Visitas, monjas, café y rebajas

Visitas, monjas, café y rebajas are four of my favorite Spanish words and definitely describe my day today. It all started out with a visita or tour to the Universidad de Sevilla where I will be taking my Phonetics and Literature class starting next week! There are two campus for the Universidad de Sevilla, and we visited the one that is downtown in Centro where I live. The campus is about a twenty-five minute walk from my house, so a little bit farther than CIEE but still not too bad. The building where my classes will be is very large, one building is home to four different departments and five libraries, however in comparison to Madison the Universidad here is very small. What it lacks in size it makes up for in beauty though, all of the floors are marble, and there are vaulted ceilings and statues galore. In short it is breath-taking like 99% of the other buildings here in Sevilla. Also, our tour guide was quite the cutie as well so that made getting up at 8:30, that's early here, worth it!

The tour got done at 10:30 and we don't have class until 12, so we all headed back to the CIEE study center with an hour to kill. On our way back to CIEE we passed Convent Madre Dios, and one of the girls got all excited saying that we could buy sweets from the monjas or nuns. To make extra money for the convent, the nuns back sweets from ancient recipes and sell them. So we stopped in at the convent and bought twelve magdalenas for 4 euro. They were delicious, they reminded me of cornbread muffins but a little sweeter, very tasty and the convent is only two blocks from the study center so I'm definitely going to try some of the other treats they sell.

After buying muffins from the monjas we headed to the cafe just around the corner from CIEE and got some café. It was a much needed pick me up after the morning that we'd had, it was a lot of walking. We chatted about what trips we wanted to take, we're working on lining one up to Morocco and Gibraltar, and then it was time for class. Class was beyond boring today, it seemed to drag on forever despite Óscar's best attempts to liven the mood.

Finally, after class I went home for almuerzo, my señora had made curry and rice. So good! She is an awesome cook, and we talked about what classes I will be taking in the coming weeks. Then I took a short siesta with Pantera. Around five I went shopping with a friend to hit the rebajas or sales. I looked at a bunch of shoes but didn't end up buying any, I did however end up with two shirts and a dress, all for 35 euro. That is why I love rebajas, I will be so sad when they are done. Then it was on to homework, bummer but overall an awesome day!

Side note, while I was in class today I got a facebook message from one of my roommates back in Madison informing me that we have not one, but two bats in our apartment (one in her room and one in the kitchen) so she had taken refuge in my room. Unfortunately, that makes three bats that have tried to occupy our apartment so far this year, but I'm sure it will be taken care of by the time I get home :) On the bright side, now she has remembered to water my poor plants so some good has come of the bats!

Nos vemos!

Life in a Spanish household

Today in class we practiced the subjunctive tense and commands, as part of that exercise we had to come up with sentences about what we thought of Sevilla so far. Some of the prompts were: "The best thing about Sevilla is ..." and "The worst thing about Sevilla is ...", this really got me thinking that while I love it here there are definitely some major lifestyle differences. Since all I did today was go to class, get back an exam (which I did well on, YAY!), plan a trip to Portugal and go for a run, I thought I would take this time to fill you all in on some of the fabulous lifestyle changes I've had to make here in Sevilla. Some of these are specific to my house but a lot of them hold true for most families here.

1) You turn off the lights, always. Even if you are just leaving the room to go grab your phone, you turn them off. 

2) I have to light the hot water heater before I take a shower. Yup,  every time I want hot water this is what I have to do: 

The water heater in my kitchen.

• Step 1- slide knob over to the second notch
• Step 2- light match
• Step 3- push in REALLY hard on knob to turn on the gas and stick the match in
• Step 4- remove match and continue holding knob in for about 10 seconds

Pretty glamorous, I know you're all jealous. 

3) I also have to light the burners on the stove whenever I want to use them, that is significantly more scary than lighting the water heater. 

4) Speaking of showers, here you take short ones. But that isn't really a problem because I have a detachable shower head, that doesn't attach to anything, so you have to hold it above your head the whole time you're showering. 

5) My Señora doesn't have an oven or a microwave, so everything she makes everything on the stovetop. I thought that was really interesting, and she makes some delicious things in the pressure cooker. 

6) People walk really slow, I think my desire to walk quickly is one of the few things that screams "American!" to everyone on the streets. 

