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.

My daily walk!

This is our breakfast table. I get up rather early, so Loli sets it the night before in preparation. I usually have toast with peanut butter and jam and a piece of fruit before walking to school.

This is right before I walk under the bridge. The pictures I took before this one were too dark to come out.

This is one of the many abandoned houses that I believe were used for the military. Now they are falling apart, but still very intriguing. That´s a palm tree in the front!

This is just after la Puerta de Carne (or the Gate of Meat in English). I believe this marks the beginning of Santa Cruz, which is the old Jewish neighborhood. Now it´s very touristy, though still beautiful.

This is probably the best view of my entire walk. When I come out of Santa Cruz, there is a spectacular view of the Cathedral.

This is just around the corner from CC-CS. On the right is Bliss, the crepe and fresh fruit juice place I ate at a couple of weeks ago.

This is right by the Cathedral where the horse drawn carriages are all lined up (this marks my return journey).

This is Barrio Santa Cruz on my way home.

This is the bike path where I cross Menéndez Pelayo. A girl on a bike ran into me right here the other day, it was not the most pleasant experience that I have had in Spain.

Another view along Eduardo Dato, in Barrio Nervión.

This is the soccer stadium. When there is a game going on, we can hear the cheering from our house.

Along Calle Cristo de la Sed (I always think Thirsty Christ when I see the name).

Another view.

Home at last! Calle Padre Pedro Ayala (we´re number 47).

As promised:

So this post brings us to the beginning of the second week of continuation classes, which means I have more catching up to do, como siempre (like always).

The first week of my new classes passed rather well, though I always get a bit worked up over change as most of you know. I really enjoy my Usage class (good since it’s held every day at 8:45). We basically just talk and go over new expressions, which is really fun. I also have Advanced Composition, for which we’ll write seven short papers and one longer piece at the end of the semester. I am really looking forward to improving my Spanish writing skills and I definitely don’t mind not having any exams for that class. Finally, Art History seems really interesting. I’ve enjoyed the art history courses I’ve taken in the past, and I think this one will be no different. These last two classes meet twice a week for two hours at a time, and I can get a bit antsy toward the end, but at least I enjoy the material. I have to say, all of my professors are really cool and interesting, which makes going to class less difficult.

Thursday was an excellent day because although I had class at 8:45, it’s my only one of the day. I felt great because I not only got done early, but I knew I didn’t have to go back to classes until Monday, which will be the case for most of our weekends. I then took my camera to a store to find out the problem, and though it took me a bit of time to actually find the store, once I got there I was able to effectively relate the problem and the new battery the man gave me made my camera work! I was really happy about that. I then shopped a bit in the downtown area (though I didn’t find anything good) and then headed back to lie on the terrace. Disappointingly, after charging the new battery, it did the same thing, but then I realized I probably wasn’t charging it correctly, since I was only using an adaptor and not a convertor. Sorry about all the boring details...

Over the long weekend, we went to Mérida, Cáceres, and Trujillo. In Mérida we visited some more Roman ruins, with a spectacular ampitheater. Rachel snapped the great picture of Wilheim shown here. We also visited the museum of Roman artifacts, which housed some statues of characters from Roman mythology, mosaics, and some smaller items like coins and jewelery. From there we went on to Cáceres, where we checked into our hotel, and then took a walk through the historical barrio. It was a very interesting experience, because these buildings are immensely old, yet continue as a part of the town today. Unfortunately, my camera again decided to not turn on, so I suppose the problem was never with the battery. Thankfully, Rachel has been great about taking pictures for me in addition to her own, so I am not completely heartbroken. Plus, she cheered me up to no end with a goofy photo of the two of us, shown here.

After returning to the hotel, we had a really tasty dinner of bread, cooked veggies with toast (zucchini, eggplant, and other stuff I didn’t take the time to identify because I was stuffing my face), and something along the lines of chicken cordon bleu, basically chicken stuffed with cheese and ham. Pretty yummy, especially with papas fritas (french fries) soaked in vinegar, which is definitely my prefered method of consumption. We had wine as well, which before coming to Spain I never enjoyed as much (I think because I don’t care for it warm), but I have gotten to actually like. From there, we hung out in some of the rooms of other people from the center, which was rather nice to do, since to hang out normally you have to go out somewhere, and we live so far away.

The next day we left for Trujillo, which was very beautiful, and in more of the way I expected Spain to look. We visited a beautiful castle, and were able to walk around the exterior walls. The views were absolutely amazing. Though I have pictures (thanks to Rachel!), they really can’t begin to show how unreal and stunning everything was. After the palace and walking around a bit, we had another great meal (also included in the trip, yay!) consisting of pasta with chorizo, roasted chicken and papas fritas (which I doused in vinegar again), and some vanilla yogurty stuff with cinnamon. I actually didn’t care for the dessert, one of the few things I have not enjoyed so far in my trip. More wine accompanied our meal of course, along with still and bubbly water, the former which tasted like soda. I was definitely stuffed, but that made it easy to get some rest on the bus ride back, after which I felt much better.

