It's hard to believe that I have only been in Sevilla for 3ish weeks, it feels like so much longer. So many things have changed in such a short amount of time - adjusting to life in a foreign place is exhausting, but exciting.
I'm still trying to adjust to speaking Spanish all of the time. I'm much more comfortable speaking with my host family, we use lots of hand gestures and pull out the spanish/english dictionary on a daily basis but communication is getting much easier and developing beyond the "good morning, how are you?" type of conversations.
My host sister María is a lot of fun. She is usually fairly quiet, listens to music a lot and spends all of her time on 'tuenti' which is the Spanish version of Facebook. But when she starts talking about something, usually having to do with her boyfriend Nacho, she is a very funny and animated speaker. The apartment we live in is small, so the four of us hang out in the living room watching tv or just talking. My señora loves to watch game shows (Spanish wheel of fortune and a text-twist-like game are particularly popular. Also, there is an Andalusian Cash Cab driving around that my roommate and I are determined to find), and every week day María and María del Mar watch a telenovela during dinner. I've never watched soap operas in my life, but I have to admit that I'm getting hooked. It's exciting to kind of be able to follow a plot line and understand what the characters are saying. Good practice, right? It's still a little bit awkward to be living in someone else's house, but slowly this apartment is starting to feel like my Spanish home rather than just the place I sleep and shower.
My first class started last week, an intensive grammar class that meets for 3 hours every day for 2 weeks. Three solid hours of grammar is about as fun as it sounds, but I like the people in my class a lot so it's really not so bad. We also get to do lots of fun excursions and explore the city. So far we have had to visit the Universidad de Sevilla where we will be taking classes when the regular session starts next Monday and strike up conversations with random Spanish students about some differences between university here and in the United States. This was a little bit intimidating at first, but after talking to the first few students it got much easier and I got to practice my Spanish with some really nice people.
Sevilla has a plethora of interesting and beautiful museums - so far I have visited 2: El Museo de Bellas Artes and El Museo del Flamenco. The art museum was unbelievable - it is an enormous, intricately decorated building hiding in the middle of 'el centro' (the part of the city I live in). As in all Spanish buildings there are many open-roofed courtyards with gardens and orange trees inside the museum. I'm not even sure how many rooms there are, the building is sort of like a maze, but each one is filled with amazing works of art. I could spend an entire day there. And maybe I will, there is no enterance fee and it's a 10 minute walk from my house.
The flamenco museum was very cool, and not at all what I expected. It was very interactive, lots of audio and video of different types of flamenco dancing, exhibits about famous flamenco dancers, authentic flamenco costumes, etc. I never knew that flamenco dancing had such a diverse history before - it evolved over time and various aspects of the dance come from different cultures from around the world (ex. hand motions from Indian dance, hip and shoulder movement from Cuba, foot stomping from France, castinettes from Crete...)
Other than class and home, things here are wonderful. I'm getting to know people better and starting to get into a groove. I still haven't gotten used to the eating schedule but the churro shop on the corner is doing a great job at making sure I never go hungry. Life is good.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Mi familia
Ahora it's Sunday night, which means that I have been living with my host family for five days. It's been really great so far, living with a Spanish family has already helped my Spanish so much and it will continue to get better over the next four months. The household consists of my host mom, María del Mar, and her 17-year-old daughter, also named María del Mar. For simplicity's sake I will from now on refer to my señora as María del Mar and the daughter as María. And if this isn't confusing enough, María del Mar (my señora) has 7 brothers and sisters, and all of their first-born children are named after them. As such, there are 3 Marisas and 4 Antonios in the family. Hopefully I'll never have to keep them all straight!
I also have a roommate, or I guess more of a housemate. Her name is Justyna and she is in my program. I was a little nervous at first to be living with another English speaker because it would make speaking Spanish much more difficult, but so far things have been great. We get along really well. Our señora has a 'no english' rule in the house and we've actually been really good about speaking in Spanish almost all of the time, but it helps so much to have someone who will understand you when you have a problem or when you just really need to have a conversation free of blank stares and stumbling around words you don't know. Everyone here speaks so quickly and has a very heavy Andalusian accent that is almost impossible to understand the first time around. I feel bad having to ask everyone to repeat everything all the time, but I can already tell that I'm getting better at understanding things.
