April 30, 2006


Hola.

Estoy muy cansada. I am VERY tired. It has been an exhausting week and I didn’t even have any classes! In Seville, this week was la Feria. La Feria is a weeklong event where no one works or goes to school. It begins on Monday at midnight and ends on the following Sunday at midnight with a firework show.

La Feria is a very old tradition in Andalusia. I think that it started out as a kind of public relations event a couple of centuries ago and developed into what it is today: a week of partying! The streets are full of women and their children dressed in flamenco dresses of all different colors and designs. Their outfits are complete with many accessories like matching hairpieces, big earrings and necklaces, a flower for their hair, and a scarf. All the dresses are unique. Many of the dresses have a poke-a-dot pattern on them, but my favorite dresses have big colorful flowers. Many mothers dress their daughters in the same style dress that they are wearing. It is adorable. The men all wear suits.

The Feria is made up of more than a thousand of casetas, which are basically tents lined up row by row in a park. There are public casetas, however most are private. In order to enter a private caseta, you have to be invited. Families, companies, clubs, etc. pay to have a caseta. All of the casetas are different. Some are big, some are small, some are very formal, and, some are not. But they all include the same things: tables/chairs, a dance floor, and at least one bar. My senora’s daughter’s husband’s family has a caseta, so we were able to go into this private caseta. His company also has a caseta, so we were able to enter into this one as well. The casetas are almost like little circus tents. Some of the tents are open and some have walls. The canvas walls are decorated with red or green stripes on the outside. Some of the casetas we entered into had this tiny entrance where the guard would lift up a flap and allow you to pass. Then, when we entered, the caseta was huge! The size and style of the caseta all depends on whom it is serving.

The streets of La Feria are full of people walking, laughing, singing, dancing, drinking, and eating! There are horse drawn carriages that take people on tours and horsemen offering rides around the fair as well. I felt like I was in a dream world. I never wanted to leave!

On Monday night, my friends and I went to la Feria to see the entrance light up at midnight. Each year, they make a new entrance for the fair. It is a huge structure with lots of lots and decoration.

On Tuesday, we went to La Feria at night to meet our Spanish friends from the bar across the street. They had a caseta, so we met them and spent the night with them. We tried our first rebujito that night. Rebujito is the drink of La Feria. It is a mix of Sprite and manzanilla, which is a dry sherry. They used to just drink the manzanilla straight, but doing that all day and all night long for a week in the sweltering heat was just not a good idea! They realized that they needed to add something to soften it up a bit. Now, they don’t even refer to it as an alcoholic beverage. It is simply a refreshment (un refresco), or so I was told! On our walk home, Jennie, Chels and I met some new Spanish people who we would end up spending the rest of the week with. It started out with them trying to speak English with us and before we knew it we were exchanging phone numbers.

Wednesday, Jennie, Chels and I decided to pull an all-dayer at La Feria. We ate lunch at home, and then made are way out to La Feria at about 4pm. Our first stop was Fran’s parents’ caseta. When we arrived, Fran and Macarena were not there, but we had plenty of old Spanish men who were ready to make sure we were comfortable in their caseta! The president of the caseta was introducing us to everyone, ordering us rebujitos one after the other, and forcing ham and cheese upon us! It was great. After this, we were able to meet up with Fran and Macarena and go to another caseta. This caseta was much bigger and more formal. We talked and watched people dance, before leaving to wonder the streets and take more pictures! By 7pm, we were all exhausted and full of rebujito. We were trying to figure out how people did this all day long. We decided to leave La Feria and find a quite place to sit, chat, and eat ice cream. This was a nice, and very necessary break because we knew it was going to be a long night. Before eating dinner, we went to another part of the fair where there were rides and games. We wanted to ride this Viking boat ride that we had heard so much about. Not the best idea since we had just ate ice cream and were still full of rebujitos-but it was still fun! That night, we had dinner in the nice tent we had visited earlier that afternoon. I tried gazpacho for the first time and loved it. The tortilla Espanola was incredible, too. Dinner was very enjoyable. We felt special to be in such a nice tent that allowed you to enjoy a wonderful ambiance inside the tent as well as look out the entrance into a street bustling with happy people. I was in a dreamland. The boys we had met the night before had been calling and texting us, so decided it was time to start the night. We met up with them and went caseta hopping. All of them had their own casetas, so we would go to one and that guy would buy drinks and food for everyone and then we would move to another one. They tried to teach us how to flamenco dance like Sevillano style. This type of dance requires a lot of hand movement and rhythm. I was pretty much terrible, but I practiced over the next couple of nights and almost have the hang of it.

On Thursday, we rested in the morning and met in the afternoon to “study.” I was at the park with Chels and it was sunny out, do you think that we really were going to study?! No. We decided to chat about how much we loved La Feria and Seville and then walk through the little barrios in the center of the city. On Thursday night, we met up with our new Spanish buddies again. I am not sure why they like us. I think they think it is fun to speak Spanish with us and they like to learn a little English as well. Going to La Feria to meet them was better than any studying that Chels and I could have done that morning. Speaking with them is such great practice for us. After caseta hopping for nearly nine hours, it was time for me to go home. So at 8:30am I finally found my bed. I slept until 1pm, just in time to have lunch! We decided to relax that afternoon because we knew that Friday night might end up like the previous…

Friday night, Chels, Erin and I met and walked through La Feria in awe. I love it! We sat in Fran’s parents’ caseta and drank and glass of wine with some bread and chatted as we watched people make their way from caseta to caseta. After this, we were going to meet up with the Spanish boys again. As always, they spoiled us with drinks and food. We talked and danced and took about a thousand pictures! They loved my camera! The night ended up the same as the previous-I arrived home at about 8am. When I woke up at noon, I could hear my senora telling Jennie that she couldn’t believe the time I returned home… I thought that that is what everyone does during Feria! I spoke with a bartender and he said that he goes to bed at about 8 or 9am and wakes up at about 11am to return! And this is all week long! People literally stay at La Feria from lunchtime until 5am (or 8am!) It is crazy!

So, I am slouched on the coach in our little living room right now listening to an awful Spanish talk show that is on the TV. I can’t wait to see some normal, American TV or movies! I feel like I just hit a brick wall. But, I want to go to bed so I have energy for whatever adventures tomorrow holds!

I miss and love you all!

