Finally...a little bit of culture shock

Hola a todos! I can't believe I've been in Sevilla for a month now, I feel like I just got here! And although I still have 13 more weeks left in my adventure, it seems like there's such little time with all the trips that I have planned. At the end of this month I will be going to Madrid. Then in March I will be heading to Cádiz to go to one of the most famous carnivals in the world. After that I'll be visiting Rome one weekend, and then Barcelona. Then in April I will be going to Lagos, Portugal to get some sun in, then Morocco, and finally my eurotrip which will be 4 days in Paris, 2 days in Amsterdam and 2 days in Berlin. So much to look forward to!!

Anyway, this past week I've really started to notice some differences between Spain and the U.S. Mostly, I'm beginning to think I may have been raised in a very polite society because some of the social norms here have really shocked me. For example, here it's not rude to get up during the middle of dinner to have a ten minute phone conversation. This has happened multiple times at my home stay, and I am continually surprised by it. Also, right now there are some Italian high school girls staying with us. Their Spanish is better than mine, and at times I have to ask my Señora to slow down because I can't understand her. At dinner the other night they started laughing at me! This also continued to shock me among various other little etiquette differences that I have been noticing in Spain. It's really only little small things that I have started to pick up on since I have been here longer, so sometimes I have to remind myself that it's just the culture and they really aren't trying to be rude. All I have to say is thank you mom and dad for the raising me with good manners :)

Last Friday I toured Italica, the Roman ruins just right outside of Sevilla. These ruins were founded in 200 B.C., I couldn't believe it! Although the homes were pretty run down, the amphitheater where gladiator fights took place was pretty amazing to see.

Me at the Roman Amphitheater. It used to be able to seat around 20,000 people

Where the gladiators fought

Then, on Saturday I headed to Cádiz with my program, and it was so amazing to see the beach! Cádiz is on the Atlantic Ocean and is located on the Iberian peninsula. It was a beautiful city, and we only were able to spend about 5 hours there. However, it is only an hour and half away from Sevilla, so I will definitely be making a trip back!

The view of the city from the Cathedral

Beach!!

Also, last week I went to take more pictures of place I usually go during the week. Its so beautiful here, I want you all to see it! Below is the Plaza de España. It was built for show-no real significant purpose. But I think it sure is impressive! I often meet up with friends to start runs here.

The plaza has one of these for each of the regions of Spain. This is Sevilla's!

Parque Maria Luisa...where I like to run :)

Churros con chocolate...a delicious indulgence.

Lastly, one little shout out. CONGRATULATIONS Joselyn and Grant on getting engaged! I am so happy for the both of you and cannot wait to help to start planning with you Joselyn! I love and miss you all!

Besos y abrazos!