TravelStream™ news feed for member heisler7 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/heisler7 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:12:05 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1227309060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1227309060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1227309060/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:12:05 -0500 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Tangier, Morocco

Buenas Amigos Mios,

Hey guys, just thought I would give you a follow up on our trip to Marruecos (Morocco). Wow, talk about one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life! You can´t even imagine how people live there! The poverty was just crazy. It was so sad at times to see some of the kids or those who were living on the streets in the Medina (town center). The world has so much to teach you if you just listen. I´ve been finding myself learning quite a few lesson since I left. I can´t believe that I will have been gone for three months already next week...wow, that time truly does fly by. I mean, I hate to remind you all, but Christmas is almost here even! haha

We were off on our way early friday morning! Ick, 7am meeting time at the Torre de Oro (tower of gold in Sevilla). We set off for the strait of Gibraltar, only to be stuck in rush hour in Sevilla. We went about two miles in an hour or so. It was so gross. We finally found our way out of the traffic and we were off on the autopista headed for the coast. Most of my amigos slept the entire way. I however enjoy the peace and quite. Time to think but at the same time with friends. I just enjoyed the scenery. It´s so nice to get out of the city even just for a few hours to see trees! TREES!!!!

We boarded the ferry and set off for Celta, a tiny area in Morocco that belongs to Spain. We watched the dolphins and took pictures of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. We proceeded to enjoy a bocadillo (sub sandwhich). Needless to say I was caught on camera stuffing my face with a tuna, olive, and pepper toasted sub! I was starving!

As soon as we hit Celta, the gypsies swarmed our bus, looking to rip off fanny pack wearing tourists. We didn´t have the fanny packs or the windbreakers, but they knew we were tourists. haha. We kind of had to beat them away so we could get on our bus to the border. No Gitano, no quiero una pulsera! Te va! (No gypsie, I don´t want a bracelet, go away) We joked but in all seriousness that´s the way alot of people earn money in Morocco as well as Spain. The street vendors are everywhere!

As soon as we hit the border terror struck down upon us. Hundreds of people trying to cross the border. Barbed wire and double sided razor fences, drug dogs, millitary officers with guns, wire corrals....I don´t imagine many borders are what one would call pretty, but I sure as heck don´t remember those wire fences when I crossed into Portugal nor when crossing into France. lol Our passports were stamped and then a Moroccan border patrolman entered our bus, very stern, very loud and warning us not to take pictures of videos of the border. We were checked and then our guide for the weekend named Abduhl, who insisted we call him Michael Douglas entered the bus. He swears he was told that he had a similar appearance to the famed actor however we all begged to differ. We said Choukran to our new guide and the millitary personel and were headed along the Moroccan coast to our first stop Tetuan.

Along the way Michael Douglas enlightened us about Moroccan history with Spain and some of the traditions and customs we would soon be experiencing. He took a liking to one of the girls in our group named Mary right off the bat. It was all fun and games until he presented the idea of her being his fourth wife...silence, all but the cricket chirps of course. No one really knew what to do. I mean we knew polygamy was common in Morocoo, but we couldn´t tell if he was serious or not. He kept going off about one wife or the other...one in this town, one in that....we just smiled our awkward smiles. He of course also informed us of his three current wives as a way to destroy any notions that he might be in his words a ¨homo¨. When the homo word popped up, of course everyone on the bus just paused...all eyes on me....I guessed by then that homosexuality was kind of a no-no in Morocco. He was very awkward...he would randomly burst out in Arabic, French, Swahili, English, or Spanish...we had two of his five languages covered but the others just baffled us. I don´t know, I guess it was a good warning to us about how the rest of the weekend would proceed.

We arrived in Tetuán just in time for a tour of the school of arts there and then we took a trip through the Medina (town center). Talk about a shock! There were cats everywhere, fly covered pastries, eels being chopped up, chickens being thrown into black plastic bags still alive, beggers....it was quite a shocking site. I just tryed to act normal...even though deep down I was screaming inside....the stench was awful. The sewer systems run down the center of the 5 foot wide streets here and everything is packed so tightly. Every corner we made we got mysterious stares....it wasn´t really possible to blend in if ya know what I mean.

We made our way to lunch an hour or so later. I would tell you the name of the restaurant, however the sign was all in Arabic and the only word i knew was ¨Thank you¨. We sat down to cuscus, vegies, beef kebabs, and a squash cream soup. We sipped our cokes that were printed in Arabic and fancied at the decorated walls adorned with sequins, silk and fotos as we propped ourselves up upon puffy green and silver couches. We listened to traditional moroccan musicians clad in jilabs and their fezes. The waiter brought out a traditional sweat green tea and orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon as we watched a man clad in red satin and poofy pants do a fire dance. We applauded as we gasped with excitement everytime he did a flip or threw fire into the air. The whole inside of the restaurant was made of pillows, silk and wood....if he dropped one of those candles the whole place would have gone up in flames! Thankfully he was skilled enough that we ended lunch and left the restaurant without any burns or injuries.

We navigated our way through the market, back past the eels, jilab stores and henna stands until we reached our bus just outside the medina. We borded our mini-RV and set off for the hotel. I shared a room with my buddy chris. He´s such an amazing guy. He served time in Iraq this past year and decided to go back to school for dentistry. He already has a political science degree and a pre-law degree. He´s such a good guy, probably the best friend ive made since I left the states. We kicked back and caught a little bit of So You Think You Can Dance, which was actually in English! It was the first time we had seen english television in 2 1/2 months so of course we were ecstatic! We couldn´t stay too long however as we were meeting our Moroccan Intercambios that night at the University in Tetuán. We were all so tired as we had been traveling all day. All we wanted to do was eat and go to bed and here they were forcing us to meet students we would never see again....what a drag right!!!? Turns out it was probably my favorite part of the entire trip to Morocco!

We met a few girls and a few guys, all with names like Buzaina, Mohammed, etc. It was so exciting to see their perspectives on politics and hear about their pride for the country. I could never imagine living there considering health, standard of living...yet every student told us that if they had the chance to leave they wouldn´t. It´s their home. We chatted about the election of Obama which they were extremely excited about. That and we talked about school, traveling and what not as we wandered the streets of Tetuán, past street vendors, fruit stands, stands of knock off louis vutton bags....I think the experience i will remember the most was when i was talking to one of the guys....i can´t recall his name which make me sad that I hadn´t been paying close attention when he introduced himself. I was too much in awe of my current surroundings to pay attention. Anyways, there had been something that had been kind of on my mind ever since we had arrived in Tetuán and I was finally going to ask this student. We had been seeing all these men holding hands and linking arms as if married or "together". What was this about? We were in a Muslim country. They couldn´t have been gay because that is banned in most Muslim countries and many gay people are killed in the middle east for homosexuality. The guy told me that it was a sign of friendship and unity with one´s brothers/friends. He laughed at my comment and then proceeded to ask questions about cross dressers, gay people, etc. He had very false perceptions about what they each meant. It was so funny to see him. He had on these white little glasses and had a permanent smile plastered on his face. Of course I was curious as a gay man what the stance on homosexuality was there in Morocco....he told me that if a man was known to be gay by another group of men on the streets, I wouldn´t want to know what would happen.....it was the first time in my life that the reality of the violence towards gay people of that type (beatings, attacks) truly did exist. I always knew things happened, but there I was in the middle of a Muslim city, everyone speaking Arabic, and here I was, an extremely white, gay, American. haha. I do have to say though I have been mistaken for a Spaniard actually quite a few times! I like to think that my spanish has improved that much and that Im just as tan....Anyways, I shouldn´t create those sterotypes, but for a second I had a moment of hesitation after the guy told me what would happen. If that wasn´t enough, now that we had become amigos, he proceeded to link arms with me as a sign of our new friendship. wow, comfort zone was crossed. He tried to hold my hand but I wasn´t having it! Not on the first night!!! haha. It took a few minutes to get used to it but i was fine shorty after.

