10 July, 2015

International Friends

During all my travels one of these three things are that most noted, "How it must be difficult to travel so far away from your friends and family," "How it must be hard to live in a foreign place where I do not speak the language," or "how I must make new connections each time I travel."

I have received these comments so many times that I have begun to just shrug them off and state how I enjoy the challenge. That was until recently when I was talking with someone over all of my travels and they questioned to me "how it must be so hard consistently moving and having to make new friends and connections each time." I almost begun to just shrug off the statement, that was until I realized that I never thought of it like that. After it got me to start thinking about that statement.

It made me realize that it was one of the many things that I enjoyed about all my travels. Having the challenge to go to a strange new place, either in the states or in another country, and having to met new people and create new relationships. It is something I greatly appreciate as I am able to meet people from all around the world and from different walks of life then my own. I am able to hear their stories and learn something new from each person. And even though I have to say goodbye to those relationships it makes for a very exciting reunion that I can always look forward to. It allows me to reconnect while I take other travels through the world, being friends from all different places in the world. Those friendships allow me to also make new friends through their connections also. But above all, I think, it allows me to really learn what a true friend is. As even if you are not always together you still can hold onto your friendship no matter where life takes you. It makes me truly appreciate all the friends that I have made in every single place I have lived.

04 June, 2015

My Time in Spain

And just like that these past 4 months have come and gone! These past 4 months have been quite an experience. During my time I was able to really enjoy Europe to its fullest. I was able to go back to and visit familiar places that truly left an impact on who I have become. I have been able to spend an amazing time in Spain, where I was able to learn and expand my knowledge of Spanish. As well as being able to practice my Italian and Portuguese during my trips to Italy and Portugal. It allowed me to actually learning how to try and balance the different languages. The friendships I have made, and remade are going to hold an important place in my heart for the years to come. My knowledge of the Spanish culture has been able to expand quite a bit! Especially learning that things like Paella and Flamenco are not a typical Spanish thing in all parts of Spain, though tapas still seems to be quite universal. I was able to experience two very important holidays in Sevilla, and major parts of southern Spain. These being Feira and Semana Santa. The opportunities I have been able to partake in such as visiting special traditional activities, such as not only experiencing Feira of Sevilla but also that of Puerto and visiting a small town which is famous for its grotto, but not a top place for foreigners to visit, have truly been incredible experiences. All my travels I have partaken in also have been quite incredible time, especially my trips back to Bologna, Italy and Lucern, Switzerland where I was able to see friendly faces and visit revisit places that were quite an impact to me. Being allowed to stay with a host family and learning the culture through their point of view has been quite a wonderful and eye opening encounter. Especially in this last month, when I was able to visit and bond with my host sister. This time has allowed me to have a stronger outlook on the differences and even helped to get ideas on what I want to pursue after my graduation from University, although nothing is quite set in stone. This semester has held challenges to overcome, such as taking classes in Spanish and learning how to articulate my words in the best way possible language that I didn’t know quite well. I have been able to create lasting bonds during this time too. Everyone I met while in Spain has really formed an impact on me. Now that I am back from Spain I can fully appreciate the time I spent while abroad even more. Currently I have not really experienced any reverse culture shock, but rather just feeling like I am visiting here for a little and soon will be going somewhere new soon. My previous experiences have greatly helped me with dealing with the readjusting, since I have had to struggle through reverse culture shock twice. The next few months will be quite busy with working. In August I will be returning back to my university for my last year of undergraduate. Hopefully in December I will be returning to Brasil for a month to visit with my family and friends. Nothing else is planned after that. 

24 May, 2015

Ultimo Mes

Wow, this past month has come and gone quickly. It is hard to imagine that today I landed in the states, it still doesn’t feel quite real. But Ill get into the experience as a whole in comparison to being back in the next post. But to leave where I left off with my last month in Spain.

Wow, este mes ya pasó tan rápido. Es muy difícil imaginar que hoy llegue en los EEUU, todavía no parece real. Pero voy a explicar más sobre la experiencia y tal en mi próximo post. Pero para empezar donde yo dejé, un post sobre mi último mes en España.  

