New Classes

Hola amigos!

Yesterday started a new round of classes. These classes will last until the end of the semester, until mid-May. I'm taking three new classes, along with one that continues from the start of the semester (Cultural Realities of Spain). My new classes seem really interesting - I have Spanish Civilization, Spanish-American Literature, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. I think I'm most excited about the Teaching English class because we get to help in the English classes here at CCCS! So I could be helping in a kids' English class here, which would be awesome. :)

So the days are definitely starting to get busier, and I can't believe I've been here for almost a month. Part of me feels like I've been here for so much longer... but then part of me feels like this still isn't real.

I'm getting excited for Feria too, although it's not for another two months. Ha ha. Feria is a giant festival here in Sevilla, and it's supposed to be really incredible. But the reason I'm getting excited about it is because I live across the street from where all the festivities will be, so every day when I walk to school I see the men building the huge structures. And the other day they put up an enormous banner over the front of the tallest structure, with lots of designs and flags. It's cool to see it all come together.

Oh! And here's a picture of these fun sculptures that are next to the Cathedral in the heart of Sevilla. There is just so much to see in the city...

Estudiar, Estudiar

Hola!

As I write this, I probably should be studying. I have a final exam tomorrow for my grammar class. I can't believe the intensive period is over already! That means I've been here for 3 weeks. Monday begins the continuation period, and I'll be taking new classes. I'm really excited for that to start (especially since I don't have class until 10:15!).

Oh! And I found a church. It's about a 15 minute walk from my apartment, in the barrio (neighborhood) of Triana (I live in Los Remedios). The service is at 11:00, because Spaniards don't really believe the morning exists. Side note: The first Saturday I was here, I told my senora I was going to wake up at 8:00 or 9:00, and she just looked at me like I had three heads. Then she said, “That's very early.” So I slept until 10:00, and I was still the first person awake. Anyway! The service is 2 hours long (longer than services in the US), but it was great. It's a really small church, with about 50 people, but the room was small too, so people were overflowing into the lobby. There were a couple other students from my program there, as well as American students from other programs in the city. After the service, the members of the church invited us to stay for a big lunch they were having (ahh, just like at home) and for a presentation about all the countries represented in the church. Apparently there are a lot of immigrants in Seville, because I met people from Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Argentina, Chile, England, and France. And that was an excellent start to the week. :)

I’ll leave you with my favorite pictures from my trip this past weekend to Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera. The first one is the view from the lookout on the mountain where the puebla blanca (white village) is built. All the buildings in the village are painted white. The second one… well, I think you can figure it out.

Que tenga un buen dia!

La Comida

Buenas tardes!


It's Friday afternoon here, and it's 70 degree outside. Yay! :) I had classes this morning, and then lunch with my senora and her two daughters. They talk SO fast, it's so hard to understand them. But it's a lot of fun to figure out what they're saying.


Speaking of lunch, I haven't really told you about the food here... well, it's wonderful. My senora makes lots of soup, which are always good. There's this vegetable dish that is basically just vegetables in olive oil, and it's very good. For salads, the only dressing is olive oil as well, but that's fine by me. :) And there there are the sandwiches that we have for dinner sometimes: giant, fresh bread that crackles when you bite into it (you know, the kind with the really good crust...) with ham or chicken or this fantastic spread (my senora told me the name of it but I don't know the translation to English, or if there is one). At meals, most Spanish people just drink water, which I think is great.

Possibly the best thing I've had so far is a churro. Yum. It makes me hungry just to think about them. ;) They are covered in sugar and sometimes you dip them in chocolate. I wish you could all come visit and we'd get churros. Also good was this pastel (pastry) that I had the other morning. A friend and I went out during our morning descanso (break) and went to a pasteleria (shop where they sell pastries) and I bought this flaky, semi-eclair pastry. It was filled with chocolate. It was fabulous. :) Some mornings we get cafe con leche (coffee with milk), which I've started to enjoy... I never drank coffee before coming here.

But the most interesting food-related experience I've had so far is the mercado (market). This morning my grammar class went to the market in Triana, and it was great! There are stalls for all kinds of food: pescaderia for fish, carniceria for meat, frutera for fruit, etc. Our professor bought this fruit called chirimoya for us to try (it was really sweet and kind of soft). That market is definitely a place I want to go back to.

So as you can see, I'm eating well here. :) There's lots of stellar food to try, and my senora is a really good cook. Here are two pictures from the mercado this morning; doesn't that food just beg you to reach out and try it?

Cordoba

Hola amigos!

Today is a beautiful day in Sevilla - sunny and 61 degrees! :)

This Saturday I took a day trip to Cordoba, about an hour and a half away from Seville. It was through CCCS (my school), so there was a bunch of students as well as one professor. The city was precioso (my new favorite Spanish word)! We saw the palace (alcazar), the synagogue, and the mosque-turned-cathedral. I put some pictures at the end of this post (I took about 100, but unfortunately I can only upload 5).

Tomorrow I have my first test. Eeek! So tonight I'll be studying a lot. Yesterday I took a walk to a nearby park (Parque de los Principes), so maybe I'll go study there for a while. Anyway, I'm off to lunch (we eat lunch at 2:30)! Adios!

Pictures! In order: me standing on the towers at Alcazar, the beautiful streets of Cordoba, the tower outside of the cathedral, inside the cathedral (those arches are hundreds of years ago, but still standing!), the gardens (jardines) at the palace - Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos.

Buena Dia

Good morning all! At least, it's morning here. I got to school a bit early, and I'm waiting for class to begin at 9.

This morning it's clear and cool outside. It's supposed to rain later, but I'm just enjoying this sunshine. So far, I think the walk to school is my favorite part of the day. I leave at about 7:50, when it's still dark outside, and by the time I get to school it's light. I walk down a major street, Calle Asuncion, and I watch as the store owners begin to open shop for the day. There are the usual city sounds: engines revving, brakes squeaking, crosswalk signs beeping, people yelling good morning to each other. I see kids waiting at the bus stops with their parents (here they use tour buses, not big yellow buses like we use). Then I cross the bridge. From there, I see the lights of a city not quite awake, the morning sun glistening on the river below. At the end of the bridge there's always a man handing out newspapers (gratis, for free). I walk along the river and pass the great tower that you can see in the picture. Finally I stroll down a couple streets, tight cobblestone walkways surrounded by yellow and orange buildings. And I'm at school.

The food here is really good so far. My senora makes lots of soup, and I haven't had one that I haven't liked. She also makes tortilla; I can only describe it as a potato/egg, dense omelet. It's delectable. And bread! Fresh bread every day. :) And every morning I have Cola Cao with breakfast; it's similar to hot chocolate but less chocolately and more nutritious.

Yesterday we visited Alcanzar, an ancient palace here in the city. It was built in the 11th century, then added on to in the 13th century. As a result of the two constructions, it has a combination of Muslim and Christian influence in design. I took so many pictures, and I wish I could put them all on here!

This weekend I'm traveling to Cordoba, another city in southern Spain. I'll be sure to take a ton of pictures there too.

Anyway, I better get to class. I have Grammar and Expression this morning, and I have to turn in my first paper. Eeek!

Hope you're all doing great! :)