El espejo

Our ISA group went on an excursion to Granada this past weekend; one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. Granada has it all; it has a beach with Mediterranean waters, the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountain range and free tapas in every restaurant. Since Granada was the last Spanish city to be reconquered from the Muslims, there is evidence of Muslim and African influences everywhere. Buildings are constructed with intricate arches and beautiful colors. The cathedrals have giant pointing towers and gothic-styled pillars.

We went to the Alhambra, the most-visited building in Spain. This old fortress has about 2 billion visitors per year and we were lucky enough to get a guided tour of this piece of history. Apparently this fortress was used by Muslims to guard against invasions and the building entrances are designed to elude intruders and have several coves and overhead hangings which made it easy for guards to hide and kill the invading enemies. Granada was an amazing place to visit and I wish I could have spent more time there. Luckily I will get to see more of Granada when I return to Spain with my family in the upcoming summer.


This past week I was granted the opportunity to adopt a roommate into my host family. I gladly accepted knowing it was Kari Hyland, one of the girls I have traveled with (including to Barcelona) and will travel with to Italy and Morocco next month. I was so excited to have her come live with me and so far everything is great. I enjoy having another American to live with to help me speak with my host mother and father, and being able to speak English in the house helps me keep my sanity. Growing up as an only child, I never had to share any of my space or my things so having a roommate is a different change of pace, though a nice one. Having a roommate freshman year was my first time having to share a room with another person and it was definitely an experience. I think this time around will be beneficial for the both of us. Kari is a fun, lovely woman and I enjoy traveling with her and spending my time in Spain in her company.


My education internship is still going splendidly. Yesterday I worked with the children, again teaching them school and weather vocabulary. Since they are starting to learn about Halloween as an English tradition, they got to paint Halloween posters and make tiny pumpkins out of PlayDough to decorate the classroom. They are as cute as ever and I love them all. Many of them come up to me asking me to open their snack or help put on their jackets and I don't think they understand why I start laughing when they do; they're just to precious, I can't help but laugh.

The professor I work with in this classroom let me run the entirety of the lesson yesterday, which was a little scary. Sitting in front of twenty-five antsy four-year-olds who barely speak English can be nerve-wrecking. The teacher left the classroom to go work on the bulletin board and I was left by myself with all of them sitting on the floor staring up at me. We talked about daily morning routines and I asked them, "What is something you do everyday before you go to school?" I could tell they didn't fully understand the question because they didn't answer, just stared. Finally, little Diego in the back yelled, "Brush my teeth!". I applauded him and they all laughed. I thought, maybe this isn't so bad and told the professor that I'm a natural. 

I have this upcoming weekend off from traveling since midterms are next week, but some friends and I are thinking about going to the beach in Cádiz since we still haven't been there yet. The beach in Málaga was nice, but the beach in Cádiz is supposed to be out of this world. I am also starting my probiotic regimen this week to prepare my body for the harshness of Morocco. We leave for Morocco a week from this Thursday for six full days. I am so nervous but incredibly excited. Seeing all of the African and Muslim influences in Granada got my hyped to see even more of it in Morocco. I am planning on buying several souvenirs and clothes since everything is cheap and prices can always be bargained. I am slightly nervous about possibly getting sick there since the water is so contaminated so hopefully the probiotic pills and yogurts will help with that. I am also ECSTATIC for the camel ride; I know I'm going to want to take my camel back to Spain with me. 

I also discovered that a lot of my friends from University of Denver who are studying abroad in other Spain programs are also coming on the Morocco trip with my Sevilla program. My good friends Luke, Emily and Whitney are all coming to Sevilla first and then we all leave together from there on Thursday at four in the morning. Even though I have to get up before the dawn that day, I am still going to go out to dinner with Emily and Whitney in Sevilla the night before since I haven't seen them in months. I am so excited to see all my friends and I am beyond excited to go to Morocco. I can't wait to be able to say I've been to both Europe AND Africa as part of my study abroad experience. 

Thank you, University of Denver, for giving me this amazing study abroad opportunity. I always knew you were the right school for me.

D-E-N (Rah!)

V-E-R (Boom)

Denver, our Denver, we sing to thee

Fairest of colleges, give her three times three (Rah! Rah! Rah!)

