Well, I suppose all good things must come to an end. Stink on that. Mom and I just went out to dinner and are in the hotel. Time to pack my bags, sleep a bit, then head to the airport early tomorrow mornin. So strange! For a year and a half I have been planning this trip to Spain, this summer abroad, and not only has it finally come but now it is OVER. Surreal? I think Dalí would appreciate this weird feeling. I´m going to be honest - I´m not sure what else to say. So i suppose I´ll leave it at that for now. We´re comin home tomorrow (land around 5:30ish I think, and I´ll turn my phone on as soon as we do!), so I´ll talk to you then and can tell you about the rest of my adventures in Spain with my Mom. Have a great 24 hours... see you State-side!
Kelly
PS - thanks for keepin up with me on here! I´ll post an update/recap/pictures sometime soon.
sábado, 11 de agosto de 2007
jueves, 9 de agosto de 2007
¡Mi madre está aquí!
MY MOMMA IS HERE!!
Though not without considerable problems. She left KC on Monday, but due to storms her flight from KC to Newark was delayed, therefore causing her to miss her flight to Madrid. Between a lack of time and the forces of the world all allying against her, she was unable to communicate this "minor" problem to anyone, except for an email that she sent off to me. On the day I was to meet her at the airport I overslept, therefore leaving me with not enough time to check my email before throwing my things in my bag and fleeing the hostel. So while I ran around the airport, bag in tow, trying to locate her, I ended up missing our next flight (to Granada), although I still thought that she was on it somehow. After talking to the airline about getting a later flight, talking to the train company about taking a train, and making many unsuccessful phone calls to the bus station, I decided to head to the bus station and just get myself to Granada to meet her. On my way out of the airport I called Dad one more time, and luckily I called while he was on the other line with Mom. Thank goodness I didn´t leave the airport, let alone go to Granada!!!! I hustled over to her terminal and after a long and stressful morning I finally found her. We ended up going standby on a later flight to Granada, and since then it´s been smooth sailing!
Granada was awesome (but I´m biased - I love that place!). We had a great dinner in a really cute plaza, complete with street musicians, sangria, and a very Spanish kitchen staff ("no, you can´t have a small pizza, the kitchen decided to only make mediums today"). haha - it was a great end to that day!
The next day we headed to Sevilla and have done a lot - walked around the old Jewish quarter yesterday, had dinner on the river, toured the Cathedral, and saw a lot of the areas in which I spent a lot of time. Mom was amazed at how HUGE the Giralda is (that´s the tower that we have a smaller version of in KC). I´ve just looked it up, and it´s about 2.5 times the height of ours! We´re talkin BIG. So yeah everything has been wonderful, and we´re excited to have one more night here in Sevilla and then head to Barcelona tomorrow!
.... SEE YOU ALL SOON!!!! -kel
Though not without considerable problems. She left KC on Monday, but due to storms her flight from KC to Newark was delayed, therefore causing her to miss her flight to Madrid. Between a lack of time and the forces of the world all allying against her, she was unable to communicate this "minor" problem to anyone, except for an email that she sent off to me. On the day I was to meet her at the airport I overslept, therefore leaving me with not enough time to check my email before throwing my things in my bag and fleeing the hostel. So while I ran around the airport, bag in tow, trying to locate her, I ended up missing our next flight (to Granada), although I still thought that she was on it somehow. After talking to the airline about getting a later flight, talking to the train company about taking a train, and making many unsuccessful phone calls to the bus station, I decided to head to the bus station and just get myself to Granada to meet her. On my way out of the airport I called Dad one more time, and luckily I called while he was on the other line with Mom. Thank goodness I didn´t leave the airport, let alone go to Granada!!!! I hustled over to her terminal and after a long and stressful morning I finally found her. We ended up going standby on a later flight to Granada, and since then it´s been smooth sailing!
Granada was awesome (but I´m biased - I love that place!). We had a great dinner in a really cute plaza, complete with street musicians, sangria, and a very Spanish kitchen staff ("no, you can´t have a small pizza, the kitchen decided to only make mediums today"). haha - it was a great end to that day!
The next day we headed to Sevilla and have done a lot - walked around the old Jewish quarter yesterday, had dinner on the river, toured the Cathedral, and saw a lot of the areas in which I spent a lot of time. Mom was amazed at how HUGE the Giralda is (that´s the tower that we have a smaller version of in KC). I´ve just looked it up, and it´s about 2.5 times the height of ours! We´re talkin BIG. So yeah everything has been wonderful, and we´re excited to have one more night here in Sevilla and then head to Barcelona tomorrow!
.... SEE YOU ALL SOON!!!! -kel
sábado, 4 de agosto de 2007
The Lost Days
Okay, so I admit I really didn´t see much of Valencia because I feel so rotten. Kind of stinks, because it was the last new city I was going to see (from here on out it´s all repeats). But it´s ok, what I did see I liked and I met some cool people. This was the hostel with the least english speakers that i´ve encountered my whole trip. My first day here I hung out with a french girl, i talked a bit with an italian guy, and only yesterday did I come across another American. I spent a lot of my time with a girl from Australia, just walking around town in loops. It was nice.
Last night was fun - I had bought an apple at the market and had stolen the jar of peanut butter that my roommate in Barcelona was planning to throw away, and was really excited at the prospect of a good snack combining the two. I already knew that peanut butter is hard to come by, and that when you do find it it´s expensive, but apparantly apples and peanut butter is a totally american thing - everyone looked at me like i was crazy! the other american confirmed that it´s delicious, and we had a great time watching people try it. Olivia, the Australian girl, tried it and said it was good but weird. Then a couple of french girls i had met came in, and one of them lived in the states for a few months and fell in love with peanut butter, so she was really excited to see it. I gave her a piece, and then her friend, after a bit of hesitation, decided to try it as well. Her friend was so funny - her eyes got all big and she just kept saying "oh, it´s good! very good! wow, very good!" haha. i laughed. when i finished what i wanted to eat there were 2 pieces left and not a lot of peanut butter, so i gave the remaining pieces to the french girls and the jar as well and watched them later as they scooped out the remaining bits of peanut butter with their fingers. it was really funny. spreading the joy of peanut butter all over the world!!!
Last night was fun - I had bought an apple at the market and had stolen the jar of peanut butter that my roommate in Barcelona was planning to throw away, and was really excited at the prospect of a good snack combining the two. I already knew that peanut butter is hard to come by, and that when you do find it it´s expensive, but apparantly apples and peanut butter is a totally american thing - everyone looked at me like i was crazy! the other american confirmed that it´s delicious, and we had a great time watching people try it. Olivia, the Australian girl, tried it and said it was good but weird. Then a couple of french girls i had met came in, and one of them lived in the states for a few months and fell in love with peanut butter, so she was really excited to see it. I gave her a piece, and then her friend, after a bit of hesitation, decided to try it as well. Her friend was so funny - her eyes got all big and she just kept saying "oh, it´s good! very good! wow, very good!" haha. i laughed. when i finished what i wanted to eat there were 2 pieces left and not a lot of peanut butter, so i gave the remaining pieces to the french girls and the jar as well and watched them later as they scooped out the remaining bits of peanut butter with their fingers. it was really funny. spreading the joy of peanut butter all over the world!!!
miércoles, 1 de agosto de 2007
Hostels, anyone?
Hey all!
