oh hello, neglected blog of mine

wow, it's been over a month since I have last written. Sorry about that, guys. posting pictures on this slow computer is proving very difficult, so until then I'm just writing. This is for the fam: happy easter! wish i could be there with you guys.
today is the last day of our semana santa break. i started out in tarifa, the furthest south you can possibly go in europe, and i saw africa! so excited to go to morocco in 2 weeks. we took a side trip to gibraltar, got to speak some english, went up the rock and saw the monkeys etc etc. i got some interesting pictures of the monkeys. they are so used to people that one of them even knew the guy who drove the van that took us up the rock. i didn't expect that at all: i knew we were going to see some monkeys, but i didn't know there would be so many of them and they would come right up to us.
tarifa is an awesome city. it's really small: you can walk across the whole city in about 25 minutes, but it's a huge kite surfing hotspot because it's so windy all the time (and i mean ALL THE TIME). it was amazing to be able to see people getting pulled up 20 feet into the air while lying on the beach. we saw a few semana santa processions there, but not like the ones we saw later in cádiz and back in córdoba.
after 3 nights in tarifa (i didn't want to leave), we spent a day in cádiz. i was excited to see the place without all the carival stuff going on, and it's a really nice place. we saw the end of a procession where they walked into a church and the marching band exploded into a beautiful song. i'm not sure if you guys know this but during the processions a group of men carries a giant thing, usually with some statue of jesus or the virgin mary on top down a few streets and then ends it in a church. we saw them practicing all around córdoba for weeks because the thing ways a few tons. definitely impressive! oh and i also did something in cádiz that i've always wanted to do: i tried sea urchin! i ate it raw right out of the shell with a spoon (the old man told me to eat it "como yogúr" like yogurt). it tasted like the smell of the sea, if that makes any sense.
after our day in cádiz, we took a bus to sevilla and then an overnight bus to lisbon. this was my second time in portugal and i loved it even more! it's a beautiful city. a lot like san francisco, actually. it even has golden gate and bay bridge look-alikes. oh and the portugese are my favorite people in the world. so nice! and there was a flea market right by our hostel that was just like the flea markets at home, if not better. i went to one last week in sevilla and it was alright, but this one had all the good stuff: old cameras and records, antiques, local artists selling their work etc. i bought a painting straight from the lady who painted it, which always feels great. once again, i didn't want to leave, but my friend said when we left tarifa that you should leave a place before you get bored with it, so then you'll have a reason to come back. and i'm definitely going back to all of those places someday.

More Granada

Oh and the picture of the foodstuffs from last post is of Churros, Spanish-style. Basically just fried tubes of dough dipped in melted chocolate. The hostel we stayed in was awesome. It had a huge courtyard with hammocks. Unfotunately I fell out of one of them and hurt my back. It still hurts. But other than that it was amazing. The picture of the space diorama is from the hostel. There was this weird cave under the stairs with pillows to sit on and that little space thing in the corner. The others are various pictures from the gypsy caves, the alhambra, and the street around where we stayed and walked every day. absolutely gorgeous! I called home today and left a message. Dad, I know it's your birthday tomorrow and I really want to call and talk to you, I'm not sure if you're working on your birthday. But I'll try. Today was my first day volunteering at the Córdoba zoo, helping/playing with autistic children. The zoo here is really small but they have all the best animals. I was inches away from a jaguar today and it looked so soft! it was behind glass though so don't worry. My friend and I are thinking about Mallorca or Portugal for spring break, and I'm going with a group to Barcelona next week! very excited about that as I've wanted to go to Barcelona for a long time. I've written enough for now. I'm actually really homesick. love you tons!

Granada: Mostly Dogs and Cats

I wish I had more than one weekend in Granada. It's my favortie city so far. Lots of dogs and cats there, even more than in Córdoba. Most of these pictures are from the Gypsy Caves neighborhood, but the one of the man petting the cat is from inside the Alhambra.

Medinat Al-Zahra (i hope i spelled that right)

Some ruins outside Córdoba. A palace that once belonged to a caliph. apparently back in its' heyday it was even bigger than the alhambra! oh wow!

Cadiz

Hey guys sorry about the lack of updates. Any internet I'm able to get is very very slow and unreliable. The pictures take forever to upload, we're talking like 20 minutes here. I'm sitting in the middle of the mall becuase I'm boycotting the internet cafe. it's overpriced and the lady is mean. These are some pictures of carnaval in Cádiz. basically it was the apocalypse. in a good way. I dressed up as a cave woman and spend over an hour backcombing my hair. I easily had the best hair out of all the thousands of people that were there. people kept stopping me and asking if it was a wig. but i ended up with dreads. it took over half a bottle of conditioner and a lot of patience to comb them out but it was worth it. ahhhh the pictures are uploading right now and its taking forever ahhhhh i hope they make it before the battery runs out on my laptop. im serious, it takes that long. ok YES ITS DONE!

pictures from last post

adventures!!!