After another delicious meal (leftover seafood soup and chicken with mushrooms) at our home in Sevilla, Rachel, Chelsea, and I took the bus to meet with some friends from the Center. We partook in some “botelloning” (as Chelsea put it). In Spain, a botellón is just getting together to drink in the streets before going elsewhere. We shared a bit of wine, and then walked to Buddha, a discoteca. We finally managed to find a place that we enjoyed, and had a really fun night. You definitely have to be careful of the viejo verdes - creepers - that inch up behind you, but I’ve discovered I’m really good at ignoring and rejecting unwanted attention, a trait of which I am really proud. We stayed out til the wee hours of the night (or morning, depending on how you veiw it), but surprisingly, there are still lots of people walking around at night, and I definitely felt safe walking back, so no worries. Plus, I never walk alone after night, and we take the busier, more populated streets as a precautionary measure.

After sleeping in until lunch on Sunday, for which we had stuffed calamari that was truly awesome, Rachel and I walked to the Plaza de España, which we had yet to see. It was really pretty, with a lovely fountain. The surrounding buildings had beautiful tile inserts in their structures, something I hadn’t really seen before, but definitely enjoyed. Then we met with another friend, Hanna, in el Parque de María Luisa. We got some ice cream and just relaxed on some grass. That is probably one of the things I miss most about the States, and Berry in particular. There isn’t much grass here, so we made sure to soak up as much as we could.

Monday was more of the same, classes, walking (I’m up to about eight miles a day on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays when I have class in the morning and afternoon), eating, etc. I feel more comfortable here as time progresses, though I do miss home more now than at first. I think since fall is coming, and fall at Berry is usually such a great time, that contributes to a bit of homesickness. Plus, I really felt like I was just on vacation the first few weeks. I definitely will continue to enjoy my time here, but there are some moments where I miss home as well.

That´s a pretty good review of the past week or so, but I´ll continue to post more as it happens. I hope you all have a very pleasant Tuesday!

Quick post before class:

Hey everyone!

I have class in a few minutes, but I figured I would post some pictures as I don´t have a blog ready to go for today. Hopefully, I can get one written before too long.

Rachel and I with our juice at the crepe place

Rachel, me, Meara, and Chelsea at the Alcázar of Córdoba

Fish stand at a market

Hanna and I at Itálica here in Sevilla (ancient Roman ruins)

Me eating some churros and chocolate, yum!

That´s all for now!

Another post (very creative title, I know)

So, though this week was fairly busy, it went rather fast. I had another test Monday, which went fine, and then a paper for Wednesday and my final exam on Friday. It’s great to be completely done with one class already; I feel rather accomplished. To celebrate, Meara, Rachel, Chelsea, and I went out for crepes at this cool juice bar called Bliss. It’s right around the corner from the Center, and I think I might have to start going there regularly. I had an apple and strawberry crepe and freshly squeezed apple, ginger, and lemon juice. It was a really good way to wrap up the intensive period. Meara and Chelsea both got nutella crepes, which I also enjoyed, I might see if I can get a nutella and peanut butter crepe next time. Yum!

I’ll catch up a bit about last weekend as well, since my last post didn’t include it. Friday night was interesting, Rachel and I met with my intercambio (a pairing of a native Spanish speaker and American student) and we went out to the museums. Apparently there is one night that all of the museums in Sevilla are open late and free for everyone, which I think is pretty neat. Anyway, after some confusion as to where we were meeting (Justo, my intercambio, had to leave his dinner to help us find our way - I felt really bad), we waited a bit and then went to the Archiological Museum and the Museum of Customs. Some of Justo’s friends came as well, and it was good to speak Spanish with them, though I was having trouble hearing them, much less understanding them, because of all of the activity going on around us. It definitely wasn’t easy, but I think it’s a great way to learn more Spanish and get more comfortable using it.

Saturday was our trip to Córdoba, which was very interesting, though I felt a bit tired as this was the third Saturday we left Sevilla to visit somewhere else. We went to the Alcázar there (which was very different from the one in Sevilla), a synagogue, and the Mezquita, which was beautiful. It was very large, and lovely and cool after the 95º weather outside. Unfortunately, my camera’s battery ran out right after we entered, though it forced me to look at more because I couldn’t constantly snap pictures. After we got back to Sevilla, Rachel and I wanded around the shopping area near our house (buying some peanut butter, which isn’t at all common here, and therefore costs roughly $6).

