I am sitting in the Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris, France, writing my last entry in this fun little blog. I want to say thank you to all who read and kept up with my activities in my semester abroad. I hope that you enjoyed the entries and photos, and I hope to see you this summer!
After class ended last Friday, Feria de Abril started in Sevilla. Basically, Feria is this HUGE party/carnival that lasts a week. Rides, games, horses, dancing, drinking, and ridiculously gaudy dresses highlight this really fun Sevilla tradition.
Also, last Sunday, instead of sky-diving (weather was not good in the morning), David and I joined our friend Bobby and his parents to see the Sevilla FC vs. Real Madrid soccer game in Sevilla. The tickets were expensive (Real Madrid is one of the best teams in Europe) and Sevilla lost, but the experience was awesome. Luckily for me, I won't get the chance to really miss the passion that Spaniards have for sport because my Houston Rockets have just advanced past the first round of the NBA playoffs and apparently Houston is buzzed and fired up! I am looking forward to that!
On Tuesday, David, Bobby, Ryan, Colby and I left for Paris, France. We just spent a good 4 days there seeing all the sights, big and small. We really enjoyed ticking off uptight French waiters, and overall, it was a great way to cap off the fantastic semester. Looking back on the semester, it's amazing to remember all the places I visited, people I met, and crazy things I did. Just to recap all the places I went to:
SPAIN:
Sevilla, Italica, Cordoba, Carmona, Ceuta, Cadiz, Moguer/Huelva/La Rabida, Granada, Sierra Nevada Mountain Range National Park, Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Nerja
MOROCCO:
Tanger, Tetouan, Chechaouen
ITALY:
Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice
PORTUGAL:
Lisbon, Cintra
FRANCE:
Paris
It's been incredible. And traveling so much this semester has done nothing but given me a desire to continue to travel to my top destinations. Some of the places I wish to visit in the near future include New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Greece, Switzerland, Guatemala, Brazil, and I really want to do a west coast US tour including California, Oregon, and Washington.
But I digress... this semester I was supposed to learn some things and forget other things. I think I did a little bit of that. It wasn't some existential life altering experience that changed my whole persona, but it did help round me out some and broaden my base for experiencing life from this point out. The most difficult thing will be to somehow peacefully merge and mesh the best customs, traditions, and ways of life that I believe exist in both worlds, the American world, and the Spanish world. There are lots of things that America does SPOT ON. Absolutely 100% correct and I would never change. And then there are some things that Spain does perfect as well. The fun and difficult part is being able to expand myself when I return by holding on to the best of both of those sides.
I hope to see you all soon. I love you all, thank you for reading and thank for taking interest in my life. It keeps me driven to become the best man I can be in so that I may love others as much as you guys love me.
I leave you with the mantra of Tech students everywhere... "Win or lose, we always booze."
Er... the other mantra (though that one is most certainly true for Tech students, haha!).
"Strive for honor, evermore, long live the matadors".
For the last time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Long live the matadors...
We went to a bullfight this past Wednesday.
So, besides being our school mascot, kind of, bullfighters are just super cool. The whole event is kind of disturbing, but it was a very cool experience.
The etiquette is very different. You don't talk at all. You stay quiet and wait for the toreadors to do their thing with the bulls, and then if you think they did a good job, you clap. If they were not good, you whistle. Overall, 3 out of the 5 matadors we saw got claps, and the other two were apparently pretty bad. I could not tell too much of a difference, but I'm sure the Spaniards judge harshly.
Some of the girls left the fight after the first bull got stabbed, because they just could not handle it. To me, it was a little strange at first, but by the time they got to the 4th or 5th bull, it was fine. Definitely a experience I'm glad I went to, but probably wouldn't pay a whole lot to go back.
In other news. I AM FINISHED WITH SCHOOL! Yes. Done. It feels awesome. Summer 2009 has commenced! Paris is coming soon...
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
So, besides being our school mascot, kind of, bullfighters are just super cool. The whole event is kind of disturbing, but it was a very cool experience.
The etiquette is very different. You don't talk at all. You stay quiet and wait for the toreadors to do their thing with the bulls, and then if you think they did a good job, you clap. If they were not good, you whistle. Overall, 3 out of the 5 matadors we saw got claps, and the other two were apparently pretty bad. I could not tell too much of a difference, but I'm sure the Spaniards judge harshly.
Some of the girls left the fight after the first bull got stabbed, because they just could not handle it. To me, it was a little strange at first, but by the time they got to the 4th or 5th bull, it was fine. Definitely a experience I'm glad I went to, but probably wouldn't pay a whole lot to go back.
In other news. I AM FINISHED WITH SCHOOL! Yes. Done. It feels awesome. Summer 2009 has commenced! Paris is coming soon...
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Monday, April 20, 2009
Nerja, Spain...
What a sweet weekend. It was so relaxing and yet exhilarating at the same time. I will explain.
First, on Friday I rented a car, a sweet little Citroen Picasso, and David, Ryan, Ashlee, Laurel and I drove to this cool town of Nerja, Spain, about 2 and 1/2 hours southeast of Seville. The drive was so great. I was nervous about driving amongst Spaniards (they are among the world's worst drivers), but it was pleasant. The views were great and it was so fun to drive again, it's been months! Once we got to Nerja, we found our hostel and ate some great pizza at a nice little restaurant on the coast.
Saturday, we woke up around 9 and had breakfast at the hostel, and headed over to a supermarket to buy snadwich stuff for the beach. And BOOM! Right there in the supermarket were cans of Dr. Pepper, waiting to be bought. It was beautiful, haha. The beach was great, very relaxing. There was one moment of stress, though. Ryan and I went free climbing on some rocks (pictures below) and I almost fell. Thankfully, Ryan was ahead of me, and he grabbed me wrist right when the boulder I was grabbing broke off. He helped me get up to the top of the rock, and man my heart was pumping! It was exhilarating. Thanks, Ryan!
Another awesome thing was that we found a non-denominational English speaking church to go to Sunday morning before heading back to Sevilla. That was a pleasant surprise. Overall, the weekend was a great experience, and now I'm ready for my finals this week!
That's me at the top of the rock I free climbed, about 75 feet high.
My Dr. Pepper and I at a great spot for pictures.
I worked on this for hours! It ended up looking really cool.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
First, on Friday I rented a car, a sweet little Citroen Picasso, and David, Ryan, Ashlee, Laurel and I drove to this cool town of Nerja, Spain, about 2 and 1/2 hours southeast of Seville. The drive was so great. I was nervous about driving amongst Spaniards (they are among the world's worst drivers), but it was pleasant. The views were great and it was so fun to drive again, it's been months! Once we got to Nerja, we found our hostel and ate some great pizza at a nice little restaurant on the coast.
Saturday, we woke up around 9 and had breakfast at the hostel, and headed over to a supermarket to buy snadwich stuff for the beach. And BOOM! Right there in the supermarket were cans of Dr. Pepper, waiting to be bought. It was beautiful, haha. The beach was great, very relaxing. There was one moment of stress, though. Ryan and I went free climbing on some rocks (pictures below) and I almost fell. Thankfully, Ryan was ahead of me, and he grabbed me wrist right when the boulder I was grabbing broke off. He helped me get up to the top of the rock, and man my heart was pumping! It was exhilarating. Thanks, Ryan!
Another awesome thing was that we found a non-denominational English speaking church to go to Sunday morning before heading back to Sevilla. That was a pleasant surprise. Overall, the weekend was a great experience, and now I'm ready for my finals this week!
That's me at the top of the rock I free climbed, about 75 feet high.
My Dr. Pepper and I at a great spot for pictures.
I worked on this for hours! It ended up looking really cool.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Stayed up to watch the Rockets game...
So, because my class finished our projects early, we didn't have class today. Whoo hoo! No class means we can stay up late the night before, and we did. I stayed up to watch the Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks basketball game via the internet (what a wonderful little invention, huh?). And even though I was tired, hungry, and frustrated at the end of the game, looking back at it, that was really awesome. Ryan Marcum and I stayed up until 5am watching LIVE via the web a basketball game featuring the team I love from back home in Texas. Technology is really making some things way way easier! Of course I guess it also causes lots of problems, too, but that's for another day...
Also, when did RickPerry decide to start standing up for fiscal responsibility? It's hard to argue States' Rights and the 10th amendment, cheers to you Rick. That's awesome. The scope of the federal gov't for a long time, since Wilson probably, has been unconstitutionally treading on states' rights. The 10th amendment says it best...
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Man, isn't the idea of Federalism a wonderful thing? Let's diffuse the power, people.
-------
Semana Santa was this past week in Seville, and I was able to view a couple of pasos (processionals) on the Saturday that we returned to Spain. Some photos are below. Overall, the general feel of watching the paso is that... well, to me it was super creepy. Too much incense, interesting KKK-like costumes (the KKK stole the idea for the costume from the Spanish priests), old ladies worshipping the statues like they are Jesus himself... Very strange. But it's an important tradition here nonetheless.
-------
And lastly, here is my plan for the rest of my time here, so you guys can know what is goin on!
This weekend: David, Ryan, Lorel, Ashlee and I are going to this beautiful beach town in Spain called Nerja, about 2 and 1/2 hours away from Seville by car. Click on THIS to see a picture of the place.
Next week: Finals!!! Grrrrr. Except on April 22 we are going as a school to a BULLFIGHT. Nice!
Next weekend: Going skydiving over the Andalusian plains! The drop zone is about 10 miles outside of Seville, and we figured this was a sweet way to celebrate the end of a great semester!
Sunday the 26th: Feria de Abril starts (huge April fair with food and dancing and games and rides and all of that sweet carnival stuff).
Tuesday the 28th: David, Ryan Marcum, Colby, Bobby and I are heading to Paris, France for a boys' retreat (not really, it was just that no girls wanted to join us!). We are staying in Paris for three days.
Sunday, May 3: I fly home to the United States of America, land of the free-refill and home of the breakfast burrito! I miss unhealthy, awesome food. I then head to Lubbock to move out of my apt. and I am goin to Knoxville, TN for a week to be an adjudicator at DI Global Finals. Legendary.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Also, when did RickPerry decide to start standing up for fiscal responsibility? It's hard to argue States' Rights and the 10th amendment, cheers to you Rick. That's awesome. The scope of the federal gov't for a long time, since Wilson probably, has been unconstitutionally treading on states' rights. The 10th amendment says it best...
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Man, isn't the idea of Federalism a wonderful thing? Let's diffuse the power, people.
-------
Semana Santa was this past week in Seville, and I was able to view a couple of pasos (processionals) on the Saturday that we returned to Spain. Some photos are below. Overall, the general feel of watching the paso is that... well, to me it was super creepy. Too much incense, interesting KKK-like costumes (the KKK stole the idea for the costume from the Spanish priests), old ladies worshipping the statues like they are Jesus himself... Very strange. But it's an important tradition here nonetheless.
