#homestayproblems

Ok this is something that my friends and I came up with. You might not think it is as funny because you are not in a homestay, but I think it is hilarious. And please realize when you read these that these are not complaints by any means, they are just things that we think would make a funny twitter page called Homestay Problems. Enjoy-

my room is freezing because i have no heater #homestayproblems


i make so much noise when i think im being quiet when i come home stumbling drunk #homestayproblems

• I can't understand when my señora yells at her son. #homestayproblems
  
  
  Fish again! #homestayproblems
  
  
  i have to eat EVERYTHING because i'm scared of my senora #homestayproblems
  
  
  i dont get 100% clean because my hot water runs out #homestayproblems
  
  
  i can only shower for 10 minutes #homestayproblems
  
  
  What's this weird urinal/toilet thing?!? #homestayproblems
  
  
  im always hungry and snacking is american #homestayproblems
  
  
  i cant get internet in my bed but i can on my desk two feet away #homestayproblems
  
  
  im allergic to everything in my house #homestayproblems
  
  
  If you have ever stayed in a homestay, you know these are true. But we still love our host families and appreciate them very much!!!!!
  
  

The Weekend of Jerez and Senderismo

 This weekend was quite the adventure, to say the least.

Aussie Friend!

On Friday night, a group of us went out to celebrate that our exams were over! So we went to our favorite street with a bunch of different bars and hung out there for a bit and as history has told us, we found very fun people. We made Australian friends, and we had a grand time talking about where they were from and what they really knew about where we were from. I kid you not, all people know about Kentucky is KFC. Every time I say I am from Kentucky, I get the same reaction from Spaniards- "Ohhhhh chee-kin!". The Australians were no different. At around 3, we decided to head back home, considering that we had to be at the University at 9 in the morning the next day.

Royal Casks of Wine

At 9, we all hopped on a bus to the south of Spain, almost near the coast, to a town called Jerez. It is a super cute town, a little smaller than Seville, but the coolest part of it was that there is a winery there that makes Tio Pepe wine. Apparently this is a very good kind of wine, I wouldn't know since I can't drink in the US... or at least can't afford to drink good wine. Anyways, we got to tour the winery and it was actually really fascinating! They make sherry and brandy there too, and I had no idea how either of those were made, so it was really cool to see. There were so many famous people that had visited there and had barrels of wine dedicated to them. New life goal- get to sign my name on a barrel of wine because I am so famous.

Jerez

After the tour, we stayed in Jerez and ate our packed lunches (so cute) and then we walked around looking for a brand of wine for one of my friend's senoras. We did not find the wine, but we did find ice cream, so that was almost as good! We were with a Spanish man who came on the trip with us and we were talking to him about how hard it is for him to get a job without knowing English very well and it was really sad. He said that he wanted to study in an English-speaking country, but he couldn't get a scholarship because his parents "had too much money", but they still couldn't afford to pay to send him. He was also appalled by how much it cost to go to school in the states. Here is only costs 800 euro a year, since their taxes are so high. I couldn't imagine that! Anyways, Jerez was a very cute town, but I think I like Seville a lot better. It was definitely a good day trip though!

We got back last night, dead tired. I don't know why, I mean it's not like we didn't get our full four hours in the night before... But since my senora was out of town this weekend and I didn't want to cook for myself, my friends were troopers and went to get tapas with me! It was a really good time! We had delicious food and we basically laughed the entire dinner. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I have met the most incredible people here so far. They are all really inspiring and all have an interesting story. After tapas, we walked around the city to see the night life, but we were all too tired to partake at that point.

Senderismo! (Hiking!)

