OKay, so the last three days have just been chockful of good happenings and fun places. I mentioned that my program would have some excursions. One on Thursday, one Friday, and unfortunately a third one Saturday that was canceled due to rain (seriously! The day of our beach trip it rains in southern Spain. Talk about Murphey's law.)
Alright, so yesterday, our art and culture professor Fernando (adoringly referred to as ´Nando or San Fernando by some of us) took us to Real Alcázar Gardens, which happen to be the personal playground of the Spanish Royal Family. No, seriously, the public gardens are owned by the Royal Family. They kick everyone out if they´re visiting. Well, to start off with, it´s gorgeous. I mean jaw-dropping spectacular gardens. I just wish all of the fountains had been operating and flowers blooming and such, but I guess it is the end of a southern Spanish summer and they don´t have a whole lot of water, even for the royal family. Anyway, with Nando as our guide, we get in a super special secret backdoor. We just walk right under the gigantic wall covered in ivy. The gate had it´s own modern version of a portcullis and everything. So as we walked along, there were some very gigantic and impressive gates and this one cool little arch through the inner wall. Reminded me of a giant royal doggie door. This is all photographed and the pictures will hit the internet at some point in my life. When we finally entered the complex after our lovely but brief stroll through the garden (with it's very own Royal peacock), it was through an absolutely gigantic gateway. Must've been 50 or 60 feet tall. So cool! In the first hall we explored, they had some serious tapestries (I kept thinking Indiana Jones. "This is a castle is it not? It must have tapestries!") and some even cooler decorative tiling. Also, I was fascinated by the beautifully carved doors separating the halls. Probably a much more recent addition though...So in the second hall there was a large tapestry of a map of the Mediterranean and the surrounding lands. What's cool was that it was "upside-down". South was up and North was down, and this is the only map in Europe with such an orientation. What's more, there were trade routes AND winds dilineated in very clear red and black lines throughout the entire map. I think I took probably 10 pictures of the map alone. We thence proceeded into the private chapel, for personal use by the royalty and aristocracy in times of yore. Had it's own small harpsichord/piano/organ thing and a small confessional. I was really really tempted to sit in it but it was roped off :( O well. I probably would've been smoted anyway. So we leave the hall and exit onto a enormous plaza with a big wall running through it. The wall separated the personal portion of the grounds from the portion usually reserved for, well, judges and the seedier elements of society sentenced in las salas de justicia ("rooms of justice"). From there, we went into the "cooling room". It was a medium-sized domed room with a little fountain in the center and benches on the walls, the theory being that listening to water psyches you into thinking you're cooler during the sweltering hours of the day. From there, back to the square. Interesting fact, the four sides of the plaza are actually examples of four different styles of architecture, those being 1, 2, 3, and 4 (you honestly expect me to remember them with all this other cool knowledge?). We proceeded into what was the royal audience chamber, used for discussions and sentencing and diplomatic announcements, what have you. There were some very interesting paintings decorating the walls, including one big one that was basically "historical fiction" in paint. Very cool. We went into another room with some cool flags and an interesting altar thing that I can't remember anything about, but I will once I post the pictures with some captions. Continuing along our tour of Real Alcazar, we entered a portion of the building with distinct Muslim influences in the decor. Grand mozaic tilings covered the floors and walls and the sheer artwork and size was astonishing. Anyway, I'm getting a little bored writing about Real Alcazar considering I've been picking at this post for 3 days now, so I'm going to start talking about the archaeological museum.
Aso, Friday afternoon Nando took my group (Group B that is) to the local archaeological museum, which I believe he said was the second biggest in the country behind the main museum in Madrid. The bottom level was closed for renovations but the first floor was filled with some pretty killer Roman artifacts. The first room had a bunch of salvaged sculptures, generally of snarling lions that looked frightening even frozen as marble. Think Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe except Aslan got frozen midroar. The next room had some very cool tools, like axes and pliers and other metallic objects I can't remember. I liked the axe heads though. They were cool. From there, we were all impressed by some more serious mozaics. These things covered entire walls of the musem. Imagine putting together a puzzle 50' x 30', knowing the general lay out, but where none of the pieces actually click together or resemble anything in particular. There were some really cool geometric patterned ones and also some with faces, including the Roman God of Wine and Spirits, can't remember the fellow's name. But remember, if you're looking at something Roman and there's a guy with grapevines around his head, it's probably this guy. Next came some seriously awesome sculptures. There were gods and emperors and warriors and philosophers, all sculpted to be biologically accurate, or as close to it. There was a sculpture of Mercury (he's the messenger God right? The Roman version of Hermes? I can't keep them straight anymore) that was some pretty sweet stuff. The muscles were flexed and even the Gluteus Maximus was raised on one side as Mercury was moving forward. I just liked his winged ankles. They were neat :) The museum tour ended with one of the first sarcophagi crafted after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. There were also a lot of really neat Christian "crosses". Before the acceptance of Christianity, worshippers couldn't openly signify Jesus Christ or God or the cross, etc. So the design became a six pointed cross, with the Greek letters alpha and omega flanking the center axis. I never really understood why God was referred to as the Alpha and Omega, but seeing as how they are the Beginning and End of the Greek alphabet, it guess the symbolism makes sense. I also took a picture of a what appeared to be jade baptismal altar, though I don't think it was actually jade, merely green.
