Sofia Pietrok – Journals from Abroad

April 1, 2025

Sevilla Cathedral and Córdoba

I have been going on a lot of adventures and day trips to religious sites, and wanted to share some of my experiences.

First, I went on a guided tour of the Cathedral of Sevilla, where we took an hour guided tour on the ground floor and then had some free time to explore and climb the Giralda (tower). The first photo is of the tower from the courtyard inside the cathedral, and the second is a view from the top of the tower.

A picture of the Giralda of the Cathedral of Sevilla, taken from the gardens below, the picture shows a display of green trees across the bottom of the cathedral with the Giralda peeking up over the top, which is a rectangularly shaped beige figure — Giralda of the Cathedral of Sevilla

Instead of having stairs to climb the tower, there was a ramp that spiraled up about 40 floors to get to the top, which was a 15 minute climb. The climb was so worth it though, for the view of the city!

A view of the city of Sevilla from the top of the Giralda of the Cathedral, the rest of the cathedral shown at the bottom and a cityscape above it, with a blue sky at the top — From the top of the Giralda

The next day, we went on a day trip to Córdoba, which was about an hour and a half bus ride from Sevilla. The architecture inside the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba was very unique and pretty.

A room in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, a large rounded white ceiling with intricate architecture, and a blue and gold rectangle frame at the bottom sided by an arch on either side — Inside the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba

Then we also viewed the Synagogue of Córdoba, where nearby was this outside garden spot with a pretty flower wall in a classic Andalusian courtyard.

An outside garden in Córdoba, depicting as stark white wall above a staircase full of colorful flowers in blue pot holders, a beige stone building to the left and a slightly gray sky above — Flower wall in Córdoba

After our tour, we walked back through the streets of Córdoba, where we had two hours of free time to eat lunch. Erica and I grabbed coffee from a little shop and then sat on a stone wall outside the Cathedral-Mosque to eat lunch.

Me walking through an alley in Córdoba wearing blue jeans, a dark navy jacket and a black leather bag, there are two narrow walls on either side of me with a beige colored stone, with black metal grated windows, with a sliver of blue sky peeking out at the top — Walking through an alley in Córdoba

On the way back from the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, we passed a medieval style castle right before the stone bridge we crossed to return to our bus.

Me next to a castle in Córdoba, standing in blue jeans and a pink shirt and sunglasses leaning against a silver railing, with the beige figure over the castle rising behind me in the back — Castle in Córdoba

~Sofia

April 1, 2025

Month two in Sevilla

This week I discovered a new coffee shop, it’s called Jester Coffee, and it is about one block away from my apartment. I got a mocha and chocolate banana bread, and Erica got an iced mocha and a nutella croissant. We both loved everything, and will definitely be going back!

A photo of a mocha in a black mug, with whipped cream and cocoa powder on too, a silver spoon and fork, and chocolate chip banana bread on a beige wood tray, with my silver computer and pink computer case in the background, as well as a brown bowl with sugar packets inside, all on a brown wood table — Jester coffee and chocolate chip banana bread

For my history class we went to the Centro Nao Victoria and had a tour of the museum, and then afterwards climbed onto a replica of the Nao Victoria, which was the first successful ship to circumnavigate the world, captained by Magellan. The Nao Victoria replica sat right on the River Guadalquivir, and demonstrated how traveling on a ship as a sailor would have been in that time period.

A photo of a replica ship of the Nao Victoria, with brown masts and white ropes streaking across the frame, sitting on the blue-green Guadalquivir river — Nao Victoria on the Guadalquivir River

The third photo is an example of one of my meals from my homestay, it was a panini with salami, ham and cheese. I have had a wide variety of meals here so far, from tortilla de patata to croquetas to salads to omelets and more, and I have enjoyed almost every meal. We usually have a baguette or picos (little bread chips) with every meal.

A photo of one of my dinners on a table with a coffee themed table cloth, with two glasses of water and a beige ceramic plate with a grilled panini — A typical dinner in the homestay

The last photo is a crazy spontaneous decision Erica and I made- getting tattoos! Last time I was in Spain last spring, I got a spontaneous tattoo so I had to keep the tradition going. Erica got a stamp of a fan on the back of her arm, we both got matching tattoos on the back of our arm, and then I also got forget me not flowers on my ribs for my grandmother who passed away last year. I’m so grateful to be here enjoying this experience and have been wanting to get something to remember her by 🙂

A photo of me and my friend Erica right after getting matching tattoos on the back of our arms above the elbow, mine saying SOS and hers saying Love Language with a Spanish stamp above it, I'm wearing a white top and blue jeans and she's wearing a black top and gray jeans, with a white door in the background as well as a picture frame of a painted colorful mouth with the tongue sticking out — Matching tattoos with Erica

~Sofia

March 10, 2025

New Adventures!

