Obama and Sevilla!

Hey all,
What an exciting week to miss as an American! Although watching the polls abroad in Barcelona was a once in a lifetime experience, it was definately not as exciting as it would have been in the United States! I guess I should say congradulations to everyone, as this should be an interesting and exciting point in history. I picked up one of the most important suvioneers possible on Tuesday, the front page of the local newspaper in which has a full picture of Martin Luther King Jr. and states, "Ya no es un sueno" which translates to "Now it is no longer a dream." Republican or Democrat, that is an awesome quote and something I will forever remember. Barcelona, and Europe as a whole, are very excited about Obama becoming President, as their current views of American's are not very high. This has actually been my number one complain and issue with living abroad in Europe, is the amount of tension and animosity Europeans have and deliberatly show to Americans. More stories will be told upon my return.
On another note, I just returned home from a great trip to Sevilla, which is located in the South of Spain. Another wonderful destination, and it is so amazing to me that I have been able to experience such wonderful destinations. This trip was planned by CEA, which is the study abroad program, so of course they booked us on 2 over night trians, one departing Barcelona to Sevilla on Thursday night, and the other won leaving Sevilla for Barcelona Saturday night. Let me start with the negatives, overnight trains are not fun. The rooms are so incredibly small and uncomfortable, but at least I got to have a room full of my roommates. I feel very stiff and uncomfortable now, and have just layed in bed all day upon my return.
When we arrived to Sevilla on Saturday morning, we ate a long anticapted breakfast and then embarked on a 3 hour walking tour around the city, and saw many local and historical destinations. I took some wonderful pictures of the Churchs and castles, and learned about the many historical cases in which took part in Sevilla. The town is much more slow paced than Barcelona, and I found that the people were a lot more openminded and nice (for the most part.) Later in the afternoon, we ate a Spanish restaurant and ordered Tapas (small bite size food) and Sangria( fruit wine.) This was really nice, as we were able to get a little snack in while taking in the atmosphere, and hanging out with cool people.
Saturday night was interesting, as Sevilla's nightlife was pretty dead. We all partied with other group members in the hotel, and tried to go to another bar but it was not much of a nightlife. We ended up back at the hotel around 3AM, which is the usual time you go out in Barcelona. However, it was nice to just hang out with people and not have to worry about being at a large discoteque, which limits conversation for obvious resons. Sunday was awesome, as we spent the ENTIRE day walking around the narrow streets, and seeing the rest of Sevilla. The waterways, are unreal, and reminded me of what I should see in Venice. We spent the afternoon watching the sunset over the lake, and took many breathtaking pictures. We then jumped on our 2nd overnight train, and arrived back in Barcelona today.
Tomorrow, Monday, is our championship soccer game. Our team, Los Martillos, has lost 1 game, and the other team is undeafeated. We lost to them in the beginning of the season, so it should be a really competitive and fun game. Lets hope for the best outcome. I will be sure to let everyone know who wins. Lastly, in regards to my academics, I have been doing incredibly well and exceeded on all of my midterms. I promise to continue the good hard work, and will update my blog soon. Love everyone.
Brandon
P.S. My best friend, Joey, who you all know, broke his arm while studying in South Africa. Please keep him in your thoughts, in hopes for a speedy and painless recovery(if thats possible.)