All the cool things are expensive !

Since the past few days I have officially moved into my home stay with my parents Alicia and Pedro,  they are the sweetest. I now have my own room and no longer have to live out of my suitcase. Some advice; never expect anything. I was told I would have my own room but instead for the first two nights had to spend in a not so spacious room with someone I had not really known about, I great experience either way.

The neighborhood.

Today was my first day of orientation where much of the information was to re-fresh our memory, one of them being culture schock which they explained with such a good video. I put the link on here so you can enjoy it- it’s in spanish though but funny nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFbPCj_cajY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL15A11835ED2EB661

Since my arrival I have been walking around the streets of Recoleta -which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires and getting to know it a bit more, it has been both a thrill and exhausting.

I’ve also come to learn a bit more of the lingo and dialect here in Buenos Aires and the difference between my spanish- that of central american dialect and the one here. Some examples :

cambio (change) – monedas

autobus (bus)- colectiva

tren (subway) – subte

brincar (jump) – saltar

soda (soda) – gaseosa o agua con gas

pagar ( pay) – abono

centro nocturno (club and bar) – boliche 

I’d like to think it’s a lesson in Spanish dialects, interesting right?

 

 

“It’s summer here and winter over there, it’s always opposite” Angelica

After a full 24hrs of pure traveling, I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at 6pm, which is 4pm US time.

I am currently staying in the place of my home stay family’s friend, her name is Angelica and she is a sweetheart. So I will not be moving into my real home until this Monday. It’s a nice small room with a bathroom inside of it, which might I mention both the toilet and the shower are in the same room- pretty cool.

As the title mentions, it’s summer over here and the weather is quite lovely with a 77 degrees which is 26 Celsius. The time, distance and the weather here are diffrerent from what I’m use to, the time runs in 24hrs, the distance in kilometers and the weather is in celsius. The current time is 17:06pm which is 5 pm but really it’s 3pm over there- much to get use to, but I’m getting the hang of things.

So for now I leave you with this, always better to over pack then underpack. This is my motto until I get rid of some clothes considering my luggage was 13lbs over weight and I have way too much clothes. Soon I will be posting a useful guide for travelers so they won’t be on the some boat as me.

 

Fotos de Sevilla- Up to 2/24/2012

  At the river Quadalquivir.

The University! There is an art exhibit going on called “Nature as Structure and Decoration.” The courtyards are filled with these interesting pieces.

More art at la Universidad.

Courtyard of the University.

Famous bull fighting ring.

70-degree weather in February. The first of many HOT days!

Catedral de Sevilla and Life 3 Weeks In

Things have been fantastic here in Sevilla. It really feels like we live here now. One way I can tell is I’ve actually become used to hanging up my clothes to dry, because here in Andalucia, Spain, they don’t believe in driers apparently. Just one of those simple things that makes the experience extra authentic.

Every Friday we have a class that counts towards our 3-credit orientation. The class consists of elaborate tours of historic spots around the city. The professor, Rosio, is a history genius! She knows everything about everything it seems. This past Friday, the seventeenth of February, Rosio took us to the Cathedral of Seville. It is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world. Part of its architecture is of Arabic origin, which is very unique. There was also some Italian influence in a few rooms. We walked up its tall tower to get a beautiful view of the city. Although it was a lot to take in, the entire tour was breathtaking.

The weekend following was Carnaval. Cadiz, a city one hour away from Sevilla, holds the world’s third largest Carnaval celebration. We all went through one of the organizations for international student excursions. The trip was really easy and inexpensive. The streets in Cadiz, unlike in Sevilla, were packed with people in costume. It seemed like everyone in Cadiz was outside to celebrate. A group of us dressed up as fairies. It was a really cool experience being apart of Spanish culture like that.

One for three for 24.

Explanation of the title- 1 day left for 3 connecting flights which will last about a day (24hrs) to get to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Yes! 3 connecting flights that will take  me to a land of pure bliss, the weather here in NJ is sunny and 45 but feels like 39 while in Buenos Aires it is 77 and feels like — well 77 !. I’m pretty excited about leaving the cold weather into warm wonderful sunny weather.

