Hello again!
Well, I learned today that Sevilla is the hottest city in Europe. I believe it! After spending all afternoon in the sun visiting some sights (cathedral, alcazars-muslim influenced palacial ruins), I seem to have heat rash on my arms and legs. So attractive it is :( My new friend/roomie Amy gave me some after sun cream and we have the A/C turned up high so hopefully I'll look less hideous tomorrow. Ugh. This is a drag since it's gonna be in the 90s all month. I will be in school all day though so I'll stay well. It's scorching hot here! The Seattlegirl is not used to hot weather!
So Amy and I visited the Alcazar today and it was so enormous! It was really cool to see all that arab influenced stuff. There were baths and gardens and lots of rooms that had been used for various things. I poked around the cathedral a bit too before heading back. It was cool but as cathedrals go, if you've seen one, you've kinda seen them all. Tomorrow I'm going to try to head to the soccer stadium after class. I am dying to get a FC Sevilla scarf!
Lastly, I've been doing research on international health insurance. I know that my landlords-who are more like a host family-will accompany me to the doc if anything happens and that it won't cost me too much, but I'd feel better if I had something. Yes, I know, I should have taken care of this before I left but I didn't do it. So if any of you have ideas, please help!
Ashlita
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
I made it!
Hello!
I made it to Sevilla safe and sound...and so exhausted. I don't know where to begin...
My flight left thursday morning at 8:50 for Chicago. From there I flew to Madrid. I spent about 4 hours in the Madrid airport and then flew to Sevilla. I think those hours in Madrid were the longest ever! I was so sleepy and finally just wrapped my arms around my backpack and fell asleep like that for a bit. And word from the wise, Madrid airport is not planned out for people's needs when they arrive! Most people are parched and really have to use the restroom after flying, but I had to go through customs before I could find a drink and bathroom. BTW-customs in Madrid went fine. Oddly enough, the guapo customs guy took my passport and stamped it and handed the form back to me. He didn't even take the top half like they're supposed to! So thanks American Airlines for all the unnecessary anxiety about customs >: ( Read below:
American Airlines sucks. Let me just vent publically about them now. The lady at the self-check in place (at Sea-Tac) came to take my suitcase and kinda freaked out about my one way ticket. I explained to her that I was going to Spain for a bit and was not sure when I'd return but could be there for 3 months on a tourist visa and that the TEFL people advised me to get one way. She said it's not ok to have a one way without proof of returning to the USA. She said Spain may refuse me upon arrival...and deport me. She totally freaked me out! So she tried to call some supervisor somewhere, told me she could not reach them and was too busy to help me so to get in the full service check out line (AKA not self-check). I did this and she then called me out of it to say she spoke to said supervisor and that if I was deported all the fees were on me and not them. So it was about money. Of course. Then she says I should really book a return ticket to be safe. So I get back in the full service line and talk to another woman, who is also rude and shows zero compassion for the girl who is in tears in front of her...she ends up having me take out my computer and forward and email from the TEFL people to her. So now I'm panicking that I'm going to get stuck in the security line and miss my flight. More tears in line. Somehow that line was not terrible and I made my flights.
I know that was a loooong story above but I had to explain to you all so you will not subject yourself to the treatment I received. Lucky for me, all flights were on time and I landed in Sevilla at 1:00 as planned. Since it was broad daylight and a cab was 25 euros, I bused it. Yes, that's right, I took the city bus to my hostel. Well, I took 3 total. I only got lost once and that was because I missed my stop! So I felt rather proud of myself for making it here in a city I do not know.
I went to the little shop a few doors down for a snack...kinda skipped dinner but I was so tired I just wanted to sleep. Called my mom to let her know I was here and then went to bed at 7:30. I could not even stay awake when I tried to watch a movie on my laptop! Man, jetlag is tough! I was wide awake at 5:30 this morning, but then decided to sleep more and slept till 10:00. So for most of 15 hours, I was sleeping! I think that's a new PR.
I'll check out of my hostel in a few min and take a cab to the apartment I'm sharing with classmates. I've no idea how to hail a cab from here so that will be interesting. People were nice and helped me know which bus to take so hopefully someone here can help me get a cab. The street my hostel is on a lot like the ramblas in Barca for anyone who has been there. It's big enough for one car and is all windy like old roads are.
I feel like I've rambled on a bit but had a lot to say. It was quite the journey getting here! More to come soon!
Ashlita
I made it to Sevilla safe and sound...and so exhausted. I don't know where to begin...
