La Giralda (May 2014)

While Erin was visiting Sevilla, we visited the Cathedral of Sevilla and its Giralda, or tower. The tower is several stories high, but the view from the top was well worth the climb in 100 degree weather.

Féria de Abril (May 2014)

Erin and I left Greece and we headed to Spain. When we arrived in Sevilla, one of the biggest festivals of the year, La Feria de Abril, was in full swing. Feria is a 6-day-long festival where hundreds of tents, or casetas, are set up in a square in Los Remedios (close to where I lived in Triana). These tents are usually for prominent families in Sevilla, but there are also public tents where anyone can go. The tents all have flamenco music and dancers. Natives and tourists all dress up in traditional flamenco dresses. The tents have bars serving rebujitos, a kind of white sangria that is soooooo delicious. Feria also has parades, shows, rides and games throughout the week.

Erin and I headed to Plaza de España for a quick photo-op before the festivities began!

Feria-round 1!

Feria-round 2!

We were able to watch the fireworks that ended Feria from our friends' rooftop!

I'm on a boat

Yesterday, we got a group together and went kayaking on the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla! It's upwards of 80 degrees all this week, so what better way to cool off than splashing around in the river? It was so much fun! Here are some photos from our lovely, hot afternoon.

Pictures from Amsterdam coming soon!

Name Day

During lunch, my host Mom got a phone call from one of her friends, wishing her a happy "santo." I had to have her explain the concept to me about 3 times, but when I finally understood, it's really interesting! In Spain, catholics celebrate their birthday and their "name day." According to Christian Calendar of Saints, every Saint has a feast day, so Spaniards celebrate their name day on the feast day of the Saint that corresponds to their name. Two fiestas a year is better than one!

Exposición de Juan Borrero

Today, my roomate, Kim, and I had our first outing with our host Mom, Julia! The exposition featured pieces from the Sevillan artist, Juan Borrero. The exposition was held in the Castillo de San Jorge, a medieval fortress built on the west bank of the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla. It was also used as a headquarters and prison during the Spanish inquisition. The fortress was demolished in the nineteenth century to build a food market, but rediscoverd during renovations and preserved in a museum.

                  Replica of the Castillo de San Jorge

        A window in the fortress

The museum has a different exposition every few months, so our host Mom wanted to take us to see the exposition of Juan Borrero's art. He is a native Sevillan artist who specializes in religious pieces made from gold and other metals. His pieces can be seen in churches throughout Sevilla and other Spanish cities. Julia explained the history of the Castillo and the religious and historical significance of all the pieces to us!

                 Los tres coronas de oro de Triana

                    El "Guernica" de Juan Borrero

                   Selfies with our host Mom, Julia

Catedral de Sevilla

This morning, I attended mass at the Cathedral of Sevilla! The Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. The mass was in a smaller area of the cathedral, but it was so beatiful. Spanish masses (or at least this one) seem to be a lot shorter than Catholic masses in the states. I think the main reason is because there is no music. I asked my host mom if this was typical or if it was just because it was in the cathedral, but she said generally masses don't have music. Other than that, and it being in Spanish, it was pretty much the same as masses at home! On Tuesday, I am going on a tour of the Cathedral, so I'll get to see the entire thing!

    Mis amigas y yo enfrente de la Catedral de Sevilla

                                La Catedral

Pros and Cons

Just being in Spain for about a week, I've started to notice things that I love about living here and things that I don't love about living here (definitely more on the love side, though). Here's the list so far:

1. Spanish people are really blunt. It's very strange at first, but I find it really refreshing. For example, people refer to me as white or pale on the daily (and people tend to think I'm from Ireland)-not in a rude way, but it's really common for them to identify people by how they look. Another example: I didn't realize my host mom had set breakfast out on the table for me, so I didn't eat it. Later that day I was trying to explain that I didn't realize she had done that and she called me "tonta," aka a cutesy version of calling me stupid/silly. Some international students find this really difficult to adjust to, but I kind of like the forwardness!

2. Public bathrooms here NEVER have toilet paper or soap. It's really annoying and kind of gross! I've learned to carry tissues and hand sanitizer everywhere I go.

