Last Day in Europe

Sun rising over the Mediterranean Sea on my last day in Spain

I wrote this on my last day in Europe. This is my first chance to post it.....

I woke up a 6:30 this morning so I could get up and see the sun rise over Mediterranean Sea. How many times do you get the chance to experience that in a lifetime? I walked down to the ocean and tried to get a cup of coffee. Nothing opens until 8:45 so I was out of luck. I walked up and down the boardwalk until the sun started peeking over the calm sea. There were clouds right on the horizon which made the first 30 minutes a mixture of bright colors that can't be copied by any color-match system. My last morning in Spain and I am going to take in every last second.

It's not easy leaving this country. Six months ago living and studying in Spain was just a dream that likely would never come true. Before I knew it I was living the last few seconds of what became reality. Not only did I study in Spain, but I visited five other countries.

This is not a recap. I'm not sure I want to recap as that means this chapter of my life is over. Time wise this would be the shortest chapter, but maybe the longest in experiences. Will I ever again sit and talk with a bartender, in Spanish, about her desire to open up a home in Mexico for children in bad situations at home? Probably not. WIll I ever have the task of convincing a shop owner that Americans as a whole are not solely about making an extra dollar? Nope. Will my life ever be as relaxing as the Spanish lives are? It doesn't look good.

In fact, I may never recap on here. I would love to grab a cup of coffee sometime with you and tell you more. That's what I did in Sevilla and that's what I will do back in the States. My life was too good in Spain not to integrate it into my life wherever I end up.

This may be offensive...

I have to be careful here because in one blog post I have the opportunity to offend every person that reads this. If I offend you I assure you of two things: 1.) I have no intentions of hurting you, and 2.) I edited everything I type here and yes I meant to say it the way it's written (I do not guarantee my grammar or speling).

A number of people have asked me during my time in Europe what God is doing or has done in my life since I left the States. After seven weeks of being here I still don't know how to answer those questions. Don't get me wrong, everyone that asks me is a friend and I completely know their intentions. They really do want to know that I continue to walk a straight and narrow path.

I decided before this trip that with everything that used to occupy my brain, the things I couldn't control, I was done with. That includes me continually worrying about what God is doing and whether He is pleased with me or not. You will probably not read this in the way it was intended. I don't know how else to say it.

I try my best to keep people informed of my life in Sevilla. Maybe even to the detriment of my learning as it's not the best thing to spend a lot of time writing in English while I could be writing in Spanish. I write because I feel the urge to write. I write and take pictures because I am alone on this journey and I want somebody to get a glimpse of what God is doing with my life. The pictures and posts and videos are there because I need to share this experience with someone close to me. I was not created to go through life and hoard all the incredible things I experience to myself. I just wasn't made that way.

mariettanomad.blogspot.com is what God is doing in my life. I write my thoughts on Twitter and post pics on Facebook because that is what God is doing in my life. When I talk with you or email or creep on Facebook I believe that whatever I take from those means of communication is what God is doing in your life...even if you don't believe in the same God I do.

I can tell you anything I want. I know how my Spanish teacher wants me to answer a question, I know what the girl in the bar wants to hear to keep her interested, and I know the buzz words the Christian wants to hear about how God is working. If most Christians that talk to me, read my blog, and/or see my Facebook profile feel like I am a bad representation of Jesus, I'm sorry, but that is what is coming form my heart.

There are events in my life I will not post anywhere. Some situations are between me and another person or group. If they want to tell people how God is using me great. If they don't notice that God is using me then I can't control that, only He can. My belief in God means that He will make Himself evident in other's eyes because I am not good enough to allow someone to see Him. All I can do is try like hell to treat others in the manner they deserve. Do I always do that? No, which leads me to...

It's too hard to be perfect. In our pursuit for perfection we miss out on the things in front of us today. I have tried to be perfect and it has gotten me nowhere. The time and thoughts it took to attempt to be the perfect Christian I could have used to show the love we are called to exemplify.

I don't like writing like this. I believe actions are bigger than spoken or written words.

