Final Thoughts

After a VERY long journey, I’m finally home! It feels great to be back in Wisconsin but so STRANGE to hear people speaking in English. I’ll be here for the holidays and then head back to Austin in the beginning of the new year.

I’ve loved keeping this blog, but I think I’ll leave it as a tribute to my adventures in Spain. For everyone who’s been asking if I’ll continue to blog, I may, but not on this site.

So, thanks for reading! These last four months have been the adventure of a lifetime.

Besos y abrazos,

Hannah

Goodbyes

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

-A. A. Milne

Hogar

When in doubt, use quedar…

When in doubt, use quedar.

Excitement

My mom and sister are coming today! This about sums it up:

Amanecer y Palomitas

Twilight and popcorn. Yep, last night I went to go see Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part I at a cinema in the Nervión neighborhood of Sevilla. (AND they had popcorn, which was a night-maker in itself.) As mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, my family usually goes to see the newest Harry Potter during this holiday weekend. However, since that wouldn’t even be a possibility were I in the States, Twilight in Spanish was an adequate alternative and actually a really fun time.

This newest Twilight film opened last weekend, and I happened to be at the Nervión Plaza then, picking up my ticket for a Sevilla soccer game. (The Sevilla FC stadium is directly across the street from the mall/cinema.) Let me tell you, tweens here get just as excited about Edward and Jacob as they do in America. The line for the movie on opening weekend was gigantic and scream-y. Thankfully, this weekend it was a little quieter and we didn’t have to wait in line for our tickets or to get into the theater itself.

Movies in Spanish are generally pretty tough for me to understand, because of the pace of the dialogue. Luckily, I’ve read the first Twilight book and seen the first movie, so I at least had a vague idea of plot line. Also helpful: the Twilight films rely heavily on brooding stares and lengthy “pregnant” pauses (if you watch the film, you’ll laugh at that.) Seriously, I think there were two smiles throughout the whole movie.

So much angst

Watching the movie made me wish I’d read through the whole trilogy so I’d know exactly what was happening, but overall it was pretty easy to follow. I wasn’t blown away by the acting or the animated talking wolves that showed up in the middle of the movie. What I did enjoy was simply going to see a movie with friends, something I miss from back home. The experience reminded me of a quote I really like. I think it’s funny and (sorry, Twi-hard fans) accurate:

“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

-Stephen King

Where in the world…

Q: What do you wear to Thanksgiving dinner (in Spain)?

A: A har-VEST. 🙂

So, now that you have your corny Thanksgiving joke fix, let me fill you in on Turkey Day in Spain! This was my first Thanksgiving away from family, and it was more than a little strange. If I were back in the States, I would be in Omaha, Nebraska for the weekend, celebrating with my dad’s side of the family. The Boeck girls (my aunts, mom, sister and I) always have a huge email thread going in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, discussing menu ideas and planning the weekend. Great Thanksgiving memories include: sitting on my aunt’s bed, flipping through every November issue of Martha Stewart Living and Bon Appetit since 1998; the year the power went out RIGHT in the middle of dinner preparations; playing football with my family on the Creighton University field; and going to the movie theater each year to see the newest Harry Potter movie.

My non-traditional-but-still-awesome Thanksgiving started with me waking up for class. Although I wasn’t excited about school on Thanksgiving, my mood was lifted considerably when Lola greeted me at breakfast with an enthusiastic “Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias, Hannah!” and a hug. I’m thankful for a whole lot of things here in Spain, and she is definitely one of them.

Our program directors knew we’d be a little homesick, so they organized a dinner for us at a restaurant called Casa Carmelo. I didn’t know what to expect (croquetas filled with turkey? tortilla with cranberries and stuffing?) Whatever the main course, I was just hoping for some pumpkin pie. We also took the opportunity to dress up a little and our whole group looked spiffy. (Disclaimer: I did not wear a vest. Next year.)

