Emma in Seville

Sorry for posting back to back, but the cool thing about this post is that I’m actually writing it immediately after it happened (Not to brag, or anything XD).

Basically, our school sets aside a week at the end of October/beginning of November with no classes so we can take a lager trip if we want. Upon realizing this months ago, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: go to Paris. Until these past four days, I had been to France twice briefly, but never Paris. And I didn’t care that it was probably over-hyped; I had to go to Paris, if for no other reason than to put my five years of French to allegedly good use.

And, well, I finally went. I can say in all honestly that even though it was incredible and a great experience, it made me love Spain even more. But more on that later.

Our first day there we got to the airport at 10am, but couldn’t check into our airbnb until 3pm. This was not the smartest idea, but, being young and full of idealism, we thought our bodies wouldn’t have any problem with lugging our stuff around Paris for a few hours. Well, the first thing we underestimated was the size of Paris and that CDG airport was over 7 hours walking distance from our airbnb. Needless to say, we took the train in. However (remember, young and full of idealism), we purposefully got off about 2 hours from our airbnb so we could walk through the city and linger until check-in started. About 30 minutes into our trek, we realized backpacks and other luggage paraphernalia weigh more when you know you have 1 1/2 hours to go, your neck and back hurt, and a weird muscle in your ankle feels sprained because you decided to break in new shoes in Paris. It ended up working out, though, because we got to our airbnb exactly at check in time.

After going grocery shopping for dinner and breakfast the next day, we booked it over to the Louvre because on Fridays from 6-9:45pm, anyone under 26 gets in free.

Get ready for some art…

You might be thinking, what about the Mona Lisa??

The second day, we essentially went on a “how many Parisian landmarks can we see in one day after leaving the apartment at 11am?” expedition. Here are the results:

The Luxembourg Gardens:

Champs Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe:

And finished it off at the Sacre Coeur Basilica for sunset:

The next day I went to Versailles with one other group member:

Later that evening, we hit up what was by far the most memorable part of the trip for me and the one thing that really lived up to the hype: the Eiffel Tower!! I can say it’s absolutely incredible at night, and just such an impressive structure.

We went up to the second level, but I don’t have pictures because they really didn’t do it justice. But the best part was when they turned on the twinkling lights as they do every hour on the hour for about five minutes, and we were standing on the second floor overlooking Paris with the tower blinking behind us. Genuinely magical.

Our last day in Paris can be summed up in one phrase: TREAT YO SELF.

After three days of hardcore budgeting and eating pasta and cheese, we took a chill last day and ate out for all three meals. And I have absolutely no regrets about it. On top of that, I met up with a friend from George Fox who’s studying abroad in Paris, and she took me to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore where (under minimal persuasion to which I easily caved), I bought a lovely little poetry anthology (and it’s very good 🙂 ). It was 18 euros, but hey, it’s stamped to prove it came from Shakespeare and Company so I say worth it.

All in all, a wonderful trip that got my Parisian-wannabe jitters out. And yes, Paris is lovely. But it’s also hard. Hard to feel comfortable in a city so big, hard to feel energized when every conversation is in a language I can’t really speak anymore, hard to feel welcomed in city-hardened crowds when all you can think about are the loud and bubbly Spanish streets back in Sevilla. I loved Paris, and I suppose I would return. But over these past few days, I realized just how much more I belong in Spain. Either way, merci beaucoup, Paris 🙂

About two and a half weeks ago, I went to Portugal with both my roommates and another friend. After only a 4 hour bus ride, we were in another country surrounded by a language that reads like drunk Spanish and sounds like Spanish in a French accent (aka, Portuguese), colorful and cute houses everywhere, and a cloudy sky that was to dissipate within our stay.

After checking in to our airbnb, the first thing we did was head to the beach. When in Lagos, right? It was cloudy, windy, and cold, but still absolutely gorgeous. And I may or may not have jumped in, despite having a cold and four exams the coming week.

The next day we set out to explore the city before heading to the again. Here are some snapshots of Lagos during a prettier day:

The last day, we had to check out of our airbnb at 10am, but didn’t have our bus leave until 5pm. After checking out, we head (surprise!) to the beach one last time (a different one though, there are like 8 major beaches in Lagos):

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After saying a final goodbye to Portuguese beaches, we went to the center in search of food. After almost entering several restaurants, we eventually decided on one that looked good and relatively cheap, and I am so glad we did. Not only was the food fantastic and inexpensive and a street magician came by and performed while we ate, we had a very nice waiter with whom we had a great conversation. The coolest part? He didn’t speak English or Spanish, only Portuguese. I ended up talking to him in Spanish, and he would respond in Portuguese, but we understood each other perfectly. Not only was it an encouraging moment of language proficiency, but a beautiful moment of being able to communicate with someone I otherwise, without Spanish and French, wouldn’t have been able to. It made me very thankful for the ability to learn languages and the rewards of doing so. Now our group has a Portuguese friend, and I still keep in touch with him over social media (and learning Portuguese little by little 🙂 ).

All in all, a wonderful weekend that I would love to repeat.

