1. Never, ever, under ANY circumstance wear boots or shoes of any kind that are not completely worn in for a full day of walking. If this suggestion is overlooked, it may result in quarter sized blisters which I don't need to tell you, are extremely painful. If you try to render the situation by walking on the side of your foot, your foot will swell and you'll have a bad day. Guaranteed.
Yes, I did learn this from experience. No, I do not wish to repeat it.
2. Everyone in Europe smokes. Yes, it is intolerable for the first few days, after awhile, however, one becomes almost immune to the smell...not something I would recommend. The first night we went out, I came back to the hotel smelling, no, reeking of smoke. It was similar to the smell of someone's house/room/apartment when they don't clean very often, yet still smoke inside, only it was stuck to me. It was horrible.
However, now, after being her for almost a week, the only time I notice it is when I walk through a smoke cloud, or directly after I get out of the shower.
3. Know your host family's names...A continuation from the last post, yes, our sister's name is Maria!
4. If you're an American, you can forget about trying to blend in. From the volume of our voices, to our over use of eye contact, to our NorthFace-everything, our white tennis shoes, and surprisingly, our politeness, they know us from a mile away! Sad, but very true. I guess I will be a tourist for the rest of my life :)
Those are enough of the lesson for now...
We went to see the Cathedral in Sevilla yesterday. It is so beautiful. We hiked to the top of the bell tower, which is supposedly the tallest point in the city, and from there, you can see the entire city. I had no idea Sevilla was this big! To get to the top of the tower, we didn't take stairs, there weren't any; it was a ramp the whole way. I was thinking, well, at least a very ambitious person in a wheelchair can see the sights this view has to offer...but then I was corrected by George, one of the guys from TCU, saying they made it that way so someone could ride up it on his horse. How cool would it be to race up a cobblestone tower on a horse! But then it dawned on me, with some help from Kelli, that maybe it was created that way so someone could get to the top quickly to sound an alarm...
Also, we had our cafe, or a coffee break at the Alfonso XIII, the five star hotel in Sevilla. It is breathtaking and the hot chocolate was delicious...like hot pudding, rich and creamy! Perfect for the extremely cold weather we're experiencing right now!
I am still getting used to using my Spanish, and still am forgetting some of the words, but with our first day of school today, I'm hoping that being even more exposed to it will force me to "use my words" and begin to be comfortable. My Senora, Carmen, is very patient and willing to help me along, which is nice. Everyone else is the same way, they want you to learn their language and are so happy you are trying and showing an effort.
I think that's one big difference between Spain and America. If we see someone struggling with English at home, some people will be friendly and helpful and happy they're attempting to learn English, however, others are snobby and think, gosh, it isn't that hard, why don't they try harder? Well newsflash. Learning a new language is VERY difficult. Well, enough venting for one post...another topic, shall we?
Last night we were watching tv with our Spanish family and we saw a commercial for LOST, one of my very favorite tv shows...and I got really sad, I'm not sure if I'll be able to follow it in Spanish, but by golly I'm going to try! We watched a Spanish Telenovela, a soap, and then CSI: Miami. The Telenovela I could follow a little bit, but when it was over and they switched to CSI, I couldn't understand a word. I realized that I was watching the people's lips, but they were saying things in English, but I was hearing Spanish...it was confusing. Needless to say, I chose that time to head to bed and read!
Speaking of reading, I've already finished one of the many books I brought with me.
Until next time,
Infinite X's and O's
LTA
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
First Couple Days en Sevilla!!!
Hello to all! Yes, indeed, I have arrived safely in Sevilla. It feels good to be here, now that the jet lag has finally worn off. Let me tell you, the Spanish have life figured out. Siesta is the BEST concept ever! A good, relaxing three hours in the afternoon where they eat lunch, which is usually the largest meal of the day, when they spend the most time with their families, take a nap (which I have definitely taken advantage of) or they might watch a telenovela--a cheesy Spanish soap! And all the shops are closed except the bars and some pastry shops.
As for the speaking-in-Spanish part of this experience, I have to say, I´m not very good at it. I´m definitely becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable and way out of my comfort zone, however, it is very different here! The Spanish are very willing to repeat their questions once, even three times...by that time, I´ve found it´s best to make up an answer...they may look at you strange because it was probably no where near the answer they were looking for, but at least you aren´t there saying que? que? huh? Luckily, Kelli, my roommate and bff is almost fluent and much more comfortable speaking to the locals, so she has bailed me out of a couple confusing conversations. But not to worry, I plan to be my talkative self in no time!
It is very daunting being here and trying new things all the time. Last night at dinner, for one of the appetizers (tapas), we actually had duck patte. I was told this after I had already tasted it. I´d come to my own conclusion that it must be some sort of cheese. Nope. Duck patte. It was good though!---And my parents will appreciate this one: for lunch yesterday, we had tuna. No, not like the stuff out of the can that you can smell for days, but a pretty fresh slice of the fish. It wasn´t disgusting but that´s all I have to say about it though!!!
