Speed walking never felt so good

This weekend I headed to Madrid. I absolutely loved this city! The moment I stepped off the metro, we knew we weren't in Sevilla anymore because people were walking at a normal pace - it caught me a little of guard (yes, the slow Andalusian lifestyle carries over to walking at a painfully slow pace as well). After successfully navigating the metro system  we arrived at our hostel (which with my directionally challenged ways, this was a huge success, and made me have a little more faith in myself for once I travel to a country where I don't know the language).

Our hostel had an amazing location - close to Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, Palacio Real, and the Prado. After arriving we head out to explore the city a little. First we checked out Parque del Retiro. It was huge - I would like to refer to it as the Central Park of Madrid. After that we went to the Prado. There was a ton of classical art and works of many famous Spanish painters, like Goya and Velazquez. Later that night we met up with some friends to go check out the club, Kapital, that we were told was a must see. After paying 18 euro to enter, I thought to myself, wow this better be good. It definitely lived up to my expectations. This was by far the craziest club I have ever been to - 7 stories, a different theme on every floor, and a nice little blast of mist from the ceiling every 5 or 10 minutes to cool you off.

The next morning we checked out the Royal Palace.  It is home to the Royal Family in Spain, but today they live in a different home. Today it is used more for meetings. Throughout the entire tour I was in complete awe - unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. But to give you more of a picture this palace has over 2000 rooms. In each room we toured, there were anywhere from 5 to 20 different chandeliers. There was even a room that was completely made out of porcelain. After the palace, we explored the city a little more. People in Madrid will do the craziest things for money - walk around in Disney outfits, dress like headless men, etc. Later that day we made friends with 3 guys in our hostel that were studying in Switzerland. Since I love making random friends, I invited them to dinner with us. Well, we didn't leave for dinner until about 11, and a lot of places at this point were only serving appetizers. Finally, at 11:30 we found a place that served dinner, but it was a little upscale for us. However, it was delicious and we chose to ignore the glares from the much older, sophisticated crowd.

The next day we were going to check out this part of the city that was supposed to look like Manhattan. We had to take a bus there, but when I opened my purse to grab money for the bus, my wallet was gone. I was in a state of panic because I had just taken out money (100 euro, equivalent to about $140) AND had my check card in my wallet. Unfortunately, none of the places I had gone had found my wallet. Yes, I believe I was a victim of pick pocketing :( Luckily, my passport and camera were still intact. Immediately after this happened, I bought an anti-theft neck wallet at a market to use in Barcelona, Rome and on my 8 day Eurotrip. Barcelona and Rome are notorious for having some of the worst pick pocketing on earth. Yes I'll look like a nerd, but at least no one can pick pocket me :)

Inside of Palacio Real (before I had to stop taking pictures)

Outside of Palacio Real (Royal Palace)

Palacio Real

Alison, Jen and I out 

Parque del Retiro

Creepiest thing ever. One of the crazy things people did to make a little cash in Madrid.

Room keys!

and the road of learning as much as possible and not sleeping continues...

Hola familia y amigos!

5 weeks in Spain and let me tell you, I am exhausted! I have been trying to pack as much into my time here as possible because I don't want to have any regrets after I leave. Basically, this has required me to sleep minimal hours, and since I'm heading to Madrid in the morning I'm slightly nervous how exhausted I will feel once this weekend if over. But, you only live once right?

