Not much time...

Hey, well I'm packing and getting ready, so in a rush, but I just wanted to say I'm about to leave in several hours to go meet up with Phil in Madrid!!! This is gonna be awesome!!! Dublin, London, and southern Spain for 2 weeks with ya boyyyy!

In other news, EXAMS are finished!!! Last one done today (it was also easy, so that makes 3/4). It was kind of sad. Rafa arrived late so Carmen gave us the exam until he arrived. By the time he did, I was done (short exam) and walking past him in the hallway. He seemed almost as sad as us to no longer be in the student/teacher relationship with each other. I told him we'd have to get together for lunch or dinner sometime next week after I get back, and he and Carmen (his wife and fellow teacher) both said that if I pick a day they'll be there. They're both so sweet! I think if they had babies they would be donuts or palmeras or something, haha. Well, I'd better keep packing. I'm out for a week but still, loyally yours.

We're talking weeks

This should be my last post for the month of May, and, as today is May 30, I have right around 2 weeks left in Europe. It's ridiculous to think that I have such little time left here, but the good news is that time here moves like a tractor trailer: generally slow, although at times it gains a lot of momentum and flies on the downhill stretches. So, for the most part I should be able to relish what time I do have left. Honestly, that's what I've mostly been doing the past week or so. I've gone on walks down by the cathderal, Plaza de Espana, or Parque Maria Luisa and just spent hours taking it in. Of course I've been studying and working too, but I'm just not overly preoccupied about classes. I mean, I only have one exam and one paper left, and the paper is almost done.

Exams
So, the exams here have turned out to be really easy so far. Both my university classes had exams that I really overstudied for. That's saying something since I really only studied a few hours for each of them. My hardest exam was actually a UNC program exam, but I'm pretty sure I passed. I got the final grade back from my Archaic Mediterranean class, and I got a 7.5 (the highest obtained was an 8), so I'm pretty happy with that. Like I said, exams have really been a no-stress thing here. That's been great, but I am worried about my work ethic next semester at UNC.

Phil time
So, tomorrow night I'm taking an overnight bus to Madrid. My friends Bennett and Alyssa are going with, which will be a good chance to say goodbye to them (they are embarking on a LONG series of travels which begins in Jerusalem). When I arrive in Madrid, I'll head to the airport to meet up with my cousin and dear friend Phil! Needless to say, I'm really excited to see him, and it'll be even more exciting to go to Dublin and London with him! Right now we have tentative plans to tour the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland, go to the Guiness factory, and visit Trinity College in Dublin. In London, we are looking to go to a play at the Globe Theater, visit Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, the Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, etc etc. I can't wait!!! For those of you that don't know, Phil is a part-time model. Here's a picture:


So, life is good. God is good. I'm really glad to be seeing Phil, seeing London and Dublin, showing him my city, and just relishing my last little stretch here. I'll be happy to go home too, when the time comes. But the more I think about it, the more I think that one day I'll want to come back to visit Sevilla again if I have the chance. It's been an odd home for me for the past few months, but it's been home all the same. Hopefully I'll see a lot of you very, very soon! Yours, TJT.

Otra vez

Well, the past couple of weeks in Sevilla have been pretty tranquilo (peaceful). There's a sense that things are winding down a little bit; don't get me wrong, I'm still here for 3 weeks and looking forward to every minute of it, but people are starting to talk about it. On top of that, people from other programs are leaving. Tonight I went to a so-long party for 3 friends from the US that I met here that leave very soon (one left less than an hour ago). It's pretty weird.

Lo que me queda
So, I don't know how much blogging I have left in me. Probably 2 or 3 more posts after this one. Here's the breakdown of the rest of my time here: a week of exams, a week traveling to the British Isles with Phil, and a week in Sevilla with Phil. I have 3 exams and one paper left for classes, and that's it. I'm not very worried about any of them, but I need to get on the paper, which I have yet to do. I can't wait to go to Dublin and London, and the last little while in Sevilla should be precious.

Lo que hago
The past couple of weeks have been fun just being around Sevilla. I've been hanging out with people from my program and people from the summer program. We go out for tapas or drinks from time to time, but those of us that have been here longer try to keep the spending to a minimum. Classes are about done...I've got literally 2 class periods left. I spend time reading and taking walks every now and again, but the heat keeps me inside more than I'd like...it's HOT here now. Like dead of summer in NC hot. And we don't have A/C. Yeah. Still, it's fun to be in chill mode although I'll be working more this week. I feel like this past month or so I've gotten the hang of living in Sevilla. It's not that I was uncomfortable before, but I really feel like I'm somewhat experienced here, but I think that's partially because of my new housemates...them coming in and not knowing the city or as much Spanish is a kind of ironic confidence boost for me, haha. Not too surprising though I suppose.

Reflexion
So, this get-together I went to was at Martha's place--the same place as the birthday party I went to earlier in the semester. We were saying so long to Jake, Sierra, Rob, and Elizabeth, who all leave within the next couple of weeks or so. Jake, Sierra, and Rob were people that I didn't see a ton of this semester, but I knew we would b great friends if we did. They're enjoyable, respectful, friendly people that are just pleasant to be around, and the times we did have together are great memories. It's weird to think about going back...even if it's for them not me. It's made me think a little harder about it all; I already knew there are things I will miss about Sevilla and things I will look forward to getting back to at home. Still, I really am thinking about what I've gained from being here, why I came here, how things will be different back in the US, and what exactly it will be like when I show up in NC again. It's late now, but I think I'll ponder these things a little and perhaps jot them down another time. Or if something more interesting happens, I'll post that.

"Gay Chicken"
A quick story: a memory of the first time Jake and I met. He engaged in game of what I call "gay chicken" that was really funny. So, we were all meeting in Plaza Nueva at the beginning of the semester to go to a nearby church. Jake and Sierra showed up, and they began greeting all of my friends and I. As you probably know, the typical greeting here is a kiss on each cheek, and they were going down the line (all girls except me) and greeting everyone that way. Sierra greeted me and gave the dos besos, which is fine. Then Jake comes up to me, and I'm thinking, "Okay, what's this guy gonna do...". He proceeds to introduce himself and lean in like he's going for the cheek. I'm just thinking, "Oh gosh"
Closer
"Oh no"
Closer
"NO"
Closer
"Okay, whatever. It's Europe." I start to turn at an angle to accept the embrace and at the same time maybe avoid the impending beso. However, the second I move an inch forward, Jake smiles, yells "HA! Come here!", and bear hugs me. I gotta say, it was well played; for a second, I was scared this guy was actually gonna kiss me on the cheek, haha. Good times...I hope Jake and I meet again someday. We'll see, but for now, I'm yours.

