Howdy,

with only 100 DAYS LEFT, I thought I would fill you in on everything that’s been going on with my NEW host fam!

We have a pueblo about 30 minutes away from us, in which my entire host extended family lives. Named “Olivares,” it is the perfect pueblo, because it gives the feel of a small town without actually being one. We tend to go about once every 2 weeks to visit our grandparents, old nannies, cousins, and of course to eat the DELICIOUS food of Olivares. The food is much richer than one can find in the actual city of Sevilla, probably because they are old family recipes with more food to table ingredients. One Saturday, we had lunch with one of our cousins, and they showed me everything about Semana Santa, when I actually found out that carrying the giant floats on one’s shoulders for Easter is actually quite common, and not just for adults. They even showed me how they dressed to carry it. Here are some photos of the floats that are carried by 30 men.

and the headgear they wear to not put strain on their necks.

They then showed me their garage, which was entirely filled of SAILING MERCH!

and they were excited to point out that some of it was even from Miami!

I absolutely love getting to know my host family and their friends and family because it makes me feel like I actually belong. One of my favorite things to hear is “mi hija” when my host mom is explaining who I am to people, because calling me her “daughter” makes me feel like I really am.

me and Carlota matching at the Sevilla aquarium. 🙂

A few weeks ago was Carnaval, a time when Spain all dresses up and goes out into the streets. Performers will dance and sing politically charged songs, or will make comedic jokes, while the teenagers all take it as an excuse to get in halloween costumes and socialize. Carlota, our friend Ana, and I all made matching unicorn costumes for carnaval, and my host mom drove us out to Gines, a small pueblo about a half an hour away. Although it was fun getting to know more Spaniards, I was exhausted, and my host mom came back to pick me up, while Carlota stayed out until 7:30 the next morning.

Some of my favorite nights however, are going out and spending time at my mom’s restaurant at night. Flamenco music is played and I get the opportunity to meet my whole host family. It really reminds me that I’m in Spain when no one speaks English and are all singing songs about old Sevilla.

On International Women’s Day, I attended the women’s march in Sevilla! This was so exciting for me because I had previously thought that feminism in Spain was almost nonexistent. To my surprise, people from all walks of life showed up, giving spirit, chanting in Spanish, and raising posters. As I haven’t felt interest in diversity in my school community, this was incredibly refreshing for me, and I left rejuvenated.

And I FINALLY got my visa! That means that I’m officially a Spain resident that can stay until the end of June!

In early March, I got to go to Lisbon, Portugal with CIEE, another one of the group trips that we take. We went on several tours to see the main sites of Lisbon, ate delicious food, and got the chance to explore the city.

The pillars are the only things left of the palace that a Lisbon king built a long time ago. The palace was supposed to last forever, and here it still stays.

an amazing view of the city. 🙂

this building has a rhinoceros sculpture on the bottom of the posts because when it was built, this used to be a port in Lisbon and a rhino was actually transported all the way from Africa. As the people had never seen anything like it, they put it on their buildings as a sign of power.

it was so amazing to see a women’s march in Portugal! Even though I couldn’t understand what they were saying, the energy and passion could be felt through the language barrier.

apparently this is the most Portuguese photo you can find.

This was actually a dream of a palace that King Ferdinand created for his Queen, who was also the only queen of Portugal who wasn’t from Europe.

Portugal was so amazing and is one of the best parts of this experience. The opportunity to see new places with people who have grown into my family is so incredible. And I still have another trip with them all!

The following weekend, I went to Barcelona with my family. Unfortunately, another CIEE kid lost my phone in the hostel in Lisbon, and I had to leave it behind. Because of this, I was unable to take photos. But it was so great to see them, even if it was only for a few days. We visited the main sites of Barcelona such as the Sagrada Familia, a house designed by Goudi, and walked the historic districts. I had so much fun, and as much as I didn’t want to leave them at the end of the week, I actually found myself missing my host family, which is such a great feeling, because it shows how much they mean to me.

At the end of the second trimester, I got my grades back:

Bio: 8

PE: 7

Physics: 9

French: 6

History: 7

English: 7 (CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “I’M GOING TO BAKE A CAKE” AND “I WILL BAKE A CAKE”??)

Lengua: 6

Math: 10

Religion: 9

Technology: 7

So in other words, the second trimester has been SO much better than the first. Between getting a new host family, learning more Spanish so I can almost fully communicate, and strengthening my relationships with everyone around me, I am loving Spain. It is so sad that I only have 80 days left, but coming up is Semana Santa and Féria, the two most important weeks in Sevilla! I am SO excited and I will keep you updated!

Can’t wait for more!

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

This past Friday, February 3rd, 2017, marked the halfway point of my exchange. Honestly, I don’t really know how to take that. One part of me is relieved, because this has been by far the most challenging thing I have ever done. Every day teaches me something, but with that always comes the feeling of embarrassment or disappointment that I have learned to just accept as part of the day. Sometimes, it feels like I have lived a lifetime in Spain, and that my life in the USA was all just a dream.

But another, stronger part of me is heartbroken by this halfway point. I have just started to feel comfortable here in Spain, just made strong great friendships, just started living in a place that feels like home, just started smiling and not feeling like I have to force it to come, just started understanding what it means to be an exchange student, and now I have less time here than what I’ve experienced. This year has gone by simultaneously as slow as honey and as fast as the blink of an eye.