We said "choukran" to our new Moroccan friends and exchanged facebook URLs. We got on the bus and headed to the hotel for a huge dinner of bread, soup, bread, traditional meatballs, bread, pasta, bread, and we finished with flan. Oh did i mention we ate alot of bread? It seems like that´s all we do here. Eat carbs and drink beer. Wow, my Guess jeans totally don´t fit as well anymore! Chris and I headed back to our room to catch a couple episodes of friends and a little bit of Letterman before bed. As soon as the lights were off I was out cold. Nothing like a nice hotel bed. But seriously, the bed was amazing!!! The best sleep I´ve had in weeks!

We headed to Tangier the next day which was very cool! We stopped at Las Cuevas de Hercules (Caves of Hercules) and looked out over the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans! wow, the view was so breathtaking. We bought some trinkets and what not and headed up the mountain where we road camels and bartered with vendors. It was all great and fine until I got off the camel, which by the way was so fun! I´ve had a cough for over a month now and of course I start hacking up a lung as soon as a jump off the camel. Well one of the vendors keeps on pestering me to buy his 2 euro bracelets that cost like one centimo to make while im coughing my life away. Then he proceeds to take the fez off his head and put it on mine!!! I don´t know where that thing had been! he´s a camel hearder!!! I swore i had lice for like a day, but there I went with my stereotyping again. I managed to shoo him away and get my breath back in just in time to jump on the bus, just narrowly escaping the gypsies and the moroccan tshirts they were trying to sell us. We made our way down the hill and headed back towards the city center of Tangier. We got off the bus and had free time for shopping in the Medina. Tangier is a little bigger than Tetuán however....5 million people live in downtown alone! Of course we got the normal stares we had all grown accustomed to by now. The only thing we were advised about was to not eat anything from the streets. We agreed and went in search for bargains using our Dirhams (Moroccan currency). Wow, every head popped out of every stall to watch as we went by. They knew we had money and they were itching to make some deals! They could smell the 200 Dirham in my pocket, which is only 20 Euro. As my bartering skills are awful and I get frustrated so easily by how "in your face" they are, i ended up not buying anything that night. I met a group of kids from Canada who were studying in Amerstdam in one of the shops though. They were super nice and the guy was gay for sure! and cute! haha We chatted for a while and then we said our goodbyes as we headed back to our meeting point to go back to our hotel in Tetuán. We ended up seeing the Canadians about 6 times in the market. I kept getting suggestive glances from the guy. haha. Nothing wrong with a little flirtation I suppose.

We got back to our meeting point and met Michael Douglas. As we waited for the others to arrive, me and a few others went and bought some candy at a nearby store. Thankfully they all know spanish for the most part in northern morocco so we were able to pick out some sour licorice ropes. Of course the vendor just uses his hands and picks them out...no gloves, no tongs. When in Morocco I guess....haha. Everyone had finally arrived but of course I had to pee as my bladder has shrunk I swear. I told my professors and the guides i was going to quickly use the restroom inside the nearby teahouse and to wait for me. Of course the owner made me buy a coke to use the bathroom. I came back outside only to find my whole group gone!!!! It was dark, everyone was shouting in Arabic, there was arab music playing, and the market I was just shopping in and having fun turned into a prison! I was lost, in downtown Tangier. None of my friends, professors and guides could be seen anywhere!!! I forgot to mention that the medina is located on a hill so all the streets and alleys are slanted. I ran back up the hill from which we came to the center, dark eyes were watching me from every direction. I didn´t have a cell phone, I didn´t have a phone number, I had no credit cards, debit cards, and stupidly no I.D.! What would I do? All I had in my pocket was 200 Dirhams! I looked and found no one where we were dropped off earlier! What a nightmare. I decided the best thing to do was run back to where our meeting point had been and just wait. I was borderline freaking out! Thankfully I ran into who else but the Canadians and the cute guy! haha. I told them my predicament and they nicely agreed to walk back and wait with me! Thank God one of the tour guides was there when I returned!!! I thanked them for waiting and I breathed a hard sigh of relief! I really wish I had quickly exchanged names with the students whom now Ill never see again....It´s so funny to think that I will remember them forever, yet I don´t know their names, where they live, nothing. All I´ll remember is that seeing a familiar face calmed me down. I had met them an hour earlier, but running into them in the crowd by chance and knowing they spoke english and that we had met before calmed me down more than you could possibly know! Funny how you have those run-ins with people in life.

Me and the tour guide returned back to the bus, of course I was greeted by a busfull of laughing students who to make things even better had to start a slow clap as I entered the bus....thanks guys, thanks. My hands were still quivering from my inner panic. I wasn´t panicking on the outside, but inside I was crying I swear! haha We slept on our way back to the hotel as it was a two hour bus ride. We had dinner and got to know our professors even more. Oscar whom I´ve despised since the first month I was here really opened up and we got to know him so well. He has a kid, he was a painter (art) in london for five years, he´s married....all things that he had never divulged to us during the last 2 1/2 months. It was so fun cuz he totally was like " screw spanish, this isn´t class" and so he spoke to us in English that night. We hit our hotel rooms, Chris and I watched a little bit of Bill Cosby on David Letterman and went to bed. Tomorrow we were off to Chefchauen, a smaller town in the mountains which is famously known for it´s breathtaking views, traditional life, and of course because the whole town is painted blue! Like, sky blue! Wow, we were so excited, what a unique place!

We awoke the next morning and watched a little bit of Jeopardy and the Wheel! It´s so funny for some reason with Arabic subtitles on the bottom. Who knew people in Morocco were familiar with Alex Trebec and Vanna White. ¿Extraño no? Bueno, un poco. We headed for Chefchauen after a breakfast of crepes and pancakes, coffee and traditional moroccan green tea. The guy at the buffet was so nice! He was so excited to ask about where I was from and what I was studying. Super nice guy! We hit the road for blue city and arrived an hour and a half or so later. The pictures sure don´t lie about this place. Everything was so blue! we learned that it´s good because it keeps the homes cool, but apparently it´s supposed to keep the mosquitos away as well....who knew. I guess that´s why they paint their homes five times a year.

We had said goodbye to Michael Douglas (Abduhl) the night before. He was a nice guy but im pretty sure he made at least a couple of us nervous. He had been making jokes about my friend mary being his fourth wife all weekend and seemed to be drawn to her. Idk, kinda weird. He admitted to us before he left that he in fact did not already have three wives. Our new guide was this tall gangly moroccan man who in all honesty scared me. He kept grabbing my arm and peering into my eyes...idk, he definitely reached creeper territory! haha He led us through chefchaun and we did a little bartering and had lunch overlooking the mountains. what a breathtaking view. we had moroccan beers and pot roast. It was so great. We were finally setting our sites on home as the afternoon came to a close. We had a 5 hour trip ahead of us and we´d already had quite a long weekend. The trip home mirrors the one i told you about earlier. We finally reached Sevilla at 11.30, two hours late after we hit road work on the autopista. Of course once i finally got home Emilio fed me a shit-ton of veggies and fish. I wasn´t about to complain or protest though considering the places I had just left. I just ate and told Emilio of our adventures. Surprisingly he has lived in Spain all his life and he´s never visited morocco. He´s never even seen some of the cities I have in Spain. Spaniards are so set on their lives that they hardly ever leave their home. Huh, kind of surreal to think Ive traveled to all the places I have so far and I´m only 19....

