The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

All right. Now enough about the boring day to day stuff... allow me to tell you about some of the indredible trips that I have been able to take since I last wrote...

First of all, I will start out by saying that for Christmas, I received a new camera that was easy to carry around and took great pictures. To make a very long story short, the camera started messing up, taking pictures such as these:
Pretty good, huh?! Maybe it's a malfunction with the camera... or perhaps it's because it fell off of my bed onto the hard tile floor...:-/. Whatever the reason, it was kind enough to come back to life just one more time in perfect timing for my Italy trip before it finally keeled over once and for all. It was kind of a big-to-do, for my parents and I had to decide whether to buy a new camera here in Spain or just have one bought in the States then sent over. Well, having the US dollar/Euro exchange rate at it's all-time worst in history, we decided that the best bet would be to have one sent. So as I anxiously await the arrival of yet another new camera, I will continue to describe both the history and beauty which I have been able to see.

Several weeks ago, I went to Gilbratar. (FYI, according to www.wikipedia.com: "Gilbraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base." Okay, enough of the history lesson. Not only is this place extremely unique for it's gingantic rock that hovers over most of the city and it's very old caves, but it is also home to many semi-wild monkeys that actually come up to you (hints the reason why I went in the first place!).



































(There's nothing like having a gigantic monkey sitting on your back and picking your nose...)

Last weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to go to one of the most beautiful places in the world: ITALY! The trip that almost didn't even happen quickly became one of the best weekends of my life! Allow me to elaborate...

The short(er) version is that after walking to the bus station (half-way across the city) and taking the public bus at 7:15am to the airport, 2 of my friends and myself were ready to leave for Milan, Italy (later to take a train to Florence where we would actually be staying with my roommate's friends from home who are studying abroad in Italy). However, what happened at the airport was nothing but bad luck after another... our flight was denied (for the lack of a better word), A LOT more money had to be spent, a couple of tears were shed... You see, the airline Ryanair has this thing where you can checkin online for free (or else you have to pay to checkin at the counter in person at the airport). So of course we chose to do the check-n-go online. However, apparently only people with Europeon passports are allowed to use the online ticket, and so we completely lost our flight. The people working for Ryanair did absolutely nothing to help us. They simply kept saying (in Spanglish, might I add) that it was clearly our fault that we didn't have Europeon passports, there was nothing we could do, and we had to forfeit our flight. I don't think I have ever been so infuriated in my life. The question at this point was: "Do we lose our flight completely and go home having gone absolutely nowhere? OR do we spend even more money and get to Italy no matter what it takes..." After much deliberation, we all caved in a bought a ticket- at a huge price- to Rome, Italy through another airline for that very day (actually, for that very hour). For those of you who know me well, you know I don't do well with spending a lot/wasting a lot of money--both options were extremely painful for me. However, as stated before, what was one of the worst experiences I've had to endure without the help of anyone but myself became one of the best mistakes that could have ever happend!

First stop: ROME, ITALY! With only about 5 hours to spare before one of the last trains to Florence left, we decided to explore Rome in its entirety in record time. We got a shuttle to the Vatican, then walked to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain of Rome, and finally the Colosseum! If you look on a map of Rome, we literally walked from one end of the city to the other. Never have I seen so much beauty at one time. It was definitely the highlight of my weekend.


























Next stop: FLORENCE, ITALY! How quaint this city is... I love it! Elena and I stayed in her friends' apartment that actually had 8 girls total living there (10 including us)! We were so exhausted the first nighton Thursday, but on Friday we walked around the city some, saw the REAL David (the most marvelous piece of artwork I have ever seen), went inside the Duomo of Florence, and later that night a large group of us went to an adorable little restaurant with authentic Italian food where the husband and wife were the cooks and servers. It was perfect.






































Saturday we went to the local market where they had all the dried fruit you could think of. Muy deliciosa!
That night we took a train from Florence to Milan where we had to be in the airport from 11:30pm until our flight at 6:30am. We tried sleeping on the cold floor for about 3 hours or so...
Needless to say, it was quite an adventure and I'd never felt to independent in my whole life. Just a few years ago I was having to ask my parents if I could go to the other side of town... and now at almost 20 years old, I am quickly having to learn what it means to be more of an adult by deciding for myself whether to go to another COUNTRY or not. What a weekend it was: surely one I will never forget!!

P.S. We had gelato everyday while in Italy. Absolutely heavenly.

"La vida es preciosa, la vida es dulce" (Aka: Life is precious, life is sweet)

Ok... so maybe I lied a bit about writing every week. I had no idea that things could get this busy while in a city where the pace of life is actually much slower than that in the States. Here's an idea as to what my life is like on a daily basis here in Sevilla (which actually reminds me very much of Groundhog Day):
Every morning (Monday-Thursday, that is) I wake up at 7:30am in order to quickly gather my clothing in the dark (as to not awake Elena, my roomie!). I then make myself a cup of Andalucian coffee, accompanied with a piece of fruit and something like cereal or pan con marmalade (bread with jelly/jam). I then get cleaned up and ready for the day. It seems that no matter how early I wake up or how quickly I think I'm getting ready, it never fails that I leave the house at exactly 8:35am... precisely 5 minutes after I would like/need to leave for my 15minute walk ahead of me. I then plug in my i-pod (which I have actually begun listening to upbeat contempoary Christian songs in the morning in order to start my day off on a positive note, which actually really works!) and go on my merry way along Calle Zaragoza (Zaragoza street):It never fails that at this one part of the sidewalk that basically runs out into a size no wider than a VCR tape, a very large van goes zooming past me, causing me to always count my toes (making sure all 10 are still there) after the van passes. I then grab a copy of a small newspaper called Que! from a woman that hands them out on the street corner. Finally, I arrive to class slightly out of breath, just in time to begin my classes at 8:45am-10am (Advanced Everyday Spanish Usage), then 10:15am-11:10am (Spanish Civilization- YUCK!), and finally 11:40am-12:35pm (Spanish Literature- Yuck, again!). I will admit that although things are getting slighter easier to understand and catch on to during class, I am usually completely lost in my civilization class... a biology major taking a history class... IN SPANISH, nonetheless = bad idea. I then head home for siesta and rest a little bit before our large lunches around 2:30pm or later. Occasionally Elena and myself will go running and plan to do so about 3 times a week (hopefully!). I actually got a job here... yes, I know... who studies abroad then gets a job while there?... but this is pretty much the coolest job ever. I tutor an 8yr old little boy in English 2 hours a week (1 hr on Tuesday and 1hr on Thursday). It's actually a pretty sweet deal, because I am only supposed to speak English to him and I get paid 7 Euros an hr, which is basically equivalent to $10.50 per hr or so! Also, another great thing that a couple of us just started up recently is a Bible study. 11 of us met in an empty class room last night to read some scripture, have an open discussion, etc. The topic was: "Surviving Spain". It was very eye-opening to me to hear how many people have actually had a pretty difficult time adjusting. For me, it was pretty much (and surprisingly) seemless. However, I will be the first to admit that I am in a much different place than back home- away from the people and things I love that kept me accountable on a daily basis. It's somewhat challenging to come to Spain knowing not a soul; yet, it is even more humbling for me to be in such a place that allows me to not only freely be who I want to be, but also further comfirm who I already was/am. Someone mentioned last night that it's tough to be in a place where friends and family are pushed aside; however, the realization that Jesus is all we need and the One that we ought to depend on first and foremost is so sweet. I am very excited about this Bible study group and believe that it will do nothing but help advance my sprititual journey while here in Spain.