Wow, esto mes foi bem rapidinho. E bem dificil imaginar que hoje chegeui nos EUA, ainda nao acredito que e verdade. Mas vou explicar mais sobre minha experiencia e tal no meu proximo blog. Mas para comecar onde deixei, um post sobre meu ultimo mes na Espanha. 

After my return back home and spending some time at Feria in Sevilla I spent most the week relaxing and catching up on my work that needed to be finished. On Wednesday I met with one of my friends and we went and hung out in centro for some time. On Friday early in the morning I met with a friend of mine and we went to catch the bus to Lagos, Portugual, which we were going to spend two days and a night in. Once we finally arrived we dropped our stuff off and went straight to the beach. It was such a breathtaking place, it did not even seem like a real place. We sent a good few hours there taking in the sun and trying to enjoy the water, which was impossible since it was beyond freezing. After we finished taking in enough sun we decided to walk around the city for some time. We also decided to take a trail along the beach to see the different beaches that existed on the coast and to go watch the sunset at the pier. Then we returned back to the hostel and met with some other people staying in the hostel and decided to go check out the bars around the city. Saturday we woke up and headed straight to the beach since we only had a short amount of time before having to catch the bus to go back to Sevilla. Once back I just spent the evening in the house as I was super tired from laying on the beach all day.

Depois de minha volta a casa, e depois de passar algum tempinho na Feria de Sevilla passei a semana fazendo nada. Quarta encontrei minha amiga e fomos no centro pra um pouco. Sexta eu e minha amiga pegamos o onibus pra Lagos, Portugual onde passariamos 2 dias. Depois que deixamos nossa malas no hostel a gente foi directo pela praia, e obvio fomos com uma brasiliera que encontrei no hostel. Era um lugar bem lindo, ate nao pode acreditar que era de verdade. Depois algumas horas por ai a gente foi no centro para ver a cidade. Decidimos para fazer uma trialinha e ver as praias por ai. A gente voltou no hostel onde encontramos mais pessoas e a gente saiu pela cidade. Sabado a gente acordou bem cedinho e foi directo pela praia de novo. Pela tarde a gente pegou o onibus e voltou pra Sevilla.

Después de mi vuelta a Sevilla y pasando un ratito a la Feria pasé la mayoría de la semana descansando. Miércoles pasé la tarde con una amiga en el centro. Viernes me levanté muy temprano para coger un autobús para Lagos, Portugal. Yo y una amiga mia fuimos para pasar dos días por ahí. Cuando hemos llegado, hemos dejando nuestras maletas en el hostel y fuimos directo para la playa. Era un lugar tan lindo hasta que no podía imaginar que era de verdad. Pasemos un buen tiempo por ahí. Despues hemos decido de andar por el centro y también para hacer una camina al lado del mar. Y hemos visto el puesto del sol en un lugar tan lindo también. Por la noche salimos con unas chicas del hostel. Sabado hemos levantado y fuimos para la playa. Despues de algunas horas cogimos el autobús para Sevilla y pasé el resto de mi fin de semana en la casa.  




The following Tuesday me and my friends met up to grab a coffee and just kind of hang out. Wednesday I met up with a classmate and we went to a bar with some of her friends and just kind of chilled. Thursday I went and had a nice dinner with a friend of mines. After which we got dressed and went to a club, Casino. Friday evening I met up with two of my friends and we headed to Alameda for a short time. On Saturday for the afternoon me and my host sister went and had a café. Then after I met up with a friend and we headed to Puerto Santa Maria, where we were going to spend the night and go to the feira that was there. It was such a fun time and a great experience, even if we did miss our train the next morning and had to wait 2 more hours to get home. Sunday once I finally returned I spent the day sleeping and completing homework that needed to be finished.

A proxima terca eu e minha amiga encontramos e tomamos um cafezinho. Quarta encontrei uma companheira de sala e seus amigos e fomos pelos bars em Sevilla. Quinta eu jantei com uma amiga e depois sai com ela pra uma baldinha na cidade. Sexta passei a noite em Alameda com algumas amigas minhas. Sabado eu e minha irma espanhola tomamos um cafe e depois eu encontrei uma amiga pra ir com ela a Puerto. Onde passamos a noite pra ir na Feria de Puerto. Foi um tempo bom, mesmo que a gente pediu o trem o proximo dia e acabei de dormir as 12. Dai domingo eu fiquei na casa dormindo.