My flight left thursday morning at 8:50 for Chicago. From there I flew to Madrid. I spent about 4 hours in the Madrid airport and then flew to Sevilla. I think those hours in Madrid were the longest ever! I was so sleepy and finally just wrapped my arms around my backpack and fell asleep like that for a bit. And word from the wise, Madrid airport is not planned out for people's needs when they arrive! Most people are parched and really have to use the restroom after flying, but I had to go through customs before I could find a drink and bathroom. BTW-customs in Madrid went fine. Oddly enough, the guapo customs guy took my passport and stamped it and handed the form back to me. He didn't even take the top half like they're supposed to! So thanks American Airlines for all the unnecessary anxiety about customs >: ( Read below:
American Airlines sucks. Let me just vent publically about them now. The lady at the self-check in place (at Sea-Tac) came to take my suitcase and kinda freaked out about my one way ticket. I explained to her that I was going to Spain for a bit and was not sure when I'd return but could be there for 3 months on a tourist visa and that the TEFL people advised me to get one way. She said it's not ok to have a one way without proof of returning to the USA. She said Spain may refuse me upon arrival...and deport me. She totally freaked me out! So she tried to call some supervisor somewhere, told me she could not reach them and was too busy to help me so to get in the full service check out line (AKA not self-check). I did this and she then called me out of it to say she spoke to said supervisor and that if I was deported all the fees were on me and not them. So it was about money. Of course. Then she says I should really book a return ticket to be safe. So I get back in the full service line and talk to another woman, who is also rude and shows zero compassion for the girl who is in tears in front of her...she ends up having me take out my computer and forward and email from the TEFL people to her. So now I'm panicking that I'm going to get stuck in the security line and miss my flight. More tears in line. Somehow that line was not terrible and I made my flights.
I know that was a loooong story above but I had to explain to you all so you will not subject yourself to the treatment I received. Lucky for me, all flights were on time and I landed in Sevilla at 1:00 as planned. Since it was broad daylight and a cab was 25 euros, I bused it. Yes, that's right, I took the city bus to my hostel. Well, I took 3 total. I only got lost once and that was because I missed my stop! So I felt rather proud of myself for making it here in a city I do not know.
I went to the little shop a few doors down for a snack...kinda skipped dinner but I was so tired I just wanted to sleep. Called my mom to let her know I was here and then went to bed at 7:30. I could not even stay awake when I tried to watch a movie on my laptop! Man, jetlag is tough! I was wide awake at 5:30 this morning, but then decided to sleep more and slept till 10:00. So for most of 15 hours, I was sleeping! I think that's a new PR.
I'll check out of my hostel in a few min and take a cab to the apartment I'm sharing with classmates. I've no idea how to hail a cab from here so that will be interesting. People were nice and helped me know which bus to take so hopefully someone here can help me get a cab. The street my hostel is on a lot like the ramblas in Barca for anyone who has been there. It's big enough for one car and is all windy like old roads are.
I feel like I've rambled on a bit but had a lot to say. It was quite the journey getting here! More to come soon!
Ashlita
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Last day at ExOfficio
Buenas!
Well, it's my last day here at ExOfficio. It's crazy how fast time seems to be moving. I still feel like I'm "new" around here, lol. It's been just over 9 months already! I have been saying my goodbyes and I will say a bunch more. People are a really nice and I'll miss seeing them. A few of my coworkers went out to a really delicious bakery nearby and got some goodies for us in honor of my last day. So sweet of them!Change is good though and I'm ready for a new adventure.
I've got a lot to look forward to and that makes me really happy. I must admit though, I'm getting increasingly more nervous about my adventures in Spain. Mostly I'm excited but as the time to go draws nearer, I get more and more nervous. That's normal I assume.
These last few weeks before Spain are bound to be a whirlwind. Thursday is an Aquasox game with my cousins and Smiley. Ross Lake is this weekend, and then dad and I are going backpacking. The last Harry Potter movie comes out so I've got to find time to go see that next week too. Can't wait! After that, more packing and moving will have to happen and I've got a long to do list of stuff to take care of before I leave. Moving is a pain! There are too many address changes to make and such. Se vale la pena though (it's worth it)! Just thinking about everything makes my head spin. I'm so looking forward to a night of vegging out and watching the All Star game with Smiley. Tomorrow is another world cup game for the USA women's team and I'm looking forward to watching before having lunch with Grandma. Of course, I'll be multi-tasking some of the time and packing stuff up.
Anyway, this entry is none too exciting. More exciting things to come soon. Fingers crossed for warm weather and good fishing this weekend!
Ciao,
Ashlita
Well, it's my last day here at ExOfficio. It's crazy how fast time seems to be moving. I still feel like I'm "new" around here, lol. It's been just over 9 months already! I have been saying my goodbyes and I will say a bunch more. People are a really nice and I'll miss seeing them. A few of my coworkers went out to a really delicious bakery nearby and got some goodies for us in honor of my last day. So sweet of them!Change is good though and I'm ready for a new adventure.