7) Las palomas, or the pigeons. I hate them. They are fat and fearless. I am always afraid that they are going to fly up in my face and peck my eyes out. 

8) My gatita constantly bugging me to give her attention. Okay so this one doesn't actually bug me...

Pantera, destroyer of bedside tables. 

She is a little bit of a spaz.

Despite all of these inconveniences and partially because of them Sevilla is the most amazing place I have ever been and I love it here. Hope you all enjoyed getting a little look at life in mi casa. 

Serenaded in Sevilla

The past few days I've been feeling a little under the weather, with a majorly stuffy head and a little bit of a cough I just wasn't feeling posting on the blog, I tried but ultimately I was just uninspired. However, after a few days of sleeping a ton, and drinking lots of water I'm feeling great! Crisis averted.

I had my first test this past Friday, my "midterm" after just a week, a little silly if you ask me. I think it went well though. It was four parts; two essays, fill-in-the-blank and then an oral presentation. Shockingly, my oral presentation went very well, my professor seemed to like what I had to say and my partner and I spoke well together. The test focused on assessing our grasp on the past tenses, it was mostly review so it wasn't too bad. Friday night I just stayed in and slept, as I was trying to keep a cold at bay. It felt nice to sleep in and Pantera cuddled my feet. 

Today was much more eventful, I slept in until about eleven. Then I got up and went for a run by the river. This is my new favorite place to be on Saturdays, there are always so many people to distract me while I run and there is the perfect amount of breeze and shade to keep it at perfect running temperature. I somehow managed to get lost on my run today though... Not sure how because I ran twenty minutes one way, turned around and started running back the way I came, but after about ten minutes I knew something wasn't right. So I wandered around the city for about half an hour before I finally found my way home, it was a little scary but I have a pretty decent grasp on the city so I knew what general direction I needed to head in. 

My Señora had a big plate of pasta waiting for me when I got home, which was perfect because I slept through breakfast and had expended way more energy than I had planned on my run. Then I relaxed, caught up on some reading for school and made plans for the night. My Señora was worried that I didn't have friends because I didn't "salir" or "go out" on Friday night, so I explained to her that I hadn't been feeling well, so she then decided it was okay. I thought it was cute that she worried about how I was fitting in here though. Then at dinner she also told me that I was very tan and looked Andalusian aka Spanish, which I took as a compliment. 

Later that night I met up with my friend Allison and we decided to explore Triana. Triana is a neighborhood of Sevilla, similar to Centro (where I live), but it is much more trendy and up and coming. We had a nice time just walking around and catching up, I haven't seen her much since orientation, so that was fun! We made our way through Triana walking by the river which is gorgeous at night. While we were walking we wanted someone to take our picture in front of the Puente de Triana, which is how we met Juan Ramón. He is a student at the Universidad de Sevilla, and is studying marketing, he was very nice and not overly forward or anti-american as some Sevillanos can be.  After taking our picture Juan seranaded us with his guitar, he played Oasis and Beatles songs. He was actually very good, and it was cute when he tried to sing in English. After throughly exploring the riverfront of Triana, we headed back into Centro. We had some café at nearly 1 am, but that is how they do things here! Then we were both tired so we headed home, but I had a great time exploring Sevilla. 

Puente de Triana

Me and the Puente de Triana

Me and Juan

Me and Allison with Juan's guitar

Me and Allison exploring!

So many activities

Yesterday my homework assignment was to go to a Spanish movie, and then write a summary about it. Some classmates and I went to "La Chispa de Vida", it was a lot different than an American movie but I still enjoyed it. I was really pleased to see that I understood most of the conversations in the movie and didn't leave the theatre with too many questions. The building was really cool too, the first level was filled with shops and restaurants and then the upper level was a suspended platform where you bought tickets with walkways leading off the platform into each individual theatre.

Cinesa Plaza de Armas 

(ok so I didn't take this one, but I wanted to show you a picture of the building)

Then today before class we had to pair up and go to "El mercado de jueves", which is basically means "the thursday market", and buy something for two euros or less. Once we found the object we had to make up a story about it's history, and we will be presenting our story in class tomorrow as part of our first test! We bought a ring for one euro. The ring has the initials CTR on it, and we are planning on making up a tragic love story to explain how it ended up in the mercado for our presentation tomorrow. The market is very similar to a flea market, except there are a lot more antiques, some of the most interesting things I saw were old tea sets, lamps and the crystal parts of chandeliers. There were so many people all crammed onto one street, it was very hard to navigate but definitely a worthwhile experience. 

