Study Abroad 2017: Week 14: Dec. 5th-10th (Valencia, Spain)

(Photos below)

Hi friends! Guess what?! One week from tomorrow, I get to see mis padres (my parents)!!!! Estoy muy emocionada (I'm very excited). It's nearing the end and it feels very bittersweet. I absolutely want to see my parents and I am missing my entire family a ton... especially as I see photos of them all together and hear of all the holiday plans they've got going on. However, I am not ready to go home, I don't think. I am finally getting settled here... but then again, I am excited to be back in America. I don't know... like I said, it's very bittersweet. I think though, if I stayed in Europe, I'd want to do a semester in London. I love the British accents...and although it is very similar to America, I think it is also very different and would be a very unique experience, but we will see what I think after I go to London.

So this weekend was my final trip during my time here in Sevilla. My parents are in Europe and we will meet up after my last final next Monday. Then, off to Prague and London and then HOME. It's so close, I can almost taste it. Well, this past week was pretty busy. School went by pretty fast since we had Wednesday off because it is Spain's independence day. On our day off, a group of my friends and I went to a movie. We saw Asesinato en el Orient Express (Murder on the Orient Express) and, to answer your next question--no--it was not in Spanish. However, we had Spanish subtitles. If I saw a movie in Spanish, it would have to be originally filmed in Spanish. I don't like the dubbed over movies. I would be so distracted trying to read the actor's lips the whole time. Movies are cheap here. We had a really good time! Afterwards, we walked around downtown which was so packed. I love that about Sevilla. There are always people in the street. Getting home was fun (sarcasm) because the metro was so packed and Spaniards have no perception of personal space. But I've gotten used to it more by now and I don't mind it too much anymore.

After class on Thursday (only five people showed up since everyone took the "long" weekend to travel), I packed and got ready to fly to Valencia. Yes, I'm a good student and booked my flight later in the afternoon after class so I wouldn't miss it. So, I went with Mary Jo and we were excited to actually stay within Spain this time so we could continue to use our Spanish instead of being placed somewhere where we couldn't understand or speak the language. Well, here's a little lesson about Spain. It is kind of a funny country in this way... it has 5 official languages: Castilian (what I have been learning), Galician, Basque (Euskarian), Occitan (Aranès), and Catalan. Then, places like Valencia have their own language which is Valencian. Spain is quite the divided country. Most other European countries are similar if you are in the North or in the South, but here in Spain, it is very different depending on what region you are in. It is quite interesting and that is why I think my culture experience has been so incredible compared to some of my friends in other parts of Europe. There is so much culture and tradition to learn and so, for me, spending a month in the northern part and then four months in the South, I can compare and contrast and learn so much more. Anyway, Mary Jo and I first arrived in Valencia at 10pm on a Thursday night. The first thing we notice is that the signs are not in Spanish. They are in Valencian. So much for understanding the language... but luckily, they had Spanish and sometimes English as well. We took the metro to our Airbnb. We felt so weirded out because there were literally no people on the metro. Remember how I mentioned I love that Sevilla always has people around? Yeah, I guess that's just in Sevilla. We finally made it to our Airbnb and the weather was quite nice, even at night, so that was relieving. We had forgotten to book our Airbnb until the last minute since we had been so busy, so we ended up in this apartment owned by a younger man who was staying there during our stay. We had our own private bedroom and bathroom, so it worked out. But the first night, we were watching a Christmas movie on our laptop in bed, and I swear the sound was not that loud. Well, he knocked and said "Could you keep it down for the neighbors?" His room was right next to ours so we assumed he was the "neighbor" but I was annoyed because it was only 1am and he's Spaniard... that's early for Spanish people. Whatever, we only had five minutes left when he knocked.

Our trip to Valencia was nice and relaxing because MJ and I are both laid back and we decided not to have really any set plans but to just take it moment by moment. We got a late start the first day and decided to get a quick bite to eat from the supermarket since we had to buy water bottles anyway. All over in Europe, in the grocery stores, they have these salads that include the fork and dressing. They are pretty high quality salads for only two or three Euros (at least in Spain). They are the ones I ate every single day for lunch when I was in Santander. Then after that, we knew we wanted to hit the Aquarium and Science Museum. The Aquarium is supposedly the largest in Europe. It was called L'Oceanogràfic in Valencian. MJ and I were dragging around for some reason. We think it's because our bodies are physically exhausted from so much travel and it's just now catching up to us. But we did pretty good work. We saw the Science Museum and then all the different parts of the Aquarium including: dophins, sharks, fish, crocodiles, birds, etc. Oh! The jellyfish were my favorite part. There were a whole bunch of different kinds and they were all so pretty. After that, we were going to go out for a nice dinner but we had no motivation. Instead, we found this great big supermarket in a mall (everywhere I go, there's always a supermarket...it's just "my thing"). MJ was astounded. She hadn't seen a supermercado that big in Spain before. It's true... we are both used to going to Fruiterias to get our fruit and Verdurarias to get our vegetables and Farmacias for make-up or medicine and mini supermercados for leche o algo (milk or something). Anywho, this was like a Target. It had everything! We probably spent over an hour in there...easy. We had been craving sushi but, since we were at this great big supermarket and we were tired, we decided we would just get cheese and meat and just have a snacky kind of dinner that we could eat back at our Airbnb. Well, we got lucky--there was a sushi market type kiosk in this supermarket where we could have them make us fresh sushi. They had just made some that looked delicious so we put our cheese and meat back and grabbed some freshly made sushi. Valencia is on the coast so I figured the fish would be pretty good. MJ and I enjoyed our second meal from the grocery store (at least we were doing it cheap) while watching the Incredibles on our comfy bed. This time, we finished the movie before midnight so our "host" couldn't complain.

