Just for you! ;)

Hello my lovely readers!

I apologize for having abandoned you. These last couple of weeks we have had a few days off from school, which means no Internet access.

Ok, let us start at the beginning- Thanksgiving day was kind of chaotic. I was literally running around all day. The day started off by walking to school in a bit of a drizzle. We had planned on going to Italica (Old Roman City) on this day but due to the rain we had to take a vote to see if people still wanted to go. If we decided not to go our other choice was to stay at the school and watch Gladiator. Now- I have never seen the movie Gladiator but even though I have heard it is a good movie, I was not going to let a little rain stop me from seeing a place I never will be able to see again. Some people stayed back, many of us went. The funny part was that it was sunny once we got there. : )




Italica’s Colosseum is the second largest in the world and we got to walk around in it. That is pretty awesome. Of course- it is always pretty cool to know that you are standing on ground that thousands of years ago a completely different civilization called home or used as form of entertainment. Overall- Italica was sweet.

I returned home for lunch, went to get some wireless at the park so I could post my previous blog entry, visited the old folks home for the last time this semester and then had to run back home to change for our fancy Thanksgiving dinner. I laughed to myself because even though I was about 20 to 30 minutes late to dinner, we still ended up waiting an extra hour for our food! We were the second to last table to get served. I guess I could have walked slower.

The food, at least in my opinion, was not that great. I missed my mom’s thanksgiving turkey, even if I just eat chicken instead. Oh well, when in Spain enjoy fake American food at a Spanish restaurant!

On what would be known as Black Friday in the States, John and I also woke up early but only because we had to catch our bus to Madrid. Once in Madrid we made our way to the metro stop closest to what would be our hotel, at the stop we met up with a friend from Northwestern, Hans. Hans is at Oxford this semester (remember when John and I failed at getting to London? This is the friend we were going to visit). We then wandered around in search for our hotel and miraculously found it (since no one we asked had any idea this hotel even existed). Once at the hotel we had to figure out a way to get a third person (we were only paying for two) past the reception desk of a small hotel (20 rooms) and not get caught or hurt in the process. It all came down to Hans having to climb in and out of our bedroom window. It was very entertaining but I feared us getting caught and having to pay an extra $100.



Lucky for us the time Hans did get caught leaving the hotel was our last morning in Madrid. That morning, like the other two mornings, Hans jumped out of the window, then we closed the window, put the shades down, waited a few minutes before leaving our room and then left the room, only this time we had to check out. We rang the bell because there was no one at the desk (this was strange because there was always someone at the desk or in a small room a few feet away from the desk). A minute later a very smiley receptionist walked in through the front door, he then proceeded to check us out in the slowest way possible, he asked if we had any “Extra Charges” and smiled. I said No, of course, and he just smiled and said that was all. We left the hotel feeling a little weirded out by the receptionist and when we walked out and did not find Hans, we knew something was up.

We headed in the direction of the metro stop and a couple blocks later we saw Hans standing on a corner. The poor guy was chased away by the multi-language speaking receptionist. Hans pretended to be a very lost tourist and I am sure he had convinced the receptionist that he was in fact lost, until he saw another tall American standing at the reception desk waiting to checkout. Oh well, we did not get charged extra which is awesome but I do wish I could have witnessed the awkward conversation between Hans and Mr. Smiley. John would say, “Can’t win them all”. : )

During our trip we visited some pretty sweet places that John and I had not seen our previous trips to Madrid and Toledo. It was a fun few days- both John and Hans are fun to be around. Plus- the giant Julius Caesar face that decorated our hotel wall just put me in a really good mood every day. I cannot explain it, it just did. : ) Our adventure came to an end at around 1pm Monday. John and I headed to the bus stop for our 6 to 7-hour bus ride (all depends on the driver) and Hans found his way to the Airport via Metro. I made sure he knew some keys Spanish words but prayed he would make his way to the airport without having to use his limited Spanish.

Tuesday, the 1st of December was John’s 22nd Birthday! He doesn’t tell people when his birthday is so only a couple people at the school knew. I tried to not say anything because he asked me not to… but I love birthdays! Sarah, the student ministries coordinator and her husband Jordan invited us over for dinner that night (after I blurted out that it was John’s Birthday). They made some mean Burritos and brownies and while they cooked, John and I played Wii! I have to confess that my Wii skills have seriously deteriorated since my days in New Jersey with Jonathan. It has been a few days and my arm is still sore. Fail. We also played some Pictionary man game. It was funny. Sarah and Jordan are pretty awesome people and it was fun to just be able to chill at someone else’s home for a little while.

Thursday night we Christmas caroled and it was mostly old men that came to watch us sing. One of them even got on the stage we were on and started dancing. Haha it was pretty epic. It is always a good feeling knowing that you are making someone happy… even if you feel foolish doing so.

Other random thoughts:
1.I eat a lot of fruit here. I had four mandarins in one day on more than one occasion.

2.I straightened my hair last Friday for the second time this whole semester. My host mom thinks it looks weird. She likes my curly hair. : )

3.My feet hate me for wearing shoes that are not meant for walking all day.

4.The toilet in our apartment could be used as a torture device. It drips constantly and it is pretty annoying. I forget about it sometimes but it drives my host mom crazy! Poor lady.

5.Coke tastes different here.

6.I want cheap ice cream but since it still gets in the 70’s here Ice cream is not cheap.

7.I should stop making you read my random thoughts.





On a different note, this past weekend John and I went to Lagos, Portugal. We did not spend much time there because our economy is hurting (like the rest of the world) and Lagos (a beach town) is not exactly lively in December. However, I still got some good pictures and we enjoyed some relaxing hours (not that we needed to relax…).


We had last Monday and Tuesday off due to Holidays.




Monday night Sarah, John, Yesi and I went to a ceremony for the Virgen that began at Midnight. The ceremony was held outside of he Cathedral. We listened to singers/bands called Tunas. I did not know the words but everyone else seemed to know them, I just danced along and pretended I knew them. It was raining a little but it was still fun. You would not believe how many people are out and about at 2:30 am! There were little kids at the ceremony! Spain continues to amaze me. hehe


I have a week left of this adventure… I don’t want it to end! : (

Ok, this is all for now.