My Road (pt. 2)

So, part 2 of Rome coming up. Before we get started, a brief update on the here and now. Not much has gone on here...comparatively. I got 2 new roommates that are here until the end of June. It's hard to believe that the summer program is only 6 weeks...I feel like you just couldn't do a fraction of what we've done with just 6 weeks. Anyhow, they seem like nice guys, and it's nice to have a group to talk to at the lunch table. I mean, Marisol, you're great and all, but after a few meals with just the two of us, I run out of stuff to talk about. For real. My first final exam is Monday (yikes) and I can finally begin studying now that I've finished editing a 25-page group paper that's due at the exam. Editing it was much harder than writing my part was. So, that's what I'm up to now, and we return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

"The Colosseum...is this where Jesus fought the lions?"
So, Friday I actually woke up with a decent amount of sleep under my belt and a shower to boot (it was clearly going to be a good day). We woke up, ate breakfast, and headed for the Colosseum (try REALLY good day). We went with a company that offered admission with 45-minute tours of the Colosseum and Palantine Hill for a price cheaper than just buying both tickets. The tour of the Colosseum was fine, but I hardly paid attention...it was just that amazing. It's hard to believe that a building that big (capacity est. 65,000 people) could stand for 2,000 years. Come to find out, it had been raided for metal to make weapons and had holes punched in its walls and many of it's support pins taken out. And it's still there. It was huge...colossal even. If you've ever seen the movie 'Gladiator', your imagination runs wild. Come to find out, someone's imagination ran too wild one time. The story goes that this one avid history buff asked a tour guide if the colosseum was where Jesus fought the lions. Yeah.

Friends, Romans, countrymen...
Palantine Hill was next, and it was really interesting. Our tour guide was great; he knew his stuff and knew how to present it in a way that stirs your thoughts. We saw the places where some of the Roman emperors lived and walked--on a hill overlooking what was the cultural heart of the city. From there we ate a couple of protein bars and went down into the Roman Forum. These days, the Forum is entirely ruins; however, where these old stones, columns, statues, and arches lie was once an are that was possibly the most important place in the world. Among the ruins, we saw the place where Caesar was brought after his death, supposedly where Marc Antony gave his famous speech that Shakespeare re-imagined. After spending some hours walking through the ruins, we moved on.

Francesco and Co.
We walked around a lot more that afternoon, went to several churches, including one that houses Michaelangelo's Moses. We walked to Capitol Hill and back by Altari de la Patria, past the Circus Maximus, and stopped to enjoy an early evening view of the Colosseum. Afterwards, we met up with Francesco. Francesco is Rachel's friend who studies at her university in Milan but hails from Rome. He was in town the same weekend we were and offered to show us around a little bit, which was much appreciated.

We began by going to a delicious restaurant towards the suburbs of Rome that we could never have gone to without Francesco, his car, and knowledge of the city. After a declicious meal (pasta with shrimp and veggies, fiori de zucca, and a truffle), we hopped back in the car for a special tour (accompanied by some Ligabue, an Italian superstar musician evidently). We went by the Tiber River near St. Peter's, up to some gardens with a marvelous overlook of the city, and then proceeded to the most interesting place. At one spot in Rome, there is a doorway that has a keyhole--not unusual. However, if you look through that keyhole at the right angle, you get a perfect view of St. Peter's Basilica. I know it sounds weird because you can get great views of the Basilica from lots of places, but it was really exciting to get to see this little-known spot and a keyhole view of St. Peter's. After that, we took an evening stroll by the lit-up Colosseum and parted ways with our friend Francesco.

I just need to sit down...
Our lighting tour of Rome continued on Saturday. We met up at the Pantheon (Rachel got up early to get holy water from St. Peter's), and proceeded inside to witness yet another Roman marvel. The Pantheon was amazing because of, obviously, the world-famous dome, but also because of the marble. There were tons of different colors and types of marble used in the walls and floors, and the mixture was really a visual sensation. Inside the Pantheon we also saw the final resting places of the first two Italian kings and the world-renowned Renaissance artist Raphael. After the Pantheon we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Miscellanea (I had gnocchi al pomodoro...mmmm), and proceeded to the Trevi Fountain for a second visit and another coin thrown in for good measure.

After the Trevi, we walked all over that dang city. I mean really. Fortunately we split it up with a nice, relaxing break in the parks of Villa Borghese. I suppose I didn't feel very tired at the time, but when I went to bed that night, I was exhausted. We saw tons of Rome, including the non-touristy section of Trastavere, where we stopped for a wonderful pizza dinner. At dinner, we ran into a guy that was actually a UNC graduate who lives and works in the Triangle and was in Rome for the start of a week-long Mediterranean cruise! It was crazy, but it was also so much fun to talk to yet another fellow Tar Heel. After dinner, we swung back by Giolitti's for some more delicious Gelato.

Back and grateful for it
Saturday was kind of scary because I thought that my flight from Rome to Sevilla might be cancelled due to more ash-cloud interference. News said that airports in Portugal, France, and Spain were having trouble, and as the ash cloud moved, it gave Italy some problems. Sadly, Rachel had her flight to Milan cancelled and had to go book a train. Somehow, in the end, my flight to Sevilla left with only an hour's delay, and I made it back safe and sound. Rachel made it back to Milan as well, and I suppose that's the last time I'll see her until next semester. In conclusion, I am extremely happy my road led me to Rome, equally happy it led me back safely and promptly, and even happier to have the memories from a great trip in a great city with a wonderful friend. The memories were made in Rome, and it's easy for me to believe that anything made in Rome lasts for an eternity.

My Road (pt. 1)

Well, as I was saying in the last post, my road led me to Rome. And yes, Rome was so awesome that it merits multiple posts about it. In short, it was simply the best I could've imagined. The Eternal City really is a magical place, and, as my coin in the Trevi Fountain indicates, I hope I make it back someday.

I knew I was forgetting something...
So, I usually do a decent job packing. But this trip was a disaster. I won't have photos consolidated for this post for a while because, although I brought my camera, I forgot my camera charger and was pictorally helpless before the first day in Rome was over. In addition, I forgot my phone charger and Rachel's birthday present. I think I deserve an award.

"May the force be with you"
So, I knew instantly that if the very first night in Rome was any indication of how fun the vacation would be, it would be one for the history books. I met up with Rachel at the central train station and immediately headed over to eat some real Italian pizza for the third time in my life (delicious). Then we decided to walk around a bit as we were both fully energetic and ready to take on Rome. Later we joked that if we had pulled an all-nighter we could've seen Rome in one night. We walked a long ways, and, when it started pouring rain, it didn't deter us from continuing (sorry, Rachel haha). We ended up at a plaza that we didn't know the name of and saw a massive monument that looked like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in DC. The building behind it, however, was huge and very distinct. I guess compared to everything else in Rome it's just normal, but it was hard to believe it wasn't famous. I proceeded to joke that this must be the hidden jedi temple or something George Lucas made. As we departed the plaza, I just said, "May the force be with you..."
[We later found out that it was Venice Plaza and, sure enough, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is exactly what we saw.]

Benedict-ion
Thursday we went to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica bright and early. We started at St. Peter's; it is the biggest cathedral in the world and is literally 6 acres. Yeah, insane. It was also one of the most ornate buildings I've ever seen, boasting a dome designed by Michaelangelo, Michaelangelo's Pieta, a curvy wooden canopy over the main altar, St. Peter's final resting place, and the coolest stained-glass dove in the world. We climbed the dome (in typical Rachel and Thomas style...always with the stairs and climbs) and got to see views from high up both inside and outside the cathedral. We then proceeded to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Words cannot describe the Sistine Chapel--I love Michaelangelo. That man was an absolute artistic paragon. Anyhow, afterwards we went back to St. Peter's so Rachel could buy holy water. It turned out that we were not able to get any holy water, so we just decided to stay in the Basilica for a while and enjoy the strains of music from the service going on. As it ended, Rachel was scanning the room and said, "Is that...is that the POPE?" I turned and, sure enough, we were not belied by the pointy hat or golden staff. It was Pope Benedict XVI. Needless to say, for the next hour we were somewhat shell-shocked. About every 15 minutes on the dot one of us would shake our heads incredulously and remark, "We just saw the Pope!"

