I'm back.

Back on the blog. This will (hopefully) help me keep in touch will all of my international friends (hola! hallo! bonjour! 안녕!) I know, I never finished my Korea posts. I'm so bad about blogging. I've been crazy busy with the start of senior year. I have a hard class load and college applications to keep me busy, but I'm going to try to update now and again.

DAY 3

Today we started off the morning with a Korean lesson. Korean is a HARD language!!! I think after three full days in this country I have only mastered "Hello" and "Thank You"!


After we went to the Samsung D'light center. There we got to play with their new products. It was really interesting!


After playing at Samsung we had a Tae Kwon Do class. Sorry no photos from that! Probably a good thing, I'm not exactly gifted in that department!

DAY 2

안녕하세요! This entry may be a bit short because I am EXHAUSTED! Today was great. First we had a lecture on Korea's History from a professor at Yonsei who was so knowledgeable and interesting (if Forsyth had teachers like him maybe I would enjoy history!)


Today we got to go around Seoul and visit a lot of the more "tourist attraction" places. First we went to Chandeokgung Palace. The palace was beautiful and really cool to see but it POURED rain the whole time so my pictures aren't great.


I love this picture because it shows how wet everyone was. Even though it poured, we all had a great time walking around the palace.


This fun looking food is a type of rice ball. On the inside it was filled with kind of a sweet syrupy liquid and sesame seeds.


This is a desert that my friends and I ordered in a traditional coffee house while trying to stay out of the rain. This is by far my favorite thing that I have eaten so far in Korea. It is shaved ice topped with sweet pumpkin, red bean, nuts, and mochi balls. DELICIOUS!


We also went to the War Memorial of Korea. It was a very interesting museum with one floor dedicated to Korea's history and two floors dedicated to the Korean War. This exhibit was a statue with a dogtag for every soldier lost in the Korean War. The dogtags were then shaped into a tear drop.


This was our dinner, and even though it doesn't look very appetizing it was delicious. One of the Yonsei University students called it "Korean Chicken Soup"!

DAY ONE

Seoul is such a cool city. I love it already. Today we got a chance to walk around the area near Yonsei University, where we are studying.


I was pretty nervous about the food before I came, but all of the food I have tried has been surprisingly good!


Yonsei University


All 100 of us!

I'M HERE.

After a 14 hour flight from Atlanta, Georgia, I'M IN SOUTH KOREA.

We haven't really done anything yet, but my apartment is really nice! Tomorrow we'll get to go see Seoul. Pictures to come!

Travel Info.

I have my flight information now.

I leave ATL August 8th at 1:00 pm and I arrive in Seoul August 9th at 4:30 pm.

Yes, with the time difference that is about a 14 HOUR flight.

I will arrive home August 22.


One of the biggest things I'm nervous about is jet lag. I only have two weeks in Korea, and I definitely don't want to spend the first one exhausted. I didn't really have many problems in Spain but It was only a six hour difference and a seven hour flight. So, if anyone has any advice, LET ME KNOW PLEASE!

Name Change...

For those of you who've noticed my blog has changed names.

Yes, It is true. I'm going to South Korea.
and before anyone asks, no. I don't speak a word of Korean.

I received a scholarship from the Korea Foundation to go live in Seoul for two weeks. I will be studying Korean culture, language, history, and Korea's relations with other countries.

I'll be keeping the blog updated before, after, and hopefully during my trip (IF I have internet in Korea.)

Taylor at Home.

I have been avoiding writing this post for a while.

I. AM. HOME.

It is weird but that´s supposed to be normal.
I don´t have much to report on. I´ve been working on my online classes, touring colleges, and volunteering at the children´s museum. I also started teaching Morgan a Spanish class today, she did really well.

So on that note I´m closing the blog- at least for now... I´ll be sure to post any important life news, but until then...

Adios

Last day of School

I had my last day of school at IES Cavanilles yesterday. It was a little sad but more exciting than anything. SUMMER!



This is my school. I am sitting on the steps. Yes, it is really that big. Actually bigger no way the whole thing would fit in the picture, and there is another building behind it. (And yes, it really is that sketchy looking.



Me and the inside of the school.



My Class. All boys. Hardly any girls.


I leave Alicante tomorrow at 2:45. I can´t believe it is really time to go home!

Panic.