María del Mar has been hosting exchange students for 11 years, ever since her husband died when María was 6 years old. María del Mar needed to find a source of income that would allow her to be home with María and didn't require extensive transportation because she doesn't have a car. Hosting exchange students is the perfect solution, and by now they are pros at it. Justyna and I each have our own rooms which is wonderful, and the house has newly installed wireless internet which is beyond fabulous. We live in an apartment on the 7th floor of a building in 'el centro,' one of the many neighborhoods of Sevilla. The apartment is very small, but it works out well. My room is the perfect size for what I need and the amount of stuff I have (mom, you will be glad to know that I am keeping it very clean).
We live in a great location, very close to the University (15 minutes walking) and the CIEE study center (20 minutes walking). Every day I walk along the river to get to school, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. Each time I walk onto the street I am taken aback by my surroundings, I can't believe I live here! It's unreal. El centro is full of shops, cafés, restaurants, and plazas. Everything I could possibly need is within walking distance or accessible by bus.
My days start with breakfast, which is 2 pieces of toast with strawberry marmalade, freshly made café con leche, and a glass of pineapple grape juice (it sounds weird but I promise it's actually quite good). My host sister goes to school in the morning, she is in her last year before University and is going to be an engineer. Justyna and I do whatever we need to do for our program and our classes, and return to the houst at 2 or 2:30 to eat lunch. Our señora goes out during the day, and leaves our prepared lunches on the kitchen counter for us to heat up when we're hungry. We always have a main dish, some sort of salad and a piece of fruit for dessert. María comes home from school during lunchtime and the three of us eat together. Lunch was really quiet and awkward the first couple of days but that is improving quickly. She is so patient with our terrible Spanish, and is great at describing/explaining words that Justyna and I don't know. Dinner doesn't happen until 8:30 or 9, and typically consists of a main dish and some sort of pastry, flan, or chocolate mousse for dessert. Delicious.
I have liked almost everything I've eaten here so far, lots of soup, eggs and meat. María del Mar is a really good cook, and really good at being a host mom. She makes sure that we always wear our slippers in the house, because it's a commonly held belief that bare feet or stocking feet on the tile floor causes sore throats. We also always need to wear scarves when we go out because its winter and the cold weather will make us sick. I didn't tell her that compared to Minnesota 55 degree days in January is a heat wave :)
She never hesitates to correct our grammer or help us use the right word which is helpful and frustrating at the same time. I'm learning how to eat with my left hand, because it's rude to switch from left to right after cutting up food. The other day I was having a shoe dilemma because I left my boots at home and none of the shoes I have with me are very comfortable except for my birkenstock sandals. It was a little cold out but I thought I would be fine. My señora came in and watched me put my shoes on, then politely told me that I couldn't wear them outside because in Spain it's winter and if I went outside in open shoes 'todo el mundo' would know that I am from the States. With my blonde hair and blue eyes everyone pretty much knows that already, but I didn't argue and changed into flats. Once again, she looked at me and repeated that it is winter, it's COLD in Spain. In the winter people wear socks - tall ones, none of these short athletic socks. Finally, I left the house in socks, flats, jacket, a scarf, and a recommendation from my señora that I buy myself a nice pair of boots.
Everything is going well, I'm getting much more settled in here and starting to feel more at home. Being with a family helps so much, it's nice to have people looking out for you. I miss everyone so much, talk to you all soon!
Hannah
I also have a roommate, or I guess more of a housemate. Her name is Justyna and she is in my program. I was a little nervous at first to be living with another English speaker because it would make speaking Spanish much more difficult, but so far things have been great. We get along really well. Our señora has a 'no english' rule in the house and we've actually been really good about speaking in Spanish almost all of the time, but it helps so much to have someone who will understand you when you have a problem or when you just really need to have a conversation free of blank stares and stumbling around words you don't know. Everyone here speaks so quickly and has a very heavy Andalusian accent that is almost impossible to understand the first time around. I feel bad having to ask everyone to repeat everything all the time, but I can already tell that I'm getting better at understanding things.