3. Coffee, Coca-Cola, yogurt, and ice cream are SO much better here. Probably because they use real ingredients and sugar?

4. Apparently you're not supposed to smile at strangers? I find myself doing this a lot without realizing and I think it makes people uncomfortable...

5. The nightlife: awesome. Spainiards love to drink, but definitely not the way Americans do. It's not in excess and it's more of a nightly social gathering than a big event.

6. I've found that a lot of times in stores and restaurants when I speak Spanish to someone, they automatically respond to me in English (if they know it). I get a little thrown off. Maybe they're just trying to make my life easier, but I just want to practice my Spanish!

And I love the beautiful, sunny weather!

I'm sure this list will become much longer the more time I spend here, but this is what I've discovered in my first few days here! ¡Gracias para leer!

Primer día de clases

Today was my first day of class! I had 2 classes: Spanish for Business and Latin American Short Stories. They are both entirely in Spanish, so they will be difficult, but I think I will definitely like them. This morning was a struggle for me. I woke up around 6:30 and left on the metro at 7:30 to get there for 9:00 to be on time for my first class. I was sooooooo tired in class and struggling to stay awake. My host mom doesn't drink coffee, so I think I'm going through caffeine withdrawal... Anyway! For the rest of the day I took a siesta, explored the city a little with some friends, and got ice cream (which I've been craving since I got here.) I got all my school supplies, so I'm ready for my next round of classes tomorrow! 

            La Catedral de Sevilla on my walk home tonight!

Mis primeros días en España

I am officially settled in my new home in Spain. The first day in Spain was definitely a long one. Another girl in the program and I arrived in Spain around 6AM on Thursday. We got our luggage (I was so nervous it wouldn't make it) and got a cab to our hotel in Madrid. Our room wasn't going to be ready for several hours, so we wandered around the city and got churros and hot chocolate. So delicious! As soon as we got into our rooms, we had about 10 minutes to change and get ready to go on a museum tour and a walking tour of Madrid. After not sleeping for about 24 hours, an art museum was not the best place to be. But, it was great to see the city and after we slept for a few hours, we had dinner and went out with some of the other girls in the program. 

 

                          Churros and hot chocolate!          

                      

           Plaza Mayor de Madrid

                            La discoteca

On Friday, we took a bus from Madrid to Toledo, which only took about 40 minutes. The city of Toledo is so beautiful and full of history! We had a tour with a resident of Toledo (quien fue muy guapo), and saw several of the churches, synogogues and other amazing buildings throughout the city. After the tour, our group split up for lunch. A group of us went to a place where they serve typical Spanish food and I was a little freaked out because the shrimp in my paella still had eyes...BUT I want to be open to everything! The people in Toledo were so nice and really open to speaking with all of us. I'm trying to talk to as many people as I can to practice my Spanish!

                          View of Toledo from above

           My roommate, Kim, and I!

                                                            Our tour guide!

 

 

 

 

  

                         Catedral de Santa María de Toledo

 

      There was a parade/play going on in the streets!

 

 

On Saturday, we left Toledo and took a bus to Sevilla to meet our host families! I'll talk more about it in my next posts!

Housing Assignments

I received my housing assigment for Spain! I will be living in the Triana area of Sevilla. I will be staying with a woman named, Juliana, and there will be one other student staying in the house as well. I am excited to have a roommate that will be attending the same school and program that I am! The house where I will be living is about a 40 minute metro ride from my school, Pablo de Olavide. I am a little nervous about figuring the public transportation system in a foreign country, but hopefully I will get the hang of it quickly. 

As soon as I got my housing assignment, I went to google maps to explore my new city. Triana is located on an almost-island off of the Guadalquivir River. From what I have read, Triana has a strong flamenco culture and it's own festivals throughout the year. I can't wait to explore my new city! 

With just a week until I leave, I'm onto my next daunting task, packing...

Things to See in Sevilla

So, since I'll be living in Sevilla for about 4 months, I've started to make a list of all the things I want to see/do in the city! Here's a sneak peek:

1. Get to know my University, of course!

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

2. Explore the Plaza de España.

3. Visit Catedral de Sevilla.

4. Have a beer at Cerveceria Internacional, which apparently has the largest selection of beer in all of Sevilla.