They say old news is no news. And this is from about two weekends ago so it’s definitely old news. But alas, oh well, hope you enjoy reading regardless! So after we finished our 2 week intensive session course (and with a midterm, final, and 2 papers in two weeks, it was intense) we went on a weekend retreat to Sierra Huéznar in northern Sevilla. The purpose of this trip (facilitated by CIEE, our study abroad company) was to immerse us in  Spanish all weekend and we had some students from the University of Sevilla along to help us practice (and to make more new friends!). Here are a few pictures of the beautiful countryside!

So story about this pile of rocks. Spain was originally known as Hispania which means “Tierra de los Conejos” or “Land of the Rabbits.” The Romans created rock formations such as the one below quite ingeniously. Essentially the rabbits would run from the foxes into such rock piles for protection. Although they were safe from the foxes, they were now trapped and became food for our Roman friends!

We also did a little wine tasting and were educated about the subtitles of wine. Here’s what I learned: 1. Wine that is more translucent is younger, whereas more opaque, darker wines are older. 2. When you tilt your glass of wine away from you and then back to an upright position, you should observe how the “tears” (as they phrase it in Spanish) run down the glass. The wine that travels more slowly is more dense and therefore has a higher alcohol content. 3. I don’t really like the taste of wine, I suppose connoisseur life is not for me!

We had a MasterChef competition with instructions to make an appetizer, a dessert, and picadillo, a typical Andalusian dish.  As Head Chef i’m happy to say we tied for first place 🙂

In the afternoon we went exploring the mountains. Becky and I thought we should try to imitate the “I’m flying” Titanic Scene (I might add that we didn’t quite achieve our goal. But, hey it was funny, and there’s always next time!)

My friend Casey and I also rode bikes around the area and encountered this beauty!

Also!! First time I’ve had the opportunity to cook since I’ve been here in Spain but I learned how to make a tortilla española! I decided to make mine with potatoes, cheese, and onions. Being Indian, I also felt the need to add some curry powder to the mix (albeit I definitely heard a Spanish girl laugh and say “This I’ve never seen before!”). A tad stressful with everyone watching, but it also made me very happy!

My little piglet friend! He didn’t smell quite the best though. After I picked him up, the employee told me to put him close to my face. A minute later he started squealing. Then I started squealing and hurriedly gave him back to anyone who would take him! It was terrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Location: Spain