Back on the Grind

            I’ve been back in Seville for two weeks now. Things have gone so smooth, it’s like I’ve done this before or something (HA) I daydream about my trip during January all the time. I miss the cities, the independence and the lack of homework. I look at my pictures, and others pictures of the cities to remember the small details. I wrote in a journal during my travels now wish is serving as a guide down memory lane to relive it all in my dreams. I’m already planning my next venture to Europe. (Maybe in a couple of years though because it was not cheap!) But it was worth every penny, every tear, everything I put into it.

            We are just finishing the continuation period here at the center, so at the moment I’m only taking two classes there and another at the University of Seville. My class at the University was one of my biggest worries because it’s not a class for Americans and I didn’t think I was going to know what was going on ever. Turns out the professor has a fairly thick Andalucían accent, but every time I go into the class I understand him more and more. I’m giving it time and trying not to get too frustrated with myself during class when I don’t understand every single word. It has been a huge support to have some background on art history. This class is art history during the 20^th century, so even when I don’t know what artists we are talking about because his accent is thick and he doesn’t pronounce the names as I would, but I can usually figure it out because he’ll mention an art movement and I can guess. I’m very thankful at the moment for those past art history classes, very. But besides understanding him, I’m enjoying it. I’m also not the only American, there are about 7 other US students who are in the class, so I’m never the one who understands the least.

            I’m having a really good time readjusting to everything here, I know how it all works and I speak the language! I’ve found a couple girls in my grammar class and a few others who I have clicked with really well. I’ve been going out to coffee with them and on weekends as well. My new roommate and I are two very different people. She is very nice, but we are just two different people with very different backgrounds so we don’t hang out too often.

            Overall, I’m doing really well. I’m glad to be back, I’m happy and loving the weather when it’s sunny. I’m looking forward to the rest of the semester, seeing my family in April and enjoying the little time I have left in Europe. I've also updated my Flickr account with pictures from the trip -  so look out for those!

All my love

XOXO

Americana back in the Sevilla

            After all the hostels with smelly roommates, long bus rides, and an unreal amount of not home cooked food, I have made it back to my Seville. My layover in Barcelona went by faster than anticipated and gave me a while to think about what this trip had done for me, and what it meant to come back to Seville after it ended. Soon I was back in my room in the center of town. My host mother greeted me with a huge smile and a warm hug and I knew that I had officially done it. On December 13^th, I left her and Seville with a heavy backpack, excitement and one of the most exciting adventures ahead of me. It was not always a walk in the park; it was not always perfect sunshine and chocolate. But it was the most exciting and wonderful time I’ve ever had.

            On my trip through Central Europe, I gained more than perspective of other countries and other customs. I’ve become more of a problem solver than I ever thought possible, whether it was how to get beer caps of a beer bottle without an opener, how and when to go to a castle the cheapest way, or how to travel within the city the cheapest and most efficient manner. The daily problems that seemed to haunt me at the beginning of my trip were no long problems by the end. The anxiety of trying to find food and trying to decide what to eat started as a worry and ended as the easiest thing to decide about. When I first started, I felt sad eating alone and sitting by myself and I would actually try and avoid anywhere to sit down to eat. Which worked, until I got further into the trip and realized I needed to sit during lunch to make it through the rest of the day. And eating by myself became less and less intimidating, and in the end, it was nice to be able to just relax and take time to myself while I ate. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that it’s okay to eat yogurt for two meals a day and chocolate whenever I want. There aren’t rules about what you can and can’t eat. Sometimes the most comforting thing after a long day was sitting down and eating yogurt. Maybe a simple act, but and act that I could repeat in every city and could re center myself around. I’ve come more in tune with what my body needs and what I want. I may want to walk up the huge hill to see the view, but can I do it today with a sore back and sore feet? No, but there is always more time and there is always tomorrow. 

            Central Europe showed me more than Germanic punctuality, Czech personalities and Austrian fine living; it showed me that I can do anything. It gave me the confidence that I never had before about traveling and about being alone. It gave me a look into a world of possibilities and wonder than now lay ahead of me.

            Seville has welcomed me back with open arms. It really felt like a homecoming. Not just because I spoke the language or no longer had to make my own food, but because I know these streets and these people. The staff at the center all embraced me and asked how everything had gone, my Señora and I talked about how different it all was, and I finally feel good about being in Seville, and finishing my time abroad here in the best way possible. This semester doesn’t come with some of its own challenges though. I’m taking a class at the University of Seville in a class where I am the only foreigner. I am tutoring multiple families and trying to figure out my thesis work also. While it may be a different challenges, they are all still conquered the same, daringness, willingness and just the right amount of sass. I’m welcoming this last semester in the beautiful Spain with open arms, an open heart and the confidence to do it all.

