Wanderlust

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Having the "my abroad experience ends in a month, what is life..." moments frequently the past few days sends me through the biggest mix of emotions I could have. Every part of my life I love; living in Rhode Island to going to school in Vermont, and now my life here in Granada. This is what I can tell you about going abroad. You can skim through every other post I have put on my blog which will tell you all the amazing things and places you will get to see, but this is the main thing I can tell you: 

Being abroad is where you learn more about yourself, your comfort zone and how challenging yourself can be the most difficult and most rewarding thing you can do.  

There is a reason its coined experiential learning. Yes you have classes and are there for school, but the amount you learn outside of the classroom along with the material in them is far more valuable all together than anything. I could tell you all the history facts about the empires of Granada and the Catholic monarchs who took over the city. I have learned so much in comparison of Latin America and Spain. I have an amazing Spanish professor and class so I have learned a lot about the language especially inside and outside of the classroom. I will tell you that you will take more away from both in and out of the classroom doing a semester abroad than you will from anything you have ever experienced. I have been the most independent I have ever been, the most challenged I have ever been and most of all, I have never felt more like myself. 

You learn a lot from all the different adventures you have. I learned my body will never ever like foods with tons of spices but will never see the day that it doesn't love a chocolate croissant. I learned sleeping on the floor of an airport to catch a morning flight was one of the most minimal nights of sleep I've ever had, but it was one of the best trips and weekends with great company. I learned that I am not invincible still hobbling when coming to Europe after fracturing a leg, and that feeling of finishing a hike with views that are out of this world has never made me more grateful. I learned that putting myself in a culture where I hardly understood the language was the most challenging thing I could do to myself, and the most rewarding. 

4 SD memory cards and a postcard from every location, I won't ever forget the memories I have here. I don't want there to be a month left, time really does fly when you are having fun, and all good things must come to and end. Portugal I'm coming for you this weekend and here's to another month of bliss abroad, and an unreal adventure. 

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
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Traveling Knows No Pain: Morocco

This past weekend I traveled to Morocco to visit the towns of Tangier, Chefchaouen, Tétouan, and Asilah. The trip started off with a bus to a boat to another bus to reach the town of Tangier where we were staying. After my friends and I sat down on the boat heading over to Africa the girl we sat next to (she looked American and we figured she thought the same about us as she started up a conversation with us) was one of the coolest people I have met. Camille was telling us how after a couple jobs fell through after college she went with a friend on a trip to Costa Rica and has been traveling since. She has been nomadic for three years now and has been to tons of amazing places such as Southern Asia. She talked about her blogging and free-lance writing, how she created her own job and how she has gone about the lifestyle she has. Naturally we all bonded over traveling and she was awesome to talk to! She gave us her card and if you get a moment check out her website This American Girl, it will immediately make you want to pack your suitcase and travel!

Once we got to Tangier I at least realized how much of an entirely different world I was in. Morocco is a Islamic country and weirdly enough I felt like I was in a Middle Eastern country while I was there. There were different lifestyle elements that were tricky to get used to. The
first being that women are not as equal to men in the society there, and being a tourist I can't tell you how many times our group got called "Spice Girls" "California" or "Soul Sisters". After that was the poverty in some of the areas. The biggest thing I took away was watching this little boy beg everyone around him to buy some gum. As he was going around and being incredibly persistent, I saw him go back to his parents who were a couple steps away to get more packs of gum and then continue on begging for money that would most likely go toward their next meal. Morocco was another world and even though there were some tough things to see, it was absolutely worth seeing.

What I liked about the trip was that we saw a bunch of different cities, my favorites being Chefchaouen and Asilah. Chefchaouen was located up in the mountains with its winding blue cobalt and shaded blue streets and markets. Another cultural aspect of Morocco was bargaining, whenever you bought something you had to haggle the price. Very different from other cultures but Chefchaouen had many markets to buy blankets, clothing and souvenirs. The architecture and structure of the city was gorgeous and also similar to the seaside town of Asilah. Asilah was similar to Chefchaouen with its blue walls but it was situated right on the water with a gorgeous beach. I could go back there in a second. The weekend in itself was full of adventure with exploring, quaint cities, camels and good company.

The Aftermath: So when going to different or even developing countries it is always important to be cautious of the food and water. We did not drink the water because our bodies would not be used to the minerals in it, so we stuck to bottled water. As for the food, I took a stomach protector before, during and after the time there. Unfortunately my stomach is a lot more sensitive than I thought because once Tuesday rolled around my food poisoning kicked in. There was not a worse feeling than having to go to the doctors and being that unbearably sick so far from home. I don't think I had been as homesick as I was in that moment. I would never wish that upon anyone, but for traveling it really knows no pain and I can tell you the next time I travel to somewhere similar like Morocco I will be taking more precautions. I am okay now but the whole thing will be a funny story in the next few days!

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

The Kalil Boys Take on Europe

What I didn´t know coming to study abroad in Granada was the importance of Holy Week in Spain. I knew Spain was very Catholic or as the Spanish say "Spain nationality consists of two parts: Spain is a Catholic country and many Spaniards are catholic". Little did I know how extravagant Holy Week or in Spanish "Semana Santa" festivities were.

The coolest part was getting to see it with my family! My spring break was the entire week of Semana Santa and my brother and Dad made it out to Spain! We spent a few days in Granada then went to the beach town of Torremolinos to relax and then did a day in Malaga. When they got here we were surrounded by the processions of Semana Santa. These processions are held for the entire week an they are out on by different brotherhoods that citizens belong to. Each brotherhood has a procession. And here comes the crazy part: They carry floats, and not just any floats. They are massive floats holding on too the statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus for. The Cathedral and churches themselves. The even crazier part is there is a group of people who carry them, the WHOLE thing.

In Guatemala these processions are also big and people balance the weight of the giant float on their shoulders. Not in Spain though, they have a specific head dress-wrap that allows them to balance the weight on the back of their heads. Yeah, ow. It's pretty impressive and you could even see people blessing themselves and touched the float it was an amazing tradition to see! I would have felt like I missed out if I did not get to see that while studying here. Amidst all that the Kalil boys got pretty cultured as we saw the Alhambra, hiked and got all the food essentials (gelato, pastries, fruit, shwarma, etc.).

 

An even cooler part to the week was that the boys got to come for my birthday! Having your birthday in Spain with your family isn´t too shabby! After the hustle and bustle of Granada (which during Semana Santa looks like a Disney theme park on a Saturday) we headed to Torremolinos where the beach and weather was perfect. We got to explore the harbor and even went to the local Battery Park to ride around in a row boat in a pond they had. We weren't tourists or anything! Getting to see Malaga also was great because I have so far really only seen the airport. The cathedral was unreal and even the Semana Santa in Malaga had it's own Wifi (in Spanish pronounced "weefee" way cuter!). That's when you know Holy Week is serious.

It was awesome getting to show the Kalil boys Granada and what has become my home in the past 2 moths. This past week has been some of my favorite memories here so far and I can't wait for more to come. Speaking of which guess who heads to Africa this weekend, this girl!

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31