Vacaciones navideñas

It's hard to know where to begin writing after spending just over two weeks living out of a suitcase in five very different countries. I can't believe that my long-anticipated reunion with the majority of my family has already come and gone and that the trip that I had been planning virtually since my arrival in Spain in mid-September is now just a memory. It feels like a lot longer than it actually has been since I left Sevilla on December 23, probably because it has been a very full, fast-paced couple of weeks. For those of you who have stuck with reading my blog through the past four months, here is a small disclaimer--this is going to be a very long, but hopefully painless, entry. I was going to include pictures in the post but I have so many from this trip that I can't pick which ones to put here. So, if you haven't seen them already, look at my Facebook album by clicking on this link. Now, with that out of the way, here is what I have been up to since I last posted.

The moment I had been waiting for since last summer finally came on Tuesday December 21, when my dad, Shelley, Martha, Little Julia, Wardie, Jeanie and Bill arrived in Sevilla after spending one night in Madrid. I was anxiously waiting for them on the platform at Santa Justa and couldn't wait to give them each a big hug. I was excited to show them my new life in Sevilla and give them an introduction to Spain, a country which only my grandparents had seen before. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about how they would like it here. Spain is very different from any other European country I have ever visited and the way of life certainly takes some getting used to. However, my fears were put to rest in the taxi from the train station to their hotel as they commented that Sevilla was one of the most beautiful cities they had ever seen. I can't say that I disagree!

After helping them get checked into their hotel, we set off to grab some lunch. I wasn't sure how Spanish cuisine was going to go over with them. Countless varieties of jamón and fried foods aren't exactly things that they normally eat. Luckily, they all arrived with an open mind and were ready to sample some local delicacies. I decided that for our first meal we would go to Los Coloniales, a very typical Andalusian tapas bar and one of the most popular restaurants in Sevilla. As I had thought would be the case, the place was packed and we had to wait for close to an hour for a table. In the meantime, I went over the menu with them and told them what I thought they would like. To my relief, the meal was well worth the wait, as everyone enjoyed their food, especially the chicken with almond sauce (my personal favorite)!

We spent the rest of the day walking around el centro and ended up in my neighborhood, La Alameda, where I finally got to show them where I have been living. Everyone was especially happy to meet Jamón, the giant Rottweiler that resides on my rooftop terrace. Jamón quickly struck up a friendship with my dad, planting all 200 pounds of his canine glory on my dad´s foot and enjoying lots of male bonding.

That night, we met up with my friends Pam and Briana for dinner at a little place at the entrance to Santa Cruz that Pam had recommended. We enjoyed lots of delicious food and even more vino tinto. I was thrilled that my friends got to experience the Cammack clan firsthand and that I got to see both of them before we all dispersed for Christmas break.

On my family's only full day in Sevilla, I was determined to show them as much of the city as possible. We met up for breakfast and then set off to see the main sights in some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen. The first thing on our agenda was the Alcazar, the huge palace in the center of the city. Despite the rain, everyone was able to appreciate the beautiful architecture and I even got to put on my tour guide hat as I explained the history of Andalucía, the Moorish occupation, and the Reconquista. After lunch, we went to the Cathedral, the highlight of any visit to Sevilla. I even made everyone climb the Giralda belltower. Even though it was quite a workout, the view was well worth the hike up, especially as it had temporarily cleared off. Our final destination of the day was Plaza de España and Parque María Luisa. I was glad that they had a chance to see both of those places before the rain started again. I only wish that their time in Sevilla had been longer... there were several more places on my list that I wanted to show them! I guess they will just have to come back in the future.

On Thursday the 23rd we left bright and early for Rome. Somehow I managed to fit everything I would need for two weeks into a backpack and small duffle bag.. quite an accomplishment for a chronic overpacker like myself! After arriving, we met up with Alice at our hotel and went out in search of lunch before we started our sightseeing. That afternoon we went to the Colosseum and then split up so that everyone could see what they wanted to. Alice, Little Julia, Martha and I went to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and, at my insistance, stopped for gelato on the way back to the hotel.

We got off to a running start on Christmas Eve as we were scheduled to take a guided tour of the Vatican. Our guide, Francesca, was very knowledgeable about the history of the Roman Catholic Church and its art. Unfortunately, I think that her knowledge and her enthusiasm to share it with us were a little too much for our group, especially first thing in the morning. By the end of the tour, we were all tired, not to mention more than a little over-saturated with art history. Still, it was cool to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter´s in person and I was grateful for the opportunity. That said, we spent most of the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel as I think we had had enough of crowds and being tourists for one day.

After a lot of debate and going back and forth, we ended up spending Christmas Day in Viterbo with Alice's host family, who had graciously invited our group of 10 to lunch. At this point, Alice's friend from EHS, Jenny Ward, who is spending the year in France through SYA, had also joined our party. Alice's host mom, Alessandra, prepared a huge meal, which lasted over 3 hours! All of the food, from the pasta course (homemade lasagna with pumpkin) to the meat (pork with chestnut sauce) to the traditional panetonne, was amazing. And somehow, despite the significant language barrier, we were able to communicate with a mixture of the Italians' limited English, Alice's developing knowledge of Italian, and my Spanish.

The day after Christmas the group split up a bit as my dad, Shelley, and the 5 girls departed for France and Jeanie and Bill prepared to go back to the States the following day. We flew into Paris, where we picked up a rental car (or should I say huge van) and then drove to Normandy. We stayed in the charming town of Bayeux, which was centrally located to see all of the important D-Day sights.

On our one full day in Normandy, we had a wonderful tour guide, Rose, who drove around with us from place to place and explained the history behind what we were seeing. Even though it was very cold as compared to Sevilla and Rome, Normandy was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and I enjoyed learning more about its historical significance.

One of the coolest moments of the trip came at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. As we were taking a look around, one of the National Park employees approached us because he had heard our American accents. Since they were about to close down for the day, he asked us if we wanted to help take down and fold the flags. How could we say no? So, with all eyes on us, the 5 Cammack girls along with 2 Mormon boys (fulfilling a 2 year post in France) participated in a very somber, patriotic rite. Even though it seems a little cheesy, it was an experience I will never forget and one that I am glad to have had.

The following day we left Bayeux and headed to Paris, where we were to spend our last days as an entire group. Before leaving Normandy, though, we stopped for lunch in an adorable town called Honfleur. I have to say that, while I love cities, there is something about small French towns that never fails to charm me. I've resolved to learn French so that I can visit many more in the future... we'll see if that ever comes to fruition, though!

I will take this part of the entry to put our time in France into perspective and to take a little trip down memory lane. In the summers of 1999 and 2000, my dad, Shelley, and what were then the 4 girls spent 2 weeks in Provence. On each trip we rented a house and basically soaked up everything we could about French village and country life. It was a very formative experience for everyone involved, first and foremost because it marked the beginning of our life as a blended family and secondly because for us kids it was our first trip to Europe. Needless to say, being back in France as a family brought back a lot of memories for everyone and things really seemed to have come full circle. Of course, now we have Wardie along for the ride, which only made this trip all the more special!

