Granada

My mom and I got to enjoy another week in Sevilla after returning from Rome. We took a tour of the Cathedral with my school, watched Flamenco dancing, went out to eat for tapas, met my intercambio, volunteered at the nursing home, and just enjoyed each others company. Then we headed off to Granda for the weekend with my roommate Emma.

We took the AVE to Granada Friday night, and then spent the morning touring the Alhambra. I had studied the Alhambra in my art class here, so it was really fun to finally get to see it in person. The architecture is incredible. It is HUGE and has tons of gardens and palace rooms to walk through.

Waiting to start our trip-my mom's first time on the AVE!

 In one of the beautiful walkways in the garden area of the Alhambra.

 Patio de los Leones. Absolutely amazing architecture.

 Sala de los Arrayanes in the Alhambra.

The ceiling in one of the rooms. Pretty incredible. 

Once our tour finished of the Alhambra we enjoyed some lunch and then went through the Capilla Real and the Cathedral. The Capilla Real has the coffins with the remains of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. It was very interesting to see that after I had been studying them so much in my Spanish History class here. The cathedral in Granada was very different than the ones I have seen before. It was all white on the inside and had lots of gold. It was beautiful and fun to see a different style in a cathedral.

Inside the cathedral. 

After the cathedral, we went to "La Vista de St. Nicholas." We had to walk up a large hill, but it was worth it. When we got to the top we had a gorgeous view of the Alhambra with the mountains in the background. We got to sit on an old brick wall and just enjoy the scenery right as the sun was coming out. It was amazing.

 The three of us. We had such a great trip together!

My roommate Emma. I don't know what I would do without her here!

I'm so glad that my mom could stay another week and get to travel Spain with me for the weekend. It was fun to show her how I usually spend most of my weekends here- traveling and exploring a new city. She was a trooper and kept up with our fast pace of walking and exploring. We had so much fun getting to catch up on everything.We ended the trip by eating on top of the roof of a restaurant that overlooked the river in Sevilla. I will be sad to see her leave Tuesday morning, but I'm so thankful that she was able to come visit!

Thanks for encouraging me in my dreams Mom. And thanks for always being willing to come along for the ride. I love you!

Rome

I have wanted to go to Italy for a very long time. I would always try to talk my parents into taking our family there for a huge vacation. For some reason it never worked out...I can't figure out why. :) But, after years of hoping, I actually got to visit Italy for four days. And it was even better than I could have imagined.

We left early Thursday morning and got to Rome in the afternoon. We checked into our hotel room and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring. Our hotel was a five minute walk from the Spanish steps, and a ten minute walk from Trevi Fountain. It was AMAZING! I absolutely love the city of Rome. I have never been to a city with so many things to see in such a close distance. We could even walk to the Colosseum in a little over a half an hour. There were monuments, statues, and ruins around every corner. Everywhere we went there was something new to see. And in between all of these amazing monuments, there were a thousand different Italian restaurants. I don't eat a lot of pasta here, so it was quite the treat to eat pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, and bread at every meal.  (It was also pretty nice to travel and not have to live off of forty cent loaves of bread, granola bars, and bananas. When I travel with my friends we are extremely cheap and literally live off of a few dollars a day. So, I definitely didn't mind getting spoiled by my parents a little bit. :) )

 My dad and I on the Spanish steps at night. 

 Throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain...looks like I'm going back to Rome. :)

 We love Italian food!

On Friday we got a tour of the Vatican where we got to see the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and St. Peter's Square. It was absolutely incredible. I could have spent hours in the Sistine Chapel. Seeing the Bible laid out in an intricate painting was amazing. There really are no words to describe what it was like to look up at that ceiling. It was also really cool to be there just a few days before the conclave was going to take place to choose the new pope. After the Vatican, we got a tour of the catacombs. They are over 150,000 graves where the Christians buried people who didn't have very much money. During the persecution in Rome they also had secret meetings there. It was humbling to think about what those Christians must have gone through. How blessed we are to be able to worship our Lord in peace. There is a ton of Christian history in Rome, and it was fascinating to to get to learn more about it.

Outside St. Peter's Basilica in front of the square.

