Bueno, Chicos.. Esto es Africa- MARRUECOS

This past weekend my program took us to Morocco!!! FOR FREE! (Well, I guess we paid for it indirectly through our program fee, but let's not think about that).  Anyways, to get to Morocco from Sevilla, it is a 2 hour bus ride to the port, a 1 hour boat ride, and about an hour to Tetuán- the first city in Africa that we visited.  Below is a picture of me and my friends Alyssa and Julia on the ferry.  The ride was EXTREMELY rocky.  Unfortunately, many people felt seasick from this trip.  Luckily, I was not one of them!  It was so funny watching people get up from their seats and try to walk to the bathroom.  They could not walk in a straight line whatsoever and kept running into things.  

After waiting for about an hour to cross the border and get all of our passports stamped, we were taken to la Escuela Taller de Teuán which is a school that teaches different artisan trades such as woodworking, painting, metalworking, and sewing.  The students start working there when they are about 12 years old, and many of them become professors later in life.  After our tour, we had lunch, which consisted of Kabobs and Couscous.  In Morocco, they also drink tea about 109348920 times a day, so we also drank a lot of that!

After lunch we were taken to exchange our euros for dirhams.  Normally 1 euro= 11 dirhams, and most people took out 50 euros worth of dirhams.  Then we went on a long tour of the markets of Tetuán and saw a lot of things that we Americans were DEFINITELY not used to seeing.  For example, see the picture below...

 There was a ton of raw meat being sold on the streets of Tetuán and most of it was covered in flies and the market was super dirty.  Can't say that many of us enjoying seeing this, but it was definitely an eye-opening experience.  Tetuán is not a very well-off city, and many people are work at the markets to make money for their families.  Our programs directors told not to drink the tap water during our trip and my Señora told me not to eat any raw vegetables (because they are washed in the tap water).  This ended up being pretty difficult because we were served delicious-looking salads as an appetizer to one meal, and fresh fruit for every dessert.  I was too scared to eat either of these since my señora told me that some of her previous students had gotten sick from it.  And it turns out several people did end up getting sick, but I was perfectly fine.  I guess my señora knows best!

The next day we woke up early and took the bus to Tánger.  This city was much more commercialized and modern than Tetuán.  There we took a tour of a Coca-Cola bottling factory.  On the left is a picture of me getting ready to enter the factory! (Note- Please ignore the scary look in my eyes.  I tried to delete the red-eye with my iPhoto, but it just made me look more possessed hahahha).

This tour was actually one of my absolute favorite parts of the weekend!  It was so interesting to see how much goes into a product that people normally would not think twice about when they buy it.  I have worked with many areas of the supply chain between working for Target and Kimberly-Clark, but this was one aspect that I had never really seen before.  I am also taking an Operations class in Sevilla and it was interesting to see how the different things that we have learned apply to such a major company.


After the tour, we went to las Cuevas de Hércules (the Caves of Hercules), which were located about 14 kilometers outside of Tánger.  Apparently, this is the place where Hercules rested after finishing his 12 tasks (I'm not really one for mythology, but I think that's the story!).  Also, I now I have "la suerte de Hercules" (the luck of Hercules), because I touched the water inside the cave.  Woohoo!

These caves are located right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.  Below is a picture of me outside the cave, really excited to be in Morocco!

After spending some time at the ocean, we were hopped on the bus again and told we were going to go ride camels.  This was really fun!  The wind was unbelievably strong though, which not only meant major hair issues, but also a fear of being blown of the camel!  We got a few good laughs out of this.

After our time with the camels, we went to the Tanger School of Business for an intercambio with Moroccan students.  Since Tánger is such an advanced city for Morocco, it didn't look too different from a University in the United States.  There weren't as many computers and such, but the students pretty much followed the same schedules as us American students.  It was cool to hang out with the Moroccan students for a bit though!

Later we were given some free time to do some shopping.  In Morocco, prices in stores are not set in stone.  You have to haggle with the store owners until you come to an agreement on a price.  This was actually really fun for me! (Is anyone surprised?)  I was trying to bargain with one store owner in Spanish and I was trying to push a super low price.  He even asked me if I was born in Africa because I wouldn't give into his price!  Everything was super cheap though, so in the end I gave into his offer because we had to get going and other customers were waiting.  Still fun though!

