… (and I'm sure there are many), I apologize for not writing in such a long time! I've been slowly updating this for a while, but things have been crazy with my mom and sister coming to visit, midterms, then spring breaks (yes, more than one), then more traveling, and just everything building up and me being too busy to finally catch up and write it all down after having fell behind. And for whatever reason, I didn't post this until I was all caught up...
Soooo it’s almost May already?!? Of course I knew time was going to fly, and me complaining about it is of course a bit cliché, but I can't help but start to think of all the things I will have wanted to do while abroad but didn't, the majority of people I've met that I probably won’t see again, and the Spanish that I've learned that I will unfortunately and inevitably forget as I return to everyday life in the U.S. And as a junior in college, this summer will be my last true summer... ever. Then my last year of undergrad. WTH?! (AKA "what the heck?!", for those of you who aren't up with the computer lingo... and yes, I really mean another word besides "heck").
Alright calm down.
I'll write this blog in "chapters" because it might be easier for all of us. Plus if you don't want to read the whole thing now, you can keep track of what chapter you're on and continue later! Haha. Links to the pictures will be at the end of each chapter, except for the final spring break, which I will only be able to upload later. If any of the links or albums don’t work for whatever reason, let me know.
I’ll try to keep this somewhat short, but I know that probably wont happen…
Chapter 1: Reunion in Madrid
As most of you know, my mom and sister Danielle recently traveled to come visit me in Spain. They got to Madrid a few days before I was able to, but once my week of classes was over, I took the train up to Madrid to meet them there. Right when I saw them I had a huge smile on my face and was extremely happy to see them both. They both had already spent time in Madrid, so I took an abbreviated tour with them around the city, and then went to eat. This meal was an important one, not because it was the first meal we had together in Spain, but because this was the meal where I introduced them to one of Spain's famous tapa dishes, croquetas, which are bite-sized "mini mozzarella sticks," filled with potato and/or cheese and ham or spinach or sometimes fish. I believe we had them with just about every meal we ate from then on.
Also in Madrid we toured the Prado museum, looking for a painting that wasn't even there (I blame my mom), but still found the experience interesting, yet boring (we aren't really "art people"). We then went and saw this huge garden, which was pretty, but I'm sure would have been that much better if all the flowers were blooming.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046662&id=1136880093
Chapter 2: Trip to Toledo
After having enough of Madrid, we decided to take a trip to a city near Madrid, called Toledo, which is a small, medieval-style town. All three of us loved it. We stayed overnight in a pretty cool hostel/hotel that was also very medieval-looking. We toured around the city in what my mom called the "wacky train," walked through a pretty cool looking cathedral, went to a couple museums and just walked around the city. We also had a very good dinner, where my mom and sister tried and liked wild boar.
Chapter 3: Welcome to Sevilla, my homeland
I loved traveling around Spain with my mom and sister, but I was extremely excited to finally show them around my "hometown" of Sevilla. During their stay, I had mid-terms, and they took a couple day trips to Ronda and to Cadiz, but I still got the chance to spend time with them. We toured the Cathedral (I believe it is the 3rd largest in the world, and 1st largest Gothic cathedral), ate plenty of tapas and Spanish food (I was finally able to go to the restaurants that I wanted to go, and for "free"), and I was able to introduce my mom and sister to my internship boss, who doesn't speak very much English, but they seemed to all like each other anyway! haha. Besides that, we toured around the city together, as well as on their own when I had class. After Sevilla, they headed to Granada and Barcelona, while I stayed put in Sevilla (although we met up in Barca in a future chapter.)
Epilogue to the first 3 chapters:
Overall I had a great time with my mom and sister. One of the things I enjoyed most was having to speak so much Spanish as we traveled, since neither of them know very much. It made me feel very smart and useful haha. I know they had a great time too, and seemed to enjoy each city they went to more and more, but you'll have to ask them for their specific thoughts and details! My midterms went pretty well, by the way.
