Uh Oh.

So my computer's broken. It's probably going to be a little while before the next post...

Excursions

So where did I leave off? We spent most of the rest of last week hanging out in the house and taking care of some things - lots of emails and Hannah and I are both looking for summer jobs - because it rained for 3 days straight. Kindof a downer, but at least it's not below freezing. And we got to experiment with things like taking the bus, which suprisingly enough takes just as long as walking. We realized the other day how lucky we are for living where we do, even though it is a little far away: we have the most beautiful walk on the way to school every day. We walk though 4 plazas, through the streets where cars are prohibited, by the Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe, and finally past a beautiful fountain. How can I even complain a little bit about the walking? Which, by the way, is at least 3 miles a day, and that's if we only go to and from school and nowhere else. Crazy. It's like the summer, except not quite as intense.

The weather finally improved a little for Saturday, most of which we spent taking a group trip to Carmona, which is a small city about a half hour from Sevilla. Mostly what we were interested in seeing was the Alcazar de la Puerta de Sevilla. Basically, this is the entrance to the city that points in the direction of Sevilla. It was originally built by the Carthaginians, but revised by the Romans, Moors, and Christians. Now it is being excavated, but you can climb up and see a beautiful view of the whole city. We also took a walk through the city and we basically unable to get up on the sidewalk to avoid cars because the sidewalks were so small. We had to keep running to spots where we could let them go by! Finally, we had some excellent churros con chocolate in Carmona.

Pictures of Carmona

We headed back to Sevilla for lunch with our Senora, whose daughter was visiting with her boyfriend. It was really nice to meet them and talk to them a little about our experience. We were talking with her daughter about how we think it is impossible to wear high heels in this city because all the streets are cobblestone, but that all the women do it anyway and we will never be able to. She pulls out her high heeled boots and tells us they are so comfortable and even lets us try them on, but we were both convinced that we will stick with flats. Also, Loli made us the best paella ever - it is basically rice with some vegetables and mariscos (seafood). Delicious.

Sunday was basically spent sleeping, since Saturday night we had gone out after about 4 hours of shopping for boots, pants, and a new jacket. We were exhausted. But we slept late and then spent the afternoon catching up on emails/homework/etc and planning for how to get to the Sevilla/Racing Club Futbol Game! We had bought tickets online and had to figure out how to get them when we got there, and getting there took almost 2 hours because we walked. We basically asked everyone we saw, which I'm beginning to understand is what it's like to be abroad when you don't really speak the language that well. I guess it's a good way to practice my Spanish. The stadium was absolutely beautiful, and even though Sevilla lost it was a great experience to be there. Hannah and I are thinking that maybe we'll become huge futbol fans this semester. Maybe. It was really cool to see so many Sevillanos cheering for their city. They just have so much pride for where they live, probably because this city is incredible.

To Do

Ok, my list of things to do while in Spain:

• know the city/walk without (looking at) a map
  
• ride the bike path
• read in Spanish
• read in English
• keep a journal in Spanish
• find a summer job
• do research for my thesis
• travel around Europe - Demark, Morocco, Paris, Portugal, maybe Budapest/Vienna
• travel around Spain - Gibralter, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia?
• learn about Sevilla
• enjoy my classes
• read by the river
• run outside
  
• find a favorite spot
• take a flamenco class
• get an internship
• meet Spanish students
• go out
• shop
• take pictures
• be fluent
• talk to my Senora
• do the walking tours in the guidebook
• try all types of Spanish food
  

hmm ok that's all I can think of for now. probably more to come.

My roommate Hannah and I went on a self-guided tour of the Jewish part of the city that was listed in my guidebook on Wednesday morning in the beautiful weather and took a lot of pictures that are posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/egl825/BarrioSantaCruz#

It was really fun, and we definitely learned a lot about that part of the city (Barrio Santa Cruz). I love not having class til 3:30. Definitely more exploring next week, when the weather's better. It's been not so good lately. But I guess I can't really complain because it's still 60 degrees here.

Class?

