Portugal:)

End of the World

This past weekend I went to portugal! Now this weekend was suppose to be a beach weekend; however it rained everyday we were there..so it was kinda a big disappointment but we still had fun! The first day we were there we just got settled in our rooms and then try to make our way to the beach. We got to sit on the beach for a little bit while we watch some of our friends swim out to the cliffs to jump off..needless to say I was not one of these people but I did take pictures! The next day we woke up and we visited this castle in a near by town..it was pretty neat and had some good views of the city! After we visited the castle, we headed to another town to see "the end of the world" which is huge cliffs that look across the ocean. The last day we went to another neighboorhood that had shops down every street and a beautiful beach. Unfortunatly it rained again, so we only got a few moments on the beach so the rest of the time we shopped and explored the cliffs around the beach. Even though it rained all weekend, it was a good time to get to know my friends in my program a lot better and make lasting memories before we head home soon!

Bienvenidos a Espana Lawrences:)

Nazarenos during a procession ( not the KKK)

Plaza de Espana

Marbella

churros

One night at dinner after saying calamari in spanish and pointing to it on the menu
our old blind waiter gave us this...yes it still has its head on!

Last week was Semana Santa (Holy week) and I had the whole week off school. I was so lucky that during this week my parents and aunt Richie came to visit me! I was so excited for them to come because it had been since Feburary since I had seen them! When my parents first got to Spain, I met them at their hotel which was in my neighborhood! My dad and aunt went right to sleep after being jet lagged all day long however  my mom and I went right up to the pool to tan! After the tanning and nap time, I showed my parents around Triana and all my favorite places to go! Then I showed them El centro which is where the Cathedral, my school and all the fun shops are! The next day we went to the Alcazar which is a huge palace full of gardens, I had previous gone there on a school trip but it was neat to see it again because I never got to see the whole thing! Then I took my parents to plaza de Espana, which is where they filmed star wars so my dad was so thrilled to stand in the same spot where the filmed it! During semana santa its tradition for each of the Catholic churches to have a procession with different kinds of huge pasos of jesus and virgen mary that symbolize jesus death and resurecction. Everyone comes to the different cities, especially my city to come see these processions. So needless to say Sevilla was packed so while I was giving the tour of my city, it was quite difficult to move but we just kept pushing our way through ( at one point we ended up crossing through a procession causing us to get seperated and had to climb over a million baby strollers; however after learning to you just have to push people out of the way we reunited together in one piece)!  The next two days my family and i traveled to Marbella! we ended up getting a hotel that was all british speaking people, so it was a nice break for my parents to have a break from spanish and it was nice for me to not have to translate everything for once! When we returned to Sevilla, my parents had a different hotel in Macarena, a different part of Seville. During the last few days, since the weather was rainy and since a lot of shops were closed for the holiday,  we try to do as much exploring and shopping as we could. During the week, my parents and aunt fell in love with tapas, which are basically little meals. Everywhere we went we found the best tapa places and truely eat like spainards do everyday for a week. Although the weather wasnt what i expected and the city was crowded, I was so grateful to spend the week sharing my life in spain with my family!

Granada

Finally i have time to write about my trips and latest adentures! Life has been crazy with tests and papers piling up at the end of the semester! I can't believe my time in Spain is almost up! So heres what I been up too: A few weeks back my school had a trip to Granada! At first I thought this trip was going to be lame..another school trip but actually it was beautiful there and quite fun! My friend Jaclyn and I shared a room and we had our own prvate deck to sit outside and eat our bocadillos(sandwiches) that our host moms packed for us when we first got there. The weather was perfect! Later that day we got to explore around to see what was around our hotel. My friend and I decided to get some ice cream and explore the sights.Later that day we also took a trip to the Alahambra, which is a famous palace, and the Generalife Gardens where we had a private tour guide and had to wear headphones to hear him speak. Both of these sights were gorgeous! Later that day, we had free time to explore Granada. Some friends and I climbed up a series of hills to reach to the top of Alahambra to see the view of the Sierra Nevada. This view was the neatest thing I have ever seen because it was 80 degrees but looking out you could see snowy montians!  The next day we visited the Capilla Real, which is the royal chapel where the monks were burried, and the Cathedral of Granda. The Capilla Real was so gourges inside and had incredible religous architecture although it was kinda creepy seeing tombs of dead people from the 1500s. Overall, it was a great time to bond with friends from my program and two of my favorite teachers:) Here are pictures from my trip:

View of the Sierra Nevada

Cathedral

top of Alahambra

Capilla real

Capilla real

Morocco..Waka Waka

So I know it has been forever since I have updated on here so i will be sure to include all the details and latest trips since I have last blogged. In the middle of march I went to  Gibraltar and Morocco with some  friends and a local travel agency here in my city. It was such a great, fun filled weekend. We left a a Friday and took a bus to the Gibraltar to see the monkeys and some caves. It was incredible to see these wild monkeys everywhere! All my friends and I tried to get the monkeys to sit on our shoulders and climb on our backs. The picture below is the closest I got. After we visited the monkeys, we went to Europa point, where we got to see the Gibraltar on one side of the ocean and Morocco on the other. 

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This is the shape of Africa inside a cave

he is drinking a coke:)

After visiting Gibraltar, we took a ferry to Morocco. Over the three days we visited Ceuta, Tetuan, Chefchaouen, and Tangier with professional Tour Guides.We had a special Lunch in a Moroccan Palace with shows and a special fantasy Show with Belly Dancer, Musicians, Candle Dancer, and little kid acrobats!

This guy was  one of our tour guides..my favorite of them all

Candle Dancer

And of course..on the last day..we got to ride on the camels!! At first, i was really nervous to get on the camel! The camel lays down and its trainer tells him to stand up while you are on it so it was kinda freaky..but so worth it in the end! it was definitely an experience to remember and would want to try again!

Malaga

This past weekend some friends and I went to Malaga, Spain. All weekend, we spent our days tanning on the beach, (yes it was in the high 70s here in February)! Our first night there, we discovered a pirate festival that was right down the road from our hotel. we explored the different stands at the festival and got handmade waffle cones with ice cream!..SOOO GOOD! The next day, after spending the day at the beach we relaxed and went out to a pizza place. Malaga was full of italian restaurants! On sunday, we visited this big castle/fortress and the Alcazaba. The Alcazaba of Malaga was where the governors of the city used to stay. Overall, the weekend was very fun and relaxing after an intensive three weeks of class and adjusting to life in Spain. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

view from our hotel

On top of the fortress

Alcazaba

Pirate festival

This week I have started my regular classes! So far, I like all my classes and professors a lot! My first class is Present Day usage in Spain. In this class, we just discuss the in's and out's of the Spanish language and culture. My next class is cultural realities which  I have had since day one. This class just discuss daily news and events that are happening in Spain. My third class is teaching english as a second language. This class is taught in english(such a relief, yet at this point its a little weird hearing a professor talk in English). This class is learning the methods and techniques behind teaching a classroom that is learning a second language. My last class is Mosaic: Jews and Muslims and the Spanish experience. I haven't had this class yet but I will keep you posted on what I will be learning. It should be a great semester! This weekend I am going to Carnival in Cadiz spain. I leave at 8pm and come back at 5;30 am..yes it is literally a party all night but everyone gets to wear a costume! My friends and I haven't decided on what we are going to be yet, but after the weekend I will post the pictures and you will see:)

Italica

I know it has been forever since I have blogged but I plan to catch everyone up on everything that has been happening here. First, I went on my last field trip with my school to the Italica. Italica is basically the roman ruins that are in Spain.  Below are some pictures:

Pits where they filled water for battle

Italica's amphitheatre pit

Last Friday, I took my final for the intensive period and celebrated by going to the beach in Malaga for a long weekend, since Monday was a holiday here in Sevilla.

la Zahara de la Sierra

Last Sunday, i took a day trip with my school to visit the mountains in the Zahara. Zahara de las Sierras is one of Spain's fifty most beautiful pueblos (towns). It is one of the famous white pueblos of the Sierras and it reminded me of the sisterhood of the traveling pants when Lena goes to Greece! The views were so incredible! First we climbed up this mountain to capture a breath taking view of the town. Then we got to explore. Some friends and i met two spanish people that had been there before to show us around the little town. So we climbed up to see this huge castle and then we saw the cemetery. The cemetery was very different than cemeteries in the U.S because, in Spain in is cheaper to be buried in the wall rather than in the ground. After visiting the cemetery, we got snacks from a local bakery and just sat down in the sun and got to know our new friends! Below are some pictures from my excursion:

this reminded my of the sisterhood of traveling pants

The view from the top of the mountain

My first spanish friends

In the castle

Cemetery