Chapter 4: Barcelona vs Sevilla
The following weekend I went to Barcelona (Barca). This trip was pretty significant to me because when deciding where to study abroad, it came down to Barca vs. Sevilla. And after visiting Barca, I can now say that I am happy that I choose Sevilla. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time in Barca, but it wasn't quite the study abroad setting or experience that I was personally looking for. Let's just say Barca was a lot of fun to visit, while Sevilla is more of the "Spanish city" that I wanted to live/study in.
I went to visit with a couple other friends from Sevilla, and stayed with several friends who are studying in Barca from IU. First of all, a lot people in Barca speak English, and if they don't, they speak Catalan, which is like Spanish, but with a mix of Italian, French, and who knows what. For whatever reason, that language annoys me and I feel that there is no reason for it haha. Anyway, Barca is a huge city, and you have to take a taxi or the metro to most places depending on where you're at. There is a lot of architecture by Antoni Gaudi, which I thought was really cool. I've been impressed with architecture before, but I thought the stuff he designed (the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, others...) was pretty unbelievable. The main "tourist" street, Las Ramblas, was also pretty fun to walk down, with lots of people, vendors, and street performers all along the street.
The nightlife in Barca was a lot of fun as well. I went to a couple bars and a few clubs, and one of the more noteworthy ones was a place called Pippermints (spelling?) where they serve different types of drinks of various sizes, ranging from (if I remember correctly) 2 liters to something like 10 or 13 liters, the ladder costing around 100 euros (but can easily be shared with many people).
I was also able to meet up with my mom and sister, as well as family friend Michelle Masciola, for a quick lunch. And by quick lunch, I mean we sat down, ordered, I left really quick to check the bus schedule for my flight home, realized that I had to go, so went back and ate REALLY quick (thanks for the meal Mom, Dad, Bif and Sandy!), and then took a taxi to my friends’ apartment and headed to the bus station and airport.
Chapter 5: Michael Douglas in Morocco
The next weekend we had a "free" trip through our study abroad program to Morocco, Africa! I was very excited to go to Africa for the first time...so excited that I almost missed the bus.
Here's what happened: The night before I was talking to a couple people, of course complaining about how early we had to get up to be at the bus. I believe one of the specific quotes exchanged with a friend was "I'm going to bed, 7:45am is gonna come very quick." I stay up a little longer and finish packing so I don't have to worry about it in the morning before I finally decide to go to bed, and set my alarm on my phone, ready to be at the bus by 8:45. I wake up with no problem, get dressed, and look at my phone. It's about 7:40, so I'm thinking "why did I get up so early? I have plenty of time to get there by 8:45." (Please note that none of the times I typed above are typos).
7:50 rolls around, I'm literally about to update my facebook status to something witty and creative about Morocco, sure to get a bunch of laughs, and all of a sudden I get a phone call from Sarah. "Where are you?" she asks. I say "I thought 8:45..." when without her even saying anything, I say "$#!+, it was 7:45 wasn't it?"
I'm already 5 minutes late, it’s more than a 30 min walk to get to our meeting point, and we were told the bus isn't going to wait because we had a ferry to catch. I'm thinking "Am I really 'that guy' who is going to miss the free trip to Africa because I was updating my facebook status?"
I double check to make sure I have my passport, which includes me unpacking my entire backpack, finding it, then shoving it all back in, before I take off out of my apartment after getting a text from Sarah, "hurry, the bus is circling."
I run down the 6 flights of stairs and am out the door sprinting. By some miracle, all of the crosswalks were green for me and I only ran into someone once (sorry random Spaniard) before I got halfway there and thought that I should check my phone because someone probably called to tell me I missed the bus. Of course, I had a missed call from Amanda. Still sprinting and out of breath, I call Amanda. Luckily, she doesn't say they left, but instead asks where I'm at. I try to tell her where I am, but through my heavy breathing, she can't understand me. So naturally, she gives the phone to Virginia, one of our program directors... who speaks Spanish. I apparently couldn't even speak English, so speaking Spanish was the last thing I wanted to do. However, for some reason she was able to understand me a lot better than Amanda could (maybe Amanda was the one who had issues, not me) and Virginia said that I have 2 minutes to get there, and I say ok even though I know I'm farther than that. I continue to sprint, truly believing that there would be no way that I would make it. Finally I approach where we are meeting, and I see a couple buses. I go near one, and it is not our bus. I go to the other bus, and see someone just staring at me from the window. They don't wave or anything, just stare, so I'm thinking "great, this isn't the bus either." But finally I hear a whistle from the front of that same bus, and it is Virginia directing me to get on. Thanks whoever that was in the back of the bus... not.