Saturday's trip was supposed to be to the ruins of Italica and after to the beach. Unfortunately, on the most anticipated trip of our short stay thus far, wouldn't you know, it had to rain. This part of the country sees rain maybe 30 or 40 times a year, and it had to do it on our day, through most of the day. Grumblegrumblegrumble We managed to walk through the amphitheater at Italica for a while before the rain was too bad and it was impressive architecture. Like the Colisseum in Rome, the Italica amphitheater was the site of gladiator battles; man vs. man, man vs. beast, or beast vs. tasty persecuted Christian. It was several stories tall, with 3 tiers for spectators and a subterranean level for the battle participants. It could seat 25,000 spectators, nearly the entire population of Italica, which was one of the largest Roman cities on the Iberian peninsula. 30,000 people. Those Romans knew what they were about when it came to entertaining the populace. I shudder to think what they would have done had they had television. We were just leaving the amphitheater to inspect the rest of the ruins when the rain really started coming down, so we hid under some trees and then made a mad dash to the souvenir store terrace. I was wearing my rope sandals in preparation for the beach and they are the most uncomfortable and smelly things when they're sodden. They've been drying on my window sill ever since.
Though we didn't get to go to the beach, I went and saw Mamma Mia with some friends. It was, of course, dubbed over, but all the songs were in English. Overall, I liked the film, but Pierce Brosnan really needs to stop singing. I cringed everytime he opened his mouth fearing another attempt at vocal murder. Dramatic ande exaggerated? Not in the slightest.
And thus starts another week, but hopefully one in which a soccer ball and wireless router enter in, so with some luck, it will be interesting. Also, Chris and I have decided to stop frequenting BigNeb's and start exploring some more. It's time to move out of the comfort zone. Andale!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Start of Classes
Okay, so it´s Wednesday, and technically classes started on Monday, but I needed a few days to get a feel for the vibe. You know how it is. Anyway, I´m in the LSCS program (don´t ask me what the acronym stands for) and that´s the not-quite-so-advanced level. The kids who actually stuck with Spanish when they got to college are in the SAS program.
Anywho, for the next 3 weeks, myself and a few other students, Chris included, will be taking intensive courses in Spanish grammar and composition (bleh!) and art and culture. Seeing as how I despise grammar classes when they are taught in a language I understand, I´m not particularly looking forward to it. Although the professor is actually a rather attractive mujer, she seems almost ditzy to me, plus she just never shuts up. I mean NEVER! A whole hour and a half of blabbityblabbityblah in rapidfire Spanish is just too much for me. It also doesn´t help that my fellow students are taking advantage of their legality to go out nearly as often as they can. I just don´t have the energy, so I had to keep myself awake in class by pinching myself repeatedly today. Apparently, I have a higher pain tolerance than I thought, since it didn´t do a very good job. Fortunately, I only have that grammar class everyday until mid-October. In the meanwhile, I´ll be writing several compositions. I guess that will help me for the 10 page paper on the Inquisition I have to write for the art and culture class.
THAT class I´m actually looking forward to. There are only 3 of us in it: myself, Chris, and another LSCS student named Mary Rosser. That´s what she goes by, so don´t you dare call her plain old Mary or you might end up seeing the business end of brimstone...which takes me off on a mental Shrek moment, but alas, such is it. The professor is a rather large Sevillan named Fernando with a resonant voice. He´s been teaching us silly American exchange students for over a decade, so he speaks slowly and simply. He must speak like wildfire and use absurd language when he´s not with us to make up for it. Anyway, his resonant voice is actually a little difficult to explain at times because, since there are only 3 of us and the room is made of concrete bricks, it echoes. It gets a little aggravating at times, but nothing to bad. The material keeps us (me) focused long enough not to worry. Luckyily, I have that class all semester, and after these first three intense weeks, it drops down to twice a week. I think I might actually be disappointed when that happens.
