TIME FOR CHANGE

I have no photos. I'm going to Paris and then a couple weeks after that I'll be heading to Morocco. I only live once right?

It's been a rough few weeks. I am worried about my grades. Hopefully whatever happens will come with the best results.

I stayed up all night to watch the news about the elections.

All I can say is that I was smiling allllllll day. What a great day. And it's nice to know that there's still hope for the U.S. I only wish I could have been at home to be able to travel to Grant Park and be there with everyone else.

SI SE PUEDE!

YES WE CAN! and we will...

-abc

Barcelona

I went to Barcelona this past Thursday thru Monday. It was quite the trip. It was fun and touristy and exhausting. I pretended to be healthy and now I'm dealing with my fake healthy state. It's okay though. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

We stayed at a hostel right off Las Ramblas, the major and busiest street EVER. We went to Plaza Espanya where there was a beautiful art museum, took pictures of the city, and just walked around more. I don't remember what we did the entire weekend...um, basically took pictures of the city, went to Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi who is a GENIUS, and the Picasso museum, Parc Guell, the Olympic Stadium, and ate a lot of food (and drank a little too). I finally had spicy food. YUMMY.

Anyways, enough babbling, I'll save that for post-pictures. Here are some from my stay in Barcelona. Enjoy!!


I saw Stefan!!!


What an absolutely gorgeous building.


The view of the city.


Inside the Sagrada Familia.


Another shot. Gaudi is sick.


La Perdrera. Gaudi is awesome.


View from Parc Guell


Another Gaudi creation AND it was a part of ANTM. Yay.


The Olympic Stadium.


Placa Catalunya. Hugest Corte Ingles ever. Corte Ingles is Spain's hugest superstore..kind of like Target but way more pricier.

Now I promised to put up pictures of food, so that is what I'll be doing. Sonia is an amazing cook and I can't wait to get recipes. I think her love and patience for it is definitely reminding me that maybe I should give it a shot. Plus, it's somewhat mathematical, no? Haha.


This was so freaking good. It was some kind of stew with potatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, and ribs. I had to control myself not to devour everything at once. BUT it helped that the dish was steaming hot. So yummy.


It may look weird, but it's so flipping good as well. Lentejas, or lentils, soup and croquetas. So good. Croquetas are little fried goodies filled with some kind of creamy batter and either ham, chicken, or pork. So good.


There's a churro stand right by the bridge I walk on to go to/from Triana to/from the centro. I had chocolate dipped churros but was too tired and lazy and hungry to take pictures of them. But this is a cream filled churro with chocolate sprinkles. Heaven.


This is called uchero. It's this broth with tiny noodles, carrots, and garbanzo beans. Mmmm so good. I ate it up. The tiny plate has meat that was cooked in the soup and you eat that with bread. It was so delicious.


This was supposed to be spicy. It wasn't. But it's rice with red beans and other awesome veggies. So delicious.


This may have been the best burger I've ever eaten. The bread was so good. And she put on all these awesome veggies, including sauteed mushrooms with onion and garlic. Wow.

I think Sonia thinks I'm insane because I haven't had a problem with any of the meals she's provided. Then again I love eating and love a lot of food so yes I have no idea. And she loves veggies as much as I do so that's sweet too. In the upcoming weeks she's taking me to an oriental market where I will be able to pick out some food and I will be cooking it for her. I was thinking mandu gook or daenjjang chiigae. We'll see. I feel like if Jessica or Mary Ann is reading this, they'll know what I'm talking about haha. I love Korean food. And I miss it.

The rest of my life is pretty awesome. I missed my nephew's dol. He is so cute. I was really sad not to be there. I don't really feel homesick anymore but seeing pictures of my family and my nephew on facebook brought the tears. I know that I'm so lucky to be here, but I'm missing out on a lot of new things back at home. Aww but at least it's only a few months, right?

All other parts of my life are going well. I'm really lucky, in more ways than one. And I'm looking forward to new things back at home. This is the first time that things are going my way and are actually turning out better than I had ever imagined. It's great and I haven't been so happy in a while. I guess Family Video did provide me with some positive things after all. Haha.

