A la universidad

"At the University"

Today all the study abroad students had a welcome reception at the University of Seville. I don't know if I mentioned this already or not but the building I'm taking classes in used to be a tobacco factory. It is a huge building with lots of different courtyards. It's really beautiful so I will eventually post more pictures of it. I never thought I'd say this but I'm definitely ready to start classes so that I have some scheduled things to do. I'm going to sign up for the intercambio program where I'll be paired up with a Spanish student who wants to practice English and I'll get a chance to practicemy Spanish and get to know someone from Spain. The University also has a volunteering office, so I am hoping that they'll be able to help me find some volunteer work with animals. Regardless, I need to get at least 5 hours of service while I'm here for my service sorority at Truman.

For those of you that are curious here is my class schedule for the semester. Monday and Wednesday I have The Contemporary Spanish Novel from 1-3 and Andalusian Sociolinguistics from 5-7. Then Tuesday and Thursday I have Comparative Grammar from 11-1, Contemporary Spanish Cinema from 1-3 and Spanish Syntax from 3-5. Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be full of classes. These classes are taught by the regular faculty of the University but are specifically designed for study abroad students. This is slightly different than I was expecting but I feel a lot less nervous knowing that I'm in the same boat as everyone. I'm sure my Comparative Grammar professor will speak English but most of them do not. So I will still be immersed in Spanish when I'm in class. Also, I will meet more American students that have a decent grasp on the language whereas most of my friends so far don't speak much Spanish. I'm one of four students from my program taking classes at the university. The other 20 or so are taking classes at the international college.

Another thing I'm really excited about is braving the bus system here. Ryan, Denya, Stephanie and I recently started taking the bus. We bought our "Bonobus" which allows you to take 10 rides with unlimited transfers for 7 euro. Although, Seville is gradually phasing out this type of bus card and replacing it with a more durable rechargable card. So, eventually we'll probably get those. It just depends which kind the stores have. Either way it is definitely worth it! There are multiple bus stops right by my apartment and taking a bus/the tram to the center beats the 30-45 minute walk. It also makes it easier to get back home in time for meals. Also, now we'll be able to explore more of the city. And when it is time to leave I will be able to take a bus to the airport rather than paying for a taxi.

I also found out that I should be able to store my extra luggage at ICS while Drew and I travel around between Dec. 18th and the 30th. I just have to check with Gina to make sure someone will be here on the 29th to let me in. This shouldn't be a problem though since Gina and Ignacio both live in Seville and their families are here. I guess I've never mentioned that Drew is coming to visit me! He's planning to leave from St. Louis on Dec. 16th to meet me here on the 17th which is the last day of my finals. We've been discussing where we want to visit during those 2 weeks so if you have any suggestions let me know! We're definitely going to Paris and Venice but that's all we know at this point. In the next couple months I'm planning trips to Morocco and Rome as well as some small towns around Seville. I will also be visiting Cordoba, Ronda and Granada through my program.

Well I think that's all I have for now. I'm not sure what I'm doing this weekend but I'll definitely give you an update if anything exciting happens. Otherwise I will definitely update after my first couple days of classes.

Me enamoré

"I Fell in Love"

This past weekend I went to the city of Lagos on the southern coast of Portugal and fell in love. However, my weekend actually started at the Alcázar (fortress or palace) in Sevilla. We met one of the professors from the international college at the entrance and she took us on a tour through the building. It is a really fascinating place because it was originally built by the Arabs using many pre-existing Roman structures. This archway, for instance, was a Roman aqueduct which could date back to 200 BCE.

After the Arabs the Christians took over and modified parts of the fortress. Elements of all three eras are visible all over the building. At one point I was standing where Christopher Columbus met with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to ask them to fund his journey to the west. It is very ornate and beautiful but difficult to get good pictures because there are so many people inside. There is no entrance fee for students though so I'm hoping to go back sometime during siesta when it will be less crowded. Here are a few more pictures though.