Anyways, when we got to Paris, we headed straight for Hotel Montalembert, the same hotel that we stayed in all those years ago! I am happy to say that not much has changed about the hotel. The one thing that has changed over the years is my opinion of Paris. On my first trips to France, I have to say that I was not a fan of the City of Light. In fact, I hated it. Back then, Paris seemed a lot dirtier and I have a very vivid memory of a naked homeless man sleeping in a metro station. Luckily, things have changed, or at least that has been my impression. Two years ago, while studying abroad, I went back to Paris, where I stayed with a friend from Nashville who was living there and was able to give me an insider´s view of the city. During that trip, I started to come around to the idea of Paris. This time around, I fell head-over-heels in love with it.

The first step in my journey to re-acquainting myself with Paris was dinner the first night at Brasserie Balzar, a restaurant we went to several times in 1999 and 2000 and that we have all talked a lot about in the interim. Although it has become a lot more popular and thus more expensive in the last decade, Balzar did not disappoint as the quintessential Paris brasserie. The highlight of the evening was hands down the profiteroles (puff pastries filled with ice cream and covered in chocolate sauce) that we had for dessert. Add those to the list of things that haven't changed in 11 years!

On our first morning in Paris, Martha and I decided to branch out on our own and do the Sandeman's free walking tour, which I have also done in Munich and Edinburgh. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as we had a great guide who was informative and, more importantly, entertaining, throwing in pop culture references throughout our walk through the center of Paris. Among the highlights of the tour were Place St. Michel, Notre Dame, the Louvre (well, the outside of it anyway), the Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, and Les Invalides.

That afternoon Martha and I had grand plans to go back to the Champs-Élysées to explore the Christmas market, which more than 1 person had told me was a must. However, on our way there, we had a bit of a situation when an ATM ate Martha's debit card. She headed back (in tears) to the hotel to call our mom and rectify the problem while I decided to continue exploring. I headed straight for the Christmas market, which was a little too crowded for my liking. Afterward, I walked over to the Eiffel Tower and then back to the hotel, which was quite a hike. It felt good, though, especially after consuming my fair share of Italian and French food over the previous several days! I was glad to learn upon returning to the hotel that Martha had talked to Suntrust back in Nashville and was able to recover her card from the ATM. Lesson, which most of us have to learn the hard way: always tell your bank when you are going to be out of the country!

On our last full day all together, we made the trip to Versailles, the famous palace (built by Louis XIV) just outside of Paris. As you can probably imagine, it was packed with tourists like ourselves. Luckily, we got tickets almost immediately after getting off of the train and only had to wait in a short line to get in. Although the palace was beautiful and is certainly historically significant, it didn't live up to my expectations... which could probably get me thrown in jail in France! After a while, all palaces and fancy houses start to look the same. Unfortunately, the gardens, which I am sure are beautiful in the spring and summer, were covered in snow. I guess I will just have to go back under warmer conditions!

After returning from Versailles, Martha and I embarked on a whirlwind lap around Paris so that we could see all of the places we had missed thus far. I think I nearly killed her as we walked a huge loop around the city and spent very minimal time on the metro. We did go to the Eiffel Tower (or at least walk by it), as well as the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, the site of the Bastille, and Notre Dame.

On the morning of New Year´s Eve, Alice and I said goodbye to the rest of the family. We switched to a different hotel and then did some last-minute exploring. We finally got crepes (which were just as good as I remembered them being), walked through the Luxembourg Gardens (only because Mary Kate & Ashley went there in "Passport to Paris"), and visited the Pantheon, where Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie, among others, are entombed.

To ring in the New Year, we met up with one of Alice´s friends from SYA Italy and went out to dinner with her family. Unfortunately, because we had to catch a semi-early flight to London the following morning, we didn't have a wild and crazy night. Still, it was a good end to a great stay in Paris.

Upon arriving in London, we headed straight from Luton Airport (about an hour outside of the city) to our hostel, near King's Cross. Since our room wasn't ready yet, we dropped off our stuff and headed toward Westminster to see the Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament and to grab some lunch. We found a very typical English pub, where Alice had some sort of meat pie and I had steak and eggs (minus the steak). We wanted to tour Westminster Abbey but it was closed for the day already, so we headed back to the hostel, where we hoped we would be allowed to go to our room.

Unfortunately, we soon discovered that our hostel room (which we were sharing with 3 other girls) left a lot to be desired and that maybe we shouldn't have been looking forward to getting into it. The room and bathroom were not exactly sparklingly clean and whoever our roommates were had mountains of clothes and suitcases piled up everywhere. Still, because it was Alice's first hostel experience and I didn't want to worry her by saying, "This might be the worst hostel I have ever stayed in," I tried to remain positive and continually assured her that it could be much worse... which it could have been (remember our airport hotel in Glasgow?). By the following morning, though, we had both had enough of the hostel, between the conditions already mentioned, our roommate's noisy and disruptive middle-of-the-night return, and the stench that had overtaken the room. I don't think the other girls showered once while we were staying there. After getting dressed, I immediately got online and found a hotel for us to stay in when we got to Berlin. The hostel was already putting a slight damper on our time in London... I didn't want the same thing to happen in Berlin too!

After getting over our less-than-stellar accommodations, we finally set off to explore the city. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, where we got the only picture of the two of us in London. Afterward, we headed towards Notting Hill, an area I had loved two years ago. The colorful townhouses were still as adorable as ever and we found plenty of shops to keep us busy before going to brunch at a cute little cafe. Later on, we visited Harrod's.. it was only appropriate, as Alice is one of the biggest shopaholics I know! That night we broke down and went to see "Little Focker's". We figured we owed ourselves a little piece of America as we hadn't gone home for the holidays!

On Monday, our last day in London, we tried to cram as much in as we could. I had always been curious to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (or at least the replica of it), our first stop of the day. We had a brief tour and it was really cool to imagine plays being performed there hundreds of years ago. I would love to go back during the season some day and actually see a Shakespeare play performed. After we finished up there, we crossed the River Thames to go to St. Paul's Cathedral, something I missed on my trip two years ago. Even though I have become somewhat apathetic to cathedrals after seeing so many across Europe, St. Paul's was beautiful and probably one of my favorite religious buildings I have seen. Alice and I even temporarily got over our fear of heights to climb the stairs to the Whispering Gallery and then to an even higher outdoor viewing deck, which provided great views of the city. After lunch, we walked to Trafalgar Square and then spent a few minutes wandering around the National Gallery. Our plans to take a ghost tour that night were thwarted when we discovered that the Tube line we needed to get to the meeting point was closed for repairs. Luckily, we found yet another American movie to keep us entertained as well as a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Tuesday morning we ¨deuced out¨ of our hostel to catch our early-afternoon flight to Berlin. London had been fun but we were both looking forward to our quieter and cleaner accommodations in Germany. After some initial confusion as to which train we needed to take to get to the city center and our hotel, we finally found our way. That night we basked in the glory of our new sleeping quarters and also stumbled upon an Argentinean steakhouse for some red meat and baked potatoes with sour cream. It was almost like being at home! I think that by this point in our travels we had both had enough of sampling the local cuisine. Thus, we never did get any bratwurst or sauerkraut. I think that my waistline and I are fine with that.