That day I bought a Betis jersey for about 8 euros- which would cost about 80 euros in Sevilla (Betis is one of the two major soccer teams of Sevilla).  Me and Rebekah's Spanish friends support Betis rather than Sevilla, so we decided that Betis was going to be our favorite team too!  (Also, they did not sell Sevilla jerseys in Morocco for some reason, so that also played a role in our decision to support Betis).  I can't wait to go to a game!  I also got 2 pairs of earrings and some sort of "magical" lipstick that changes with your skin tone (that Naomi wanted me to buy for her).

The next day we took a 2 hour bus-ride South to Chaouen.  The route to Chaouen was breathtaking.  We were literally driving up and down the mountains on winding roads.  Our bus driver was kind of a scary driver though so this was not fun at all times... but thankfully I survived to tell this story.

Once we got to Chaouen, we took a long tour of the pueblo.  All of the doors are painted blue and it is in the middle of the mountains.  It was one of the coolest cities I have ever seen!  There is nothing even close to Chaouen in the U.S.

After our tour we were given a couple more hours of free time to shop and I bought a scarf and some Moroccan tea.  I only spent a total of about 25 euros the entire weekend, so it was a successful shopping trip!

After lunch, we started the long journey back home to Sevilla. Since we kept moving farther South, away from Sevilla, our return trip took a lot longer- about 7 hours!  Needless to say we were all exhausted when we got back.  It was a great trip, and I'm getting excited to go to the London this Thursday!

Córdoba, Lejana y Sola.

YES!! I finally get to write about Córdoba- the place that the poem in my first blog entry is about!  Woohoo!

So anyways, my program took us to Córdoba, Spain, which is about an hour and a half drive from Sevilla.  Córdoba is known for "La Mezquita," which is a massive mosque in the center of the city.  La Mezquita has parts of a Roman temple, a Muslim mosque, and a Christian church, and is seen as a symbol of harmony between the three religions. On the left is a picture of me and my friend, Kristen inside la Mezquita.

After the mosque, we visited one of the oldest synagogues in Spain.  It was not too exciting, but still cool to see!  After that we went to the Christian royal castle, which was surrounded by beautiful gardens.  Southern Spain literally has the best gardens in the world!

After several hours of touring these different historical sites, we were given some free time.  Since we were all exhausted from the tour and having to wake up early to get there, we decided to just go to a café and get ice cream.  We were able to sit outside in the sun and enjoy the weather.  A great way to end the day!

Carbs on Carbs on Carbs- París!

Hola familia y amigos!  I'm finally writing about my trip to Paris, even though it was 2 weeks ago.  It is hard to find time to blog with all of the trips I have been going on!

Our flight to Paris left at 7:00 AM from Sevilla so we had to wake up at 3:30 AM!  It was crazy!  First we had to walk to the Sevici bike station, then bike to the bus stop, then take a bus to the airport, then fly to Paris, take another bus, and walk to our hostel.  It was quite the travel, but we made it there without any problems.

The first thing we did when we got there, was find a restaurant with crepes for lunch.  I had one with mozzarella, tomatoes, black olives, and ham.  Yes, I now eat (and enjoy) tomatoes!  Crazy how that happens.  That day we met up with one of my best friends, Bailey.  She is studying in Paris this semester and it was so good to see her!  She is pretty much fluent in French and she was such a great guide!  We first went to the Louvre.  It was awesome to see the Mona Lisa, Napoleon's Apartments, and Venus de Milo.  It made me want to read the DaVinci Code again!  Here is a picture with me and the Mona Lisa...

We then went to a super fancy restaurant/café thing called Angelina's.  Bailey recommended it because the hot chocolate is super famous.  We bought hot chocolate and although it was pretty pricey, it was the best hot chocolate EVER.  It was extremely rich and served with whipped cream.  So goood.

The next day we took the metro back downtown and bought some sandwiches and ate them down by the river.  After that we took a 4 hour FREE walking tour and it was awesome!  We learned a lot about the history of a lot of different places like Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Locks Bridge, the Latin Quarter, Pont Neuf, Palais Royal, the Louvre, Tuileries Gardens, Napoleon's Tomb, and pretty much every other famous landmark in Paris.

Then we went shopping on the Champs-Elysées (I think that is spelled right?).  My friend Carly, who is studying abroad in London was also in Paris working at fashion week, so she met up with us!  Here is a picture of me and Carly in front of the Arc de Tiomphe, which is at the end of the Champs-Elysées...

