Semana Santaaaa!! And other things

Well I guess it's time to write another blogpost! This time about a bunch of random things I've been writing down on my phone so I'll actually remember to put them in my blog.

First, though, I'll start with Semana Santa.

The first day I went out was on Sunday to see La Estrella leave. I got there pretty early so I could get a good spot. Unfortunately, I didn't think my spot completely through and ended up standing in the sun for a good four hours. I'm too pale for this!! I was sweaty and sunburnt, but it definitely taught me a lesson, and I clearly avoided the sun for the rest of the week. Also, I invested in an over-priced tube of sunscreen. It was a good investment.

I've already seen Semana Santa ensayos happening throughout last semester, and more-so this semester, so my first impression wasn't super surprised. It is impressive, sure, but I don't know...when I'm in the direct sunlight for too long I guess I get cranky. It was cool, but I wanted to leave so bad. When the virgin finally came out, I teared up a little bit, but not for the reason everyone else was (she's so beautiful, people are really religious, etc) but for the reason that I could finally go home.

On Monday I saw the San Gonzalo procession, which was important to me because it's my host mom's favorite one. Her grandkids were in that one, and they were so adorable when they were getting ready to go out! It was also probably my favorite one because I was standing by the hospital, and the virgin stopped at the hospital and danced, and then they threw a ton of rose petals from the hospital windows onto the virgin! It was sooo cool! Afterwards, I went and picked up some petals to press in my journal. :)

Tuesday was a lot better. Especially since by then I had realized to only stand in the shade, and I was armed with a nice coat of sunscreen. It really only went uphill from there. Tuesday night was fun because Isis and Genisis and I bought one of those giant things of cotton candy to share while we waited for the Los Estudiantes procession. The Jesus and virgin were pretty cool, and it ended perfectly. Right as we were leaving, our feet were hurting and we were so tired, and we were straight up about to go find a bench to sit on to prepare ourselves for the walk back to Triana, when we saw the 5 bus! We basically cried tears of joy and BOOKED IT to the bus stop. Perfect ending to the day.

My favorite night was Thursday night/Friday morning, aka the Madrugá, where the most famous ones come out starting at midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning and go until like 12-2 in the afternoon. I left my house at 7pm and didn't return until 11:30/12pm the next day. It was completely worth it, though. It really threw off my sleep schedule, which I didn't appreciate, but hey what can ya do?

Also, Genisis' and Isis' family had tickets for the seats by the cathedral that night (well they had seats all week really), and they had two extra tickets...so obviously we tried to engañar the security guards at the gate with a story of how Genisis somehow lost her ticket. It totally worked, and we all got to sit down by the cathedral and watch the pasos! Super amazing experience that I'll never forget. I'll also never forget that later in the night, we tried to get into the *better* section, but her family only had one ticket...so we were way less convincing and it didn't work. Luckily, because their host mom is a G (as Genisis and Isis like to say), she got us the hookup with a security guard friend and we got to go in anyway! ;D That was even better because we could see the pasos enter the cathedral! Ahhh, so amazing!!

However, I'm not *that* big of a Semana Santa fan. I love it for the art/history/culture, but that's about it. I mean, yeah, it's impressive...but honestly, all of the virgins look the same. At least the Jesus ones are usually kinda different. Even my host mom agreed. Basically, once you've seen one paso, you've pretty much seen them all. I didn't even go out to see pasos on Wednesday I think because I was like, "eh...not really worth it." But I mean, if you ever get the chance to see it, you should!

Here's a video of the clips from my phone that I put together so you can get a good idea of what Semana Santa looks and sounds like!

So other than Semana Santa, which was all week, I've written down these little things I wanted to include in my blog. Here they are:

-THE SMELL OF THE ORANGE BLOSSOMS. PRAISE THE DEAR GOOD LAWD JESUS THERE IS NO BETTER SMELL ON THIS EARTH. I ~*completely*~ underestimated everyone when they told me that the orange blossoms smelled amazing. I have to say, "amazing" is a severe understatement. I swear, it smells like someone has run around the streets of Sevilla spraying beautiful tear-inducing (in a good way, like "I'm so happy I am smelling such a beautiful scent right now" way) perfume around every corner. I literally cannot handle it or breathe enough when I pass the trees. I also heard from one of my professors that somewhere in Sevilla they sell Orange Blossom perfume. I must find this and buy it if it doesn't cost an arm in a leg (which I feel like it might...).

orange blossoms<3

-It's starting to get *pretty* toasty here in Sevilla, and I brought enough of my American natural organic blah blah deodorant with me to last until like...two or so weeks ago (ugh, so close). I have discovered that Spanish deodorant, at least the one I bought, may smell nice, but that's all it has going for it. I asked Toni for deo advice, and she told me to go to the pharmacy and tell them that I have "sudor fuerte" aka in English, strong sweat. Ehh...I just want my American deo back. Also, TMI? Don't care. I'm human, and humans sweat. Get over it. This is something important that people need to know: if you have a favorite deo that works for you and you're going to study abroad, basically you need to bring a lifetime supply (or at least a lot) of that stuff with you to Spain, because you will sweat because it is hot, and I'm not about this Spanish deodorant.