Then this morning, we did it all again. We got on a bus at 9, but instead of going to Jerez, we went to this tiny little town in the middle of the country called Los Marines. There, we met up with three guides who took us on this incredibly beautiful hike through the farms and country, to another small town, then back to Los Marines. All in all, it was an 8 mile hike, but it was totally worth it. The scenery was beautiful and I got to talk to my friends and become inspired even more. I talked to one of the tour guides also and he has made this pilgrimage in the north of Spain called the Camino de Santiago del Compostela. I have been interested in eventually doing this for a while now, but talking with him made me decide that I definitely want to. He has done it three times and he said it is completely life changing. Now, obviously I'm not looking for a huge life changing experience, I just think it would be really cool to say I went on a pilgrimage. But if my life does change because of it, so be it.

This weekend has really made me think about what I want to do in life and it has made me realize that I cannot put limits on myself. I know it is stupid and cliche to say that I can do whatever I put my mind to, but for the first time I actually believe it. I mean, I am here in Spain studying, which is something I have dreamed about for years. So if I can make a dream this big come true, why can't I make my others come true also? It's a pretty cool feeling to think the sky is the limit!

Procrastination... I Mean a Very Important Entry

As you probably noticed from the title, this entry is more for me as a break from my studying than for anyone who might be reading it. So much for that American work ethic...

La Giralda

Inside La Catedral

Alright, so today has been a pretty awesome one! First I woke up early and went to study in our classroom building, but before I did that, I went to this tiny hole in the wall cafe for breakfast and it was really good. I really like the way that they do breakfast here, it is very simple and not a ton of food, but it fills you up enough to get you through to lunch. Then I was actually productive and made an outline for my test tomorrow and went to class. Then during our practical part of class, we went to the Cathedral of Seville. This cathedral is massive, and it is third largest in the world, if I heard correctly in class. Anyways, it is huge and it was originally a mosque, but after the Reyes Católicos came in to power, they tore down the mosque to build the cathedral. The only part of the mosque that they left standing was the patio and the tower, or the Giralda. The giralda initially was a minaret to make the call to prayer for the muslims who lived in Seville. Once the mosque was torn down, the designers wanted to keep it, but they didn't want it to be the same giralda, so they just plopped a bell tower and a cross on top of it. Whatever works I guess. We climbed all the way to the top of it, which it is about 35 stories tall. Fortunately, there are only ramps on the way up, because horses used to carry people up to make the call for prayer. It was gorgeous from up there because you could see the entire city and then some.

View from La Giralda

Just hangin with Chris Columbus

As a fun fact, Christopher Columbus and his son are both buried underneath the Cathedral. I think this is SO COOL. I don't know why, but I think it is so neat that the person who made known to Europe that North America existed was right under my feet. Nerd, I know.

After la Giralda, I went home and had a wonderful lunch with my senora. I don't know if the food is really that much better here or what, but I can't get enough. Fortunately I walk about 80 miles a day, so I'm not too worried about gaining a million pounds. Then two of my friends helped me film myself teaching a lesson for a second interview for an internship this summer. I am so excited about this opportunity, but I don't want to get my hopes up yet. I'm nervous too. After the filming, we got churros and chocolate, again. Alright, I might gain some weight at the rate I am putting back churros and chocolate. But you only live once, right? And we certainly don't have this in the U.S. I've been studying pretty much ever since, with the exception of dinner.

Tonight my senora taught us how to make home made empanadas, with ham, dates, cheese, and a meat called chucos (I think), that is a lot like ham. It was so delicious and I cannot wait to try to make them at home. And this was the first night that I had started to feel like everyone in this house is a family, not a family and then a couple of intruders on their lives. It is kind of a hard feeling to explain, but when we were all in the kitchen, it was a nice feeling of connectedness and that everyone wanted to be there learning how to make this together. Whatever it was, it made me happy.


Alright, I guess I should get back to studying... or maybe I will go watch Vampire Diaries with my senora instead. Also, below are some pictures pertaining to the last entry. Better later than never, right?