Muchos besitos!

Steph

Oh! And one more thing: Seville’s Futbol Club made it to the European Final Tournament for the first time in its history! The fans were going insane on Thursday before, during and after the game. La Feria was a little more rowdy that evening/morning after their semifinal game win!

April 23, 2005

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

Spain Week 13 was full of more adventures. On Tuesday, I helped in the Triana School and then went to one of my favorite gardens in Seville to draw. It was filled with Spanish women dressed to the “T,” complete with their big, celebrity-style sunglasses and scarves! They walk their little dogs through the park and meet to chat with other women. It seems like all the dogs here are those little yorkies or poodles. I rarely see a regular, old golden retriever or lab. I guess the people who live in the outskirts of Seville, in the little pueblos where it is more residential, probably have bigger, more active dogs like those.

On Tuesday night, I went to my first- and probably last- bullfight. All of my friends and I were nervous before we went because we had an idea of what it was going to be like. When we arrived to the Maestranza Bullring, which is alongside the Guadalquivir River, we saw thousands of people excited and awaiting one of the first bullfights of the season.

A bullfight has three stages. In the first stage, the matador has assistants and horseman with lances that stab the bull and try to gauge the bull’s braveness. In the next stage, another guy comes out and stabs two darts into the bull about four or five times (about eight to ten darts total) to try and gauge the bull’s reaction to punishment. At this point, the bull is getting tired and its back is bleeding badly. In the final stage, the matador has the bull all to himself. A matador dresses in a very fancy and colorful silk outfit with all kinds of decorations and sequins. He holds a scarlet cape to make passes at the bull. At just the right moment, the matador lowers the cape so the bull will lower its head and then he thrusts his sword into the bull’s spine for the kill. I went with a group of girls and all of us could not believe our eyes when we saw this. Once the bull is killed, the matador struts around (and actually, the entire fight the matador walks around very arrogantly with his back arched, chest out, and on his toes!) and waves to the audience in seek of applause and adornment.

One of the bulls that we saw was particularly feisty. After the matador killed the bull, the audience stood up and waved white flags to signal the matador to cut the ear of the bull off because it was a great fight. And, another one of the matadors we saw was stabbed by one of the darts in the bull’s back and he had to be carried out of the ring! This was not good, but we were all just happy that we didn’t see anyone die! I thought that at this point they would let the bull live, but they brought out one of the other matadors to finish him off. It is basically a lose-lose situation for the bull.

Each bullfight has three matadors and each matador fights two bulls. So, there are six bulls in total. That means that in each bullfight, six bulls die. Oh, and I forgot to mention how they get these 1,100 lb. animals out of the ring! A group of men come out, make sure that he is dead, then attach him to three horses that then run a lap around the ring with the bull dragging behind them before running out of the ring. Very interesting sight to see. In Seville, bullfight season lasts twenty-eight days. That is 168 bulls. If you are like me, you wonder what they do with these bulls. I hoped that they didn’t just kill them and toss them! I found out from a man sitting behind me that they cannot eat the meat of a bull because of how they are raised and also because the fight causes adrenaline enter into their blood stream, which makes their meat toxic to eat. They can eat the tail, however, and they can use the bull’s skin to make shoes and other leather products. This makes me feel a little better, but not really! It was a very hard to watch. What amazes me is that it is such a huge part of their culture still. In the United States, we have all of these animal protection laws, etc., which would prevent us from doing anything like this as a sport. But here, it is a major event and people love to attend these bullfights, even little old ladies like my senora!

We went home speechless that night, not knowing what to think of what we had just seen. Our senora said that all of the girls who had lived with her from the United States felt the same way. I am glad that I went because it is a part of their culture. And for that reason, I wanted to experience it. I am more excited for next weekend’s cultural experience-I think that we are going to a futbol (soccer) game!

On Wednesday, I had a review in one of my classes for the final! I cannot believe that I only have one more day of class before finals!!! How quickly time goes by. I guess now I might have to find a little more time to study…This coming week is La Feria (you will here all about this incredible event next week!) so we have another week of vacations. I hope to have more time to study and draw this week.

On Friday morning, my senora, Jennie and I went out for breakfast at her favorite café. It was right next to Corte Ingles, her favorite place in the world! Afterward, we walked next door to the mall because she wanted to buy us shirts so that when we returned to the United States and wore them, we would be reminded of her. How cute is my senora?! Then, after shopping, we went to the grocery store with her so we could help carry the groceries back. Everyone in Spain grocery shops daily. And when they need to do a larger shopping trip, they have these plaid rolling bags that resemble a piece of carry-on luggage. When I first arrived here I would always see ladies wheeling these around and I wondered why they needed to bring so much to work, but I finally figured out that they were full of food from grocery shopping! Another culture difference.

Finally, after about four hours of walking around and shopping with our senora, we returned home. During the late afternoon on Friday, we met up with Michelle and Meagan, two of my closest friends from Linfield. Michelle and Meagan are studying in Ireland for the semester and have been traveling for the past twenty days with three other girls. We met the girls for some tea and coffee, then, later that night we went for tapas. The girls weren’t that hungry, though, because they had already eaten dinner at five (they are still on the U.S. schedule!) After tapas, we walked around the lively streets in the center of town near the cathedral. It was nice to see familiar faces from home.

On Saturday, Chels, Jen, and I took the train with the girls to Cadiz. We lucked out with the weather. It ended up being a nice day at the beach. We walked through Cadiz, but the girls were ready to just sit and relax on the beach. I think that they were all a little tired because it was the end of a very long trip for them! It was my fourth time in Cadiz, but I could visit the old part of that town every weekend. The streets are very narrow and picturesque with flowers hanging from every terrace. There are markets, cafes, bars, and restaurants lining nearly every street. And then, there is the beach! We had a great time.

Today is Sunday and it is raining. My senora and I were trying to be optimistic by talking about how the rain is actually a good thing for today. She needs to clean and I need to study! There is no sun tempting us to do anything but those things! We will see….

Muchos besos,

Steph

April 16, 2006

Ciao!

These past two weeks have almost been a blur. Again, I have to cover two weeks in one update because of the way my schedule fell. Sorry. L

I began week eleven with a midterm in my Spanish Cinema class. Great way to start the week…I also had an oral presentation in my phonetics class, which went fairly well considering the amount of time that I actually spend studying here. J In addition to classes, I helped at the school, as usual, and it was multicultural week so we had different activities for the kids to do in order for them to learn more about other cultures and to give them a chance to practice their English.

