Hi!
Ok..Portugal was AMAZINGGGGG! We went to the city of Porto..it's in the northern part of the country..on the coast..and is the 2nd biggest city in Portugal (after Lisbon). They speak Portuguese (I'm glad one of us knew Portuguese...oh wait..none of us did)..most people speak a little English though. Miriam, Ashley, Claire, Jen, Augustin, Aaron, Nick and I flew out of Madrid on Friday and got to Porto about noon. We checked in our hostel and went to this outdoor restaurant for lunch. Fish is huge there so I got this traditional meal of fried fish and rice. It was delicious..very mediterranean-ish. When we were walking to lunch, the first thing we noticed was how QUIET everything was...I mean, there were people, buses, cabs, etc...but the town just had a peace about it which felt so nice. And people actually SMILED at you on the street...and made eye contact! I finally felt like people had souls again..haha..Madrid is not a very friendly city. Anyway, Porto is a very walkable city so it was great not to have to take the metro or a cab the whole time we were there. After lunch we walked around the city and took a trolley tour through the town. Porto is known for its pasteries..so we hadddd to stop at a few bakeries...mmmm, don't get me started on how good they were. The whole town is built around the Douro river...a gorgeous river with 5 bridges within viewing distance. We walked down these steep stairs..past these tiny houses...down to the river and were just blown away. It was so so pretty and peaceful. There is a street alongside the river filled with cute restaurants and bars..and people painting and playing music. We went to dinner at a really cute place and then just hung out. The next day, we had coffee at a little cafe and the walked back down to the river. We walked across one of the bridges to the other side..which is the city of Gaia. We walked around over there for a while and just layed out in the grass. Then ,we took an hour long river cruise. It was so fun...relaxxxxing and beautiful. I got one of those feelings where I realize that I am so SMALL in this world and God is so BIG. You know? I love that feeling. We rode to the point where we would could see the ocean and it was great. After, we ate at an italian restaurant along the river...margarita pizza...yummm. Thennnn we went to a tower called Torre dos Clerigos..its the highest point in Portugal. We climbed 252 steps to the top and saw the best view of the city. It was worth the hike...and I'm feeling the burn today. Haha...after that, we went to a wine tasting. Port wine is made in Porto...I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but its realllllly sweet..and you usually drink it with dessert or cheese..anyway, we had a guide who explained all the different types and why they tasted the way they did..it was really interesting..but I now know that I'm not a fan of Port wine...haha good to know though. After that, we walked around by the river and then went to Jen, Nick, Aaron, and Augustin's hostel..they stayed in a different one than Miriam, Ashley, Claire and I...anyway, the hostel workers cooked a big dinner for their guests and we tagged along..It was kind of like jumbalaya...we ate dinner and watched a movie (Virgin Suicides...an American film). While I was eating, I was like ok...I'm in Portugal...I'm eating dinner on the floor of a hostel...made by someone random hostel person...there are just some things I could never see myself doing and there I was doing them. It was just a weird feeling. PORTUGALLLL. Alright moving on...after dinner we got dessert at a restaurant by the river (chocolate cake with rasberry sauce...SOOO GOOOOD)...we walked down by the river and there was this festival going on...there were like, circus acts going on...acrobats and stuff doing tricks over the river..hanging by chords..haha random things....and there were fireworks. I have no idea what was going on but I'm glad we got to experience it. I had SUCH a good time this weekend...it was one of the best places I've ever been to..and it was also so nice to get out of Madrid and breathe fresh, clean air and see pretty waterrrrr.

-The night before we left for Porto, our program went to a Flamenco show. It was awwwesome. The costumes and the music...and the intensity of the movements..it was really interesting. It is so respected in this culture and it was nice to be a part of it for a night!

-I am sooo thankful for the girls I've met during my time here...they are just solid and smart and GOOD. We're all in that stage of wanting to see everything..wanting to know everything...there is just so much we don't know/ havn't experienced and we want to do it alllll. Also, we all come from very different religious backgrounds..Catholic, Jewish, Southern Baptist, Methodist, Non-Denominational, Spiritual...and I'm learning so much...I just think it's cool how we are all so open with eachother in what we believe/don't believe/question. I love it.

Anyway..baaaaack to school...who knew they were gonna give homework here? Come on. A group of us are going to Italy on Wednesday..wahoo...hope you're all doing well!