-------
And lastly, here is my plan for the rest of my time here, so you guys can know what is goin on!
This weekend: David, Ryan, Lorel, Ashlee and I are going to this beautiful beach town in Spain called Nerja, about 2 and 1/2 hours away from Seville by car. Click on THIS to see a picture of the place.
Next week: Finals!!! Grrrrr. Except on April 22 we are going as a school to a BULLFIGHT. Nice!
Next weekend: Going skydiving over the Andalusian plains! The drop zone is about 10 miles outside of Seville, and we figured this was a sweet way to celebrate the end of a great semester!
Sunday the 26th: Feria de Abril starts (huge April fair with food and dancing and games and rides and all of that sweet carnival stuff).
Tuesday the 28th: David, Ryan Marcum, Colby, Bobby and I are heading to Paris, France for a boys' retreat (not really, it was just that no girls wanted to join us!). We are staying in Paris for three days.
Sunday, May 3: I fly home to the United States of America, land of the free-refill and home of the breakfast burrito! I miss unhealthy, awesome food. I then head to Lubbock to move out of my apt. and I am goin to Knoxville, TN for a week to be an adjudicator at DI Global Finals. Legendary.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Saturday, April 11, 2009
That's how you do Italy in 7 days...
There is so much to write about that I can't even figure out where to start...
We traveled first to Rome, where we spent 3 days. In Rome, we saw:
Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Roman Forums, Circus Maximus, Tiber River, Vatican City (St. Peter's Basilica, Raphael's 'School of Athens' paniting, etc.), Pantheon, The Church of St. Peter in Chains with Michelangelo's 'Moses' statue, and more! Also, we experienced an earthquake! The quake happened in a town about 60 miles north of Rome, but we felt the tremors all the way in Rome, it was nuts! No one in Rome was seriously injured, but many in L'Aquila died. Very sad.
We caught a train to Florence, and stayed there for two days. Florence was my favorite city of them all, I think, because it was smaller, yet still large enough to not get bored, and it was incredibly beautiful. Check out the views from Michelangelo's Piazza below! In Florence, we saw: The Duomo, Accademia Gallery with Michelangelo's David (awesome), the Uffizi, Michelangelo's Piazza, and more. My favorite city, definitely.
We bussed to Pisa the next day, and that was pretty cool! There is nothing there except for a pretty courtyard with a church, baptistery, and the leaning tower, but the grass was really green and of course the tower was fun to take pictures with!
We ended our week long escapade in Venice for a day. Venice was beautiful, a little smelly (because of the canals), and very tiring to walk through with luggage (so many little bridges, up and down)! But, the coolest experience in all of Italy happened there, and that was the gondola ride. It was cliche, yes, and it was a tad bit expensive. But it was awesome. So relaxing, so peaceful, and such beautiful views. Truly amazing!
So now I'm back here in Seville, and I have only two more weeks of school. I will update again soon this week, so until then, check out the great photos below.
'Guns up' at the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Gondola ride in Venice
Great view of Florence from Michelangelo's Piazza
From Michelangelo's Piazza in Florence
In front of the beautiful Cathedral in Florence
Florence, Italy
The whole group in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
In front of Trevi Fountain in Rome
Me, Ryan and Dave in front of The Pantheon
The Colosseum is awesome
---
Adios!
Peace, Love and God bless,
Noel
We traveled first to Rome, where we spent 3 days. In Rome, we saw:
Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Roman Forums, Circus Maximus, Tiber River, Vatican City (St. Peter's Basilica, Raphael's 'School of Athens' paniting, etc.), Pantheon, The Church of St. Peter in Chains with Michelangelo's 'Moses' statue, and more! Also, we experienced an earthquake! The quake happened in a town about 60 miles north of Rome, but we felt the tremors all the way in Rome, it was nuts! No one in Rome was seriously injured, but many in L'Aquila died. Very sad.
We caught a train to Florence, and stayed there for two days. Florence was my favorite city of them all, I think, because it was smaller, yet still large enough to not get bored, and it was incredibly beautiful. Check out the views from Michelangelo's Piazza below! In Florence, we saw: The Duomo, Accademia Gallery with Michelangelo's David (awesome), the Uffizi, Michelangelo's Piazza, and more. My favorite city, definitely.
We bussed to Pisa the next day, and that was pretty cool! There is nothing there except for a pretty courtyard with a church, baptistery, and the leaning tower, but the grass was really green and of course the tower was fun to take pictures with!
We ended our week long escapade in Venice for a day. Venice was beautiful, a little smelly (because of the canals), and very tiring to walk through with luggage (so many little bridges, up and down)! But, the coolest experience in all of Italy happened there, and that was the gondola ride. It was cliche, yes, and it was a tad bit expensive. But it was awesome. So relaxing, so peaceful, and such beautiful views. Truly amazing!
So now I'm back here in Seville, and I have only two more weeks of school. I will update again soon this week, so until then, check out the great photos below.
'Guns up' at the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Gondola ride in Venice
Great view of Florence from Michelangelo's Piazza
From Michelangelo's Piazza in Florence
In front of the beautiful Cathedral in Florence
Florence, Italy
The whole group in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
In front of Trevi Fountain in Rome
Me, Ryan and Dave in front of The Pantheon
The Colosseum is awesome
---
Adios!
Peace, Love and God bless,
Noel
Friday, April 3, 2009
When in Rome...
So, this is the big week! Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, I will be flying to Italy for Holy Week. Tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday will be spent in Rome, Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent in Florence and Pisa, and Thursday will be spent in Florence. We are doing the big three of Italy in 6 days. We are crazy, I know!
We are gonna be seein' all kinds of awesome stuff, like:
-Pantheon
-Roman Forums
-Colosseum
-Vatican
-Accademia Gallery
-Michelangelo's David
-Piazza Uffizi
-Leaning Tower of Pisa
-The Duomo
etc.
It should be a wonderful week. Of course, I will put up lots of pictures when I get back. Have a great week, and a wonderful Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday! Adios!
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
We are gonna be seein' all kinds of awesome stuff, like:
-Pantheon
-Roman Forums
-Colosseum
-Vatican
-Accademia Gallery
-Michelangelo's David
-Piazza Uffizi
-Leaning Tower of Pisa
-The Duomo
etc.
It should be a wonderful week. Of course, I will put up lots of pictures when I get back. Have a great week, and a wonderful Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday! Adios!
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
TOP STORY: This just in...
XING HUA, a Chinese restaurant on Virgen de Lujan in the neighborhood of Los Remedios, is legit. I just had a big ole' plate of some dang good chicken fried rice and a coke for 4,70 euros (the Spaniards use a comma instead of a point). Say it with me... "IT WAS LEGENDARY".
That is all for now. I have a quiz tomorrow and a test Thursday. This week is hell week. But next week I will be visiting Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice (we get the whole week off before Easter)! It will be super awesome! Adios.
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
That is all for now. I have a quiz tomorrow and a test Thursday. This week is hell week. But next week I will be visiting Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice (we get the whole week off before Easter)! It will be super awesome! Adios.
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Sunday, March 29, 2009
It's the little things, sometimes...
Every once in a while, it's the little things that happen that make you really happy. And this past week, there were lots of little things that made me happy.
1) I found a Sevilla radio station that plays a mix of 80's, 90's and early 2000's American pop/rock/hip-hop. Awesome.
2) I actually found the Spanish WalMart. It's a big store that has everything, like El Corte Ingles, but it is cheap, and it advertises "always cutting back prices", like WalMart! It's called Carrefour, and there are 2 or 3 on the outskirts of Sevilla if you ever randomly take a bus out there. Anyways, inside, it looks just like a Super WalMart; electronics here, car parts there, clothes here, home decor over there, groceries over here. It made my day finding a place like that.
3) I had a full 30 minute conversation with a group of Spaniards about Europe vs. the States. I understood them completely, and they complimented me on my Spanish, as well. It was sweet.
4) The store called 'VIPS' sells Dr. Pepper. And even though it costs 1,50 euros, it is worth it to have that sweet sweet taste of 23 magical flavors hitting my tongue.
5) Anytime the Spanish national team plays a soccer match on TV, the local bars turn into "I love my country of Spain" fest. And that's really cool.
There are more, but these are enough for now. Enjoy this wonderful Sunday! Adios.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
1) I found a Sevilla radio station that plays a mix of 80's, 90's and early 2000's American pop/rock/hip-hop. Awesome.
2) I actually found the Spanish WalMart. It's a big store that has everything, like El Corte Ingles, but it is cheap, and it advertises "always cutting back prices", like WalMart! It's called Carrefour, and there are 2 or 3 on the outskirts of Sevilla if you ever randomly take a bus out there. Anyways, inside, it looks just like a Super WalMart; electronics here, car parts there, clothes here, home decor over there, groceries over here. It made my day finding a place like that.
3) I had a full 30 minute conversation with a group of Spaniards about Europe vs. the States. I understood them completely, and they complimented me on my Spanish, as well. It was sweet.
4) The store called 'VIPS' sells Dr. Pepper. And even though it costs 1,50 euros, it is worth it to have that sweet sweet taste of 23 magical flavors hitting my tongue.
5) Anytime the Spanish national team plays a soccer match on TV, the local bars turn into "I love my country of Spain" fest. And that's really cool.
There are more, but these are enough for now. Enjoy this wonderful Sunday! Adios.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The travel essay I read last night...
Below is the piece I read last night at our second public reading of the semester. The turn out was great, Colby MC'ed this time, and I got to read a piece that Colby and I co-writ. Read it below if you have 10 minutes or so. Adios!
-------------------------------------------
ONE HOUR IN ROOM 604... by Noel Bryant and Colby Kennedy
Room 604 at Hotel Barcelona in Lisbon, Portugal was upscale, modern, and very comfortable. The beds were soft and cool. The quiet room was a good contrast to the hustle and bustle of the downtown of the beautiful city of Lisbon.
It was our second night in Lisbon. We were studying abroad in Seville, Spain, and Lisbon was the destination city for one of our school’s organized trips. That day had been spent exploring the city, sight-seeing, and taking pictures, typical touristy adventures. But as college students typically do, we decided that all the things we did that day weren’t enough, and we had to experience the nightlife. But first we needed to recuperate. Fair enough.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:00pm
“I want to take a legitimate nap before tonight. I know what we need,” I said as I got up to play some “chill” music on my computer laptop while we indeed chilled.
I had a lot of movie music on this particular playlist. I turned off the lights and only the hallway light illuminated our room. Music from Lord of the Rings graced our ears. Our heads laid back and our minds began to wander.
“Wait I know this, what is it?” Noel said.
“Into the West from Lord of the Rings,” I answered. “I love resting to music like this. It’s so relaxing.”
Noel nodded his head in approval.
While I was up, Ryan Marcum stole my spot on the bed. Ryan was built like me, tall and skinny, but to a greater degree. He had dark brown, long, shaggy hair, soft eyes, and was a really genuine guy.