Okay, well take care and enjoy this post. Love and miss you!

And leave me comments damn it!

-abc

Granada and then some

This past Saturday-Sunday the ALA group drove to Granada for an overnight trip. It's about 3.5 hours away by bus and we went to visit the Alhambra, Granada's catedral, and we went to a barrio called Albaicin. It was a really fun trip and there was a lot to see. I took over 200 pictures. Perhaps it's the asian in me. Haha.

Once we got there, we settled into the hotel. It was a beautiful hotel and about a 5 minute walk away from the Alhambra.

The walk was definitely strenuous because Granada is all mountains and the walk was either uphill or downhill. I felt like I was going to fall everywhere I was going. But all in all it was fun.

Our first stop was the Alhambra. The Alhambra is made up of 3 parts: The Alhambra, a part I don't remember because I'm a poor listener, and The Generalife (Hen-e-ra-lee-fay). Generalife was probably my most favorite part because I love looking at flowers and all that fun stuff. They even had pomegranate trees! It made me happy. And made me crave pomegranates. I was tempted to pull them off the trees, but I figured that would be sort of rude.

Here are some pictures of our visit to the Alhambra.




This was part of the second part of the Alhambra. If you stand in the center, where that small circle is located, and you say something, it echoes.

A view of Granada.


One of my friends and me in front of part of the Alhambra. It was such a gorgeous day.


Note the pretty reflection.


Pomegranates!

Later on we just did some more walking around. We went back to the hotel for a descansito (little break and rest time) and dinner. The dinner, like lunch, was buffet style. I ate more than I should have but that's okay. You only live once. I seriously love Spanish food. It's delicious. It was my friend's birthday and since we all enjoy the nightlife, our group went out to a couple of bars for drinks and tapas.





My roommates and I went back around 3 to get some sleep so we could get up to start our day at 8:45. We went to a barrio called Albaicin, where we got to stop at a couple of places to take some more pictures. Our guide took us to the catedral and we got to see the tombs of the kings and we also were able to see the marble statues of the king and queen on their death beds. It was interesting.


The view from Albaicin


So nice.

After that, we went out and did some more shopping. I went and bought a falafel pita. It was so delicious. Soooo good. Here's a picture of the food, and then me devouring it.


We went back and had lunch at the hotel and drove back home. All in all it was a good way to spend the weekend. However, the climate changes affected me more than I had ever anticipated. Now I'm sick and last night I had to leave class early because I just wasn't feeling well.

This is our second week of classes. Math is getting really tough because I just don't understand his examples, because they all relate to Sevillian life. He's not very kind and unapproachable so it makes it tough for me, but I'm getting a tutor so hopefully that will help. I finally found the classroom for my Pedagogia Intercultural class. It's going to be a lot of work but I'm excited. The professor is sooo nice and interested in my perspective about education and immersment because I'm an American, but I'm also a minority. I talked to three Spanish students in that class and then I made friends with a girl from Germany. That was pretty exciting. My last class is from 7 to 9. I wasn't feeling well so I left at 8. I'm getting used to the buses and the fact that the universidad is not on a closed campus.

My homestay is incredible. I love my senorita. She's a lot of fun and so easy to talk to. She told me she has a Chinese friend living in Sevilla and that he can cook for us. And the Chinese friend has a Korean friend so that will be exciting.

I think I'm definitely putting on weight because my srta makes me so much food. She's an incredible cook. I've been taking pictures of the food I've been eating for lunch and/or dinner on a daily basis. I was going to post up some pictures but my internet is messing up a lot and it's taking a lot longer than I thought. I'll update tomorrow probably with pictures of my meals, haha. Mostly for Val. But yeah.

Okay, that's all for an update I suppose. I can't believe it's already October. I'm missing my mom's birthday and I'm missing Xander's first birthday. It's tough but I'm finally getting accustomed to living here. It's interesting, fun, and extremely expensive. Especially with such good wine and beer and ice cream and tapas.