Helloooooooooo...

On Tuesday, my roomate Jen got locked in our bathroom. The lock just wouldn't move...she was in there for like, 2 hours. Haaaaaaaahah..our landlady and our portero(doorman) had to come and remove the handle and lock completely and replace it..she missed class and everything..it was funny...to me, probably not to her. Haha she was a good sport though.

Tuesday afternoon a group of us went to visit a secret bakery inside this cathedral...cloistered nuns make goooood desserts there..we had to call in on an intercom and they buzzed us in...we then walked down a creepy hallway and found the little booth where they were. They aren't allowed to show their face to they used a little revolving door to give us our cookies...crazy yeah? They were delicious.

-Last night we went to a Real Madrid futbol game and it was awwwwesome...our seats were really high..but we had a really good time. We bought jerseys and everything :) let me tell you, they have some wiiiild fans. we won, 4-2...wahoo!

-My "Women's Roles in Spain" class is really interesting...right now we're learning about the history of women's rights in Spain so we can understand how it is today. Even though Spain is an oldddd country, their laws,constitution, and beliefs are relatively new (ever since the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1975.) Like...women couldn't vote until 1977..and divorce was only legalized in 1981. Spaniards views on women are slowly improving, but in 1975, 72% of Spanish people believed that women should stay in the home. That's a big percentage. Also ...my teacher, who is 32, had no sexual education during her entire schooling in Spain. Crazy, yeah? Its interesting to compare women in the US and women here...women in the US are just way more confident and powerful than women here- in the work-field. Its much more accepted for a woman to have a good job and make money in the States, whereas here, many people believe that a woman is not a "woman" unless she is in the home.

Tonight, our program is going to a Flamenco show! I'm exciiiiited. Tomorrow...5 of us are going to Porto, Portugal for the weekend. I'll keep you updated :) Have a nice weekend!

Yesterday, my Spanish Cinema class took a field trip to Filmoteca Espanola...it's an official institution of the Ministry of Culture of Spain...its goal is to restore, investigate, and conservate the Spanish film heritage. A guy talked to us about the history of Spanish cinema and we watched short clips from early films. We also saw the theatre where they hold daily showings of short films and full-length Spanish movies. The entertainment industry here is sooo different from in the States. Its just not a big deal...very, very basic..and young. According to our speaker, its way below the rest of the European film industry, but it's enjoyed by the people of Spain. When we were walking from the Metro to the building, we passed an attractive young woman and her child. Our teacher then told us that she was one of the biggest names in the Spanish entertainment industry---Najwa Nimri. She's been in dozens of films and has a couple of CDs out. We were like uhhh..and whyyy is she able to just walk on the street with her kid and not be bothered? And whyyy aren't you freaking out that you just saw a moviestar? And he explained that its just not a big deal here...all of the main stars live in Madrid and its common to see them out and about..but no one really gives them a lot of attention. We all were really surprised to hear that---think about Hollywood and the attention American actors and actresses get...its crazyyyy. Our teacher then told us that one time he was in Sevilla (a southern town in Spain), and he saw Jerry Seinfield sitting at an outdoor cafe. My teacher studied in the States for a while when he was younger so he was a big fan of Seinfield..but the show has never been shown here in Spain..so no one knew who he was. My teacher ran up and asked for his autograph and stuff..but everyone around him was just staring. Hahaaa...I bet Jerry thought he was going to get some peace and quiet for a few days...but nooo. Anyway, my Spanish Cinema class is really interesting and I'm excited about more field trips!

-Today, our program went on an excursion to Segovia. It's about an hour outside of Madrid and a really cute town. We walked around the city and took a tour of the Alcazar. Its said that its design influenced the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty...it has a lot of decorative rooms and a huge tower that we got to climb up..it gave a great view of the city. After that, we went to the Aqueduct...it was built by the Romans in the last 1st and 2nd century AD to bring water from a nearby river to the city. Its huge--almost a mile long--with big arches and a trough on the top(for the water)..The Romans used no other material apart from stone to hold the structure together...nothinggg is in between each stone...and they are just as solid today as they were then. It was really cool to think about them building it so long ago..and how its still standing today. After that, we ate lunch at a cute place...salad, roasted chicken, french fries and iccccecream....We walked around the town after that and got coffee at a little cafe..It was cooold there but it was nice to get out of the city for a day! Hope you all are having a good weekend-

