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

Chrisy´s Birthday

So... It´s been awhile I know. The whole breaking my computer thing has really hindered my ability to quickly blog. So, Chrisy´s birthday was on the 28th of February, and Jessica went to Madrid with her family and Jillian went to Madrid. Friday on our way to going out, we finally were able to sign up for sevicis (the public bike system here) It was incredible. So much fun, and the fact we had tried probably 15 stations that denied us and finally got one made it that much better. So, we celebrated Friday night and went to Plaza Alflafa, where there a bunch of little bars in a row. We got there literally RIGHT before midnight and ordered HUGE (& delicious) mojitos. We sang her feliz cumpleaños and the bar joined in. I met up with my intercambio Eduardo and his cousin. It was too funny. Eduardo is 26! and it was a little awkward. We finished off the night at a discoteca and danced the night away before sevici-ing home (which was possibly the funniest thing ever) I need to remember to videotape a sevici ride home next time! Saturday night we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. On the way we ran into what I considered a really creepy procession of priests and altarboys carrying incense and about twelve men carrying a HUGE cross with Christ on it... walking at the same exact pace. Anyways I ordered a pizza with rocket on it. Yes, I said rocket. They gave us a translated menu and a spanish menu (of course) and the translation for an ingredient was "rocket" it should have said "arugula" but we decided that the next Americans to come in would find it equally as entertaining. So, when I got my pizza it was literally COVERED in arugula, basically a salad on top of my pizza. But it was mighty tasty!
Thats about it, we went home earlier to go to Cordoba nice and early on Sunday
Love you
Franny

tengo que comprar un ordenador

As some of you know, my computer broke.  We have the modem for our internet in the window and my bed is directly below the window and somehow the cord was pulled, and the modem fell.  Meanwhile, I was on my bed using my computer.  The modem fell and cracked my screen.  I went to the Apple store here today to ask how much it would be to fix.  800 euros!  So, I may as well buy a new computer if I will be spending that much money anyways.  Right now I can only see about a third of my computer screen, so things will get more difficult.  I guess we'll see!  Also- Lucas would be proud because I think I have had the song "Insane in the Brain" in my head for the past week!  Hope things are going more smoothly for all of you! 

Love

Franny  

Carnaval

Last night I went to Cadiz for a huge festival called Carnaval.  The only way I can explain this is to say that it is Madison on Halloween + Mifflin + Mardi Gras.  We took about an hour and a half bus ride from Sevilla.  Everyone dressed up (I was Zorro).  The bus left at around 9 and we got off the bus at 11pm.  Driving in I saw some funny costumes.  After getting off the bus, we walked to the main area.  People were singing, playing drums, having fun with their costumes, and drinking (of course.)  It was a lot of fun, but the night soon became very very long.  We got on the bus to get back at 4am, and I got into bed at 6am.  It was a fun experience seeing everyone dressed up and having a good time.  There were half a million people in a city built for thirty thousand, to give you some idea of the insanity.  If you had to go to the bathroom, you peed in the street.  This of course led to urine... evvverrrrywherrree.  I actually got in a verbal altercation with a Spanish guy while I was shielding Chrisy.  He was peeing close to her and saw her and thought it would be funny to pee at her.  So I kicked him, and he went away then they were laughing a few wards away so I flicked him off.  He came over and I started yelling at him in Spanish saying that he was being completely rude and that it was disgusting etc.  He finally apologized and I made him apologize to Chrisy.  So don't worry... I can hold my own in a fight even in Spain.  Time for dinner, I'm starving!  Love you I'll write more later.