From "Et tu Brute?" to Baileys (mmm creamy)
Thursday evening ended with a scenic walk through what Rick Steve (travel guru) calls the "Heart of Rome." We saw multiple plazas, the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain at night. Along the way we stopped and had dinner at a marvelous restaurant. I had lasagna (real Italian lasagna...seems obvious but it just makes it so much cooler) and veal in white wine sauce with roast potatoes...SO good. We also stopped a little later at a little place called Giolitti's, which was the best gelato/ice cream I have EVER had. I had 2flavors: Bailey's cream of whiskey and chocolate. This place knew how to pile it on, and it was just HEAVENLY! I cannot even describe the 10 or so minutes of ecstasy that envelop your senses while consuming the chocolate-dipped cone and the gelato it contains. Tired but overwhelmingly happy, we headed back to the hostel to rest (at least I did; Rachel woke up at 6am to get that holy water...) for Friday and some Ancient Rome...

A Month and Change

A month and change is how much time I have left here in Europe. My classes will be finishing up in May, and I fly back home on the 13th of June. It seems odd to hear about all my friends back at UNC finishing up exams while I still have a month of classes left. Even odder is the fact that a lot of my friends are graduating, and I will not be able to see their graduation. I suppose all reunions will have to wait until the summer...except a couple.

Spring Break 2 (Feria de Abril)
My London and Paris trips were cancelled over the Feria break because of the volcanic ash. In the end, I stayed in Sevilla for a few days and then went to Barcelona, which had been part of the original plan. However, I was extremely glad to get to see some of the Feria de Abril (April Fair) here in Sevilla. A large section of the town is decked out with lights and small pavillions called 'casetas' in which everyone engages in non-stop fiesta-ing. I actually met several new Spanish friends and went to the Feria with them, and I must say I had a delightful time. But it was pretty ridiculous...most Sevillanos head to the Feria in the afternoon and eat and drink NON-STOP. For real. They stay until the next day. My senora Marisol told me she was there until 9 am one day! Unbelievable. It was my bedtime by 2 am, haha.


The trip to Barcelona was a ton of fun. Barcelona is definitely the most industrial, modern city I've been to in Spain (Madrid is a close second). In the same vein, Barcelona is famous for its 'modernista' architecture, which is embodied by mastermind Antoni Gaudi. We visited Gaudi's cathedral (Sagrada Familia--still under construction after about 100 years) and some of the houses that he designed in Barcelona as well as Park Guell--a former Gaudi development that never took off and became a public park. Gaudi's stuff looked downright looney at times, but it was interesting to find out that a lot of his whimsical designs had practical purposes. Some other highlights of Barcelona were going to the Gothic cathedral, watching Sardana dances, seeing Alice in Wonderland in an IMAX theater, buying fresh fruit at the large Boqueria Market, seeing the Olympic Stadium from the '92 Barcelona Olympics, seeing Picasso's younger, more normal works at a Picasso Museum, watching a huge fountain show near Plaza de Espana, and (my favorite) climbing to the castle on top of Montjuic (small mountain) for a magnificent view of the Mediterranean sea and the ENTIRE city of Barcelona. It was a good trip and a great chance to get to know another city.



We'll always have Paris...but all roads lead to Rome
So, the other result of this botched Feria trip is that I have replaced Paris. In 4 days I am going to take a VERY long weekend trip to Rome (Wed-Sun) instead. I have got to say, I am sad not to see Paris, but I am really looking forward to Rome...probably more so than I was to Paris. Once again, I look forward to meeting up with my friend Rachel who is studying in Italy, and if this Italy trip is anywhere near as fun as the last, I know it will be unforgettable.

Well, for the sake of being brief (and leaving to walk around Sevilla in a minute), I'll leave off here. It's still hard to believe that my time here is down to a month and change. But change is good. I have a lot to look forward to...Rome, my cousin Phil's visit (Did I mention that before? Well June 1 can't come soon enough!), and even my return home. I imagine that going home will be a happy occasion. I certainly realize that there is a multitude of things I will miss about Sevilla, but when home calls, I think I will be ready to come. Until then, I'm yours, TJT.

Backlog

I have wayyy too much to go over now to bring this blog up to date. For the past few days especially, I have been running around like a badger with a [insert end of bad analogy]. So, I will hit some highlights to the best of my ability.

Something Familiar
So, back to my first spring break: semana santa. After returning from Italy, I had a couple of days in Sevilla. I spent the first resting since the entire Italy trip kept me pretty perpetually tired. The next day (Tuesday) I hit the street to watch some of Sevilla's famous Semana Santa pasos, which consist of 'nazarenos' (people dressed in outfits strangely similar to the KKK...see picture) parading through the street carrying crosses, candles, or massive, heavy float-like things that involve a sculpture of either Jesus or the Virgin Mary. They're pretty impressive, but the popular religion here is very unique...and a little sad.


After that, I jumped on an early flight and headed to Madrid to meet up with my family! As it turned out, their flight was delayed by some harsh weather, but they made it eventually. While I waited, I explored Madrid a little bit, including an actual Egyptian temple that was given to Spain by Egypt's government decade ago. The Temple of Debod is now...in a park in Madrid.

It was wonderful to see everyone, and we absolutely tore up the tourist scene around Madrid. We saw one of the top art museums in the world in the Prado, went to Toledo and visited the neo-Gothic cathedral there, and took a trip to El Escorial to see the palace/basilica that contains the final resting place of the monarchs of Spain from Charles I (AKA Charles V) on. Afterwards, they came to Sevilla, and it was a joy to show them around the my city. We saw the cathedral, Alcazar, and took a day trip to Ronda. I especially enjoyed smoking pipes with dad while watching the night-lit cathedral in Sevilla, a wine and cheese picnic in Ronda, and a marvelous (and much needed) back-rub from Deborah and Mary. I miss them already, but it's not but a couple months (hopefully) until I see them again.

Iceland...
...evidently the world's largest producer of volcanic ash...and heartache. I know I may be skipping some things that I have done or stories I could tell, but I can't seem to focus enough to recall them. In short, what has been occupying my mind over the last few days is the deconstruction of my big trip.

My second spring break is here now, and since the end of February or beginning of March, I have been planning a trip to London, Paris, and Barcleona. As you have probably heard, a volcanic eruption in Iceland has canceled flights all over Europe. The London portion of my trip is effectively wasted, and now Paris is questionable. I have a flight from Madrid to Paris on Monday, so my friend and I are going to look tomorrow morning and see what the chances of it actually taking off are before buying bus tickets and going to Madrid. Ayayay. What can we do though? Nothing but hope and pray for the best...it's a curveball. But, we'll see what happens, and there will be updates to come! I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I wasn't already in London and stuck there indefinitely. Actually, that may have been kind of cool. But whatever.

So, either Paris on Monday or not. Whatever happens, I remain yours, TJT.

