Weekend in Sevilla!

So this weekend 14 of us took the train to Sevilla (about 2 hours from Cadiz) to spend the weekend. It is such a gorgeous city! I'll throw up some pictures tomorrow, but it was really incredible. They have the 3rd largest cathedral in the world (also the biggest gothic cathedral in the world) and it is just incredible. I got a few pictures of it, however my camera died because I didn't charge it enough. Oh well, memories will have to suffice. The city in general is very different from Cadiz. Going from small windy streets where everything is 4 stories tall to big, wide streets with streetcars passing through and soaring cathedral spires. Truly impressive. We also visited the Alcazar, which is like a monarchical military palace. Probably one of my favorite places we went to. Everything is a huge mix of cultures and building styles. Once again, pictures to come. Everything on the first level is built in a Moorish style with all of the geometric patterns, because Islamic builders were not allowed to depict anything living. But as you climb up into the palace, there is massive portraits and murals covering all the walls, reflecting the later Spanish renaissance influence. Overall a gorgeous place with 3 times as much garden as building, filled with fountains and orange trees. Our hostel was called "Hostal Picasso", as some of the other hostels were called Van Gogh, etc. For only 16€ for 2 nights it was a bargain. The beds were clean (except for my cover sheet *shudder*), there was a bathroom in each of the rooms, and it had a free breakfast and a rooftop porch. We met some of the other people staying in our hostel and went out with them the first night, and after waiting until around 2 to go to the discotecas, we arrived only to be told that we had on the wrong shoes. Haha, evidently green soccer shoes do not fit with the dress code. No pasa nada, we still had quite a time amongst ourselves. Ok, and the FOOD. It was amazing. We asked the woman who worked at the front desk for a good, cheap place to eat, and she directed us to the Taverna Colonial, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of the weekend. Great food at a great price! 4 tapas and 2 drinks for 12€ for two people. Two nights of that give you high hopes of what to expect when you get home. ;) Ciao!

Newsies

So the trip to Stockholm is planned! A little awkward and incomodo, but other than that, I'm very excited! Not a whole lot going on today, school as usual, was a little tedious. Especially when it is 9am, and the profe has given us a list of things describing a type of literature, and then proceeds to ask us what tenets describe this certain type of literature. They are right in front of us. Why give us the list and then ask what they are....??? The sun the sun!!! It is here, however, its coooooold. Still wool coat weather. I'm glad that I packed a lot of sweaters! In other news, salsa class has started, which will be a lot of fun, even though the room that we practice in has a slight hint of vomit to it. We get to practice our skills at Le Monde tonight, so that is definitely something to look forward to. Well, off to lunch, buy train tickets, and siesta. ;) Ciao!

School has begun.

So, we have actually started real school! Haha, finally right?
Thus far, the classes do not look terribly hard. At all. ;) However, everything is in Spanish, the professors do not speak a word of English, and we don't have any full bilingual students, so it will still be a challenge. I am very excited for my Spanish Lit class though. It focuses on the formation of Spanish literature and cinema since the beginning on the 18th century, up until modern day, which is awesome because our profe is choosing to focus on artists like Lorca, Dalí, Picásso, and schools of thought like Surrealism etc. Very interesting stuff, considering, this is the nation where all of these ideas and artists were born. In other news, a trip to Stockholm has been planned! The original plan was to be laying on the beach in Las Palmas de las Gran Canarias for the second half of Carnival, however, flights and accommodations are a little scarce this time of year, and pricey, so we are going to go visit Shane's friend in Sweden! I figure, I've never been, Shane's never been, why not?! The weather lately has been AWFUL. I am currently wearing a wool coat and a zip up sweater. Inside. It looked like a monsoon was hitting the peninsula last night, and it did the same this morning. I can only hope for a quick turnaround. Because I plan on it being beach season by the time it's February 10th. ;) ¡Hasta mañana!

Spain hates Facebook.

I, on the other hand, LOVE Facebook. This is making my stay here very difficult. Haha.
The computers that are free to use in the UCA (University of Cádiz) will let you look at everything on Facebook, however you can't post anything or update things. Annoying yes? And with my computer recently deciding to not use the battery that is inside of it, it makes searching around for wifi a little difficult if I have to remain plugged into a wall. In other news, I feel like I have risen from the dead. I spent the ENTIRE weekend in my bed with the shades and door closed with the covers over my head feeling literally, the worst I have ever felt. Evidently I do not have immunities to crazy European stomach flus. I have regained a little bit of my appetite, although not much, which has my Spanish mamá very worried, but I eat what I can. Also, today is the first day of real school, but I have a feeling that the whole week will be more like syllabus week. I HOPE. Getting over this sickness has basically sucked out all my energy, so having to sit through grammar, literature, history, and writing classes everyday seems a daunting task. I'm hoping that I will be back up to par by this weekend because we are headed to Sevilla! Can't wait! ¡Hasta mañana!

In the land of palm trees and sunshine... ;)
YEAH RIGHT.

If only things were better...

So, at the moment, things are not super awesome. Sick with some weird bug, my computer is dying, I can't upload pictures... guh. Other than that, it is nice to be done with grammar school, because 4 hours of that a day is TEDIOUS. I don't want to do grammar exercises ever again. Too bad I will start them again on monday. HA. I'm waiting for a little more sun, because today it literally poured. The stairwell of my building was leaking and dripping all over the place, because in Andalucia, why fix the broken window, it's always sunny! We will hopefully be planning a trip to Sevilla next weekend, so we'll see how that goes. Ciao.

I've arrived!

So I figured that this would be easier to do so that I can just update this and let everyone know what I'm up to, instead of having to tell everyone individually in a city where I have to go sit in the middle of the plaza to get wifi. ;) I'm hoping that I can upload all my pictures here and then everyone will be able to see them, because Facebook is not cooperating currently, but it might just be my internet connection. Let the Adventure begin!