School is going well. I got my midterms back in my other classes and I ended up with an A and two B+. Maybe im getting this spanish business down....Tomorrow we are heading to Granada early in the morning. Im very excited because we´re finally going to see the Alhambra and it´s been named as one of the top places to visit in the world. We´ll be there just overnight and then back to class on Monday. Speaking of classes, I registered this evening for my winter classes. That tells me how close I am to being done with my adventure in Spain. I come home in exactly 30 days. Im getting very excited, but at the same time I´m feeling this total pressure to squeeze in all i can during my remaining time in Sevilla. Granada this weekend, Ireland the next, and after that Amsterdam and Belgium. I know the next four weeks will fly. Well this is probably the longest email you´ve received well...since my last disgustingly long email! haha. Hope everyone had a great week and enjoy your weekends! I sure am jealous that you all will be having turkey and green bean caserol next week! man oh man my mom better just make a fo thanksgiving dinner for me when i come home! I better get going. I need to pack still and we´re leaving bright and early! I really hope we avoid traffic, but we´ll probably be right in the middle of it. haha. Bueno, me voy y gracias para todo que lo haya leído el mensaje! Espero que todo os pase bien! Adiós y hasta! Lance
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1226444880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1226444880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1226444880/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:10:13 -0500 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

So I got two of my midterms back this week and I actually did fairly well considering I was practically on my deathbed that day! Anyways, I ended up getting an 8.5 on my history and culture of Spain midterm and an 8.8 on my Grammar and Composition midterm! That´s right at an A- for those two classes. I know, the grading is kinda weird...I can´t believe I had three midterms in one day! I was about to pass out from how tired and sick I was that day, from the midterms but also from all the meds I was jacked up on!

I find out how I did on my Spanish Film midterm and Language and Composition midterm next week! That means only a little essay this weekend and the rest is homework free!!!! yay yay yay! We are headed to Morocco tomorrow morning so it will be nice to not have to worry about writing a paper or something. I am completely stoaked beyond belief! I can´t believe this will be my third continent! sounds kinda weird! Anyways Im so excited for the flee markets, camels and of course the Kebaps! yeah! But not for the 5 hours of travel including customs! ick! but it should be fine. At the same time I´m kinda nervous cuz it can be a little dangerous in parts of Morocco, but there will be two professors with us the whole time so im not expecting too much trouble. Im so excited to be staying in a hotel! I like my host dad, but Im feeling like I need a little space, ya know, a little Lance time. haha.

I´m really hoping there is carpet in the hotel! That´s sounds a little crazy, but none of the homes in Spain have carpet! My room has tiled flooring and there isn´t any heating in spanish homes! I swear the cold gets into your bones here. So, im crossing my fingers for some crazy shag carpet or something that I can walk on bearfoot! Im pretty sick of getting out of the shower and feeling like a leg is going to fall off from the cold. That and it will be nice to not be eating olive oil for the weekend. Everything has olive oil on it here. I mean, i love the food, but i swear i just feel nauseous every time i eat now cuz my stomach hates me. haha. That or i just have some crazy european virus! I really shouldn´t even go there cuz im such a hypercondriac. But, en serio, Im hoping for like Indian-esque food....I know we´ll be in morocco, but for some reason i have a pre-conceived notion that the food there is like chicken curry or mala kafka...fingers crossed.

I went and got my hair cut this evening! wow, talk about a scary experience. I don´t know why but ive been dreading getting my hair cut here in spain cuz, i don´t know, what if i accidentally told them to cut it all off, like an ugly shaved cat or something.....you´d think that after 7 years of spanish i would be a little more confident in myself to tell them to cut it short but not too short...but no. So I headed down San Jacinto (main street in Triana) and went into Spejos to get my haircut. The guy was super nice, however i didn´t catch his name. Im sure it was Rodrigo, Jóse, Luís, or Rafa, the equivalent to our Michaels, James´, Johns etc. Im pretty sure I´ve only heard like 10 different guy names since I arrived. I guess it makes it easier to remember names. And if i don´t, I can take a guess and usually wind up pretty close. He was way nice to me and told me how great my spanish was and that it was a shame I would only be in Sevilla for another month. They have extreme pride in Spain, especially in Andalucia and Sevilla (aka, southern spain). Mainly considering the history behind the country. History that dates back to II century B.C., or in Spanish (Siglo II A.C.) which was so confusing for me in the beginning, cuz AC means after the death of christ in English, but here it means before the death of christ because the ¨A¨ stands for ¨antes¨ which is before in Spanish. Im pretty sure I got docked a point on that question. haha. It´s been really cool feeling like a true Sevillano and learning about the history involved with the city which was the capital for the Almohades (Muslims) during the XI and XII centuries. Enough of history though, im not writing to bore you too much!

I thanked the guy for the haircut and hit the street, thankfull that I didn´t leave the Peluqueria with a mullet, a fassion trend that completely fascinates me. Every time I see one i just stop and stare in awe, cuz they aren´t just mulletes....they are like UBER Mullets. Everything is short, like really short on top and then there is just this fatty wad of hair in the back! I don´t know how that hairdo has made it to 2008 and to what will soon be 2009. I swear the people here are all ten years behind the show in fashion/trends, or they are extremely well dressed in leather shoes, sweater and collared shirt and kakis for me, and for women, high heals, designer coats and jeans with a pashmina to top it off. Spain is very fashion friendly. We Americans stick out like we´re everybody´s business here when we walk down the street in Abercrombie, jeans, and nikes. It´s not a bad thing, I´m just sick of being stared at cuz im six inches higher than most people on the street. That and I swear those damn Gypsies just hate me! what can one do right?! Adapt.

I hit up the shopping district this morning after class with a couple friends. I was in dire need of clothes!!! First we headed to Lefties* where I found some really cute socks! woo, socks! that really didn´t help me though cuz, what the heck can I do with socks? I needed clothes! We stopped at Sfera, which is kind of a store in between Gap and Banana Republic. I was in ecstacy! Sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts, and dress shirts galore! Before I knew it, i left the store with a t-shirt, 2 sweaters, a hoodie and a dress shirt....the prices were unbeatable though! fyi! Then we stopped at this little more punkie store and i bought a shirt that is so cool! Im not sure if im going to look great when i come back to the states or if im going to look totally weird! haha, the style here is just so different!....i like it though. But there is a huge punk scene here! Either you look like a punk or like you´re going to a yacht party here...ive been trying to pull off both. I like to think thus far ive been successful, but ill let you guys be the judge upon my return. Of course, give me a few weeks cuz i mean, i kinda dont fit in some of my clothes anymore....yeah, think ive been eating a little too much flan and oil? went straight to my ass! haha...but no, seriously!

Im super excited to get back inside US borders! I miss you all so very much! But on the other hand, it´s been great to be able to walk down the street and not run into ten people i know. It´s a bit different here, 1.5 million people. I would kill for a little time away from so many people, but i know it´s really not that hard to escape people here. Go to the river, hit up a cafe, have a tostada and some orange juice in the plaza. Im finding that I´m in love with the big city. I always thought I was meant for the big city, but never have I ever lived in one. It´s great. Get my coffee at the Starbucks on Avenida Constitución, walk to class, enjoy the fountains. I definitely see myself ending up in San Francisco or Seattle now. I wasn´t quite sure before, but I know after college I´ll be in one of those cities. Or who knows, id love to spend some time in NYC. Ive met a few new friends who tell me I´m totally meant for New York. I expressed my doubts.....raised in Sprinfield, did 4-H (pigs), worked at a home improvement store, always lived in a small town, get homesick easil...they assured me I would totally fit right in....who knows, maybe ill give it a chance one of these days....i have been looking at some internships in New York next summer, and I also have a chance to live in Chicago. I think I could do it, i mean, at least they speak English there!