We started class yesterday, but only classes for orientation. We have to take 3 classes per day (grammar, culture, and conversation), and we are divided into two groups. Luckily, Spaniards don't like to get up early, so our classes don't start until 3:30pm and end at 6:50. They have been pretty interesting so far, and I am able to understand mostly everything which is good, although it is very tiring to try and speak in Spanish all day, especially because my vocabulary is a little limited. But it has been good so far because my roommate and I try to speak Spanish as much as we can when we are together, walking to class and of course when we are eating meals with our Senora.
Today we had shortened class because of the inauguration, which was really nice! We went to a bar and watched Obama and Biden be sworn in and listened to Obama speak. I think we were all pretty moved by it, especially since we are not in the United States. It is really interesting to hear the reactions of peoples' host families to Obama, as our Senora really likes him and is really interested in what is going on in the US and other peoples' families don't really care one way or the other. We have talked a lot about Obama with our Senora, and she told us that she thought that most of Spain would be watching the inauguration tonight. Although part of me wishes I were in the US today, at the same time it was really exciting to be in Spain and to see that other people are just as excited as Americans. I've also heard it's been pretty cold, which I guess I'm not so sad about missing...
After Obama's speech, we all went out to a tapas bar to celebrate together and hang out a little, and then my roommate and I went back to our house to eat dinner with our Senora. She takes a Metaphysics class on Tuesday nights and had left us a cute little note saying that we were welcome to eat without her, but we decided to wait because we really enjoy spending time with her at dinner. Afterwards, we did our homework and caught up with some emails. We had to ask her some questions about her family for our conversation class, and it was realy interesting to listen to her stories about her family with whom she is really close and about how she thinks that things in Spain have changed over the past 20 years with regards to family dynamics. I always thought of Spanish families all living together, but now things are a little different, and we learned that the average Spanish home only has 2.9 people. She told us that her grandmother lived with her until she passed away, but that nowadays people know that they are not going to live with their children but are going to go to nursing homes. I guess things are just changing.
Ok, time for bed. Tomorrow my roommate and I are going to go to explore Santa Cruz, which is the old Jewish Quarter of Seville, since we don't have class until 3:30. Really, I love the schedule of the Spaniards.

First Days of Orientation

Most of Friday was spent in a meeting with our whole group of 21 people, talking about safety and security, classes for the semester, contact information for internships and volunteer work and lots of other little details. We underestimated how long it would take us to walk to the University and were a little late. Oops. But it turned out ok, because we were eating breakfast at a little cafe before a short tour of the area around the University. At 2, we went back to our house for lunch/siesta, and back down to the University around 4:30 for the rest of the meeting. Then it was back to la casa to eat dinner and then out with the group to a bar for the remainder of the evening. Of course, we ended up on the complete other side of the city when we left the bar and it took a while to get back home, but we made it. I'm so happy to have a roommate living all the way up here, I'm really not sure what I would do without her. Our Senora was actually waiting up for us when we got back, to our surprise! But only because she is the sweetest person, not because she was concerned. It has been really fun to get to know her so far. She has been hosting American students for the past couple of years and is very accustomed to how to communicate with us and what things we might need. She is incredibly generous (she even gave us her bus pass this morning) and knows pretty much everything about the city. She's pretty funny too - she tells us little stories about her past students (her 'ninos'), and she mentioned that one of them had her 21st birthday while she was here, went out all night, and didn't come back until the next day! She really seems like she wants us to have a great time and enjoy the city - she always tells us that when she was young, she used to go out just like we will. It is great to have someone who is experienced in hosting students because it makes it so much easier to communicate with her and she is very comfortable with us being there and wants to have a close relationship with us. Basically on the first day, she told us that her house is our house and she is so happy to have us here. That's pretty much all I could ask for.

Today we went on a bus tour of the city of Seville. My roommate and I experimented with the bus, which went well until we accidentally turned the wrong way when we got off the stop. Oh well, can't win them all, and we got there on time after all. I learned so much about maps this past summer, I can't even imagine how bad it would have been if I hadn't gone on Bike and Build. We're doing ok though, our confusion is mostly because there are plazas everywhere that make the streets wind around. Seville is nothing like an American city, and it definitely does not have a grid. Oh well, we'll learn eventually. And I already feel much better than 2 days ago. So we took a bus tour of the city and then we on to a small city outside Seville called Italica, where Hadrian and Trajan had built a city when they were ruling Rome. It was pretty interesting, but I forgot my camera. When we got back, we came back for lunch with our Senora (the best vegetable soup I've had in a long time, and she makes absolutely everything from scratch) and then rested/caught up on email, etc. for most of the afternoon. Tonight is still a question mark.

