Lovely Day

Yesterday, everything went wrong.
Impossible paper, impossible cold, impossible weather, impossible host mom
AND
I couldn't pull myself out of the slump!!!

But, I woke up this morning to a much healthier body and the sun shining brightly!
(I am so thankful for how a night's sleep can make everything better)


Photo credit Becky Forrest

This quote was a nice reminder for me
"Joy requires freshness, newness, stimulation. Joy thrives on the unboxable largeness of life in all its bewildering variety. Depression feeds on sameness..."- Mike Mason

I Am Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving



I love Thanksgiving, I mean who doesn't, but I have been dreading it this year because I knew I was going to miss out! While I would love, more than anything else, to be home in North Carolina, eating my ritual 2 meals, and being with family; spending my first Thanksgiving away from home has made me ESPECIALLY thankful. As it turns out, the day hasn't been as depressing as I thought it would be! I napped, read, and spent the evening chatting and eating chestnuts with Encarna's family. All of the women (daughters, daughters-in-law) and grandchildren come over every Thursday and spend hours chatting and laughing; I guess they don't need a 'Día de Gracías' to get together!!!

To remind myself of all the I am thankful for I made a list, so here it goes...

I am thankful that:
1. I know God can deal with the things I cannot handle
2. That I have been blessed with a loving, wise, and generous family (you all mean the world to me!)
3. That I have always had much more than I need

4. For all the important people in my life who think I am special (all you lovely best friends+Walt that I can' live without)

5. For all that I have learned while living in Spain

6. For all the doors that are going to open up
7. For my normal everyday life that I took for granted and will soon get back!
8. For ruffles, netflix, and peanut butter
9. For skype!
10. Next year I won't have to miss Thanksgiving and I can tell you all in person how important you are!

I hope that everyone makes a list, it really helps to remind you!
At least I have continued one Thanksgiving tradition while here, my Thanksgiving day cold!!!
It followed me to Spain (despite the fact that I eat 3 oranges a day)

ps: I was lazy last week and didn't upload all of my Morocco photos BUT, they are now in the last post so take a look!

Tangier, Tetuan, Morocco Mash-Up!

The last day and a half of my trip to Morocco was a blurred medley of cities and activities.



I had lunch in Tetuan (top left). Enjoyed a BOTTLE of Coca-Cola with Arabic writing. Spent about ten minutes seeing the Caves of Hercules, near where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet (middle left). Rode a camel, briefly...and reminisced about the first time I laid eyes on a toilet like this in Paris (I was slightly less horrified this time around).


This has to bring a smile to your face (photo by Brittany Mangold)




In front of this lighthouse is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet


(photo by Brittany Mangold)
It has come to my attention that some people found the tent to be a really important part of the trip so, here is a picture of the tent (where we saw the not so fantastic fantasia show) and Hannah, Irena, and I inside of it!

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Pronounced like Chef-showen
This little city is up in the mountains outside of Tetuan. What is most notable about it, are the painted blue walls and doors throughout the city. Everything is blue and it is gorgeous!
(there is a practical purpose for this too, apparently the blue keeps mosquitoes away)

There was nothing much to do except wander around the city and shop. We had a native guide, who led us around for a bit and took us to a rug makers shop. These were the highlights, ha ha.


These narrow, uphill alleyways make up most of the city






Hannah, Brittany, Irena, and I


This cooky little man was our guide, I was impressed that he knew English and that I could kind of understand it! These are also some of the rugs made in the city.


Inside the rug shop


These were my favorite! This is paint for sale.




This guy was trying to get all of the girls in our group to dance, too funny!

The rugged landscape in Northern Morocco is very beautiful; the slopes are rocky and barren. It is different from the lush green mountains I am used to.

Chirimoya

I was eagerly waiting for my after dinner orange, when it became evident that Encarna was doing something different in the kitchen this evening. She presented me with a plate, a spoon, and a large green fruit that she proceeded to cut in half.