On Wednesday morning, we woke up to beautiful blue skies, well-rested and ready to take on the day. After a quick stop at Starbucks (we caved when we discovered we could use the free WiFi), we headed toward the Brandenburg Gate to meet up with the free walking tour, which is becoming quite a habit. Our guide was a funny little Irish guy who is living in Berlin while he figures out what he wants to do with his life. Obviously, since Berlin is huge and pretty spread out, we couldn't see everything in 3.5 hours. However, we did see most of the highlights and got a good idea of the history of the city, mainly focusing on the Third Reich and the Cold War era. Some of the most interesting things we saw were the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker (where he committed suicide), the former Nazi and East German Air Force headquarters, remnants of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmarkt, the Berliner Dom, the Soviet-built TV tower, and Museum Island. I think that our guide was right when he said that Berlin was undoubtedly the most important city of the 20th century.

That afternoon, we decided to call it a day in terms of sightseeing. I failed to mention that the temperature was in the low-20's, with windchill much colder than that. By the end of the tour, neither Alice nor I could feel our extremities and we were literally jogging in place to stay warm.

On Alice's last day in Berlin before returning to Italy, we decided to take on some of Berlin's museums, which are said to be among the best in the world. First up was the Pergamon Museum, which contains rooms upon rooms of ancient artifacts, most notably the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Alice in particular was excited to visit the museum as she has been studying ancient history this year. The collection was staggering and it was well worth waiting for close to an hour in the freezing cold and snow.

After lunch, we ventured to the German Historical Museum to check out a special exhibit that our tour guide had mentioned. "Hitler und die Deutschen" ("Hitler and the Germans") is the first exhibit in German history to focus exclusively on Hitler. For obvious reasons, the German people have been hesitant to do anything that draws attention to the him as an individual or perpetuates his cult of personality. However, this exhibit was very careful to focus instead on the relationship between Hitler and the nation, the Nazi regime's rise to power and the reasons why it caught on. Although it dealt with an incredibly taboo subject, this was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen. It really made you stop and think, both about this particular time in history and about deeper questions of human nature. It was a lot to digest, though, so it was our last stop for the day.

Friday morning Alice and I said goodbye as she had to return to Italy. I spent the day walking around and revisiting some of the sights I hadn't gotten to spend much time at during our tour. I also got on a tour bus which allowed me to see some of the places that were not included on the tour, especially in East Berlin. That afternoon, I went back to the German Historical Museum to take a look at the permanent collection, which is very interesting and well put-together but way too extensive to take in during one visit. It was a nice way cap off my time in Berlin and one of the most memorable Christmas breaks of my life.

On Saturday, it was finally time to go back to Spain and resume my routine in Sevilla. After a 3 hour flight from Berlin to Madrid, a frantic race through the Madrid metro system to the train station, and a 2.5 hour ride on the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla, I finally made it home around 8:30 on Saturday night. While I love traveling, it was time for my trip to be over and I couldn't wait for some down time.

Now that I am back in Sevilla for the second half of this adventure, I have a lot to look forward to between work, reuniting with my friends, and trips planned for February to Morocco and Belgium. There really is never a dull moment around here... except for Sundays!

Gearing Up for Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas is already here. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that the holiday season in Spain just isn't the same as it is in the States. It's difficult to get in the spirit when all you see are lackluster attempts at Christmas lights in the streets and you have to make a concerted effort to listen to Christmas music. Add to that the fact that the temperatures are in the low 60's, with 100% humidity, and you can see why I've had trouble getting into Christmas this year. More than that, though, it seems like just yesterday that I began my year in Sevilla. I remember thinking on my first day in Sevilla that my family's December trip to Europe was so far off in the distant future that it hardly seemed real. Now, in less than 2 hours, I will be meeting my dad, Shelley, Martha, Little Julia, Wardie, Jeanie and Bill at Santa Justa. I can't believe that they are getting to see Spain, at last. Given that I have spent a total of 7.5 (non-consecutive) months in Spain over the course of my life, I think it's time. As I said in a recent Facebook update, this country has defined a large part of my life. I can't wait to share it with the people who are most important to me. The only thing that would make their arrival more complete is if my mom was coming too. I'll just hold out hope that I'll get to show her the wonders of the Iberian peninsula some day too!

We will be spending two days together in Sevilla before embarking on what will be a couple very busy weeks of European travel. First, we are flying to Rome, where we will meet up with Alice. I am really looking forward to seeing the sites in Rome, since I was sick the last time I was there and didn't see very much, and especially to our private tour of the Vatican on Christmas Eve. Alice's host family, who are incredibly generous, as I learned during my visit to Viterbo in November, are having our entire group (10 people!) over on Christmas Day, for what I can only imagine will be a spectacular Italian feast. The day after Christmas we will be moving on to France, where we will visit Normandy and then Paris. The rest of the crew heads back to the U.S. on New Year's Eve, leaving Alice and I with about 10 days to continue our travels. We will spend NYE in Paris, a daunting but exciting proposition, and then spend about 3 days each in London and Berlin. It is a lot of moving around, to say the least, but I have a feeling this will be a great family vacation.

I have to say that the prospect of over 2 weeks away from Sevilla and my friends here is a little bittersweet. I have really come to love this place and the people here, despite the occasional frustration with the Spanish way of life. I guess that just means I have a lot to look forward to come January.

That's about all I can think to write right now. I hope to be able to update the blog as our trip progresses. Otherwise, I'll have to write one monstrous entry when I get back on January 8. Until I have a chance to write again, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, or as they say here, Feliz Navidad. Hasta pronto...

The December Puente

In Spain, long weekends are known as puentes or bridges. This week I have enjoyed one hell of a puente, which started Thursday after school and came to an end on Wednesday night. Given that Monday and Wednesday were both national holidays, Día de la Constitución and Día de la Inmaculada, respectively, the good people of Dos Hermanas decided to take Tuesday off as well. After all, what's the point in going to work on a Tuesday between two holidays? With so much time off from work, my friends and I decided to escape Sevilla for a few days and take advantage of the ease of traveling around Europe. After a little deliberation, we settled on spending our short vacation in the UK, spending the first day in Liverpool and the remainder in Edinburgh.

Friday morning Rachel, Jan, and I met up bright and early at Santa Justa to catch a train to Málaga, where we had found a cheap flight to Liverpool. While Sevilla is a bigger city than Málaga, there are a lot of cheap flights out of Málaga to cities all over Europe due to its popularity as a coastal resort destination. Even though having to spend 2 1/2 hours on a train in order to get to the airport was definitely a little more difficult than flying out of Sevilla, it was a fairly easy trip and we got to see a lot of beautiful Andalusian countryside. After a couple of hours waiting in the airport, we finally boarded the plane, leaving the sunshine and relatively warm temperatures of southern Spain for the clouds and cold of Britain in December. With more than enough boisterous Spaniards and small children running up and down the aisle of the plane, the flight itself was a bit trying, which only made arriving at John Lennon International Airport that much more exciting. Despite a bit of confusion as to the best route to take to reach the city center, we eventually ended up on the right bus, where we met a friendly guy who told us which stop we needed to get off at and gave us some tips on restaurants and bars in the area. More than anything, I think that we were all happy to be able to strike up a casual conversation in English!

After a very cold and slightly snowy walk, we found our hostel, which was located in a very cozy old house. As we checked in, the incredibly welcoming owner, who has lived in Liverpool all of his life and witnessed Beatlemania firsthand, served us tea and gave us a rundown of the layout of the city and gave us some suggestions for our one and only night in the city. We decided that, after dropping our stuff off and freshening up a bit, we would head out to find some fish and chips (we were in England, after all) before checking out the Cavern Club, one of the most important landmarks in Beatles history. Since Briana was due to arrive in a few hours, we left instructions for her to meet us at the Cavern around midnight, when we figured she would finally make it to the hostel.

