7 AM Flight to Sevilla

Well last night I met with my third intercambio, and her name is Aleida. She is a Catalana and has spent her entire life here in Catalunya. She is 24 and studies/works as an architecture. She is extremely nice and outgoing as well. We went to a local bar away from all of the tourists and talked for a couple of hours. She is definitely a very interesting person and I am excited to continue to meet with her. Unlike my other intercambios, Aleida has visited the United States before, and has a few American friends. Unfortunately she hasn't visited Chicago, I told her that she needs to go. She speaks English very well, and has been studying since she was about 10 or so. I'm very happy that she is Catalana, because I am completely fascinated by the culture here in Catalunya, and I love learning about it. Although she really doesn't like speaking Castelleano (most Catalan's don't) so I am going to try and pick up some Catalan, but it is very difficult.

Today I had class which went fairly well. I need to start writing my term paper on Muslim Sicily which should be interesting. The entire IES building is being worked on for some reason, which has been annoying these last couple of days. In fact, some early classes were canceled on Tuesday because the building lost power for a couple of hours. Unfortunately the power was fixed by the time I had my 10:45 class. I went to the gym, and then went to my Oceanography class and since then I have been packing for Sevilla.

Today we had a meeting with all of the students who are going to Sevilla. There are roughly 40 students going, and I still am unsure how the roommate situation will work out. I really don't know anyone on the trip, there are some people that I've met and some others from class. It will be nice to get the opportunity to meet some more IES students as well.

So all week I have been waiting to receive an email with information about our flight, hotel, itinerary, etc..but only received an email with the meeting day and time. Today IES gave us our itinerary, which looks awesome. The catch is my flight leaves tomorrow morning at 7 AM! I need to meet at the airport at 5:30, which means need to catch a bus in Plaza Catalunya by 4:40, or 5. Plaza Catalunya is about 30 minutes from my house, which means I need to leave my house around 4, which I'm not too happy about. But I guess it will be better because we will have more time in Sevilla, so I guess the early flight has its ups and downs.

Sevilla is the capital of the region of Andulucia, which is in the South of Spain. Andulucia is known for its beautiful weather, tapas, and of course its flamenco. The forecast for the weekend looks between 65-70 and sunny every day, which I am excited about. The tapas scene is one of the main cultural attractions of the city, and people literally bar hop to eat different types of tapas.

We got a detailed itinerary which looks interesting. Friday we will check into the hotel and go to the Iglesia del Salvador, the Cathedral, and Giralda(bell tower). The Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede is the third largest church in the world!

Saturday we will be going to Cordoba which is around 2 and a half hours by bus. We will then go on a few guided visits to the Mosque and the cathedral. Cordoba, and all of Andalucia was heavily populated by Muslims so many of the architecture is very different than in Barcelona.

Sunday we will be in Sevilla walking through a neighborhood and I believe another museum. We also have a lot of free time, which is nice. I am definitely excited about this trip and will hopefully write Sunday or Monday and put some pictures up. On the way home our flight is split up into two groups, so I will either be returning to Barcelona around 10 PM, or around 12 AM.