From Spain to Portugal

I have been in Spain for around four weeks now, and I am enjoying every minute of it. When I last wrote, I gave you all a couple of differences between Spanish culture and American culture. I would like to share one more difference with you all, that I must admit, I am still getting use to.

Did you know that in Sevilla, the time is 7 hours ahead of the time in Elgin?!? This means that when it is 3pm in Sevilla, it is 8am in Elgin or when it is 5pm in Elgin, it is 12am in Sevilla. Usually when you all are eating breakfast, I’m eating lunch. When you all are eating dinner, I am asleep and when I am eating breakfast, you all are asleep! Sometimes I forget about the time difference. I sometimes call home to speak with my parents when it is morning for me but I forget that it is still night time in the United States. I’m still getting used to the time change. Below I will post a small chart displaying the time change. This should help you all understand the time differences a little bit better.

Elgin, Texas      Sevilla, Spain
7:00am              2:00pm
8:00am              3:00pm
9:00am              4:00pm
10:00am           5:00pm
11:00am            6:00pm
12:00pm           7:00pm

I also had the opportunity this past week to visit another country. The country I visited was Portugal and I was in the city of Lisbon. Lisbon is the capitol city of Portugal and the largest city in Portugal. There are many things to do here. One of the things that I enjoyed most about the city was the large town square where there are many places to eat, shop, and see street entertainment. Street entertainers sometimes play music, dance, or pose as statues as a way to make money. One of my favorite street entertainers posed as a green statue and I have a photo where he appears to be trying to take my Pringles chips right out of my hand. Another street entertainer appeared to float in mid air!

While in Lisbon, I also visited a castle. From the outside, I did not think the castle was that large, but once inside, I saw that the castle was huge. We were able to climb to the top of the outer walls of the castle and see the entire city. The castle’s outer walls were very tall. They were so tall because when the castle was in use, many years ago, men in the army would stand on the outer walls and make sure no one was trying to invade the castle. It was a way to protect the castle. The view from the top of the castle was awesome.

It has been great being able to share with you all again. Until next time, hasta luego!!!

Martin