Reuniting with Friends.

The arabic baths were pretty cool. Basically this entire spa building filled with different temperature pools, moorish architecture, and awesome tea. The past few weeks have been pretty laid back. Everyone got back from Morocco sick as dogs so for about 2 weeks few people actually went out. Unfortunately, my roommate, Nicole, went to the hospital two days after she got back. After a MRI, blood-work and a scope-test, we found out she had appendicitis! The surprising thing is doctors said it had nothing to do with Morocco (Go figure). I guess we can say that she survived Morocco for the most part.

Two weekends later, the group had our trip to Cordoba and Granada. Cordoba is this small town that is famous for its giant mosque. After my intense art midterm, I was happy to say that I probably could have given the tour at this place. It was better than I had imagined. 800 marble columns that surrounded this monstrosity of a church. In the 16th century or so, a bishop of Cordoba wanted to put a "small" chapel in the Mosque. 500 columns were removed and this grandeur church was put in the middle. I kept thinking wow, they really wanted to make a point that they had conquered the moors. In Emily Huth terms, "It was way too much." It was my favorite site to date. After the tour we walk around and got on the bus to Granada. Favorite part of Granada was reuniting with Emily and Lindsay! After a walking through a local neighborhood, we got to go out that night. Evidently, Granada has the biggest Botellon in Spain! It was seriously a block long of kids drinking and smoking. A site to see. I also had the best Kebab I have had to date, Thanks Lindsay! The next day we went to the Alahambra which was fun to see again. Couldn't believe how big it was!

Last week a special friend from the States came to visit me! I was so excited to see him, I kept myself busy for the entire week. Too bad that when I picked him up from the airport I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep and it was raining like cats and dogs. The week was filled with seeing the local sites and eating out a lot. Got to try a lot of new restaurants and see things from a tourist perspective again. We got to walk around Triana and through the Maria Luisa park! So nice to catch up with the guy I had been missing for 4 months! Crazy right!? On Sunday we went to the football game! Unsurprisingly, James was ecstatic. Even though they lost, definitely something I had to see while I was here. After many bottles of wine and deserts galore, Thanksgiving arrived. If you could ask anyone on our trip, Thanksgiving was definitely the day everyone wanted to be at home with their families. Thanks to James, I was not alone! I also got to talk to everyone at thanksgiving in Racine and Columbus! So Special! We decided to go to this sushi place, where we had yummy appetizers, sushi, and wine. It was awesome! On Friday we went to Italica, this small town that has a collection of Roman ruins. James loved it! Pretty cool to think about how people used to walk down the different streets that lined the ruins. Quite a flash-back.

Through the past few weeks, I have been trying to get to see more things and really think about what it has meant to live here and experience abroad. Honestly, I have learned a lot about myself and I don't think I have changed that much, but I have become the best part of myself. I have discovered new interests and I have definitely come to appreciate everything that Spain and Europe has to offer. Although there are points of this trip I have just wanted to have things the "American" way, I know on returning to the US I will ask why can't we do the "Spanish" way? I have started to notice things in great detail. This past week I had to do this research paper on the Alfonso XIII hotel. Its been a lot of fun to visit it, make observations and think about influence it has had on Sevilla. Its also so fun getting to know this new group of people. It's only in these types of experiences, would I get to know, people that are not necessarily like me. Its been an eye-opener. One week till London and 3 till my return to the USA. In away its been so long and in others its gone by so fast. Wish me luck as I experience my first cold climate since I've been here.

O Blog....

I know no Blog in the longest time ever! Just means I've been having too much fun!

I think it was a month ago now that my dad came to Spain to hang out with me. We went to the Cathedral, Alcazar, Maria Luisa Park, Plaza de Espana, and Universidad de Sevilla. We also met up for dessert with my host mom. Despite the language barrier I thought the conversation went very well! The next day we rented a car to go to Granada. Fun Idea in theory except... no NeverLost.. Lets just say we got lost a few times... Granada was pretty cool. We walked around most of the first day trying to find this restaurant that was in my travel book. We were soo lost but after a good hike we found it. It turned out to be this local hot-spot and the food was really good! The next day we saw the Alhambra, which was amazing! I get to go back with my program in a few week and I really can't wait to see it again. Then we went to Marbella which is this town that is on the ocean. Very rich... Like the prince of Saudi Arabia brought his two boats with him. We drove back to Sevilla where dad was catching his train for Madrid. So fun to have him here and show him all the cool things that I get to see all the time!