"Honeymoon?"

So, it's obviously been a while since I've updated. This is due to the immense amount of jumping around that I did during Semana Santa. So, I am dividing it into at least 2 posts, and this is the first.

ITALIA!
So, I had been really excited to go to Italy for a long time, and the time finally came! A short flight from Sevilla to Madrid, a long layover, and then a flight from Madrid to Milan, and before I knew it I was there! And immediately once inside the airport, my dear friend Rachel was waiting for me! She is studying in Milan for the semester, and she was gracious enough to coordinate my visit. I can't say how great it was to catch up with her or how kind to me she was while I was there. It meant the world to me. We went to the central square, saw Milan's duomo (cathedral) at night, and ate some real Italian pizza (wonderful)! After a tiny bit of sleep, we packed up and headed for Florence early the next morning!

Honeymoon?
As we walked into Florence to begin our day, Rachel and I passed a multitude of street vendors. [NOTE: For those gentlemen that are privvy to the art of UBM, you may appreciate this new level of awkwardness]. One of the vendors watched us walking by and promptly posed a one-word question that used what was possibly the only word of English he knew as we walked by: "Honeymoon?" Not awkward at all. Needless to say, we got a great laugh out of it and continued on with the visit.

Belleza Extraordinaria
Florence was AMAZING! The day we spent there was one of the best days I've had in Europe! Part of it was that it was well-organized and I had a wonderful amiga to share it with, both thanks to Rachel, and part of it is that Florence was just an amazing place. "The Cradle of the Renaissance" some people call it, and it is clear why. We saw the duomo of Florence, which has a massive dome and is very impressive on the outside. We then proceeded to the Uffizi Gallery, which possibly has the best Renaissance art collection in the world. My favorite artist from the gallery was actually Botticelli, which surprised me, but he had several works that I really liked, including analogical paintings of the virtues. After the Uffizi, we stopped by "Grom" for some gelato (in the city of its invention!). The picture says it all.

After the gelato, we proceeded to the Academia to see Michaelangelo's David. There are lots of other works of art in the Acadaemia, but as we rounded the first corner and saw the masterpiece, everything else faded away. One thing they don't tell you is how big it is...they calculate that Goliath was probably 9'9" tall, but the statue of David had to be over 12 feet (ironic!). We spent over an hour marvelling and trying to dive into the intricacies of this glorious work, and it was one of my favorite parts of the day. Each side of the statue seems to reveal a different sense or aspect of David, and it is probably the greatest work of art I have ever seen.

After the Academia, we walked down to the Duomo's bell tower and climbed it. The view of the city from the top was absolutely captivating as the sun began to slowly go down. The 420-some step climb was 100% worth it.

After that, we proceeded to the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) for sunset and the Piazzale Michaelangelo for a nighttime view of the city. We ate dinner at a small, cozy restaurant with Rachel's friends Sabrina and Yap (sp?) who are from Canada and Holland respectively. Good times, and another short night's sleep led us back to Milan for a tour of the duomo, lunch (pizza again), and an AC Milan soccer game!

The inferno (AC Milan's fans) were raging, and despite the draw, it was a great experience! Once again, a small stint of sleep separated me from another trip...this one back to my home [thousands of miles] away from home--beautiful Sevilla.

The rest of Semana Santa was great, and I'll describe it later, but the trip to Italy was unforgettable. I'll see Rachel again, and perhaps I'll even make it back to Florence, but I don't think that day will ever be reproduced. I joyfully remain yours.

"There's something I never thought I'd do"

I've been saying this for my entire trip to Europe. In fact, the whole Europe business has been hard to process at times. I mean, I'm living on another continent. However, this weekend was especially in the spirit of adventure; it was one for the memories.

Lisboa
So, I spent Friday through Sunday in beautiful Lisbon, Portugal. Here's the skinny (and some pictures for those of us that don't like to read):

Lisbon is beautiful! I had a few people from the UNC program staying in my hostel, and I spent most of the weekend tagging along with Copeland and Amanda, which was great because they're really sweet, and I hadn't had a chance to get to know them before. Friday night we walked around and saw some of the plazas and such, including the massive clock-arch thing pictured at the top of the blog (3/22). We took the chance on Saturday to explore some of the city's landmarks. In the morning we went to Belem, visited a tower with a nice view, and checked out a monastery nearby. At one point I went down and put my hands in some water on the shore next to the tower and realized, "Hey...I've been to this ocean before...on the other side. Weird." Every once in a while I just get these feelings like what I'm seeing and doing shouldn't be possible, and that was one of those moments. It feels like a disturbance of the natural order or something.

Anyways, we proceeded to grab lunch at a local restaurant in Belem and headed towards Barrio Alto and the Castle of Saint George. The castle was absolutely wonderful; located on top of a rather large hill, it provides a bird's eye view of much of the city and the surrounding ocean/inlet. The city of Lisbon is most gorgeous from the higher places because the rooftops are almost all adobe, which gives the view a sense of unity and colorful cohesion that a lot of other cities don't have. Besides, adobe roofs are awesome. Looking at this view that could not better depict my vision of Europe and listening to the strains of the classical guitar coming from the street players was an impactful experience.

I have finished the race
As you are probably aware if you've skimmed this blog, the main reason I went to Lisbon was to run a half marathon (cue Darth Vader theme). Well, it happened. It was not pretty, but it happened. Here's how it went down.

I don't think I did a good job preparing myself for the race as I ate unhealthily (but cheaply and deliciously) the night before in addition to only sleeping around 5 hours later that night. My body was not very happy. There was some confusion about meeting up to go to the race start and so, as a consequence, we did not all run together and we arrived somewhat late. This was a problem since there were tens of thousands (around 30,000 I think) people participating in the event. Thousands of them were doing a "mini marathon" which was just a long walk, and we spent probably around 15 minutes weaving in and out of people in tight spaces across the bridge, ever trying to reach a point where we could jog freely. Consequently, the total distance we ran and the tiredness of our muscles was much greater than it should've been so early in the race. Running across the bridge was really pretty, but I wish I could've enjoyed it more and not had to run around like a rat in a maze frantically trying to find my way out. Gradually we all got separated except for this middle-aged German lady that I had met as we were going to the start, and I think it was a huge help to have someone running with me the whole time.

Kilometer after kilometer...mile after mile...it seemed like it would last forever. The hardest stretch was the last third. There are 21 kilometers in a half marathon, and they had signs every kilometer to update you. I REALLY wanted to stop after a while. After I reached about kilometer 19 or so I knew I was going to make myself finish it jogging, but the few kms before that were brutal as there was some doubt as to whether or not I had it in me. The finish line was quite the experience though:

As I rounded the corner, the people from our program that were not running (but very kindly came anyways to cheer us on) saw me and started cheering me on, and I finished out with whatever poor excuse for a sprint was left in me. After I was done, I was in one of the most pitiful states I ever remember experiencing. Still, it was an accomplishment and a bonding experience for everyone who did it I think.

This weekend was probably one that I will never forget. Like I said, one for the memories.

As always, I remain yours.

Cumpleanos Feliz!