Long may we cherish her, 

Faithful and true,

University of Denver,

For me and you!

Oración para niños

Yesterday was my second day working with the students at Sagrado Corazón and I loved it even more than the first day. The kids are more accustomed to me now, but they still stare at me wherever I go. I think the idea of a real American working in their classroom is very different and they are very curious about where I came from. I'm starting to learn their names little by little and they are starting to speak to me a bit more about their lives.

 One of the little girls, Ana, came up to me and serenaded me with an English song she had learned in class. It was the cutest thing, I could barely hear her because she was a little shy, but it was still adorable. The lesson yesterday was weather and daily activity vocabulary. The kids used puppets and stickers to act out their daily routines such as getting out of bed, taking a shower and getting dressed. It was my job to ask them which vocabulary word they were acting out and they could all tell me in perfect Spanish. I constantly had to remind them to tell me in English, after which they would just stare at me. It's definitely a difficult task working with 5-year-olds but you can never really be disappointed with them. Then I would show them cards with a picture of a weather situation (sunny, rainy, windy) and they would all simultaneously scream the vocabulary word at me. "Ok, what type of weather is this, class?" "SUNNYYYYYY!" "Ok, what about this?" "RAIIIIIIIIIIIN!" They were very excited about the weather cards.

It's funny working in a kindergarten classroom because I haven't seen puppets or stickers in a class since I was in kindergarten myself. It makes me want to be their age again, with the colorful posters and all the toys and games they get to play with. I laugh at the thought of one of my college professors performing a puppet show in order to demonstrate the concept of interpersonal communication and psychological concepts. I only wish this was a reality. Instead of toys and games, we have textbooks and Powerpoints. I suppose this is just a consequence of growing up and progressing our education, and these toddlers don't realize just how lucky they are.




Some friends and I went to Barcelona for the weekend, and we had a great time exploring the city and its architecture. We visited a lot of Antoni Gaudí sites, one of Spain's most infamous architects. He died in the early 1920's, but he constructed several monuments and impressive buildings such as La Sagrada Familia and La Casa Batlló. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most well-known cathedrals in the entire world and was Gaudí's masterpiece. He never lived to
see it completed, but several architects are still working on the cathedral today to complete Gaudí's work. It is already a triumphant building and I can't wait to see it when it's complete. Gaudí was a brilliant architect and if he was still alive today I would hire him to build my future house and ask him to let me have my wedding in La Sagrada Familia. Weddings are not allowed in this cathedral since it's a pubic tourist site, but I'm sure Gaudí would make a special exception for me. It is truly a breathtaking construction and I feel like I could go back ten more times and still be amazed by Gaudí's work.

There were also several protests going on in the city's plazas while we were there. I did some research on this and found out that the city of Barcelona and the entire northeastern part of Spain (Cataluña) is fighting for their independence from Spain. People were in the streets wrapped in their Cataluña flags, proclaiming their desire to be an independent country. This will probably never happen, of course, but the fact that so many people of Barcelona are involved in this protest was amazing. They are very patriotic people, I'll give them that.

It was a very educational trip and I am very lucky to have spent the weekend in one of Spain's most beautiful cities with some of my good friends. I hope one day I can go back with my family or friends and be able to see even more of the city. The only problem with Barcelona is the language they speak. Catalan is the prominent language in Barcelona; a strong French base with a few Spanish influences. This makes sense, however, since the city of Barcelona is located right underneath France. It is an incredibly complicated and beautiful language but I would love to learn it someday.

I also got a care package from home yesterday which came just at the right time. It has books, movies, candy, shoes and Halloween supplies. I'm so happy I have people back in America who are thinking of me and were thoughtful enough to send me a box full of things that remind me of home. Thank you, America :)

El primer día de me internado académico

Today was the first day of my intercultural internship in one of the schools of Sevilla. The school is called "El colegio sagrado corazón de jesus" (Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ), a private, Catholic school with students ranging from 4 to 15 years old. I am assisting in two kindergarten classrooms with students from 4-5 years old, and so far I LOVE THEM. My job for the duration of this internship is basically to assist a professor during their English lessons. I will help students with reading, writing, speaking and pronunciation. So far the students understand very basic English; they understand numbers, colors, "please" and "thank you" and other simple phrases. I definitely noticed the difficulty in speaking to them because I have to carefully annunciate all of my words and speak very slowly so that they can understand. It's frustrating but is definitely worth it.


