Two weekends ago (Feb. 13/14) Laura flew all the way from London to come visit me for her long weekend. She was supposed to fly in on Thursday night but the people at Heathrow managed to screw things up badly enough that even though she arrived at the airport hours before her flight, she didn’t make it through security on time to board her flight. Needless to say, she is incredible and went through the whole ordeal of dealing with tube rides, airport security hang-ups, waiting in lines and riding busses the next day and we were able to spend Friday night and Saturday together. It was so good to see her; I wasn’t quite prepared for how emotional it would be to see a familiar face. I could write an entire post all about our weekend, but seeing as she is an English major and can describe it far more eloquently than I, I’ll direct anyone who is interested to her wonderful blog:http://londonflorenceandlaura.blogspot.com/2010/02/slow-day-long-blog-post.html
A great perk of my program is that they sponsor free day/weekend trips to nearby cities. So far I have been to Córdoba and Aracena, and am signed up to spend a weekend in Granada and a day on the coast in Cádiz in March. It’s awesome to be able to travel a bit and see other cities in southern Spain to get a better feel for the area.
I left Laura on Sunday morning and rode a CIEE bus with my roommate Justyna, and the two other Beloit girls Jenn and Lori to Aracena, a small town about an hour and a half away. We weren’t there with any particular itinerary, just to enjoy the day and take in the town. Aracena is adorable. The town is tiny, which is great for a day trip because you can pretty much see all of the sights in a few hours. White houses with clay tile roofs line the narrow cobblestone streets. There is a huge hill directly behind the city, and at the top are the beautiful ruins of an old castle. I really wanted to climb up and look around but I wasn’t exactly wearing the appropriate shoes and nobody else was that interested so I guess I’ll just have to go back. Instead of hiking up to the castle we walked the streets and hung out in the tiny town center. María, our program guide, told us that Aracena is known for two things: great jamón y a famous pastelería (bakery/sweets shop). The vegetarians in the group weren’t super excited about the ham so we passed up el museo de jamón, but everyone was up for finding this pastelería. We asked a few people on the street and found our way just fine. The bakery was packed with people picking up Valentine’s Day cakes and treats. Because all of us were spending our Valentine’s Days alone, we bought ourselves some treats to make up for it. I got a small mousse cake in the shape of a heart and a piece of layer cake. Phenomenal. They were definitely some of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, though I’m sure the location helped it taste even better. We walked around some more and after a quick tapa/coffee break we met up with the rest of the group to take a tour of the Aracena “caves of marvels." I wasn’t expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. The caves were very cool, much bigger and more beautiful than I had expected. It’s pretty incredible that things like that happen naturally.
After a fun weekend it has been a pretty sad week at my Spanish house. I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat and the weather was terrible. It poured rain all week, making the 20-minute walk to class significantly less enjoyable. I didn’t bring my rain boots and really don’t want to buy them here so instead I just rotated shoes and tried to avoid large puddles. All of the streets here are cobblestone and plazas are paved so there isn’t much grass to be found. Water just kind of sits on the sidewalk or runs into gigantic puddles so after a few minutes most people give up on avoiding it and make peace with having wet shoes and socks. I’m sure this didn’t help my state of health, and I kept getting worse. When I woke up on Wednesday I had a terribly sore throat, crusty eyes, and lots of sinus pain. I stayed home from class, called and woke my parents up at 4am to see what I should do, and decided to go to the doctor. My host mom was really great about helping me out. She called CIEE to get the name of a good clinic that I could go to, walked me there and helped me communicate with the doctor. Diagnosis was a throat/sinus infection, and he gave me prescriptions for two medicines that I could pick up at any of the hundreds of pharmacies lining the streets of Sevilla. I was more than a little nervous about how I was going to pay for all of this but after the appointment and prescriptions my total was 45 euros – thank goodness for Spain’s public healthcare! After taking the first rounds of medication I felt better and finished out the week of classes.