Other than that I don't have much going on. I have my first test tomorrow, I don't think it should be too hard it is just testing our ability to use all of the different past tenses that exist in the Spanish language. Our professor has told us what all the parts of the test will be like so I feel like I'll be able to study for it effectively. 

Oh but check out where I get to go to school everyday!

Birds eye view of open air courtyard in the center of my school.

The terrace at school!

This apartment has a rooftop terrace?

Today I fully appreciated for the first time not being a blonde. I always thought it would be fun to have blonde hair, it's so pretty and looks better in almost every hair style, but living in Sevilla has made me love having dark hair because it makes me fit in. I can walk to class in peace without getting anyone of the negative attention that Americans, especially blonde's receive here. In fact I am often mistaken for a Sevillano and people ask me for directions, which is flattering  but only lasts until I open my mouth.

It was also my second day of class and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. We spent the day doing activities that helped us practice the many different forms of past tense that exist in the Spanish language, but our professor had us ask and answer funny questions so we got to learn more about each other and bond a little bit too. Our assignment for Thursday is to go see a movie, "La Chispa de Vida", which means "The Spark of Life". It is a dark comedy about the unemployment situation in Spain, which is a very relevant problem, as 30% of people under 40 are unemployed in Sevilla. I am really looking forward to seeing this movie because I will get to experience my first Spanish movie theatre, and I love comedies that have a little something extra behind the laughs.

After class I went home and my Señora made me an awesome lunch and I told her about my classes and trips I had planned. She told me some things I might enjoy doing while I was there and I feel like we really bonded today.  We must have because later she offered to show me how/where she dries the laundry. She took me up to the roof of our building which is how I found out we have a rooftop terrace with a spectacular view of the city. I learned which key opens the door to the roof and she told me I can hangout up there whenever I want, but that I can't take Pantera up there. At first I was just like haha, because it had never occurred to me to take the cat outside, but then she was like no really she is afraid of heights. Which made us both laugh. Later that day I embarrassed myself big time, Pantera came into my room and kept squeak meowing at me, and so I tried to imitate her. Turned out that my door was open and my Señora came in because she thought something was wrong, and I had to explain to her that I had been meowing because I was playing with the cat, AWKWARD...

I also signed up for two weekend trips through my program. I will be going to Cordoba for the day on February 4th, and to Granada for two days the following weekend! I am very excited to experience new parts of Spain and see what new adventures it brings!

P.S. Sorry that this blog was so boring aka had no pictures, it was too dark to get good ones of the terrace so I'll post some later.

Hasta Luego

First day of school!

Today marked one week since I first arrived in Sevilla, although I've done so many things it seems like much longer, in a good way! I feel like I know the city remarkably well for having only been here a week and I have even found the most efficient route to class, meaning I no longer get lost, there are still probably faster ways to get there... 

Speaking of class, today was my first day of my Advanced Intensive Spanish Grammar class AND interest group sign-up day. To sign up for interest groups we had to be to school by 8:30, this meant I had to be up by seven. ¡Qué horrible! Now you all might be saying seven isn't that early, well it is here, and as I've gotten accustomed to the time schedule here waking up was a bit of a struggle. In fact I told my Señora I had to leave at 8 she didn't believe me at first, and then proceeded to tell me she thought it was dumb anything would start that early. The only people I saw on my way to class were kids on their way to school. 

Normally one of the busiest streets, at 8:15 a.m. not so much. 

I got to school at 8:20 and there was already a massive amount of people waiting, I got what I thought was a pretty decent spot in line, but then people started letting their friends into line and others just started ignoring the line and walking up to the registration table. Who thought this was a good system I'm not really sure but after awhile it became clear I wasn't going to get my first, second or third choice of groups so I chose to relax and not let the situation bother me, since there was nothing I could do to change it. Thankfully, I was by a few friends so we all signed up for the same group, Culture of Spain. Through the group we will be going to different museums and films, which I actually think will be very interesting. Plus I will get to meet new people, and in April we're going to Madrid as a group, for free, so I can't really complain.  

