Mayonnaise is always a good idea. So is Sevilla.

I think it’s pretty clear this whole blog thing didn't work out (Sorry familia…) I really have no other excuse except for laziness… But I figured I should at least write one last post about my semester in Sevilla. Sometimes I have a hard time putting my thoughts into actual sentences to just bear with me guapos and guapas. First of all, this has been the best 3 ½ months of my short 20 years. When my advisor dropped me off at my residencia (aka dorm) I was terrified. I was alone in a double room in a building down a not-so-welcoming, alley-like street in a city all alone where I could barely communicate with anyone. Now that I’m about to leave, I am so thankful for everything I was scared of. Coming here with no friends made me put myself out there and make some (who ended up being pretty great). My residencia wasn't half bad either (although the Wi-Fi went out every time it rained…and sometimes even when it didn't).

I have learned appreciate other cultures so much more after living in Spain. The people of Andalucía (the region of Spain Sevilla is in) are some of the nicest and most helpful you will ever meet. If you try with them, they will go out of their way to make sure you understand (even if it means pointing or hand gestures). I’m going to miss their food so much (with the exception of sea creatures). Also, the people in Sevilla live life at a pace 10x slower than I’m used to. They walk slower, eat slower, and basically do everything slower except for speak. They never seem to worry about anything. While they are in their own economic crisis and unemployment is incredibly high, they don’t freak out. As long as they have their families, friends and health, they are happy, which makes life here pretty darn easy. The weather here is overall amazing. There were a few weeks in the middle where Mother Nature wasn’t very happy with us, but luckily the past week and up until I leave are solid 80’s and sunny (pretty good parting gift if you ask me.)

I was super fortunate to have had not only the opportunity to go to Spain but also other countries like Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany.

Finally went to Switzerland!

 Every single place I went to was different from the other and now makes me want to keep traveling (once I hit the lotto of course). Being able to travel this much and spend a whole semester in a place like this makes me realize how lucky I really am. If I could bring all of my family and friends here to see and experience even just a little of this I would in a heartbeat. Here are a few things I have learned/realized while being here:

1.       Spanish people are just as scared of Americans as Americans are of them. At the beginning of the semester my friends and I only spent time with each other and other “English-speakers.” We were afraid the Spaniards didn’t like us, which seems crazy now. After spending so time with them, we all realized the only thing we had to do to break the barrier down was say hello.

2.       Family is literally everything. Being away for this long and not seeing my parents and dog has been a lot harder than I ever thought. Without trying to brag, my parents are awesome and I am so thankful they brought me up the way they did and gave me this opportunity because I will NEVER forget. If I had my family all here (even my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and their pets too) I definitely could live here…with the exception of summer.

3.       Go with your gut. If something doesn’t seem right, chances are it probably isn’t…this applies with people and especially the food they serve at the residencia, which is basically the Spanish version of Hurley, the ECSU dining hall.

4.       Be confident in your decisions, feelings, and actions. I did not realize this until recently, but before I came here I had the tendency to let other people tell me how I should feel, which someone should never let happen. You should be allowed to feel down about things, or mad, or really happy, or even unsure, because that’s life and I can tell you it did not slow down one bit for me while I was here.

5.       I am excited to see my family and get a bunch of dog kisses (although her excitement will probably wear off after five minutes..)

6.       I suck at blogging, writing in a journal, etc.

7.       Try new things (even if it means wearing tights under denim shorts). If there is one time/place to put yourself out there and look weird, it is when you study abroad.

8.       Especially new food. Who knows, you might actually end up liking the ox tail you tried at your first dinner in the city, or become obsessed with bananas and avocados.

this isn't ox tail but you get the idea...the food is just really good!

9.       Being alone isn’t a bad thing. Neither is getting lost.

10.   Always carry and umbrella. The rain in Sevilla is unlike any rain I have seen and does NOT wait for you to take cover.

11.   I am a breakfast person. And Spain is not.

12.   The friends you make while you are abroad WILL be some of the best people you know. Whether you’re having a good day or bad day, they are always there for you, to hug you, make you laugh, have movie nights with, and you will always have those memories no matter how far across the world you are from each other.