María del Mar has been hosting exchange students for 11 years, ever since her husband died when María was 6 years old. María del Mar needed to find a source of income that would allow her to be home with María and didn't require extensive transportation because she doesn't have a car. Hosting exchange students is the perfect solution, and by now they are pros at it. Justyna and I each have our own rooms which is wonderful, and the house has newly installed wireless internet which is beyond fabulous. We live in an apartment on the 7th floor of a building in 'el centro,' one of the many neighborhoods of Sevilla. The apartment is very small, but it works out well. My room is the perfect size for what I need and the amount of stuff I have (mom, you will be glad to know that I am keeping it very clean).
We live in a great location, very close to the University (15 minutes walking) and the CIEE study center (20 minutes walking). Every day I walk along the river to get to school, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. Each time I walk onto the street I am taken aback by my surroundings, I can't believe I live here! It's unreal. El centro is full of shops, cafés, restaurants, and plazas. Everything I could possibly need is within walking distance or accessible by bus.
My days start with breakfast, which is 2 pieces of toast with strawberry marmalade, freshly made café con leche, and a glass of pineapple grape juice (it sounds weird but I promise it's actually quite good). My host sister goes to school in the morning, she is in her last year before University and is going to be an engineer. Justyna and I do whatever we need to do for our program and our classes, and return to the houst at 2 or 2:30 to eat lunch. Our señora goes out during the day, and leaves our prepared lunches on the kitchen counter for us to heat up when we're hungry. We always have a main dish, some sort of salad and a piece of fruit for dessert. María comes home from school during lunchtime and the three of us eat together. Lunch was really quiet and awkward the first couple of days but that is improving quickly. She is so patient with our terrible Spanish, and is great at describing/explaining words that Justyna and I don't know. Dinner doesn't happen until 8:30 or 9, and typically consists of a main dish and some sort of pastry, flan, or chocolate mousse for dessert. Delicious.
I have liked almost everything I've eaten here so far, lots of soup, eggs and meat. María del Mar is a really good cook, and really good at being a host mom. She makes sure that we always wear our slippers in the house, because it's a commonly held belief that bare feet or stocking feet on the tile floor causes sore throats. We also always need to wear scarves when we go out because its winter and the cold weather will make us sick. I didn't tell her that compared to Minnesota 55 degree days in January is a heat wave :)
She never hesitates to correct our grammer or help us use the right word which is helpful and frustrating at the same time. I'm learning how to eat with my left hand, because it's rude to switch from left to right after cutting up food. The other day I was having a shoe dilemma because I left my boots at home and none of the shoes I have with me are very comfortable except for my birkenstock sandals. It was a little cold out but I thought I would be fine. My señora came in and watched me put my shoes on, then politely told me that I couldn't wear them outside because in Spain it's winter and if I went outside in open shoes 'todo el mundo' would know that I am from the States. With my blonde hair and blue eyes everyone pretty much knows that already, but I didn't argue and changed into flats. Once again, she looked at me and repeated that it is winter, it's COLD in Spain. In the winter people wear socks - tall ones, none of these short athletic socks. Finally, I left the house in socks, flats, jacket, a scarf, and a recommendation from my señora that I buy myself a nice pair of boots.
Everything is going well, I'm getting much more settled in here and starting to feel more at home. Being with a family helps so much, it's nice to have people looking out for you. I miss everyone so much, talk to you all soon!
Hannah
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The First Few Days
I know I've only been here for two days but it feels like so much longer. So far I've been doing orientation activities with my program and living at a hotel. There are so many exchange students here in Sevilla, my program alone has close to 200. We were split into groups of 9 or 10 students, and each group and placed with a guide, a student from the University of Sevilla. My group is made up of kids from all over the States, and my guide is a 20-year-old Sevillana named Maru. It's really nice to have someone my age show us around because we can talk about the same things and she knows all of the good places to go in Sevilla.
