¡Hola a todos!
How are you? I am doing really well I am happy to be here, finally, in Seville, Spain! I can't believe how much has already happened. Hopefully this blog will be a good place for me to record everything, and an easy way for everyone to check up on me. Please send me emails and messages, I love hearing from all of you too!
So anyways, here's how my life has been so far: On Saturday the 5th I arrived in Madrid, tired beyond all belief, alone, confused and with no luggage! I had my carry-on, but both of my bags were lost on the way to Madrid. I don't really know how it happened, but I told someone at information and she gave me confusing instructions and told me to call later. So I decided to make my way into Madrid and find the hostel where I could meet my friends. Five of my friends from St Olaf had arrived the day before (I was getting home from a cruise to the Bahamas—very fun!) and we all had reservations at the same hostel for the weekend. So I took a taxi there (much less stressful than the subway), made it up to the fifth floor, and collapsed in my bed which was in a huge room with ten other people, kind of strange…. I knew they had internet there and my friends were in the lobby so I joined them out there and sent a few important emails letting people know I was safe and alive and didn't have my luggage but was certain they would arrive soon. I was tired, but very excited to see Madrid and it was only about 4 in the afternoon and I was starving. So my friends and I decided to head out and walk around a bit. They had been to a museum in the morning so we mostly just walked around, past the palace and through a park and then saw some neat ancient Egyptian ruins from Abu Simbel that were brought up to Madrid in thanks for some good deed that some rich person from Spain did for some important person from Egypt.
Later we walked through a really amazing art market that was up especially for the weekend of El Día de los Tres Magos (Three King's Day, huge holiday in Spain). Finally we found a nice pizzeria to eat at and I had lasagna and salad which tasted amazing! I was tired by then so we went back to the hostel and slept. The next day, Sunday, was a holiday, so not much was open. Hardly anything is open on Sundays anyway, so it was fine to just walk around and see the sights. There is a huge park in the middle of the city, similar to Central Park in NYC, and it was such a nice day that so many people were out walking around. It's a very cultural thing to do, walk around with friends and family, talking and stopping for drinks, even the young children go along in strollers. From 8-midnight the streets are filled with Spaniards out and about—everyone is very sociable around here. There was a kind of central square in the park next a a lake where people could rent rowboats and there were a whole bunch of drummers having a drum jam; it felt very hippie—people were dancing and clapping, it was very fun. I took a lot of pictures.
That night was VERY fun. The two guys that were there are both big football fans (soccer). There just so happened to be a football game between Real Madrid and some other team. So, naturally we went to the stadium and bought tickets! They were about 30 euro, which was a little pricey for me, but TOTALLY worth it!! It was sooo much fun, and such a cultural experience. We bought the cheapest tickets and the stadium is the second biggest in Europe, I think, so we were literally in the TOP row of the stadium, super high up but we could still see pretty well. You wouldn't believe the noise and the fans… it was completely packed for a pretty regular season game… It was just unbelievable. I took a ton of pictures with my lovely zoom camera .
Monday we got up and took a couple taxis to the bus station (there were six of us in Madrid together). We had bought our bus tickets the day before so we just got up and left. The bus ride was pretty uneventful, being six hours long. I slept some, we stopped to eat some bread and peanut butter and crackers and oranges while at a bus station, and then I read for a while and looked at the scenery. I realized that I better start liking olives real soon because most of the countryside is used for growing olive trees! Olives and oranges are the most popular crops here, especially olives in the middle of Spain. We saw some goats and sheep too and drove up and down a few small mountains. There were some very quaint little towns, and some beautiful houses. I kept feeling like I was somewhere in the middle of Italy because of the dry landscape, olive trees, and pretty stuccos houses with red tiled roofs. It was very pretty though.
These past few days in Seville have been VERY fun. I am really enjoying the city, it is so beautiful. I feel like I will get to know it very well. My first impressions were of a very confusing city, with lots of small winding streets and a few large modern buildings by the river. But that was just the view from the bus station to the hotel in the taxi, the real Sevilla, the Centro (where the University and Palacio are located, the commercial and historical center and the city) and the area I am living in are so much nicer and more how I imagined it. Our taxi driver was very fun and enjoyable to talk with. We got to the hotel, which was very nice, and checked in. I originally was in a room with another girl from CIEE that only had one bed! That wasn't going to work so I switched and had my own room for two nice which was wonderful after the hostel with 10 other people in one room and the bathroom down the hall. At the hotel we began our orientation sessions, which was mostly a lot of stuff I had already heard at St Olaf. They fed us dinner that night, then walked around the streets nearby since it was a warm night. Most of us were tired from traveling so much so we went to bed early.
Tuesday was mostly an orientation day. We ate breakfast in the hotel, and met up with our groups, led by a Spanish guide (all college students). We walked around the city a bit and got to know the area. We walked to the University, which is a beautiful building that used to be a palace. After a late lunch and short siesta, we were all split up into small groups of three or four to go on a "scavenger hunt" around Seville to the most popular and well known spots in the Centro. That was really helpful for me because we all used our maps and were able to navigate by ourselves and explore a little bit more into the city. I feel so safe here, there are always people out and about walking around, and once you know the main streets it's easy to navigate around. Everything is so clean, too. There is like a whole army of street cleaners that clean every night and during the day; there are plenty of waste bins; and not many people eat or drink on the go as it is. I love the whole atmosphere, there aren't too many tourists but there are a few horse and carriages that clop around, and plenty of old beautiful buildings. The Islamic influence is very evident this far south in Spain, in Andalusia (it was Muslim ruled for 700 years) so there are many buildings that have gorgeous colorful tiling and geometric mosaics. It's beautiful.