My roommate, Noel Bryant, lay down on his bed facing the ceiling. Noel was a short guy, probably about 5’8, medium build, with scruf covering his face and small, thin glasses. I was glad I was rooming with Noel. In a lot of ways, I thought of him as a much better version of myself—he was smart, funny, musically talented, and a good guy. Noel was also very decisive about the things he believed in and I looked up to him for that reason.
NOEL BRYANT – 10:00pm
I was excited to go out in Lisbon, Portugal. I very much enjoyed going out, drinking a little, and dancing with friends. I lay there, listening to the sounds of Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Great coming from my friend Colby’s computer.
Colby is one of those guys that I wish I had become close with before my trip to study abroad in Spain, because he is such a good guy. I almost wish that we had been friends years and years ago. He was tall, lanky, had a patchy beard that made him look as though he still hadn’t finished puberty, and basically one of the funniest people I have ever met. I knew that one day we could become really great pals. I don’t think either of us thought that one day would be today.
“Oh come on man! This looks really gay!” Colby said to Ryan, another guy that I wish I had become friends with sooner.
“No big deal man, there’s room for everybody,” Ryan said as he scooted over on their narrow, single bed.
This was typical Colby and Ryan behavior. Joking about sexual preference with your guy friends is common in a close brotherhood. I relaxed on my bed, alone, and felt happy knowing that we, as friends, were becoming close enough to joke about sexuality.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:10pm
Ryan and I snuggled on a bed, and I thought about something Noel, Ryan and I all discussed earlier in the semester when we first became acquaintances. We couldn’t wait to see what bonds would be formed between our travel mates and us. This was a whole new culture on the other side of the world. The three of us all discussed that we were excited to grow close to all these people through eating exotic foods, discovering hidden treasures in a new land, stumbling through local dialects, living the European night life, and learning as much as we could about our new environment.
Our friend Humberto rushed in through the open door.
“Hey guys are ya’ll goin’ out to-,” Humberto stopped mid sentence as he realized Ryan and I were sharing a bed.
“Wow,” Humberto said. “Guess I’m just gonna go ahead and go.”
We all broke into laughter. Humberto, my short, stocky Mexican friend, had a good sense of humor and great sarcasm.
“Scoot over dude, I’m comin in,” Humberto said to Noel as he immediately joined our little slumber party.
“You’re takin up too much room, fool!” Humberto said.
“Me?!” Noel replied. “I’m barely hanging on to the bed over here!”
“I know. I’m just playin!” Humberto cheerfully laughed.
All of us were friends, but none of us were friends. That is to say, we all knew each other, but none of us knew each other that well. I had met Humberto briefly my freshmen year of college at a school function, I knew Ryan through some Christian organizations back home, and I had met Noel for the first time trying out for a comedy troupe also in my freshmen year of college. Noel and the others hadn’t had even met each other before our study abroad experience.
I wanted to sleep but that wasn’t going to happen. Our conversation took off. Cue the music from Braveheart.
NOEL BRYANT – 10:15pm
So now there were four of us sharing 2 beds. Colby and Ryan in one, and our friend Humberto and I in the other. Humberto was always in a happy mood, had a slightly annoying laugh (but not enough to make you want to slap him), and at 5’6’’ he was even more of a midget than I was. Even though we just met on this trip, like I did with the others, we felt like we had so much in common. But how much did we all have in common?
“Okay, okay, who is your all-time superhero lineup?” I asked seriously. I am a little bit… okay, a lot bit of a nerd, and I was hoping my new bedmates were as well.
“Well that’s hard to say. I mean your most powerful or just your favorite. You gotta be specific here,” Colby answered.
“Just like the ones you want most on your team to save the world” I clarified.
“Batman is my favorite,” Humberto said. “The Flash is so freakin’ fast man, he would be good too.” Nice. We were all a little nerdy.
“I’ve got a good one,” Ryan said. “Yoda. Just the whole Jedi council will do.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, are we including Jedi and other characters from different legendariums?” Colby said.
“Yeah, that’s cool. All fictional characters are game,” I explained.
“Well that makes it a lot harder. I mean you got all kinds of people and I’m not really sure how they stack up against each other,” Colby said. “If you’re going to put all those people in there, I gotta go Goku from Dragon Ball Z.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Goku would whoop up on a lot of these guys.”
“I’ll take Goku, Professor X from the X-MEN, the Hulk, and Jean Grey as part of my team,” Colby said.
“What about Harry Potter?” I asked. The room went silent as we all were wondering whether that was a joke. I didn’t even know whether I was joking or not. I was just trying to get a pause in the conversation, to take a breath. We were going all over the map at 100 miles and hour.
“Yoda would beat the crap out of Professor X,” Ryan continued, foregoing my comment.
“Yeah right!” Colby shot back.
“Okay you got Yoda’s amazing Force powers against Professor X’s mind powers. Who is gonna win?” Ryan said.
“Professor X is one of the most powerful mutants in the world he would destroy Yoda,” Colby said.
“But the Force is so strong with him,” I chimed in. We all broke out into laughter. This conversation started with superheroes, went to Elves and Wizards, X-Men, Harry Potter, and continued with Yoda. I loved every minute of it. I am a very quirky individual who is a little ADD. It seemed that these guys were as well. Usually when I am all over the place with my nerdiness, people can’t keep up. These guys were actually making it hard for me to keep up. Excellent. Nerds united.
“Yoda’s forte is that he is so very wise, not necessarily powerful though. If we are talking about just a fight, then Professor X would win,” Colby said.
We were treating this question as if it really mattered. Because to friends, everything matters.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:40pm
I could feel the little kid well up inside me. We talked as if all these events would come to fruition and the characters were right next door. Noel, Ryan, and I were all 21 and Humberto was 22, but for those precious moments we were anywhere between 9 and 13. Graduation was right around the corner and so was our worst nightmare—the real world. Noel and I were talking about X-MEN, Dragon Ball Z, and Star Wars. What was I going to do in real life business meetings? Tell my boss Wolverine could totally beat up Spiderman?
Somehow through our childish conversations, I knew that we all were growing closer. I didn’t know what it was about sharing this small part of our lives, but for some reason I felt like we had known each other since grade school. It felt exactly like having friends over to spend the night and talking into the late hours about everything and yet nothing, and at the end they were more like brothers. Gladiator is pumping through the speakers.
“Magneto is a terrible villain,” Ryan said.
“Are you kidding me?,” I said in disbelief. “He is an awesome super villain. He was in Auschwitz. He was in the Holocaust. That gives his character so much depth and meaning.”
The conversation, though still moving at an incomparable speed, then took a more serious turn.
“Dude isn’t history crazy?” Humberto said. “I mean like the stuff that happened and how it all fits together is crazy. Like things in the past that everyone thought were normal but today we think are terrible. Like slavery.”
We were creeping closer to Noel’s alley. He was a Political Science major who really enjoyed discussing deep theological and philosophical questions. He began his lesson…
“Slavery is such a crazy subject, because even though we find it horribly offensive, people in the olden days actually believed with all their heart that some races simply weren’t as human as others. Looking back at things in the past and judging them now is crazy,” Noel lectured.
“I know,” I said. “Like the fact that people watched other people kill each other in the Coliseum for entertainment is wild. And back then it just wasn’t a big deal. Human life was much less valued. It makes me wonder what people will look back on 1,000 years from now and say ‘I can’t believe they did this in 2009.’”
NOEL BRYANT – 10:50pm
Colby, never late to bring up a new topic of discussion, decided to ask on more question. I think it was because even though we were all excited to go out that night, we all knew that what was going on right here was just a cool, just as fun, and just as important. Relationships are the things that you remember on your death bed.
“Okay, okay. From anyone in the entire history of time, who would you want to eat dinner with?” Colby questioned. It was a good one.
I responded first.
“Excluding Jesus, right?”
“Of course,” said Colby.
“No duh,” Humberto followed.
“Yeah,” Ryan concluded.
“Okay, okay. I wish I could go back in time and meet Leonardo Da Vinci,” I continued. “That guy was good at everything and he was incredibly smart. Everything he did was like a masterpiece. He is the Renaissance Man, the first Jack of all Trades”.
I bubbled with the idea of meeting a man who could do it all. After all, I have always wanted to be successful at everything. That is part of the reason I took this chance to study Spanish abroad in Spain.
“Leonardo Da Vinci even drew the first prototype of a helicopter and machinegun,” Colby spoke up. “If it was me I’d have to meet Hitler. That guy was so freakin crazy. I‘d have to ask him what was going on in his head and why he did the things he did.”
At first I thought that his response was a little strange. Not many people who would put Jesus first would immediately seat Hitler next on their fantasy dinner table.
“Just think about the possible tension at that dinner table. Those are two crazy different personalities,” I added.
“I know. It would be awesome,” Colby concluded. He did love to push the envelope. One time he tried to sell garbage to a gypsy woman on the street just to see how they felt when strangers confronted them to buy something at the touristy spots of Sevilla.
Ryan spoke next.
“I think I would have to meet Harriet Tubman. The underground railroad was pretty sweet.”
Well… that’s kind of lame, I thought. I chuckled on the inside a little bit…
COLBY KENNEDY – 30 seconds earlier
I loved these kinds of discussions. I always asked questions like this to start conversation and it usually worked. People’s choices revealed so much about who they are.
“I think I would have to meet Harriet Tubman. The underground railroad was pretty sweet,” Ryan said.
“Dude, that is a good choice, man,” I said. Noel chuckled a little bit.
Humberto was the only one left to go.
“I’d go back in time and meet Santa Anna and punch him in the face,” our Mexican friend said. “I hate that fool,” he said.
“Why?” I said.
“Well I’m not sure what ya’ll learned in school, but we learned that he gave most of Texas away,” Humberto answered.
“Yeah, we just learned that he was captured and we basically forced him to sign a treaty giving over Texas,” I explained.
“Yeah, they told him he could either die or give up Texas and he just gave it to them,” Humberto said. “He was such a coward. Don’t get me wrong I love Texas and all. I just think he sold out his troops and countrymen.”
“Give me a break Humberto. Mexico is a joke,” I jested.
“I’ll freakin kill you man!” Humberto said as he laughed and jumped onto our bed to assault Ryan and I. Rocky blasted through the laptop speakers.
COLBY AND NOEL – 11:00pm
Our conversation about superheroes, judged events of the past, and historical figures concluded and it was time to actually go out for the night. We all looked excited, but sad at the same time. Did we have to get up and go out?
-------------------------------------
Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
-------------------------------------------
ONE HOUR IN ROOM 604... by Noel Bryant and Colby Kennedy
Room 604 at Hotel Barcelona in Lisbon, Portugal was upscale, modern, and very comfortable. The beds were soft and cool. The quiet room was a good contrast to the hustle and bustle of the downtown of the beautiful city of Lisbon.