El proximo martes yo y mis amigas tomamos un café. Miercoles yo encontré una compañera de clase y fuimos para un bar con algunos amigos de ella. Jueves yo y una amiga fuimos para cenar en juntas. Despues salimos para Casino. Viernes yo y algunas amigas fuimos para alemada. Sabado pasé el dia en la casa. Pero por la tarde yo y mi hermana española hemos tomado un café en juntas. Despues yo he estado para encontrar mi amiga para ir para Puerto Santa Maria, para pasar feria por ahí. Era un buen tiempo, aunque si pedimos nuestro tren el próximo dia y necesitaba esperar para 2 horas más, sin durmiendo.  


Feria en Puerto

Feria

Noche en Alameda

Trying to learn Sevillana
Casino con mis amigas

On Monday I met up with some friends and we walked around centro and went to Alcazar, since it was free. Afterwards I met up with my classmates and we went to our stretch and relaxation class. Afterwards we went to have a little dinner as a class and with our professor. On Wednesday me and some friends went to Plaza de Americas where we went to feed the birds that were there. Thursday I met up with some friends and we went to Torre del Oro for some time. Friday I woke up early and caught a bus to Aracena, where me and some friends went to see the Grotto that exists in the city. It was such an amazing sight and crazy to believe how huge it was. After spending the day there we went back to Sevilla for the evening. Afterwards me and one of my friends went to Tokyo for the evening. On Saturday me and my friends went to a music festival, tendencias. We met up and then headed over to the show. It was such a fun time! It was so nice to be able to spend my last full weekend in Sevilla partaking in this music fest and pass the times with my friends.

Segunda algumas amigas e eu fomos pra Alcazar, porque era um dia de gratis. Depois encontrei as companheiros de sala para ir na nossa aula de stretching. Depois a gente jantou com nossa professora. quarta fui a placa de Americas com algumas amigas, e a gente alimentou as aves por ai. O dia seguinte eu fui para Torre del Oro pra passei um tempinho ai com as pessoas de meu grupo. Sexta eu acordei cedo e peguei o onibus para Aracena, onde visitei as grutas por ai. E um lugar tao lindo mesmo, nem pode acreditar que era tao grande como era. Depois de passar um dia por ai voltei em Sevilla. E eu e minha amiga fomos para uma balada. Sabado eu fui para uma festival de musica, tendencias. Encontrei meus amigos e fomos pelo show. Foi um tempo muito bom. Amei que podia passei meu ultimo fim de semana em sevilla numa festival de musica com meus amigos.

Lunes he estado en Alcazar con mis amigas. Despues yo y mis compañeros de clases fuimos para nuestro clase de stretching y después fuimos para comer en juntos. Miercoles he estado a plaza de americas donde alimenté los pájaros. Viernes levánteme temprano y yo y mis amigas fuimos para Aracena, para visitar la gruta por ahí. Era un dia tan lindo y un tiempo  tan bueno. Por la tarde vuelve para Sevilla y salí a Toyko. Sabado era un dia tan bueno porque he estado un festival de música, tendencia. Era un show muy bueno y me encontró el tiempo que pasé con mis amigos.   

Feeding the birds
Alcazar

Aracena

Tokyo

Noche con amigos

Tendencia


Monday was the start of exams. So Monday I spent the day studying. After our exam of interpretation we had a going away get together with our teacher. On Tuesday I met with my friend and we walked around the city for a little. Afterwards we had our final meeting with our program. On Wednesday even though I did not get the beach as I wanted I still was able to enjoy the day. Me and my roommate went and met some other girls of our program and we went to Plaza de Espana for one last time. Then we proceeded to get ready and went out with our group to Casino. Thursday I took my last test and after went with some friends to alcazar to  try and visit the top part of the castle, even though that failed it was still a fun time to see the place one more time. Later in the afternoon I met up with some friends to give our goodbyes. In the evening we met up with our group for our last meeting as an entire group. Some of us also ended up going to Alfonso, which was a club outside. Friday the morning was spent at the house. But in the evening I met up with one of my best friends in Spain and some of her classmates and we just chilled. Then we went to the farewell dinner for my international group. Then we got ready and headed to bilindo for the evening. After spending a good evening there I said my goodbyes to most of my friends. On Saturday I woke up and met up with my friends and went to Alcazar for my last time. Then I headed to centro with another friend to grab some last minute items. Afterwards met with another friend to say goodbye and grab a coffee. To end my last evening in Sevilla I went out with my host sister and host brother and some friends of theirs for a little get together and we just hung out. It was a perfect way to end my last night in Sevilla. After a while it was time for me to go get the bus to head to Madrid, where I would catch my plane to the states.