I will also be teaching them about American culture and traditional customs in the United States. I believe my internship program is attempting to bridge the gap between cultural differences by having us teach students about our culture at a young age. This way, they will grow up learning the English language as well as have a grasp of American culture.

The first moments in the classroom were absolutely hilarious. I was politely introduced by the professor to the students and they all looked shocked to see a blue-eyed, white American standing in front of them. They are all dark-skinned, brown-eyed Spaniards, so they are not used to seeing people that look like me. They all went around the room and told me (in English) their name and how old they are. Then they all stood up and sang me the "Hello to You" song that they just learned. It was adorable, for lack of a better word. Absolutely adorable. Later, as I walked around the classroom, one by one they all took out their pencil bags to show me. "¡Alison! ¡Mira, mira!" They were all so very proud of their pencil bags. I was smiling and laughing the whole time.

I am very excited to return to the school next week and continue interacting with these students. I believe I am really going to enjoy this internship because it's going to be a give and take process. I will teach these students how to speak basic English and about American culture, and they will teach me the Spanish culture from their perspectives; it will be interesting to see how 4 and 5 year old children understand and interpret their own country and culture. I am definitely going to learn from them just as much as they will learn from me :)

La media naranja

Throughout the past three weeks I have been able to pick up on several types of cultural differences between people in Spain and people in the United States. Whenever my friends and I are out and about in the city, we always note some sort of cultural differences, and I try to write them all down to remember.

One of the main differences I've been noticing is the fact that men in Spain act completely different in public than men in the United States. In the United States men are so concerned and preoccupied with their self-image and publicly set out to impress girls. However in Spain, I've noticed that the main goal for men is to have a good time with each other, instead of only trying to impress a girl and build up their image amongst their friends.

For example, the other night some girlfriends and I went to a nightclub in downtown Sevilla called "Buddha". We arrived around 12:30am and noticed that the entire place was filled with girls. There were no men to be seen, except the bartenders. We thought maybe this was a girls-only club and that perhaps the men were at another one. However, around 2:00am a swarm of American and Spanish men filled the room and started mingling with the women. It was almost as if they all got together and decided not to enter the club until 2:00. It was the strangest thing, because I'm so used to clubs in America where men and women show up at the same time. I guess here in Spain the men show up later  in the night rather than with the women.


We also noticed during this clubbing adventure that many groups of men were completely fine dancing with each other. In America you never see groups of guys just dancing without girls there with them. However, in this club I could see several groups of men dancing around each other, excluding all of the women around them. They are completely comfortable just dancing with each other without worrying about judgement from others. I feel like this is somewhat of a double standard in America because it is frowned upon for men to dance in a group of only men, but is completely acceptable, if not encouraged, for women to dance in a group of only women. Men in Spain obviously take their roles a lot less seriously than men in America which I greatly admire.

These are just a few of the main differences in gender roles that I have noticed so far, and I'm sure I will find more as I continue my adventures here in Sevilla :)

Cantar de mio cid

Today is the beginning of our second week of school, the second week out of eleven, and I almost can't believe that I've been in Spain for this long. I have already accomplished so much and feel like I've grown accustomed to the Spanish way of life, yet I still have two and a half more months to go.

Yesterday some friends and I completed our travel plans for the semester. We decided to go to Barcelona for a weekend in mid-October and to Rome for half a week at the end of November. We were sitting in a coffee shop booking our flights, hotels and planning all our activities and it didn't really hit us that we were actually planning a trip to Italy, one of the most gorgeous countries in the world. We're just sitting here planning all these trips like it's no big deal. Something I love about this ISA program is the flexibility they give us to travel on our own. Having extended weekends and easy-going school schedules, students are encouraged to travel with friends and visit other countries. Traveling to other countries in Europe (as well as Morocco) will be the experience of a lifetime and I can't wait to get going.