The meal started out with pumpkin…soup. Even though it was not pumpkin in my preferred form, it was still excellent. (So delicious I forgot to take a picture of it.) Then came the main course: turkey, corn pudding, and potatoes all served with a cran-blueberry sauce on top. It was the smallest most artistic Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had. An apple tart for dessert was a perfect mix of Sevillan pastry and traditional American apple pie. All in all, a successful and memorable Thanksgiving dinner.

Main course

Dessert

Luisa, the director of our Language and Society program ate dinner with us, as well as our Spanish grammar and conversation professors, Ana and Marta. We (unsuccessfully) tried to get them to go out with us after dinner, but we’re determined to botellón with them before the semester ends.

Luisa, Ana, Marta

Whole group, lookin’ snazzy

So, although I’m far from home and all things traditional, this has truly been an unforgettable experience. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hannah Rubia, Bess, Hannah Morena

Cue the “Awww”

I talk a lot about Lola and her wonderful grandbaby Marco, so it’s about time you got to see what they look like! These two really make my days better. Marco is truly this happy all the time, and we’ve bonded over the language issue. See, he doesn’t really speak and I don’t speak all that well, so our relationship is a lot of peek-a-boo and tickling. Lola isn’t into solo shots, but she agreed to be in a photo with Marco.

TELL me these faces didn’t just make your day better…

Ronda in the Rain: Foto-blog

I’m a member of the CIEE “Club de Blogueros” here in Sevilla (follow them on Twitter!) and this is my most recent blog submission. It’s a foto-blog about a weekend I spent in Ronda, Spain. I fell in love with the beautiful city and, despite the rain, went hiking in the surrounding countryside. I tried yemas (a Spanish dessert made from egg yolk) for the first time and brought some back for Lola because they’re her favorite. We had another great hostel experience and met some WWOOF-ers from Scotland who were on holiday in Ronda for the weekend as well. I think when my mom and sister come to visit in December we’ll take a day trip to Ronda, because I can’t wait to go back.

So, here’s the foto-blog. I know it’s in Spanish, but I think you’ll get the gist of our weekend.

Hace unas semanas, mi amiga y yo fuimos a Ronda para dos días. La ciudad es de aproximadamente dos horas al sur-este de Sevilla en autobús. Fue uno de las ciudades favoritas del autor Ernest Hemingway y el director de cine Orson Welles.

Este puente famoso se llama el “Puente Nuevo”. Este hecho es irónico, porque el puente fue construido en 1751 y tomó 42 años para terminar. Nuestro hostal fue directamente al otro lado del puente, y la vista de nuestro patio era impresionante.

Llovió todo el tiempo que estuvimos en Ronda, pero todavía queríamos caminar las colinas alrededor de la ciudad. Yo sólo tenía botas de cuero – no es una buena idea! Así, compré estas botas de agua. Probablemente mi mejor compra en España hasta ahora.

Creo que las nubes y la lluvia hicieron los colores del campo más ricos. Las colinas y granjas ordenadas, con las montañas en el fondo, me hizo sentir como si estuviera en una pintura.

Ronda es también famosa por su plaza de toros – la más antigua de España. Toreo moderno se inició en Ronda, pero porque la ciudad está escondido en las montañas, en realidad, no muchas corridas ocurren allí.

Este fue nuestro desayuno la última mañana de nuestra visita a Ronda. (Sí, eso es pan tostado con Nutella que usted ve. Yum!) Nos fuimos a comer “al fresco” y disfrutar la vista del puente, pero empezó a llover a medio camino. Aunque llovió, fue un maravilloso viaje a Ronda. No puedo esperar a volver!

It’s here!

Hi! So, first I’m going to apologize for promising a post every week and then…not posting every week. Life’s been pretty busy lately, but I know that’s no excuse, so I’ll try to post twice this week. Deal?

Today, I took my first midterms and I recently purchased rain boots and an umbrella, all of which signify the official arrival of autumn. Bienvenidos a Sevilla, Otoño!

This is from Dublin, but only because I’m convinced pumpkins don’t exist in Spain.