Hello everyone! A little update on my study abroad experience in Spain over the past couple weeks!

I found my favorite coffee spot! It is called Ozik and is a little Japanese coffee shop about a block away from where I have all of my classes. Since coffee is cheaper here, I go there way too often, to the point where the barista knows my order already when I walk in. I usually stop by after my first class of the day on Mondays and Wednesdays to do my homework during my break.

A photo of an iced coffee and my computer with homework on a brown counter at a coffee shop close to my school, with a green wall with flowers in the background — A coffee-study break at Ozik after class

We took a trip to the Royal Alcázar of Sevilla, which is a historic royal palace from the 10th century. We went on a two hour guided tour, approx., of the Alcázar, the building was gorgeous and it was a beautiful sunny day as well!

One of the buildings from the Royal Alcázar, it is a two story orange wall viewed from a garden outside, with rows of windows on both floors — The garden of the Royal Alcázar

A photo of another outside garden in the Alcázar, with a fountain in the middle with green water and an orange/pale rustic colored building in the background — Another garden view of the Royal Alcázar

I have also been trying a lot of different restaurants. My friend Erica and I found this Italian restaurant called Bachio. We tried this meat pizza there and it was so tasty, and also the perfect amount to split between two people for dinner.

A photo of a pizza from the restaurant Bachio that we tried, it is a meat pizza with ham, salami, and ground sausage — Pizza Carnosa from Bachio

We also discovered our favorite ice cream shop, which I have been to 3 or 4 times now. It is called Gelateria Mito, and they have a couple locations across the city. I always order the nutella ice cream, which in my opinion is to die for.

Two ice cream cones from Gelatería Mito held in front of a window, with two scoops each with cookies on top, one cone is of pistachio and dark chocolate, the other of Nutella and dark chocolate — Ice cream from Gelateria Mito

This last photo is from when Erica and I explored the riverside of the Rio Guadalquivir one night after getting ice cream. It was a beautiful night and we sat along the river for a bit since it was on the way back to both of our apartments.

A photo of me sitting in front of the Río Guadalquivir, with the neighborhood of Triana shining in the background — An evening by the Río Guadalquivir

~Sofia

February 6, 2025

First Week in Spain

What a great first week it’s been! The first couple of days I was settling in, with a couple orientations and then I started classes. The first photo is of my walk to school- where you can see the Torre de Oro on the right, a monument from the 13th century. El Centro, where I am talking my classes, is about a 20 minute walk from my host family’s apartment, and on the way I cross the Guadalquivir River.

A photo of a blue/green river from the view of a bridge, with a tall building to the right called La Torre de Oro, with green trees to the right of that and a pathway below next to the river — View of La Torre de Oro on my walk to school

Tuesday night we went for a paseo (a little walking tour) and saw the Plaza de España. I didn’t realize until I was there that I have actually already been to the Plaza de España- almost 8 years ago now! They filmed some of Star Wars there. Also, while we were walking through the Parque de María Luisa, which is right next to the Plaza de España, they were filming the newest Walking Dead.

A photo of me in front of the water fountain in a big plaza called La Plaza de España, with a checkered pattern on the ground and a glowing golden building in the background — La Plaza de España

Thursday night we had our first session of intercambios. This is an exchange between the local university students and the students in our program, where we speak with them in both spanish in english so that we both improve our speaking skills. Afterwards, some friends and I explored Seville with one of the students from the University of Seville and ate dinner at a local Spanish restaurant, El Cairo. We tried paella de mariscos (seafood), which we enjoyed a lot.

A plate of paella with shrimp, oysters, clams, lemon, and rice, displayed with silverwear — Dinner on Thursday night- seafood paella

Finally, on Friday we went on a day trip to Itálica, which is just 15 minutes outside of Seville and explored some Roman ruins. This day trip is one of many included in the Seville program, and we were guided by SSA professors who shared insight into the background and evolution of this historic site.

A photo of me at the Itálica roman ruins, with rocky ruins and trees in the background. — At the Itálica Roman ruins

~Sofia

November 20, 2024

Getting Ready to go to Spain

Hi, I’m Sofia and I will be studying abroad in Spain this coming spring. I am very excited and a little anxious to go. My mom majored in Spanish and studied abroad in Spain when she was in college, so she has sparked my love for the language and drive to go to Spain this spring.

A little bit about me: I love the beach, playing soccer, surfing, listening to music, going on adventures, and drinking coffee. I can’t wait to go and I am excited to blog all of my experiences!

-Sofia

This is a photo of me from this past summer standing outside in front of some trees and flowers at a park called Foothills in Lake Oswego, Oregon — Me at Foothills Park this past summer