Me Encanta Sevilla

Today is awesome for a number of reasons:

1. It's close to 75 degree and sunny.
2. I went to Blanco today and did some shopping.
3. I only have 1 class.
4. Kate and I got our Sevicis!! (In case you're wondering, Sevici is a wonderful thing that let's you use bikes all over the city for 25 euro a year. There are different stations where you pick up and return them. You can use 1 for 30 minutes. They come complete with bells, baskets, and lights!)
5. We're meeting some girls for Bible study tonight and are attending our first; 6. flamenco show tonight.

Could life get a little better? I don't think so!

A beautiful thing.

Look at all those beauts!

ME! With my new Blanco shirt on.
 I asked an cute, old man to take my picture this time, instead of my self timer. 

So, how is everyone? Leave me a comment. I like hearing from you! I also like knowing people are reading this!

Sunday Funday

Wake up at 11am

Tea, fruit, and toast for breakfast

People watch and sun bathe on a bench on calle Asuncion 

Tomar un cervesita (have a beer)

Chat with Alvaro at lunch (Our mama's grandson. He is 12.)

Plaza de España con amigas en el tarde (Plaza de España with friends in the afternoon)

This is exactly how my day looks so far. Not too bad, huh? 

Although my immune system is battling a fierce cold right now, the vitamin d from the sun and the vitamin c from my orange (oh and of course my cervesita OBVIOUSLY helps too!) will help  perk me up for the afternoon. 

Not too worried about being perky today because things are going to be chill. Totally fine with that. 

All and all, Sevilla is sunny and I am no longer angry at the rain.

Rainy Day Blues

"Can't you see that it's just rainin' 

There ain't no need to go outside

But baby, you hardly even notice

When I try to show you 

this song It's meant to keep you

From doin' what you're suppose to 

Like wakin' up too early

Maybe we could sleep in

I'll make you banana pancakes 

Pretend like it's the weekend now"

Oh Jack, I could listen to you all day. Especially since it's raining cats and dogs here. 

Today I only have 1 class from 5-7pm so I am relaxing all day getting various tasks completed. Homework (blah), letter writing, and reading are all on my list. 

The rain gives me an excuse to be lazy and stay inside, but I would really love to be outside in the sunshine today. The rain brings my spirits down a bit, being stuck in my bedroom all day. 

I'm still wrestling with some homesickness. I crave my comfortable surroundings, but I know that God has larger plans for me and my vulnerability. 

Moving on...

My classes are going good so far. I switched my schedule a bit because my Creative Writing class was not quality. I am now taking Spanish Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries instead. 

My current schedule is: 

M&W Spanish Lit XIX-XX 5-7pm

T&TH Spanish Grammar I 11am-1pm

            Literature of Sevilla 3-5pm

            Economy and Society in Contemporary Spain 7-9pm

All these classes are in Spanish. The first week was very overwhelming. Things are getting better and I feel my listening skills improve, but my speaking skills are plateauing. Katelyn and I are starting to speak more Spanish with each other. That's what friends are for, right?! 

One of the greatest things about studying in Europe is that one can find dirt cheap tickets to other European cities. Kate and I just purchased 2 roundtrip tickets to Paris from March 3-6 for 268 euros. That's 134 euros each! Kate has a friend who lives and works in Paris, so we are going to stay with her during our visit. 

Well, I don't have too much on my mind today. Going to keep busy with my tasks. 

Rain, you can stop anytime now.

Mucho amor, 

Kristina

Oh and P.S. here's my address if any of you enjoy snail mail : ) I certainly do!

International Studies Abroad

ISA (Sevilla) 

Attn: Kristina Pantoja

C/ San Isidoro, 30

41004 Sevilla, Spain

I gave some of you my home address and it's fine to send things there, but the ISA office is preferred. 

She Flies with Her Own Wings

I always knew that this trip would stretch me and the person I am, but also knew that through the stretching (if you will), I would grow into a better version of myself. I also knew that I would discover new things about myself as well as explore set personality traits that I already have. Here is a list of what I am learning about myself thus far.

