1 Semester. 15 Weeks. 9 Flights. 13 Cities. 6 Countries. An adventure of a lifetime.
As I am packing up the rest of my things, making my bed, and crossing off everything on my to-do list, it never ceases to amazing me how quick time goes by. I feel like I was just getting on a plane to see my sister and her family in England, but here I am done with an entire semester of classes in Spain and flying home for the holidays.
This moment is quite a bittersweet one because I have fallen in love with this place and the people and yet I cannot wait to go home to see my friends and family. I know that Sevilla will hold a special place in my heart and I love that. I know that I will look back on this semester and cherish all the memories that I have made. I will look at the growth that I experienced as well as areas that I need to continue to grow in. This life is one adventure that is always in process. And in all honesty, I really do love that.
Finals are done and that completes my last fall semester of my college career and again, time seems to fly by in a blink of an eye (I am thinking about being a poet, what do you think?). I cannot express enough the certainty I feel in the decision of studying abroad this past semester. Of course I am human and wrestled with that decision, but luckily I have some amazing friends and family to encourage me before, during, and hopefully after.
All this to say is, I am coming home (probably right now to be honest). I hope that you are as excited to see me as I am to see you. I have missed everyone and I can't wait to spend some time with each of you hearing all that the Lord has been doing in your life these past four months.
Keep me in your prayers as I am taking the long journey home (and when I say long, I am not kiddin'). And please pray that I don't have another orange juice incident on the flights home. I know that my adventure started off on a sour note, but we don't need a repeat of the occurrence. That would be greatly appreciated.
I write this while procrastinating on studying for finals. Shocker.
But in all seriousness, I wanted to update you on the past couple of days here in Sevilla. But first I have a confession.
Sevilla is absolutely stunning dressed in Christmas lights. That's all I gotta say about that.
So, this past weekend we went to our mentor's house for some games and an amazing lunch. And get this; I had Dr. Pepper. Yes. It was glorious. I absolutely love this group of girls and the family we have been getting to hang out with. It has been such a great thing to be able to fellowship in a Christian environment and really encourage and challenge each other. And the family we get to hang out with is so cool. Seriously.
After that, some of us wanted to go back to Plaza de Espana here in Sevilla. We spent time there our first weekend and we thought it would be a good way to say goodbye to Sevilla by going back for our last weekend. We rowed the boats. It was difficult. And funny. And awesome.
This past weekend, we celebrated my friend Leah's birthday because her birthday is actually two days after we get home and we wanted to celebrate with her and have a proper good time before we all leave. We went out for some tapas and of course Rayas ice cream (banana to be exact). It was such a fun time laughing and being with friends. We were able to just walk around and enjoy all the Christmas lights. It is seriously beautiful.
Here are some photos for your eyeballs.
We also walked around the Christmas markets that are here right next to the cathedral. I noticed something odd, and I couldn't help but share.
There were many more where that come from...
At any rate...
On the way back, I walked by the Torre de Oro which is a landmark here. It is actually a really cool place.
So, now we are in full gear with finals and I actually have one suitcase packed. Yes Mom. You should be proud. But in the Christmas spirit, I thought I'd share a couple of things.
1) I wanted to share me as a tree topper because my lovely friend Katelyn decided it was the perfect tree topper in all of the world. I mean, I can't disagree with her.
2) I have 3 days left here in Sevilla. Man has time flew bad. As it saddens me to get ready to say goodbye to this beautiful place, I am also so stoked to go home and spend the holidays with my family.
3) Here is a great cover song that I found this semester and it has to do with going home. You may know it. You may not. Either way, I like it. So, without further ado (In case you're wondering, the meaning of ado = hubbub, bustle, flurry, or fuss. You're welcome).
This is the first time that I have not gone home during the semester. I have been gone since September 1st, and although I am loving it here in Europe, I am quite excited to go home for the holidays. There is nothing like seeing stockings with your name on it hanging on the fireplace. It just warms the heart when you walk into the house after a long day and see the tree lit up in beautiful Christmas lights in your family room. I love the moments where you and someone you care about share a nice warm cup of hot cocoa and if you're daring enough, you put a candy cane inside to use as a stirrer.
Christmas is my favorite time of year and I can't wait to share it with those I love. I hope that during this time of year, you take the time to appreciate not only those around you, but the season itself. We get so wrapped up in the gift buying, the party going, and making plans that the beautiful season seems to fly by us in a blink of an eye. Let us remember the reason for this season and truly celebrate it. Put the cell phone and computer down and celebrate this season properly. Please. :)
That is basically, "Hey! What's goin' on everyone?!" in Portuguese. This past weekend we spent some time in Lisbon Portugal, which was honestly one of the places I was most excited to visit.
Oh my word, I loved it! It is an absolutely gorgeous town and different than anywhere we have seen. It was also an added bonus that it was on the ocean. I just have a thing for waterfront towns. Maybe I just need to live at the beach. Yeah, I think that is what that means.
