madrid

The weekend of the 20th (I know late posting) I went to Madrid with Chrisy. We took the midnight bus from Sevilla to Madrid, so we got into Madrid around 6:30am! We wanted the whole day on Friday to sightsee, so it was definitely worth the lack of sleep. We took the metro to our hostel´s stop and literally walked two blocks to get there. It was pretty early, but when Chrisy made the reservation, she said that we would be arriving very early. We rang the bell for our hostel, and there was no answer. So, I rang it again and the door was buzzed open. When we got up to the third floor, a little lady who had clearly just woken up came to the door and looked a little peeved. She was telling us it was too early and we could not check in yet. So we left our bags there and walked to a little bar for some breakfast where people were still drinking (from the night before! Welcome to Spain!). She told us to come back around 9:30 or 10, so we just walked around to get a feel for the city. After checking in, we decided to go to the Prado, figuring that would take a good amount of time to get through. Little did we know... we had a map of the whole place and somehow still managed to get lost (trying to get out!) It was like a horror movie: trapped in a museum, with a bunch of religious paintings and Jesus on the crossafter every turn... I know. It´s the Prado. You HAVE to see it, and I´m glad I did because of all the famous paintings and artists. But by the end of it, if I had to look at one more religious painting, I thought I would die. We went back to our hostel and took a nap before dinner and a night out! We ate at this really good Italian restaurant in the center of the city.
We went to a famous club in Madrid called Kapital where cover is pretty expensive, but we had to check out what all the commotion was about! This club has 7 levels that all play different music, but on a Friday night it was kind of lame. Oh well, we finally found a perfect spot to dance on the main floor. On the stage, there were these dancers that were hilarious to watch ( I took a video), but my favorite part were these HUGE bursts of cold air that came down from the ceiling onto the dance floor. So refreshing, I can´t even explain it!
On Saturday, we woke up pretty early to get a jumpstart on our day. We went to Palacio Real, which was very pretty, but we heard it wasn´t worth it to pay to go inside. So, we just walked around town and stumbled upon a plaza that had so many street performers! They weirdest one was this couple sitting down, COVERING themselves in mud. In their ears, covering their eyes, mouths, you name it. It was so gross. After the plaza we went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. I definitely liked it more than the Prado. There was more diversity in the themes of the painting and I liked the artists more (Picasso, Dalí, Degas, Monet, etc.) I found a new favorite painting.
After the museum, we decided it was time for some shopping. We took a huge loop around the entire city and eventually got to the street (that wasn´t on the map) We were pretty tired though, and I thought my knee was shattering in my leg, so we went back to the hostel. We went to the Mexican restaurant right across the street from our hostel for dinner, and immediately realized we were exhausted, so we just went back to our hostel and crashed.
On Sunday, we woke up earlier, checked out of the hostel, and made our way to El Rastro. El Rastro is a huge street market in Madrid and apparently there are a ton of pickpocketers (we didn´t see anyone get robbed) so we left everything but some money in the hostel. This place had EVERYTHING you could possibly need. After shopping around and getting our bags, we headed to the metro. We took the train the longer way to get to the bus station, so what should have been a sufficient amount of time (an hour) to catch our bus ended up being a race to catch it. We caught our bus though! The trip was problem-free and so much fun. I saw everything that I wanted to in a short weekend. I yet again I´m glad I´m in Sevilla for the long haul though!
Miss you all
Love, Franny

