Sorry this one took a while to get up, but it's my FERIA blog!! Feria de Abril is an April Fair that happens in a lot of cities in Andalucía, but Sevilla (of course) does it best! We had the whole week off, and I was planning on traveling to Amsterdam, but the volcano in Iceland had other plans for me. I spent 13 hours on a bus on the first Friday of break, and was pretty exhausted on Saturday. I just relaxed Saturday and Sunday, but then Monday night Feria officially started! It was so exciting to watch the big NO8DO (motto of Sevilla…google it) sign being lit up! After it was lit, casetas sprung into action, and the carnival rides and games were ready for action! My friends and I tried rebujitos (Manzanilla wine with sprite) rode some rides, and ate some gofres (waffles J ). And just to think, it was only the first night!

Tuesday, my friend Kim and I donned our hand-me-down flamenco dresses and got to see what Feria during the day was like. SO MUCH FLAMENCO DANCING! And horses! It was really like nothing I've ever seen before. Everywhere we looked, there were more and more men and women wearing traditional flamenco suits and dresses. Tuesday night was a lot like Monday night…rides, rebujitos, and gofres! We all decided Feria is pretty awesome! A whole week of just enjoying Sevilla! Why hasn't stuff like this made it across the Atlantic??

Wednesday and Thursday there was a lot of recuperating from Feria, and catching up on life basically. On Friday, my friend Natalie and I went to Malaga and enjoyed a couple days at the beach which was such a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Feria 24/7!

On Sunday night, the end of Feria was marked by a big fireworks display over the Guadalquivir River. It was so neat to be able to be a part of something like Feria while studying here. Studying in Sevilla has given me so many opportunities to really live like a native in Spain. It's also given me a great opportunity to meet so many friends from all over the United States! I've only known all of them for three months, but there's such a strong bond that's formed when you immersed in a completely different culture.We only have two weeks left, and we have some pretty fun stuff planned! Friday, there's a TON of us planning to go to Cadiz to go to the beach, and on Saturday we're going to try to organize a tour of the Cruzcampo factory (VERY popular beer made in Sevilla).

Since then, I've been diagnosed with an (apparently) pretty serious eye condition (Uveitis for all you medical folk). I'm probably going to be ok, but man, is the treatment annoying!!! The first day, I had to put drops in my eye every hour—even throughout the whole night! Now I'm up to every three hours, but it's still a PAIN! I also have to keep my eye dilated, so my sight really isn't great! Why this all couldn't have waited another two weeks, I'll never know! Spain would just be too boring without a few medical adventures!

Many pictures to come!

Oh, and Happy 21st Birthday, Mick!! J

¡Mucho amor y besitos!