To whom it may concern,

I realised today that I have LESS than a week left in Alicante. (Yes, I just spelled realize the British way by accident. That´s what 8 months of British English class will do to you.) I leave Alicante at 2:45 Sunday, June 1st. THIS SCARES ME.

I like Alicante. I enjoy living here. Spanish school rules. The food is tasty. Public Transport is cheap. I have cool friends. There are 10 amazing beaches less than 30 minutes away from me. I LIKE LIVING HERE. Why am I going home?

Going home is starting to scare me. I have changed a lot over the past 8 months and so has everyone at home. Senior year is scary. Not only do I have an impossible schedule, I have to apply to colleges.

Everything I do now is a last. My last time in San Juan. My last time seeing Tino and Maria. My last Monday. (I spent my last Monday at Playa Muxavista swimming in the Med... not a bad way to do it.)I don´t like lasts.

Don´t get me wrong. I WANT to come home. I just want to stay here too.

See you guys in a week,
Taylor

Benidorm

Last week I skipped school with a friend and we went to Benidorm for the day.

I liked Benidorm. A lot of it was really pretty!

Plus there were a lot of English speaking people (a nice break from always speaking in Spanish!)

Me in Benidorm (It was so hot there!)

But Benidorm had its bad sides too. It is a very big tourist destination, therefore the beaches were very, very crowded. But all in all a great day!

I Always Have a Bad Headache.

Dear Host Family,

We live in a very tiny apartment so it is not necessary to use a baby monitor. The baby monitor only amplifies Norah´s crying that is already very loud. It makes it impossible to study, read, or even think. If you insist on letting her cry, please cut it off.

Thanks,
Taylor

PS. It is also not necessary to leave the TV on full volume while screaming at eachother.

The Final Month.

Well, I actually have less than a month less. (24 days to be exact) I can´t believe that time here has passed so quickly. I feel like I was at orientation in Barcelona a few weeks ago. I am starting to realize that I will be home before I know it and that I need to make the most of my time left here. Which brings me to...

THE LAST MONTH CHECKLIST.

1) SWIM IN THE MEDITERRANEAN - Okay. I know this sounds silly considereing how long I´ve been here. But, I really have never swam in the sea. Go to the beach? All the time. I´m just haven´t made it in the water.

2) GO TO TABARCA - There is an island off the coast of Alicante called Tabarca. It is supposed to have really pretty beaches and good snorkeling. Plus, during the week it is not supposed to be crowded at all.

3) EAT AS MUCH FERERRO ROCHER ICE CREAM AS I CAN - For anyone else who enjoys the delicious candy, imagine it in chocolate ice cream. Yes, there is a place in my city that sells it.

4) VISIT BENIDORM - Okay, so I´m actually doing this one today. There is a city about 40 mins up the coast (in Tram). It is supposed to be cool. Also, alot of English-speaking people there.

5) WATCH THE SUNRISE - The sunrises over the water here. One day (if I can drag myself out of bed, I will watch the sunrise on the beach)

6) GO TO VALENCIA - I still can´t believe that I haven´t been to Valencia and I only live two hours south. It is supposed to be really pretty. Plus it has the City of Arts and Sciences which includes the largest aquarium in Europe!

7) GO TO MURCIA - Yet ANOTHER close city that I have yet to visit. Don´t know to much about this one. But Rosa, my cordinator, says that they ´eat well there´

Morocco II

I was obsessed with the Arabic stop signs!

Signs on a street in Fes

The city of Fes.

Morocco

For those of you who don´t know... I went to Morocco for a few days last week. Here are some pictures from my trip.

A few locals in Chaouen

A street vendor in Chaouen

The whole town of Chaouen


Cuscus!

Proof that I went.

Madrid Take II

One of the perks of my new host family is that my host mother´s mother (...my host grandmother?) lives in Madrid. So last weeked we took a quick 4-day trip.

I LOVE Madrid. It is one of my favorite places I have ever been so I was happy to go back!

Madrid´s POST OFFICE. Yes, post office. You know that a city is awesome when their post office looks like that.

The Real Madrid stadium. Sadly I´ve never been to a game. (Taylor Pond and I tried to buy tickets once and they were almost 200€ for the cheapest ones!)

We spent a nice afternoon in the Retiro. Much more people here this time then when I went in January. And sadly the rose garden hasn´t bloomed yet.