Once these first 3 weeks are over, we start our other classes. For me, that will include "Spain and Islam", "Spain and the European Union", and another advanced Spanish class. It´s supposed to be more advanced conversation or somesuch so I hope that will actually be useful around town.
Anyway, for these first three weeks, I get done with classes before 2, head home for lunch and siesta, and have the rest of the day to myself. Over the next few days, that also includes some field trips. Tomorrow we´re going to some gardens, Friday the archaeological museum, and Saturday the beach at Itálica. I´m looking forward to Friday and Saturday the most. Should be muy divertido.
More will come after my immediate adventures, and I´m sorry to say that won´t include pictures as I accidentally left the cord that connects my camera to my computer in one of the many boxes on my floor at home. So for now, I will have to try and capture the story in words. I hope I do it justice.
Anywho, for the next 3 weeks, myself and a few other students, Chris included, will be taking intensive courses in Spanish grammar and composition (bleh!) and art and culture. Seeing as how I despise grammar classes when they are taught in a language I understand, I´m not particularly looking forward to it. Although the professor is actually a rather attractive mujer, she seems almost ditzy to me, plus she just never shuts up. I mean NEVER! A whole hour and a half of blabbityblabbityblah in rapidfire Spanish is just too much for me. It also doesn´t help that my fellow students are taking advantage of their legality to go out nearly as often as they can. I just don´t have the energy, so I had to keep myself awake in class by pinching myself repeatedly today. Apparently, I have a higher pain tolerance than I thought, since it didn´t do a very good job. Fortunately, I only have that grammar class everyday until mid-October. In the meanwhile, I´ll be writing several compositions. I guess that will help me for the 10 page paper on the Inquisition I have to write for the art and culture class.
THAT class I´m actually looking forward to. There are only 3 of us in it: myself, Chris, and another LSCS student named Mary Rosser. That´s what she goes by, so don´t you dare call her plain old Mary or you might end up seeing the business end of brimstone...which takes me off on a mental Shrek moment, but alas, such is it. The professor is a rather large Sevillan named Fernando with a resonant voice. He´s been teaching us silly American exchange students for over a decade, so he speaks slowly and simply. He must speak like wildfire and use absurd language when he´s not with us to make up for it. Anyway, his resonant voice is actually a little difficult to explain at times because, since there are only 3 of us and the room is made of concrete bricks, it echoes. It gets a little aggravating at times, but nothing to bad. The material keeps us (me) focused long enough not to worry. Luckyily, I have that class all semester, and after these first three intense weeks, it drops down to twice a week. I think I might actually be disappointed when that happens.
Once these first 3 weeks are over, we start our other classes. For me, that will include "Spain and Islam", "Spain and the European Union", and another advanced Spanish class. It´s supposed to be more advanced conversation or somesuch so I hope that will actually be useful around town.
Anyway, for these first three weeks, I get done with classes before 2, head home for lunch and siesta, and have the rest of the day to myself. Over the next few days, that also includes some field trips. Tomorrow we´re going to some gardens, Friday the archaeological museum, and Saturday the beach at Itálica. I´m looking forward to Friday and Saturday the most. Should be muy divertido.
