Italy: Milan & Venice

I left for Europe as soon as both my friend an I finished our winter finals and our goal was to vacation about 2 weeks. That meant I would be spending the holidays overseas! How exciting to spend the holidays overseas with amazing friends...yet...how depressing not spending the holidays with my family, especially my 7 year old daughter! It was hard, but as mentioned in a previous post, we texted, talked over the phone, and video chatted as often as possible.

Milan

The city of fashion ... and amazing pizza! We stayed in Milan about 3 days and mainly went shopping! Every street was filled with Christmas lights and decor, markets, shoppers, and tourists. As cheap, college, travelers we loved the street markets that provided us with free samples of food! We had light breakfast and lunch and filled ourselves with amazing samples of sausages, dried meats, cannolis, zeppoles, and candies! I wish I had taken more pictures of all these amazing foods but it was rainy most of the time and I did not want to ruin my phone.

Going into the shopping center 

Shopping Center's Ceiling 

Walking Around

Artful City

Duomo de Milano

Having recently lost my grandfather, walking into any cathedral or church instantly brings back his memory. This place was no different. Walking into this cathedral and seeing the grandiosity of the catholic church brings mixed emotions. It reminds me of my late grandfather and all our heated discussions of the pros and cons of the church. Nonetheless, I knew he would have loved seeing this place and lit a candle in his honor. 

According to the Duomo's website: "The Duomo, a symbol of Milan all over the world, is one of the biggest Gothic cathedrals in Italy and in Europe. The heritage of the Milaneese and of mankind, it has expressed for centuries, in all its grandeur, Man's devotion to God and represents an ongoing commitment for the future generations."

There was a fee to take pics inside with your own camera :/ we paid for only one camera, my friend has this pics

 Venice is flooding! 

What do you mean Venice will flood the day after Christmas!! We had a very amazing tour guide who we paid extra to give us the off the clock tour and it was worth it. He gave us much valuable information about the city. Such as, oh I don't know, the city will be flooding after Christmas and thats why you see all those gangways - you know those things that looks like a platform as if the city was getting ready for a performance. Its not a stage, its for you to get around the city and not get wet by the flood! 

 So Christmas in Venice was great! We went to mass and hung out in our "house" all night. We made an amazing vegetarian pasta that we left behind for the owners of the house and the next guest (yes we made too much because we were 'starving' but we all got full on wine! ).

No, this is not the flood! 

How did we know the flood was nearing? Well the whole city began to smell like sewer...you know those things that lead water to the ocean, except the water ocean was about to rise this time. Also, the we freaked out and did some research that night. And made sure we knew what those very loud sirens meant. Good news was that two of us would be leaving at 3am and the other two would be leaving around 5am for the flight to Athens. I was the lucky one to leave at 3am. Waters were starting to rise already but we made cross town without much damage. No, I did not take pictures because I did not want to drop my camera in the flood and it was raining! When the other two left Venice, the water was ankle high. I'm glad we did not stick around for knee high ocean water. 

The leaning tower of Venice - an indication that the city's foundation is not stable and will soon be gone

More of Milan

Giving "The Finger" to Milan's Wall Street

Sevilla, España (part 2)

After a long flight to Madrid, my friend and I took a train to Sevilla and a bus to my friends house (aka free vacancy + a couple of drinks = cheap stay). I actually had two friends living and teaching here, and both had visitors so our traveling group became five.

Sevilla is so lovely in the winter! I’ve been told it is horrible during the summer months because it becomes too hot. Their streets are paved accordingly with cobblestone to help cool the town. Nonetheless, I fell in LOVE with this city and cannot wait to return with my daughter next time!

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

WOW! What an amazing palace! If you are ever in Sevilla, this is a MUST SEE. 

The palace is still in use by the royals when they are in town and occupy the upper floors. I wish I could remember everything I learned to be able to retell you all its wonderful historical significance, but I honestly can't! We visited this location without a guide and learned more about it after we took a "free-tour" by http://www.panchotours.com/tours-seville. These free tours are great, you pay them according to how much you enjoyed the tour. They are usually given by locals who can give you extra information and lead you away from tourist areas to get a better feel of the city. 

Here's a bit of historical information courtesy of Wikipedia: 

• It was originally built by the Moorish Muslim Kings
• Features Mudejar architecture
• Birthplace of Infanta Maria Antonietta of Spain (1729-1785)

Take a Virtual 360 Tour of the Palace to see more and better pictures of the palace yourself! 

Hydraulic Organ: One of only four Hydraulic organs left in the world and the only one from the XVII century.