Well, a lot has happened. Last thursda we had our farewell dinner for the Barcelona study abroad program, and then we all moved out on Saturday and I said goodbye to everyone. It was sad, and it meant time for me to pack up and be on the move again! I decided to spend a couple of extra days in Barcelona, so after leaving our apartment I just took the metro across town and settled down in my hostel, and made friends immediately. the hostel life is SO much fun! this is the first time i´ve been doing it on my own, but there are so many people there that are also by themselves, and everybody wants to make friends, so it´s really a great environment for getting to know cool people. While I was in the hostel there there were very few Americans - lots of Australians and Canadians, as always!! The other night I went out to dinner with an Australian, a Canadian, a French guy, and a guy from Denmark. It´s so cool! I can actually distinguish between the Quebec accent and the french accent now - go me! And I got to impress a Canadian girl last night with my extensive knowlege of Canadian geography (I named all the provinces in order from west to east, with the exception of the last three, and included major cities in each. she was really surprised)! On the other hand, we were playing a game the other night in the hostal and the other American that was playing said that people had to name US states. It was first really funny when someone said "there are like 50, right?" and then was made even more amusing when, after 3 states were named, an Australian guy offered Philadelphia as his contribution, and when we told him it was a city not a state, he tried Chicago. I´ve taken to telling people who are not from the US that I´m from Texas, just because they know where that is before they know Kansas (and if they know Kansas it´s because of a certain movie. ah, i just can´t get away from Dorothy!). haha
So my last days in Barcelona were a blast, and now I´m in Valencia for a few days. When I was in the train station on my way here I was a little confused as to where I was supposed to go, so I asked a lady near me and she looked at my ticket and after realizing that we were sitting in the same row, she took me under her wing and led the way from there through the terminal, out to the platform, and on to the train. She was so sweet! When we arrived in Valencia and asked where I was going and after realizing that she lives close to here, she walked with me all the way here and even gave me her number in case I need anything. She was SO sweet! God is so good, providing people to look out for me all along the way! Plus, I got to practice my spanish while I was talking to her, which i haven´t really done in a while. She was great, and I hope that´s something that I can do for someone some day!
I suppose that´s all for now. Mom comes in a week and I´m SO excited to see her! Wish me luck in the meantime... talk to yall later, and SEE YOU SOON!!!
Kelly
Well, a lot has happened. Last thursda we had our farewell dinner for the Barcelona study abroad program, and then we all moved out on Saturday and I said goodbye to everyone. It was sad, and it meant time for me to pack up and be on the move again! I decided to spend a couple of extra days in Barcelona, so after leaving our apartment I just took the metro across town and settled down in my hostel, and made friends immediately. the hostel life is SO much fun! this is the first time i´ve been doing it on my own, but there are so many people there that are also by themselves, and everybody wants to make friends, so it´s really a great environment for getting to know cool people. While I was in the hostel there there were very few Americans - lots of Australians and Canadians, as always!! The other night I went out to dinner with an Australian, a Canadian, a French guy, and a guy from Denmark. It´s so cool! I can actually distinguish between the Quebec accent and the french accent now - go me! And I got to impress a Canadian girl last night with my extensive knowlege of Canadian geography (I named all the provinces in order from west to east, with the exception of the last three, and included major cities in each. she was really surprised)! On the other hand, we were playing a game the other night in the hostal and the other American that was playing said that people had to name US states. It was first really funny when someone said "there are like 50, right?" and then was made even more amusing when, after 3 states were named, an Australian guy offered Philadelphia as his contribution, and when we told him it was a city not a state, he tried Chicago. I´ve taken to telling people who are not from the US that I´m from Texas, just because they know where that is before they know Kansas (and if they know Kansas it´s because of a certain movie. ah, i just can´t get away from Dorothy!). haha
So my last days in Barcelona were a blast, and now I´m in Valencia for a few days. When I was in the train station on my way here I was a little confused as to where I was supposed to go, so I asked a lady near me and she looked at my ticket and after realizing that we were sitting in the same row, she took me under her wing and led the way from there through the terminal, out to the platform, and on to the train. She was so sweet! When we arrived in Valencia and asked where I was going and after realizing that she lives close to here, she walked with me all the way here and even gave me her number in case I need anything. She was SO sweet! God is so good, providing people to look out for me all along the way! Plus, I got to practice my spanish while I was talking to her, which i haven´t really done in a while. She was great, and I hope that´s something that I can do for someone some day!
I suppose that´s all for now. Mom comes in a week and I´m SO excited to see her! Wish me luck in the meantime... talk to yall later, and SEE YOU SOON!!!
Kelly
lunes, 23 de julio de 2007
Procrastination: it happens in Spain too
Hey all!
I'm taking a break from the project I'm working on to update this thing, and I thought it was time for some pictures!
The Magic Fountain - on weekend nights it has a whole show with music and lights and choreographed water - it's really neat!
The Magic Fountain againWe took a daytrip last week to Figuries, the town where Salvador Dali was born and where the museum that he designed for his artwork is located. After that we headed to Empuries, another small town near here that has some cool Greek and Roman ruins and a nice beach. Here are a few pictures from that!
Ok, so Dalis has some crazy stuff, but he's also got some REALLY cool stuff. Like this painting... what do you see when you look at it? Probably the same thing I saw - a naked woman walking through a doorway or something
now... here's what I saw when i held up my camera to take a picture of it...
Anyone else see Abe Lincoln? I was totally impressed :) And it was really cool because I definitely did a double take - I looked at my camera and saw Abe, then I looked back at the real thing and saw the lady again - I was so confused! It was a really cool effect... kudos to Dali :)
Yet another pretty beach in Spain - oh, and Greek ruins in the foreground (the Roman extension of the city is behind me)
Paddleboats with slides... need I say more?!
Brittany, Rachel, and Genevieve (roommates!) in the kitchen the night we all cooked and ate together.
Arc de Triumf (Catalan) or el Arco de Triumfo (Spanish) - either way, I walk by it every day on the way to school and it's very useful for finding our way home!Our whole program went to San Sebastian this past weekend and it was wonderful!! It's a small beach town on the northern coast of Spain, pretty near France. We actually saw a highway sign on the way there that said "Paris 8__ km" it was cool! I really liked the town of San Sebastian, and I had an AWESOME time there - I spent 5 hours on the beach again, this time going back and forth between playing frisbee in the sand and then swimming for a bit, then frisbee some more, and then cool down in the ocean. It was GREAT! I'm a little sore from running in the sand so much, but it was totally worth it! I was in heaven. Anyways, here's some pictures from San Sebastian!
Look what we found on the beach - WHOOOOOOP!! (The aTm, I mean... not AJ.)
AJ, me and Gerry are all Aggies... WHOOOOOP!!!
Sunset in San SebastianAlright, that's it for now... back to my project :)
martes, 17 de julio de 2007
Un dia en la playa
Well today was just about as great as it gets. My roommate and a friend and I decided to go to the beach today, and ended up stayin there for over 5 hours. It was amazing!! We laid out for a bit, then got in the water (which felt GREAT!). The waves were huge, so it was really fun, jumping with them and diving under them and trying not to get a mouth full of water :) Haha. After a bit we walked down the beach a bit and got some lunch, then headed back to the sand for more laying/swimming/siesta-ing. It was incredible!
This is a map of my part of Barcelona - see my apartment, and see how close the beach is? It's like a 20, maybe 30 minute walk from my door to the water. Can you blame a girl for skipping class to experience all that this city has to offer? Haha. It is summer after all!
Oh, and to whoever it may interest, I've got some pretty ridiculous tan lines. My watch, ring, and flipflops have all left their marks, not to mention how badly my swimsuit tanlines clash with my dresses. But I'd take this over being pale!!
One funny thing about the beaches here - there are people walking up and down the whole time with little coolers trying to sell you water or beer or pop or whatever you will buy, and they just walk by advertising what they have and it turns into a song: "colaaaaa, fantaaaa, aguaaaaa, cerveza beer" at one point i was laying there and it was like a song being sung in a round in stereo - essentially the same song at different points being sung by multiple vendors in all directions - a little bit irritating, but if you're on the beach and in one of those moods where nothing can take away your smile, it's rather amusing.