Sunday was great because we finally got to sleep in. We then went running, which I am not a big fan of, and not that good at, but it felt good after we got done of course. After lunch we promptly returned to our room for a siesta. Overall, it wasn’t too eventful, but it was great because we got to do nothing for the first time in a while.

Wednesday of this week was also really cool. A few of us signed up to go to a Flamenco event and it was amazing. It really is unbelievable how fast the dancers could move their feet and how graceful and talented they were. Hopefully I cango again sometime, but I am really glad that I got to go already. I took a few pictures, but my camera ended up dying part of the way through. I did manage to get some video so hopefully that works here. I charged it that night in preparation for the trip to the Cathedral on Thursday (which was also really interesting to see - included picture), but then it died again. I’m hoping that it’s just the battery, and I can get a new one here for not too exorbitant a price, but I’m not sure. It sucks because I really want to be able to keep taking pictures of everything I do.

This last Friday, a bunch of people from the Center went to a bullfight, but I decided against going. I know it’s a large part of the culture here, and a traditional part of Sevilla’s history, but I didn’t think I would be able to handle it. I had some down time since I didn’t go, so I hung out on our rooftop terrace (that’s right, you should be jealous), and read and relaxed. Then, after a short nap, Rachel and I headed out to see if we could come across a discoteca closer to our house. We definitely found one, but it turned out to be the opening night and therefore had a huge, huge line. We hung around a bit, but ultimately decided to come back some other time when there weren’t masses of people.

Saturday we had planned to go shopping and find some of the city’s markets, but it ended up raining pretty much all day. We had a good time though, because Loli told us she had a surprise for us for Sunday´s lunch, which turned out to be calamari. We spent close to an hour pulling the squids apart and de-gunking them. It was really fun and I think Rachel and I were both really excited about getting to eat them the next day. I also got my hair cut that day, which was pretty nerve-wracking as I didn’t really know how to get across what I wanted. It turned out alright though, but it is a bit shorter in back than I wanted. After another nap (which helps tremendously if you plan on going out at night), Rachel and I set out to try and actually have an eventful night out. We met some people near the center of town and hung out at a couple of bars, but we didn’t make it to any discotecas yet again. I guess it’s really hard to get in anywhere on Saturday night because the older crowd (thirty-somethings) all go out then. I think eventually we´ll find a discoteca, but I´m alright with not going out every night as well.

Sunday was basically another sleep in day and we got to eat the results of our hard labor the day before. The calamari was delicious, Loli cooked the pieces in garlic, onion, and wine and it was really, really good. I’m definitely in love with her cooking and it’s great because I don’t feel like I have to go out (and spend a lot of money) to get really good Spanish cooking.

Today (Monday) marks the start of the continuation period so I´m starting three new classes: Present Day Spanish Usage, Advanced Composition, and Art History. I already spoke to my teacher about changing literature to composition, so I am all set for this week. My new schedule looks like this:

I already had Present Day Usage and Composition, and I think I am going to like them both a lot. I have Art History later, and I have heard there is a lot of vocabulary, but we make a trip to Madrid one weekend to see a whold bunch of museums, which should be really cool. I am also happy because I don´t have to pay any more for books, which is a great departure from previous semesters. Rachel just took Present Day Usage so I can use her book and Loli has the book I need for Art History. Plus, for Comp. we don´t need a book (and we don´t have any exams - pretty awesome).

I have a presentation in my Cultural Realities course tomorrow, so I should probably be working on that instead of my blog, but there was a lot to catch up on (again). Keep me updated on what´s going on in the States!

Good to know...

For some reason, a couple of the captions below the pictures I just posted don´t want to show up. If that´s the case for you, just click the space below each picture a couple of times and the caption should appear. Hopefully.

Lots of pictures!

This is a picture of Seville at night. We were right by the Cathedral and el Centro Norteamericano. Very beautiful all lit up at night.

This is me scrunched up in an alcove in el Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo. A bunch of us went to see a couple of exhibits there during our first week.

A picture of Rachel, Loli, and me!

Wilheim at the beach! La Costa del Algarve, Portugal.

I think this is one of the best pictures ever taken. I like candid shots the best; scroll down to see another good one.

These were taken in the Redeyebar in Lagos, Portugal.

As promised, here are some pictures of my first tapas. This is the tortilla de patatas wisky. Yummy.

This is the espinacas con garbanzos. When we had this at home it was more like garbanzos con espinaca (and I liked it more) but this was still pretty good.

This is the giant rock off of the beach in Portugal. I actually jumped off of it! I´m pretty much a badass, I know.