So, on Monday I went to a birthday party for a Spaniard named Abraham (odd, right?), and I had an absolute blast. Here's a brief recap of the event's most important moments:

Some new friends that I got to meet were from all over the world. I met people from the US, Costa Rica, Spain, and Australia. It was pretty amazing. Speaking of Australia, this leads us to fair dinkum. Evidently this phrase is very common in Australia. It was given to us by our friend Rosie, and as far as I could translate, it means something similary to "seriously" or "for real." I am definitely going to use that phrase. And it will confuse people. Rosie also explained to us how in some cases the term "dead horse" can mean "ketchup." Another highlight was the Spaniards I met named Johnny and Abraham. Odd names for Spaniards, right? Well, topping them is a Spanish guy named Jonathan who has long, natural red hair and speaks no English. Yeah. Johnny was especially cool, and I got to speak with him for a while about music. And what does every good birthday party have? CAKE! There were 3 different kinds of cake at this party, but my favorite had a graham-cracker base with whipped cream, fruit, and what appeared to be jello in it. Sounds odd, but, like all of the other unusual things at this party, it was great.

Good food, good times. For me, these two are almost always linked, and Monday was no exception. Who knows, maybe I can even develop an Australian accent from what I learn from Rosie?

I remain yours (fair dinkum),
tJt

Got agua?

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop in the house
So, my last update made it very clear that it has been raining non-stop here. However, the past several days have been GORGEOUS. Amazing. Sevilla is a completely different city in good weather, and I love it. I've enjoyed these days and used the opportunity to visit some scenic areas of the city--so much so that I'm a little sunburned. Nonetheless, in an ironic turn f events, our house ran out of water today. Marisol turned to me and told me I couldn't shower because there was no water coming through the faucets. For all the rain we've been having, evidently there's not enough for our plumbing to function properly. This was painful to hear since I had just come back from running for a long time and was not smelling to elegant at the time.

This is a good segway for the half-marathon training. Today I ran the biggest distance that I'm going to run before the half. I did 10 miles, and it was pretty painful for the last 1.5-2 miles. Now I've got a 4 mile run, a 3 mile run, and a 2 mile one this week to keep the muscles toned, but mostly I'm just resting up for the big day (a week from today! yikes!).

Like I said, Sevilla's been great the last few days, and I'll include some random pictures from around the city in this post.

Carmona
Yesterday my friend Robert and I went to a small town right outside of Sevilla called Carmona. It was a great day trip...going there and back cost less than 5 euros. There was plenty to see and do in Carmona including an old Roman fortress, an Arabic palace converted into a hotel, an excavated Roman necropolis, multiple cathedrals/churces/convents (of course), and a maintained Roman gate. My personal favorites were the necropolis and the gate, which led out to a beautiful view of rolling, nearly empty Mediterranean countryside. We also encountered a ferrari and took pictures by it, but they're on Robert's camera as I forgot mine. The only low points of the trip were getting over-charged for a mediocre lunch of jamon (thin ham) and how exhausted I was by the time I was finished. But a good day all the same.

As the peregrin window nears...
This "travel window" that I have begins a week from today with my trip to Lisbon for the half marathon. That weekend begins a period that goes from March 19-April 26 in which I will hopefully visit Lisbon, Milan, Florence, Madrid, Italica (Spain), London, Paris, and Barcelona in addition to any side trips that may be taken while in these places. Needless to say, I'm pumped about getting to go explore all these places, especially Florence, London, and Paris. I also hope to visit Morocco while I'm here, but wisdom dictates that we just wait and see how much money I have left at that point.

Have you noticed that...
class is almost never mentioned in my blog? Well it's not, and I've got to say classes here are not much work. However, I can't avoid work forever as the final exam is close to 100% of my grade in a couple of my classes. And I really do like the majority of my classes here. So, they're good, if you've been wondering. ;-)

Oh, and another thing
An interesting fact: my Liverpool scarf (a gracious gift from my friend Allison) has been the biggest conversation starter for me here. Maybe 70% of the conversations I've gotten into here with actual Spaniards (which are always a good thing) are initiated in some way or another by the scarf. Epic.

Well, that's about all for now. Hard to believe that in 2 weeks I'll be halfway done. As always, humbly yours.

Training

Finished 9 miles a little while ago. A struggle to make it at times, but I think I had a little left at the end even so. We'll see. Only 12 days til ground zero.

Yours.
tJt

"Que lluvia incesante!" yo dije a mi amante.

Lluvia Means Rain
Well, as you may be aware, my time here in Sevilla has been largely defined by rain. I believe at least 3/4 of the days since I've been here have seen tiny droplets of water falling from the gray skies above. This trend continued today, and I'm a little weary of it. As I walked a few blocks from my senora's apartment, the wind smacked me in the face as if challenging me to a duel. I would relish the opportrunity, but it is somewhat less than prudent to duel with someone that you cannot see and can move at 45 mph. With water falling sideways all around me, I looked at where the wind very possibly might have been and muttered, "If only."

Six hours later, I was trudging through the damp sidewalks, avoiding puddles. "Oh look, puddle to the left. Oh, another to the right. Oh..." And that's when I realized that the sidewalk before me was a giant puddle. Sevilla is beautiful, but these torrential downpours have a, shall we say, dampening effect on said beauty. This rain is gnawing away at my soul. I rarely go out to explore or take a walk or get some food or visit with friends because it is terrible outside. All of the locals say "Que raro!" (How odd!) and talk about how this year is one out of a hundred. Huh, how about that? I'm sure my companions agree that in this case rarity is not a good thing.

I walked up Ramon y Cajal as the evening began, inching ever closer to mi casa. Jeans? Wet. Shoes? Soaked. Backpack? Damp. Umbrella? Overworked and underpaid. And then, for some reason, as I neared Calle Ulia, the gray over my mind vanished. It hadn't stopped raining, but there was something different. The rain fell down in thinner drops, a little more delicately than it had been. The colors changed--trees were all around me, and the dim, cloudy skies saw a couple tints of orange and peach. The rain had become ladylike--we're talking about Natalie Portman, not Rosie O'Donnell. A couple holes in the clouds passed a few miles away. And then there was this brief sensation. All of a sudden, it was obvious that there was still a sun above the clouds. I wish it were sunny more often, but I also wish it rained like this more often, because this was the kind of rain that can be enjoyed. Don't get me wrong, I think thunderstorms are beautiful, but you can't enjoy a thunderstorm as much when you have to walk for an hour in it. This was really different--benign rain.

Update (3/8)
So, we are inching closer to the halfway point of my time in Sevilla. Actually, the halfway point for the LSCS group that's here with us is pretty much this week (they leave May 15th or so). So in a few weeks here I will be halfway done. Good news though: my classes might finish earlier than my program...like 2 weeks earlier. This would be a most welcome interval, and I would be most delighted with the opportunity to travel some more or simply have some free time to relish Sevilla. That's not locked up yet, but a couple of us have spoken with the professors about the final exam, and it seems probable that it will work out. Let's hear it for not being in class til June 12th!

So, what else to say? Life has been really tranquil. This past weekend was one of the laziest that has ever been in my life. The workload here is quite remarkable in that it hardly exists. If it wasn't for having to walk 35 minutes one way to the university Monday through Thursday, I'd have a large amount of free time on my hands. As it stands, I occupy what free time I have with reading, keeping in touch with people online, thinking, and sampling various pastries or smoking the occasional cigar while doing one of the above. I've found a new pastry that delights me, and the palmera may have to fight to maintain its supremacy. We'll see.