I've got a lot to look forward to and that makes me really happy. I must admit though, I'm getting increasingly more nervous about my adventures in Spain. Mostly I'm excited but as the time to go draws nearer, I get more and more nervous. That's normal I assume.
These last few weeks before Spain are bound to be a whirlwind. Thursday is an Aquasox game with my cousins and Smiley. Ross Lake is this weekend, and then dad and I are going backpacking. The last Harry Potter movie comes out so I've got to find time to go see that next week too. Can't wait! After that, more packing and moving will have to happen and I've got a long to do list of stuff to take care of before I leave. Moving is a pain! There are too many address changes to make and such. Se vale la pena though (it's worth it)! Just thinking about everything makes my head spin. I'm so looking forward to a night of vegging out and watching the All Star game with Smiley. Tomorrow is another world cup game for the USA women's team and I'm looking forward to watching before having lunch with Grandma. Of course, I'll be multi-tasking some of the time and packing stuff up.
Anyway, this entry is none too exciting. More exciting things to come soon. Fingers crossed for warm weather and good fishing this weekend!
Ciao,
Ashlita
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sevilla here I come!
Hola!
Well, plans are being finalized for Spain! The admin woman for my course has been in touch with me and given me more information. Seems I'll actually be able to get into my housing on the Saturday before class instead of Sunday. I already paid for my hostel so I guess I may just lose out on the money for the second night. When I booked the room, you had to book it for 2 nights at a time and so I did because the first bit of info I was given said I could not get into my housing until Sunday.
In an email I received yesterday morning, I learned several new things. One is that there are only 6 of us enrolled in the course! This could be really nice or it could kinda suck. All depends on how well we mesh as a group. I want friends!! Hopefully whoever I room with (yup, that's another thing-we don't get our own bedrooms...so much for that plan) will be cool. And hopefully everyone will be because apparently the 6 of us are sharing a house together. I'm actually pretty excited about that! I've not done that since summer 2005, which was the worst summer ever, but not because of my roommates. My roommates that summer were just fine. As I recall, the only thing that made me mad was when one of them helped himself to the scones I had just baked and I only got to eat one of them! That's not a big deal really. No, that summer was tough because my grandfathers had both just passed away that spring and I was living in Tacoma to do some classes at PLU. My roomies were gone a lot and I was lonely and missing my grandpas.
Anyway, I digress. I'm really excited for this new adventure and a little sad about leaving Seattle. I started to do some packing last night and it just felt surreal. Mostly, I'm just trying to pack my apartment up early so it's not so stressful at the end.
So maybe some of you who read this have 2 cents for me about an option I just found out about. Apparently I can choose the option of paying 260 euros to have breakfast and lunch provided for me each day during the month of my class. I'm trying to decide if I should do this or not. So naturally, I've created a pro/con list. Here it is:
Pros:
Less grocery shopping during a time when I won't have much free time.
Won't have to think about finding food so much.
Cons:
Costs a lot and won't get my money's worth (I'm a small eater)
If my classmates aren't on it, it would feel awkward...but same if they're ALL on it and I'm not.
May not get to eat what I like/prefer
I'm really leaning towards not doing it because I think I could eat breakfast and lunch for under the 10 euros a day that the plan would cost. Still, I wonder if my classmates will all opt for it. Help me out here folks!
That's it for now. I'm finishing up my job at ExOfficio. My last day will be Tuesday the 12th. I can't believe it! It will be nice to take a few weeks off before I leave though. Fishing and backpacking are coming up amidst trying to see friends and pack up. Life is good!
Besos y abrazos,
Ashlita
Well, plans are being finalized for Spain! The admin woman for my course has been in touch with me and given me more information. Seems I'll actually be able to get into my housing on the Saturday before class instead of Sunday. I already paid for my hostel so I guess I may just lose out on the money for the second night. When I booked the room, you had to book it for 2 nights at a time and so I did because the first bit of info I was given said I could not get into my housing until Sunday.
In an email I received yesterday morning, I learned several new things. One is that there are only 6 of us enrolled in the course! This could be really nice or it could kinda suck. All depends on how well we mesh as a group. I want friends!! Hopefully whoever I room with (yup, that's another thing-we don't get our own bedrooms...so much for that plan) will be cool. And hopefully everyone will be because apparently the 6 of us are sharing a house together. I'm actually pretty excited about that! I've not done that since summer 2005, which was the worst summer ever, but not because of my roommates. My roommates that summer were just fine. As I recall, the only thing that made me mad was when one of them helped himself to the scones I had just baked and I only got to eat one of them! That's not a big deal really. No, that summer was tough because my grandfathers had both just passed away that spring and I was living in Tacoma to do some classes at PLU. My roomies were gone a lot and I was lonely and missing my grandpas.
