William Kealy - Spring 2023

Our first time out of the city the SAIIE group took a trip to Granada. Driving into the city felt surreal because of the Sierra Nevada mountains looming off in the distance. I knew there were mountains in Spain but not like this. We were coming from weather of 70-80 degrees in Sevilla to looking at snow capped peaks in a matter of hours! I was ecstatic, I believe it is possible to be skiing and going to the beach in the same day. We got to stay in a hotel which feels like the ultimate luxury experience to me since I'm used to sleeping on the ground. We all also got to enjoy the tapas tradition in Granada as meet lots of local people that night while out on the town! Granada is a city that has this huge palace on top of the hill called Alhambra, which was especially  fun to see! It has manicured gardens and so much history. We all enjoyed great views looking down on the city from our perch atop the palace. Views from Alhambra

I've met so many rad people this week! The people in my program are super nice and we go for walks around the city all the time, eating food and ogling at all the buildings.  We have gotten to sample lots of the cuisine as well and enjoy some tapas. There's this cured ham that's popular here that we're all crazy about. I immediately set out on the city when I got here to try to find climbing partners, as I have a huge passion for rock climbing. Already have to gym memberships (is that excessive??). More to come on that. This weekend we were able to explore some of the night life as well, walking around the city at night it's hard to believe we are here. Lots of dancing and meeting lots of new friends, met plenty of Spaniards, as well as other international students, studying abroad. Two of my buddies from the Dominican Republic showed me around to some of the discotecas and dance clubs in Sevilla and we danced a lot!      New friends from the SAIIE program, on one o...

 Crazy first week in Seville, the first day I got off plane and drove through the city, with my baggage claim buddy, Stephanie. Met my wonderful landlady Rosaurio who is the sweetest and showed me around our cute little apartment on el Calle Miño. I was super jazzed when I got there so I immediately went on a walk to explore the city. It was balmy and warm out. Orange trees lined the street and everyone in the city center was out walking and taking instagram pictures of the sun setting over the river. I tried to eat the oranges immediately like a total idiot, but they are bitter! What a shame! The city center here is so cute! There are many parks with dirt paths and tall trees. Everywhere is like a dream place to hang out or take a siesta on a warm afternoon, and the shops downtown definitely market to that vibe which makes the whole experience so rich, but my gosh I have walked more this week around the city than I probably ever have. My legs are so sore! I immediately got slapped...

 Hello,  This is Will Kealy blogging my experiences from my semester in Sevilla. Starting off with a wonderful day in Chicago, running around before the flight. We spent the afternoon looking at Elk in Chicago. If you're ever looking for something to do near O'Hare international check out Busse Woods, which just has a small elk population and nice outdoor vibes coming from the Chicago area. The flight experience was hurry up and wait,  as the lines were long. This was my first time flying internationally and even the flight was a fun experience, basically just chatted up my new friends Janez and Daria from Slovenia, about their surfing trip to Hawaii and making potential ski plans for Kravavec. Tried to watch a movie but accidentally fell asleep, and woke up in Germany. The airport was great, everyone was speaking different languages and the flight's were in German as well, as someone who has never been outside the US before, this was very amusing. Flew to Sevilla without...