Hola, cariños.

Perdóname, yo sé que ha sido muchísimo tiempo hasta la ultima vez que he escrito aquí. Tengo muchísimas cosas para contaros, pero ahora sólo quiero hablar sobre algunos temas individuales.

Para empezar, sólo faltan 2 semanas hasta que me voy a Londres para pasar algunos días con mi familia ahí. No puedo creer que ya ha sido casi 4 meses. Echaré de menos muchísimo a Sevilla. Es una ciudad preciosa con cultura, arte, y un sentido de vida que no puedes ni imaginar. Ójala que podríais ir a España y tendríais una experiencia como el mío. Me entanta Sevilla, me encanta mi escuela CLIC IH, y me encanta mi casera, Amparo. Esta experiencia ha sido la más increíble de mi vida hasta hoy. Y ahora, más o menos, puedo hablar Español con fluidez, y eso fue mi objeto desde el principio. Me siento muy orgullosa de mi misma para cumplir este viaje con éxito.

La semana pasada, fui a Rota para visitar mi amiga que está en el ejercito de Los Estados Unidos. Ella está aquí en el base naval de Rota. Pasamos muy bien juntas :). Iré a Rota este fin de semana otra vez para disfrutarme y decirle a mi amiga adios. ¡Porque el fin de semana proxima es cuando me voy!

Ahora, Sevilla es una maravilla. Todas las calles tienen decoraciónes de Navidad, toda la gente está feliz, y el ambiente es muy agradable. Quiero hacer algo especial para mi casera, pero todavía no sé que. Ella es una mujer simpatiquísima, muy graciosa, y muy amable. Quiero darle mis gracias.

Si alguien que está leyendo mi “blog” ahora y algún día quiere viajar, te lo recomendaría. Es una experiencia increíble y te sentirás tan fuerte con más confianza en ti mismo después. Espero que podría volver pronto.

Sevilla, tu eres mi segundo hogar.

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Hello, dears.

Forgive me, I know it´s been a really long time since the last time I wrote here. I have a lot of things to tell you all, but right now I only want to talk about a few individual themes.

To start, I only have 2 weeks left until I go to London to spend a few days with my family there. I can´t believe that it´s almost been 4 months already. I will miss Seville a lot. It is a gorgeous city with culture, art, and a sense of life that you can´t even imagine. I wish you could all come to Spain and have an experience like mine. I love Seville, I love my school CLIC IH, and I love my host, Amparo. This experience has been the most incredible experience I´ve ever had in my entire life. And now, more or less, I can speak Spanish fluently, and that was my goal from the start. I´m really proud of myself for completing this trip with success.

Last week, I went to Rota to visit my friend who is in the United States Navy. She is at the Rota navel base. We had a really good time together :) I´m going to Rota this weekend again to have fun and tell my friend goodbye. Because the weekend after that is when I go!

Right now, Seville is a marvel. All of the streets have Christmas decorations, everyone is very happy, and the ambiance is inviting. I want to do something nice for my host, but I don´t know what yet. She is an extremely nice, funny, lovely woman. I want to show her my thanks.

If anyone is reading my blog right now and wants to travel one day, I recommend it. It´s an incredible experience and you will feel so strong with more confidence in yourself after. I hope I can return soon.

Seville, you are my second home.

Lo siento, amigos. Yo sé que no he escrito aquí hace mucho tiempo. Estaba estudiando, trabajando en mis pruebas por la universidad, viajando a otros ciudades, y practicando mi español, por supuesto. Pienso que estoy mejorando, pero todavía tengo que aprender más. Ahora, estoy resfriada. Me molesto la nariz, y me duele la cabeza. También me duele la oreja derecha, y pienso que posiblemente tengo la otitis. Espero que no. Esta semana he empezado mis clases de Flamenco. ¡Son muy divertidos! Flamenco es muy difícil, pero muy bonito para ver. Tengo clases en lunes, jueves, y viernes esta semana y la proxima semana. Iré a Rota en dos semanas para pasar el “Halloween” con mi amiga. Quizas puedo regresar a Córdoba para visitar Liz y su marido entre 3 semanas. En diciembre, iré a Valencia por 2 o 3 días para hacer un examen y ver la ciudad. Iré a Londres el 18 de diciembre por 4 días antes de volveré a mi pais por La Navidad. Todavía estoy estudiando con CLIC con lo mismo profesor, y por eso me alegro. Hecho de menos a mi familia y mis amigos, pero yo sé que no tengo mucho más tiempo aquí, y voy a disfrutarme mucho cuando puedo. Hace dos semanas, fui a Córdoba con mi amiga Kim. Hemos visto a fuera del Mosque, Puente Romano, el río Guadalquivir, y El Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. El Alcázar fue mi favorito. Dentro, hay los Baños Árabes de Córdoba. Y a fuera, hay los jardínes. Los jardines eran precioso. Hay muchas flores, árboles, y fuentes. El día que fui había mucho sol, y todos los jardínes eran de colores brillantes. Absolutamente mi parte favorito del viaje. La semana pasada estuve aquí en Sevilla y esta fin de semana voy a hacer lo mismo. Tengo que guardar mi dinero ;). Pero, ahora tengo que cenar y estudiar para mi examen mañana. ¡Escribiré más luego!

