Carnaval in Sevilla

Hola todos, so I just got back from Sevilla last night, and it was a great trip. It was also the first trip that I've planned and gone on with a small group (in this case one other guy, Bobby) so I was really glad everything went pretty smoothly. We had been talking about traveling together for Carnaval ever since our original plans fell through, but we didn't actually decide to go for sure until last Monday. Even with only a week to plan, we were able to get bus tickets and a cheap hostel, so it was all good. We left at 11:30 on Friday night, and rode the bus until around 8 Saturday morning. We were thankfully able to find our hostel pretty easily, and we put our stuff in a side room until our room was cleaned. Right away we also met a girl from Chile who was staying at our hostel too. María Luisa was studying German in Germany, but had two months off for break so she was traveling around southern Spain, so we talked with her while eating breakfast on the roof of our hostel. After breakfast we went walking around the town, seeing different sites. Not long after we left, Kari, a girl from Texas who is studying at a private university in Valladolid, gave us a call because she was looking for something to do. We met up with her, and headed off to the castle in town. With our student IDs we were able to get in for free (I like free things) and we explored the castle(see the first picture). Behind the castle were these amazing gardens; they were so pretty and I think we could have spent a day just in the gardens themselves. After the gardens, we met up with two of Kari's friends, Brittney and Alex, and went and bought some ice cream and had that outside since it was so lovely out (around 70 degrees). We then walked around until we found a Corte Ingles, where we bought groceries for the rest of the weekend. Bobby and I headed back to our hostel, where we made and ate our supper. We also introduced María Luisa to the joys of peanut butter on toast. After supper the three of us went to a bar to watch a flamenco show (bottom picture). On the way we stopped at a plaza in town to watch a little bit of a show that was going on. There were a bunch of Disney characters singing and dancing around on a stage. The show was free, and it was really good. We also ended up sitting next to two Canadians.

The following day (after we actually got up) we went walking around town for a bit until a friend of Bobby (who is studying in Sevilla) called him, so we met up with her. She took us through the cathedral (the 3rd largest cathedral in the world!) and there was some service thing going on for Carnaval. Right by the cathedral is also where all the palm readers would stand. They would hold out this twig thing, and when you would reach out to take it they would hold your hand and read your palm. I didn't know what they were doing, so the first time I put out my hand to take the twig and the woman grabbed my hand. Before she could do anything some random guy yelled at her, so she let me go. After that I kept my distance, but they still tried again; one lady even tried to pull my hand from my pocket when I was walking past; crazy stuff. We then met up with a few of her friends (American and Spanish) and chilled in a park for awhile. Bobby and I left the group and went over to the Plaza España to take pictures. The Plaza España in Sevilla had actually been used in the filming of the newer star wars movies, as part of the planet Naboo, so for a star wars fan like me that was pretty cool. We went back to the hostel, and cooked some pasta with María Luisa, and then headed out for the evening. We found a place to chill, and Kari came out and met us there, and we ended up just hanging out for awhile before heading back and going to bed.

Monday we actually got up at a decent time (around 9), and had breakfast with María Luisa, and said goodbye to her because she had to go catch her bus. Bobby and I packed up everything in our room and checked out, and walked around the city for a little while before getting some lunch at McDonalds. We went to station after that and got on our bus. There was one stop where we had to wait for half an hour at a station, and they locked the buses so everyone had to get out. Well, when Bobby and I got back on the bus, we got to our seats only to realize we had gotten on the wrong bus, so we quickly got off through the back door and went over to the right bus. The bus driver gave us a weird look, I have no idea why. We got back to Valladolid around 11, and went out with some of Bobby's Spanish friends for a few hours. I'm looking forward to a shorter week of school this week, and next weekend we have another school excursion. Talk with you later!

The promised update

Ok, so a few days later I'm finally getting to writing the post I promised in my last one. Friday night I just ended up staying at home, and chilled on facebook and played a game, nothing too exciting. Saturday we had another excursion, this one was to three locations close to Valladolid. The first place we stopped was the city of Tordesillas. The main attraction there is this house where the kings of Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas (original name, I know) back in 1494. The treaty divided what was then the known (unclaimed) world, which was good because it stopped them from starting a war or anything unpleasant like that. We actually learned about the treaty in one of my Spanish classes last semester, so it was kinda cool to actually learn about it in real life. After that we went to a castle that our university owns. It's unrestored, so it was different than the last one we visited. We got to explore it on our own, so I went on top of the tower (even though I hate the stairs, they're really steep and really small), and down to the bottom of the well (down stairs, don't worry, I didn't jump). The one picture is a picture of myself and my friend Elizabeth on top of the tower. After the castle we went to a park in town to eat lunch. By this point I really had to use the bathroom, and since the builders of the castle didn't bother to put indoor plumbing in, I had to go searching for a bar or cafe. Myself and one of the other students went walking down the road, only to find a place called "Condireria Rico-Bar," a place with my last name (see the other picture below)! What are the chances of that? After using the bathroom we felt bad just leaving, so we went and got a coke and coffee (the coffee was Alaina's, I still don't drink the stuff), and talked with the bartender. Turns out, the bar was named after him, his last name is Rico! Crazy stuff. After eating we got on the buses and went to a museum/dig of roman ruins about 20 minutes from Valladolid. Since it was Valentine's day, the staff had a little drama thing for us in a replica roman house, complete with all the guys reading a love poem to all the girls (in Spanish of course).

