Athena Spain Summer 2012: Cinthya Salinas

Our last week in Europe had arrived. Brianne and I hurriedly packed our essentials into our small carry-on bags and like certified tourists made our way through Spain and up to France. We planned to go to Barcelona, jump over to Palma de Mallorca and then hop over to Paris. Little did we know that we were trying to cram too many things into one week.

First stop was Barcelona. I have never walked for so long in one city, not even Sevilla. We got to see one of Gaudi's houses which was full of color and life. After what seemed an eternity of waking we found La Sagrada Familia. It is an incredible structure and still being worked on. From its foundation to he tallest peak, La Sagrada Familia is by far the mos interesting building I have seen in my life. The next morning we got up early and made our way back to the airport.

Two hours later I was listening to the waves and my feet were touching sand. We had made it to our anticipated beach get-away: Mallorca. It's funny, Brianne and I could have sworn we were in Germany. Everything from the restaurants to the people were German which made those two days a lot more interesting than expected. Our hostel was a few feet away from the beach so we spent most of the day tanning (getting sunburn) and enjoying the beautiful water. We were in PARADISE. At night we walked to the center of Mallorca and ventured into German bars which was hilarious because we could not understand the music. That night we found out Spain and Italy were going to play against each other in the Eurocup's final game. Cheers to that!

One thing that Sevilla has reminded me of is that I am only twenty-three years old and I have a whole life ahead of me. Back in Texas I have a lot of responsibilities and tons of school work and often get caught up in a monotonous routine with too much work and little play. Sevilla opened my eyes to what my life should be life and how I should enjoy it to the fullest, not necessarily being wild or reckless, just happy. The third week of our program was upon us and we were going to make it the best so far. We met a few more people at the CLIC school and with a group of guys and gals decided to hit the night life. At the house we created a family of diverse people yet we all bonded in the common ground of our love for Sevilla.

Sevilla's night life is nothing I had ever experienced before. People here are night owls and stay up to party and enjoy themselves until the wee hours of the morning. With a group of Americans, Dutch, Swedish, Belgian, and German friends we made here, we readied ourselves for a night of mayhem. After meeting up at Capote Bar by Isabel II Bridge, the whole gang hauled taxis towards the Plaza de las Americas to go to an open-air club that was talked about by some locals. We made it to Bilindo club and immediately saw how popular it was. There was a long line around the building and it was not moving. After minutes of waiting and ten euros later we made it inside and it was chaos. There were so many people there that it was impossible to breathe. We managed to make it to the bar and with our group danced a few songs but claustrophobia took over. We decided to go across the street to El Libano which was another open-air club. That was a blast! We all got drinks and danced for hours. I asked my housemate Ken :

"Oh, what time is it?"

¡Venga!

Brianne and I promised ourselves that once we were in Spain, we would try to travel to as many places as our wallet would allow us. And so the second weekend of our Sevilla adventure arrived. As a means to test our selves and see how resourceful and daring we were, we bought bus tickets and on a Friday morning headed to Marbella (trip not endorsed by Athena Study Abroad). For years, I had heard of Marbella through song lyrics, always referenced as a beautiful, enchanting and exclusive place to be in. The bus ride lasted about 4 hours, give and take, and the mere sight of the sea was all we had been hoping for. Marbella is in Costa del Sol, on the Mediterranean Sea. We hauled a cab and made it through the narrow streets of the "casco viejo", old neighborhood of Marbella, and stepped into Hostal del Pilar (accommodations not arranged by Athena Study Abroad).

Right off the bat a laid-back atmosphere surrounded this place; the streets full of energy and life. Brianne and I wasted no time, changed into our bikinis, bought a liter of water (you can never have too much water over here) and with two new friends headed to the beach. We were starving so we had some delicious paella by the beach and all that was left to do was to relax and take it all in. Serenity was all I could hear coming from the waves crashing on the rocks. Everyone was on their own zone at that beach, some people topless, free and happy. To our immense luck it was feria weekend in Marbella. We headed back to the hostel, showered, changed and with two guys staying at the hostel made our way up the town and enjoyed every second of the feria. People of all ages were there, from babies to grandparents. People our age hopping from bar to bar, us dancing until our feet could no longer take it, and time stopped all together. That night as we got back to the hostel, we climbed up the stairs to the terrace and just observed the city. It was alive, full of love, noise and freedom.

I have caught Sevillian fever. Never had I thought I would be in Europe or Spain for that matter. My friend Brianne convinced me to come with her to Spain a few months back and I will never regret it. We decided to work on our Spanish speaking and grammar skills and could not think of a better place than Sevilla because of its amazing history and culture.

We traveled for almost an entire day; flew from Dallas to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Lisbon and Lisbon finally to Sevilla. It was quite the journey since Portugal was experiencing air traffic control strikes at the airport and flights were being delayed. At that point, after much exhaustion, Brianne and I thought we were never going to step on Spanish ground.

Finally we made it to Sevilla on a Friday night and were greeted and picked up at the airport and taken to our hostel for the first few days. The first few days we were jetlagged to the max and I was utterly annoyed by the fact that my carry-on bag got sent to London by accident and it had all my emergency items and essentials. Regardless, that did not stop me from going out or exploring the city.