To: Krammer; With love: Alex

Hola amigos!!

Happy belated Valentine's Day! This Valentine's Day marked my one month anniversary with Sevilla, and I think things are starting to get really serious between us <3 To celebrate, some friends and I took a bus to Catis to see the Carnival. During Carnival everyone wears some type of costume, similar to Halloween. I threw on a mask and called it good, kind of lame, I know, but believe me, the mask was cool. There were people ev-er-y-why. Seriously, I cannot stress how packed the streets were, which was a good thing for me and my 'gyrie' friends (gyrie basically means someone not from Spain) because we were given the opportunity to meat hundreds of new people! I saw lots of football players, which was surprising because American football is not big thing here, I saw people dressed as zoo animals that had literally built a cage around themselves, hippies, mimes, butterflies, ect. It really was a once in a lifetime experience. I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures of Catis, I didn't bring my phone or camera in fear of losing them :(

People always ask me if I am getting home sick and uncontrollably missing my family, and yes, at times it can be a difficult to be so far away, but honestly, I just really miss my dog, Krammer. It has been so hard not to see his charming little face everyday, not to play with him and watch his nub of a tail wag back and forth at hyper-speed, and not to have him cuddling next to me every night. So, when I found out my weekend volunteering activity was going to a dog shelter, I just about had a heart attack. The shelter houses hundreds of energetic pups who don't have a place to call home. So our job was to play with them and make them feel loved, my specialty. They dogs were so fired up when we got there and ready to play. For hours, we ran around with them and played fetch, or rather we threw their tennis balls to them and then chased them around until they gave it back. It was a well needed therapy session for both me and my new four-legged friends. Of course none of them could replace Krammer in my heart (don't worry Krammer, I still love you the most), but it was nice to know we could help those dogs, even if only in a small way.

Julieta - one of my favorites
 

Another astonishing thing that my group and I did was go on a graffiti tour! We saw a bunch of really interesting murals that had been spray painted on some of the buildings in this amazing city. Some were very realistic, and others extremely abstract, but all were absolutely stunning. I never knew graffiti could be so detailed and elegant. Then at the end of the tour, our wonderful guides, Alejandro and Angel, let us leave our own marks on the city (legally of course)!! We each grabbed a can of spray paint and went to town! Most of painted our names, nicknames, or something that we felt represented ourselves! I have to say, spray painting is no simple art. It is actually quite challenging, so props to those who have mastered the art!

Two of the most breathtaking pieces I saw; The more realistic on the left and the more abstract on the right

Me next to my piece! Guess which one...

The last thing I wanted to share was a few of the beautiful things I get to see here, because it truly is unimaginable 

Where did this peacock come from? I don't know
 

Beautiful sunset with my beautiful model, Sarah
 

Some of my favorite buildings here
 

Alright, that's it for now! Hasta luego!!!

Besitos,

Alex LaRosa