I feel 5 years older and a 10 years wiser, and now I can completely communicate in a language that isn’t my own. Yesterday, a Spanish friend of mine told me that from 1-10 on a scale of fluency, she would put me at an 8, merely because my accent is very American. That made me so happy because when I got here, I was definitely around a 1 or 1.5 at the most. The fact that in 4 months I have improved so drastically makes everything seem worth it. Also, there’s the fact that I really really really really really really do not want to go back to Georgia and just America in general….yesterday I spoke with a friend of mine, Hannah Scotch, who returned to the USA after doing a semester here. She said that everything was harder, more expensive, and much more boring, and that she wants to come back more than anything. Hearing this solidified in my mind that I never want to go back. Yes, this place might be so so so hard, but at the same time, it’s my new home. The people around me are my friends and family. The love I feel is so real. The fact that when I speak English, I forget words because I haven’t said them in so long or that the expression I want to use doesn’t exist in English is evidence of my immersion. This is who I am now. I’m not just American or foreigner or Spanish. I’m a mixture of everything I have learned and been through. I’m happy.

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

So these past two weeks have been full of changes. The biggest of which is that I changed host families! It was a long process, but eventually my family and I decided that the best thing for me to do was change completely. I am now staying in the house with my best Spanish friend, Carlota, and am absolutely loving it. She is so full of energy and spirit and invites me everywhere with her. Honestly, I feel a little guilty because I always have to study instead of going out every afternoon, but soon I will be able to once all my exams finish. Her mom (our mom!) is a professional chef, and every day I come home to fresh homemade food, and a salad just for me! She is very busy because she runs a restaurant and a dress store, but that means that she also embodies the energy that both those places have. There is never ever a dull moment here. I have my own room, which is a lot smaller than my old one, but is full of all my things and little English sayings that my host family finds in little shops. One day, I came home to them giving me a sign that said “happy birthday,” not because it was my birthday, but because they knew it was English and didn’t know what it meant. Isn’t that so cute!! I’m so busy and feel like I literally never have time for anything, but that’s a good thing as it means that I don’t miss home as much. Recently though, I’ve been feeling pretty sad. All my American friends are leaving on Saturday, which is in 2 days. That is honestly heart breaking. As amazing as making Spanish friends is, it is equally as hard, and so I often find myself relying on Americans as my rock. When they leave, I probably won’t get another opportunity to see them for a very long time… Which brings me back to my positivity: imagine how much better my Spanish is going to be!! Without them, I’ll literally be completely alone here, and it will force me to interact with Spaniards more. This semester, I am going to try to focus on the little things and being positive and happy and free. Compartmentalizing my life will allow me to see each day as a new day and not worry about anything else. So yes, right now I am very sad. But I’m trying to see the sun come up on the other side and I am positive that this semester will be a million times better than the first.

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

I know that it has been some time since I’ve updated this blog, but I’ve been so busy with finals, my REAL FAMILY COMING TO SPAIN, the holidays, and settling back into school that I haven’t had any time.

So I took about 10 final exams. 10 final exams in Spanish. And SOMEHOW I didn’t fail any of my classes. Was I close? Yes. Do I understand my classes when I am learning them in Spanish? No. But it’s amazing what the fear of failure and sheer boredom will do to a person. I somehow learned biology in Spanish. Yay!

The spanish grading scale is 1-10, so you would assume that a 9 is a 90 and anything less than a 7 is failing. However, this is quite the opposite, and it roughly translates to:

9-10 = A

8-8.9 = A-

7-7.9 = B+

6-6.9 = B

5.5-5.9 = B-

5-5.4 = C

and anything less than a 5 is failing. However, if you have a number in between (4.7, 8.6, 6.5, etc.) they will bump it up to the higher grade.

My grades for the trimester were:

• biology: undecided because I wasn’t at school for the first two and a half months of school and she wants me to learn the initial material BY MYSELF and then take the tests on it before she will give me my final grade. However, on her final, I got a 7
• french: 5 (which I consider very good seeing as everyone else in the class has been taking French for 4 years, I have never taken French before, the teacher refuses to help me or give me extra work or grade me more easily, and the fact that I’m learning a foreign language in a foreign language…)
• history: 7
• math: 9
• Spanish Literature: 6
• Catholic Religion: 5 (which he gave me because I’m not Catholic…)
• Technology: 5
• PE: 6 (I didn’t know the names of muscles)
• Physics and Chemistry: 5 because I didn’t have the periodic table memorized…
• English: 9 (SHE GAVE ME A 9 BECAUSE MY MARGINS “weren’t big enough or straight enough.”)

All in all, I think I did very well seeing as I still don’t have a firm grasp on the language, I came into the school almost 3 months late, and I haven’t failed anything like I was pretty sure I was going to.