Tuesday night was very fun because we all went as a group to a traditional flamenco show! It was wonderful. It was so very beautiful, and I was amazed at the skills of the dancers, the guitarist and the singer. If you have never heard a traditional flamenco guitarist, I recommend finding something on iTunes PRONTO It is sooo beautiful. And the singing was different than what I expected, but very very good. And the dancing was fantastic. The dresses that the woman wore were beautiful, of course. The footwork was so intricate… the duet between the man and woman was so intense and passionate and amazing…. I loved it. I was very impressed.
Tuesday night we also went out for our first night of tapas! Tapas is a very popular cultural tradition here. Basically when you go to tapear you go out with friends or a group to a bar, have a drink a buy a small appetizer dish to share. You stay a chat a while, maybe dance a little, depending where you are, or just stay and mingle. Typically you then move on to another bar after a short time and do it all over again! What we did though, which our large group, was order several different tapas and a couple pitchers of drinks and stayed at one bar to chat and get to know each other more. It was very enjoyable, but I think I had too much fried cheese. That ended up being our dinner, so it was a little weird, especially at 9:30 at night, and I was hungry for something more nutritious. Luckily I had an apple from breakfast that I had saved so I ate that.
Wednesday morning was very nerve racking for me. Moving day! I was excited to finally be in one place, but nervous about meeting my señora, my host mom. The program here is very big this year, so many of the students have a roommate for their home stay. My roommate's name is Bridgett and she's from Chicago. She's very nice and we get along well so far. We were both nervous about our home stay because we have heard many different stories about different circumstances. Our señora came to meet us though and she is very nice. Her name is Mercedes Martinez Hidalgo and she lives in a small apartment across the river from the Centro in a wealthy neighborhood that's about a 25 minute walk from the Palacio, where my classes will be. She lives alone, but has a small orange cat named Ruby. Her apartment is nice, but Bridgett and I have to share a small room with bunk beds and only one closet. At first we were really worried, but now I don't think it will be too much of a problem. We finally managed to fit all of our stuff in, but we were both a little stressed out about it for a while. We were both so tired and managed to a take a nap before lunch (which is served at 2:30pm). Our señora is a very good cook, and since Bridgett and I are both vegetarians, CIEE made sure to put us with a senora who likes to cook for vegetarians We had a really good lentil, rice and vegetable, soup, bread, and salad with tomatoes, walnuts and olive oil dressing. I had to back in the Centro to buy a cell phone with my friends at 4, so after lunch we left again. All of the American students also had oral interviews that afternoon so I went over to the Palacio at 5:30 for mine. It was really easy, and my professor was very friendly and had some good advice for dance classes and teaching opportunities while I am here.
Last night, Wednesday night, we all went out for tapas again. We ate a little bit later (at 10) and managed to find a place where we could sit and share a variety of dishes again. It was a little bit healthier because we ordered a few vegetarian plates. Our guide, Antonio, was very specific about that and good about accommodating for everybody. After tapas we walked to another bar and met up with our other half. In all, I think there must be close to a hundred students in the liberal arts program here in Seville with CIEE. After meeting at the bar, we all walked to a discoteca (dance club), and danced well into the morning. Since it's so hot during the day and they eat a late lunch and then siesta until 4 or 5, it's very typical for Spaniards to START partying at about 1 or 2 in the morning and stay out until 5 or 6am! I am not able to do that. I stayed out for maybe an hour, and then walked back with friends. It was fun to dance, and I am getting used to greeting everyone with a kiss on each cheek. Hopefully I will start to get used to the different sleeping/waking/eating times as well
Yesterday was Thursday! We went to visit the ancient Roman ruins of Italica, a city that was very rich and prosperous during the third century AD. We had to get up pretty early to go, which was really difficult considering how late most of us stayed out last night. But it was worth it, especially since we got in for "free" having paid to be in this program… It was super foggy yesterday, which made the whole excursion very sublime and almost as though we were really there in Roman times. There is a good amount of a coliseum that has been preserved very well just outside the city ruins, and that was very neat to see. Our tour group was small, only 12 of us per group, and our guide, one of the professors with CIEE was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. He gave us so much information and it was all the interesting stuff, like how the Romans lived, and what this part of the city was for, or why they did such and such. I learned a lot. The rest of the day was really low key. We came back to our house around and had lunch around 2:30, took a nice long nap, and then I went out to meet some friends and go shopping for a few things like hangers, oranges, and cereal. We had gelato, sat outside and watched the passersby, and then I walked home again around 9:30 for dinner. Just now, Bridgett and I sat with Mercedes (our señora) and watched a little Spanish TV. I am going to bed very soon and I get to sleep in tomorrow!
Tomorrow we are getting ready for registration… I can't believe I have to start class on Monday! Oh well, it will be nice to have a regular schedule. Hopefully I can find a regular time to send out emails so they don't have to be song long either!
I can't believe how much I wrote about these last few days, but so much happened I wanted to fill you in! Don't worry if you didn't read it all at once (I definitely didn't write it all at once), or maybe it's halfway through March when you started it and July when you finish and I'm already home; it doesn't matter. This is a good way for me to remember everything I did, and hopefully just something interesting for you all to read in your free time. Write me back and tell me how your lives are! I obviously don't have very easy access to the internet, but I promise I will get back to you soon, and I will definitely enjoy reading your emails.
Maia Jo
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