We also went to Galeries Lafayette, which is a super famous shopping mall in Paris.  It was really cool to see, but all of the clothes were WAY out of price range to do any shopping.  Maybe someday? Haha


That night for dinner we went to a cute pizzeria and the waiters loved us for some reason.  One of the waiters didn't even speak any English so every time he wanted to say something to us, he just said "hi!... hi!... hi!...."  It was pretty funny.  They also made us heart-shaped pizzas and kept calling us their girlfriends.  

After that we went to the Eiffel tower to see it light up!  It also sparkles every hour on the hour for 5 minutes after 6:00 pm.  Here is a picture of me and Rebekah in front of the tower...

The next day we woke up early and went back to the Eiffel Tower to climb to the top.  We chose to walk up the stairs to save money, and it was quite the work out!  We were really lucky we decided to go there first thing in the monring, because there was a huge line by the time we came down!

After that we decided we needed to take a break for some chocolate crepes.  Literally one of the best things I have ever eaten in my entire life!  We definitely ate our fair share of bakery items as well- including chocolate croissants and eclairs.

In the afternoon, Bailey took us around to places we had not yet seen, including the inside of the Notre Dame.  That was cool to see- the stained glass is beautiful!  I was hoping to see Quasimodo, but he never made an appearance.  It was also Carnival in Paris that weekend, so there were a bunch of people dressed in costumes right outside!

After that we went to Montmartre.  We got off the subway and we were in front of the Moulin Rouge!  Cool to see, even though I remember not liking that movie.  Then we climbed up the winding, village-like streets of Montmatre until we got to the highest point of Paris.  At the top is the Basilique duSacre Coeur.  Everyone was just sitting on the hill, listening to this guy singing and playing the guitar.  It felt like I was at the Union in the summertime!  That night we made dinner at Bailey's apartment because we felt kind of sick from all the baked goods we had eaten that day.

I would definitely have to say that Paris was one of my absolute favorite cities so far!  I would love to go back someday!

Granada

Wow I have not been keeping up with my blog!  Sorry fam and friends!  We had midterms this past week and it was the first stressful/not fun week I have had since being here.  I had 4 midterms in two days and it was absolute craziness.  I probably shouldn't have gone to Paris the weekend before, but you only live once, right?

So in this entry I'm going to tell you about our trip to Granada.  This trip was planned and paid for by my program so the travel was completely stress-free and easy.  It was about a two hour bus ride.  When we got there, we had a buffet lunch at the hotel.  This was pretty much the first time we have ever gotten to pick what food we wanted to eat in Spain!  It was nice for a change.

After lunch we visited la Alhambra (which is Granada's biggest attraction).  It is a massive palace and fortress.  It was so beautiful.  It is up on the top of hill, so the views of the city below were incredible.  On the left is a picture of me inside the palace.  I recommend going there for sure if any of you ever have the chance to come to Spain!

After that we had free time and we were able to explore the city on our own.  We went and got some café con leche (coffee with milk- the typical midday drink in Spain). Afterwards me and a group of girls decided to go shopping because Granada is known for their little, family-owned stores.  Everything was so cheap and looked like it was straight out of Art Gecko in Madison.  I bought a some scarves, a super cool mirror, and some mosaic plates.  Hopefully they make it home to the U.S. alright!



 Here is a picture of Granada, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background....

That night our program leaders gave each of us ten euros to spend on tapas (appetizers).  With every drink that you order in a bar in Granada, it is required to give the customer a free tapa.  The tapas were absolutely AMAZING!  My favorite was zucchini that was fried and dipped in some sort of sweet sauce.  It somehow tasted like French toast! Sooooooo good.

After that, everyone in the group went to a discoteca.  We were all out until 5:00 AM- early to come home in Spain!  Even the program leaders came out with us!  So funny!  We were not very happy campers when we had to wake up at 7:30 though.

The next day we went on a tour of one of famous neighborhoods in Granada.  We stopped at a monastery that sells baked goods through a weird door thing.  The nuns aren't allowed to show their faces to their customers and are forbidden to ever leave the monastery.  I could not imagine!  Me and my friends bought some muffins and they were so delicious.

Here is a picture of my friend Katie with the muffin door....

Oh, by the way, here is a picture of my future house...