Hi!
My family left this morning :( but we had an awwwesome week..it was sooo nice to have them here and be able to show them around the city. We went to a bull fight, took a day trip to Toledo, took a bus tour of Madrid, visited Palacio Real (The Royal Palace), the Prado Museum, Plaza Mayor, Sol, and took a tour of the Real Madrid Futbol Stadium. We stayed in a really cool hotel right in the heart of the Salamanca neighborhood (very close to my apartment)...Mom and I shopped a little bit (ok a lotta bit)....Preston and Dad found an Irish pub that played American football, so they hung out there whenever they got a free moment..haha..My friend Okado recommended a lot of restaurants and everything was great...we really didn't have a bad meal.
Some highlights:
-Their flight from nashville was delayed 4 hours..but somehow, it wasn't updated on the airline website...so I was waiting at the airport and stressing outtttttt! I was like oh man..I bet they are lost somewhere in Madrid because they don't know any Spanish..they don't have a phone to get in touch with me..I'll probably never see them again..I was freaking OUT! Anyway, they fiiinally showed up..and all was right in the world :)
-Mom and I got in a little cab wreck... ahhhh...we were on our way to meet dad and preston for dinner and bammm..a van came out of nowhere...no one was hurt but it was scary. Our driver jumped out of the car and started yelling with the other driver in the middle of the street...Mom and I jumped out and ran as fast as we could...haha I didn't wanna be caught up in that! Mom was like, "we're witnesses! we need to stay!"..I was like seeee ya. We got another cab and got the heck out of there...I'm really surprised my friends and I have never been in a fender bender in a cab before...in Chicago..Africa...Madrid...it was bound to happen sometime! Haha!
-We were all walking on the street and we heard someone say "vamonos!" (which means "let's go" in spanish) and Mom goes, "Dominos? Dominos! Ya'll have dominos here?" haaaaaaaaaaaaahahahah
-Dad and Preston met three guys on the tour of the Real Madrid stadium who were from England...dad and preston told them about "their irish pub" and the guys met up with them that night...They are all prison guards and were so fun...they were exchanging "life stories" when mom and I showed up...It was just cool to randomly meet people and make friends...we told them to call us if they are ever in the states!
-We had manyyyy funny experiences trying to communicate in Spanish..it was like the blind leading the blind..but we did it somehow...ask Mom to speak some spanish to you...you'll get a good laugh...

anyway..now I'm back to real life...but it was such a nice break to have my fam in town..I'm halfway through the semester and it's flyyyying...hope you're all doing well! Check out my pictures!

Things that make Spain smart...
-They are very environmentally conscious...for example, the doors on the metro don't automatically open..you have to manually do it if you want to get off at that stop..so not every door opens at every stop (like the el in the chicago..and every other subway i've been on in the states)...so its saving energy.
-A lot of the lights here go off after a certain amount of time....we turn on the lights in hallways of our apartment complex when we arrive and they shut off after about 10 minutes...saving electricity... .smart, yes?
-I know this isn't everyone in Spain, but all of the senoras in our homestays are veryyy strict about how long each child can shower...some even stand outside the bathroom with a watch and knock when its been 5 minutes..no joke!
-I know we've all known this for a while...but the US reaaaallllyyy needs to start teaching kids different languages starting in like, kindergarden...My teacher's son goes to The German School of Madrid...so all the classes are in German. However, each child is required to take two other languages, so he is taking Spanish and English...So, he is 8 years old and is tri-lingual..isn't that crazy? I think the US needs to get over themselves in thinking that speaking just English is enough, and that it is "the universal language"....come onnnn...get with it...alright I'm done.

