I think the Spanish translation of Thanksgiving is hilarious. It's just so wordy and so ridiculously descriptive. It’s not a Spanish holiday though, so I guess it’s just that no one cared enough to put anymore thought into it. Since no mythical pilgrims landed in Spain and had a life-saving meal with the natives on the third Thursday of whatever November it was, the Spanish really don't care about Thanksgiving. I know this, but I still tried to make jokes to a few Spanish friends… “So what did YOU do for Thanksgiving? Heh…” “We don’t celebra [View Full Entry]

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Six hour bus ride to Madrid to see a concert with two guys I barely know, followed by a six hour trip back to Sevilla, all in the span of 24 hours. I almost wish that something had gone wrong so that I could have a better story to recount, but it really couldn’t have gone any better. At all. It was positively fantastic. Allow me to tell you about it… At 10:30am last Saturday the bus departed Sevilla, and what a bus it was! I guess the only differentiating quality that it had from other, ordinary buses was that each [View Full Entry]

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Today was a really good day. I didn’t go on the last ISA trip to Ronda, because I had already gone with my parents and I have a lot of work to do this weekend, and initially I was worried that I would regret it, but with all that happened, how could I possibly? I guess I’ll start with last night, because that’s when the fantastic-ness began. After dinner with Mishri and Kate in a neighborhood far from my own, I waved down a taxi to transport me back home. I got in, announced my destination, and then heard the car’s [View Full Entry]

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“Did you have any fruit?” It’s a common question after our meals, since fruit is eaten often as a dessert. Today, however, I had already brought two clementines with me to school to snack on between classes, so I didn’t really feel like having another. “No,” I replied, then tried in vain to explain the situation, but Lola is impatient and if I can’t talk quickly, I don’t get to say anything. “¿¡NO!? Pues estas son muy buenas. Son muuuy buenas. ¡Toma, toma, toma!” She was waving one in my face, telling me that they were very good and s [View Full Entry]

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I was watching TV last Tuesday, and a commercial popped up about “The Greatest Show on Earth,” Barnum and Bailey’s circus. Málaga, November 14-15. WHAT!? “How great would it be,” I thought, “if I could get some people together to go the circus.” And I did! Raquel and Kate answered my request for fellow circus-goers, and we met at the train station Saturday morning. I realized it was the first time this entire semester that I’ve gone on a trip not organized by ISA. It was fantastic. When we arrived in Málaga, we checked in at our hostel and did [View Full Entry]

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Americans like their space, and I am an American. If you are talking to me, and are not whispering or going in for a kiss, I really don’t see why your face should be any closer than 12-18 inches away from mine. 12 is pushing it. The other day at a “meet other people” event at the UPO (my university) I met a Spanish guy and we got to chatting. Introductions were made with the kiss on both cheeks thing, and then he just seemed to never re-establish the original space. I took a step back. “Where are you from? Blahblahblah.” [View Full Entry]

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This is not an entry about how Morocco changed my life. Just to get that out of the way. Though it was awesome. It’s more of an entry about real culture versus perceived notions of culture, tourism, and the vastness of the desert, all in the context of my experience in Morocco. Not blatantly, but you’ll probably catch it. Because the sentiment I felt above all others these past few days was frustration at the lack of authenticity. But here I go again with the reflection portion before the explanation. You know what comes next... Day 1: Depart Sevilla in morning. [View Full Entry]

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Ah, what a catharsis it is to blog. There's something wonderfully calming about it, probably a lot like journaling, only slightly more narcissistic because I'm writing all about me, me, me, and expecting other people to read it. And I have to admit, I enjoy looking at the "views" of each entry to see how many people have read each one, and I also like experimenting to see what compels people to read certain ones and not others. I have noticed, for example, that my entry entitled "Say, SEX" has accumulated 68 views! It beats out the next highest by 14. [View Full Entry]

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Hello and welcome to another episode of FLASH TOURISM brought to you by ISA! That’s what I’ve nicknamed these trips we take, because if you blink you might miss something incredible. We left Friday morning for Córdoba, where our main destination was the Mezquita/ Catedral. Southern Spain had a history of changing hands… Romans, Moors, Christians… and this Mosque/ Cathedral is a clear example of palpable history. According to Fodor’s (because who are we kidding, I didn’t just remember this), construction was started in AD785, and the thing started out compl [View Full Entry]

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This is just one of the many quirks of Spanish cuisine that my parents discovered during their time visiting me. While the Spanish sure know how to cure their ham, they aren’t much for the extra stuff, like sauces. Mayonnaise, olive oil, and sometimes vinegar tend to be their favorites. Along with our varied culinary encounters, we had a fantastic time traveling around Spain doing things that I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced, since I am now decidedly set against ever trying to drive in this country, especially with little to no knowledge of how to drive a stick shift. But, [View Full Entry]

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