Segunda foi um dia bem chato, as provas comecaram. Mas depois minha prova de interpretacao a gente foi num pub com a professora pra beber algo e celebrar que a aula acabou. Terca foi no centro para ver os partes de cidade eu gostei mais. Quarta eu e a companheira de quarto fomos pra placa de espanha onde encontramos outras amigas pra ver a praca uma vez mais. Depois a gente arrumou e fomos pra Casino. Depois minha prova na quinta eu fui pra Alcazar, que achei seria minha ultima vez por ai. Pela tarde encontrei algumas amigas e falei minhas as logos. A noite meu grupo saiu em juntoss uma vez mais. Algumas de nos acabemos de ir pra Alfonosa, uma balada a fora. A tarde de sexta eu encontrei minha melhor amiga de espanha e sai com seus companheiros de sala. Depois fomos pra a festa de despedida que meu programa fez pra os intercambios. Depois fomos pra Bilindo pela noite. Depois uma noite boa por ai falei meus tchaus pra mais alguns amigos. Sabado acordei e fui pra Alcazar com meus amigos, e a gente visitou o parte em cima. Depois voltei pelo centro pra comprar algumas coinhas, e a gente foi a lado do rio pra passar mais tempo por ai. Para terminar meu ultimo dia na espanha eu e minha irma espanhola fomos pela casa duma amigo e tambem encontramos meu irmao espanolo. Foi um jeito perfeito para terminar minha ultima noite em Sevilla. Depois algum tempo por ai fui embora e peguei meu onibus pra Madrid, onde pegaria meu voo pelos EUA.

Lunes empezó los examines. Pero después de mi examen de interpretación yo y mis compañeros de clase con nuestra profesora fuimos para un bar para celebrar el final del semestre. Martes yo y mi visitamos la ciudad una vez mas. Miércoles hemos estado a la plaza de Espana para ver una vez mas y sacar algunas fotos por ahí. Y por la noche nuestro grupo fuimos para casino. Jueves después mi ultimo examen yo fui para Alcazar con mis amigos. A la noche algunas personas de mi grupo hemos estado en Alfonso. Viernes yo encontré una de mis mejores amigas en Espana y fuimos para tomar una cerveza en juntas. Despues fuimos para la fiesta de despedida de mi programa. En el final también, todavía no se como, pero conseguimos de entrar sus amigos también. Despues un buen tiempo por ahí yo y dos amigos mios fuimos para Bilindo para la noche. Sabado era un dia de hasta luegos. Primero yo y algunos amigos fuimos para alcazar y después yo dije hasta luego para ellos. Despues yo hize una vuelta del centro con otra amiga. Por la tarde yo tomé un café con una amiga. Y antes que cogé mi autobús yo y mis hermanos españoles fuimos para una fiestita. Era un tiempo muy bueno y perfecto para terminar mi semestre en Sevilla.

Alcazar

Al lado del rio

Alcazar

Alcazar

Going away party

Going away party


Plaza de Espana

Roomie Picture 
Bilindo with my friends


Now I finally have arrived back to the states. Although it still hasn’t fully hit that I am here, it seems more like I am just going to visit for a few days and return, I know that these next few months will be tough with reserve culture shock, hopefully all my past experiences with reserve culture shock can help overcome it quicker. In the next week once I get readjusted and all I will be posting my post over my entire experience and the adjusting back to the US.

Agora acabei de chegar nos EUA. Ainda nao caiu que to aqui, parece mais que so vou visitar pra alguns dias e depois voltar. Eu sei que os proximos meses vao ser bem dificil, mas tomara que com minha experiencias seria mais facil. As proximas semana depois que readaptar e tal postaria um post sobre minha experiencia em geral e sobre minha readaptacao aos EUA. 