-This fun conversation between me and Toni:

*Aitana (Toni's 8 month old granddaughter) crying in the background with obnoxious music coming from a baby toy and her mother saying "shhh ya está ya esta ya ya ya*

Toni: Niños, niños, niños...Kari, no tengas niños

Me: Vale, no voy a hacerlo

Toni: Un gato y un perro, pero no niños

Me: Vale jajaja

Translation:
Toni: Kids, kids, kids...Kari, don't have kids
Me: Okay, I won't do it.
Toni: A cat and a dog, but not kids
Me: Okay hahaha
Toni: *gives me that "I'm so freaking serious and I'm also probably going to throw this baby out of a window if she doesn't stop crying soon" death stare*

Also, I just want to write about something important to me really quick. I'm feeling kind of distressed now that I only have a little bit over a month left here in Spain. I was looking forward to going to Spain for such a long time...and now it's almost over?? What?! How is that even possible?! This has literally been the best past "most of a year" of my life...I'm not ready to leave yet. :'(

Also, it's been such a long time since I've really felt at home somewhere, and I really feel at home here. I haven't felt at home anywhere since I had to move from Colonial Heights out to my dad's. I mean, I feel kind of at home at Sweet Briar, but it's not the same because I know it's temporary (and now it's closing so isn't that just dandy). Ya know? I'm always going home for breaks, and I'm not even going home. I'm just kinda house hopping between friends and family...and even though I feel pretty comfortable where I go, it's not the same as feeling "at home." Since September, for about 8 months now, I've had a place to go home to everyday -- a safe, clean place with people who I really enjoy being around. I don't want to leave that. I don't want to go back to house hopping to avoid actually going home. It's not fun, it's stressful, and it's tiring. I'm not ready to deal with all of that again. I guess that's life, though. Time moves on weather you're ready or not...

Back to a less serious subject to end this, Feria is coming soon, and trying on dresses is my new hobby:



Now if only I had a spare 32309230 euros lying around to afford one plus all of the accessories! But not to worry, my host mom is letting me use one of her daughter's dresses!! I wish I could have my own, though. I'm not complaining too hard, though, I'll at least get to wear one to Feria :D

Also, going to Paris tomorrow so yay! I get to see Megan once again, and this time she'll be my free tour guide haha :D

Mostly just another rant about my internship. Eh. But here comes Semana Santa!

Thank goodness. It's finally Semana Santa (Holy Week). That means I don't have school allllll week. I plan on #1. Relaxing and of course #2. Going around Sevilla to see some pasos! I'm super excited!

The last week of classes before break was a struggle. When you know you have a break coming up, the motivation to do work is at about a two and a half. We didn't have class on Tuesday, though, due to a huelga -- gotta love those Spanish protests that get you out of school.

Nothing else really happened this week. Thursday night was the grand finale of one of Toni's favorite shows, Gran Hermano VIP. I watched it with her until it got to be like midnight and then I just couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not a fan of that show, but I did want to see who won...but I had to get up early the next morning, so sleep won over Gran Hermano. Turns out that the girl who I thought would win, Belén, did in fact win.

However on Friday, things got a lil' crazy. My internship has been kind of a hot mess lately, but when is it ever normal? So, the past two Fridays, the first teacher that I work with has not been the most helpful. I'll tell ya all about it:

The first time, she just straight up didn't show up to class until like 9:30 (class was already half over). Then she poked her head in the door, told me there was a "problem downstairs" and that she wanted me to just teach the class, then she rolled right back out (without even telling me what she wanted me to teach)! It's not even my job to teach in that class (so I didn't come prepared with a lesson plan -- lesson learned, always come with some kind of plan even if it's not an actual lesson plan...just anything to pass the time), and she knows that because she's the one who told me that my job is to work with small groups to evaluate their English while she teaches. Her exact words were, "Every Friday, you'll evaluate a group of students' English, help them find what they need to work on the most, and practice conversation with them." Why she gotta change things up without notice???

ALSO, let me tell you something else: I don't think I have ever worked in a class so disrespectful in my entire life. I don't think I've even seen or been in a class that disrespectful -- and I've basically spent my whole life in school, 17 years out of 21. They were up and moving around (despite my best efforts to get them seated), throwing numerous things (including the typical paper balls and also something that looked like a shortened bike tire inner tube -- which I promptly confiscated as soon as I saw it flying through the air), hitting each other, screaming for literally no good reason other than to just see what I would do, and about 50 other different things. I'm 23902383% sure it's because the students don't think of me as a teacher and just want to see what limits there are. It was absolutely impossible to do anything in that class. I tried every dang trick I could remember from my education classes to try to bring things together, but goodness gracious, it was like trying to climb up an icy hill barefoot with your hands tied behind your back. There's not one education class out there that could even begin to prepare you for the nightmare that is "American Intern Working in a Class of almost 30 Spanish 15 Year Olds." Not one.

It's also so fun when the students think you don't know Spanish (the teachers tell us not to let them know we know Spanish...but I feel like sometimes it's necessary to communicate in Spanish in situations like this), so they like to talk about the fact that they can say and do whatever they want because I won't know what's happening. It's even more fun to respond to them in Spanish and tell them that they're definitely wrong, and then watch their eyes get really big. This gif accurately sums up how that feels:

And it's not like I could go find their teacher because she literally just rolled out, didn't tell me where she'd be, and that was that. Gee, thanks for the help.

Let it be known that it wasn't a complete disaster. I sort of got their attention enough to play a pretty good game of hangman in English, and I got the majority of them to do a writing prompt. It just took way more effort than necessary (and a lot of help from the students who actually took me seriously when I told them that I was going to give a *really* honest report of their behavior to their teacher).