A lot of people might think that I am traveling too much, since with all our excursions and my new travel plans I have practically no free weekends to spend in Sevilla. Upon talking with a friend about it last night I decided that I (probably) won't have an opportunity like this for the rest of my life and the time to travel is now. Thinking ahead I realized that as soon as I get back to America I start my junior year and will finish my senior year at DU as well. After that I will complete my Master's degree in Psychology and from there will proceed to graduate school for my PhD, which will take another three-four years. After that I am going to want to jumpstart my career and will be at the prime age to start a family. There is practically no room for me to travel the world once I get back to the States. Therefore, I shall squeeze all my traveling into the next two and a half months :)


One major concern for my family and friends back home is our upcoming trip to Morocco. For the past few years people in Morocco have discriminated against and acted violently towards foreigners, especially people from the UK and America. Morocco has officially been described as a country in "civil unrest" and it is not necessarily the safest travel destination. However, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there is no general threat from terrorists in Morocco as of right now, and they believe that it is fine to travel there with proper protection. This was great news to me because I have always wanted to travel to Africa and the Morocco excursion was one of the main reasons I chose this Sevilla program in the first place. It is probably the trip I am most looking forward to and I can't wait to experience their African culture and travel to the infamous city of Casablanca. I know people back home are scared for me and I sure do appreciate their concern, but this is one trip that I will remember forever and I don't anticipate running into any trouble while I'm there. Viva Morocco!


On a completely different note, I have finally discovered the wonderful world of coffee since I've been in Sevilla. This actually comes with a story so let me tell you:
A group of friends and I were on our way to Starbucks the other day and it was probably around 91 degrees outside. Usually my typical drink at Starbucks is hot chocolate since I am not one for the bitter flavor of coffee, however it was WAY too hot outside to order one of those. Upon examining my options of cold beverages, I could either have a mocha frappuccino or cold tea. I remember one day Josh Wehe, one of my best friends (who is obsessed with coffee), told me that I would like a mocha if I ever chose to try one. I thought, well alright, I'm in Spain and I'm willing to try different things so I ordered a mocha blanca frappuccino and I LOVED IT. I never thought I would see the day where I liked the taste of coffee but this drink was amazing. The next day in the coffee shop planning all our European adventures I ordered a Vanilla Frappé, and again, I LOVED IT. It still had the coffee flavor, but it wasn't so strong that it made my mouth feel bristly which normal coffee usually does. So now I have a new frappuccino/frappé addiction and I know Josh will be ecstatic when he finds out.

I am beyond excited for these next two months, as they will be filled with traveling, life-changing experiences and mocha frappuccinos :)

Las muchas maravillas de España

The past week has undoubtedly flown by as every day so far in Spain has been full of activities, traveling and learning. I have traveled more in the last week than I have in a very long while and I have never felt more out of my element. Having never left the United States, I had no idea what kind of things to expect upon coming to Spain. Sure, I had taken several classes on the Spanish language and culture but it is something that has to be experienced, rather than taught.

I have always considered myself "decent" at the Spanish language, confident that I would be able to navigate myself through a city, or even a country, solely on the linguistic skills I have gained through my past six years of Spanish classes. Much to my chagrin I was greeted in Madrid by an entire word of unknown vocabulary and accents. Everyone around me was speaking 100 miles per minute and I couldn't understand a word, and I made it clear to everyone around me with my thick American accent and map of Spain that I am obviously not from this country.

It felt so foreign to me, something that I strongly disliked. Since I had taken various classes on Spain and had done quite a bit of research before I arrived I felt confident that I would conquer the culture and language, no doubt. Unfortunately though, as soon as I arrived in the Madrid Barajas airport I was knocked down by a wave of culture shock that I am still attempting to overcome.

This culture shock had a special affect on me upon meeting my host family, people who have lived in Sevilla all their lives. I live in a beautiful part of Sevilla called Triana with a mother and father (María and Miguel) and two children (María del Mar and Aurelio) and their cat (La Luna). They are a fantastic family and welcomed me into their family immediately. I feel very accepted in this family but the language and culture barriers are very unfamiliar to me. Sometimes they poke fun at me because whenever I don't understand what they're saying to me (which is often) I have the tendency to just nod my head and say "sí, sí, sí" without even knowing the question. They tell me I need to listen better.

