Dissappointment

I am a dissappointment. I tell you this first because i know that you know that i was in Africa this weekend. And i know that you know that i have pictures. But i can't post them cuz they're not ready yet. Lo siento mucho!! Later this week there will be an extensive post (or 2) about where I went and what I did and who I met in Morocco, but for now, something completely different (and belated).
The pictures that are ready are of a very different trip: Sevilla! I believe you all call it "Seville", but it sounds prettier in Spanish. We were there last thursday. We went with our program so we were taking notes and pictures all day, but it was still awesome. There is a huge park, el parque de Maria Louisa, that was built for the 1929 world exposition that showcases each of Spain's (now former) colonies in South America. At the far end there is the "Plaza de las Espanas", which is, of course, the largest and most impressive. Part of Star Wars was filmed there and part of the Bourne Ultimatum too! Look familiar?

That's me!

When we first arrived in the plaza, there were hundreds of pigeons chillin outside. They all turned and faced us because they thought we had food and then they started advancing like an army. I've never really been scared of birds, but those little winged rats are intimidating when they want to be

There are little apses around the inside of the plaza that each represent a major city in Spain, like Granada, Madrid, Almeria, etc. Two girls from my program, Katie and Kathy, wanted to take a picture in the part about Granada. They sat down on either side of the sign but apparently Katie's side was wet because the picture came out like this:

Next we visited la Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede, which is the largest cathedral in Spain and the third largest in the world. It's HUGE and it's so beautiful:

There's a tower incorporated into the cathedral that used to be part of the mosque that was destroyed when the christians conquered Sevilla. It's called la giralda, which kind of means "the panoramic thing"...kind of. Anyway, from the tower you can see all of Sevilla:

 

 

That's the bullring in Sevilla

We also visited the royal gardens/palace, which is where the king/queen stay when they visit Sevilla:

The last person is our profesora Amalia, and the one in front of her is Teresa, our coordinator

Me and Elsa!

Just outside of the park i found this little gem:

I think the important thing to take away from this one is that in this particular park, unlike many others, you may leave your duck under a palm tree. Also, it is not wise to park your motorcycle on top of a car that is obviously smaller than the bike.

Just before we left Sevilla there was a flash-flood. It rained for 10 minutes but it rained so hard that the streets were like rivers. It was totally worth it though, because afterward there was a double rainbow:

So there you have Sevilla! I'm sorry it's not Africa, but i promise, i'm working on it. I'm off to write a paper, read a short book, write a paragraph, and do a packet of exercises all in Spanish. Was school this hard in the US? ugh. I'll talk to you all soon, or rather talk at you cuz this is more of a lecture-blog than a seminar-blog.

Vaya con Dios!