La puerta de Europa. These office buildings really are inclined... Cool huh?


So yeah, an overall great weekend in Madrid.

What is the difference between the US and Spain?

Well. I will tell you one difference at least... The way we celebrate Easter...

In the US we have nice little easter egg hunts like the one pictured above... (from 2007- look how little Raelyn is!)

In Spain they do things a little bit differently. Easter Egg Hunts are replaced with KKKish processions complete with drums and long candles. (This is just a pictures of one- there multiple every day leading up to Easter. and they are LOUD.) Hood and Robe colors vary.

Castillo de Santa Bárbara

A few days ago Taylor P., Julia (Germany) and I climbed up to the top of the Castillo de Santa Bárbara. (It´s not really a castle, it´s more of a fortress... Not as exciting)

A view of the Castillo from the Port

Me at the top, with a great view of Alicante

Julia, Me, Taylor P.

Say Hello to Norah!

Well, you should probably tell her Hola. This is Norah, my new host sister. She turns one on Thursday! Things with my new host family have been going really well, but I still miss Tino and Maria.

and Cortney- they do not have any roosters to wake me up.

Hasta Luego San Juan

So after 7 happy months living with the Sanchez-Sirvent family... I have to move. As you may have read in my last post, I had a run-in with a semi-insane girl. Interhispania, my organization has decided that it is no longer safe for me to stay in San Juan. Today I am moving to Alicante (which is only about 30 mins away). I don't know too much about my new host family but I will let you know as soon as I do.

I will MISS you guys! Thank you for everything.

The beautiful Sanchez-Sirvent House/Garden

My school in San Juan that honestly... I won't miss too much.

Update

I haven't written in a few days, but a lot has happened.

1) I'm going to Morocco! It's official, April 22-27 I'll be in AFRICA!

 

2) Tuesday afternoon I had a rather unfortunate run-in with a girl who doesn't like me very much- and decided to show me how much she dislikes me. DON'T WORRY. It sounds much worse than it is, I'm fine. The police were notified and they are handling it. 

4) I had a meeting with the upper school director and it looks like I will be able to graduate with my class! I knew coming into this that my year in Spain may cause me to have to repeat, but I will be graduating June of 2010!

3) Lila left this morning. This was pretty sad. (Recap for those who don't remember- Lila was my French "sister" who was here for only two months.) 

Most of the Alicante area Exchange Students at Lila's farewell dinner

4) After dropping off Lila at the airport this morning we headed to the Alicante Natura salón de medio ambiente. Which was basically a convention about living "greener" lives. It was really interesting, we attended a class about houses made out of straw-bales. I also rode a Segway. Oh, and there was free food. An all around good time.

Pancakes!

Taylor (the other American, don´t worry I´m not speaking in third person) and I made pancakes on friday night!

They were delicious!

Taylor enjoying our creation.

Lila had her first "real" american pancakes. 

Even Fina tried some, and liked it! (She told me they were buenisimo)

Everyone had a nice pancake night. Except Tino, he preferred to eat a bocadillo de jamón with a leaf he picked in the yard on top.

Puente

Every once in a while I come across a custom here in Spain that I think that the US is really missing out on.

This week I only had two days of school. Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday (Today) is a cultural day and nobody goes. Thursday is the Spanish Father's Day. Friday is puente.

For those of you who don't know, puente means bridge. This confused me. But my host mom explained to me that whenever there is a Thursday fiesta they take Friday and "build a bridge to the weekend."

That is awesome.

Also she told me that if there is a Wednesday or Tuesday Fiesta, that sometimes they build aquaductos to the weekend! 

I love getting mail...

Any mail is great... but mail from my adorable Nieces and Nephew is even better. These are pictures they drew me (of me) to thank me for a package I sent.

Thanks Guys!

By Jack. 

I love this one. My favorite part has to be the two teeth though, or maybe the mysterious tuft of purple hair between my almost invisible eyes.

By Raelyn

It is hard to decide what my favorite part about this one is... Either the earings, or my star shaped lips. Either way, I think I am quite beautiful.

By Morgan

Morgan's Picture is really good- the humor in it comes from an email I received from her a few days before the letters arrived. Here is an excerpt from the email...

taylor did you get our letters yet?Well,if you did,then you might have saw some boobs on mine.Sorry about it.Well, its just what you look like.