May your hearts be filled with peace, today and always,

Karla <3

Gobble Gobble! :D

Dear Friends,

These past two weeks I was ill. I believe it was a cold, probably because everyone at school has also been sick. I will spare you the nasty details about my runny nose, etc. etc. But I will tell you how much Salud loves me. She decided that she would give me the same remedy her mother gave her as a child to make her get better. What is this magical solution you may be wondering? Well it is… Drum roll please… Alcohol! :)

Salud came out of the kitchen with a glass of hot milk, a little shot glass with some cognac in it and an aspirin. After a few minutes of me sniffing the cognac, setting it down and making a face, both Sarah and Salud told me to just drink it. So, I toughened up and gulped the cognac. Sadly it did not make me feel better. I actually did not sleep much that night. I kept waking up every few hours thinking it was morning… and it was not. Darn. At least I gave it a shot… lol get it? Shot… bahahaha

On Saturday John and I went to the Mercadillo. There were less people there but besides that it looked pretty much the same as the previous weekend. We did however enjoy some Churros for the first time while in Spain. They reminded us of funnel cake, except this you dip in chocolate. It was tasty and cheap.

Saturday night- John, Brett (his roommate), Ellen (friend from Northwestern who is living in Jerez) and I found our way to a bar that has free Flamenco shows. We arrived too early (9ish) and the show was not until 11pm, so we walked to a nearby restaurant to get some tapas (small servings of food- sort of like appetizers). We found a table (they were all very close to each other in the center of a plaza- outside) but there were only two chairs at the table so Ellen and Brett found two extra chairs from other tables. We ordered our drinks right away (and they were brought out right away) about 30 minutes later the waitress walked by and asked if we wanted to eat anything, we said yes so she took our order then left. Our food was brought out one plate at a time some time later and it was pretty tasty. We then sat there for over an hour and then finally we had to ask them for our bill. I like that when at a restaurant in Spain one is not rushed to finish and move on. Here people just take their time and enjoy just sitting out side with friends and family. The American in me, however, just gets inpatient and annoyed that I have to ask to get my bill so that I can leave. I want to be more Spanish and just be able to sit at a restaurant for 3 hours… maybe I can learn. :)

After we finally paid for our meal we headed back to the free Flamenco place (up to this point we did not know the name of the place just that it had big red doors). Once we got there and actually went in, we discovered another room where a whole lot of other tourists (who like us cannot afford to pay 37 euros for a Flamenco show) were already gathered. Of course one will not find many locals at a place like this because it is intended for tourists but this… was ALL tourists! I felt like I was in Orange city again… everyone was white. :) The show was short but considering there was only one dancer and it was free- I am not complaining.



On Sunday John, Brett, Ellen and I went to mass at the cathedral. Sevilla’s cathedral is the third largest in the world- how awesome is that? It is not everyday one can say- “Oh yeah, I went to mass at the cathedral today”. I feel pretty blessed to have had this opportunity. Truth is that since I am not Catholic and I have only been to mass once before. I was really lost during the service. I tried to play it cool but really I just stood up when everyone else did and sat down when everyone else did. It was a pretty awesome experience though, the cathedral is beautiful and the service was nice and short. Haha

Last night salud, Sarah and I went to see the movie Amelia. It was a good movie and it was fun to just have a fun night out with Salud. She is very entertaining!

This week was really short. We only had three days of classes. I am NOT complaining about this. We went to Italica today and got to see an old Roman city. It was pretty cool! It was raining this morning so some of my fellow students chickened out and did not go. I have never let rain stopped me from an adventure; my poor jeans hate me now though. There is mud all over them and they are still wet… oops. :)

Well- my calendar tells me it is Thanksgiving today. It is weird because it sure does not feel like it. Today feels like just another day in Sevilla, with a little bit of rain. Our school is having a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all. It should be a fun get-together.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and may God continue to fill your lives with love and peace.

Blessings,

Karla <3

My house is like a fridge....

Good day my lovely readers!

(F.Y.I- I wrote this on Sunday)

Today is a beautiful day! Except for the fact that my house is freezing! I am currently sitting in my room wrapped up in a blanket because that is how cold it is inside. People warned us about it getting cold indoors in the winter but I did not think it would be this true! You see, since it gets so hot here in the summer the homes are built to keep the inside of the homes cool- kind of like a fridge. The only problem is that in the winter it gets really cold indoors even if the outdoor temperature is just cool.

Well- aside from my not being able to feel my fingers as I type… life in Seville continues to be going well. Classes are kind of dull but I have a couple tests this week, which should make them a little more exciting. :P

Serving at the old folk’s home is ok. I continue to feel like more of a burden than help. The nuns are sweet ladies and they like having volunteers there but since we only go once a week it is hard for them to keep us straight and they always forget we have been there before. This is frustrating because I want to have a relationship with them but all we have time for is small talk in between pushing carts and the folks we serve are only interested in us handing them their food, clearing the dishes and giving them more food. They all appreciate us being there but well but we really cannot build relationships with any of them when we are only there for an hour a week serving a fast paced meal.

On a happier note- I woke up early yesterday and went to the Mercadillo, which is a big swap meet type thing where vendors come together and compete for the lowest prices. It sounded like a good place to get the Christmas/Birthday/souvenirs I needed for family and friends! I went with a friend named Yesi, who had gone the previous week and said it was a must because the prices were amazing. :)

Getting there was an adventure. We somehow ended up being stuck inside a very large gate without an exit. After an old man on the bus told us what stop to get off on because the mean driver was of no help, a security guard walked out of a building to tell us we were going the wrong way because we were headed towards a dead end. He also told us we had to walk a really long ways to get to the Mercadillo. Instead of listening to his advice we went the opposite direction he had said in search of an easier way out of the enclosed area. We then encountered a very friendly old man (who was also lost) and he told us there were two ways of getting to the Mercadillo: 1. same way the Security guard had previously said. 2. The way Yesi was sure would be shorter.




