“When you come to a fork in the road….take it” – Yogi Berra

It’s been awhile since we’ve updated the blog as we’ve had quite a busy schedule the last few weeks. Let’s take a few minutes to catch everyone back up to speed. This could be a lengthy post, so we hope you are up for reading it!

Following our trip to Marbella, we continued classes throughout the week and spent the weekend of September 10^th -12^th in Sevilla. We probably would have gone to a nearby beach for a day trip, but I honestly think it was American football that kept us in town. We were able to watch the Auburn and Alabama games via internet. Then, on Sunday we went to our first bullfight and caught some NFL games at a “Tex-Mex” restaurant nearby Sevilla’s famous Cathedral. Below, you can watch a few video clips of the bullfight. Warning: Video content is fairly gruesome. It’s part of the Spanish culture.

The next week (September 13-17), we continued classes and my birthday was Thursday, September 16^th. Turning 23 in Spain seemed really weird being away from family and friends, but fortunately, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of people in Sevilla. A large group of us went out to eat and our good buddy, Luis, surprised me with a cake and candles. He bought those “dad gum” sparkling candles that are impossible to blow out. We’ve made some really good friends during our stay in Sevilla, and while we are looking forward to having our own home and living space, it’s going to be difficult to say goodbye to these relationships. Luis has become a great friend to the entire CIEE group, and we’re very thankful for all the help he provided. Below are a few pictures from my birthday night.

There’s a local travel organization called DiscoverSevilla that does a brilliant job getting in contact with all the international students studying in Sevilla. We decided to travel with a group of 110 international students, primarily from America, to Lagos, Portugal for the weekend (September 17^th – 19^th).

We arrived in Lagos on Friday around noon and hit the private beach right after checking into the hotel. The beach was a small cove surrounded by many 100 foot tall cliffs. We took approximately a 300 yard swim offshore to a cliff that we were able to jump off. For being a 6’4” man, Steven sure didn’t act like one when he was standing over the edge of a cliff pondering on whether to take the leap. Steven has an extreme fear of heights that came into play at just about every place we went in Lagos. After much heckling, he finally decided to give in and take the jump. Back on the beach, we listened to what we like to call “The Friend-Maker”, also known as Alan’s Bose iPod Speaker, threw the Frisbee, and drank “ron con limon”. Friday night, we went to a place called Joe’s Garage. It was kind of a “hole in the wall” type place with loud music and lots of Americans. Great party, great time.

Saturday, we woke up to leave for a Sailboat Cruise with unlimited sangria at 11am. Our group took 2 large boats out into the Atlantic to view the coast and all of its rocks and cliffs. We broke up into small groups and boarded another small motor boat which took us on a tour in and out of the "grottos". There a several pictures that you will be able to view, but no pictures or words can describe how magnificent these scenes truly were. After the Sailboat Cruise, we went to a different beach that was more comparable to an Alabama or Florida beach. Very open, with soft white sand. The water is not near as warm as it is on the Gulf Coast. It’s just cold enough to make you take a deep breath.

The most spectacular part of the whole trip to Lagos was seeing the sunset from the extreme southwest tip of Europe, also known as the “Edge of the World”. It always seemed so ludicrous for ancient explorers to think that this was the end of the world, but seeing the landscape ourselves makes their assumptions more tolerant. We’ve both agreed that this was by far the most beautiful setting we’ve ever experienced, and may ever experience for the rest of our lives. We’ve got to go back!

Now, Sunday. We traveled to another beach that was just as gorgeous as the others. Off into the distance, there were rolling hills as far as you could see. This beach also offered a surfing school that we couldn't resist. We paid 35€ for 2 hours of surfboard and wetsuit rental, as well as lessons from one of their instructors. Alan and I both were able to pick it up fairly quickly. Surfing absolutely wore us out…you’re talkin’ about some sore muscles…whew! We returned from Lagos Sunday night.

Please view our video and slideshow from Lagos below (*Turn sound on*).

Here are a few more cultural adaptations/outrageous rules from my Senora that I encountered over the last couple weeks.

• Returned to Sevilla from Lagos. Tad and I both had notes saying we were not allowed to touch our fans. She went as far as taping the pull cords onto the fan base so that it was not reachable without a ladder. Several days later, we talked her into using the fans because we were having trouble sleeping.
• The kitchen door was also locked before we got home from Lagos, and this forbids me from even getting a cold glass of water.
• The next day, she told me that I had to buy her a new desk chair because it was now extremely wobbly from me sitting in it every day. I didn’t know how to say “piece of crap” in Spanish, but I sure would have tried to mumble it out if I had had the slightest clue. Senora and I went to the furniture store together to buy a new chair and she tried to get me to buy her a much nicer chair than the one I broke! I told her I wasn’t going to buy anything except a chair that was identical. We eventually agreed on the a chair for 40€.
• Best Senora Story Yet! The very last night that we are staying in her house, Tad and I were getting ready to have a few beers with the group before we left the next morning. While I was putting on clothes, Tad was hanging out in his room and began to feel a bit warm. He reached over and turned the fan switch on. Without making more than 3 full spins, the entire ceiling fan (base and all) fell to the floor.  It was extremely loud so I walked into Tad’s bedroom to find the fan on the ground, glass and wood shattered everywhere. The only thing left on the ceiling was a few broken wires! Here comes Senora….Que pasa? Que pasa? (What’s wrong? What’s wrong?) She tried to tell Tad that since it happened in his bedroom, that he was responsible for the fan. She believed that Tad was pulling too hard on the fan pull cord, but he didn’t do anything but touch the wall switch. Not to mention, that if he was under the fan when it fell, he would’ve been severely hurt. Anyway, we left Senora the following morning with only 1 ceiling fan in our 2 bedrooms. There was no way she was going to get us for rent, a new desk chair, AND a new ceiling fan!

On Saturday morning (September 25^th), Alan and I took the train to Cordoba, and then took a bus from Cordoba to Lucena. For 5 nights, we are staying at Hostal Sara in Lucena. Sunday is bad day to begin looking for apartments because there is only 1 returning bus throughout the whole day. So, we have spent today doing as much research on the internet as possible. There is certainly anxiety building about searching for a place to live. We are attempting to prepare a script for any questions and answers that could be useful in a housing conversation. We drew many weird stares as we walked around for breakfast this morning. It’s completely different than being in a large city like Sevilla – it’s not very often that these small towns see Americans. Much less, two guys with southern accents.

It should be a very fun experience over the next couple days. We must find a place to live before Thursday, and start work on Friday, October 1^st.

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss everyone at home.

Hasta luego – Alan & Steven