More will come after my immediate adventures, and I´m sorry to say that won´t include pictures as I accidentally left the cord that connects my camera to my computer in one of the many boxes on my floor at home. So for now, I will have to try and capture the story in words. I hope I do it justice.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sevilla: Eyes of a Wanderer
So yesterday I was feeling kinda restless and decided to do a bit of exploring after siesta (which I'm still in love with). So I left my apartment building and just went. I followed the street next to my building for a while, found some karate places and someplace with a big sign advertising "Ingles" (English) and some very quaint looking shops. I followed that road to the first serious intersection, and for a change of pace, hooked a left. Much to my great wonder and amusement, I was on the road with the futbol stadium! I walked right up to it, took a picture, and walked around with a grin on my face for a bit. It's not as big as some of our football stadiums (at least it didn't look it from the outside) but it was still fairly grand. Chris and I can't wait to attend more than our fair share of Sevilla FC games. We're excited. So anyway, that neighborhood is called Nervion (most of the Spanish words I'm using have accents, but I can't put accents in on my laptop, so just imagine them k? Thanks.) and I wandered around there for about an hour. Aside from the futbol stadium, I also discovered the movie theater. It has 20 screens and covers several floors. To add to the diversion, there's a gigantic staircase to get up to the ticket booth. Maybe they just try and make everyone sleep through the movies so they won't eat or drink anything and get the theater dirty. At the bottom of the steps was a very chic urban clothing shop where half the mannequins were only partially dressed and sporting Minnie Mouse panties or bras and such. But that's Europe, they're not all a bunch of prudes. Which makes most of us Americans uncomfortable, to say the least. Notice I said most of us. I'm immune since I got it at an early age. Nudity and skinny dipping to advertise butter? Not a problem in Germany, regardless of what age eyes are watching. But moving on, I decided to lose myself in some back alleys and such, and very nearly did get lost. Also, while waiting to cross a street, I saw a guy drive by wearing the exact same shirt as me. I couldn't help but laugh. Alas, I ended up coming out on a road I recognized, Avenida de San Francisco. I wasn't ready to go back yet, but my feet were a little sore, so I decided to grab a Sevici bici from a nearby kiosk. By the way, those things are the greatest thing ever! With kiosks all over the city, the only thing you have to worry about is making sure the bici you take off the stand isn't defective in some way (Friday night I pulled out one with the rear tire completely off it's rim and then another with the chain falling off the gears). So I rode in the opposite direction for a while, around where Chris and I did some exploring Friday afternoon. I took my time, just kinda riding in a big loop, and saw some stores, a supermarket or two, so on and so forth. Rather a nice ride, if a little sweaty. Jeans apparently weren't the best idea yesterday. Again, made a big loop and came out at the end of my street, Avenida Ramon y Cajal, and decided to walk the rest of the way. Found some nice little cervezerias that I look forward to visiting. I look forward to exploring more of the city, alone or with my friends. It's a gorgeous city and I recommend it to all travelers. Come visit!
A Night Life
Disclaimer: This blog post not suitable for those under the age of 16. May contain some sexual references and no longer underage drinking references. If you wish to protect yourself and your children, avert your eyes and continue scrolling down until you pass this post, whenever you think that might be. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
So the last few days have been pretty wild. I'm not one for much drinking and partying and going out and such, but Friday and Saturday nights were hella awesome nonetheless. So Friday night my roommate Chris and I decided to go out with the girls again. It will pretty much always be the girls since there are only 7 guys in our program, but it's a good ratio in my opinion. Anyway, so Friday night I call my friend Monika to find out what the plans are. They're at dinner someplace near el rio so Chris and I decide to go join them and then head to a bar (since we're legal here). Of course, we only got vague directions and figured we could find them anyway. Lo and behold, we were mistaken. As it turns out, Chris ended up forgetting his mobile and his map (which he considers his lifeline) so we had to turn back when we felt too lost to find where the girls were having dinner. It's just as well, because we needed that map eventually. So we rode around on the Sevici bicycles for a bit, trying to find our way, which we did after about an hour or so. So now it's 23:30 (11:30 pm for you Yankees), we're back at our apartment, the girls are at a bar, and we're still none the wiser as to where. So again, we jump on the Sevici bicis (the 'c' is pronounced like a 's' but with a lisp. It's the accent here. Try it.) We get down to the river, drop our bikes off, and cross the bridge. Here, we were directed to proceed down one block, look for a lot of construction, head that way, then turn left down an alleyway. What someone forgot to mention to us (I can't remember who actually gave us the directions...maybe Carly?) was that we were supposed to make an immediate right after the bridge onto calle Betis, which is sorta their party street I guess you could say. Anyway, we strode around Los Remedios (a neighborhood in Sevilla) for a bit, looking for some bar called BigBen that was supposedly near them, completely lost again for a solid 20/25 minutes. We finally get sick of it, call Monika again, and finally get some decent directions. After that, we found the bar without a problem. It was called Fundacion and it was actually a pretty cool place. Unfortunately, Chris and I arrived just a tad too late for the free sangria. Que lastima. Anyway, I buy the first round for me and Chris, we chat, meet some friends of the girls named Toba and David, two locals who have some serious connections. We ended up following them to this discoteca called Buddha. OFF THE HOOK! It was several levels, with a second floor terrace open to the Sevillan skyline and some pretty good beats playing inside. Plus, when we got there, we got a free round of shots. I think it was honey rum and it was delicious! So we danced and hung out there for a few hours. We met some other Americans with a different program based on some school out of the Midwest, and they turned out to be pretty cool. As it turns out, one of the girls was someone I'd met on my flight from Madrid to Sevilla, the flight that was so absurdly delayed. Funny little world. Walked home with two students from my program named Rahmin (a Peruvian with a Persian name. Huh?) and Carly and didn't end up getting in until about 4 in the AM. Overall, I gave the night a 9.