In this picture, the columns on the first floor are Roman columns made out of marble. Even though they are over 2000 years old they are still in perfect condition. It is amazing.This picture shows how detailed everything is, even the ceilings.After touring the Alcázar for a couple hours my friends Denya, Ashley and I walked back to the Plaza de España to get on the bus to Portugal. Our shoulders hurt from carrying all our stuff so long, but it was definitely worth it. The bus ride was about three hours from Sevilla to Lagos and we arrived around 5:00 pm at our hotel which was right by the beach. Here are a couple pictures of the view right outside our hotel. After exploring the beach for a little while we met our group in the lobby of the hotel to walk to the center for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Nah Nah Bah which is owned by an American man. We didn't have Portugese food that night but it was still delicious. I had a pasta dish with penne, green peppers and chicken in a lemon pepper cream sauce. After dinner, we went to a bar nearby to have a drink. Denya's mother is Portugese so she speaks the language decently and we met lots of friendly people. Also, I large portion of the people we met also speak English so it was really easy to get around. The Portugese people as a whole were much nicer than Spaniards. Denya and I both felt like we were more welcome in Lagos than in Seville and the locals seemed less judgemental. When I get back to the US I would really like to learn Portugese so I can go back sometime. I really did fall in love with Lagos. It is difficult to compare it to Seville though because it is much smaller. Now I would really like to explore some small towns in Spain to see what they're like. Perhaps I'm just not a city girl even though I love St. Louis.

On Saturday morning we met with the group again to go on a sailboat ride and grotto tour. I've never been on a boat before so it was really fun. The sailboat holds about 30-40 people and then we divided up into smaller groups to ride in a small boat to explore the caves and grottos along the coast.We also jumped off the boat and went swimming. The water was freezing but definitely worth it. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and then went to Cabo São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent) on the southwestern coast of Portugal to watch the sunset. It was cloudy so we didn't get to see he most beautiful sunset in the world but the view was still amzaing. Supposedly, this is the spot people believed to be the end of the world. Regardless of whether that is true or not, it was definitely beautiful. The cliffs are really high right over the water. I can never bring my children there because I'd probably have a heart attack thinking they'd fall over the edge. We then went back to Lagos to eat dinner at a local Portugese restaurant. I had grilled salmon and it was definitely the best salmon I have ever had. I know I'm definitely going to be craving that again. After dinner, my friends and I walked around and explored the city. We found some shops that were still open and I bough a really cute and unique dress. I'll take a picture in it sometime for you to see. There were lots of hippies selling handmade jewelry on the street. One man was selling some handmade sandals. Denya and I each bought a pair because they fit us perfectly. I'm really excited about them. Once I get pictures up on facebook you'll be able to see what they look like and we took a picture with the man who made them. Uploading pictures to my blog is kind of a pain so I don't feel like putting anymore in this post. On Sunday we wandered around the city again and then came back to Sevilla. It was a great weekend. I can't wait to go back to Portugal some day.

Una cena memorable

"A memorable dinner"

Today deserves a second post. Dinner was quite the experience tonight but the story really begins last night. My host family went to the beach again this past weekend and spent time on their boat. After they returned home last night I went into the kitchen to get some water and my host dad had some fish laying out on the counter. Whole fish. Heads and all. It turns out they were tuna fish that he caught over the weekend. So he was salting them and preparing to cook them. Stephanie and I had already eaten dinner by the time they got back so we didn't eat any of the fish last night but were expecting to have it for lunch today. However, we had lentil soup, which was delicious and very filling. Since dinner is usually a lighter meal, Stephanie and I were expecting soup and sandwhiches or something like that for dinner tonight. So, we were very surprised when we walked into the kitchen. Each of our plates had a TON of tuna sprinkled with olive oil. We've had some pasta with olive oil on it lately and I have decided that I don't particularly care for the flavor of it slathered on my food. But, there wasn't a ton on the tuna so it wasn't too bad.

Before tonight, I had never eaten fish that still had the bones in it and some of the skin left on. One of my pieces even still had the fin but at least the head was gone by the time the fish made it to my plate! Regardless, it did make me feel a little squeamish. I definitely don't enjoy the feeling of tiny little bones in my mouth. Overall though, I enjoyed the tatste of the tuna but the presentation did very little to help my appetite. Not to mention, it was a very large portion of fish. I'm used to having much smaller pieces. I'm still getting accustomed to eating seafood but I definitely have come a long way since I was a kid.

This is somewhat of an afterthought now but I've been meaning to mention it. Stephanie and I have noticed that people don't eat with their hands very much here. For instance, our host dad ate a hamburger (they're a little different than our hamburgers) with a knife and fork. I think the only thing I've seen my family eat with their hands is pizza.

On another note, I don't really proofread my posts so I am sorry if they don't flow well sometimes.