As nerdy as this is I was really happy to start again and loved my first day of class here. There are just twelve people in my class so it is very small, and everyone seems really nice. Also, my professor, Óscar is not intimidating at all and seems like he really cares about us advancing our Spanish skills versus just rushing through a syllabus. Also, for class we get to go on three field trips! The first is this coming Wednesday, we are all going to the cine to see a movie. 

My Spanish book. Why Foosball, your guess is as good as mine.

Class is from 12-3, Monday through Friday, and we get a ten minute break halfway through. Today an amiga and I grabbed a coffee at a cafe near school on our break. Class was pretty uneventful, we just got to know each other and had to speak in front of the class about basics about our lives. Name, age, major, college, goals for the trip, the usual. However, we did get homework already! It is just reviewing the past tense though so it isn't too hard yet.

After class I stopped at a supermarket on my way home and bought some essentials for the week. 

Some shampoo and conditioner. 

"Cola light"

My travel conditioner had run out so I figured it was time to take the plunge and buy some here. They had very little selection though and it was a shock to see Spanish labels on familiar product. I also bought a "diet coke", I'm not really sure it's diet coke though, it tastes kind of funny. I don't think I'll be buying it again, I'll probably just stick to coffee. Well I'm off to do homework. Nos vemos!

Runnin' by the Rio Guadalquivir

In Sevilla they take the meaning of a lazy Sunday to a whole new level, everything shuts down. There is not a lot going on, the only things you can really do are go to church or walk around the city. As I am not Catholic and really think you need to have a membership card or something to go to church here, I swear I saw a sign on one of the churches that said it was open to members only. Ok, never mind, I just translated it, it meant only for worshipers, but point is I didn't go to church. Instead I decided to go for a run. I took a right out of my house ran a few blocks and ended up in front of the beautiful Guadalquivir. 

Rio with a view of Triana, another major neighborhood. 

Running by the river was really nice, there were a lot of people to watch and many people were rowing in the river. I even saw one group tip over, I'm not sure if I would want to fall into that water but it is probably cleaner than Lake Mendota... It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was probably 60 degrees with a nice breeze from the river to keep it from getting too hot. All in all perfect running weather. I really enjoyed my run and my Señora runs as well and she told me about another good route to take, so I think I will try that soon! I ended my run at Plaza Nueva, where I got  a bottle of water and cooled down.

Cute kids at Plaza Nueva. 

So that's what a Plaza looks like for anyone who was wondering. On Sundays especially people gather in the Plazas, let their kids play and there are often street performers all around. Also, the kids here are cuter than any that I have ever seen before. They all have gigantic brown eyes and the spanish baby talk and kiddie peacoats make them adorable, so I had to take a picture. 

Tomorrow is my first day of classes, kind of. I am starting my two week course, which is Intensive Spanish Grammar, and although it's only for two weeks and three hours a day, I still get three credits for it, cool huh? So that starts tomorrow and I'm excited to have some semblance of structure back in my life again, I'll let you know how it goes!

Mi barrio, mi casa y mi gatita

Today during my breakfast my Señora asked me if I wanted to go to the mercado with her, my curiosity about what a Spanish grocery store looked like won out over my tiredness so half an hour later we were walking to the store. I was surprised at how different the mercado was from grocery stores in the states. It was much smaller and the baskets converted into little wheely carts which I thought was super funny. Also, you have to pay one euro to use a cart, which you get back if you return your cart at the end of your trip, I think Madison stores need to invest in this. Another difference was how inexpensive groceries were, but there was less variety. After the grocery store we went to a fruit stand and then a fish market because she is going to make me Paella soon! I'd never been to a fish market before and I have to say I don't care to ever go again, it did not smell good. 

After all the shopping was done we carried the groceries home, because most people in Sevilla don't have cars they go shopping more often and either carry or wheel their groceries home in special carts. On the way home we stopped in the Plaza de Jesus del gran poder, who my Señora informed me is the most important saint, where we got a refresco. I had a cola light, which is supposedly diet coke but I'm not sure. I was so glad I went shopping with my Señora, she told me a lot about the city and it was nice to spend some time with her.

I didn't do much else today other than practice walking to the building where I have class, and go shopping with my Señora but what she told me about the city has inspired me to write about my neighborhood, house and cat here in Sevilla. 

