Feria de Abril

Hola!
So you all know I love Spain, but the Feria de abril here in Sevilla has to be my most favorite event I have attended! Ok a little history, pretty much everyone I asked "What is the significance of Feria?" (In spanish of course) They would say "Beber!" or my favorite english word from Sergio "Enjoy!" But back in the day it was where people would come from all over selling food, animals and so on. Girls would get all dolled up, they would dance the 'sevillanas' and drink the days away. Now it's just a big festival. Where sevillanos pay tons of euros to have little casetas to drink and dance in. Girls create or pay more than 200 euros for a beautiful flamenco dress. Everyone just has a great time!
I started Feria off on monday at midnight with the viewing of the lighting of the Portada. This year everyone hates the portada, if you talk to anyone in Sevilla they say how ugly and horrible it is. For some reason they put "Sevilla 2019-2022" and no one knows why! But after that it was kinda like New Years after the ball drops...what should we do. So we went in and watched people dance sevillanas for hours. Then yesterday was the real start to Feria. I began with Encarni, her sister and her daughters family. Oh my we had to stop every five minutes to pay for something or else the kids would cry. The rides were all around 5 euros per kid, and then of course they need more sugar to ride more rides. Eventually we made it to a caseta where we had beer, tinto de verano and met up with more family. The little girls were so cute in their flamenco dresses, ugh I wish I couldve brought my camera! I loved all the unique dresses, there was not one dress repeated, seriously. Unless it was a mom and a daughter wearing the same one, which I totally want to do when I have my daughter. Then after a while Encarni had to go home and I went out with Sergio and his crazy friends. I felt like one of the spanish girls too because the señoritas were all telling me gossip about the boys.
The drink of Feria is Manzanilla and 7up, and it is like water. You're all hot and thirsty that you just guzzle it down and before you know it you're dancing sevillanas even though you dont know it. All his friends actually thought I was spanish until they heard my accent, and the man who owned the caseta tried to teach me Sevillanas.. they told me I did good but I know I failed. But it was all so much fun!! I seriously want to come live in Sevilla just to come to Feria every year. Now I must say a farewell, but I may have more stories from feria tonight!
Besos!

Lol this is the 'ugly' portada in the rectangle is where it says 2019-2022

El Camino de Santiago

Oye! I survived the camino!!! A dios mio. Due to previous problems I completed the camino solo, but it wasnt all that bad... I actually liked it a lot better that way. So there are many caminos that run through Spain and France as you can see below those are the ones in Spain:

I did the camino ingles which is 118 kms, you cannot see it here so lets zoom in shall we:

The whole excursion took about 5 days and the point is to open your mind and to take time to actually think about your lifes accomplishments or what you would like to change in your life. But in order to achieve the compostela (which is like a pardon for your sins from the catholic church) you had to walk 100 kms. Ferrol to Santiago is 118 and then A Coruña is only 70-something. So I started in Ferrol, if I was gonna do the camino I was gonna do it big!As you can see I was in Galicia the whole time, which is a beautiful and friendly part of Spain. There were many farms and forests that reminded me of back home.

Day 1:  14 de abril: Ferrol- Neda (12 kms)
The camino ingles got its name because many English people took this route in the 12th century, and they took this one because there are two ports one in a Coruña and the other in Ferrol. (I wonder if any of my ancestors did this) But anywho when Spain was at war with Portugal for their territory, many of the English warriors that went to help Spain did the camino to have spiritual guidance during the war. So while I walked this path I was pretty much right next to the ocean the entire time. This day I did only a little because my flight was late and I actually arrived in a Coruña so I had to take a bus to Ferrol and pretty much back track. I started around 4 pm and made it to Neda at 8ish. I met a nice older brother and sister who said I was a funny crazy american for doing this alone and helped me find my hostel. They even gave me their number in case I needed anything, which I thought was really sweet. (:

Day 2: 15 de abril: Neda- Mino (23 kms)
I started off my morning with an eager start to walk a lot more and to see my second big town in Galicia. This time was more forests and more of the highway. But I stopped in a town called Pontedeume which appears really cute, its right next to the ocean. I even stopped to eat at a little cafe owned by a family that argued a lot, but it was funny. Then as soon as I left it I hated it, it was all mountains afterwards. By the time I made it to the top I was drenched in sweat. But I continued on until I met some boys from Madrid who told me their life story and we all stopped in the albergues in Mino for the night.