I´m sorry, friends. I know I haven´t written on here in awhile. I´ve been studying, working on my applications for University, traveling to other cities, and practicing my spanish, of course. I think I´m getting better, but I still need to learn more. Right now I have a cold. My nose bothers me, and my head hurts. Also, my right ear hurts, and I think I might have an ear infection. I hope not. This week I started my Flamenco dancing classes. They´re really fun! Flamenco is really hard but so beautiful to watch. I have classes on Monday, Thursday, and Friday this week and next week. I´m going to Rota in two weeks to spend Halloween with my friend. Maybe I can return to Córdoba to visit Liz and her husband within 3 weeks. In December I´m going to Valencia for 2 or 3 days to take a test and see the city. I´m going to London for 4 days before I return to my country for Christmas. I´m still studying at CLIC with my same teacher, and for this I´m glad. I miss my family and my friends, but I know I don´t have much more time here, and I´m going to enjoy myself while I can. Two weeks ago I went to Córdoba with my friend Kim. We saw outside of the Mosque, the Roman bridge, the Guadalquivir river, and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcázar was my favorite. Inside are the Arabic baths of Córdoba. And outside are the gardens. The gardens were gorgeous. There are many flowers, trees, and fountains. The day I went it was very sunny and all the gardens were incredible colors. That was absolutely my favorite part of the trip. Last weekend I stayed in Sevilla and this weekend I will do the same. I need to save money ;). But now I need to eat dinner and study for my exam tomorrow. I´ll write more later!

Besos y abrazos.

El Sábado pasado fui a Ronda con compañeros de me escuela. Ronda es una ciudad preciosa. Hay montañas, mucha naturaleza, un pequeño rio, y mucho más. Fuimos al Puente Nuevo donde puede ver toda la ciudad. También fuimos al Palacio de Mondragón, un antiguo residencia árabe, y ahora es el museo de Ronda. Luego, fuimos a los Baños Árabes, lo más antiguo en toda España. Mi amiga Kim y yo almorzamos juntos y ibamos de compras. Hay muchas tiendas en Ronda con cosas árabes. Al final, fuimos a la Plaza de Toros, y eso es lo más grande ¡en todo el mundo! Por supuesto, hice muchos fotos. Voy a ponerlos aquí pronto. Me encanta Ronda. Es una ciudad tranquila, preciosa, y increíble. Quisiera volver otra vez a Ronda antes de volveré a mi país. Quizas, ¡puedo montar un cabello! Absolutamente, Ronda es mi ciudad favorita en todo Andalucía (que he visto). En la semana proxima, quisiera ir a Córdoba y Rota. En diciembre, voy a Madrid por dos días. Posiblamente puedo ir a Valencia un vez también, pero no se cuando. Ahora, mi español es mejor que cuando llegué a España en augusto. Estoy alegre y quiero trabajar más para aprender más. Este semana, quisiera ir al cine, el museo, y quizas un otro espectáculo de Flamenco. Pienso que este semana va a ser buena :)

Last Saturday I went to Ronda with people from my school. Ronda is a gorgeous city. There are mountains, beautiful natural landscapes, a small river, and much more. We went to Puente Nuevo from which you can see the entire city. We also went to the Palacio de Mondragón, an ancient arabic residence which is now the museum of Ronda. Later, we went to the arabic baths which are the most ancient in all of Spain. My friend Kim and I ate lunch together and went shopping after. There are many stores in Ronda selling arabic things. At the end, we went to Plaza de Toros which is the largest in the world! Of course, I took many pictures. I´m going to put them here soon. I love Ronda. It´s a peaceful, gorgeous, incredible city. I would like to return to Ronda another time before I return to my country. Maybe I will be able to ride a horse! Ronda is absolutely my favorite city in all of Andalucia (that I´ve seen). Next week I would like to go to Córdoba and Rota. In December I am going to Madrid for 2 days. Maybe I can go to Valencia sometime too, but I don´t know when. Right now, my spanish is much better than when I first came to Spain in August. This week I would like to go to the movies, the museum, and maybe another Flamenco show. I think this week will be very good :)

Month one is complete. Wait, what?