This weekend I am leaving Córdoba for the first time since coming here. Carnaval in Cádiz! I'm going as a cave (wo)man. will most definitely have some interesting pictures. but anyways...
Today at 6:30 I am meeting my intercambio, Marta, for the first time. so excited! I'm meeting her in Plaza Tendillas, in the very center of the city. Speaking of Plaza Tendillas, two friends and I went there last week and there were a few people making giant bubbles. This is what those pictures are from. It was a very adventurous day. after that we walked around the old part of town and explored. (The picture of of the red building with the mats over the windows.) apparently when it gets hot in summer they soak the mats in water so it evaporates and cools the house. awesome! We ended up going into the AC Hotel, Córdoba's big five-star, to use the bathroom, which for some reason was on the 6th floor. But it had such a beautiful view that we stayed as long as we could before getting kicked out. (The picture of the two girls laying on the couch thing in front of the big window.) A man came and asked us what room we were in and if we were staying there. I guess they have cameras. We pretended not to understand him and said we were waiting for our grandma, but he made us leave anyway. It's probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in. The remaining picture is a fun one my friend took of us doing "USA" in the Mezquita.
Today we went to Medinat Al-Zhara (some ruins). It was beautiful! I am seriously in love with Muslim architecture. I will put up pictures when I upload them. Very excited for Cádiz this weekend and Granada next weekend. still not sure what i am doing for spring break. It sounds like most people are going to Italy. Ok I have to go now. Love love.

a few Mezquita pictures.

The Mezquita is Córdoba's big Mosque that was halfway made into a Catholic church sometime during the middle ages. It's an interesting medley of Islamic and Christian architecture, and mass in still held in it on sundays! It is Córdoba's biggest tourist attraction and the most beautiful place I have ever been! here are a few pictures. I don't have time to write much because in 15 minutes I have to go to a meeting about volunteering. I'll write and post more pictures later. Love you all!

sorry didnt work last post here are the pictures

ETA + more pictures. dont freak out. really.

A car bomb went off in Madrid today. No one was killed or injured.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/09/bomb-madrid-eta-camp-naciones

On that happy note, today was a good real first day of classes. I have a little homework that I'm going to do after this.
I'm putting up some pictures from this weekend. Some are of a fashion show we saw when we randomly walked by a store. The girl with the dark hair and purple dress is miss Córdoba. The one of the people playing music is a group of people we saw playing music in a bar. after everyone left it was just us and the regulars. There was an old man with a guitar and a 20-something girl who gave us a little flamenco lesson. I was the only one who tried to get up and dance, though. Speaking of flamenco, I start flamenco lessons next week! yay!
I also have a picture of this jacket i found. Favorite jacket I have ever seen! but it is 199 euros and i would rather spend my money on other things like travels. And speaking of travels, I am going to Carnaval in Cádiz on the 21st. You can look it up if you want but its pretty much just a big street fair that goes on all night.
Oh and they have really funny broken english t-shirts in the stores here. They say things like "happy watermelon" and "lovely frog" and "hey baby where you going?" with a picture of a dog under it. The one I'm wearing in the picture says "sexy cat", in case you can't read it. I know it doesn't fit so don't worry I didn't buy it. Also I have been watching a lot of spanish mtv, because that is all they play in the internet cafe. They play the same videos over and over just like american mtv. There is one I really like. I don't know how to post videos but I will try right after this to post it on here. Ok thanks for reading!
toni

mexican food!

sorry, no pictures today. but I had mexican food this morning! I don't know how they got the tortillas, but I ordered a burrito and they gave me two tacos! nothing like the food in mexico or the states but it was absolutely the spiciest thing I have had here, though it wasn't really that spicy. I love not having class on fridays, it makes the weekend seem so much longer! I am ready to go to classes tomorrow but of course I am sad this weekend is drawing to a close.
I am taking spanish, literature and film, and history. I have the same professor, Lola, for spanish and Lit&film. For history my professor is Antonio. Everyone really likes him, especially the girls. I just like him because when I listen to him talk I sometimes forget he is speaking spanish. He speaks so much clearer than everyone else here and it makes me think for a second that I'm better at spanish than I really am. I feel like Carmen is speaking a different language when she talks to her daughter than when she talks to me.
For Lit & Film we are going to watch close to 8 movies this semester. It will be an interesting experience having movie nights at other people's houses since we really aren't allowed to have visitors at other times. The directors of the program told us most people in spain don't entertain guests. I'm beginning to wonder if they told us that just so we wouldn't be tempted to invite people over. I really think there is a lot of truth to it, though. I know things here aren't any worse or any better than in the states, just different is all. But this is something I really don't understand. I think having people over at my house is really fun!
For the past three nights, I have gone dancing/socializing at a bar/club called soul. It has a really fun atmosphere and so far we have always seen other people from out program there. It is getting a little easier every day talking to strangers in spanish, though i am still very awkward at it. There is also the jazz cafe, though i don't think it should be called that since there is only jazz 2 nights a week, tuesday and wednesday. I think I am going to go see some jazz on one of those days.
Well I am going to go now. I don't want to make this too boring, especially because there are no pictures. I am really missing all of you. so long for now!
toni