After finals, my REAL PARENTS CAME TO VISIT ME IN SPAIN! I showed them around Sevilla, they got to know Oliver, and then we went to Córdoba, Granada, and Madrid. I had so much fun with them, and spending a year abroad really makes you grateful for your real family. You don’t really realize how uncomfortable you are until you find that complete comfort again. Also, it was nice to not have to think about what I was going to say because they actually understood me. However, I think we both noticed that the other party had changed a little bit. When I asked my mom if she thought I had changed, she said that I seemed much more mature and independent. I guess I expected this, but I hadn’t really thought about how they might change too. In my mind, I had left them on pause and expected to be able to walk back into their lives like nothing had changed. Instead, I saw that their family dynamic had changed, my little brother had really grown up and matured and I am so so so proud of the person he is becoming. I think my sister has struggled a lot from me being gone, but if anything, this has made her a more present member in our family, and she has learned to speak up for herself. It’s really amazing what only 4 months away will change, and I kind of feel like an old grandmother commenting on how much her grandchildren have grown. I think my family enjoyed Spain, but my sister was tired of Spanish food after 2 days, and we ended up eating a lot of Japanese and Tex-mex (which I was so happy about because there’s really only so much tortilla de patata and jamón that I can take at one time). My family got to meet my host family for a dinner, which wasn’t as awkward as I thought that it was going to be, because my host mom can speak a little bit of English, and I translated the rest. It was very interesting to see my two families interacting, though it felt a little bit weird. Christmas was fun, though we didn’t do much, it was nice to just be in a house with my family, joking and arguing and playing around just like we used to. Honestly, I think my parents loved how cheap everything in Spain is above anything else. In the beginning of the trip, they were happy to sit down to 20 euro per person meals, but by the end, they would only eat at places in which you could have a whole meal for 5 people for 20 euros. It was actually really interesting to see what I experienced through the eyes of my parents, and for them to see where I had been spending my time for the past 4 months. Saying goodbye was impossibly hard, but I just found out that there is a possibility for me to spend Spring Break with them too, and I’m already looking forward to that.

After my time with them, I took a train to Castilla de la Mancha, the hometown of my host parents. It is a very very very small town but they have a house there that they always stay in for the holidays. I absolutely LOVED seeing my older host sister again, as I have always been the oldest, and it is so cool to have someone older than you as a mentor and role model. She lives in Valencia and it is very rare that I get to see her. We went to the movies together (in Spanish of course) and I understood the entire thing!! We talked all the time and I helped her find an apartment to stay in in Germany, writing letters to the owners in English. In Spain, there is a tradition of eating 12 grapes in the first 12 seconds of the new year, and with every single one, making a wish. It seems very hard, especially when your host mom buys grapes the size of apples, but I still managed to stuff all 12 in my mouth, and almost finished them all.

We came back to Sevilla just in time for Día de los Reyes, a holiday very similar to Santa Claus in the United States. Here, there are huge parades, in which all the kids of the town paint their faces black and dress up in huge robes, throwing out candy to their families on huge parade floats. This was very difficult for me to grasp, but the Spaniards did not see eye to eye on the matter.

The next morning is January 6th, called Día de los Reyes. We all woke up late and opened presents together that “the kings” brought us.

A few days later, school started again, and I had to stop my ridiculous sleep schedule. Now I am back in the groove of things and honestly it’s kind of nice to be able to have something to do during the day.

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

From the title of this post, I think you can tell exactly what I’m going to be ranting about. Today, the exchangies that came to Spain for a trimester are on their long flight home to the USA. That means that I have made it 1/3 of the way through mine. Wow. So what are my thoughts and feelings on the first third?

