Hi everyone! I hope all is well with everyone, especially you poor Iowa folk that are suffering the cold cold winter. I must admit that it is quite chilly here in Seville, though nothing compared to Iowa. We have been having lots of rain storms over the past few weeks. We had a rainstorm so bad on Sunday that a) there was lightning and thunder (much to my delight and my roommates horror) and b) it knocked out our internet. In all my time of living at this apartment, I have never gone without internet, and now that its gone, I realize how much i relied on it. And since this is Spain, and nothing happens right away, we will probably be without internet for a few days, if not a few weeks :( I haven't had any trouble being entertained so far- I have been engrossed in the "Twilight" series that the lovely Maritheresa has let me borrow. I have zoomed through the books at lightning speed- finishing each 500-600 page book in about 8 or 9 hours. They are so good! I never thought that I would be so interested in them, but they are great and they keep me distracted. I am currently at the tail end of the 3rd book, and ready to start the 4th and final one. Has anyone else read these books? I definitely recommend them!!
I have some fun things coming up in the near future. To name them off for you:
- This weekend I am going with Lola (my AWESOME Spanish co-worker) and Diana (my dear American coworker) to Isla Cristina, which is a coastal town in the province of Huelva. It is RIGHT on the border with Portugal, so I'm hoping to hop on over there this weekend!
- From February 12-22, my dear friend from last year, Marion, is coming for an extended visit from France. She will be here for my birthday, Feb. 16th, so I'm sure we'll have a good time!
- My favorite Dutch girls Janneke and Aagje are coming to visit the last week of February. I am SO excited! We luckily have a 3 day weekend when they come, so we are planning on making a trip somewhere fun, maybe Portugal?
- This is WAAAAY far ahead, but in April there will be Semana Santa (Holy Week) with the famous and amazing religious processions (it gives me goosebumps just THINKING about it!!!!!), and my good old U of Iowa Office for Study Abroad amiga Rachael Todt will be gracing me with her presence on Easter weekend. I am so excited to be able to show her around!
- Two weeks after Holy Week is the Feria de Sevilla, a big, one-week long fair thats full of flamenco dresses, dancing, sherry and horses. I am taking Sevillianas dancing lessons so that this year I can bust out some Spanish dancing moves, much to the surprise of my colleagues (shhhhh! i'm trying to keep it a secret until then!!! :) )
- My ticket back home is finalized- I will be returning to the great US of A on June 11th, flying out from Amsterdam. I am taking a 11 or 12 day trip to Holland before I leave Europe so I can spend some time with my Dutch girls and their glorious families.
Well, I'm at school and the bell is about to ring....I've got my favorite class, 1·G. We're gonna learn about Coniferous Forests and Tundra, etc. Yippee!
Until soon.........
