Huelva

After a long and exhausting week (I had a cold which stunk!) I was rewarded for my endurance by going to Huelva with my ¨host friend,¨ Claudia, and I had a BLAST!!!! We took the train from Santa Justa (the train station,) one of the many positives of my life, living five minutes from the train station.

When we arrived we were met by Claudia's boyfriend, Kevin (he's actually Spanish, with no connections to English speaking countries) and their friend Pablo. We walked around the city center, which I really liked. There aren't a lot of major sites (unless you want to go to the first theater to have electricity in Spain) but I felt like I could actually live in Huelva. The people looked funky and fun (from first impressions) opposed to Sevilla's stylish and traditional pedestrians. Claudia, Kevin, and Pablo all said that they want to leave Huelva, which wasn't surprising, because it's what most 18 year olds say about their hometown! 

Later we went to a mall to see Ocho Apellidos Vasco, (we were almost late because we went to Mercadona, the Spanish Trader Joe's, which is of course, the bomb!) which is a comedy about a guy from Sevilla that falls in love with a girl from Pais Vasco. Initially he goes to Pais Vasco to return her wallet, but then she reunites with her father, who thinks that the sevilliano is her fiancee. There were a lot of jokes about País Vasco, which I didn't understand, but I was fine with the ones about Andalucia. I think from now on, though, I'm going to stick with watching movies about Spain, or Spanish culture, when I go to the movies, because, hey, I can watch English movies whenever I want on American Netflix, but I can't watch cool Spanish films!

Afterwards we went out to dinner with her parents and brother, Marcos, at a pizzeria and then we went to her house, which is on the outskirts of Huelva.

Saturday we went to Parque Natural Donana, which is a major bird refuge (saw some American Audubon members walking about.) There was a big mansion (palacio) there, which is now a museum. While there, I learned that at the park, there were people that lived, until fairly recently, in little straw huts, gathered all of their food, and did all of the typical things that the Native American Indians once did. And, apparently there are still people that live this way on a river (that I have forgotten the name of) near the border of the provinces of Huelva and Cadiz.

After we went to Matalascanas, which is ¨la playa de Sevilla,¨ where we had lunch, and what a lunch. It was my first large lunch out, and boy, was it deliciously! Before, people asked me what my favorite Spanish food was, and I didn't have a concrete answer, but after that meal, I know exactly what they are now, coquinas and chocos. Coquinas are small shellfish cooked with olive oil and garlic sauce, which chocos are what what American's think of as calamari, but of course, with a Spanish twist. 

After coming upon a random motorcycling flamenco concert (much more low key than your average Harley Davidson crowd,) and getting lost in a another nature park, we went to the Virgin of Rocio, which is a large church, located next to a marsh. While there I learned there is a camino, like the Camino de Santiago, but shorter, that goes from Almonte, my host mother's ¨town"(even though she has never lived there) to the Virgin of Rocio. 

We then stopped on the way back at another shopping mall, where I saw Dofin Dogels, the Spanish spin off of Dunkin' Donuts. 

Sunday, we went to see the Pinta, Santa Maria, and the Nina. Yes, that's right, I saw the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed the sea in 1492 (or at least replicas of them.)

Then we went to Mozoran, another town on the beach, and had another delicious meal out. After lunch we walked on the beach for a little bit, which was perfect, considering that the weather has unexpectedly decided to become hot!
And, before I forget, I'd just like to mention the things that I learned from Claudia about the college education system here in Spain. So, in June everyone takes the entrance exams into university. Each major has a different requirement for how high you need to score on your exams, and a different price! Claudia is an art history student at the Universidad de Sevilla, and she said that to study art history you need to get a 5 on your exam, and pay 2,000 euros a year! CRAZY!!!!!!!
Over these past few months I feel like not only my Spanish has improved, tremendously, but I have also come to some realizations. First of all, I am happy that I am going to UVM! Although I love living here in Sevilla, I really miss the mountains, but I also like living in the city, and, guess what, UVM has both. Also, I miss playing music. I still need to be proactive and buy a ukulele, but I just don't have any time (maybe if I didn't look at Facebook so much!) Most importantly,  I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life, or what the heck I'm going to major in, but I want to make positive impacts on peoples lives, whether it's being a Spanish teacher or running a non-profit that gives wheel burrows to women farmers in West Africa. I just remind myself everyday, that it's my life, and I have complete control!