Partials, Iguazu Falls and Lujan Zoo.

Unlike the other post the title is straight forward, probably except the word partials which is translated from the word “parciales” which are midterms.

After a month of midterms, yes a month, I am able to sit down without worrying about cramming Art & Architecture, The Process of Political and Social changes in Latin America, Latin American Migrations or Comparative Revolutions in the Americas into my head. What a relief ! but as always – no pain , no gain. Maybe thats more of a physical situation and not mental. Having to study for so many exams caused a ton of late night study sessions and mild break downs. Studying in country is difficult for many reason ranging from the language to the University itself. Coming from New Paltz where professors would emphasize their office hours for extra help to traveling to a country where you only see your professor once a week  and emails being sent always bounce back because it is no longer in use- is hard. Having been here for 3 months I am  still getting adjusted to the immense amount of reading and information being given to me every week. Although studies are difficult to deal with at times, I have come to understand that they come first but it never stops me from trying to have a good time and traveling to new places.

Two weeks ago I had the amazing experience to travel to the Iguazu Waterfalls which are truly marvelous. Staying in the small town of Misiones which consisted of small stores, cafes and friendly people and living in a hostel for 3 nights. Misiones was a wonderful place where I found myself walking around for the most part embracing the quietness and beauty of the wonderful town. A few nights consisted of getting to know a few of other students who had travelled with the group I was with, which was nice with all the games and get togethers that were taking place. When the day had arrived where we would travel to the Waterfalls, I was ecstatic. Once there we walked around the National Park from waterfall to waterfall and seeing the wild animals. While there I had the chance to ride a boat where they would drive us under one of the waterfalls, where I had to hold my friends hand to not be scared and embrace the greatest moment I would have. The day after the waterfalls, a small group which was not able to travel to the other side of the waterfalls had a small excursion to another side of the town of Misiones. Being a part of this  group I had the chance to repel of a rock wall, a small hike and Zip Line through the Rainforest of Misiones. This was absolutely a great experience. On my way back to Buenos Aires we made a stop to visit the Jesuites Ruines which were were nice to have seen in person after learning about them in class.

Just yesterday I finally had the adventure I’ve been waiting for, I traveled to Lujan – about an hour aways from Buenos Aires, to the Lujan Zoo. Although the day was a bit dim, my time spent there will truly be unforgettable. As I walked into the zoo I decided to by some food for the animals I would be able to feed, which I was excited to do until the ducks attacked me for it. After the ducks attacked, I moved onto the play with some cute little bunnies and to feed a donkey and some rams who bit my tumb because they were so hungry. I also had the chance to ride a camel  for a little while and went  fed some camels who were elsewhere, which I was unfortunately bitten by. Unbeknownst to me one camel kept an eye out for my hand and when I moved on to pet other camel it grabbed my hand and held onto to it for dear life thinking it was food, until I had the chance to ripped my hand out of its mouth- the end result was luckily just a bruised sore hand and a story to tell. After the incident, I proceded to pet some lions and tigers who were hungry -so they just kept running around the entire time. Overall, my time at the Lujan Zoo- although painful, was worth it and fun.

New Groove Old Groove

Every culture has a groove– that’s one of the biggest lessons I took away from studying abroad. Forget where you come from, what you know, who you know. Every place has a Way and once you let the flow take hold of you, you’re in! I can’t say I know everything there’s to know about Sevilla, but I think that by the end I had a much better grasp of the Sevillano groove of life. Blending in with a culture is so difficult. It even goes down to the littlest things like the volume of voice in conversations.

It’s hard to imagine life beyond your own. But after this semester, I can’t imagine NOT studying abroad. It’s so important to see life from a different perspective. I can almost speak for the group in saying that we all felt like our eyes were opened. Who would’ve known my eyes were ever slightly shut?

So here I am, back home after 15 hours of traveling and 2 days of adjusting. New York is still the same, at the same pace, with the same smells, and the same people. It weirdly feels like I’m just back from a 4-month-long dream. I guess you can’t have two feet in two places. But the memories remain! Venga hasta luego!

La Feria de Abril & Portugal

I’m writing this post from a different perspective than the last, and the one before that. In fact, all of these posts have captured me from a different point in my experience, not just the experiences themselves. I’ve learned new things about culture, language, and myself every week here. Every day, even. If you can imagine a crazy geometrical, 20-dimensional figure, that’s what this experience has been like.

It’s my last week here in Sevilla now. To be completely honest, I’ve had moments where I wished for a pair of wings to take me home just for a few days. But I am incredibly sad to be leaving, to say the least. I think something clicked last week during Sevilla’s Feria de Abril, which is a week-long annual festival. The city really livened up for Feria. Suddenly everyone was out in the streets and the best part was that everyone was smiling. I had never seen Sevilla like that before. It’s like I really got to see the rawness of the Sevillano culture.

Feria starts off with an “illumination” on the first night. It’s like New York City’s ball-drop; the streets are beyond packed with people dressed in formal wear. Everyone squeezes to get the best view of the gate to Feria. Then there’s a countdown until midnight when the gate is lit up and the crowd charges into Feria. It’s a huge area filled with tents called “casetas.” Most are private, so it is a privilege to be invited to one. Every caseta has its own music, food, and drinks.

Starting the first full day of Feria, women in Sevilla walk around in their “traje de flamenca.” The women really take their Feria outfits seriously. Flamenco dresses are beautifully made and are often expensive. They also wear lots of jewelry, hair pieces, and of course the traditional flower on the head. We didn’t really think people dressed in flamenco dresses until we saw it! It’s serious! People from age two to ninety-two wear the traje.

A huge part of Feria is the dancing. Here they dance “las Sevillanas.” It somewhat resembles flamenco but there’s less intricate footwork and more partnering. It’s a dance of Andalucia (southern Spain). It was really neat seeing everyone dance las Sevillanas in the casetas, in the streets, and all around. (Here’s a YouTube link to someone’s video of las Sevillanas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv8HTr47N7s This is NOT my property.) I didn’t learn las Sevillanas, but I did get a flamenco skirt which was so much fun to wear amongst all of the beautiful flamenco dresses. Feria was probably an experience of a lifetime that I’ll never forget.

We went to Portugal the second weekend of our week-and-a-half vacation for Feria. Lagos, Portugal is a cute little beach town in southern Portugal. It’s only three hours driving from Sevilla. Unfortunately we were stuck with a very rainy and strangely cold weekend. But we were still able to visit beautiful sights, eat delicious food, and enjoy the Lagos atmosphere.

We went on a sailboat ride on the Atlantic around some beautiful caves. We also watched the sunset at a sight called “the End of the World.” That was just as beautiful. In addition to the sight-seeing, we ate at one of the world’s best burger places called Nah Nah Bah. Who knew some of the best hamburgers came out of Portugal!