Well, I figure it’s high time to blog now considering I’m about a month behind and only have a month and a half left of my time here.
So many things have occurred! I’ve had multiple tests, fall break has come and gone, many interesting labs for Zoology have gone down, an excursion to a bodega was done, Halloween as a panda bear happened, and I have now officially visited another continent (in addition to Europe, of course). Guess I might as well get started telling stories sometime, eh?
With the many tests that have come and gone, I realize that the Spanish system of education is very different than that of Wofford’s. The rigor is not NEARLY the same and after this semester of slacking off and doing absolutely nothing, coming back to a full-course load spring of senior year will be a rude awakening. OH YEAH, I’ve registered guyz. FOR MY LAST SEMESTER EVER OF SCHOOL. Undergrad at least… but nevertheless… let the quarter-life crisis begin. Midterms have come and gone and things are just revving up for finals. Wish me luck, pray, do something. Ha.
As far as labs go, I finally made friends. Once they realized that I was indeed American and NOT just an awkward Spaniard (I swear, I blend in too well here…), I became a novelty. Although I understood FAR more Spanish than they thought, I would have to say my fellow classmates and lab partner Pablo were impressed by my impressive knowledge of the Phylum Porifera. Sponges, y’all. I have this whole observe things under a microscope procedure DOWN.
Fall Break was an adventure to say the least. As I mentioned before (some long, long time ago), I had a cruise to Italy, Greece and Croatia planned. Even though we were cramped in a small interior cabin in the depths of the boat, it had to be one of the best experiences of my life. One of my most memorable experiences would have to be riding a donkey up the steep moutain-side (cliff basically) of Santorini, Greece. Not something I’m likely to forget soon… I felt like was basically in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The white houses with the beautiful blue roofs were just as beautiful as my Pinterest boards depicted. Additionally, probably ate da BEST gyros and hummus of my life. Venice was another one of my favorite stops with all of the beautiful canals and winding streets – my sense of direction was more befuddled than usual. Naturally, pasta was consumed here and I was not disappointed.
Thanks to a lovely recommendation by Lara, a couple of girls and I went to a bodega in Benidorm called Enrique Mendoza Bodega. Let me tell you, I felt like such a classy little fool tasting my wine and eating my cheese. Such a random experience but one definitely worth having – I enjoyed myself thoroughly and even got a couple of gifts for people here. Wine, what’s a better souvenir from Spain??
Halloween in Spain was an interesting experience to say the least. While you don’t see many children dressed up going door to door, a ton of adults were dressed up in the barrio to go out and celebrate the festivities. It was definitely a busy night (especially for a Wednesday) and I realized a few things about Spaniards and Halloween. It’s much less about the fun, scary movies and candy and more about the alcohol and the level of bloodiness of your costume. While I was dressed up as a panda (I’m Asian, I can get away with these things) and had a little koala by my side (chuckle away, roommates. CHUCKLE AWAY.) I realized that a lot of the women just dressed up really glamorous and really bloody. The boys would dress up as women (something Spaniards find funny) or something equally as bloody as the girls. Something to keep in mind for those studying abroad here during the fall next year – panda = no. Blood = yes.
Most recently, I took a trip to Morocco with a couple of people from my program. I can say that it was a CLEANSING experience to say the least and I rediscovered the fact that I have a pretty sensitive stomach. Nevertheless, I definitely recommend going to Morocco for the camel rides, browsing the market, and the awesome tea. In addition to staying in Morocco, we spent a night and day in Sevilla in order to explore the town and catch all of the main sights and of course, enjoy some Starbucks. My host family is from Sevilla so they were definitely excited that I got to see their part of Spain and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. CIEE has a branch in Sevilla that I definitely would look into more if I were staying for two semesters like some girls in my program!
Alright, so it’s late and I’ve got to get some shut eye in before we head off to Valencia tomorrow. We get to go to an aquarium!! Ahem. Other than that, I’m just trying to plan another trip or two and ride through the rest of this month straight to finals and my trip home. Until then, hopefully I’ll squeeze out another blog or two!
XO, Julie
P.S. Will make a picture blog post sometime in the near future relating to this post. Quite frankly, I’m too lazy at the moment and you can creep my facebook. That is all.