I live in a neighborhood that everyone here calls Centro, because as I'm sure you can guess, it is in the center of everything here in Sevilla. I'm very lucky to live here because it is close to shopping, many plazas, the river Guadalquivir, and my school! It is also the oldest of all the barrios and many of the buildings used to be palaces and some of the churches date back to the 15th century. One of my friend's host mom told her that all the churches that have ramps instead of stairs were built before the Moors were expelled from Spain! My Señora took me into a church today that is usually closed because it is very tiny and filled to the brim with expensive relics. The walls are rimmed with Saints and the alter is topped with a gigantic Jesus, and it all is covered in gold, silver and precious jewels. I wish I would have gotten a picture it was absolutely breath-taking. 

The roads in my neighborhood are very small and sidewalks are almost non-existant so you have to be on the look out for cars. It is very confusing because the roads have no order to them and often times the name of the road changes suddenly, seemingly for no reason. You would never know that though because street signs are few and far between and when they are there they're on the buildings. 

The view down my street. 

My street. Calle de Pascual de Gayangos.

I live on the second floor of an apartment building. The apartment is not fancy by any means but it is clean and well kept up. The furnishings are sparse but that is because Spaniards don't socialize in their homes, the do it in the calle. They go to tapas, the movies or drink on a plaza. 

The front of my apartment building. 

Gate you need to unlock to get up to my apartment. 

As I said before the buildings here are all very old, that combined with a temperate climate and high energy costs means there is no central heating. This is fine during the day but it does get a little chilly at night, but my Señora made sure I have plenty of blankets. Also, all of the floors are tile and those get very cold, but it is considered rude not to wear slippers indoors so that takes care of the cold feet problems. I have my own room, it isn't very big but it has everything I need and I'm not in Spain to spend time in my bedroom anyways. 

View from my window. 

My closet. 

Entrance to room. 

My looking glass.

Desk and heater. 

Bed and slippers. 

My homestay also came with a gatita. Her name is Pantera which means Panther. At first she didn't like me because I almost ran her over with my suitcase when I moved in, she even hissed at me! But now she has warmed up to me and we're besties. 

 Pantera. 

She never leaves me alone, she always tries to come into my room and jumps up on my lap when I'm eating. Her favorite thing to do, if I let her, is to climb all over my room, she really likes to get inside my suitcase. 

 Pantera's favorite pastime. 

She isn't as sweet and cuddly as theDuke but she also isn't as chunky either... I'm glad to have her here, I would miss having a pet otherwise and there is something comforting about having an animal around, even if it is just a crazy kitty. 

Scavenger Hunt Sevillano

Today was yet another unbelievable day, sometimes when I wake up I forget that I'm really in Sevilla, but then I go outside and get to spend my day in this breath-taking city. I met up with a few girls at Plaza del Duque which is a plaza that is about 7 minutes from my house, and is home to Corte Inglés, which is a huge department store, I haven't been inside yet but that is on my list for tomorrow. The girls and I then headed to Plaza de España, to meet up with other people from our group for another walking tour to help us get to know the city. However, once we got there it became clear that this wasn't your typical tour, it was actually a scavenger hunt! They gave us a list of thirty clues, with different point values based on difficulty, and two hours to find as many of them as we could! 

"Las Zetas" 

Plaza del Salvador. 

These are just some of the places that we had to find and take pictures with on our scavenger hunt, we also had to look for a special cafe where they sell churros con chocolate, a signature here, and a bookstore. Two hours later made it back to Plaza Nueva and met up with our guides, and our group won! I can be a little competitive so I was pumped up that we were the winners. Afterwards we were all hot, tired and hungry because it was 1:30 and we had all had breakfast around 8:00 and most of our Señoras don't make lunch until 3:30 or 4! So we decided to stop and get some helado and water. 

Just half of all the flavors they had!

My helado, marscaponé and galleta, two of the most popular flavors. 

Amigas with helado. 

After helado, I went back home and took a short siesta, then my señora made me a stew for lunch, it had garbanzo beans in it which I don't normally like but these were delicious. Also, I finally got her to stop giving me so much food. In Spain, the señoras always serve huge portions, partially because they leave so much time in between meals and partially because they don't want their guests to feel like they ever have to ask for more or don't have enough. Needless to say I have a new favorite Spanish phrase, "estoy llena" which means "I'm full", it's taken some work but she is starting to give me less food so that is a good thing, because I feel bad when I can't eat it all and she has to throw it away. That's another thing, in Spain if you don't clean your plate that is a sign that you didn't really like it. So I'm trying to do both of us a favor really. 