I'm going to Barcelona on Thursday until Monday. Expect a really photo filled update on Monday. And yay for absolutely no classes on Monday! That's my worst day.

I miss you guys tons. Keep in touch. And have a great week!

-abc.

Homestay!!!!!

So after a grueling two weeks in the residencia, I have finally moved out and I'm living in a barrio called Triana. It's on the other side of the river. I live with a senorita who's 28, totally awesome, and is a professor of Spanish Literature and Language. I couldn't have had better luck with finding such a great place to stay in for the next three months. I am just so happy! I have my own room, basically my own little apartment. It's so sweet. I'll explain with some pictures.

I moved in last night. When you first enter, on your right is the kitchen.



Here's the other side of the kitchen


On the left side of the hall is the bathroom:

It's tiny, but I don't need a lot to get by.

Once you walk down the first hall, you get to a longer hallway. Down to the left is my senorita's side of the apartment.


This is her living room.


Another glimpse of it. The door you see leads to her bedroom.

Then you go down the hall..


And you enter my side of the place..

This is the sitting room I suppose. A small couch and a desk. I love it.


Here's another picture of it. The door leads to my room.


There are two beds because she normally houses two American students, but I'm the only one living here!


And here's the view from my bed. I'm lucky that I have a lot of room.

I start university classes on Monday. I'm really nervous. Wish me luck. I have to buy a bus pass and I think I need to start buying presents for people now so I don't forget. So let me know what you want. Especially my sisters. Because you guys are the worst to shop for. Yeah.

And I'm almost positive that Paris and Barcelona will be two very possible trips in the distant future!

And Granada next weekend. I can't wait!!!

Thanks for reading. I miss you guys. And sorry I'm slacking on the postcards, I swear I'll get to them...eventually.

-abc.

An update without photos...

Despite the lack of commenting I do hope people are reading this. Or else I'm just wasting my time, haha.

So things have improved immensely in the past week. It's been quite a week.

We started our intensive session class. It's one class for two weeks and it's for three hours everyday. It's definitely draining sometimes. There are a lot of assignments to get done. We had our examen parcial yesterday. It was pretty simple but that either means I did really well or I did really poorly. Vamos a ver, supongo.

I'm hoping that my Spanish speaking abilities are improving, but I don't know.

So I've been living in the residencia for a while now. I'm moving out next Friday into a homestay. I'm actually really excited. I visited two yesterday. The first apartment was amazing and hugeeeeee and had air conditioning in all rooms. It was nice, however the lady seemed a little on the quiet side. I then went to a different apartment in the same town a couple of hours later. The apartment is off a main street that leads directly to the bridge to get to the other side of town. Anyways, I chose to live with a lady who is 28 and lives alone. She was so cool. She just seems like a lot of fun and is super lively and has been hosting American students for four years now. It'll be nice because it's kind of like being with my sister. And I stayed there last night just chatting with her and her friend. It was super fun and I think I'm going to enjoy my time there. Plus, it was challenging but definitely kinda cool to be forced to speak in Spanish. My main goal is to be able to maintain a conversation in Spanish with native speakers. I think this entire experience will definitely help me stop doubting myself in every situation.

Hmm, I don't know what else to really say. If my schedule works out according to plan, I believe that I will only have classes Mon-Thurs. I really hope that works out because I want to go to Paris in November. I would also love to go to Italy and Dublin. I guess we will see. The number one city on my list is Barcelona.

Okay, well that was enough babbling to keep you all semi-interested. Now comment.

P.S. I really miss driving. I seriously walk everywhere and wouldn't be surprised if I average walking 6 miles a day. It's nice and everything, but so much time is spent walking haha.

Besos!

-abc.

Cadiz, Espana

So today, our group had a day trip to Cadiz. It is a city south of Sevilla and it is basically like an island that is attached to the bottom of Spain. It is quite honestly one of the most breathtaking and beautiful cities I have ever stepped foot in. It's about an hour and a half away from Sevilla.

This is a picture of what the city looked like today


Then we walked through the city and went on a little tour and learned about the history. It's basically like a peninsula and you almost always have a view of the Atlantic.