All my love

XOXO

Müchen, the Bavarian Captial

A four hour train ride in the morning brought me from Vienna to Munich. Coming back to Germany was like hugging an old friend. I know the language enough to say hello, please, thank you and goodbye, I know the sausage and beer is good, and the metro is always on time.

I rolled in on a Sunday, when nothing in the Bavarian capital was open. I checked in quick and headed to the two big national museums for 1 euro entrance on that luckily were open on Sundays.

I had muddled though an unreal amount of religious work, but made it through to find some wonderful pieces. After some lunch I headed into the city center to walk around and see how it was all laid out. I ended up calling it a fairly early night as I was exhausted from the train in.

My second day in Munich, I took the tour with the company I had before. Hoping Prague was a fluke in the system, I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful guide. I was lucky enough to meet a nice girl from San Fran and we ended up walking around together, grabbing lunch at one of the original brew houses in town and chatting a ton. We met up with two Aussie girls who were staying in my dorm for a night at THE Hofbrauhaus. We had a lot of beer, good food and wonderul conversation! A great night it was! 

This next paragraph is my day at Dachau. Don't read it in the morning or if you feel sad. It's best read with a beer and some chocolate nearby. Ye be warned.

I woke up early the next day for what I knew would be the most emotional, and worst day in Munich. Dachau is located an easy 25 minutes on the metro outside of Munich. I arrived and strapped in for what lay behind the iron gates. The museum that is on display gives a detailed account of the beginnings of how, why and when the camp was constructed. It then detailed the beginning months, moving into the war times, prisoner treatment, food and health, prisoner experiments, torture and death. It provided photos, survivor testimonies and the horrifying facts of the camp. Next was a barrack, set up with beds inside to show he overcrowding that occurred. Dachau was built as the example camp for the Nazis. It was intended to hold 6,000 people. In 1945, when the Americans liberated it, there were 35,000 prisoners living there. Only two barracks still stand, the rest are commemorated with stone outlines. As you walk through the now quiet and cold camp to the back, the air changes. And everything you thought had been horrible before just got worse. Beyond the bar wire fence, lies Barrack X. This was the building used for cremations and gassing. While they are not sure if the gas chambers at Dachau were used regularly, the rooms still raises the hair on your arms. You walk into into the first room, and it's a disinfecting room for clothes. The second room was where the prisoners would have been told that they were about to 'shower'. They would have been stripped and hair shaved in this room. The next room appears to have shower heads, it's really a gas chamber with hidden gas openings and fake water spouts. The next room, was used to hold the bodies until there was room in the crematorium, which was the next room you walk through. This last room was used. There is a path that follows behind this building that has three stone memorials. Two are mass graves and places where thousands of peoples ashes were dumbed. The last is where Soviet soldiers were methodically shot by SS guards. The quiet of the day didn't help the emotional overload that came with this visit. It almost made it worse. I made my way through the tour, and at the end of the tour, I left feeling weighted and emotional. You can read all you want about what happened in Central Europe during the time period, but to see it changes your perspective completely. This seemed fit for a good time to go back into the city with people as my emotional health was on the line.

I spent the rest of the day walking around the market, window shopping and tower touring. 

I went into the tower at the New Town Hall and St. Peters Church. The first had an elevator which was really nice, the second one did not, but I braved it and managed to make it to the to. I was rewarded in both towers with spectacular, clear, views of Bavaria.

The next day, I went on a tour of Neuschwanstein castle about two hours outside of Munich. It is the castle that inspired Walt Disney himself in creating the castle in Sleeping Beauty! We hopped on a train that dropped us in the town Füssen and started our tour up the hill, learning about King Ludwig of Bavaria, his life and his mysterious death. We then took a tour of the inside of the castle which was fantastically decorated by Ludwig with themes of operas, folklore and swans. The town had received a nice bit of snow, so the towering mountains sprinkled white provided the most outstanding background of this fantastic castle. This day long trip was a welcome quiet from the hustle of the city center. I loved every minute of it! I spent the rest if the evening relaxing in the lounge of the hostal.

The next day I made it to the Munich Residence which was a residence o the royal family for many years. While most of it was destroyed in WW2, they've managed to redecorated in a manner that fits in with what the style was from other castles in Germany. The rest if the afternoon I walked around in shops and the local market.

My last day in Munich was full of my last bratwursts, German accents and trying to fill my lungs with as much Bavarian air as possible. 

I had an amazing time in Munich. I loved the tradition of the south, the cuisine and the gorgeous castles and buildings. I was sad to leave not only Germany and Bavaria but my tour.