Then, on Thursday morning, Jen, Yessica and I left for our weeklong trip to Italy! We flew into Milan where Jennie’s Italian family picked us up and drove us to their little town called Alba. It is a beautiful city to the west of Milan. There are rolling hillsides covered in vineyards. The houses are all stucco and have terraces with many plants and ivy on them. The streets are cobblestone like in Spain, but they are narrower. We walked around the town and ate our first serving of gelato. One of the goals of the trip was to eat gelato each day we were in Italy! That night, Rosalba, the mom of Jennie’s Italian family, prepared for us an Italian feast. They always serve bread at the beginning. Then, we had kiwi with cured ham, an amazing cheese lasagna, spaghetti, a chicken with artichokes and olives dish and an incredibly rich chocolate cake with strawberries. It was good. J

The next morning, the family (Valentino, Rosalba and their daughter, Valentina) drove us to Venice. For the next two and half days, they spoiled us rotten! They took us to tour the cathedral and the famous Duke’s palace. We went on a gondola ride and to a glass blowing factory where we watched a man make a glass vase. Venice is famous for a few things: its canals, fish, and glassmaking. Our last night in Venice, they took us to this amazing restaurant for a very typical, Venetian dinner. We had pasta, fish and lots of bread! Venice was beautiful. It is so crazy that everyone’s main form of transportation is by boat. Either you have your own boat, you take a water taxi, or you have a pass for the metro, which is a big boat that runs from port to port every 20 minutes or so. During the day, Venice was beautiful, but at night it was breathtaking. The little streets and restaurants were full of people; music could be heard in the background; and bright and colorful lights reflected off the water. I felt like I was on a movie set!

We left early on Sunday morning to go to Florence by train. My good friend from Linfield is studying there for the semester, so we met her at the train station and she gave us a tour of the city. Among the many plazas and markets we visited, I had the opportunity to go the Academia to see many of Michelangelo’s works including the David! It was amazing. I have always seen little cards, stamps, and posters with this sculpture, but to actually see it in real life was awesome. It is huge! The Academia holds many famous sculptures, but it is funny because from the outside it just looks like an old, abandon warehouse. Walking by it, one would never know that some of the greatest masterpieces in the world are in side!

In Florence, I also was able to tour the Uffizi museum, which holds thousands of famous Renaissance artworks. It holds many of Leonardo Da Vinci’s works and even has an entire floor dedicated to the history and development of his life and his works. Florence was very different than I expected. The streets were very crowded with people and markets. I think that one of my favorite parts about Florence was the Palazzi Pitti because it was calmer. It is a beautiful palace that is surrounded by ten acres of gardens. Nicole and I strolled around the parks and saw all kinds of little meadows of grass and fountains surrounded my sculptures. And that is what Florence has, a lot of-sculptures! Well, that and leather.

One morning before leaving Florence for Rome, Nicole, Jen, Yessica, and I took a train to Pisa to see the leaning tower. We spent nearly two hours being creative and taking pictures of the tower and us! The train ride to and from Pisa was very enjoyable. The Tuscany area is very beautiful. We returned to Florence that night, ate some more pasta and gelato, and then took a train the next afternoon to Rome.

When we arrived in Rome that afternoon, we settled into our hotel, which was right next to the coliseum. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening visiting many plazas and monuments in the city like the Pantheon. That night, we had pizza and pasta at a cute little Italian restaurant near the coliseum and, of course, the day would not have been complete without gelato.

Wednesday was our last day in Rome and we planned on getting up very early to explore Vatican City and the coliseum. So, at six thirty in the morning, we caught a bus to the Vatican and waited in line an hour and a half only to realize that we had been waiting in the wrong line! We were at the entrance of the Basilica de San Piedro where the Pope would be speaking later that afternoon. (I was kind of wondering why everyone had little, gold tickets around me! They all had reserved seating for the Pope’s speech that day. Oops.) So, we made our way around the corning and found the entrance for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel where we waited in line for another hour. It was OK though. We made it in! The Vatican Museum was amazing. It has all kinds of paintings and sculptures throughout it. And, the Sistine Chapel was just incredible. Michelangelo, among a few other famous artists, spent several years completing the murals on the walls and ceilings that describe the life of Jesus Christ.

After exploring the Vatican, we grabbed some paninis and walked by this Roman castle right next to the river. We then walked to Plaza di Spagna, which is the Plaza de Espana in Italian, on our way to the coliseum.

The coliseum is enormous. Walking around the lower and upper levels of the ruins of this massive, rock structure made us all want to transport ourselves back in time to see what it really looked like back then. In the center, you can see the remains of these corridors and rooms where they caged animals that the men fought. I could almost here the screams and chants of people as they were awaiting a match!

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking through the Areo di Tito and the Palatino. This area was beautiful because there are ruins of columns and buildings EVERYWHERE among very green gardens with flowers that had just begun to bloom. It was the end of our day and the end of our trip, so we strolled through this area while trying to fathom the history that had taken place there. Every corner we turned in Rome seemed to have another area of ruins or another major monument. Since the city is packed with history, we could have definitely used a few more days there to explore!

Our last meal in Italy was, of course, pasta. An old, but charming, Italian waiter convinced us to eat at his restaurant. Then, a very strange, but friendly, Italian man led us back to the train station where we were to catch our bus to the airport. Yessica and Jen made fun of me the entire trip because of how I always managed to make friends with random people! (That afternoon I tried to ask a man selling gelato how we could get to the airport and he misunderstood me and thought that I had asked him for a ride to the airport! He said that he wasn’t sure if he would be able to take me because he only had a scooter-but he would ask his friend. At this point, I was ready to go home where I could communicate with people!!) Our flight left at seven in the morning, so we were going to pull an all-nighter at the airport with some of out other friends who were traveling in Italy for the week. It pretty much topped my Canary Island experience. The airport was not a nice, international airport like we had imagined. It was definitely a little charter airport where there was only one room that has concrete floors and a few wire chairs to sit in and NO heating. It was great.