This week has been a lot more exploring Sevilla and as I've been here longer, I have been starting to notice more differences between here and the U.S.  This sounds silly, but being here longer has made me really appreciate growing up in the U.S. I didn't really expect that feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love Sevilla. However, I don't know if I could ever live here. Mostly what I have really started to notice is the difference in the mentality of life. As you probably know, Spain is in a deep economic crisis - highest unemployment rate in Europe, increased cost of living - and there aren't really any signs of things looking up right now. And as I've been here longer, it makes more sense why their economy is struggling so much. People here live first then work. Not saying thats a bad thing at all. Honestly, I think many Americans are too work oriented, but you have to make a living somehow, right? Secondly, it's not uncommon for Spaniards to live with their parents until they are in their mid to late 20s or until they get married. I cannot imagine still living with my parents for that long, and I don't think they would want me too! My intercambio, Dani, told me this is because Spaniards very family oriented. Although that may be true, it's not uncommon for Spaniards to not have their first job until their mid twenties, so no wonder they can't afford to live on their own. (These are large generalizations - My intercambio is a 27 year old financial analyst at Heineken. He's practicing his English with me so that he can study in the U.S. to get his Master's in Business Administration. And he does not live his parents. Impressive, right?) Finally, siesta time, which shuts down the majority of small businesses is completely inefficient for the economy.

Essentially, what I'm getting at here is I am so thankful for the work ethic that I have from growing up in the U.S. I've also learned to appreciate my education in the U.S. as well. Although at times I want to burn my textbooks because I am so stressed out from spending disgusting amounts of time in the library, I really know its all worth it. School here is not challenging, but what this experience is teaching me in general is invaluable. To go from having hours of homework every night to maybe 2-3 hours a week, not so bad :) But I am still learning a lot! My Spanish skills have improved exponentially. I have began to be able to express more complex ideas and thoughts in Spanish. I've actually had a number of discussions about politics and cultural differences with Spaniards. By no means is my grammar perfect, but they always can understand me and tell me I have very good Spanish :) Also, the other night my friend and I went out to eat with our Chilean friend. Well, dinner was three hours long, and we spoke Spanish the entire time! Its really the little things that get me here and make me so happy that I made the decision to study here. Sometimes I just can't stop smiling because I'm so happy I'm here - learning and practicing a language that I love all while learning about the culture.

Shark skin in Torre del Oro, an old military watch tower located on the Guadalquivir River

Bread shaped like an owl. I thought this was so cool!

Jaw bone of a whale 

Miguel! Our favorite waiter who likes to give us free wine :) You'll meet him when you come visit Mom!

Torre del Oro

Alcazar

Night out - Madison connection!

12 hours until Madrid..a new entry when I return on Monday. Hasta luego!

Finally...a little bit of culture shock

Hola a todos! I can't believe I've been in Sevilla for a month now, I feel like I just got here! And although I still have 13 more weeks left in my adventure, it seems like there's such little time with all the trips that I have planned. At the end of this month I will be going to Madrid. Then in March I will be heading to Cádiz to go to one of the most famous carnivals in the world. After that I'll be visiting Rome one weekend, and then Barcelona. Then in April I will be going to Lagos, Portugal to get some sun in, then Morocco, and finally my eurotrip which will be 4 days in Paris, 2 days in Amsterdam and 2 days in Berlin. So much to look forward to!!

Anyway, this past week I've really started to notice some differences between Spain and the U.S. Mostly, I'm beginning to think I may have been raised in a very polite society because some of the social norms here have really shocked me. For example, here it's not rude to get up during the middle of dinner to have a ten minute phone conversation. This has happened multiple times at my home stay, and I am continually surprised by it. Also, right now there are some Italian high school girls staying with us. Their Spanish is better than mine, and at times I have to ask my Señora to slow down because I can't understand her. At dinner the other night they started laughing at me! This also continued to shock me among various other little etiquette differences that I have been noticing in Spain. It's really only little small things that I have started to pick up on since I have been here longer, so sometimes I have to remind myself that it's just the culture and they really aren't trying to be rude. All I have to say is thank you mom and dad for the raising me with good manners :)

Last Friday I toured Italica, the Roman ruins just right outside of Sevilla. These ruins were founded in 200 B.C., I couldn't believe it! Although the homes were pretty run down, the amphitheater where gladiator fights took place was pretty amazing to see.