Saturday is another funny story. That morning, the whole program was supposed to meet at the hotel where we stayed the first night for a kind of tour around the city, more of a scavenger hunt kind of event. Well, Chris and I missed it. It seems that I remembered I had an alarm set, just that it was set to only go off on weekdays and not the weekends. Because honestly, who wants to wake up at 9am on a Saturday? Seriously, come on! We didn't actually wake up til 13:30 (subtract 12 to get 1:30) and we both felt a little guilty about that. O well, shit happens. Chris went out exploring a bit and I laid in bed reading for most of the day. At least that night went off without a hitch, and without getting lost. A good portion of the group met at Burger King (seriously, we have a Burger King just down the street, but I've been too afraid to try the food) before heading out. We decided to head to Calle Betis again, which turned out to be a very good idea. We were initially going to this place called Rio Grande, a fancy schmancy riverside club/bar/discoteca thing, but we got there around 12:10 and we were barred entry. No one gets in after 12 or without a flyer. Needless to say, we didn't have a single flyer, let alone 22. So we continued on, looking for someplace inviting. We actually found the bar BigBen (spelled BIGNEB...trying to be cool with the whole backwards letters and such), and saw they had some pretty sweet specials. So the group, all 22 of us, packed in and started drinking. I had some beers and my very first lemon drop (which actually wasn't too bad...maybe I've misjudged tequila). So I had a pretty fair buzz going when we decided to ditch BigNeb and continue on. We walked a little further down the street and went into this discoteca, I never caught the name, and I seriously felt like I'd been teleported to a slightly classier but equally sketchy version of Players in Chapel Hill. At first, I wasn't feeling too comfortable, but when some people started dancing, I really stopped caring. There are some pictures of me on Facebook looking awfully retarded but alas, that's what happens when I dance. So sue me. I danced for a good while again, tried to get some wallflowers in our group to dance too (they wouldn't, though myself and several of the girls tried) and overall had a good time. We abandoned that place and went back to BigNeb's for a last round before calling it a night and then I walked a big group of girls home. I try to be a gentleman. I was informed it earned me brownie points, but really, when can I cash those in? I'm pretty sure I have a pretty fair amount by now, all things considered. I'd like to collect on my prizes, whatever they might be. Brownies are acceptable.
But yes, the night life here is pretty crazy. We went home a little after 3 and everything was still going strong. Apparently Chris is used to this stuff, but I think 3 nights of going out will be the death of me before September is over. I'll have to learn to pace myself. I can do that.
Oh, just so no one gets the wrong idea, I have yet to actually get drunk while I'm here. Buzzed yet, but not drunk. So yea, I'm not going crazy being able to legally drink, no worries.
So the last few days have been pretty wild. I'm not one for much drinking and partying and going out and such, but Friday and Saturday nights were hella awesome nonetheless. So Friday night my roommate Chris and I decided to go out with the girls again. It will pretty much always be the girls since there are only 7 guys in our program, but it's a good ratio in my opinion. Anyway, so Friday night I call my friend Monika to find out what the plans are. They're at dinner someplace near el rio so Chris and I decide to go join them and then head to a bar (since we're legal here). Of course, we only got vague directions and figured we could find them anyway. Lo and behold, we were mistaken. As it turns out, Chris ended up forgetting his mobile and his map (which he considers his lifeline) so we had to turn back when we felt too lost to find where the girls were having dinner. It's just as well, because we needed that map eventually. So we rode around on the Sevici bicycles for a bit, trying to find our way, which we did after about an hour or so. So now it's 23:30 (11:30 pm for you Yankees), we're back at our apartment, the girls are at a bar, and we're still none the wiser as to where. So again, we jump on the Sevici bicis (the 'c' is pronounced like a 's' but with a lisp. It's the accent here. Try it.) We get down to the river, drop our bikes off, and cross the bridge. Here, we were directed to proceed down one block, look for a lot of construction, head that way, then turn left down an alleyway. What someone forgot to mention to us (I can't remember who actually gave us the directions...maybe Carly?) was that we were supposed to make an immediate right after the bridge onto calle Betis, which is sorta their party street I guess you could say. Anyway, we strode around Los Remedios (a neighborhood in Sevilla) for a bit, looking for some bar called BigBen that was supposedly near them, completely lost again for a solid 20/25 minutes. We finally get sick of it, call Monika again, and finally get some decent directions. After that, we found the bar without a problem. It was called Fundacion and it was actually a pretty cool place. Unfortunately, Chris and I arrived just a tad too late for the free sangria. Que lastima. Anyway, I buy the first round for me and Chris, we chat, meet some friends of the girls named Toba and David, two locals who have some serious connections. We ended up following them to this discoteca called Buddha. OFF THE HOOK! It was several levels, with a second floor terrace open to the Sevillan skyline and some pretty good beats playing inside. Plus, when we got there, we got a free round of shots. I think it was honey rum and it was delicious! So we danced and hung out there for a few hours. We met some other Americans with a different program based on some school out of the Midwest, and they turned out to be pretty cool. As it turns out, one of the girls was someone I'd met on my flight from Madrid to Sevilla, the flight that was so absurdly delayed. Funny little world. Walked home with two students from my program named Rahmin (a Peruvian with a Persian name. Huh?) and Carly and didn't end up getting in until about 4 in the AM. Overall, I gave the night a 9.