Mostly school surprisingly has been a big part of this experience. I am really enjoying most of my classes. Although its tedious, I like my art class. Learned a lot about the history of civilizations in Andalusia... I think its missing the art part but all is well. Love my business spanish class. My teacher is totally up for tangents about companies in the US and Spain..

Overall, the past few weeks have been pretty good. Unfortunately, unlike my other classmates I've started to lose enthusiasm for the every day things. Being in Europe this long, I have to slap myself sometimes to remember "This is not normal for you!! The US is not this pretty!" It almost seems like I have lived here for more than 3 months... Except for the Spanish. Overall, I can definitely hold my own. I'm not sure about the fluency yet just because I am not speaking it all the time. Definitely something to work on the next few weeks!!

This past weekend some friends and I took a trip to Gibraltar. It was so much fun to technically go to a different country. Gibraltar is this piece of land that is actually owned by the British. We had to bring our passports and even go through this small customs.. Gibraltar basically is part of England. English is the first language, but everyone speaks spanish just because of the proximity. We took a tour up the big rock and saw caves, monkeys and amazing views! The Rock has a lot of history just because the town used to be a military center. They used the cave to shoot canons and have a hospital! And most importantly there are two billion monkeys on this rock. They date back to the moorish rule of Gibraltar when they had the monkeys as pets. Kinda scary having all these monkeys just running around and even jumping on one of my friends. Nice to get away and experience another place that has this melting pot history/culture..

Celebrated Halloween with my friends last night! Ended up going to this cheap china store, and buying these cool masks. Preceded to go to this Texas/Mexican bar where we watched the vikings/patriots game. Today I am going to the Arabic Baths! Very excited. Let you know how everything is there later!

Til next time !

I actually have not done anything touristy yet....

Yes its true. Carlie Frisch went into shock mode when she was finally able to meet her new family and empty her bags into drawers. No more hostels and ham/cheese combinations from the super-market. (Sorry Emily) Life here has been pretty awesome. My first weekend here a bunch of friends and I went to Cadiz! This gorgeous beach town where we were the only ones on the beach. Go figure that Spaniards wouldn't want to hand at the beach for 5 months! Very relaxing first few days.

Then I had to start class which was kind of confusing... Going abroad to study???? O now I get it.... Yes a little inconvenient, but it keeps me off the streets/Away from Zara and Mango. Right now I am taking Spanish Literature, Business Spanish, Grammar, and Art in Andalusia. So far my favorite is the art class just because I think my teacher is impressed with my spanish history knowledge I learned from Ghosts of Spain.... Thank you Santander.....

This past weekend went to Lagos, Portugal. Was known for being the "end of the world." Modern day definition is sitting on a beach, drinking and eating the most amazing hamburger I have had to date. Pretty fun to just get to know more people and celebrate my roommate's 22nd birthday... So fun!

What Else.. I did get mistaken for a Spaniard the other day... I helped this older couple with directions and the man was surprised I spoke English..... Yes because I don't have a sticker that says AMERICAN on my forehead... I have been using a lot of my spanish, but living in Sevilla is different than Satander...

First off they have an accent that disallows them to say words clearly. Second, people in Sevilla are so much more fun and liberal. Third, No Beach 50 ft from my apartment. :( Forth, Completely different food. Lots of lentils, garbanzos and it seems to me that their dishes are normally heavier. I will follow up with more details of the differences soon!

Trying to get used to the fact that I'm here, here for awhile! Can't believe I am finally living the "Spanish Life."

What have I been doing for the past month?

Soo I know I know... I have not been doing my blog every week but I have so much to say now!