It's so surreal to finally be here and think of it as my home for the next 4 months. That was really uncomfortable at first, and it's still intimidating to think about, but the more I get to know the city the better I feel. Sevilla is so beautiful, even in the winter when everyone is complaining about rain and 'cold weather' (today it is 59 degrees here, and according to my weather widget it's 23 degrees so I'm not complaining). All of the streets are narrow and winding, and lined with tiny tiendas, cafés, and restaurants. Palm trees and orange trees are everywhere. Right now only some of them have oranges, but in March they are supposed to bloom and smell fantastic. The streets are old cobblestone mixed with newer paved roads for cars. Everyone walks wherever they need to go, driving is really rare. Almost everyone here lives in an apartment, so there isn't space to park cars and really no need for them at all. There are bike rental places all over the city, where you pay money or use a card to get a bike off the rack, kind of like the luggage carts at the airport. When you get to where you need to be, you just drop off the bike at the nearest bike rack and go on your way. Very cool. There are many neighborhoods in Sevilla, divided by the Guadalquivir River and there are lots of beautiful bridges connecting the two sides.
Yesterday was my first full day here. In the morning, my guide took us to the study center where I will be taking most of my classes, and along they way she pointed out various shops and bars that are good and inexpensive, places where lots of locals hang out, etc. Of course I had no idea where I was and kept thinking that I would never remember how to get back to any of these places. I felt so turned around, and couldn't imagine how I would ever be able to find my way in this maze of a city. I was about to discover exactly how I would find my way around, because at the study center the guides divided all the kids in my program into small groups and gave each one of us map and a list of clues. Each clue led to a specific location in the city, and had an assigned point value. For example. we had to find 2 bookstores that sold books in Spanish and in English, a bus station that could take us to the beach, the best place to get churros late at night, etc. and have someone take a picture of the whole group at each location. Close places were worth 10-15 points, and far places were worth 20-25 points. We were essentially going on a scavenger hunt of Sevilla, with nothing but a map and local people we met along the way to help us.
For the next 2.5 hours we walked around the city, following the map to art museums, department stores, libraries, etc. One of the clues led us to one of the many churches in Sevilla, and we had to find a 'hidden bird' in one of the murals near the door. I found the bird, which according to Sevillan tradition means that my life will be filled with happiness.
After the time was up we returned to the hotel and regrouped. None of the groups had many points but we had all discovered lots of other cool places in the city and felt much more comfortable walking around and talking to the people who live here, which was the whole point of the activity. Armed with a map and algunas amigas, I think I can find my way to anywhere I need to go.
For dinner, Maru took my group out for tapas and tinto verano, red wine mixed with a lemon drink served over ice. Tapas are the traditional appetizer-like dishes of Sevilla. It is a common activity to go out for tapas with your friends. I had no idea what to order, or what anything on the menu was, but I ended up with a spicy sausage sandwich that was very good. After dinner my whole program went to a private flamenco show, which was amazing. Flamenco is such a unique mix of music, rhythm, and dancing. Each part alone would be fun to watch but together the effect is incredible.
After the show I crashed at the hotel. My body still hasn't caught up with the time change yet, I'm tired when I need to be awake and when it's time for bed I can't fall asleep. So far the days have been so busy there hasn't been any down time, which is probably a good thing. It makes adjusting easier.
I miss everyone so much, I hope things are going well back home/wherever you are abroad!
Love,
Hannah
It's so surreal to finally be here and think of it as my home for the next 4 months. That was really uncomfortable at first, and it's still intimidating to think about, but the more I get to know the city the better I feel. Sevilla is so beautiful, even in the winter when everyone is complaining about rain and 'cold weather' (today it is 59 degrees here, and according to my weather widget it's 23 degrees so I'm not complaining). All of the streets are narrow and winding, and lined with tiny tiendas, cafés, and restaurants. Palm trees and orange trees are everywhere. Right now only some of them have oranges, but in March they are supposed to bloom and smell fantastic. The streets are old cobblestone mixed with newer paved roads for cars. Everyone walks wherever they need to go, driving is really rare. Almost everyone here lives in an apartment, so there isn't space to park cars and really no need for them at all. There are bike rental places all over the city, where you pay money or use a card to get a bike off the rack, kind of like the luggage carts at the airport. When you get to where you need to be, you just drop off the bike at the nearest bike rack and go on your way. Very cool. There are many neighborhoods in Sevilla, divided by the Guadalquivir River and there are lots of beautiful bridges connecting the two sides.
