Monday, May 7, 2012

Viva Hasta Luegos

Sitting in the Madrid Airport perfecting the life of the layover. Left Sevilla this morning -- it doesn't feel like I'm going back to the States -- just like I'm taking another weekend trip. But one big change... I checked baggage for the first time since January!

Leaving my host family this morning was far more bitter than sweet. Our sweet mama Carmen called me a taxi and gave me the best squishy hug I've had all year. Miguel walked me down to the taxi, and when we were giving besitos (those double kisses Europeans do) I went for two, he went for one, and in a fluked moment we kissed on the lips. Ha!! Can't get the unsettling feeling of his majestic mustache off of my face. How odd. Claire, my roommate, waited with me and laughed as my luggage wouldnt fit in this tiny Prius taxi. After a teary-eyed hug sesh, I was on my way.

I've still got a connection in Boston, then I'll be in Dallas by 10 tonight. In. Sane.

Feeling: Nothing in me wants to leave Spain. Nothing! Could see myself here for a lot longer. I haven't been homesick this semester, but rather just wished that some people back in The States had still been making memories alongside me during the semester. Last night after talking to some of my roommates, I started for the first time to get a spark of excitement about being "home" again. Once I'm hyperventilating, jumping up and down, hugging great friends that I haven't seen in in 5 months - I'm sure that I won't understand why I was ever loathing returning to the US. But you know, we'll see -- vamos a ver.

Thoughts: Where is "home"? Where you miss most, where you're registered to vote, where your family is or where you live? Dallas, Fort Worth, Camp Travis and Sevilla all feel like home to me. I don't need to worry about this though. Iit's a train of thought that has no purpose because ultimately, I know that this world isn't supposed to feel like home - but man, how far is heaven, you know?

Time for my last café con leche. Pour one out, baby.

Un saludo, Hasta Tejas.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Viva La Experiencia


You know that feeling when you’re in a store that’s about to close? They’re calling over the speaker that there’s 30 minutes left until the store closes... so you should probably “make your final selections” and head on up to the cash register, but you feel like you’ve got so much left to grab in that store. Before you’ve even finished perusing that one isle that you were on when you heard the 30-minute warning, you hear the 15-minute call... then the 5... then they start turning the lights off. You kinda feel like you’re running around just trying to grab everything you need, but you can’t seem to hold onto the time you have left.

That’s how I feel right now

I have had an incredible semester. My time in Sevilla has far, far exceeded any expectations that I had for Spring 2012. Traveling, sinking into Spanish culture and making memories along the way... I’ve been living through 5 solid months saturated in blessings. SATURATED. I’ve been learning heaps, meeting many godsends, and been seeing so much purpose for this semester in Spain.

I just... don’t want to let it go! That’s my selfish nature talking. I know I’ve got to let go of this trapeze that I’m hanging onto... I see the next one in front of me - swinging sweetly synchronized - waiting for me to let go of the old one, trust in the time between grips & take hold of what’s in front of me. Still, where’s the balance between savoring this grip and looking forward to the next? It’s not easy. I’m in between. The store is closing, but I’m still shopping.

CHEERS to an incredible semester. Cheers to the days I have left here, and cheers to the past days that have made up this chapter of life. Cheers to the people, places, belly laughs, jaw drops and memories. Cheers to the upcoming summer at camp, and cheers to the next time I’ll be on this side of the world. CHEERS.

Es necesario alternar la reflexión y la acción, que se completan y se corrigen la una con la otra.
-Antoni Gaudí

Friday, April 27, 2012

Viva Morocco



We have two “spring breaks” this semester. SCORE. The catch is – two great things happen in Sevilla while we are on these breaks. The first week in April was Semana Santa, or holy week, leading up to Easter. This city pulls out all of the stops to celebrate this week... 24/7 parades, or “pasos”, celebrate the saints. This is something that can’t be missed in SVQ, so many students plan to split their SB2012 into travelling and soaking up this rich tradition in Sevilla.

With that being said, I split up my Semana Santa between London, Morocco, and Sevilla! What a time.


Left for Morocco on Saturday morning at 4. Yep. 4:00 AM. Yowza! We hopped on a bus (I’ll be saying that a lot) and headed to Tarifa, a city on the southernmost tip of Spain. Took a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to AFRICA. Check that continent off the list! Holla!

Although they’re really close in proximity, Spain and Morocco are DIFFERENT WORLDS. There are very few similarities... the money, time, language, and alphabet are different. Forget euros, meet dirhams. Say hello to 2 hours that you didn’t have before. Know your ABCs? Have fun with Arabic! Culture shock is an understatement.


