3 Cities. 3 Days. 1 Unreal Weekend.

Coming to Europe almost 4 years ago (so scary I am so old!) I visited Barcelona Spain, Provence and Paris France for a 10 day trip. We went with the program ACIS which is a sister program to AIFS, the program I am currently studying abroad with. Because I loved the trip I went on in high school I researched into the AIFS program to Granada which I ultimately chose. I felt before I left that I had made a good decision about what program I chose, and now that I'm here in Spain it only backs up my decision more. The main reason for this is the AIFS program has a lot of added included and optional excursions during the semester for students. I particularly like this because it has been the best opportunity for me to see more of Spain. For a majority of the weekend trips I am currently planning to take they all involve going out of the country to places such as Amsterdam and Portugal. But with the program they take us to so many cities across Spain and now after making travel plans on my own, it is one of my favorite parts of the program.

As I said before so far we went to Madrid, Toledo and London. Not too shabby not too shabby. That was only the beginning. This past weekend we went to three cities in three days. Yup, three cities, three days. It was a whirlwind but so worth it! We started Friday going to Gibraltar Spain which is one of the most unique places I have ever visited. Gibraltar is a territory of the United Kingdom but resides in Spain. Its interesting because a majority of people speak fluent Spanish and English while you pay for your coffee in the local cafe in either euros or pounds. Super interesting but that's not all, they got monkeys! The rock of Gibraltar is famous for is caves and monkey that it holds home to in its nature reserve. It almost didn't feel real because of all that was there that you hear of and it being so different from any part of Spain. An absolutely cool place I would highly recommend checking out!

From there we went to Sevilla which if I didn't study abroad in Granada, I would have absolutely chosen to study abroad in! Sevilla is beautiful from its open streets, Cathedral to the Plaza de Espana. I wish we got to spend more time there but after a lot of walking my friends and I tried to make the most of the time there!

P.S. Fun fact, a part of the Star Wars films (Attack of the Clones) was shot in the Plaza de Espana in Sevilla, so naturally it had to be reenacted when we were there. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but watching all of the movies growing up with my mom and brother they were super jealous when I told them! I also got to run into a friend from SMC while I was abroad! Mary is studying abroad there and what now is a small world, it was great to see a familiar face!

From Sevilla we did a quick trip to Cordoba which is one of the most sacred spots in Spain. This small town holds a lot of religious importance that can be seen through its Cathedral. When you study abroad in Spain, you see a whole lot of Cathedrals but this one was the most unique that I had seen yet. This is because it had multiple influences of different religions. Even at one point both Christianity and Islam were both practiced within the cathedral. Over time the domination of religion over the town and cathedral changed which has led to its unique architecture and the many influence that created it to be what it is today.

For three days it was unbelievably jam packed but it was more than worth it! It was great the program had it set up for us and we were able to see more of Spain! The upcoming trips include a day trip to Ronda and a long weekend to Morocco in April. Yea, Morocco, We be heading to Africa chicas! It has almost been a month in Granada which is crazy to believe! I want to do as much as I can in the time I have because it is already flying by!

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

Adjusting and Week Two

Where I have a majority of my classes!

Its been the first few weeks of classes here in Granada and I can't help but fall more and more in love with the city! I already feel more adjusted after just a few weeks here. Also my classes are great! The professors at the university are so nice and they are extremely helpful. I came to Spain having some background in Spanish but still not nearly as much as a lot of people. Because of this I'm taking two Spanish classes and then my other classes (History of Spain, Latin American Civilization and Culture, and Islamic Culture in Spain) in English. Even though a majority of my classes are taught in English, my Spanish professor along with my other professors also have been helping me work on the language and especially terms only native to Granada. Por ejemplo (for example), in Granada there are some differences in the way they pronounce words such as how "muchas gracias" is really "mucha gracia" as a majority of people drop the ending -s. Also the main part I find helpful is learning how to phrase sentences and questions to avoid sounding "textbook" like. I'm constantly asking questions, learning and improving my Spanish and also learning a lot about Spain at the same time.

