After (finally!) finishing my exams last Thursday, it was time to say goodbye to Sevilla and head to Rome.  I met my friend Anna (another American student) at the airport on Friday afternoon before we were off to explore a place famous for its ancient attractions and delicious world-renowned food.  We had just finished our first meal—a perfectly simple thin crust pizza with mushrooms—when we had a bit of an unpleasant surprise.  Even as I’m typing this I can barely believe it: we ran into yet another one-day general transportation strike.  I was first affected by a strike in Spain, then there was the threat of one while I was in France, and now it had to be our day of arriving in Rome that we could take neither the metro nor the bus to our hotel.  Luckily a taxi wasn’t too expensive and we were able to get dropped off right at the door.

We started early the next day to visit the main sights: first the Coliseum, then across the street to the Roman Forum for more interesting ruins.  We saw the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, where I even threw in a coin as a way to embrace the tourist I knew I was.  The next day was spent at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, a truly beautiful way to “go to church” on Sunday.  We split up for a while to relax and I walked along the Tiber River, into the Pantheon, and of course sampled some gelato.

On Monday we took the train to Florence, where we didn’t spend too long since we were so tired out from the previous hectic days of touring Rome.  I took the stairs to the top of the Duomo, the famous church in Florence that has incredible artwork on the ceiling and fantastic views of the city and surrounding countryside.  I wandered through the San Lorenzo market, known for leather and designer name knock-off bags and jewelry.  I hung out on the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge, looking at some of the locally made jewelry that I definitely couldn’t afford. 

The highlight of Tuesday was the food: I had risotto with mushrooms and asparagus for lunch, and Anna and I went to a family owned pizzeria for a margherita pizza and marinara pasta for dinner.  The simplicity of the ingredients used was what made our meal so good.  I can’t wait to get home and try (and fail) to replicate the authentic Italian flavors.

 Our trip ended with a metro ride back to Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel, which had been closed on Sunday.  I felt my breath catch when I saw the ceiling—I don’t know much about art, but I understand why Michelangelo is such a “big deal.”  The murals made me feel something personal, despite being surrounded by so many other people.  Though hundreds of years have passed, it’s almost like you can still understand what he was trying to express through the paintings.  That alone is worth the price of admission—which for me was reduced, because of my international student ID!

You may notice that this entry is conspicuously devoid of pictures.  Well, that’s because I lost my camera on Tuesday, the day before I left.  I didn’t mention it earlier because it felt like nothing short of a mild tragedy when it happened, and I’m really trying to move on and not dwell on the negative aspect of what was otherwise a dream come true of a trip.  Anna was nice enough to say I could use her pictures when she uploads them, and she even took some of me on Wednesday, so I’ll definitely update with them soon!

Right now I’m in a hostel in Madrid, hoping to catch up on some sleep and get ready to come home Saturday.  I can honestly say I’m ready.  The past week has seemed so long, and I’m ready to be back in a place where I feel comfortable and not like a tourist.  With that being said, I’m already planning for my next international adventure.  In the next year I’m hoping to participate in some volunteer travel in Central or South America, to continue to improve my Spanish and experience a different culture.  Of course, there are places in Europe that are still on my list of spots to see as well, and I’d love to return to Spain with friends or family, so I’m not saying goodbye for good.  And I’ve always been interested in going to Africa, so maybe I’ll be blogging from Kenya someday…who knows?!

Thank you for making it to the end of another long text post, and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers for the past four months.  It’s been an unforgettable adventure and I know I’ve achieved personal and educational growth that would have been impossible otherwise.  I can’t wait to see everyone when I get home in just 2 short days!  Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

As my time in Sevilla comes to an end, I’ve been doing a lot of walking around to my favorite spots in the city to kind of “say goodbye” to them.  I’m reminded of the city’s motto: “No me ha dejado.”  It means “she has not left me” in English, and is a testament to the loyalty and faithfulness of Sevilla to a past king.

It is often said that people from Sevilla “eat their words” because they talk so fast.  “No me ha dejado” becomes “no madeja do” when spoken quickly.  “Madeja” is Spanish for “knot,” so in order to abbreviate the motto when it’s written out it becomes NO8DO (pronounced “no dough”), with the “8” representing a knot.  If that’s a bit of a complicated description, I apologize.  The point is that Sevilla has a creative way of incorporating the motto on tons of surfaces around the city.  It’s seen on everything: manhole covers, buses, handrails, city signs… 

Sevilla sanitation

bus

NO8DO on a newsstand (and an advertisement for a Springsteen concert I’m missing by 2 DAYS!  so jealous.)

I really like the linguistic aspect and story behind NO8DO and think it’s the perfect expression to define my time in Sevilla: I will carry the memories of the city with me.  It has not left me.

