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 :)
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