Speaking of Starbucks earlier...I totally miss everyone so much! I knew I loved those people, but it´s just like my family, you don´t realize how much they mean to you until they´re gone...or at least 7,000 miles away! I was saying how I go into the Starbucks on Avenida Constitución. Well it´s the Starbucks in Puerta de Jerez, just a few minutes walk from the Cathedral of Sevilla (Largest Gothic Cathedral in the world), so there are always tourists inside, trying to speak in English and getting angry when the starbucks partners just look at them confused. Hello english speaker, they speak Spanish in Spain! I understand not knowing the language, but don´t get mad or frustrated if they don´t understand you! haha. Ive only seen that a few times, but when I do it kind of pisses me off, for at least like the time im in line or until i have my coffee. JAVA! It´s amazing what coffee does to me these days! Since im not having my usual two or three a day (addict, I know), whenever I stop and get a coffee, about half an hour later ive become jittery and I start talking at an incredible rate! It´s so funny! I literally have to make a mental note sometimes to shut up cuz im freaking people out around me! okay, so it´s not that bad, but there´s definitely a change in the endorphins or something. All the sudden energy just starts rushing to my brain saying "go crazy, scream, shout and (my favorite) exercise you fat American". Then the caffeine high runs out and instead of doing excercise, I find myself eating a glazed doughnut from the pastry shop on the corner...oh well, you only live once right? Ive been learning from spanish culture that´s it´s more important to enjoy those things in life. Enjoy food. Enjoy conversation. Enjoy family. Enjoy friends. Enjoy the weather, whether or not rain (sorry) or shine (yay)! cuz it´s all good. Just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

Wow, so when I write I can wander I´ve found. I started that last paragraph about starbucks, with an intent of telling a story, and I realize that i didn´t say a word about what I was going too....Can you say Scatterbrain!? whatevs. Anyways so the funny story is...I have one of the hardest names for Spaniards to pronounce or understand clearly. Every time i go into an Sbux (we have 5 incredibly), they always ask for my name to put on my cup. Up to this point the spanish is flowing smoothly, we´re having a casual conversation , laughs are exchanged, bla bla, the usual. Then the name....I feel terrible for the partner after the whole ordeal. Wait, what´ your name? They try to sound it out like five times without success. finally I try to spell it for them, however apparently when I say the letters "s" and "c" in spanish, they sound exactly the same so i shouldn´t even bother. Needless to say, my name usually ends up as follows: Lens, Lents, Lence, Lants, and my favorite Langa....how that curious spelling found it´s way to the side of my tall vanilla non-fat latte i will never know. The poor Starbucks partners seem exacerbated over my name and the whole ordeal. I leave a tip as I know it´s polite and of course because Ive had some of the best drinks at some of the Starbucks´ here than i have ever had! Kind of a shocker after my experiences in the London and Paris ones.

My name was finally spelled correctly at the Starbucks on the corner! The same two guys who I always see there were working and I asked about pumpkin spice and mint, which btw, don´t exist here! it was bad news bears when I found out i couldn´t get a peppermint white mocha! we had a conversation and I told them how starbucks was a little piece of home away from home for me. If im having un día triste (a sad day), nothing like a trip to the local BUX to cheer me up. We got to chatting and as I was the only one inside they weren´t in a rush to do anything. The guy at the counter asked me my name, here we go again....however, the week before we had been through this exact situation, same guy, same drink and he remembered me. Im now known as the Lance ( Armstrong ) guy cuz i used him as an example for my name. The guy gave me the employee discount which im not supposed to get outside the states and I headed on my way with a delicious drink in my hand and a couple new amigos. I tipped of course on my way out. Im now a regular at the corner Starbucks on Avenida Constitución! I wouldn´t dare cheat on my starbucks with the one about a hundred yards down the road. haha! Sorry, I know that was like two huge paragraphs about, what else, the BUX, but they were fun little anecdotes so just deal. Just kidding. haha

I´ll probably shoot ya guys another email here next week about Morocco before I head off to Granada for the weekend. That should be another amazing trip! I´ve heard La Alhambra is priceless! I hope all is well and not too rainy there!!! I checked the forecast for Portland which projected nothing but sunny skies! woo! I hope you all find the weather just as friendly in Eug/Spr. and can welcome blue skies just as our neighbors in the north are. However, it is a valley and you never know what you´re going to get! But just enjoy it!!! Miss you all so much! Wish me luck in Africa!!! Omg, Africa!!! haha. Take care and anticipate another email! Lance
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1224281160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1224281160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1224281160/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:07:40 -0500 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain and Canary Islands

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know how everything is going. Last weekend me and 7 other students rented a couple cars and took a road trip! ROAD TRIP! haha, i know. We headed for Toledo, about a four hour drive north just south of Madrid. lets just say that taking a drive through spain is beautiful! i couldn´t believe it! that and it´s the first time that ive seen actually greenery for a couple months! We had such a blast! toledo is absolutely gorgeous and it´s situated on a hillside above a river! so cool. the first night we had an amazing dinner at this restaurant called La Abadia. We had a couple of beers at the bar while we waited for a table. they had the most amazing mushroom and olive spread ever! Me and my friend chris shared this quail and mozerella salad that was just amazing and later had some sort of meat...the translation was weird. i know it was beef. let´s just say it was amazing! haha. then we headed out to the bars. We went to this really happening bar that used to actually be a church...weird. lol. All the doorways and the set up were from like the 11th century! the next night we ended up sneaking four people into one hostel room cuz we could only find one room. The other four slept in the apartment of this professor we met the night before. haha. i was so not doing that! creepy. Turns out though he was a great guy and we hung out with him and his friends that night at a really cool discoteque!

We said adiós to toledo, and Bienvenido to Segovia the next day. Wow, breathtaking. I know I say that about everything, but in all honesty, i think segovia is my favorite city in spain. It has the largest aquaduct in Europe! Just saying that does nothing for the immensity of it! It was super cool. That and it´s at a higher location so we got to see the leaves change color and enjoy some fresh air. i needed it after all the city air ive been breathing! it´s not awful, but i swear my breathing is going down hill here. hypercondriack! We checked out the Alcazar, castle, which overlooks the cathedral and the city. it was so cool. Only bad party was the treck to the top that spirals straight up for about 400 steps and is about 2 and half feet wide. Keep in mind there is only one way for getting up and down! haha. We said goodbye to segovia to hit Salamanca, a well know party city as it´s host to the one of the oldest universities in Europe. Don´t worry, we didn´t get much partying in....we got to our hotel at about 10pm only to find they never got our reservation....well, come to find out it there was this fair happening in Salamanca that weekend that is basically the Oktoberfest of Spain! no hotels! We luckily found one room in the hostel that looked like something out of the Saw series.....seriously, i was a little scared for my life! but it was a room and i was wearing shorts in like 40 degree weather. haha. We grabbed a cup of coffee and a beer and had some dinner....lets say sketch balls! im pretty sure we we´re eating raw pork on a stick! that and we we´re eating mayonaise with potatoes on the side....eww. The next morning we saw the cathedral and the univeristy, had a quick lunch and hit the road back to sevilla! We didn´t even get to go to Lacoste! sad day! haha. Let´s just say a long weekend, but well worth it!

Last night was Halloween! not alot of people celebrate it here though....im no exception. I was supposed to be in Madrid for the holiday; however, Ive been laying in bed since Thursday. I had the flu and im still feeling awful. My entire body aches! aghh. ive been to the doctor four times since ive been here! my body hates spain and vice versa. Im feeling better tonight but my throat is seriously twice the normale size! ick. That and i have three midterms on wednesday and a 15 minute presentation on thursday! all in spanish! i have no clue how ill get it all done cuz i just feel awful! im trying to make the best of it though. Thanksgiving im hoping will be a little better. I booked a flight with a couple of friends to see Ireland! yayay. im so excited! But still sick. haha. I would do anything for a hug from my mom right now!

It´s so funny! I can remember how much i wanted to get out of eugene/springfield. granted it´s only been a little over two months, but im already learning so much about who i am and what i want in life. Yes i want to travel, but there´s nothing like home! I find myself seeing pictures of friends on facebook at parties or enjoying the fall weather. not to mention some crazy halloween pics. and i wish i was there....weird i know cuz i mean, hello, im in spain. but still a little piece inside of me just wishes i could be there! Ive been really homesick for the past week....probably cuz of my increasingly horrible state of health. I called my mom three times this week! i swear she´s annoyed. haha. and guess what...im going to call her tomorrow too. lol. Im supposed to stay in Europe and be in Germany for Christmas and New Years, but im looking into getting a flight home for Christmas. I would love to spend it with my family. I always found myself pushing them away, but now i can´t stop thinking about them....it´s weird what 7000 miles of space and being on your own can do to ya...

Anyways, i should probably get to bed. it´s just after midnight and i should get some sleep. I know i have tons of stuff to do tomorrow. Miss you all tons and hope everything is going well!

P.S, sorry if there are any weird spellings. I swear like it´s kind of difficult to write in english sometimes cuz im constantly thinking and speaking in spanish. aghh.