Day 3: 16 de abril: Mino- Bruma (36 kms)
This was the big day. I left and walked with Mercedes and Francisco (an old, very cute couple doing the camino) who told me about how they did the camino frances and their life. It was so cute I wanna come back when Im old and do the camino with John. But eventually I lost them because I was a little bit faster. Today was a lot more mountains... I really should have practiced going up hills. But I made it to Betanzos where there was a crazy street market going on and I bought delicious churros. More mountains continued and after a while I even felt sick so I had to rest in the grass for a while, long enough for the old couple to catch up with me! When I finally made it to Bruma I collapsed in relief (:

Day 4: 17 de abril...
So you know how I said I collapsed in relief? Yeah I did not wake up until 5 pm this day. My alarm went off and everything, nothing woke me up. I was so shocked. The lady who ran the hostel (who looked like Roseanne) thought I died, but she was really nice and gave me free food. So I decided to rest for this day.. I mean it was Sunday.. a day of rest.

Day 5: 18 de abril: Bruma- Santiago de Compostela (48 kms!!)
I woke up ready to go ready to end my day where I have been trying to get to! Though I had blisters on my feet I still treked onward. In a matter of no time I made it to Sigueiro. Which was a very rude town, they were all closing early even though it was a monday. So I quickly got out of there and headed to my final destination: Santiago. I had only 16 kms left... and I wanted to die. First of all this path was not the prettiest and second when you have already walked 102 kms you dont want to walk anymore! When I finally hit the town I searched for the Cathedral but I couldnt see it. At one point I made it to a danky, miniscual Cathedral and sat down thinking this cant be it. So I marched up some stairs and there it was glowing right in front of me: El gran catedral de Santiago de Compostela. I probably stared at it for a good 20 minutes before I finally asked a lady where the albergues was. Even though she had like 10 kids with her she still took me to the doors of the albergues. I fell asleep that night well rested, proud of how far I had made it.

Day 6: 19 de abril: In Santiago de Compostela
Today was very relaxed. Though my blister was pulsating I went and got my compostela.Then I toured the inside of the church and called it a day, ready for my bed back in Sevilla. When I got to the airport I made an italian friend who was studying in Galicia, since I know a little italian and she knows a little english we spoke in Spanish. I finally got back home at 8 pm, happy with my life changing camino trip.

So everyone says that the camino de Santiago changes you in some way. Though I will not go into detail on the internet of my changes I will say that I thought about my life. I thought about everyone in it whom I love and whom I've had problems with. I realized that I am blessed, that the small things that interfere in my life dont matter in the big scheme of it all. Why dwell on things you cannot change? Why torment yourself when you know something is never going to happen? Life is only what you make it. So I am going to make the best out of everything and not worry what others have to say about it. I want a family. I want to help people. I want a house with a bunch of land so I can grow sunflowers, and veggies and let all of my family and friends come over with their families. Thats really all I need in my life to keep me going, my friends and family who have supported me no matter what my crazy choices may have been. So I want to give back to those who have given me so much.(: Thats pretty much what I thought about..
Gracias y besos

Matalascanas y Cadiz

Hola bloggers!!
 Well lets see my birthday has passed, and I don't wanna talk about it... it was not the same, which is why I will be celebrating my new birthday when I come back Marchy 27th, where I will celebrate American style. After that I was in an odd funk for a few days but this amazing weather truly brought me back up! I've been going by the river and sitting outside to finally work on my tan. Yesterday I took a trip by myself to Matalascanas, which is a beach only an hour away. The water was cold but nonetheless I tried to get over and swim around, I gave up swimming after my legs turned purple. I learned three things about the beaches in Spain. 1) Bathing suit tops are not required for the ladies. 2) Children never wear bathing suits 3) Men wear short shorts as bathing suits. Three things very different from the US. I attempted to wear no top but I was too timid to flip onto my back with all these no-boobed Spanish women and with my mountains. (Which have gotten smaller thank you) But maybe next time. Oh and ever since Chenoa went to get her eyebrows "waxed" and all they did was pluck we wondered "How do they do bikini waxes?" Well lets just say I turned and looked at the girl next to me at the wrong time and saw her plucking the bikini line. Ouch!
Today was the CNU trip to Cadiz, which was a lot more fun than I thought it'd be! I woke up grudgingly because it was so early the sun was still asleep. The bus ride was only an hour and a half and I got to talk with some kids from Georgia, they're 17 oh how it is to be young and in Spain. The trip consisted of Antonio, Kathy, Heather and I, and Antonio taught us the history of how Cadiz was the first city in Spain to have their constitution, 1812. We had a history battle at one point, I told him random facts and he taught us about Sevilla. I saw where in Die another Day they were supposed to be in Cuba but really they were in Cadiz! Antonio took us through a market where I thought I was going to pass out from the disgusting smell of fish. Of course that area was congested and scary fishes were glaring at me left and right.. ugh I hate fish sections in mercados. Then we had an activity where a dark camara displayed a projection of the whole city onto a canvas. Think of it as when you're in a submarine and you look out of the periscope but what you see is displayed out for everyone to see. Truly fascinating! My favorite was when we would see the people walking around. I was like a god watching over my city, muhahahah bugs, bugs!!! I am pretty sure this is what President Trible does in his cupula. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and eating our picnics on the beach. I took a lovely nap my only problem is I have this horrible rash on my feet, I am becoming allergic to sand ): But today was soo much fun, I cant wait to go back to Cadiz!
Time for photos!

