Midterm

I secretly want to be this for Halloween, my friend Olivia posted it and I fell in love

I've been really BUSY this past week.
(have you all noticed, been waiting with anticipation for a new post?)

I have been:
1. eating way too much peanut butter (even MORE sweetarts...)
2. studying, studying, studying (but midterms are over now!)
3. attempting to run everyday
4. sleeping as much as possible
5. finally getting really into my book

I am looking forward to:
1. developing the pictures from my Holga
2. seeing my dear friend Lillian this weekend
3. going to Barcelona next Thursday
4. recreating Fall in January
5. running more than 2 miles

I read something the other day that inspired me, so here you are:
"The present, after all, is the only time over which we have any control. I can't control the past; it's gone. As for the future, I don't know what will happen. Right now, however, I can choose to rejoice and so transform my life." -Mike Mason

To celebrate the season and so that I can live vicariously, here is an awesome carved pumpkin

and maybe I can attempt this because, guess what mom, I can now peel my oranges with a knife!
(In other news I found the word 'Ghettoblaster' in my Spanish-English dictionary. Apparently, it means cassette; who knew?)

I Am the Luckiest.

I have been feeling, ever so slightly, under the weather this week. Because of this, I came home early last night and dedicated myself to a thorough night's sleep (which I did accomplish and it feels great).

I awoke rested, to Encarna (my host mom), yelling my name as if there were a fire. Ok, so maybe that is an exaggeration, but in my sleepy state, her yelling in Spanish was mind boggling. She opened my door, said something, and left. After taking the next couple of minutes to review the situation, I realized that she had told me that a man was coming to bring me a package.


Complete with Fall decorations, pumpkin cakes, Holga film, and sour candy!!!!

The next moment, I was staggering out of bed and Encarna was thrusting a package into my arms. It was like reverse Christmas (you WILL take this package!!!). And I am sooo very glad that I did wake up to get it!



It was like a little piece of heaven and I may or may not have gotten a little bit emotional over it. Let's just say that fall has descended in my room (I can smell it, see it, and taste it). My Grandmother's creativity is too much, she evened managed to satisfy my desire for pumpkin pie!


This is what I get EVERY morning for breakfast, made amazing today by PEANUT BUTTER!

As I was going through the box, I realized how incredibly lucky I am. I have such great family and friends who have taken the time and money to put together these incredible care packages just so that I feel less homesick. I can't explain how much this means to me and how much I appreciate each and everyone of you! Thank you for making me feel so loved and so very blessed (I hope that I can return that same love as well!)

So thank you a million times Mom, Gary, Dad, Grandma,
Grandad, Zack, Rachel, and Aimee

You are all too good to me and I am so thankful for you all.
(now excuse me while I go give myself a sweetart stomach ache)

ps: Encarna just spoke to me in English (first time ever). She said, "thas ok"!!!

Birthday Shoutout

This post goes out to my one and only, awesome, friend for life...

Zack Hubbard!!!



I can think on no one else who would come over at midnight to remove mice from my ceiling or share in a mutual love of Shirley Q. Liquor. I hope that you have a wonderful 24th birthday (I wish I could be there to help you pluck those gray hairs)!

left, Zack saving someone's life from a snow drift. Right, tantalizing as always...

Because I cannot be there to embarrass you on your birthday, I will just do it on the interwebz (you are just lucky that iphoto won't allow me to access the archives, I think there are some real treasures)!
Love you forever!

Nerd Boyfriend

I couldn't resist posting this website/photo when I saw it on a friends facebook. How funny, a website to help skillfully dress your boyfriend as a nerd. Boys, watch out for NerdBoyfriend.com (hipster alert)!

Otoño

Lately, I have been waking up to Fall. I find myself not wanting to plant my feet on the cold tile and searching for my sweater, first thing. I recognize this feeling, of groggy mornings, trudging to class, and WINTER! This is vaguely reminiscent (but not too close for comfort) to those frigid mornings on Greenbriar ln., that only my roomie Alessandra can relate to.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of year; it makes me joyful and melancholy. I was most bummed about missing fall in the Mountains, because that is where it is most beautiful. While I am so happy that Fall has finally come to Sevilla, I am so sad about missing it back home! Especially, these things...


