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!

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!

The food in Morocco was delicious. Couscous is a way of life there, I guess like pasta is for Italy. I actually didn’t like couscous until this trip so it was clearly the best.

Overall the trip was beautiful, despite the unfortunate amount of rain, and an experience to remember!

Backpacks = Traveling

Skype = Relationships.

Well its been a month since my last post and this is will pretty much be the summary of this month.

Having been awarded the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad was one of the best things to happen, but it also meant I allowed all that money to get into my head. First week here I went shopping like there was no tomorrow and bought countless of unnecessary  items, this brings me to a lesson in expenses. Although, traveling might be expensive in itself it does not mean you should take advantage of this time and spend all the money you have in a short time, think wisely, buying less in a longer span of time will be good- buying 120 pesos umbrellas, not so much. Now that I am well into my third month of studying abroad, I have learned to pack a bottle of water and a small snack for lunch instead of having to buy lunch everyday and eating out at fancy restaurants.

Saving money brings me to my second lesson- back packs  traveling. Having traveled quite a bit within the first two months has been an AMAZING experience- Uruguay, Cordoba and soon Iguazu Falls. Traveling is every study abroad students dream, having the chance to just pack up and go is a stress reliever and adventurous, something every student needs in a daily dosage. This past weekend I had the great opportunity to travel to the second biggest  city of Cordoba, Argentina. I had the chance to visit a few museums , churches and the Sierras de Cordoba. My 3 days spent there I had the opportunity to walk around the city with a few good friends and learn about some history, such as some details about the Guerra Sucia which took place during the Military Dictatorship in Argentina. Along with a history lesson, I had the chance to live the life of  Gaucho taking an entire day to travel up and down mountains horseback riding. My trip to Cordoba, was both unexpected and surprising to my bank account but truly an unforgettable experience for my heart and soul. Its not everyday a city girl from the Bronx, NY gets to ride a horse in the Sierras de Cordoba. With this lesson, always keep in mind that although money is important the memories you make from the money you spend is unforgettable and SO much more worth keeping .

Onto skype and relationships. Yeah, not many bloggers get this personal but truth be told- traveling and relationships are tough to balance. Three months here and I have yet to figure out when to call my parents, siblings and loved ones in a timely fashion. Although, difficult I have found ways to make it work. Emails, facebook and skype will become a good friend of yours when studying abroad. After a few weeks of not speaking to my brother, I finally sent him a lengthy email about my wonderful mishaps in Argentina, all of which he enjoyed. Keeping in touch with others is not only difficult but stressing, but an email a week will keep the worries away.

Well, these were my lessons in the dynamics of traveling. Hopefully they will be of good use and entertaining.

Oh, here as some cool pictures to go along with it =) Enjoy.

This leads me to talk about one of the most important parts of our lives in Sevilla: the mighty Taberna Coloniales. We LOVE this place. Maybe I haven’t discussed the culture of Tapas yet, so here you go. In Sevilla (Spain’s most tapa-ified city) tapas are everywhere. Tapas are just small portions of any dish. It’s great because you can try multiple dishes and share with friends. We college students also love it because they’re usually 2.50 euros (yeah!). If you don’t get a tapa, you order a ration or half-ration. But rations are huge and are also meant to be shared. It all feeds into the social culture that southern Spain is known for. The weather is warm, everyone is outside, eats outside, drinks outside. All restaurants/bars have outdoor seating. It’s the Tapa way of life.

During our time off for Holy Week, we went to a Sevilla soccer game! That was awesome. The stadium is actually right near us so we had no problem making the trek on a rainy day. Sevilla played Mallorca, and of course Sevilla won. There was so much energy and singing/chanting. I’m glad I took part in a real Spanish soccer game. Who knows, I might take interest in watching soccer now!

In addition to the week off for Holy Week, my two classes were canceled the day before break because of Spain’s general strike. Although I didn’t see all the strike action, the aftermath left Sevilla’s streets quiet and deserted. There was a lot of student involvement from what I could see. In days prior, there were students with loud phones protesting through the University. I’m still not quite sure about the details of the labor strike. I guess there are political issues here just as there are anywhere in the world. It’s cool to say I experienced a bit of it.