I get on the bus to some applause, and plop down in my seat. For the first at least 15 minutes of the bus ride, I sat there silent, still trying to catch my breath.
Aside: when I got home, I mapped out how long I had to run, keeping in mind how long it took me to run there. I ran about 1.5 miles in around 10 minutes, through the city streets, with a backpack on, in my street clothes. Not bad for someone who hasn't been regularly exercising since I set foot in Spain!
So that was the start of my Moroccan trip... after the bus ride, a ferry ride, and another bus ride, we finally make it to our first destination- Tetuan. We get our tour guide, who speaks a million different languages, including Spanish and English, so our tours were mostly in Spanish with a little English every once in a while. He introduced himself as Abdul but then went on to tell us, as he took off his sun glasses, that every calls him Michael Douglas. I didn’t really think he looked like Michael Douglas, but he insisted that is what we call him for the rest of the trip. As you could imagine, he was a very entertaining tour guide, but tended to talk a lot.
Overall, Morocco was a very interesting experience. We were there for three days and two nights, and visited Tetuan, Tangier and Chefchaouen. We got the chance to learn about the Muslim culture and religion, walk through the street markets smelling of fish and freshly slaughtered chickens (both of which were visible as you walk), tour a Coca-Cola factory, bargain with street vendors during our free-time to shop, as well as mingle with some of the university students there.
Interesting things I learned:
· Morocco is not a desert
· Cameras do not survive being dropped in Moroccan toilets. (I know that sounds wrong, but how it happened isn’t that weird, I promise…)*
· Arabs from in the Middle East only make up a very, very small percentage of the Muslim religion, while Indonesia has the biggest Muslim population
· The students we met, who go to the “Harvard of Morocco,” also know a million languages… they grew up learning Arabic, and also learned English and usually Spanish, and all of their classes are taught in French
· Morocco is a very tolerant country… Michael Douglas repeatedly explained how Muslims and Christians and Jews live amongst each other in peace and tolerance
· Almost everything in Morocco is purchased through bargaining, and you can get things for very cheap if you bargain well. And while I think I did pretty well overall, remember…
o If you buy a watch from a street vendor, make sure it works before you buy it
o If you buy sunglasses from a street vendor, make sure they aren’t very similar to a pair you already have
· Overall, I thought the Moroccan food was surprisingly good! I know that’s not surprising to hear from me since I like all types of food (except olives), but it’s true. They also use a lot of sugar, even in chicken dishes, but especially in their tea (because they aren’t sweet enough, according to Michael Douglas).
*Breaking my (mom’s) camera happened on the first day, so I only have one day’s worth of pictures on my memory card to upload. Other pictures of me from Morocco can be seen on my facebook page under my photos tagged of me, as well as other general pictures while abroad from other people’s cameras. I have since borrowed a camera from someone else, and will try to upload those as soon as possible.
Chapter 6: Semana Santa
Our first Spring break was during Semana Santa, or the holy week leading up to Easter. I was in Sevilla for roughly two days of the celebrations before traveling elsewhere. The happenings of Semana Santa are hard to put into words, but I will do my best...
In Sevilla, TONS of people crowd the street to watch different processions and Pasos, which are “floats,” from different churches that march through the streets of Sevilla like a parade. And by “floats” I mean really, really old religious figures and replicas that are worth lots of money that are carried slowly by a bunch of people underneath. There is also music being played by marching bands, and people dressed in KKK-looking outfits of different colors, holding candles and marching. As you can imagine, it is weird to see people dressed like the KKK marching down the street. Look at my facebook pictures for examples if you would like to see what I mean.