So, we walked the way the old man told us but instead of turning like he said we should we kept walking straight. This of course was the WRONG thing to do because there was only one exit that way and it was chained closed. We saw a woman walking on the other side of the gate so we asked if she knew a way for us to get out and she just laughed and said she had no idea. Yesi then flagged/ raised her hand when a security officer drove past us and she asked for some professional guidance. They sent us the direction the old man had suggested and we then found a very small opening that took us to a parking lot which lead to the outside. We were free once again! : )

haha Once there, I was reminded of the times my family and I went go to swap meets in California on Saturday mornings. The Mercadillo was an interesting experience and I got some cheap items, which was also awesome. When I got home however, Salud told me she does not like going there because it is all stuff the gypsies have stolen… I don’t want to believe that I bought stolen items from Gypsies after all that work.

Also yesterday- John came over for lunch because Salud wanted him to have a good meal while in Spain (she is under the impression that his Senora does not feed him enough). Salud made a big pan of Paella and some very delicious ribs! She also gave me Coca-Cola, John beer and Sarah a soda called “Aquarius” (I am not sure what exactly it is). The fact that she gave us all special drinks meant that this was a special occasion because we usually only get special drinks on Sundays.




I am sure that by now you all know that I love my host mom’s cooking but yesterdays was especially delicious! I ate a whole lot but I have grown accustomed to the large portions she serves. Poor John however, was served about twice as much as me! Salud just piled the Paella on his plate and expected him to eat it all because in her opinion, “You are getting taller instead of fatter here!” I think after that meal we were all feeling a whole lot fatter!




Peace and Love to you all,

Karla <3

Part V... don´t worry it is the last one!

Then we continued the climb to the top of the dome; the steps were quite narrow and they curved, as we got closer to the top. I barely fit there so you can imagine John trying to walk up those steps. Haha When we got to the top and glanced out, it was clear that the climb was worth every second! We could see all of Rome from where we were standing. It was amazing! Too bad that a few seconds later there was a cloud right above us and it began pouring. We then walked back down to the roof of St. Peters and waited for the rain to let down.

When it finally did we began our search for the Sistine Chapel. We followed some signs and ended up at the Vatican Museum. The fee to get in was not cheap but we did not really have a choice. A person cannot go to Roma and not see the Sistine Chapel. So we walked through rooms and rooms of paintings and sculptures before getting to the Sistine Chapel. Words cannot really describe how awesome this was. It really is as impressive as people say it is! :D We then walked back towards our Hostel, this time we were not harassed by people selling umbrellas which is always nice. Haha We had dinner at a little restaurant that we had seen before. They had Tortellini and it was pretty good. :) You can guess how cold we were after spending a day walking around in the rain. My shoes were soaked as soon as we got back to our Hostel I put on two pairs of dry socks! Haha I then found out the other girl’s name. Her name was Jude and she was from Poland. Jude enlightened me and told me other spots in Rome I had to see before leaving. She also thought I was an idiot for not having known about them before she told me to go see them. Oh well, I will never see her again. :)

So on our last day in Rome, we stood in a very long line for the Colosseum but we got combined tickets for the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine (if the second two mean nothing to you- these were things Jude thought I was retarded for not knowing every detail about). I am afraid I have used the words sweet, awesome, amazing, impressive and cool too much but the Colosseum and the Roman Forum were a combination of all these words. It was just so humbling to stand in a place where many civilizations have gathered and worshiped in their own way. It really gives you some perspective.

Later we walked down to Piazza de Navona and had lunch there (bread and Nutella), then walked to the Pantheon and walked around the basilica there. It was circular and had a giant hole in the center (this was also one of the places Jude said was Obligatory). Our final stop before heading to the train station was the Trevi fountain. Now- I had been looking for this fountain because I saw it in the Lizzie McGuire movie (laugh all you want) and I knew it was famous but I had no idea what it was called and even less of an idea where I could find it. When Jude asked me if I had seen the Trevi fountain and I responded with a blank face and an “ummmm… what does it look like?” I believe her response was a shocked “NO (Insert bad word here)WAY!!!” Poor Jude, she almost had a heart attack. She took a deep breath and then explained what it looked like and told me that according to the legend, if you go to this fountain and throw money over your shoulder you will go back to Rome, I wanted to tell her “Oh yeah! That is the fountain I saw in Lizzie McGuire!” but I figured she would call me a bad name and just walk away from me, so I kept quiet. :) haha

Anyways, it was evident this fountain was really famous because when we got there, there were only about a few hundred people crowded around the fountain taking pictures while throwing money over their shoulders. We could not afford to throw money into the fountain but we are also not superstitious (I am just afraid of the dark, that is different). So after our crowded experience with the Trevi fountain we made our way to the train station, arrived at Leonardo DaVinci airport, had our giant container of Nutella thrown away by an angry Italian woman, waited for a while, got on the plane, were not served anything to drink (a small glass of coke cost 3 dollars), arrived at Barajas, took the metro to the bus station, had dinner, took a 7 hour bus ride to Sevilla, walked home to find myself unable to open the door because Salud left her key in the door handle which makes it impossible to turn the key (her way of keeping people from breaking in), rang the door bell three times, walked back outside, stood at her window and yelled her name a few times, came back inside rang the door bell once more than she finally woke up. She said good morning, I said good night.

This sums up my weeklong adventure. I am sure I am forgetting something but for more details you should read John’s blog. :) Once again, thanks for reading my longest blog ever!

Peace and love my friends,

Karla <3

Part IV

The next morning we were on the road by 7am! We beat the tourist rush to Pisa and took many pictures with the leaning tower. I laughed a lot while trying to get a good picture of John kicking the tower. I don’t think we actually got a good one but the process was very entertaining!

After our pit stop in Pisa we took the scenic route to Rome. We drove along the shore of Italy and got to see the Mediterranean Sea! It was quite beautiful.

We arrived in Roma and as expected it was the ultimate driving challenge for John. Haha This was the most chaotic traffic I have ever seen. Unlike the US- People here make their own lanes and the police see nothing wrong with this. It was a two-lane road turned into five-lanes. It was a mess. We found parking for our little car as soon as we could and then just walked to our Hostel. This was our first time staying in a large room at a Hostel. It was a 6-person room and I was really hoping I would not be the only girl in this room especially since John was going to leave early in the morning to return our car and I was going to stay alone (this saved us about 16 dollars). Luckily for me there was another girl in the room! :)

We explored the city that night and walked down to the Spanish steps and Piazza Venezia (we were told these places were cool when lit up at night). They were pretty cool but mostly we were just in awe of the fact that we were actually in Rome! We wanted pizza and walked around for a while looking for a place that was opened. We ended up getting ripped off and getting nasty old pizza for dinner. We headed back to our Hostel and called it a day.