Leaving Santander was upsetting. I made so many new friends and I had a magnificent love affair with the beach and Regma. However, my new adventures were about to begin! Me, Lindsay, and Emily Hughes began in Madrid. I loved Madrid. We spent our days hanging out at Parque de Retiro, various art museums, and McDonalds. However, after 2 days we had to say goodbye Emily. It was so sad and we missed her dearly. That night Tyler, Lindsay and I went on a bar crawl with these two belgium girls we met. They tried to teach me French and told us of their love of Gossip Girl. We also met up with some British guys who liked my British accent as we drank Margs and Tequila. So much fun just walking around and getting to know a new city in Spain. Then Lindsay and I met up with Emily Huth and Russ in Barcelona! It was a really early flight but we got to Emily's beautiful hotel without worry. It was just too bad we got there and she had just woken up. :p

Barcelona was a nice city but I honestly like Madrid better. We went to La Sagrada Familia and the Olympic stadium which were both pretty awesome. We also saw this light colored fountain show pretty cool. I think it was here when L,E, and me started telling Russ about the adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley. Props to Russ. As throughout the rest of the trip we obsessed about how MK&A always would find cute guys on a moped or be amazing good at photography or politics.

We were then off to Paris. We got to our hostel and I go to go out with one of my moms friends from work, Colette. We went to this beautiful restaurant at the top of the modern art museum. Although I have only been to paris for a week and a half of my life, I really felt at home. Watching the beautiful view, while drinking champagne. The best part of Paris. The few days were full of museums and site-seeing. On our 2nd to last day, we decided to go to Versailles. Silly us. Of course there is a strike on the day we were going to Versailles. It was kinda fun though. Did take us 2.5 hours to get to Versailles and when we got there the house was closed but the gardens were amazing. Throughout this trip, my favorite quotes would have to be from Emily. "This is huge" or "Nobody needs this much" basically summed up Versailles. We had a great day but to out disadvantage we walked out of the gardens we found out that the house had been opened 20 minutes after we walked through the garden. FAIL. The next day I was really sick but we got to go to the muse de orsay and wine tasting... Yes I know not the best combo but how cool to wine-taste in France.

Later that day we left for Bruges, we got in late and just went to bed. The next morning, I slept while everyone else got laundry done. Kinda jealous for 2 reasons; 1. We were traveling light and I needed to wash some stuff and 2. Emily found a "lets get mashed" shirt at the laundry-mat. In the afternoon we walked around and got some chocolate. We then preceded to go shopping. (Sorry Russ) Multiple Zaras, Vero Moda (Perfect fall jacket I am still thinking about), Mango, and H&M.. filled our hands and emptied our wallets. We really were just Bruggin it up.

Our next stop was Brussels where we spent an hour looking for the peeing-boy.... He was very small.

We got back on the train and got to Amsterdam. Got to our hotel and saw Venus and Clijsters hitting it up. Proceeded to tell Emily about how exciting tennis was, as she fell asleep.

The next day we went to Anne Frank House.. It was quite an experience. After the museum, we went to walked around. The next few days in Amsterdam were pretty casual. We met up with Nessa a friend of ours from school in Santander and we hung out at the park. Russ and I got to to go the Van Gogh museum which was pretty good. Van Gogh was kinda crazy.

After Amsterdam we got to Milan. Milan was really nice. We all loved the food and we got to meet up with some friends from school. We went out one night to some night-club which was fun. We also got to go inside the Duomo!

After Milan we got to Rome. Rome was so much fun. We walked around the first day and saw all the sites. We also got to eat pizza, pasta and gelato.... Heaven. I also got to meet up with Diane which was so fun! First impression of her was, "hi mom its nice to see you, lets go to bed." But no, she got be out of bed and told me we were going to get drinks. Two wines and a good conversation later, we were in bed at the beautiful hotel. We woke up the next morning and walked around, had lunch in the piazza narvona. Then, we met up with ERL and went to the Borghese museum. Pretty cool. Dinner then bed. The next day mom left and ERL and I went to the Jewish quarter and the colosseum. It ended up raining while we were at the colosseum but we had so much fun. It was a grand adventure and although we fought and got frustrated... I am so sad that its over.