The Spaniards take their processions very seriously, which I understand, but after a couple days of seeing pretty much different versions of the same thing, I was kind of over it, and excited to travel…
Chapter 7: When in Rome
First stop: Rome. First of all, the drivers in Rome are CRAZY. They try to fit like 4 cars into one lane with mo-ped’s speeding in between them at crazy speeds. I don’t understand how there aren’t more accidents. Anyway…
I traveled to Rome with two friends I met in my program, Armando and Josh. I spent the first two days with them, which included seeing the Pope speak at St. Peter’s Square, the Basillica, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, St. Angelo’s Castle, a few other monuments I don’t know the name of, and a lot of GREAT food and gelato. The third day, I hit up Rome on my own because my next destination was Paris, and Armando and Josh decided to travel around Italy together instead (cute, right?). So I went to see the Coliseum, the Palestine and Palestine Hill, Roman Ruins, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, as well as traveled to the top of the dome in the Basillica, giving me a great view of the whole city. And I downloaded Rick Steves podcasts so that I didn’t need to pay for a tour and could go at my own pace, which I thought was a great idea (thanks, Mom!). Only one problem- I went to turn on my i-pod and for whatever reason they didn’t download correctly. Sweet. So I ended up getting a 2-in-1 tour of the Coliseum and Palestine/Roman Ruins, which was actually pretty worth it, although boring at times.
Side note: I’m glad I was able to play tourist on my own because I now know that I don’t necessarily enjoy it. Or at least, I’d prefer to travel with other people. Yes, everything I did was quicker, more efficient, and following what I wanted to do, but not being able to share the experience with anyone (or eat with anyone) wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea.
Either way, I really enjoyed Rome. Like I said, the food was great, the monuments were amazing and everything was very cheap (not!).
Chapter 8: Austrians in Paris
Although I would have enjoyed traveling through Italy to see more of what the country had to offer, I had another opportunity that I didn’t want to miss… I traveled to Paris on my own to meet up with my friends Georg and Amir, who were exchange students from Vienna, Austria (who speak perfect English) that I hosted in the US in high school for a couple weeks. We knew we had to meet up somewhere while we were all on the same continent, so since they have a friend studying in Paris, we decided to meet there.
In Paris, I didn’t do a whole lot of touristy things. I saw the Eiffel Tower, but didn’t go up it. I saw the Louvre, but didn’t go in. I saw Notre Dame, and also didn’t go in. However, (and despite it raining everyday) I still had an unbelievable time. After being a constant tourist in Rome, it was nice to just relax, go out, and not really follow a schedule. It was also great to see Georg and Amir again after about 4 years, and all of their friends that I met were very easy to get along with and also a lot of fun…. I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in one weekend since I’ve been abroad, which I think is a sign of a great weekend.
Other things I saw/went to in Rome were the Arc of Triumph, a few churches, walked around Montnartre, and even participated in a “flash-mob” pillow fight in front of the Eiffel Tower, which is when a bunch of random people meet up at a designated location, and at a certain time, everyone participates in some sort of act- in this case, it was a pillow fight.
Chapter 9: Canary Islands
For my friend Amanda’s 21st birthday, we traveled to Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the weekend. Although the weather was cloudy pretty much all weekend, I still had a nice and relaxing time. We rented an apartment (made for 4 but we snuck in 6), which we took advantage of by cooking ourselves dinner for the first night, and by “we” I mean our friend Allison… I picked out the wine though, which was equally as important.
On our only full day, we went to a “hidden beach” called Playa Bullullo. We had to take a taxi to get there, and it was at the bottom of some mountains with just black sand, which was very cool. And despite the cloudy weather, we still went in the ocean to fight the huge waves made from the strong current, and to get a closer look at all the people surfing/body boarding in the ocean.
Chapter 10: Sevilla again!
The next week (and weekend) was spent in Sevilla, which was a change of pace because I had been traveling so much. It was nice to enjoy Sevilla again for an entire weekend (since remaining weekends in Sevilla are approaching 0), and to go to some of the places that I haven’t been to in a while and with some of the people I haven’t hung out with in a while. I am definitely going to miss weekends in Sevilla, aka my third home (Arlington Heights and Bloomington) with everyone I’ve met here.