After that class, I searched high and low for the teacher, finally found her just chillin' in a random hallway, and then told her that the class was probably the worst in the history of all classes ever, then I told her I was never working with them alone ever again. Her response? "Yeah, they're my worst class. They're very rude and loud....no respect. Was it really bad? I'm not surprised. I'll talk to them." Wow, so helpful.

The second time (this past Friday), she showed up at 9:20, didn't apologize or anything, and then just called on the students she wanted to be evaluated, unlocked the teacher's workroom down the hall for us and sent us on our merry way. Ugh.

Side rant: I'm pretty sure she just didn't want to teach --- aka do her job. I have heard from other interns that she never shows up to class/always shows up ridiculously late to class, or that she'll come to class but leave for the majority of the class to "go make copies." Basically, we've come to the conclusion that she uses her classes with interns as free periods. I don't feel like that is very professional, and I'm pretty sure more than half of these interns aren't even studying education, so they don't even know the basics of how to manage a classroom (which isn't a bad thing, but it's not very ideal). Also, why is she even allowed to do that? None of us are licensed teachers, and the older students don't see us as teachers...they just see us as these random Americans invading their class to speak English for a while. That combined with the complete lack of respect I've seen for teachers from students in this school creates a pretty hectic classroom environment that ~no one~ is really equipped to handle.



There is a giant silver lining to all of this, though! I no longer dread going to infantil (the 4 and 5 year olds) after this class! It's basically heaven in there! Singing songs, tellings stories...and of course...wiping snot. You know, I didn't know small children produced so much snot. It's slightly disturbing. But really, I like my infantil class now, and I totally prefer it over the 15 year olds.

Also, things at my internship were kind of a hot mess on Friday because that was the day of the school's mock Semana Santa procession. On one hand, it was an extremely valuable and amazing experience to witness, but on the other hand, it was a lot of stuff to handle. Phew. I bet it took some intense organization. Here are some pictures I borrowed from the school's Facebook page:

Some students dressed up like women do on a certain day of Semana Santa to mourn the death of Jesus
(source)

Nazarenos all ready to go!
(source)

Some Nazarenos!
(source)

My internship supervisor making her way through a sea of children
(source)

Yep, there are students underneath of that carrying it just like "in real life!"
(source)

If you want to see the rest of the pictures, here's the link to their Facebook page: Colegio Marista San Fernando FB Page

So yeah, that's about it. Tomorrow (and the rest of this week), I plan on going out to see some "real" Semana Santa pasos. That'll be an interesting experience. I really hate crowds so much, so on one hand I'm really looking forward to everything, but on the other hand...ugh, not really. It'll be fun, though!

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College search update:

There's nothing to update you on because I'm still waiting for financial aid information from Salem College and Randolph College. I've got my information for Hollins University, but I just need to double check that I would for sure graduate on time from there (same with all of the rest of the colleges). I've almost thrown Salem out of the picture because of the differences between education programs, though...but I'm keeping it in the running just in case it is ridiculously cheaper. Not sure if I would still go, though. Basically everything's still a waiting game.

Rollin' Along

These past few weeks have been like a giant volcano spewing out life complications. March just isn't my month. I find out SBC is closing, I get sick for the first time in two years ruining my whole "immune system of steel" bragging rights thing I had going on (I usually have an immune system of steel...but steel can rust when it rains, and it's definitely been raining in my life), my dog gets put down, and then I find out some bad news about someone in one of my best friend's family (being vague because it's a personal matter that's not my business to share publicly on the internet). But trust me, it definitely did not add sunshine and sparkles to my life.

So, what did I do this week? Well, I took everything that is bothering me and stuck it in an imaginary suitcase every time I went to class so I could focus. Aaaand, when I went to my classes this week, I learned three out of four of my midterm grades...and I didn't fail, so that's something good! My lowest grade was in my Mitos Literarios class. I got a 7.something. In my clase de fonética y fonología, I got an 8.2 -- which was super surprising because when I took it, I was definitely sure I had failed #1. because I guessed on so many questions and #2. because I didn't even study for it...at all. In my escritura creativa class I got a 9, which I was honestly expecting because it was really easy. Last but not least, I don't know what I got on my poesía midterm...and I don't want to know, because I think that's probably my worst one. I find out tomorrow, though.

Now that midterms are over, I can focus all of my free time on the whole new college search thing I've got going on. That's basically all I did this week. "What's Kari up to in Spain," you ask? Oh you know, I just go to class then bolt home so I can respond to emails and try to figure out my life. I spent this week submitting forms, Skyping with people from different colleges, and emailing a bunch of people. I created a huge list of questions to ask to admissions counselors and two other lists to ask to Spanish professors and Education professors. This upcoming week I'm Skyping with a couple more Education professors.

Talking with the colleges' education professors is something really important to me. I think the most important thing for me in the college search is the school's education program. I'm basically done with my Spanish major at all of these colleges thanks to my wonderful time here in Sevilla, so I care about the Spanish department a lot less (I still care, just not as much), because instead of only having two or three classes left like with Spanish, I still have two more years of education classes since I'm looking to do a five year MAT program...so I have to make sure I talk with the education professors to get a good understanding of their programs so I can pick the best one for me.

