Granada, Spanish friends, and kayaking!

This past Friday and Saturday, my program took all of us students to Granada.  Granada is another city in Andalucia (the southern region of Spain) that used to be under Muslim rule.  It was actually the last city that Isabel and Fernando conquered.  We stayed in a five star hotel and got to visit La Alhambra, the old and incredibly decorated castle, and also the church where part of Isabel and Fernando's bodies are buried.  Granada is a beautiful little city that was sort of a mix between the Spain I'm used to and the Morocco that I've had the opportunity to experience.

Life here in Sevilla is good.  My Señora is an incredible cook who never uses a recipe or measuring cups, which is pretty amazing.  I did try baby eel the other day.  Needless to say that was an adventure!  I've hung out with my intercambio a few times.  An intercambio is a native Spaniard that I meet with for about an hour a week to hang out and practice Spanish.  Mine is named Carmen and is the same age as me!  She's really great about introducing me to her friends and after class a few times a week I go hang out with them.  The newest thing in my life begins this afternoon when I go take a class about kayaking!  I'll be joining one of the clubs along the river so I can go kayaking every day if I so desire! This is something that I've wanted to do since the first day I got to Spain and saw people on the river, so I'm super excited for the opportunity to join the river crowd!

Here are some pics from Granada!

Let me tell you about Morocco!

This past weekend, myself and 10 other students from my program here in Sevilla went on a weekend trip to Morocco with Discover Excursions!  We were part of a group of around 100 people, and I was ecstatic to be able to fit my life for the weekend into my backpack.  In our short amount of time there, we experienced a lot as we visited four different cities and also got to ride camels right near the beach.  We stayed at a hotel in Tetuan, and spent most of Saturday in Chefchaouen.  Chaouen is known as the blue city, because most of the doors and walls in the Medina (or the old city) are painted blue.  The people there do this to keep flies away and also because it keeps their homes cooler in the summer.

The next day we had a panoramic tour of Tangiers, and stopped at Cabo Spartel, which has a lighthouse and is also where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean in the Strait of Gibraltar.  We then got to go on a camel ride by the beach which was so crazy!  It was also really cool to be right on the coast of Africa. 

 We had lunch at a restaurant right outside of Assilah, which is a small beach town that also has a beautiful old Medina.  We got to explore and shop there for a while too!  It was an incredible short little weekend that I am so thankful I went on!  Granted I got back late Sunday night and had two tests Monday morning... but my time in Morocco was full of moments to remember with a great group of friends!  

Immensity

Tomorrow we go to Córdoba!  We will visit La Mesquita there, which is the mosque that started construction in the 8th Century.  I've been learning about it in my Spanish art history course, so it will be so cool to get to actually experience it!  When the muslims invaded Spain in 711, they established their capital in Córdoba, and as such it is a place very full of history! (though those places aren't difficult to find around here)

I've begun planning some trips around Europe and the area, which is so exciting!  My first one is next weekend, and will be to Morocco!

Something I'm learning while here is about how small my world is.  Everything seems so big and important to me.  But the other day I sat in a park staring at a tree with roots that were partially above ground.  The part above ground was almost to my waist!  That tree has been around for hundreds of years!  Kind of puts things in perspective.

Sevilla is an incredible city.  There is always something new to discover, and I will forever be in love with the Guadalquivir that I walk across every day to class.

This is a photo I took tonight as I walked to a place I hadn't yet been on the edge of the river. 

I did manage to watch (some of) the Superbowl!  Kickoff was at midnight-thirty here, so I only made it through halftime.  I went to a bar that had advertised that they were streaming it and it was FULL of Americans studying abroad.  Some people had been there since 5pm!

Sunday I visited the Cathedral in Sevilla and wow.  It was beyond incredible!  The art, architecture, immensity of everything, it was breathtaking.  

I am so thankful to be here in Sevilla and with this wonderful friend and fellow Jubileean! It's such a blessing to have a bit of Covenant and the familiar with me here in Spain.