One of the ceilings in the Vatican Museum...sorry no pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel. :(

On Saturday we walked to the Colosseum and took a tour. Wow. What a crazy feeling to stand where many Christians were ripped apart by animals. It made me think about what I would have done if I lived in Rome during this time. Would I have the bravery to face lions for my faith? Would I be willing to give up everything, including my life, to spread the Gospel? It was a good slap in the face to make me realize how blessed I am to share my faith without fear, and to remember that my walk with Christ should always be the most important thing in my life. After the Colosseum we took a tour of up Palantine Hill and walked around the Roman Forum where we got to see a lot of ruins built in 80 A.D. We spent the night walking up some very large hills on the outskirts or Rome that gave us a beautiful view of the city while the sun was setting.

 Outside the Colosseum. 

 My mom and I inside the Colosseum...you can see the platform where the people used to walk out onto, and then underneath are the remains of the quarters where the slaves worked and where they kept the animals.

Our view of the city while the sun was setting.

In between the major sights, we got to spend lots of time at the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and the many different plazas in Rome. I absolutely love Rome. It was an amazing trip and I had so much fun getting to hangout with my parents for a few days. I was sad to leave one of the most incredible cities I have ever seen, but I was excited to get back to Sevilla to keep practicing my Spanish.

 My dad and I in front of the Pantheon at night.

In front of the monument to the Unknown Soldier. We got to walk up this as well and had a great view of the Colosseum from the top.

My dad made it back safely to the U.S. and my mom is here for a few more days yet.

My absolutely amazing parents. Such great Christian influences in my life. Thanks for a great trip mom and dad!

Love,

jana

We are family

"We're a family." Those are the words my Senora kept repeating to my parents when they came over for the first time. "We're all a big family."

It's pretty amazing how God brings people from all over the world together and makes them one family in His name. How blessed we are to be part of such a big family. And I am extremely blessed to be part of a big family here as well. It was so fun to get to introduce my new family here to my parents. We had a great night where they spoiled us with lots of delicious Spanish food. We sat around the big table and ate and talked and laughed for hours. It was, however, a bit difficult at times considering I was the only person in a group of ten that could speak Spanish and English. Lets just say I got lots of practice translating that night.

 My two moms meeting for the first time. I am so spoiled to have both of these amazing women in my life.

Everyone (minus me) all together and ready to eat lots of tapas.

Besides meeting my family, my parents also got to meet some of my friends from the program. We had a great time sharing stories and of course...eating more tapas.

After meeting my friends and family here, we spent the rest of the time exploring Sevilla. I wanted to show my parents some of my favorite parts of the city. I took them to the Cathedral, the "setas", the bull fighting arena,  the Alcazar, Plaza de Espana, along the river, and a few other places in between. We had a busy few days, but it was so nice to finally show my parents where I have been living the last month and a half.

 My mom and I in the Alcazar. It's a big palace in Sevilla and it has tons of beautiful gardens and historic buildings.

 In the bull fighting arena. I think it was probably best we went when there wasn't a fight going on. :)

 On top of the "setas." We went at sunset so we could see the city during the day and night. It was a beautiful view.

My dad and I enjoying some crepes and frozen yogurt. I obviously had to show them the best places in Sevilla to eat dessert. :)

Family. I am so blessed for my family, my new family here, the amazing family I get to marry into in a few short months, the many friends who have become more like family over the years, and the huge family of believers. I would not be enjoying this semester nearly as much without all of you. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.

Love,

jana

P.S. After sharing Sevilla with my parents, we headed off to Rome for the weekend. I'll post more on that soon!

My parents are HERE!

31 hours later than their expected time of arrival...my parents are finally in Spain! I got to pick them up at the airport around 8:00 tonight. What a great reunion! They got settled into their apartment and then we went out for tapas and gelato. Even though their flights were all late, I'm so glad they made it safe and sound! I can't wait to show them around Sevilla and introduce them to my family here!

Toledo y Barcelona

What a great week! Only three days of school and then the whole class left for an excursion to Toledo. We rode about 6 hours in a bus before stopping at the windmills of "Don Quijote de la Mancha."  Don Quijote is a very famous Spanish book and the windmills are part of the story.

 The famous windmills.

Despite the cold and wind, it was still a beautiful view of the town from the hill.