Finally, it was time for us to board our plane. We were all excited to go home, but the only problem was we weren’t actually flying home! We were flying from Rome to Valencia because there were no direct flights from Rome to Seville. So, when we arrived in to Valencia, we had to rush to the bus station to buy tickets home. Well, since it is Semana Santa (Holy Week) every one is going to Seville because of all the pasos (I will talk about this later). My friends and I managed to buy the last six tickets for the bus at ten that night. It was ten in the morning, so we had a few hours to kill in Valencia. Great! This was a perfect opportunity for us to explore another part of Spain! We spent a few hours at a café. The, we walked to the central area and laid in the sun for awhile. Later that day, the other girls went to a movie while I did a little shopping and exploring on my own. All and all, it ended up being a very enjoyable day in Valencia. However, we were still all ready to be back home in Seville.

The bus ride was twelve hours long! Sleeping on the bus was uncomfortable, but it was much better than the airport experience, so I wasn’t about to complain. It was about eleven in the morning when we finally reached our home in Seville, and by that time the streets were already full with people for the pasos.

In Spain, the week of Easter is called Semana Santa and in Seville it is a particularly big event. Most of the Sevillanos leave for vacation while tourists visit Seville for this huge celebration. At the beginning of the week, everyone meets with their family to celebrate the life and resurrection of Jesus. Then, throughout the week there are parades where each church has their own float. These floats are very large and are very expensive to build and maintain. Each float is different; some have Mary Magdalene, some have Mary with baby Jesus, some have Jesus. All are different and beautiful in their own way. The bases of most of the floats are made of gold and they also have white roses and candles covering them. Men, women and children who are completely disguised in these black costumes with pointy hats lead the floats. They are called nazarenos and look like members of the KKK except in black. Then, the floats follow and are carried by at least thirty to forty men! A marching band follows the float. The music for each float is different, but all are very strong and dramatic.

Los pasos (the floats/parades) are incredible. The float leaves its church and makes its way to the main cathedral in Seville to enter and go through, and then it returns to its home church. Some pasos take more than six hours!

Today is Easter and surprisingly enough, it is not a huge day here in Seville. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday everything was closed, but today many things are open. They spend the entire week celebrating here and Easter Sunday seems to be like every other Sunday. It is not celebrated the same as it is in the United States. It’s kind of interesting. Anyways, I did go to mass this morning with some of my friends. It was very, VERY long. The service was nice. I enjoyed the music and I could understand the priest who was speaking in Spanish, which is a good sign that I am learning some while I am over here!!!

Thanks for reading this! I know that it is long (again) and I am really sorry! I hope that you have a wonderful Easter!

Besos,

Steph

April 3, 2006

Hola!

OK, so I don’t even know where to begin. I am now in my eleventh week here, in Spain, and things have been even busier than normal. I am going to try and keep this update short-but I have to cover weeks eight and nine since I missed week eight. There was a good reason I was not able to write an update for week eight…my mom was visiting!!! She and two of her friends traveled and explored Spain for 8 days. So, where to begin?!

Week eight was pretty normal. We returned from Lisboa on Sunday and I managed to make it to all of my classes that week! I know, kind of amazing! I helped at the school Tuesday and Thursday, which is always a highlight of my week. Allison, one of my roommates and good friends, was visiting all of week eight and nine. It was so nice to see her. Then, my mom, Michelle Rolens (our good friend and next door neighbor), and Cathy Stoltz (another good friend and mom of Chels) were supposed to arrive on Friday night in Seville. Chelsey and I had been excited all week for their arrival, but, due to some plane problems, they were delayed in Amsterdam and were not able to arrive in Seville until Saturday morning. Chelsey spent the night at my house on Friday night since we needed to meet them at the airport early in the morning. Friday night was funny. Jennie was in Ireland for the weekend with Allison, so I was alone with Lola. I returned for dinner and she had clothes all over her bed. She was very excited because her and some of her other single friends were going to a new discoteca that was near our apartment. She must have tried on ten different outfits before deciding what to wear. And then she had to choose the best shoes and jacket to match her outfit! It was so funny. After Lola left I had the apartment to myself, which was kind of strange. Chelsey came over and I showed her the apartment and then we went to the bar across the street so she could meet my local amigos. When we returned at two, Lola had just walked in the door as well!

Early Saturday morning Chels and I met our moms and Michelle at the airport and rented a car for a little weekend road trip. Michelle Rolens drove the “big” car (their definition of big and our definition of big is very different-the car we rented was very similar to a mini and it was considered a “big” car…) and I navigated. We (Michelle, mom, Cathy, Chels, and I) drove from Seville to Cadiz. We did a little shopping and then ate some typical Spanish cuisine for lunch. For dessert, we bought strawberries to eat on the beach. It was just so nice to be with our moms! From Cadiz, we went to Zahara de los Atunes (a little city on the coast) in order to find a hotel for the night. We took a slight detour on the way (woops!) and explored the narrow and very steep roads of Vejer de la Frontera. Michelle drove our “big” car with great skill the entire road trip!

Zahara de los Atunes was beautiful. And our hotel was gorgeous; we had terraces that looked out over the white, sandy beach and dark blue ocean. It was perfect. In the morning, we went to Tarifa and Algeciras (cities in the most southern part of Spain) and were able to see Africa. Chels and I forgot our passports, so we could not visit Morocco (We ended up going on Tuesday when we had our passports.) We didn’t realize that Gibraltar was part of the UK (and again, we didn’t have our passports), so we could only look at the famous rock of Gibraltar instead of actually visiting the rock and the island.

From Gibraltar, we made our way to Jimena de la Frontera, a small city that is part of “los pueblos blancos” It was located on a steep hillside. We visited a castle at the highest point of the city and met some local ladies in the ancient cemetery of the city, which was filled with beautiful flowers. After visiting Jimena and taking about a thousand photos, we hit the open road again and took a slight detour through the mountains…It was an adventure. We ended up at a little cantina on the side of the road in Puerto de Galis (where ever that is!) We finally found our way to Alcala and then back to Seville. It was quite the adventure, but finding the apartment in Seville was even more so! After finally making our way through many one-way estrechas (the car did not seem so small at this time!), we finally found the apartment. The apartment was so cute; it looked like an Ikea cut-out (lots of bright colors, very modern, black and white photos and paintings). Michelle and I dropped off the girls and then went to get the luggage, pick up Allison and return the rental car. At about one in the morning, we were finally able to eat dinner (some tapas and baguettes) at a bar close to the apartment.