It was our second night in Lisbon. We were studying abroad in Seville, Spain, and Lisbon was the destination city for one of our school’s organized trips. That day had been spent exploring the city, sight-seeing, and taking pictures, typical touristy adventures. But as college students typically do, we decided that all the things we did that day weren’t enough, and we had to experience the nightlife. But first we needed to recuperate. Fair enough.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:00pm
“I want to take a legitimate nap before tonight. I know what we need,” I said as I got up to play some “chill” music on my computer laptop while we indeed chilled.
I had a lot of movie music on this particular playlist. I turned off the lights and only the hallway light illuminated our room. Music from Lord of the Rings graced our ears. Our heads laid back and our minds began to wander.
“Wait I know this, what is it?” Noel said.
“Into the West from Lord of the Rings,” I answered. “I love resting to music like this. It’s so relaxing.”
Noel nodded his head in approval.
While I was up, Ryan Marcum stole my spot on the bed. Ryan was built like me, tall and skinny, but to a greater degree. He had dark brown, long, shaggy hair, soft eyes, and was a really genuine guy.
My roommate, Noel Bryant, lay down on his bed facing the ceiling. Noel was a short guy, probably about 5’8, medium build, with scruf covering his face and small, thin glasses. I was glad I was rooming with Noel. In a lot of ways, I thought of him as a much better version of myself—he was smart, funny, musically talented, and a good guy. Noel was also very decisive about the things he believed in and I looked up to him for that reason.
NOEL BRYANT – 10:00pm
I was excited to go out in Lisbon, Portugal. I very much enjoyed going out, drinking a little, and dancing with friends. I lay there, listening to the sounds of Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Great coming from my friend Colby’s computer.
Colby is one of those guys that I wish I had become close with before my trip to study abroad in Spain, because he is such a good guy. I almost wish that we had been friends years and years ago. He was tall, lanky, had a patchy beard that made him look as though he still hadn’t finished puberty, and basically one of the funniest people I have ever met. I knew that one day we could become really great pals. I don’t think either of us thought that one day would be today.
“Oh come on man! This looks really gay!” Colby said to Ryan, another guy that I wish I had become friends with sooner.
“No big deal man, there’s room for everybody,” Ryan said as he scooted over on their narrow, single bed.
This was typical Colby and Ryan behavior. Joking about sexual preference with your guy friends is common in a close brotherhood. I relaxed on my bed, alone, and felt happy knowing that we, as friends, were becoming close enough to joke about sexuality.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:10pm
Ryan and I snuggled on a bed, and I thought about something Noel, Ryan and I all discussed earlier in the semester when we first became acquaintances. We couldn’t wait to see what bonds would be formed between our travel mates and us. This was a whole new culture on the other side of the world. The three of us all discussed that we were excited to grow close to all these people through eating exotic foods, discovering hidden treasures in a new land, stumbling through local dialects, living the European night life, and learning as much as we could about our new environment.
Our friend Humberto rushed in through the open door.
“Hey guys are ya’ll goin’ out to-,” Humberto stopped mid sentence as he realized Ryan and I were sharing a bed.
“Wow,” Humberto said. “Guess I’m just gonna go ahead and go.”
We all broke into laughter. Humberto, my short, stocky Mexican friend, had a good sense of humor and great sarcasm.
“Scoot over dude, I’m comin in,” Humberto said to Noel as he immediately joined our little slumber party.
“You’re takin up too much room, fool!” Humberto said.
“Me?!” Noel replied. “I’m barely hanging on to the bed over here!”
“I know. I’m just playin!” Humberto cheerfully laughed.
All of us were friends, but none of us were friends. That is to say, we all knew each other, but none of us knew each other that well. I had met Humberto briefly my freshmen year of college at a school function, I knew Ryan through some Christian organizations back home, and I had met Noel for the first time trying out for a comedy troupe also in my freshmen year of college. Noel and the others hadn’t had even met each other before our study abroad experience.
I wanted to sleep but that wasn’t going to happen. Our conversation took off. Cue the music from Braveheart.
NOEL BRYANT – 10:15pm
So now there were four of us sharing 2 beds. Colby and Ryan in one, and our friend Humberto and I in the other. Humberto was always in a happy mood, had a slightly annoying laugh (but not enough to make you want to slap him), and at 5’6’’ he was even more of a midget than I was. Even though we just met on this trip, like I did with the others, we felt like we had so much in common. But how much did we all have in common?
“Okay, okay, who is your all-time superhero lineup?” I asked seriously. I am a little bit… okay, a lot bit of a nerd, and I was hoping my new bedmates were as well.
“Well that’s hard to say. I mean your most powerful or just your favorite. You gotta be specific here,” Colby answered.
“Just like the ones you want most on your team to save the world” I clarified.
“Batman is my favorite,” Humberto said. “The Flash is so freakin’ fast man, he would be good too.” Nice. We were all a little nerdy.
“I’ve got a good one,” Ryan said. “Yoda. Just the whole Jedi council will do.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, are we including Jedi and other characters from different legendariums?” Colby said.
“Yeah, that’s cool. All fictional characters are game,” I explained.
“Well that makes it a lot harder. I mean you got all kinds of people and I’m not really sure how they stack up against each other,” Colby said. “If you’re going to put all those people in there, I gotta go Goku from Dragon Ball Z.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Goku would whoop up on a lot of these guys.”
“I’ll take Goku, Professor X from the X-MEN, the Hulk, and Jean Grey as part of my team,” Colby said.
“What about Harry Potter?” I asked. The room went silent as we all were wondering whether that was a joke. I didn’t even know whether I was joking or not. I was just trying to get a pause in the conversation, to take a breath. We were going all over the map at 100 miles and hour.
“Yoda would beat the crap out of Professor X,” Ryan continued, foregoing my comment.
“Yeah right!” Colby shot back.
“Okay you got Yoda’s amazing Force powers against Professor X’s mind powers. Who is gonna win?” Ryan said.
“Professor X is one of the most powerful mutants in the world he would destroy Yoda,” Colby said.
“But the Force is so strong with him,” I chimed in. We all broke out into laughter. This conversation started with superheroes, went to Elves and Wizards, X-Men, Harry Potter, and continued with Yoda. I loved every minute of it. I am a very quirky individual who is a little ADD. It seemed that these guys were as well. Usually when I am all over the place with my nerdiness, people can’t keep up. These guys were actually making it hard for me to keep up. Excellent. Nerds united.
“Yoda’s forte is that he is so very wise, not necessarily powerful though. If we are talking about just a fight, then Professor X would win,” Colby said.
We were treating this question as if it really mattered. Because to friends, everything matters.
COLBY KENNEDY – 10:40pm
I could feel the little kid well up inside me. We talked as if all these events would come to fruition and the characters were right next door. Noel, Ryan, and I were all 21 and Humberto was 22, but for those precious moments we were anywhere between 9 and 13. Graduation was right around the corner and so was our worst nightmare—the real world. Noel and I were talking about X-MEN, Dragon Ball Z, and Star Wars. What was I going to do in real life business meetings? Tell my boss Wolverine could totally beat up Spiderman?
Somehow through our childish conversations, I knew that we all were growing closer. I didn’t know what it was about sharing this small part of our lives, but for some reason I felt like we had known each other since grade school. It felt exactly like having friends over to spend the night and talking into the late hours about everything and yet nothing, and at the end they were more like brothers. Gladiator is pumping through the speakers.
“Magneto is a terrible villain,” Ryan said.
“Are you kidding me?,” I said in disbelief. “He is an awesome super villain. He was in Auschwitz. He was in the Holocaust. That gives his character so much depth and meaning.”
The conversation, though still moving at an incomparable speed, then took a more serious turn.
“Dude isn’t history crazy?” Humberto said. “I mean like the stuff that happened and how it all fits together is crazy. Like things in the past that everyone thought were normal but today we think are terrible. Like slavery.”
We were creeping closer to Noel’s alley. He was a Political Science major who really enjoyed discussing deep theological and philosophical questions. He began his lesson…
“Slavery is such a crazy subject, because even though we find it horribly offensive, people in the olden days actually believed with all their heart that some races simply weren’t as human as others. Looking back at things in the past and judging them now is crazy,” Noel lectured.
“I know,” I said. “Like the fact that people watched other people kill each other in the Coliseum for entertainment is wild. And back then it just wasn’t a big deal. Human life was much less valued. It makes me wonder what people will look back on 1,000 years from now and say ‘I can’t believe they did this in 2009.’”
NOEL BRYANT – 10:50pm
Colby, never late to bring up a new topic of discussion, decided to ask on more question. I think it was because even though we were all excited to go out that night, we all knew that what was going on right here was just a cool, just as fun, and just as important. Relationships are the things that you remember on your death bed.
“Okay, okay. From anyone in the entire history of time, who would you want to eat dinner with?” Colby questioned. It was a good one.
I responded first.
“Excluding Jesus, right?”
“Of course,” said Colby.
“No duh,” Humberto followed.
“Yeah,” Ryan concluded.
“Okay, okay. I wish I could go back in time and meet Leonardo Da Vinci,” I continued. “That guy was good at everything and he was incredibly smart. Everything he did was like a masterpiece. He is the Renaissance Man, the first Jack of all Trades”.
I bubbled with the idea of meeting a man who could do it all. After all, I have always wanted to be successful at everything. That is part of the reason I took this chance to study Spanish abroad in Spain.
“Leonardo Da Vinci even drew the first prototype of a helicopter and machinegun,” Colby spoke up. “If it was me I’d have to meet Hitler. That guy was so freakin crazy. I‘d have to ask him what was going on in his head and why he did the things he did.”
At first I thought that his response was a little strange. Not many people who would put Jesus first would immediately seat Hitler next on their fantasy dinner table.
“Just think about the possible tension at that dinner table. Those are two crazy different personalities,” I added.
“I know. It would be awesome,” Colby concluded. He did love to push the envelope. One time he tried to sell garbage to a gypsy woman on the street just to see how they felt when strangers confronted them to buy something at the touristy spots of Sevilla.
Ryan spoke next.
“I think I would have to meet Harriet Tubman. The underground railroad was pretty sweet.”
Well… that’s kind of lame, I thought. I chuckled on the inside a little bit…
COLBY KENNEDY – 30 seconds earlier
I loved these kinds of discussions. I always asked questions like this to start conversation and it usually worked. People’s choices revealed so much about who they are.
“I think I would have to meet Harriet Tubman. The underground railroad was pretty sweet,” Ryan said.
“Dude, that is a good choice, man,” I said. Noel chuckled a little bit.
Humberto was the only one left to go.
“I’d go back in time and meet Santa Anna and punch him in the face,” our Mexican friend said. “I hate that fool,” he said.
“Why?” I said.
“Well I’m not sure what ya’ll learned in school, but we learned that he gave most of Texas away,” Humberto answered.
