Alright so I got back last night from my 9 night trip for Semana Blanca. I made the most of this week off, and was gone from the time I got out of school, to the night before I was supposed to go back. It turns out that I didn't go back today though. My host family let me sleep, and I am extremely happy that they did.
First, I took a 3 hour bus from Malaga to Granada. I met up with my host sister and an exchange student Fabien (he is French Canadian, and this trip was only possible because we both went). I stayed with my host sister for three nights and we had a lot of fun seeing the city! Then I stayed Monday and Tuesday night with Fabien at his host house. We went to a bunch of important buildings and sights, and saw almost every important landmark in Granada. Some of the particularly cool ones were the Alhambra and the Cathedral. I always seem to love the cathedrals here.
Then on Wednesday, Fabien and I took a 5 hour bus from Granada to Madrid. We arrived without too much difficulty and were staying with a family in a nearby suburb. I spent a lot of money on buses and metro this week, but it was all worth it.
We went into Toledo on Thursday. We had been told by nearly everyone that it was extremely beautiful and we would have to agree. They are really well known for their metal making, and it was cool to see them making some of it! I may or may not have bought a small sword... We also visited some of the various religious buildings located in Toledo. I think there are two mosques, a monastery, a cathedral, and a temple. It was raining by the time we left, but the city was still incredible!
The rest of the trip we spent in Madrid. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have likes, because my phone was all filled up! We visited tons of buildings and landmarks throughout Madrid, but there are a few we missed (such as the Real Madrid stadium!).
It was cool to hang out with other exchange students this week and just to see how their experiences differ from ours. I am going to try to visit more places and other exchange students, just to have fun and to make the most of this incredible experience. I spent a ton of money this trip on various things, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it. I think the only thing that could be considered a waste was the sword, but let's all be honest, its sweeeeet. It was an incredible trip and definitly something I will remember for the rest of my life. It's good to be back though..... just not in school...
There will be pictures on facebook soon,
CJ
Monday, March 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Ceuta, Africa
Alright, so my Saturday began like every other day. I woke up at about noon, and went downstairs for breakfast. I then decided to go meet up with some Spanish friends in Estepona. Now that I live further away, this takes either a 15 minute car ride, or a 30 minute bus ride. Just about as soon as I made it and was hanging out with friends, my phone rings; "Hey Cj, Do you want to go to Africa tomorrow?"
The next day, we were on our way to Africa!
We traveled by boat, and it took about an hour to get to Ceuta from Algericas. It also took about an hour to get to Algericas from San Pedro. All in all, I would say that two hours for a nice day trip to Africa isn't so bad. Although a lot of the stores were closed, we ate some typical Moroccan food (kebabs) and had a nice walk. It was cool to see all the history that my host dad had explained to me on the trip to the bus station. It is always cool to live things that you learn and hear about. We walked around a lot, and wet from one side to the other. We got to see all sorts of buildings and sculptures. It was also cool because there was a parade to celebrate (more of a mourning) the end of Carnival. It was a funeral procession with a big fish sculpture, and was cool to see as well,
I am hoping to go to Granada to ski next weekend, and then the following weekend I hope to go to Madrid to visit those sites. We have Semana Blanca (white week) and I should be able to travel a little. I asked about why we have this week off (cause it's only around here) and it is because all of the other schools have time off for another holiday, and they need to make the time fair for paying teachers.
All is well, and i am living my life as well as I can. I love and miss you!
Photos soon!
The next day, we were on our way to Africa!
We traveled by boat, and it took about an hour to get to Ceuta from Algericas. It also took about an hour to get to Algericas from San Pedro. All in all, I would say that two hours for a nice day trip to Africa isn't so bad. Although a lot of the stores were closed, we ate some typical Moroccan food (kebabs) and had a nice walk. It was cool to see all the history that my host dad had explained to me on the trip to the bus station. It is always cool to live things that you learn and hear about. We walked around a lot, and wet from one side to the other. We got to see all sorts of buildings and sculptures. It was also cool because there was a parade to celebrate (more of a mourning) the end of Carnival. It was a funeral procession with a big fish sculpture, and was cool to see as well,
I am hoping to go to Granada to ski next weekend, and then the following weekend I hope to go to Madrid to visit those sites. We have Semana Blanca (white week) and I should be able to travel a little. I asked about why we have this week off (cause it's only around here) and it is because all of the other schools have time off for another holiday, and they need to make the time fair for paying teachers.
