Week 7:
We started the 1st week of November with our last flamenco class. I enjoyed Tuesdays and Thursdays as flamenco classes were an excuse to see my friends. On our last day, the girls dressed up in typical flamenco attire. Just a heads up, the dresses are extremely heavy! After our photo shoot, it was time to show off our moves. That did not end well as everything that I learned went out the window as I was focused on not tripping on my dress.
Week 9:
As daylight savings was on Halloween, the sun is starting to go down earlier. At the beginning of the trip, the sun would not set until 8:30 pm, but now it sets at 6 pm. One thing I made a part of my routine is to take hour walks at 5 pm. By doing so, I get to be out in the sun, get my exercise, and explore the beautiful city. Another reason why I do this is because my host mom’s internet is not the best at this time, so it is a perfect excuse to get out, especially as indoors tend to be colder than the outside.
One of our last cultural activities with Rocia was a tortilla-making class. I got to finally make my first ever meal that I had in Spain. As this was our last time seeing Rocia, my friends and I pitched in to get a few gifts for Rocia to thank her for all the work she has done for us. We made her a card, got her flowers, and even a kukui nut lei! It was fun making the tortilla as you can see I had the honor of peeling the potatoes as well as flipping it. Also, in addition to it being the last cultural activity, we had a mini party with a bunch of traditional holiday Spanish snacks.
One of our last cultural activities with Rocia was a tortilla-making class. I got to finally make my first ever meal that I had in Spain. As this was our last time seeing Rocia, my friends and I pitched in to get a few gifts for Rocia to thank her for all the work she has done for us. We made her a card, got her flowers, and even a kukui nut lei! It was fun making the tortilla as you can see I had the honor of peeling the potatoes as well as flipping it. Also, in addition to it being the last cultural activity, we had a mini party with a bunch of traditional holiday Spanish snacks.
Week 10:
Week 10 was the most adventure-filled weekend I had in a while. Thursday was Thanksgiving so we had dinner at a nearby restaurant with all the students, our resident director, and one of the staff members, Lisa. I was expecting that we will be having dinner with Spanish tapas; however, I was proven wrong. I believe Lisa asked the staff to prepare us for an American Thanksgiving and it was their first time doing so. I give them props, as this is the first time they ever made something like this and it tasted delicious! However, for 12 people, I think three turkeys were excessive, but either way, I enjoyed it. It makes up for not being able to celebrate the holidays with family. After dinner, a couple of my friends and I went out for some drinks. Surprisingly, after walking back home from drinks, we were able to catch the Christmas lights. It was a sight to see as we were the only ones on the street at the time and the lights were supposed to be officially on the next day. I guess we were doing a test run and we were there at the right time.
On Friday, we went to see the official tree lighting ceremony. It was packed so I am thankful to have been there last night to get some solo pictures. After the ceremony, we walked to the Alameda to Checkpoint bar. This bar has been a go-to hang-out spot with our friends as this is a place where you can play board games with your friends! I highly recommend going.
Saturday we headed to Cordoba for our last day trip. You can read all about my experience in my day trip blog section!
Sunday was a day I was excited about as it was one of my bucket list things to do in Spain, which was to go to a fútbol game. My friends and I were lucky to find tickets to this game as we became big Betis fans due to association as our area is considered “Betis territory”. As we were unable to find seats together, we planned to hang out in the common area. To our surprise, we weren’t able to do that as they blocked off certain sections of the arena, that way people could not do what we were planning on doing. Although I could not sit with my friends it was an amazing experience! We scored 3-1, and the energy in the stadium was something I've never experienced before! If I could, I would love to go to another game. Tickets are not that expensive as well! It depends on the teams playing, but I got the bottom sections for about 70 Euros! Tickets are as low as 50 Euros.
On Friday, we went to see the official tree lighting ceremony. It was packed so I am thankful to have been there last night to get some solo pictures. After the ceremony, we walked to the Alameda to Checkpoint bar. This bar has been a go-to hang-out spot with our friends as this is a place where you can play board games with your friends! I highly recommend going.
Saturday we headed to Cordoba for our last day trip. You can read all about my experience in my day trip blog section!
Sunday was a day I was excited about as it was one of my bucket list things to do in Spain, which was to go to a fútbol game. My friends and I were lucky to find tickets to this game as we became big Betis fans due to association as our area is considered “Betis territory”. As we were unable to find seats together, we planned to hang out in the common area. To our surprise, we weren’t able to do that as they blocked off certain sections of the arena, that way people could not do what we were planning on doing. Although I could not sit with my friends it was an amazing experience! We scored 3-1, and the energy in the stadium was something I've never experienced before! If I could, I would love to go to another game. Tickets are not that expensive as well! It depends on the teams playing, but I got the bottom sections for about 70 Euros! Tickets are as low as 50 Euros.