“Yeah, we just learned that he was captured and we basically forced him to sign a treaty giving over Texas,” I explained.
“Yeah, they told him he could either die or give up Texas and he just gave it to them,” Humberto said. “He was such a coward. Don’t get me wrong I love Texas and all. I just think he sold out his troops and countrymen.”
“Give me a break Humberto. Mexico is a joke,” I jested.
“I’ll freakin kill you man!” Humberto said as he laughed and jumped onto our bed to assault Ryan and I. Rocky blasted through the laptop speakers.
COLBY AND NOEL – 11:00pm
Our conversation about superheroes, judged events of the past, and historical figures concluded and it was time to actually go out for the night. We all looked excited, but sad at the same time. Did we have to get up and go out?
-------------------------------------
Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Spring Break...
Hola a todos!
Abbs and I at Sevilla's Plaza de España
Dad helping me lead worship in bible study Monday night
Abbie and I at El Escorial
Until next time... Adios!
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
I am sorry that I have been writing only once a week the past couple of weeks, but school is really starting to get in the way of things! It's like they don't want us to do anything but study and do projects! The funny thing is that I'm not really joking, school has really started to get way overwhelming and it's not right. But I can't change anything. So I will just make the best of my situation and try to see new things everyday even if it may be in the darn TTU center late one night doing a project.
Abbie and my dad came last Sunday to visit me for Spring Break! It was incredible. I showed them around Sevilla on Sunday and Monday (and we had an awesome bible study Monday night with the Tech kids and their parents/significant others), and on Tuesday morning we all left for the nice little city of Toledo, where we stayed for a night. We left Wednesday for Madrid, but we made a few stops along the way, such as El Escorial and La Granja, locations in Spain that are very important to Spanish history. Once we got to Madrid things really got cookin!
Our first night, Wednesday night, Abbie, my Dad and I went to some of the main plazas and streets of the town, and ended the great day by seeing this fantastic jazz quintet (Tui Higgins Quintet) in a cool little cafe called Cafe Central off of Plaza Angel in central Madrid. The group was absolutely incredible, and I was SO SO glad to hear some really outstanding jazz here in Europe! We also had some very good paella for dinner right off of Plaza Mayor.
Thursday was spent visiting the nice little town of Segovia, right outside of Madrid. It is the home to some original, still-standing, 2000 year old aqueducts built by the Romans. That was incredible!
Friday was a day of ALL MADRID. We started the morning by visiting the Thyssen Art Collection, and we saw what was an incredible collection of art. Basically, one important piece from every well renowned artist was there in that museum. Next, we continued on the art theme and joined the Tech kids at the Prado Art Museum, one of the most famous art museums in the world. It was a wonderful morning full of art appreciation! That afternoon, Abbie, my dad, my friends Daniel, Ryan, Ashlee, Colby, and I all went to the awesome central park of Madrid, called the Parque de Buen Retiro. We relaxed and played some ultimate frisbee in the park until it got dark.
Saturday, Dad and the Sadowski's left back for home, and Abbie and I spent the day hangin around the city, seeing everything we didn't see the past couple of days. That night we bar hopped some and got the taste of the Madrid nightlife, which equals one word... PACKED. Every bar was standing room only, it was actually quite uncomfortable. Simply too many people!
Abbie left for home on Sunday, and all of us Tech kids caught the train back to Sevilla.
Now we are here in class, stressing out because of all the work we have to do this week and next week. It is crazy! I will write again soon, for now enjoy the pics below!
Abbie and I in Puerta del Sol in Madrid, the theoretical "center" of Spain
Dad and I in Toledo
Abbs and I at Sevilla's Plaza de España
Dad helping me lead worship in bible study Monday night
Abbie and I at El Escorial
Until next time... Adios!
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Craziness...
Man... Things have been nuts over here! Let's see... Nathan, my older brother, got into Seville Wednesday afternoon around 2:30, and for the rest of the night, we had a grand tour of Seville and all of its awesome sights and places to hang. He got to meet lots of my TTU friends at Flaherty's, a huge Irish Pub in Seville next to the cathedral, that Wed. night. He also got to meet my international friends that night as well!
After class on Thursday, Nathan, David, and I flew out of Seville and into the wonderful city of Barcelona. After being in Spain for more than two months, and after seeing many many cities, I can safely say that Barcelona was the coolest city I have been to yet. The architecture blew our minds, and it was such a clean city! Of course, being right on the Mediterranean didn't hurt either, as the water front was beautiful. We hung out in Barcelona Thursday evening and all day Friday, and we did just about as much as possible to do in that huge city in a day and a half. The highlights of the trip included:
- meeting some Puerto Ricans, a cool girl from Arizona, this funny Chinese girl, a fellow Texan from Denton, and an older woman from Hungary in our hostal
- all you can eat buffet called La Vaca Paca. It was LEGENDARY.
- touring the FC Barcelona stadium and musuem
- La Sagrada Familia. I can't explain it. Just go there yourself. You will be blown away by the beauty of this contemporary cathedral.
- playing firey hackysack with Spanish 16 year olds in Park Guell
- being part of a rally for Colombia and seeing this very talented Spanish rap group (video below)
Saturday morning we got up early and flew from Barcelona to Madrid. The flight was super short, and we had all day to hang in Madrid on Saturday. We squeezed in a lot on Saturday (all the major sights like the Palacio Real, Catedral, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, etc.) and then had a incredible experience as we went to an English speaking church called Oasis Madrid that night. There, we met some awesome people from North Carolina, Tennessee, Barcelona, Madrid, and Minnesota. The Minnesota gang (three college students on spring break) joined us the next day on Sunday to tour the Museo de Reina Sofia and the Museo del Prado (two amazing art museums in Madrid). We got to know them very well, and we all ended up becoming good friends in that short time. The Minnesota kids may even come down and see David and I in Seville in a few days (it is their spring break from college in St. Paul).
David and I took the train back to Seville Sunday night at 9, and I was very sad to see my brother go. We had such a great time, I really wanted him to just stick around in Spain with me for the whole next week. But we knew eventually the weekend would end, and overall, it was such an amazing weekend spent with family.
This weekend will be awesome as well, because my girlfriend Abbie and my father are coming to visit me and go to Madrid with me next week for spring break! I am really being spoiled these two weeks!
I will write again soon, so for now, enjoy the pictures and video from the weekend below (I'm not even going to post any photos of La Sagrada Familia, they wouldn't do the church any justice)...
-------------
Brothers at the Plaza de España in Seville
This is a photo of a photo that they took for us (the Arizona girl Angela, Nate, David and I) at the FC Barcelona stadium, but it cost a lot, so we just took our own photo, hahaha
The Minnesota gang (Cassie, Ashley, and Steve) and us at the roof of the Museo de Reina Sofia
Cool reflection picture of us guys in The Glace Palace in Madrid
The Americans trying to play firey hacky-sack with some 16 year old Spaniards in the awesome Park Guell (the Spaniards aren't in the photo unfortunately, haha)
This is the rap group we saw in Barcelona, they are called "Kumar y Mate" and this song is "Caravana"
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
After class on Thursday, Nathan, David, and I flew out of Seville and into the wonderful city of Barcelona. After being in Spain for more than two months, and after seeing many many cities, I can safely say that Barcelona was the coolest city I have been to yet. The architecture blew our minds, and it was such a clean city! Of course, being right on the Mediterranean didn't hurt either, as the water front was beautiful. We hung out in Barcelona Thursday evening and all day Friday, and we did just about as much as possible to do in that huge city in a day and a half. The highlights of the trip included:
- meeting some Puerto Ricans, a cool girl from Arizona, this funny Chinese girl, a fellow Texan from Denton, and an older woman from Hungary in our hostal
- all you can eat buffet called La Vaca Paca. It was LEGENDARY.
- touring the FC Barcelona stadium and musuem
- La Sagrada Familia. I can't explain it. Just go there yourself. You will be blown away by the beauty of this contemporary cathedral.
- playing firey hackysack with Spanish 16 year olds in Park Guell
- being part of a rally for Colombia and seeing this very talented Spanish rap group (video below)
Saturday morning we got up early and flew from Barcelona to Madrid. The flight was super short, and we had all day to hang in Madrid on Saturday. We squeezed in a lot on Saturday (all the major sights like the Palacio Real, Catedral, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, etc.) and then had a incredible experience as we went to an English speaking church called Oasis Madrid that night. There, we met some awesome people from North Carolina, Tennessee, Barcelona, Madrid, and Minnesota. The Minnesota gang (three college students on spring break) joined us the next day on Sunday to tour the Museo de Reina Sofia and the Museo del Prado (two amazing art museums in Madrid). We got to know them very well, and we all ended up becoming good friends in that short time. The Minnesota kids may even come down and see David and I in Seville in a few days (it is their spring break from college in St. Paul).
David and I took the train back to Seville Sunday night at 9, and I was very sad to see my brother go. We had such a great time, I really wanted him to just stick around in Spain with me for the whole next week. But we knew eventually the weekend would end, and overall, it was such an amazing weekend spent with family.
This weekend will be awesome as well, because my girlfriend Abbie and my father are coming to visit me and go to Madrid with me next week for spring break! I am really being spoiled these two weeks!
I will write again soon, so for now, enjoy the pictures and video from the weekend below (I'm not even going to post any photos of La Sagrada Familia, they wouldn't do the church any justice)...
-------------
Brothers at the Plaza de España in Seville
This is a photo of a photo that they took for us (the Arizona girl Angela, Nate, David and I) at the FC Barcelona stadium, but it cost a lot, so we just took our own photo, hahaha
The Minnesota gang (Cassie, Ashley, and Steve) and us at the roof of the Museo de Reina Sofia
Cool reflection picture of us guys in The Glace Palace in Madrid
The Americans trying to play firey hacky-sack with some 16 year old Spaniards in the awesome Park Guell (the Spaniards aren't in the photo unfortunately, haha)
This is the rap group we saw in Barcelona, they are called "Kumar y Mate" and this song is "Caravana"
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Lisbon, Nathan, and the second minimester...
Sorry for the delay, things have been crazy!
Firstly, our Tech group got back from Lisbon, Portugal Sunday afternoon. We were there for 4 full days about, and it was incredible!
Dr. Inglis (the head guy in charge of the Tech Center in Sevilla) told us right when we arrived that he thought Lisbon was the hidden jewel of Western Europe, and I think he is dead-on. When people talk about visiting Europe, they always want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc. They rarely want to go to Lisbon. But Lisbon was one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. It is about the same size area wise as Sevilla, but the population is larger, and there is so much to do.
While in Lisbon, I...
-Visited a sweet monastery/cathedral right next to La Casa Rosa (the Portuguese version of our White House)
- Went up into the Cristo Rei, a giant Jesus overlooking the city on a hill, similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro
- Toured the Tower of Belem (I think that's right), a defense tower on the river used back in the day to fire cannons at enemy ships
- Ate lunch in downtown Lisbon amidst lots of drug vendors on the streets of Lisbon (just ignore them if you go, they will go away eventually)
- Had a very fulfilling dinner, churasco style (Brazilian meat house) at this nice restaurant
-Toured the Castle of St. George, this was awesome as the castle is huge and lots of fun to run around on!