Also, I've still not narrowed down my college choices (although a lot will have to do on how financial aid and education programs compare, which I still don't have all of the info on). I'm looking at Hollins University, Randolph College, and Salem College. I am having such a hard time trying to figure out which one I want to go to. I realized that I don't even know how to pick a college. I straight up don't know what I'm doing. When I was a senior in high school, choosing a college wasn't a thing for me. I had Sweet Briar, and that was it. I applied to a couple of other schools as backups, but I had my heart set on Sweet Briar, so there were no real comparisons or questions to be asked. It was basically just Sweet Briar or nothing.

This search process is really overwhelming. I don't know how everyone else does it! Granted, they don't have to do it from an ocean away in their junior year of college...but still, it was so easy for me before...the answer was always Sweet Briar. I loved everything about it. I just felt that it was the right school for me. I didn't feel the need to compare it to other schools or to look at my other options...it was a perfect fit! But now, I'm being forced to look at other options. You know, this process is just like buying new shoes, except you're given a limited amount of options and none of them fit. One might be too tight and not offer all that you want, the other one might be too big and you just don't think you'll be able to make it work...and then the other just rubs your feet the wrong way, and while you figure once you break it in it'll be okay, the initial blisters are unattractive and a huge pain. I guess I just have to find the school like the last shoe I mentioned. Things won't be perfect at first, and I might find the change to be really painful...but with time, I guess I'll adapt to it.

And don't get me wrong, these are all good schools with faculty and staff who've been extremely helpful over the past few weeks. They are colleges that are all beautiful and each with an interesting history, and I'm sure they are very special in their own way. Also, I know that for many people, these three schools are someone else's dream schools just like Sweet Briar was mine. To them, one of those schools was it. It was perfect! They wouldn't want to go anywhere else just like I don't want to go anywhere else.

But now, Sweet Briar is just a dream like it was before I applied...except this time, I know this dream of me graduating from SBC won't come true. I'm done at Sweet Briar. I was done before I knew I was done when I drove off campus in May 2014. I said to myself as I was leaving, "The next time I drive onto campus, I'll be a senior. I can't believe it!" Now, the next time I drive on campus I won't even be a student.

These are the kind of thoughts that have been occupying my mind for the past week. Maybe next week I'll have more concrete feelings towards a school. Maybe I'll have eliminated a school from my list, or who knows, maybe a miracle will happen and Sweet Briar will be saved. I don't really know anything right now. It's all just still up in the air.

So, back to my life in Spain really quick before I finish this thing up. It was kinda of just a sad and dreary week. It rained a lot, and we went to Granada on a JYS trip this weekend, which I was really looking forward to as a break from everything...but it rained the whole time we were there. I still had a good time, but it just wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. Also, this week is the last week of classes before Semana Santa begins. I'm really looking forward to experiencing Semana Santa. It's going to be super cool, and maybe it'll be a good distraction to everything else that's going on.

An Official Rant about my Life

An Official Rant about my Life

by Kari Christopher

Disclaimer: I don't have the time to write a normal blog post. This isn't really even related to studying abroad, but it has some bits and pieces of that stuff...but I have a to-do list 3,000 miles long, a short attention span, and I'm just plain tired. So, I'm just going to rant and complain because I really don't have the time or energy to clearly organize my thoughts, and honestly, I'm going to rand and complain just because I can. I gotta get this off my chest. Hopefully, something interesting or good will come out of this. At the least, I at least know that ranting usually makes me feel better towards the end.

As you may know, Sweet Briar College, my first-choice college, my home, is closing. As you also may know, I am currently in Seville, Spain. Let me tell you something, being a junior and finding out your college is closing is quite possibly one of the worst things that could ever happen. Being a junior and finding out your college is closing while you're an ocean away is even worse. AND, having it happen during the middle of your spring semester while you're studying abroad right before you take your midterms?? Yeah. Probably the worst.

Don't get me wrong, this sucks no matter who you are. Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, faculty/staff, alumna, parents, family, friends...it sucks for everyone, period.

I've just felt like a complete train wreck the past couple of weeks. I found out about Sweet Briar's closing the week before my midterms. The week before my midterms was supposed to be when I started studying for my exams, but obviously, I flung that idea right out of the window and immediately went into college search overdrive. I spent every waking moment emailing different colleges, searching for information, trying to keep up with what was happening on campus, and reading articles about what was happening. I told myself once the weekend came, I'd take a break from everything Sweet Briar related and focus only on my exams and doing well on them.

Buuuutttt, that weekend I came down with tonsilitis and was in bed sleeping until that Monday morning. I didn't have a lot of time to study. Needless to say, I'm not sure how my exam grades are going to look, but I don't care. I have bigger things to worry about like picking a freaking new college to go to.

I never thought I'd have to go through the college admissions application process again...unless I was trying to get another degree or something...but here I am!

I feel like this has kind of happened to me before. Senior year of high school, a couple of weeks before my birthday, my landlord showed up and told my mom and I that we had a month to move out. That was SO FUN!! In case you missed the sarcasm...it actually, at that time, was the absolute worst. At first, I totally thought we were going to be homeless. My mom didn't have a job at the time, we couldn't really afford any of the places we could find. I ended up having to move in with my dad, and my mom had to move to a trailer park. My dad lives 35 minutes away from my high school, and I thought I had to change high schools February of my senior year. Luckily, I got permission to keep attending CHHS so I could graduate from there since I had such little time left. It really sucked driving to and from school every day. I felt so distant from everything, and really, living with my dad is not the healthiest place to live.