Besos

Time flies

Wow so it has officially been 2 months here in Spain. I cant believe it, time really has gone by fast! What have I been doing? Not much. Living it up. Yesterday I just went by the river and drew the bridge for a while, a spanish  lady gave my drawing a thumbs up. Studying for my spanish classes, its that time of the semester for presentations. Planning future travels when I have barely any money left. Just living like a spaniard. So I have decided to dedicate this post to the differences I have noticed here in Spain.

• Feet are disgusting, you always have to be wearing some type of shoes or cover on your feet.
• When it's hot out.. it's still cold for Spaniards, I see people in heavy coats all the time when Im burning up.
• Soup is a common food here
• Ham is apparently the cheapest meat there is. 
• The economy is a lot worse here and health care is free!
• Kids are rarely disciplined
• They do not believe in the line system here
• People walk really slow
• Dreadlocks and rat tails are in
• You have to be dating someone for more than 5 years to call them your boyfriend/girlfriend
• I have a lot of staring contests
• Its all about fashion and wearing heels 24/7
• Coffee is a lot better here, less water more "umph"
• Drinking is no big deal here.. but then again no one gets drunk
• Hitting on the ladies is completely normal and expected
• Electricity and water are the most expensive bills

Thats it for now!!
Besos

Paris, Je t'aime

Bonjour!
Okay before I tell you about Paris, you have to understand my love for Paris, France. I always wanted to take French, that was even my best language in Intro to languages class. My favorite pasttime is watching french movies. My favorite movie of all time is Moulin Rouge. I have multiple french bands/singers on my ipod. Johnny Depp lives in France. I have posters of the Moulin Rouge, and the Eiffel tower in my room. Paris is truly my ultimate favorite city, and after living it, it still is.
Once we arrived to France immediately we headed towards the Eiffel tower, which was breathtaking. I almost cried, no joke, I have always dreamt of seeing its beauty and finally it happened. Then I ate a cheese sandwhich, Heather ate a huge hot dog and Chenoa had churros as we all stared at what we were going to climb. First off the line was longer and the cost was higher for riding the elevator to the top so us b.a.s. decided to walk it. There were a lot of stairs. I had to put my head between my knees to make the black spots go away. But the view was amazing! Once we headed down our next destination was the catacombs, but sadly we headed in the wrong direction.. this is when we bought our map.
The louvre was the closest so we decided to give it a little check up. We decided to actually see the museum the next day though so then we knew our hostel was far away so we began our hike. Blue Planet Hostel was two thumbs up.... no not at all. We get there and the guy at the front desk ignored us as he chatted on his phone. Then told us we had to buy sheets if we didnt have our own.. and just to knock on the door because someone was already there. What? Our three person room turned to six. Seriously I have watched enough horror movies to not be ok with this place. Then the next morning free breakfast consisted of "chuckie Cheese" coins to put in the vending machines. We are still laughing about this.
So after we ditched that lovely hostel we went to give Quasimoto a hello at the Notre Dame. I loved all of the gargoyles, seriously Gothic cathedrals are probably my most favorite buildings. We arrived too early to climb to the top so I told old Quasi I'd meet him another day. Then Chenoa and Heather had to go to the bathroom, so we learned that France have the coolest free, public Don Johns that clean themselves after every use. Next we saw the Louvre which was humongous.... I believe biggie now that the king used to let deer loose in the Louvre and then hunt them with his dogs.. that place was muy grande. Heather was afraid shed never find us after we all accidentally split up. But I got to see the Mona Lisa, which was smaller than I thought. A lot of Goya, some egyptian, asian and african exhibits and then I was donnee.
The catacombs were supposed to be next.. but no, they closed right as I got there. I was soooo sad. But after sitting in a cafe for two hours we decided to take a sloooow hike to the Moulin Rouge. We headed out and shopped for a bit and ate at a italian restaurant. We made a huge circle but finally got to the moulin rouge which is still showing nudey shows, I had no idea! But the shows were like 160 euros.. when I become a can-can dancer I'll let ya'll in for free. So we had some time to kill since we refused to go to another hostel. We sat in a McDonalds that played really raunchy music videos. Then I got to experience the life of a hobo as we waited for the bus.
I definately did not want to leave the lovely Paris but I was completely exhausted when I got home. (my spanish home of course)
FOTOS