Ah, this is the life.
This is a map of my part of Barcelona - see my apartment, and see how close the beach is? It's like a 20, maybe 30 minute walk from my door to the water. Can you blame a girl for skipping class to experience all that this city has to offer? Haha. It is summer after all!
Oh, and to whoever it may interest, I've got some pretty ridiculous tan lines. My watch, ring, and flipflops have all left their marks, not to mention how badly my swimsuit tanlines clash with my dresses. But I'd take this over being pale!!
One funny thing about the beaches here - there are people walking up and down the whole time with little coolers trying to sell you water or beer or pop or whatever you will buy, and they just walk by advertising what they have and it turns into a song: "colaaaaa, fantaaaa, aguaaaaa, cerveza beer" at one point i was laying there and it was like a song being sung in a round in stereo - essentially the same song at different points being sung by multiple vendors in all directions - a little bit irritating, but if you're on the beach and in one of those moods where nothing can take away your smile, it's rather amusing.
Ah, this is the life.
jueves, 12 de julio de 2007
This is not America
Hello all!!!
How are things? Things are surprisingly boring here... I'm enjoying Barcelona, even though it's SO different from Sevilla. In Sevilla I traveled every weekend and here I'm not traveling at all until I go to San Sebastian next weekend with the rest of my program. It's nice to just relax - it's the first opportunity I've had to have a relaxing summer, so I'm taking this opportunity to refresh myself for my whirlwind August and the school year that follows.
The past couple of days a strange thing has happened to me... I've been craving America! It's been 8 weeks since I first arrived here in Spain, and this is the first time that I've really been really wanting some America - unlimited free refills with ice and a nice big free glass of water to go with, menus with a language i know and food i recognize, our definition of good customer service, jeans/tshirts/flipflops/ponytails (oh how i miss tshirts!), people fully clothed at the beach, public bathrooms with toilet paper, driving my car, my money actually being worth something (no more of the 1.40 exchange rate!), people NOT having mullets, guys having nothing to do with glitter and capris, watching movies, ranch dressing, functional doorknobs... oh and SO many more things. I miss America! I've missed these things the whole time I've been here, but just the past couple of days it's been really irking me, and I've been WANTING this stuff really badly. So last night we went to Hard Rock Cafe where everyone speaks English, and I got a really really good salad and ate some of my friends' fries with unlimited ketchup. They had pop with free refills, and LIMES for the first time. It sounds small, but it was really nice. :)
I hope yall are enjoying America - know that I miss you all - my friends and family are at the top of my "things in America that I miss" list.
How are things? Things are surprisingly boring here... I'm enjoying Barcelona, even though it's SO different from Sevilla. In Sevilla I traveled every weekend and here I'm not traveling at all until I go to San Sebastian next weekend with the rest of my program. It's nice to just relax - it's the first opportunity I've had to have a relaxing summer, so I'm taking this opportunity to refresh myself for my whirlwind August and the school year that follows.
The past couple of days a strange thing has happened to me... I've been craving America! It's been 8 weeks since I first arrived here in Spain, and this is the first time that I've really been really wanting some America - unlimited free refills with ice and a nice big free glass of water to go with, menus with a language i know and food i recognize, our definition of good customer service, jeans/tshirts/flipflops/ponytails (oh how i miss tshirts!), people fully clothed at the beach, public bathrooms with toilet paper, driving my car, my money actually being worth something (no more of the 1.40 exchange rate!), people NOT having mullets, guys having nothing to do with glitter and capris, watching movies, ranch dressing, functional doorknobs... oh and SO many more things. I miss America! I've missed these things the whole time I've been here, but just the past couple of days it's been really irking me, and I've been WANTING this stuff really badly. So last night we went to Hard Rock Cafe where everyone speaks English, and I got a really really good salad and ate some of my friends' fries with unlimited ketchup. They had pop with free refills, and LIMES for the first time. It sounds small, but it was really nice. :)
I hope yall are enjoying America - know that I miss you all - my friends and family are at the top of my "things in America that I miss" list.
viernes, 6 de julio de 2007
Barcelona, anyone?
First of all... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I suppose it's about time I let yall know what's up with Barcelona, eh? :)
I got here last Friday and met my roommates - they're really neat! Our program took us on a bus tour of the city (but I forgot my camera, so no pictures yet... oops!) and it was a great way to start off the month here. We went on a bike tour of the city last night, too, so I've pretty much gotten to see the whole thing! Architecturally, Barcelona is incredible. Gaudi's masterpieces are all here, not to mention amazing designs by other people - it provides for a really cool-lookin city, and awesome things to see around every corner. Also, the city has changed a lot in my lifetime because SO much was done to get it ready for the Olympics here in 1992. Areas that were previously totally undesirable are now major real estate areas, and thanks to the cleaning up of the beaches, Barcelona is a beach town! Overall, the city is MUCH different and much nicer than it was 20 or 30 years ago.
We got our apartment on Sunday, and it is INCREDIBLE! It's really nice, with its hardwood floors, huge balcony, washing machine & dishwasher (!!!) etc. We like it! It's in a good location, too - we're about a 15 or 20 minute walk from Port Olympia & the beach in one direction and the big shopping/restaurant area in the other direction. I'm still trying to adjust to Barcelona being such a big city - I'm not used to living in anything bigger than Lenexa or College Station - it's weird. But I'm a whiz at the metro now which helps a lot, because you can get anywhere in the city pretty quickly. Yay for metro!
I suppose that's it for now. Spain has sales in the stores once per year, and it's from July 1st to August 31st, so I plan to take advantage of that later on today, and maybe hit up the beach for a bit. You're welcome to join me! :)
Well, I suppose it's about time I let yall know what's up with Barcelona, eh? :)
I got here last Friday and met my roommates - they're really neat! Our program took us on a bus tour of the city (but I forgot my camera, so no pictures yet... oops!) and it was a great way to start off the month here. We went on a bike tour of the city last night, too, so I've pretty much gotten to see the whole thing! Architecturally, Barcelona is incredible. Gaudi's masterpieces are all here, not to mention amazing designs by other people - it provides for a really cool-lookin city, and awesome things to see around every corner. Also, the city has changed a lot in my lifetime because SO much was done to get it ready for the Olympics here in 1992. Areas that were previously totally undesirable are now major real estate areas, and thanks to the cleaning up of the beaches, Barcelona is a beach town! Overall, the city is MUCH different and much nicer than it was 20 or 30 years ago.
We got our apartment on Sunday, and it is INCREDIBLE! It's really nice, with its hardwood floors, huge balcony, washing machine & dishwasher (!!!) etc. We like it! It's in a good location, too - we're about a 15 or 20 minute walk from Port Olympia & the beach in one direction and the big shopping/restaurant area in the other direction. I'm still trying to adjust to Barcelona being such a big city - I'm not used to living in anything bigger than Lenexa or College Station - it's weird. But I'm a whiz at the metro now which helps a lot, because you can get anywhere in the city pretty quickly. Yay for metro!
I suppose that's it for now. Spain has sales in the stores once per year, and it's from July 1st to August 31st, so I plan to take advantage of that later on today, and maybe hit up the beach for a bit. You're welcome to join me! :)
martes, 3 de julio de 2007
Sevilla in review - pictures!
They're terribly out of order. Do forgive me.
Janine and I in Lagos
Janine and I in Lagos
Roomies, on the bike thing. I can't remember what it's called! Oh well it was awesome. It even had a bell.
Ruchi and I in Nerja
Emily and Rachel at the park in our apartment complex
Avenida de Kansas City!
Carmen! And me, Rachel, and Emily
My Spanish class! Brooke, Kelly, Jesus, me, and Lisa. Aka Jesus y sus chicas americanas feas (Jesus and his ugly American girls!)