Those first months I spent at my dad's, I kept telling myself that even though things felt really awful then, come August, I would finally be able to escape and go to Sweet Briar: my first choice college, the "pink bubble," the place I'd be safe and sound and back on track. In April 2012, I visited SBC for the first time during an accepted applicants weekend. I fell in love with the school more than I already had from just talking with my admissions counselor and researching every little detail about the school. Like many other women, I knew that Sweet Briar was perfect for me the moment I drove onto campus. The drive there was rainy, cloudy, and dreary, but as soon as I turned onto campus...the clouds literally parted, the sun shown down on the newly budding trees and green grass, and it ended up being an extremely beautiful day. It was totally a sign.

Fast-forward to freshman year: it was great. My professors were wonderful, I took a variety of classes, and I decided that Spanish and Education were the right routes for me. I set my mind on studying abroad with Junior Year in Spain even though I was advised that it would be difficult while being in the education program, but that wasn't about to stop me. I planned out my four years to make it happen, and look, here I am now in Spain...here for the year and still in the education program! I also met a ton of amazing people who I'm proud to call my Sweet Briar sisters. I got my first on-campus job as a Phonathon caller, and it was a really encouraging job to have as a freshman. So many alumnae spoke to me and told me all about their favorite experiences at Sweet Briar and wished me luck in my four years there. The only thing that sucked about freshman year was the fact that I had to leave campus to go back home on breaks.

Fast-forward to sophomore year: It was a giant struggle but also a giant milestone year. First, I dealt with some serious depression. It wasn't easy. I didn't always want to go to class or to study. I didn't want to go to work. I didn't want to do anything. The once special Sweet Briar, the pink bubble, was just black and white. I didn't care that I was there (something that I wish I could have taken advantage of more now that I'm not there for the last operating semester). I didn't let anyone know (except a few select people) I was struggling, either, which in hindsight, kind of made things worse (but at the same time the motivation to not let anyone know I was struggling is what kept my grades at a decent level). But whatever, I got through it. It was a milestone year because, despite my lack of caring about basically anything, I still applied to the Teacher Education Program and got in, and I applied to study abroad with Junior Year in Spain, and I was accepted. These two things definitely motivated me a ton once I started feeling a little better towards the end of spring semester.

Fast-forward to last semester: No more depression, no more struggling. I was in Sevilla, ¡por fin! A little homesick, surprisingly. I missed the comforts of America...like actually understanding people when they talked to me, being able to communicate without using a dictionary, and understanding the cultural norms. I got over it, though, once I got used to everything. A few annoying things from the USA kept trying to creep in on my life here in Sevilla, but with some guidance, I dealt with it easily. After that, I finally felt perfectly 100% okay for the first time since senior year of high school before the whole moving thing happened! I was doing great :D

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago when I found out Sweet Briar was closing: Knocked down. Slapped in the face. Good bye finally being happy, hello scrambling to get up out of a ditch that seems just a little bit too deep. I was so freaking ready to deal with life head-on when I got back to the States. I had a plan. I wasn't going to live at home so I wouldn't have to risk my now great mental health, I was going to take summer classes to help finish my gen eds, I was going to try to get a job where I could live elsewhere away from home. I was going to enter my senior year at Sweet Briar and finish strong, then move on to my fifth year to get my MAT. Everything was going to be okay. But of course, once I'm finally feeling like I'm standing on solid ground, I have the rug ripped out from underneath me.

Now, what's ahead of me? A bunch of fog. I can't see anything. Everything's confusing, and I don't know what to do. I'm trying to find a place to graduate from and to complete my MAT. Though I am eternally grateful for how nice and accepting everyone at the different teach-out schools are being, none of them feel the same as Sweet Briar. None of them are Sweet Briar. I know I can't compare the new schools with Sweet Briar...I'll be disappointed every time. I need to look at everything with an open mind, and I'm really trying. It's just so hard to do when you finally felt like everything was okay and then suddenly nothing was.

I have a little hope that maybe SBC will be saved, but I have to be responsible and prepare as if it is going to close.

And preparing for Sweet Briar's closure is stressful. I'm tired of sending 32094234 emails to 32048423 different people: admissions counselors, Spanish professors, education professors, current students of the different colleges, my professors at Sweet Briar, etc. I'm tired of looking at different colleges. I'm tired of planning so much. I'm tired of not knowing exactly what to even expect from the colleges I'm applying to. I'm tired of trying to picture everything from so far away. I'm tired of being so far away during a time like this. I'm tired of all of this affecting my last bit of time in Sevilla. I think I'm just tired in general.

I just want to get all of this solved as soon as possible so things can go back to normal...but I guess, one thing that I can take from this, is that nothing is ever normal. Something's always going to happen, and you just gotta be flexible and try your best to handle the situation as efficiently as possible. Stuff happens and you just gotta deal with it.

And stuff just keeps on happening to me. Before I end this, I have one more thing to complain about. A few hours ago, after completing a giant to-do list I had made at the beginning of the day and feeling super relieved and confident, my dad sends me an email to tell me he had my dog put down.

What's next, life? What else are you going to throw at me?

Whatever it is...I'll be ready. Despite everything, I know that I'll get through this eventually, and it'll only make me a stronger person in the end.

An Almost Blogless Week

This is going to have to be a skip week for me. The reason the title says "almost blogless" is because technically, this is still a blog. #loopholes

Why?