On Friday morning Justyna woke me up (at 11:30) and we went out for churros. According to my host mother the churros near my house are terrible “malísimo” although they taste pretty great to me, but she gave us directions to what is supposed to be the best churro place in Sevilla. According to her, when the king of Spain comes to Sevilla this is where he gets his churros. When we got there, they gave us cold churros with sugar and directed us to a bar around the corner where we could get a cup of chocolate to dunk the churros. I’m partial to hot churros so I wasn’t very excited about the cold ones but the chocolate was fantastic so overall I was pleased with the churro experience. When we got back to the house we told our señora that the churros were good, but that we like hot ones better. Apparently we got served the cold churros because we’re clearly foreigners, but if we ask for hot churros they will make fresh ones for us. We’re going to have to try it again sometime. Last weekend Justyna and I also tried out an Italian restaurant close to our house, and had some great pizza and lasagna. I swear I could just eat all the time and a happy camper for the entire semester. All types of food I have had here have been amazing; I’ve even eaten fish and shrimp (I know mom and dad, hard to believe).
This weekend was the first time that all four of my household members have eaten lunch together (usually my señora eats out with her sister or eats after we do). We sat around the lunch table for a good 2.5 hours talking about anything and everything. We started discussing healthcare systems and the current issues with healthcare in the USA. This led to María telling us more about her husband. We knew that he got sick and died about 10 years ago but didn’t have that many details and didn’t know how to ask. It turns out that he died from throat cancer; he was a smoker all his life. The general doctor he went to when his throat had been hurting for a while didn’t think it was a big deal, he gave him a 2-week prescription for amoxicillin. When that didn’t work he went back and was told to go see a specialist. When he finally got an appointment, it was too late and his very aggressive form of cancer had taken over. He died a year later. María brought out photo albums and showed us pictures of she and her husband when her daughter was just a baby. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for her to look at those pictures. She had a whole different life envisioned for herself. She married her husband when she was 21 years old. He was 15 years older and already had 2 kids from a previous marriage. They had María when my señora was 30 years old, and seven years later her husband passed away. She has spent the past 10 years cooking and cleaning every day for exchange students living in her house. I know that this isn’t the life she wanted to lead but I admire her so much for how positive she is, and am so appreciative that she is an incredibly supportive host mother.
On top of this sad story, the sister of María’s husband also has cancer and has been in the hospital for the past several months, on the same floor of the hospital where María’s husband died. It has been really difficult for her to go through another loved one’s battle with cancer and relive everything she went through with her husband. Yesterday morning, the sister-in-law passed away. The funeral was this morning. It was an expected death and came as a relief to the family who has watched this woman suffer through the past few months of her losing battle, but it was still a very sad occasion.
Sorry for the depressing post, I assure you that despite all of that things are still going well over here. I’m liking all of my classes, (hopefully) getting better at Spanish, and loving living in this beautiful city. I miss everyone at home and abroad; let me know how you guys are doing!
Much LOVE, Hannah
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Classes
My intensive grammar session ended with a final exam last Saturday (February 6th) and my regular courses started a week ago as of today. I had originally signed up for 5 courses: 3 'Cursos para extranjeros' which are courses offered only to exchange students at the University of Sevilla and 2 classes offered through my program at the CIEE study center. I quickly realized that I didn't want to have to do the work for 5 classes if I didn't have to (I'm still trying to adjust to the STUDY aspect of study abroad) so the plan was to go to all of my classes for the first day and then drop the class I liked the least. And they are...
(U of Sevilla) Cultural Anthropology of Andalucía
(U of Sevilla) Cultural Anthropology of Latin America
(U of Sevilla) Contemporary History of Modern Spain
(CIEE) A History of the Three Cultures in Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims
(CIEE) Art and Fiesta: Andalucía and Her Popular Traditions
I was more nervous about my University classes, I didn't know what to expect from Spanish professors or what the class structure would be like. The University itself is an enormous stone building located at the center of the city, very close to the Cathedral. It used to be a tobacco factory way back in the day, and is built with large open-air courtyards throughout. I still haven't gotten used to having these open areas inside, especially when it's raining and I need to use an umbrella to walk through the building.
Anyway, I thought that I would like my CIEE courses more than the university classes but after my first week I am surprised to say that I love (almost) all of my university courses, and have dropped the 3 cultures course. The content of the 3 cultures course looked really interesting and the professor definitely knows his stuff, but on the first day of class I was barely keeping up with what he was saying and the rest of the classes were going to be pretty reading-intensive. Having all of my classes taught in Spanish adds an entirely new academic element - not only do I have to think about and understand the course content but I also have to pay close attention just to understand the words the professor is saying. There is no room for zoning out, even if you just stop paying attention for a second or two there is no way you can absorb anything that is being said. But all of my professors are really good about speaking slowly and repeating things using different vocab if we aren't understanding them. The transition from english classes to Spanish classes has been much easier than I thought it would be, and that is really exciting. My comprehension level is miles above where it was a month ago when I got here, and hopefully my speaking skills will get there too before it's time to come home.