Earlier today (Sunday), we met our host families. Kelli and I are staying with Carmen, Manuelo and their daughter...Maria I think? I met her briefly...I´ll let you know on a post soon whether or not that´s her name! They seem pretty nice, we haven´t really been able to chat with them very much, they went out while we were eating and Kelli and I went to the cyber cafe, where I am now, before they came back. Strange? We thought so too.
Oh well! Sevilla is beautiful today! The sun finally came out after a very rainy Saturday and a cloudy morning. Everyone here walks everywhere, so while on our way to this cafe (which isn´t really a cafe...more like a room with computers, phones, and a big desk where they sell everything but the kitchen sink), we saw many people milling around, talking, strolling, just enjoying each other and the fine weather. This is such an amazing city. I have yet to feel unsafe--of course I´m always aware of who and what is around me, but I have yet to get the pulling behind my stomach I always feel when something is off!
The schedule here is going to take some getting used to! We have breakfast at a normal time, between 8 and 10 am, lunch around 2pm and dinner beginning at 9pm. Last night, we finished at 11:45pm and headed out to this really cool bar where I saw my first flamenco dancer! It was in a big room which looked like a gathering room of a medieval lodge, a guitarist, a singer and a flamenco dancer! SO much fun--we all made a pact to go back many times this semester! And another plus, it´s mostly locals (as far as we could tell) not very many Americans, so we´re getting the ¨the real Sevilla experience¨!
Well, I think that´s enough rambling for this post, more to come soon! I think we´re off to find some gelato--not Carmelo though, sounds like a good flavor, doesn´t it? Definitely was disgusting.
Tomorrow we go to UPO, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, where we´ll be taking a placement exam to determine which classes we should/shouldn´t be enrolled in...wish me luck!
I love and miss you all and can´t wait to hear from you!
God Bless!
As for the speaking-in-Spanish part of this experience, I have to say, I´m not very good at it. I´m definitely becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable and way out of my comfort zone, however, it is very different here! The Spanish are very willing to repeat their questions once, even three times...by that time, I´ve found it´s best to make up an answer...they may look at you strange because it was probably no where near the answer they were looking for, but at least you aren´t there saying que? que? huh? Luckily, Kelli, my roommate and bff is almost fluent and much more comfortable speaking to the locals, so she has bailed me out of a couple confusing conversations. But not to worry, I plan to be my talkative self in no time!
It is very daunting being here and trying new things all the time. Last night at dinner, for one of the appetizers (tapas), we actually had duck patte. I was told this after I had already tasted it. I´d come to my own conclusion that it must be some sort of cheese. Nope. Duck patte. It was good though!---And my parents will appreciate this one: for lunch yesterday, we had tuna. No, not like the stuff out of the can that you can smell for days, but a pretty fresh slice of the fish. It wasn´t disgusting but that´s all I have to say about it though!!!
Earlier today (Sunday), we met our host families. Kelli and I are staying with Carmen, Manuelo and their daughter...Maria I think? I met her briefly...I´ll let you know on a post soon whether or not that´s her name! They seem pretty nice, we haven´t really been able to chat with them very much, they went out while we were eating and Kelli and I went to the cyber cafe, where I am now, before they came back. Strange? We thought so too.
Oh well! Sevilla is beautiful today! The sun finally came out after a very rainy Saturday and a cloudy morning. Everyone here walks everywhere, so while on our way to this cafe (which isn´t really a cafe...more like a room with computers, phones, and a big desk where they sell everything but the kitchen sink), we saw many people milling around, talking, strolling, just enjoying each other and the fine weather. This is such an amazing city. I have yet to feel unsafe--of course I´m always aware of who and what is around me, but I have yet to get the pulling behind my stomach I always feel when something is off!
The schedule here is going to take some getting used to! We have breakfast at a normal time, between 8 and 10 am, lunch around 2pm and dinner beginning at 9pm. Last night, we finished at 11:45pm and headed out to this really cool bar where I saw my first flamenco dancer! It was in a big room which looked like a gathering room of a medieval lodge, a guitarist, a singer and a flamenco dancer! SO much fun--we all made a pact to go back many times this semester! And another plus, it´s mostly locals (as far as we could tell) not very many Americans, so we´re getting the ¨the real Sevilla experience¨!
Well, I think that´s enough rambling for this post, more to come soon! I think we´re off to find some gelato--not Carmelo though, sounds like a good flavor, doesn´t it? Definitely was disgusting.
Tomorrow we go to UPO, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, where we´ll be taking a placement exam to determine which classes we should/shouldn´t be enrolled in...wish me luck!
I love and miss you all and can´t wait to hear from you!
God Bless!
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