The next morning we woke up to rain. Lucky us! We toughed it out and walked to Vatican City (mind you this was not a short walk). By the time we arrived our shoes and socks were soaked and we were cold. There was a long line at St. Peters but it moved pretty quickly. Admission was free which always makes me happy. The Basilica is pretty impressive. I am sure it would have been even more impressive if I was Catholic but it was still awesome to be in a place of such importance. We then stood in line to go up to the Cupula (dome). We were told this would be a very difficult climb but it was worth it. I was definitely out of breath by the time we made it to the first level which is the inside the dome of the basilica. It was pretty cool getting to see the basilica from up there! Don’t worry I took pictures. :)

Part III

Anyways- the next morning we got on a train to Venice (since there are no cars allowed in Venice). When we got off the train we were checking times for the trains back and then ran into a couple girls from our school! It is a small world after all. Haha

Venice was beautiful! People had said Venice was stinky and rundown. Well, it is a rundown city but luckily it was too cold for it to be smelly. :) People had also told us that it was easy to get lost in Venice and they were not kidding! There are many streets that all look alike and they are very short. It was almost like finding your way through a maze. It was fun to just get lost though since we did not have a destination set. We had some amazing pizza for a very reasonable price! It was lovely. We would have gone on a ride in a Gandola except it was 80 Euros (120 Dollars)! As you can imagine that was a little out of our budget. Haha but I took many pictures of them. :P

Also- I got pooped on by a pigeon! The Italians (and my mom’s Venezuelan friend) believe that a bird pooping on you is good luck. Lucky me I guess.

That evening we had dinner with Sarah and Will (Yummy Pasta) and then we bundled up and went out for Gelato ( I got Strawberry) and a walk around creepy Aviano. Did I mention that Ice cream in Italy is significantly cheaper than in Sevilla? Probably because Sevilla continues to be in the 80’s even though it is November.

The next morning we headed towards Florence. It was a fairly long drive and once again- it was raining and cold. We attempted to find things to do in Florence but Lola failed us. She kept trying to send us the wrong way down a one-way and then losing us and redirecting us. We found a museum we saw advertised only to find out it was closed on Wednesdays. Then we went on a search for the David Statue. Too bad there were like 8 different ones according to Lola. We found a fake David on the top of a hill, took some sweet pictures of Florence and the fake and then attempted to find an Internet café to get our next hosts address. We asked some locals and then walked around rainy Florence for quite some time in vain. Since everyone nowadays has laptops and can get WIFI small Internet shops are running out of business, which unfortunately for us meant we were SOL! We finally gave up, found a payphone and gave our hosts a call. We then headed towards their home (which was also in a small town) and Lola once again took us to the wrong address. This time it was a small gravel parking lot in the middle on nowhere. We quickly realized this was not Kathy and Rich’s home. We eventually found their home and once inside, safe from the rain we put dry socks on. I love dry socks! :)

Kathy and Rich were amazing hosts! They were both Americans, former military, she works as a teacher at the base and he works with computers. They have lived all over the world (in Japan for over 10years!). They made a nice American meal for us. I had Clam Chowder for the first time (it was delicious!), indulged in some home made corn bread, ate some salad (she grew all the veggies in her own garden) and even got a coke with my meal! Oh- we also got Cappuccino flavored Gelato for Dessert! It was pretty solid. They also had another couch surfer staying with them that night. Her name was Kathleen, also an American, she had just gotten done studying in England for a year and a half and she was now exploring Italy and Budapest for over a month. Lucky duck.

Also- Kathy and Rich’s home was a 300 year old farmhouse. So we can now say that we have spent a night in a real Tuscan home… for free… Woot woot! :)

Part II

Things you should know about me:
1. I love mountains.
2. I love Fall.
3. I have wanted to go to Switzerland since I read the book Heidi (a long time ago)
4. When I like something I cannot stop saying how much I like it.

Now that you know these things about me, you can imagine how annoyed John must have been after a long drive through Switzerland in the fall with me as the only passenger. I am pretty sure I said- “Wow this is beautiful!!!” or “OMG I love this place!!! about every five minutes. Haha :) We finally arrived at Zurich and it was (Using John’s third favorite word) quaint. We walked around for a few hours and of course I took a lot of pictures. I also fell into a rose bush while taking a picture of a rose. Ouch.

Later we drove to a small town near Zurich and met our host for the night. Her name is Kathrin and she was pretty awesome as well. She spent a year as a foreign exchange student in Texas so her English was pretty good. We watched Friends and a British movie and she gave us some Swiss chocolate. Her apartment was pretty awesome so I took some pictures of it. :) Don’t judge my inability to stop taking pictures.

The next morning we woke up to rainy day and then began our 7-hour drive (that ended up taking more than 8hrs) to our next host’s home in a small town called Aviano near Venice. We had to get gas in a small town in Switzerland, we did not want to take money out of an ATM because we were not going to be Switzerland for much longer so we went inside and asked (in a combination of English and Spanish) if they took Visa (John was holding up the card for the lady to see). The lady looked at us with blank eyes, shook her head and said “NO”. So we put some gas in but not enough to fill it up since everything was significantly more expensive in Switzerland. I walked over to the ATM and realized there I had to take out a minimum of 40 Swiss Franks. So there we were with 15 Franks left over. We decided to put more gas in the car but then accidentally put 2 franks more than we had. John went inside and asked if he could give them 15 Franks and 2 euros (Euros are worth more than Franks), the lady said “NO” but said he could put it all on his card. Hmmmm… WHAT?!?!?! This could have all been avoided if she would have taken the card in the first place. GRRRRR! This was all quite frustrating but we made the best out of the situation and bought some sandwiches and pretzels with the left over Franks.

