On Sunday we went to Aracena, which is a small city on the southern coast, part of Huelva. It reminded me a lot of Granada with the white washed buildings and a true sense of community. We were lucky enough to be there while the ham festival was going on. I have never seen so many Hispanics packed into such a small tent, and I have never seen so many fatty, ham legs hanging from a ceiling. We were also able to go below ground level into the most amazing caves I have ever seen, not that I have seen many. But, the caves have heights of 200 meters, which is incredible to think that there is still civilization above. There is crystal clear water that is untouched and stalagmites and stalactites growing in which not direction. It was kind of crazy, but the complexity of these caves reminded me a lot of Gaudi's architecture on the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

This week in classes we are preparing for midterms...not too much to say but that. :)

Our high school friends visited today from their school. Oscar, our teacher, paid for their taxis to come visit, and for many of them it was their first time in a taxi. They arrived to the "CIEE Palacio" and were welcomed with the halloween decorations that they have put up for us. Halloween is not celebrated here so it is something that they do not know much about. Oscar had asked our class to do a small presentation for them on Halloween. A girl from my class, Kelly and I volunteered to do so, and felt as though it was necessary to dress up, for them to fully grasp the concept. I went to the local market and bought accessories to dress up as Michael Jackson (it is many of theirs' favorite singer), and Kelly dressed up as Cleopatra. We had to find iconic people that were known in different countries. I also got them candy, but in order to get it, they had to tell me what they would dress up as if they had the opportunity. I was expecting an answer in Spanish but was pleasantly surprised that they all tried to answer in English. We got the following ideas: fairies, spider, spiderman, shewolf, exorcist, etc. It was really cute to listen to them say their answers in English, with strong Spanish accents.

One final story for this entry. Like every other CIEE student, I have gotten sick with a cold. Between tasting drinks, sitting on buses, staying out late, and living together in Granada, I think all 90 kids were infected. The other night I was coughing and I think I woke Carmen up. I heard her go into the kitchen. Next thing I know, she is opening my door with a plate. On that plate is a complete cut up onion. "I know it smells bad but it will help your cough." I went to bed that night with watery eyes and I smelled awful the next morning. I told her it helped to make her feel good about herself. I won't use that trick myself.

Well, tomorrow morning I am off to Amsterdam. Next blog I am sure will be full of fascinating adventures, quite different than Sevilla.

Praat met u spoedig! (I am off to practice my dutch)