(Post #5) My last post of January!

Greeting from the end of January! This month has been one of the best months of my life, and so much is happening on any given day. I am grateful for the days that I get to rest too and get a grip on everything, but I cannot wait for everything that is to come! In this post, I will be talking about my two most recent trips to Carmona and Málaga.

(January 23rd, 2022) This day was more of a lazy Sunday which I enjoyed as I laid in bed, worked on this blog, and tried to get things in order. During the evening, my friends and I started a new tradition of just sitting down by the river and enjoying the company and views. After getting to know each other better as all of the students in this program come from all over the country, we headed into the Triana neighborhood to get some tapas. As you may have noticed from some of my pictures, Sevilla has orange trees EVERYWHERE! Along with being beautiful, there are lots of orange-flavored things here which I really enjoy. At dinner this night, I had a glass of orange wine and although it was not exactly what I was expecting, it was delicious as it is something I have never tasted before.

(January 24th, 2022) As classes started to begin on this Monday at certain Universities, I got to relax some more as my first classes didn't begin until Thursday. I ended up doing lots of planning and scheduling, and this meant that because my credit card will not let me purchase train tickets online, I walked 40 minutes to the station with my friend Asia so that we could make some purchases. After, we did a little shopping, which we have begun to do a lot, because the stores here are so cute! Some of the most popular include Zara, H&M, Pull & Bear, Primark, Mango, and others.

(January 25th, 2022) Today was a shopping and planning day!

(January 26th, 2022) On this morning bright and early, my friend Asia and I met our new friends Maddi and Ellie and we headed on a bus to take us to the local city of Carmona for the day. We really lucked out as I found tickets online for only 7 euros! We walked around to see all the fortresses and buildings and then we visited the Necropolis where many tombs have been excavated from long ago. We went to the town’s Alcazar and climbed on top of the fortress which offered amazing views of the city!

We then ate at a restaurant that my host mom recommended and spent the afternoon wandering. Something I really enjoyed about this trip is that although I made one of my classic and very detailed itineraries, we had plenty of time to wander around the city and enjoy it without being in a rush or needing to follow a map. We found La Puerta de Córdoba, did some local shopping for jewelry, and even tried to do some clothes shopping. Something I found culturally interesting is that as we were chasing some local cats around, we asked some locals what “noise” they use to attract cats. You know how we say that cats say, “meow” and dogs say “bark” or “woof?” It is not like that everywhere. It is hard to describe with words but the locals gave us the noises that cats listen to so that they pay attention. After eating a little snack at a cheap restaurant called 100 Montaditos, we were ready to go home but had a scare that the bus was not coming... it just turns out though that it was late so all was well!

(January 27th, 2022) Happy first day of Spring semester to me! I have two classes in Spanish at the CEA Study Abroad Center, and so I go in the morning for Intermediate Spanish 2 and then back again in the afternoon for the Culture of Food & Wine in Spain. My first class only had 4 students so it was very intimate, which also means that I will get plenty of practice which is both intimidating and good! I came home in the afternoon for lunch and then went back to class later in the day to find a lot more people in the culture class which is a fun vibe! Both of these classes are entirely in Spanish so I will be learning lots! I do have to pinch myself though because the 20 minute walk I have to the CEA Center is filled with magnificent views of Sevilla’s architecture while I cross the Guadalquivir river and walk down historic roads. It sure is different from my walks at UW-Stout, but I must say I do already miss the scenery that Menomonie offers as well.

(January 28th, 2022) This morning was quite an early morning for me. I got up at 5am to shower and get ready for the weekend! Asia and I took an uber to the bus station where we met with our 6 friends from TCU and we headed on the 3 hour train ride to Málaga. The train ride alone was gorgeous as we watched the sunrise over mountains and fields casting shadows and giving us a romantic look at the countryside.

When we arrived, we stopped at our hotel called TOC Hostel which I would totally recommend! The hostel quality was amazing and new and it felt like a hotel even though it was a lot cheaper. We spent the first day touring the Picasso Museum as Pablo Picasso is from Málaga, stopping at the local market, visiting the Old Roman Ruins, getting a late lunch, and then stopping at the ocean to see the views. The waves were sure strong but seeing them with the mountains right along the shore was such a beautiful sight!

(January 29th, 2022) Good morning from Málaga! Some noteworthy parts of today were eating some delicious croissants and touring La Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro Castle that were used by Moors long ago and are still in great shape. The views were great and I loved being able to see the city landscape. Another simple, yet favorite, part of this day for me was teaching all 8 of us how to play the card game resistance that I always play with my family. It was great bonding and I am so happy to meet so many people here! We later treated ourselves for dinner tonight with a more expensive seafood restaurant, and I enjoyed some fried cod and croquetas.

(January 30th, 2022) For our last day in Málaga, we packed up and headed to the Botanical Gardens. They were farther out of the city but offered more great views of the landscape. It was also fun because there was an orchestra giving a concert and the weather was just perfect. After the garden, some of the group headed back to Sevilla while the rest of us sat by the ocean and got some late lunch. We then headed to the train station and came back to Sevilla. We arrived at around 8:30pm and I spent the rest of the night eating dinner with my 3 roommates and working on my computer.

Words cannot describe how beautiful Málaga was to visit! I love that it was a coastal town but it also had so much history to offer. It is so interesting to me that the main city streets do not have cars on them as it is a weird feeling, but I love seeing the different architectures and lifestyles that accompany Spain. If you want to see pictures from this week, click the gallery tab :)