Mercados and Milestones

It's been a whirlwind week here in Sevilla, lot of exploring, adventures with friends and of course school. This past week I've had to do a lot of writing for class and it made me less than enthused about the prospect of blogging, which as why I haven't been very diligent in my posting this week. On the bright side I'm done with one whole class!!!! It still blows me away that I get three credits for a two week class, but I'm not complaining. One class down, four to go! I had my final exam today, it was the same format as the first, so fingers crossed that it went as well as I think it did. I'm getting ahead of myself though, so much has happened this week.

On Wednesday, as an out of class assignment we had to go to another mercado on Calle Feria. Last week we went to a flea/antique market, this time it was the Sevillano equivalent of a farmers market. I loved this assignment because I'm obsessed with the farmers market in Madison and I wish I could shop at it daily for fresh fruits and veggies, but alas it is only open on Sundays. So this market fufilled all my dreams and more when I realized it is the market where my Señora buys our fruits and veggies. I'm ecstatic that it is close to my house and I can swing by and pick up a pear as a snack whenever I want.

For the assignment I met up with a few girls in from my class and we went to the market to observe what we saw. We then had to write a paper describing the market, similar to a travel magazine article but utlizing the five senses. It was a fun assignment, and a real authentic Spanish experience.  I wish I had pictures but sadly, I forgot my camera at home. If there is one thing I've learned so far here it is to always bring your camera because you never know when you're going to want it.

After the market we still had an hour or so before class, and we all stopped at Starbucks (my first "american" purchase here) where we chatted and finished up some last minute homework before heading to class. When I got home I finally had some free time to spend up on my rooftop terrace, the view is really something else.

My rooftop terrace, shockingly laundry-free. 

View into the center of the city. 

Out towards the river, you can barely see the bridge. 

Creeping down on another terrace. 

That night, I had my first group meeting for the Cultural Expression club I've joined. Now I won't rehash the series of unfortunate events that led to my being in this specific club, but I will say that I wouldn't switch clubs even if I could. The group leader Abraham, is really nice and kept telling us how all he wants is that we have fun with this club, and all of the girls seem really friendly too. This weeks meeting was just an overview of all of the activities and trips we have planned throughout the semester, which culminates in a weekend trip to Madrid. I found out that we will be seeing two plays, visiting the history of fashion and taking a train there!

In the second part of the meeting Abe talked about some of the difficulties that come with studying abroad, such as culture shock, homesickness and loneliness. He talked about how they happen to everyone and that the good news is they don't last forever, especially if you get involved. I know that hearing this was reassuring to everyone in the group because everyone I've talked to, including myself have experienced one of these things to some degree and it is always nice to know you aren't alone. Then we wrote down our personal and academic goals for the semester and in april we have to meet with Abe and discuss how what helped us to achieve our goals and what prevented us from reaching them. My goals for the semester were to better my spanish, obviously, become less self-concious about my speaking and to not let my insecurities keep me from making the most of my time in Spain. So for me that just means putting myself out there and not missing a single opportunity, because really what is the worst thing that can happen? On this trip I've tried hard to be more outgoing and so far only good things have come from it.

I also learned that I will be part of an intercambio group. This is a group of six spaniards and seven americans and we all meet up once a week and go to a park, café or the cine to talk and improve our english and spanish respectively. I'm really excited about that, the first meeting is this coming Monday, it will be a great way to get to know more people and maybe even make a spanish friend. When I finally got back home at 10 pm this is what Pantera did to me, she likes to ride around on my back. It's all fun and games until she digs her claws in and refuses to get off.. She does it all the time, even when I'm eating.

Pantera riding on my back...

Thursday I finally got to sleep in until 10 on school day, wow, it felt so nice. My señora made fun of me for it though, as usual. Then I went to class, my final full day of class with Óscar, it was bittersweet. On the one hand I'll miss the class, but on the other I'm so glad to be done with grammar and move onto the "fun" classes. Speaking of new classes, we got our final schedules on Thursday and I was lucky enough to get all of the classes at the times I wanted. SO much less stressful than registering for classes back at home! As I was walking out of school I ran into Allison, and she asked me if I wanted to go to the Plaza de España with her later because it is supposed to be beautiful at night. I was so happy she asked because due to scheduling conflicts I wasn't able to make it to either of the Plaza de España tours, but I had been dying to go. 

The Plaza de España is really special, when it was built they tried to incorporate all the major types of arcitecture that is common in Spain, so there are Catholic and Muslim influences. Also, each province of Spain is represented by a tile alcove in the Plaza, and there is a moat that you can row boats in surrounding the whole thing. Fun fact, the bridges of Plaza de España were used in the filming of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and a lot of the college students at the Universidad de Sevilla were extras in it! I could go on and on about the plaza but instead here's some pictures.

The main part of the Plaza de España. 

 Artsy shot of side building/reflecting pool.

An example of all the lovely tile work.

 Me Vanna-ing the Barcelona alcove.

 The entrance arches.

 The arches are gigantic!

 Nonchalant on the bridge.

More bridges.

Messing around in the Plaza. 

On the walk back from the Plaza de España something amazing happened, Allison and I ran into a bunch of lost looking American girls, who were trying to ask some Spaniards for directions. We stopped and asked them if they needed help and they were so excited when they realized we spoke English. They were in Sevilla for the weekend with their program and they were looking for a place to eat, it was a good thing we found them when we did because they were headed in the total wrong direction. We were able to help them find somewhere to eat, and tell them how to get back to the river. It was a real milestone for me, because my knowledge of the city was finally at a level where I could help someone else find their way. You know that you truly understand something when you can explain it to someone else. It was a great feeling and we spent awhile talking to these girls and they were so sweet and grateful for our help. They are studying abroad in Madrid, hearing about their program makes me so glad I chose CIEE and Sevilla, because from what they told me I think I am getting a much more authentic and enriching experience than I would in their Madrid program. 

Well I'm going on a day trip to Córdoba tomorrow so I'll be back with lots to say and tons of pictures on Sunday, Nos vemos!