Things most different about Spain:

the food. they eat mostly legumes and fish and lots of olive oil. my senora cooks very healthy food - lentil soup, vegetables, salad, etc. because she says she doesn't want to get fat! and they barely eat any dessert, which is probably a good thing. for dessert, we usually have a piece of fruit, a yogurt, or a small piece of chocolate. the meal times are also very different. they have a very small breakfast (usually toast/tostada and tea), a large meal around 2 or 3, and then a small dinner around 9. i think it will probably take some time to get used to it, because i still get hungry at 12 and 6.

the houses. like i said, the apartment is very small. the shower is small, the beds are small, the wardrobe is small, and the kitchen is small. but surprisingly, it's really all we need. one of the program director's said that everything in america is much bigger than in spain. even the shampoo bottles. our senora parks underneath her building and her already very small car barely fit. not to mention the elevator, which barely held 2 people and my 2 bags. there are also 4 different keys to get into the apartment. 1 for the gate. 1 for the building, and 2 for the apartment door. they have couches and comfortable chairs around their dining room tables (which have a whole set of tablecloth 'clothing') and since they don't have heat in their homes, they have a space heater underneath. you sit there with your feet and legs under the table and the tablecloth (which goes down to the floor) over your legs so that the heat doesn't escape. if you get cold then, you put your hands under it too. our senora also has to turn on the water heater when we want to shower, otherwise it is ice cold. and i mean colder than any bike and build shower, which is saying a lot, since we showered outside a hose on occasion.

the schedule. this is very different, since the day often starts at 9 or 10 (most stores open at 9) and goes until 2. then we go back to our houses for lunch/siesta until 5. at 5, the stores re-open until around 8:30, and life resumes. it will take some getting used to, but i really like the way that the day is divided.

the language. when i first got off the plane and into my senora's car, i barely understood a word she said so i was a little concerned. but now i am understanding most things, and like i said, she really knows how to communicate with us. meal times are a very good opportunity for us to practice spanish and get to know our senora, because we often spend about 45 minutes for breakfast, about 1 1/2 hours for lunch, and maybe 1 hour for dinner, talking with her. it's strange for me though, because the tv is always on in the background. also, my roommate and i are trying to speak as much spanish to each other as we can so that we can practice. everyone in our program seems really into speaking spanish with each other, which is great. i guess it's one of the advantages of having such a small program and being able to get to know everyone. i'm really glad i came to seville as opposed to madrid because it is really true that almost no one here speaks much english (at least that's what i've encountered so far). it is for the best to be completely immersed in the language and the culture.

the clothing. i need new clothes. europeans are too fashionable for me. someone said today that you can tell an american by the shoes we wear and it is so true.

that's all i can really think of for now, but i'm sure the are about 100 more things to add to this list. i made a list of things to do while i am in spain that i will post here at some point. going to morocco is up there.

I'm here!

I can't believe that I'm writing this from a beautiful apartment in Seville, Spain. I arrived on Thursday afternoon after 2 very uneventful flights (thankfully, since the pilots working for Iberia are on strike...), and was warmly greeted by my Senora. I had been told that I was living in a single, but found out in the airport that I actually have a roommate, which is great! It turns out that I am living about 1.5 miles from the University, so it is really nice to have a roommate to walk with, plus the fact that we can help each other communicate when we get confused with our Spanish, or the map, or where we are supposed to be...you get the idea. Our Senora drove us back to her house, which took about a half hour, and helped us move in. Our room has 2 twin beds and one standing wardrobe, half of which is for each of us. The rest of our stuff (which, luckily, isn't that much) is on a small folding table, the windowsill, and a small nighttable. It's very small, but cozy and comfortable. Afterwards, she made us a delicious lunch and we wandered into town along the river to get cell phones. Luckily, and friend had given me his friend's phone from when she was in Spain, so I only had to add more minutes to it. We got a little lost on the way back in Seville's windy, tiny streets, but we got back, ate dinner, and crashed, since we had been up for almost 48 hours.