Here is it: the long-awaited and FAR overdue (I’m sorry) update on my class trip to Toledo! This was a two day trip in which we stayed in an average hotel with the absolute best breakfast of my life. But more on that later.

The only rough part of those days? The 7 hour bus ride with one rest stop. But our patience was rewarded when we pulled in to this yellow/brown town in the middle of roughly nowhere and drove into its increasingly-narrow streets edged with curtain-covered doorways. I wasn’t quite sure why we were there: it definitely wasn’t Toledo. But as we rounded a corner, and we all looked up to the hills, there stood a group of windmills (molinos): the famous windmills of la Mancha, the inspiration behind the famous battle between Don Quixote and the magical giants in disguise.

After this stop, we headed (at last, but a little sadly) to Toledo. Upon arriving, I had two hours to eat, get rid of a massive headache (one rest stop = drinking almost no water = headache ), and prep for our visit to a church to see the most famous painting by El Greco: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures, but here is a poor-quality image I pulled off Google:

After this, we went to a monastery with a beautiful cloister and church.

After this, we took a bus ride that gave us an across-the-river view of Toledo. And, well, I forgot to take a picture. However, I can guarantee you it was lovely as all get out, and here is a conciliatory view from one of the bridges:

After this, they sent us off to see the sights and eat dinner on our own. So, naturally, I got ice cream in the center with two friends (P.S.: snickers is the best gelato flavor). But after a month of so of eating fried foods for main meals, our bodies were craving an overload of fruits and vegetables. So, for dinner, I went with three friends to Carrefour Express, bought every healthy thing we could lay our hands on, and had a feast on a bench while the cutest 2-3 year-old in the world (not even kidding) put on a show for us with his itty bitty tricycle. While I do not have a picture of the kid, here is my friend’s instagram story from that night, featuring our happy, happy faces.

After a wonderful night’s sleep, we started bright and early the next day to see the Cathedral of Toledo. It is not as big as the one in Seville, but still incredibly impressive with architecture and artwork ranging in styles from throughout the centuries. Because apparently, with the coming a new archbishop, parts of the cathedral could be destroyed/taken down and reconstructed with a new style more fitting to the archbishop’s tastes. As a result, the cathedral has everything from Muslim (minimal) to Gothic to Baroque styles.

After this visit we were free to spend our last few hours in Toledo as we wished. There being a zipline that stretches across the river that you can take for only 10 Euros, there seemed to be no better way than to close off the trip.

Hola hola! Long time no write! The last two weeks have been relatively uneventful due to exams and the need to relax for an insane month of travel ahead of me, but I completely forgot I hadn’t updated on my school’s trip to Córdoba!

TCCSevilla organizes three class trips, and one of which is to Córdoba. It happened on Friday, so we were blessed with not only a three day weekend, but a trip to start it off. After a two hour bus ride, we filed off the bus to be greeted by a run-down 14th century water mill that’s home to a family of Siamese cats (one of which you can see peeping out from a crevice in the photo below).

A little further down the road, we came across a 2,000 year-old Roman bridge (on which later that day I would perform the Macarena dance with my roommate to the tune from a happy, accordion playing street musician).

We then made our way to the Mesquita-Catedral de Córdoba, an originally Muslim mesquite whose center is converted into a Catholic cathedral upon the reconquest of Spain. The religious and architectural fusions make for a stunning visit:

After our visit to the Mesquita-Catedral, we roamed the streets of Córdoba until we came to a place where could eat our bocadillos, made with love by our wonderful señoras.

And thus concludes our day trip to Córdoba! That was the main update, but here are some other fun things I was up to in between exams:

In other news, I also just completed the second school trip to Toledo these last two days, but this is more than enough for one post, so I will include the details in my next post. Hasta luego amigos!

This was our first week of classes, and I am already learning so much. Our teachers are amazing, and I am having an especially good time in grammar class (of course I would, though).

But on top of learning that you can NEVER use “cuál” before a noun (crazy, right?), I’ve also learned that it pays to become a regular at a café bar. Ordering at Spanish bars has been the most embarrassing venture of mine to date because something always goes wrong: I stumble over every word and confuse them, they ask questions I am not anticipating and have no idea how to respond (today, they asked me if I wanted my order of a café con leche and a napolitana “cubierto” which means “covered”. No? I mean, why would I need it covered if it’s not to go? Anyone with insight please let me know XD), or I just manage to something that causes an aura of “HEY LOOK AN AMERICAN” to surround me. But I am *finally* adjusting to the café/bar culture, and have made my presence known and appreciated at several locations.

This whole week, I took the hour break between my first and second class to pop around the corner to Café Bar Santo, a one minute venture from the doors of the university, where I was determined to become a regular. The first day, I received curt, disinterested service without a smile. This is very common, as the people who work there don’t view it as necessary to feign interest for a customer they’ve never seen before, who is obviously a foreigner, and therefore they will probably never see again.

At first this was frustrating, because every place I went I received unfriendly service, and I had never experienced this on the regular. But now, I actually see it as better, because now I know that every time they smile at me, it is because they are genuinely happy to see me.