When she saw my quizzical look, she told me with nonchalance that it was a chirimoya. A what, I said? A chickymoya??? This name meant nothing to me and as I looked at the white flesh of the fruit I was skeptical. I decided it was a fruit and that nothing could go too wrong with a fruit. But as I took the first bite, I thought of a Jamaican fruit my roommate had once told me about that tasted like ketchup (or maybe they ate it with ketchup), either way, I was hoping it wasn't this particular fruit. Turns out it wasn't!!! This weird, white, seedy fruit has an oddly delicious flavor. It is very sweet, but sometimes spicy and just a little salty. I did some research and us American's refer to it as a "custard apple". I suppose the texture is similar, but I thought of it as a pear meets pudding.

The point is, if someone places a chirimoya in front of you, give it a whirl. However, beware of how incredibly stuffed you are going to feel afterward (I may not be able to move for a while).

Gibraltar, UK

I don't believe in celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving
BUT,
I am in Spain and we don't celebrate Thanksgiving
(guess who is drinking chai and listening to Christmas music and loving it???)

Last weekend, I visited Gibraltar, which belongs to England. It felt very strange to walk across a border and discover that everyone speaks English (especially since we were literally 5 minutes away from Spain). Gibraltar is small and relatively unexciting; except for the monkeys of course.


This is the rock


Hannah, Brittany, and I with Africa in the background


There were monkeys everywhere!!!


One climbed into the bus


A more successful monkey picture (this time it didn't jump on me)




We also tried to be English by drinking Strongbow
(this goes out to Rachel and Miles)


and yes...there were pictures with the telephone box!

All in all, I would say it was a great trip to the UK...
If you could call it the UK?

Barcelona II

Monday, again.
I'm pumping myself up to get through the last 3 weeks of real school
(this doesn't include finals...)
My motivation is waning and I'm turning to exercise and inspirational readings to keep my spirits high, ha ha ha (or ja ja ja, since I'm in Spain)

Here is some inspiration
Montserrat
definition: serrated mountain or a girls name


I can't tell you how happy seeing these mountains made me!
(I so miss this while living in flat Sevilla)



Since we were outside of Barcelona, stopping at Montserrat was on our way! We took the Cremallera (zipper train) to the top of the mountain and explored the area on top of the mountain. I am so impressed by the beautiful monastery that was built so high up. There were cute little gates, ponds, and doorways tucked away along the little trails that wound around the mountain.




Carlos, Brittany, and I

Lastly, here is La Sagrada Familia



It is a truly incredible cathedral and definitely worth visiting
Pictures just don't do it justice (especially mine, that's why there is only 1)
Unfortunately, the Pope was visiting Barcelona and ruined my visit
AND
I saw the cathedral in the dark
BUT
I am so, so glad that I could see it in person; the details are INCREDIBLE
Also, I added some new photos throughout, check them out

Home Sweet Sevilla

I made it back!



I had a great weekend visiting new places!
(It isn't often that one can go to three countries and two continents in one weekend)

Why this weekend was great:
1. I went to Africa!!!
2. Had a monkey jump on my head
3. I drank Strongbow in the "UK" and took pictures in a red phone booth
4. I rode a camel
5. Learned that I can understand and speak Spanish better than I thought

Pictures and details to come.
I am currently exhausted and very lazy!!!
(too much time on a bus...ugh!)

Barcelona, Spain

I have worked diligently today (that's a first), but slacked in other areas (like exercise)...Oh well! I'm rewarding myself with a break to post photos from Barcelona!

I really enjoyed this city, it felt like going to a whole new country (which I guess is why some Catalans want their own country...). To me, it felt like the San Francisco of Spain; cool, on the beach, and very trendy. I didn't have to deal with any of the complications of traveling like transportation, lodging, and a language barrier (and if you didn't know Spanish is not the language spoken in Barcelona, it is Catalan and it is quite different) because Hannah's friend Carlos was the most fabulous host!