At 4:15 I met up with the kids who live near me and the guides took us to the CIEE study center so that we could find out what day and time we would be registering for classes. My group got there a little early so a few of us went out for some coffee. Then it was back to the study center, where I found out that I will be registering for classes tomorrow! I can't wait to know what I will be taking. We also learned about some of the interest groups we can join, they meet six times over the course of the semester and you learn about Spanish cuisine, culture, sports and much more. The coolest things about these groups is the third weekend in April they all go on a weekend trip to places like Morocco, Portugal, Majorca, and other regions of Spain. I have my eye on the Majorca trip, sign ups for those is January 23rd so I have a while to decide still. 

Once I was done at the study center, a friend and I went to Movistar to buy cellphones. That's right, I discussed what phone to get, activated it and paid all in Spanish, and now I'm the proud owner of this sweet little thing. 

Fancy huh?

It is super fancy. Prepaid, 8 euro cents a minute, 12 for texts. It doesn't even have a camera, but it was only 10 euro and it lets me talk to all of my friends, so be jealous. I do miss my iphone though. All kidding aside, mine is way cool, I'm the only one with a white one.

Armed with our super cool new phones, my friend and I walked back to our neighborhood, which I am proud to say I can now find with accuracy about two-thirds of the time. My señora made me a ham and cheese grilled cheese and then I got ready to go to the discoteca.

Two other girls and I met up at Plaza del Salvador and spent some time sitting outside on the plaza. Then we headed to Kudeta, which is a super cool 3 level dance club. It was a lot of fun, there were a lot of american students there but there were a lot of Spaniards as well. Having a chance to hangout with and talk to some Spanish students in a fun, social setting was a new experience but it was fun as well! It is a little awkward because a lot of them look at me and assume I'm Spanish, until I open my mouth, then they go "estás americana o inglaterra" aka "are you American or English". Hopefully by the time I leave they won't ever know. Also, most of the songs that they played were American Top 40, but things got old school when they played some Backstreet Boys, hearing the Spanish students sing along to American songs is right up there on my list of funniest things ever. I really like the discoteca and I'm sure I'll be going back, I met some other girls who live by me who are in a different study abroad program and I hope to see them again soon! Hasta luego!

The best group in the whole world

Two nights ago we had three hours of orientation about what to expect in the coming weeks with regards to our classes and housing. We also learned about something called interest groups which are like clubs and have meetings and activities throughout the year, with the experience culminating in a trip in April to places such as Barcelona, Valencia, Morocco, Mallorca or Lisbon. I'm interested in joining one of the clubs that goes to either Morocco, Mallorca or Lisbon because I think it will be easier to travel to the other regions of Spain and I would welcome a guided trip to other countries.

After this orientation we headed out to a Flamenco show, it was amazing but definitely not what I was expecting. The first two numbers was two men singing and playing guitar, then a man danced, then a woman and then they danced together, which I thought was interesting because I had expected more partner dancing. Everything about the show was over the top, they both moved so gracefully and so quickly that sometimes I could hardly tell their feet were moving. The show was in this beautiful, courtyard like setting of a hotel, there were vines everywhere and the lamps were gorgeous!

Ticket for the Flamenco show. 

 The guitar player and the singer.

The female flamenco dancer. 

After the Flamenco show, my group all went out for tapas again, it seems like all I've eaten for the past few days is tapas, tapas and more tapas. However, I like the tapas we had for dinner much better than the ones we had at lunch that day. We a lot of food but my favorite things were a greek salad, and manjara pollo, which means chicken dish. It was baked chicken in an almond sauce, it was so delicious. With dinner we also had a spanish drink called tinto, which is red wine, fruit juice, sprite and lemon slices all mixed together. I learned that the difference between tinto and sangria is that sangria has many different kinds of cut up fruit in it and tinto just has lemon slices.  After tapas we went back to the hotel and a bunch of people in the program all hungout in the lobby and chatted, it was our last night all together in the hotel which was bittersweet. 

Me and some friends at the Flamenco show. 

