Sevilla & Valencia.. sorry about the delay..

I'm backkk!! Sorry about the delay.. Things have been crazy around here!

We've been having a lot of fun and doing a lot of traveling.. The most recent trips were to Sevilla, Spain and to Valencia, Spain.

We took the midnight bus from Madrid to Sevilla on a Thursday night.. It was a 6 hour bus ride, which was interesting.. no one got any sleep. We walked to our hostel to drop our bags off there, but we couldn't check in until 2 pm, so we had to wander around the city from 6:30 am until then.. What an interesting adventure that was. The sun rise was beautiful, and I absolutely loved the warm weather and the palm trees.

 We did a lot of site seeing and shopping (there was great shopping in Sevilla)  on Friday during the day, and that night we went out to a tapas bar (a typical Spanish appetizer bar, which originated in Sevilla). After that we went to a flamenco show. The club was crowded but it was so much fun to watch! We were all super tired, so we didn't stay out very late.

Saturday was jam packed with site seeing and adventure. We got to see the Plaza de España, a beautiful park that is centered around a big building.. it's hard to explain but it was beautiful.

 We also had the opportunity to tour the Catedral de Sevilla. All of the cathedrals in Spain are enormous and grand, and Sevilla's was no different. Everything inside is so shiny and huge! We got to climb one of the towers, which was 38 stories.. and from there we could see the entire city- which was huge! Sevilla is so much bigger than Toledo.

Sevilla was a beautiful city and I enjoyed my time there a lot. The 6 hours bus ride home on Sunday was a good time to get homework and studying done, but of course that did not happen. 

Last week was our midterm week here at the Fundacion.. It was a bit stressful but overall the exams here are so much easier than the exams at home. I would much rather have a full week of exams here over any o chem or calc exam back at the U.

So after a busy week we flew out to Valencia, Spain. Its located on the eastern coast of Spain and it's the third largest city in Spain. We arrived Thursday evening, checked into our hostel, ate at a delicious tapas bar and then went out to have some fun!

Friday was an amazing. We walked around Valencia all day. The city is so amazing! In the center there is a huge park that is connected to "la ciudad de arte y ciencia" (the city of art and science). The park was amazing. There were beautiful trees and ponds and play grounds.. Oberve:

(sorry for the awkward picture layout)

The park and the city were unreal! It was so sunny and beautiful out- 75 degrees felt so good! We had such a good time walking around, talking and taking pictures.

After a few hours of walking we reached la ciudad de arte y ciencia, which is a beautiful area with pools, benches, 4 different museums and the largest aquarium in Europe. I LOVED the aquarium. There were so many cool exhibits and there was a dolphin show.. which was a combo of dolphin tricks and divers (SO COOL) .. check it out.

A group of us decided to go into the pools surrounding all of the museums.. the Spaniards looked at us like we were crazy because 75 degrees is cold to them- weird. 

Dolphin show!:

 

We went out Friday night to a huge discoteca. It was so much fun and there were so many people there. There was a girl painting the flags of different countries on peoples faces, so everyone was getting their native country drawn on. Mel and I decided to make up our own flag, for the "pais de las rubias"- the country of the Rubias. That was a fun one to explain.

Saturday we went to the beach. It was literally my dream day. It was only 75 degrees and there were a few clouds but the sun felt amazing and I was so happy to run around the beach and laying in the sand. It was such a perfect day. 

All in all, the last few weeks (actually the last month and a half) have been AMAZING. I never want to leave Spain, ever. The life style is perfect for me. And I love the people (the Spaniards and the people here with me at the school)

This weekend we're heading off the Ibiza, an island off the eastern coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean. It is one of the biggest party spots in the world.. and this weekend is a special occasion called Karnival.. A huge party where people wear costumes and stay out all night. I am so excited.. there's a huge group of us going, and it's going to be unreal.

I'll update with more pictures (and stories)  after we return home!

Love you and miss you all sooo much!!

Chels 

Sunday & Monday

Hola,

Saturday night was a late one so we slept in on Sunday. After lunch we decided to walk around the city and explore. It didn't take long before my legs were exhausted, but somehow we managed to wander for 3 or so hours.

So far, my favorite thing is to stand at the edge of old Toledo and look out at the hills and at new Toledo. It's such an odd concept that part of the city is surrounded by walls. Inside the walls there are pretty much no street names, so when I said we wandered around, I meant it. Most of the time we don't really know where we're going. We always manage go end up where we intended though.

This is part of new Toledo- Taken from inside of the city. It's much more modern than the part I live in.

Of course, I had to take the cliche "Chelsea with the beautiful scenery in the background" picture.  The mountain behind me has hiking paths so we are all really excited to go explore on that side of the river.

I <3 the landscape in Spain. It is hard to capture the true detail, depth and beauty of the country.. but hopefully you kind of get it.

This was taken in the main plaza of the city "La Plaza Zocodover".. It's the main common area in Old Toledo.. There is a McDonald's there. Oy Americano

The sun setting over the hills, and part of old Toledo. It was truly breathtaking.

So far classes have been going well.. I had 4 yesterday (Mon), one this morning and one this evening. All of the teachers are so kind and understanding. I am taking a class on the History of Spanish Women, a Spanish conversation class, a class called The Art of Spanish Literature, a general grammar class and a Service Learning class where we actually volunteer in Toledo. Yay! 

The text books are less expensive, the food is great and so far, I have made some amazing friends. Kyle's roommate, Carlos, is from Puerto Rico, and he is absolutely hilarious. It is so fun to talk to him in Spanish, and it is a really great learning experience because he knows English as well so he helps us figure out what we're trying to say (because most of the time we don't really know...)