Today is Monday, and this is my FIFTH week of classes. How in the world did I get here? Wasn´t I just blogging here or blubbering in my journal about how slowly time was passing and how lonely and scared I felt? Already a full month has gone by. I know one month isn´t a lot of time to most people, but for me, I am quite proud of myself to say I have made it through the toughest part. The first month in any new place is definitely the hardest. I am pleased to say that the worst is behind me and now I am enjoying each day to the fullest. I have a solid routine, and I´ve made a few friends. I know where things are now; I can get to the post office no-sweat, the supermarket is accross the street, and I know exactly how the metro works if I want to get to the internet cafe. Dare I say…I´m pretty familiar with Sevilla?

The hardest thing now is friends. I´ve met some pretty great people here, and I am very happy to say that I know them. But out of the 6 people I´ve been hanging out with, 5 of them left. That is the hard part. You open yourself up to new people and just when you are starting to develope what looks like it could be the beginning of a really great friendship, the two of you are parted with slim chances of ever seeing each other again. I´m not trying to sound dramatic, but in reality, these people I´ve befriended are from Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan. Sure, maybe I´ll get around to one or two of those countries at some point in my life, but it isn´t as easy as say, the next state over. My friend Liz and her husband live in L.A., so there is a slight possibility I might be able to visit her when we´re all back in the states. But as for the others? I really doubt it. Which is not to say I think it is impossible, I´m going to try and make it to Germany and maybe even Japan because the girls I met and befriended are really wonderful people and I would hate to see our friendship go. But making friends and keeping them has been the hardest thing at present.

After one month, I´m noticing that I´m gaining a bit more confidence in a few areas. I gain confidence when I can find a place all by myself that I have never been to before. I gain confidence when I initiate a conversation with someone and that turns into a friendship. I gain confidence when I speak with locals and I know what I am saying is correct. Then there are the times when I´m very unsure of what I´m saying and most of them look at me with a sympathetic “don´t even try” look and just resort to speaking to me in English. That bothers me sometimes because I´ve been working really hard on my Spanish and it would be nice if I didn´t just scream gringo American to everyone. I know it is probably because I have light skin, fair hair and blue eyes, but still. I am here to learn Spanish, not to resort to my native language.

This weekend I am going to Ronda. I´m excited because it is one of the oldest cities in Spain and there are tons of great things to see. I hope in the coming weeks that I will be able to make it to Rota where my friend in the Navy will be stationed, and Córdoba where Liz and her husband Brian live now. I am starting to branch out and gain confidence to travel places by myself (always staying safe of course, no worries, Mom). I´m enjoying my growing confidence and ability to survive on my own with no problems. I´m enjoying becoming an adult.

I´m going to a bookstore now to buy a novel in Spanish. It will be difficult, but my goal is to take it one page at a time and try to understand. My hope is that this will reinforce my Spanish knowledge and help it expand faster. We´ll see!

Besos y abrazos. Hasta luego.

Hoy significa un mes aquí en Sevilla. Estoy alegre porque he aprendido mucho. Pero, todavía tengo que estudiar más para intender todo. Me gusta aprender, y voy a continuar con mis estudias. En miércoles, saque una buena nota en mi segundo examen: una “A”! :) La semana proxima, voy a estudiar en un nivel mas alto. Entonces, espero que mi español va a ser muy bien en diciembre.

EN INGLES (In English):

Today signifies one month here in Sevilla. I am happy because I have learned a lot. But I still need to study more in order to understand everything. I like learning, and I´m going to continue my studies. On Wednesday, I recieved a good grade on my second exam: an A! Next week I am going to study in one level up. Therefore, I hope my spanish will be very good in December.