Chapter 11: Spring Break #2: Part 1- Feria and the Volcano
I’m sure all of you have heard about the Volcano that has erupted in Iceland… Up until my flight (4/20), literally everyone I knew traveling out of Spain had their flights cancelled because of it. Needless to say, since my first destination was up north in Amsterdam, I was betting that our flight was going to be cancelled as well, even though it was several days after the initial eruption.
As we were waiting for the day of out flight to come, we participated in celebrating the start of the Feria de Abril. This is a famous fair that is held in a neighborhood in Sevilla, with carnival rides, music, singing, dancing, lots of drinking, and lots food. All the guys wear suits and ties (or at least dress up) and most of the Spanish girls wear traditional flamenco dresses that cost upwards of 500 euro. You can either walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, or you can enter one of the many casetas (tents) that are set up throughout the grounds. Most of them are private, and you need to know someone to get in, but there are also a few public ones that you can go to in order to get drinks, food, dance, etc.
For the start of this week long celebration, everyone heads down to Los Remedios, where the fair is held, before midnight on Monday. Around midnight, la Puerta (entrance) to la feria is lit up, and everyone cheers and claps, similar to the ball dropping in NY on New Year’s. For me, the lighting of la puerta was pretty anticlimactic, but that’s just my opinion. Don’t tell any of the Spaniards I said that, though. After it was lit, the feria officially began, and we toured the fairgrounds, got some churros con chocolate (at least I did), and talked about whether or not our flight was going to go as scheduled the next morning (aka in a few hours) at 7:45 am.
This festival lasted all week, so if our flight were to be cancelled, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world to stay in Sevilla to celebrate with the Spaniards. However, we were all really looking forward to our trip and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to travel just because Iceland decided that they wanted some public recognition other than in Mighty Ducks the movie.
Nevertheless, by some miracle and after almost all hope was lost, we get to the airport at 6:30am and our flight is on time. After few jokes about our engines failing due to the volcanic ash as we wait at our gate (and I actually wasn’t the one making them), we finally boarded the plane and were off to Amsterdam.
Chapter 12: Spring Break #2: Part 2- Amsterdam
Since I am updating this blog, you can tell that there were no problems with our flight. Take that, volcanic ash.
There were 10 of us in all initially in Amsterdam, with one more person who was planning to join us, but was stranded in Italy because of the volcano (200 euro and a couple days later, he made it by train). When we arrived to Amsterdam, we stored out stuff and toured around the city. And despite the cold weather, we all immediately fell in love. It was a very happenin’ city, very touristy, and very liberal. And it was almost comical to hear people speak in Dutch because it just sounds funny, although almost everyone spoke English.
The first day, we didn’t do many touristy things besides tour the city and eat. Throughout our days in Amsterdam, we also hit up some of the many famous “coffee shops.” As my friend Nathan’s sister put it, many people want to visit Amsterdam because of “the weed thing.” Don’t quote me on this, but as I understand it, weed is in fact illegal in Amsterdam. However, it is simply tolerated and not openly punished. However, within the past couple years, we were told that they have closed up hundreds of these coffee shops… apparently they are trying to go from “extremely liberal” to “slightly less than extremely liberal.” But either way, to say the least, it was a very interesting to experience that type of atmosphere in a public setting. And don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I behaved myself, as always. They do, after all, actually serve coffee.
The second day was our most productive day. We all didn’t tour together the whole day, but here is what I did with some others:
· The Anne Frank House- Very cool to see, and very informative as well. It’s unbelievable what they had to go through just to not get caught. And when they did get caught, it was by an anonymous “tip,” and they still don’t know who did it, which I didn’t know and think is kind of crazy. Anne Frank’s writing was really good, too.
· Van Gogh Museum- I think I’ve said this before, but I am not an art person. However, I genuinely enjoyed most of Van Gogh’s artwork. And even though over 1/3 of the museum was closed for “renovations,” (yeah, you better be sorry for the inconvenience, museum administration…) it was still pretty worth it. I also swear that his sunflower picture looks just like a picture I painted in elementary school that I think is hanging up somewhere in my house. Mom and Dad, can you back me up on this? This museum is also near the I (Am)Amsterdam sign from the Amstel commercials, which was of course a hot spot for many pictures.