Yesterday was my first full day here. In the morning, my guide took us to the study center where I will be taking most of my classes, and along they way she pointed out various shops and bars that are good and inexpensive, places where lots of locals hang out, etc. Of course I had no idea where I was and kept thinking that I would never remember how to get back to any of these places. I felt so turned around, and couldn't imagine how I would ever be able to find my way in this maze of a city. I was about to discover exactly how I would find my way around, because at the study center the guides divided all the kids in my program into small groups and gave each one of us map and a list of clues. Each clue led to a specific location in the city, and had an assigned point value. For example. we had to find 2 bookstores that sold books in Spanish and in English, a bus station that could take us to the beach, the best place to get churros late at night, etc. and have someone take a picture of the whole group at each location. Close places were worth 10-15 points, and far places were worth 20-25 points. We were essentially going on a scavenger hunt of Sevilla, with nothing but a map and local people we met along the way to help us.
For the next 2.5 hours we walked around the city, following the map to art museums, department stores, libraries, etc. One of the clues led us to one of the many churches in Sevilla, and we had to find a 'hidden bird' in one of the murals near the door. I found the bird, which according to Sevillan tradition means that my life will be filled with happiness.
After the time was up we returned to the hotel and regrouped. None of the groups had many points but we had all discovered lots of other cool places in the city and felt much more comfortable walking around and talking to the people who live here, which was the whole point of the activity. Armed with a map and algunas amigas, I think I can find my way to anywhere I need to go.
For dinner, Maru took my group out for tapas and tinto verano, red wine mixed with a lemon drink served over ice. Tapas are the traditional appetizer-like dishes of Sevilla. It is a common activity to go out for tapas with your friends. I had no idea what to order, or what anything on the menu was, but I ended up with a spicy sausage sandwich that was very good. After dinner my whole program went to a private flamenco show, which was amazing. Flamenco is such a unique mix of music, rhythm, and dancing. Each part alone would be fun to watch but together the effect is incredible.
After the show I crashed at the hotel. My body still hasn't caught up with the time change yet, I'm tired when I need to be awake and when it's time for bed I can't fall asleep. So far the days have been so busy there hasn't been any down time, which is probably a good thing. It makes adjusting easier.
I miss everyone so much, I hope things are going well back home/wherever you are abroad!
Love,
Hannah
Traveling
The past few days have been so busy, I don't even know where to start! I guess I will begin this blog with a post I wrote while stranded in the Madrid airport, waiting for fog to clear. I was hot, crabby, and really tired when I wrote this, so please bear that in mind...
January 18th, 11:05 am Madrid, Spain
My flight from Madrid to Sevilla was supposed to leave at 11:50, but has been delayed until 2:30 due to fog, so I thought I would spend this time catching everyone up on the trip thus far…
After a somewhat frantic night of packing, I had everything ready to go with 20 minutes to spare before departing for the airport. Not bad, especially for me. I arrived at MSP with plenty of time to check in, get through security and find my gate. The Vikings game was playing while I waited, and all of the airport staff and passengers from other flights were cramming in to catch a glimpse. As I was waiting for a flight to Dallas TX, there were several dejected-looking Cowboys fans wearing their Romo jerseys, surrounded by a crowd of exuberant Vikings fans dressed in purple. The flight and brief stay at the Dallas airport were (thankfully) uneventful, and I got on the plane to Madrid without problems.
The plane was surprisingly empty, and even after 24 stand-by passengers got on I was the only person I my row. Fantastic. The flight to Madrid would take 9 hours, and we got 2 hot meals and plenty of beverages. Maybe it was because I was tired from traveling, or maybe it was because I had really low expectations, but the food I got on the airplane was the best airline food I’ve ever had, which was good because I was really hungry. I tried to read for a bit but was starting to get a headache and of course all of the ibuprofen was in my checked luggage, so instead I decided to sleep and listen to some music. Because there were no other passengers in my 3-seat row, I got to lay down and put my feet up which made sleeping so much easier and much more enjoyable. The rest of the flight was sort of a blur, an awkward half-night. I drifted in and out of sleep for most of the trip, feeling kind of guilty for being ‘that girl’ taking up 3 seats and lots of blankets and pillows while other people were crammed into their full rows, but what are you going to do :)
An hour before landing we were served breakfast, and watched as the plane descended into fog-covered Madrid. I was surprised by the topography of Madrid, the land surrounding the city is very hilly and there are lots of grassy plateaus that came up out of the fog and looked like floating islands.