It continued to rain the entire drive. Did I mention John had been feeling bad since we arrived in Milan? Well this day was probably the worst day for his health and he was wearing shorts. I think he might have had a fever while driving. Poor Guy. :(

As you may or may not know- I watch too many Horror films and I cannot help but to be paranoid of certain things. On our way to Aviano not only were we running out of Gas but my mind was all ready going crazy creating a horrible plot for a low budget Horror film. Don’t get me wrong- Aviano is a cute town (in daylight) but it is in the middle of nowhere Italy and we arrived when it was pitch dark and rainy. Luckily we made it to our destination safely but not before being mislead by Lola (again this is what I named the GPS). When she said “Arriving at Destination on Left” we were not actually at our destination. Instead we were outside a black gate with a “Beware of Dog” sign. I got out of the car (expecting something to jump out at me: a dog or a ghost) to check the name on the doorbell but it was not the name we were looking for. We looked at the names on the building to our right and those were also not the right name. John flagged down some cars and attempted to ask people if they knew were Apartment 29 was or if they knew were Sarah Martin lived. One guy told us it was further back on that same street. We slowly reversed and then found a number 29 with a little note taped to the door that said “JOHN ring the door bell”.

Sarah and her husband Will were awesome people but my mind was set on Horror film and I was sleeping in a large room without a door so I did not sleep much that night. Actually- I spent the entire night thinking I was going to wake up to a Ghost standing in the door less doorway. Yes, I know I should stop watching horror films!

Also- at Sarah and Will’s we were not couch surfing. They are just super friendly people (Sarah knows John’s older sister) who let us spend two nights at their place.

Welcome to my Italy/Switzerland adventure. :)

Warning- this will probably be the longest post I will ever write.... I might have to make it more than one post.

Hope you enjoy it. :P

Ok, so this past week John and I took our first road trip together. We explored Italy and a little bit of Switzerland. Of course one week is not nearly enough time but we gave it all we had. :) Also- we couch surfed for the very first time. Couch surfing is when people host you in their homes and give you a free place to sleep and sometimes even give you meals.

Friday night/Saturday morning (October 30th / October 31st) we started our journey by getting on the 1 am bus to Madrid. The ride there is 6 hours and there was not much legroom (remember John is quite tall)- so you can only imagine the kind of sleep we experienced. We arrived at the bus station early in the morning, took the Metro to Barajas Airport in Madrid, printed off our boarding passes, went through the most unorganized security line, then found our gate with time to spare!

We arrived in Milan around noon??? I am not sure but I remember it was earlier on in the day. John and I explored the city and went to the places Mateo (our host in Milan) told us to go to. We walked through the Fashion center (street where all the famous designers have their shops) and witnessed some of the most ridiculous price tags ever! John almost had a heart attack when he saw that a Versace fur coat was 52,000 Euros A.K.A 76,000 US Dollars!!!

Later we went to the Milan Cathedral and since we were told the view from the top of the Cathedral was a must see, we walked up a whole lot of narrow stairs with our backpacks on (they were at their heaviest at this point in time). When we finally made it to the top it was clear that the agonizing climb was more than worth it! The view was breath taking, the architecture was impressive and it made for some sweet pictures.

We then realized we did not have the address to get to our hosts home which meant we needed to find an Internet Café or “Internet Point” as the Europeans call them nowadays. After finding one we took the metro to a suburb of Milan and found our way to Mateo and Ane’s home. They were lovely people and very welcoming. Mateo knows three languages and understands a fourth language and Ane is fluent in five languages! They are my language heroes.

They decided to make us a traditional Italian dinner that was not Pizza or Pasta- instead they fed us rabbit (Yes, I am talking about a bunny), polenta (a corn dough substance- typical of Northern Italy), mushrooms (gross), bread (Yum!) and Gelato (Gelato simply means Ice Cream in Italian). Overall the meal was amazing (I ate all except the mushrooms) and it was also free which makes it ever more amazing.

The following morning we took a train back to the airport and picked up our amazing little car (A white, four-door Citroen)! After struggling to get Lola working (Lola= GPS) we made our way to Zurich, Switzerland.

Happy Halloween!

Hey Everyone!

Can you guess who I am dressed up as? Winner gets a hug next time I see them. :P

Have a spooktacular day!

Karla<3

Today is Tomorrow

Buenos Dias!

I believe this is the earliest I have ever blogged. I am such a pro at this blogging thing this week.

For anyone who is concerned, last night went well. I did not throw up on anyone. That is always a plus. :)

I get to go to the nursing home tonight. They eat earlier now since it gets darker earlier. This will be nice because then I get to go home earlier. I have not told you much about my experience there have I?

Well- I like the people but it is hard because most of the time I do not feel like I am actually helping. They just kind of find something for me to do but they don´t really need us there. The folks really enjoy having young people around though. They smile at me and their eyes get sparkly. :) haha That is the best way to describe them.. you know someone gets so happy their eyes sparkle? lol

Anyways... many people are sick. I really hope I don´t catch anything before this weekend. My host mom is ill, she is going to the doctor today. I feel bad for her. She looks like she is in pain. It makes me sad.

Did I tell you about this weekend/next week yet?

Well we have a few days off and John and I are going on a roadtrip around Italy and Zurich, Switzerland! Let us hope this trip goes better than our last trip. Please pray for us and our adventure. :)

I love Chocolate.

I need to go to classes soon so I shall go do that.

Thanks for reading my random things.

Peace and Love to you all,

Karla <3

My toes hurt...

Hello Friends,

1. Last Friday we had Noche de Chicos/chicas and we watched a movie in English and ate free Dominos Pizza. It was oh so good! :D

2. Saturday we went to visit Ellen Shuch in Jerez (she is teaching English there). We walked around, rented a movie and enjoyed some Sarah-made food. We also ate lots of Oreos and just sat around. It was Lovely! :)

3. hmm... School is better this week.

4. I speak at Encuentro today, pray that I do not get Nervous...

5. I Love Dove chocolate.

6. My host mom is sick.

7. I will post more mañana.

Love you all!

Karla <3

Oh Happy Day!

Twice in one week... impressed? haha You should be!

This blog post is dedicated to my friend Shell.

Today I received a package. It was filled with pure deliciousness aka chocolate and cookies! It made me very very happy. Especically because it was after my last class on a Friday afternoon... can you just say this with me please.. "God is good!" haha I am serious!

I cannot think of a better end to the busiest week thus far.

I am happy.

Oh and did I mention tonight is "Noche de chicos/chicas" aka Girls and boys night? We will be having pizza (from Dominos!) and watching a movie (Title is currently unknown). I think this also will be a good thing.

These are my current thoughts.

Hope you are also having a good day.