Best Wishes,
Lance
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Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands




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Hey everyone, hope all is well back in the EUG and the tucky. Everything is going well here in Sevilla. Tan as ever. I finished my first week of school ,that was actually at the university, today. It´s really an impressive place. It used to be a tabacco factory that produced 3/4s of the cigars in Europe. huh. anyways... I got a B+ in my intensive grammar and composition course...i would have liked to have done better, but it´s really tough. Just thought i should let you know i got a good grade and that im doing more than just festejando (partying). Emilio is feeding me as well as ever. I told him i was sick the other night so that he wouldn´t make me more food. haha I can´t believe it´s already October! I´m planning a trip to Prague or the Canary Islands the week of Halloween and I am so excited! That and we already have a trip planned for 5 days in amsterdam and brussels in December.

This is really an interesting city. One of the oldest cities in the world apparently. The Phoenicians, Greeks, and the Romans all claimed the area at one point or another and there are ruins here that date back to the first and second century! Ive been learning a ton about Andalucia (southern spain) in my Cultura y Civilización Española class. That and my professor, Angel, is old friends with Emilio when they taught art history together at La Universidad de Sevilla. He´s so genuine and friendly. My other class at the University is Cine Español Contemporáneo. All we do is watch Spanish movies! haha. It´s so much fun and the professor is great as well!

Tomorrow me and a few friends are going on a tour of the Cruzcampo beer factory. I had no clue sevilla was famous for Cruzampo! The school is practically making us go on a tour where we get samples of beer....haha, funny thing is, it starts at like 10 in the morning. everyone drinks beer with brunch here. haha. It´s so weird how open and different the culture is here....walk up to like a newspaper stand and literally there is just porn like everywhere...wtf. haha Anyways, that is happening tomorrow and then on saturday, we are headed to Tarifa, a beach in Cádiz. Im so excited to lay on the beach and swim in the mediterranean/gibraltar! Next week we are headed for beach weekend in Lagos, Portugal and hopefully up to Lisbon one of these days.

Well I finally have my pictures uploaded! Just about 800 of them from everywhere ive been so far. I attached a few of them. I hope everyone is doing well! Vale, nos vamos a montar bici...(okay, we are going to go ride bikes....) Talk to you later! Lancé
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1222812060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1222812060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1222812060/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:30 -0500 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

¡Hola a Vds. desde Sevilla!

Hey everyone, i thought i would shoot you all a quick email to let you know that im alive and i made it through London, paris and madrid okay. I´ve already been having so much fun. I met a million people from all over the world while staying in the hostels. I think ive already grown so much from just being on my own traveling...probably one of the best decisions of my life! That and ive had quite a few fun nights! haha, how could i not when there are pubs on every corner, discoetecas with rooftop bars and techno dance floors, and the most amazing food ever!!! that and they do pub crawls every night! haha

I took the train from Madrid and got into Sevilla on the 11th. I guess ive only been in sevilla for 10 days, but it already seem so much longer because we have been so busy already! The night we got here we all met and had the most incredible dinner ever! that night we took a carriage ride through the city and got to see a lot of sevilla by night! absolutely beautiful, i can´t believe i live here!

We moved into our homestays last saturday. I thought i was going to be living with a young couple or a family, but im actually living with this guy named Emilio and his 22 year-old cousin Luis. It was kind of akward at first but now it´s getting better. He is the most amazing cook ever! we had Tortilla de España the first night with Pimientos verdes ni también rojos. so good! since ive moved in we´ve eaten this pumpkin, zucchini and cheese soup with fried cod. last night we had calamari and gazpacho with íberico ham. another day we had garlic chicken with pimientos and baguette with brie. I swear, i don´t remember all the foods, but he feeds me so freaking much! the other day, with the garlic chicken, well he doesn´t eat chicken, but he made me 7 breasts of chicken!!!! that doesn´t even include like the pepper dish and pasta dish that went with it! one night i had like 6 fillets of fish! i mean come on, do i look like i eat that much? finally i told him i couldn´t eat all this food and he told me that he just figured with what he heard about americans that we eat like a shit ton! haha. i told Emilio it was a myth, for the most part. lolz. he´s actually a really cool guy. he works for a classical music producer in the city. that and the apartment is amazing!!!

I´m living in Triana just over El Puente Isabelle ii (bridge). I can see the Guadalquivere River from my window and Calle Betis, the party street along the river, is like a 20 second walk from the door of our building! It´s amazing here in sevilla. it has been an adjustment though...

Ive been feeling kind of sick ever since i left madrid. The food here is amazing, but im just not so used to all the oil and heaviness of the food. I can´t complain though, i mean, seafood paella, calamary, gazpacho, and íberico ham and cheese on a regular basis, not too bad. haha. that and the tapas dishes are amazing, especially with a sangria or tinto de verano (Orange Fanta and red wine). and i can´t forget dessert at the heladerias! the best ice cream ever! i have eaten ice cream like 8 out of the ten days ive been here! ¡Estoy engordando! aka, Im getting fat! lolz good thing i walk everywhere and it´s so sunny that everyone like sweats it all off!

The other day we went to Italica, roman ruins just outside of Sevilla where Caesar himself lived for a while. I think they said they were the 2nd oldest roman ruins remaining....but at the same time everything we do or say or hear is in spanish...lol we got to see the collisseum where gladiators fought lions and what not and explored the ruins. Just yesterday we went to Córdoba, a city just north by two hours and got to see the Mezquita, a church in the center of the city. a cool city with a lot of muslim, jewish and christian influence and then we finished the day off at a vinyard and wine producer with sherry and wine tastings! it´s the largerst producer of sherry and wine in Spain. im not going to lie, most of us were near shit-faced by the time it was over. It´s exhausting to do all this especially when the bus breaks down on the highway in 90 degree weather and like 6 cops stop to interrogate us....haha. but it makes for a great story!

School is going great so far i guess. My professor´s name is Oscar. He seems pretty cool and the building is great. It´s all arab architecture and there are fountains and tile and palm trees...it´s beautiful. I´ve only been in class for a week but it´s a 3 hour a day advance intensive grammer and comprehension class. does that sound impressive...? haha. it´s so crazy. we have already had our midterm even! it´s going well, but it´s hard because i they told me that like everything i learned in high school and even college spanish was more or less different or wrong...all the words are different here and they even change the verbs or use tenses differently here....it´s been frustrating to say the least but i think im getting a hand of it. it´s also hard because I guess that the Sevillano accent is supposed to be the most difficult spanish accent in the world. they cut all their words short so it´s hard at times to understand what´s being said. Instead of saying ¨todo¨, they just stop at ¨to¨. and instead of using ¨para¨they just say ¨pa¨. it´s hard but i actually think im improving. that and words like juice and stuff are different. Instead of "jugo" it´s "zumo", idk yo.

I think one of the most intense experiences here in sevilla so far was the bull fight we went to the other night...wow, i understand that it´s like a drama between the bulls and the matadors and what not, but it was seriously like the saddest thing ever! we watched them kill six bulls that night! it was cool to see because hey, im in spain and you have to see a bull fight when in spain, but i would never go back again! the bulls had no chance and it was just really sad. :( i think i´ll like the fútbol game against Bétis better tonight.

Sorry to be throwing this all at you guys at once, but it´s hard to find time honestly to type. We always have some excursion or project or were going to tapas and discotecas so i am just now finding time to write. I have been drunk more in the past two weeks than i have in my entire life....that makes me sounds bad, but im pretty sure like every spaniard is an alcoholic, but i don´t think that word exists here...haha. the other night i went to this bohemian spanish music concert in the Alameda (a district in sevilla) with a bunch of friends. so much fun! we had already been to a couple bars and later a discoteca. I love going out with everyone. ive made so many great friends. the discoteca was fun. there were fish in the hanging lights and techno music with neon lights flashing everywhere. lets just say i had one sangria, two tinto de veranos, two beers, a whiskey-honey shot, a tequila shot with a few aussies and a gin and tonic. the next morning i was sporting a hangover and the most massive hickey ever when we left for Córdoba. I wont even get into the nipple piercings....haha. wow spain is crazy! It´s a good thing that we have siesta every day or i think i would be freaking dead!