mi cumpleaños

At least I am getting this up within a month!
So, my birthday was during midterms week. I therefore didn´t expect anyone to make it out to celebrate with me. BUT it somehow worked out that none of my good friends here had midterms on my birthday, so we went out the night before! I chose to get mexican food for dinner (because I love it and have not had it since I´ve been here.) So, I went to dinner with Jessica, Chrisy, Jillian, Benjamin, and Scott (also known as Paco- I´ll explain that later.) We got to the restaurant and immediately took tequila shots (obviously NOT my idea) Our waiter´s name was Francisco and when he found it was my birthday he asked me if I wanted to dance with Charlie, "el Gordito" (that means little fat guy.) I laughed and said maybe after a few more shots. Charlie comes out a few minutes later. He is not little. He is an enormous guy. I was slightly nervous to dance, so I made it my goal to avoid it at all costs. Francisco gave me a flower for my birthday, but I accidentally broke it. After a few more shots, some beers, and finally my food (which was incredible!) we headed over to a bar that I figured would have green beer but they said not until it was ACTUALLY St. Patrick´s Day, so no green beer. We made one more stop at an Irish bar, but they also didn´t have green beer. Overall, the night was incredible. Everyone had a good time. I was pretty drunk (it´s legal now! Even in the States!) so I was being slightly ridiculous. I was sung to in about 4 different languages (at least.) I was walking around the streets saying "HOLA ES MI CUMPLEAÑOS!" So, I was sung to in Spanish, Italian, Dutch (I was lifted in the air by a bunch of Dutchmen), and English. Jessica was the videographer for the night, and I must admit they are pretty funny. She said she is going to post them on youtube (Let´s hope not.) Cath heard me on my birthday, so she knows best that I had a good night. Wish you all were here to celebrate with me!
See you soon. Love, Franny

what I like , what I don't & what I miss about home

I've slowly been making lists about the things I like & don't like about Sevilla, and of course the things I miss about being home. 

I'll start off on a positive note.

Likes

- arroz con leche: Sarah and Anne always tried to get me to eat rice pudding, I guess arroz con leche just sounds a million times better.

- cobblestone streets:adds a certain old world vibe in the middle of Spain's third largest city

- café con leche (better yet all coffee drinks here): the coffee is stronger, even mixed with half milk and a huge packet of sugar (all of you coffee drinkers don't know what real coffee is!)

- Chino stores: These stores, which are on almost every street, have everything.  My favorite: the gummies.  You fit as many gummies as you can into a bag and never pay more than 2 euro (they even have sour gummies Cath!)

- Fruit after every meal: A Nice refreshing touch after eating

- Never more than three hours of class a day, no class on Fridays: I think this one explains itself, but it makes weekend traveling much easier!

- The bread: María buys fresh bread everyday (sometimes twice a day)

- The sweets: In a word: Delicious. 

Dislikes

- Dog poop everywhere: There is no concept here of picking up after your dog (and there are a LOT of dogs!)  There are even little bags specifically posted around the city to pick up said dog shit!  I was walking with my friends once and a man bent down as if he were going to pick up his dog's poop, instead he ended up smearing it across the sidewalk.  So gross.

- People's inability to walk: Sevillians like to walk slow, and manage to take up the whole sidewalk.  It is literally impossible to get around some people.  Even a little old lady with her bag in hand can take up the sidewalk.  Couples here walk holding hands, but with a foot in between them.  People walk right in front of you and then stop, from inside a store, from the other side of the sidewalk if they see something on your side.  Groups of people that are stopped on the sidewalk (& taking up the whole sidewalk)do not move to accommodate for you, even when you say "Perdón!"  You have to expect to be cut off numerous times even on the shortest walk.

- Yes, I have green/blue eyes and lighter hair, does that mean tat you need to stare at me... at all times... for long awkward periods of time?  I just stare back, which I don't think they expect from a green-eyed American girl.

- The Bread: I never really eat bread at home, and the fresh bread twice a day thing is probably not the best idea.

- The Dulces: Delicious, but also need to be regulated.

-Cobblestone Streets: Beautiful, but not always the easiest thing to walk on.

- Studying: I know, I came here through a STUDY abroad program, but I didn't really think about actually having to study.  What a disappointment!

- Mumblers: People here enjoy mumbling.  Making it difficult to hear them, even if Spanish were my native language.  If I say What? they immediately think I don't understand Spanish, and say oh nevermind you don't understand. Umm.. I would understand you if I could actually HEAR you. SPEAK UP! I don't understand English when people mumble to themselves. 

- The Rain: I though it never rained in Sevilla? What lies.  I guess I'll be happy it rained and stalled the heat in a week..