Aggies! Do you see the A&M pennant on the cieling behind us? Yeah, we were excited.
Emily and I trying to be as cool as the dancing statue. (At the Real Alcazar, a very old Moorish-style palace in Sevilla, where the King and Queen actually stay when they come to town)
Cadiz
Katie and Emily at the little cafe down the street from our school. This is where my Spanish class went every day for cafe con leche, and the bakery in the background kept us all full of spanish pastries and fresh bread.
Granada, with some of the band members from the Corpus Cristi procession
ROOMIES! With our oh-so-appreciated bus passes!
Carmen Cookin: Paella, salad, and bread!
Spanish dryer :)
Our friends! (except the guy in front on the left. We don't actually know him, we just couldn't get him out of our picture.) They're actually from Morocco, but have lived in Sevilla for a few years. They taught us how to salsa and such - it was awesome!
The Guadalquivir River, the oldest bridge in Sevilla: el Puente de Triana (also the one that leads to my apartment!), as well as the Torre del Oro. Isn't my city lovely?! Oh, and notice the timestamp says 10:23, and the sun is just setting. 
The Plaza de Espana
Emily, Janine, and Roni standing on the "sidewalk" so a car could go by in Carmona.That's it. I miss Sevilla! But Barcelona is great so far (as I knew it would be!). Can you believe I'm now over halfway done with my summer abroad? Wow! It seems like so much has happened, but it's gone so fast. I can't believe it!!
Love yall.
domingo, 1 de julio de 2007
What, already?!
**I wrote this post on Friday, the 29th, but couldn't post it... so pretend that's when i actually did**
Well it's been ages since I’ve written on here – SO sorry! It’s been busy though. So much has happened!!! Our whole program went toLagos , Portugal 
A lagoon in Lagos that we both swam in and then took a boat to.
The beach we were on in Lagos
I have to brag just for a minute, but only because I’m so proud of myself! My Spanish has come SO far!! Last night at dinner I was sitting next to Stephen the program director, his father in law (no english), one of the Spanish teachers, and then a couple of girls from the program. I was switching back and forth between Spanish and English like it was no problem!! Also, I talked on the phone yesterday with three different Spanish-speakers, which is very difficult because you can’t see their mouth or gestures or anything, but I have gotten to the point where I can do that. It’s so exciting! I LOVE IT!!
Barcelona Barcelona
That's it. More on Barcelona later!
Well it's been ages since I’ve written on here – SO sorry! It’s been busy though. So much has happened!!! Our whole program went to
A lagoon in Lagos that we both swam in and then took a boat to.
The beach we were on in LagosI have to brag just for a minute, but only because I’m so proud of myself! My Spanish has come SO far!! Last night at dinner I was sitting next to Stephen the program director, his father in law (no english), one of the Spanish teachers, and then a couple of girls from the program. I was switching back and forth between Spanish and English like it was no problem!! Also, I talked on the phone yesterday with three different Spanish-speakers, which is very difficult because you can’t see their mouth or gestures or anything, but I have gotten to the point where I can do that. It’s so exciting! I LOVE IT!!
That's it. More on Barcelona later!
domingo, 17 de junio de 2007
Nerja!
First of all, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!! if you read this, Dad, I love you and I'm thinkin of you!
Second of all, as of today I have officially been in Spain for a month. WHOOP! It's been amazing, and I can't believe it's ONLY been a month. So much has happened, and I've already learned so much! It's great!!
Now on to what I've been up to. This weekend I went to Nerja with three other girls from my program. It's a little town on the southern edge of Spain, about an hour east of Malaga. It was SUCH a beautiful town! Pretty small, with beautiful beaches and incredible cliffs plunging down into the Mediterranean. This girl from Kansas was overwhelmed by the simultaneous presence of two things that she is not used to - water AND mountains. I couldn't hardly get over it! Let's just say I've got LOTS of pictures! (oh, here's one now! notice the mountains and water all together like that... wow! )
The only downside to this adorable little beach town was the lack of SPANISH. I literally heard more people speaking English (although usually with a British or sometimes Australian accent) than Spanish while I was there - for the first time in a month I asked for the check, in English. It was strange. If it were a Spanish
little town, it would hands-down be my favorite city in Spain. But alas, it felt like a little bit of England (we would have gone to Gibraltar if that's what we had wanted!). But oh it was still a wonderful trip and we all had a great time.
Ok I'm out of stuff to say. Goodnight.
PS My roommate Emily says hi.
Second of all, as of today I have officially been in Spain for a month. WHOOP! It's been amazing, and I can't believe it's ONLY been a month. So much has happened, and I've already learned so much! It's great!!
Now on to what I've been up to. This weekend I went to Nerja with three other girls from my program. It's a little town on the southern edge of Spain, about an hour east of Malaga. It was SUCH a beautiful town! Pretty small, with beautiful beaches and incredible cliffs plunging down into the Mediterranean. This girl from Kansas was overwhelmed by the simultaneous presence of two things that she is not used to - water AND mountains. I couldn't hardly get over it! Let's just say I've got LOTS of pictures! (oh, here's one now! notice the mountains and water all together like that... wow! )
The only downside to this adorable little beach town was the lack of SPANISH. I literally heard more people speaking English (although usually with a British or sometimes Australian accent) than Spanish while I was there - for the first time in a month I asked for the check, in English. It was strange. If it were a Spanishlittle town, it would hands-down be my favorite city in Spain. But alas, it felt like a little bit of England (we would have gone to Gibraltar if that's what we had wanted!). But oh it was still a wonderful trip and we all had a great time.
Ok I'm out of stuff to say. Goodnight.
PS My roommate Emily says hi.
miércoles, 13 de junio de 2007
Flamenco and a sunset
and
Tonight we went to a flamenco show, and it was awesome! The dance is just a small part of flamenco - the music is actually the main component. Just a guitarist and a singer, and the effect is awesome. I am falling in love with flamenco music. Then the dancers get up there and the intensity is just incredible. I really, really enjoyed it! Then we went outside and I took one of my favorite pictures I've taken this whole trip:
That's the tower and fountain that i had pictures of in my last post, and the sky is so blue! The sun was just setting, and I don't know if you can read it but the time stamp on this picture says "22:06." Yeah, 10:00 and the sun was just setting. A bit later I took a picture of the sun setting over the river, and the timestamp on that one is 10:23. It's amazing... so many hours of daylight, and they really take advantage of all of them! Have I mentioned that I'm in love with this culture?!?! :)
Tomorrow is my midterm for my Spanish class - I can't believe I'm nearly halfway done with my time here in Sevilla! Crazy. I've learned SO much about the intricacies of Spanish, and in my other class I've learned about the religion of Spain, the basics of the region called Andalucia (where I am!), a lot about bull fights (SO interesting), and about Spanish food and wine. This totally beats taking classes in College Station, Texas :) That being said, I'm going to go actually study for my test - wish me luck!!
Kelly :)
Tonight we went to a flamenco show, and it was awesome! The dance is just a small part of flamenco - the music is actually the main component. Just a guitarist and a singer, and the effect is awesome. I am falling in love with flamenco music. Then the dancers get up there and the intensity is just incredible. I really, really enjoyed it! Then we went outside and I took one of my favorite pictures I've taken this whole trip:
That's the tower and fountain that i had pictures of in my last post, and the sky is so blue! The sun was just setting, and I don't know if you can read it but the time stamp on this picture says "22:06." Yeah, 10:00 and the sun was just setting. A bit later I took a picture of the sun setting over the river, and the timestamp on that one is 10:23. It's amazing... so many hours of daylight, and they really take advantage of all of them! Have I mentioned that I'm in love with this culture?!?! :)Tomorrow is my midterm for my Spanish class - I can't believe I'm nearly halfway done with my time here in Sevilla! Crazy. I've learned SO much about the intricacies of Spanish, and in my other class I've learned about the religion of Spain, the basics of the region called Andalucia (where I am!), a lot about bull fights (SO interesting), and about Spanish food and wine. This totally beats taking classes in College Station, Texas :) That being said, I'm going to go actually study for my test - wish me luck!!