Well, as I prepare to leave I will continue my packing later on today making sure I leave nothing behind and prepare all I need for Thursday afternoon when I leave to the airport. All I can say is I’m both excited and nervous, it’s a new experience having to travel on my own but at the same time I know it’ll be great one, being able to make my own decisions, at my own pace, enjoying my own time and being able to grow, it’ll be great.

For anyone who’s wondering this blog will keep all readers up to date about my life abroad and both the trials and tribulations of  studying abroad, the beauty, the ugly, the fun, the sad, the crazy fun filled days as well as the lows, and everything in between. Considering I am one who runs away from long readings I will keep most blogs short, sweet and simple.

I hope you all enjoy. <3

 

 

A week later

So the school has finally put up my blog online. I haven’t really been up to much, just going to orientation and a bit of site seeing. I stayed in Manly Beach for the first week and have finally moved into an apartment. I haven’t done all the paper work yet, but hopefully everything goes smoothly. I am going to go see the opera house today and see some other tourist points. I have uploaded some photos that I took from my phone while I was on the ferry that runs from Manly to the city.

 

Finally here

I arrived here in Sydney at 8 am on Friday morning local time. I haven’t been on my computer since the plane ride. The ride over wasn’t to bad, there were two babies crying the whole flight over but somehow I managed to sleep a little on the plane. Robbie my Australian friend that i met last semester while he was on exchange at New Paltz,  picked me up at the airport and took me to some scenic routes around Sydney. The first night we went out in Manly Beach with Robbie and Jason. Jason is another friend that I made last semester through New Paltz. We went around town and met some of there friends. Apparently the weather hasn’t been to good here, but ever since I have arrived it has been warm and sunny. Yesterday I hung out with Jason and some of his friends. We stayed at his house for most of the day and then went out in the city to watch the Manchester and Liverpool game.  Today I’m planning to visit some apartments and then go watch a cricket game. Since I haven’t used my computer I haven’t been able to put up photos. I will try and do some tonight.

Sevilla, Finalmente

Since my last post, we traveled to Marbella, a beach town near Malaga. The resort we stayed at was absolutely beautiful with a straight view of Africa across the ocean. The two days in Marbella we got to spend relaxing and winding down before the big trip to Seville. One day we went into the busy city of Marbella to shop around. We walked right on the sand and then got tapas at the beach. It wasn’t warm enough to swim outside but the sun was still great.

Moving to our homes in Sevilla was very exciting. We dropped off our things and went out to shop for all the things we needed. Luckily our apartment building is right in the city center. There is a big shopping mall across the street and next to that is a huge store (similar to Macy’s) called Corte Inglés. Everything is really accessible, including the Universidad. It’s about a 20 minute walk to school but it’s a nice walk and way to get in a little activity each day.

My classes are really interesting so far. I’m taking two literature classes (Obras Maestras de la Literatura Española and Cervantes y el Quixote). The Obras Maestras [Master Works] class is really interesting. It covers very similar topics as many other classes but the teacher is so enthusiastic that it forces you to pay close attention, even though the class is 7-9pm at night. At the moment we’re focusing on Don Juan Tenorio– intriguing so far!

I’m also taking La Imagen de España a través del Cine which is all about Spanish cinema. That professor is also really engaging. He obviously has a passion for cinema and I think we, as students, can identify with that. My other class is a Phonetics and Conversation class but I haven’t gotten a real grasp on what the class is like because I just added it and my professor may change next week. So far it’s been really great because I love linguistics and phonetics.

In addition to having cool professors, we’ve also had fantastic program leaders- Miguel, Luis, and Rosio. We always talk about how much they do to make sure we’re comfortable and safe.

The weather is also really beautiful here. There’s almost too much beauty here in the architecture and in everything for me to say in words. So I’ll post some photos and leave off with that!

First Post

I couldn’t ask for a better week in the U.S. The Giants won the Super Bowl,  I went shopping for clothes, a new camera,  and new Ray Bands. I finished of working at radio shack with a 1800 dollar phone sale! and got to see my friends and family. It has finally hit me that I will be leaving for six months and will not be able to see my family and friends until I get back, but I’m sure that I will be able to make new friends and adapt to the Australian culture. I am currently doing some last minute packing and loading new music and movies for my flight tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I don’t forget anything here, and will be ready to start my new adventure in on the opposite side of the world.