- Instanet: The infamous internet provider and the modem that killed me computer

- Parking: People are NOT supposed to park in two rows (even worse three) but they do.  People here block other people in by parking behind them.  What happens if someone needs to leave that is blocked in?  They honk.  They hold down their horn and honk until the person blocking them comes out to move.  That is of course, if the person blocking them hasn't put their car in neutral so if someone needs to get out they just push the other car out of the way.  I thought of this because all i hear right now is a long horn because someone is trapped.  It's a beautiful sound to wake up to.

What I Miss About Home

- All of you! (obviously)

- My boys (Jack, Obi, and that little white deaf one)

- Having my own room

- Being able to cook and eat what I want and when I want

- Dryers and dryer sheets: They actually make a huge difference.  My jeans never go back down to size!

- Not being told that I can't watch something online because only US residents can.  HELLO! I am a US resident!!

- Milk always being refrigerated.  The milk outside of the fridge just makes me a little more cautious.  

- Missing out on things at home

- Again, all of you!

That's what I can think of for now, more to come!

love you love you

Franny

funny conversations with María

María (my Spanish mom) and I have lately been having rather interesting conversations.  I'm sure there are more to come, so this will be an ongoing post that I will add to whenever something funny happens.

Last week sometime María was complaining that her lower stomach (aka womanly parts) hurt.  She said she no longer got "bad." In other words, she doesn't get her period anymore, and that she was nervous she was going to get it again.  I suddenly realized I had forgotten to take my pill, so I said "Oooh!" and María looked at me and asked what happened.  I told her I had forgotten to take my pill that morning.  She goes ooh your pill for the babies? and I said No no María my NO baby pill.  She starts laughing then asks me why I am still taking it all the way over here in Spain.  Tere, Nicole and I then all joined in and started explaining the different reasons girls go on the pill.

Yesterday, I was eating dinner with María alone.  Suddenly, theh conversation shifts to her asking me if I have met any nice Spanish boys (I've told her about Pat) Anyways, when I said no, she began to talk about Tere and a boy that she has been seeing.  María thinks Tere only likes him as a friend though.  (Sidenote: Later that same night, after María had gone to help the old lady get ready for bed - we call her "la vieja"- Tere walks in the door- after María told me Tere would be out for the night- and the guy, Luis, follows her into her room and they shut the door!)  Okay, continuing, María then began to talk about her boyfriend after she got divorced.  She had been dating the same guy for 12 years, and he had never been over to her house.  12 years!  That's not the best part.  Then she went on about how she always got nervous that she would get pregnant by this other man and she didn't want another man's baby! I died.  I then told her that's what my no baby pill is for and she started cracking up.  At least I can transfer my sense of humor into Spanish a little bit.

That's all for now.  More to come.  Probably tomorrow at this rate...

love

Francy (María can't say Franny or Frances.. I'm Francy or Francesca in Spain)

Erin comes to Sevilla!

The weekend of March 13th (Momo's birthday) I stayed in Sevilla and Erin (who is studying in Granada) came to visit!  I went to lay out by the river with Jessica, waiting for Erin to call me when she got in.  It was such a gorgeous day!  It was the weekend before all of my midterms, so I brought study materials- as if any studying actually got done, but at least I made the effort!  Once Erin got in we were all pretty hungry so we went to this italian place right by the river that we always pass on our way to class that smells delicious.  We don't eat many salads here, so I decided now was the perfect opportunity.  Well... the salad that sounded the best had a main ingredient called "canónigos."  Never, have I ever learned this word, and in Spain you need to be very careful with food words you don't know because 97% of the time you will get some sort of pig on your plate.  So, I asked the waiter what it was, he paused, looked confused, and then left, returning moments later with the English menu.  "Lamb lettuce"... what is lamb lettuce?! I didn't care though, it wasn't pig so I ordered it.  I'm glad I did! It was delicious (the salad was the Spanish version of a Waldorf salad- my favorite)  

Later that night, we botelloned (basically just the Spanish way to say bring your own booze and drink in the streets with your friends)

Not much else happened that weekend, it was so good to see someone from home.  I do miss you guys you know!  

Now you're almost all caught up.