Santa Maria de la Sede

Pictures mean a thousand words - no explanation needed. 

entrance 

Altar de Plata

Looking Out

Ceiling view from a mirror

Sevilla, Spain

One of my good friends moved to Spain, for two school years, soon after we graduated with our Bachelors; yes the same one that I went to China with. She applied to become an English teacher in Spain with the Language and Culture Assistants Program by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and the Education Office. It then became my goal to go visit her, however, the credential program had me really busy for a long time. Finally, I saved enough money and had decided to go visit her for spring break 2014. Her brother, on the other hand, was going to visit her during our winter break in 2013 and I immediately decided to follow. Two-weeks of winter break vs one week of spring break? That's a no brainer!

Now you may be wondering...Doesn't she have a daughter? Well yes I do! And I LOVE her dearly! But when a good deal comes along I can't say no. I love traveling, even if its only road trips with a few friends or with family. When I traveled to China, she was only 4. A week after I arrived to China, I finally was able to get in touch with her, I was sooooo excited! This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Baby, I miss you! How are you? How's school going? I miss you. What are you up to?"

Kailey: "Hi mommy, I'm busy watching a movie right now...can you call me later?"

Yes, she definitely broke my heart! And I thought either I raised a though young lady or an insensitive little girl (:|) . Then again, she was only FOUR! It sure makes me laugh nowadays. Going to Spain, however, she was older - 7 - and I knew she was not going to have the same attitude. 

The year 2013, while finishing my credential, was a very tough year for my family. My grandfather passed away in January and two weeks later my mom was hospitalized with pneumonia. Her health went downhill from there and she wasn't officially in the clear until May. There were also family issues after my grandfather's death. In November my sister and her family moved in for a few months. I was in need of an emotional break and really, really needed to get away. I saw the opportunity of my sister living at home, taking care of my mom and keeping an eye on my daughter as a chance for me to get away without feeling too guilty. I sat down with my daughter to talk about me leaving for 2 weeks. She was not happy and was very tough to bargain with. We both came out winning: she got a tablet before I left and I got my much needed vacation.

Communication was much easier this time. She was able to FaceTime me at anytime and send me messages through Google Hangouts. Plus I took with me one of her stuffed animals named Oreo, and sent her pictures of his adventures with me. Every time I travel, I take with me one of her 'friends' to remind me of her and it helps her feel closer to me.

Guess this blog became longer than I anticipated, and way off tangent...next one will definitely be about Sevilla! 

Oreo's European Adventures: Sevilla, Italy, Greece

Can you spot Oreo?

LAX 

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

 

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

Traveling to Italy...or Greece? 

Italy

Milan

Milan

Train to Venice

Best Greek Restaurant

Cheese with Olive Oil 

Greece

Greece

Teaching Abroad

In 2010, I had the opportunity to travel to China with the Real English Teachers program at Cal Poly Pomona. I'm not sure if it's still available, but it was a program sponsored by the Department of English and Foreign Languages. Dr. Liliane Fucaloro, along with Dr. Karen Russikoff, was in charge of the program and came into my English Acquisition course to inform us about the program. I immediately told my friend, a geography major, who told her other geography friends. We had a unique group of "teachers" that consisted of the following majors: 1 english major, 1 liberal studies major, 1 hospitality management  and 3 geography majors.  

The goal of the program was to teach English to students within kinder to high school. The program provided us with vital information on culture and language acquisition. We were given all lesson plans to help us get situated. We were also partnered up to co-teach every lesson. My friend and I co-taught Arts and Crafts. Other subjects included: songs, idioms, conversation, american culture. Most of us did not have prior teaching experience, except for some tutoring, however, the program was very well organized and the schools we taught at were very welcoming. The main goal was to have students conversing with native speakers because their schools already teach them english but students needed to practice speaking with others.

The program consisted of 4 weeks and cost about $1,000 which included airline tickets, a visa, t-shirts, and housing. We were responsible for food and miscellaneous travel expenses, however, our school hosts were amazing and bought the majority of our food expenses as they took us out to breakfast, lunch and dinner almost on a daily basis. Overall, I probably spent no more than $2,500.

More Amazing Food Pics 

Cicada Plate

We were a bit surprised to see these little guys (cicadas) as a plate for dinner one night. I was not brave enough to try these, but according to National Geographic these bugs are low-carb, high in protein, gluten free, and low in fat, click on the link to find other recipes being used in the states :) 

They told us NOT to eat the chilis

Street Food

Our snack bar: chips, cookies, & candy

Exploring the Area

Exhilarating Bike Ride Through the City

Best pimped out Taxi Cab! With a disco ball & Lady Gaga playing 

Beijing National Stadium

  

Our hosts & the little girl that made me cry (reminded me of mine)

Qingdao American International School

Hiking the Great Wall of China going up

Going down