La corrida

"The Bullfight"

Yesterday my friends Ryan, Devon and I went to a bullfight. I'm glad that I went because it was very interesting but I will most likely never attend one again. I'm definitely not a fan of them. Each bullfight has three matadors each with their own three assistants and each matador faces two bulls. So every bullfight six bulls are killed. There are bullfights most weekends from April until September in lots of different cities. That's a lot of bulls. According to Ryan's host mom afterward the bulls are sold to local butcher shops and super markets and people eat them so at least they aren't killed for no reason. It was pretty sad to watch though. However, I can see why some people enjoy them if they have a different view of animals than I do. It is really exciting to watch because you never know what is going to happen. The least experienced matador that we saw was knocked down multiple times by the bull and his assistants had to intervene and distract the bull so he wouldn't get trampled. I'm not going to go into further detail here about the bullfights because it is somewhat graphic. If you are interested in learning about what exactly happens at a bullfight and seeing some pictures let me know when I get back and I can tell you all about it. Here are a few pictures for everyone!

This is me and Devon, notice the bull in the background.

Mi primera visita a la playa

"My First Visit to the Beach"

Yesterday we took a field trip to Jerez de la Frontera to visit a winery that is one of the only three makers of authentic Sherry. All three of these wineries are in Spain. This particular winery makes three types of sherry among many other types of wine. Sherry is just a particular type of wine that comes from this particular area of Spain. The word sherry is actually an English adaptation of the word Jerez which is why the only authentic sherry in the world comes from this area. The three types of sherry are called fino, amontillado and oloroso. Fino is the palest and driest because as it ferments there is a layer of yeast that separates the wine from the oxygen. This prevents any oxidation (which creates a darker color) and allows the yeast to convert most of the sugar to alochol. In the Oloroso, the yeast dies and therefore it remains sweeter. Also, it oxidizes and turns a darker color. The Amontillado involves a combination of aging with and without the layer of yeast so it is more of a semi-sweet sherry and isn't as dark as the Oloroso. At the end of the tour we got to taste the Fino and a different sweet wine. I'm not a huge fan of wine but I did enjoy learning about it! Here are a few pictures I took throughout the tour. If you'd like to see more I've uploaded them to facebook.

This first picture is the bottle of dry fino sherry. Tio Pepe sherries are shipped all over the world so if you're interested in trying it I'm sure we could find it in the US.

This is a walkway between the different "bodegas" or wine cellars. Notice that grapes are growing above.

They've been leaving sherry out for the mice since the winery was opened. These are pictures of different generations of mice that learned to climb the ladder to get to the sherry. If you're interested you can see videos on youtube. Just search for sherry mice or something like that.

This is a picture of a barrel of sherry aging. You can see the characteristic layer of yeast growing on the top.

This is a view of one of the bodegas filled with barrels of sherry or some other type of wine. The smell inside was unbelievable. Each bodega had its own unique smell depending on the type of wine aging inside. You could tell which ones had the yeast growing on top because they smelled a little bit like bread.

After our winery tour we traveled a little further to Cádiz to visit the beach. I was very excited beause I have never seen the ocean, or at least not when I was old enough to remember. It was slightly disappointing because the sun didn't come out until right before we left to go home. It's kind of funny that it was cloudy considering Cádiz has over 300 sunny days a year and we managed to visit on one of the 65 or less cloudy days. I still had a good time though and even went swimming briefly although it was a little chilly. I'm going to be visiting the beach in Portugal two weeks though so hopefully it will be sunny then.

When we returned to Sevilla, my friends and I were very hungry so we decided to stop at a bar near our homes to get some tinto de verano and tapas. Tinto de verano (summer red wine) is red wine with lemon or orange soda mixed in. Their orange soda is a little different from ours and this drink is really refreshing. Tapas (bar snack) are one of my favorite aspects of Spain culture thus far. At bars, food comes in three different portion sizes: tapa, half and full. Tapas are usually 2 to 2.5 euros and its like a snack sized portion of a particular dish. It's really fun though because you can order a few different tapas and share with your friends to try lots of different new foods. Plus, if you're out for a drink with friends it's easy to get small portions of food if you're only slightly hungry.