• Learning Spanish is a SLOW process. Whoever said that immersion was supposed to make you learn it quickly because it was either sink or swim was either lying or crazy. No. It is not easy. Every single day I go to bed utterly exhausted because my brain is still hardwired to English. This means that translating everything to Spanish and then translating everything I hear to English is PAINFULLLLLLLLLLLL. Sometimes it feels like I’m never going to actually learn the language. This is so hard because all I want to do is to be able to communicate freely and well and understand everything and share about America and who I am, but I just can’t! It is SO HARD and sometimes I feel like giving up. For the amount of time that I’ve been here, you’d think I’d be better at Spanish.
• HOWEVER: if you think about it, I’ve gotten SO much better. When I am at school or at home or out with Spaniards, we ONLY speak Spanish. 90% of my life has become in Spanish and so far I haven’t died, have Spanish jokes with my sister, communicate and tell stories and participate in conversation in my home at dinner, understand my classes and am doing (for the most part) well in them, and can get around with what I know. The other day in my technology class, my friend Irene said something in Spanish and I responded quickly and perfectly like I would in English. My friend Marta then said (in Spanish obviously) “wait Parker, you understood that? She didn’t say it slowly for you or used easier words or anything!” And then I realized how much I actually DID understand things. At this point, if I give my complete concentration to someone, I can understand them more or less completely.
• I do not like the Spanish lifestyle of staying up super late to party. While an occasional discoteca might be fun, for the majority of the time, the teens here are not interested in going out like we would in the USA. Everything starts rather early and end really late, and I have a very early curfew (11:30-12 depending on the night), so instead, I usually opt out and just hang out with Spaniards in the afternoons when we can go to a park or go out to eat or make crepes, and then hang out with Americans in the evenings. If I were to hang out with Spaniards at night, they spend the whole time calling people and not deciding what they want to do, so in the end I have to leave not having done anything. I know I shouldn’t be spending time with Americans, but if I want to go out at all at night, that seems to be my only option.
• I truly value my sleep. In the USA, sleeping was something that I believed I didn’t really do that often. If you ask my friends, they will tell you that I was always up and always doing something, even during ridiculous hours. I am NO MATCH for the lack of sleep that people get here. Even if they don’t go out (and if they do it is until 5-6 am), my mom stays up until 3 or 4 in the morning every day to work and then gets up before I do to keep working. She never takes naps and averages about 3-4 hours of sleep a night and is somehow still alive and working. The whole idea seems crazy to me.
• Everything you think about studying abroad is wrong. You imagine always going out, always trying new foods, always learning words, always having the time of your life, never studying, never being at home, never living, you know, a normal life. This could not be further from the truth. We are here because we are exchange STUDENTS. This means, in every aspect of the word, we are constantly learning and constantly tested and constantly tired. We fall into routine just like you would in the USA, and just like home, spend our lives studying and being sleep deprived and in our rooms trying to make an A.
• Teachers don’t really cut you slack. Maybe you don’t have to take one test or it’s okay if you miss one assignment. On the whole though, we are treated exactly the same as a Spanish student, which is really difficult seeing as, you know, we don’t understand anything you’re saying. You really have to work at it.
• Food is not “a mediterranean diet” like you read about, and it definitely isn’t veggies and cheeses and flavors. For the most part, Spanish food here is very processed and very unhealthy (hence my post about already gaining about 15 lbs). Going out for food is a lot of fun and yes, it is absolutely amazing and delicious, but I have found that at home, the food almost always comes from a bag or a box or a can and is always drenched in oil.
• People actually DO think that Americans are all fat and stupid and racist and Donald Trump lovers. The number of times I’ve been asked the following questions is honestly a bit embarrassing:
  • Do you support Donald Trump?
  • Do you have a gun?
  • Do you shoot people?
  • Do you shoot black people?
  • Do Americans hate all Spanish people or only the Mexicans?
  • Is your favorite food hamburgers?
  • Why aren’t you eating a lot of meat?
  • Why aren’t you fat?
  • Do they have football in America (soccer)?
  • Do you know anyone in the KKK? (this is the first question asked when I say that I’m from Georgia)
• People treat teenagers like they are very young and can’t be trusted. For example, they lock all the classroom doors, and only teachers are allowed to enter or leave during the day. You aren’t even allowed to leave to use the restroom during the day. Parents do pretty much everything for their kids, and most kids don’t know how to do laundry, cook, or do other household tasks. Parents also expect to know every single aspect of their kid’s life, which is very different from the privacy I am used to in the USA.
• No one goes out during the week, and really only leave the house on friday nights. This is weird for me, because I really cannot be cooped up in the house all week/most of the weekend, so I go out more than my family. Kids stay in to “study” but really it seems much more of wasting time on the internet. Which isn’t a bad thing, but I would much rather see the city than play “world’s hardest game” for hours on end.
• Everything here is REALLY old. You walk through the city and see a castle made in the 1400’s. The 1400’s!! There is nothing NEARLY as old in the states! To add to that, everything is so beautiful here.
• Getting along with host families is a lot harder than you’d expect. You are their child enough that they can yell at you and prohibit you from doing things, but not enough so you feel comfortable asking to do things or arguing when they say no. Nor do they pay for you, so it always gets a bit awkward and makes the gap between being a child and a guest even bigger. To me, I feel very different from a daughter or sister. I guess this just makes me SO much more thankful for my biological family.
• Social groups don’t exist here. There is no such thing as “popular” and “unpopular,” only “normal” and “nerds” (but there are only about 2 kids who qualify as “nerds”). This means that girls and boys are always interacting and that anyone can talk to anyone. It is SO much better than the USA in this regard. You feel welcome with anyone.
• I have already gained about 20 lbs (no I am actually not exaggerating) and the only reason I’m not fatter is because I walk EVERYWHERE. That being said, I absolutely cannot wait for our gym to open in January so I can finally start looking like myself again.
• Little things can make or break your day: if your host dad brings home raspberries or bonbons or if you don’t fail a test or if you have a whole conversation with someone without forgetting a word or if people talk to you in recreo or if someone asks you about the USA and then says “super chulo!” after you tell them or if someone starts cursing in English or even if your radiator in your room is working perfectly and doesn’t smell like it’s about to blow up. These things are guaranteed to make me have a good day, but my mental state can fall down just as easily. If anything goes wrong you honestly feel like you’re going to cry immediately.
• That being said, I have become so independent and it is no longer awkward to be completely by myself or not talking. I can figure anything out or if I can’t I am able to ask for help and understand completely in Spanish. I have grown up so much since last year and no longer require constant attention to see my worth. These three months have been some of the hardest of my life but because of that I think I am a completely different person. Everything seems brighter to me and I cannot believe that it has only been 3 months. I have finished almost exactly 30% of this year. It is FLYING by. It’s weird because some days it seems like it is never going to end and others I can’t even believe that it has been more than a few weeks since I was in the USA. Already this is the longest I’ve been away from my family and outside of America. And I still have 70% left!!

To all the trimester kids who are boarding their flight as I write this: thank you for your love, endless support, laughter, and everything about you that you have shared with me. You all are so inspiring and I will miss you so much. I hope that America is as amazing as you remember and I’ll look forward to the huge numbers of trips I’m going to have to take to see you guys. Hasta luego mis amores!

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

I have been here for 85 days, and I can safely say that the “honeymoon phase” is over. What is the honeymoon phase? Wellllll basically you start off your trip feeling like you basically have a 9 month vacation and you’re going to be exploring every day and going out and having the time of your life at all times. Turns out, as every kid gets warned: this isn’t the case. The first weeks are full of excitement because everything is new, but once that wears off, you begin to feel very tired ALL the time, because being forced to do everything in a language that you don’t think in is CASI impossible. This is only remedied by staying busy. Unfortunately, in the afternoons, not much is going on, so you find yourself thinking and making yourself get very homesick…great.

