Life is GOOD!

Today Keliana and I were talking about how lucky we really are.  We are in the prime of our lives and it's just so amazing that we get the opportunity to come live in Europe for a semester.  It's weird because I have this whole life in America and now I'm living an entirely and completely different one in Spain. It truly is a gift.  THANKS MOM AND DAD YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! What really sparked this conversation was our excitement about all of the traveling we are going to be doing while we're here.  Throughout the semester my program provides four free trips to places around Seville.  The trips include Cordoba and Granada, Gibraltar, Malaga, and Portimao, Portugal.  I'll have to tell you a little more about these cities once I've visited them!  Also we've planned a few trips of our own during breaks throughout the semester.  I'm planning on going to Morocco, Amsterdam, Belgium, Paris, Ireland, London, and Wales!! It's so surreal that we are going to be traveling so much!! And I still have a 12 day break that I haven't planned any traveling for yet.  This is a crazy life. 

The Cathedral 

One afternoon during Siesta 

Marielle and I decided instead of laying in our bed and napping that it would be more fun to explore the Plaza de Espana and wander around the Parque de Maria Luisa.  As we walked we drank in all the new beauty around us, it's one of those things where you look at something and you feel like your eyes are deceiving you, like there's no way it could be real.  The Plaza is enormous, it was built in 1929 and was designed to represent two arms open to the new world.  Also a scene from Star Wars was filmed there, cool! Right next to the Plaza is the Park, and thats huge too! While strolling through you come across tons of fountains, gardens, statues, and ponds.  One after another after another.  It really is a great place, and oh, only a 5 minute walk from my apartment, hell yeah. 

Here are some Plaza pictures :)

Me and the Plaza

Marielle modeling with one of the end towers of the Plaza

The center fountain with a tower sticking out 

Gardens 

The streets of Sevilla is covered in orange trees, you can't eat them because they are sour but apparently they are collected and made into marmalade.  But they make everything seem more colorful.

A museum at the end of the park surrounded by angels.

Here I am with my 7 roommates, there are going to be 12 of us total but 4 still haven't come yet.  They are studying at the University of Sevilla and those classes don't start till next week but they should be here tomorrow! 

Classes have started

I've gone to all of my classes at the CEA global campus, there are only 3 but they all seem like they are going to be good!  I'm taking Popular Culture of Andalusia, Photography in Sevilla, and Spanish 2.  My schedule is really easy and our program makes it so no one has friday class, perfect for travel :)  CEA really is an awesome program, they hook us up with everything we need plus excursions! But I'm also taking one class and the University of Sevilla which is Theory and Practice of Flamenco Dancing, in which I will be not only studying the culture and importance of the dance but learning the dance itself!! That class doesn't start till next week though, but I'm really excited to start getting into my classes and understanding the more cultural side of Sevilla. lalalalalalaaaaa!

(Plaza de Espana)

Hola a Todos! 

And that is about the extent of my spanish, yet I am in Seville Spain anyways.  I've only been here for 3 days, but it has already been so amazing!  Walking around the city is such a treat, all the streets are cobblestone with beautiful old buildings everywhere you turn.  When I arrived in Seville we were first taken to a hotel for orientation, where we learned important information that would help us with our study abroad experience.  The next day we were distributed to our different housing.  Before going to my apartment I was nervous that the place would be empty and small, which was a serious concern considering the fact that I'm living with 11 other girls.  But to my surprise the apartment is absolutely gorgeous! We have the entire 6th floor of our apartment building, with 4 and 1/2 bathrooms. Luckily I got to chose my room first, so my roommate Keliana and I got the best in my opinion.  It's a double with huge closets, giant mirrors, and its own bathroom, tub included.  Here are some pictures of our place!!

Our kitchen, it has this awesome old gate/fence thing which makes it all the more coooool!

Eating area

Family Room

View off our balcony, a little plus is the sun sets there so every night we get an amazing and colorful sunset, my favorite!!

My bedroom, there are 3 doubles in the house and 2 triples.  We really scored with this room :)

Our desk and closets, such a great set up!

Check out the deluxe bathroom

Swagger.

So far in Spain I've done a lot of wandering with my roommates, we've been to a lot of bars and restaurants all over the city.  The one thing my dad couldn't stop talking about before I left was the tapas bars, and I've already made it to a bunch of them!  It's cool being in a new country because all the food is completely different and even the way they eat is different.  The Spanish way of life is a lot later than what I'm used to.  They have a small breakfast and then their large main meal is lunch which is typically around 2 pm.   Then they have small snacks until around 9 or 10 when they eat dinner which typically consists of tapas or just a lite meal.  Also people party a lot later here too.  One night we went to a club but didn't get there till 1 am, which is early for Spaniards! Here people stay out till around 6 in the morning!  

Besides enjoying the food, drinks, and nightlife in Seville I also went on a 3 hour bike tour of the city.  It was provided by my program and was a great first activity because it allowed us to see an over view of where we are living.  Because we were on bikes I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked too, I can't wait to get out and really go crazyy.  The first night I would stop and take pictures, my roommates already have made jokes about how they need to keep me on a leash.  Needless to say I feel like my mother.  

We'll I'll leave you with a couple more photos just to give you a taste of some of the things I'm seeing! 

Fountain right next to my apartment, they're everywhere. So pretty :)

This is my roommate Keliana, she's from California and is super cool. I got lucky with this one haha.

Vino y Tapas!

Torre del Oro 

Pretty church

The mushroom! But actually it's called Espacio Metropol Parasol, it's a monument and underneath there are old ruins.

Pretty buildings everywhere :)