#1. I am sick with acute tonsilitis which means my tonsils are infected and disgusting. It basically feels like someone ripped my tonsils out of my throat, ran them over exactly 72 times with an 18-wheeler, and then glued them back in my throat with acid. I also had a fever Friday and a good half of Saturday, and today (Sunday) my host mom made me go to the hospital because the medicine the house-call doctor gave me on Friday has done diddly squat. If anything, my throat has only gotten worse. I also just generally feel pretty out of it. Writing this short amount is actually pretty energy consuming. Thank goodness for spellchecker.

#2. As you probably know, Sweet Briar is closing, and I still haven't completely gathered my thoughts. I don't know what to say yet...and if you know me, you know I like to have what I want to say ready to say before I say it.

#3. Exams. This week I have midterms. I have yet to begin studying due to the whole Sweet Briar thing and then unexpected illness thing. If I feel ready to write my blog later this week, I'll likely not have the time because (you can bet each hair on your head) I'll be cramming for those exams.

So yeah. Basically the only thing you really need to know about this week is that Tuesday I found out my college is closing which basically feels like your life is ending, Friday I got really sick, and exams are this week. So much bad luck in one week. I kind of hate everything, but underneath the hatred, I know something good will come out of this...I hope.

Aaaandddd, if I can just make it to Thursday, Megan is coming to visit from Paris!! I haven't seen her since September before I left for Spain. It's been tooo long. Here's to hoping I'm still a functioning human being when she gets here...because right now I'm definitely more on the non-functioning side of things.

Aprovechar, v.: to make the most of

This week, instead of recapping what I did, I'm going to talk about something important...and then recap my time in Cádiz this weekend. 

So the thing I want to talk about is called "aprovechar." That's the Spanish word for "to make the most of." This week I realized that I have less than 100 days left in Spain. 72 days to be exact. That thought basically sent me into panic mode. 

Once you've been studying abroad for a certain amount of time, the brand-newness of everything tends to wear off. For example, when you cross the Puente de Triana, you're not ~~*crossing the Puente de Triana*~~, you're just walking across a bridge to get to where you're going. When you pass by the Cathedral, a beautiful grand building in the middle of Sevilla, you don't even see it. You tend to forget you're in a city of historical importance: a city Christopher Columbus once inhabited, a city Cervantes wrote part of Don Quijote de la Mancha, etc. It all just feels so normal after awhile. You get used to the way of life, your schedule, etc. You kind of fall into a rut, although I don't like to describe it so negatively. It's less of a rut and more of a well worn path. Either way, things lose their shiny glitter of excitement and awe, and just become average.

I am not the kind of person who likes to take things for granted, so I don't like to admit that this has happened to me. I try to appreciate as much as I can as often as I can while I am here, but like I said...it just happens without you noticing. 

So back to "aprovechar." Once I saw my time left here in Sevilla, I decided I  *have* to aprovechar the rest of my time here. Not that I haven't been doing that, it's just that things have just been feeling so normal...I'm on that well-worn path, and I need to get off. It's like that quote by Robert Frost:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

So lately I've been making sure to do things differently to get off this path. For example, I'm taking new ways home from the University. My normal and quickest way is my favorite, probably because it's the quickest, but lately I've been walking by the river on the way home. It's always so pretty, and I wonder why I don't do it more often. Probably because I always get side tracked and end up sitting by the river for a while, but that's okay. It's nice to take time and watch the world pass by. It's why I would prefer to live in the city. There are so many people doing different things, leading completely different lives. They all have a house to go home to (well, except for the homeless...), families, secrets, things about them that make them special. We are all so different, but at the same time we are eerily the same. We all have a brain, two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, blood, a beating heart, pumping lungs, etc etc. It's fascinating, and I'm going to miss all the people watching I do when I have to go back to the Middle of Nowhere, USA. 

Wow, I tend to go off the track a bit. Anyway, I just am making sure lately to stop and smell the roses. Breathe in the scent of the freshly baked bread at El Horno Abuelo as I pass by each morning, cherish the feeling of the Sevillian sun warming (or burning?) my cheeks when I walk home, listen closely to the familiar sound of Toni's knitting needles clacking upon each other as I eat a traditional (yet vegan) Spanish dinner made by no other than Toni, the best host mom ever, herself. These are all such small things that I might not ever get to experience again in my entire life, especially Toni's cooking, which in case you don't know, is usually amazing.

Just gotta keep actively thinking about what I'm experiencing. I think this is like a last minute attempt to stick all of these memories in my mind, because I know when I go back to the States, things won't be the same.  

...and so far, I feel like I should do this more often. Here in Spain and in America. Because really, who knows how many days you have left for the rest of your life? 

----

Okay, and now for Cádiz. I'm not covering the rest of the week because #1. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and #2. I don't want this to be too long because #3. it's another late post. 

So, we left Sevilla on Friday at 4:45pm. Our train arrived in Cádiz at around 6:30pm. From the train station, we walked to our apartment from Airbnb, which ended up not even being 5 minutes away. Super close and super convenient! So we dropped our stuff off, and since we had a kitchen, we went grocery shopping! We got lots of fresh veggies and Genisis and Isis, being vegetarians rather than vegans like I am, got lots of eggs. Yuck, I've always hated eggs my entire life. Ask my parents if you don't believe me. 

My reaction to eggs.