On top of that, it is the holiday season, when all of your relatives in America are all together doing American things (Thanksgiving was KILLER) and you’re in a country where Thanksgiving actually doesn’t exist…I made a thanksgiving dinner for my host fam, but even so, I felt extremely left out and missed my family more than anything. It is very hard knowing that everyone you care about is having the time of their lives without you…

I heard that our fam doesn’t like putting up Christmas trees, so I guess we aren’t really doing that this year. It kinda makes me very sad because everyone keeps sending me photos of their trees but other than that I forget that Christmas is in 19 days. I wish we decorated here but maybe that’s something else that you have to get used to when being in an exchange program.

At this point, I have about 7 months left, and I haven’t even finished 3. oof.

Honestly, somewhere I actually believed that studying abroad would be easier than everyone says. Turns out, this isn’t actually the case. I feel perpetually alone and very very sad. Maybe it’ll go away soon or maybe seeing my actual parents for Christmas (!!!!!!!!!) will ease the homesickness.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but this just goes to show that the life of an exchange student isn’t all fun and new adventures. I’m learning a lot, but sometimes I have to learn that new cultures means missing out on your own. If anyone has any advice for homesickness or ways to initiate a productive dialogue with a host family without causing more problems, PLEASE let me know!  This weird limbo of a place makes you always feel out of place or like a third wheel. It is normal for host families and students to get in arguments or fights, but no one really explains how to go about fixing them. Is there a way? Does it get better? Will you eventually feel like you belong? I guess I’ve been feeling a little lost and could use some help getting out of this situation. So if you have any advice, help?

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

As if my life here couldn’t become any more like a dream, I went to Africa two weekends ago!! On November 18-20 I took my first trip out of the country of Spain with the CIEE kids! We went to Morocco, Africa, and I absolutely NEED to go back.

The trip to a different continent began in the same way as many do: with an early morning. On Friday, November 18, at 6:45 am, we all piled onto a giant bus and began the 2.5 hour drive to the coast. The Americans from Madrid took a plane, so they actually got to sleep in a bit, but the Sevilla folks did not have that luck. Most people were fast asleep on this bus ride, me being one of the guilty parties. After this ride, we grabbed all of our stuff and went on a ferry boat. Now this was probably one of the most miserable boat rides I’ve ever been on. It’s probably a mix of not having been on a boat in several months, being very stuffy and hot on the boat, not really being able to go outside, going ridiculously fast, and the large amount of waves that we went through, and just generally the fact that Spain/Africa doesn’t really have the most hightech equipment. Long story short, I did not feel very good on the boat. A few kids actually got sick because it was that uncomfortable. Thankfully, it only lasted one hour.

After that, we went on yet another bus, but it wasn’t long before our bus stopped at the customs line. We all had to get our passport stamped which took YEARS, but hey, at least I now have a super rad stamp on my passport in Arabic. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that once we got off that first bus, we could no longer really communicate with anyone. They all spoke Arabic and French (none of which I speak) but if you were lucky, a rare person spoke broken Spanish or English. But for the majority of the trip I was reminded of how it felt to have a complete language barrier (exactly like my first month here.) We drove for about a half an hour and then arrived at our hotel. It was very pretty but it had a metal detector. However, I’m pretty sure the metal detector was just for show because it beeped at every. single. person. But it reminded me of how lucky I am to live in such a safe area where I don’t even need to think about metal detectors or wether you can go outside alone or what it means to be blonde. Once inside the hotel, they gave us room keys and the most delicious tea I have ever had in my entire life. I don’t usually drink tea, but I would drink that for the rest of my life if given the chance.

We had to return our room keys when we left the hotel (which made us a bit uncomfortable, but pickpocketing is real here so I guess it’s a good thing) and went to an art school. Our tour guide is from Morocco but speaks fluent English, Spanish, Arabic, and French, which is SUPER CHULO if you ask me! In fact, almost all the students in Morocco learn multiple languages and are fluent in several. Anyways our tour guide showed us around the entire art school, where students learn to paint, craft wood, and eventually iron.

After that, we went to a restaurant, where we dined on soup, couscous with chicken and onions and raisins (which was actually godly) and mandarin oranges.

We got henna done and had a tour of the city of Tetouan, ending in an herbal medicine shop and the BEST back massages you could want. So here are my thoughts on the first day of Morocco: you absolutely absolutely cannot have any part of your body showing. I wore a maxi dress that showed my arms and shoulders but I ended up putting on a sweater (even though it was so hot) because the moment I stepped out of the bus, I started getting catcalled and stared at like I had three heads. I thought I was used to getting stared at in Spain, as you can pick an American out from a crowd of Spaniards from a million miles away. But this is NOTHING compared to the ways in which the Moroccan people stare at you. Another very culture shock moment was when I was told that I was not allowed to photograph people or religious items. I wasn’t prepared for this and often had to second guess everything I took photos of. Our guide said that we COULD take photos of people if we asked them first, but seeing as almost no one spoke English/Spanish, I really didn’t know how to ask. Finally, we walked through an urban market, which initially seemed very cool and unique but I don’t think I had been prepared enough before hand. There were a lot of live chickens that were being killed on the spot with blood just running down the middle of the street. It seemed very unsanitary and opened my eyes to exactly what culture shock was. Although this seemed like a very cool thing, I decided that I would much rather VISIT Morocco than LIVE there. But I also don’t think I stayed long enough to say that definitely, so I would love to travel there again.