Ahora he estado en los EEUU. Todavia no cayó que vuelve, mas parece que estoy aquí visitando. Yo se que los próximos meses van a ser difícil con shock cultural, pero espero con mis experiencias con shock cultural ayudaría mucho. En las próximas semanas, después que readaptar con todo voy a escribir un post sobre mi experiencia y como es mi readaptación en los EEUU.   

Until Then

27 April, 2015

3 Mes en Espana

 Although a few days late here is an update on my past month in Spain.

So where to begin. So the week before Semana Santa was nothing too spectacular, it was just the usual classes and studying. On Friday before holy week though I went to the river with some other students from my program and we just relaxed and passed the evening there. At night I went and caught a bus to go to Lisboa, Portugal, where I was going to spend the weekend at. On Saturday morning when I finally arrived to Portugal I caught the metro and headed straight to the hostel where I met my friend from Germany who had studied in my hometown 3 years ago. After we checked in and all we headed out into the city center where we walked all around. We started by visiting the Praça de Comercial and then we walked up and down the near hilly streets of Lisboa. We visited the neighborhood of Alfama and then walked up to visit Castelo de Sāo Jorge, which had an amazing view of the entire city. After we finished our adventure there we made our way down the hills and stopped by a little brasilian cafe so that I could get my fill of Açaí. Once we finished our adventure in the city we went and caught a train to visit Cascais, a beach city close by Lisboa. When we arrived to the beach city we walked all around and then decided to go visit the far west city of the city to watch the sunset. We also encountered the cliffs that laid on that side of the city. After waiting a while and admiring the beautiful view we headed back to centro and caught our train to go back to Lisboa for the evening. The next morning we woke up bright and early and caught the train to go to Sintra, another small town quite close to Lisboa. There we went to visit the Castelo dos Moors and Palacio de Pena, which was like a fairy-tale castle in the mountains. They both were so breathtaking and quite beautiful to see, even if the weather we not quite up to par. After spending the morning adventuring through there we decided to head back to Lisboa and just hang on the bay for a little. Then after another little stroll around the city it was time to say goodbye to the beautiful city and we headed out to catch the bus to Sevilla. Once back in Sevilla the morning was spent unpacking and reorganizing. In the afternoon I went and met with my friend and walked around the city and in the afternoon we watched a passeo for the Semana Santa. On Tuesday I woke up and me and my roomate headed out to catch our plane to Morocco. We were spending about 2 days in Marrakesh, Morocco. Morocco was definitely one of the most interesting and amazing experiences and places I have visited thus far. When we finally landed in Morocco we hopped on the bus and headed to our Riad. Finding the Riad though was quite an interesting time as we winded down streets, and admiring the food market that laid all around us and eventually we found out Riad. We did our check in and then to grab dinner with a friend of one of my friends from University. Her friend took us around the city and showed us the main places. After which we grabbed some orange juice, which is quite famous from that area, and then we headed back to the hostel for the evening. The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed out to explore the city. Our first stop was the Palace of Bahía, and then we stopped by the spice market in the area. After visiting those places it was time to use our haggling skills and visit the Souks (the markets in Marrakesh). It was quite an experience not only did we got lost about 4 or 5 times, and then finally found our way out, we also got to experience haggling at its finest. After spending a few hours there weaving our way in and out of the market we went back to the hostel for some rest. Then we went and grabbed lunch at a local restaurant near the hostel, we ended up eating Tajines with lamb, as its a traditional meal of Morocco. And of course to go along with that we had Moroccan Tea. After our lunch we went back to centro and walked around a little more. Then headed to bed for the evening. The next morning we woke up and headed to catch our bus as it was already time to head back to Sevilla. Once we finally landed back I met up with some other girls from my program and we went to watch Matrugada, which is early morning, but what it means during Semana Santa is there are passeos around 3-4 in the morning that represent the Passion. It was quite an experience to see. The next day some of us from my program got together and we just went to the river and relaxed for the afternoon. Saturday I woke early in the morning and caught a bus to Huelva, as me and some other girls were taking a beach day to Punta de Umbria. Even though the weather was not fully up to par as we would have liked it was a nice time to go to the beach and rest for the day.
Castelo de Sao Jorge
Exploring the Souks
Moroccan Tea
Visiting a Place in Morocco