· The Heineken Factory- The Heineken Factory was pretty fun and entertaining. For 15 euro, you get a tour, which included information about how the beer is brewed, how the company is run, etc., in a fun and interactive way, as well as two free beers. What more could you want?
· Red Light District- This is probably the most unique and awkward type of “shopping” I’ve ever experienced. In this area at night, there are a ton of big windows with red lights over them, and as you walk by, there are women dressed in skimpy outfits standing there, waiting to be approached to negotiate a price for their services. And if the red light is off and the curtain is closed, that means she is “busy” with a client. The women were very diverse, ranging from heavy to skinny, short to tall, attractive to not so much, etc. Naturally, whenever I made eye contact with any of them, they would gesture towards me to come and talk to them. Although this is a common occurrence between me and women, this was slightly more awkward, and I usually just looked away right away. I almost felt bad because for them, this is their business, but for us it was a tourist attraction that when talked about, was almost comical. Welcome to Amsterdam, I suppose.
The next day, while a few people headed to Munich for the rest of break, the rest of us stayed in Amsterdam (at least for the time being). Our third day was not as productive as our 2nd day, but still enjoyable. We tried out their famous Ice Bar, which as the name suggests, was a bar made entirely of ice- the cups, the chairs, the walls, everything. We had to wear these puffy jackets, hats, and gloves, and despite being pretty cold, it was a fun atmosphere, and again we got 2 “free” drinks. However, the only people in it during our “session” were the 6 of us and one lady from London who was there on her own. No one else. They allow time for socializing, which is when we realized that this attraction was meant for big groups of people. We still had a pretty good time, but when we walked out, the place was packed and we saw maybe 30 people waiting to enter. Oh well, just our luck I suppose.
During out stay in Amsterdam, instead of a hostel, five others and I stayed with Peter Smit and his family, who are probably some of the nicest people in the world. Peter is a distant relative of one of my fraternity brothers at IU and lives just outside of Amsterdam. He and his family (wife, two daughters and one son) were generous enough to let us stay at the house for free during our stay, which not only saved us money, but gave us a comfortable and safe place to sleep. Their whole family was extremely nice, spoke very good English, and made us feel right at home. They even gave us breakfast in the mornings! Not many people are willing to open up their homes to a bunch of college students they’ve never met, so you can imagine the appreciation we all felt for their hospitality. If you ever need a place to stay near Amsterdam, I’ll put you in contact with them because they are used to having visitors!
Chapter 13: Spring Break #2: Part 3- München
After three days in Amsterdam, Josh and I left a few other guys and took an overnight train (with beds!) to Munich, Germany to meet up with 4 others who had gone to Munich a day earlier. In my opinion, overnight trains are a great way to travel! That way, you kill two birds with one stone by traveling and sleeping at the same time.
I went to Munich once before with the band program in high school (the same one that I met Georg and Amir through). However, I was pretty young and there wasn’t much I remembered besides the Glockenspiel, so I didn’t mind going back. Plus Springfest was going on, which is a smaller Octoberfest, but we ended up not going to it. I was a little disappointed about that, but I still had a great time…
When we arrived in Munich, Josh and I met up with the 4 others, and we headed down to check out Dachau Concentration Camp, just outside of Munich. It was a very powerful, disturbing and interesting experience, all rolled into one. It’s hard to believe that something as horrific as the Holocaust could have possibly happened. If any of you have seen the series Band of Brothers on HBO, all I could keep picturing was Easy Company in shock as they discover a concentration camp full of prisoners for the first time, not knowing the persecution and torture that was going on.
After the concentration camp, Josh and I split up to go find a bike tour in the center of town near the Glockenspiel. After walking in a couple circles and not being able to find it, I was ready to give up and move on. Josh, however, was not. Soooo we kept walking the same path a couple more times, which got me a little frustrated, but if you know me my frustration just means more sarcastic jokes than usual. Eventually we kept walking, but this time to different plazas and monuments. A lot of the things we saw were pretty cool and great photo ops, even though we didn’t quite know what they were.