A Couple New Friends

Carmen and Marga after visiting the market in Cartuja. They have been my very best friends here and have been incredibly patient with my terrible Spanish. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be to have to slow down and simplify your words for someone like me. They might kill me for putting this up so we will keep this between us.

Control My Life or Let it Be?

One of the many parks in Sevilla

I don't know why but I am having a lot of trouble writing about this past week in Sevilla. Last time we conversed I had decided to give up my worrying about lack of progress in this language. The big question for me was whether I would actually do that or revert back to my usual life of worrying that I wasn't doing enough.

I will say this: I don't think my mind has ever been this tired. Yesterday I started talking and thinking Spanish at 10:00 AM with one friend and eventually I left another friend's house at 3:30 AM because I just couldn't think in Spanish anymore. My brain finally overloaded with this language. It was a great day and the perfect end to an incredible week.

For the first time since arriving in Sevilla I looked forward to class. I no longer view it as the end all and be all of my Spanish lessons. In fact the four hours I put in everyday is maybe 20% of what it takes to learn this language the right way. I could be in class 12 hours, but I wouldn't learn all that I did last week. Having said that, there is no way I would be speaking with my Spanish friends like I am if not for the classes. They give a base I couldn't get out on the streets. Somehow it just all comes together to work perfectly. Funny how life tends to do that sometimes if we stop trying to control it so much.

On Tuesday I went to my first Flamenco show with my friend Marta from Poland. It was a little expensive but really good. Later in the week I learned that it turned out to be worth what I paid. On Thursday I met Sara (au pair friend from Texas), Javier (Sevillano that works near my school), and Santa (another au pair and friend of Sara's) and we went to another flamenco show. This was more for the tourists, it was free, and wasn't as good of a show. The company was great, though. Santa is from Latvia so we had quite a diverse table. Plus Sara is patient with helping my Spanish.
Sara and I at the Flamenco Show. Sorry Sara, I stole this off your Facebook without permission

This weekend I think I will look back and say this was the weekend that turned around my time in Sevilla. Today, Monday, as I type this I feel like I am part of this city and no longer visiting. It's a great feeling and I hope you get a chance to feel that in a place other than your hometown. Friday night I met Carmen and her friends in Alameda. I have talked about Alameda before. It is a very eclectic place. I might call it the Little 5 Points in Sevilla. I don't think there is a lifestyle or nationality that is not represented. This is the night when Carmen's friends started becoming my friends as well. Oh yeah, none of them speak English. Complete Spanish the whole night. Did I understand everything said? No, not even close. But I was able to get the buzz words and answer their questions in Spanish.
Alameda during the day

Saturday started out like a Saturday would in the States. I got up and walked around the city and ended up at my favorite coffee shop, Emperador Trajano. Fati was working and there were very few people as not many people get up as early as I do. For two hours I sat at the bar and we talked music, a little politics, Sevilla, and of course Obama. Everyone here loves to talk about Obama. She doesn't speak any English so I got two hours of listening and talking. Priceless. Saturday night was more of the same with Carmen and friends. We stayed at the bar, Caferia, and talked about nothing in particular. I hope to get pics of all these people soon so I can talk about them more in depth. They are quite interesting.
My friend Carmen. I took this picture because I was helping her post an ad in English for a London site to be an au pair in England.

I am not ready to talk about yesterday but I will get that out in the next few days. It was a long day that had me leaving a house in mid conversation because I couldn't think in Spanish anymore.

An observation about my time here: It is much harder to become friends with guys than it is with girls. The guys have not quite accepted me into their circle yet. They are opening up slowly to include me, but it has taken a lot more time with them than with the women. A couple of them were fixing a bike yesterday and I just sat there and asked them questions about it. Maybe this week will be different.

I have learned much about myself as well this week. I've learned that worrying was only holding me back. More importantly I have the confidence that I will not fall back into that pattern. What an amazing feeling!

I only have two weeks left. Not enough time. Not nearly enough time. And when I say this I'm not talking about Spanish anymore. I'm talking about the friendships I continue to build upon and grow into.

Good times from Sevilla,

Jesse

I Quit

[THE PICTURES ARE NOT TIED INTO THE TOPIC OF THE BLOG WHATSOEVER]

Plaza de España

I quit. I’m done. No more. He terminado. No mas. No puedo hacerlo.