Peace and Love,

Karla <3

Finally a new blog post! haha

Hello again,

Well, as many of you probably already know our trip to London ended up being an awful FAIL! John and I lost too much money and missed out on an awesome opportunity to work on our British accents.

To make a long story short- we missed our flight and were unable to leave Spain because it was a Holiday. We were forced to stay in Madrid and spend ridiculous amounts of money that neither John nor I had. To say the least- it was a very bad weekend financially but we tried to find the silver lining and of course we failed at that too. I will not go into details because it still makes me sad. However- John wrote a few blog posts about our miserable weekend. Feel free to pay his blog a visit. It is very entertaining stuff (in other words, I can not entertain you with words as eloquently as he can, so I will let him take this one).

Check it out at 6foot7.weebly.com

So that was a couple weekends ago. I apologize for not keeping my vow of writing every Tuesday. I have failed you. Last week was a two-day school week. I like weeks like this. Haha The bad thing is that this week I have two tests and a presentation. It is by far the most stressful week thus far but that is not saying much because so far classes here have been fairly simple.

Anyways, the reason why we only had two days of classes this last week was because Thursday at 6:20am we had to meet outside of the school and get on a bus to Toledo. We made a pee stop and then another stop at a town with windmills. It was brought to my attention that these were the Don Quijote windmills- that of course means nothing to me. I just know that these windmills and Don Quijote are famous. So I took pictures of them… and thought of all the Dutch people I know. :D

We arrived in Toledo and settled in to our hotel and ate our lunches we brought from home. Then we visited a cathedral with a famous Greco painting and a monastery. I think I would have liked both more if it was not for the fact that it was for class. For some reason that little detail changes things. Later we had free time that John and I spent exploring the town and taking pictures. We ended up taking the long way around to a door I wanted a picture with… so we really explored the city. It is a very picturesque town so I did not mind the walk. We also found a reasonable place for dinner and got a whole lot of food for not too much money (dessert was even included!). Overall it was a successful night.

Also this day was the first time since I permed my hair (late August!) that I straightened it. I felt like me for the first time in a long time. Too bad it was a little humid and it frizzed. It felt nice to be able to run my fingers through my hair again though. :)

The next morning we visited the Gothic styled cathedral and spent a lot of time there. Did I mention that it was freezing out and I was wearing a t-shirt? I could not focus on the contrafuertes of the church because my blood was turning into ice (it really was not that cold but I have gotten used to the scorching hot days in Sevilla). Anyways- the cathedral was impressive. We then had lunch at yet another reasonable establishment. Then went on a mission to find black olives without seeds, found them, walked around some more and headed back towards our hotel because we had to leave by 4pm.

Ok- venting time:

First of all- when students are REQUIRED to go on an overnight trip for class, the school/ program/people in charge should pay for their meals or at least give them all 5 Euros for their meals. It seems like the only just thing to do since we are paying way too many thousands of dollars to be here. Does it not?

Second- it really irritates me when we are told we will be home at a certain time and then we are not. We may be on Spain time but we are not Spanish and either are they. I really wish they would respect the fact that some of us need to get home for dinner.

Also- I do not enjoy sitting on the bus for an extended period of time and then having to stop in order for others to use the bathroom, buy more coffee and then have to stop once more.

Can you tell poor planning irritates me?

Well… I am done venting now. Haha I just had to get that out of my system.

We went to the Cathedral yesterday afternoon for art and got to explore the cathedral and then go up into the Giralda. I got some sweet pictures! I shall post them on Facebook soon. I am still working on all the other ones from these past weekends.

It rained yesterday. It was the first time since I have been here that it actually rained. It has sprinkled a few times but this was more legit. I loved running around in it except for the fact that I had a group project to work on and I had to sit in wet clothes for a couple hours... and my socks were wet! Gross.

Yesterday was also Salud’s (host mom) birthday. Sarah and I took her out for drinks and tapas (small portion of food- appetizer). It was fun and she is just such a doll. I really like her.

Hmmmm… I think this is all for now and this is probably the longest blog post yet. It also has been the longest time without writing. Sorry. :D

Peace and Love my friends,

Karla <3

FAIL

Dear Friends,

I warned you- I fail at blogging. It´s been almost two weeks. Yikes!

Just so you know(if you already did not... I did not get to go to London. :( It was sad.

I will post more later tonight.

I am well.

Love you all!

Karla <3

Horses, the moon, woods, water, blood.... and other symbols.

Dear friends,

It is time for my weekly update.

1. Serving at the old folk´s home last Thursday night was awesome. I got to meet some little old nuns who were about half my size. Hard to believe right? The one lady, Inez, was the smallest person I have ever seen and she was not a midget- just short. The bad thing about this whole thing is that I have to pay out of pocket to get there and back and it may only be about 3 Euros but it adds up... this little thing irritated me. One would think that traveling expenses (to and from something that is part of a class) would be included in the ridiculous tuition we have paid... well it is not. My first thought was- "hmmm a good walk", trust me this is not a walk you want to endure late at night when you are already late to a late supper.

2. This weekend we visited where Christopher Columbus waited to receive money from the queen inorder to begin his travels and discover the land that is America (and kill lots of people). The boats were cool- the 4.5hrs spent in a dead town while everyone else sunbathed was not so cool. I would prefer to waste my time somewhere where- if I desired, I could go home and sleep.

3. I witnessed some parades this weekend (see pictures on Facebook). The one was for a saint that looked like Jesus and the other for a virgin that looked expensive. Did I mention they had two bands that happened to walk past the street next to my window? It was a nice lulluby before bed. :)

4. John and I are going to London this Thursday... I really want to just leave now but I have a test tomorrow in my theatre class (hence the title of my blog post). I have decided it is not worth studying. The teachers here are easy graders and the material, thus far, has not been difficult. I really hope it remains this way.

5. Salud continues to surprise me. I caught her giving her grandchildren beer the other night when I walked in to our apartment. She just smiled and laughed. Her grandchildren then stated that beer was yummy and that they liked it (please be aware that these children are about 7 and 5... or something close to this). I was not sure whether I should find this comical or just wrong. Either way, I was left speechless. As many of you know- this is a rare occasion.

6. I cannot breathe. It is too hot outside and I do not like it. I want it to be cold so I can complain about freezing. I would much rather be cold than hot and sweaty. Let us hope the cold comes sooner than later.