Saturday is another funny story. That morning, the whole program was supposed to meet at the hotel where we stayed the first night for a kind of tour around the city, more of a scavenger hunt kind of event. Well, Chris and I missed it. It seems that I remembered I had an alarm set, just that it was set to only go off on weekdays and not the weekends. Because honestly, who wants to wake up at 9am on a Saturday? Seriously, come on! We didn't actually wake up til 13:30 (subtract 12 to get 1:30) and we both felt a little guilty about that. O well, shit happens. Chris went out exploring a bit and I laid in bed reading for most of the day. At least that night went off without a hitch, and without getting lost. A good portion of the group met at Burger King (seriously, we have a Burger King just down the street, but I've been too afraid to try the food) before heading out. We decided to head to Calle Betis again, which turned out to be a very good idea. We were initially going to this place called Rio Grande, a fancy schmancy riverside club/bar/discoteca thing, but we got there around 12:10 and we were barred entry. No one gets in after 12 or without a flyer. Needless to say, we didn't have a single flyer, let alone 22. So we continued on, looking for someplace inviting. We actually found the bar BigBen (spelled BIGNEB...trying to be cool with the whole backwards letters and such), and saw they had some pretty sweet specials. So the group, all 22 of us, packed in and started drinking. I had some beers and my very first lemon drop (which actually wasn't too bad...maybe I've misjudged tequila). So I had a pretty fair buzz going when we decided to ditch BigNeb and continue on. We walked a little further down the street and went into this discoteca, I never caught the name, and I seriously felt like I'd been teleported to a slightly classier but equally sketchy version of Players in Chapel Hill. At first, I wasn't feeling too comfortable, but when some people started dancing, I really stopped caring. There are some pictures of me on Facebook looking awfully retarded but alas, that's what happens when I dance. So sue me. I danced for a good while again, tried to get some wallflowers in our group to dance too (they wouldn't, though myself and several of the girls tried) and overall had a good time. We abandoned that place and went back to BigNeb's for a last round before calling it a night and then I walked a big group of girls home. I try to be a gentleman. I was informed it earned me brownie points, but really, when can I cash those in? I'm pretty sure I have a pretty fair amount by now, all things considered. I'd like to collect on my prizes, whatever they might be. Brownies are acceptable.
But yes, the night life here is pretty crazy. We went home a little after 3 and everything was still going strong. Apparently Chris is used to this stuff, but I think 3 nights of going out will be the death of me before September is over. I'll have to learn to pace myself. I can do that.
Oh, just so no one gets the wrong idea, I have yet to actually get drunk while I'm here. Buzzed yet, but not drunk. So yea, I'm not going crazy being able to legally drink, no worries.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
First Full Day
Well, the first full day has come and almost gone. I´m still planning on going out for a few drinks with some of my fellow students in celebration of our successful arrival. Least that´s our excuse.
Had my first meals in a Spanish setting. Got a nice early wake up call at the hotel where we were spending the night to walk down for a nice light breakfast. For me, a croissant with strawberry jam and a yogurt. My roommate and I had lunch at our home for the next 4 months. It was pasta and it was very tasty. Our señora is a pretty good cook. Dinner consisted of gazpacho, which I discovered I´m not a big fan of, and some eggs and sausage since neither I nor my roommate really touched the gazpacho. All in all, I don´t think I´ll starve.