All is well, and i am living my life as well as I can. I love and miss you!
Photos soon!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
This is from a fellow exchang student that lives in Marbella (20 min away)
love from marbella: Change: Looking over to see Cj on my right, Vanessa on my left, and Christine fidgeting with her blankets on the couch al lado, I can't help but smi...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Quick update
So this week is going to be a pretty good week. I had a fun weekend, we celebrated Carnival a little bit, but it isn't that big here. Now we have the next three days off for "huelgas" which are protests in which kids go walking around town with signs. I went to see what this was like the last time we had them, but this time my host brother and I are using them for extra sleep days. I am also still working on the trip to Barcelona, our first host is now unable to host us, so we are trying to find another in order to make that trip possible. I would love to see all the great things Barcelona is famous for. That is all, I hope all is well back in the homeland.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
As many of you know, our family went through an extremely difficult time this January. Our beloved Carly passed away. This was tough on me because I was so far away. I was able to fly back for the ceremony and be with family and love ones for some of this trying time. I am extremely glad that I was able to make it back for that. It was good to see everyone, but i cant even think of worse circumstances.
So January has been pretty good. I am all settled in again and am just getting into the groove of school again. I am all signed up for the end of the year trip, in which we get to travel southern Spain and into Portugal for the Rotary conference.
Desayuno en el hotel y visita de Sevilla de día completo con almuerzo (guía oficial ½ día), con
entradas a la Catedral, Torre del Oro y Reales Alcázares.
Desayuno en el hotel y
salida hacia Madrid. Breves paradas en ruta
This is the itinerary and it seems like it is going to be a blast.
There is also a chance that i will be able to go to Barcelona for Semana Blanca. I would travel with another exchange student and we would take a plane up to Barcelona and stay with a family there for about 5 days. i really hope that we are able to take part in this, because it's Barcelona!
That is all
So January has been pretty good. I am all settled in again and am just getting into the groove of school again. I am all signed up for the end of the year trip, in which we get to travel southern Spain and into Portugal for the Rotary conference.
ITINERARIO de Viaje:
DIA 14 DE JUNIO.-
MADRID- GRANADA
Salida desde Madrid a medio día para emprender viaje en
Autocar con destino Granada.
Llegada al Hotel. Cena y Alojamiento
DIA 15
DE JUNIO.- GRANADA
Desayuno en el hotel y visita de Granada de día completo
con entrada a la Alhambra y a la Catedral (guío oficial ½ día) y Almuerzo.
Regreso al hotel, cena y alojamiento.
DIA 16 DE JUNIO.-
GRANADA- CORDOBA- SEVILLA
Desayuno en el hotel y traslado a Córdoba (guía oficial ½ día ), con entradas a la Catedral y a la
Mezquita. Almuerzo.
Salida hacia Sevilla,
llegada al hotel, distribución de habitaciones, cena y alojamiento.
DIA 17
DE JUNIO.- SEVILLA
Desayuno en el hotel y visita de Sevilla de día completo con almuerzo (guía oficial ½ día), con
entradas a la Catedral, Torre del Oro y Reales Alcázares.
Regreso al hotel, cena y alojamiento
DIA 18 DE JUNIO.- SEVILLA- ALGARVE
Desayuno en el hotel y salida hacia el Algarve, realizando parada en Palos de
la Frontera y comida en restaurante.
Llegada al hotel en el Algarve, distribución de
habitaciones, cena y alojamiento.
DIA 19 DE JUNIO.- ALGARVE- LISBOA
Desayuno. Por la mañana salida hacia Lisboa, almuerzo en ruta.
Llegada al hotel, distribución de habitaciones, cena y
alojamiento.
DIA 20 DE JUNIO.- LISBOA (EXC.
ESTORIL, SINTRA Y CASCAIS)
Desayuno. Salida por la mañana para excursión a la ciudad
de Lisboa (guía oficial ½ día) con entrada al Museo de los Jerónimos, Torre de
Belem. Almuerzo.
Por la tarde visita con entrada al Palacio Da Pena en
Sintra con subida en microbús. Después visita de Estoril.
Cena y Alojamiento.
DIA 21 DE JUNIO.- LISBOA
Estancia en régimen de pensión completa en el hotel con
posibilidad de realizar alguna excursión facultativa.