The awesome pumpkin that I forced Miles to carve with me last year!




The best Halloween costumes ever

I would love to see some pictures from Fall this year in the Southeast! So, send them to me, help ease my homesickness!

Royal Alcazars of Sevilla

A couple of Saturdays back, I went to the Alcazar with Brittany and Hannah. It is the royal palace in Sevilla and is still a residence for the royal family. It is situated in the city center, behind very high walls. In fact, it is so well hidden I really never noticed it until we went (this in itself is impressive because the residence is huge and complete with large gardens/parks). Maybe I'm just oblivious? We quickly ran out of time, not realizing that the palace closes at 5, we arrived around 4:15. Sooo, pictures are limited and lacking but, I think that you will still be able to see the previous splendor. The Moorish architecture is beautiful!













Too many photos??? They are probably better than boring old words! I think that we should start a collection to buy Ella a new D-SLR camera, so that you, the reader, have better images to look at! How is that for a pitch? So now I really have to attempt to get some work done! Midterms this week, ugh! I was under the impression that no one worked while studying abroad!

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

In case you're interested, this is a video about the university that I am attending while here in Sevilla. The best part is that the school looks nothing like this, as in it is definitely not this nice! It was previously a labor school, built by the dictator Franco, and was turned into a university in 1997. There are jokes around campus about how it was once a prison and that the tower is actually a sniper tower, ha ha ha! Needless to say, I am now appreciating the beauty and organization of my campus back home. The redeeming factor at UPO is that the professors are all fantastic. So while everything else could be improved, at least we have good teachers!



In the meantime, I have been fed french fries three times this week and consequently have reinstated my running routine. Please feel encouraged to hurl insults my way in the hopes that they will maintain my motivation!

More Bullfighting

When I finished my post about bullfighting a couple of weeks ago, I totally forgot to post the videos that I took while there. Apparently, video cameras are not allowed but, mine is deceptive! It is much easier to understand what goes on when you see it!

Madrid, Spain

This past weekend was ‘puente’, which literally translates as bridge. In this case Puente refers to a long weekend, I actually had 5 days off and it was great! Initially, I was hoping to go somewhere farther away so that I could go to a new country. Prague, Vienna, or Switzerland were at the top of my list however, the lack of money and planning prevailed, and I ended up in Madrid for four days.



I wasn’t overly enthused at the prospect of this because the thought of Madrid brought to mind a large, overwhelming city, where I was destined to get lost and struggle to find things to do. Fortunately, I was so incorrect in thinking this! I fell in LOVE with Madrid (so much so that my friend Brittany and I threatened to not go back to Sevilla). The city looks much more ‘European’ than southern Spain and has a completely different feel to it. Not to mention there were hills and I was freezing the whole time! Despite the discomforts, this was a welcome change. Don’t get me wrong, Sevilla is a beautiful city and I would totally recommend it for a vacation, but Madrid seems like a better place to live!




Finding coffee shops in Sevilla is a struggle. Luckily, we were blessed with beautiful coffee in a cute cafe in Madrid.

Most of my time in this charming city was spent in art museums. The first stop was the Prado, conveniently located down the street from our hostel (La Posada de Huertas, I would recommend staying here. It is cheap and convenient). The Prado is home to classical and renaissance art; I saw many pieces by Rubens, Goya, El Greco, and Velazquez (somehow I missed Renoir…). The highlight however, was seeing Las Meninas in person. It was really incredible!



The next stop was the modern art museum, Reina Sofia. The building was very trendy and cool, housing many wonderful and questionable pieces of ‘art’. Time was limited here, so I spent most of my time looking at the collection of paintings by Picasso. I must say the Guernica is much more impressive in person. It is hard to understand what makes a famous piece of art so famous until you look at it in person!