It is weird to live and learn in an entirely Spanish speaking world. My brain is confused a lot of the time about what language it is supposed to speak in. Last night before I skyped someone, I was thinking about a story I wanted to tell them when suddenly I realized that my brain was translating it into Spanish. Its a bit confusing, but it certainly makes things more interesting.

I'm off to my last class of the day but before I go, here's one more picture of the cathedral that I took while the sun was setting. Beautiful.

Besos y amor,

Chels

Settling in, in Spain.

Hola!
It's been a couple of days since we arrived, and I can proudly say that I survived my first weekend in Spain. We are all jet lagged and extremely tired but we still found the time to go out and have some fun as well as explore this beautiful city.

On Saturday a group of us walked through the maze of streets that is Old Toledo, which is the part that we live in. There are a lot of cool shops and I am very excited to announce that they have a plethora of shoe stores right here in the city, so I will survive even though I don't have all of my babies with me.

In the early evening we decided to stop into one of the bars for tapas (Spanish appetizers).. We choose a bar called La otra boveda, which was probably the greatest choice we have made so far. Paula and Ivan are the married couple who own the bar. Paula is from Puerto Rico, and 6 years ago she studied at the same school that we are studying at now so she was very excited to have us there. They are both so nice and they take great care of us.. I think that throughout the semester they will be a great resource for us.

 

This is the front of the bar.. Our favorite place in Toldedo.









That is the first chupito that Bryce, Kyle and I took in Spain.. "Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Al dentro!" is the common cheers here.. We toasted to having an amazing semester and making memories that will last a life time..

 

Later that night, a big group of kids from the fundacion went back to that same bar. We had such a fun saturday night.. I can't wait for many more to come.











I am still extremely jet lagged and over tired, but my first day of classes in complete Spanish went well.. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.
I will post pictures from our walk around Toledo, as well as pics of my room tomorrow, I am too tired right now..

Besos a todas personas,

Chels

Bienvenidos a España

After a crazy day of traveling (which actually felt like 4 days) I have arrived in Toledo, Espana.. 


I had a wonderful send off at the airport from my parents, kat and seth. And then a not so wonderful flight delay, which caused a lot of waiting.. and napping on the airport floor.

Followed by 30 U of M students running through the ATL airport so we wouldn't miss our connecting flight to Madrid. With a little turbulence, and not a lot of sleep, we made our way to Spain. The flight went quickly and before I knew it, I was standing in the bright morning sunshine of Madrid. 


We took a bus to Toledo, where we were dropped off at the school (aka la fundacion or la fund) where we had some time to settle in. I love my dorm room. Its a single, and it is the perfect size for all of my things. I'm so excited! I'll post pictures of my room as soon as all of my stuff is put away


Of course we had to go exploring with our free time. A group of us walked around for an hour and a half.. I was immediately reminded why Toledo is known for its hills, and that is because they are giant. My legs were tired within the first 3 minutes of walking, but I'm sure in no time I'll be used to it. The city is like a little maze, with cool shops scattered all around. Toledo is stunningly beautiful, and I am excited to spend the semester here.

This is the entrance to the school. It seems really small but it's actually a really large building.

 

Here is the view of the cathedral from the tallest tower of the fund. There are windows on all sides of the tower so you can see the city from every angle. Its so beautiful

These are the hills that surround the main part of Toledo, which is enclosed by walls. There are a lot of cool houses and buildings up on the hills.

An aerial view of Toledo.. Taken from the 9th floor of la biblioteca (the library). The library in Toledo is enormous- actually, it's one of the largest in Spain.

From the main plaza in Toledo, you can look out this key hole and see the surrounding hills.

This is a close up view of the cathedral.. It's huge, and only 2 blocks from the school.

Now, it's 10 pm in Spain, 2 pm at home, and I am exhausted. We have our placement exams tomorrow morning at 9 so I'm calling it an early night. I can't wait to see what this semester has in store, because I am already loving every moment I spend here.. I especially love the people in my program. Everyone is so nice and we are all becoming fast friends. This is only going to make the experience that much more meaningful.. 

I'll post more pictures of my dorm and of the school manana. 

Besos y todo mi amor,

Chels

Primera

Hola!

Ok, so I'm going to Spain for the semester.. and I'm kinda freaking out about it, but I'm really excited as well.. A lot of people do blogs while they're abroad to they can keep all of their friends and families updated on their trip, and I decided since I am a little nervous about leaving home and all of my loved ones, that I would make one..
So here it is.. I currently don't really know what to write.. Right now I am in the process of packing, and even though they said you should only bring one large suitcase, I am bringing 2.. because I want all of my stuff.
I feel like I have a million things to do before I go, but at the same time I just want to slow down and spend time with the people I love most- my amazing friends and family.
When I was driving home from Minneapolis in December for winter break I remember thinking about how amazing all of my sorority sisters and my other friends at the U are.. I couldn't ask for anything more. It's amazing how a group of friends can actually become a family. I can't wait to get back to AOII next fall and get even closer to my sisters..
And this winter break has been by far the greatest of my life. I am unbelievable blessed to have the friends and family that I do. Trips to Andes for snow boarding, to Grand Forks, out to DL for some cabin time and to the cities to see everyone were some of the big moments.. But they don't overshadow the smaller things either. When I sit back and look at my life, I can honestly say that I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I don't want anything to change, ever. haha
I guess that is part of the reason that I am scared to leave.. I want everything to stay the same. But I am over-the-moon excited about going abroad.. It will undoubtedly be the greatest adventure of my life (so far).
Btw- thats what the title means-- The greatest adventure of my life.

So here we go.. together even though there will be 4,500 miles between us.

All of my love

Chels