I don't think I will go into many details about this weekend, but I will share some photos with ya. :)
Love Always,
Angela
Monastery of the Jeronimos
The Monastery has Vasco de Gama buried here as well as other famous Portuguese (i.e. kings, queens, etc...).
Tower of Belem
Raising the bar.
Pasteis de Belem
Santa Justa elevator. Designed by the same
architect who did the
Eiffel Tower and the Triana Bridge.
As I sit here in my room, I feel a cold chill every now-and-then and then it hits me. It is winter. Winter is here. And that means a couple of things. One, it is Christmas time, which I love oh so very much. But seriously. I really, really love Christmas. Two, it means finals are just around the corner. Bleh. Three, I get to wear my favorite clothes. If you didn't know this about me, I love winter clothes. Simple. And last, it means my stay here in Spain is almost up. I have two weeks left here in beautiful Sevilla and it has gone by way too fast. So, before I continue with this post, please listen to this song about winter. Cheesy? Probably. Awesome song? Definitely. Not only is Matt Corby an amazing musician, but this song is incredible. My mom is going to say it is a boring song(s), but I'll live.
Enjoy.
"Winter/My False" by Matt Corby
So, this past weekend, some of us went to the Maritime Museum as well as the Titanic Exhibition that is here in Sevilla. Both were absolutely mind blowing. I loved them.
The Maritime Museum was so cool because it is a children's museum, so everything was so interactive and visually appealing as well as educational. We were able to hear a lot of different stories of people who traveled across the ocean in basically a pirate ship. As we all know, I do love pirate ships.
We were able to go onto the lookout of the city. Again, I am still in awe of this place. I love it here. Honestly, how could you not?
After that, we all went to the Titanic Exhibit which is a traveling exhibit and it just so happens that it is in Sevilla until spring next year. It was an amazing thing to go through and experience. I will never be able to read about the Titanic or watch the movie and think the same as before. I have gained such a new perspective and understanding about the entire event and I can't put to words how great it was.
So, a part from going to school, exploring a European city, and going to awesome museums, it is also Christmas time, which means the shops have Christmas stuff out. Naturally. I thought that I would share with you some stuff that Leah and I discovered while enjoying the shops.
Bear made of pine cones.
Penguin made of wood chips.
Leah and Christmas fairy ornaments.
Me with a fairy ornament.
Poinsettias in the city center.
There is also this plunger that I couldn't get over. I couldn't help not sharing it. It is just way too good to keep to myself.
So, all in all, it has been a great and busy week. We leave for Portugal in the morning and I honestly must say that this is one of the trips I have been looking forward to the most. Wish us luck!
Hope everyone is well! I sure can't wait to see you all!
Love Always,
Ang
P.S. Here is a quote that I really love right now. Thought I'd share it with you.
"Joy is a state of mind that must be purposely cultivated if you are to live and love and influence others as God intended."
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am sad I could not share it with you, but know that I had a great Thanksgiving here in Spain with all my friends. ISA decided to throw us a Thanksgiving meal and we all dressed up and celebrated together.
I just want to say that after the welcoming toast, they played the national anthem. I think every household should do the same thing. It was great.
At any rate, here are photos of my Thanksgiving. :)
I hope all is going well with you all! I miss you more during this week of Thanksgiving, but know that there is a lady in Spain who misses and loves you guys!
In other news, I went to Paris this weekend and it was absolutely amazing!!! Before I tell you all about it, here is a famous French song by an amazing musician. I like this version because there is a beautiful trumpet solo in this song. Enjoy.
So, it all started when my friend Allie (who also attends SNU) chose to study abroad and we had talked about visiting each other while we were here in Europe. So, I told Leah we should go to Paris, and welp. We did.
Thursday afternoon Leah, Warren, and I got on the plane and we were on our way to Paris, France! Leah and I met up with Allie that night and it was wonderful. I loved catching up with someone from the states.
Friday morning, Allie had told us about this amazing pastry place right next to her house that she advised us to go to. It was a croissant with some chocolate inside. Oh my word. Heaven in my mouth. After that, we went to the Palace of Versailles, and although it took us 2 hours to find our way there, it was well worth it. It is about 15 miles outside of Paris and it is absolutely stunning. We arrived at Versailles and it was still pretty foggy from the morning. We bought our tickets and were about to have our minds blown.
The inside is absolutely gorgeous and so different than what we had seen before. The inside is so massive and honestly I don't think we even made a dent into what all that there is to see. Of course we saw the Hall of Mirrors which was crazy cool. We also saw all the different rooms and gathering places that our tour provided. Here is just a glimpse of what we saw.
The next thing that we saw was the Palace of Versailles gardens. Although it was foggy and we were unable to fully see the garden in it's entirety, the fog made it a tad bit romantic. All the trees were turning colors and it was stunning. And yes, it was cold. Very cold. Thanks for asking.