On the second day, we drove about an hour to the city of Asilah, in which we were taken inside a fortress and allowed to walk where we wanted. It was full of adorable little shops selling jewelry and tapestries and art, and I ended up buying so many things here. I couldn’t resist! One thing I absolutely CANNOT do is barter, so what ended up happening is the owner would say a RIDICULOUSLY high price, I would say no, thanks, and start to walk away, and then he would say “WAIT  YOU’RE A STUDENT AND A GIRL AND AN AMERICAN HERE LET ME GIVE THIS TO YOU FOR ALMOST FREE” and then it would be an extremely cheap price and I would agree. The money exchange rate is WEIRD! It is about 1 euro for every 1o dirhams, so things would appear to be cost 200 but would actually only be 20 euros. I thought this was funny (probably funnier than it should have been) when I wanted to by a 20 dirham snack and it was only 2 euros!

Today I was so close to the beach and it really made me miss Savannah and sailing and water. After this little shopping spree, we drove for another hour and arrived in the town on Tanger. We had a beautiful lunch that seemed out of a movie, and then some friends and I wandered down a steep cliff all the way to the ocean. IT. WAS. STUNNING. (and SO HIGH).

After that, we drove to the middle of nowhere, where we got to RIDE. CAMELS!!!!! I had been looking foward to this since I was still in America, and it honestly did not disappoint. It was a short ride, but I am DEFINITELY doing it again.

so WHAT if it is touristy and American and I squealed really loudly when I was riding it? I am never going to forget riding camels in Africa!! Next, we went to the Hercules Cave, which was very. veryyyyyy. touristy. People were climbing all over the rocks, touching incredibly old stalagmites and taking a million photos. There were lights everywhere and metal railings, so it was honestly a little disappointing. What did NOT disappoint however, was the entrance to the water. It is said to look like the shape of Africa, but either way it was stunning.

Afterwards, we walked through the Tanger market, where they handed us mint leaves and told us to not breathe anything else. Once instructed, we walked through a tannery, which smelled like literal death. It was nauseating, but once on the other side, you could see the entire city and was absolutely gorgeous.

We were given more free time, and we looked at all the touristy shops. One boy stopped me on the streets…here is our conversation (translated into English for your convenience):

him: hello beautiful! Want to but a bracelet? They are real gold and I need money for my school.

me: no thanks.

him: ahhhh are you from sevilla?

me: yeah! how did you know?

him: you have the face of a sevillan girl.

me: well I’m not actually from sevilla. I’m american. I just live in sevilla.

him: ahhhhh American eh? give me money now or I’ll stab you.

ANNDDDD this is where my friend Blythe steps in and whisks me away from the scary boy on the street. Honestly thank God for her. I still today could not tell you how he knew that I was from Sevilla…in any case, I learned my lesson and do NOT talk to street vendors now.

The next day, we woke up before the sun and were driving before 7 am. We drove about 1.5 hours and arrived in the city of Chefchauen, a completely blue city. We had a short tour of the city but were then able to explore. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve had Chefchauen on my bucketlist of places that I want to go for YEARS. It was honestly beyond amazing and exactly like I’d imagined it.

We said goodbye to the Madrid kids, who had to catch an early flight, and this was met with a few tears, as we realized that we would not be seeing the Trimester or Semester kids there EVER. AGAIN. 🙁 One thing about exchange is that it makes you VERY close to people very quickly. So everyone feels like part of your family: even if you rarely see them, you know that they will be there to listen to your problems and love you. After our goodbyes, we ate a DELICIOUS lunch and then began our trip home. after a 3.5 hour bus ride, we were at the border of Africa. As we were waiting in line, 4 kids ran underneath our bus and hung onto the underside. The bus driver got out of the bus, pulled the kids out, and beat them up RIGHT OUTSIDE OF OUR VEHICLE. It was so scary but it really made me reflect on what I take for granted. These kids were willing to give up their families and friends for the chance to get a better life. It was so dangerous and we were told that many of them didn’t have birth certificates and weren’t even seen as real people. Even if they had made it across the border, I have no idea what their plan would be next. It was so hard to watch. We made it back to Sevilla at 9:45 pm on Sunday night, and I promptly fell asleep, hardly being able to wake up for school the next morning. It was an overwhelming, emotional, but utterly incredible experience and I am so so so thankful to have had this opportunity to do it.

Peace,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

Everyone has heard of “freshman 15,” and though I have never had to experience this phenomenon, I feel as though “study abroad 15” is much the same. You are in a new environment without your parent’s strict food regime, constantly being offered food that you KNOW you shouldn’t eat but it just smells soooo good so why not and you don’t realize anything is wrong until you’ve eaten the entire pan of paella, two loaves of bread, an entire leg of jamón, a wheel of manchego cheese, and enough gelato and sweets to feed a small orphanage. In other words, this combined with the lack of sports or after school activities that people do here, the fact that our gym doesn’t open until January, and my complete disregard for self control when there is food in front of me means that I have been gaining a LOT of weight. And if you know me, you know that this is something that I have trouble grasping or dealing with. In the USA when I don’t really have to worry. So here, this was initially very troubling for me and I felt sick when I thought about how I really could not do anything except like not eat in order to help this. But then I realized: I’m only here for 9 months. Closer to 7 more now. And the food here VASTLY outranks the food in the USA. I can worry about weight any time in America because that’s all people really DO worry about here. But while I’m in Spain and people here see beauty in you whether you have a flat stomach or a muffin top and thunder thighs, and while the food here tastes soooooooo good, I’m going to enjoy every moment. Every pound that I put on here has been gained with friends over chocolate cake and espresso or laughter with my family over a home cooked meal or in the streets with street vendors and 1 euro and a really good book. I am completely not willing to give up any of that for vanity that society has put on me. So this “study abroad 15” might be real. But it is DEFINITELY worth it. I completely completely completely recommend trying everything and helping yourself to 5th helpings. Who knows when you’ll be able to eat tortilla de patata or langostinas in the USA again?