There are many reasons one travels. There are the obvious ones: To see new places, see where historical events took place, and get away from everyday life for a little while. A fewer number of travelers leave for those obvious reasons but also to experience a new culture, meet people different than themselves, and make an attempt at learning a new language. Then there are the reasons travelers don’t want to admit. We feel a need to do the aforementioned things but anyone that spends extended time also feels a need for something in their life to be different. Maybe I found mine.

Alameda de Hercules. A huge plaza with playgrounds and water fountains where statues like this are at the front and back

It’s no secret to people close to me that I put a lot of pressure on myself and I worry too much about the future. Those characteristics showed up the first few days of this trip when I started worrying about whether LA was having a good time and the pressure I felt to make sure it was a perfect trip for her. Now I am halfway through my studies and I am frustrated with my progress and I feel like I should be doing more to learn this language. Occasionally I will compare myself to my classmates, who are working on their 3rd, 4th, or 5th languages, and wonder why I cannot pick this up as quickly as they can.

And then this morning I was running and trying to conjugate irregular verbs in the future imperfect tense in Spanish when I stopped. I stopped running, I stopped conjugating, and generally stopped my mind. I turned 90 degrees to face the slowly passing river I was running next to. As the single, double and quad rowing teams went by I sat there and realized I was in Sevilla, Spain. Three months ago I couldn’t have told you where this place was located and now I am enjoying the landscape of it.

Emperador Trajano Café. My new favorite coffee shop. It's 30 minutes away, but I nee time to listen to my Spanish podcasts, right?

Before I left someone asked me what my goals were for my time in Europe. I told them that if I don’t come back with the ability to have a conversation in Spanish I would consider it a failed trip. First things first, deciding to spend 16 days to travel through Europe at the start of this journey was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Those are the best 16 consecutive days of my life. Nobody will ever be able to take away what I saw and the history experienced and the friendships created. So, there is no way for this trip as a whole to fail. However, I have not been pleased with my progress with this language.

Sitting by the river realizing all the places I have seen is where I decided that I am done. I am a very prideful person and when I come home and my Spanish is lacking my pride will be hurt badly. I don’t care anymore. I am done with my prideful self, I am done all the worries, and I am done with my inability to enjoy my surroundings.

Wedding getting out near my school.

Could I learn this language in 6 weeks? Possibly. If I spent every second of my day with my head in my books I might be fluent in Spanish, but I doubt it. There are just too many other experiences in Sevilla, Spain, and Europe that I could miss if I do that. This is one of the reasons for traveling that I didn’t want to admit. It is one of the things I was supposed to learn that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had not left my job, rented out my house, and left my comfort zone.

Fans before kickoff of Sevilla v. Real Madrid

My pride kills the fun I could be having. Worrying and putting pressure on myself does nothing but suck the life out of me. And I am ready to enjoy the last few weeks here. I may not be able to be a translator next time I go to Mexico, but I will be able to get across what I want or understand the needs of the people in Renacimiento. And I will be able to look back on this trip and remember the good times in Rome, Salzburg, and Sevilla. I look back at these last five weeks and consider them the best five weeks of my life. I want to make sure when I get home I am talking about the best nine weeks of my life.

Starting now…

Walking into the Sunrise

I was lucky enough to watch the sun come up this morning over the beach in Cádiz. I was walking from my friend's place (which is about 30 steps away from the beach) to the train station. It was perfect timing to make the walk. I left the apartment when it was dark outside and the only thing I could see were silhouettes of people sleeping or sitting on the beach. The walk from the apartment to the station took me 50 minutes and all but the last five minutes are on the boardwalk. As I made my way the sun slowly started to come up and I actually got to watch it rise. What an incredible walk!



This was the end of a very good 24 hours. I left Sevilla by train at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and was back at 11:00 a.m. Sunday. While it seems like it's not much time it reminded of the 16 days traveling through Europe, meaning I made the most of the time I had. I visited Old Cádiz, the oldest city in Europe, when I first arrived. I met my friend Lily and we made the 50 minute walk to the new side of Cadiz where the beaches are. I went for a run to a lighthouse/castle on the beach in the hot part of the day. After the run I met Lily and jumped in the Atlantic. Then, some guys from the Spanish military started playing beach soccer and we were lucky enough to be invited in the game. Running, swimming and soccer on the beach is about as perfect of an exercise day as I can think of.



