{"id":11502,"date":"2017-09-09T08:25:44","date_gmt":"2017-09-09T13:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=11502"},"modified":"2017-09-09T08:25:44","modified_gmt":"2017-09-09T13:25:44","slug":"finally-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/?p=11502","title":{"rendered":"Finally Here!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been a very long journey to finally arrive in Sevilla, and not just the plane ride. \u00a0When a student first decides to study abroad, the excitement of a new country is the only thing on their mind, not all the important details that go with this experience. \u00a0This process began around last February for me, with picking a university and the classes. Then during the summer, I applied for a Visa, which took some time. \u00a0And finally, I had to find a housing arrangement, which is definitely not as easy as it sounds! \u00a0I ended up finalizing my arrangements for housing when I arrived in Sevilla.<\/p>\n

My parents flew to Spain with me to help me move in. \u00a0We flew to Madrid first. \u00a0In Madrid, we did a lot of sight seeing in two days, seeing everything from the famous Prado museum to the beautiful, timeless Plaza Mayor and Palacio Real. \u00a0We ate lots of tapas and I began to see why the Spanish take a siesta. \u00a0During the days, it easily reaches 100 degrees\u00a0Fahrenheit (I am slowly learning the conversion to Celsius). \u00a0After walking around all morning in the heat and eating a large lunch, obviously the next thing to do is take a nap!<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Plaza Mayor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Inside the Palacio Real<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Symbol of Madrid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Spain, their meals are very different. \u00a0I researched this before arriving, but it is still a shock to be immersed this different lifestyle. \u00a0For breakfast, a piece of toast with a puree of tomatoes accompanied with a coffee is the usual. \u00a0Then, around 2 to 4 in the afternoon is lunch time. \u00a0For lunch, there is often a 3 course meal. \u00a0The first course is an appetizer such as a tapa, then followed by the main course, which usually consists of a meat or fish dish. \u00a0After, coffee and dessert top off this feast. \u00a0Then for dinner, around 10pm, light tapas are eaten while enjoying the unending nightlife of the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Spanish tortilla with garlic \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0mushrooms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Tapas at a market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Our first lunch in Spain!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So after we finished exploring Madrid, we rented a car and drove 3 hours to Valencia. When we arrived, we visited the Turia park and the City of Arts and Sciences. \u00a0There was so much to see! From the futuristic architecture of the buildings to the beautiful surrounding landscape to the breathtaking life size photographs that had been taken around the world. \u00a0After we explored this unique park, we ate some tapas and called it a night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The next day, we packed up and hit the road for a 6 hour drive to M\u00e1laga. \u00a0While this drive was definitely not fun, seeing the change of the land as we drove was fascinating. \u00a0There are so many olive trees, grape vines, and even whole fields of sun flowers. \u00a0And almost everything is planted in straight rows.<\/p>\n

When we finally arrived in\u00a0M\u00e1laga, we ate a late lunch, which was some beautifully grilled fresh-caught fish in a beach restaurant right on the Mediterranean Sea. \u00a0We then went on a walk along the sea and saw many small vendors and very large cruise ships. \u00a0Later on, we found a great rooftop restaurant that overlooked the sea. \u00a0The view was stunning!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The next day, we started our final 2 hour drive to Sevilla. \u00a0When we arrived, we returned our car and took a taxi to the hotel. \u00a0And it was a good thing that we had a taxi, because the streets in Sevilla are very small and very crowded with people and carriages with horses. \u00a0We had our first paella for lunch that day, and it was delicious! \u00a0Then my exploration of my new home began. \u00a0My parents stayed for a few more days to celebrate my birthday with me. \u00a0We saw a very moving Flamenco show, explored one of the biggest parks in Spain, and of course ate more tapas.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When they left, I made my way to a shuttle to the university for my first day of orientation. \u00a0Walking through the quiet streets in the morning made me fall in love with the city. \u00a0Even though heat is stiffing at times, I would not \u00a0trade any part of this for the world. \u00a0The unending beauty and rich history is like nothing I have ever seen before. \u00a0I am very excited to spend the next 4 months in this magnificent city and cannot wait to meet new friends and make many new memories!<\/p>\n

\"\"
The river Guadalquivir and the Torre de Oro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been a very long journey to finally arrive in Sevilla, and not just the plane ride. \u00a0When a student first decides to study abroad, the excitement of a new country is the only thing on their mind, not all the important details that go with this experience. \u00a0This process began around last February … <\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}