Training for the half marathon continues, but as time runs short, I must run far. The most I've done is still 8 miles. I was supposed to do 9 on Sunday, but it ended up only being 5 for two reasons:
A) It was a bad running day for me (cramps, shortage of breath, muscle exhaustion,, etc.)
B) I really really had to visit the bathroom from aobut 3 miles in. The last 2 miles were the most challenging I think I've run yet.

Not much else goes on. Once it gets sunny, I plan to take more walks, explore more of the city, and spend more time outside of this blasted bedroom. For now, la vida sigue asi. So, less than 1.5 weeks to Lisbon, 2.5 to Italia, 3 to family, and (according to weather.com) only 6 days until some sunny weather. I remain yours, TJT.

In Your ocean I'm ankle deep

So, I'm really not making a rule of blogging just once a week, but that's just the way it has worked out over the last few weeks. I will try to give updates at least once a week though, so my mom won't freak out and think that I'm dead. Once again, this week did not involve any traveling and was one of the more tranquil weeks I've had since coming here.

Eminem and I
What does one of the world's most popular and offensive rappers have in common with me? Well, I hope very little. Still, there's at least one definite similarity. Some might argue it's a unique brand of irresistability (my game is futility); some would say it's a talent for making rhyme (all the time); some might say it's thinking on their feet (without missing a beat). Regardless, I find myself in opposition to these propositions whose imposition is naught but fiction. Okay, I'll stop that now. But I don't know how. Argh, no more rhymes, and I mean it. Anybody want a peanut?

Okay really, what on earth is this all about? What do I have in common with Eminem? Answer: 8 Mile. Eminem made it a movie; I made it a jog. All this to say that this morning (like 30 minutes ago) I ran 8 miles in accordance with my training program. It feels good because that is a distance that 2 months ago I would have gaped at and despaired. I actually still gaped at it today, but I made it. I'd like to thank my leg muscles for not rebelling, the rest of my body for not cramping unbearably, my iPod for inspirational music, and the weather for holding off the rain. This is a good milestone, but there's much more to go. 8 miles was I struggle; I need 13.1. We'll see!

Marisol Has Jokes
So, my senora thinks she is hilarious. And in a way, she is. But what's really funny to me is what she finds entertaining. To me, her sense of humor is like a small child's (or old man's) in that repetition does not diminish the humor one bit. For example, the vice president of Spain is an older lady with an odd haircut. Every time she shows up on the news, Marisol says, "Oh, look! The chicken. Look at her hair. She looks like a chicken. How ugly!" The chicken comment seems to just get better every time (...not!). This weekend was a new experience though. This time when the VP shows up on TV, Marisol went through the typical "Look...chicken...ugly" mantra, but this time she was inspired. She then proceeded to say, "Look, Thomas, this is how she looks." What happened next was a Kodak moment. Marisol puffed out her cheeks (already puffy enough due to the fact that she is a little heavy...okay, she's just downright obese) and crossed her eyes. Actually, she failed at crossing her eyes about 3 times and then finally got them crossed to complete the spectacle. Wow.

Another humorous note: One of the other senoras with the UNC program lives in the same building as Marisol and I...I think her name is Antonia. Anyhow, Danya (who lives with Antonia) told me that her senora said that one of her favorite things in the world was seeing me and Marisol together because "he is so tall and skinny and she is so short and fat!" I daresay, although I'm not sure if I like that commentary or not, we probably do look really goofy when we walk side by side.

High/Low
In weeks of normal life, when adventures are fewer and further between, I like to go to the High/Low--a sort of summary of the best and worst of this week.

THE BEST
-> Contact with friends. I've gotten to hear from several this week, and that's always a blessing. Most notably, perhaps, is that I got to skype with Rachel and plan our visit to Florence/Milan! I'm really excited...that's less than a month away!
-> Blue Like Jazz- If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it. It's written by Donald Miller, an author with a personal, stream-of-consciousness style of writing who relates stories and lessons from his life and his path to faith from a point of view not at all like the holier-than-thou fundamentalist rants that one may be accustomed to.
-> Yesterday was my sister Mary's birthday! It's hard to believe she is 15. I really wish I could spend more time with both her and Deborah...they're growing and changing, and I see that every time I get to come home and visit from UNC. I think it a shame I can't be around more often to see them, but I'm looking forward to being at home this summer and getting that chance.
-> Yesterday I also went to see Avatar...in Spanish. The movie had interested me, but I never saw it before, and I was bored enough that when Marisol invited me I was more than happy to go. It was a good movie...worth seeing (if for no other reason) simply for the special effects. They were mind-boggling and I'd have to say it was a one-of-a-kind film.
-> Churros con chocolate. It finally happened...I went to Virgen de los Reyes and had some churros. They were wonderful. If you don't know what a 'churro' is, it is much like a funnel cake only the dough comes out more pastry-like and is shaped in large, cylindrical pieces. Mmm-mm.
THE REST
-> Let me check...yep still rainy on most days. It's alright today, but I know it'll just get cloudy again. And forecasts say...oh, guess what? More rain for next week.
-> My senora still has no concept of timeliness. Meals scheduled for 2:30? Anywhere from 2:45-4 pm. Meals scheduled for 9? 9:30 at the earliest. As if they aren't already late enough, haha. All the same, the food is pretty good, pretty good indeed.
-> I'm finding out that my schedule is a little more spread out than I like. The biggest chunk of time I have to do stuff is in the mornings, and after the morning, my day just gets consumed. It's not like I'm busy all the time, but my time is just not consolidated, and I have to be pretty proactive if I'm gonna do something that takes more than 30 mins.
-> Can someone please tell Spain about Boberry Biscuits, Cookout trays, and SWEET TEA? Just give one to President Zapatero. I can see it now: he'd jump up and shout "SANTA MARIA! QUE SABOR! QUE ASOMBROSO!" And they'd be available all over Spain within a week. It's a plan I'm going to submit to Unhealthy Food Inc. (or whoever owns these glorious franchises) in the near future.

Well, another week down. 3 weeks until the half marathon (*cue Chariots of Fire music*). 4 weeks until Milan/Florence. 4 and a half weeks until my family visits. A lot to look forward to, for sure. Peace be with you all!

Académico that I am

Well, caballeros y damas, the end of February is almost upon us, which will represent one and a half out of 5 months of my stay in Spain. That's not as hard-hitting when you consider that those of you at UNC will be about halfway done with your semester, and those seniors among you...we won't think about that, for all of our sakes, okay? So, it's been a week since Granada, and this past weekend was, at long last, a weekend without any kind of scheduled traveling. Thus, this entry will probably be more brief and less exotic...although Sevilla is sufficiently exotic for me.

Speaking of Traveling
I don't believe I've documented my travel plans on here. Well, as I know I have mentioned, I will be going to Lisbon for the half marathon on the weekend of March 19, and the next weekend I'll head to Milan and Florence to visit with a dear friend who's studying there. But, I figured why stop there? The latest booked plans are for a spring break of sorts in mid-April. I'm going to be leaving Thursday the 15th and coming back Monday the 26th. Quite a long trip, but I think there will be plenty to do as I will be visiting London, Paris, and Barcelona, spending about 3 days in each city. I'm pumped! But that is a ways away, and there's much more to be excited about before that, like Lisbon, Italy, and my family visiting!