Yesterday was a very busy and stressful day, it was the day we were going to be moving into our homestays and we had an oral interview to make sure we were placed in the correct classes. So everyone was rushing around to eat breakfast, pack up, check out, do the interview and make sure we looked presentable so our Señoras would like us. I was pretty nervous for both the interview and meeting my Señora, but it turned out I had nothing to worry about. The interview was just a conversation about where we lived, where we went to school, what our major was, and what we wanted to do in Spain, very simple stuff. Then my Señora came and picked me up, and we went to her apartment. She is very nice, and a great cook. I live with her and her gatito, little cat, whose name is Pantera, which means panther, the kitty didn't like me at first but now it wants to snuggle. It is so funny because it doesn't really meow it squeaks/squawks, it's bizarre, maybe that's how Spanish cats meow, hard to say. I'll post more about my house later, when I have some pictures to put up with it!

Later that day I had my first experience navigating the city on my own, we had to make it from our homestays to a plaza where we met up with our groups, I only live about seven minutes from the plaza but it was still a little difficult, but I made it. Then we all went to yet another orientation on culture, health and safety, boring but necessary I suppose. After the orientation we had free time, and my group just walked around the city together, and then we all went to dinner with our guide at an Italian restaurant. I had pizzeta verde, which was pizza with a white sauce, cheese, mushrooms, onions and spinach. It was our last night of dinners togethers as groups which was sad, because we have all gotten really close to each other and our guides. My guide's name is Itizar, and she is twenty just like us, it is strange that the people who are taking care of us are the same age but she is so nice and our group calls ourselves "el grupo mejor en todo el mundo" or the best group in the world. 

After dinner, because it was our last night, all of the groups and guides went to a bar to watch the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona game. Everyone in Spain hates Barcelona because they never lose, and tonight was no exception, but it was still fun to be out with everyone. It gets cold at night but they still have tables outside the bars where people hangout, it's not could though because they have heat lamps everywhere. I walked back to my homestay with two other girls in my group who live near me, actually I walked to the plaza with them and then took a taxi about three blocks to my house because I wasn't exactly sure how to get here, but the taxis here are so cheap it was worth it. 

Discovering Sevilla

After countless trips through security in Minneapolis, O'Hare and Madrid, too much bad airplane food, not being able to sleep on the plane and lugging around my huge duffel bag, which gave me a nasty bruise, I finally made it to the airport in Sevilla. It was a crazy experience to see and hear all of the Spanish in the airport. We landed about 10:30 am or 3:30 am MN time, but suprisingly I wasn't too tired. A group of a bout fifteen of us were all on the same flight from O'Hare to Sevilla so we made our way to baggage claim together. We all anxiously awaited the arrival of our bags, however, after about ten minutes it became clear that something was wrong. There weren't nearly enough bags and soon a man came out and yelled, "No más maletas" aka "no more suitcases", which needless to say wasn't good news. Myself and about seven other people I was traveling with didn't have our suitcases, but we got it all straightened out and my bag was delivered to the hotel the next morning. I'm glad I was traveling with other people, it made dealing with a lost bag much less scary. 

After a fifteen minute bus ride we arrived at the Hotel Sol Meliá Sevilla, which looks pretty gross on the outside but is very modern and nice on the inside. I checked in and received my registration packet from the CIEE helpers, and headed off to my room to meet my roommate for the next few days. After about half an hour it was time for us to go down to lunch where I met up with some people from Madison, at this point most of us hadn't slept in twenty-four hours so we were definitely out of it. After lunch I took a four hour nap, and then it was time for more orientation. We met the CIEE staff and got into small groups of ten, each with our own guide. Later, we all ate dinner as a group and got to know each other, it was fun but I was exhausted, so while some people went to explore Sevilla, 90% of us just went to bed. 

The next morning we had to be at breakfast by eight, and I should mention the food is really good! There is an enormous variety of fruits that wouldn't be in season in the US, they are so delicious. Some things that I thought were funny about breakfast was that there was a huge cold meat and cheese spread, wine and champagne offered, I don't usually associate any of these things with breakfast so that was a change. There is a chocolate croissant that I have my eye on for tomorrow though. I am still having a hard time getting over the time difference, when I woke up I saw people posting about heading to the bars back at home, it will just take some getting used to. 

After breakfast we headed off in our small groups for a four hour walking tour of Sevilla. 