-Went out late at night on the Docks of Lisbon, which are literally these docks filled with bars and clubs (this was sweet, except that there were some Welsh guys there who were being jerks to our girls from Tech- Violence almost ensued. Thankfully it all worked out peacefully)
- Got to see the Oceanarium! It was everything I thought it would be and more. This was by far my favorite thing in Lisbon. HUGE!
- Visited the nearby town of Sintra, and toured the oldest Romantic Period palace, Palacio Pena
- Experienced the subway! Lisbon's Metro system is pretty legit. I hope Sevilla puts one in place like the one in Lisbon.
The trip was wonderful, overall. I still think I liked Granada better, mostly because of the skiing, but Lisbon is definitely second. That being said, Portuguese was difficult. The most I ever really learned in those four days was "Obrigado", which is 'thank you'.
This week we started our new minimester, with a new teacher and a new kind of class. Now we are in Spanish 2, and things are starting to get more difficult. Hopefully it will "click" in my head soon and I start to really get this whole Spanish thing. Also, I played soccer tonight (instead of basketball)! There is not as much complaining about fouls in soccer here, so this may be a better option for my heart, as my stress level won't be as high playing soccer, haha. Those Spaniards really know how to tick someone off when playing basketball!
My brother Nathan is coming into Sevilla on Wed., and I am super pumped. I love him to death, and I know we will have a great time here in Sevilla for two days and then in Barcelona. It will be another great weekend, and I am so thankful to have some family coming here to experience a few days of this crazy life I have lived for the past two months.
Well, until next time... Adios!
The Cristo Rei, picture taken from the viewing deck at Jesus' feet
Me, at Jesus' feet, with the river and the city of Lisbon behind me
Me at the "entrance to downtown" Lisbon
I love this photo! Colby, Tyler, Warren, Humberto, me, Ryan, and Clint posing at the Castle of St. George
In front of the giant tank in the middle of the Oceanarium
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Firstly, our Tech group got back from Lisbon, Portugal Sunday afternoon. We were there for 4 full days about, and it was incredible!
Dr. Inglis (the head guy in charge of the Tech Center in Sevilla) told us right when we arrived that he thought Lisbon was the hidden jewel of Western Europe, and I think he is dead-on. When people talk about visiting Europe, they always want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc. They rarely want to go to Lisbon. But Lisbon was one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. It is about the same size area wise as Sevilla, but the population is larger, and there is so much to do.
While in Lisbon, I...
-Visited a sweet monastery/cathedral right next to La Casa Rosa (the Portuguese version of our White House)
- Went up into the Cristo Rei, a giant Jesus overlooking the city on a hill, similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro
- Toured the Tower of Belem (I think that's right), a defense tower on the river used back in the day to fire cannons at enemy ships
- Ate lunch in downtown Lisbon amidst lots of drug vendors on the streets of Lisbon (just ignore them if you go, they will go away eventually)
- Had a very fulfilling dinner, churasco style (Brazilian meat house) at this nice restaurant
-Toured the Castle of St. George, this was awesome as the castle is huge and lots of fun to run around on!
-Went out late at night on the Docks of Lisbon, which are literally these docks filled with bars and clubs (this was sweet, except that there were some Welsh guys there who were being jerks to our girls from Tech- Violence almost ensued. Thankfully it all worked out peacefully)
- Got to see the Oceanarium! It was everything I thought it would be and more. This was by far my favorite thing in Lisbon. HUGE!
- Visited the nearby town of Sintra, and toured the oldest Romantic Period palace, Palacio Pena
- Experienced the subway! Lisbon's Metro system is pretty legit. I hope Sevilla puts one in place like the one in Lisbon.
The trip was wonderful, overall. I still think I liked Granada better, mostly because of the skiing, but Lisbon is definitely second. That being said, Portuguese was difficult. The most I ever really learned in those four days was "Obrigado", which is 'thank you'.
This week we started our new minimester, with a new teacher and a new kind of class. Now we are in Spanish 2, and things are starting to get more difficult. Hopefully it will "click" in my head soon and I start to really get this whole Spanish thing. Also, I played soccer tonight (instead of basketball)! There is not as much complaining about fouls in soccer here, so this may be a better option for my heart, as my stress level won't be as high playing soccer, haha. Those Spaniards really know how to tick someone off when playing basketball!
My brother Nathan is coming into Sevilla on Wed., and I am super pumped. I love him to death, and I know we will have a great time here in Sevilla for two days and then in Barcelona. It will be another great weekend, and I am so thankful to have some family coming here to experience a few days of this crazy life I have lived for the past two months.
Well, until next time... Adios!
The Cristo Rei, picture taken from the viewing deck at Jesus' feet
Me, at Jesus' feet, with the river and the city of Lisbon behind me
Me at the "entrance to downtown" Lisbon
I love this photo! Colby, Tyler, Warren, Humberto, me, Ryan, and Clint posing at the Castle of St. George
In front of the giant tank in the middle of the Oceanarium
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Off to Lisbon...
It is currently 1:20 in the morning here in Sevilla, and in approx. 6 hours, I will be on a bus traveling to Lisbon, Portugal!
I must say, I haven't been this excited for a trip since we went to Morocco! I have heard from previous students of this program that Lisbon is an incredible city, and one of the best if not the best trips of the whole semester. We will be in Lisbon for 4 days, and the weather looks to be very nice, with highs in the upper 60's! I am not sure what all we will be seeing in Lisbon as a group, but I know that we get a lot of free time to explore the city ourselves, and I am very much looking forward to doing these things in Lisbon:
1) Lisbon Oceanarium, considered one of the best Aquariums in the world
2) The Gulbenkian, a museum with a huge collection of Egyptian Sculptures and Renaissance Art
3) Barrio Alto, the neighborhood where all the nightlife occurs, including live Fado music
4) The beaches near Lisbon, which are easily accessible by bus and taxi
Anyways, I will update with photos when I get back from Lisbon, probably on Monday.
The Public Reading/Two-Stepping Night was absolutely fantastic. We had a huge turnout (probably 40 or more), the readers were great, and the free wine and two-step party afterward was so much fun. We will be having another reading next month, and I will get to read at that one (I simply MC'ed this one).
After the two-stepping, David, Colby, Ashlee and I went to our German friend Manu's apartment for his going away party. Our Dutch friend Merel, our German friend Felix, and Manu will all be heading off to different European destinations to continue their studies. I will miss those guys, as they were really awesome people. They are most certainly the coolest Europeans I have met here in Sevilla so far. My best wishes go out to them and their travels.
Well, I must get to bed, so until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
I must say, I haven't been this excited for a trip since we went to Morocco! I have heard from previous students of this program that Lisbon is an incredible city, and one of the best if not the best trips of the whole semester. We will be in Lisbon for 4 days, and the weather looks to be very nice, with highs in the upper 60's! I am not sure what all we will be seeing in Lisbon as a group, but I know that we get a lot of free time to explore the city ourselves, and I am very much looking forward to doing these things in Lisbon:
1) Lisbon Oceanarium, considered one of the best Aquariums in the world
2) The Gulbenkian, a museum with a huge collection of Egyptian Sculptures and Renaissance Art
3) Barrio Alto, the neighborhood where all the nightlife occurs, including live Fado music
4) The beaches near Lisbon, which are easily accessible by bus and taxi
Anyways, I will update with photos when I get back from Lisbon, probably on Monday.
The Public Reading/Two-Stepping Night was absolutely fantastic. We had a huge turnout (probably 40 or more), the readers were great, and the free wine and two-step party afterward was so much fun. We will be having another reading next month, and I will get to read at that one (I simply MC'ed this one).
After the two-stepping, David, Colby, Ashlee and I went to our German friend Manu's apartment for his going away party. Our Dutch friend Merel, our German friend Felix, and Manu will all be heading off to different European destinations to continue their studies. I will miss those guys, as they were really awesome people. They are most certainly the coolest Europeans I have met here in Sevilla so far. My best wishes go out to them and their travels.
Well, I must get to bed, so until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Monday, February 23, 2009
Cadiz and more...
Wow. This post is going to be a little bit gross, because that is exactly how it was in Cadiz.
Carnaval was incredibly fun and definitely an experience, but it was nothing short of one of the most disgusting nights I have ever been a part of. So from this part of the story on, if you don't want to read about the crazy disgustingness that is Carnaval, please go down about 3/4 of the post.
Haha, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's do this... The night started around 8:30 pm in Sevilla. At the Plaza de Cuba is where our bus took off for Cadiz from. There were hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to get on the bus dressed as everything from cows to hippies to political figures to smurfs to cell phones to who knows what. We took off around 9, and two hours later, we landed on the beach town of Cadiz.
Carnaval in Cadiz is basically a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras on steroids. It is said that there were roughly 300,000 people in the streets of Cadiz the night we went, Saturday night, and right when we walked off the bus, we knew it would be a crazy night. There were people everywhere you looked, all in costume, and all drinking. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, sodas, random combinations of all of the above. The streets were crazy.
I hung out with about 7 or 8 tech people all night, and we just walked around the city meeting other party goers decked out in crazy costumes. What they failed to mention to us until we were ON the bus was that there are no open bathrooms during Carnaval. So men, women, and children (though naturally there were very few children) would have to just pop a squat on the street or in the bushes. EVERYONE. So basically, the whole night while we were walking, our shoes were going through alcohol and urine soaked streets. After a few hours of walking around, dirtying our shoes, and just taking in the craziness, we made our way to the actual beach, where we were able to get away from the people and the drinking some. The view was incredible, a lighthouse lit the horizon of the ocean, and the shore was full of anchored fishing boats. I couldn't get a picture, though, because it was so dark! By this time, it was about 2:00am or maybe later.
We just walked through more streets and plazas until we made our way back to where the buses would take us back to Sevilla. This was around 5:00am and we were all incredibly exhausted. People around us were throwing up, trying to sleep on the grass, or just simply passed out on the streets from the night of craziness.
It was definitely an experience. I'm not so sure if I would do it again, though. Haha.
This week is final exam week for our first mini-mester. But no worries, I think I will do really well, because my Spanish is coming along very nicely!
Wed. night is our Public Reading/Two-Stepping night at the TTU Center, and we leave for Lisbon, Portugal with Texas Tech on Thursday for four days! From what others have told me, the Lisbon trip is one of the best overall. I am so excited!