The first thing we did was bus to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. We had a seaside lunch and ate one of the weirdest, most delicious meals I’ve had over here.  It was basically chicken, spices and peanuts wrapped in a pastry with cinnamon and powered shuga on top. Dessert? Sliced oranges with cinnamon on top! TRY IT. Understated delicious. We got to see some of the old city and stretch our legs after going on a bus tour of the whole city. Next, we bussed to Fes where we stayed in a snazzy hotel for the night. What a change from hostel life!

The next day was a lot of driving. Along the way, we had a little pit stop because someone saw wild monkeys on the side of the road. There was a little market there, too. I bought some Moroccan garb – some crazy looking pullover – because I was freezing. Turned out to be the best investment I made in Africa! Who knew it would be so chilly? Not me.


That night, we took our backpacks and drove into the Sahara Desert in 4x4s. I have a new dream job. Our 4x4 driver drove like we were in a video game. I swear my rump wasn’t actually on the seat about 40% of the time – we were flying, weaving and dodging the natural obstacles in the Sahara.

We made it to our destination – a line of 100 camels. NIGHT CAMEL RIDING! So neat. I named my camel Cous Cous. He was a sweetie. After about 45 mins of camelling, we made it to our campsite for the night. We had a great dinner, Moroccan tea, and a fun night full of the unexpected, to say the least. Camping in the heart of the dessert is something I won’t soon forget. Talked to Berbers half the night, and learned the secrets of making true, sweet, Moroccan “cous cous.” Yeah, won’t forget that one either.

After two or three hours of sleep in our tent, we woke up to climb a big dune to watch the sun rise! INCREDIBLE. GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH that’s one of the neatest things I’ve done in all my days. It was beautiful. The dunes are incredible... add a sunrise and, man. I could’ve died happy. Once the sun came up, someone played the Lion King’s “ahhhhh sabennnaaa walla wa heeeee schida mohhhhh” and I felt like all was right with the world.



My favorite part of the trip was DUNING. We thought we would just walk down back to our campsite, but jumping down the dune proved to be too great. Gravity! We would just start skipping down the dune and it turned into tucking & rolling & laughing & having sand in every crevice. I’ve never had so much fun before 7 am.



Next, we rode camels again for another 2 hours to our next fancy hotel. 2 hours on a camel... leaves a lot of time for thought. I whipped out my camel-riding playlist and some podcasts and had a grand ol’ time. It also gave me a lot of time to experiment with camel riding positions... after much internal debate my preferred position was Indian style.


 Camel riding thoughts: Dunes can’t shape themselves; they’re at the mercy of the wind. The wind shapes them so naturally and beautifully, there’s no way a dune could imagine what it would look like at the end of the hour, much less day or year. A dune will never look the same as it does at any given moment because the wind is ever changing, yet constant.




We spent that day chillin’ out max & relaxin’ all cool poolside, wandering around the desert, and in a nearby town in their market. We then drove back to Fes, and had a great night in the hotel of story swapping, laughs & make it or break it.


The next morning, we got to go into Fes and the old city, Medina. This was my second favorite part about the trip, MARKET TIME! If you know me, you know I love a good market. We had a tour of a leather tannery, and then were given an hour to go wild. And go wild, we did. There were so many sights, sounds and especially smells in the market. This place was huge. I made out like a bandit with 2 new pair of leather sandals, homemade oil, hand-carved wooden spoons (I like lame things), some good surprise gifts that I can’t type, and a henna tat! Got the henna in the comfort of the artist’s home, while watching Arabic soap operas, and even got served some tea. Score.

We drove back to the Strait of Gibraltar, crossed back over into Spain and made it back to Sevilla in the wee hours of the morning. Five days in Morocco were really great. Seeing a new continent, playing in the Sahara and navigating a crazy market... good times were had. 

Viva London

Studied abroad in London last summer. Fell in love with the city. London was calling again, had to answer. Found 2 free days thanks to a citywide strike to escape back to that wonderful, foggy town. My new pal, Brad Ellis, joined in on the adventure. There’s no better way to get to know someone than traveling with them!

This is going to be an abbreviated post, since it was an abbreviated trip:
  • Late flight on Wednesday
  • Someone let us cut to the front in customs to catch our bus
  • Sprinted through the airport. Ran like I haven’t run since... maybe ever
  • Almost died on the bus into the city, crazy fun driver
  • Hostel life
  • Woke up early for a Fat Tire Bike Tour
The tour was awesome. Saw some parts of London that I’d never seen before, and learned a ton about the River Thames. My favorite part was going to the Borough market for an exploration of a lunch. Also, we found a Ben’s Cookies in Covent Garden, which is the only little cookie shop that Jesus gave his cookie recipe to. Had the best cookie of my life from their Oxford location the summer before, and didn’t know that there were shops in London. It was the most excited I had been since probably sledding in Switzerland. That exciting.








