Gobble gobble!

Thanksgiving Day! I was a little worried about spending this holiday in Spain without my friends and family. But, in the end it turned out to be very special and a lot of fun. Enrique, one of the directors with the ISA program here in Spain, got together with the finest hotel in Sevilla and gave them thanksgiving recipies to put together. The result was a tasty dinner with my new friends.

Of course, since Spain does not have a Thanksgiving holiday I did not have the day off from classes. Therefore, I attended all five classes between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm.

Around 6:45 pm I get a call from my mom and dad. They have mi abuelo en la linea! For the first time ever in my life I am able to have my own conversation con mi abuelo. It was great. But now I see where my sarcasm comes from. Go figure! Anyway, I wished him a Happy Thanksgiving and ask him when he is coming to visit the states again. He says soon. He then asks me how much do I want in a money order! Lol, I have no idea why he does that every time I speak to him. Then, I asked if I could come stay with him for the summer. Of course he said sure!

That was the afternoon. My night started out with everyone getting dressed up in their formal attire. We all met at the dining area around 8:45 pm (of course those of you who know me already know that I was late ;o] )Everyone looked very beautiful. As my friends and I sat at the table, I think we realized that this gig was going to be special. So, to start, we went around the table and everyone gave one serious reason why they were thankful and one silly reason.

My reason was that I was thankful for being able to come to Spain and visit the countries that I have been to. My silly reason was that I was thankful for the plentiful wine that was sitting on our table because I had an extremely tough European Union quiz earlier that day ( haha, una broma).

Dinner was delicious. Our hotel did an excellent job. our main course was either chicken or turkey ( pretty sure it was chicken) with gravy, a side of mashed potatoes, and a signed of cooked veggies. The cranberry sauce was thick and had a hint of spices to it. Mmmm, it was divine. My dish was finished off by a glass of full body red wine ( Yes, I am well over 21 so calm down.)

After dinner, I headed to Calle Betis for cocktails with the girls. Of course this street was packed with Americans out for Thanksgiving night. I then return home around 1:30 am. I was awaken to a phone call from my friend asking where I was and that I need to come to the local discoteca and dance Thanksgiving night away.

This is the great thing about Spain. It is much like New York City, the night never ends. So I get up and head out. I dance the night away and around 6 am I head home. Thus, my Thanksgiving is officially over. Next, the recovery from being up an antire day and night begins. This was the best Thanksgiving ever!

Ciao Todos!

Mone Gonzalez " Monia"

Movies,strikes, and book fairs! Oh My!

!Que un dia interesante en Seville !

Today started out with a class period of watching the filming of the movie "Night and Day." They had the stunt cars and extras in front of our school. Since our profesora was very excited about this she allowed us to watch while they began filming.

So we eventually got our class work finished and left for home. On the way, my rommate and I passed another scene that was getting ready to be filmed. There was a mini cooper hooked up with all the necessary stunt gear and more luxury cars for the movie. OF course, we did the american thing and posed by the cars. It was okay though, because the spanish girls next to us found it funny and began doing the same thing.

After we walked past our photo session at the second scene my roommate and I finally passed through plaza nueva. To our surprise there were taxis blocading the whole street. Then I remembered my Profesor telling me that there is a cab strike going on today. It was funny to me because they were blocking the streets that everyone uses to enter in to plaza nueva. A plaza that is very popular because of its access to shopping.

This strike of cabbies spilled out in the main interesection infront of the bridge. There was a city bus stuck in the middle of this fiasco that the police had to help maneuver out of its situation. Also, there were people who needed to get to the movie set that could not drive in to the plaza for the filming. As I kept walking the strike spilled out in to a major blvd. This was begining to even irritate the police directing traffic. Here is the problem . I have no idea what they were protesting! Instead of the cabbies walking around posting signs or chanting demands they stood around smoking and laughing. I mean how are we suppose to know your purpose of protesting if you dont say what it is. (LOL) It was very entertaining to watch.

So, now I am off to a bookfair that is going on in the center of Plaza Nueva. If anything interesting happens during this entertaining day, while I am there, I will definately add to my blog.

"Monia" - My trip to Morocco.

"Hello my name is Mone." "Hello. It is very nice to meet you Mone. We are extremely happy that you have come to visit us here in Meknes. Would you like some tea?"

This warm welcome is the first impression that I experienced in Meknes from the Morroccan students that were hosting the third intercultural and diversity forum.

So let me give the story of my travels that have changed my views and in some cases mal ideas about another culture and my own country. We left Sevilla Spain at 4:30 am and arrived at the port in Spain. We rode over to Morrocco on a ferry that sailed down the straight of Gibraltar and docked in Tanger. From there we rode a bus for four more hours to Meknes Morrocco, arriving at the Hotel Rif in the downtown area. We had two hours to settle in our rooms and rest before we boarded our bus to the Universite Moulay Ismail.