Franny

un recorte por favor

Today I got my haircut.  Chrisy needed one too and since we were both pretty nervous about it we decided to go together (strength in numbers.)  When we got there they asked for our names so I said Franchesca (no one understands Franny or Frances here so I had to improvise.)  They put us in these little smocks that were made out of the materials those hospital slippers you put over your shoes are made of.  In the States, they make a very conscience effort not to get any water in your ears, eyes, etc.  I couldn't hear a word she was saying because there was so much water in my ears.  But it was fine.  Then she sat me down and I had to take off my glasses (bad idea.  I should always ALWAYS wear contacts when I get my hair cut) which left me completely blind as to what she was doing.  I told her only 2 cms, and side bangs (luckily I had a picture.)  After combing my hair to whatever side she instantly took my bangs and chopped them off.  In one swipe.  That's when the nerves set in.  But I let her do her thing.  I figure if nothing else I'll look more Spanish, right?  She cut it a little shorter than I had hoped for, but at least the ends are cleaned up and hair grows back!  I'm pretty happy with it though, you all will have to skype me now.  As Maria says after dyeing my hair and now cutting it I really am a new person, which is when the name Franchesca came into the picture. Haha.  Anyways thought I'd let you know it wasn't so bad!

After lunch, I walked around parts of the city I hadn't been yet on my own.  It was really fun exploring and I found a lot of really cute shoe and clothing stores, so I will have to go back! 

Miss you all!

Love

Franny

beautiful weekend

Finally!  A stretch of days without rain! And on the weekend!  It was fabulous.  I don't have classes on Fridays so I will be getting very used to the idea of three day weekends.  This past weekend was incredibly relaxing.  I stayed in Sevilla so it was nice to just wander around and explore the city.  I am going to Carnaval this coming Saturday.  It's basically an intense combination of Madison's Halloween and Mardi Gras. Yeah... I know it sounds insane.  Basically we are going at around 8 on Saturday night, staying up all night, and getting back on the bus at 4 in the morning to come back to Sevilla.  I'll definitely let you know how that goes.  So, I have been searching for a costume all weekend.  I have yet to find one because I dont want to spend a ton of money, nor do I want to be dressed in very few clothes.  Saturday I went to the other side of Sevilla called Nervion.  I actually have a class there now in the business school.  Chrisy and I walked and it ended up taking much less time than we had originally planned.  We were on a mission for flats (the all are patent leather, snakeskin print, or severe pointy toes)  but did not end up finding any.  Nervion has a big shopping center that's three stories with restaurants, a movie theatre, stores, etc.  We decided to try out the bus system on the way home in order to make it for dinner (and we just didn't feel like walking.)  The bus we took went in a HUGE loop around the city in order to link Nervion to Triana.  It was fun to see a lot of the city that I had not yet been through.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to go hiking.  It was a perfect day.  It was very pretty and I took a lot of nature pictures.  But as always, the pictures don't do it justice.  It was a fun hike though. Very steep in parts and there were a ton of rocks in the path, which made looking around at the scenery quite difficult at times. 

Monday I started my one new class (European Economics) which I LOVEEEEE.  I have the same professor for two classes, and I am not ashamed to tell you I have a small inkling of a crush on him.  

Not much new today (Tuesday) I had another new class (Three Cultures) and the professor is much better than the other guy I had at first (Sorry Jessica and Chrisy)

I think that's about all for now.  I just heard Maria walk in the door and I am hoping for an early dinner...

Oh! Before I forget.  Nicole is slightly sick, and last night I told Maria and she got all worried.  It was very funny because she gets VERY motherly.  And in the middle of the night, Nicole woke up coughing and I (in my sleep) go "Que paso?!"  (for all you non Spanish speakers "WHat happened?!")  So I now am not only talking in my sleep, I am talking in Spanish.

More soon. 

Love 

franny

I forgot I came here to study...

Since being here in Sevilla we have had opportunities to tour all of the major sightseeing spots for free, so why not?!  Italica was the first place we went to.  We walked around looked at ruins of an old city.  It actually was pretty interesting, especially because we only toured the newer part of the city.  The old part is actually underneath a smaller town now.  These houses were enormous, the whole family lived together so I would hope so.  We also saw an old gladiator ring and I sent Charlie a postcard of where they used to keep the lions and such.  