hey! First, I'd just like to tell you that I fiiiiiiiiiiinally found peanut butter...I have been looking forever..I'm so happy. We started our real classes last week...I'm taking Spanish (I moved up a level after the intensive was over..wahoo), Spanish Civilization and Culture, Women's Roles in Spain, and Spanish Cinema. I was sick all last week and only got to go to one, but I'm excited about all of them and I'll let you know how they go this week.
-The rest of the CEA program got here last week (60 more people..so now there are 80 students total). We got a new roomate, Jen, and she's great..really fun. All the new kids had their own orientation and got to know eachother really well so she has been introducing us to her friends...they are all really cool and I'm glad they are here.
-Our program went to Cuenca this past weekend...Cuenca is a small town about two hours away from Madrid..It was gorgeous there..beautiful mountains and really cool architecture...plus it was great to hang out with all the new people. We left on Saturday morning...when we got there, we took a tour of the city and walked around the area. We stayed at a hotel that used to be an old monastery and it was so pretty. We ate lunch at our hotel and then explored the town a little more. We had dinner at the hotel that night and then our whole group went out to the bars in downtown Cuenca..we took one of our buses so there were like 70 of us, plus our two program directors...they are awesome. It was a fun night..On Sunday, we ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to do our "activities"...you had a choice of cliff jumping, kayaking, or horseback riding. Jessica, Miriam, Sarah, Claire and I chose horseback riding. It was sooo pretty..we went back in the woods and up the mountain a little bit..the leaves were changing and the weather was perfecttt..it was great. The area reminded me of Jackson Hole a little bit..so gorgeous. They grilled out for us after our activities and we got back to Madrid at about 7pm. It was so nice to get out of the city for a couple of days... I didn't realize how much I missed grass and clean air and open space...ohhhh tennessee how I miss you. Anyway, back to the real world...hope you all had a good weekend!

