Can I Stay Here Forever?

Today as I was walking to class I realized just how Spanish I have become. We are experiencing some beautiful 60-degree weather here in our beautiful city and I was wearing my winter coat! It is common on these gorgeous days to see the Spainards wearing their far too insulated jackets, but never the warm-blooded Minnesotans! Today was a different story because I didn't even feel silly until half way through my walk when I realized how sweaty I had become!

Before we departed for Andalucia last week we celebrated Carnaval. Carnaval is a huge celebration in most of Europe that begins almost a week before Ash Wednesday and in Spain we dress up! Michelle and I went to a costume store that my actress host mom directed us to and purchased some pretty awesome costumes. I picked out a gypsy outfit while Michelle found a fire-fighter. On Tuesday after class we all went home to get ready and then met up again to see the parade through the city of Segovia. (It is important to note that I did not have time to pack my suitcase for the trip that we were leaving for at 6:30 a.m. the next day before I went out for the night.) Starting at a church on one side of the city the parade of people dressed up in everything from spools of thread to way too real looking zombies, walked all the way through the city to the plaza mayor where there was a concert and food! After the parade I went over to Michelle's apartment so that we could get ready together. We hadn't told anyone of our costumes and were pretty excited to surprise our group with our over-the-top carnaval costumes.

Our group loved our costumes and we even had a clown in the group. Kalleah's host mom always makes her students wear this ridiculous looking clown costume and it was great! We spent the night frequenting our favorite bars and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. I may or may not have arrived back to my apartment around 5 a.m., still unpacked and needing to head for the bus in about an hour. I spent some time chatting with my sister on skype and then much too late realized again that I hadn't packed yet. To solve this still existing dilemma, I essentially took the entirety of my closet and threw it in my backpack. (The next day I would realize that I had five pairs of jeans, five pairs of shoes and forgot my winter jacket which was needed because the weather was much colder than what is typical in Andalucia during this time of the year. Oops!)

On Wednesday for the first leg of our trip we drove to Granada. I slept for a good portion of the drive and we arrived in the beautiful city of Granada around lunch time. That day we visited a chapel that is situated close to our hotel that houses the bodies of the first Catholic Kings of Spain, Isabel de Castilla and Fernando de Aragon. After seeing the church we went on a walk through the city and saw the former Muslim quarter of the city. It was interesting to see this area of the city and be surrounded by the history that is so deeply rooted in this city. After the walk we had the rest of the night free, but seeing as how we needed to wake up very early the following day we decided to have a girl's night in Katee, Erin and Bridget's room.


We hopped on our bus at 7:45 so that we could make it to the Alhambra as it was opening. The Alhambra is a collection of Moorish palaces and gardens in Granada and they only allow a certain amount of visitors each day so our faculty director, Brian Larkin, wanted to ensure that we all were allowed in. And this place was so worth the early morning! It was gorgeous even during a day without much sun and a little rain. One could spend an entire day discovering new gardens and exploring all of the palaces.We were given two hours to walk around until we once again boarded the bus headed to Sevilla. We arrived at our hotel around lunch time again and had the rest of the night to do as we pleased! Luckily there was a grocery store really close to our hotel so many of us went there to stock up on food instead going out which obviously gets expensive. Also, I had been in contact with a friend from high school who is studying in Sevilla this semester for the past couple of weeks after we both discovered that our current country of residence was the same! That night a bunch of my friends met up with her and her friends and they showed us all around Sevilla. I was really glad to be able to see her and I believe she is coming to Segovia next week!

 

During the day on Friday we toured the Alcazar and the Cathedral of Sevilla, go figure. However both of these establishments in my opinion blow the Alcazar and Cathedral of Segovia out of the water! With that being said it is difficult to compare the two mainly because the cities themselves are so different. Segovia is much more Middle Ages while Sevilla I would argue is a bit more vibrant and colorful. Sevilla's cathedral even has a tower that you can climb to the top of and to see the tower bells and look out and see the entire city. After the tours that day a nap was a top priority to those who danced until the sun came up (literally speaking) and the three hour nap was heaven-sent! A few of us decided to have a low key night on Friday and went to experience one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sevilla: FLAMENCO! It was located in a quaint bar not too far from our hotel and was free. It was an interesting experience and I am glad I was able to see this part of the Andalusian culture.

On Saturday we took the bus to the outskirts of Sevilla to see some ancient Roman ruins. We had fun taking pictures on the mostly eroded buildings that the Romans built hundreds of years prior to our arrival. We were only whistled at once by the guard while climbing the various structures, success! After getting lost on the way back to the hotel for the seemingly millionth time on this trip a few of us girls went for a run along the river that winds its way through the city. After our run we dined along the river, soaked up the sun and enjoyed each other's company. We then headed to the esteemed Plaza de Espana were we took many pictures and rowed around the mini river in our very own (rented) rowboats. You can assume that we were singing Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat (round form)," and other boat/ship related songs the entire time. We eventually went back to the hotel to freshen up and hang out for a bit. I had also been in contact with a woman who studied abroad in Segovia five years ago. She is here in Spain and was in Sevilla that same  weekend. That night Michelle and I went to tapas with her and her friend, Angie and then danced the night away! I was really glad to meet up with them and hear their stories. They are also coming to Segovia next weekend!

On Sunday we left Sevilla at about ten in the morning and drove to Cordoba which was three hours away. We had free time for lunch and then we toured the famous mezquita/catedral. This establishment began as a Mosque and then during the Spanish Inquisition was converted into a cathedral which is how we find it today. After exploring cool red-and-white-striped arc after cool red-and-white-striped arc we climbed into the bus one last time, Segovia bound! We arrived in Segovia around 9:30 and I went home, had dinner, discovered that I lost my cell phone battery and went to bed!


This week has been rainy but still very much enjoyable here in Segovia. Too many people in my opinion have been mentioning how many days we have left in Spain and frankly I don't want to know. All I know is that it is much much much too soon! Also, the Spanish seem to celebrate every single other saint's day but for some reason not St. Patrick's day. That didn't stop us from making our own party and last night was quite enjoyable, today's early morning being quite the opposite. Tonight I am staying in to begin some of my final papers, clean my room and pack my backpack for our overnight trip to Toledo tomorrow. Until next time, much love!