Boca do Inferno, Cascais
Souks of Marrakesh 
Sintra



The following Tuesday I went to the city center with a friend and just walked around. In the evening I met with another friend and her parents who were visiting for a few days. We took them to a little bar and tried pink gin and tonic, as pink gin is something special from Spain. Afterwards we went and had dinner. I got to try Cuno de Toro...or otherwise known as bull tail. It was quite delicious I might add. Wednesday I met with some Spanish friends and we went and saw the movie Pride. Thursday evening I went into centro and met a friend and passed sometime with her. On Friday I woke up early and me and my program went to Malaga for the day. Its a city in the south of Spain that lays on the Mediterranean Coast. In the morning we spent the time visiting the Cathedral and the Picasso Museum. Afterwards we headed to the beach where we passed the rest of the time. It was amazing there, the beach was the beautiful black sand and the water was blue as could be. After spending a nice amount of time there it was time to head out and back to Sevilla. Once back in Sevilla me and another friend went to Alameda where I met some other friends for the evening. We just chilled for sometime there. Saturday was quite an adventurous day. To start off I went to a friends house to learn Sevillana, which is the traditional dance of Sevilla during Ferias. After spending sometime there learning how to dance I headed to the Barca contra Sevilla game. Which was AMAZING. It was such a great time and the energy of the people just made it even more fun. After the game finished, and it ended in a tie of 2x2, I went to my friends for the evening where we had a nice dinner with everyone. On Sunday I had another experience very typical touristy, which was I went and saw a bullfight. It was quite an experience. It was definitely something that I did not quite enjoy, but maybe if I understood the skill behind it I could have appreciated it more.
Beach of Malaga

Malaga 
Barca contra Sevilla game

Futbol Game

Bull Fight

The beginning of the following week was quite laid back. On Thursday night though I went out with some friends and we just hung out for the evening. On Friday I met one of my really good friends and we went to centro to walk around and do some shopping. Afterwards we met a friend of hers and went to the river and chilled for sometime. Then in the evening I met with another friend of mine and went to alameda with her. Unfortunately because I had to wake up quite early to catch my plane to go back to Italia I called it a night quite early.        
Evening in Alameda


Saturday began my 7 day journey in Italia and Ireland. To start the journey off I went it Bologna, Italia. Where I spent a year during my junior year of high school, so it was a trip of returning back to see my host families and friends. It was quite an experience, especially the first few hours as during the entire trip I attempted to speak Italian, but during the first day especially only Spanish and Portugues came out of my mouth. Finally though after some practice I started to remember the language and slowly got better at speaking. But the once I finally arrived to my bella citta and met with my 2nd host family and me and my host sister headed out to a birthday party where we met my host brother. After spending a nice time there and having some delicious sweets we headed back home. Later in the afternoon I got ready and headed out to met some of my friends as we were having a dinner together. It was such a great time with them and spending time catching up on life and all. After a few hours of dinner and catch up time it was time to go home and get some sleep. The next morning I woke up and we had a lunch to celebrate my host brothers birthday. We even got tortellini with pumpkin, which was one of my favorite dishes while there. Once we had our lunch and sang happy birthday to my host brother I said my goodbyes to him. And me and my host sister went to a festival della Zupa, or a festival of soup! It was quite fun as we got to try many different types of soup and just have a relaxing afternoon. Once we finished there we went back to the house and was greeted by my 3rd host mother who came to pick me up so that I could go to their house for the evening. Once we arrived to  her house I dropped my stuff off and then headed out to have dinner with her at a pizzeria. It was such a great time and amazing food. Monday morning I woke up bright and early and headed in the centro of town so that I could walk around and visit all my favorite places of the city. I also was able to met a friend of mine and we stopped by my favorite gelateria and had some gelato. Then I returned home for lunch time. After lunch time me and my host mom went to an exposition for Escher, who was a famous dutch artist that made many paintings in Italy. After spending quite a nice time there I said goodbyes and went back to centro and met another friend to grab a cafe with them. Then I had to go and met my host sister so that we could walk up to San Luca, which has an amazing view of the city. I was quite proud of myself after the walk as I was able to climb it without stopping, and when I climbed it before I would always have to stop and catch my breathe. After our nice walk there we headed back down and met with my other host sister and had a little dinner for the evening. Once our dinner was finished we went to centro go met with both of my host parents and said my goodbyes to them, as I was leaving the next day.  Tuesday I woke up and went back to centro for one last look around the city and to met with a friend of mine. I also stopped and picked up a coffee maker while I was at it. After walking all around the city, stopping to get gelato one last time I said my goodbyes and went back home to pack everything up to head out for my next adventure, which was to Ireland.
Dinner With my friends