That day was also Paul's (a student from Eau Claire) birthday, so about 10 of us went out for his birthday. We actually went to his house first and had cake. That was my first time in someone else's house in the whole month and a half I've been over here, since Spaniards don't have people over. After that we went to a bunch of different places, and the group got split up because it's hard to do anything with a group that big.

Sunday I went to church; the normal pastor was out of town, so one of the members, Javier, spoke. After church we had our normal Sunday meal, a noodle soup, and then garbanzos with meat (and the always present bread and water). After the meal I went with my host mom and host sister to a bar near school for a coke. I did my 10 minutes of homework, and then skyped with various members my family for probably an hour and a half, so that was good.

Today we started a new class schedule; same classes, but at different times, so my group didn't have class until 10:30, and tomorrow I only have 2 classes, woo hoo! This afternoon I went to the library with my roommate and another student and picked up my library card that I applied for last week, so I now have a lovely light green library card. I don't really have anything planned for the rest of this week (like usual). This coming weekend is Carnaval, and we don't have school next Monday and Tuesday. At this point I don't have anything planned, but I might be going to Sevilla for a couple of days. If that doesn't happen, I'll probably just take a day trip over the time off. I don't mind staying in Valladolid for Carnaval, but I want to at least do some traveling. Well that's about it, I'm going to hang out with some people for one of the girl's birthday, so I should get going. Adios!

Feliz día de San Valentín!

Hello everybody, so far this blog has just been what's going on in Spain for me, but what with it being Valentine's Day I wanted to post something else instead (I'll fill you in on my trip soon, don't worry).

Valentine's Day is a day where a lot of people focus on love, with varied reactions, usually depending on what is going on in their lives at the moment. Sadly, a lot of people seek what I see to be a distorted, weak love that is all we can have and show without Christ's love in us. What then, should our love look like? I really enjoy reading 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 at this time of year, to gain a better perspective of what our love should look like, and what love we should be seeking.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What love this is, and how hard it is to live out! I understand that in our broken condition we will never be able to truly live this love out, but that shouldn't stop us from trying. This is the love we should be living. This is the love we should be seeking. During this day of love (as well as the rest of the year), I sincerely hope this is the love you focus on, and that you don't settle for anything less. Strive to love fully.

One month and counting...

So it's official, I've been here for over a month now, as crazy as that sounds. Sometimes it feels like it's going by so fast, and other times, like it's going by so slow. Regardless, this past month has been a time of growth in all aspects of my life. Among other things, I've had to become more independent. I've never been this far away from home in such a non-structured environment. It's exhilarating, yet hard at the same time.

I ended up getting to watch the super bowl with some friends on Sunday night. We only stayed until the end of the halftime show, but it was still a fun time. We found a bar with a television in it and asked the bartender if we could watch it and he was completely fine with that. He was really nice, and even made us some popcorn for free. It was actually kinda weird to see so many Americans (on the TV); I must be used to seeing only Spaniards everywhere. The only bad thing was that instead of the commercials, we saw three Spanish guys talking about football, which was kinda a bummer, but I was able to watch some of them on line the next day.

My geography test ended up being super easy, so I did really well on that. I also took a literature test (hopefully I did well on that one too), and today I took an Oral Expression test (which was harder than I thought it would be; the teacher had given us a list of topics, but then stuff that wasn't on that list were on the test). I've got another test coming up in geography, but if it's anything like the last one, I'm not too worried.

This weekend was my latest weekend yet; Thursday night I went to a dance club with a few friends and didn't get home until 4:30. While I was at the club some random guy came up to me and started talking with me, but it was so loud I couldn't tell what he was saying. I'm not sure, but he might have been complementing me on my facial hair. The following night I went out again with friends, and didn't get back until 5. I thought for sure that I was going to be out later than my roommate for once, but I still beat him home by a few minutes. Sunday after church we had a meal at the church with everyone (happens every 2nd Sunday of the month), so I got to hang out with some Spaniards, which is always cool. Well I should get going now; hasta luego!

Toledo

Hello again everyone. It's Sunday evening over here, I'm just chilling until super time (probably about an hour or so), and putting off my half hour of homework I have to do. Friday night I went to my first movie over here in Spain. I went and saw Siete Almas (Seven Pounds) with some of my Stevens Points friends. I enjoyed the movie, up until the end, and then I wasn't a huge fan anymore, but I won't give anything away. After that I went back to my house instead of going out with other people because it was around 1, and I had to get up at 6. I woke up around 6 and went to the bus station, where 9 of us met to go to Toledo for the day. We took a bus to Madrid where we took the metro to another bus station, where we got on a bus to Toledo. We walked around the city a lot, and of course got lost quite a bit too. We checked out a few museums and churches, as well as quite a few shops. I ended up getting a sweet hunting knife; even though I don't hunt, I thought it looked cool (Toledo is famous for their blades). For supper, we ate at McDonalds, my first time since arriving in Spain. I had a cheeseburger and a McFlurry, and they were both really good. The McFlurry I got with M&Ms, and they used peanut M&Ms, which was reallly tasty. I didn't go out when I got back, even though it was around midnight, the prime time to head out for the night, because I was really tired and had spent around 7 hours on buses. Sunday, I went to church. It's always fun when we sing a song that I recognize and know in English. We also had Communion, the first since I've been here. Other than that I haven't been up to a whole lot today. It's hard to believe that I've almost been here for a month now; it has been going by fast. Well I need to go do my homework now, since I might be watching the Super Bowl tonight, it's not on until 12:30 AM over here, so it might be a long night.