A quick walk-through of my classes...
Cultural Anth. of Andalucía (11am - 1pm T/Th)
This is my least favorite class so far, the first week has been very dry but hopefully that will change once we get past the introductory lessons. My professor loves powerpoint presentations and has so far spent most of his time talking from his desk while we copy down random facts and figures. For the first 2-hour class we went over 'what is anthropology?' Being an anthropology major, this was all review but it was interesting to see it explained in Spanish by a non-Beloit professor. I'm very interested to see how my anthro classes in Sevilla are going to compare to my anthro classes at Beloit as far as teaching style and theory goes. We shall see...
Art & Fiesta: Andalucía and her Popular Traditions (5-6:35 T/Th)
This is now my only non-University class. It is taught in 'el palacio' which is the name of the CIEE study center building. It used to be a civilian house but now all of the rooms have been converted into classrooms or administrative offices (my classroom used to be the triclinium, or the dining room, and is one of the largest enclosed rooms in the building). The building is absolutely beautiful, with colored walls covered in intricate tiling. The center of the 3-story palacio is an open-air courtyard with a fountain on the ground floor. The 3rd floor of the building is a flat open-air rooftop patio with benches and several enclosed offices for CIEE professors. In my Art and Fiesta class my professor explained to us that the building was built in typcial Roman style because of the many cultures that have lived and ruled Andalucía and the rest of Spain over the centuries, Rome was the first. They laid the base for Andalucían civilization, most importantly reflected in the language (Spanish is a Latin language), organization of the territory (city structure with a large cathedral in the center), diet (heavy in olives, wine and grains), and religion (Sevilla and the rest of Spain has a very strong Catholic tradition). Sorry for the tangent, there is a little cultural history lesson for you all.
Contemporary History of Modern Spain (9-11am M/W)
This is the first history class I have taken in a long time, and I am loving it. The first week of this class has made me realize how truly ignorant I am about the history of other countries and people. My world history classes from high school just aren't cutting it. In this class we are covering the history of Spain from roughly the early 1800s until present day. My professor is very nice, and absolutely loves what he teaches. Taking notes in this class is a little tricky because he covers the entire chalkboard with timelines, dates, arrows and lots of little pictures/sketches to get his point across. At the end of every class period he makes us ask 10 questions before we can leave. At first this was annoying but as it turns out, almost everyone has something they aren't quite sure about but probably wouldn't ask otherwise.
Cultural Anthropology of Latin America (3-5pm M/W)
This is by far my favorite class. I feel inspired every day when I leave. My professor reminds me so much of my grandpa in appearance, demeanor and his view of the world. He has high expectations for every member of the class, and he is one of those people that you naturally want to impress and to have think highly of you. This class is a general overview of Latin America, its countries and people and their individual and shared cultural history. In groups throughout the semester we will be researching a specific group of indigenous people from a Latin American country (who they are, where they live, their lifestyle is like, interactions with other groups of people, interactions with their own government, interactions with foreign governments/companies, etc). I'm way excited for that. My professor is a social (in the United States = cultural) anthropologist who has done most of his research in Latin America. His goal as an anthropologist is to combat ethnocentrism, the idea that there is any sort of cultural hierarchy. True anthropologists look at how cultures are distinct from one another, never how they are better/worse or more/less advanced. This idea resonates with me very strongly, and has shown me an important connection between my education major and my anthro major. If I can take this idea of intercultural understanding and oppostion to ethnocentrism and make it a central part of my classroom, regardless of what subject I may be teaching, and expose my students to this ideology at a young age I feel like I can contribute something important to the world.
(U of Sevilla) Cultural Anthropology of Andalucía
(U of Sevilla) Cultural Anthropology of Latin America
(U of Sevilla) Contemporary History of Modern Spain
(CIEE) A History of the Three Cultures in Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims
(CIEE) Art and Fiesta: Andalucía and Her Popular Traditions
I was more nervous about my University classes, I didn't know what to expect from Spanish professors or what the class structure would be like. The University itself is an enormous stone building located at the center of the city, very close to the Cathedral. It used to be a tobacco factory way back in the day, and is built with large open-air courtyards throughout. I still haven't gotten used to having these open areas inside, especially when it's raining and I need to use an umbrella to walk through the building.