The guy that we met on the bus had told us that there was a decent fish and chips place on Hardman Street, so we headed in that direction. However, we couldn´t find it ourselves and literally everyone we encountered on the street was too drunk to help us out. Luckily, I spotted a restaurant that said ¨Fish and Chips¨in the window and we decided to try it out. Interestingly, although it was an Italian-English-Scottish restaurant, the fish and chips were delicious and we devoured our dinner, mushy peas and all. Afterwards, we were ready to begin our night out on the town.

Fish and chips at the Italian Fish Club.

Most of the people in the Cavern Club were much older than us but we had a great time nonetheless. There was a band and plenty of interesting characters to keep us entertained for a couple of hours. However, as midnight rolled around and there was still no sign of Briana, we decided that we should probably head back to the hostel to find her. To our surprise, we were informed as we walked in the door that her flight from Málaga had been cancelled and that she was scheduled to fly into Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon. We chalked that minor snafu up to the inclimate weather and called it a night, exhausted from a long day of traveling.

Inside the Cavern Club.

Saturday morning we got up, ate a very quick--but free--breakfast and headed out on our much anticipated Beatles tour of Liverpool. Our guide, Stevie T., picked us up at the hostel and the four of us headed out to see the sights. As a lifelong Beatles fan and having read a huge biography of the group last spring, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the tour. Stevie told great stories, some of which I remembered from the book and others that I had never heard before. Among others we saw John Lennon's birthplace, the Liverpool Institute and School of Art, Paul McCartney's and John's childhood homes, the neighborhoods where Ringo and George grew up, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Fields. Since we had been in and out of the rain for four hours, I think we were all happy when the tour ended around 1. Stevie dropped us off at the Phil, supposedly one of John's favorite watering holes, and we all enjoyed a hearty Shepherd's Pie for lunch.

Strawberry Field (probably my favorite stop on the tour)

Jan, Rachel, and I on Penny Lane.

When we got back to the hostel to get our bags before heading to the train station, we checked our e-mail, only to discover that Briana's flight had once again been cancelled. At that point, we were aware that it wasn't weather that was holding up her travels but rather a Spain-wide air traffic controller strike. It seemed that Rachel, Jan, and I had made it out just in the nick of time. We made plans to hopefully meet Briana at the hostel in Edinburgh on Sunday evening and then left the hostel to catch two trains and a bus to get to Scotland.

The five-hour trip from Liverpool to Edinburgh wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. It wasn't, however, without a little excitement. Just before we were to get off the train in Carlisle, about 30 miles from the Scottish border, Jan and Rachel decided to make a quick trip to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the only working toilet on the entire train was several cars down the line. I was still in our seats when a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced that we were arriving at Carlisle. Unlike at the other stops we had passed, there had been no advance warning. I started to panic... if my friends didn't make it back in time, should I grab their stuff and hope that they jumped off the train on their own? Luckily, just as we stopped, I saw the two of them running down the car, just as panicked as I was. We gathered our things and ran off the train, all the while coming up with a contingency plan in case anything similar happens in the future.

The last leg of the journey was a bus ride from Carlisle to Edinburgh. Somehow we were the only three passengers, aside from the bus driver, who we could barely understand through his thick Scottish accent. We slept most of the way, although I did wake up in time to see lots of the countryside and some very quaint small towns. The farther we drove, the more snow I saw. By the time we reached Edinburgh, we estimated that there was probably two feet of snow on the ground. Even though we hadn't expected so much wintry weather, it certainly made the city look even more picturesque than it normally does.

We made our way to our hostel and decided to call it an early night as we were all exhausted. We did have time to meet some of the other people staying in our room. One, a girl from Australia, was taking a gap year to travel around the world. Another, interestingly enough, was a 2003 Vandy grad who is living in Iceland on a Fulbright scholarship. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the shared room experience, something I had never done before in all of my travels. It was cool to hear everyone's stories and for the most part everyone was very considerate.

Sunday morning we got up ready to take on the day. We had decided in advance to go on a free walking tour of the city, which we picked up on the Royal Mile. The tour allowed us to get a feel for the city's layout and to decide which attractions we wanted to go back to. Our tour guide, Alan, was quite a character, to say the least. He more than slightly resembled Hagrid from Harry Potter and talked like a pirate. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the city and even said that he had written a book about its history. Even though I had been to Edinburgh before, I enjoyed seeing the main sights again and even discovering new ones. Some of the highlights included St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Kirk, and various Harry Potter-related sites. More than anything I enjoyed hearing Alan's stories. Whether or not they were all true, they were highly entertaining. Despite the fact that we learned and saw a lot on the tour, it was kind of hard to concentrate because of the cold weather and two feet of snow on the ground. After 3 1/2 hours of walking around in the elements, none of us could feel our feet and I was actually shaking. We were relieved when Alan finished his stone of destiny story (don't ask) and set off in search of a warm restaurant with good food. It goes without saying that I was beyond happy to have my first cheeseburger in months.

Alan, our fearless leader. (Photo courtesy of Jan)

St. Giles Cathedral.

George Heriot's School, the inspiration for Hogwarts.

Greyfriars Bobby, supposedly the most photographed statue in Edinburgh.

Greyfriars Kirk

To kill time between lunch and Briana's arrival, we did a little shopping and stocked up on some much needed winter accessories. We all gave Briana a huge hug when she finally appeared at the hostel around 7. After two days of waiting, she had finally made it to the UK. To celebrate having the whole group together, we went to a Thai restaurant nearby for dinner. It sounds pathetic but I think our favorite thing about the weekend was the food. Tapas and jamon are good (from time to time) but there's definitely something to be said for having options. Afterwards, we went to another restaurant for tea and dessert before hitting the hay pretty early.

Monday morning we woke up to snow. My inner southern girl came out and I was giddy at the sight of white flakes falling from the sky. We bundled up and headed out to see some more of the city. Unfortunately, our first stop--the Castle--was closed due to the inclimate weather. Luckily, we had seen one of our top choices on the walk up and decided to escape the cold to learn about the national beverage at the Scotch Whisky Experience. We heard all about the distillation process and the different whisky-producing regions of Scotland before we got to choose a whisky to taste. It turns out that none of us are destined to be Scotch drinkers as we could barely choke down a few sips. Nonetheless, I'm glad we gave it a go. When in Rome, right?

Edinburgh in the snow. Simply beautiful.

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas (or Sevilla) anymore.

The world's largest private Scotch Whisky collection.

Me, Rachel, Briana, and Jan at the whisky tasting.

For lunch we headed to the Elephant House, the café where J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter books. I had been there on my first trip to Edinburgh and loved going back. Our favorite part of the café was the bathroom, where there was a Harry Potter toilet seat and the door was covered in notes people had written to J.K., thanking her for changing their lives. It was pretty cool (albeit a little weird).

The Elephant House, a.k.a. the Birthplace of Harry Potter.

After lunch we were stunned to learn that the Scottish National Museum was closed, also due to the weather. Thus, we decided to warm up inside by seeing the newest Harry Potter movie, which hadn't yet made it to Spain in English. Although the fifth book was the last one I read and I hadn't seen any of the movies since the fourth, it was really cool to see the latest installment in the city where the craze began. Plus, I'll take a warm movie theater over walking around in the cold any day!