I´m really proud of myself. The first 2-3 weeks of this month were some of the hardest in my entire life. And things are still hard for me even now, but my emotions are far less intense and I am able to distract myself from my loneliness most of the time by going to class or going out to dinner with friends. I´m a little sadder than normal today because all the friends I have made are moving away to other cities tomorrow or going back to their countries. One of my new friends who I´ve been spending pretty much every day with since I got here, Shiori, is going back to Japan tomorrow. I´m really sad because honestly, I will probably never see her again. We can skype and write to each other, but it´s not the same. I will miss her. But I have to keep moving along and brace up, as my Dad says. I´m trying to make the most of this experience. I go out to dinner, take long walks and try and find some place new, or sometimes I even take the train to nearby cities like Cádiz. My friend Mackenzie is in the Navy and will be stationed in Rota which is about an hour and a half outside Seville. I think she will be here next week so I hope I can visit her. She´ll be stationed here for 3 years. And I thought 8 months was tough, wow.

I´ve also been thinking a lot about my future and what I want to achieve in my life. I´ve been brainstorming the best and smartest ways of going about it. And I´ve come to the conclusion that I want to get back to my music. Not just in a choir, but practicing my technique and improving my skills. Not only will it help me to prepare for college, but it will make me so happy in general. Being away from my music for just a month has really solidified how important it is to me. I will be sad to see Sevilla go, but I will be happy to come back to study what I love. If possible, I think I would like to come back to Spain in college. Maybe I will do another semester in a different city. Or perhaps, the same one. It would be incredible if I had an opportunity to work here in an opera house or theatre company after I graduate college. There are a lot of possibilities out there, and I am fortunate that I am young and can still possibly achieve them.

Right now, my job is to learn Spanish. I´m working hard and practicing it every day. I know I will be very proud of myself if after this I am able to say “I am bilingual. I can speak Spanish.” And on top of that, I will be very proud to say I lived in another country on my own for several months. I´m making myself proud, and I hope I am making my family and friends proud as well.

Tonight is my friend Shiori´s last night in town, so we are all going out to dinner at 7:30. Now it is time to go home for almuerzo with Amparo, my host mom.

Hasta luego :)

Ayer, yo fui a Cádiz con mi amiga Liz y su marido Brian. Hemos visto dos iglesias, un museo, y el mar. Hemos comido paella por almuerzo — ¡que rica! Me encanta paella, pero, no me gusta pez. Después, hemos pasado tiempo a la playa por la siesta. Tengo un pequeña quemadura del sol, pero estoy bien :). En total, fue un muy bien viaje.

I am trying to practice my spanish a lot, but I will still use english to convey details :). Cádiz was GORGEOUS. We took the train in the morning at 8am from Sevilla, and arrived in Cádiz around 9:45 or 10am. Then we found a pastelería where I had THE BEST chocolate covered crossant :D. Then we walked around the streets a bit taking pictures. We found a few local churches which were very beautiful. Then we headed to a museum of a building dating back to the 14th or 15th century. It was first occupied by the Romans, then people kept coming back and building on or over the foundation until it was a completely different building. It´s amazing they have been able to preserve as much as they have, but there isn´t much left to see. Still, it was very interesting. Then we headed to a restaurant for lunch. FINALLY I got to try authentic Spanish paella! It was delicious. After lunch we were all pretty tired so we headed to the beach for la siesta, a nap in the shade :). However, I ended up falling asleep with 3/4ths of my face in the shade and just a small part in the sun, so I had a tiny sunburn. It´s not that bad though ;). After the beach we walked along the walkway and watched locals jump off the bridge into the water. We headed back on the train to Sevilla by 8pm and arrived at 10. It was quite a long day, but we saw a lot and I had a lot of fun! It was so nice of Liz and Brian to invite me along.

Today is Sunday and all the shops are closed. Luckily though, I found an internet cafe which is open every day so I can work on some things here and keep in touch with loved ones. Sundays are always a bit lonely for me because there isn´t much to go do, so I usually end up reading, listening to music, and staying at home. I like going to school during the week and going to dinner with friends because then my day goes much faster and I feel like I get so much more accomplished. I also am much happier. So, I know the loneliness will pass. Week 4 of classes starts tomorrow. Wow! On Thursday I will have been in Sevilla for exactly 1 month. I am proud of myself for the progress I have made. This month has been very hard, but I´m happy I stuck through it because I have met so many nice people and seen so many incredible things. I can´t wait to see what the next month has in store for me. Possibly a trip to Morocco….? We´ll see. :)

¡Besos y abrazos! Hasta luego.