DIA 22 DE JUNIO.- LISBOA
Estancia en régimen de pensión completa en el hotel y visita a la Convención de Rotary International y
encuentro con los Chairman de los Distritos patrocinadores.
DIA 23 DE JUNIO.- LISBOA -MERIDA – CACERES
Desayuno en el hotel y salida hacia Mérida para visita
(guía oficial ½ día) con entrada al Teatro y Anfiteatro de Mérida. Almuerzo. A
continuación traslado a Cáceres. Llegada al hotel, distribución de
habitaciones, cena y alojamiento.
DIA 24 DE JUNIO.- CACERES- SALAMANCA
Desayuno en el hotel y salida hacia Salamanca. Llegada al
hotel para el almuerzo. Por la tarde visita de la ciudad (guía oficial ½ día)
con entrada a la Catedral Vieja de Salamanca.
Regreso al Hotel, cena y alojamiento
DIA 25 DE JUNIO .- SALAMANCA - MADRID
This is the itinerary and it seems like it is going to be a blast.
There is also a chance that i will be able to go to Barcelona for Semana Blanca. I would travel with another exchange student and we would take a plane up to Barcelona and stay with a family there for about 5 days. i really hope that we are able to take part in this, because it's Barcelona!
That is all
Friday, January 4, 2013
Holiday Times
Alright so Christmas was a different experience;
First the 24th was a very family oriented day during which we ate a whole ton of various foods. I rather enjoy the food here now, but occasionally we still have something that I simply don't care for in the slightest. We finished eating at around 11 o'clock i would say, and then we took part in a fiesta. We arrived back home in the morning at an outstanding and slightly ridiculous time of 8:25. This is a typical holiday night for a Spanish teen. On normal nights this is not the case, but during some holidays the tradition is to partake in various fiesta activities until dawns early light. The next morning was slightly less enjoyable as we left for Malaga a bit too early. We enjoyed some more food at an aunts house and I met a lot of the new "family". They are extremely nice people and are a really close family. This was good, but really tough cause it made me miss all my family more. Carly I love you, get well soon.
Then on the 29th I believe, we all went to Sevilla to meet even more family! Also of course to eat a bunch more food! Always eating food, always. I have decided that Americans don't eat more, we just eat a lot less healthy than Spaniards. Here they eat a tremendous amount of food, but they eat healthy and more fresh food. I was able to go to the cathedral in Sevilla, and it is beautiful. It is even bigger than the one in Malaga and has a great history (i want to say its the third largest in Europe, but i don't know). I am simply amazed with the architecture that these buildings have.
New Years was another great experience.This was another extremely family time, with a very nice dinner and spending time together. Then one cool thing that they do here is while the countdown to the new year is happening, they eat grapes. One for every month, twelve grapes in very few seconds while the ball of Madrid is dropping. After this we went to a fiesta again; this one didn't begin until 1 o'clock in the morning!
First the 24th was a very family oriented day during which we ate a whole ton of various foods. I rather enjoy the food here now, but occasionally we still have something that I simply don't care for in the slightest. We finished eating at around 11 o'clock i would say, and then we took part in a fiesta. We arrived back home in the morning at an outstanding and slightly ridiculous time of 8:25. This is a typical holiday night for a Spanish teen. On normal nights this is not the case, but during some holidays the tradition is to partake in various fiesta activities until dawns early light. The next morning was slightly less enjoyable as we left for Malaga a bit too early. We enjoyed some more food at an aunts house and I met a lot of the new "family". They are extremely nice people and are a really close family. This was good, but really tough cause it made me miss all my family more. Carly I love you, get well soon.
Then on the 29th I believe, we all went to Sevilla to meet even more family! Also of course to eat a bunch more food! Always eating food, always. I have decided that Americans don't eat more, we just eat a lot less healthy than Spaniards. Here they eat a tremendous amount of food, but they eat healthy and more fresh food. I was able to go to the cathedral in Sevilla, and it is beautiful. It is even bigger than the one in Malaga and has a great history (i want to say its the third largest in Europe, but i don't know). I am simply amazed with the architecture that these buildings have.
New Years was another great experience.This was another extremely family time, with a very nice dinner and spending time together. Then one cool thing that they do here is while the countdown to the new year is happening, they eat grapes. One for every month, twelve grapes in very few seconds while the ball of Madrid is dropping. After this we went to a fiesta again; this one didn't begin until 1 o'clock in the morning!
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