After some more walking and sightseeing, we stumbled upon a plaza with a flea market, with a place to buy brats and beer. Of course, we stopped for a ½ liter of beer and a brat, which for me is the equivalent of heaven. After finishing up, we hopped on the metro to a few different locations… We saw the Olympic stadiums from the 1974 (I think) Olympic Games, walked by the BMW factory, took pictures in from of the soccer stadium, and stopped for another beer at a famous Chinese beer garden.
For dinner, we met up with the rest of the group for dinner at the Hofbrauhaus, which is a big dining hall with typical German food, music, and singing/chanting/cheers. I also went there back in high school, but unlike when I was 14, it was nice to actually be able to drink beer and participate in the festivities.
Overall, I liked Munich. A lot. I liked the food, the beer (a lot), the people, the buildings, the city… just about everything. Everywhere I visit, for some reason I try to imagine if I could actually live in that city, probably because as a junior, after one more year I enter the “real world,” and living abroad is definitely an option if I feel the desire or if my job takes me there. And although I have felt this way about a few of the cities in Europe that I have visited, I felt especially comfortable in Munich. No, this isn’t to say I am going to move the Germany, or Spain, or anywhere outside the U.S. right after I graduate, as I still have my heart set on starting out in Chicago, but let’s just say I’m keeping my options open!
Chapter 14: Spring Break #2: Part 4- Frankfurt
At about 3am, we took another overnight train to Frankfurt, which is where our plane home flew out of. We didn’t really have a plan of action for Frankfurt, so when we arrived, we went to the tourism office, told them we had just a few hours in town, and they gave us a map and told us a few places we could go.
We ended up seeing the financial district, a couple old churches, plazas and monuments, as well as walked down the river that ran through the city. I must say that Frankfurt exceeded the low expectations that I had, with some pretty cool architecture and a good amount of history, and I probably wouldn’t mind going back there if I had the chance to check out more of the city. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to make it back, as I hear there are other more exciting destinations in Germany.
Chapter 15: Back to Feria
The flight home from Frankfurt also went on without a hitch! We got back Saturday night, which was just enough time to celebrate the last full night of Feria in Sevilla, as well as bring in my friend Nathan’s 21st birthday. At this point, a lot of the other tourists from all around Spain and Europe have come to Sevilla to participate in Feria, so it was pretty crowded. However, the mixture of Feria and my friend’s 21st birthday made for an extremely fun final night to spring break.
The next day, the only highlight was the fireworks that went off at midnight to signal the end of Feria de Abril. I personally don’t understand what makes a good fireworks show different from a bad fireworks show. Fireworks are fireworks. However, having said that, I was pretty impressed with the Spanish fireworks, especially the finale. You know when you want the finale to just be a bunch of different fireworks set off at the same time? It was actually like that.
Chapter 16: Back to real life… for now
Now spring break is over and classes have begun again. Boo! And not “boo” just because I have class, but because I have so much work to do! All of the work that I haven’t been doing all semester has finally caught up to me, and is all due by the end of the program… which is way too soon!! I just want to enjoy the end of the program without having to worry about papers and projects and school work, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t get too greedy! I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity, and if I were to go home right now, I would still be satisfied with my time abroad, so I shouldn’t complain too much.
On the other hand, I still have a few things to look forward to! This includes 3 days in Lagos this coming weekend through an agency here in Sevilla, which is a trip that almost everyone is going on. Lagos is a beach town in southern Portugal, and according to former students who have gone on this trip, it is supposed to be a great time, so I’m really looking forward to it.
After that, I have one final weekend in Sevilla =(. I have a few possible plans in the mix for that weekend to leave Sevilla with a bang, but I won’t tell you about them until after it’s all said and done!
And after that weekend? I have finals and then I am flying back home. That’s right, May 14th, 7:00am, I will already be on my way back to Chicago. I know I talked about this a little at the beginning and am sure to talk about it again, so I won’t get into much more detail about my feelings and coming home.
Epilogue
Just want to apologize again for not updating for such a long time! Too much schoolwork and traveling and enjoying Sevilla got in the way- what a rough life! And once I fell behind, I felt like there was no way I was going to catch up on this blog, but I did it! Thanks for all of you that have read this whole thing, and I hope to update again soon as my trip wraps up!
