day 12: My horrid life choice

Tuesday was a long day this week. We had school 9-1pm and then our group went on an excursion to Córdoba from 2-9pm. Luckily my amazing mom here sent me to school with a packed lunch (since I wouldn't have time to walk home and eat before our trip).

She may not draw pretty cartoons on my bag
like my real mom BUT out of all the host families
she pretty much rocks.

After classes most of us went next door to snag some WiFi and enjoy some food before the bus came. Here I made a HORRID life choice for the day.

So it started out great. Here they have this wine drink called tinto de verano (mixed with like carbonated soda water I think). (You can order it other ways, for example tinto limón aka with lemonade. The café next to the school has great tinto because its more wine than mixer and it tastes better, oh and its cheap.

Downside- it's so cheap I had 4 glasses. Then I decided to walk to the store with some girls before 2pm when we loaded on the bus. The issue was we got back at 2:07 and everyone was already on the bus. Now the problem grew because: no the wine didn't intoxicate me, I just didn't make time to use the bathroom before we left. I knew I had to go but I figured I'd be fine (who knows why I thought that).

So we're on our bus, without a bathroom I might add, and Kristen reminds me that the trip to Córdoba is about 1.5-2 hours away. The not using the bathroom before I left=my super duper bad life choice.

The whole way there it only got worse and worse. I was literally counting down the minutes and km; I kept my eyes on the clock and diligently read EVERY road sign. Seeing distance between road signs is actually depressing, just in case you were wondering. Sometimes they were less than 5km apart which was a MAJOR letdown.

Looking out the window didn't distract me. I just kept seeing places I could go the bathroom. Restaurants, gas stations, sunflower fields, bushes, on solar panels. Doesn't matter- we drove past it? I debated the idea. Listening to music didn't help either- my Spanish music is too upbeat and I like to dance to it. Talking didn't help because Kristen and I couldn't stop joking and laughing. I love how we can always joke but I swear giggling didn't help at all. Kristen was a trooper though- she was a friend through it all lol. Then again she didn't have a choice. I wouldn't shut up and, early on I pointed out that, with her sitting next to me, the chances of her getting peed on if I peed my pants were rather high. Even all the bumps in the toad made it worse. All the curves and hills, I felt every single inch. I debated on trying to sleep to pass the time but I worried I'd dream about a bathroom or something and pee my pants. It was just the pits.

Sooo... Why didn't I get the bus to stop you ask? A couple reasons actually. 1) I'm an adult and shouldn't even be having this problem. I should have planned accordingly. 2) I stop to pee and EVERYONE pees. We'll be stopped for at least a half hour and we're on a schedule. 3) I can do this. I can make it to Córdoba. And lastly 4) refuse to tell my professor I drank too much wine before our excursion and forgot to go the bathroom.

All in all, stopping wasn't an option.

I wanna say, if I remember correctly, our trip started at 2:19 and ended around 3:50. Longest time I've ever had to pee ever. I know that's one situation I'll never get stuck in again. I made sure to go like 3 times during our time in Córdoba because this was NOT happening on the way home.

BUT once we got to Córdoba we luckily parked our bus near a little food store and I was able to run in. Kristen grabbed my bag off the bus and I just ran!

Anywho, in Córdoba was walked around the city and toured La Mezquita, the mosque/cathedral in Córdoba. First we had to cross over this bridge into the city center.

A tower on our end of the bridge

The view from the bridge

The far end of the bridge

One of the doorways we walked past into
La Mezquita.

Firstly, we did the city tour. 

First we saw calle de los flores  

This is a statute in one of the small squares.
The man is Muhammad Al-Gafequi, an eye specialist
from Córdoba that focused on eye diseases such as cataracts.
Rubbing his feet was said to make you more intelligent.

I like this ceiling idea as an optional shade covering.

This is almost our whole "tour group".
There are 40 students all together so this is just the group I'm in.

We took the above picture in the square with the cool shade covering. We weren't able to get in our whole group either. Next one we need everyone in it along with our tour guide Pablo.

Once the city tour was over we made our way to the Cathedral/Mosque. While we waited for our tickets we hung out in the Patio de los Naranjos (patio with orange trees and palm trees).

Kristen and I
Best Pee buddy ever.
Just wish I would have participated with a funny face!

Us with Sarah. Love these two!!

Now the tour begins. I liked it this time because we each got headphones to better hear our guide via his microphone. = super helpful.

Love this window.

Over the years the ceiling had to be repaired and replaced.
The original wood is still there on display.

One of the many alters

Lots of people were buried in the floor  

This room held an original copy of the Koran 

Pillars and detail work outside of said room

Next we went into the room that holds Córdoba's Processional Corpus Christi Monstrance. The room was amazing- covered in detail top to bottom. The adjoining room was filled with gold and silver detail and items.

First the doors into the room with the Corpus Christi Monstrance

A statue in that room

The monstrance itself:

And since ceilings are my favorite, the room's ceiling.

These two pictures are in the adjoining room.

Me in the Mosque looking like an über tourist
with my headphones and hot red necklace.

Next we walked onward toward the cathedral. And of course I had to enjoy the sweet ceilings.

How insanely beautiful. This is where the choir sits.

Stained glass window by the door we exited through. This place has
almost 20 doors. Like entrance/exit doors.

After we finished we had an hour of free time to explore Córdoba and the shops we walked past during our walking tour of the city. Me and some other girls looked around at a few shops and snagged some ice cream. I also bought a hand carved wooden dish.

Once it was time to go I made SURE to hit the ladies room first- it made our journey home so much more enjoyable! 

When we got back to Sevilla -around 930- I walked with Dorel, Olivia, and Ayanna to the super market. I needed shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant (you know, the basics). Plus, since it was already late Dorel and I stopped by a McDonald's we pass on the way home and snagged a lil sandwich for dinner. Other than that my night ended pretty soon after because I was worn out.