Tuesday was our last day in Edinburgh, so we were determined to see the Castle. We were ecstatic to learn that it was in fact open for visitors. The views of the city and water were beautiful, especially with all of the snow. We also got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels, the Stone of Destiny (which we had been hearing about since our arrival), and a famous sword (whose significance is escaping me). We followed up our tour of the Castle with some souvenir shopping (cashmere scarves and real Scottish shortbread) and then grabbed a quick lunch. My traveling companions were brave and tried haggis, the quintessentially Scottish dish that is basically the leftover parts of the sheep, oatmeal, and spices, all wrapped up and cooked in the the animal's stomach. I couldn't bring myself to try it... I guess I'll just have to go back to Scotland and try it in the future! We decided against touring the Palace of Holyrood House (the Queen's official residence in Scotland) in favor of getting a head start on our journey to Glasgow, where we were to spend Tuesday night before catching a flight back to Spain on Wednesday morning.

View of the Castle from the Princes Street Gardens.

Finally entering the Castle.

The Castle, covered in snow.

View of Edinburgh and the water from the Castle.

Haggis... I'm sure it's delicious but no thank you.

This is the point in our trip where the real adventure began. We arrived at the bus station only to learn that all of the buses between Edinburgh and Glasgow had been cancelled for the day because of the road conditions. We would later hear on the news that this week marked the "collapse of the Scottish infrastructure." Thus, our only option was to take the train. Once at the train station, we waited for our platform to be posted, which it was... approximately one minute before the original departure time of our supposedly delayed train. We quickly made our way to the platform and discovered that the train had already left, leaving us and several other Glasgow-bound travelers confused and very cold. Our only choice was to wait for the next train, which was scheduled to leave in about half an hour. With every passing minute, we got more and more cold and couldn't wait to get on what we could only assume would be a heated train. Eventually, they posted the platform for our train, which brought on a literal stampede of people, all of whom were just as eager to get to Glasgow as we were. We somehow were able to get on the train, which we soon learned was in fact not heated. Thus, by the time we arrived in Glasgow, none of us could feel our feet and we couldn't wait to get to our hotel, located by the airport. Unfortunately, finding transportation to the hotel wasn't as easy as we had hoped. It seemed that the unseasonably cold weather and snow had ground the city to a halt. After waiting for a few minutes for the bus to the airport, we decided to stand in line for a taxi. In the twenty or so minutes that we waited, however, we saw only one taxi. Thank God the airport bus finally showed up. We were hopeful that our luck had finally turned. If only...

Upon reaching the airport, we found a taxi to take us to our hotel. When I told the driver the address we needed to go to, he asked if it was a hotel. I replied, "Yes, do you know it?" To which he answered, "Unfortunately." That should have been our first clue that something wasn't right. After about a ten minute drive the taxi stopped outside of a very eerie looking Victorian-esque house that was apparently our hotel. I should say that at this point we were in the middle of a very dark, abandoned neighborhood with lots of boarded up windows and abandoned factory buildings. Despite the fact that we were all more than a little creeped out at this point we paid the cab driver and headed towards the door. As we approached the building, someone commented that "this looks like the kind of place you go in and never come out of." We rang the doorbell (which was falling off the wall) and were greeted by a Pakistani man, who appeared to be on some sort of mind-altering substance. Our next clue that something wasn't right came when he told us he didn't have our reservation. Luckily (or not) there was plenty of room. Rachel, Briana, and I were going to be staying in a triple and Jan was in a single across the hall. When we got upstairs, Jan unlocked her door, shut it, and ran across the hall saying, "I can't do it. It's the ring!" (referring to the horror movie) We soon discovered that our triple wasn't much better. There were no sheets on the bed, only one towel for 3 people, no lock on the door and suspicious stains on the carpet. The worst part was the bathroom... not only did the floor look like it was about to cave in but the toilet didn't flush and there was an unidentifiable liquid backed up in the tub. At this point we were having serious doubts as to whether we could stay here or not. We had already paid for our rooms (in cash) but this place didn't even begin to meet any standards for a hotel. After much debate we came to the conclusion that we needed to leave immediately and appointed Rachel our spokesperson. We got our bags and went back downstairs, asking our Pakistani host for a cab and a refund. When he refused to refund our money without blinking, it was clear that this was not the first time he had been in this situation. Eventually, we decided that the money was the least of our worries and asked him if he would just call us a cab. Unfortunately for us, the wait was going to be close to an hour. So, we very dramatically exited the building, happy that we would never have to see the Lomond Airport Hotel again. As luck would have it, our streak of not slipping on the ice came to an end when I fell down in the hotel parking lot. Given the circumstances, all I could do was sit in the snow and laugh.

Our next step was to find some way back to the airport, where we had seen a Ramada Inn. Clearly no taxi driver in his right mind would be hanging around this neighborhood. So, running on adrenaline, we high tailed it out of there and made our way towards the only signs of civilization in the vicinity. A teenage boy pointed us toward a taxi stand at the local train station, where our discomfort level was multiplied by a host of unseemly characters, including a drunk guy with a black eye. Eventually, we got in a cab and asked to be taken straight to the Ramada. When we told the driver where we had come from, he informed us that the Lomond Hotel was a "shit hole" (direct quote). Obviously we told him never to drop anyone off there again.

We were all quite relieved to learn that there was vacancy at the Ramada, as well as a restaurant (and more importantly, a bar) in the lobby. Yes, we spent more money than we had anticipated but a clean room with a functioning bathroom was well worth the price. We all agreed that if we had learned anything in our time in Glasgow it was the importance of trusting our instincts. We should have run for the hills upon seeing the outside of the hotel, if not the minute the first cab driver told us that he had "unfortunately" heard of it.

Wednesday morning we woke up early to catch our flight back to Málaga. After the events of the previous night and having spent 5 days so cold that we couldn't feel our extremities I think we were all ready to get back to Spain. Nonetheless, despite everything, we all had a great time and can't wait to go back to the UK. Hey, it wouldn't be travel without a little excitement, would it!?

Thanksgiving and More

I think that this is the shortest amount of time that has ever passed between two of my blog posts. As I said in my last entry, I am going to make a concerted effort to update more frequently, first and foremost to keep everyone back home current on what I am up to and, secondly, to make it easier to remember what I have and have not written about. And, with that said, I will now get to the (hopefully) more interesting part of this entry...

It continues to amaze me how quickly the days and weeks here pass, especially given the fact that I only "work" 12 hours a week. This week at school was especially minimal in terms of work. It must be mid-terms or something, as several of my classes were cancelled because the students had to take exams. The teachers that I work with definitely seemed to be a lot busier than usual and a few of them had to cancel our sessions to get other things done. I would say that it is frustrating to spend an hour or more commuting only to be told that you are not needed. However, I do enjoy getting out of the house and at least pretending to be a worthwhile member of Spanish society. Plus, it's nice to see and talk to the other teachers at school. From what I've gathered from some of my other Language & Culture Assistant friends, I lucked out in terms of getting assigned to work with such great people.