To the University...oops, I mean, la universidad!
Classes started for real, and they're not looking too hard. Still, they're enough work to keep me from being lazy, which I guess is a lamentably good thing. The first couple of days it was really hard to understand the professors, and, although it's going smoothly now, every so often they will go into a rant or discourse that speeds in one of my ears and out the other like Usain Bolt. The students are impossible to understand, because they talk under their breath and say things REALLY quickly. Reading is also really hard in Spanish, and, as I am a Spanish minor and do not need literature credits, I have little background in reading academic works in Spanish. Not fun.

Despite these...challenges with learning the language, I've had some really positive experiences too. There have been a couple of times where I've received compliments from Spaniards that (although maybe too nice) made my day. Whether it was my Senora saying I "speak a lot of Spanish", a guy I met in a bar saying I speak it perfectly, or my professor being laudatory in office hours, it's always encouraging to hear.

Isa 60:1-3: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
How great is our God! I have been overjoyed to see God move in our midst some here in Sevilla, and I hope it continues. Some of the situations, the conversations that I have encoutered over the last several days have shown me that God is moving and (I hope and pray) drawing people to repentance and, more importantly, to Christ.
John 4:35: "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."
I don't know what exactly it will look like, but I hope that God provides us with the opportunity to reach out and the empowerment to do whatever is set before us. I see so much potential, and the verse above definitely comes to mind. I don't know what the end result or even what the process of this semester is going to look like, but a "Thy will be done" is all I can say with regards to that. But I am here, and I hope that God establishes His presence here too.

Well, almost dinner. I miss you all, and hope that you're celebrating the US dominating Canada in hockey. No one in Spain really cares. Hasta luego!

Another weekend, another adventure

Just reviewing my blog, I find it a little odd. I don't like the bullet point system so much, but I have been using it for efficiency. I felt like since there is so much to cover it would be easier for me to write and more likely that others would read it. However, I believe I'm just going to write from here on out, simply because one story is, to me, more interesting than 10 facts. So, this weekend was yet another venture out of Sevilla to a new city. I feel like that's happened a lot: I've spent maybe 5 weekends here and only 2 of them have not involved a trip out of Sevilla. This weekend was Granada.

Gimme Some Tapas--FO FREE
Granada is an absolutely beauttiful city in the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain. Granada was the last Moorish city to fall into the hands of the Christians during the Reconquista, and as such it has a lot of history and retains a large Arabic cultural heritage. Once we arrived in Granada, it was lunchtime (2:30 in Spain), and some of us decided to leave our stuff in the hotel lounge (our rooms were not ready yet) and survey the local eating scene. Granada retains a most worthy tradition that is dying in most of Spain: if you go to a bar and order a soda or beer or some kind of drink, you get a free tapa (appetizer-size portion of food). This was most delightful, and, despite the fact that the drinks are a little more expensive, it makes for a wonderful way to get full and try different Spanish foods cheaply. We went to a couple of different places sampling grilled bocatas (sandwiches) and even some fried octopus (yummy).

How I Became Famous
Upon returning to the hotel, I found that my bags were not where I had left them. Needless to say, I was a little distressed, especially when I found that my roommates had taken the only key and left the hotel. I asked reception if they had seen it--no luck. I asked the people that had stayed to watch everyone's stuff, and they simply told me that everyone had picked up their stuff and there was none left. I begged to differ. I looked up and down for it. In the process, I had some Spaniards that were also staying at the hotel that were most inquisitive as to my frantic search and pre-occupied demeanor. I shared my plight, and they thrived on the mystery, giving all kinds of suggestions as to what I should do and telling all of their friends that there was some poor fellow who'd lost his bag and indeed it is that chap in the red Liverpool scarf.

Well, after some suspense, my roommates returned and informed me that they had thrown my bags in our room and, out of the kindness of their hearts, refrained from mentioning it to me. I am grateful that they did; a bag in the room is better than a bag in the lobby. However, the result of all of this was quite hilarious, and I shall proceed to tell.

What you see above is an image of the white-marble Cathedral of Granada, which contains the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel in a connected chapel. We visited these places after the bag fiasco with the entire UNC program (about 50 of us). In a funny turn of events, so did almost all of the Spaniards I had met at the hotel and all of their friends that they had talked to. During our tour, it seemed like almost every one of them came up to me and started asking me (in Spanish) about my lost bag, proclaiming how happy they were that I found it, and giving the customary, friendly double-cheek farwell kiss. It was sweet, but my comrades were quite confused by how many people were talking to me (not all knew why) in this city I had never been to. I just told them that you can't help it when you're famous.

Tea and Alhambra
After the cathderal tour, we split up, and I went with a group to a Teteria (tea house) to drink some customary Arabic tea. It was quite good and a really fun time. I had Oriental Tea, which was black tea with milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon. I've never been a hot tea connosieur, but that was pretty good stuff. The next day, we went to the Alhambra, which is a MASSIVE fortress/palace/gardens that was built by the Moors. It was a 3.5 hour tour (yeah) that saw everything from walls and towers to royal chambers to patios and fountains. It had marvelous views of Granada from the towers and some amazing Arabic architecture. I believe I will let the pictures speak for themselves in this case. Granada was, much like Ronda, glorious.

A patio of the Alhambra

Walls of the Alhambra

Candlelight at the teteria...attempt to look mysterious

Enjoying the delights of the teteria

Quick update

So, I just wanted to get this in before I forgot again. I am starting to wonder if I am getting addicted to this Spanish pastry...it's called a palmera. Just listen to the music in that word...PAL-ME-RA. If you can't hear the Hallelujah Chorus singing of the flaky bread covered with a honey glaze appropriately shaped like a heart that is about the width of both my hands, then you just haven't been fortunate enough to try one. I've only had 2 or 3, but I think about them every day.

I booked the trip to Lisbon...so it's official. I'm going to run this baby for as long as I can. Did 5 miles again today, and it was really rough going for the last couple. I think my eating habits are slowing me down, but I'm ALWAYS HUNGRY over here and I can't really change what my senora feeds me. It's not very healthy.

We're headed to Granada this weekend, and I'm pretty excited to see the Alhambra, try some Arabic tea, and see another Spanish city. I'll update you after I get back, vale? Hasta luego, amigos; os echo de menos siempre!

Hace un mes (casi)...

So, January is gone and I've almost been here a month. I've already learned a lot about Spain and done a lot, but there is so much more that I haven't. So, a quick rundown of recent developments:

-I got sick pretty badly. You remember how my roomate got ill in Morocco? Yeah, well I think a got what he had, just not as badly as he had it. I'm pretty much recovered.

-I ate at a Burger King in Spain. Yeah. And surprisingly, it wasn't bad. But the best burger I've had in Spain (out of not many) was at the Irish pub where...

-I watched the Super Bowl with some friends. This Irish pub called O'Neills was showing it, and it was fun. The broadcast had no commercials though, which was kind of weird. So I didn't see any funny commercials. The food at the pub was really good and surprisingly cheap. The main catch was that I didn't get home until about 4 AM because of the time difference...yeah.