One of the big take-aways I have had so far is really being independent and living on my own here in Spain. I am settled into my apartment where I live with one person from my program and then two international students. One is from Mexico ,while the other who is from Belgium is coming at the end of the week. Things that I notice mainly are how things that normally in the U.S. we would mostly never to do is just normal here. We have no dryers and dry our clothes near the heater, we walk basically 30 minutes to class everyday, the city shuts down from about 2:30 - 5 as everyone takes time for a "siesta" or nap, we walk 15 minutes to the grocery store and carry our groceries back. Its a very different lifestyle from the U.S. but its one that so far has been adventurous and interesting to live in. Its cool to  compare my lifestyle back home where I walk 2 minutes to class and am able to drive everywhere to that of here, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm able to walk everywhere from my apartment, there is so much to see and so many beautiful spots, we get free apps or "tapas" with every drink we order (they are wicked good!) while we are still close to both the beach and mountains. It is an incredible place and I still can't believe I get to live here for the next few months!

I got to explore the city a bit this weekend going on a few hikes and also getting to check out the different restaurants and tapas bars. Friday I hiked behind the Alhambra, a historical Moorish castle that is the main attraction of Granada. The view we got from hiking around it was unreal! I also got to go to the U.S. hockey game in Granada where we won in overtime during the tournament! It was free to the public too which was a perk!

All the ladies at the US Game!

Later on in the weekend I also got to go hike around the Sacromonte and Albaicin neighborhoods of the city which have a lot of Mediterranean inspiration to them. We got to the top point of the city where it had the best view I have seen so far! On our way back we stopped at this Teteria or Tea room and got some incredible crepes with cheese, tomato and other veggies.

Yeah I live here, crazy right?!

It was great having the whole weekend to explore the city and find some pretty sweet places! For Granada being considered a "small city" in Spain, there is so much to do and see! I hope I can do as much as I can in the course of the next few months! I'm off to Seville, Cordoba and Gibraltar this weekend with my program & ready to keep adding to the adventure! 

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

La ciudad de Granada

This is the first week in Granada! It's beautiful here! The city has loads of tall buildings with Moorish inspired and beautiful architecture but also with snow capped mountains peaking up beside them. The pictures don't nearly do justice as to how gorgeous the city is. I can't believe I  get to live here for 4 months. Ever study abroad student probably says the same exact thing but believe me its the truth! When we first got here I was a bit intimidated by the language, I knew I was obviously going to a Spanish speaking country but the bar that was set for my program ended up being a lot higher than I thought. After a week I'm already feeling more acclimated and with my classes starting too I can't wait to learn more about the language. I am thankfully in an apartment where I am living a short 10 minute walk to the center of the city and not too far of a walk from campus.

Our apartment is a little ways away from a lot of the home stays people have with the program but its located in a nice area near the main street Calle Gran Via and is close to campus, Universidad de Granada. Upon entering the city this past week, we had different walking tours and trips to get acquainted with the city while getting familiar with the area. I'm for sure not a city person, but Granada is pretty small compared to other cities and is easy to navigate. You can go run a few errands and pass two ancient churches that literally look as though they have popped off a postcard. My Spanish is slowly getting there as I am able to read and understand the language much better than I can speak it. Little things you do not think about such as asking for change or ordering food you have to think about now, its a cultural change but it;s interesting!

A couple of friends and I hiked to a unique spot at the top of the city in the area called Albaicin where the view was literally at the top of the world. The area gave for a unbelievable panoramic view of the city and the mountains. Hands down one of the prettiest sunsets and most breathtaking views I have ever seen! We also got to see the amazing views and take a tour of La Alhambra, a Moorish Castle located in Granada. The history of La Alhambra is that when the Muslims ruled Spain, they built the castle at the top which has the amazing view of the city below and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

This past weekend we were able to travel to two cities in Spain, Toledo and Madrid. Toledo is known for its religious history, beautiful Cathedral and also its swords. A majority of the swords in the world are made here, for example the swords from Lord of the Rings. The view from the lookout point of the city is another spot I cannot even believe I got to see.

Toledo was unreal! We then traveled to Madrid for two days where we toured the Royal Palace and also went on a 3 hour bike tour of the city seeing the parks and different sites. Fun fact, biking in 30 degree weather is no bueno but it certainly made for an adventure. Wandering around Madrid with some friends I was able to see the different Plazas that are staples to Madrid with all the shopping and restaurants. For being such a big city as the capital of Spain, Madrid in no way felt overwhelming and was a great place to visit! To spend a semester there I feel would not be the place for me as I am not a huge city person to begin with, but Granada is a small city and is much more my cup of tea! Lots more trips and pictures to post so I will keep this as updated as I can! (I swear I brought 4 SD cards to take pictures with, it might take me a little to shift through all the pictures!)