One of the many tiny streets of Sevilla

We saw so many amazing old buildings, I was constantly turing my head to look at all of the fountains, monuments and architecture that I kept almost running into things, but that's pretty typical for me. One thing that I find really beautiful about Sevilla is that the streets are lined with orange trees, it is just so unexpected. 

One of the many orange trees that line the streets

We also got to see the main building of the Universidad de Sevilla, I won't be taking classes there because those end a month later but it is a pretty building and a lot of the CIEE activities will be taking place there. While we were still in the old part of Sevilla we also saw the Catedral de Sevilla, which is a breath-taking old church where Christopher Columbus is buried, I want to tour it when I have more time. 

Entrance to la Universidad de Sevilla

Catedrál de Sevilla

We also went to see lots and lots of shops. It was just the end of the King's holiday here so that means sales, think black friday deals but for weeks on end, they have lots of cute clothes for as little as 5 euros, I'm starting to wish I had packed less. There is a lot of modern architecture in some places too. We went to lunch at a tapas place today, which is basically like shared appetizers, they were okay some of the food was really strange. I tried all of it though. Tonight we will be going to a Flamenco show and I can't wait! Adios. 

I love traveling but hate all the airports

So after days of procrasti-packing I finally managed to get it together and fit my huge mess of clothes, mostly dresses, sweaters and shoes, into a gigantic suitcase and a duffel bag.

Today it was finally time to leave Minnesota, since winter has finally decided to show up I can't say that I'm going to miss it all that much... Since it's Sunday I had a smooth drive to the airport where Delta told me I had to pay $90 for my 56 pound bag, it was 4 pounds over the weight limit. So upsetting. Then it was off to airport security where my watch made the TSA agents want to search my wrists. Which the male TSA agent informed me a female TSA agent would have to do, I was a little confused, I didn't know that your wrists were a private area, but whatever. 

Now I'm sitting at the gate waiting for my short flight to O'Hare where I will meet up with people from my program and then take a plane to all the way to Madrid. It's 7 or 8 hours, yuck! So wish me luck, the next time I post it will be from Sevilla!

I'm not organized enough to fit my life into two suitcases...

So as most of you already know I will be spending the Spring 2012 semester in Seville, Spain. Seville is in the region of Andalusia and is relatively close to the coast, check it out below.

My departure date is fast approaching, and it seems crazy to me that after the months of applications, orientations and deadlines I will finally be leaving on January 15th. As I start to attempt to pack, things are finally starting to feel real. I'm not the most organized person so narrowing down what I want to bring with me in my TWO suitcases is proving to be a challenge, but I hope to have that done soon!

When I finally arrive in Seville, I will be spending the first few days in a hotel where I will have time to get to know the other people in the program, receive my final class and housing assignments and explore the city a little bit! Then after a few days I will head off to permanent housing and take a few week long Spanish Language Intensive course to brush up my Spanish skills, and then I finally start real classes on February 8th. 

 I am extremely excited to go to Spain but also a little nervous. Not knowing my housing or class situation is not helping because if I was spending the semester at Madison I would have all of those things figured out by now. I guess that's just all part of the adventure though. I am hoping to take Spanish Cuisine, Spanish for the Health Professional, Phonetics and a literature class on Cervantes and Don Quixote. I'm really looking forward to these classes and I think that it will be a nice break from all of the science classes I usually take, and classes are only Monday-Thursday. Which will give me lots of time to travel other countries in Europe. I hope to be able to visit England, France, Greece, Ireland, Morocco, Portugal and of course the many different regions of Spain. I doubt I'll make it to all of these places but I'll do my best, and plan on making the most of being in Europe. 

Living in a country where the primary language is Spanish will be a challenge, but it's one that I'm welcoming with open arms. I'm quite good at reading, writing and understanding Spanish, but my spoken Spanish could definitely use some work, I hope that I will improve a lot since I will be using it everyday! My goals for this semester are to improve my Spanish, get good grades and enjoy all that Europe has to offer. I want to make sure to immerse myself in Spanish culture every chance I get so that I can get as much out of this amazing experience as possible!

Thanks for bearing with my through my first post ever, I'm sure they'll be drastically more interesting once I get to Seville. I think that the Internet access there is pretty good so I'll try to keep this as up to date as possible!