Next came the opening ceremonies. We were serenaded by music from a moroccan band and a spanish band. I was a little sleepy but I tried to socialize as much as I could. What I could gather from the first night is that this was going to be an exciting time in Morocco.

The next day we were up bright and early to arrive at the university for the days events. We listened to panel discussions the necessity for intercultural dialouge, brain drain and how it can prevented, what we (the students) need to do in order to promote travel among different countries so that the western countries are not the only people experiencing the benefits of study abroad.

For lunch, which was around 2:00 pm, we went to "Aladdin's restaurant." It seemed to be a themed restaurant around the aladdin movie that came out years ago. The food was absolutely superb! The first dish was cooked raisins in a sweet sauce poured over lamb. The lamb was extremely tender and flavorful. The lamb was surrounded by cooked veggies. All of this was laid on top of a bed of couscous. It was so good! The next dish was four roasted chickens topped with olives. Lastly, we had a desert of a variety of fruits.

Ater lunch, we went to the ancient medina with a tour guide that walked us through the medina at night. I saw the mosque in Meknes, and different vendors selling all kinds of pastries, scarfs, shoes, etc. I am convinced that moroccans are thebest at making pastries. They look so apetizing and taste so good! We returned to the school for the last discussion and then returned to the hotel.

The next days panel discussions I found to be most interesting to me. Some of the subjects were is globalization just another term used for westernization, what is the importance of communication among the different cultures of the world, is it important for students to learn more than two languages? These are just a few that stuck out in my mind, but there were many other topics. Of course, there were the topics of my group which varied between us. I talked about immigration and how it should not be viewed negatively because it can be more beneficial that not. I gave the example of the US and how we are a proven example that immigrnat coming to a nation does not have to be an invasion of one peoples against another (which is how soem people view immigration.) My colleagues discussed religion and politics and the issue between Israel and Palestine.

I had the priviledge of watching a skit that answered the question is mearning more than two languages important for the communication lines between the different cultures in a more global society. The skit consisted of three girls one who spoke english, one who spoke spanish and french, and one who spoke spanish only. The first time, the english girl was crying. The frnech girl comes in and ignores her because she doesnt know how to ask her whats wrong. The spanish girl comes in ignoring the english girl as well simply because they cant communicate with her. As a result the english girls storms out thinking no one understnad her.

In the replay of the cenario the french speaker is also able to speak english and spanish. Therefore she able to ask the english what is wrong and console her. She is also able to communicate the problem to the spanish speaker so that everyone understands. I think this skit also proved how so much can be lost when communication is not available or present.

I enjoyed giving my presentation but there was a young lady name Fati that asked a question and made a statement that sord of threw me back. She said that she hopes to study abroad and is thinking of going to either the United States or Europe. She said that she would prefer to study in the US because "they will accept me for who I am," whereas in Europe they will require her to remove her hijab. I was thrown back because in America, we tend to be very critical of our country and not realize how good we have it. And to hear someone say that they would prefer to come to my country because they can not be themselves somewhere else baffled me.

All of the civil rights movements, protests from the different minority groups, and the laws that were passed to prevent discrimination have made the United States a preferred choice. I know that our race relations are not perfect, but there is definately a big difference. For example, in Spain this past week, a muslim woman lawyer was thrown out of court because she refused to remove her hijab. Not because she was rude, or because she was a bad lawyer, simply because " her clothing did not repsect the court." I had a talk with Fati after the last panel discussion and she said that it would be her dream to study in the states. But getting a visa in morocco is very complicated and almost impossible. I don't know why, but this young woman just continues to be in my mind.

The next day we returned to Spain. I learned a lot from this experience. One lesson being that I am really proud of my contry and the people who have fought and died for it to be the equal opportunity for all of mankind center that it is today. I also learned that some women are very proud to represent their religion with the clothing that they wear. My friend Fati was extremely proud of her hijab, as she should be. I also found that the men here respected their women. Is this partly because they are not dressed half naked the way women are in the states. I'm sure it's not the only reason but that it does factor in. As I thought about this question I realized that the idea of covering yourself is used in many other religions such as christianity as wellI. Maybe we don't wear the hijab but christians tend to encourage wearing clothes that cover yourself. And I dont think its a bad idea. It forces you to use your personality and words to express yourself.

Some other things that I learned is that my name in Arabic is "Monia" ( pernounced Monya with an emphasis on the y.) I also learned how to say thank you in a few languages. Thank you, gracias, merci, shokran. Also, I know how to say hello in a bunch of languages! Hello, Hola, Bon jour, Bon dia, asilam a leykum ( I know that is probably not spelled write, so if someone could help me with that...I'd be much obliged.) The last thing that I learned is that Ana, one of my directors, can sing her butt off!!