This week I only went to my tutoring job once, as I took Thursday off to prepare for my Thanksgiving festivities (more on that later). Tuesday's session wasn't nearly as stressful as last week's and I was thrilled to not have to tell the kids to sit down and be quiet quite as many times. The past couple of times we have been working on the months of the year. I'm taking it slow and trying to have them learn 3 or 4 at a time. It's becoming apparent that not overloading them with new words is key. I was pleasantly surprised that Paco remembered all of the months from our previous session (January through April). I tried teaching them a song to go along with the material... once again, though, that approach failed. Either these kids don't like songs or they are frightened by my singing voice. I'm inclined to think it's the latter. They do seem to like doing little craft projects to go along with the topic at hand, so I've been trying to incorporate that into my lessons. Lately we've been working on making a 2011 calendar, with the months and days of the week in English, which seems to help them remember the months and keeps them occupied. I finally remembered to take my camera along and was able to snap a photo of Paco and Raquel (Isabel had already left for the day). I think Spanish kids might be the cutest in the entire world.

Raquel and Paco.

My very light workload this week gave me lots of time to prepare for one of my favorite days of the year: Thanksgiving. Two years ago, when I studied abroad, we went to TGI Friday's and ate chicken fingers and french fries to celebrate. This time around, though, I was bound and determined to have a real Thanksgiving meal. So, Rachel, Briana, and I planned a grand feast to celebrate and help us not feel too sad about missing out on the festivities back in the states.

Monday afternoon we went to the supermarket at El Corte Ingles (Spain's huge department store chain) and searched for all of the ingredients we knew we wouldn't be able to find at Día, our usual, slightly sketchy grocery store. Amazingly, we were able to find cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, chocolate cake mix, and even marshmallows (colorful and Christmas-themed, of course) for the sweet potatoes. We then went about finding recipes for sweet potato casserole and stuffing and then spent the next few days gathering the rest of the ingredients. By the time Thursday rolled around, we had planned a delicious meal and our party of 3 had morphed into an impressive gathering of 7, which made celebrating that much more fun. We decided to cook and eat at my house since it's a good size for entertaining and, unlike most other kitchens in Spain, has an oven.

Briana came over Thursday afternoon after lunch so that we could get a head-start on cooking and we whipped up some awesome stuffing and sweet potatoes, plus a killer chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without some sort of drama in the kitchen, which came when water inexplicably started spraying out of the wall by the sink, completely soaking me and the kitchen floor in the process. Luckily, Fátima's brother David helped me solve the problem and we were able to continue cooking without any other snafus. By the time Rachel and Pam arrived a little later, Briana and I had taken care of most of the cooking, so we had some time to relax, uncork a bottle of very bad cheap Spanish wine, and enjoy the cheese plate I had thrown together at the last minute. Around 8, just before our other guests arrived, we ran over to a little store in my neighborhood to buy a couple of rotisserie chickens as we had decided to forgo turkey. Once everyone had arrived and settled in, we set up a buffet in the living/dining room and everyone fixed their plates.

I have to say that, all things considered, we did a pretty bang-up job of recreating Thanksgiving in Spain. The complete menu included the chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, pumpkin soup, cranberry sauce, and bread. And, if I do say so myself, it was all delicious! Even better than the food, though, was the excellent company. I have so many things to be thankful for but I think that the friends I have made thus far in Sevilla are at the top of my list. Everyone had a great time and by the time they left we were all very satisfied with the way things turned out. Other than being at home with my family, I can't think of another way I would have rather spent Thanksgiving 2010. Here are a few pictures from the fiesta...

My beautiful fruit and cheese platter. I was quite proud of it.

Sweet potatoes and stuffing. Just like home.

The girls: Briana, Alli, Rachel, me, Pam, and Stephanie.

Eating at the dining table for the first time since I've been here.

Everyone, minus me. Couldn't have asked for a better group.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am enjoying my second consecutive laid-back weekend in Sevilla. I guess I need plenty of time to rest up, as I leave a week from today for 5 days in the UK. Rachel, Briana, Jan (who also teaches English at Rachel's school) and I are going to be traveling to Liverpool and Edinburgh over our puente (long weekend). Having grown up with my dad, who is probably one of the biggest Beatles fans in the world, I am really looking forward to checking out the city where it all began. I am also excited to return to Edinburgh, where I spent a couple of days when I studied abroad. It was one of my favorite cities in Europe and I'm glad to have an opportunity to see more of it. I'm also looking forward to seeing Granada for the first time the following weekend. My friend Pam invited me along on a trip with her friend Ana (who is Spanish), Ana's boyfriend (also Spanish), and another American girl who is living in Sevilla. I have been dying to visit Granada and am so glad that this opportunity presented itself. I'm not sure that we'll see the Alhambra (Granada's enormous 14th century Moorish palace) on this trip since I'm sure the other people in the group have already done so but luckily it's only a short train/bus ride away. I have to keep reminding myself that there are tons of cool places to visit within Spain... sometimes it's just so easy to get carried away with the ease of traveling to other European countries!

The only other news I can think of is that Ayako, my Japanese roommate, is leaving Sevilla for a few months to move to Barcelona. I have to admit that I will miss her, a lot! When I first got to Sevilla in September, we were the only 2 people in the house for about a week, and for that reason I feel closer to her than my other housemates. I have enjoyed being able to practice Spanish with her and appreciate the times when we are both in the kitchen together. Luckily, she is going to be coming back to Sevilla in March and, if no one else moves into her room, there is a chance she could live with us again. We did exchange contact information so we can at least stay in touch. I can only hope that whoever moves in next will be as great as her!

Well, I think that's about it. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the holiday season. I know that I am! And on that note, hasta pronto...

A Very Disjointed Blog Post

(As a disclaimer, this is going to be a rather disjointed entry, in part because it has been a while since I last wrote and in part because there are so many little things I want to comment on.)

At one point in time Sundays were my favorite day of the week. That point in time has passed... In Sevilla, Sundays are long and boring, as just about everything is closed. Luckily, that means that I have a lot of time on my hands today to update the blog and tell you what I've been up to for the last two weeks.

After returning from Viterbo, I worked for all of 3 days before heading to Milan with Rachel and Briana, two of my friends from the Teach in Spain program. I thought that traveling 2 weekends in a row would be exhausting. However, I had a wonderful time on my second trip to Italy in two weeks.

We arrived at an airport about an hour outside of Rome on Friday morning and, after a very drawn-out ordeal involving public transportation, finally made it to our hotel that afternoon. After a quick lunch at a café near our hotel and an obligatory gelato stop, we had a few hours to explore the city center and (surprise) do a little shopping. Later, we met up with Anna, an Italian woman who was Rachel's cousins' au pair several years ago. She treated us to a wonderful dinner, complete with foccacia, homemade pasta, several local hams, and vino. We were all exhausted after a long day of traveling by the time we finished eating, so we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

On Saturday, we decided to take a day trip to Lake Como, about an hour north of Milan by train. Its claim to fame (at least in my book) is that George Clooney owns a villa there. The lake itself is very big and beautiful. Unfortunately, we happened to be there on a very foggy day, making it hard to get a full view of the landscape. Nonetheless, we enjoyed exploring the town of Como and taking a very eventful tram ride to the top of a nearby mountain. For more details on that excitement and the other strange experiences we encountered throughout the weekend, read Briana's blog entry (http://bgsevilla.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-do-you-give-screaming-baby-to-make.html).

Saturday night, our gracious Italian hostess Anna had us over to her apartment for a homecooked Italian meal. I have to say that I have been very lucky in both of my trips to Italy in terms of sampling the local cuisine! When we got there, she had already prepared a huge spread of appetizers, which was delicious and meal-worthy in itself. However, the tortellini she made for the main course was amazing and we all left very full and very happy.