Peace and lots of food,

~Parker Grove

Howdy,

So I know it has been forever since I gave an actual update on what I’ve been doing, but as I’m sure you’ve guessed, Spain keeps me constantly busy. If I’m not at school or doing homework or with my family or with my friends or facetiming Americans or doing whatever else I seem to be doing, then I’m sleeping because I’m absolutely exhausted. Nothing has been this difficult in my entire life, but keeping busy means that I don’t have time to miss Savannah. Today has been the longest that I have had free time, and it’s only because I’m sick (for like the 3rd time this month…) and just woke up. So without further ado (because I’m honestly not sure how long this recreo is going to last) I guess I’ll start to fill you in on what you’ve missed in my first month. Since my first week, I have spent several weekends here. They have been PACKED! In my first weekend, I went out with my sister and her (our!) friends from her school, Salesianos. We went out on the streets and walked around, taking many pictures. They showed me all around Sevilla and we all danced in public, not caring who was watching. I met so many people that night, and they all referred to me as “la americana” or “la rubia” because apparently my brown hair is blonde here?¿ I don’t know but they are convinced that I’m a blonde (which I am very much not).

For some reason, my host family never tells me what our plans are for the day/week/month, no matter how many times I ask. This means that someone will say, “put your shoes on,” and this could mean “take the dog on a walk” or “we are going out all day and won’t be back until late at night get ready.” So at this point, I prepare for the latter.

On one of these surprise field trip days, I went to another Sevilla soccer game, and we got to sit in VIP! I’m honestly not sure how it happened but somehow it did. We got to meet some of the players, though I cannot tell you who nor do I have photos because no one told me who they were until after we had finished talking to them. There was endless food and drink and we got much better seats. However, I had no idea until I was literally at the stadium where we were going!

Needless to say, it was rad. Sevilla won, obviously. They ARE the best for a reason, and I ended up getting even closer to my host family.

Later that day, my host sister let me go off on my own for the first time since I had been in Sevilla. I ran into Marcell and Oliver, two other Americans from my program, and we went out that night to get tapas and just to walk around. However, during the day, we got to see the Virgin Mary getting moved from one church to another. It was absolutely amazing to watch because the porcelain statue dressed in velvet gowns sits atop an enormous silver float covered in candles and flowers. This is picked up but several men and carried on their shoulders all the way across town. As beautiful as it was, I can’t help but feel sorry for those men, as it looked absolutely miserable to carry in the heat.

Meanwhile at school…

Two days later, we had a day off of school on Wednesday and I went out with my American friends again. It turns out that most of our program was in the center so we met up with a bunch of them!

 My first burger in Spain!! Almost as good as the USA 😉

yeah we know that we are really cute.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful: school and homework.

That weekend (October 9), I went out with Oliver, another American from my program. We tried to find the emptiest streets, bought a million Spanish pastries and gelato, and had a pretty fantastic day. Later on, I went out with my host sister and her friends and we sat by the water, eating sunflower seeds, talking, and singing really loudly to Spanish music. I really felt like I belonged with these people and I think this was the first time that I actually felt like I belonged in Spain because for the first time I could understand what was going on in the conversation. I think one of the most gratifying feelings is when you actually understand the conversation for the first time because you feel like all the confusion and hardships are actually paying off. You can’t tell that you’re improving in the language until someone tells you “wow, your Spanish is so much better than when I saw you last week”

I talk to my parents about once a week and even though talking to them makes me very homesick, I’m very worried about losing touch with them because I’m very close with my parents and siblings.

So I’m really not sure why America has the stigma that we eat a lot of McDonald’s because in the past month I’ve eaten there more times than I have in the past five years in the USA. And I turn down offers to go…honestly it’s a bit ridiculous. And a LOT more expensive here than in the USA so I don’t understand. However, here, it’s where all the kids meet up and I’ve actually made a lot of friends while sitting in the Micky D’s booths with an extra large fries.

I went out with some Americans the next day and we spent the day wandering through the streets of Sevilla, going through parks and little fairs in the rain (the first rainfall I’d seen since being here).

When I got home, my family gave me an amazing surprise: A FLAMENCO DRESS!

For those of you who don’t know, flamenco is a type of dance that is VERY prevalent in Sevilla. It can be done alone, between two girls, a boy and a girl, or a group of people. Everyone here begins learning it at age 7 and will continue it until they are so old that they can’t even walk. It is absolutely beautiful and it is one of my goals to learn how to dance it by the end of the year.

here’s a link if you wanna see some flamenco dancers in action 😉

That week at school, Raquel, my coordinator, came to talk to me. We talked about everything that I was doing and what was going well and what wasn’t. However, later on, I realized that I wasn’t really happy where I was, and eventually convinced my family and Raquel that something needed to change. However, changing schools is a long process, so while Raquel began to work on that, I continued to attend San Francisco de Paula.

That weekend, I went out with some Americans to a discoteca. These are kind of like night clubs except for the fact that they are for teens ages 13-18 so there is no alcohol there, and they go from 5-10:30 so kids don’t miss their curfews. So kind of like a club lite version. It sounds kind of lame but actually it was full of Spanish music and dancing and it was so much fun!

