Aracena adventure

The excitement of this weekend was that I went with 3 other friends on a day trip to the city of Aracena.  Aracena is famous for las Grutas de Maravillas - the caves of wonder.  When we got off the bus, we didn't really know what to expect from the city, but it turned out to be the perfect excursion.  The city was pretty small, so we literally stumbled upon the location of the caves.  There was a guided tour of the interior, but the tour guide had a strong sevillano accent (not pronouncing 's' and dropping certain letters).  Wonder is definitely a good adjective to describe the caves, I loved them!  They were the type that are huge cavities in the side of a mountain with lots of mineral deposits that make interesting stalagmites/crystals.  There were also beautiful lakes (big, but not enormous) throughout the different rooms that were made of the clearest water I have ever seen.

Next we learned about Aracena's pride and joy, the Iberian pig, at the Museum of Ham, haha....it was only 1 euro more to see the museum and it was pretty entertaining....and when I say pride and joy, I mean it.  We learned about the importance of raising the pigs correctly to make the best meat. 

After that, we went to try some of the city's ham and other tapas at a local restaurant in the downtown/center of the city.  I thought the tapas were great.  One thing we had that I have also eaten in my homestay is vegetables with scrambled eggs.  To top off the meal we went to a confitería - a sweets shop - that many of the locals had claimed was the best around.  I chose something that looked like it was chocolate, but it ended up being more of a zuccini bread and was delicious.

The last main attraction of the city was a castle/church on the top of the mountain.  We learned that the caves of wonder are actually directly below the castle.  From the top we had a great view of the entire city and surrounding area.

Today I finished off the great weekend by going to mass at the catedral (they used the altar that is completely gold! and right next to the tomb of Christopher Columbus), walking around my neighborhood more (I found a movie theater that plays the new American movies with Spanish voices dubbed over), and going for a run.

Nos vemos,
Elizabeth

Seville Cathedral

Today I toured the Catedral de Sevilla and la Giralda (the cathedral's belltower) and loved it.  The city is very proud of their enormous cathedral because of its rich history.  The cathedral that we see today was actually first a Moorish mosque that was then constructed into a Christian cathedral.  It's overall architecture is Gothic and you can see the influence of both religions throughout the interior and exterior.

* warning: this blog is going to be a lot of history so feel free to skim, haha...I just want to make sure that I remember all of the details when the trip is over

The cathedral is also famous worldwide because it houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus!  (see pic)  ...after Cristóbol Colón died, the Spanish monarchy moved the remains several times.  They were in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for many years until the DR gained independence.  The tomb was then transported back to Spain and the statues holding it represent the different areas of Spanish royalty.

After seeing the interior (each window, pillar, and floor tile was so detailed!), our next move was to climb up La Giralda.  La Giralda a the cathedral's tower that can be seen from practically anywhere in the center of the city.  It's about 30 some stories tall and the view of the city from the top was incredible.  Luckily today was a beautiful day too, with lots of sunshine and the rain held off until I was walking to class.

Speaking of class, my grammar class is going well so far...it's only 2 weeks long, so our mid-term is  tomorrow already.

Hasta luego,
Elizabeth

                 

back to school

The Packers are SUPERBOWL bound!!!  Luckily there are some American bars here that play the football games, so I watched us beat the Bears yesterday with about 50 other kids from our program (they opened up a bigger back room).  It was a fun atmosphere, but I can't believe I'm not gonna be in Wisconsin to watch the Superbowl....everyone needs to have have a fun Superbowl party with lots of delicious appetizers!

Other news is that I found an awesome running path!  I live close to the Guadalquivar River in Sevilla.  It is very large and extends throughout all of Andalusia.  Now I can sightsee while working out, haha.  The bridges crossing the river are very impressive and it is fun to see the local Sevillanos in the parks alongside the path.  There were also some people fishing with huuuuge poles...I was scared to see the size of fish that they would pull out with them.

On Sunday I attended mass at one of the churches near my homestay, Parroquía de San Lorenzo.  All of the churches here are beautiful inside with lots of detailed interiors, tiling, and praying areas.  However, I hardly understood any of the sermon....probably because the vocabulary used were not terms that I am familiar with.  I did get the basic gist of the mass though and thought it was a great experience.

As for today, this afternoon I will hit the books once again.  It was nice to have a week here without classes in order to get adjusted to a new city and lifestyle.  For the next 3 weeks I will have an intensive grammar session and in February I begin my regular classes: 2 literature classes, history of Flamenco, and Spanish for health professions.

Hasta luego,
Elizabeth

I made it!

Hola from España!  I have been in Sevilla for 5 days now and everything is going great!  The program I am here with is called CIEE.  So far we have been busy with activities introducing us to the city and also preparing us to start classes on Monday.  Here are some highlights:

Monday/Tuesday = we stayed in a beautiful hotel (with an awesome balcony) and were put into groups that we would do most of our activities with.  I was lucky enough to be in a group with a great guide – Nacho, a student at the University of Sevilla – and 8 other girls that are super fun and nice…we continue to hang out with each other even though the orientation activities are over.  Most of the day was spent taking a walking tour of the city and learning about the history of Sevilla.  That night we saw an impressive flamenco show.  It was a professional show with a male and female flamenco dancer, a guitarist, and a singer.  Afterwards, we had our first taste of Spanish tapas and sangria.

Wednesday = I moved into my homestay!  My host family consists of a married couple, María Rosa and Óscar.  I learned that my host mom is a flamenco instructor!  She said I will be taking lessons with her and other students…haha, that should be pretty interesting, but I’m super excited for the experience.  We live in the part of the city known as “el centro,” which is the center of the city and a great location.  One thing I need to get used to is the new eating schedule – lunch is at 2:30pm and dinner at 10pm!

Thursday = a TON more exploring.  This time I was with a different group and we competed in a scavenger hunt to find various places throughout the city.  The clues were pretty challenging and definitely not close together (we probably walked a total of 10 miles, well maybe a little less), but it was good to find new places on our own….I know where a couple important places are and general directions, but I still have to whip out my map pretty frequently.

Friday (today) = we visited the ruins of the city Itálica.  Itálica is a historic Roman city close to Sevilla that now consists of remains from a gladiator stadium and Roman houses.  The foundations of the buildings are still standing strong and it is easy to imagine how the city was, even though it was built hundreds of years ago.  My favorite part was seeing the mosaic floors that were in each of the houses with different patterns and significance.

Best news of all, my Spanish is improving already!  That’s all for now.  Remember to stay in touch and update me on your lives as well.  Love you all and miss you.

Besos y abrazos,

Elizabeth