Kelly :)
sábado, 9 de junio de 2007
So, it's the weekend... know what that means? I have time to really make this thing neat! By that I mean pictures. I've already got a lot put up on my webshots page (I can't put them ALL on here...but the link is over there >>>>), but I thought i would put up a few here, too!
So I've already talked about how Kansas City is the sister city of Sevilla, yes? Well this fountain is in one of the plazas next to the cathedral... does it look familiar to any of you? The fountain in Kansas City that is right next to P.F.Chang's was commissioned to be an exact replica of this one! When I saw this here I got really excited :)
Also, it's just across the plaza from the tower of the Cathedral, called the Giralda. Does this look familiar at all, too? The tower on the Plaza (in KC) is supposed to be a scale replica of this famous tower here in Sevilla. Cool, huh?! It's like I'm at home :)
Well, i suppose that's it for now. I'll put up more pictures periodically!
Byeeee
So I've already talked about how Kansas City is the sister city of Sevilla, yes? Well this fountain is in one of the plazas next to the cathedral... does it look familiar to any of you? The fountain in Kansas City that is right next to P.F.Chang's was commissioned to be an exact replica of this one! When I saw this here I got really excited :)
Also, it's just across the plaza from the tower of the Cathedral, called the Giralda. Does this look familiar at all, too? The tower on the Plaza (in KC) is supposed to be a scale replica of this famous tower here in Sevilla. Cool, huh?! It's like I'm at home :)
Well, i suppose that's it for now. I'll put up more pictures periodically!
Byeeee
viernes, 8 de junio de 2007
blessed
Hey everyone!!
Well I just got back from a really fun weekend in Granada. Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE Granada? This experience was TOTALLY different from the last one, but still wonderful. Granada is a great city, I would go back there anytime I had the chance! Thursday was a holiday here in Spain called Corpus Cristi, or Body of Christ. It's basically, as far as I can tell, a huge celebration of being Spanish and being Catholic. There was a big parade/procession Thursday morning, not to mention much celebrating both Wednesday and Thursday nights. The procession was really neat, and everywhere we looked both days there were girls and women of all ages in flamenco dresses. it was great! The whole thing was SUCH a cool experience. I went to Granada with some girls from my study abroad program, and it was really cool. I was really nervous before coming over here about being alone in this country with no fellowship, and to everyone who was thinking of me and praying about that, let me tell you that my goodness does God provide! He answered all those prayers and has provided me with an incredible group of Christian girls. I am having a blast with them, and they're really building me up. It's so encouraging and uplifting! I am so blessed.
Speaking of blessed... let me tell you about CARMEN! The apartment we're living in is owned by this family across the hall, and part of the set up is that they provide 3 meals a day for us each day and do our laundry once per week. Carmen is the lady of the family, and she is the one who does all of this. She is an AMAZING cook and we are always so excited to come home and see what she has for us to eat. She takes such great care of us! Plus, she is so sweet! She doesn't speak any english, and Rachel and Emily don't really speak much spanish, so I get to be the translator. It's so much fun though, because she'll just come over and sit down and we'll all chat and stuff - she's so amazing! Coming back from Granada all the three of us could think about was some good CARMEN COOKING! We really like her - we are so spoiled by her, and SO blessed!!!
Thanks everyone for all of your prayers - I can assure you that God has answered them way beyond my expectations! God is good... YAY!
Kelly
Well I just got back from a really fun weekend in Granada. Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE Granada? This experience was TOTALLY different from the last one, but still wonderful. Granada is a great city, I would go back there anytime I had the chance! Thursday was a holiday here in Spain called Corpus Cristi, or Body of Christ. It's basically, as far as I can tell, a huge celebration of being Spanish and being Catholic. There was a big parade/procession Thursday morning, not to mention much celebrating both Wednesday and Thursday nights. The procession was really neat, and everywhere we looked both days there were girls and women of all ages in flamenco dresses. it was great! The whole thing was SUCH a cool experience. I went to Granada with some girls from my study abroad program, and it was really cool. I was really nervous before coming over here about being alone in this country with no fellowship, and to everyone who was thinking of me and praying about that, let me tell you that my goodness does God provide! He answered all those prayers and has provided me with an incredible group of Christian girls. I am having a blast with them, and they're really building me up. It's so encouraging and uplifting! I am so blessed.
Speaking of blessed... let me tell you about CARMEN! The apartment we're living in is owned by this family across the hall, and part of the set up is that they provide 3 meals a day for us each day and do our laundry once per week. Carmen is the lady of the family, and she is the one who does all of this. She is an AMAZING cook and we are always so excited to come home and see what she has for us to eat. She takes such great care of us! Plus, she is so sweet! She doesn't speak any english, and Rachel and Emily don't really speak much spanish, so I get to be the translator. It's so much fun though, because she'll just come over and sit down and we'll all chat and stuff - she's so amazing! Coming back from Granada all the three of us could think about was some good CARMEN COOKING! We really like her - we are so spoiled by her, and SO blessed!!!
Thanks everyone for all of your prayers - I can assure you that God has answered them way beyond my expectations! God is good... YAY!
Kelly
martes, 5 de junio de 2007
Crispy estudiante.
Hola! Well so much has happened since I talked to yall last! It's been great. We spent all day on Sunday in Cadiz, which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western world. Cool, huh? And it's on a peninsula that's bordered on 3 sides by the Atlantic, so I got to see lots of ocean and LOTS of beach! I sat on the beach for several hours, and it was heavenly (except i might have let myself get a little burnt. oops!)! And actually on the beach I ran into my friend Pierre who I met Granada - it's so cool to meet up again with people that I've met!
Yesterday classes started. Yuck! But it's ok because they're pretty cool. My advanced Spanish class is me and three other girls, and our prof is AWESOME. He's so smart and funny and totally fascinating. Class is from 8:30-11 every morning, so every morning around 10 or so we go out for coffee together. It's all conversation which is WONDERFUL for learning, and common grammatical errors which are good to learn about, and our coffee trips are our little culture opportunities, where we ask about that kind of stuff. It's wonderful! My other class is all about the culture of Andalucia, which is the southern-most region of Spain that includes Sevilla, Malaga, Granada, Cadiz, etc. It's where bullfighting, flamenco, etc all kind or originated - all the stuff that Spain is known for! The class definately involves homework, and 2.5 hours of sitting through that class is a little long, but it's all so interesting that it's ok :) Well I suppose that's it for now... I've got homework to do :) haha!
Hasta luego,
Kelly
PS I FINALLY PUT SOME PICTURES UP. Sorry not on here, but I'm gettin there. It's so busy! Anyways, pictures from Madrid and Granada are up on my webshots. the address is http://community.webshots.com/user/kelbow417 I'll get sevilla up soon!!
Yesterday classes started. Yuck! But it's ok because they're pretty cool. My advanced Spanish class is me and three other girls, and our prof is AWESOME. He's so smart and funny and totally fascinating. Class is from 8:30-11 every morning, so every morning around 10 or so we go out for coffee together. It's all conversation which is WONDERFUL for learning, and common grammatical errors which are good to learn about, and our coffee trips are our little culture opportunities, where we ask about that kind of stuff. It's wonderful! My other class is all about the culture of Andalucia, which is the southern-most region of Spain that includes Sevilla, Malaga, Granada, Cadiz, etc. It's where bullfighting, flamenco, etc all kind or originated - all the stuff that Spain is known for! The class definately involves homework, and 2.5 hours of sitting through that class is a little long, but it's all so interesting that it's ok :) Well I suppose that's it for now... I've got homework to do :) haha!