After the Palace of Versailles Leah, Warren, and I went to eat some real French food. It was awesome. I had a great roasted chicken with fries. Mmm.
After lunch, we went back onto the train to meet Allie (she had class on Friday) at Notre Dame. Now, this is a place that I was really really excited to see. Not only did I grow up watching the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I just love it in general. And it is beautiful.
After Notre Dame, we walked to the Louvre to see some famous paintings. I wasn't sure what to expect when going to the Louvre, but I was excited nonetheless. So, after getting in, we were trying to find our way through different exhibits and holy moly. This place is giant. There are so many different exhibits and you honestly need a map to see it all. We saw so many cool things at the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and sculptures that Michelangelo had done on top of many other cool things. You seriously walk in and are bombarded by painting and sculptures everywhere. A person honestly needs to go there multiple times to really take in all that there is at the Louvre.
That night, we were so tired from walking 13+ hours, but it was so worth it. We went out to this really cool little restaurant and I got French Onion Soup, but they just call it onion soup since, well, y'know. We were in France. It was so cool. Everyone was so nice to us.
After our dinner, we went to this pastry shop that Allie loves and got this croissant with nutella, almond, and chocolate chips and right then in there, my mouth had experienced something that is not of this world. It came straight from heaven. I thought the croissant from the morning was great (and it was), but this one was out of this world good. We saved half of it to heat it up at the house and oh my word. I want one right now.
Saturday was a full day of sight seeing and it was great. We started off at the Arc de Triomphe. It is massive and gorgeous.
We then walked all along Champs-Elysees. There were so many high fashion places there. We even went into Louis Vuitton. There are things in there are are more expensive of my entire college education. My word.
We kept on walking down and saw the Christmas market which was so cool. They have been putting up Christmas lights all around the city, but this was the place where you can buy any trinket known to man and it was awesome.
We then walked along the Seine River and were on our way to see the Eiffel Tower. I just need to add a little fact about the weekend. 1) It is cold. Really cold. I know I am a pansy when it comes to weather, but the day we left it was gorgeous 75 degrees in Sevilla. We arrived to 40 degrees and foggy. 2) It was foggy and sorta wet all weekend. It made it a mysterious and romantic city to see, but it also meant that the Eiffel Tower was not going to be fully visible during the day.
I seriously took a kajillion pictures of the Eiffel Tower and I don't care who knows it. Even in the fog, it was beautiful. At the Eiffel Tower, there was a traveling bear exhibit of all the countries of the EU. So, of course we walked and took pictures with the bears. This is of Leah, Warren, and I with the Spanish bear.
After the Eiffel Tower, we made our way to Sacre Coeur. It is on top of a hill (that we climbed) and on our way we walked by Moulin Rouge. But that is besides the point.
Sacre Coeur is so cool because it has one of the best views of the city as well as great street performers. Here are a couple of photos.
Sacre Coeur is a cathedral and it is so beautiful inside and out. Check it out.
After that, we went and got some nutella filled crepes. Oh my word. France has some amazing food. We walked around the shops and found our way to Shakespeare and Company which is this awesome bookstore. When you go in, you are pinned up against the bookshelves trying to get through to see everything. There was a writer's club upstairs as well as a man just jamming on the piano. There were some cool little knooks where there was a massive amount of notes on the wall. They are notes from people all around the world who are writing notes to Shakespeare and Company. It was cool because the notes varied from love notes to inspirational notes in every language. It was awesome.
We then made our way to the Latin Quarter for a while, and finally found a place to eat dinner. It was cool because there was a man and woman playing piano and drums and serenaded the entire time we ate. Can I just add I got a steak. No regrets.
We then walked to the Eiffel Tower to watch it glitter and night. We got there and we were surprised. The entire Eiffel Tower was visible! And on top of that, it was lit up! So pretty! But honestly, when it glitters, words can't describe how cool it is. A picture will definitely not do it.
After that, we went back to the apartment and seriously passed out from our 15+ hour day. It was so worth it, but let me say, our feet were not happy with us. But we didn't care.
The next morning, Allie, Leah, and I went to Hillsong Paris. It was so amazing and so encouraging. It was wonderful to worship in French and in English. We had a guest speaker from Quebec and the message was so powerful. If you want to know all about it, please ask me because I would love to share with you all the details of the service.
After church, we went to Allie's favorite felafel place and had lunch. It was in the Jewish Quarter and it was amazing. After lunch, we had to make our way to the airport, but it was so amazing to see Allie and spend some time with a fellow SNU student. And luckily, we are friends!!!
Paris is beautiful and if you ever get the chance to go, please do. You won't regret it. What a jammed packed weekend, but a wonderful one at that.
Well there ya go. My Paris experience. I loved it and wish I had more time there.