7. These are my new thoughts on Spain. I am still loving my time here and the people are cool. School is ok (school is school where ever you go), people are fun, the food continues to surprise me. I had amazing chicken today! Salud is a great cook and a sweetheart. I like to give her hugs.

8. Oh! I almost forgot, I might get to meet my intercambio aka my selected spanish friend! His name is Carlos... he has not texted me back but if I do happen to meet him I shall make sure to tell you everything he says... word by word. :P

9. The end.

Peace and Love from your Guatemalan,

Karla <3

One Month.

Hello friends,

Today marks one month since I left the US... I can´t believe it had gone by so fast. I love this place. :D

That is all. Off to Service learning with the old folks now. I will let you know how it goes.

Peace and love,

Karla

I want a Kit Kat bar!

Hello Friends,

I warned you that I was horrible at blogging. It is not my fault, I just get sucked in to life and forget to write about it. Well know that my excuse is out of the way...


Since the last time I wrote many things have happened. I shall list them off.


1. I basically volunteered to talk about my summer in New Jersey for encuentro. I will be speaking for about 15-30 minutes. We shall see how that goes. I keep forgetting my fear of public speaking. Haha That will happen Oct. 28th, pray that I can figure out what exactly to talk about.

2. This past weekend John and I went to Granada. The bus ride was long but not nearly as bad as our first bus experience. While in Granada-

a.We walked a lot. My little feet were angry with me.

b.We learned what being really really hungry is like. I thought I was having a heart attack! (I am not sure how that works- Hunger should not equal a heart attack)

c.I missed Salud and her food... a lot!

d.We failed at giving a homeless man cookies. We accidently bought cookies that were not packaged correctly and decided that we should not eat them. We tried to give them to a homeless man that was digging around in the garbage and he woul not take them. I was very confused.

e.I really enjoyed the weather and kind of wish I was there and not in Sevilla. Although- it is raining here today. WOOT!

f.We discovered a little Brazillian restaurant that was reasonable and pretty tasty. The couple who owned it was sweet. She was from Jerez and he was from Brazil. Very nice people.

g.I was yelled at by an angry Gypsy woman when she realized that she read my palm for nothing because there was no way I was going to pay her 3 Euros ($4.50) for her blessing and a piece of pine tree. I think she cursed me and said what she told me would not come true. I wanted to say “GOOD! I do not want two children or good grades anyways!” But I did not. I did not want her to chase me. John took pictures while she was yelling at me so she got even more angry. It was funny.

h.We were fooled into thinking that the Alhambra was going to be just as cool or cooler if we went at night... it was all a LIE! It was barely lit and we could barely see where we were walking (Minor exaggeration but not really)!!! I wanted to give them a piece of my mind but it was late and we had a long walk back.

i.The next day it was chilly and we went back to the Brazillian place and had some amazing chicken! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! I am sure the fact that we were hungry made it taste even better.

j.John is a pretty amazing person.

k.The bus ride was not the most comfortable but we took turns sleeping. The walk home sucked.

3. The past two days I have had my first exams. I hope I did well.

4. Salud almost died yesterday when she saw a little lizard in the bathroom. It was so funny. She was running around screaming that she was going to die. I love her!

5. I think this is all for now.

Until next time- Peace and Love my friends,

Karla

I had half a chicken for Lunch yesterday.

I really do suck as a blogger. But I do think that once a week is reasonable... right?

Anyways, since the last time I blogged many new things have happened.

1. I have decided my Señora is the best one. I love her. She talks about random things and claims that every time her knees hurt it will rain. I feel bad for hoping her knees hurt all the time... She would be in a lot of pain if she ever went to Seattle. I don´t think she will though so we are all good.

2. John and I went to see the movie “Gordos” on Wednesday night. It was written and directed by a man whose last name is (drum roll please) ¡¡¡ARÉVALO!!! I thought it was a must and John was kind enough to go see it with me even though he did not understand as much as I did. It was a good movie- except for some of the nudity and sex... Europeans.

3. I went to Encuentro (P and W with the lights on) again this Wednesday. I really enjoy this 1hr and a half/ 2hrs of my week.

4. I attended “Noche Larga” this Friday night which means that many museums in town had free admission. We mostly wasted the night by walking to a couple of the museums but we did catch a small play production. I know the main point of the play was not the topless girl wearing the green pants but for some reason that is about the only thing I remember about it. Haha I think it was about religion. Maybe she was a female Rama? Her chest was painted blue and she played with fire... I do not know.

5. Saturday John and I went for a couple walks and witnessed some strange ceremony/parade for some Virgen or saint... I am not sure what we saw but what I do know is that I once again failed at having my camera! I think there is something seriously wrong with me. Is there some sort of syndrome I could blame this on?

6. Sunday- Some girls, John and I went to see a real life Bullfight. It will be the only one I ever go to in my life. I saw too much blood and it was just plain cruel. But I got a taste of Spanish culture. A taste is all I really need. I took a lot of pictures though. I will put them up on Facebook soon. I also put up some other pictures of my Spain adventure. Check them out. :D

7. The weather was really awesome last week but it is getting hotter again. Darn. I will survive though. I am hoping the worst is behind us.

Hope all is well from wherever you happen to be reading this and forgive my spelling. :)

Peace and Love my friends,

Karla <3

Horses in plays= Passion

¡Buenas Tardes a Todos!

(Disclaimer- everything in this blog post can and will be said with a lisp.)

Hmmmm… today is Tuesday which means that I must tell you about my weekend.

Last Friday- I think I told you guys that we were going on a field trip to Córdoba… I did right? Well let me tell you how I started off my Friday. First of all- I, Karla Arévalo, forgot my camera! If you know me at all you know that I NEVER go anywhere without my camera… pictures can be taken at any moment and on a field trip to a famous Mezquita you would think that I would remember! I am telling you, Spain is making me forgetful. That or the fact that my boyfriend is the most forgetful person I know. ¿Maybe a combination?

Anyways- Córdoba was nice and the weather was tolerable. I was expecting to die of a heat stroke or dehydration but I am still here.Thank God!

Saturday a few of us traveled to a beach called Matalascañas (for a more detailed description of the mess that was trying to get on the bus- please read someone else´s blog). I believe the word Chaos might be the most suiting word for what the process of getting to the beach was.