We were all exhausted from the weekend road trip, so we slept in on Monday. It was totally dark in the apartment, so nobody even realized how late it was until one of us looked at the clock and opened the window curtain! We made breakfast and prepared for a full day of shopping in Seville. Monday, we ate an Irish Pub and then went to the API office to find out information about going to Morrocco. After this, we went to my senora’s apartment for tea, coffee and some sweets. Chels, Jen and I were the translators at this event! It was kind of fun, but sometimes someone would say something I would not even think that not everyone could understand what they said and that I needed to explain it or say it in the other language! We had a lot of fun.

After our little party with Lola, we went to the train station to rent a car for the next day to go to Morrocco, and then we went to Corte Ingles! Visiting Corte Ingles is a “must-do” when you are in Spain!

At about ten, we went to our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner (I know, we went to an Irish Pub for lunch and now an Italian restaurant for dinner! Donde esta la comida Espanola?!) San Marco was, of course, amazing! After dinner, we found a great little café that was also on the river to have some tea/wine/coffee. It was a long day, so we all were ready to go back to the apartment and sleep after this! My night, however, had just started. Allison had not yet experienced Alfalfa street, so her and I walked there to meet up with some friends.

Tuesday was another long day. The moms and Michelle came to realize that when we left the apartment, we probably were not going to return all day. Tuesday morning, Michelle and I took a bus to the train station in order to pick up the rental car. We went back to the apartment to get the other girls (Allison, Chels, mom, and Cathy) and then were off to Tarifa to catch a ferry to Tanger. We rushed to the ferry port, but missed the ferry by literally seconds, so we went to a nearby café for an hour and waited for the next tour and ferry.

The ferry ride to Tanger was short, but hard on the stomachs of Michelle and Chelsey. They were both glad when we finally reached Africa. Fortunately, we signed up to travel with a tour group. The group included the six of us, an old German couple and another couple from the OC. Our leader’s name was Mufasa and his assistant’s name was Mo. We were picked up in a van and shown a little bit of the city before walking through the Chesba and the Medina, which are two main markets in Tanger. During our walking tour, we saw a snake charmer. Cathy walked right up and had him put the snake around her shoulders. My mom and the other girls followed, but I was a little more hesitant. The pictures of this are hysterical because everyone appears so calm, while I am screaming for him to get it off me!

On our way to the Moroccan restaurant, we saw a couple of men in the market playing instruments and singing. At the restaurant, we were served soup, a beef falafel, and cous cous with vegetables and chicken. Everything was delicious, but the baklava that they served for dessert (along with the Arab mint tea) was amazing!

So, they filled us up with food and then took us shopping! First, we went to a rug shop where they showed us all of these beautiful rugs, but they left out how much the rugs cost until we asked…Let’s just say that the trip to Tanger ended up being a little more expensive than we anticipated! Michelle and Cathy both have new, beautiful rugs for their houses now! After the rug shop, we walked through the streets to a jewelry shop and then to an herb shop. When we were walking in the streets, there were many men (young and old) shoving things in our face to buy like jewelry, mirrors, little trinkets, etc. They were very persistence, but I never felt scared or anything because I knew that they just wanted us to buy these things. If there was a crack in the sidewalk, they would say, “Oh! Be careful!” So, I knew that they would not do us any harm. And, Mufasa explained this to us as well. I had heard about Morocco a little from my friends, but it was very different than they described. I think that it is just something that you have to see and experience for yourself. I thought that it was very interesting. All of the women there where scarves over there heads and faces unless they are single or unless there husbands say that it is OK for them to not wear them. The streets were very crowded with people selling things. We saw people making thread and fabric. We saw an old man making bread. We saw the cutest, little, old lady delivering milk to people’s doorsteps, and we saw children in the streets playing the same games as those in the United States. We drove by the areas where the middle to higher class people live, but we walked thought the areas that were definitely the poorer areas of the city. It really made me appreciate how much I have and how blessed we all are to live where we do.

Before returning to Tarifa, Spain, we had the opportunity to take a very short camel ride. When we returned to Tarifa, we needed to drive very quickly back to the train station to drop off the rental car. Michelle drove well and I managed to get us there without taking any major detours, so we made it just in time. Again, we had our late dinner. We ate at an American bar on the top level of the mall next to my house. (So, again, a Moroccan lunch and an American dinner-I promise that we did eat some Spanish cuisine while they were here!)

We slept in on Wednesday. I don’t know whether to call it “sleeping in” or not because when you are eating dinner at ten or eleven and not going to bed until two, you kind of need to sleep until nine or ten. That is just the schedule here! Anyway, Chels and I decided that we needed to go to one of our classes in the morning (we were going to have a mid term exam the following class period!), so while we went to class the girls toured the cathedral. We met at a little restaurant in the center of the city to have a paella lunch. Finally, some Spanish comida! After lunch, we showed the girls the university and then rode the ferris wheel. The whole week that they were here was beautiful and sunny, so they were able to see some great views of Seville.

We went to Plaza Espana to take some photos and look at the terrific architecture and tile work and then found a Starbucks for Cathy. A common phrase we heard from Cathy the entire trip was, “I think that what we need right now is some coffee and a sweet!” Her and Chels were the only ones out of the group who drank coffee, but all of us were always ready for a sweet! We hung out at Starbucks for an hour or so, before leaving to go to a Flamenco show. The singing and dancing were wonderful! However, the two women who sang and danced needed a break, so the man continued to play his guitar for about ten minutes. Well, this music was very tranquil and we had walked and visited many places that day, so Cathy and Michelle decided to take a little siesta during this time. Chelsey went to go put her arm around Cathy and the next thing we heard was this loud thump against the tile wall. Cathy had suddenly woken up and slammed her head into the wall. Of course, this started a giggle fest among all of us girls!

After the Flamenco show, we did a little tapa hopping. We went to a couple different bars in the area and ate a variety of tapas and drank some Sangria. And, of course, Cathy would not let us forget coffee and dessert, so we went to a little place for drinks and tartas. Another long day. The moms returned home, but I headed out to Alfalfa once again with Allison. It was the 21st birthday of one of my friends…

Thursday was great. My mom and I were able to spend the entire day together! We started the day by visiting the school I help at. Both my mom and the teacher I work with were excited to meet each other. We toured the school and my mom and Carmen, the English teacher, exchanged addresses so their students can write to each other! I think that this was one of my mom’s favorite part of her visit.

