An assortment of summaries about the past couple of weeks

Our long weekend (over Christopher Columbus Day weekend) was pretty great, I got to do some exploring and also relax a bit as well. I went for a run both Friday and Saturday, which felt great for once because it wasn’t nearly as hot. However, the trade-off for that on Saturday was getting caught in the rain. I was pretty soaked and my shoes were very squishy, but it was still enjoyable. I also explored some, walking around for almost five hours on Sunday. I went to a mercadillo (an open-air market) that is held by the Museo de Bellas Artes, but there wasn’t a ton on display, probably due to the rain. I also found a fancy chocolate store with delicate bon-bons and truffles and all sorts of yummy things. Just the smell was worth paying for, though the chocolates I bought weren’t bad either.

On Friday, I think for the first time ever, Rachel got up before I did, as she had to be at her bus at 6:45 to go to Morocco. She ended up returning that same day (after spending nine hours in the ferry terminal). I guess there were really fierce winds and storms and the ferries wouldn’t have been able to make the trip. To try and make up for that, we tried to watch a DVD I rented from school named Viridiana. It was interesting to say the least. Basically, a nun makes a visit to her uncle, who ends up dressing her up in the wedding gown of his deceased wife and then drugging her with the help of his housekeeper and begins kissing her while she’s passed out (without the help of the housekeeper this time). She of course is mortified when she wakes up and attempts to leave, only to be called back to the house after learning that the uncle has hung himself. Then she leaves the convent out of guilt and brings homeless people to live on her deceased uncle’s estate, where her cousin (I think?) also ends up living. Of course, he hits on her as well. At this point, Rachel and I decided we couldn’t take anymore and turned it off. Apparently, it’s one of the most important films in Spanish cinema, but I just think it’s not for me.

Friday we had classes because of the holiday held on Monday. It was really difficult to get up early on a day that I usually have off, especially knowing that it was going to be my long day of classes. It wasn’t too bad though, I didn’t have to go to dance class, and we got out early from art history. Originally, we were supposed to go visit some museum, but I guess it was closed that day. Then, after dinner, a bunch of us walked back to the center (for the third time that day, my legs were definitely not happy with me), to check out some live music. We went to a place in Santa Cruz that I read about in one of my guidebooks, and it turned out to be really neat. We got to watch a man and a woman dance Flamenco, and also listen to some music. I definitely want to go back another time, as I was tired and returned home at one-thirty (which is crazy-early for Sevilla!).

This most recent Saturday, we got up and walked to the Alameda/Center area. Of course, it had to rain, just like last weekend, but we made the best of it. The funny thing was, Rachel, Meara, Chelsea, and I all had umbrellas, and by the end of our trip, all of them were broken in some way. I bet we looked pretty awesome (especially Chelsea, I don’t even know if you can call what she has now an umbrella). We stopped in a few stores along the way and then continued on to the chocolate store I found last weekend. I had a chocolate with cinnamon, and a dark chocolate truffle (covered in chocolate sprinkle-type things). Probably the most exciting part of the day was when I was asked for direction on how to get to Feria Street. First of all, I understood what the woman was asking me. Also, I know where the street is (more or less) as a result of my explorations last week. Finally, I was able to communicate the general direction to the woman. I was very proud of myself! Then we ended up walking back home for lunch, which was one of my favorites (though I can say that about almost everything we eat), lentils with chorizo and vegetables.

Sunday was basically spent in an attempt to do homework and rest up for the coming week, though the homework thing kind of fell through. I got the stuff I had to have done completed, but I really need to buckle down now and take care of upcoming schoolwork. I have a Usage test tomorrow, and a rough draft for Composition (the final draft due on Monday), so I should be working on those instead of the more fun stuff (like my blog). Plus, since I go to Barcelona this weekend, I won’t want to work on anything then. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to change the fact that I don’t really want to work on anything now.

In other news, I just bought a flight to London for the first weekend in December. I am definitely looking forward to revisiting the city, and hopefully getting a good English breakfast. With eggs. And bacon. Eggs are common here (especially in the tortilla española), but not the breakfast type. Yum, I am getting hungry just thinking about an egg sandwich right now, and how awesome it would taste.

So before I start drooling on the keyboard, I’ll stop for now and attempt to get some homework done. I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying a beautiful fall in the States.