So after we got back from the store, we made dinner. Isis doesn't cook, so I cooked our food and Genisis made her own since she likes cooking almost as much as I do. I made lentil tacos (like normal tacos but with lentils instead of meat -- also minus the cheese and other dairy products), which didn't taste like tacos because the taco seasoning here is a package of spices labeled with lies. It said taco seasoning, it was even Old El Paso brand, but it wasn't spicy or salty or anything resembling a taco. Well, the taco seasoning in the USA is probably also a package of lies compared to actual Mexican tacos...but you get my point. It was vaguely tomatoey and like savory with something else, but it definitely wasn't normal. It was still good, but it wasn't what we were expecting. 

Despite the food being good, this meal was the worst meal I've had in a while, but it wouldn't come back to get me until Sunday (more about it later). To go with our tacos, we also got chips, salsa, and guacamole. I've never had to worry about ingredients in guacamole because it's usually vegan...so after having a good like 4 spoonfuls worth, I decided to look at the ingredients because once again, it just didn't taste normal. That's when I saw one of the first ingredients was cheese and closely following that was milk. I wasn't mad when I saw that...or even scared. It was a simple mistake, and I figured if my stomach could handle that cup of hot chocolate in Madrid without too many problems, it could handle the guacamole. I was so wrong (but like I said, more later).  After dinner, we just watched tv (aka Spanish cartoons because why not?) and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up with stomach cramps from the fiery pit in the center of the earth lovingly known by children as h-e double hockey sticks. Once those passed, I thought I was in the clear...so I made a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, toast, and a banana. It was nice to have a "real" and filling breakfast. 

Yep, you bet I took a photo. There weren't any bowls...so I had to make the oatmeal (which is slightly out of focus, sorry) in a mug. It was still good.

So we went about our day. I took a shower, and since there weren't any towels (something they should have warned us about...), I used my hair dryer to dry off. It was very warm and I would recommend it to anyone who's towel-less. I wish my towel could be that warm. So that was an interesting experience, but hey, it worked. 

The first place we went on Saturday was the beach. We walked along the beach, saw some ancient Roman ruins, learned that Cádiz is the oldest city in Europe, and then headed over to the cathedral. 

*Side note fun fact: My host mom just informed me that the actual old Cádiz is now underwater. My roommate added, "Ooo, like Atlantis."*

The cathedral was really beautiful, but obviously not as beautiful as the one in Sevilla. It was definitely worth the 3€, though. 

Inside of the cathedral

Outside of the Cathedral

After that, we went to a nearby cafe because Genisis and Isis needed to fuel their coffee addiction. It was so nice to sit under a palm tree and look up at the giant cathedral, knowing that the beach was just behind it. Also, it was nice and warm so I didn't even have my coat on. Spring had sprung here in southern Spain. 

After coffee, we searched for the Torre de Tavira. It was 5€ to get in with our student IDs, and once again, completely worth it. Genisis forgot her student ID, but since her and Isis are twins, they let her get by on the student price since Isis had her ID. Twin perks? I think so. Anyway, this tower has an amazing 360° view of Cádiz, and also this amazing thing called "cámera oscura." It was *~the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life regarding cameras and photography~*. It was this giant round white concave slab of stone, with giant mirrors and glass lenses up in the tower controlled by rods which reflects the images from the mirror onto the stone, creating a real time video "camera" on the table thing. It had extremely sharp focus, you could zoom in and out, and you could even see birds flying, people hanging their clothes, people on the street...it was crazy! It was also the ultimate stalker camera because you could see all over the city and the people walking near the tower. We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, so you'll have to check out this photo I borrowed off of the Torre Tavira website:

http://www.torretavira.com/es/photos/camara/imagen01.jpg

Then, we headed up to the top of the tower to take in the view of Cádiz:

Cádiz!

Me with maybe Rota (American Naval base) in the background? Our tour guide who showed us the Cádiz with the cámara oscura pointed out where Rota was but I don't remember exactly where...oops?

A tree in a forest of edificios

The view of the cathedral

All three of us atop the tower!

After the tower we headed home to make lunch. I made tofu with sautéed spinach, onion and peppers and it was tasty. We also put it on tortillas because we had leftover tortillas that we didn't want to waste. It was still good, yet untraditional. 

Yep, more food pictures. No shame. It was good. 

The time after lunch is lovingly known as siesta time, so we were all just half asleep lounging on our patio soaking up the warm sun and enjoying the warm weather to pass the time after lunch until our beach adventure closer to sunset time. As you can tell, this trip was way more about relaxation than actually doing things.

Siestaing -- well, Genisis is fake siestaing. She was definitely taking selfies and creeping on instagram while I was half asleep next to her. 

But suddenly, interrupting our nap-lazy time, I heard Semana Santa music. I immediately looked over at Isis and whispered "do you hear that?" When she realized what it was, we both started staring at Genisis to see how long it would take for her to notice. It took about .6 seconds, and she immediately jumped up and yelled "LET'S GO FIND IT!!" ("It" being the Semana Santa ensayo). In case you don't know, Genisis has an almost unhealthy obsession with all things Semana Santa. So, we all rushed to get ready to go, locked the door, and rolled out to find the Semana Santa ensayo. After a little while of following the music, we realized it was either go into the old district to find the ensayo, or stick to our original plan of going to the beach at sunset. It was getting pretty close to sunset, so we decided to head over to the beach instead. It was sooo worth it. Check out these amazing views (also I took about 302984 pictures of the sunset so bear with me): 

Cute lil' doggy prints :)

Quite probably the best sunset I've ever seen in my life. 