We continued on our journey to Toledo where we were started by eating some famous marzipan. Toledo is famous for marzipan (this little almond cookie thing) and it's swords. The swords for Lord of the Rings and the ring on Lord of the Rings were made in Toledo.

     Enjoying some marzipan with the girls before our tours. 

After exploring we did a tour of Iglesia de Saint Tome and Monestario de Saint Juan de los Reyes. Both had beautiful architecture, paintings, and views of the city. We have been studying the art of both of these buildings so it was awesome to see them in person.

In the patio of the monastery with Kelly.

                                                           Beautiful view of Toledo.

We spent the rest of the night exploring the city and woke up to a free buffet breakfast the next morning. Breakfast may or may not have been one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. :) Then we spent the mornig touring La Catedral in Toledo before hopping on the AVE to head to Madrid.

The outside of the Cathedral in Toledo.

Once in Madrid we stopped to eat some food and walk around a little bit before taking another AVE to Barcelona. We stayed at a really fun hostel in the center of Barcelona that also offered free breakfast. :) On Saturday we walked for 12 hours around the city of Barcelona. Despite the rain to start the day and the cold weather, it was still an amazing day. We started off viewing the "Sagrada Familia" which is a very famous Roman Catholic church in Barcelona. It's architecture is very different from the many cathedrals that I have been touring lately. It wasn't built until the 1900's and Gaudi used a lot of nature as his inspiration for the structure. It definitely represented the different style that Barcelona has compared to the other cities in Spain.

 Outside view of "La Sagrada Familia"

Inside view. Incredible stain glass windows and very high ceilings.

After the Sagrada Familia we walked down "La Rambla" which is a very famous street in Barcelona. It has tons of shops and food stands set up all the way down the center of the street. It was very pretty and filled with lots of people. At the end of the street we got to see the port filled with ships. The view by the water was beautiful. 

 One of the huge lions on one of the statues at the end of "La Rambla."

 View from the bridge on the port.

 

Then we walked to the Catedral in Barcelona. It was much older and very different than "La Sagrada Familia," but it was incredibly beautiful as well. 

.

Emma and I outside the Cathedral.

We then decided to kick off our shoes and walk in the sand on one of the beautiful beaches in Barcelona. Ok, so it was maybe a little cold to kick off our shoes, but the beach was still wonderful. We walked in our boots and warm coats along the shore, but I'll still take that over the snow back home. :) I love being able to see the ocean while I am in Spain. 

Becca and I all bundled up on the beach.

After a very exhausting and exciting day of viewing the city, we ended it with an amazing fountain light show at the Fountains of Montjuic. The fountain lights up and plays music at night. We joined hundreds of others in Barcelona and sat on the steps to watch the show. It was a great end to another fantastic day of traveling.

 The light show at the fountain. Absolutely amazing!

The museum behind the fountain.

We headed to bed early to be up at 3:30 to catch the 6:00 a.m. flight back to Sevilla. I was supposed to be picking my parents up from the airport right now, but sadly their flight got delayed. Now I'm patiently waiting until they come in tomorrow afternoon. I'm so excited to be able to show them around Sevilla and then spend a few days in Italy!

Love,

jana

I'm not in Iowa anymore...

I have been in Spain for one month. Wow. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone. Since I've been here, I've learned a lot about the Spanish culture and about the beautiful city of Sevilla. I have tried not to compare the Spanish culture and the American culture too much, but instead just appreciate different things about each. While I am here I want to try to embrace and enjoy the things that are different from back home. But, there's still some things I just can't help but compare to the U.S. So, I thought I would share some of the new things I have experienced since I have been here. Some are very minor, and some are pretty large, but they all have made me realize I am definitely not in Iowa anymore.

-wearing sweatpants and a Dordt sweatshirt to class is completely inappropriate. really wearing anything that isn't very put together and stylish is not acceptable here. (this has been a struggle for me!)

-the bathrooms: the shower head is not stuck to the wall. there are no trashcans in the bathrooms.

-it's normal for the little girls in my house to stay up until 12 p.m. or 1 a.m. on a school night. even the 15 month old stays up as late as I do.

-unlike at Dordt, people do not smile and say "good morning" on their way to class. if people acknowledge you at all it is usually with a not so nice look on their face.

