futbol and bulls...

Well, my last weekend in Sevilla has now been completed. It was full of fun and "Spanish" activities! On Friday, we went to the beach for one last time. It was very relaxing and overall pretty much perfect besides the painful, lobster-red sunburn I got on my legs. They were throbbing all Friday evening and made for a very uncomfortable night.

On Saturday, we went to a professional Sevilla soccer game! It was a blast, and a really good taste of Sevilla culture. Sevillans LOVE futbol and they LOVE their team. It reminded me of going to a Twins game, but 100x more fun. (not that i don't like Twins games! this was just really cool) We ended up getting seats in the front row, which was amazing. I have no idea how we pulled that off, because we bought our tickets the day of the game and opted for the cheapest ones. We didn't realize we were in the first row until we were actually at the game. The fans were really into the game and always singing or cheering. In the end, Sevilla won 3-1, so it was muy perfecto. 

On Sunday, we went to a bull fight. Once again, we ended up getting great seats even though we bought cheap, last minute tickets! Bull fighting is not something I will never really understand, but it was really interesting and I'm glad I went. It wasn't as bloody as I had anticipated, so that was nice. The fighters were novices so it took them awhile to kill the bulls... but they got around to it eventually. 

Last night, we took our senora out for dinner as a kind of "thank you", and that was really fun. It felt good to finally be able to give a little something back to her after all she's done for us. Now I have 2 days left here, and I'm going to soak up every last drop of Spanish life. I am extremely excited to be home, but I know there are things that I will miss from here. 

When I'm home, I hope everyone will be ready to look through pictures and hear more stories! This blog has been a little taste of what has gone on here, but if you're interested, I have much, much more to show and to tell you. :)

ireland!

Ireland was not exactly what I had expected, but it was wonderful nonetheless. The people were extremely friendly and respectful, which is pretty different from the people in Spain. I loved being able to actually talk to people (in English) and of course, I loved all the Irish accents!

Ireland is famous for its fish and chips - and rightfully so! They are very fried, greasy, and delicious. We only waited about 2 hours after arriving in Dublin to try some. :)

















One day, we did a hike up to an area where we could look out over the Irish sea. It was a great hike, and the view was incredible. It had rained that morning, so it was a little muddy... but overall it was definitely worth being a little dirty.


We got lost on the way down and ended up on someone´s private property. Oops...

















There was a cross at the top of the mountain, and no one really knows why it´s there or who put it there. It was a really cool spot to sit and soak in God´s majesty.

















Our last day in Ireland, we went to the cliffs of Moher. It was an amazing view, but the weather when we were there was terrible! It was cold and windy, and there was a sudden downpour so we had to make a mad dash to the visitor center. Inside, we enjoyed ice cream and looked at the cliffs through the window. :)

more switzerland pictures...

Here are just a few more pictures... Switzerland is a hard place to capture with a camera, but hopefully you can get an idea of some of the beauty we experienced there. 

Our group of five girls was perfect to travel with. They are (r-l in the picture in the grass) Ellen, Michelle, Bethany, me, and Kayla.  We shared lots of laughs and made lots of really fun memories together! 

traveling the world...

This week, I had the opportunity to visit 9 new cities in 3 different countries! Not a lot of people get to say that. I am so thankful for all of the traveling I have been able to do. I love it! This week, I traveled with Kayla and three other girls from my program here named Michelle, Bethany, and Ellen.

While we were in Switzerland, we spent most of our time in a precious town called Interlaken. This town was recommended to me by lovely older sister Lindsay, and it was a wonderful recommendation. The town is situated between two lakes, and everything is surrounded by the Swiss Alps. Every direction you look, there is a breathtaking view.

Our first day in Interlaken, we were lucky enough to have good weather even though it was supposed to rain. We attended a church service in the morning, which was given completely in German. I understood about 1% of what was spoken, but it was still a really cool experience to know that we were all worshiping the same God even though our backgrounds, languages, and cultures were completely different.

Interlaken also has some spectacular chocolate. One afternoon, we went to a chocolate show where we learned about the different kinds of chocolate and also how to make truffles. It was so fun! We also got to sample everything, which was amazing. I definitely ate too much Swiss chocolate in that 1 hour time period.

We stayed in an apartment that had a kitchen, so we were able to cook our own dinners. When my mom came here, she brought a box of Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese, so one night in Switzerland we enjoyed a good old American dinner. Thanks, mom!

One day we also hiked up to a place where we got to see caves and waterfalls and more mountains! I think pretty much anywhere we would have hiked would have had incredible views of mountains. There were also gorgeous flowers everywhere. I have never seen such a variety of colors in tulips!

off i go!!

Tomorrow starts a week of adventures for me. It is our "second spring break" as we like to call it... otherwise known as "Feria." During Feria, Sevilla will be full of people, horses, lights, food, beer (unfortunate but true), and flamenco! There will be tons of flamenco... Some girls from my school took flamenco classes and put on a show this past Monday, so that was really fun to watch. We (as spectators) even got to put flowers in our hair so we could feel like flamenco dancers too. :) 

An overview of where I will (or plan to) be this week is:

Friday-Saturday: Madrid

Saturday-Sunday: Basel, Switzerland

Sunday-Tuesday: Interlaken, Switzerland

Tuesday-Saturday: Dublin, Ireland (with a day trip to Gallway somewhere in there)

I will let you know how it all goes when I'm back! You can look forward to lots of pictures!

things i will not take for granted!

Today I was thinking of some things that I don't really appreciate when I'm at home, but now that I don't have them or they are hard to come by I have really missed them! For example:

1. carpet

2. cold milk

3. paper dollars (euros are coins and they are heavy and obnoxious)

4. places to run where you aren't always dodging people

5. dryer

6. my bed

7. Target (I miss Target SO much!)

8. gatorade (I never liked it that much until now when I can't get it)

9. English ads, newspapers, tv, and movies

10. English speaking hairstylists (I got my first haircut today and it was an adventure to say the least)

11. good customer service in restaurants, etc.

12. free refills

13. lower prices on pretty much everything

14. my car and driving

15. having a variety of classes in a day versus having spanish grammar for three hours

This list, plus more of the things I don't want to take for granted when I get home, is going in my journal and I am planning on putting it somewhere where I will see it and be reminded to appreciate all of these things!

Last day trip!

This past Friday, our program went to Ronda for the day. It was our last day trip as a group! As far as cities in Spain go, Ronda is definitely one of my favorites. It is situated among beautiful mountains and countryside, and it has the small town feel that I prefer to big cities. The weather was spotty that day... random rain showers alternating with sun... but we all came prepared with umbrellas and sunglasses. :) 

This week I have four days of school and then I'm off on my last big European adventure! On Friday, me and four other girls are going to Madrid. We will be there only one day and then Saturday we leave for Switzerland. In Switzerland we will be in Basel, (maybe) Bern, and Interlaken. On Tuesday, we will leave to go to Ireland, where we will spend a few days in Dublin and the surrounding cities.

I can't believe how quickly my time here is winding down. I would appreciate prayer this week to stay motivated in school since it's going to be pretty hard! 

One other exciting thing that happened this weekend is that I actually watched my senora make tortilla espanola (my favorite Spanish dish). She was so cute when I asked her if I could watch. She got really excited and then showed me how to do it step by step... now I think with some practice I'll be able to make it when I get back!