Hasta luego,
Kelly
PS I FINALLY PUT SOME PICTURES UP. Sorry not on here, but I'm gettin there. It's so busy! Anyways, pictures from Madrid and Granada are up on my webshots. the address is http://community.webshots.com/user/kelbow417 I'll get sevilla up soon!!
sábado, 2 de junio de 2007
I'M SO EXCITED!!
Hey all!
Well my study abroad program has officially started - no more traveling and hostals (which i love, don't get me wrong!), now I've just got class and an APARTMENT! Our apartment is amazing, and the people that own it live across the hall and are just the sweetest people ever. My roommates are a couple of Aggies named Rachel and Emily and they're great. We're alll so psyched for our apartment - it's seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen! And we have internet access here, which is awesome. Yay for my laptop! Also, because I've got my laptop hooked up, I can get on the whole PICTURE thing! WHOOP! All the people in our program seem really cool. It's like 20 girls and 3 guys... poor boys :) We went on a carriage ride around the city last night which was neat, and I got to point out some of the stuff that I knew. We go to a meeting in a couple of hours when we will learn about classes and all that stuff, and then tomorrow we're going to Cadiz for the day. Yay beach! Are yall in Kansas jealous? :) haha.
Ok, now for the much anticipated discussion of the 80's and its presence in Spain. ITS CRAZY! everywhere you turn you see MULLETS (i'm on mullet overload), big sequined belts, and fanny packs (not kidding). Then you turn on the radio and every other song is by Whitney Houston or some other old school gem. (although the songs in between are some random combination or rap, spanish music, and current stuff. Rather amusing.) I'm serious... although I think i'm actually getting a little immune to it. If I come back to the states all decked out in the 80's, please don't hate me.
Well, I suppose I'm done with this for a bit. Talk to yall later!!
Well my study abroad program has officially started - no more traveling and hostals (which i love, don't get me wrong!), now I've just got class and an APARTMENT! Our apartment is amazing, and the people that own it live across the hall and are just the sweetest people ever. My roommates are a couple of Aggies named Rachel and Emily and they're great. We're alll so psyched for our apartment - it's seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen! And we have internet access here, which is awesome. Yay for my laptop! Also, because I've got my laptop hooked up, I can get on the whole PICTURE thing! WHOOP! All the people in our program seem really cool. It's like 20 girls and 3 guys... poor boys :) We went on a carriage ride around the city last night which was neat, and I got to point out some of the stuff that I knew. We go to a meeting in a couple of hours when we will learn about classes and all that stuff, and then tomorrow we're going to Cadiz for the day. Yay beach! Are yall in Kansas jealous? :) haha.
Ok, now for the much anticipated discussion of the 80's and its presence in Spain. ITS CRAZY! everywhere you turn you see MULLETS (i'm on mullet overload), big sequined belts, and fanny packs (not kidding). Then you turn on the radio and every other song is by Whitney Houston or some other old school gem. (although the songs in between are some random combination or rap, spanish music, and current stuff. Rather amusing.) I'm serious... although I think i'm actually getting a little immune to it. If I come back to the states all decked out in the 80's, please don't hate me.
Well, I suppose I'm done with this for a bit. Talk to yall later!!
viernes, 1 de junio de 2007
Phase 2 Begins.
Well, today I said goodbye to all my friends here at the hostal (these last couple of days were SO much fun! I had a really, really great group of people that I hung out with!!), and I´ve checked out and am gettin ready to splurge on a cab and head across town to hook up with my study abroad stuff. Exciting! A part of me is sad because the hostal and backpacker crowd is SO much fun, but it´s ok, I´m also pretty excited to be able to settle down and not have to pack up and move again in a couple of days! I´ve gotten to know Sevilla pretty well, which is really cool because this is where I´m going to be for the next month! It´s a really neat city.
Ok I know I said that next time i would tell you about the obsession with the 80´s... but there is a line for hte computer and people are getting testy so I´m going to go. I´ll try and write more later, but if not it prolly won´t be for a few more days because we´ve got a busy ¨welcome weekend¨, complete with a trip to Cádiz. yay! ok lvoe you all talk to you soon sorry so brief!
kelly
Ok I know I said that next time i would tell you about the obsession with the 80´s... but there is a line for hte computer and people are getting testy so I´m going to go. I´ll try and write more later, but if not it prolly won´t be for a few more days because we´ve got a busy ¨welcome weekend¨, complete with a trip to Cádiz. yay! ok lvoe you all talk to you soon sorry so brief!
kelly
miércoles, 30 de mayo de 2007
Adventuros en el Día de San Fernando
Hola amigos!
The more time I spend here, the more I am really enjoying Sevilla. It´s a really neat city!! You always hear about Spain and the siesta, when everything closes in the middle of the day. well, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays too (hard to find food!), and also on holidays. Well, we found out last night at about 10 that today was going to be a holiday - nothing was open! The closest supermarket in town that was open today was a 15 minute walk away - it was crazy! But it was okay, because me and a couple friends from my hostal (Tim from Toronto and Lydia frmo Wisconsin!) went to the grocery store and bought some fresh bread, cheese, and meat and then took it down to a bench under a tree right on the river. it was so amazing. Yay for loitering in Spain! So a note to people visiting: beware of holidays and sundays, they can starve you :)
A really cool thing about Sevilla is that it is Kansas City´s sister city! There is actually a Calle de Kansas City (Kansas City Street!) and I even saw a fountain today that looks VERY much like one in KC - you know that tall one by P.F.Chang´s, with the dragon-looking heads on all four sides? i swear it´s based on one in the plaza by the cathedral here! It´s pretty cool :)
Ooo, about the holiday today! Apparantly today was el Día de San Fernando, and his remains are in the cathedral here in Sevilla. On this day in honor of him, they take him out of his crypt or whatever and put his mummified self on display in the cathedral, and then tonight at 7:30 they paraded him through town. It was so cool! Things like that don´t happen in the States and I´m really enjoying all the culture here. It´s so interesting!
Also - I was looking at the itenerary for my Study Abroad program today, and I realized that on Sunday we´re taking a daytrip to Cádiz, the oldest city in Europe (on the coast in Southwest Spain, south of Portugal), and then in a few weeks we´re going to take a weekend trip to Lagos in Portugal. I´m really excited because those were two side trips that I was really hoping to make. I will get to add another country to the places I´ve been! :) I would love to do Lisbon, though, before I leave this area... anybody want to go with me? ;)
Okay, I´m off. Next time: the Spaniards´ obsession with the 80´s.
The more time I spend here, the more I am really enjoying Sevilla. It´s a really neat city!! You always hear about Spain and the siesta, when everything closes in the middle of the day. well, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays too (hard to find food!), and also on holidays. Well, we found out last night at about 10 that today was going to be a holiday - nothing was open! The closest supermarket in town that was open today was a 15 minute walk away - it was crazy! But it was okay, because me and a couple friends from my hostal (Tim from Toronto and Lydia frmo Wisconsin!) went to the grocery store and bought some fresh bread, cheese, and meat and then took it down to a bench under a tree right on the river. it was so amazing. Yay for loitering in Spain! So a note to people visiting: beware of holidays and sundays, they can starve you :)
A really cool thing about Sevilla is that it is Kansas City´s sister city! There is actually a Calle de Kansas City (Kansas City Street!) and I even saw a fountain today that looks VERY much like one in KC - you know that tall one by P.F.Chang´s, with the dragon-looking heads on all four sides? i swear it´s based on one in the plaza by the cathedral here! It´s pretty cool :)
Ooo, about the holiday today! Apparantly today was el Día de San Fernando, and his remains are in the cathedral here in Sevilla. On this day in honor of him, they take him out of his crypt or whatever and put his mummified self on display in the cathedral, and then tonight at 7:30 they paraded him through town. It was so cool! Things like that don´t happen in the States and I´m really enjoying all the culture here. It´s so interesting!
