The last of it

Sanlúcar de Guadiana

One of the things on my "to do" list when I decided to study abroad in Spain was to see the countryside. Up until a couple weekends ago I had not picnicked in rolling hills or been woken up at 5 a.m. to the sound of goats. This is typical when you travel to a new country that has touristy cities that you "have to see at least once." For this reason, Jenny, Dede and I spontaneously decided to rent a car and drive to Sanlúcar de Guadiana on our last free weekend in Sevilla. This tiny village is located right on the border of Spain and Portugal. When I say it is tiny, I mean that it puts Kinston to shame. There were three cafés (but more like huts) and two supermarkets (but more like dark rooms filled with everything you would need to survive). The main and only tourist attraction was a zipline that crossed over the river to Portugal.

We stayed in an adorable little bungalow, cooked some amazing meals, packed a lovely picnic for the hills and cuddled in one big bed. Streets were bare by 8 p.m. and we saw the same people at the same café each morning for coffee. Of course, we did the zipline and *~*travelled in time*~* (there is a 1 hour difference between Spain and Portugal)! On Sunday, we took advantage of traveling with our own car and drove to Aracena, a beautiful town in the Parque de Natural Sierra just north of Sevilla. Although it was rainy and cold, we frolicked on more hills and had ourselves a fun little time. That weekend was perfect and is ranked as my #2 favorite weekend while abroad. #1 is my birthday weekend.

Sunset in Sanlúcar de Guadiana

On the ferry back to Spain! View of Sanlúcar de Guadiana

Phones didn't work as we were so close to the Portugal border. We reverted to a printed map... like on PAPER :o

Our epic picnic filled with book-reading, bocadillo-eating and napping

Aracena

Cinnamon apples for dessert 

Morocco

This past weekend we visited Tangiers, Chefchaoen, Meknes and Fez... all in three days! It was quite a hectic weekend starting with the 8 1/2 hours of travel time on Friday. It was a lot of travel for such a short weekend and I would say that if I had to do it all over again, I would give myself more time or not go at all.

I'm not sure how to even begin explaining my feelings about Morocco. Maybe that's because I didn't have much of a chance to feel anything. I was with thirty other students, which is just too big of a group to maneuver through the narrow streets of the medina. We were also with local tour guides, which was helpful but I still felt like I saw what they wanted me to see: leather and ceramics factories, handmade tapestries and the doors to the king's castle in Fez. Of course, these are important, classic sights in Morocco but I know there is much more to the country that I didn't get to experience due to time and company.

With that being said, I would not necessarily recommend going alone. The streets are incredibly confusing (one of our students got lost and left behind) and it felt a bit unsafe at nighttime as I did not see a single policeman the entire weekend. Also, the main cities and villages are located so far apart that it seems necessary to have a car if you want to hit the hot spots. So it is hard to say how to travel to Morocco. All in all, I AM glad that I went and I can now say that I have been to Africa (since mom and dad won't take us to Kenya). 

Chefchaoen, a blue village

Making camel friends in Tangiers

Carlos above all of Fez

Creating a mosaic! I always wondered how this was done

They said it's good luck to touch the doors to the king's palace

Inside a mosque

Final thoughts 

Three months is too short. María is just now starting to call me "hija" (daughter) and I have been frequenting a couple of cafés making me a ... local?! (go to La Cacharrería and Red House if you're ever in Sevilla!) Nevertheless, three months is longer than one and I am beyond grateful that I was able to spend that time riding bikes with good friends, reading by the river, eating María's bomb food, meeting a ton of really cool people and falling in love with a new city (don't worry Vancouver, you're still my #1).  

I have less than one week left! I am busy getting ready for finals, shopping for Christmas presents and figuring out how I am going to get all this stuff back to the States. Speaking of the States...

I am surprisingly excited to go back to New York! As cliché as it sounds, I have discovered another side to me. Another side that doesn't feel guilty about staying in and wearing my fuzzy, awesome bathrobe all night and that gets really excited about buying a new book and is overly conscious about screen time and more importantly, will do something about it like turning off all devices for a period of time. I am going to try really hard to keep this mindset in a place like Manhattan.

I have a great set of classes for this upcoming semester, I am currently searching for an internship for the summer, I will be signing a lease to my first apartment super soon and we have a killer wedding to plan!! All in all, I have a LOT to look forward to.