Actually, it was the best sunset I've ever seen in my life. 

Cádiz...stop, you're too beautiful!

I was obsessed with the clouds.

JUST LOOK AT THIS. IT'S AMAZING.
Definitely cried a little...

Once it started getting dark and cold, we decided to head back to the main land...but none of us wanted to turn our back on what was still the most spectacular site I've ever seen...so, our solution was to hold hands to walk backwards so we could keep watching the sunset and to hold hands to prevent tripping (or maybe to make tripping worse?). It may sound silly or weird, but it's the moments like that that kind of burn a place in your memory forever. 

Once we got back up to the main road, were planning on going to a Flamenco bar (with vegan options!) for dinner, but since we still had food left over, we decided to go cook dinner at home as to not waste what we bought. It was another repeat of what we did the first night, except without dangerous guacamole. And except I made a PB&J for dinner, because I haven't had a PB&J in who even knows how long, and I needed to shove something like that down my inner American's throat to shut her up until we actually get back to America in May. 

So this basically leads us to Sunday morning, aka the worst morning of my life. Some how, the guacamole waited until Sunday to make me feel like I was dying (that or I had a really weird temporary stomach bug, but I'm like 97% sure it was from the guac). I woke up and felt extremely nauseous,  and luckily I never threw up (throwing up is the worst thing in the world), but I did spend a large amount of my morning in and out of the bathroom. I didn't even get to go out and explore with Genisis and Isis. :(. 

However, I still managed to enjoy my time at "home." The weather was perfect so I had the windows open, and there was so much natural light in the little apartment. It was so peaceful, but I could still hear cars passing by in the street, the occasional group of people walking by (it was a quiet street), and despite my rumbly upset tummy, I probably couldn't have had a better place to be. It really felt like home. I don't know why, but it reminded me so much of the springtime back in the house I grew up in. I enjoyed it soo much, and it was a really good reminder that "home" can be anywhere with the right ingredients.

After a while, I think I got all the nastiness out of my system, and I felt dramatically better. I still feel kinda gross, but not as bad as before. I texted my host mom and told her I don't want much for dinner just to be on the safe side. 

Finally around lunch time, Genisis and Isis came back from exploring more of Cádiz. Just before they got back, I had a little oatmeal for lunch. Since Isis was mooching off me for food,  I had to tell her that I didn't feel like cooking anything or eating much for lunch, and since we were just planning on having leftovers for lunch, she could just reheat what we had the night before...but she also took it upon herself to take the leftover plain lentils we had in the fridge along with a red pepper and half of an onion, and whipped up this amazing "lentil dip." This was an amazing feat for her since we all know she can't cook. Her exact words when she was in the kitchen were, "Hey! I'm cooking!! I don't know what the heck I'm making, but I think it looks good!" Genisis and I just brushed it off and hoped for the best since we all know that the only thing Isis can make is eggs, rice, and grilled cheese. Her lunch ended up looking like this:

Yep, you bet I took a picture of her lunch.

That "lentil dip" was the best thing ever, and the exact recipe isn't on my blog, as to keep the recipe a "secret recipe." ;) It's that good, I promise. So anyway, even though my stomach was still recovering, I mooched a little off of what Genisis and Isis made for lunch. I ate a little bit of the lentil dip (which is more like a multi-purpose/multi-functioning lentil recipe) with some tortilla chips we had left over, and then I had a little bit of Genisis' tofu/spinach/onion/pepper mixture which was also quite tasty (not pictured). 

With the end of every lunch time begins siesta time, where I may or may not have fallen asleep in the sun and gotten slightly sunburnt. Oops...those siestas will get you. But still...#patioperks?

After that, we reluctantly just cleaned up and got ready to go. It was a sad goodbye. I'll miss Cádiz. It was a really great and relaxing weekend!

This upcoming week is looking kind of grey. Exams are coming up so I need to start studying. I want better grades than last semester, but at the same time, with only four classes and barely any internship hours, leading me to getting more sleep this semester, focusing in class is sooo much easier! I'm already feeling better about exams than I did last semester. I almost feel like I don't need to study! Hahaha, no, just kidding.

Well, actually, I probably don't need to study very much for phonetics because that class is super easy and also my favorite class, which means things stick in my mind really easily. I definitely need to study for my mitos class, mainly I need to review the story about Celestina because I didn't really understand what was going on in that story because we watched the movie as our main source of information, and let me tell you, that was the worst because I canNOT pay attention to movies to save my life. We only read a few excerpts from the actual story, so I'm going to have to do a lot of Googling to get a good grasp on the story. My poesía class will also need some good study time, but he said he will go over more of what we need to study later, so I'll just put that off. It can't be *that* hard...I hope...and for my creative writing class?? I don't even *know* what to study, so I guess this will be interesting. I'll just review all my notes, make flashcards, and hope for the best!

And now for some side notes:

Side note #1: There was a guy on the train reading a book that says "cómo ganar amigos e influir sobre las personas." (How to win friends and influence people)

Side note #2: The guy who sat next to me on the train had the same ticket as someone else! This other guy came up and was like "oh excuse me, that's my seat..." so the guy next to me pulled out his ticket and they compared them and bam they had the same ticket. How strange. Oh, and the guy next to me told me it's the second time that's happened to him! Haha whaaat??