Her and I grabbed some lunch and then went to explore Alcazar Gardens (one of my favorite places in Seville). It was beautiful. The architecture and decoration of the buildings are awesome and the gardens were in full bloom.

Later, we met the girls at the market to do a little more shopping for gifts and then we decided to walk back to my apartment to visit Lola since I really had not seen her much all week. And, my mom really wanted to see her again. Lola was, of course, very talkative (as usual!) She loved my mom and I think my mom was really happy to see that I had a great living situation (my senora is very sweet and the area I live in is very safe).

Our last night in Seville, we (the moms, Chels, Michelle, and I) ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant on the river. There was a man playing his saxophone, the night was clear and warm, there were many people walking up and down the street. It was perfect. I could not believe how quickly our time in Seville went by, but we saw and did so much!

Early Friday morning, we met at the airport to go to Barcelona. Everything went smoothly. The moms, Michelle and Allison baggage was under the weight limit that they needed to be for the airplane (well, with the help of Jen, Chels and I!) We arrived in Barcelona and took a bus to our hotel. All of us were exhausted and hungry, but we knew we had a lot to see in Barcelona! So, we ate some lunch at the hotel and then bought tickets to ride on the double decker tour buses! Michelle, my mom and I hopped on the bus and made our first stop at Sagrada Familia. This is a large cathedral with many towers that Gaudi designed (it seemed that most everything in Barcelona was designed by Gaudi!). Sagrada Familia is amazing and it is still under construction. The architecture and the design are just incredible. It is also has all of these gorgeous stain glass windows. We went to take an elevator to the top of one of the towers and ended up climbing all 365 steps! The funny thing was that I actually ran into two of my friends from Seville on the way! The view from the top of the tower was amazing. It looked over a lot of the city, but Barcelona is HUGE so we definitely could not see it all. J

Our first night in Barcelona we walked along the beach. Jen, Allison, my mom and I enjoyed some pizza for dinner. We did not go out to any discotecas that night because we were too tired from walking and touring the city and we knew that the next day was not going to be any more relaxing. Barcelona has so many places to see and we were only there for two days!

Saturday was my last day with my mom. L Her and I woke up early (we are always the early birds out of the group). We ate some breakfast and walked along the beach together. I already miss her so much!

We returned back to the hotel to get the other girls and then we hopped on the tourist bus to start our big day of exploring the city. Our first stop was the Picasso Museum. We spent at least an hour and half looking at paintings and drawings of Picasso. The museum was designed so that it led you through his different stages of his life by showing you his different paintings and how his style changed and developed. It was so interesting.

My mom, Michelle, Nicole, and I decided to walk down la Rambla, a busy market street and then catch the bus to go to Parc Guell. We ate some lunch and then were on our way. Parc Guell was awesome. Again, Gaudi designed this place and you could tell because of all the strange buildings. He did not design anything very normal! The two little buildings at the front of the park reminded me of Candyland houses. They were made of stones and had mosaics around the windows and on the roofs. The entire park had mosaics throughout it. The benches were beautiful and there is a giant lizard mosaic fountain at the entrance that is really cool, too.

By the time we finished exploring the park, it was already seven and we needed to catch the last bus to the center of town. (It always amazed us how quick the time went by! There never seemed to be enough to see and do everything!) We made our way to the center of town and before heading back to the hotel, we had to stop at the Super Corte Ingles to buy olive oil for my dad and Nelson! Spain has the best olive oil. J It took my mom and Michelle nearly a half an hour to choose a type of olive oil for them because there are only about a thousand to choose from here! After finally choosing one, we made our way back to the hotel to meet the other girls for dinner. We went to Pans and Company, which is Spain’s version of Subway. Afterwards, we walked a little along the beach and then found some Gelado. Just what we needed! Saturday was very busy, but fun. By the end of the day we were all tired and sad that the next morning Jen, Chels and I would be leaving for Seville and our moms and friends would be returning home. L

Out of all my weeks here in Spain, I think that this week 9 went be the fastest. My mom and the girls were here and we managed to see and do SO much. In one week, they saw everything that I had seen in two months! I know that we were all exhausted by Sunday.

I am so glad that my mom and the other girls were able to visit because they were able to see and experience what we try and tell everyone about over the phone or by letters. I like to write update letters and try to explain the life and culture over here, but it is just not the same as actually experience it. It is just one of those things where pictures and reading about it is not enough to really understand it. I wish that everyone could come over here and live the Spanish life for at least a week! I am just having the best time here and I am glad that I was able to share a little bit of that with my mom and our friends.

I had my first exam yesterday and I am definitely glad that it is over. I really need to find some time to study, but there never is enough time! I have a presentation tomorrow and then I leave early in the morning on Thursday for Italy. I am going to be traveling there with Jen and Yessica for a week. I am very excited. J

Well, I hope that all is well. If you read this entire email…wow! I hope that I did not bore you! There was just a lot that has happened in the last two weeks that I needed to cover! And, I am sure that I left a lot out. For instance, here are some things that entertained us during the girls’ trip. Cathy’s suitcase and purse (very, VERY large), seeing and needing to stop to take pictures of Spanish cows and Spanish windmills (we have cows and windmills in the U.S., but there are Spanish cows and Spanish windmills), watching Michelle sprint about a mile trying to catch the ferry in Tarifa only to find out that it had already left, Cathy mistaking “Hola” for “Coca-Cola” when a person greeted her at a café, OK, how about Cathy in general! We all just had so much fun together!

OK, I need to stop now or else this could go on forever! I love and miss you all lots.

Besitos,

Steph

March 19, 2005

Hola!

Feliz el dia del padre! Today is Father’s Day in Spain, so Happy Father’s Day, Dad! Luckily the ninos at the school I help at told me that Father’s Day is on a different day here than in the United States. So my dad has two days of celebration this year. J

On Thursday I went to Lisbon, Portugal with my program. We toured the city and some surrounding cities for four days. It was beautiful, but of course the rain followed me there! I met some local Lisboans and they told me that this year it snowed in Lisbon, which is not usual. They also said that it never rains there…This city was very pretty, though, and we enjoyed seeing lots of different sites.