The group of kids I hung with for the night in Cadiz! (A cowboy, the devil, the Spice Girls, the Lone Ranger, and God's gift to women)
Denae, Me, and Matt (Fairy, God's gift to women, and a crazy Lobo)
I will try and write again Wed., so until then...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Carnaval was incredibly fun and definitely an experience, but it was nothing short of one of the most disgusting nights I have ever been a part of. So from this part of the story on, if you don't want to read about the crazy disgustingness that is Carnaval, please go down about 3/4 of the post.
Haha, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's do this... The night started around 8:30 pm in Sevilla. At the Plaza de Cuba is where our bus took off for Cadiz from. There were hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to get on the bus dressed as everything from cows to hippies to political figures to smurfs to cell phones to who knows what. We took off around 9, and two hours later, we landed on the beach town of Cadiz.
Carnaval in Cadiz is basically a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras on steroids. It is said that there were roughly 300,000 people in the streets of Cadiz the night we went, Saturday night, and right when we walked off the bus, we knew it would be a crazy night. There were people everywhere you looked, all in costume, and all drinking. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, sodas, random combinations of all of the above. The streets were crazy.
I hung out with about 7 or 8 tech people all night, and we just walked around the city meeting other party goers decked out in crazy costumes. What they failed to mention to us until we were ON the bus was that there are no open bathrooms during Carnaval. So men, women, and children (though naturally there were very few children) would have to just pop a squat on the street or in the bushes. EVERYONE. So basically, the whole night while we were walking, our shoes were going through alcohol and urine soaked streets. After a few hours of walking around, dirtying our shoes, and just taking in the craziness, we made our way to the actual beach, where we were able to get away from the people and the drinking some. The view was incredible, a lighthouse lit the horizon of the ocean, and the shore was full of anchored fishing boats. I couldn't get a picture, though, because it was so dark! By this time, it was about 2:00am or maybe later.
We just walked through more streets and plazas until we made our way back to where the buses would take us back to Sevilla. This was around 5:00am and we were all incredibly exhausted. People around us were throwing up, trying to sleep on the grass, or just simply passed out on the streets from the night of craziness.
It was definitely an experience. I'm not so sure if I would do it again, though. Haha.
This week is final exam week for our first mini-mester. But no worries, I think I will do really well, because my Spanish is coming along very nicely!
Wed. night is our Public Reading/Two-Stepping night at the TTU Center, and we leave for Lisbon, Portugal with Texas Tech on Thursday for four days! From what others have told me, the Lisbon trip is one of the best overall. I am so excited!
The group of kids I hung with for the night in Cadiz! (A cowboy, the devil, the Spice Girls, the Lone Ranger, and God's gift to women)
Denae, Me, and Matt (Fairy, God's gift to women, and a crazy Lobo)
I will try and write again Wed., so until then...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Friday, February 20, 2009
Punk kids
I know, I broke the rule. Don't write twice in one day. It cheapens the previous writings and makes them not as special. That's okay, because I felt I had to say this:
Punk kids are the EXACT SAME everywhere you go in the world. Except maybe in Africa or China, I wouldn't know much about that. But, I just got off the bus and sitting in the back were these punk kids. I'm talkin about 15 years old, think they are awesome, causing trouble, punk kids. I don't know if I expected Spain to not have any punk kids or if I thought they would act different than those in the States. They don't. Here is how to spot a group of punk kids anywhere in the world...
1) Punk kids are usually between the ages of 13 and 18. Once you hit 18 years old, you should know better.
2) Punk kids are almost always seen in groups of 4 or more. 3 is too little, because one kid will always get tag-teamed. And no one wants to get tag-teamed, so they try to stick to 4 or more.
3) They have completely pointless piercings. Ears, eyelids, lips, noses, chins, elbows, feet.
4) Punk kids always make an unnecessary amount of noise. The noises are usually some type of loud making fun of someone or thing followed by uncontrollable laughter that annoys everyone
5) Every chance they get, punk kids act rudely toward senior citizens.
6) Lastly, their fashion is a terrible mix of 90's gangster rap and Blink-182 wannabees.
Okay, rant over.
Punk kids are the same everywhere.
Punk kids are the EXACT SAME everywhere you go in the world. Except maybe in Africa or China, I wouldn't know much about that. But, I just got off the bus and sitting in the back were these punk kids. I'm talkin about 15 years old, think they are awesome, causing trouble, punk kids. I don't know if I expected Spain to not have any punk kids or if I thought they would act different than those in the States. They don't. Here is how to spot a group of punk kids anywhere in the world...
1) Punk kids are usually between the ages of 13 and 18. Once you hit 18 years old, you should know better.
2) Punk kids are almost always seen in groups of 4 or more. 3 is too little, because one kid will always get tag-teamed. And no one wants to get tag-teamed, so they try to stick to 4 or more.
3) They have completely pointless piercings. Ears, eyelids, lips, noses, chins, elbows, feet.
4) Punk kids always make an unnecessary amount of noise. The noises are usually some type of loud making fun of someone or thing followed by uncontrollable laughter that annoys everyone
5) Every chance they get, punk kids act rudely toward senior citizens.
6) Lastly, their fashion is a terrible mix of 90's gangster rap and Blink-182 wannabees.
Okay, rant over.
Punk kids are the same everywhere.
Almost time for Carnival...
This week has been a pretty good week. On Monday we had a great bible study and awesome worship time, and afterwards I went to an intercambio session at the HUGE Irish Pub here in Sevilla called "Flaherty's". Basically, these intercambio sessions consist of 20 or 30 students, Spanish, German, English, American, etc., and we try to communicate with eachother in whatever language we are trying to learn (so usually Spanish for us foreigners, English for the Spaniards). These intercambios are fun because you get to meet so many awesome people.
Tuesday was alright. I was feeling pretty sick because I had this weird mouth ulcer/canker sore thing on what looked like my tonsil. That wasn't fun at all. I didn't even get to play basketball!
Wed. we had a quiz over the Imperfect Past Tense in Spanish. Our class rocked it up! Of course, imperfecto is much easier than preterito. We had our weekly get together at TGIFriday's that evening, talked a lot, and then David and I went home to study for our test the next day.
Thursday was test day, and the test was alright. Some parts of it, like conjugations, descriptions, and other things were good and easy. Then there was the food section. And that was a KILLER. I had never heard of some of those foods in my life. I digress... After the test yesterday we had travel writing class, and that was a nice pick-me-up! Our travel writing class is planning a really cool public reading series that starts this next Wednesday. It is being held in our building, and is basically a chance for us students in the wiritng class to read some of our essays we have been working on to the public (other student at TTUSevilla and Spaniards as well!). The coolest part is, after the readings, we are having a reception with free wine (thank you Texas Tech) and we will be two-stepping the night away in the dance room! Although I don't care for country music, two-stepping is fun, and I miss DJing/MCing stuff back in Lubbock, so I will get that fix soon! The night is sure to be awesome. I will post more about that later.
OH YEAH! I almost forgot. Last night was karaoke night at Flaherty's. It was LEGENDARY. My friend Alex and I sang "Play that Funky Music White Boy". It was awesome. There is something really funny about a mix of Spaniards, Americans, Germans, Dutch, and English all in the same place all singing along to great classic karaoke favorites. It was a blast!
Carnival in Cadiz is this Saturday, and I have no idea what I'm going to dress up as... Hmmm, if you wanna leave me comments with some ideas, that would be great!
I will put pictures up of Carnival on Sunday. But for right now, check out these super cool pics I haven't put up yet below. Until next time... Adios!
Ashlee and I skiing in Granada
Yeah... Meg's camera takes a lot better pictures than mine, and this one is AWESOME!
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Tuesday was alright. I was feeling pretty sick because I had this weird mouth ulcer/canker sore thing on what looked like my tonsil. That wasn't fun at all. I didn't even get to play basketball!
Wed. we had a quiz over the Imperfect Past Tense in Spanish. Our class rocked it up! Of course, imperfecto is much easier than preterito. We had our weekly get together at TGIFriday's that evening, talked a lot, and then David and I went home to study for our test the next day.
Thursday was test day, and the test was alright. Some parts of it, like conjugations, descriptions, and other things were good and easy. Then there was the food section. And that was a KILLER. I had never heard of some of those foods in my life. I digress... After the test yesterday we had travel writing class, and that was a nice pick-me-up! Our travel writing class is planning a really cool public reading series that starts this next Wednesday. It is being held in our building, and is basically a chance for us students in the wiritng class to read some of our essays we have been working on to the public (other student at TTUSevilla and Spaniards as well!). The coolest part is, after the readings, we are having a reception with free wine (thank you Texas Tech) and we will be two-stepping the night away in the dance room! Although I don't care for country music, two-stepping is fun, and I miss DJing/MCing stuff back in Lubbock, so I will get that fix soon! The night is sure to be awesome. I will post more about that later.
OH YEAH! I almost forgot. Last night was karaoke night at Flaherty's. It was LEGENDARY. My friend Alex and I sang "Play that Funky Music White Boy". It was awesome. There is something really funny about a mix of Spaniards, Americans, Germans, Dutch, and English all in the same place all singing along to great classic karaoke favorites. It was a blast!
Carnival in Cadiz is this Saturday, and I have no idea what I'm going to dress up as... Hmmm, if you wanna leave me comments with some ideas, that would be great!
I will put pictures up of Carnival on Sunday. But for right now, check out these super cool pics I haven't put up yet below. Until next time... Adios!
Ashlee and I skiing in Granada
Yeah... Meg's camera takes a lot better pictures than mine, and this one is AWESOME!
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Monday, February 16, 2009
I love the beach!
Hola!
On Friday, we had a Tech group excursion to Huelva and La Rabida near the southern coast of Spain. La Rabida is a San Franciscan Monastery that is still active. It is famous because in that monastery is where Columbus came to discuss his ideas on the earth being round and his plans to discover a passage to India. The monastery was beautiful, with wonderful frescos and religious paintings, haunting crucifixes, and a room with the one of the first maps of the new world on it. Very cool.
After La Rabida, we went to an outdoor museum in Huelva that had a deck with three boats that were created in the images of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. We played on those for a little bit, got to experience the sea life for a good hour, and then headed off to la playa (the beach)!
Whether in Galveston, or Southern Spain, the beach is simply awesome. The water, it being February and all, was crazy cold, but it was so sunny and beautiful on the sand, we just played on the coast for a couple of hours. We played some ultimate frisbee and football (american football) and just had a blast. It is a really cool feeling when you can go skiing one weekend, and go to the beach the next (and stay in the same province).
This week I have a quiz and a test, so that's not fun, but this weekend, I will be going to Cadiz (another city on the beach) for a Carnival festival. It will be exciting!
On Sunday, I finally went to the amazing Plaza de Espana! It was built in the 1920's and hosted the Spanish-American Grand Exhibition. It is truly a marvel because it is so huge and decorative!
I will write again in a few days, but for now, see some photos below:
The courtyard at the monastery
Playing ultimate frisbee on the beach!
View of the Plaza from its right balcony
There is a rainbow in the fountain at the Plaza... what nice camera work, eh?