I am now in Sevilla but I cannot possibly write anymore. Hope everyone is doing well! I love Sevilla thus far.

Week 4/5 in Santander

This week my class and I went to Bilbao.

• We saw the Guggenheim museum which was very inspiring! Kapoor (the guy that did the Bean in Chicago) had a HUGE exhibit there! Insightful and visionary. Can't wait to see more art in the following weeks in Madrid and Barcelona!
• We then got the chance to go to a Bull-fight. Pretty gruesome but definitely an experience. Found out later that our matadors were not the best. Perhaps, I will go again in Sevilla!

I finally finished a paper about monuments of Franco, so now I have one more full day to enjoy Santander. I can not believe that this part of my experience is over. I have had so much fun in Santander! Today I walked along the coast and starred at the boats in the ocean. I have become so comfortable that I keep forgetting thats its possible I will never be here again. We had to say goodbye to our DU professors today and it hit me that this is the end of an amazing experience. Very Bitter-sweet. The water sparkled from sun and all I could think about was wanting to stay here just another week and eat ice-cream from Regma.

In the next few weeks I will be traveling through Europe. Not sure if I will get many chances to blog, but I'll try! Besos de Espana...

Week 3 in Santander

This week has also been very chill. Earlier in the week I went to a poetry reading/flamenco performance at school. A woman sang one of Federico Garcia Lorca's poems while two men acted/danced it out. It was special because the last time the piece was performed at the Palace was when FGL's acting crew performed it. Pretty cool. After the performance, there was this fiesta that the school puts on every week. It was so much fun dancing and hanging out with some kids from my spanish class. This weekend I also took my first official trip to ZARA. Very exciting, would have bought the whole store, if I could have.

A big thing I did this week was book ALL of my transportation for my 3-week european adventure. I will be starting in Madrid then going to Barcelona, Paris, Brugge, Brussels, Amsterdam, Milan, and Rome! Very excited. If anyone has any tips for me or will be in the respected places during the month of September, please let me know!

School has been okay. I have a test tomorrow and a huge research project coming up. My topic is Monuments of Franco. I think this will be a very interesting topic, just because of how controversial it has been. The problem is whether to leave these monuments up in historical significance or taking them down in respect for those who lost family during Franco's regime. It has been interesting to learn about the history that really surrounds my everyday life here. I am very excited but also nervous to visit Madrid. El Valle de los Caidos (The valley of the fallen) is where Franco is buried. Ironically though, prisoners of Franco were the ones who were forced to build it. Trying to commemorate both sides that fell, in a place that is already controversial? I don't know. So far, I am a little lost on how people feel about Franco. I had an interview with mi madre but I could tell she was uncomfortable, responding to each question with si, or no. Hopefully, I will be able to find out more.

I hope everyone is doing well! Besos de Santander.

2nd week in Santander

This second week has been a lot more comfortable and a lot more simple. I have been going to the beach a lot and eating a good amount of Regma. For my excursions, this past week I went to the Plaza de Magdalena and Picos de Europa. The Plaza de Magdalena is this actually fairly new 100-year old castle that is owned by my University. Pretty cool. Picos de Europa is a mountain-range that is in northern Spain. We got to gaze at the mountains, take a nice hike, and hang out at a near by small town the whole day. Another exciting thing thing this week is, me and some girls from my trip met three other Spaniards. We had fun talking, and they decided to take us out that night, to show us the ropes. They introduced us to Calimochos which are drinks with wine and cola, not my favorite, but they were okay. We also went to this discoteca where we danced as we heard some familiar, must mostly foreign music! We also did Tapas for the first time this week, which was a fun experience, I will do again. Strangely enough I have also learned that Spainards really like Mayonnaise, just different.

This week I have started to notice how the United States is just different. From using pounds and feet to never learning vosotros, class has been kinda hard. After taking Spanish for so long I was very naive in thinking, I knew a lot. I can definitely say that I can get my point across to anyone. However, its been frustrating when I try to explain far-off ideas to my new foreign classmates. On the flip-side there are kids from Italy, Germany, Austria, and even VIETNAM, just in my Language class! I definitely am being challenged, but I now know that I have to work on my Grammar.