Bises

Cumpleaños de Chenoa!

Vale, so here in España turning 21 means nothing. But I brought the American-ness 21 year old celebration to life for Chenoa! It was a glorious birthday on March 1st. Chenoa's host mom is so adorable, she cleaned the living room just for her birthday so she could have friends over. Then she invited all the host moms and their girls in this building because she didnt want to leave anyone out of the festivities. She made a scrumptious mango cake with chocolate frosting, sounds odd but it was fabulous (no fake 'deliciosos') She also loved Matt, Heather's boo, because he loved her tortilla so in return she loved him.
After eating a lot and Chenoa explaining to her host mom the importance of turning 21 we decided to go out and buy her drinks! Now let me remind you March first = tuesday night = the streets were dead. We tried to go to our favorite bar Flaherty's, but they had a private party. All Chenoa wanted was a margarita, and we were all determined to get her one. We walked all around Sevilla and to the place where Heather and I had gotten our Jumbo-slurpee-sized-Mojitos when we first got here. They had jumbo-slurpee-sized-margaritas as well.
Hallelujah we found a place. Everything went swimingly. Chenoa had her marg, Heather bought her a chupito (shot) with whipped cream on top, I got her one with tabasco sauce (she loves tabasco sauce) and then Matt got her one that tasted like cough syrup... ew. We even made friends, I kept pointing to Chenoa and saying "Sus cumpleaños!!" People clapped, one tried to sing and then this one guy was determined to kiss Chenoa but not on my watch! We also taught him how to say a pick up line and in english it is pronounced "joke" not "yoke." My favorite part was when I got to translate between this crazy spanish man who works for Guarda Civil and this american couple. The American guy said he studied Spanish in Costa Rica.. but he didn't know very much at all. The crazy Spaniard said I was really good at Spanish, which I hope he was telling the truth. Anywho we stayed there until 1:30 am and I had to drag Chenoa back home since she didnt want to leave. Best birthday ever!! Feliz cumpleaños Chenoa!!
Besos!

Daily Life

Hello everyone out there in the internet universe.
So the past two days have been fabulous. La señora told me that she thinks I need to talk to more natives. But she just doesn't understand that I have no idea how! No no she said, just go up and talk to them. So that is what I did. So I learned a lot from her that day.
1) Everyone my age hangs out at the Plaza around 1-3. And when she said everyone she really meant everyone.
2) Sangria is not in season right now, apparently its too cold.
3) No one sits down when they drink outside... I dont know
So I tried this out, I went on my own and just started talking to people! They really are super friendly. I met a futbol player, some guy who thought he knew english and some boys who taught me how to cat call at ladies. It was an interesting experience to be one of the spanish boys.
The next day Chenoa and I went on a shopping excursion that wasnt very successful.. but I finally found myself some boots. You dont understand how hard it was. Then we returned for lunch where I got to successfully make my own lunch. We went out again to people watch and saw illegal immigrants run from the cops, Chenoa and I wanted to make a distraction so they could get away but it all happened sooo fast! Then we set a mission to find "agua de sevilla" which we thought would be a popular drink.. and it turns out it really wasnt. Its supposed to knock you off your feet and we searched everywhere! We walked down one street where a huge group of Italians clapped and cheered for us saying "guapa!!" Finally we decided to look it up online, where we also invited Heather and Matt to join us. Apparently the resturant down the street had it, and it was quite delicious I want to recreate it when I come back to the states. Heres what was in it:

• 1 liter pineapple juice or syrup
• 1 bottle of cava, a pink, sparkling, fizzy wine located in Spain 
• 1 cup whiskey
• 1 cup cointreau (triplesec)
• ice
• Whipped cream

Vale, we then went out for tapas.. which werent the best and a little to expensive but you couldnt beat the lovely view of the Cathedral. Ahhhh I just love Sevilla. Mon amor.
Besos!