home

It's been a while. A very long while. I got back home a week ago and am now waiting until it's time for me to pack up once again and start my summer job in NYC.

My lack of posting is due to a couple things. First, my laptop got stolen in late April during my trip to Paris. For all you travelers out there, DO NOT leave any valuables unattended. Even if it's a locked-up storage room. No matter how trustworthy the hotel/hostel/whatever place seems. Actually, don't even bring any valuables in the first place. I unfortunately had to do housing selection for the fall semester during my week of traveling, but looking back I really should have gotten a proxy to do it for me. Anyways though, the incident was rather stressful and I lost all my pictures so I kind of didn't want to bother updating the blog anymore. Juan did lend me a brand-new laptop from the school where he works, which was actually the sweetest thing ever.

But I suppose I did just get lazy for the last month of the trip. Lazy slash busy. Here is a recap of what happened:

1. I went to Madrid. It was only a 3-day trip, but it was the first time I traveled by myself. Traveling solo is kind of nice; no time wasted over trying to make decisions to please all members of the group, no arguing over what to do next, no bickering over finances, etc. I don't know if I could do it for more than a week or so, though. For me, it's always nice to have company while traveling in spite of disagreements. Anyways, in Madrid I ran the Rock 'N Roll 10K race and watched the marathon that took place alongside it.

so many runners! many of the city's roads were actually blocked for this event.

I did some sightseeing on my own.

Got to go to the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen museums all for free! Definitely got my art fix on this trip. Seeing Guernica in real life was really incredible. I had heard before that the painting itself is huge, but the HUGEness of it when it was actually in front of me was an entirely different experience than I had imagined. And there were photos of Picasso's steps in creating the painting - his original idea was nothing like the finished piece, which was pretty cool to see.

2. Paris. After my few days in Madrid, I flew to Paris to meet up with four other girls from my program. The city itself is beautiful, with many little streets lined with gorgeous architecture. It rained for most of the time though, and my experience was definitely tainted from having my laptop stolen.

View from top of the Notre Dame

3. Feria de Sevilla!! Amazing amazing time. I even bought a flamenco dress, for only 20 euro at the mercadillo de jueves! Normally the dresses are over 200 euro, so this was definitely a steal. I couldn't bring it home though, because it took up nearly half my suitcase. So I decided to leave it behind for my host sisters to use when they're older. 

 4. Sherry came to visit! She stayed with me for two and a half weeks. We explored more of Sevilla, went to Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, and Marbella.

palma de mallorca

downtown palma

marbella

So much fun spending the last few weeks of my trip with Sherry. I did have to cram for my ODE final, but ended up passing! 

And of course a picture with my beloved Sevici bike :)

Many despedidas, or goodbyes, during the last couple days. The other interns and patients at the Santa Elena clinic gave me a card with really sweet messages along with a cute crossbody bag.

I'm so glad that I decided to intern with them. Everybody was just so relaxed and funny, and I felt accepted even though I didn't always understand what they were saying. I already miss being there with the patients. They all have such quirky personalities, and there was this one woman who reminded me of my grandma. Haha and it was always amusing to hear Paloma (the woman in white) come in swearing every day because of her bad parking job.

Well, I'd like to think that I took advantage of every minute I had in Sevilla. It was a wonderful five months, really like none other. Now I have a repertoire of new experiences, new friends, and a new perspective on people/culture. I could ramble about how I've changed and blah blah blah but that really goes without saying. But for now I am happy to be back, catch up with friends and family, and start a summer in NYC to remember.