1. I am a homebody. I don't think I could ever travel continuously. As in, not have a rooted home.

2. I am easily infatuated. I get really excited about seeing a turtle in the river and an old couple holding hands.

3. I'm not necessarily a map person. Let me explain. Monday was probably the best day I've had here so far because I was on my own in Sevilla, just walking around. I was led by my curiosity and not by my map. I had my map in my bag just in case I did get lost, but I didn't need the sucker! I give credit to my dad for my directional skills.

4. I am not a picky eater. I have not disliked any of mama Lola's meals thus far. Actaully, I have LOVED them all! Especially the lasagna she made us today for lunch. Yummm (I did, however throw a fit when there was tuna on my salad at a rest stop from Toledo to Sevilla. Rest stop tuna and me just don't get along.)

5. I am an overpacker. That's it. Deal with it.

6. I like closure, but I'm learning to like vulnerability as well. Let me explain this one too. Katelyn and I had a discussion about this today during lunch. I don't like the vulnerable parts of things. When you feel as if your heart is in the middle of the street for everyone to stare at. When you feel so sensitive and raw to things around you. I like went the vulnerable parts of life or experiences pass. Like freshman year of college. AHH. Meeting all new people is exciting yes, but I like to skip past the icky, vulnerable parts. Is this me being a baby? I don't know, but I do know that when I look back at vulnerable experiences in my life, I am always grateful that I made myself vulnerable for a period of time. My favorite part is looking back and seeing how much I've grown and learn since that experience. One should never stop learning or growing.

7. Lastly, to be a Sevillana (female Sevillian citizen) you NEED boots. Cute boots. It's a good thing I strolled down to Mary Paz and got myself some! Soy una Sevillana!

I'll leave you with this beautiful picture of Plaza de España.

Bienvenidos a Sevilla

It's been one week since I left snowy Michigan, and boy does it seem longer than that. I don't know if it's the traveling or time change, but I feel as if I have been gone for a few weeks. I guess I don't mind it because I said before I left that I wanted time to go by slowly instead of fast, because I know experiences like this always go by too fast. Well, I got my wish!

Sevilla is such a charming city. The architecture, the lifestyle, and the people have such a spirit of charm and character. While walking down a large pedestrian street called calle Asunción on Saturday evening, I was delighted to see how many families are in my neighborhood. There are strollers and children everywhere! Kids playing soccer, riding bikes, and wandering around make me feel like I am in a safe and lively place. I am going down calle Asunción in a moment to do some shopping and to walk around.

Katelyn is at class right now and I have the day mostly to myself. I am excited to wander around casually and not be part of a large group. I am also feeling a little homesick today, missing the familiarity of home. I am going to let myself feel these emotions because they are natural, but hope that they will pass with my growing infatuation of Sevilla.

So far I have found two popular streets for young people, calle Betis y calle Alfalfa. A few friends and I went out on Saturday night and discovered that these streets are definitely populated by a younger crowd. It was fun to experience the Sevilla nightlife, which goes into early in the morning. I didn't get in bed until close to 5am! Good thing I'm a night owl : )

Yesterday some friends and I walked to the Plaza de España, which is breathtaking. See for yourself:

Luckily this is right across the bridge from my neighborhood and about a 5 minute walk from the University. It is a perfect place for a Sunday stroll. 

As far as classes go, here is my schedule:

Martes (Tuesday) y Jueves (Thursday)
Spanish Grammar 1: 11am-1pm
Home for lunch: 1:15-2:45pm
Sevilla Literature: 3-5pm
Creative Writing: 5-7pm
Economy and Society in Contemporary Spain: 7-9pm

Yes, a little sucky that I have 4 classes in 1 day, but hey, this way I have a long weekend. There's nothing I can do to change my schedule either, so I will suck it up and be happy I am taking all my classes in Spanish in a beautiful, 500 year old building. Oh and that I'm in Sevilla. : )

So glad to have talked to some over you over gmail and Skype! Thanks for all the encouragement! Keep me in your thoughts as I wrestle with this little thing called homesickness... it will pass, of this I know.