I also went to La Catedral, which is the 3rd largest in the world.  Walking in was breathtaking.  Everything was so intricate and HUGE.  I decided to take a picture where the priests used to sit to convene.    

This past week regular semester classes started.  I only have two classes every day (for about an hour and a half to two hours each) Monday through Thursday.  No friday classes, which is perfect for traveling purposes.  At the end of the week I switched two of my four classes.  They are letting me take a class at the business school because that is where their economics department is.  But it's at least an hour walk from my house, which means I need to figure out the bus...  So, now my four classes are Three Cultures (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim), Contemporary Spanish Economic History, Transition to democracy, and European Economy.  It will be nice because taking two econ classes here (which will most likely be easier) means I only have I think two more to take to finish the major!  I switched into a different three cultures class, which kind of sucks because Jessica, Chrisy, and Jillian are all in it, but it was the only way to take an extra econ course.  Besides, our professor is so bizarre.  He never actually acknowledged that he is talking to a room full of students.  And when he talks he covers his mouth a lot, but continues talking so all you hear is a muffled Spanish man trying to teach a bunch of Americans.  I hope my new professor is better, but you never know.  

The weather here is finally starting to get nicer.  It has been  "unusually cold and rainy" to the point where I have heard multiple Senoras apologizing for it.  I'm staying in Sevilla this weekend and on Sunday morning I'm going hiking (Cath thinks the concept of me hiking is hilarious.  When I told her she goes "Hiking?! Like outside?!" Have some faith.)  

I'll let you all know how that goes.

Love

Franny

¡Granada!

This past weekend I went to Granada with my program. For those of you who don´t know Granada is east of Sevilla (about a 3 hour bus ride.) We left VERY early Saturday morning, stopped half way at a Shell gas station with the most gorgeous view, and arrived at our hotel around noon. Our hotel was right next to La Alhambra (a palace and fortess building all rolled into one.) I shared a room with Chrisy and Jessica and the first thing we did was take a 30 minute power nap (it was essential.) The hotel had buffet style meals, which were incredible, and I finally got to try paella! It was SO delicious. After lunch, we went on a short walking tour of the city. During the walk, we came to a plaza with a ton of hippies selling bracelets, scarves, etc. All of the sudden they just started packing all of their things up because the police were coming. (Chrisy later told me they used a keyword for the police "AGUA") After the walking tour we went to Capilla Real, a mausoleum in honor of los Reyes Catolicos. It was very pretty inside, but we were not allowed to take any pictures. Their is a room in Capilla Real that actually contains the remains of los Reyes Catolicos (Fernando and Isabel) along with their daughter (Juana la loca <-- sad story behind the name) and her husband (Philip el hermoso) and the tiny body of Miguel. After the Capilla Real, our group went to a teteria (teahouse) and drank incredible tea and Arabic desserts. After all of that, we went back to our hotel, got ready for what would turn out to be a long, fun night of dancing, ate dinner, and watched the Sevilla vs. Betis futbol game. BETIS WON (Maria was so happy.) We went out into the center of the city to a small tapas place (if you ordered a beer you got free tapas!) Then we went right next door to a discoteca. We literally danced the night away and went back to our hotel at 5 in the morning. Unfortunately, we could not sleep in and recuperate because we had a tour of La Alhambra at 8:30 in the morning! Getting up was not fun, but La Alhambra was beautiful with intricate detailing on all of the walls. It would be much prettier when the weather is warmer because then flowers would be in bloom in the extensive gardens of Generalife. After lunch, we boarded the bus and headed back to Sevilla. Granada is a very pretty city much more granola-y than Sevilla. (Jillian and Chrisy taught me the word granola= hippy, which is funny because the whole time I was thinking how much Cath would love it.) I´m happy to be studying in Sevilla for the semester though. That´s all for now!
Love you!
Franny

Homestay...

