domingo, 30 de enero de 2011

Vive en el momento

Another great weekend in Sevilla! The weekend was really needed because going to school while in such an exciting place is a little harder than I expected. Although the material in my intensive Spanish course isn't overly challenging, its a bummer sometimes to have to go to class because I just want to explore the city all day! But thats expected. Actually, the Spanish intensive class has been pretty interesting. We have been learning about the current economic state and the politics in Spain, in addition to helpful business terms in Spanish. Also, my professor has assigned us three activities where we are required to interview locals, and then write a 600 word essay in Spanish on the topic. Last week I had to go to an unemployment office and ask people about how long they have been unemployed, what sector they used to work in, what their thoughts are about their future employment, etc. This experience put me a little out of my comfort zone, and made me realize another cultural difference - Spaniards are more blunt than us. For example, I thought this was terribly rude to go up to strangers and ask them how long they have been unemployed for, but my professor didn't think it was weird at all. Spaniards really seem to say things how they are, and I feel that in the U.S. we are often trying to present ourselves in the most optimal light.

On Friday I toured la Catedral. I took a ton of pictures, but they don't do it justice. Its so breathtaking in person, I don't even know how to explain it. Its pretty cool to think that I only live a ten minute walk from the third largest church in the world. Its also rumored that Christopher Columbus' bones are there, but no one is exactly sure.


The supposed tomb where Christoper Columbus' bones are. The tour guide said they were only able to recover the bottom half of his skeleton.


Me at the top of la Catedral. I had to climb up 34 ramps!

Inside la Catedral. I'm hoping to go to mass here one Sunday.  I was shocked to hear they they allow the public to attend mass here. 


After class was over with on Friday, it was time to put on my dancing shoes! On Friday I went out for tapas for a friends birthday. After that we bounced around Sevilla to various bars, and ended the night at a club called Buda. This is by far the biggest club I have ever been to, and I have never seen anything like it. Three floors, a different type of music on every floor, and its best to go after 2am. Much different than the U.S. By 5am and after 10 hours of prancing around town in heels I was ready to call it a night, but the place was still packed! I felt like I was being lame by leaving, but my poor feet had had enough.

Some friends and I out for tapas!


On Saturday I met up with some friends and walked around/shopped in el centro. We met up with this Spanish guy who one of the girls knew, and he told us he was going to show us "real Spain." He proceeded to take us to plaza where hundreds of Spaniards were hanging out, socializing and drinking - for no apparent reason.  But, the longer I've been here I've noticed that Spaniards don't seem to need a reason to socialize with one another, nor do they rely on time as much. They seem to actually try to enjoy life and just go where the day takes them. I'm always planning ahead, so its pretty different for me. But its making me realize that sometimes I just need to sit back, relax and really enjoy the moment. I'm always so busy at school, so I'm always jumping from one thing to the next. But here, I have a lot of down time and its taking some getting used to.

Later that night I went to a Bachata dance lesson. Lets just say..I am not the best dancer! But I had a great time! There were probably about 30 of us, and every time the instructor yelled "rotono!" we would switch partners. All the locals were very nice, and I think found it amussing at how clueless I was with the steps. I definitely want to go back again! After that I proceeded to dance late into the night, and my legs are definitely paying the price. I don't think I have been this sore since I ran my marathon...who knew dancing in heels was such a good work out?

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I slept in until 1pm (which I never do at home!), and then had a nice lunch with my Señora. She makes the oddest meals, but they usually taste pretty good. For example, today we had a soup that had white beans, potatoes and carrots and it was delicious. Dinner was even stranger - soup with bread, potatoes and eggs. Not something I would want on my birthday, but definitely better than I expected. After that I met up with friends in a cafe to work on my paper for tomorrow.

Hasta luego!

jueves, 27 de enero de 2011

¿Vale?

¿Vale? If I could count the number of times that I have heard that word! Before coming to Spain, I had never heard that word, but Spaniards say it all the time. Its a way of asking "do you understand/agree" and a way to agree with someone.

I've been in Sevilla for about a week now, and what can I say? I love this city! It would be difficult not to. The old architecture is beautiful, there's an endless amount of history (I live a 5 minute walk from Alcazár de Sevilla), the people are friendly, there's wine for one euro, and the nightlife isn't too bad either :)

The past week has been a whirwind. I've gone out for tapas, checked out many Spanish cafes, gone shopping, toured Alcazár, seen la Plaza de España, gotten lost in el Centro, (which is kind of like the downtown of Sevilla), stayed out until 6am like a true Spaniard, started classes, eaten paella, spoken a lot of (broken) Spanish, and met some really fun people! Although I do struggle with speaking the language at times, I really can understand it pretty well! Now its just time to get my speaking skills up to speed.

Last Friday I moved into a home stay with  my Señora named Isabel. She's and older woman (maybe upper 60s) that doesn't speak english, but she's got some spunk to her! When I first met her, the poor tiny woman insisted on lifting my 50 pound suitcase into her car...you can imagine how mortified I was. She also was walking so fast that I could barely keep up! But overall she's a very sweet woman. On my first day she told me she was here to take care of many and that this was my home. She can cook well too - she got me to eat fish! Those of you who know me well know that I do NOT like fish. But here, its delicious!

Overall Sevilla is an amazing city with a vibrant culture and friendly people. I cannot wait to see what the next 15 weeks have in store for me! 

Also, in my short time here I have noticed some interesting cultural differences. Although I never really experienced culture shock, there are some things that I find very different here in comparison to the U.S.:

- Olive oil, olive oil, olive oil! And keep it coming! Sevillans love olive oil. It pops up in every meal, whether the meat is fried in it, on your salad, in spanish omelettes and who knows what else! Luckily, my Señora is trying to watch her weight so she doesn't "subir el peso" (gain weight), so I haven't had too much of an olive oil overload. But I've had my fair share of tapas here (small appetizers) and they are drenched in olive oil. I sometimes wonder how they are so thin.

- Where's the chicken? Good luck finding chicken here. And if it is at a restaurant, its usually fried! Instead of chicken, the Spanish eat a LOT of ham. The other day I was out for tapas with a friend and I swear the "bacon" that was on my tapa was diced pieces of ham.

- Many, many people have small dogs that are trained very well. They walk around the city next to their owner without a leash. I wonder how they train them so well. The other day I was walking up to a Supermercado and there was a tiny dog barking at the door. When I opened the door, I was afraid the dog would run inside. But instead, it just sat there waiting for its owner. 

- Lunch is somewhat of a production. My Señora brings out all the food on a little rolling cart, and serves me. Its almost like having a special meal everyday. However, she turns on the TV with every meal too, which I find really odd. 

- The siesta is not a myth! Between the hours of 3 and 5, almost everything shuts down and the streets are fairly quiet. Oftentimes a few restaurants will remain open, but not much else.

- Spain is a socialist country, and with its failing economy and high unemployment rate (20%), politics are a hot topic right now! Whenever a government representative appears on TV, my Señora says "mentiroso" (Which means liar). There's a lot of political unrest in Spain because the people want the government to pay more for retirement pensions and unemployment checks. My Señora has told me probably 3 or 4 times how electricity has increased five times this year, but her pension has remained the same. She is not very happy with the government right now. Also, last weekend I saw a protest against the privatization of utilities.  It seems that Spain is on the verge of some type of structural reform, and its very interesting to watch it all unfold.


That's all for now! I'll try and be about this and update it every week. Hasta luego!