Mucho amor

Oh and P.S. don't forget to check my facebook for lots of pictures!

Toledo & Sevilla

Hola a todos,

The past few days have been absolutely wonderful. I am enjoying living in the moment. It is so much different than what I am used to. Life as a student consists of constantly planning ahead and preparing for the future and right now I am simple living for each moment. Such peace of mind.

Anyway, here's an update on what I've been up for the past couple of days.

On Wednesday, we spent the day in Toledo, which is about an hour south of Madrid. It is an old medieval city with a large wall and river protecting it. It used to be the capital of Spain so it is a very important city to the people.

Toledo!

During our day in Toledo we went on a tour of San Juan de Los Reyes Church which was built by Queen Isabella. It still houses about a dozen monks. We also went on a tour of Santa Maria la Blanca which is an art museum that houses El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz by El Greco. I couldn't take a picture of it, but here it is:

Beautiful, right? Our last tour was through el Zocodover, which is the town centre. We walked around and I had my first bocadillo de camarones. It's like what PB&J is in the states. EVERYWHERE! It's basically french bread with any kind of meat or fish. I had one with camarones, which are calamari. Very good! 

We spent the rest of the day at our hotel and just chilled for the evening. 

This morning (Thursday) we finally traveled to Sevilla! It was about a 6 hour bus ride, but totally worth it! I'm so happy to be here. Home. Katelyn and I shoved into a Volkswagen Golf hatchback with our luggage and our mama, Maria Dolores or Lola- what she wants to be called. CUTE!

We settled into our room, of where you can see pictures here: http://alegrepacientefiel.blogspot.com/ (at Katelyn's blog) and had a home cooked meal that consisted of grilled chicken, green beans, and soup. It was delicious! Our host mama is wonderful. She talks our ear off, all in really, really fast Spanish. I understand about 70% of her. She's getting up in the morning and making us breakfast and walking us to where we need to be for our orientation. Lovely.

So, the plan for tomorrow is to get our school schedules and an orientation of La Universidad de Sevilla. Very excited to see the university! It used to be an old cigar factory and is 500 years old. Plus, my mom went to the same university in her wonder years. I love history!!

For more pictures, go to my Facebook. I posted all from Madrid and Toledo. I'm planning on taking a bunch tomorrow of Sevilla.

Thanks for all your support and comments, glad I can share this experience with you!

Mucho amor,

Kristina

Madrid. Day 2.

¡Hola a todos! 

Life in Madrid has been good to me the last couple days. Last night we took an unnecessarily long walk around Madrid to find the BEST tapas place. Unfortunately, we only found an overpriced restaurant with small portions. Fortunately, it had some YUMMY sangria. We all split some carafes and had a good time. : )

Today, we woke up and had the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had. This ain’t your Motel 6 here in Madrid. They hooked us up with some fresh-squeezed OJ, a plethora of fruits, and some yummy Spanish doughnuts. 

After our breakfast of champions, we headed to the Prado Museum to check out some fabulous art. We saw lots of Goya’s work, including El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid and Diego Valázquez’s Las meninas o La familia Felipe IV. It was a wonderful experience! 

After our visit we headed to El Placio Real (The Royal Palace) which was built by King Enrique III and took 21 years to construct. It was absolutely beautiful! We only saw about 10% because it is extremely ginormous. These Spaniards live it up in style!

After this visit, we had the whole afternoon to explore on our own. We went with some friends to find some lunch and ended up at an adorable bar/restaurant back in the winding, narrow roads. 

After lunch we journeyed to Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is a large area with a lot of shops. It was a bit touristy, we all got our picture taken with an overweight Spiderman. Oh joy. I was surprised at our navigation skills today. We didn’t get lost once and made it to all the destinations we wanted to see. I can’t believe we ventured around Madrid on our own! Personal accomplishment. Yes!

We’re heading to Toledo tomorrow morning at 8:30am. It’s about an hour away from Madrid. We will spend one night there and head to Sevilla on Thursday morning. It’s about a 7 hour ride to Sevilla on bus. Oh boy. Wish me luck. 

Love you all!

Adios