¿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!