Semana Santa festivities

            13.   I feel much more independent and mature (although my family may not agree on that second one haha)

14.   If I had to choose a favorite place that I have been to this semester, Sevilla would take first.

Plaza de Espana

15.   How to control yourself on a night out (because lets be real, it’s legal here and who hasn’t learned how much is too much?). At least I haven’t woken up with any spontaneous bruises, broken bones or no recollection of the night’s activities, right?!

16.   Things change as much as people do, but you can’t let that stop you from enjoying life, you just gotta keep going.

17.   If I were to make a list of things I am going to miss, this blog would go on for alotttt longer than it already has.

18.   Spanish people know how to party. To them, going home at 2 or 3 in the morning is an EARLY night.... (I have no idea how some of them are alive).

19.   Mayonnaise is always a good idea. Always.

20.   Procrastination follows you no matter how far away from home you go…

21.   When your teachers tell you to “forget about vosotros” in Spanish class because “nobody uses it”, do not forget vosotros.

22.   The Cathedral at night might be one of the most beautiful things ever.

23.   Goodbyes are never easy. I walked out of University for the last time today and wanted to break down…and that was just me with a building……….

the view from my roof never got old

At orientation for the University, one of the speakers warned us to be careful because it is easy to fall in love with the city of Sevilla and she was right. No matter where I was or how far I traveled, I was always ready to come to that back double room in a building down the not-so-welcoming, alley-like street.

-Avery

Gibraltar and everything in between

Okay I basically suck at keeping a blog, so I’m just going to tell you guys a few things that have happened (a lot has, but it’s all in one big, jumbled pile in my head, sorry).

I went to Gibraltar on Saturday with my friends Nicolette, Izzy and Iga. The weather turned out to be really nice and the day was amazing! Gibraltar is a piece of land on the southern tip of Spain but it isn't Spain…it’s actually England. You can see Morocco from Gibraltar, which was my first time seeing Africa so that was wicked cool. We had to bring our passports and as soon as we crossed the border, there were red telephone booths and everything was in English. Gibraltar is really small and has a huge mountain/rock thing on it that is known for its monkeys. 

They told us not to feed or touch the monkeys but they got SO close to you. One got too close to my roommate, Nicolette, so she impulsively threw her ham and cheese sandwich at it. We saw it a few minutes later on top of the roof eating it… I got a monkey on me too which was awesome. There were these old men whom the monkeys listened to very well and one of the men touched my shoulder and the monkey just jumped on! Best part of the day I tell ya. 

Monkey trying to cop a feel, whaaat

This reminded of Moo and I. Two little monkeys taking on the world....(they started biting each other right after I took this) 

One of the unhappiest monkeys I have ever seen, hence why I didn't get very close haha.

Then we went to an English restaurant and ate bacon and egg sandwiches and fries with Heinz Ketchup (they don’t seem to have that in Spain which is rough). I also got Skittles (they don’t have those here either…)

The countryside in Spain is absolutely gorgeous. We drove by a part where it had tons of those energy efficient windmill things. The grass was super green and there were rolling hills. Reminded me of teletubbies for some reason?

Don't even tell me you guys aren't expecting that creepy baby sun to pop up and start laughing.

I might have a coffee and avocado addiction, but I am perfectly okay with that.

I have my first leather jacket so now I feel like I officially belong.

The dogs here are so well-trained. They walk on the crowded streets with their owners with no leash. I’ve seen people leave their dogs outside restaurants and the dogs just lay there waiting for them to come back, so cute.

I like “tinto de verano” which is wine and something soda-like but it just tastes likes juice. And for those of you wondering, I have not been plastered yet, but last night I did take a Bailey’s shot with whipped cream that was in a chocolate shot glass, so I ate it afterwards…

The people in Sevilla unfortunately choose fashion over comfort so my feet hurt almost every day from the flats and boots…(it’s a daily struggle not to wear my Nikes) I have not seen one Spaniard in yoga pants or a comfy sweatshirt! I do not know how they do it. They roll out of bed and look perfect…crazy I tell you.