Sunday was our day of sightseeing. Although Milan isn't neccesarily known for its history or architecture, it does boast a beautiful duomo--the Italian word for cathedral-- and an impressive 14th century castle, both of which we toured. Our motivation to explore the city in depth was limited by the cold and rainy weather. We ended our weekend with one last delicious dinner and gelato. Even though we had a great time and enjoyed getting another European city under our belts, I think that by the time we woke up at 3:15 on Monday morning to catch our flight back to Sevilla we were all happy to be going home. There is definitely something to be said about sleeping in your own bed and being in a city where you speak the language and know your way around.

The weather in Sevilla has changed very suddenly. It went from being summer to some sort of fall/winter hybrid in about the span of a week. Although the high temperatures are still in the low to mid 60's, it feels much colder than that because the air is very damp. I finally gave in and bought a winter coat in Milan, which is coming in very handy. The weirdest thing is that it feels much colder inside than it does outside. Luckily, Fátima delivered a heater to my room last night, so hopefully I will survive the winter.

Work is still going well, although there are times when I wish I had more responsibilities. The last 2 Tuesdays I commuted to Dos Hermanas, only to find out that I wasn't needed. I guess that was compensated for by the fact that on Thursday I got to teach an entire class by myself! I have to admit that I was very nervous when Cristobal announced to me that he needed to use that period to make phone calls and thus wanted me to lead the class. I am always with another teacher in the classroom and I hadn't mentally prepared myself to take charge of a room full of 17-18 year old boys. However, I think that it ended up being the best class I have had with the students yet. We read a document I had translated on electrical circuits (on itself not very stimulating material) to practice pronunciation and reading comprehension, which is what we always do. What made this particular class so great was that the students were all very engaged and continually asked me questions when they didn't know a word or needed help with pronunciation. I only wish that they could be like that all the time! By the end of the hour, I felt like they had actually benefitted from my being there!

I am still giving clases particulares to a group of 5 and 6 year olds once a week. I am quickly discovering that I much prefer working with older kids. The little ones are very cute and incredibly affectionate but I am not sure how much longer my patience with them will last. Their high energy level, short attention span, and inability to remember anything I teach them is wearing me out very quickly. I think that my feelings would be different if I didn't have to travel so far to get there. Now I just have to decide if $7 per child per hour and 2 hours of commute time roundtrip is really worth it...

In other news, I have completed travel plans for Alice and me for the first week in January, after the rest of the family goes back to the States. We will spend New Year's Eve in Paris, which is supposed to be one of the best places to ring in the New Year in the world, before spending 3 days each in London and Berlin. I am looking forward to returning to London and showing it to Alice for the first time and even more excited about exploring Berlin. I am also working on plans to visit Liverpool (home of the Beatles) and Edinburgh during the first week in December, when we have several days off from work. Life sure is tough over here...

And on that note, I am off to find another way to waste time. Look for another blog post later in the week... I am going to try to write more often from now on. Hasta pronto!

Viterbo

This weekend combined two of my favorite things: family and travel. After nearly two months in Sevilla, I finally ventured outside of my new home and flew to Italy to see Alice, who is spending her senior year of high school in a small city about two hours north of Rome by train. It's hard to believe that it took me this long into my stay abroad to be re-bitten by the travel bug... but on this end of my trip I can wholeheartedly say that it was well worth the wait.

After another typical week at work, I set off on my adventure late Friday. Due to the fact that this was my first time traveling out of Sevilla, I gave myself ample time to get to the airport and get checked in before my flight. Luckily, reaching the airport is incredibly easy... almost as easy as it was in Madrid. All I had to do was make my way to Santa Justa, which I could probably due blindfolded at this point, and hop on the special airport bus. I was glad that I had given myself extra time, as the bus was running late. I guess that´s what I get for traveling along with the rest of Sevilla on a Friday evening. Once I got to the airport, I checked in, grabbed a coffee, and waited for my flight, which left at 7:00. The flight itself was about 2.5 hours and very smooth. Nonetheless, I was very happy when we landed at Rome Ciampino a few minutes early at 9:30. Being back there brought back memories of my last trip to Rome, in November 2008 with Joi, my Vanderbilt in Spain roommate. Just as we did last time, I bought a 4 euro bus ticket, which got me to the central train station in less than 40 minutes. I then found my way to my hotel/hostel (I´m still not entirely sure which word best describes this place), dropped off my bag, and headed out in search of dinner. I found a decent restaurant right across the street, where I ordered a delicious pizza with salami and artichoke hearts. Afterwards, I was determined to find gelato, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I ended up at another restaurant, where the waiter brought me a sorry excuse for gelato and then insisted on chatting with me while I ate it. He kept telling me that it was too early to go to bed and that I needed to go out with him once his shift ended. However, on account of the fact that it was late and I had to get up early to go to Viterbo and he was supremely creepy, I called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and headed back to the train station, where I jumped on the metro to go to yet another train station to catch my train to Viterbo. The trip itself was a little under 2 hours and I enjoyed seeing lots of beautiful Italian countryside. When I arrived just before 11 a.m., Alice was waiting for me on the platform. It was great to be reunited with her... in fact, the only thing that would have made it better would have been if all 4 of my sisters had been there! After that, we walked over to San Pellegrino, the medieval section of Viterbo, to find my bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, as is usually the case when I travel, I forgot one key piece of information: the address of the B&B. After walking around for quite some time and trying to ask several locals if they knew where it was, we finally found it. After I dropped off my bag, we had to get going so that Alice could make it to a high school where she teaches English on Saturdays. First, though, we made a quick stop at a cafe for cappucinos (my second of the day). This wasn´t just any cappucino, though... it came topped with sprinkles, marshmallows, and--wait for it--nutella. It was just what I needed to make it through an hour at an Italian high school, which made my school in Dos Hermanas look tame. Alice, her friend, and I sat at the front of the classroom and the teacher and students asked questions (in English) and we answered. I found the whole experience very interesting as I was able to compare it to what I have experienced thus far at my job. I have to say that I was very impressed with their conversational skills and it was nice to have a break from teaching English for telecommunications and information science.

Once we left the school, Alice took me to her house, which is located in the center of Viterbo, right across from the School Year Abroad building. I met her host mother, Alessandra, who was very welcoming and thrilled to meet one of Alice´s sisters. She invited me to stay for lunch, which I was more than happy to do, and we used a combination of English, Spanish, and Italian to communicate. Once Alice´s host siblings, Michaelangelo and Virginia, got home from school (Italians go to school on Saturday) at about 1:30, we sat down for lunch. Alessandra made a delicious carbonara-like pasta dish, which I devoured. It was fun to see Alice interact with her new family and I was very impressed by the Italian she has picked up in only 2 months. At the end of the meal, Alessandra invited me to come back for lunch on Sunday, an offer I definitely couldn´t turn down!

After lunch, a couple of Alice´s friends showed up and we headed to a really cool gelato place to meet up with some of the other SYA kids. The gelato place is in what used to be the lobby of a hotel and was absolutely beautiful. Even better, though, the gelato was delicious! I got a mix of straciatella (chocolate chip) and pistachio (my new favorite flavor). It´s a good thing that I´m not studying abroad in Italy... I think I would eat gelato at least once a day!