Anyway, I digress. I'm really excited for this new adventure and a little sad about leaving Seattle. I started to do some packing last night and it just felt surreal. Mostly, I'm just trying to pack my apartment up early so it's not so stressful at the end.
So maybe some of you who read this have 2 cents for me about an option I just found out about. Apparently I can choose the option of paying 260 euros to have breakfast and lunch provided for me each day during the month of my class. I'm trying to decide if I should do this or not. So naturally, I've created a pro/con list. Here it is:
Pros:
Less grocery shopping during a time when I won't have much free time.
Won't have to think about finding food so much.
Cons:
Costs a lot and won't get my money's worth (I'm a small eater)
If my classmates aren't on it, it would feel awkward...but same if they're ALL on it and I'm not.
May not get to eat what I like/prefer
I'm really leaning towards not doing it because I think I could eat breakfast and lunch for under the 10 euros a day that the plan would cost. Still, I wonder if my classmates will all opt for it. Help me out here folks!
That's it for now. I'm finishing up my job at ExOfficio. My last day will be Tuesday the 12th. I can't believe it! It will be nice to take a few weeks off before I leave though. Fishing and backpacking are coming up amidst trying to see friends and pack up. Life is good!
Besos y abrazos,
Ashlita
Friday, July 1, 2011
27 days until Spain!
Saludos!
Wow! So only 5.5 days left at ExO (counting today). I can't believe it! It's been a ride, that's for sure. Customer service has taught me a lot and I am glad to have had the opportunity to hone my listening skills, dealing with upset people skills, and not taking it personally skills. I will not miss the early mornings and long hours in front of a computer though. I don't think a job like this is quite my calling because I really miss being up and about all day, like you have to be with teaching. Working at a computer and being on the phone all day is a different kind of tired than teaching...still tiring but more mentally than physically. Anyway, I'm happy to be moving on to a new adventure. I'll miss my coworkers, and the free clothes, but it's time for a positive change.
So I keep trying to decide when it will be the proper time to pack up my apartment. Now? in 2 weeks? My plan has been to purge little by little so that when I do pack, it will literally just mean putting stuff in boxes, rather than throwing stuff out and packing all at once. So far this plan seems to be working, as I've gotten rid of a bunch more clothes (things just don't fit the way they used to!) and I'm trying not to be sentimental about stuff I truly don't need. It's hard because I do like my stuff, but I am becoming aware of random odds and ends that I probably don't need. Plus, my new rule is that if I haven't used it in a year or so, I'm probably not going to and it needs to go (sorry "Friends" trivia game). I don't want to move any more stuff than I absolutely have to! Little by little, progress is being made on The Big Move.
Well, soon this blog will be a whole lot more exciting because I'll be writing to you from Sunny Spain! Or rather, Sunny Sevilla, Spain. How's that for alliteration? For now, it's a little on the blah side. I need to teach myself how to add pictures and such. All in good time!
Happy 4th of July and happy summer!
Ashlita
Wow! So only 5.5 days left at ExO (counting today). I can't believe it! It's been a ride, that's for sure. Customer service has taught me a lot and I am glad to have had the opportunity to hone my listening skills, dealing with upset people skills, and not taking it personally skills. I will not miss the early mornings and long hours in front of a computer though. I don't think a job like this is quite my calling because I really miss being up and about all day, like you have to be with teaching. Working at a computer and being on the phone all day is a different kind of tired than teaching...still tiring but more mentally than physically. Anyway, I'm happy to be moving on to a new adventure. I'll miss my coworkers, and the free clothes, but it's time for a positive change.
So I keep trying to decide when it will be the proper time to pack up my apartment. Now? in 2 weeks? My plan has been to purge little by little so that when I do pack, it will literally just mean putting stuff in boxes, rather than throwing stuff out and packing all at once. So far this plan seems to be working, as I've gotten rid of a bunch more clothes (things just don't fit the way they used to!) and I'm trying not to be sentimental about stuff I truly don't need. It's hard because I do like my stuff, but I am becoming aware of random odds and ends that I probably don't need. Plus, my new rule is that if I haven't used it in a year or so, I'm probably not going to and it needs to go (sorry "Friends" trivia game). I don't want to move any more stuff than I absolutely have to! Little by little, progress is being made on The Big Move.
Well, soon this blog will be a whole lot more exciting because I'll be writing to you from Sunny Spain! Or rather, Sunny Sevilla, Spain. How's that for alliteration? For now, it's a little on the blah side. I need to teach myself how to add pictures and such. All in good time!
Happy 4th of July and happy summer!
Ashlita
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