Saturday, we got another late start to the day. We left around 2pm and went to a cafe to get some cafe con leche (coffee with milk--soy milk for me). I've decided my favorite coffee is the one I had in Italy. I just haven't found a great place here in Sevilla. There's this one coffee shop I want to try this week though so I'll let you know. After that, we walked downtown. Valencia's downtown is quite modern looking. The buildings are super pretty too. There were a lot of cool shops and cafes and restaurants. We enjoyed just exploring without any specific place to go. Finally, we chose a place for lunch where I tried the Aqua de Valencia (which was definitely not water) and I ended up getting pork ribs on the bone with potatoes. It was a pretty high quality meal and very delicious. Lots of meat! It could have used a little BBQ sauce--oh well. Then, we walked around some more and then ended up at another cafe where we wanted to get a coffee with Baileys in it. It was such a cute coffee shop and it was called Fika!!! Fika is the name of one of my favorite coffee shops of all-time in Parker, CO where I went to high school. I was really excited. Then, we walked around some more and browsed through the shops. I was on a mission to find some comfy booties because the zipper on the ones I have is shot. They have been such great shoes though, so it is hard to imagine parting from them. Therefore, I have high expectations for my replacement shoes. So then, that made it hard to find any and I didn't sadly. However, we saw a lot of cute shops and things. I found an adorable snow-globe ornament that says Papá and Mamá on it for my host parents. After that, we were going to go back to our apartment for a little and then come back downtown for dinner. On our walk home, we stopped in this Zumería (smoothie place) where we were just going to look at them since we had had so many liquids already, but once we stepped in, they looked so good that we had to get one. Finally, we made it back to our room where we played cards and listened to music for awhile. Then, we taxied back downtown to this sushi restaurant. I had a sushi craving this weekend apparently. Well, when we got there, they said they were full but that they had this other location down the street. So we went there, but it was a Japanese restaurant that didn't have sushi. But we had a lot of great food and for a great price. We had Edamame, Miso soup, Rice (that was sticky how I like it!), pulpo (octopus), and asparagus. I was really proud of myself for trying the Octopus. It was kinda chewy which I didn't like as much, but it was pretty good. So, MJ and I were trying to figure out something. What gave it away that we were American? Because everyone at the restaurant just automatically knew. They spoke to us in English and MJ and I had a pact that we were going to try to do everything in Spanish this weekend. Luckily, our waitress asked us if we wanted Spanish or English and we told her Spanish. I like when they ask. It's okay that they know we aren't perfect at it, but I don't like when they switch to English and don't even give us a chance to try to learn. Well, we were laughing a lot and having great conversations which meant we were probably loud, so maybe that is what gives it away. But see, that was later on after we had been sitting in the restaurant for awhile... whereas they knew right off the bat that we were American and I want to know why... could we not have been German or something? Da igual. After dinner, we went back to the Zumería for another smoothie as dessert. Then, we took a taxi back to our apartment because it was 1am and we had to wake up at 5:30am for our early flight home the next day. Oh, and a P.S. about the taxis, the first night from the grocery store, the taxi driver called me to ask where we were and she was speaking in Spanish. I couldn't fully understand her so I panicked and said, "Inglés?" But she kept talking in Spanish so I was like darn, I guess I have to do this in Spanish. AND I DID IT! Whoooo, go Kellie. I actually had to do that three times this weekend. It's a whole new level to talk on the phone with someone in a different language. I was very proud. Okay, P.S. over.

Sunday... it was supposed to be a very uneventful day. Our flight was super early, but it was also only an hour long. So the plan was to be back home in our beds in Sevilla by 10:30am. That didn't happen. First of all, MJ and I both were so sick from all the sugar we ate the day before... thinking about it just makes me so grossed out. We really only had two decent meals but then we had the two coffees, two smoothies, candy, etc. Bleh, bleh, bleh. So we were both miserable this morning and, we slept through our alarms. Our plan was to leave at 6am, but we didn't wake up until 7am. So we had to call a taxi and rush to the airport. Want to know the thoughts that were running through my head? "I thought after Amsterdam, you weren't going to do this to yourself again Kellie!!" But then again, it was Spain. We only had twenty minutes once we got the airport, but we got through security in less than ten. They had already started boarding though, so we definitely cut it closer than we should have. And, we were both feeling so awful. So I ended up throwing up on the plane which was so terrible, but I felt a little better after. Then, I was just trying to sleep and get through the flight. I had my headphones in and was completely ignoring what the pilot and flight attendants were saying of course... well, we started to descend and prepare to land but, as I looked out the window, there was an ocean and it was definitely not the Sevilla airport. I decided I should probably take out my headphones and listen to what they were saying over the PA. They told us that it was too dangerous to land in Sevilla because there was such thick fog and they couldn't see, so we were going to land in Malaga for now. Great... just what I wanted when I was feeling so awful. Well, then they told us that they were going to load us all on busses to get us to Sevilla. Of course. Things just kept getting better (sarcasm)... well, that's what we did. We all got on busses and got to Sevilla four hours later. I luckily slept most of the way back and so I was feeling better once we got to the Sevilla airport, but I was just so anxious to get home. I got home just in time for lunch with my host family where I looked like death... oh well. After lunch, I showered and unpacked and felt much more refreshed. I made sure to avoid any sugar at lunch and I felt so much better after having a healthy, appetizing meal. We had Paella and salad. It was just what I needed. So now, it is Sunday evening and, although my day definitely didn't go as planned, I also have never been happier to be home. I am officially worn out, though I think. I am ready for this last week of classes and then finals and then to see my parents!!!!!!!

Hope your December is treating you swell. Throughout all the Christmas rush, don't forget the true meaning of the season. :) Have a great week!