  • Revisited my favorite vintage market, in Spitalfields
  • Introduced Brad to the glory of Crepe Affaire’s nutella milkshake
  • Visited Wieden + Kennedy, an incredible ad agency
  • Made our way back to the West End to catch a show! Rock of Ages. Hilarious.
  • FLARED TO CHIPOTLE. First guacamole I’ve had all semester. Indescribable.




  • Slept
  • Early morning visit to Monmouth Coffee and Phoenix Gardens, the best combination in London since men and British accents
  • Had breakfast at Le Pain with the one and only Olivia Forkenbrock! Sweet pal from TCU studying in London. Le Pain is the home of best mocha in London.
  • Revisited our old flat from last summer
  • Enjoyed one last meal: Hummus Bros. Picnicked in Bedford Square! Just like old times. Hummus Bros is the meal of champions, and you should google it.
  • Time to head back to the airport







We had a jam-packed FUN 2 days in London town. Miss that city. Plus, they speak English there, so that’s good. I think I’ll try and live there one day.

Got back to Sevilla, then left 5 hours later for Morocco! Viva la vida!


Viva Paris


I’m blessed. This semester has been my third trip to Europe, and I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve gotten to see and experience. I’ve loved every city that I’ve traveled to except for one... Paris. I had been twice before, and well... big city France is just not my thing. I don’t know why, I just had never enjoyed it. Luckily for me, American maxim proved hold true: Third time’s a charm.


I loved Paris the third time around. Honestly, I wouldn’t originally have chosen to go back, but I had 2 big motivations... and their names are Emily and Katie. I worked with these two girls the past 2 summers at T Bar M Camp Travis. Studying abroad, I didn’t have anyone coming with me that really knew me. It’s weird to have a feeling that nobody knows what’s really going on with you, or typically really cares much. I’ve made some incredible friends over here, but I just really needed some quality time with some good friends. Em & Katie are studying in Florence, Italy, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them on this side of the world.


We met up in Paris on Wednesday night in good ole Hotel Bertha. The name says it all! After a mini-freak out session of being reunited, we fell asleep swapping stories, resting up for our days ahead.

Quickly, this is a vital paragraph... food selection. In summation: Baguetting became a verb, pastries and café au lait happened on the regs, our crepe count was 7, and Berthillon ice cream (special recipe only found on one island in Paris) happened every day. I love French food. Vale la pena.



We woke up on Thursday and took a Fat Tire Bike Tour, which I highly recommend if you’re headed to Paris, London Barcelona or Berlin any time soon. Since we were on bikes, we got to see a TON of Paris, which is a huge city. We had a blast! I like tours because with some added in history and facts, everything just means more.



After the tour, we walked around for a few hours to see more of the city at our leisure, and then actually went back that night for another bike tour! We wanted to see everything at night, because the tour is completely different after hours. It was definitely a great decision. I think we biked for a total of 9 hours that day!


On Friday, we woke up and headed out to see Versailles. The chateau and gardens were incredible. No lie, we baguetted pretty hard in the gardens. 



After getting back and grabbing some Berthillon, we trekked up to Montemarte – the only hill in Paris. From there, we watched the city of lights illuminate once the sun had set. Also, we went to what I think was my favorite restaurant experience in Europe. We stumbled across a piano/crepe bar. YEAH. The French Ben Rector was serenading us Coldplay style all night, and we did some incredible creping. We met some great French law students and had an overall blast. Last stop for the day was the Champ Elysse (butchered that spelling) to take advantage of the fact that their stores didn’t close until midnight!


Saturday, we hit the museums. E & K hit the Louvre, and I hit Musee D’Orsay. Since I was solo, I met a new friend in line, Kyle from TN/FL, and he guided me through the museum the whole time. It’s good to make friends who know how to do art museums. We had a blast together, parted ways, and wished each other nice lives. It’s a weird feeling to say goodbye to someone when you’re pretty sure you’ll never see each other or talk again.



The girls and I we hit up a market for lunch, then got THE BEST CREPE OF OUR PARIS EXPERIENCE/LIVES. Where from? The most unlikely of places. Ben & Jerry’s. I know, I know. I tried back road, off the beaten path crepe stands... under the Eiffel... in cafés... but none beat the power of Ben & Jerry’s. Crepe faces were invented for these crepes.