The next day, I woke up at 4:45 and drove out to Dos Hermanas, a suburb of the city of Sevilla. It was the day of the Valme, in which they move the Virgin Mary statue from one side of the city to the other. Every single person dressed in their flamenco outfits and made giant floats made entirely of paper. These were pulled by cows or bulls and everyone walked behind, stopping at houses to eat or carrying food with them. At the end of the day, we had walked about 8 miles and were full of cheese and bread and laughter and friendship. It was absolutely a dream and felt oh so Spanish!

The following weekend, I had a trip to Granada with CIEE, and it is now my favorite city in the world. The city itself is shaped like a V, with out hotel and La Alhambra on one point, the main street in the valley, and the most beautiful spot in the world to view everything on the other point. On the first day, we went to La Alhambra, an old palace that was run by the Muslims a long time ago. And it. is. stunning.

We had lots of free time to roam around, so I walked and explored the city with Oliver (who if you haven’t guessed thus far…he’s my boyfriend…surprise!) Every day I fell more and more in love with the city and I absolutely cannot wait to go back with my family. It is full of Arabic influence but maintains ancient Spanish beauty. I absolutely adore it.

Two weeks ago, my family took me to La Mancha, a small town about an hour and a half away from Madrid for the long weekend. It is where Don Quijote is set and it is very easy to see why. For miles and miles along the hillsides you can see beautiful windmills that look out on this gorgeous city. Everything is painted white, brown, and anil (I have no idea how to spell that), which is like a rich blue. I had so much fun meeting all of my host grandparents and spending time with my host siblings. My sister played the guitar while we sang together and my host brother took me to a karaoke bar! It was so much fun!

The night we returned was Halloween, so within 15 minutes I put together a black cat costume and went into the city with some friends. In Spain, dressing up has only become a thing within the past 5 years, and although many people have embraced this American holiday, they do not trick-or-treat, and instead just walk around in costumes or go to parties. Because of this, my friends and I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up getting on a metro only to have to turn around again to be able to get home for my curfew and just hung out in the center with a friend…So Halloween wasn’t a huge success but hey, at least we looked cute!

We didn’t have school on Monday or Tuesday because of All Saint’s Day, so I spent Tuesday with Oliver!

I have been taken out of school from San Francisco de Paula, and in Spain, you can only be placed in another school if you are not currently enrolled in a different one. This means that on Wednesday, I didn’t have a school to go to, and ended up exploring my neighborhood while everyone was working.

The following day, Raquel (my coordinator) picked me up, because it was my first day of my new school: Salesianos! We arrived on time, me in my school uniform and her with a million papers, and we went to the principal’s to get my schedule. However…the government made a mistake on my papers and I was enrolled at another school instead! My host mom said that she would prefer for me to go to Salesianos, so we went to the government building and tried to sort everything out…but now all we can do is wait for them to figure everything out. In other words, I haven’t gone to school since October… I ended up staying with Raquel all day, and she showed me great organic places to eat and we just talked about my life in Spain. We visited three other exchange students and had a photo shoot for the CIEE marketing team, and I got to hang out with another school for the day!

That weekend, I went to a Color Run! It was a 5k and about 15,000,000 people showed up. I went with my host sister and her friends, but to my dismay, they were much more interested in taking photos than actually RUNNING, so I went by myself and met up with some friends afterwards. It was a lot of fun, and for once, I didn’t feel all that American because there was so much noise and color and laughter that no one was judging anyone else on their appearance.

So clearly, we had a great time.

The next day, I went to another soccer game with my sister and her boyfriend, and again we were in VIP, however, part of the way through, my sister began to scream because her favorite singer was there! I had no idea who he was (Antonio José in case you wanna google him like I did) but I got a photo anyways. Towards the end of the game, her boyfriend found out that a member of the game of thrones cast was next to us!

At this point, I still didn’t have a school, so on Monday, I went to my host mom’s school (she’s a French and music teacher) and hung out in some classes. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday, I went to a school near mine, Institute of Triana, where another CIEE student goes. Let me just say one thing about this whole presidential thing: the number of times I have heard, “no puede ser,” or, “te gusta hillary or trump?” or, “pero por qué la gente votó para trump?” in the past week has been ridiculous. I am acting as a representative of my country but I cannot even begin to answer some of their questions. Their anger and fear scares me because they seem to take it out on me as if it is all my fault that he is president. That blame is very hard to bear, especially when an entire country is upset and wants someone to blame. I am hoping that in the coming weeks, this will subside…Anyways, in school, my American friend, Maya, and I had a blast, though I suspect it is because we finally had someone else who understood how it felt to be thoroughly confused 85% of the time. We went out after school, going shopping, eating, and stopping in little cafes to tell stories. Oliver was out too, so we FINALLY went up in Las Setas, a GIANT wooden structure that is stunning and provides an amazing view of the city.

This weekend, we had a surprise party  for one of my host sister’s friends, Maria Guerra. 35 of her friends from school showed up and we all waited in the dark to surprise her. It was so much fun and I met so many new people! Everyone was so surprised at how much Spanish I understood after only 2 months!

So that more or less brings us to today. And tomorrow is my first day of school at Salesianos, my host sister’s school!! I bought a school uniform and I am SO ready to get back on a normal-ish schedule and make some Spanish friends!! If you have made it this far through this post, congratulations. I have been working on it for FOREVER!

Peace,

~Parker Grove