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