I think the hardest thing to get used to so far is the eating agenda. It's completely different than the United States and I still haven't gotten the hang of it. They will wake up around 7:30 or 8 and eat a small breakfast of toast and coffee, perhaps some fruit. Then they eat a huge lunch at 3 or 4, starting with appetizers and a beer, followed by a main dish and glass of wine, and finally a dessert and another form of alcoholic beverage. This meal usually lasts around two to three hours. They finish the day with a small dinner around 10:00 usually consisting of small finger foods called tapas. It's the strangest schedule and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of one giant meal in between two smaller ones. Don't get me wrong, the food in Spain is absolutely incredible, I only hope that I am able to eat at more regular times when I get back to America.

For the most part I feel like I have overcome the homesickness that I have been feeling for the past week. I have made a number of new friends through my program and I look forward to spending the next 3 wonderful months with them, learning, traveling and growing. I still miss my amazing family, my sorority sisters, and my best friend Kelly Picune, but being able to keep in touch with them via Skype and phone calls has definitely made it a lot easier.

During my time here I will keep in mind a quote from an email my Dad sent to me just the other day:
""Oh, and don’t forget that you’ll be talking about the next 2-1/2 months for the rest of your life. Make the most of your time in Spain and you’ll create great memories that will last a lifetime."

I miss everyone at home so, so much and I can't wait to see everybody in December :)

Viva España!

Triana Bridge

Los primeros días

I have finally arrived at my destination in Spain and have been having a wonderful time in the most beautiful country in the world. However, there have definitely been some setbacks.

The plan ride from Washington D.C. was surprisingly depressing and not as exciting as I had imagined. It seemed like halfway between America and Spain it finally hit me that, “Wow, I’m actually going to be in a foreign country for three months without my friends, without my family and without the support system that I have grown accustomed to”. I am actually on my own here. Luckily I had taken a Valium right before my flight so I appeared a lot calmer than I actually was. If it hadn’t been for the medicine then I probably would have started crying on the passenger next to me.

Day one was quite similar. I was experiencing somewhat of a depressing phase, realizing that I wasn’t going to be able to return home for another 90 days. It was all sinking in as I thought about all the things I was missing out on at home. For example, Delta Zeta is about to undergo recruitment, an activity that I was very much involved in last year and greatly enjoyed. Missing this year’s recruitment is going to be sad, but I can’t wait to meet all the new Delta Zetas when I return. I also realized that my family is going to be traveling without me, something that we had always done together. Not being able to be with my family for vacations and the Thanksgiving holiday made me sad and made me wish I were back home. Also realizing that I was not going to be able to see my best friend and boyfriend for another three months made me feel left out and wonder how life was carrying on without me. Kelly Picune, my best friend, text every single day about our lives and every moment apart from each other is literally painful. So needless to say not being able to see her for an extended period of time is quite depressing. I love you, homey. I also wonder if three months without seeing Logan will create a distance between us and diminish the closeness that we experienced before I left. I often get paranoid about him finding someone else and forgetting about me since I am halfway across the world.

With all of these fears, doubts and second thoughts I took some time to myself during our second day in Madrid to reflect on my trip and what I hope to accomplish during my time in Madrid. Walking around the building and seeing all of the beauty that Spain has to offer really brought me peace of mind and relieved all of the doubts that I had the previous day. I came to the conclusion that yes, three months is a long time to be away from home and the lifestyle that I grew up with, but being able to travel in Spain and Europe for three months is a once in a lifetime opportunity and is literally a dream come true. Yes, there are drawbacks but the fact that I am currently living in the most amazing country, being able to study and work with Spanish children on bridging the gap between Spain and American cultures is absolutely marvelous. And once again, the butterflies of excitement were back and now I couldn’t be happier.

Our ISA group spent the day in Toledo today, one of the most fascinating cities I've ever seen. The streets create a labyrinth that would be impossible to escape without a tour guide, and all of the roads are made of black cobblestone. The buildings are built on hills and there are magnificent churches, mosques and synagogues. We learned from this that Toledo, back in earlier centuries, was one of the only cities in Spain where Catholics, Jews and Muslims could all live in harmony together in tolerance and free of judgment. Toledo is an incredible city that I would definitely consider living in if the opportunity ever arose. With all the festivities in Madrid and Toledo, and with all my concerns and fears out of my mind, I look forward to the next chapter in my study abroad experience as we finally venture to Sevilla tomorrow morning.