Getting off the plane in Madrid was less smooth, but not terrible. Getting through customs was easy and self-explanatory which was good because there weren’t any directions or people to help you figure out where to go. My ticket had no gate information, nor were there any departure screens available, so I wandered around for a while and rode the elevators up and down, searching for someone to ask or something to look at. I eventually found someone who looked kind of official and asked him which terminal I needed to be at. He mumbled something at me and pointed to a tram so I got on and rode to the first stop where I got off and wandered around some more until I found a nice woman who explained that my flight had been delayed and I had to wait until 1 to get my gate information. Fortunately, lots of kids from my program are on my flight too, so we are slowly finding one another and starting to meet people. Everything feels so surreal at the moment and I am so tired of traveling, but I can’t wait to get to Sevilla, and a hotel where I can sleep.
I’m sorry if you read that whole thing, future posts will be much more interesting, I promise.
Much love to all,
Hannah
January 18th, 11:05 am Madrid, Spain
My flight from Madrid to Sevilla was supposed to leave at 11:50, but has been delayed until 2:30 due to fog, so I thought I would spend this time catching everyone up on the trip thus far…
After a somewhat frantic night of packing, I had everything ready to go with 20 minutes to spare before departing for the airport. Not bad, especially for me. I arrived at MSP with plenty of time to check in, get through security and find my gate. The Vikings game was playing while I waited, and all of the airport staff and passengers from other flights were cramming in to catch a glimpse. As I was waiting for a flight to Dallas TX, there were several dejected-looking Cowboys fans wearing their Romo jerseys, surrounded by a crowd of exuberant Vikings fans dressed in purple. The flight and brief stay at the Dallas airport were (thankfully) uneventful, and I got on the plane to Madrid without problems.
The plane was surprisingly empty, and even after 24 stand-by passengers got on I was the only person I my row. Fantastic. The flight to Madrid would take 9 hours, and we got 2 hot meals and plenty of beverages. Maybe it was because I was tired from traveling, or maybe it was because I had really low expectations, but the food I got on the airplane was the best airline food I’ve ever had, which was good because I was really hungry. I tried to read for a bit but was starting to get a headache and of course all of the ibuprofen was in my checked luggage, so instead I decided to sleep and listen to some music. Because there were no other passengers in my 3-seat row, I got to lay down and put my feet up which made sleeping so much easier and much more enjoyable. The rest of the flight was sort of a blur, an awkward half-night. I drifted in and out of sleep for most of the trip, feeling kind of guilty for being ‘that girl’ taking up 3 seats and lots of blankets and pillows while other people were crammed into their full rows, but what are you going to do :)
An hour before landing we were served breakfast, and watched as the plane descended into fog-covered Madrid. I was surprised by the topography of Madrid, the land surrounding the city is very hilly and there are lots of grassy plateaus that came up out of the fog and looked like floating islands.
Getting off the plane in Madrid was less smooth, but not terrible. Getting through customs was easy and self-explanatory which was good because there weren’t any directions or people to help you figure out where to go. My ticket had no gate information, nor were there any departure screens available, so I wandered around for a while and rode the elevators up and down, searching for someone to ask or something to look at. I eventually found someone who looked kind of official and asked him which terminal I needed to be at. He mumbled something at me and pointed to a tram so I got on and rode to the first stop where I got off and wandered around some more until I found a nice woman who explained that my flight had been delayed and I had to wait until 1 to get my gate information. Fortunately, lots of kids from my program are on my flight too, so we are slowly finding one another and starting to meet people. Everything feels so surreal at the moment and I am so tired of traveling, but I can’t wait to get to Sevilla, and a hotel where I can sleep.
I’m sorry if you read that whole thing, future posts will be much more interesting, I promise.
Much love to all,
Hannah
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