On Friday we visited the castle of Saint George, which was another castle perched way on top of a massive hill. The hike to this castle was much easier than in Malaga. I am not sure if it had to do with the fact that we didn’t have 100lb. packs on our back or that it wasn’t 120 degrees outside. Any ways, the castle offered us some spectacular views of the city (including a bridge looks exactly like Golden gate bridge. It suspends across el rio de tajo) and some great picture-taking opportunities.

After visiting the castle, we walked throughout the city visiting various barrios, which are small areas within cities. I was busy taking photos, as usual, and got separated from the group. Woops. Luckily three of my other friends were with me. We decided to first find some food and ice cream, and then find our way to Lisbon’s Oceanarium. J This was much more difficult than we thought. We had been told that most people speak or at least understand English or Spanish in Portugal. But, we had the most difficult time communicating! Most of the time we ended up using a form of sign language-more visual communication-than actually speaking. Most of the people there were very helpful. The younger people could speak English very well. One guy we met when we were about to catch the metro downtown could only say, “I luuuvvvv you. I luuuuvvvv all you American girls. You are beautiful.” But then there were others that were completely fluent in not only Portuguese and English, but Spanish and Italian as well.

A couple of my girlfriends and I were on our way to find a place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and as we were huddled under some scaffolding waiting for the rain to stop before proceeding downtown, we met some local Lisboans. They could speak English fluently and said that most young people could speak Portuguese, English and Spanish. They are taught all of these languages beginning in elementary school. They were nice, and they were the only people we could actually communicate with in the city, so we ended up going to an Irish Pub with them for St. Patty’s Day.

On Saturday we left the hotel early to take a bus to a nearby city called Sintra. It was the cutest little town, nestled on a little hillside. We explored the town and then continued to another town. We were going to walk around this city as well, but a monsoon struck and our director decided it was best to return home. Before returning to Lisbon, we stopped at Cabo de Roca and saw what history calls “the western most point in the world.” It was where Columbus thought the world ended! We stood at the edge of these cliffs and looked out over the ocean. It was amazing. Luckily the rain stopped for a few moments so we were able to get creative with our picture taking! But, of course, the rain did not stay away for long. It started to downpour and so we all piled on the bus to continue our return.

Jennie and I were excited to return to our hotel that afternoon not because we were sopping wet and cold, but because Allison was arriving!!! When we returned to the hotel, she was there! We spent most of the afternoon chatting and catching up, then we headed downtown to do some more exploring and to find some dinner. We were going to go to Hard Rock Café for dinner, but we started to have a guilty conscious (it just didn’t feel right to be in Portugal and eat American food!) so we found some Portuguese cuisine instead. J

Sunday we woke up early to travel back to Seville. I was happy to return home. I missed Seville and my senora. Lola was so excited to see Jennie and I and she was excited to meet Allison as well. She invited Allison to eat dinner with us. We had some traditional Spanish cuisine: sopa de verdures y una torilla de francesa y, claro, pan (of course, bread!) It was really funny that Lola spoke to Allison like she speaks to Jennie and I-really quickly in Spanish! Allison just smiled and nodded most of dinner. I told her not to worry about it because I have to do the same thing sometimes! Lola can get really excited and it is hard to understand her or get a word in!

I go through ups and downs with my Spanish. Most of the time I feel pretty confident and realize that I have improved, but there are definitely times when I get frustrated-especially after a full day of traveling or going to classes. Things are going well, though. After visiting Lisbon and not being able to communicate very well with anyone, it makes me really appreciate being able to communicate! It makes me want to learn another language in addition to Spanish and English!

Pues, adios! Have a good week. J

Steph

March 13, 2006

Hola!

My seventh week in Spain started off on a fun note. Some of my new friends and I found a great little flamenco bar on one of the “calles estrechas” (a very narrow, cobblestone street) in Seville. It was kind of a “hole-in –the-wall,” which made it really fun. The singing and flamenco dancing and the agua de Seville (a mixed drink), blended well together.

Tuesday and Thursday I helped at the elementary school, which is always one of the highlights of my week. I am beginning to be able to explain to the students different English words and phrases better. We learned the different parts of the body on Thursday and, of course, we taught them the song “Head, Knees, and Shoulders”! After class, I stayed to play with them at recess and, believe it or not, pogs are just as popular in Spain as they are (or were-I don’t know, are pogs still the cool thing to have and play these days in elementary school?!) in the United States. The little kids play tag and soccer, just like the kids in the United States. And, all of them have packed lunches with juice boxes, pudding, chips and ham sandwiches, just like the United States. I guess some things don’t change from country to country.

Early Friday morning, Chelsey, Jennie and I took a bus to Malaga, which is a community on the Costa del Sur. Malaga was sunny, but its was very windy. It reminded me of home! We walked around the city and saw some of its most famous monuments. We visited its main cathedral and we also took a tour through Picasso’s house. Picasso grew up in Malaga and his house is now a foundation that holds a collection of his works.

And then there was our climb to visit the castle…High up on a mountain (OK, may be it wasn’t a mountain, but it was definitely a very large hill) lays a castle in Malaga. We all thought that it would be fun to visit the castle since none of us had ever been to one. So we started on our hike up (Note: we were carrying very large packs since we were going to stay for the weekend). And we went up. And up. And up. And up. Finally, we reached the top and decided that we definitely deserved some ice cream. J The castle provided us with some great picture-taking opportunities and we could the Mediterranean Sea, the whole city, and its many ports.

After touring Malaga, we took a train to a nearby town called Torremolinos for the night. We found a great hotel that was located right on the beach, so we dropped off our bags and went to a little tapas bar out front for pina coladas. The town was very busy, mostly with tourists, but we had a good time. We spent the rest of the day walking and shopping in the town. That night, we decided to pick up some groceries and make dinner in the hotel since we never get the chance to cook anymore! We aren’t complaining about that, but it is nice to be able to make our own food when we have the chance. J

We spent most of Saturday on the beach. It was very windy, but it actually felt really good since the sun was so bright and hot. I think that the weather is finally changing here. I am ready for the warm weather that I have been hearing about all of this time!