After our gelato stop, Alice and I went out to explore Viterbo. The city itself is very old and absolutely beautiful. It was exactly how I imagined a smaller Italian town would be. In fact, the whole time I felt like I was in Under the Tuscan Sun (except not in Tuscany). I don´t think I can do it justice in words, so you´ll just have to see pictures of the town and views below.

Saturday night I hung out with Alice and her friends, which was interesting to say the least. It´s hard to believe that I was in high school only 5 years ago. They all seemed so young to me, even though they are only a few years younger than I am! I think that by the end of the night I had met just about everyone in the SYA Italy program. After a long day of traveling, walking, and eating, I was exhausted and headed back to the B&B around 11:30.

Sunday morning I woke up around 8:30 and ate breakfast at the B&B. I then decided that I would try to find my way to Alice´s house on my own. On my way I happened upon a tourism office where I picked up a map of Viterbo. Using that and my excellent sense of direction, I found Alice´s house. Since she had homework and college applications to work on, I went out to do some more exploring on my own. I got back to Alice´s house just before lunch, which was a good thing because so much walking made me very hungry! The first course Alessandra served us was a black rice (riso negro) dish which was honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. I think I will have to learn how to make it! Afterwards, we had roast chicken and potatoes, which was also very good. One of Alice´s SYA friends joined us for lunch and said that it was the best meal he had eaten in Italy. I can see how that could be true!

After lunch, I went back to my B&B for a siesta before going back to Alice´s. We made a second trip to the gelato place and then went for a walk around San Pellegrino. I decided that I would go back to her house for a little while and then tell her good bye before going out to dinner. I didn´t want to impose on Alessandra and Rafaello (her husband) for a third meal. When it came time for me to head out around 8, Alice and I went into the kitchen to ask them to take a picture of the two of us. She informed them that I was about to leave so that I could go out for dinner. However, Rafaello and Alessandra, in true Italian fashion, would have none of that. Rafaello exclaimed, ¨That is impossible!¨So, I sat down to eat pizza with the family and another SYA host couple and couldn´t have been happier that they ¨forced¨ me to stay. The pizza was fantastic and the company even better. After we finished eating, Alice got her laptop and we skyped Dad, Shelley, & Wardie in Sewanee. It was highly entertaining and, to make a long story short, our group of 10 (the family + Alice´s friend Jenny who is doing SYA France) will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Viterbo with the host family. When I said goodbye to Alice and headed back to my B&B around 10:30, I could honestly say that my trip had gone above and beyond my expectations.

Monday was an uneventful day of travel. I couldn´t have left at a better time... the weather was cold and rainy and Sevilla´s sunshine and 75 degree weather was calling my name. I got back here around 6:30 at night, exhausted but extremely satisfied with my weekend. Now it is back to work with 3 days before I go BACK to Italy for a weekend in Milan with my friends Briana and Rachel. What can I say, I love Italy and couldn´t pass up the opportunity to see a new city!

Cappuccino + Nutella = Amazing.

View of Viterbo and the countryside!

Exploring the city with Alice.

Gelato!

Alice and I with her host parents, Raffaello and Alessandra.

Alice and I at her Italian home.

Excited to see fall colors at last!

Is it really November already?

It's hard to believe that I've been in Sevilla for 6 weeks now and even harder to believe that it's already November. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. I have started writing a new blog post several times over the past week but always seem to get distracted or have something to do whenever I get started. I guess that's a good thing because it means that I'm staying busy and getting into a groove. However, in the interest of updating everyone back home on what I've been up to, I am making myself actually complete an entry.

There isn't too much to report on the work front. I feel more and more like a part of the school community every day, which makes the little time I actually spend at work a lot more enjoyable. I love going into the teacher's lounge during the 30-minute recreo period every morning, getting a cafe con leche, and sitting with the other teachers. I haven't quite worked up the confidence to join in on their conversations but I'm sure I will get there eventually. I have developed strong relationships with all of the teachers that I am working with and am slowly but surely getting accustomed to the fast, oftentimes hard-to-understand Andalusian Spanish that they speak. My only complaint is that I don't get to spend enough time in the classroom with the students. They seem like really great kids (or, in some cases, 40-year-old men) and most of them are remarkably eager to improve their English.

I have now completed 3 private English classes with Paco, Isabel, and Raquel. Those sessions (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 in the evening) are quickly becoming the highlight of my week. After working with high school electronics students during the day, it's fun to spend some time with younger students and teach them about things I actually know. Even though it's challenging, I love coming up with lessons for them. The first two days we focused on the ABC's, which is proving to be much more difficult than I imagined it would be. During the second session, I tried to incorporate Halloween into the lesson to make things a little more interesting and to share some American culture with them. Unfortunately, I think I was a little more excited about that idea than they were. Thursday we transitioned from the alphabet to numbers, which they caught on to a lot faster. Paco and Isabel could already count to 12 in English but Raquel couldn't. However, after some one-on-one work, she got it down and could do it without any problems. I felt a great sense of accomplishment in having successfully taught her something. It's nice to feel like you're actually giving their parents their money's worth.

While success in teaching English makes my twice-weekly trips to Montequinto satisfying, I think that my favorite part of the whole experience is building relationships with the kids. I love that they don't want me to leave when our hour is over and that they are enjoying having me around. Thursday, when I was waiting for all of the parents to arrive to pay me, it made me beyond happy when Paco asked me to play soccer with him. We had the best time kicking the ball back and forth and trying to score on one another. Moments like that are worth so much more than the money I get for my services.

Other than work and giving private lessons, I have managed to stay busy and get out of the house quite a bit. I am thrilled to have made so many great new friends who are sharing in the experience of living in Spain and who are just as ready as I am to experience everything that Sevilla has to offer. While most of my friends are American, I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know a few Spaniards. Not hanging out with Spanish people was one thing that I regretted about my study abroad experience and I am finding that doing so from time to time is great for my language skills.

This weekend has been great, in large part because today (Monday) is a national holiday in honor of All Saint's Day. Friday night I finally went to a flamenco show at La Carboneria, one of the most well known venues in town, with two of my friends from the CIEE program and some of their out of town visitors. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Los Coloniales, one of my favorite restaurants here, and then ended up going to a discoteca, which never ceases to provide a good time. Saturday's weather was pretty dismal by Sevilla standards (chilly and rainy) so I didn't get out too much. I did, however, go over to the same friends' apartment for dinner. They cooked chicken fajitas (a delicious diversion from my typical diet of sandwiches and tortilla española) and it was nice to have a laid back evening after two consecutive nights out. Last night for Halloween I went over to a friend's apartment for a party, which was a ton of fun. There was a good mix of Spaniards and Americans, as well as a few Brits, and it was fun to see the Europeans all decked out in scary costumes. I guess people of any nationality will take any excuse to have a good time!

After such a great weekend it will definitely be hard to go back to work tomorrow. The good news is that we went off daylight savings this weekend, so it won't be quite so dark when I leave for school in the morning. My long awaited trip to Viterbo to visit Alice is finally here and I leave Friday night for 3 days in Italy. I have a lot to get done between now and then, though, including my second appointment at the Oficina de Extranjeros. Luckily I finally received my Sevici card in the mail, so getting around will be a lot more efficient. Anyways, that's about all the news from here. I will update again soon, hopefully before I leave for the weekend. If not, be on the lookout for a post on my visit to Italy and lots of pictures at the beginning of next week. Hasta pronto...