One last thing before i wrap it up. the shopping is amazing!!!! i have so many paris of capris pants and 3/4 pants now! not to mention some of the cutest shirts from Bershka and Zara! haha. i´m like an official Sevillano. tan and wearing capris! Loving it! haha. I better get going though. I have an oral presentation tomorrow and im meeting a friend at an internet café for coffee and tapas in an hour! miss you all so much, wish you could be here with me!!! ¡Espero que pueda hablar con Vds. muy temprano y hasta pronto, por supuesto, enero, Vale vds. adios!

*Lance*
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Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

¡Hola a Vds. desde Sevilla!

Hey everyone, i thought i would shoot you all a quick email to let you know that im alive and i made it through London, paris and madrid okay. I´ve already been having so much fun. I met a million people from all over the world while staying in the hostels. I think ive already grown so much from just being on my own traveling...probably one of the best decisions of my life! That and ive had quite a few fun nights! haha, how could i not when there are pubs on every corner, discoetecas with rooftop bars and techno dance floors, and the most amazing food ever!!! that and they do pub crawls every night! haha

I took the train from Madrid and got into Sevilla on the 11th. I guess ive only been in sevilla for 10 days, but it already seem so much longer because we have been so busy already! The night we got here we all met and had the most incredible dinner ever! that night we took a carriage ride through the city and got to see a lot of sevilla by night! absolutely beautiful, i can´t believe i live here!

We moved into our homestays last saturday. I thought i was going to be living with a young couple or a family, but im actually living with this guy named Emilio and his 22 year-old cousin Luis. It was kind of akward at first but now it´s getting better. He is the most amazing cook ever! we had Tortilla de España the first night with Pimientos verdes ni también rojos. so good! since ive moved in we´ve eaten this pumpkin, zucchini and cheese soup with fried cod. last night we had calamari and gazpacho with íberico ham. another day we had garlic chicken with pimientos and baguette with brie. I swear, i don´t remember all the foods, but he feeds me so freaking much! the other day, with the garlic chicken, well he doesn´t eat chicken, but he made me 7 breasts of chicken!!!! that doesn´t even include like the pepper dish and pasta dish that went with it! one night i had like 6 fillets of fish! i mean come on, do i look like i eat that much? finally i told him i couldn´t eat all this food and he told me that he just figured with what he heard about americans that we eat like a shit ton! haha. i told Emilio it was a myth, for the most part. lolz. he´s actually a really cool guy. he works for a classical music producer in the city. that and the apartment is amazing!!!

I´m living in Triana just over El Puente Isabelle ii (bridge). I can see the Guadalquivere River from my window and Calle Betis, the party street along the river, is like a 20 second walk from the door of our building! It´s amazing here in sevilla. it has been an adjustment though...

Ive been feeling kind of sick ever since i left madrid. The food here is amazing, but im just not so used to all the oil and heaviness of the food. I can´t complain though, i mean, seafood paella, calamary, gazpacho, and íberico ham and cheese on a regular basis, not too bad. haha. that and the tapas dishes are amazing, especially with a sangria or tinto de verano (Orange Fanta and red wine). and i can´t forget dessert at the heladerias! the best ice cream ever! i have eaten ice cream like 8 out of the ten days ive been here! ¡Estoy engordando! aka, Im getting fat! lolz good thing i walk everywhere and it´s so sunny that everyone like sweats it all off!

The other day we went to Italica, roman ruins just outside of Sevilla where Caesar himself lived for a while. I think they said they were the 2nd oldest roman ruins remaining....but at the same time everything we do or say or hear is in spanish...lol we got to see the collisseum where gladiators fought lions and what not and explored the ruins. Just yesterday we went to Córdoba, a city just north by two hours and got to see the Mezquita, a church in the center of the city. a cool city with a lot of muslim, jewish and christian influence and then we finished the day off at a vinyard and wine producer with sherry and wine tastings! it´s the largerst producer of sherry and wine in Spain. im not going to lie, most of us were near shit-faced by the time it was over. It´s exhausting to do all this especially when the bus breaks down on the highway in 90 degree weather and like 6 cops stop to interrogate us....haha. but it makes for a great story!

School is going great so far i guess. My professor´s name is Oscar. He seems pretty cool and the building is great. It´s all arab architecture and there are fountains and tile and palm trees...it´s beautiful. I´ve only been in class for a week but it´s a 3 hour a day advance intensive grammer and comprehension class. does that sound impressive...? haha. it´s so crazy. we have already had our midterm even! it´s going well, but it´s hard because i they told me that like everything i learned in high school and even college spanish was more or less different or wrong...all the words are different here and they even change the verbs or use tenses differently here....it´s been frustrating to say the least but i think im getting a hand of it. it´s also hard because I guess that the Sevillano accent is supposed to be the most difficult spanish accent in the world. they cut all their words short so it´s hard at times to understand what´s being said. Instead of saying ¨todo¨, they just stop at ¨to¨. and instead of using ¨para¨they just say ¨pa¨. it´s hard but i actually think im improving. that and words like juice and stuff are different. Instead of "jugo" it´s "zumo", idk yo.

I think one of the most intense experiences here in sevilla so far was the bull fight we went to the other night...wow, i understand that it´s like a drama between the bulls and the matadors and what not, but it was seriously like the saddest thing ever! we watched them kill six bulls that night! it was cool to see because hey, im in spain and you have to see a bull fight when in spain, but i would never go back again! the bulls had no chance and it was just really sad. :( i think i´ll like the fútbol game against Bétis better tonight.

Sorry to be throwing this all at you guys at once, but it´s hard to find time honestly to type. We always have some excursion or project or were going to tapas and discotecas so i am just now finding time to write. I have been drunk more in the past two weeks than i have in my entire life....that makes me sounds bad, but im pretty sure like every spaniard is an alcoholic, but i don´t think that word exists here...haha. the other night i went to this bohemian spanish music concert in the Alameda (a district in sevilla) with a bunch of friends. so much fun! we had already been to a couple bars and later a discoteca. I love going out with everyone. ive made so many great friends. the discoteca was fun. there were fish in the hanging lights and techno music with neon lights flashing everywhere. lets just say i had one sangria, two tinto de veranos, two beers, a whiskey-honey shot, a tequila shot with a few aussies and a gin and tonic. the next morning i was sporting a hangover and the most massive hickey ever when we left for Córdoba. I wont even get into the nipple piercings....haha. wow spain is crazy! It´s a good thing that we have siesta every day or i think i would be freaking dead!

One last thing before i wrap it up. the shopping is amazing!!!! i have so many paris of capris pants and 3/4 pants now! not to mention some of the cutest shirts from Bershka and Zara! haha. i´m like an official Sevillano. tan and wearing capris! Loving it! haha. I better get going though. I have an oral presentation tomorrow and im meeting a friend at an internet café for coffee and tapas in an hour! miss you all so much, wish you could be here with me!!! ¡Espero que pueda hablar con Vds. muy temprano y hasta pronto, por supuesto, enero, Vale vds. adios!

*Lance*
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Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands

Okay so the next day i was off to my next hostel just about a block away or so. omg, so amazing! the beds have down comforters and the bathrooms are so clean. I´ve been all around madrid by now and seen the sites. plaza mayor, atoch t.s., the egyptian portals in old madrid, the parque de retiro in borbon! omg, so many sites. El parque retiro is so beautiful!!! i couldn´t believe it. there werer little blue row boats and huge fountains and this crazy big lake in downtown madrid! i went shopping in plaza sol and then hit plaza de cibeles. of course i went walking around town with the irish cuz they were just absolutely so much fun! we hit el museo prado and just saw the sites and then stopped at a restaurant named Ganga! it was my first time for indian food and i had chicken curry and garlic nan. I think im in love with indian food. i can see myself eating more of it in the future! sad day that they were headed back to ireland that night...

well i met lyndsey that night for tapas and sangria at a little restuarant outside of plaza mayor. we had grilled melon with goat cheese, grilled cuddlefish with a lemon zest, and then finished it with traditioanl spanish meatballs. omg, madrid is so beautiful at night! the fish bowl sized sangria helped a little too! haha.

i met alot of cool guys at my new hostel and we´ve been hanging out for the past few days. turns out ive been in madrid for six nights rather than the expected fou! it´s so amazing. i could actually see myself living here.....one day i think i will, seriously. out of the big cities that ive seen, it is just absolutely so clean, the subway is amazing, the people are relaxed, the food is just to die for, and the night life is so fun! i can´t forget to mention either, the fact that siesta is like the most genious thing ive ever experienced! there are a few dodgy people around at night, but other than that it is just so relaxed and amazing.

ive met a guy from germany, one from san diego, istanbul, cincinatti/scotland, a guy from newcastle in australia...ive met an unreal amount of people and ive had so much fun. i don´t know why i was ever so nervous to travel alone.

