Obrigada//Vale?!

It has been more than a long time since my last post, but I think it’s more important to get out and enjoy Sevilla than sitting in my room on the computer. The weather is supposed to take a turn from mild and warm to the famous brutal and hot summers that Sevilla is known for. The forecast is for 100 degrees but mid-July it can reach around 125 (no kidding). I still think that’s better than snow. Yesterday marked my official one week anniversary of living abroad and cross your fingers the jet lag is now nothing more than a memoria [memory]. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still exhausted all the time, but I think I’m going to be tired for the rest of my life. Oh well, I can sleep when I’m dead.

The past week was spent catching up with old friends, making new ones and reacquainting myself with the city I adore and love. My residencia is beautiful, but the most modern thing about it is the wireless router. It has been challenging trying to come up with ways to make meals more interesting. There is no oven, but we do have a microonda [microwave] and a stovetop. TV dinners have taken on a new meaning in my life. A lot of my meals consist of microwaveable pasta, Nutella, and/or ham and cheese sandwiches. I am ready for a fresh salad with lots of vegetables, but the pepino [cucumber]/tomato/lechuga [lettuce] issues running rampant through news outlets and gossip alike has got me terrified. I’ve had enough bad experiences with food poisoning in my life, thank you, and I don’t wish to experience any of it again anytime soon. This week I’m going to remedy the situation and go to the open markets for fruit and vegetables. I’m only 8 days in and I’m already so tired of bread, pasta and jámon [ham]. Bread, pasta, and olive oil are huge staples in the Mediterranean diet so Atkins Diet Believers stay away.

Tuesday night I went Fundicion on Calle Betis. My friend Toba started a company a long time ago called International Party Sevilla. He does promotional work and sets up parties at different clubs and bars around town for all of the students living here through Study Abroad programs. Every Tuesday night there is a HUGE pong tournament. The bar is filled with students and plays songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and an assortment of John Mellancamp classics all night long. For the frustrated students who miss the familiar frat boy, teenage angst atmosphere of home, these nights promise to always be epic. All sarcasm aside, the night is always a blast. I arrived solo this past Tuesday night and without a moment’s hesitation I marched up to some chicas posted up at the bar (free sangria was being passed around) and made fast friends through drinks and stories of our favorite Sevilla memories. The night went by quickly and before I knew it, I realized it was almost 3am. I was pining for my tiny, scratchy cot at home and desperately needed sleep, but made a stop at Tex-Mex (nom, nom, nom) with a few people for late night nachos.

Wednesday night was spent at home, but Thursday, we were back on the scene. We went to my familiar stomping grounds, Buddha, a huge, 4 story club in Sevilla. Each floor is a different type of music, but I’ve always ended up on the top and this time was no different. This past Saturday was one of my roommates, Kaleb’s, 21^st birthday so we tried to make the night into a pseudo-birthday party. There weren’t balloons but there was definitely partying. After a night of dancing and thoroughly loving life, we all reconvened in the atrium of our house and were up yelling at each other in different languages and laughing about the night until about 5am.  After all, late night munchies are a universal language. I’ve gotten so lucky with my roommates because we all do our own thing but enjoy spending time together. It was a very good ending to a very tiring week.

On Friday, Kate and I headed to Lagos, Portugal with about 25 other students. At first I was hesitant to leave Sevilla on my first full weekend, but upon arrival, I realized how great of a decision I had made in going. Lagos, Portugal is absolutely, disgustingly beautiful. Friday night we went to the “end of the world” a very high point on these cliffs where many used to think the world actually ended because all you can see is the Atlantic Ocean for miles. We stayed and watched the sunset. It was very, very windy, but an amazing sight to see. The big man upstairs is doin’ workkkk and this is the kind of thing that shows you he’s definitely there.

After the sunset we all piled back onto the bus and back into the center of town for dinner. At this point it was almost 10:30 and we were all starving. We were all excited to see cheeseburgers on the menu, but Kate and I opted for the goat cheese salad and I was psyched to eat some greenery. As Kate would say, our food was finally “not beige colored.” After a huge meal, everyone hit the town, but Kate and I headed back to the hotel. We were so exhausted and had no energy. Within minutes of getting in bed, we both fell fast asleep.

Saturday night we headed out to eat and then hit the nightlife in Lagos. If my family and friends weren’t so far away, I would move to Lagos in a heartbeat. I know I only spent a few hours in and around the city, but a glimpse was all I needed to fall in love. The people were all so friendly and beautiful (literally, beautiful), the food is amazing, and the drinks never stop flowing. Sounds like a little slice of heaven, and believe me it is. We went to a restaurant where we had these massive cheeseburgers. I ordered the classic which was essentially a bacon cheeseburger except there were two huge onion rings on and it was the size of my face. The server told me it was because“Everything is bigger in Portugal.” Love it. We drank pitchers of sangria and munched on nachos and before we knew it, we had been there for almost two hours. It was a very cozy place, but I loved every minute.

We went all over Lagos and you’ll have to see the pictures to really do the place justice. Actually, you’ll have to buy a plane ticket, but for now pictures will have to suffice. Put it this way, I didn’t go to bed until probably close to 5am. Sunday was spent on the rooftop of our hotel until we left around 5:30. Our backdrop was the Atlantic Ocean and the sun was delicious. It was rough waking up, but once I was settled in my plastic lounge chair and soaking up the rays, I was perfectly happy. This weekend was one of the best of my life and thank you so much Discover Sevilla, Benni and Toba for being the best tour guides ever.

Today has been spent getting reacquainted to my little room and preparing for my internship next week. I went and got a few groceries but am trying to save money for more important things like traveling. I bought a ticket to Rome, Italy to visit all my UST amigos for a weekend too. I’ve never been to Italy so I am very much looking forward to a weekend of pizza. I’m now going to nap a little (maybe) and then head out to run along the river. Still isn’t quite as hot as the mythical “they” keep saying that it gets, but I’m okay with that. I don’t miss humidity by any means. I’m hoping that everyone had just as good of a weekend. Tonight the roomies and I are going to watch “Taken” and just enjoy being home.

Love you all, Miss you more, XX Linzer