Basilica de la Macarena

Muralla that surrounded Seville

I really need to write more often... I am having difficulty remembering everything I have done since the last entry!
Well let's see, Monday my class started! I was super nervous about this class because this class is only two weeks long, but we take it for three hours a day. And yet we still have two tests and a paper in the span of two weeks. I guess that is why they call it the "intensive session". But so far, so good! My class is called The Cultural History of Spain, so we spend on half of the class in the actual classroom learning about the history and then the next half we walk around Seville and go to different historical landmarks. For instance, Monday we went to these columns that had been there since the Romans had been in Spain. They were from a temple of Hercules, who is supposedly the founder of Seville, along with Julius Caesar. So that was really cool to see because the columns were directly next to this apartment building. Then Monday night, we went to another park and a few of us all had coffee at a cafe and chatted and caught up on our days. Most of the day we spend speaking in Spanish, but usually by the time night rolls around, we are all exhausted from speaking in Spanish, so we start with English again... oops. My senora really likes American TV shows about witches and vampires, and so Monday night we watched a show called "The Secret Circle", which I thought was comical for the bad writing, but it was nice to sit and watch with her. I really like her and she is really great for having me in her house.
Tuesday, my class went back to the Mirador and the Plaza de Encarnación that we went to before. What was cool though was that we went underneath the mirador and saw all of these Roman ruins from houses that had been there before. What had happened was that back in the 70's, there was a market in the plaza, but it was really old, so the government tore it down and was going to build a new one. But during the excavation, they found the ruins and had to halt construction for almost thirty years. Once they found the ruins, they wanted to build something to protect the ruins but at the same time be able to house a market. Thus the Mirador was thought of. That is one thing that I love about Seville, you are constantly seeing the old mixed with the new. Just like the columns next to a new apartment building and the ruins underneath the huge modern mushroom-looking thing. All of this is representative of the Sevillano spirit to remember the past and keep moving on and progressing in to the future. I love it.
Also last night, I had churros con chocolate. I'm sure this seems like it is turning in to a food diary, but oh my goodness it was so delicious. It was hot chocolate that was so rich and then you dip the churros in and it was perfect. Then after that I did homework and watched the first few episodes of Vampire Diaries that my senora gave to me. I am watching more American TV here than I did in America...
Then today we went back to Alcázar, which was ok because our professor told us a lot more than we learned on the tour. And plus some of my Islamic Religious Traditions knowledge was coming in handy... holla! Then a few of us went to see the massive wall that used to surround the city, but now there are only a few parts left. At the end of the wall, there is this basilica, the Basilica de la Macarena, and inside it is honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Everything is so ornate and elaborate, I couldn't help but start to pray in it. There were people all around the chapel sitting and praying and taking it in, it was so cool I cannot even begin to put it into words. It was wonderful.
Tonight we are going to this party put on by our program in order to meet our intercambios, or Spanish students who want to learn English and who want to help us learn Spanish. Mine is a 27 year old male, and that is all I know about him... this could be interesting.
Also, sorry there are no pictures in this one, for a couple different reasons. One, I don't really have that many from the past couple of days, and two, the ones I do have I am too lazy to upload right now. Perhaps later!

Just Going With The Flow

Nuevos amigos

The past few days have been absolutely wonderful! So on Thursday night, we decided to go out and view the night life some. We ended up going to this street full of bars that had almost all Spaniards there, and we hung out there for a while, which is where we met two boys named Gabriel and Enrique. We stayed at the bar with them until the bar closed down (I know my friends at home are amazed that I am capable of staying out past 1. When in Seville, right?) and then we went to the same discoteca that we went to the first night. There were a lot more spanish people there than the first time and I had an absolute blast. We all danced and danced until finally we were too tired to dance anymore. Then we decided to walk 45 minutes back to our houses. Lots and lots of walking here, but that is ok, because we need exercise, right?
Then on Friday, we got to sleep in, thank goodness, and then we went and enrolled in all of our classes. Fortunately, I got in to all of the classes I needed! Success! It is probably hard to believe, but I did not feel like doing anything that night, so I just went home and stayed in and rested.