We didn't expect Madrid to be equivalent to New England

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary

Instagram: candicekalil31

When in London

I have only spent a weekend in Europe and I am already in love with it! I have never been to London and the weekend excursion that came with the AIFS program to start of the semester was a blast! We got to London super super early in the morning on Friday and after getting situated in the hotel were allowed to go and explore the city. A couple friends and I walked through the streets of Chelsea England and also got to find some great food stops. Fun facts the streets of London are a little backwards than those in the US and drivers break for no one, and when I say no one I mean NO ONE. We were based out of Chelsea England where the famous Chelsea Futbol team has their home field. The team is unbelievably popular and even though we did not get to tour the stadium you could tell how massive the place was!

The second day in London we got a bus tour throughout the city. By far one of my favorite parts of the weekend because we were able to see all the staple London spots you would want to see on a visit. We got to visit Buckingham Palace (it was interesting to hear that the flag changes whenever the Queen is or isn't home), St. Paul’s cathedral which is where Princess Diana was married in and then also the Tower Bridge and Big Ben. The tour covered lots of stops on the way too such as famous shops and streets including Kings Street where a lot of famous artists such as the Beatles used to live.

After the tour we were able to go off on our own venturing to what had to be one of my main requirements of visiting while in London, platform 9 ¾ of course! It was a cute sectioned off area of Kings Cross Station where you could pick your house’s scarf to wear and you could get your picture taken. We luckily hit it at the right time because after that the line was crazy! From there we wandered around London and even got to stop at the British Museum. A thing to note about London all the museums are free to the public but accept donations. This particular museum had a whole lot of eastern country history which was interesting to see! From the Rosetta Stone to antique German cars.

Platform 9 3.4, think you being funny do you>!

The most opportune piece of the day was getting to meet up with my friend Suze from SMC! She has been studying abroad in London for about a month now in Kensington, we talked about meeting up and a couple of us were able to get over to Kensington for dinner! It was great to see another familiar face and who would have thought we would all end up in London?! Crazy right! The weekend in London was unreal and far too short to see everything but it was a jam packed weekend! Now onto Spain!

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

Let the Abroad Adventures Begin!

So I can tell you know that in exactly 48 hours I will be on a plane bound for a weekend in London and to a fourth month adventure to Spain. It blows my mind how lucky I am to be able to go study abroad in a foreign country for a semester and all the great times that are ahead!

Yeah this is my next semester, not too shabby
via

To note I even have to pack all four months into one suitcase. ONE SUITCASE. You may not think it but it is absolutely possible! And yes my bag is 49 out of the 50 lbs allowed to check onto the plane but it works! I have all my camera SD cards ready to go and words can't describe how excited I am. The opportunity is here and there is no way I am going to pass it up! Next time I write to you I will be across the pond!

Will keep you posted!
Candice

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

Christmas Present Fiascos and the 3 Week Coutdown

Since the holidays were so busy I thought I would save this post until after the festivities were over! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I think the expectations of Back to the Future might not compare to the reality of 2015 but that is okay since there is much in store for the new year!

(via)

As I have touched upon numerous times, in about a month I am going to be on a plane to Spain for the semester and will not be back at Saint Mike's until I am a senior....WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! Time to embrace my inner grandma as I realize how old I am and how fast my college career has flown by. And yes even though 20 feels old, I feel better about 21 and even 22 since Taylor Swift was able to create a pretty awesome song out of the year. As finals are over, and I am finally home, typing this with my puppy Stella cuddling next to me on the couch, words cannot describe how great it is to be home for the holidays. But I can tell you myself that I put off a lot of presents until the last minute, which is awful because I was like "oh yea I am going to be crafty and Pintrest everyone's presents to make.", terrible idea on my end. The result has been a little bit of cramming and some small snafu's. For the perfect example of why a person should not procrastinate Christmas presents here is my first-day-home-from-junior-year-story.

Example of Scrabble Coasters 

My freshman year of college my mom asked me to get her a coffee mug from the school store as a Christmas present. As I was browsing the school store mug selection, I found one that was purple having a "Saint Mike's Mom" design with a flower (my mom being a floriculture and agriculture vocational teacher, it was perfect with the flower too!) which I immediately bought and gave to her for that Christmas. A little while after I had returned from Christmas break, I got a phone call from my mom. She was telling me about home and asking how everything was, and then she added how she accidentally broke the "Saint Mike's Mom" floral mug. It got bumped off the table and shattered. Upset and wanting a new one she asked me to pick her up a new one, but the problem was it wasn't being sold anymore in the school store. I forgot about the coffee cup until this month when the school store came out with a new "Saint Mike's Mom" one! I was so excited, maybe a little too excited, because I could get it for her just in time for Christmas. Once I got home I went to take it out to wrap it but found the handle on the mug broke on the way home from Vermont to Rhode Island. This is why Candice can't have nice things and shouldn't get breakable Christmas gifts.