Explorar la ciudad

"Exploring the City"

I haven't posted anything the past few days because I haven't been doing anything specific. Stephanie and I, along with some other friends, have just been exploring the city more. So we've been walking a ton and sweating even more. It has been so hot here, even at night, that our host mom walks around saying "Que calor!" (which would be like us saying "It's so hot!") all the time. The other night she slept on the floor in the living room next to a window just to get a breeze. We have found some interesting stores here, one of which is a huge department store, similar to Macy's, called El Corte Inglés. It is huge! There are 5 floors. There are also tons of smaller clothing stores and even more shoe stores.

I'm surprised by how much American influence there is. Everywhere you go you hear American music. My host sisters even play American music and they don't speak any English. Also, during the day lots of the TV shows are American with Spanish dubbed in, like the Simpsons and Men in Black. We have been watching one Spanish show with our family though. Its really dramatic but definitely entertaining. I've also heard that they show lots of American movies dubbed in Spanish rather than with subtitles but they usually get here much later than in America. For instnace, I see posters for "He's Just Not That Into You" but that came out in the US in Februrary.

Last night a few of us wandered around the center and decided to get some ice cream from an "heladería" (ice cream shop). I got a scoop of lemon pie and a scooop of berry. It was a little expensive but so worth it! We walked with our ice cream and then ate it by the Cathedral which is really pretty at night. Here are a few pictures. Two from the daytime and two at night. This Cathedral is the 3rd largest in the World and it is the largest gothic building. It used to be a Mosque but in the early 1400's they began to change it into a Cathedral. Christopher Columbus's tomb is housed inside but there is some debate about whether the remains are actually his. Some people thing his body is actually in the Dominican Republic. The tall bell tower in the second picture is called "La Giralda" and you can climb up to the top. We are touring it in November and I plan to climb up to the top and take pictures of the city. I might even go visit before November.

Orientación y la vida nocturna

"Orientation and the nightlife"

Yesterday we had orientation at ICS where we went over housing guidelines, the bus system, the bike system, cell phone use, etc. It was definitely informative and it was nice to start meeting other international students. We also took a language proficiency test and I placed into the Advanced level which allows me to take classes at the University. On Monday I'll be meeting with the Academic Director to finalize my schedule. Then on the 25th we have a tour of the University and a welcome meeting with all the students. Classes start on the 28th. I met one other girl so far who is taking classes at the University. I'm not sure what she's planning to do with her extra time yet. So we'll see.

For dinner last night Stephanie and I went to the bar our host parents own and Miriam cooked for us there. We had toast topped with (I think) pimento leaves, a fried egg, prosciutto and a thick paste-like sauce called mojo picon made with garlic, cumin and chilies in it. It was delicious! After dinner we met up with other students from ICS and walked to the Center and across the river to our welcome party at a local bar. We all got a free drink, so I tried some sangría. We stayed there for a while then went to a different bar right on the river. Here's a picture of me there. I couldn't get a focused picture of me and the background at the same time so the second picture is at the same exact spot but you can see the River Guadalivir and the Torre de Oro (Gold Tower) in the background.

Stephanie and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the other students and I've found 2 other girls that are staying past Dec. 18th so I'll definitely be able to find someone to travel with!

Today Miriam went to pick up her daughters from the beach so she left us food to heat up for lunch. We had tortilla de patatas (which is like a huge fluffy omlette with potatoes and onions) and albondigas (spanish meatballs). I've really enjoyed all of the meals I've had here so far. I'm still adjusting to lunch being the biggest meal of the day rather than dinner but it does make sense to have the largest meal in the middle of the day. It'll probably be weird to adjust back to American lunches when I get back. I think Stephanie and I are going to go shopping later and possibly meet up with some other students from ICS.

Oh, I keep forgetting to mention that Stephanie and I found out that Miriam and Alfonso have been hosting students for almost 10 years. It's nice to know that they have lots of experience and know what to expect.

Un paseo al centro

"A walk to The Center"

I'm pleased to report that I am already starting to feel a much more settled and comfortable than yesterday. To be perfectly honest, yesterday was extremely overwhelming and I couldn't help but wonder why I wanted to come in the first place. Things are definitely looking up now and I'm remembering all the reasons I wanted to study abroad. A good night's sleep definitely helped my outlook on life. So to start things off, here is the view from my bedroom window! Stephanie and I woke up a little before 11 today after a full night's sleep. There's no air conditioning in the apartment so we keep the windows open all the time. At night the cool air blows into the room. It's perfect for sleeping! Our host mom Miriam talked to us for a little while. One of the things she told us was to make sure we let her know if we ever want anything more to eat...and they feed us plenty! So Elaine, you can stop worrying about me starving.