Gardens of Alcazar

Palace in Alcazar

On Saturday, we took a trip to this place called Alcázar, which is a series of palaces and gardens right in the heart of Seville. The palaces were built for the Christian kings, but they were built by Muslim architects, so they have this awesome architecture that is very Islamic. The palace was massive because every time a new king would come in to power, he would have another palace built to connect to the current one. Isabel and Ferdinand lived there and it was so cool to think about how I was walking where they had and to see the room where they decided that Christopher Columbus could travel to America and all of that. It is kind of hard to wrap your mind around that thought too. The gardens were also so beautiful, they were full of orange and lemon trees and peacocks! Apparently it was really common for Muslims to put peacocks in their palaces and they have just stayed there! After lunch on Saturday, a group of us went to a place called Torre del Oro, which is now a naval museum, but used to be the main entry point for the port of Seville. We climbed all the way to the top and you could see across the river and the entire city on our side of the river. Then we went to this cute cafe and had ice cream before our late dinner. It truly was a perfect day. After dinner we all went out to the other side of the river to a more American part of town. We stayed in a bar and just chatted and laughed and had a very calm peaceful time, unlike most of the other bars. I will say though that I do enjoy the bars where there are more Spaniards than Americans. It just feels more real when you are surrounded by Sevillanos, as opposed to feeling like you are in America because there are so many Americans there.

View from Torre del Oro

Today, I woke up late and had a very relaxing morning. Then a few of us decided to go to this park called Parque Maria Louisa. It is right next to the Plaza de España, which for those of you who don't know, that is where they shot the movie Star Wars Attack of the Clones... I think. One of the Star Wars movies at least. It was so beautiful and big and it has the only grass that I have seen so far in this city! We relaxed in the sun and talked and I ran for a bit and it was wonderful. Then we went to the same place for more ice cream only I got a waffle with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup (fat American, right?) and I swear it was one of the most delicious things I have ever had. Obviously I can't have that all the time, but I think that will definitely become a treat!




I really do love it here, but there has been quite a bit of culture shock. In America, we are all about being busy and getting our work done and if we slack off we feel kind of bad about it. Here, that is not the case. Pretty much all of the shops close from about 2-5 in the afternoon so everyone can take a break and have a nice long lunch and such. Then they come back to work until about 9 at night. You will never see a to-go cup of coffee in someone's hand walking down the street, because everyone stays at the cafe to sit and talk and enjoy their coffee. It is so different, and it takes a while to get used to. No one is ever in a rush to do anything and many times, people will be late to meet with friends and it is no big deal. I'm starting to get used to it, and I really do like the attitude. I just worry about when I come back and no one else has the same attitude as I do... Then we may run in to problems. I guess I can deal with that four months from now!

Primeras Aventuras

I have finally moved in with my homestay!!!! And my señora is awesome to say the least. She is very young and has a little girl who is three years old. The little girl is precious and loves princesses and understands English surprisingly well. The apartment is kind of small, but I'm not really here that often so it is ok.

Church we found while lost!

I am continuing to love the city. It is so cool and diverse. There are several different barrios, kind of like the different parts of Manhattan. And each one is completely distinct and beautiful. The people here are also great. Obviously it is easy to tell who is an American here (I know it is hard to believe, considering how tan I am), but everyone is super nice and helpful whenever we need something or get lost. Which is a lot. But it's ok because we get to see more of the city this way!
As my readers, I am sure that you have been asking yourselves, "So what have you been up to, Brianna?" Well I will tell you, because a lot has happened since my last entry. On Tuesday night, we went out for tapas and they were incredible. There is this dish called Patatas Bravadas (at least I think that is what it is called) and it is potatoes with this delicious red sauce. But everything here is good, at least that I have tried. The most different thing that I have noticed here is when they eat and what they eat. For example, the Spaniards wake up and eat a light breakfast, like a piece of toast or something. Then around 11 in the morning, they have a coffee and a tostada, which is like toast with cheese or ham. Then around 2, they have a huge meal for lunch, usually at least three courses. Around 6, they have what is called a merienda, which is a snack that can be anything. Finally, around 9:30 or 10 pm, they have dinner and it is very small, like tapas. Yesterday I made the mistake of not taking a merienda and I thought I was going to fall over because I was so hungry by 10:30. But I digress... After tapas, the entire group went out to a bar, and for those of you who don't know, that is legal here! Woo! It was very fun and the beer here is very good. Then we went to a club that was having a welcome party for all the study abroad kids. Touristy, right? Well it was super fun, so quit judging. After the club we wandered down to the river and it was so beautiful at night.

