I love dogs. It's just that simple. They are great creatures in every way, I'm a head over heels dog person. So when I found out my host family has a dog, I got way too excited. And luckily, my roommates feel the same way. Our dog at home, Lenteja (lentil) is the sweetest dog! She is I believe a German terrier, but basically a hunting dog. She is beautiful, calm tempered, and rests her head on your lap when you sit down at the dining room table. I wish that she would come to my room and snuggle with me. Alas, I suppose I just need to get my fill of petting her when she is lounging on her little chair upstairs.
My journey for Spain began on January 24, where I hoped on a plane and traveled basically 24 hours to arrive in Madrid. There, I met the mass of API students who piled onto the bus to our hotel for the first night. The next few days were spent traveling Madrid, Toledo, and Cordoba before we finally made it to Sevilla, our home destination. We saw all the cathedrals and mosques along the way and always had great food to eat. Discovering the tapa "croquettes" is probably the best thing ever (picture this: meat, cheese, breaded in a tatter tot shape and fried. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is heaven). Though my wifi has been a roller coaster of connection, I find a consistent signal in an old friend, Starbucks. Yes, I am totally that American who is using the Starbucks across from the university to mooch off of the wifi, but I have to keep connected somehow! Hopefully, my computer decides to work at home again and that way I can lay in bed while I blog!
I am on my third day of classes, and feel like I've found some that I like a lot! I will post them under my schedule page. I found out that I can take 4 classes (instead of the 5 they usually require) because of past credits. So I will still graduate on time and won't have to take a (what I consider) more boring class. The university itself is amazing, it used to be the royal tobacco factory, so there is a dried out moat around the school and it looks beyond regal. It is massive too (I've gotten lost quite a few times).
And the city has been nothing but beautiful so far, though a bit cooler than I was expecting. I am in the southern region of Spain, so it is warmer than the northern parts with all the mountains, but it is still around 50 (totally understandable, it is winter after all!) So I await the days when the weather gets warm enough not to have to wear a jacket around. But I'm also glad that this gives me a reason to wear a bunch of scarves (and buy more)!
This weekend, we are off to Cadiz for a day to admire the beach town and do wine tasting! This weekend might also call for another trip to the Alcazar and Cathedral (the first time, I left my nice camera, a Nikon D7000, at home so I must go back to be artsy and take way too many photos!) My girlfriends and I (there are 5 of us) are planning trips outside of those that API provide (which I'm really looking forward to!). We've decided we want to go to Lagos, Portugal (the group we go with also gives you a ride around caves in a pirate ship! Sign me up!), Morocco, Rome/Florence, and hopefully we can also go to Northern Spain (Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao to name a few on our possibilities list). We wanted to balance time traveling with time in Sevilla so we can get to know the city really well, but also can experience the beautiful cities and countries around us.
I've been here not even two weeks and I really do feel comfortable in this city. It is beautiful, fun to explore, and very photogenic! There is the occasional twinge of missing friends from home (mostly wishing they were here to experience this all with me!) but I have a great group of girls here who want to travel and speak Spanish as much as I do! I know this semester has nothing but fun times, gelato, and lots of bread in the future!
My journey for Spain began on January 24, where I hoped on a plane and traveled basically 24 hours to arrive in Madrid. There, I met the mass of API students who piled onto the bus to our hotel for the first night. The next few days were spent traveling Madrid, Toledo, and Cordoba before we finally made it to Sevilla, our home destination. We saw all the cathedrals and mosques along the way and always had great food to eat. Discovering the tapa "croquettes" is probably the best thing ever (picture this: meat, cheese, breaded in a tatter tot shape and fried. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is heaven). Though my wifi has been a roller coaster of connection, I find a consistent signal in an old friend, Starbucks. Yes, I am totally that American who is using the Starbucks across from the university to mooch off of the wifi, but I have to keep connected somehow! Hopefully, my computer decides to work at home again and that way I can lay in bed while I blog!
I am on my third day of classes, and feel like I've found some that I like a lot! I will post them under my schedule page. I found out that I can take 4 classes (instead of the 5 they usually require) because of past credits. So I will still graduate on time and won't have to take a (what I consider) more boring class. The university itself is amazing, it used to be the royal tobacco factory, so there is a dried out moat around the school and it looks beyond regal. It is massive too (I've gotten lost quite a few times).
And the city has been nothing but beautiful so far, though a bit cooler than I was expecting. I am in the southern region of Spain, so it is warmer than the northern parts with all the mountains, but it is still around 50 (totally understandable, it is winter after all!) So I await the days when the weather gets warm enough not to have to wear a jacket around. But I'm also glad that this gives me a reason to wear a bunch of scarves (and buy more)!
This weekend, we are off to Cadiz for a day to admire the beach town and do wine tasting! This weekend might also call for another trip to the Alcazar and Cathedral (the first time, I left my nice camera, a Nikon D7000, at home so I must go back to be artsy and take way too many photos!) My girlfriends and I (there are 5 of us) are planning trips outside of those that API provide (which I'm really looking forward to!). We've decided we want to go to Lagos, Portugal (the group we go with also gives you a ride around caves in a pirate ship! Sign me up!), Morocco, Rome/Florence, and hopefully we can also go to Northern Spain (Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao to name a few on our possibilities list). We wanted to balance time traveling with time in Sevilla so we can get to know the city really well, but also can experience the beautiful cities and countries around us.
I've been here not even two weeks and I really do feel comfortable in this city. It is beautiful, fun to explore, and very photogenic! There is the occasional twinge of missing friends from home (mostly wishing they were here to experience this all with me!) but I have a great group of girls here who want to travel and speak Spanish as much as I do! I know this semester has nothing but fun times, gelato, and lots of bread in the future!