Another thing I discovered is that siesta is a necessity. It gets so hot midday that if you´re not inside in the shade with the a/c running, you´d literally melt. Hell, my roommate (named Chris for future reference) and I had to go to an orientation meeting at the university where we´ll be studying around 5 and we still nearly died on route. And I wholeheartedly approve of siesta. It was nice just laying in the room with the lights off not doing anything. Though I think I´ll run out of tv episodes on my iPod before very long. Still nice though.
And last but most importantly, I believe I found my internet source for most of this trip. There is a computer lab at the school but it closes around 8, and honestly, who in the states wants to chat with me around 2 in the afternoon? But I digress...slightly. It´s cheap and close, and open relatively late which is good for my tastes. My roommate and I are still deciding on whether or not we should just share an internet card so we can have it at home. We still need to ask Marisol (our señora).
And with that, my time has expired for this session. Will continue soon.
Had my first meals in a Spanish setting. Got a nice early wake up call at the hotel where we were spending the night to walk down for a nice light breakfast. For me, a croissant with strawberry jam and a yogurt. My roommate and I had lunch at our home for the next 4 months. It was pasta and it was very tasty. Our señora is a pretty good cook. Dinner consisted of gazpacho, which I discovered I´m not a big fan of, and some eggs and sausage since neither I nor my roommate really touched the gazpacho. All in all, I don´t think I´ll starve.
Another thing I discovered is that siesta is a necessity. It gets so hot midday that if you´re not inside in the shade with the a/c running, you´d literally melt. Hell, my roommate (named Chris for future reference) and I had to go to an orientation meeting at the university where we´ll be studying around 5 and we still nearly died on route. And I wholeheartedly approve of siesta. It was nice just laying in the room with the lights off not doing anything. Though I think I´ll run out of tv episodes on my iPod before very long. Still nice though.
And last but most importantly, I believe I found my internet source for most of this trip. There is a computer lab at the school but it closes around 8, and honestly, who in the states wants to chat with me around 2 in the afternoon? But I digress...slightly. It´s cheap and close, and open relatively late which is good for my tastes. My roommate and I are still deciding on whether or not we should just share an internet card so we can have it at home. We still need to ask Marisol (our señora).
And with that, my time has expired for this session. Will continue soon.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Grand Arrival
Well, I made it Sevilla safe and sound. Took a lot longer than expected, but I got here all the same. My flight from Newark to Madrid was smooth, if long. Add to the fact that I experienced a time change and got virtually zero sleep, it felt longer. Fortunately, the entertainment system had some fun movies, so I finally managed to watch Prince Caspian and rewatched Iron Man (though that involved a lot of fast forwarding so I could see it all before descent).
Once I made it to Madrid, I got thoroughly confused. Picked up my bags, went to the area supposedly called "Connections" only to be directed to a different door. I realize now that I should have brushed up on my airport terminology. Might have saved me some time. Anyway, finally get past customs, I'm in the terminal, and my next flight is nowhere to be found. Turn's out, it's in a satellite terminal a good 20 minutes away by bus. Again, finally figured that out after a lot of huffing and puffing around with my luggage.
Once I get to Terminal 4 where Iberia had their check-in, I checked in fine and dandy (though I had to pay a 50 euro fee for my second bag. Could've been worse). The teller was very friendly though, so that it wasn't all bad. After that, I decided to go find my gate and get some munchies, etc. One problem: apparently at Terminal 4 they don't post flight gates until 1 hour beforehand. And Terminal 4 is big. I mean, REALLY big. Takes you a solid half hour to walk from end to end even using those speedy flat escalator thingies. Didn't help me save much energy. So I had a few hours to burn...which involved a bag of potato chips and 2 cans of soda. Which is essentially all I had to eat until I finally got to Sevilla.
Well, that took a lot longer than expected. First, my flight gets pushed back by an hour. No biggie, happens all the time. No worries. I plop down and watch a tv show on my iPod (which died...) Go back to the screen, and now it says my flight's been delayed another hour and half. So now, my flight won't be taking off until a solid 15 minutes after I'm supposed to be at my hotel in Sevilla. Well, I went to the Iberia customer service, they couldn't tell me anything, so I dropped about 10 euros in coins at some internet terminals emailing folks, including my program director hoping she'd get it in time to give me some advice (she didn't), and generally exhausted myself some more. When the plane finally got there, I boarded and promptly passed out.