After that we had good wine, good food, and great conversations in Spanish (I was listening, but everyone else was speaking). I am very thankful for friends that allow me to crash their lives and homes for a day to enjoy the beach.

...porque es Sevilla

[Pics have nothing to do with the post]
Fabiano helping the Real Madrid goalkeeper after Fabiano took him out

It’s been very difficult to get a hold on what I actually do at night and how it happens. I rarely have a plan after dinner, but it seems like every night I have found something to do. It always starts the same way. I eat dinner at 8:30 and around 9:15 I leave the house to walk around for an hour. Once a week I will grab an ice cream on the way out of the neighborhood.

To show you how random my nights are I will give you examples of a few nights this week. On Tuesday I wandered into Macarena which is a barrio (neighborhood) about 15 minutes away. I found this bar, Caferia, a couple weeks ago where the bartender, Carmen, is not only cute but she doesn’t speak English. So, in order for us to communicate I have to speak Spanish to her. I think she enjoys correcting and laughing at my bad grammar. I was in there for about a half hour and I left to go home. On the way I heard this American and I was laughing at what she was saying to her non-American friends. Not knowing that I knew English she asked, “What are you smiling at?” I found out she was from Texas and is an au pair here. Her friends are also au pairs and I walked them back to their barrio asking them about their jobs. On the way back I ran into classmates and I sat with them at a restaurant for awhile. Before I know it I wasn't walking home until 2:30.

Part of The Cathedral

The next night, Wednesday, started out a little earlier, but I still went into it without any type of plan. I met Carmen for coffee before dinner. She wants to learn English and I obviously I am trying to learn Spanish so when we meet for coffee she only speaks English and I only speak Spanish. It takes awhile to have a conversation, but all I have is time anyway. After coffee we walk over to her friend Margo’s store. It turns out it is Margo’s birthday and she was nice enough to invite me to a little party that night that started at 10:00.

I went home to eat dinner and then met Carmen at Caferia at 12:30 when she was closing the bar. We walked to the party which was on the roof of an apartment building. There were about 20 Spaniards, Italians, and even another American. We drank fresh mojitos and ate a homemade Italian cake. It was a lot of fun, but again I found myself out well past 2:00.

Plaza de España

This is what happens almost every night and I love it. The best part is that Spanish is spoken most of the time so I get to work on what I am studying. When people ask me why this happens I have come to one standard answer...porque es Sevilla (because it's Sevilla).

What I Do

The door to one of the many churches I walk past everyday. That door is about 16 feet tall
[The pictures are not representative of what I write about they are just thrown in to show you what I'm seeing]

I wanted to wait a week or two to talk about what my daily life in Sevilla is like. It took a week for me to get into a routine during the day and then a little longer to grasp what my nights look like. There is nothing really special here, except for the fact that it’s Spain of course.

I wake up between 8:00 and 8:30 every morning. This is early for most Sevillanos but late for me so I consider it a good compromise. Some days I will go for a run and some days I will study in my room for a couple hours. Usually breakfast is basic with some kind of cereal or toast. Around 10:00 I will head out to walk into the city center where my school is and where my favorite restaurants and plazas are located. The walk takes me anywhere from 15-25 minutes. I have gotten bored with the same route lately so I am taking longer roads to shake things up.

Once I get to the city center I head to Alfalfa and walk around its cobblestone plazas and tight one lane roads. There are four or five different cafés I have to choose from. I will sit down at a table outside, order a coffee with milk and a tostada with ham, and take out my books to study. I have yet to encounter a morning where the weather isn’t perfect for this. Usually its around 75 degrees at 11:00.

The crowd before the Sevilla v. Real Madrid game

I have noticed something interesting about the cafés and restaurants here. Tipping is not necessary in Sevilla. I liked the fact that I did not have to at first, but I quickly found out why we tip in America. The waitresses just aren’t very nice here. I guess it’s because they don’t have to be.