The beach itself was nice. My theory is that if you have seen one beach you more or less have seen them all. The only slight difference might be the several topless females and naked children running around… or simply sunbathing. Nevertheless- more partial and full nudity than I am accustomed to. But the weather was nice.

My Señora packed me a Bocadillo (Sub sandwich) for both Friday and Saturday and they happened to be some of the less appetizing subs I have had in a while. That probably doesn’t mean much since I always eat the same ham and cheese sub at Subway and turkey with Swiss at Quiznos. Trust me though these subs were nothing to be desired.

However- I did have a pretty good meal today. Sarah did not come home for lunch today and since she was gone my Señora made me some sort of lentil soup (Sarah is allergic). Salud also fried some fish which was delicious and I had some bread and an apple. Now that you know all about my diet…. Let us talk about something else.

Hmmm….Sunday I was a pile and did a whole lot of nothing. It was good. Later that night John and I tried to go to a concert in the park but sadly only 8 spots were left and we were not able to attend. From what we could see (the park is blocked off) the gardens were beautiful. I was tempted to jump the wall. Oh well… we indulged in the most expensive ice cream cones I have ever had instead.

It rained yesterday. Sevillanos are not used to rain so everyone was running around like headless animals. It would have been funnier if my laptop had not been in my backpack. I could not enjoy it to the fullest since I had to quickly get home without crashing into anything. They really should make mini windshield wiper-type things for glasses.

Anyways- these are all my random thoughts for now.

Peace and love my friends,

Karla

Necesito una Siesta

Hey everyone!

I am getting better at the blog thing. Two posts in one week! Woot. Lol Well, Tuesday night I partook in Girl’s night. An evening in which all 36 girls plus 3 adults gathered around and vented/shared their feelings. There were a lot of feelings to be shared and we sat around listening to people talk for the majority of the time. Now- I am not saying this is a bad thing. I actually enjoyed it but I know some of the other girls just wanted to get down to the river and get on the peddle boats like we were supposed to. I could just see them squirming in their chairs. It was painfully funny.

We were divided into groups of four. I had finally given in that day and decided to wear a skirt because like I mentioned in my previous post… it is hotter than the sun in this city. So naturally, I was the first to get on the boat and was not about to volunteer to peddle myself and three other individuals for an hour. I carefully sat down trying not to flash my classmates and the old men on the dock. I think I was successful and avoided any flashing.

I do not think Salud would have thought twice though. She grabbed my butt the other day and likes to hug me. It doesn’t weird me out or anything but I am sure some of the other girls would not handle this as well as Sarah and I. Also- the food is OK. I am trying everything I am served. I don’t exactly get full at every meal but the bread is good… lol

Again- everything is SO expensive here. Poop. I have not consumed much soda… I will die soon due to withdrawl... :S

Classes are good. I really enjoy them all- this is a new feeling to me. We are going to Cordoba to visit the Mezquita tomorrow. I am excited. It’s like a really really cool field trip. Haha I will be sure to take a million pictures and put them on face book for all to see. I am currently attempting to put some up from my first week here. It is a rather slow process…

So this past Sunday John, Sarah, Brett and I went to a church called Prosperidad. It is a really small church and by really small I mean smaller than a classroom small. It was cool though. The service was a bit long but it was good. We also attended “Encuentro” last night hosted at that same church. For you Northwesterners- it is like P+W (Praise and Worship) with the lights on... in a really really small church. It was good. The music was awesome.

You know what else is awesome? Having John here with me (Insert giant smiley face here!!!!!) !!! We have done our fair share of exploring the city and just admiring its beauty… Good times are being had. :D

Hmmm… I think this is all my random thoughts for now… I hope I spelled things properly and I make some sense.

!!!Mi primera semana en España!!!

Well... that was a lot of exclamation points which means.. My first week in Spain has been pretty exciting.

The flight was.. a flight. We arrived in Sevilla Wednesday morning and were dropped off at a corner were our Señora met Sarah and I and then we walked to our apartment. It is a small apartment but very clean and tidy. I like it. Our Señoras name is Salud. She is crazy! She flashed us the first day we were here.. she was showing us how breezy her dress was. Also- last night she told Sarah and I that we had to eat lots because we need bigger Melons.. aka Breasts. She grabbed her breasts and screamed "MELONES!!". Sarah and I laughed but were a little afraid at the same time.

On that note.. we are fed a lot! Three times a day. In the morning it is always cafe con leche and toasted bread. It is perhaps my favorite meal. Lunch is always the biggest meal, I have been a champ and tried everything I have been fed. I tried Calamari! Those of you who know me know that.. I am picky- to say the least. I also tried wine with a meal.. it was not good but I tried it.

The city is beautiful. So far my experience is much different from the one I had in High school. The people are cool and dress.. a little more scandalous than me but I can understand why.. it is about one hundred million degrees here!

Spaniards have what is called a "Siesta" translated it means nap. So from 2-5 (hottest part of the day) every store closes and everyone goes home and chills or naps to cool off. I thought this was silly at first but after spending Saturday´s siesta outside... I now know why they do it and I am never going outside at that time again! haha

Everything is expensive here.. I can´t even buy a chocolate bar because I will go broke. I thought the east coast was expensive but nothing close to this! I took out 40 Euros and it cost me 57 dollars plus a 5 dollar bank fee... sucky.

Classes are going well (It is only the second day). The profs are nice and I am only taking three classes so it should be an easy semester. In case you want to know.. I am taking Art, History and Theater. Pretty sweet. :) For art we actually get to go to the things we are talking about that are located in Sevilla. We also have excursions to other cities. SWEET?!?! YES! :)

Hmmmm... that is all I can think about for now. Oh yeah! Someone should call my Movíl! The number is in my Spain note on Facebook.. it is free for me if you call me. hehe

Later Gaters!

SOON! :D

Hello everyone!

As you probably already know by now- I am going to Spain for a semester! Working on my Spanish skills and my traveling skills! :)

I am really pumped to begin this adventure and SO excited to just live in a different country! Woot! :D

I will try to keep you (my amazing followers) posted on all my adventures while away. I kind of suck at blogging but I will try.

Ok, until next time.

Peace and Love,

Karla