When we had gotten our accommodation information, we received a map and a roommate. I had not yet met the girl that would become my roommate for 4 months, so I of course started asking around. Her name is Nicole and she goes to Indiana. She seemed very nice at first, so I was happy. The map I was given was zoomed far in so I couldn’t tell where I would be relative to everything else. So I asked Joaquin to help me find my house. When he saw where on the map I was he gave out a little laugh and pointed to LITERALLY the edge of the map (on another map of mine, I am not even on the map.) Oh well, at least there are other people in the program by me to walk with.
The day I moved into my home stay I got up early so that I could FINALLY buy a phone, which was perfect because everyone would be separated from now on. Finally I heard my Señora’s name (María Roman Coco) called for me to come forward. Nicole was not yet down so I was alone with her. She was so sweet though. Greeted me with a kiss on both cheeks and asked me about everything (definitely slowing down her normal talking pace). When Nicole got down we took a cab to our home stay. It’s an apartment in a cluster of identical apartment buildings. It’s very cute. There are six rooms: Nicole and I share a room, Maria’s bedroom, Tere’s (her daughter) bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room. The first thing I noticed about the kitchen was the actual leg of a pig out on the counter (in Spain, they don’t refrigerate how we do)
María is so funny and very motherly. She takes singing, guitar, and computer classes. So she is always very busy and isn’t home during the day much. Whenever she is home though she is always singing. When I had a horrible stomach ache from trying ham I told her and for three days she put me on a strict diet of bland foods so as not to upset it again. Now whenever I leave she tells me not to eat anything that would hurt my stomach. Since being here, the meals have overall been pretty good. I think María has finally come to understand that I don’t eat meat. It’s still served a lot but I just don’t eat that and then she remembers and says “I won’t say anything eat what you want to.” Before she would always say eat more eat more and Tere would tell her to leave us alone. Haha. They are very funny together. Tere is a police officer in training, but she just finished training and finds out where she will be working in a few days. I can tell it’s kind of a rough subject because Tere doesn’t want to leave her mom alone. Tere is very nice and talks to me a lot. Especially because for the first two weeks I had an intensive language session very early in the morning when she would be leaving for work.
There were twelve groups for the two-week session and two of the groups had 9am class. I of course was in one of those two groups. Thankfully, Jessica also had class that early and lives close, so we would walk the thirty-five minute walk everyday together. The intensive session was not bad. It was a lot crammed into a two-week period, but it was nice to get it over with so quickly. My other good friend here Chrisy had the same teacher right after me, so we could go to our outside of class assignments together. One assignment was to go to a movie called “La Mujer del Anarquista” so we went to a matinee showing on a Saturday. We bought bags filled of gummies, which you can mix your own from drawers and drawers FILLED with different kinds of gummies. When we walked into the theater we were actually in the front of the room underneath the screen. It was so awkward; thankfully no one else was in there.
More stories from home to come I’m sure.
Love
Franny

I lived in a hotel for two days..

After the flight, there were a ton of people in my program on my same flight, so we all moved in a pack to get our luggage.  Thankfully, I was not one of the unfortunate travelers to lose my luggage.  We then boarded a bus that took us to our hotel for the remainder of the orientation.  The streets here are so narrow that the bus had to drop us off a good hike from the actual hotel.  So here we all are with our HUGE suitcases in tow trekking through the stone streets of Sevilla.  It was not the most pleasant walk (I was tired, I clearly have no muscles to carry these bags more than five feet, and suitcases were getting stuck in the stones)  but it was fun to finally FINALLY after all the flights and layovers actually be in Sevilla and on the streets.  It still felt like this place wouldn't become my home for the next five months, more like a nice little vacation.  