So I persevered. The second day, the interactions were still short and stiff, but I was still determined to present myself as more than an American just passing through.

So the 3rd day, I asked the wonderful receptionist and regular at Café Bar Santo, Anna Bello, at TCCSevilla if she would have breakfast with me there. As soon as we walked up to the bar, they greeted her with smiles and excitement and looked at me with an expression that said “Wow, she knows Anna Bello. She must be alright”. I ordered a café con leche and a “media” (half a regular serving of bread) with “aceite, tomate, y jamón serrano”. They gave us our café con leche in large mugs instead of small, tall, glass shotglasses, and placed a bonus cookie on the saucer. Essentially, it was the royal treatment of cafés. After a lovely breakfast and conversation, I left feeling confident about going the next morning.

And the next morning, I was greeted with a smile. When asked my order, she said “Hola cariño, qué quieres?” (Hey love, what do you want?) Incredibly happy about the development, I drank my café con leche actually excited to return the next day.

And the fifth day, Friday, and my last appearance before the weekend, I had the best experience yet. As I left, they said, “Hasta luego” (Until later). Knowing that they now knew I would come back and wanted me to warmed my heart.

It’s the little things like this that have been the most satisfying of my first full week in Spain. All I did was order 5 café con leche and one media, but I proved myself to a small group of Spaniards who now like me and can count on my business. And it’s genuine, because as I learned the first few days, they won’t feign friendliness just because you’re a customer.

But of course, this is not the only wonderful thing that happened this week. Among hundreds, some highlights are knowing how to get to many important landmarks/locations in Sevilla without Google maps, developing a joking relationship with my host family, developing deeper friendships with my roommates and others in the program, boating around Plaza de España, getting ice cream 3 times, going to the beach in Cádiz, visiting the Plaza de América and getting bombarded by adorable pigeons, figuring out the bike system and getting SWOLE quads and calfs, getting a tan (perhaps the most incredible of them all), and going to a Jazz bar where I heard some of the best live music I have ever heard. Scroll down to see some pictures of these adventures!

Tonight, I am wrapping up my 5th day in Spain, and my 4th full day. TCCSevilla (the name of the institution I am studying with) has been keeping us VERY busy. I’m not even sure what to write here, because if I wrote everything, this would be pages long. But I can say that I am SO happy.

Spain is the country that has always been and I think always will be on my heart and mind. To actually be here again, to be eating tapas, to be “tomando siestas”, to be walking EVERYWHERE with perpetual blisters, to be surrounded by my favorite language ever….I’m falling in love all over again.

Because of this, the non-stop activities haven’t drained me as I expected them to. Just to name a few, we took Culture 101 (a class where they told us all the most important cultural differences and how to act/look less like a “guiri” [foreigner]”, we took a 2 hour tour of the city, we participated in a “gincana” (scavenger hunt) and our group won (!), we went out for tapas “ir de tapas”, we went shopping for clothes to fit in with the VERY classy Spaniards, and we’ve eaten delicious foods prepared with love by my very kind and funny host parents.

The people in my program are wonderful, we’ve shared so many laughs and struggles already, and I’m so excited to see where the semester will bring us.

Classes start tomorrow, and hopefully by the end of the week I will have learned tons of fascinating things and have learned how to properly order in a bar or cafe without sounding too much like a “guiri”.

If you are wondering anything specific about my adventures this weekend please feel free to comment or message in whatever way you can:)

Hasta luego…

It’s 3:38pm, I am sitting in a dingy, funny-smelling airport Starbucks watching an unidentified breed of flies scuttle across the counter in front of me, and mentally prepping myself for the 9 hours of waiting I still have until my 12:15 a.m. flight to Chicago.

Why am I so early to my first flight of my travels? Because my parents, getting a head-start on their retirement plans, decided to book a flight to Tennessee that leaves at 5pm, meaning we all had to get to the airport by 2. For me, however, this means waiting 5 hours in the *boring* side of the airport since I can’t check my bag until 8:15, and I can’t go through security to get to the *fun* side of the airport until I check my bag.

Hence, the reason why I am half way through a surprisingly flavorless 12oz s’mores frappuccino (but this is not a complaint, having only gotten 4 hours of sleep last night [packing + nerves], I am just psyched about having caffeine) and am on my second rewrite of this blog post because, hey, I quite literally have nothing better to do.

And for anyone curious about my travel plans to get to Spain, I am flying into Chicago O’Hare where I will meet the other members of the Semester in Spain program. From there, we will fly to Madrid and then from Madrid to Seville, all as a group.

I am so excited for all the traveling, but at the same time, the next 48 hours can not go fast enough. España, vengo por ti!!

(P.S. I will always have a cover photo for these blog posts, just a little quirk of mine is I cannot have a complete post without one. So even though it’s not very aesthetic or interesting, please enjoy this meta-fictional photo of my view as I type this. If you look closely, you can see one of the flies.)

This blog is for anyone wanting to keep up with travels this semester as I study abroad in Seville, Spain. I will try to post once a week with updates on what I’ve been up to, how I’m doing, and what I’m learning. Stay tuned!