This building is Casa Batlló

and this one is known as La Pedrera

As you can probably tell, our first day was a Gaudí day. Not on purpose, his designs are just great to see!!





Parqué Guell, my new favorite place on earth (I will post more pictures of this, promise)!


They were like gingerbread houses!

We got to the park when it was almost dark and there wasn't much time left for exploring (it was still magical)!

We also went to this incredible market called, Mercat de La Boqueria
It was seriously beautiful. Fresh fruits, juices, gelatos, vegetables, meats, and candies.
Did I mention it was all BEAUTIFUL!?!
In retrospect, we should have eaten dinner here BUT we did pick up a fruit medley and some coconut, delic!


Fulfilling my need for sour candies, fresh fruits, and beautiful things!



Barcelona post II to come. There is just to much to show!
(I have to sort through the Sagrada Familia pictures to find some good ones)

At least we were able to see all the sites from Vicki, Christina, Barcelona
(Don't worry, we watched the movie while we were there)

A Tuesday Like A Monday

Fog at Montserrat

Today didn't go so well (I guess, in the scheme of things it wasn't so bad). It was just disappointing because yesterday went so well! I woke up and showered, only to discover that Encarna had prepared breakfast while I was showering and expected me to come eat. This explains nothing...basically, Encarna and I have a battle every morning over breakfast. She makes it at all the wrong times and yells my name until I come to the table (usually I am naked or brushing my teeth...plus I am not a breakfast eater). I then discovered that today was the day I was supposed to meet with the Vice Chancellor of Appalachian, because he was visiting UPO. I rushed out of the house, the bus never came, and I missed the meeting. Ugh!


Hannah on the steps to knowledge

However, I have become obsessed and inspired by the new Sufjan Stevens album that Miles sent to me yesterday! I haven't stopped listening yet! I have been doing a lot of photo editing and trying of new things! AND I saw some very interesting things on the news tonight. I'm not completely clear on what was going on (we are going on my Spanish to English interpretation here), but, I saw a naked man running through a neighborhood (jumping on cars, no less), Russian girls protesting something by going topless, and a grandma doing acrobatics. An eventful night in the world, to say the least.



But this makes me laugh everytime...this commercial plays all the time here in Spain, I can't get over the song choice (clearly, English isn't heavily understood).



In Spain they have sooo many commercials for chocolate; they always advertise it as being great for your health, especially children. I could get used to that!

Osuna and Estepa, Spain

Ok, ok so my posts are getting a little out of order but photo editing is a time consuming process and my internet is beyond unreasonable.

The weekend before last, I took a school trip to the small cities of Osuna and Estepa, here in Andalusia. My Civilization and Culture professor, Enrique, led the trip because he is from Estepa and his mother's family is from Osuna. Honestly, there isn't all that much of significance in these two towns but it was nice to get out of the city and see some of the outlying towns.


Osuna University

Osuna, received its name from the Latin word for bear because there were many around during the time of discovery. This little place is home to the Osuna University which is made up of one building. It is also home to all of Enrique's relatives who we casually ran into while strolling through the city (literally, i'm talking multiple cousins, aunts, uncles, and even grandma). There was even a little excitement when Hannah ran down the guy who stole Brittany's jacket (who says small towns are boring).





Estepa is about an hour and a half outside of Sevilla and is known throughout the country for its cookie factories, a specific kind known as montecados. Enrique's family happens to own one of these factories, La Aurora, and we were able to take a tour and eat our fill! It was very interesting to see the whole process, plus, we had to wear gowns and hairnets! I'm not the biggest fan of the montecados, which are only produced for the Christmas season, but fortunately, they make chocolates as well!


The main ingredients in the cookies are sugar, flour, and pork lard








In case your interest was peaked, here is a picture that I snuck of Enrique. Do a quick comparison with Buster.