I think ive had more food and alcohol though in the past six and a half days than in my entire life. we´ve been eating so much calamary, praws, jamon iberico, baguettes, brie....the list goes on. the paella de mariscos was just phenomenal and and i can´t forget to mention the turkish kebaps in the back alleys! omg, a little sketch for a minute, but they are just so good! i feel like im having so many cultural experiences that it´s hard to comprehend. ive experienced so much in like two weeks compared to home. you know, just seeing stuff i would have never seen before and meeting so many interesting and great people that i would never have met had i not taken this trip.

We partied every night that ive been here and yeah, so fun, but nothing compares to last night! granted last night i drank a whole bottle of red wine to myself, but last night we hit the sangria and the 40s of beer before we went out and hit a pub, then we were off to a pub crawl! it´s so much fun if you ever get the chance. we met in plaza sol and were in four 4 bars with free shots at each and a salsa club afterwards. um i can´t go into all the details to tell you the truth...lets just say i lost a little bit of my innocence at the second bar....omg 11 beers, 4 shots and a makeout session later and i stumbled back to the hostel. haha. im a good kid i swear! i even felt a little guilty this morning....i just don´t do things like that and it totally had me questioning things. it was a fun night though and i have a good story, more to it than im willing to reveal to everyone though. haha.

We hit the 100 ceveceria today for tapas and beers for lunch and just enjoyed to beautiful weather! omg, sunny and 82 degrees, not bad for me considering the weather at home. haha. next off we walked to atocha train station. jeremy bought his ticket to san sebastian for tomorrow and i bought mine for sevilla. i leave tomorrow morning at 11am. finally ill be in sevilla. i have orientation tomorrow and im so excited to finaly be getting started and meeting everyone. i know it has only been two weeks since i left the states, but traveling is just so exhausting! ive flown a total of like 23 hours, been in 6 airports, 4 trainstations, climbed numerous flights of stairs with a huge duffel bag, drank countless beers and sangrias, made numerous friends and met unreal people, seen cities in 3 countries, and walked over 50 miles i guaruntee! it has been fun, but it´s time to actually settle down in sevilla for the next four months!

I am just so excited to meet my host parents and see where ill be living. i keep hearing just the best things about sevilla and now im finally going. it´ll be good to cuz i swear my bank account is just drying up from all this traveling. haha. but not really. anyways, it´s time for a siesta and for my last night in madrid i think were hitting tapas bars, then a pub, and from there we´ll see where the night leads us! haha. I miss you guys alot and i really hope everything is going well at home! im not going to lie, im sad to not be going to the u of o in like two weeks with everyone and it´s sad that i won´t see you guys to january...but im becoming a little more tough by being alone. it´s sad to not see everyone, but i keep telling myself it´s a good thing! ¡miss you guys mucho! ¡Mañana, Sevilla!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220718600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220718600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220718600/tpod.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:50:32 -0400 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Madrid, Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands

Okay guys, so i got to madrid a day early because paris was awful...haha. but it´s all good. I can´t believe how much fun i am having here! It is absolutely gorgeous!

So i checked into a different hostel than the one that i was originally scheduled for and met like the most fun people ever. Ill put a picture up soon of the hostel, but it was so cool because there was like a little courtyard in the middle of it and if you look up, there are like balconies and terraces where all the rooms were and all you can see is the sky if you look straight up.

So i just arrived and didn´t know anyone so i went to the roof and met some aussies, austrians, french and belgiums. there were like 12 of us just passing the bottle of wine and talking about our travels. it was just crazy cuz we were on a rooftop overlooking madrid as the sun was going down. it was totally beautiful. they were okay and all, but i just couldn´t stand one of the frenchman so i had to get out of there. TOTAL BITCH. haha. so i just headed to my room to meet the roomies.

Omg, Lyndsey, Eoghian, and Sibohan are so much fun! A mixture of americans and the irish, always a good combo, fo sho! so we hit the vodka and coke that night in our room and just talked, you know, hung out and got to know eachother a little better. from there we were off to the common-room for a few beers and a cigarette....yeah, sorry to tell you all, but since i got to europe i have started smoking....oops, my bad, i think its just because everyone else is and it´s just like this total social habit. that and if you are totally fucking lost in a huge city with a ginormous suitcase to pack around, a cigarette gives you a minute to sit down, rest, and not look like a complete tourist.

So by now we´ve had a couple beers and the vodka cokes and so we hit this way fun club at like midnight in downtown madrid. omg, so much fun. so much techno music, neon lights and dancing! i had a blast. we also met up with a girl named angela before leaving who´s from toronto and this guy julien from paris. he´s legit though, not like the other bitchy guy. that and there were a couple brits with us too. to the point, i had a couple vodka whites and drinks off Eoghian´s rum and coke and just danced to techno all night! what a blast. we got back to the hostel at about 5am after stumbling through the streets of madrid and eventually made it to bed around 6am. omg, rough night, but oh so fun! miss you all!!!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220540760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220540760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heisler7/1/1220540760/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:47:22 -0400 Sevilla and life in Europe

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Paris, Île-de-France, France

Okay, so i know that i haven´t been blogging as much as i said that i would. It´s really just been because it is so expensive to get online in Paris. My hostel is charging 5 euros an hour! i mean, come on, that is just rediculous.

So John Simon, a guy i met in london, and i left for Paris the other day. Omg, talk about the quickest train ride that i have ever been on! We were in Paris and I didn´t even know that we had made it across the English Channel and into France yet! haha. Well I was glad that I had john with me, because the gare du nord in paris is just a freaking intense train station! There were people everywhere, and they were all speaking in French, German and Italian! I wasn´t hearing english or spanish, which just made things so scary. but john knows french as he lives in quebec so it was a little easier. Another crazy thing is that I expected to see signs in other languages, i.e., english....no, none! it was all strictly french.

I´ve decided that after being in london, im not a fan of paris...sorry to say it to all those in love with paris, but i just thought it was completely grafitti ridden and dirty! that doesn´t mean that it´s all bad though. Omg, the food is just phenomonal. As soon as john and i got on a bus from the trainstation, we snuck a quick look at the eiffel tower and headed for food! I was just absolutely starving because it was so expensive to eat in london, that lets just face it, i pretty much lost weight i think. haha. no worries though cuz i ate a lot more while in paris to make up for it. We saw the tour eiffel and next headed to a crepe shop a few blocks away and I had the most amazing dinner ever! It was made with a white cream sauce, not alfredo though, it was more sweat than that, and it had clear asparagus ( i know, weird, but excellent) and a layer of jam in it, followd by more of the white sauce and topped with cheese. omg, freaking ta die for! that and the lady that own the shop was just amazing and so i took a picture with her! so cute. Ill be posting pictures here soon btw, in case you were wonder.

Anyways so it was time to get to my hostel, cuz it was getting dark and, im not going to like, being a white, gay, skinny guys in the dark alleys in Paris kind of petrified me! haha. i was sure that i was going to get jumped in a back alley or something! Of course i thought it was ghetto, but i mean it´s a big city. I think parts of eugene are ghetto, so obviously i was going to be scared while in paris. I realize how naive and misinformed about the world I´ve been. the past week or so has just been a totall eye-opener for me.