So where do I go from here. Well, the university will be hosting these forums every year. The next one is in November 2010. I have made it my mission to get with the study abroad office at my school in order to put a groud together to go to this conference. I think it is extremely important that we attend. So Lena, look out cause here I come. And you know how annoying I can be when I really want to get something accomplished. LOL!!! Also, I have learned that even as open minded as I try to be that I too still have my prejudices. So I will have to learn to determine what those are and confront them. Its a lifelong battle for everyone I guess. Lastly, I want to do something so that moroccan students can travel to the US the way we traveled there. This is something that I think the US and Morocco can benefit greatly from.

And I have a few more pics for everyone....You can find all of the pics on my facebook page. Cao!

-Monia

Excursion de Sevilla =0)

So this past weekend everyone traveled to either Morrocco Africa or somewhere else in Europe. This means I was left to wonder around Sevilla on my own. I must say it was quite the experience. One, I was forced to speak spanish more because my english friends couldn't bail me out. Therefore I learned to speak spanish more fluently this weekend than any other time during my stay. Two, I found numerous new places to eat, drink, and shop. Que bueno!

So, On friday I decided to visit Factory. This is the name of an outlet mall that is close to the airport in Sevilla. To get there I caught a free bus that picks shoppers up and takes them to the outlet mall. I took a cab to the bus stop because I had no idea where it was and I had heard that it was far. So my first spanish practice session was with the cab driver. He was very nice and helped to correct my spanish. He was also ecstatic that I was from Florida because he had vacationed in Miami recently (as all spaniards have done once they find out I am from Florida, lol).

Next, I get on the bus and sit in the middle in order to eaves drop on everyones conversation. Unfortunately, I couldnt fully comprehend the stories. But, I did pick certain frases that I had learned in class. Frases such as " ha dicho que." Anyway, we arrive to the Factory. YAY!

So I was able to shop around and purchase pieces of clothing for like 3 euro or 6 euro. These were items from name brand stores and in great condition! Why didn't I come here first. Then came the bus ride home. As i am sitting on the bus I realize that I can't recognize the stop that I got on the bus at. Oh NO! So after a while I say to the drive " Yo necesito salir a el estacion cerca de Hotel Occidental." He proceeds to tell me that we passed that stop a while ago and that I need to get off because this is the last stop and the bus is closed. Eeek!

As I exit the bus I realize that I have no clue where I am! Then a "shining light" appears in the form of the University of Sevilla banner. I soon realize that this stop is closer to my house than the stop I paid the cab to take me too! (shakin my head) So lesson for this weekend, there is a stop for shopping that I can walk to and not have to pay a cabbie. Que Excellente!

Let's proceed to the following day. So, my need to continue exploring returns when I wake up in the morning. Asi, yo tenia desyunar con mi madre en la manana. Proximo, yo fui a correr por el rio. El rio esta muy bonita y hice bien tiempo en el sabado pasado. Later that evening, I went for another wander excursion this time with my camera. I realized that I had a bunch of pictures of me in Sevilla, but no pictures of Sevilla itself. A funny story that night, as I was attempting to photograph a beautiful Sevillan building these guys ( who were clearly enjoying their drinks) asked to be in the picture. So for jokes I said sure and proceeded to take the picture. Then they started screaming " No No No! You have to be in it with us!" Oh man! At first I was a little hesitant. I didn't know these guys and what if the one taking the picture tried to run off with my camera. Then I realized, " Seriously Mone, he's tipsy. How far will he really be able to run with me chasing him?" So, I got in on the pic and it was fun. Check it out!

OK, So, the highlight of my night is that I found out there is a FULL BAR STAND less than five minutes away from my house. It is located on the side of a major highway and somewhat next to the river. ( By the way, I am well over 21 and very mature and GROWN, so please spare me the frowns regarding my drinking. I am not encouraging anyone to drink. This is just something that I do. Thanks!) The best part is the music that they were playing was awesome. I heard some Sean Paul and TI for the first time in a long while. And the warm weather, small crowd of people my age socializing, and the view of the river made me sit down and sip on a mojito and just relax. It was great.

Well, Sunday was a relax day where I sat by the river again and watched the rowers, kayakers, paddleboaters, and every one else in Sevilla walk by. I literally mean everyone. The tradition here seems to be that on Sundays you get dressed up and walk by the river. It's kind of cute to see the older couples where the husband is leading his wife on a slow walk and she is letting him. they are so cute!

Hope you enjoyed my weekend. I did!

Hasta Luego chicos!