My favorite thing we saw in Paris was next: Sainte Chapel. It was a church built to house Christ’s crown of thorns, which I’ve never thought about even existing before. It was the most beautiful chapel I’ve seen in my life... kicking Sistine’s behind. The entire thing was made out of stained glass, telling the story of the Bible from beginning to end. My jaw was dropped for a solid 5 minutes.


Fun side story: In the line to get into Sainte Chapel, we saw one of my friends, Anna Kate, who I went to Switzerland with! She’s studying in Sevilla, too, but we’ve never seen each other in Spain. What a sight for sore eyes! She came along with us for our last scoop of Berthillon and last hour in Paris.


Our last stop in Paris was the Eiffel tower to write our campers some post-cards. We sat, enjoyed the beauty of it all, and then Em & Katie had to split to catch their plane. We weren’t happy to say goodbye, but the thankfulness that I had for our time together overshadowed the fact that we were going back to separate countries. AK & I stayed under the Eiffel for a while longer and caught up. What a GIFT! Can’t even describe it anyway else.

After catching a plane back to Barcelona, I had an overnight layover. AKA the greatest fun!! I have an inexplicable love for the Barcelona International Airport. It’s so clean; you can literally see yourself in the floor. I want my wedding to smell like their restrooms, they smell better than any human being I’ve ever met. I have a crush on that airport. Had an all nighter there, and then returned to my beloved Sevilla.




Paris, you got me. Third time’s a charm.

Viva Toledo


When we were trip planning at the beginning of the semester, we had planned to go to Madrid mid-March, and it just so happened that the LMFAO European tour rolled through Spain that weekend! So naturally, we grabbed tickets and figured it’d be a blast. You know, they’ve got some hits on the radio... the kids these days like ‘em... Friday night, we got to the amphitheater and man... I’ve never seen so many ‘fro wigs, animal prints pants (outtacontrol), or shutter shades. Far East movement opened for them, and then LMFAO took the stage.



The concert was a one for the books. I say “one for the books” when I don’t know if something was good or bad... kinda both. I describe that concert as the quickest, most entertaining way to lose hope in humanity. The place was packed with some characters to see this band, and their show was well done, but man... the music. Their songs are just over the top raunch, and if this is what reflects the US culture... oh man. We’re in for it.


The next day, my pal Nyla and I went to Toledo. I opted to skip out on seeing Madrid since I’d be going with my ‘rents the next month. Toledo is a sweet little town where the government was moved for a short while back in the Spanish day. It’s just a short train ride from the current capital, Madrid. Cervantes was a big deal in Toledo, so to pay homage to my Spanish lit classes, we had to pay a visit.

On the way off of the train (phs girls, you’ll appreciate this) I saw a neon hat that practically everyone in Young Life owns. I was caught off guard, but then caught a glimpse of this guy’s shirt, reppin’ YL as well. SCORE! Turns out that this guy, Phrank, was a leader from Colorado. Post-LMFAO, I needed a little bit of hope in humanity and this conversation fit the bill. We had a great little talk, and I got my Young Life fix for the next 30 mins or so.

Nyla and I spent the rest of the day seeing the goods that Toledo has to offer. The cathedral there is incredible, as is just the feel of the town. We wandered through winding streets, saw some sights, and had a great time. Toledo is famous for their swords, marzipan and history in literature. We saw some great swords, ate some great marzipan, and kinda thought about some great literature.





My favorite part of our Toledo trip happened toward the end of the day. Ny and I went to go see the scene of the picture that’s all over pinterest... it’s of one of the bridges over this beautiful river basin with some incredible cliffs. We had to get a little taste of it for ourselves so, being the rebels that we are, jumped the barrier fence on the lookout and shimmied our way out on to this cliff/ledge where you get THE best view. Gosh, it was breathtaking.


The whole time we were out on the ledge, we kinda were thinking that what we were doing was illegal. After sitting for a few minutes and taking it all in, we heard a big whistle from up behind the fence. I thought it was the police trying to bust us. Dang. We turned around and there was an army of photographers taking photos of us. What?! Nyla and I were dying laughing. We started heading back up to the fence, all the while being snapped for photos. I’ve never felt like a celebrity until I went to Toledo.

The Spanish photographers were talking to us once we got up, showing us the photos they took and commending us on our “bravery.” That’s funny. We exchanged emails with several of them, and came home to some pictures of our Toledo adventure! Hence, this shot:


Toledo was beautiful, historical and fun. One-on-one time with Nyla was really nice, too. Yet another two points for small-town Spain!