On Saturday, we took the train and the bus home in the early evening so we could have dinner with our families and then go out that night. Jen and I met our friends at the bar across the street for a little “Intercambio.” I consider the time I hang out with those guys at their bar, talking in Espanol, time that I have spent studying. So, even though I haven’t actually sat down and read a textbook in the past couple months, I have been very busy studying! Just in a different, and I think more effective and efficient, way. J I have learned so many words and phrases during the time I have spent just hanging out with them. They explain to us even more about the culture and life in Spain. It’s wonderful. They, however, cannot pronounce, “Stephanie,” so I am, “Steefie,” to them. It is pretty funny listening to them try to pronounce different words in English. It makes me wonder how I sound to them.

Even though Saturday was kind of a late night (well, may be it was still early according to them!) I met Chels in the morning to attend mass at the main Cathedral in Seville. It was beautiful. I have only attended mass once when I was very young, so this was definitely a new experience for me. The whole setting and structure is so beautiful and formal. (I controlled my desire to take pictures for once!) Chels and I were excited because even though the message was, of course, given in Spanish we were able to understand it!

After mass, Chels and I sat in the sun drank fresh orange juice and ate fresh bread. “Todo del mundo” was out because of the sun. (Todo del mundo is a phrase ALL the time for EVERYTHING! It means everyone. For instance, if someone is telling you about a party or an event, they will describe it and tell you that todo del mundo is going to be there and so you have to go to!) After our morning, I decided to go try and buy tickets for the soccer game that night, which turned into a not-so-great idea. I was definitely very, very lost in a part of Seville that I have never been to before. My map did not extend to the area that I was in, so finding my way home was interesting. I stopped and asked many people for some direction, but no one knew exactly where they were! So, after nearly two hours of walking around, a local Sevillano suggested that I just find bus 32 and go to a place that I recognize. Good idea. It was actually a very good experience for me, it just didn’t seem like it at the time. I was able to see a different part of Seville than I had ever seen before. J

And, completing my seventh week in Seville, a few of my girlfriends and I visited to Plaza de Espana. This is another historical monument in Seville. Nowadays, it is used for many events and concerts. We brought our notebooks to study, but that didn’t end up happening. There is just too much to do and to see!

This week was very busy, and next week is not going to be any less eventful. We are leaving on Thursday to go to Portugal!

Loves y besos,

Steph

March 5, 2006

Hola,

Another week has flown by here, in Spain. They all go by so fast. This week seemed shorter since we did not have school on Monday or Tuesday. So, I went to class on Wednesday, which was a little difficult since we hadn’t gone for a week, and then it was the weekend again! Sweet!

On Thursday, I volunteered at an elementary school across town, which I will be doing every Tuesday and Thursday. I absolutely love it! Helping at the school has been one of my favorite experiences here. I help teach English to 11 and 12 year old students. The teacher speaks only a little English, so the other volunteers and I often help her with words and phrases. I speak to the students in English, but when they do not understand I explain to them in Spanish. It feels so great to be able to communicate with others in their language and then to try and help them learn my language as well. The kids are really nice. Initially, I was worried that they would start making fun of me in Spanish and I would have no idea! But, I teach them and they teach me. It is great.

On Friday, I visited Cadiz again with the students of my program (about 50 students came). First, we visited a bodega, which is a wine cellar/shop. We took a tour through a building that held barrels and barrels of wine. Our tour guide described to us how the wine was made and stored and how long it had to be in a barrel before being sold. After touring the wine cellar, we had an opportunity to do a little wine tasting. J They had tables set up with crackers, peanuts and chips. Everyone found a seat and then these ladies came around pouring wine into our glasses. They had seven different types of sherry for us to try! There was another group scheduled to tour the bodega right after us, so the wine tasting was a little rushed. Everyone drank seven half GLASSES of wine (not just little sips) in less than a half an hour…And this on empty stomachs…Our next bus ride was a little wild, to say the least!

Once we arrived to Cadiz, we spent a few hours at the beach playing cards and kicking a soccer ball around. Then, we visited the older part of Cadiz where we were able to see the Cathedral and a couple more famous monuments. The streets were still filled with debris from Cadiz’s Carnival. Its carnival is a little different than the Canary Islands’ Los Carnavales. Cadiz’s Carnival makes fun of political figures and celebrities in Spain, but there is still the same lively atmosphere (lots of dancing, costumes, parades, food, and drinking). Since the carnival was still going on the day that we visited, there were candy stands every direction you looked! Yum! The weather in Cadiz was less than great. It actually started to rain right as we were leaving.

When we arrived in Seville that night, it began to rain and the next morning it seriously monsooned here. I think that I brought the Oregon weather here with me, or at least that is what I told my senora. She keeps telling me how hot and sunny the weather here is during the spring. She is funny, though. She thinks that her knee can predict the weather! Last December she had surgery on her knee, and since then she believes that if her knee hurts, then the weather is going to be bad. If you haven’t gotten this out of my letters yet, my senora is a little on the crazy side. Jennie and I have stopped taking her advice since she told us that we could take our bags with us on the airplane to the Canary Islands and have the pilots drop us off at whatever island we wanted! We have decided that her daughter, Macarena, is a better source for advice. My senora is still wonderful in every other way, though.

For instance, this morning (Sunday) she took Jennie and I out for breakfast. I was not too thrilled when she woke me up at 10:30am to go, but we had a great time. We went to one of the only cafes that stay open on Sundays. (Sunday is definitely a day of rest here; no one works and so nothing is open.) We ate a typical desayuno (breakfast) of Spain: bread (of course) with jamon curado (cured ham) and olive oil. My senora and Jennie had café con leche, which is what everyone drinks here with their breakfast-except for me. I am not a coffee fan, so I take tea instead. Jennie and I were a little frightened at first of our desayuno since we could see the ham leg, where the meat we were eating came from, dangling from the ceiling with about 30 others. Yum. Actually, it was pretty good.

We thought that we were finished with breakfast, but then our little senora wanted to go to another café for more café and postres! So we went down the street and had more coffee (well, I had freshly squeezed orange juice-freshly squeezed is the only kind of orange juice they serve here and it is amazing!) and little postres. It was fun to try some new Spanish food, even though it was definitely out of our comfort zone.

We returned home and immediately our senora started to prepare our lunch! So basically I have done nothing but ate all day! I love it here! Lola, my senora, is teaching me how to cook. So, when I return home my dad, my mom and brother are definitely going to be trying some new and amazing Spanish meals! Are you excited, Joe?!

Lots of love,

Steph