Stephanie and I then walked down to ICS to meet the Housing Director, Gina and to pick up our cell phones. Gina answered a few of our questions and gave us some ideas to keep us busy for the day. So we went to a couple stores, one of which was called Bazaar Ting Ting. It's similar to a little dollar store but it was run by an Asian couple. It was definitely interesting. Stephanie bought an international calling card there while I just looked around. We came back home to charge our cell phones and Miriam brought lunch home for us. She and her husband own a little restaurant/cafe (they're called bars here) called Bar Cepo (I think). Lunch was very filling, potatoes and some kind of chewy seafood mean (I have no idea what exactly) in some sort of yellow sauce. It was almost the consistency of stew.

After lunch we walked through Maria Luisa park toward the downtown area called The Center. We expected a long walk but it only took about 30 minutes. Here is a picture of a street through the park. There are palm trees everywhere!

This is the Plaza España in the M.L. park. It is a huge semi-circle! The picture only captures about 1/4 of it. It's probably the coolest building we saw today. The Center is really neat. There are lots of stores and cafe's with outdoor seating. Many of the streets are limited to public transportation and pedestrians only which makes it really easy to get around. This is a picture of a typical street in Seville. I'd say this would be a medium sized street.
While this picture is one of the small windy streets. It's really hard to get around in some parts of the city because the streets are like this and they never go straight. It's kind of like a maze; you never really know where you're going to end up. But we figured things out pretty well. You just have to remember the general direction you want to go in and eventually you can find your way.
I have no idea what this building is. We found it when we were wandering around on the tiny windy streets and I thought it looked cool. So I took a picture.
And finally, on our way back home from the Center, Stephanie and I found the University building where I will be taking classes. It is a little farther than ICS from our house but I can probably walk there in 20-25 minutes. I think I can handle that. Especially since I get to walk through the park part of the way.
Tomorrow we have Orientation at ICS which includes a language proficiency test and an academic meeting to go over our schedule. As long as I pass my test I'll get to take classes at the University which don't start until the 28th. So I might have some extra travel time or I can sit in on some classes at ICS. There are only a couple other students signed up for classes at the University so I'm going to see what they're planning to do with this extra time.

¡Bienvenidos!

"Welcome!"

Well, I made it! The trip was relatively easy and I didn't have too many problems finding my way through the various airports. My luggage weighed in at 40 and 45 lbs! So I didn't have to take anything out. The flight leaving Dallas left about and hour late because a passenger became ill and had to leave. So then they had to find her luggage and remove it from the plane as well. Somehow, we still managed to arrive in Madrid relatively on time, thank goodness, because I had just enough time to get to my gate for the flight to Sevilla. The airport in Madrid was definitely the most confusing. I had to go up and down countless escalators, through passport control, ride a train for 5 minutes, go through security again, and then up and down more escalators. The most confusing part was trying to find my gate though. Every screen I looked at told me to go to Terminals HJK but would never give me a specific gate. So eventually I stopped at an information booth and they found the gate info for me. I arrived at that gate about 15 minutes before departure.

When I arrived in Sevilla I claimed all my luggage with no problems and left the airport. For some reason I wasn't able to find the woman meeting me there but I found a taxi myself, showed the driver my address and away we went. At the apartment building I had trouble finding the correct one but I found some other tenants who were very friendly and helpful. So finally I arrived at the correct apartment and the only person home was a housekeeper who speaks only a little Spanish and a little English. Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed at this point. The three daughters (Maria 18, Blanca 14, and Candela 6) arrived home shortly followed quickly by my roommate (Stephanie from New Jersey). After such a long day it was a huge relief to meet someone who speaks English. As we started to unpack Maria prepared lunch, Gazpacho and a pasta dish with red sauce and cheese. I wasn't sure how I'd like the Gazpacho. It is a cold tomato soup. However it was actually very tasty and refreshing in the heat.

Stephanie and I walked down to the International College of Seville where she will be taking classes. I will actually be taking classes at the University of Seville which is in the Center of the city and a little farther but I will still be dealing with the International College so it was nice to visit. Tomorrow I have nothing scheduled so Stephanie and I will probably go exploring together and drop by ICS again to pick up our cell phones. Then on Friday we have Orientation. I'm looking forward to getting things started. I don't really know what to do with myself yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Pictures to come soon!