hiii...
I got back from Africa last night...and mannn oh man...
Just some back ground information on Marrakech--- Marrakech is a city in southwestern Morocco,which is in northern Africa. About 32 million people live in Morocco...its 98% Muslim and 99% Arab...Everyone speaks both Arabic and French...and a few people speak English or Spanish..
-we left madrid friday night, transfered to another flight in casablanca, and arrived in marrakech at about 11pm. When we stepped off the plane, we were all just like..in shock. Sooo many men everywhere..and the women were dressed in traditional attire, pretty much covered from head to toe (wearing hijabs over their head/face and long dresses). Right away, we felt so out of place. In Madrid, I can pretty much fit in and go with the flow because of my dark features..but we all soon realized that there is nooo way to fit in in Morocco...we just had to come to terms that we looked as touristy as they come. When you exit the airport, you have to walk to a parking lot across the street in order to get a taxi..so we walked over there and immediately got bombarded with taxi drivers trying to offer us the best deal. They wanted to give us a fixed price, but our travel agent told us to insist that they use the meter...however, with the language barrier, and it being night time and us being 3 girls...we just took whatever we could get...haha. On the way to our hotel, we noticed that there is NO organization on the road...no lines, no "sides"..nada. Cars, buses, taxis, bikes, little motorcycles...just weaving and swirving and passing...I'm serious, it was crazy...haha we were for sure scared for our lives...no one else seemed to have a problem with this...haha, ashley said that there is a "rhythm to their chaos"..but I just saw chaos. We got to our hotel...Riad Magador Marrakech...it was nice and felt safe...whew
-On Friday, we ate breakfast at the hotel and bought tickets to one of those city tours where you sit on top of the bus...it was a smart move. the ticket was good for 24 hours and you could get off and get back on whenever you wanted to. we saw a lot of cool stuff...marrakech has a lot of cool monuments and gardens..we saw the ruins of palaces and old mosques...we ate lunch in the main/center part of the city--its called Place Jemaa El Fna..its where everything takes place. I got chicken shish kabobs and they were pretty good...We had to be really careful about what we put into our bodies...you can't drink the water there or eat any raw fruit or vegetables...no ice, no juice..nothing. Anyway, that afternoon, we took a tour of the outskirts of the city. There were a lot of nice, big houses...they said that thats where famous people stay when they are in town for anything...Marrakech hosts a few international festivals throughout the year. It was nice to see that part of town...its very different from the central part of the city...it seems that Marrakech is a place where the poor are very poor and the rich are very rich. That night, we went to Place Jemaa El Fna again...everynight, people set up little booths and sell anything you can imagine...purses, jewelery, shoes, scarves, handcarved chess-sets...soo much. it was scary to walk through all the booths because the men are very forward..they would grab your hand and say "pretty girl come to my booth..we make good price for you!"..or "just look just look...let's bargain"..."america america!"...it was overwhelming because there were sooo many men..and it was just so crowded and hot and stuffy. we bought some bracelets and I got a few things for my family...everything there is so cheap---their currency is the dihram (1 euro= 11 dihrams) so that was pretty nice....we walked through pretty quickly...it was an uncomfortable situation...and you think,do they not know that this is not ok?? do they not know that this is not how you treat women? but they really don't...this is how they were raised..its sad but true. After we got done with the booths, we went to the center of the plaza to eat. Every night- restaurants set up little booths and tables and try to persuade you to come to their restaurant and eat...everyone is cooking and grilling and yelling at you..its chaos. Ashley and Tory ordered couscous (a traditional dish in Morocco...a mix between rice and grits)...but I couldn't bring myself to order anything. I think all the smells plus all the people and food everywhere....ehhh..I wasn't feeling too great. During our meal, little kids would come up and ask for the food we didn't eat...or a sip of our drink..it was sad and I had never been in that type of situation---where people were so needy and forward about asking you to give them something. Since it is Ramadan during this time, everyone eats and parties hardcore at night because they have to fast during the day...so once the sun goes down, the city comes alive. it was a crazy experience.
On Saturday, we hopped back on our bus tour and got off at a stop where we could ride camels! I was so excited...again, we bargained with the guys to let us ride for cheap...we won :) They led us around this big patch of dirt...it was pretty uneventful...but come on, when am I ever going to get to ride a camel again? It was fun... That afternoon, we had planned to visit the Museum of Marrakech and a few other exhibits..we took a cab there, but he let us out pretty far from where we needed to be because the streets are so narrow and crowded--it'd be impossible for him to drive...So, he pointed us in the direction of the museum and we just started walking....We realized prettyyyy quickly that this was like, the heart of Marrakech...you know, dirty and gritty....there were "houses" on each side of the street..little markets..little shops...we were just in the middle of "real life" in Marrakech..it was so crazy. There were little barefoot kids running around and people were just sitting on the side of the street, talking, hanging out....there were some mules & buggies...cats..oh yeah--I forgot to say that earlier...Marrakech has sooo many cats...gross, right?? Where did they all come from and why are they EVERYWHERE?? wondering the streets..under your table in restaurants... Sick....Ok moving on...As we were walking to the museum, little boys would say "Hello hello..where are you going? museum? central plaza? monument?? I will take you"...and we had no choice but to follow them because the streets are sooo narrow..but after we'd follow them for a minute, they would say "you pay me...i am tour guide"...so then we'd be like, umm no..go away...we know where we are going... it was just crazy...they'd jump in front of you and yell "i showed you where! pay me!"...we just had to ignore them and keep walking...Another thing, one time a little girl snuck up behind us and put a rose in Tory's purse and then said.."you pay me for rose"...we were like um nooo..and howww did this rose get in her purse? haha..they were so sneaky...So we got the museum but it was supposed to close in 30 minutes..we decided it wasn't worth the money..and we had gotten enough "culture" just by walking there. We walked back to the street where we got off and caught another cab...the driver said "yes I will take you..but you come with me for 2 minutes"..so we were like ok whatever...Then, he starts drivingggg down that narrow street! I swear to you, I could touch both sides of the street with my hands streched out...Little kids were knocking on the windows as we were driving...cats were crawling everywhere...bikes were brushing the side of my window...it was insaneeee...the driver got out of the car to run an errand and left us in the middle of the street...haha we just locked the doors and prayed he'd be back soon...little boys were knocking on the window asking us if we wanted our picture taken..(in exchange for money of course)....We sat in the cab for about 10 minutes and he finalllly returned... we asked him to take us to the best icecream ( or "glass) in town...he took us to a tiny bakery and waited for us to order..he then took us back to our hotel...he was super nice...thats the weird thing--there were like 2 different kind of men in Marrakech...the creepy, forward, rude men on the streets...and then men like our cabdrivers who were all so nice and helpful...it was strange. That night, we went to Place Jemaa El Fna for more shopping and then ate at a little cafe near our hotel...I don't know why, but there were only about 5 women eating at the restaurant, plus us...there were dozens of men--hanging out and drinking...and none of the women we saw were dressed in traditional attire...so I wonder if there is a rule or its expected for the woman to stay at home at night while the man goes out with his friends...who knows?
-We caught a flight back to Madrid Sunday afternoon and made it home safely...
-It was a crazyy trip..such a culture shock. I had a good time, but I doubt I'd want to go back anytime soon (or ever)...it was just like we stepped into a different worrrrrld...I dont know what I was expecting before I went, but I didn't expect that...however, I'm thankful for the experience! Check out my pictures--- hope you all had a good weekend!