Love love

Franny

barcelona

I went to Barcelona the weekend of March 6th... I know, I suck at this whole updating thing lately. It´s a lot harder when you have a broken computer and the internet is iffy at your study center. but ANYWAYS- Barcelona was the first outside of CIEE trip that I planned. I went with Chrisy, Jessica, and Jillian. We woke up BEFORE the crack of dawn to catch the bus to the airport. Our flight was at 7 in the morning, I´m not a good flyer to begin with, so this next time I have an early flight I´ll need to get a lot more sleep. We decided when we landed to take a taxi to our hostal, because the trains and buses were further away. We stayed at Gothic Point Hostal (in the Gothic neighborhood of Barcelona), which caters to students travellers. We had to store our stuff for awhile because we got there so early that we couldn´t check in yet. After eating FREE breakfast and storing our things, we went to the Picasso Museum! It was really close to our hostal, so it was the perfect way to spend a few horus before checking in. The museum was amazing! It took you through a cronological tour of Picasso´s works. At the young age of 16, Picasso was already creating these amazing pieces of art. Made me feel like maybe I should do something productive with my life (like you always say mom about tennis players ¨look she´s only 18 and has won a tournament, what are you doing with your life?¨haha) We obviously weren´t allowed to take pictures, which is understandable, but I wish I could have documented the museum trip!
Finally we were able to check into the hostal. We went into our room and all just laughed. It was a summer camp style mixed dorm bunk bed set up. We got our things together and headed out for some sightseeing! We walked down Las Ramblas, which I must admit I was quite disappointed with (I guess it was too talked up.) La Sagrada Familia (a catedral designed by Antoni Gaudi) was our next stop. It´s amazing to see because it is still under construction (and probably will be for years and years to come!) The museum was so interesting because it explained how Gaudi was inspired by nature.
We went back to the hostal to get ready for dinner and a night out. After dinner, we went to a bar close to our hostal, but I was sick when we were in Barcelona. So, unfortunately, I decided that going to bed at two in the morning versus five in the morning was a good idea, so that I wouldn´t be holding back the group the next day.
In the morning, we took the metro to Park Güell, which is a park on top of a hill (that we climbed) with different artwork of Gaudi (benches, walkways, etc.) and also his house. It was gorgeous! The mosaic benches were overlooking an incredible view of the city and the sea in the background (YES! the Mediterranean!) After hours of wandering around, we realized how starving we were and decided we had better go get some lunch. We went on a quick walk along the beach, and then went back to get ready for the night. We ate at a Japanese restaurant, which was soo good (Cath, I ate sushi! Woohoo!)
After a night out, an early morning Sunday wake up is not exactly what anyone wanted to do. I woke up to people´s alarms (who didn´t wake up for them.) Let´s just say that waking them up was an adventure in itself... but finally the got up. We took a taxi back to the airport and flew home to Sevilla!
It seemed as if the weekend trip was more like a week long trip at least! Yet again, I am so happy to be studying in Sevilla! Catalan, the crazy language in Barcelona, is a mix between Spanish and French and all of the signs were in Catalan. So, it was weird being in Spain, but not really understanding the language!
More to come (slowly, but surely!)
Franny

Cordoba

I have been a little sick lately, so waking up early Sunday morning to go to Cordoba was not something I had been looking forward to. Chrisy convinced me we should go, so I rallied and got up and ready to go (starting with a nice hot cup of tea.) The bus ride stopped about an hour and a half in to stop at a winery. (Yes... I love wine. Not.) The winery is called Alvear and is located in Montilla. At the end of the wine process, we had a little wine tasting party of three wines. I personally didn´t try them, except the last one. After seeing Chrisy´s reaction I don´t really think I missed much. Not to mention it was a little early (11am.) When we arrived in Cordoba we had some tiempo libre (free time) and we went to a little cafe (where the man was a jerk!) and ordered un cafe con leche (coffee with milk, which in Spain is a million times stronger than any black coffee I have ever had in the States) and a little pastry. I did a little souvenir shopping and then met back up with the group in order to tour the Juderia (the surrounding neighborhood) and the Mezquita. La mezquita was really interesting because I was a mix of Muslim and Christian influences. It was really quite beautiful (the architecture is phenomenal and so intricate!) It was a quick trip, but in the end I´m happy I got my shit together and went.
Now, I am almost all caught up for blogging!
Franny