Took a picture of Spain, from Gibraltar ;)

I’ve started running on a path along the river. A lot of other people walk, run and bike there but it’s still really nice. Whenever I go, there are always crew races or crew practices going on which is awesome to watch. And today there was an unusual amount of puppies which made me happy.

I guess I should throw in something about my classes! They’re good, I’m surviving them hahah. I’m taking a culture class, vocab class, art history and gender views in Spanish lit. 

I promise I WILL write another one of these, but I'm not going to say when because I've been trying to write this one for the past two weeks. So until then, live long and prosper (never seen Startrek I promise, that just popped in my head). Adios guapos y guapas!

Just a few things...

At my school orientation they told us that the city of Seville was very easy to fall in love with and while I have not even been here for a week I already agree with that statement 100%. I am actually writing this entry on the rooftop terrace at my Residencia, where I can see the Cathedral (if you guys just look up Sevilla Cathedral on Google you’ll know why I’m so happy about this).

(View from the terrace on the roof. the tall tower lit up is the Cathedral)

I wish I could explain to people what it is like here, but Sevilla one of those places that no picture, description, story, adjective, etc., could ever do it justice. It would be amazing if I could bring people here just so they could see it in person because it’s crazy. There are so many different plazas to see, all of which are beautiful and have pigeons that get way to close to you (kind of like the squirrels at ECSU). People here are just happy (it may just be the beautiful weather, I don’t know). While the economy is not great, people’s main concern isn’t money (they don’t really have any concerns actually). As long as they have their siesta, very late dinner and drinks, they are content. And for the most part people walk everywhere, so you get some good exercise every time you walk out.

Naturally I get here and my Spanish is the worst it has ever been. They people in Sevilla speak ridiculously fast and have strong accents that I am nowhere near used too. Right now most conversations end with a “lo siento, estoy aprendiendo” or just a smile and nod… Hopefully this will get better once I feel more comfortable haha.

Today I walked around with my roommate and her friend. It felt like the beginning of summer back in Connecticut, but for some reason the people here are still wearing jackets and scarves like it’s freezing out (still haven’t figured that out). The mornings and nights sometimes require a light jacket like one you’d use in the spring time, but for the most part I don’t think you need one. Not to rub salt in the wound (?) but I'm starting to freckle which means a tan is not far behind, woooo! Anyway, the three of us went to a tapas bar for lunch, which serves smaller portions of meals and then went to sit down by the river for a while.  

(Part of the river..)

Although I’m still having separation anxiety from breakfast, the food here so good. I am happy to say that I have tried everything put in front of me! My first night here, the resident coordinator of my program took us out to dinner and had us try a lot of different things. First of all, I ate tuna and some sort of small clam and kept it down… Second of all, I tried this meat and was all “wow, this is some amazing steak. I wish it was this good back home.” Turns out it was ox, which is not the type of meat I was expecting it to be haha. Most of the time when you sit down they give you olives and bread to eat before your meal. Let me tell you I am loving the olives. Also, here they have little convenience stores that people call “chinos” which are supporting my Oreo addiction quite well. They have these chocolate bars with Oreos inside them and they have actual Oreos. I have literally drank coffee at least once a day, if not twice and I have these multivitamin gummies that I cannot stop eating, even though people keep telling me how much I shouldn't (they are incredibly addicting though).

So far Sevilla is the perfect place to wander. There have been multiple times already where I've just started walking down different streets (during the day, don’t worry), with no plan on where to go. While most times it results in me having no idea where I am, I absolutely love it.

(I get to walk this everyday)

My classes start tomorrow. I have two classes a day Monday-Thursday, but none start until 11 and I have a 3-day weekend EVERY WEEKEND. While I would be perfectly happy with wandering the city every day, I’m actually really excited for classes to start because there will probably be some really cool people in them.

(the back of the Cathedral, I just think it's really pretty. You should see the fountain behind it lit up at night, holy crap)

I’m going to try to keep up with this blog, but as you can see, it took me this long to write my first entry... 

So until then, I hope the weather back home isn't too unpleasant and that San Fran makes Ray Lewis's last NFL game one to remember (not in a good way). Adios!

-ave