Another one of one of the great views


I have been really fortunate thus far with the people in my group. I took a lot of pictures with them, and here's one of the awesome people I've met



During our walk we went to a dead end street. At the end there was a fence that showed a glimpse of an old theater/performance center from the Roman period. It is still in tact and visitors can walk through it. They would have performances there and gladiators would fight there too. How cool is that? This is what it looks like now, at least it did today..


We walked around some more. Then we went to the cathedral, which is in like the center of the city. It was breath taking.


And then we went to the top of the cathedral, which can be seen in the picture above, it's to the right. We went up to take pictures.




I managed to get over my fear of heights to take those pictures and I'm really proud of myself haha. It wasn't anything like Diamond Head though.

Anyways, we walked around some more and got to see the commercial area of the place. It was fun. Then we saw the ocean again and we had to take more pictures. Kind of like this one

well clearly because I'm Korean.

Near the end of our tour, we went through this awesome garden that has really awesomely shaped trees. It definitely reminded me of Edward Scissorhands.


It was quite beautiful.

All right, I'm tired and I will add more about Cadiz tomorrow. I hope you enjoy what I have up now.

I just realize more and more how fortunate I am to be able to be here right now and to have what I do back at home. I miss everyone and love everyone.

I also have a new nephew as of yesterday. How exciting. I miss my nephews a lot. I missed Xander's first step and I didn't get to meet Jaxon. I guess there's much to do once I return.

Leave me comments!

-abc

Una ciudad bellisima..

I'm still adjusting to everything here, but I've definitely been enjoying myself as well. We don't start classes for another couple of weeks. Wish me luck when that comes around because I have to take three actual courses at the university. We'll see how that goes. I should probably just write all of my blogs in Spanish to help me.

Anyways, we've been doing a lot of touring the city and just learning about the program and what we've gotten ourselves into.

What I've really learned in the past three days of being here is that I definitely take a lot for granted when I'm at home. I'm really lucky to be who I am and to have what I have. It's so tough to get by speaking a language I thought I knew well, and it's tough to adjust to such different and new customs.

Enough of my blabbering about pointless things. I'll post up some pictures.



The night we arrived, we went on a buggy ride. This is right outside of our hotel.


I don't remember the name of this but I just remember being taken here and it's just so beautiful. It's right off the main streets of the city. How lucky are Sevillanos? Seriously.

And one of the last stops was La Giralda. So beautiful. Pictures don't do the Spanish architecture enough justice..



The next day, Ricardo, our guia, took us out for tapas at a local tapas restaurant. So delicious. And I downed it with cerveza, so it couldn't've been better. We had some beef tenderloin cooked in a whiskey sauce, chicken with bacon and cheese, and fried eggplant. So good. Salivate..NOW



Yesterday we had to walk around the city in groups on our own to familiarize ourselves with the area. You know me, I have no sense of direction so I'm always going to be lost. I probably will know my way around like the last day I'm here haha. Anyways, here are some pictures.


This is part of the center of Sevilla. It's just so awesome and chill.



We took this picture when we made a stop at El Torre de Oro. This is the other side of the city, across the Guadalquivir River. I am so lucky.


Yesterday we also moved into our permanent residencies. I did not choose a homestay, which I should have done, but I think I like this environment too. It will take some time to adjust..but whatever. Here are some pictures of the room, it's so tiny!, and pictures of the residence hall. It's under construction, but once it's finished we can go to the top floor and sunbathe and just relax. Happy times.



Our tiny room, however it is packed with IKEA furniture so I can't complain!



Yeah, that's all the room allotted for my clothes and toiletries. Wonderful, huh? haha.


This is a picture I took of the front lobby/sitting area. It's beautiful. I love all the intricate details. There normally isn't that much luggage, but we had just arrived to the residencia.

I suppose that's my update for now. We're going on two trips in the upcoming future, to Cadiz and to Granada. I really can't wait.

P.S. The sangria is delicious here.

I miss everyone. So comment now.

-abc.