Anyway, I thought that I would like my CIEE courses more than the university classes but after my first week I am surprised to say that I love (almost) all of my university courses, and have dropped the 3 cultures course. The content of the 3 cultures course looked really interesting and the professor definitely knows his stuff, but on the first day of class I was barely keeping up with what he was saying and the rest of the classes were going to be pretty reading-intensive. Having all of my classes taught in Spanish adds an entirely new academic element - not only do I have to think about and understand the course content but I also have to pay close attention just to understand the words the professor is saying. There is no room for zoning out, even if you just stop paying attention for a second or two there is no way you can absorb anything that is being said. But all of my professors are really good about speaking slowly and repeating things using different vocab if we aren't understanding them. The transition from english classes to Spanish classes has been much easier than I thought it would be, and that is really exciting. My comprehension level is miles above where it was a month ago when I got here, and hopefully my speaking skills will get there too before it's time to come home.
A quick walk-through of my classes...
Cultural Anth. of Andalucía (11am - 1pm T/Th)
This is my least favorite class so far, the first week has been very dry but hopefully that will change once we get past the introductory lessons. My professor loves powerpoint presentations and has so far spent most of his time talking from his desk while we copy down random facts and figures. For the first 2-hour class we went over 'what is anthropology?' Being an anthropology major, this was all review but it was interesting to see it explained in Spanish by a non-Beloit professor. I'm very interested to see how my anthro classes in Sevilla are going to compare to my anthro classes at Beloit as far as teaching style and theory goes. We shall see...
Art & Fiesta: Andalucía and her Popular Traditions (5-6:35 T/Th)
This is now my only non-University class. It is taught in 'el palacio' which is the name of the CIEE study center building. It used to be a civilian house but now all of the rooms have been converted into classrooms or administrative offices (my classroom used to be the triclinium, or the dining room, and is one of the largest enclosed rooms in the building). The building is absolutely beautiful, with colored walls covered in intricate tiling. The center of the 3-story palacio is an open-air courtyard with a fountain on the ground floor. The 3rd floor of the building is a flat open-air rooftop patio with benches and several enclosed offices for CIEE professors. In my Art and Fiesta class my professor explained to us that the building was built in typcial Roman style because of the many cultures that have lived and ruled Andalucía and the rest of Spain over the centuries, Rome was the first. They laid the base for Andalucían civilization, most importantly reflected in the language (Spanish is a Latin language), organization of the territory (city structure with a large cathedral in the center), diet (heavy in olives, wine and grains), and religion (Sevilla and the rest of Spain has a very strong Catholic tradition). Sorry for the tangent, there is a little cultural history lesson for you all.
Contemporary History of Modern Spain (9-11am M/W)
This is the first history class I have taken in a long time, and I am loving it. The first week of this class has made me realize how truly ignorant I am about the history of other countries and people. My world history classes from high school just aren't cutting it. In this class we are covering the history of Spain from roughly the early 1800s until present day. My professor is very nice, and absolutely loves what he teaches. Taking notes in this class is a little tricky because he covers the entire chalkboard with timelines, dates, arrows and lots of little pictures/sketches to get his point across. At the end of every class period he makes us ask 10 questions before we can leave. At first this was annoying but as it turns out, almost everyone has something they aren't quite sure about but probably wouldn't ask otherwise.
Cultural Anthropology of Latin America (3-5pm M/W)
This is by far my favorite class. I feel inspired every day when I leave. My professor reminds me so much of my grandpa in appearance, demeanor and his view of the world. He has high expectations for every member of the class, and he is one of those people that you naturally want to impress and to have think highly of you. This class is a general overview of Latin America, its countries and people and their individual and shared cultural history. In groups throughout the semester we will be researching a specific group of indigenous people from a Latin American country (who they are, where they live, their lifestyle is like, interactions with other groups of people, interactions with their own government, interactions with foreign governments/companies, etc). I'm way excited for that. My professor is a social (in the United States = cultural) anthropologist who has done most of his research in Latin America. His goal as an anthropologist is to combat ethnocentrism, the idea that there is any sort of cultural hierarchy. True anthropologists look at how cultures are distinct from one another, never how they are better/worse or more/less advanced. This idea resonates with me very strongly, and has shown me an important connection between my education major and my anthro major. If I can take this idea of intercultural understanding and oppostion to ethnocentrism and make it a central part of my classroom, regardless of what subject I may be teaching, and expose my students to this ideology at a young age I feel like I can contribute something important to the world.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Things I Have Learned...
