Don't you love how I procrastinate and then crank out numerous posts in the same day? I've been on the internet since 3 today! Urg. The reason I've been procrastinating is that I have less than a month left, and sorry, but I don't really want to spend it on a computer. I've been hanging out a lot with friends, enjoying the beautiful weather, and walking around Sevilla. I'm going to miss this place a lot. My friend Marie is in Italy right now. We're meeting her in Rome on Wednesday, but she left me with her computer, so I've been [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thanks to La Feria de Abril (The Fair of April) I don't have school this week! It's my second spring break, and an amazingly fun time to be in Sevilla. My guidebook says that Feria is the Sevillanos way of rewarding themselves for being so good during Lent! Feria is a week long party, with a lot of drinking, dancing and eating. There are fair grounds at the edge of town with Casetas, little tents that are owned by prominent families, and at these casetas, people...dance, drink and eat! Women are decked out in full-blown flamenco outfits, and it's all very [View Full Entry]

---

---

Aladdin pun intended. This will be a long entry, so to capture your attention I thought I'd throw out a few highlights from the past five days: 8 Hours in a bus...every day, Sahara Sunrise, sketchy means of transportation, lots of bargaining in various languages, 10 liters of bottled water, amazing food, actually seeing stars, BIG DONKEY!, tons of mint tea, and spending a lot of Dirhams. Friday morning, I met the group at 5:15 and we took a bus to Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain, to board a ferry for Tanger, Africa. This trip was organized through Sol Chasers, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wednesday night, before leaving for Portugal, I had a long conversation with my host sister - one of those conversations you never forget. I can't recall how it started, but somehow we began talking about the United States and I discovered that Spaniards have some incredible misconceptions about our country. First of all, Carmen thinks we all carry guns, and that there are no laws regarding the purchase or use of firearms. Naturally this astounded me, as it's been a rather hot topic ever since the shootings at Columbine. I informed her that there are indeed very strict laws, and that [View Full Entry]

---

---

I've never been so happy to return to Spain than I was after leaving Ireland! Actually, come to think of it, that was the first time I have ever returned to Spain. The warm weather was so welcoming when we stepped off the plane from Ireland. My cold is doing much better now, I've been heavily medicating, which has paid off. Grandma, I've really been using the Kleenex and vix you sent me! Thanks! Today I went on an optional tour that API offered, to a few places around Seville. We went to an old hospital/church and then toured the bull-fighting [View Full Entry]

---

---

Saturday morning, Dory had to leave home at 5:30 a.m. and all of her roommates had gone home for the weekend, so we left with her. We intended to find a pub or cafe for tea and hang out around Galway until our ferry to the islands, but nothing was open. We tried going to the bus station, but it was closed, so instead we sort of wandered around, because it was too cold to sit down! The grocery store opened at 7:00 a.m. and we purchased some things from there for lunch, then wandered around some more. There is a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Maddie and I left Seville on Wednesday evening and flew to Liverpool. The first thing we noticed when we stepped off the plane was the distinct difference in temperature between Spain and England! We never left the Liverpool Airport, as we caught our flight to Dublin shortly after arrival, but still it was fun to be in the presence of the Beatles! The Airport itself is called the John Lennon Airport. The flight from Liverpool to Dublin was very very short, up and down, and we landed and got through customs with no trouble. Then we made a big mistake...we took [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Galway City and Dory met us near the bus station. Galway is a very young, college town. The vast majority of the population in under the age of 25. The city is located on a bay of the Atlantic Ocean, there is a river running through town and man-made canals branch off of it. Fishing and other sea-related jobs are prominent there. So is the sea food. We first took all of our baggage to Dory's apartment, she lives with four Irish girls in Campus housing. Her University is located in the NorthWestern part of Galway, and it [View Full Entry]

---

---

This past weekend I spent Friday and Saturday in Seville. I ran errands, shopped for warm-weather clothing and studied a bit as well! Saturday was the two-year anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, so there were special services at the Cathedral to remember those who died. The Cardinal said Mass and I think it was even televised, because someone was up in the old fashioned pulpit taping it. It was amazing to hear the cardinal speak. I think the best part of the whole service was that I went with two other people and one of them had a book with [View Full Entry]

---

---

For those of you who wonder what I do all day.... I wake up around 7:45 or 8:00 to Carmen banging around in the kitchen, which is on the other side of my bedroom wall. I doze until 8:30 when my alarm goes off. I hit snooze once or twice, then get up and get ready for the day. My breakfast is almost always yogurt with strawberry jam stirred in and maybe a flavor-less muffin. Spaniards are very formal, dressy people. Even to go to the mailbox, they are completely made up in coordinating outfits and accessories. Athletic clothes are only [View Full Entry]

---

---