Well back to the hostel. It was absolutely amazing! i had a single room with the best rooftop view of paris! you could see so many beautiful buildings! well, john left the next day so i was once again flying solo. it has actually been a good thing. Scary at times, but good. i think im learning alot about who i am and realizing that i can be independent and fine. I mean, i made it through london, paris, and now madrid completely alone. well not completely. ive met some of the greatest people ever who i would never have met had i not come to europe.

I decided that since i was just kind of out alone, i might as well just go see the sights! I saw the arc de triomphe, the eiffel tower numerous times, the royal palace, the moulin rouge, and la defense. monmarte was also just absolutely amazing! it was so fun to see all these places that you usually see on tv or in textbooks. I mean, who actually goes to these places. me now! yay. haha.

I think my most intense experience in paris was when i went to the moulin rouge! um, the amount of sex shops and places to buy lingerie is just incredible! leather underwear, whips, chains, porn, dolls....omg, you name it and they have it! that and there were so many live shows in the middle of the day! i mean, who is actually watching these? lol. I went into a couple of the shops, just to say i went in...mistake, but a good story. i swear you can catch a disease by just going into those stores! i didn´t want to touch anything. lol. that and after i left a shop, this lady from like a whore house or something, started yelling at me in french about her girls or something rather...long story short, she chased me down the street, literally running, and yelling at me until i got away...haha, oh female pimps and their whores!

So by now, ive decided paris is just not the place for me. I couldn´t believe all the trash and grafitti! i was just expecting cafes and quainte little foods, like all those baby quiches i ate, but no, it was filthy! it was so sad to see all these beautiful statues and sculptures just covered in spray paint and drawings and what not! but it was still cool. i saw so many great things! um the louvre, so cool. i couldn´t believe the size of it. I was there for like four hours and i swear i saw like nothing...haha. i did see the mona lisa and the statue of venus. both were so amazing. that and the egyptian artifacts and all the roman sculptures were just breathtaking!

The whole time in paris i pretty much just went sight seeing. there is just so much to see that you can´t do everything. that and it wasn´t fun to be out alone considering the asshole french people that i ran into. lolz. seriously, um totally hate their bitch asses! they are so rude and hold their noses so high, i just wanted to shove those cigarettes they were smoking right up there tight asses! haha...but seriously.

anyways, paris was fun, just really tough! i never realized how difficult it would be to not know the language. i was expecting signs in english and for people to know some english, but i didn´t really find any which made it difficult. i even had a breakdown in there one night when i had to call my mom and just talk to her. i kept getting yelled at, i could never find food when i really wanted it, and i swear i lost five years off my life from secondhand cigarette smoke.

so the last night im there, im luck, fuck it! so i took the metro from Glaciere and went to the eiffel tour to see it by night...best decision ever. paris totally redeemed itself, not all the way, but alot! its absolutely breathtaking and the view from the top is just incredible!

i think paris would have been better for me if i could have met more people. most the people there were like 16 and on group tours, so it wasn´t easy to meet anyone.

So going back a little, the day before im supposed to leave on an overnight train from paris to madrid, i find out that they wont sell me a ticket because i had to buy it like three days ahead of time....i freaked! aghh, all alone, i don´t know the language, how will i get to madrid? thankfully i bought a flight to madrid scheduled for the next day on some random airline called Vueling...i guess they do flights strictly to Spain from other countries. The plane was totally decked out in like MTV logos and they kep playing,....these boots going to keep walking, and that´s just what they´ll do....haha. i was sure i wasn´t going to make it to spain. i mean, wtf. i thought we were going to crash or something, it just seemed totally sketch. by now im sure you can see me just freaking out...haha. i couldn´t find a way to spain and i was literally being timed with internet access and i had a reservation to make....haha. then the sketchball plane. paris was interesting to say the least in a good way and a bad way.

I think my best memory of paris will be the metro ride back from the tour eiffel on my last night. i sat by this couple from mexico and we just started chatting. it was so great because it made me realize how much i love the states. i felt more at home speaking spanish with this couple than ive felt this whole trip! they were so nice and i totally could hold the conversation with them. that and the whole ride i sat next to this shit faced bum...haha. wow, what an i eyeopener this trip is already turning out to be. im sad at times to be alone...but at the same time im learning so much about myself. i can be independent figure things out alone. I mean i navigated the paris and london completely alone, well not completely, considering all the cool people that ive met. but still, i feel like ive just been so naive to the world before this trip. Ive learned to use these huge metro systems and how these huge cities work...well to some extent.

anyways, im writing this blog from madrid...yes, i made it safely thank god. so far i am just loving it and ive already met so many chill people at my hostel, which btw, has hot water! yay. i was out at this club the first night until 6am! omg, so many beers and double vodkas with friends from ireland and a girl from atlanta. i felt so hardcore. that and we just danced and danced and wandered through madrid. so amazing!m well i hope i can start keeping you better updated. i have a few more nights here in madrid and then its off to Sevilla! Hope you are all doing well and i miss you guys! keep facebooking, por favor! hasta luego!
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London, England, United Kingdom

Okay, so I got into London on Thursday after like, the longest day of travel i have ever had!!! I flew from Eugene to Phoenix, Phoenix to Charlotte, and then finally arrived in London! yay, no more crying babies on 7 and a half hour flights!!! I swear the mom must have been pinching that child or something cuz it was just unnatural how much it would cry. haha.

So \i get off of the plane and i go to customs. well shit, i thought that was going to be totally fine cuz i had my school visa and my passport, but the lady totally almost didn't let me into the country. if i hadn't had a flight confirmation letter from germany home in january, i don't think i would have passed customs! i was totally freaking out! im sure you all can imagine that! and of course all the british accents is throwing me off. i swear half the time they are just mumbling to me. \i found out that london is half foreigners, so all the different accents and languages are throwing me off. i keep having certain words come out with an english accent. haha. so not put on! it's actually happening. i think it's probably because i am living with people from all over the world. \i haven't met one american yet. i was kind of shocked to tell you the truth.

There is another story. sorry for all this at once but i have been here for four days so far and i have a lot to tell. So i get on the Gatwich express and then take four different tube stops to get to my hostel which is in piccadilly circus. amazing location!!!! bad hostel!!!! it's great because it's in soho which is like gay central for london! woo, yay for gays right! you know who you are! anyways, im like a 5 minute walk to Trafalgar Square and only like ten minutes walk to big ben, the london eye and all the shopping in the world! it's a good thing this place has a good location, cuz it is disgusting! since i left the states last wednesday, i have only taken one shower! eww, i know right. but if you saw these showers, you would think you would catch something too. lolz. it's just kind of a dirty place. But that is okay, cuz i met some of the greatest people ever here! so many different people with so many different aspects on life.

\i met like 6 aussies, a couple irishmen name \maorc and fiacra, a guy name john who is from quebec, this girl named clemonce from paris, a guy from Zimbabwe named al, a couple of syrians and lebanese, and the three most amazing Swedes ever!!!! haha. \i spend most my time with them. Friderick, Steffani, and Bahkor. they are here for the week to escape stockholm. im like, "escape"? as if! right? lolz. So we went out to this place called Brick \lane last night. it's this back alley in East \london that has a million bars and clubs. there were literally thousands upon thousands of people there. all yelling in different accents and languages. haha. so we had a few beers at a pub down the road before we made our way on the tube to brick lane. we were drinking this Swedish traditional drink called Daugins. it's white wine mixed with sprite. so good. Scheul! or, let's drink in Swedish. something like that. We were drinking on the tube the whole way and finally got to the lane. so many people, pissing on buildings, rolling spliffs and just having an amazing time. So i took in the tradition. i\pissed on a few buildings after all that beer and Daugins. haha. i felt so akward, but that is just what people do in downtown london, well europe i guess. got to go, well take a piss on a building. haha. then me, the swedes, the irishman, and the guy from quebec, proceeded to hope this like ten foot fence into some back alley bar. haha. i had more fun last night than \i ever have i think.

Well i have much more to say about london, but as im at an internet cafe and i have two minutes left, i must run. but i will post another tomorrow wrapping up my 5 days in london. miss you all so much already! oh, and woo, go ducks! \ill be paying attention to the games. haha
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