After my coffee I walk around for an hour or so and look in the shops and people watch. Usually one of the pastry shops will suck me in with some kind of pastry covered with chocolate and if I’m lucky I will be surprised by chocolate inside the pastry as well. That’s a good surprise. Then right before class at 2:30 I will get a small sandwich.

You are probably looking back and thinking that I sure do eat a lot. Yes, I do. I am going to come home fat and broke because of it. I just cannot get enough of the pastries, tapas, and tinto veranos (red wine with some citrus flavored soda).

Last night we walked up on some ceremony coming out of The Cathedral. Not sure what it was for

We have a 30 minute break in the middle of the four hours and I will take that time to walk around and get a bottled water. I can buy a 1.5 liter bottled water for half the price of a ½ liter of Coke. Depending on what they’re tempting me with at the counter I might get a snack as well.

After class I have two hours before dinner so I take my time walking back to the house. Like I said, just another day...in Spain

Words Couldn't Explain the Game

I am not ready to post my thoughts about this game but I must give you something. As you may know already Sevilla upset Real Madrid last night. I was on the 5th row to experience it all. I tried to get some of the atmosphere through my camera. Below is a taste of what I could get. There will be more to come in the next few days. Disfrute!

Now remember this is from my point and click camera from 2002 so the quality isn't great

This is just before the start of the game


This is right after the game ended

It's Game Day!

I'm headed to what may be my only tailgating and game day of the year.
Hopefully I do the trampelling if Sevilla wins instead of being the
one that gets trampelled on.

Saturdays in Sevilla

Sevilla from the tower of a cathedral

I am spending my first full Saturday in Sevilla and trying to enjoy it just as the Sevillans do. I woke up later than usual, bought a local paper from a newsstand, and walked to my favorite plaza to grab a tostada con queso y jamón y un café con leche (toast with cheese and ham and a coffee with milk). It’s a great way to start the day.

Before I go further I must layout “Alcentro” in Sevilla. Alcentro is a large area in this city where the buildings are maybe 50’ tall and contain four levels. Each of the buildings have retail on the bottom and than three floors of residential (a very small percentage have offices on the second level). All the roofs have terraces and some even have pools. In between these buildings are small streets mostly for pedestrians, some allow cars going one way, but none have two way traffic. In fact, I would say that half the cars in America would not fit down these streets. Also in Alcentro are dozens of plazas that are small “square-like” areas where restaurants have outdoor seating and families meet to hang out and let their kids run around.

That being said, I had breakfast at Bar Alfalfa this morning. It is a very small bar at the intersection of three streets. At night the place is packed. In the morning it is a great location to sit and watch the city wake up. In every city I travel to I think the best part is squatting some place in the morning, grabbing a coffee, and observing the habits of the people in the morning as they start their day. Bar Alfalfa is a great place to do this because it is just on the edge of the Plaza de Alfalfa so everyone passes by to start their day.

As I sit in Plaza de Alfalfa I am able to look out at three restaurants with approximately 20 outside tables apiece. You have people by themselves reading the newspaper or a book, friends meeting up and having coffee discussing the night before, kids with their parents enjoying churros con chocolate (you dip the churros in hot chocolate), and people typing nonsense on their computers. [As I was typing that the waiter brought out churros for the table next to me and the 5 year-old’s face lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July upon seeing them. He is dunking them in the hot chocolate like I used to do with Oreos in milk] There is not a cloud in the sky and I would guess it is about 75 degrees. This is about the time where the temperature rises about 10 degrees in a couple hours and by then it will be time for everything to close most will head home to rest. When the temperature starts to fall around 5:00 the stores and restaurants open back up and the people are back at their social life walking around.

What am I going to do today? Disfrutaré este día y la vida. I will enjoy this day and life. Whatever I do it will entail lots of listening to Spaniards and paying attention to their relaxed way of life.