Blogging has been a really interesting experience and it has made me realize that I want to start keeping a personal journal again. It has also made me realize that at some point... you just have to click "Post"! Thanks all for reading and enjoy the upcoming holidays!

La comida en la cocina

I have been wanting to take a professional, real-life (as opposed to fake) cooking class for a while and I am so excited to say that I went to my first one yesterday! 

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this kitchen in the back of the Triana market that offered cooking classes. Turns out, the company, Taller Andaluz de Cocina, had only started two months ago! The space is small but so beautiful with great light and equipment (not to mention, squeaky clean!). The co-owner is in food marketing and the other co-owner helps with daily tasks/sou chef responsibilities. The chef is from Madrid and has worked in a Michelin Star rated restaurant/other cities in Europe. The three of them were so cool and relaxed. I had to sign up for a class.

It ended up just being me and a young French couple on a Saturday afternoon. I totally lucked out... the smaller, the better! We made a very traditional meal: gazpacho (a cold tomato/cucumber/pepper soup), huevos de la flamenca (vegetable medley with a poached egg on top) and paella (normally cooked with chicken and rabbit meat; we left out the latter). 

Everything was fantastic. Gazpacho is much easier to make than I thought. I am so excited to put it together when I go back to school. To my future roomie, Madison: watch out. Huevos de la flamenca tasted more familiar than the other two only because I normally cook with those ingredients (tomatoes, peas, eggs, garlic). The paella was the best I've eaten so far. It wasn't too dry but just dry enough to be considered "traditional". The chicken was so tender and filled with a ton of flavor. I think the homemade chicken stock made a huge difference.

I also watched the chef dismantle an entire chicken. This, I have never seen before. I felt a bit squeamish each time I heard him break apart the bones but finally he looked at me and said, "you have to know where your food comes from!". I completely agreed and so I watched him rip apart the chicken, limb by limb. At least I knew for sure that it wouldn't get any fresher than that. 

I spoke with the young owners for a bit and they have such innovative ideas for how to set themselves apart. Because they're located right beside a fresh market with local vendors, they have a lot of opportunities for fun, interactive classes. I won't say what their ideas are because I don't think that's allowed :/ but it got me thinking about what I want to do with my life. I'm still not quite sure but I like what they are doing and maybe I could do something like it one day.

That's it for now! Besos xo

"Caca" means poop

Hello all!

A few highlights from the past few weeks:

  1. At the risk of being called "gringos" we celebrated Halloween in Barcelona! I was a rabbit and my friend was the magician. The stand-out moment was going to a Barcelona fútbol game!! Our tickets were behind the goal, which at first I was a bit bummed about, but we ended up sitting right behind the cheering section. There was so much pride and energy in the stadium that it was hard not to get emotional. Oh, Barcelona lost but our boy, Messi, put up quite a fight. 
  2. I spent one afternoon in Barcelona laying on the beach and listening to an awesome electronic music festival that was playing nearby. I think this was the first time since I had been here that I have felt completely at ease. 
  3. This past weekend, Dede, Jenny, Emily and I spent a day exploring Granada. We bought beers at this craft beer/chocolate shop and walked uphill to catch a great view of the Alhambra. We also picked up some sweet treats from the nuns! These nuns are not only in Granada but are also in other Spanish cities. They make sweets every morning and sell them to people on the streets. You can talk to them through the door but you never see them! I made one giggle with my español. 
  4. I turned in my 10-page research paper.

I'm not sure what I will be doing the next couple of weeks but that's the beauty of study abroad, sí? 

Will be back soon xo

 

TO ANSWER Anika's questions because she always needs more information and you may too:

1. Why the headline? Because it's a new word that I learned and I think it's funny and I think you can all incorporate it into your daily lives.

2. Why did you feel at ease on a beach alone in Barcelona listening to electric music? Because how could you not...

3. What was the 10 page research paper about? Spain and the European Union.

4. Why can't you see the nuns? I'm not sure but I'll look into it.

Too much spanish not enough english

Hola familia y amigos!