Flamenco dancers/singers

Yesterday, we had a lot of information sessions because classes haven't started yet. I also met my host family, whom I have already talked about. There are two of us Americans in the house, so I have to sleep in the daughter's room. When she came in from school yesterday and I was here she came running into her room and saw me and say "Ay mi cuarto!!!!". She got over me being here... I think.

And who says all that wander are lost?

After we hung out at home for a bit, we went to a Flamenco show. That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Their feet move so incredibly fast that I don't know how they do it. I am already rhythmically challenged, so it would be impossible for me, but it was still pretty amazing.


Today we had more information sessions and we learned about the practicum we will be doing in the schools here. It sounds really cool and I am so excited about doing it here! We got lost in the Centro, for probably about the fifth time, but that's ok. It was a very good adventure. Then we had to buy phones, which I am still unsure as to how it all works, but I like to think I am a smart girl and that I can figure it out.
As always, I miss everyone at home, but life here is very fun too!

Just Flew In... And Boy Are My Arms Tired...

Seville Airport!

I'm finally in Seville! After months and months of preparation and years of dreaming of being here, this does not seem quite real yet. The journey over here was quite interesting and the jet lag is definitely clouding my thought process at this point, but who am I to complain? I'm in a beautiful city that is free of cold and snow. :)
Anyways, the trip was long but good. I started out in Lexington and saying goodbye to the fam was no fun, but I will be back soon. Then I got to Chicago, where nearly the entire flight was full of kids who were studying abroad. It was really neat to see how many people get this opportunity. But the thing that stuck out most to me was that half of them went to the same school, but they had never met each other! I guess I am not familiar enough with large-school culture, because the idea of me meeting someone my age in the airport and saying "Oh, you go to Transy too??" was completely foreign to me. Oh the life of a private liberal arts school kid... Anyways, the flight from Chicago to Madrid was a good one, except for the fact that I could not fall asleep to save my life. I sat next to a Spanish man who was really nice and fortunately did not want to talk the entire time. He did snore though, however it really had no effect on me since I couldn't sleep anyways. Due to the sleep deprivation, I did something that I hadn't done in a very long time- finish an entire book. OH MY GOODNESS. If you have not read the Hunger Games, go do it right now. Stop reading this and read that. SO good. After I got off that flight, I hung out in the Madrid airport for a little while, which is super cool. It's very modern and the roof is shaped like a mustache. Whether that is on purpose or not, I'm not quite sure, but it looks cool. I met some even more cool people while I was waiting for my flight to Seville!
Seville is awesome. There are palm trees everywhere and the skies were just clearing up from the rain. Everyone here is super friendly and genuine and it's great. The people in my program seem really fun too, so I think they will be a great group to spend my time here with. :)
I miss everyone at home terribly, but I know the home sickness will pass here soon! I can't wait to start in on the actual adventures tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Only eight more days until I say "Adios" to the U.S. and "Hola" to Spain! Obviously, this is super exciting and I cannot wait. However, at the same time, it is slightly nerve wracking because I am going to be gone for so long and I have to say good bye to everyone. This next week is going to be filled with packing, so-longing, celebrating, and general frenzying. But that is okay, because I know I am setting out on an awesome adventure. (Let's just hope I survive. Mom seems to think it might not be likely). So if you are reading this, be sure you catch me before next Sunday, because I am sure I will want to say see you later! Catch ya on the flip side! By flip side, I mean four months from now! :)

...And if you are interested, keep reading this blog, because I will be updating it throughout my trip with my many excursions and adventures!