My little room in Spain... I got my Spain flag and Welker jersey hangin up!
-----------------------------
Some random thoughts:
1) European music, truthfully, is terrible. There is only so much techno I can stand. American music kicks the crud out of European music handily
2) My body is driving me crazy... For some reason I still haven't adjusted completely to Spain. I had a massive headache for a week, and then I had a sinus infection for a week, and now I have a terrible sore throat and need medicine... Stupid body. I'm supposed to be young!
3) Every city in Spain claims the title of "City that never sleeps", but in reality, I haven't seen that city yet... Maybe Madrid or Barcelona
4) Although great exercise, it is an extreme test of patience playing basketball in Spain, because many of the Spaniards we play with are huge babies about everything. In America, when you play basketball you expect and know that it is going to be a physically demanding game. You will get roughed up and get fouled, and that's just part of the game. But here in Spain, they call fouls on you for everything, even if you don't come close to touching them! It can be quite frustrating and down-right dumb. Oh well... their country, their rules I guess.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
On Friday, we had a Tech group excursion to Huelva and La Rabida near the southern coast of Spain. La Rabida is a San Franciscan Monastery that is still active. It is famous because in that monastery is where Columbus came to discuss his ideas on the earth being round and his plans to discover a passage to India. The monastery was beautiful, with wonderful frescos and religious paintings, haunting crucifixes, and a room with the one of the first maps of the new world on it. Very cool.
After La Rabida, we went to an outdoor museum in Huelva that had a deck with three boats that were created in the images of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. We played on those for a little bit, got to experience the sea life for a good hour, and then headed off to la playa (the beach)!
Whether in Galveston, or Southern Spain, the beach is simply awesome. The water, it being February and all, was crazy cold, but it was so sunny and beautiful on the sand, we just played on the coast for a couple of hours. We played some ultimate frisbee and football (american football) and just had a blast. It is a really cool feeling when you can go skiing one weekend, and go to the beach the next (and stay in the same province).
This week I have a quiz and a test, so that's not fun, but this weekend, I will be going to Cadiz (another city on the beach) for a Carnival festival. It will be exciting!
On Sunday, I finally went to the amazing Plaza de Espana! It was built in the 1920's and hosted the Spanish-American Grand Exhibition. It is truly a marvel because it is so huge and decorative!
I will write again in a few days, but for now, see some photos below:
The courtyard at the monastery
Playing ultimate frisbee on the beach!
View of the Plaza from its right balcony
There is a rainbow in the fountain at the Plaza... what nice camera work, eh?
My little room in Spain... I got my Spain flag and Welker jersey hangin up!
-----------------------------
Some random thoughts:
1) European music, truthfully, is terrible. There is only so much techno I can stand. American music kicks the crud out of European music handily
2) My body is driving me crazy... For some reason I still haven't adjusted completely to Spain. I had a massive headache for a week, and then I had a sinus infection for a week, and now I have a terrible sore throat and need medicine... Stupid body. I'm supposed to be young!
3) Every city in Spain claims the title of "City that never sleeps", but in reality, I haven't seen that city yet... Maybe Madrid or Barcelona
4) Although great exercise, it is an extreme test of patience playing basketball in Spain, because many of the Spaniards we play with are huge babies about everything. In America, when you play basketball you expect and know that it is going to be a physically demanding game. You will get roughed up and get fouled, and that's just part of the game. But here in Spain, they call fouls on you for everything, even if you don't come close to touching them! It can be quite frustrating and down-right dumb. Oh well... their country, their rules I guess.
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Spain is pretty good at this game called futbol...
The experience of going to the England vs. Spain soccer game last night was phenomenal. The night started at TGIFridays (yes, the mall here has one!) for happy hour (5-8pm) to meet up with friends and tailgate with the Spaniards. After some Coca-Colas, and one amazing (though expensive) Dr. Pepper, it was time to head out to the stadium, right next to the mall. I put on my Spain flag like a cape, was wearing my FC Barcelona jersey, and got my 40euro ticket out to watch the game with David and our buds Kelsi and Meg.
The pregame atmosphere was crazy, with dancing, drinking, singing, and partying for the upcoming game. Thousands of red and yellow people were out in the streets and plazas near the stadium, and there was good representation of England fans as well.
We sat in the 12th row!! We were super close and had a great view of the whole field! The game kicked-off at 10pm, and the rest is nothing but pure awesomeness! It was truly an amazing game, with Spain scoring two fantastic goals (a beautiful dribble through and shoot, and a nice header to the back side) to make the final 2 - 0 Spain. Though this game was just a 2010 World Cup qualifier, many superstars played for at least a half. For Spain, Xavi, Torres, and their super goalie Casillas. For England, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and David Beckham all played significant minutes. Of course, when Beckham entered the game, all the girls went crazy!
The entire night was awesome. I have many many photos and a video below~~
David, Kelsi, Meg, me
Right before the start of the game, with the teams lined up in front
About to score
The England fans had their own section decked out in red crosses
Colby, me, Ashlee, and Ryan at the end of the game
BELOW IS A VIDEO OF THE CROWD REACTION TO SPAIN'S FIRST GOAL
(Warning- it's loud, so turn down your volume!!)
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
The pregame atmosphere was crazy, with dancing, drinking, singing, and partying for the upcoming game. Thousands of red and yellow people were out in the streets and plazas near the stadium, and there was good representation of England fans as well.
We sat in the 12th row!! We were super close and had a great view of the whole field! The game kicked-off at 10pm, and the rest is nothing but pure awesomeness! It was truly an amazing game, with Spain scoring two fantastic goals (a beautiful dribble through and shoot, and a nice header to the back side) to make the final 2 - 0 Spain. Though this game was just a 2010 World Cup qualifier, many superstars played for at least a half. For Spain, Xavi, Torres, and their super goalie Casillas. For England, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and David Beckham all played significant minutes. Of course, when Beckham entered the game, all the girls went crazy!
The entire night was awesome. I have many many photos and a video below~~
David, Kelsi, Meg, me
Right before the start of the game, with the teams lined up in front
About to score
The England fans had their own section decked out in red crosses
Colby, me, Ashlee, and Ryan at the end of the game
BELOW IS A VIDEO OF THE CROWD REACTION TO SPAIN'S FIRST GOAL
(Warning- it's loud, so turn down your volume!!)
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
Monday, February 9, 2009
Absolutely gorgeous...
Granada was incredible. Beautiful. Breath-taking. Granada is definitely my favorite city so far in Spain!
We left early early Friday morning, and got to Granada around 11am. We immediately went to the Alhambra, a Moorish Fortress located in Granada next to the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was humongous, and so awesome. We toured all of the Alhambra, and the its gardens, and then went to our group hotel. Kolby, Ryan, and I got some of the best ice cream in the world, for only a euro/scoop. AWESOME. Later that afternoon, our group toured the Granada Cathedral, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of Spain were buried.
That night, a large group of us Tech folks bought tickets to a flamenco show in the gypsy neighborhood of Granada. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew it was going to be interesting. However, as soon as the two guitarists walked out on the stage, and the dancers followed, I knew this show would be legit. And it was incredible. Wonderful dancing, wonderful passion, great music, etc. etc. It was an outstanding way to end the great day.
Saturday was SKI DAY. Words can't describe how awesome Saturday was. We got up around 6:45, caught the bus in Granada to the mountains around 8, and were on the lifts by 10:30 or so. The mountains were gorgeous, the powder was fresh, and my skiing abilities quickly re-emerged. I was basically a pro! Well, maybe not. But it was so much fun that even falling down on the hard ones was a blast! That night the group of 8 of us found our hostel in Granada, walked around the city, and just enjoyed eachothers' company. Saturday was phenomenal.
Sunday, some of the group went back to ski, and some of us stayed in the city and shopped/toured/ate amazing food. Overall, it was the best weekend I have had this semester. Fun city, fun skiing, fun people... The works.
This week is going to be a breeze compared to the craziness of last week, and I am going to the Spain vs. England soccer game at the large stadium in Sevilla on Wed.! That is going to be one of the coolest experiences. I am also getting ready to book some non tech-related trips for the rest of the year! Here is what my plans look like:
-weekend trip to Valencia
-weekend trip to Salamanca
-Carnival in Cadiz
-Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan for holy week
-4 day trip to Barcelona with Nathan
-weekend trip to Malaga
-skydiving (I am super pumped about this possibility!)
-and then our grand finale trip after classes finish: Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid
I will write again in a few days, so for now, enjoy the photos below~~~
The Sierra Nevada mountains
Our ski group!
Near our hostel in Granada
The Alhambra (kudos to Kimberly for this photo, mine weren't nearly as good)
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
We left early early Friday morning, and got to Granada around 11am. We immediately went to the Alhambra, a Moorish Fortress located in Granada next to the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was humongous, and so awesome. We toured all of the Alhambra, and the its gardens, and then went to our group hotel. Kolby, Ryan, and I got some of the best ice cream in the world, for only a euro/scoop. AWESOME. Later that afternoon, our group toured the Granada Cathedral, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of Spain were buried.
That night, a large group of us Tech folks bought tickets to a flamenco show in the gypsy neighborhood of Granada. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew it was going to be interesting. However, as soon as the two guitarists walked out on the stage, and the dancers followed, I knew this show would be legit. And it was incredible. Wonderful dancing, wonderful passion, great music, etc. etc. It was an outstanding way to end the great day.
Saturday was SKI DAY. Words can't describe how awesome Saturday was. We got up around 6:45, caught the bus in Granada to the mountains around 8, and were on the lifts by 10:30 or so. The mountains were gorgeous, the powder was fresh, and my skiing abilities quickly re-emerged. I was basically a pro! Well, maybe not. But it was so much fun that even falling down on the hard ones was a blast! That night the group of 8 of us found our hostel in Granada, walked around the city, and just enjoyed eachothers' company. Saturday was phenomenal.
Sunday, some of the group went back to ski, and some of us stayed in the city and shopped/toured/ate amazing food. Overall, it was the best weekend I have had this semester. Fun city, fun skiing, fun people... The works.
This week is going to be a breeze compared to the craziness of last week, and I am going to the Spain vs. England soccer game at the large stadium in Sevilla on Wed.! That is going to be one of the coolest experiences. I am also getting ready to book some non tech-related trips for the rest of the year! Here is what my plans look like:
-weekend trip to Valencia
-weekend trip to Salamanca
-Carnival in Cadiz
-Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan for holy week
-4 day trip to Barcelona with Nathan
-weekend trip to Malaga
-skydiving (I am super pumped about this possibility!)
-and then our grand finale trip after classes finish: Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid
I will write again in a few days, so for now, enjoy the photos below~~~
The Sierra Nevada mountains
Our ski group!
Near our hostel in Granada
The Alhambra (kudos to Kimberly for this photo, mine weren't nearly as good)
Until next time...
Peace, love and God bless,
-Noel
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