As for things at my new home, I could not be any happier. I love my family, especially mi madre. She has been so patient and accommodating. She listens to what I have to say, but also mentions when I make mistakes. The one thing I don't like about her is how little she wants me to do. Almost every Sunday night, Diane and I make dinner together and it is so much fun! Here, she never even lets me lift a plate. She has never really let me help her cook, but I have put things in the dish washer without her knowing! I'm pretty sure she loves me though.

As much as things have gone better here this week, I have been homesick especially in the last few days. This past weekend, James's cousin, Jamie, was in terrible accident in Lake Michigan. Although I only met Jamie a few times, he was a welcoming and enthusiastic person. What really kills me is not to be able to be there with James and his family this coming week. For anyone who reads this blog, please keep James's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Till next time, Sincere love from Santander.

First Week in Santander

My first week in Santander has been so busy! I met up with some girls in DC and we started our 7 hour journey to Madrid together. The flight went pretty well. A boy who was part of some school group decided to go sit by them so I ended up getting two seats. There weren't any great movies on the flight, but two great episodes of Sex and the City! As the sun came up, we landed in Madrid. 5 very tired girls made their way through customs and got to the train station. We were all pretty slap happy at this point.

The train was 5 hours from Madrid to Santander and when we got to Santander it was beautiful. We were picked up by our families at the University and this was the "O shit" moment. As soon as I got in the car, mi madre whipped out the Espanol. It was good though and I definitely held my own. We talked for a little and got to the apartment which is literally 2 seconds from the beach!

On Monday I walked around town with some friends in the morning and had lunch with our teachers in the afternoon. Santander is a small city but its really beautiful! The city is right on the coast and is always really clean. On Thursday we went on an excursion to las cuevas where we could see prehistoric paintings on the wall. We then went to Santillana del Mar, where we studied Roman Architecture and hung out. On Friday we went to the Santander Cathedral and una casa de perigrinos. Basically there is this walk that people can do along the northern coast of Spain, el Camino del Santiago. It takes about a month to complete and people from all over the world come to test their wits. There is a religious background to this el camino, but most people there want to test themselves and see the beautiful coast.

So far Santander has been really great. Everyone in my group is really nice and we have all been trying to speak Spanish 24/7. In fact its actually been kind of hard to write this blog in English! We constantly are filling our sentences with some spanglish, but most of the time we can follow each other in Spanish. As for my house, its been an adventure. I love mi madre but there are definitely some cultural differences. She never really wants me to clean or help out with the cooking. Its been really tough but, I think I'll make it. I talk to her in Spanish everyday. The first week her two grand-daughters were here and yesterday the rest of the family arrived. Its been kinda loud, but its kinda nice to have all these people around. Mi madre has been a great cook but again cultural differences. The milk is usually warm, and she uses like 4 plates to serve me an entire meal. I've been eating well but I have been walking a lot too. There are two routes to the city and some friends and I always walk the longer one. The other day we walked at least 7 miles. Its been really is nice to have these long walks so we can look around and people watch. It has taken me some time to adapt to life in Spain, but after a week here I definitely feel more comfortable. Till next time, Adios!

Getting Ready-May 24th

Cheers to my first blog ever! Decided that I wanted to start blogging to tell everyone how excited I am to go abroad this fall. Basically 2 months away!

-In the month of August I will be in Santander (Northern Spain) with a program through DU. I will be taking a Language class, Iberian culture class, and maybe another culture class.

-I will then be traveling for three weeks around Europe. Who knows where yet!

-Then in late September I will be in Sevilla (Southern Spain) taking Spanish Literature, Spanish in the Cinema, another Spanish Language class, and Andalusia in the Arts.

-Both places I will be staying with a host family, which I am very excited about. Hoping that I get to use as much Spanish as possible! I am also interested to see the cultural differences in the northern and southern parts of Spain.

Wish me luck!