This weekend we went to Barcelona and I fell in love. This city was absolutely fantastic. It is so much bigger than Seville. It’s so bustling with a huge, diverse population of people that I couldn’t help but be reminded of home. Barcelona is completely different from New York City but it has some similar vibes. There were people of every and any nationality, style, age, appearance, attitude.

Barcelona is also full of modern art. We went to see La Sagrada Familia, the most modern cathedral in the world, but only saw the outside. That was really a sight. Plus, to know that we captured a moment of it still in process of being built is pretty awesome.  

The famous architect, Antoni Gaudí, not only designed La Sagrada Familia, but is the artist behind a lot of other Barcelona landmarks. His Park Güell was also beautiful. It was filled with famous mosaic pieces, plus two really cute buildings that looked like gingerbread houses. We went into the Gaudí House, which was full of more Gaudí designs. We also got an outstanding view of the city. It was nice spending half of a day seeing a more relaxing tourist spot.

Aside from Gaudí’s works, there were some really beautiful and interesting parts of the city center. We walked down La Rambla, a famous street packed with people. Just off of La Rambla was a beautiful market called La Boquería. It’s supposed to be one of the best in all of Europe. We tried some exotic fruits- yum! The whole place was filled with color from the fruits, veggies, sweets, cheeses, chocolates and meats. It sounds ordinary but it was actually the best part of our day!!!

The whole trip actually made me realize just how much I love and miss New York City. Then again, it goes to show just how different and unique Seville is from anything I’ve ever experienced. Seville really captures the heart of Spanish culture and tradition. Then again, I know my heart will forever belong to NYC. Words from a city girl, through and through.

When getting ready to study abroad one goes to many presentations hoping to become aware of life abroad, but truth is nothing can prepare you for life in another country. So, I’ll now hit you with the truth- the first hand encounter of a student of color studying abroad.

Well to get things started studying abroad is having the ability to have an open mind to new cultures, people, ideas and a new life. It all seemed exciting when granted the Gilman Scholarship ( a scholarship awarded to students who need financial help to study abroad- which was first awarded to students of minority to help them study abroad) I felt like I could conquer the world and slowly but surely start by traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A month in, it doesn’t quite feel the same – not even a bit.

Entering stage 2 is what we call ” the hole” or at least I’ll call it that. In the life of studying abroad there are different stages, stage 2 being rock bottom, the realization that you are entering a zone where studying abroad seems like the worse idea you’ve ever made. In stage 2 you face : anger, irritation, culture shock- in a negative way, sadness, homesick, and everything else that will pretty much want to make you pack your bags and get home as soon as possible. Now where does the idea of being a student of color change things? Well being here in Buenos Aires I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few different people, for the most part people who have been privileged enough to both attend a private high school, private college and an education that surpasses that of which I was not granted growing up in an Urban neighborhood.

To be honest, I have never been ashamed to tell people where I’m from or to speak about my past in an underprivileged area, but after a month of being here it gets difficult. Coming from the Bronx, New York my middle school days consisted of running home during halloween because gangs would throw frozen batteries at kids, or how during my high school years I had to both pass through a metal detector and get scanned to make sure I was safe in school to get an education that many now deem “not enough”. Meeting the people I have, I can’t share the same stories about running track after school under the sun, or having bragging rights about how many AP courses I took my senior year, when asked I simply respond with “I’m just proud I graduated high school and had the chance to attend college”. Many people have judged the way I speak as “ghetto” or “not making sense”, sitting down and trying to explain to others that I speak Ebonics isn’ t the easiest of tasks, but its something I one day will have the pride of sharing with others. My spanish native speaking skills are not appreciated either, being told I don’t know the “correct” spanish in order for others to understand me- isn’t quite flattering.

The food, the culture, the people – it’s all becoming so estranged and difficult. Although this all seems difficult I know that just like you and anyone else reading this, we have made it this far and never will I forget the hardships and adversities I have overcome to get here. Having the amazing opportunity to attend college thanks to the EOP (Educational Opportunity Program) and taking that opportunity to expand it and travel to Argentina with the Gilman Scholarship is enough to say that it’ll only get better from here. Listening to others stories about the opportunities they have been privileged with only reminds me of how much grateful I am for the ones I have been granted. I hope that for all who read this, you realize that, there will always be a downpour but in the end the sun will always shine.