On the first day of my grammar class my professor told us that it's okay to struggle sometimes, it's the only way that you learn anything. I have decided that this is a great motto for my first couple of weeks in Spain. Below is a list of just a fraction of the things I have learned in my time here so far by doing them wrong the first (few) times...
- The two most essential clothing items to have are a scarf and a good pair of boots. Never leave your house without them.
- The light switch by the door of my apartment is in actuality NOT a light switch. It is a doorbell. Don't push it when you come home at 3am fumbling with your keys in the dark
- If it looks like it is going to rain, it's going to rain. Especially if you forget your umbrella. Keep one in your purse at all times.
- People here don't hug each other or shake hands. Every time you say hello or goodbye to anyone kiss them on both cheeks, first the left and then the right.
- Ignore construction workers. They seem to have nothing better to do than sit on the street, smoke cigarettes, and yell things at blonde Americans such as myself/my roommate - annoying but harmless.
- All electrical appliances not being used should be unplugged (including lamps and the TV)
- Northface fleece = Americana. Don't wear it out in public.
- Always bring all sets of keys with you when you leave the apartment, otherwise you will find yourself locked out of the building and have to wait until someone with keys comes and creep in behind them.
- Fruits and vegetables cannot be purchased at the normal checkout counter in a supermarket - they have to be weighed and priced at the produce counter first. The first time I tried to buy an orange ended with lots of pointing and undecipherable Spanish on the part of the cashier and me walking out of the store with said orange still unpaid for. Oops.
- I walk too fast and worry way too much. This is the most valuable lesson I have learned in the past 3 weeks. Learning to stop worrying about things that are out of my control and trusting that everything will work out. And usually, it does.
- Don't be overly concerned about where you are going, take time to enjoy the ride. Look up, see what is around you. Trust that your feet know where to go, and if you get lost it's just another chance to discover something new.
- Don't put up with cold churros - ask for hot churros and people will make fresh ones for you
- If you smile and wave at people you see everyday (the guys that work in the cafe in my building, the doorman, the super friendly old man who works at the pharmacy down the street) they will eventually wave back and strike up conversations when you see them.
- Three people should NEVER make one bed at the same time (I came home to María and María changing the sheets on my bed and tried to help out. Big mistake) it's considered extremely bad luck for the person who sleeps there.
- Never open an umbrella inside. Ever.
- Be aggressive at crosswalks, traffic lights aren't really mandatory and if you let every car run the light you'll be standing on one side forever.
- Tomar un café y comer un postre cada día. The coffee in Spain is fantastic, and one should never pass up the opportunity to drink un café con leche and eat a pastry after class.
- The refrigerator door is broken, open carefully unless you want to break it some more.
- Cover all drains in the bathroom when they are not in use, and leave the toilet cover down. I'm not really sure why we do this but it has something to do with 'cucarachas' and since I don't want any of those, I follow this religiously.
- María does her 'big cleaning' on Mondays. If you leave stuff on the floor and don't straighten up your desk she will do it for you and rearrange everything how she thinks it should be set up. It's like a little game, you never know where your things will end up.
- Barcelona is the greatest team in the world. Messi is God. No discussion needed.
- In my experience, everything we were warned about Spanish mothers during orientation is true. They are super nosy - always wanting to know what you're doing, what you're writing, whose facebook or tuenti you're looking at, what your friends look like, what your exam scores were, the status of your love life. They are blunt, sometimes embarrassingly so, regarding how people look (muy fea, gordita, etc.), what they are thinking, what they want from you or things that you're doing that they don't like. They are proud of their cooking and take offense when you don't eat everything on your plate and ask for more. They will force feed you if that's what it takes. Showers are supposed to be 7-10 minutes. At minute 10.2 they are knocking at the door "just checking" to see if you are done. They have an internal sensor for what they consider to be unneccesary light usage. If they don't think you need the light, they will come in and turn it off. But most importantly, they love and protect their children fiercely. They are so proud of every single little accomplishment that their kids have and call all of the friends and relatives to let them know, whether it's getting a good score on an important exam or getting your picture put in the local paper. They know when you are upset even when you try your best to hide it and will do everything they can to fix your problems or just hug you until you feel better. I have had the wonderful opportunity to experience all of the extreme ups and downs of my very own Spanish household this semester. It has been an unbelievable ride, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Snapshots of My Life: Week 3
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.
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.
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
