Hey everyone!
Again, it has been quite awhile since I updated this blog. I had a very busy end of the semester with lots of papers, presentations and tests. I finally finished last week, which made me very happy! I went to Portugal for the weekend to celebrate on the beach with my friends Bridget and Hallie, which was very relaxing. Now I have just begun my journey around Europe for three weeks before I meet up with Serena for another three-week journey!
So, here’s a quick overview of what’s been going on in my life the past few weeks. The week of Feria (the spring fair in Sevilla) we did not have school. So, I went to Venice to meet up with my best friend from college, Kirsten. It was so great to see her! We hung out in Venice for a few days, went to Padua, and then made it to Florence where we have two other college friends studying right now, Katie and Carolyn. We were luckily there on the exact day of Katie’s 21st birthday so that was perfect! After Florence for two days I took a flight back to Sevilla and Kirsten continued on to Rome. I wanted to be home for Feria and Kirsten still had a few days to travel so that’s how that worked out. Back in Sevilla I went to Feria every day that weekend. It was amazing! If I could come back to Spain every year just for that week, I would do it in a heartbeat.
The weekend after Feria I went to Morocco with my interest group through the CIEE. It was an amazing trip and I will never forget it. I really felt like I learned a lot and that my time was well spent. The whole trip was very well organized and it was nice to just relax and let other people worry about transportation and food and places to stay. We made it to three different cities, including one in the mountains, which was absolutely beautiful. All of the people that we met and stayed with were very nice and so hospitable—which in a way was more similar to the Minnesota nice I am used to (it’s very uncommon to be invited to someone’s house in Spain, all activity happens out in public spaces). I met some great Moroccans and made some new friends from my program as well which was great.
The week after Morocco was when my friend from home Christa came to visit me! It was so wonderful to see her and catch up in person. I went to Madrid to meet up with her and we hung out there for a day before taking the train down to Cadiz, a coastal town of southern Spain. We spent two days there on the beach, which was so relaxing. Unfortunately that weekend I got really sick and had to go to the hospital. It turned out I got colitis while in Morocco that finally caught up with me a week later and left me confined to my bed for four days. I literally had doctors orders to not eat or drink for 36 hours, and to stay in bed for four fulls days. It got me out of class that whole week, but kept me from showing Christa around Sevilla which was a real bummer. Fortunately, Christa was a good sport and hung out with me at my house to keep me company. She explored a little on her own as well, and got a tour from one of my friends, so that was good. When I was fully recovered (meaning I could leave my bed) I walked around Sevilla a little with Christa for a day (with lots of stops to rest and eat) before going back to Madrid for the night.
My last weekend before finals was mostly filled with studying so that’s not too important to write about. The important thing is that I got everything finished and turned in and took all of my exams. I needed a couple of extensions on papers due to my illness but everyone was really accommodating so it worked out fine. After exams were over the program threw a great big party for us at a fancy restaurant where we were served free drinks and appetizers for several hours. It was a fantastic party that continued well into the night after we all left the restaurant, went to over bars and then ended up at the same discoteca until the full-fledged hours of the morning. It was quite the way to say goodbye. We all got pretty emotional around 5am when we finally realized that we actually did have to say goodbye and part ways and leave Sevilla quite possibly for good.
So the following weekend I went to Portugal and now here I am in Malaga, getting ready to fly to Marseille, France tomorrow afternoon! I planned out my trip (mostly) up until I meet Serena in Barcelona. Here’s the overview: Marseille (France), Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Monaco, Avignon, Freiburg (Germany), Con stance, Munich, Luxembourg City (Luxembourg), Ghent (Belguim), Dublin (Ireland), Barcelona! Then with Serena… Valencia (Spain), Rome (Italy), Cinque Terre, Switzerland, Frankfurt (Germany). That’s a really rough look at it, but I’m apparently not too into planning the details. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t—we’ll see! Anyways, I’ll keep writing now that I have a bit more time on my hands. I hope you are all doing well, I miss you terribly. I’m taking plently of pictures though and I will update that soon I promise.
Love, love, love
Maia Jo
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