Now that I'm here though, it's a gorgeous city. I've only seen my hotel and a few streets and back alleys, but I have a feeling I'm going to love it here. It's very picturesque, so I think I'll be bringing my camera everywhere too. Met my roommate for the next few months, and he seems pretty chill. Apparently we'll be living with a single woman who, I'm told, will dote upon us like our grandmother. "Eating alright? Sleeping alright?" etc. I can't complain. We move in tomorrow and then we get to see the school. Should be exciting.
With that, I'm going to pass out. Maybe 3 hours of actual sleep since 9 am yesterday morning (it's now midnight local time) just doesn't do the body good. Fortunately, I've been saving up a lot of sleep the past few weeks, so hopefully I won't be in too bad shape tomorrow.
Once I made it to Madrid, I got thoroughly confused. Picked up my bags, went to the area supposedly called "Connections" only to be directed to a different door. I realize now that I should have brushed up on my airport terminology. Might have saved me some time. Anyway, finally get past customs, I'm in the terminal, and my next flight is nowhere to be found. Turn's out, it's in a satellite terminal a good 20 minutes away by bus. Again, finally figured that out after a lot of huffing and puffing around with my luggage.
Once I get to Terminal 4 where Iberia had their check-in, I checked in fine and dandy (though I had to pay a 50 euro fee for my second bag. Could've been worse). The teller was very friendly though, so that it wasn't all bad. After that, I decided to go find my gate and get some munchies, etc. One problem: apparently at Terminal 4 they don't post flight gates until 1 hour beforehand. And Terminal 4 is big. I mean, REALLY big. Takes you a solid half hour to walk from end to end even using those speedy flat escalator thingies. Didn't help me save much energy. So I had a few hours to burn...which involved a bag of potato chips and 2 cans of soda. Which is essentially all I had to eat until I finally got to Sevilla.
Well, that took a lot longer than expected. First, my flight gets pushed back by an hour. No biggie, happens all the time. No worries. I plop down and watch a tv show on my iPod (which died...) Go back to the screen, and now it says my flight's been delayed another hour and half. So now, my flight won't be taking off until a solid 15 minutes after I'm supposed to be at my hotel in Sevilla. Well, I went to the Iberia customer service, they couldn't tell me anything, so I dropped about 10 euros in coins at some internet terminals emailing folks, including my program director hoping she'd get it in time to give me some advice (she didn't), and generally exhausted myself some more. When the plane finally got there, I boarded and promptly passed out.
Now that I'm here though, it's a gorgeous city. I've only seen my hotel and a few streets and back alleys, but I have a feeling I'm going to love it here. It's very picturesque, so I think I'll be bringing my camera everywhere too. Met my roommate for the next few months, and he seems pretty chill. Apparently we'll be living with a single woman who, I'm told, will dote upon us like our grandmother. "Eating alright? Sleeping alright?" etc. I can't complain. We move in tomorrow and then we get to see the school. Should be exciting.
With that, I'm going to pass out. Maybe 3 hours of actual sleep since 9 am yesterday morning (it's now midnight local time) just doesn't do the body good. Fortunately, I've been saving up a lot of sleep the past few weeks, so hopefully I won't be in too bad shape tomorrow.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Pre-Trip Jitters
Well, this is the beginning of my European adventure blogging. I've got all the necessities, minus a few electronic components for charging my laptop, camera, etc. Haven't started packing exactly, I've just got all my stuff laid out across my brother's bed...with my suitcases right next to it. So essentially I'm procrastinating (how surprising). Don't feel like doing it yet.
I am a little nervous, and from certain sources, I'm going to be missing a good semester at school. So I'll just have to have an amazing time to make up for it. For all those following along at home, I leave Tuesday night at 10 pm, and I'll be in Sevilla, Spain on Wednesday at some time. Not sure exactly when I'll get internet again but that will probably precipitate another blogpost of the god awful long plane ride, food, layover, lost luggage (hopefully not) etc. etc. etc. Anyway, take care everyone! Adios!
I am a little nervous, and from certain sources, I'm going to be missing a good semester at school. So I'll just have to have an amazing time to make up for it. For all those following along at home, I leave Tuesday night at 10 pm, and I'll be in Sevilla, Spain on Wednesday at some time. Not sure exactly when I'll get internet again but that will probably precipitate another blogpost of the god awful long plane ride, food, layover, lost luggage (hopefully not) etc. etc. etc. Anyway, take care everyone! Adios!
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