-I eat at 8 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. People have a small snack around 11 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. I snack whenever possible because I'm always hungry here

-walking an hour, two hours, or three hours everyday is normal just to get where I need to go. (hence the always hungry thing) I have been trying to find time to run, but when that isn't possible I just count my walking as my exercise for the day.

-I never clean my own room, do my own laundry, cook my own food, or do my own dishes...basically I am ridiculously spoiled by my Senora.

-people think TV in the U.S. is bad for kids to watch...the TV here is worse, but in a more awkward way.

-it's 50-60 degrees in February and everyone is wearing boots, scarves, and mittens. I think if I was at Dordt people would be in shorts and a t-shirt.

-PDA is completely normal here. And by PDA I don't just mean holding hands.

-I can run in shorts and a t-shirt and not be cold.

-everything is closed from 2-5 for siesta. everyone goes home to eat lunch during siesta.

-on the weekends it's normal to stay up all night and sleep until noon the next day. things at night on the weekends don't start until 11 or 12 p.m.

-no one can say my name because of the "j" sound. I now respond to anything that sounds close to "hannah, yana, yena, hina"

-I never drive a car (which I absolutely love). I can take a bus, metro, taxi, train, or plane to get wherever I need to go.

-there are no farms or corn anywhere near me.

-I have four little sisters.

-there is a cathedral fifteen minutes from my house, along with a beautiful river, lots of old buildings, and narrow cobblestone streets.

-I speak Spanish when I order my food, when I go to school, when I am at home at night, when I'm in the grocery store, and when I'm trying to plan a trip. this has led to some fun misunderstandings and mix-ups with words.

That's just a small list of some of the new parts of my life here. I also wanted to share with you some things that are similar to things in the States that make me feel like I'm right at home.

-I eat a banana with peanut butter and cereal everyday for breakfast.

-I still share a bathroom with 6 other females.

-I still study...probably more than most normal people

-I have friends who love to eat chocolate with me.


Life here is a crazy adventure, but I am truly enjoying the journey.

Love,
jana

Familia y Futbol

After a busy week of exams, I was excited to have a weekend in Sevilla. And since I was going to be staying in town I wanted to experience some true Sevilla culture by spending time with my family and by going to a futbol game.

Friday afternoon my little sister Rocio (13 yrs.) had a skating competition. When I first met her she told me she went to practice everyday for figure skating. I assumed that this meant she skated on ice, but I was wrong. She is on a team of girls and they roller skate. It's a mix of figure skating, drill team, and roller skating, and it's awesome. They get all dressed up and do a routine in a big gym. All their friends and family come to watch and cheer them on. So, on Friday afternoon Emma, Kelly, her grandparents, her mom and sisters, her aunt, her cousins, and I went to watch her competition..

                                    The whole gang ready to cheer on Rocio.

Emma, me, and Kelly with Rocio and her friends after she got done performing.

It was really fun to be able to watch Rocio with the whole family. I love having little sisters and being able to go to their stuff. I absolutely LOVE living with a big family. They make me feel right at home and like I really am one of their sisters.


After skating we headed off to the Sevilla vs. Real Club Deportivo La Coruna. We had a group of six girls and we successfully navigated the metro system here to get to the stadium. We were wearing Sevilla jerseys and quite a few people started singing the Sevilla futbol club song when they saw us. It's really fun to see the rivalry here between the two big teams in Sevilla. Now, after going to sporting events with my family all of my life, and with John's family for the last year, I have learned that being on time to a game means being there at least an hour early. So, we got there an hour early and went into the stadium to find...about twenty people. :) But, we had a great time walking around close to the field and taking pictures. Once it got close to 9:30 the stadium got really full and the crowd starting cheering and yelling. Sevilla scored in the first five minutes and ended up winning 3-1. It was a really fun game with a great atmosphere. I'm so glad I got the chance to watch a Spanish futbol team while I am studying in Sevilla! It is a huge part of their culture and it was AWESOME to be in the stadium and cheering for the team!

                                              The front of the Sevilla stadium.

                          Emma and I right by the field before the game started.

The whole group before the game: Kate, Becca, Emma, me, Amber, Kelly.

    The fans holding up red and white signs all around the stadium.

I hope you all had a great week and a great Valentine's Day!

Love,
jana