Christmas at the Kalil household was still great besides my present fiascoes as we spent the day with both sides of the family! Fun fact Pinterest has a great ideas for gifts which I don't think I could have gotten through the holidays without (When in doubt, go to Pinterest!). One of the gifts I made were these scrabble piece coasters for my parents. You can easily get the board game pieces off amazon in bulk and the rest of the materials are available at your local Michael's or craft stores. This idea and many more coaster ideas were on this link: Coasters. Also BLANKETS, they make a great holiday gift! I went to the local fabric store, ordered 4 yards total of felt (2 yards for each or 2 colors) and made a large tied warm blanket that was the perfect present! For the instructions to make this follow on this link: Felt Blanket. For those of you aren't the most crafty people on the planet, the felt blanket is easy to make and won't be super time consuming to make! Being able to spend the holidays with family and friends was wonderful since I have some time left at home before I make the big move to Spain! Take a lesson from me when I say don't stress or worry so much about presents because at the end of the day they are the least important part of the holidays, spending time with family and friends trumps any gift you can put under the tree!

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31

Semester All Wrapped Up

Its December! And you know what that means: Christmas time! So my last couple of blog posts I have made more informational and I am going to take this one to talk about my semester at Saint Mike's. I knew coming into my junior year I wanted to make the most of the semester because the scary fact is, after next week the next time I will be back on campus I will be a senior. Like.....WHAT?! The thought of that sends chills through my bones because time is going by so fast! I could not tell you where all the time went. I have spent this semester working at my classes, playing rugby, working at my internship for VYRA (Vermont Youth Rugby Association), and spending time with some pretty amazing people. It has been a fun semester that has flown by and next thing I know I will be on my way to Spain! But before then, I got some pretty cool assignments to do.

This is not the only blog I got to create and keep up with this semester. For my Marketing class, we were asked to keep up with recent marketing news and connect class topics into a nine-post blog. It was interesting to study companies like Apple, Crocs and other big brand names seeing how they got themselves on the market. To look more into it, check out the blog Marketing 2014 Fall 215 - B

Another blog I got to keep up with this semester too was on a large article I wrote for my Environmental Journalism class, My topic was in researching how Farmers Markets in Vermont are an Alternative Food Network, and the importance of supporting local farmers' and their businesses. I got to talk to a lot of great people for the article while keeping up with news both nationally and locally on the topic. To check it out, here is my blog Vermont's Alternative Food Network: Farmers Markets. Sadly both of these blogs are coming to an end as the semester is coming to a close. This blog I will continue into going abroad but these two will end next week.

As the semester closes too I have been working on multiple projects that are the final assignments for my classes. One of them is my final adventure film. My project partner and I decided to do ours on ski patrol. Having already interviewed a few people, we tried getting in contact with Smugglers Notch Resort Ski Patrol to talk with them about the job and what it means to have that role on the mountain.Now you will quickly learn that just by going to Saint Mike's, a lot of doors open for you. One of my professor's from last semester has connections to Smuggs since her husband works there and that they are from the area. She got us in contact with the ski patrol and the assistant director turned out to be a Saint Mike's alumni, who would've thought?!

We had the most unreal experience getting to shoot on the mountain that day. Not only did we get great shots as it was snowing, but a majority of the ski patrol on that day were "in training" so we were able to film them doing a practice simulation. Everyone at the mountain was super friendly and helpful while we were trying to capture everything. And before I explain the second half of the day, let me remind you that I am still in a cast (until tomorrow wahoo!) and on crutches.

They set us up with snow pants, let us come up on the chairlift (on crutches mind you), film the entire thing and the best part: We got to go down the mountain and film while sitting on RESCUE SLEDS. Hands down the coolest possible thing we could have done that day. We needed cool footage and they needed practice so in the end everyone won! It was an experience I will never forget and the craziest part was, it was all homework!

To watch t not only our final film The Patrol but all my films for Adventure Filmmaking, check out my YouTube Channel:

Facebook: Candice Kalil

Twitter: @CandiceLeeMary
Instagram: candicekalil31