The week I have coming up is going to be a whirlwind.  After taking my last exam tomorrow I’ll be packing most of my stuff into my big suitcase, and some clothes in my overnight bag since I’m headed to ROME on Friday!  I’m going with my friend Anna, and we’ll be there for 5 nights.  I get back to Sevilla Wednesday night, and then take a 1 am bus to Madrid.  The trip takes about 6 hours, and then I’ll be staying in a hostel there for 2 nights before I fly home next Saturday- it’s so close!!  I’m incredibly excited about Italy, but I’m happy to be able to give Madrid a second chance.  When we first arrived, everything was so overwhelming and I didn’t exactly love Madrid.  It was also freezing, and the temperatures now are much higher.  I’ll be able to update from Madrid so look out for pictures from Italy!  Hasta luego : ) 

Whoops, almost forgot about finishing up this little series…anyway, I said before that dinner is sometimes composed of several tapas at several restaurants, and it can be similar at home.  Usually, we just eat leftovers from lunch along with others we find in the refrigerator. 

The significant thing about dinner is the time.  With lunch being so late, it’s no surprise that dinner in Spain is commonly eaten around 9 or 10 pm.  It’s crazy to think that my bedtime when I was younger was between 8 and 9 pm, a time when Spanish children haven’t even eaten dinner yet.  I’ve heard that in the summer when the weather is warm, people might eat as late as midnight!

I’ve really enjoyed trying different types of food here in Spain, and hope to make them when I get back home.  My favorite dishes have been:

Paella, this one made with chicken

Tortilla española, an big omelet with potatoes and onions

These are both very typical Spanish meals, which I have also tried in a few different restaurants.  However, I must say that my host mom’s tortilla espanola is the best.  I need to get that recipe before I come back to the US!

Being here has encouraged me to branch out and start eating things I didn’t really like before, such as ham and, something a bit more healthy, fruit.  I usually eat 2 or 3 pieces of fresh fruit every day; bananas, apples, kiwis, and oranges or clementines are always on our kitchen table.  Another one of my new favorite snacks is sadly not available in America:

Yes, those are Iberian ham flavored potato chips (and a few delicious Spanish clementines).  And guess what- they’re so good!  

Tonight as a celebration of our last weekend in Spain I’m going out with a few friends for tapas.  Finals?  I’ll worry about them later : )

I mentioned Feria in my last blog post, before I went and got in on the celebration.  Basically it’s a local festival held every year in Sevilla’s “Los Remedios” neighborhood, just across the river from where I live.  There are two main parts of Feria: las casetas and the carnival rides.  Las casetas are tents owned by mainly families and businesses, where people are gathered ‘round the clock eating, drinking, dancing, and just, well, partying.  Most are privately owned and you need to know someone to gain entrance, but there are a few public ones, mostly sponsored by either the city or a political party.  

In this photo you can see a few women wearing the traditional flamenco dresses.  Nearly every female at Feria, from little girls to older women, wears such a dress.  They are absolutely beautiful, many hand-crafted, and the women match their accessories flawlessly.

The funny thing is, even when girls are going on the rides in the amusement park they are still in full dress and everything.  The rides are extremely similar to the ones at any American state or county fair, which I love.  There are also games and tons of food stands, because what’s a fair without fried food?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this semester, it’s that the Spanish love a party.  And that’s really what Feria is all about.  It’s a week of food, dancing, and fair rides of dubious safety (though I rode two and lived to tell about it).  It’s a nice precursor to what I have coming up: FINAL EXAMS.  I’ll keep y’all posted : )

Yes, I am on another break from school.  April is a festive month in Spain, with Semana Santa and Feria de Abril (happening now) just two weeks apart.  I’m in the middle of a roughly 10-day break, the first half of which was spent on a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea called Ibiza.

Ibiza is known as a huge party island.  There are clubs, bars, and advertisements for said clubs and bars everywhere you look.  However, most of them don’t open for the summer vacation season for a few more weeks, and we were able to enjoy the beaches and restaurants of the island without being surrounded by constantly blaring music and thousands of other tourists.  Really, most of the other people there on vacation were aged 60+ and British.  

I went on this trip with Danielle and two of our friends, Amanda and Andrea, and we stayed in a decent hotel for a good price.  We were on the left side of the island in an area called Sant Antoni/San Antonio.  The first spelling is in Catalan, a regional dialect in some areas of eastern Spain.  Within walking distance were beautiful views:

a marina:

and a monument to Christopher Columbus:

The monument is in Ibiza because some historians believe Columbus was born there.  It’s an egg shape because according to legend, the explorer was engaged in a conversation with some noblemen who said that the discovery of the Americas was no amazing accomplishment, and that it would have happened sooner or later.  Columbus then asked if anyone could make an egg stand without support.  None of the men at the table could do it, but Columbus tapped on the egg to flatten the tip and got it to stand.  The point is that once something has been done or proven, everyone realizes how obvious the solution is.  However, the first time takes a lot of creativity and ingenuity.  

The highlight of the trip was a nice dinner on the patio of a restaurant overlooking the sea where we ate a delicious meal and got to watch the sunset over the water:

Other than that, most of our time was spent relaxing on the beach, by the pool, or at a bar beside the beach or pool.  Nothing too interesting.

We got back to Sevilla late Tuesday night in time to see a lot of people out and dressed up for Feria, which from what I can tell is like the state fair but a lot of people arrive in horse-drawn carriages, eat and drink in privately owned tents, and girls have to wear flamenco dresses.  I’m going tonight so I’ll update about that soon!  Hasta luego, amigos.