2nd Host Family

Soup Festival with my host sister

Gelato

Around Bologna 

Ecsher Expo

Walking around downtown

Walk in San Luca

Evening with host sisters


So after I said all my goodbyes and I hopped on my plane the next destination for me was to head to Ireland, home of my ancestors. Ireland was such an amazing time and truly a wonderful experience. To begin my journey I arrived into downtown Dublin where I met a brasilian friend of mine and we went back to her house for the evening. On Wednesday I woke up bright and early and decided to take a nice stroll through the city. It was such perfect weather that I was able to really enjoy everything in Dublin. After walking around a taking in the sites it was time to go and met my friend to have lunch. She took me to a brasilian restaurant, which was great as I got to get some of my traditional brasilian food that I havent had since I left Brasil. After enjoying our meals I said goodbye to her and went and picked up my friend who is staying with me in Sevilla and was visiting Dublin at the same time also. Then we met back up with my Brasilian friend and we went to the Guinness Brewery where we even got to pour our own beers and enjoy them on a sky bar rooftop. It was such an amazing experience. After our adventure at the bar we went out for the evening with her flatmats and we went to some pubs all around the city. On Thursday morning me and my friend woke up bright and early and headed out to take a tour of the Cliffs of Moher. While on the way to the cliffs we stopped at Kinvarra, which we saw a castle, and also we stopped by the baby cliffs. We also had lunch in a little village quite near the cliffs. Finally after our lunch we arrived to the cliffs of Moher. Which we quite breathetaking. It is amazing to see the cliffs live and in person. After standing and admiring the beauty of the cliffs it was time to make our way back to Dublin. Once we arrived back in Dublin we met up with a sorority sister of mine who I had met during my trip to London and we went to the pub Whelan, where P.S. I Love was filmed. It was quite a nice place to visit. Friday we got up quite quickly so that we could go and have an Irish breakfast, with a friend I had met during my journey to Ireland. It was such a good breakfast, and I even got to try pork with blood, which was quite interesting. Once we finished our breakfast we headed out to explore the city. We walked past the docks and then headed to Marrion Square. Then Stopped by Stephen Green and Trinity College. Then we started to get hungry so we stopped in a pub and have a little bite to eat. Then we continued our walk around the city, our next stop was the Dublin Castle. Once we finished see what we could see we went back to the apartments and rested for a little. Then we headed out again to make a stop by the Jameston distillery and Fitzwilliam square where we saw all the pretty painted doors. Afterwards we stopped in Portobello neighborhood and saw George Bernard Shaw's house. Finally we decided to return back to the apartment and rest for the evening. Saturday we woke up bright and early and headed back to Sevilla. On Saturday evening I had the opportunity to dress in a traditional flamenco dress and attend feria, which is basically a huge car naval. It was such an amazing time and experience. The entire week was one of the best weeks by far and one of the best experiences I have had.
Cliffs of Moher

Downtown Dublin

Learning how to pour my own Guiness

Rooftop bar at Guinness Brewery

Tour of Ireland

Castle of Dunguaire

Historic Abby we visited

At the baby cliffs

Lunch in Doolin

Cliffs of Moher

Whelan Pub

Walking around Dublin

Merrion Square
At the Cliffs of Moher

Lunch at a Pub


Traditional outfit of Feria de Abril
Feria de Abril
Now I only have a little bit less than  a month left here in Spain. So  far I do not have many trips planned, as I want to stay near the area and enjoy the time I have here. We will see how the last month goes.

Until Then.