Also - I was looking at the itenerary for my Study Abroad program today, and I realized that on Sunday we´re taking a daytrip to Cádiz, the oldest city in Europe (on the coast in Southwest Spain, south of Portugal), and then in a few weeks we´re going to take a weekend trip to Lagos in Portugal. I´m really excited because those were two side trips that I was really hoping to make. I will get to add another country to the places I´ve been! :) I would love to do Lisbon, though, before I leave this area... anybody want to go with me? ;)
Okay, I´m off. Next time: the Spaniards´ obsession with the 80´s.
martes, 29 de mayo de 2007
este es la vida.
Howdy yall :) Sevilla is great - I got to see the Alcázar today, which was AMAZING. it was Moorish architecture, much like the Alhombra in Granada, but it´s got COLOR and it was really incredible. I really enjoyed it. And man, these people knew how to make their palaces decadent, especially the gardens. It suddenly makes me want to landscape. haha. Everywhere we go there are incredible gardens... I am loving it. Last night the hostal had a dinner party and there were 30 or 40 people on the rooftop patio hanging out, and then this girl who has been studying in Sevilla for the last semester took us to her favorite place in town - an outdoor bar in a park nearby here. It was kind of like the other place, with candles and tapestries and a really cool atmosphere. I´m excited that I know about it, and i definately intend to return! Oh, and on the way to the park was the University of Sevilla, whichi s where I think I´m taking classes, and it is just beautiful! It´s actually a landmark that guide books advise tourists to check out. We were walking by it and all these people kept saying ¨Kelly! That´s your school! I can´t believe you get to go to school there!¨ It rocked! haha.
By the way, this afternoon i spent a lot of time reading and getting sun, then i took a nap. Man, this is the life. :) I´m off to freshen up and get ready for tonight. It´s Shaun´s last night in Spain (he takes the highspeed train to Madrid in the morning and then flies home), so we´re going to try and find something cool to do. so yall have a great day... i can´t tell you how relaxed i am right now... i highly recommend going to europe! it´s great! and take advantage of siesta! :)
By the way, this afternoon i spent a lot of time reading and getting sun, then i took a nap. Man, this is the life. :) I´m off to freshen up and get ready for tonight. It´s Shaun´s last night in Spain (he takes the highspeed train to Madrid in the morning and then flies home), so we´re going to try and find something cool to do. so yall have a great day... i can´t tell you how relaxed i am right now... i highly recommend going to europe! it´s great! and take advantage of siesta! :)
lunes, 28 de mayo de 2007
I am in Spain and I KNOW people!
Hello all!!
Well I´m in Sevilla... still... and I will be until the end of June so I´m going to stop informing you of that at the beginning of each post. I haven´t really done much sight seeing while I´ve been here yet because I figure I´ll be here all month, I´ve got plenty of time. We FINALLY have nice weather again, so I sat out at the rooftop terrace by the pool and read for awhile yesterday (for the record - a rooftop pool is NOT your typical hostal!)... it was so relaxing! I got to see Jerry for a few minutes, that was cool! He seems to be doing well, and he says that he really likes it here. We´re going to go out sometime... yall should join us! :) Then my friends Amanda and Laura who I met in Granada arrived - they had been in Cádiz, and then came back here to Sevilla to hang out. It was so much fun. We enjoyed the city yesterday, went out last night for tapas and such, then found this really cool outdoor bar and hung out there for a long time with some people from our hostal. This place was amazing... Wicker furniture with orange silk cushions, beaded chandaliers and lamps, gauzy fabric overhead and big plants all around, orange lanterns hanging in the trees, and all of this with a view of the river in the background. Really cool. Amanda and Laura had a 7:30am bus to catch this morning to take them to Lagos (Portugal), but they ended up missing it so we got to hang out a bit more today. We spent an hour walking around town looking for a kebab shop (they were EVERYWHERE in Granada - more plentiful than starbucks in the US!) and when we finally did find one, it was closed. Awesome. Its all good though cuz we had fun. I suppose that´s it for now... I´ll update again soon and let yall know what else I´m up to!
Well I´m in Sevilla... still... and I will be until the end of June so I´m going to stop informing you of that at the beginning of each post. I haven´t really done much sight seeing while I´ve been here yet because I figure I´ll be here all month, I´ve got plenty of time. We FINALLY have nice weather again, so I sat out at the rooftop terrace by the pool and read for awhile yesterday (for the record - a rooftop pool is NOT your typical hostal!)... it was so relaxing! I got to see Jerry for a few minutes, that was cool! He seems to be doing well, and he says that he really likes it here. We´re going to go out sometime... yall should join us! :) Then my friends Amanda and Laura who I met in Granada arrived - they had been in Cádiz, and then came back here to Sevilla to hang out. It was so much fun. We enjoyed the city yesterday, went out last night for tapas and such, then found this really cool outdoor bar and hung out there for a long time with some people from our hostal. This place was amazing... Wicker furniture with orange silk cushions, beaded chandaliers and lamps, gauzy fabric overhead and big plants all around, orange lanterns hanging in the trees, and all of this with a view of the river in the background. Really cool. Amanda and Laura had a 7:30am bus to catch this morning to take them to Lagos (Portugal), but they ended up missing it so we got to hang out a bit more today. We spent an hour walking around town looking for a kebab shop (they were EVERYWHERE in Granada - more plentiful than starbucks in the US!) and when we finally did find one, it was closed. Awesome. Its all good though cuz we had fun. I suppose that´s it for now... I´ll update again soon and let yall know what else I´m up to!
sábado, 26 de mayo de 2007
SEVILLA! y observaciónes.
hello everyone... this time i´m in Sevilla! It´s crazy, all the traveling and stuff, but now I´m here for awhile. I have to pick up and move to the hotel for the beginning of my program, and then to the place I´ll be living while I´m here, and then I get to stay put for a month! I really enjoy the traveling around and stuff, but I admit I brought too much and so it´s hard to lug it all around :) haha. I´m really excited to be here, the city looks great so far! The hostal we stayed at in Granada was called the Oasis, and now we´re at the Oasis in Sevilla, so it´s pretty cool. It´s brand new and REALLY REALLY nice - when I think of a hostal I don´t think of white marble floors and rooftop pools, but there you have it. :) The really exciting part, though, is that some of my friends from Granada will be here! I´m psyched. Also... JERRY IS HERE! not at the hostal, but in town somewhere. (Jerry is a friend from Lechner... He´s going to be here the entire time I´m here doing an internship... I´m so excited to see a friend from home!!) Hopefully I´ll get to see him soon. I know there is so much more to tell about the last couple of days in Granada and everything... but I cannot think right now! So instead I´ll leave you with some of my observations on Spain and do the more comprehensive update later...
Observaciónes:
* Spaniards love their ice cream! You would never see so many people in business suits walking around with ice cream cones in the US. Also: I think Nestle is trying to take over the world, starting with ice cream stands on every corner in Spain. They´re like Starbucks in Seattle.
* MULLETS EVERYWHERE! I´m serious: I think I might have warned the world previously about the new "trend" we saw in Madrid (fauxhawk on top and a little bit long in back... ack!) but Granada was infinately worse with the insane numbers of mullets... and these weren´t your typical, run of the mill mullets - these things were intense! I´m talkin shaved head except for the row of dredlocks coming out of the bottom of the head, and other such ridiculousness. Intense, i tell you. (like camping!!!!!!!)