As you can see, I have a few new cities under my travel tab! This past weekend we did day trips to Córdoba and Ronda. Córdoba is northeast of Sevilla. The Muslims, Romans, and Christians all passed through the town at one point so it is filled with history and very different architectural elements. Ronda is also a very cute, small town that sits on a canyon. It is famously known for its bridge and massive gorge. We went with the intention of hiking but the "hike" turned into crawling through weeds . However, we did make it to the start of the waterfall, which was very cool!

The spread!

On Saturday, my two roommates and I made lunch for our host mom. Before we even arrived in Spain, our program director warned us about using the kitchens in the apartments since it is strictly the mother's domain in the Spanish culture. Because of this, we were a bit hesitant to ask permission but surprisingly, Maria was very excited! She even said "my sister is the only one who will cook for me!" 

I made my favorite Indian dish: cauliflower, potatoes, and peas. It turned out very similar to my mom's so I was happy with myself. Perla made yummy Dominican chicken with rice and beans and Tasha made a delicious chocolate mousse with a cookie crust. Maria really loved all of our food and no, I don't think she was being polite :). She said we are welcome to cook in her kitchen any time. 

At the baths - the only proof we could manage.

To top off the busy weekend, my friend, Dede, and I went to the Arabic baths in Sevilla. This is a spa with six different types of baths: super hot, super cold, warm, steam, etc. We wore these awesome water shoes, drank hot tea and fell asleep to some instrumental Arabic music. On our walk home, I spotted a sushi place that was surprisingly still open (it was around 12:30 a.m. at this point). Naturally, I bought myself a salmon and avocado roll and happily ate it while walking the streets of Sevilla. 

I haven't gotten much sleep, which, if you know me, is so not normal. I also think I am starting to catch a cold since the weather last week was very chilly and this week it is simmering hot. In addition, I have a 10 page research paper due on Monday. Normally, these things would bring me down a notch. However, I am in Spain and I feel very happy so I don't mind trekking through it. This is a nice feeling.

My Spanish is definitely improving but not at the rate that I would have liked. I am constantly thinking of my sentences (in Spanish) as a math equation. This is frustrating at times because I want to clearly express myself in a conversation but it takes me awhile to do so. By the time I have a perfect, grammatically correct sentence ready to say, the moment has passed and I am rushing to solve my next math equation. In addition, I think my English has gotten worse. 

This weekend is going to be full of soccer games. We are watching the Barcelona vs. Madrid game at some bars on Saturday and then we are going to a Sevilla game on Sunday! I have patiently waited for some fútbol so I am very excited for this. 

Will keep you all posted!

A [not] long [enough] weekend

To be honest, I didn't want to do many of the big cities when I came here but it doesn't seem possible to travel to Spain and not go to Madrid. It was one more place checked off the list! I spent a few days in the capital with mom and dad before they flew back home. Unfortunately, it rained 80% of the time so I didn't quite get the full effect of the city but I still feel like I got a nice overview! 

You don't want to see the action shots

First off, we did a tour of the city... on bikes. If that sounds like a dangerous idea it's because it was. Rusty bike riders + pedestrians + narrow European streets + rain = no good. I knocked over barrier gates at one point. Nevertheless, we saw a lot of the city! It also helped that our tour guide was so patient with us. 

We also did a tapas tour because what's an Anand trip without a food tour? Our guide was British and so incredibly knowledgeable about not only Spanish cuisine but also Spain's history. We ate and walked and talked and learned. It was also a really great way to see the city at night. I ate some of the best food I've had in Spain yet! My favorites included these delicious mushrooms stuffed with chorizo and tiny garlic shrimps that were served in clay pots.

All in all, Madrid was lovely but I was excited to come back to Sevilla. I think I am quickly becoming very biased toward this city...

Since Sunday was a national holiday in Spain, we didn't have school Monday! When I asked why we had Monday off if the holiday was on Sunday, a Spaniard replied with "because we don't have our day of rest on Sunday, it is on Monday". I could have not translated the Spaniard correctly but either way, you see how important rest is here. 

Because we didn't have anything planned for the long weekend, some friends and I spontaneously decided to rent an apartment in another neighborhood in Sevilla for the night. This sounds crazy but it turned out to be so much fun. We explored an area called Arenal and I found really tasty pistachio ice cream. Several other students came over and we drank wine and danced to Spanish music. It was a wonderful staycation!

We are back at it tomorrow -- research papers and all. I nearly forgot I had school work to do. Bye!