Me at the Roman Amphitheater. It used to be able to seat around 20,000 people

Where the gladiators fought

Then, on Saturday I headed to Cádiz with my program, and it was so amazing to see the beach! Cádiz is on the Atlantic Ocean and is located on the Iberian peninsula. It was a beautiful city, and we only were able to spend about 5 hours there. However, it is only an hour and half away from Sevilla, so I will definitely be making a trip back!

The view of the city from the Cathedral

Beach!!

Also, last week I went to take more pictures of place I usually go during the week. Its so beautiful here, I want you all to see it! Below is the Plaza de España. It was built for show-no real significant purpose. But I think it sure is impressive! I often meet up with friends to start runs here.

The plaza has one of these for each of the regions of Spain. This is Sevilla's!

Parque Maria Luisa...where I like to run :)

Churros con chocolate...a delicious indulgence.

Lastly, one little shout out. CONGRATULATIONS Joselyn and Grant on getting engaged! I am so happy for the both of you and cannot wait to help to start planning with you Joselyn! I love and miss you all!

Besos y abrazos!

Granada: Alhambra, mountains and better tapas

Hola! So this weekend was a blast! Friday was my last day of my Spanish intensive course, and what a relief! The 3 hour power lecture Monday through Friday was getting a little old. To celebrate, I took a bus to Granada with some friends and had an amazing weekend!

We arrived in Granada on Friday night and hit some difficulties right off the bat - accidentally booked the hostel Granada Oasis in Nicaragua, Africa! Who would've thought? And of course the man at the front desk continued to freak us out more by telling us everything in the city was booked! Well, luckily he was wrong. The first place we went to was completely empty and at 15 euro a night, it was worth it. That night one of my friends met a promoter for a discoteca. He gave us all free admission tickets (usually it costs a little under 10 euro) to get into this discoteca. We we're definitely the only Americans there, and it was such a great time!

The next morning, after a full night of dancing we dragged our tired bodies out of bed to see Alhambra. We had to walk uphill for about 15 minutes, with which how tired we were was not the most enjoyable! However, it was worth it! Alhambra was gorgeous. It was up on a hill, so you could see the entire city and the white snow capped Sierre Nevada mountains in the background. Absolutely beautiful! While in Granada I also visited the Real Capilla, where Isabel and Fernando are burried. We weren't allowed to take pictures here, but it was really eery looking at the coffins of the deceased Catholic Monarchs that have had such a huge impact on the history of Spain and the Americas.

View from Alhambra

That night we went out for drinks and tapas. Although Sevilla is amazing and beautiful, Granada wins the tapas contest. First of all, free tapas with every drink - that doesn't happen in Sevilla. Also, each tapa I ate in Granada was delicious - from calamari, montaditos (little sandwiches), beef skewers, spanish omelettes, shredded beef, and potatoes. I was in heaven, and I'm glad the food isn't as tasty in Sevilla because I would probably gain 20 pounds :)

Out for tapas!

Today, I started classes. So far they seem that they will be pretty laid back - definitely a change of pace from classes at Madison! My first class was European Economy and I think it will be interesting and helpful to learn all about the EU. My next class was Services Management. The professor for that class was pretty engaging and apparently we have a company visit at McDonald's during the semester. Yes, McDonald's is popular here too!

I have also started planning some additional trips. In March I will be heading to Rome for a weekend, and then to Barcelona for another weekend. Also, in May we have a week off from school for Semana Santa. I plan on going to Paris to visit a friend, and from there possibly Amsterdam, Belgium, and/or Germany. It's still in the works. I wish I could go everywhere, but there's just not enough time!

On a side note, just something interesting I've noticed since I've been here. As most of you know, I was a little nervous about being pinpointed as an American because my hair is so blonde. Well, its been the exact opposite. I've had multiple people ask me if I am German. One man even started speaking German to me! Also, I have been asked for directions twice now. It sounds silly, but I was flattered that I actually looked like I belonged. Moral of the story, I don't look like a complete foreigner, which I am happy about!

miss you all. besos!