: "I am full." The food is very different but also very good! I look forward to learning and hopefully embracing more of the Spanish culture as time goes on.

Bienvenidos a mi blog!

     Hola! It's Sunday around 1:00pm (East Coast time, 7am)
and already so much has happened since I arrived here on
Thursday January 31st. I flew from Charlotte to New York
and was at the airport for about 3 hours before I finally
started meeting people on my trip. By dinner before we
flew to Madrid at 9pm, I had already met around 15
wonderful girls from across the country, none of which
are from SC, though and very few from the South at that:(!
The Madrid airport was crazy... let's just say very big
and quite confusing.
Friday was a very busy day for us all. After getting
up early to take a quick tour of part of the city, we then
made it to the Center where all our classes will be held.
We took (to my surprise) a placement test. YIKES! I do
believe, however, that we were all in the same boat when
it came to all of our levels of preparation.  Later we
packed out bags and left our hotel, quickly to meet our
host families. My senora (aka: "host mom") is amazing!
Her name is Magdalena Corral and she is a wonderful and
I believe even well-known painter to many over here! In
fact, this is one of her paintings!

She has a husband named Josenrique and one daughter named
Vivien that is 19, also! The house is very beautiful.
I couldn't believe it! Most people here live in apartments,
but this house has 3 floors, a garden, and even a pool
on the top floor! Oh, and did I mention it has wireless
too?! We are very fortunate. My roommate, Elena, is from
California and is great! I have a feeling we're going to
get along very well:). Already we have begun learning our
way around Centro, the area of Seville where we live. I
love la vida de noche (the nightlife) here! It was no
lie that even 12am is EARLY to go out, for the people
here stay out until about 5am or so! Last night, about
10 of us took it easy and simply got some delicious
coffee and some ice cream at a small coffee shop. While
there, we were able to enjoy a group of women with
painted on mustaches dressed in men's clothing (??)
sing beautifully.

I never claimed to understand everything here, but it is
definitely all worth seeing! Well, that about wraps up
my adventure abroad so far. I hope to continue writing
about once a week. Miss you and love you all!
Abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses)!
P.S. Magdalena is a wonderful cook and
definitely makes sure we get fed MORE than
enough at every meal!