-My orientation class is about to finish up this Friday, and I am overjoyed. It was a decent enough class and definitely worth it for 3 hrs of credit, but it was 3 hrs per day every weekeday and just got way too redundant. Classes in the university/EUSA should be a lot more relaxed and spread out through the day.

-Half marathon training got thrown off by my illness, and I am starting to try to get back into it. I've adjusted my training schedule to go a little slower for the time being. I ran 4 miles today, which was a step back but probably necessary since it was not an easy run. We're looking into booking the trip to Lisbon now.

-My Senora is trying to push my roommate and I out of the house over a long weekend at the end of February so she can go to the beach. However, everything is pretty expensive travel-wise, and I'm not sure if I really want to spend the money. Awkward...

-Spanish television is still terrible.

-I went to Ronda this past weekend on Saturday. This may have been the highlight of my entire trip so far. The bus ride over was pretty enough, emerald green grass slowly arching and growing into rolling hills which gained trees and rock faces and gradually became small mountains. Ronda is a cliff town...a town built on top of some enormous cliffs in the middle of the Andalucian countryside. The town is divided by a massive ravine: the Old Town on one side and the New Town on the other. Here in Spain, they have a different definition of old...the Old Town means it was there before the 15th Century. Yeah. Anyways, the 2 parts of the town are connected by bridges (again, old and new). There are panoramic vistas all over the place. You can be walking in a park or down the street or wherever and out of nowhere BAM--awesome view of the landscape.

We walked around the city some and then proceeded to hike on a trail called Puerta de las Molinas, which took us down towards the bottom of the cliffs on one side of the town. From here we had a marvelous view of the cliffs from the side, and it was worth the semi-strenuous walk.

That's all I can think of for now...although I'm sure much more has happened. If anything important comes to mind, I'll let you know. Almost a month down here out of five. It's been pretty chaotic trying to adjust, but I think I'm really getting there. And I'm definitely looking forward to more adventures here in Europe; it should be easier to organize them once I'm in a regular schedule at the University. Hasta luego, amigos!

Planning, Punting, and Poison

Hola todos! I hope that this finds everyone in good health! I am doing well myself, though getting a little tired from running. So, a quick update on what's going on here in Sevilla.

-Half marathon training: My week is divided up between running days, stretch & strengthen, cross training, run some more, rest, and run some more. The big runs are once a week when I try to take my distance to the next level. These happen on Sundays. This past Sunday I ran 5 miles. And was about to collapse. It's rough. Today I ran 4, which I will do again on Thursday. Can't wait to see some improvement.

-I went to a Sevilla FC soccer game with some of my friends and tens of thousands of other Spanish punters. It was against Valencia CF, so a game between 2 of the top 7 teams in Spanish League. Sevilla won 2-1, and the game was fun to watch. The atmosphere was unbelievable, with flags waving and people chanting almost incessantly. The best part was undoubtedly the beginning, when the entire stadium full of Sevilla fans began singing (more like yelling) the team anthem at the top of their lungs in perfect unison. It was phenomenal.

-Still working on planning trips. Travelling is somewhat expensive, so I'm trying to prioritize. Between Paris, Rome, Athens, London, and Dublin, I can probably choose 3 to visit over spring break, and the flights will be very cheap if I book ahead of time.

-My roommate went to Morocco this past weekend and came back with bad food poisoning. He threw up like 20 times. It was BAD. I don't know if I'll go to Morocco or not.

-There are free dance classes during February here, and I actually (surprisingly) enjoyed the first one. Not normally my thing, but we'll see. Watch out, ladies. Just kidding. But not really. Maybe.

-Class takes up too much time and is pretty easy. I'm sort of looking forward to classes in la Universidad de Sevilla. I do miss friends and family, but I'm more adjusted to life here, and things have really been great. Sevilla is a magnificent city.

-Spanish is improving, but some people (like my Senora) are just REALLY FAST TALKERS. I can understand all of my teachers just fine, but there are just some people that have more horsepower in their vocal cords.

So, a brief word to think about. Look over the beginning of John 15. Jesus says he is the vine and we are the branches and tells us to abide in him and he in us. I don't think I really ever got this, and there are probably things we are still missing. When describing the gospel, people always take about Jesus' sacrifice and his sustitution for us by his death, saving us from our Romans 3:23 and giving us eternal life. All well and good, but I want to ask the question: Can there be substitution without union? John 15:6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." God doesn't look at Christ as a substitution for us unless we ourselves have committed to hurling ourselves into oneness with Christ. Oswald Chambers says, "It is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in Me (Substitution- 10/29). Thus our salvation is not only through Christ's death, but also through his resurrection. Since we are one with him, we share in his perfect life (which should have been us), his death (which should have been our punishment), and his new life (unmerited grace). Praise God!

Gracias por leer y que Dios te bendiga!

Brazos abiertos

Hola todos! Well, it has been about 15 days since I arrived here in Sevilla, and it feels like a lifetime. I've finally had time to explore more of the city and do some really exciting things! It'll take some more time, but I'm actually living the Spanish life a little bit now! Let me describe some of the things I've been up to.

Numero 1- I signed up for that half marathon! So, (Lord willing) on March 21 I will be in Lisbon running 13.1 miles. That said, I have a long way to go to prepare. I've been running almost every day, and I got Miles Oneill (our Campus Crusade director at UNC) to send me a link to a training program as he has run marathons before. I'm a little nervous, but one way or another I think it will be good for me!

Numero 2- I booked a flight to Milan! I am absolutely stoked to go visit mi amiga Rachel in Milan and have some REAL Italian food and watch an AC Milan soccer game! This will be a lot of fun, but I'll have to wait until the end of March to get there (boo). This leads us to...

Numero 3- I discovered that I will not be visiting all of the 50 places in Europe I want to go. This is just not monetarily feasible. At all. So, it looks like we're gonna have to prioritize and be as conservative as possible with our dinero.

Numero 4- We went and visited 2 more sites in Sevilla:
We saw the Real Alcazar like a week ago, and it was pretty interesting. It was the Moorish Caliph's residence when the Muslims ruled southern Spain, and it was converted into a royal palace for the king of Spain whenever he would come stay in Sevilla after Sevilla was reconquered. The gardens were huge and cool, and the palace was about as regal as it could get.

Yesterday we visited the Cathedral of Sevilla, which is the 3rd largest Christian cathedral in the world. I have a video of some of the sights that I will hopefully (internet permitting) post later tonight. The cathedral was enormous, and we got to see a lot of cool things on the tour, including the supposed remains of Christopher Colombus. After viewing most of the cathedral, we got to climb the tower, which had 35 floors. The view from the top was of pretty much ALL of Sevilla, and it was one of those views that just knocks you off your feet. Unbelievable.

Numero 5- I went to an awesome evangelical church on Sunday called Hope for Sevilla. This was an amazing pick-me-up after a rough couple of days, and I am really excited to try and get a little involved while I'm here. The only problem is how far away it is, but it's worth the ENORMOUS walk. Loved it.

Numero 6- I am considering going to a Sevilla FC soccer game on Sunday!!! It's versus Valencia CF (#6 vs. #3) and I'm pumped!!!

Numero 7- I'm hungry and it's almost lunch time. So, I'll continue to post updates later on what is becoming a very exciting time!