After walking around the neighborhood for a bit, we visited la Capilla Real, which is the church where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried!  They were buried there because this was the last city that they had to conquer.  That was really cool to see, since we learned so much about them in Western Civ in high school. 

I absolutely LOVED Granada.  It was such a typical Spanish city, filled with culture.  I would love to go back someday.  Tomorrow I'm going to Córdoba!  So excited.  I still need to blog about Paris though too, so more to come soon!

Pizza, Pizza, Pasta... ITALIA

¡Hola a todos! Two weekends ago I went to Italy with my friends Rebekah, Kristen, and Yessica.  We started out in Rome, then went to Florence, Monterosso (Cinque Terre), and Pisa.  IT WAS AMAZING.

We flew into Rome on Thursday and when we got there it was pretty late and almost all of the restaurants were closed.  We are getting way too used to the schedule in Spain, where everything is open super late!  After a lot of walking, we finally stumbled upon a cute little restaurant that was decked out in pink.  That night we had the BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE.  The cheese was sooooo good and it was cooked to perfection.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!  The picture definitely doesn't do it justice.  Some people have even told me that it looks gross.  But I will always remember how good it was!

The next day we took a tour of the Colosseum, which I definitely can place in the top 3 coolest places I have ever been to in my life.   All of ancient Rome is breathtaking.  I definitely recommend going there if you haven't been!

After that we got some gelato and went to the Trevi Fountain.  I threw in a coin so I know I will be back one day!  Also one of the coolest places I have ever been to!

Then we went to the Spanish steps and were just sitting there relaxing when a street vendor selling flowers came up to the group of guys next to us (who happened to be Spanish) and tried to get them to buy flowers for us.  It was funny because he introduced us and we hung out with them for the rest of the night.  One of them is studying in Rome this semester and the others were visiting him from Granada.  It was fun to talk in Spanish again even though we were in Italy!






Below is a picture of us with our new Spanish friends at the Colosseum.

That night we ate at another amazing restaurant and someone recommended the pasta pictured below to me.  I don't remember what it was called but it was a creme sauce with pepper and it was so good!  Good thing I'm not studying in Italy, because the food there was way too amazing!  We ended up eating pizza, pasta, and gelato all 5 days that we were there.  YUMMMMMM

The next day we took a tour of Vatican City.  We learned that the City is actually its own country and does not pay any taxes to the Italian government.  Every tourist dollar spent in Vatican City, stays in Vatican city.  It is one of the richest places in the world.  We also saw the Sistine Chapel and the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo.  SOOOOOO COOL! After that, we went to St. Peter's Basilica and climbed 551 steps to the top.  The walls start closing in on you as you get closer to the top, so it was kind of scary and claustrophobic but rewarding once we reached the top.

The next day we went to Florence and we walked around the city for a bit and my camera somehow got water in the lens.  I was freaking out because I thought it was ruined and not only would I have to buy a knew one, but I would have missed out on so many photo opportunities!  After awhile it tried out and I was once again a very happy camper.

In Florence we went to the Uffizi Gallery and saw the Birth of Venus and the Primavera by Botticelli.  We never made it to the Statue of David, but we at least saw a Replica.


We also decided to do a little bit of shopping there because it was kind of cold and rainy and because Florence is known for its fashion!  I ended up buying a shirt at Zara (even though it is a Spanish chain), but I love Spain with all my heart and soul hahaha so I thought it was OK.

The next day we went to a small town called Monterosso, which is in Cinque Terre, Italy.  It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to but it was absolutely a ghost town.  Almost nothing was open because it was the off-season.  We had no idea that it was going to be absolutely deserted when we got there.  We also did not know what to do with our free time there because none of the shops were open and there were only a few restaurants.  We did end up going on a hike through the mountains and were able to see the different towns of Cinque Terre from the top.   So pretty!

The next day our flight home was out of Pisa.  We had just enough time to go to the leaning tower and snap a few pics!  It was such an awesome place.  I wish we would have had time to go up to the top of it, but I guess that just means I will have to come back another day.

This past weekend I went to Granada with my program but I haven't had time to blog about that either! I promise I will soon!  And I leave for Paris in less than 2 days too.  So excited!!!  The only thing that is raining on my parade right now is that I have midterms next week.  School has not seemed real here until now.  I am actually learning a lot because all of my classes are in Spanish and they are very interactive.  I love it here!