Soapbox Saturday - Smoking in Sevilla

I despise walking into a restaurant with good food and seeing this sign
With all apologies to my friends and family that smoke I need to talk about the aspect of Sevilla that makes me want to leave right now. Smoking is allowed in every restaurant and bar at any time of the day. I loathe starting my day with a cup of coffee and a newspaper and smoke in my face. It deadens the coffee and substitutes the crisp morning air with a toxin that prohibits a person from being able to breathe normally. Am I being dramatic? Yes, but I am trying to think of a habit that is more selfish than smoking in public. You need a few puffs so bad that you are willing to affect another person’s health? I am willing to open myself up to being nailed here: Someone please tell me habits that I have that are harming people around me. Maybe there are some. If so, I want to change them.

My Condolences to...

The mosaic outside of the Sevilla Futbol Club's stadium. Oh yeah...where I will be on Sunday watching the best soccer players in the world

With all condolences to my future-yet-to-be-determined wife I think I just gave away my rights to my first born son. I am still learning this language, but I heard the guy say "me das" and "primer hijo" in the same sentence. I know it's crazy to offer your first born son for anything, right? Well this isn't just anything, this is a ticket to a La Liga futbol game. These tickets are hard to come by. Sevilla is the local team in the city where I am studying and they are in the top division in Spain. Real Madrid is also in the top division in Spain but they are perhaps the best known club team in America because of their recent additions of Cristiano Ronaldo (from Portugal) and Kaká (from Brazil). Still haven't heard of them? How can I say this so everyone understands better.

Soccer here is as big if not bigger than college football in the South. Seriously. I was in a restaurant/bar (all restaurants serve beer and all bars have food so there's really no difference) watching the Sevilla game on TV last Sunday. There was actual tension in the room throughout the game and when Sevilla would score the place went absolutely nuts. Even when they scored their final goal to lead 4-0 the place went crazy. I can't even imagine what it must be like to actually be in the stadium.

Two teams that perennially lead La Liga (the top Spanish division) are Barcelona, who won everything last year, and Real Madrid. This year they are still at the top of the division, but one spot behind them is Sevilla. Everyone is talking in Spain about how this might be the year that Sevilla upsets one of them and takes 1st or 2nd place.

The best comparison I can think of is from the Big 12 South in college football. Every year Texas and Oklahoma are the favorites and it almost always comes down to their game in October that decides who will represent the South in the Big 12 title game. Suppose one year Texas Tech was right behind them in the standings and still had to play both of them. Assume Texas is coming into Texas Tech this weekend and if Texas Tech wins they will control their destiny over Texas. How rowdy will that stadium be before kickoff and during the game if it stays close? That is exactly the way Sevilla will be this weekend. And I will be on the 5th row to experience it!

I don't really think Sevilla is as good as Real Madrid. I watched RM on TV last night and they make precise passes with their feet that Steve Nash would have trouble making with his hands. How they stop a ball dead like they are catching it is beyond me. But, if Sevilla keeps the game close throughout I think the stadium will get louder and louder, RM will get tighter, and this gives them a better chance.

Oh, and like college football they don't sell beer in the stadium because they feel like the fans are crazy enough. How cool is that. I have explained our tactics of modifying cokes in stadiums but most around here have never done that.

Again, my mistake on the first born son thing but I bet you all understand now. The guy that sold me the ticket had a bunch of 5 year olds running around. Oddly enough the last time Sevilla had a game this big was about 6 years ago. What a coincidence.

La Siesta

Before I got to Sevilla one aspect of Spanish life I was interested in being a part of was the siesta. I had heard that the siesta was becoming less of a tradition. I chose this city to study in as opposed to Madrid or Barcelona because Sevilla supposedly has not changed with the world as quickly as the bigger cities. After a week I am very happy with my decision to be here.

In Sevilla the fiesta is exactly what you read about. One minute you will be walking around an the plaza is abuzz and the next minute the tables and people are nowhere to be seen. The shops drop their metal doors and you honestly don’t recognize the place anymore. Come back in 3 hours and again people fill the area drinking beer, wine, and coffee.

The two pictures below are from a plaza around 1:30.



The pictures here are from a plaza the same day at 4:30. This particular restaurant doesn’t remove their tables but if you sit down you won’t get service for another hour.