* These people run on a VERY differnet schedule than us! Besides the fact that they eat dinner at about 9:30 or so at night, the night life really picks up around 2 or 3. It´s crazy! We went out last night to this really amazing flamenco place that wasn´t a touristy place, it was where the locals go. It was a tiny little cave-like bar and there were just these local guys playin guitar and singing... it was amazing! But it didn´t start going until about 2:30, and by then I was falling asleep! I need to get better at this.
* Tapas rock. You order a drink (any drink - beer, pop, wine, etc) and you get free food! it´s perfect. Oh, and Sangria rocks too.
Okay, that´s it for now. Yall have a great day and let me know what´s going on with you!!!!
Kelly :)
Observaciónes:
* Spaniards love their ice cream! You would never see so many people in business suits walking around with ice cream cones in the US. Also: I think Nestle is trying to take over the world, starting with ice cream stands on every corner in Spain. They´re like Starbucks in Seattle.
* MULLETS EVERYWHERE! I´m serious: I think I might have warned the world previously about the new "trend" we saw in Madrid (fauxhawk on top and a little bit long in back... ack!) but Granada was infinately worse with the insane numbers of mullets... and these weren´t your typical, run of the mill mullets - these things were intense! I´m talkin shaved head except for the row of dredlocks coming out of the bottom of the head, and other such ridiculousness. Intense, i tell you. (like camping!!!!!!!)
* These people run on a VERY differnet schedule than us! Besides the fact that they eat dinner at about 9:30 or so at night, the night life really picks up around 2 or 3. It´s crazy! We went out last night to this really amazing flamenco place that wasn´t a touristy place, it was where the locals go. It was a tiny little cave-like bar and there were just these local guys playin guitar and singing... it was amazing! But it didn´t start going until about 2:30, and by then I was falling asleep! I need to get better at this.
* Tapas rock. You order a drink (any drink - beer, pop, wine, etc) and you get free food! it´s perfect. Oh, and Sangria rocks too.
Okay, that´s it for now. Yall have a great day and let me know what´s going on with you!!!!
Kelly :)
viernes, 25 de mayo de 2007
Crazy weather.
So the weather here is even more ridiculous than Texas, and you all know that´s sayin something. Our first few days were beautiful, and then on our last day in Madrid it rained. It didn´t rain during the day we were in Toledo, but it was definately cooled down quite a bit because of the rain, and that has persisted. It has rained pretty much every day at some point, but usually just a little sprinkle, or at night. Yesterday was the best, though. Here is the weather as I saw it, in chronological order: sunny with not a cloud in sight; very cloudy with sprinkles and LOTS of thunder; cloudy but dry; sunny and clear; FREAK HAILSTORM; sunny rain; clear skies and dry ground, cloudy and sprinkling, clear and nice again. It was ridiculous.
The hail was the craziest. Our hostal is 3 stories tall, with rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors on the perimeter. the middle of the building is all open, so from the rooms on the third floor you can look down into the common area whre the couches are, and at the top the cieling is glass windows. well today we had a freak hail storm (the hail was the size of marbles! it was crazy!) and luckily we were alredy here at the hostal so we didn´t get caught in it outside. anyways, we were all looking out on the patio at the crazy hail and then we heard commotion coming from the common area - one of the pipes or something up at the cieling was leaking like mad and the entire area was flooded! I´m not kidding when I say that in that little area of the common room it was raining just as hard as it was outside. there was hail all over the couches and the computers got wet - it was bad news, but it was really funny.
Well I´m hoping to go out and enjoy my last little day in Granada, but its sprinkling right now and it´s stinkin cold, so we´ll see. Worst comes to worst, I´ll stay in and have my new friend Pierre teach me how to rock at ping pong. :)
Love you all... bye!
The hail was the craziest. Our hostal is 3 stories tall, with rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors on the perimeter. the middle of the building is all open, so from the rooms on the third floor you can look down into the common area whre the couches are, and at the top the cieling is glass windows. well today we had a freak hail storm (the hail was the size of marbles! it was crazy!) and luckily we were alredy here at the hostal so we didn´t get caught in it outside. anyways, we were all looking out on the patio at the crazy hail and then we heard commotion coming from the common area - one of the pipes or something up at the cieling was leaking like mad and the entire area was flooded! I´m not kidding when I say that in that little area of the common room it was raining just as hard as it was outside. there was hail all over the couches and the computers got wet - it was bad news, but it was really funny.
Well I´m hoping to go out and enjoy my last little day in Granada, but its sprinkling right now and it´s stinkin cold, so we´ll see. Worst comes to worst, I´ll stay in and have my new friend Pierre teach me how to rock at ping pong. :)
Love you all... bye!
jueves, 24 de mayo de 2007
My first post... :)
¡Hola de España! Okay, so how about this blog that I´m finally setting up? Sorry for the delay, all, but I assure you that all you´ve missed is the AMAZING things I´ve been up to here in España! haha. It´s great! Right now I´m in Granada, and I´ve been in Spain for a whole week, which is hard to believe; so much has happened and I´ve done so much it seems like so much longer than that! We started in Madrid, which was really cool. Such a huge city, and so European and stylish! We were a 5 minute walk from the Royal Palace, which was pretty incredible - it was my favorite thing in Madrid. We did a lot there and some some pretty incredible art, and we definately took advantage of the plazas and laid-back lifestyle of Spain. It was great. Next we went to Toledo for a day, which is this tiny little town on top top of a hill. It was just like a movie: skinny little winding, hilly streets that are deemed major roads if the pedestrians don´t have to jump into a doorway when a car comes down the road. One of the more amazing things I´ve seen in my life: a truck backing down one of these hilly, curvy streets and avoiding hitting both the surrounding buildings and the terrified pedestrians (that would be me). It was cool though, the main thing in town is this INCREDIBLE cathedral! It was truly amazing. The US has a shortage of cathedrals and palaces - someone get to work and fix that! :) After Toledo we headed here to Granada, which I love! Although I don´t know if it´s the town that I love, or the hostal that we´re in. Everyone is wonderfully social and there is so much to do! I´ve made so many new friends, it´s so amazing! Amanda from Austin, Laura from Dallas, Dan from Boston, Elly from Australia, Pierre from Paris (France!), Maciek & Jeremy from Australia, Christian from Argentina, Kevin from Hong Kong, Bert from Malaysia, Jen & Sarah from Wisconsin... oh, it´s so cool!! The city is really neat and we saw the Alhombra yesterday... but I´m loving getting to spend time with all these people who have traveled to all these incredible places! We have a blast together. This hostal is really neat - to anyone traveling to Granada or Sevilla, I recommend it! Some of them I´m hoping to meet up with when we head to Sevilla next! and Laura, who goes to UT Arlington, is really neat - hopefully I´ll get to see her when we get back to the States! Well I suppose that´s all I´ll say for now... I´ll fill in holes later because this post is already pretty long. Now that I´ve got this created I´ll update it more frequently, and I think I´ll have pretty steady internet access for at least the next week!
Oh, and thanks so much everyone for your interest in what I´m up to over here! It´s so nice that I can stay connected while I´m so far away... it makes how much I miss all of you so much easier to handle! Thanks so much for your emails and messages, they really mean SO much to me! Keep them coming, I love it! kelgoetz@tamu.edu!! :) Let me know what´s going on in your life!!!!!
Kelly
PS pictures still to come! :)
Oh, and thanks so much everyone for your interest in what I´m up to over here! It´s so nice that I can stay connected while I´m so far away... it makes how much I miss all of you so much easier to handle! Thanks so much for your emails and messages, they really mean SO much to me! Keep them coming, I love it! kelgoetz@tamu.edu!! :) Let me know what´s going on in your life!!!!!
Kelly
PS pictures still to come! :)
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