The best photo I could get of Guernica (on left). I bet you wouldn't think the one on the right is by Salvador Dali! But it is!

So despite the rain, cold, and achy feet, I can only reflect positively on Madrid. I would recommend El Rastro (the huge outdoor market on Sundays), it is fun and there are lots of good deals. Also, I didn’t get to the palace, Franco’s grave, or the botanical gardens but they are, I hear, sites worth seeing! Plus, the metro system is fabulous—we didn’t get lost once (it rivals the simplicity of D.C.). I also, found the people to be very friendly and their Spanish accent is much easier to understand!


New friend Katie on the left and the lovely Brittany on the right

As usual, photos to come when I can get to functioning internet!

Flamenco

Hello,HOLA

I just returned from my weekend trip to Madrid (it is a more fabulous city than I had imagined).
I had the impression that Spain's capital would be large, daunting, and overwhelming; fortunately, I discovered this was not the case! Madrid is my kind of city, more info and photos to come.

In the meantime...I have been reading up about flamenco
Before coming to Sevilla, I thought of flamenco only as a style of dance; I was completely unaware of the culture, musicians, and singers that are also essential. Flamenco is a gypsy tradition from Anadalucía (the southern province of Spain that I am living in). The guitarists create beautiful, unusual rhythms, the cantaores sing sad, wailing lyrics, and the dancers express so much passion!

Only a few weeks into my stay here, I went to a flamenco show at La Carboneria (an enchanting hole in the wall, that is impossible to find and somehow houses a dive bar in the back). It is in the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, which is among the most beautiful parts of the city.




Here is just an example of the typical style seen here! Flamenco has also had a huge influence on modern Spanish music, especially Jazz and Rock. If you haven't, please listen to the Gipsy Kings!

Lagos, Portugal

Last weekend, I set out with 6 other girls for a weekend spent at the beach in Lagos! There is a company in Sevilla that offers trips specifically for students but they can be a bit pricier. Instead of this option, my friend Becky, (a fellow Appalachian), planned the trip, booked a hostel, and found the bus! Instead of paying 135 euro we paid around 70 each! And was it worth it??? Absolutely, YES! I have never seen more beautiful beaches.

I think I fell in love with Portugal! The people were very friendly, everyone spoke English, and in the evenings it felt like fall! Granted, this is a very touristy town, it was nice to enjoy a change of pace from Sevilla. Did I mention it was cute, all in white and cobblestone?

Basically, my two glorious days were spent lying in the sun (on the praia Dana Ana), swimming in the crystal clear water, and marveling at the cliffs and grottos. On our last morning there, we took a boat ride through the grottos on the Algarve coast! It was awesome to be able to go through the coves and to see all of the beaches and rock formations from a different angle.

I thought that this was the conclusion of my excellent weekend however, I ended up being able to pass another day in paradise…when upon arrival at the bus station we were told that it was full (the next bus to Sevilla being at 6:30 the next morning). This meant that we had to stay another night, miss our Monday classes, and arrive in Sevilla around 3 o’clock, the NEXT day!

We made the best of it and passed the rest of the day on the beach (it was just as wonderful as before)! We resigned ourselves to being homeless for the night and staying up all night to catch our early morning bus. This voluntary homelessness stopped being fun in the cold, around 2 am. As you can imagine, cold, sleep/food deprivation, and a six-hour bus ride is an unkind combination. I can only imagine what my host mom thought when I staggered into the apartment the next day wearing half the contents of my suitcase, smelling, and with indescribably horrific beach hair. Remember, there were no showers after a lovely day spent on the beach!

In retrospect, it is a funny story (one I will strive to never relive, ha ha). Despite the hiccups, I had a great time in Portugal! It is a paradise that most people, at least in the States, overlook.

In other news, photo uploads are not working and I am struggling with the fact that I am STILL in school (what’s homework?). Miles just booked his flight to visit in December and I am now very distracted planning a trip to Rome!