And this is the weekly schedule for a barbershop. They are open from 9:00 to 2:00 and then 5:00 to 9:00 weekdays.


Back home I have never been one to get much sleep. This life is starting to catch up with me though. When I meet friends out it's usually at 10:00 and we end up being out until 3:00. Then I get up at 8:00 because I cant sleep any longer than that and do the same thing the next day. If I can figure out this 2 hour nap midday my life and health would be drastically changed. One day it will happen. Probably sometime around my last week here.

Friday Afternoons

I could get used to this at 1:00 on Friday afternoons. Everyone out
for a midday drink to get the weekend started.

Dancing Machine

Okay, I feel the need to describe to you how I am feeling about being back in class and the struggle to understand this language. I have no better analogy than to equate it to my dancing. That's right, dancing and Spanish are related in my life.

Raise your hand if you have seen me dance before. How bad was it? I know it's bad because people actually laugh at me as I am dancing. It's kind of embarrassing. I have become a much better dancer over the last few weeks. If LA wants to refute that she can, but since she probably doesn't read this I guess you are going to have to take my word for it: I'm a good dancer now.

Some people know how to move some parts of their body independently of others. I cannot. When I danced before (because now I am good) if I moved my legs my entire body moved like some lump of mass in one direction. It's very ugly. I could not understand how to not be so rigid.

Learning Spanish is the same way for me. I have a mathematical and systematic mind. I can understand computer code and the derivative of 2x. Foreign languages are not as systematic as I would like for them to be. There are parts to Spanish that do not translate directly to English. I have trouble wrapping my mind around that just like I have trouble telling my body to move in an eye pleasing fashion. I hope that in the next couple weeks I can relax my mind to not make this language a set of rules, but something that just flows. Kind of like my new dance move: The Heisman. The chicas love it here.

2 Down, 40 To Go

A plaza this morning around 11:00. Everyone is out for a coffee break.


Two days of classes are in the books. I am not sure I have ever felt this stupid in my life. I am in the second dumbest level and nobody else in my class has ever had Spanish. Of course they all know 3 languages which helps them move at the rapid rate our teachers seem to be moving. Right now it is just getting my mind back to student mode which it hasn't had to do in years. I'm starting to question whether six weeks will be enough time, but I expect myself to pick up the pace by the end of the week.

Outside of class I love Sevilla. Last night we were going out for someone's birthday and around 11:00 there were still families in the plazas watching their kids play with their neighbors. This community seems to be very connected to each other. I'm not sure it is a place I could live for a couple years, but it grows on me everyday.
Kids playing in La Plaza Alfalfa and the parents around hanging out with each other

I have yet to make friends in my classes, but I made a friend my first night in the hostel which has provided me the ability to do things at night. When I checked in the first day I met Lily. She is here from Seattle and will be teaching English in Cadiz. Lily is the opposite of me in that she can strike up a conversation with anyone and get groups together. Last night I met some of her other friends and we went over to Triana (across the river from Sevilla) to celebrate. The crowd consisted of Tito (Chicago), Caro (Germany), Jenny (no idea), Joe (Australia), Weng (Australia), Lily and me. I had my first sangria last night. It was homemade and very good. It could be a troubling drink in the future as the fruits hide the amount of alcohol it contains.

I am living with Encarna and her daughter about 20 minutes walking from the school. Encarna has breakfast ready when I wake up and dinner on the table when I walk in from class. She is very sweet and patient with em as I try to get out questions in Spanish. She loves TV. When I am eating dinner she is watching some kind of Spanish game show. Last night it was Pasapalabra (Password) and it must have been good because Encarna was loving it.

That's my life so far. It feels like I am finally falling into a daily routine. When I get the opportunity I will put up more pics of this city.

Alicante Harbor

Can you tell I am in need of someone to talk to?

Justin - The New Aussie Friend

The great thing about staying in hostels instead of hotels is the people you meet. I have probably run into twenty different nationalities over the last few weeks just in the hostels. I made a good friend in Alicante that I briefly mentioned before.