more pictures...

my room and the awesome view of the traffic circle from my window! I'm in love with this place.

Viento

Heyyyy guys so it stopped raining yesterday, but now it's really cold and windy. I am in the internet cafe connected to the hotel we stayed at the first night. Hotel Tryp Los Gallos has become a meeting point for all of us, because it's something we all know how to get to. Today there was no class, but we had a tour of old town (La Judería). Unfortunately, It was at 9:30 and I didn't wake up until 10:15. I did that thing where youre so tired that you turn off your alarm without remembering. But I went to meet them in one of the plazas after the tour was over. defninitely going to try not to do that again.
A little bit about my living situation. I live in the coolest house ever! I have the best view out my window of Plaza Poeta, and there are is a lot of the color orange in the house. Gives it a nice cheerful feel. It's really nice having a girl close to my age in the house. She graduated last year and I think she's currently looking for a job. They have a dog, too. Her name is Reina and she's nice to me until I move too fast. If i make quick movements or talk too loud she barks at me. And she has a very ear-splitting bark. But I think she likes me because she lets me pet her and she stands and watches me for a long time when I'm taking a nap. Speaking of naps, Siesta is the best idea ever and I wish the whole world did it.
Last night we went to Jazz Cafe. There wasn't any jazz; we found out they only play on tuesday and wednesday nights, but it was a cool place with good drinks. We also met some new spanish friends last night. After jazz cafe, we went to a bar called Soul where there were a lot of people dancing. It was mostly locals there, so we found some interesting people to talk to. Not sure what is going on tonight, but I must say I'm excited to be able to sleep in tomorrow, finally.
I am looking forward to possibly going on the Morocco exchange, taking Flamenco lessons, and finding some volunteer opportunites. It would be nice to do something like that with my free time here, other than just selfish stuff like traveling and going to bars. My classes are pretty good so far, but its much nicer not having class on fridays. Next friday i think we are going to Mezquita, Córdoba's big mosque and probably it's biggest tourist attraction. I walked by the Mezquita yesterday and it was huge! really pretty. It has a cathedral built over it, of course, but at least the mosque part is still intact. There is a burger king right outside of it.
anyway I'm gonna go before you get too bored reading this. I should be updating this pretty consistently now, as i have been going to the internet cafe a lot after siesta. I'm putting up some pictures, of my room, my house, Reina, and one really bad picture of our group in front of a fountain at one of Córdoba's many parks. I'm not in the picture because I took it. More pictures coming soon, and better ones i swear!!!!
ok bye miss you guys!
love, toni

turtles in the train station

helloooooo again! sorry I have been so inconsistent with this, but i dont have internet in my house and i have to go look for places with wifi (or "weefee" as they call it in spain). I miss all of you but i am loving it here! right now i am sitting in ZOCO, Cordoba's big mall. I am sitting outside a grocery store and a cafe and am really scared of getting my laptop stolen, so im only going to post one picture and not write very much. sorry =[ I will find an internet cafe and update you soon because I have many stories! I was only in Madrid for a short while but i thought it looked really amazing. it was snowing there when my plane landed!!!! so awesome. oh and there is a big pond full of turtles in the middle of Atocha, a big train station in Madrid. I took a picture of them because they are cute and they have shells! that's all. I had my first day of class today and I love my host family. more stories later once i find WEEFEE in a less sketchy place.

love you darlings!

toni

Cordoba doba bor boba

Soooo I just finished my first day here in Spain! It was snowing when my plane landed in Madrid. I was not expecting it at all, nor was i dressed for it. Basically today was a really fun and crazy day. I have a lot to tell and I have some pictures too, though they aren't very good. I'm at the Hotel Los Gallos in Cordoba right now, and my roomie is trying to sleep so I will post pictures later. I get to meet my host family and go home with them tomorrow after breakfast! yeeeee! O.K. goodnight dears!

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