When we got to the hotel we lined up to get our room assignments and orientation materials.  The hotel rooms only had one key, despite two people being assigned to it.  My roommate was already there so when I knocked she opened up the door.  She did not seem thrilled to see me.  She was already slightly unpacked, had claimed the desk (with the outlet and mirror), and the main chair.  Also, the room has two beds, but it was more like one big bed because they were pushed right next to each other.  To sum her up, she was not the most impressive greeter I've ever met.  I'd ask her questions about where she's from, her school, being in Sevilla, etc.  The responses were dry and with minimal words.  Oh well, I guess you won't be friends with everyone you meet.  

The food in the hotel was fine, nothing exceptional, but you couldn't order what you wanted, so most of the dishes had some sort of meat. I later found out that this would not be the last of my meat only dishes.  

For orientation we were grouped up by last name.  My leader's name was Joaquin.  Very funny.  Basically we just went to meetings about the classes, culture, expectations, etc.  On our second day of being in Sevilla our group was again split into smaller groups of four and told that we had to go on a scavenger hunt through the city.  I'm personally surprised no one got horribly lost.

We saw a flamenco show at night, which was incredible to actually see.  I have never seen someone move their feet so quickly in my life.  I'm definitely going to go to another show on my own.  For dinner, we had tapas in our groups.  A lot of meat tapas but my leader ordered vegetable and chicken ones too (He was concerned I wasn't going to eat.)

The annoying thing about the first two days was that no one had phones yet so it was nearly impossible to meet up with people.  And the fact that the cheapest phone ran out in every vodaphone store within walking distance made the wait much longer than it should have been.  but oh well! we all have phones now!  

Other than that, nothing very eventful those first two days.  The first bar I went to here I think was only Americans from my program, so I'm hoping to mingle with some Spaniards soon!  

slowly getting there but at least I'm catching you all up.

love

franny   

The flights over...

So I'm going to try to remember everything that's happened since leaving the US...

The trip over:

With in the first ten minutes of sitting down into my seat, the Hungarian woman next to me (I know this because I creeped on her ticket stubs) took out her cell phone and proceeded to take pictures of the INSIDE of the plane... I kid you not multiple pictures too.  As if it couldn't have gotten any more awkward, this lady leans over me (I'm sitting in the window seat) to take a picture of the outside of the plane (we had not yet moved).  This would have seemed completely okay if it hadn't been a cloudy day at O'Hare.  Throughout the flight this lady slept with her head leaning over into my headrest. To add to my interatlantic experience..

As some of you may or may not know, I get really sick on flights that last more than two hours.  Flying over the Atlantic Ocean was no exception.  I tried sleeping the whole entire flight, but constantly woke up because I felt horrible.  Then waiting to get off the plane at Heathrow I got extremely overheated and ran to the bathroom, was the last person to get off the plane, and almost missed the little tram that took me to the terminal.  

Nothing exciting happened until the Madrid airport.  I need to get my suitcases, get them rechecked for my next flight, and get to my terminal in two hours.  Unfortunately, I booked my international and national (Madrid to Sevilla) separately, so I couldn't check two bags at Madrid.  Let me remind you that this is my first completely Spanish conversation.  The lady behind the counter was saying you didn't book them together so it doesn't count, and I was explaining that I had my tickets from my international flight, but she said that it did not matter.  I of course stressed out started to cry.  So as tearing were welling up in my eyes I tried to convince this lady that I shouldn't have to pay the 75 euro fee.  She could tell I was upset (obviously) so she said that I could take one of my checked bags as my carry on and then pay one overweight fee of 25 euro.  As she was putting the tags on my one bag, I looked up and asked her again how much I had to pay, she asked me if I was studying here for the semester and I said yes in Sevilla.  With a reassuring smile, the lady told me that I didn't have to pay a fee at all.  Moral of the story: my ability to cry on the spot whenever I'm overwhelmed is very VERY helpful and saved me money.

More to come later.  I need to go home now (almost dinner time) and Chrisy and Jessica are making me leave and walk in the rain... (I'll tell you alll about THEM later) 

love,

franny