When I first got to my hostel I went to my room and Justin was in there resting. He was here the night before so he knew a couple places to go and watch the Barcelona-InterMilan game on TV. We went to a bar called Austin (the owners also own another bar nearby called Dos Gringos) and sat in the alley, where they set out tables and chairs, with the rest of the crowd. After getting to know him we realized how similar our stories are. He is a 27 year old living in Sydney working in construction and decided one day to travel. He bought a round the world ticket and is at the tail end of it.

The great thing about making friends like this is learning on a personal level about other cultures. The most rewarding aspect, though, is seeing that regardless of where we were born the events that led me to Alicante were the same events that led Justin there. And halfway between our countries we were able to share similar stories...in Alicante, Spain...in an alley.

This is the group that hung out the last night in Alicante. Three Aussies, a German, A Canadien, and I lived like Spaniards and stayed with the rowds until 4 am. Justin is on the left.

Hostel de Sal in Alicante

If you ever make it to Alicante you have to stay in the Hostel de Sal. The staff was great to hang out with and it is within 5 minutes walking to great food, pubs, cafes, and most importantly the beach.

The Hostel de Sal is on the left. Emilio is sticking his head out to grab me because I forgot to pay. He became a good friend while I was there and made the stay much easier.

From the terrace of the hostel towards the Mediterranean

These plazas are everywhere and around 12:00 they will fill up with people for lunch and then throughout the day. This particular plaza was just around the corner from the hostel

From the terrace looking down on a plaza where the young school kids have recess and play after school

El Castillo de Santa Barbara

This is the castle in Alicante. It took about 3 minutes to run to the bottom from my hostel and then 20 minutes up. I could see forever in any direction and had no idea how bug Alicante was until I went up there.

This is where I realized how big Alicante is. This is from the castle looking inland

I hiked to the top on an old path not in use anymore. At one point I looked down and hiked down to the old road that is now closed. Thats where I took this picture

Above and below are the harbor and beach from the top of the castle


El Castillo from the harbor

Alicante - My Break From Crazy Traveling

I rolled into Alicante around 6:00 and was immediately disappointed. It was raining and the only reason I came here was because of the beach and the great weather they normally have. The 20 minutes walk to the hostel in the rain did not do much to lift my spirits. The minute I put my stuff down though the sun came through and attitude immediately changed. I walked around the town for a couple hours to get acclimated and found it to be very welcoming.


The Barcelona v. Inter Milan game was on last night so at 8:45 everyone walked to some pub or cafe (they both serve coffee and beer so I don't really know the difference) and staked their claim to a seat for a few hours. The area I am in has a bunch of narrow streets like the picture to the left. There are pubs all along these streets. For the games they put a widescreen TV outside and set up tables and chairs for people to sit and watch the games.

It didn't take long to meet a few friends here in Alicante. I walked into my room and met Justin from Australia. He is taking some time off work and has already seen South America and now is doing Europe. He knew of where to go to watch the game so I followed him out. At the pub during the game we met some more people. Isabel and Natasha were at the table next to us and they are both from Denmark. They left home a couple months ago to move down here and find work. They were letting us in on how to get hooked up with a job around here. Also sitting next to us were Georgina, a Brit working for a tourism company, and Vittka from Belgium. Vittka is in Alicante studying under the same program I will study under in Sevilla. It's really great to listen to other people's stories about how they end up in places. Not sure where we are going tonight but it's good to have some people to hang out with.

Again this morning I walked around and enjoyed the sites. I would not say Alicante is a gorgeous town. But it is fun and the people are so nice. They are helpful and they do not get impatient with my incomplete spanish. I went running today for the first time in 3 weeks. There is a castle right by the hostel which made it easy to run up. From the top you can see all around Alicante and out across the Mediterranean. I did not take my camera, but before you yell at me know that I plan on running again tomorrow with my camera. The views are amazing.
This is the castle taken from a pier built out in the Mediterranean with restaurants, shops, and a casino.

I know everyone's wondering whether Spain really has nude beaches. Alicante does not have nude beaches because you are required to wear bottoms. Tops on the other hand are apparently a personal preference. No pictures to prove this so you're going to have to take my word for it.

The Mediterranean Sea is gorgeous. It is not cold at all and I think I could have stayed in there all day if there were any kind of waves. I am looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.