Hola!

Mom says I'm falling down on my blogging, so I guess it's time for an update! Let's see what's been going on. Monday I started my first classes of the continuation period at CC-CS. I have a class called Mosaic: Jews and Muslims in Spanish History, it seems like it's going to be very interesting, but my brain is simply not in heavy thinking mode, so I'm going to have to work on that. I also had dance class at night as usual and I told my professor that I danced the Sevillana over the weekend, she was very proud of me. Today, Tuesday, was the Dia de Andalucia, a regional holiday, so I didn't have class. Last night we went to the Juan Magan concert, a DJ who I didn't know much about, but it seemed that he was kind of just playing mixes of American Top 40, not too remarkable but fun. There was a CRAZY botellon going on outside the concert with cars blasting music and broken glass everywhere. We were in a huge group of people so it was fine, but it definitely didn't feel like the safest part of town.

Today was also a casual day, I went for a run this morning. I feel a bit awkward running because it's not very common here, but...no pasa nada. Then I met up with some friends and we went to coffee and then to Plaza Alameda de Hercules, which is a pretty cool plaza a little farther north in El Centro. It has a few fountains that people are allowed to go in, making a mental note of that for when it gets super hot here. It was also surrounded by a ton of cafe's that looked great, I'll definitely have to come back and try some.Then I went to the residencia where my friends live and hung out on the roof as the sun went down, very nice and relaxed. I sevici'd back to meet up with Chelsea, Hilary's best friend from home who is also studying in Sevilla. We got drinks and shared Carne Mechada (?) (which is basically sliced pork in a creamy pepper sauce over fries) and chatted at El Faro de Triana, a restaurant right by the bridge. Now I'm hanging out for a bit and then I'll be going out for hopefully a chill night on Calle Betis!

Language Fatigue + Dancing Sevillana

My brain hurts! Last night we went to a fiesta at Alberto's house. I had a great time, but speaking and trying to understand Spanish for such a long time (we were there til 5AM) makes my head hurt! My speaking has definitely gotten better, but depending on who I'm talking to, listening can be very difficult. A lot of that is due to the Andalucian accent, but since everyone here has one, I really need to get used to it.

I got to practice my folk dancing skills last night! The Espanoles that we met decided they wanted to dance the Sevillana (regional folk dance kind of like flamenco) and had a whole lesson for all of us Americanas. I could keep up only a little from my previous lessons in my dance class, but it was really fun to try! I'm not sure if any pictures were taken...hopefully none of me being tan torpe (so clumsy/awkward)

A Lil' Site Seeing

Liz and I try to make the best of our weekends in Seville, so we got out this morning and knocked out a few sites we've been meaning to visit. We've already been to El Mercado de Triana, but I got to snap some pictures today of the colorful food stands.

Live snails!

After the Mercado, we visited El Castillo de San Jorge, which we pass everyday but haven't explored. The market is built on top of the castle, which was originally a fortress but part of it was destroyed. It played leading role in the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition (which nobody expects) and today serves as a reminder on human rights. I didn't take any photos, it was mostly just ruins, but worth a walk around. 

Then we walked down to Torre de Oro, and icon in Seville. It once served as a look out point on the river. There were model's of Columbus' and Magellan's ships and you can climb to the top for a good view. 

 

View of La Giralda from Torre de Oro

Calle Betis and Triana from the top of Torre de Oro

Alcazar

Last day of touring Sevilla with CCCS, we went to Alcazar of Sevilla today. It's an enormous palace with different sections built in different era's and expansive and beautiful gardens. 

Liz and me being Goofballs!

Peacocks hanging out casually in the gardens

Fresas!

It's strawberry season in the South of Spain, and they're AMAZING. I think I've eaten a kilo of strawberries in the last 24 hours...I might have to take a day off from them. You can buy them at any of the little fruteria's on the street and they wrap them up in a paper cone, and I just eat all of them at once. 

SETAS

Las Setas are these pretty crazy mushroom shaped structures in Plaza Mayor in the Middle of El Centro. I hadn't actually seen them up close yet, but I got the chance to yesterday! Foster, a fellow Alpha Gam backpacking across Europe after her Birthright trip, ended up in Sevilla for a night and Liz and I took her to a few of the sights! Foster's hostel was right by Las Setas, so we took a stroll around the plaza. They are the only very new, very modern looking structures in Sevilla, and I've heard that some of the people here don't like them very much. 

Then we wandered a bit through Barrio de Santa Cruz, the historically Jewish area. There's not much to take pictures of because it's a few very small wing streets and tunnels. We came out somewhere in the vicinity of Plaza de Espana (of which I already have pictures) and walked through a large part of it. Then we came back to Triana for some huevos a la flamenco (eggs baked in a dish with red sauce, chorizo, peas and asparagus) and other various tapas. Later we ended up at T de Triana, a bar that has free flamenco on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so we got to watch a show. I still think the singing is bizarre, but I was more interested in this show than the one we saw at La Carbonaria. We had a serious hot chocolate craving so we found a cafe, (Cafe de La Prensa) that had hot chocolate with all different flavors. I got a hazelnut flavored one, it surprising wasn't very sweet, but it was served with sugar.

We definitely hit some of the highlights! And I'm guessing, that including my run and my walk to school I probably walked about 7 miles yesterday.

Spring!

The Triana Bridge was decorated today, I think as a promotion for a....florist association? Something about El Congreso De Floristas. A great way to mark the coming of warm weather! The temperature change here is pretty crazy, it's about in the 30's at night and in the 60's during the day, in the sun it's even warmer, it's gorgeous!

I sevici'd twice today! With only minor incidents, possibly like biking the wrong way on a very narrow one way street, but I'm pretty proud of myself!

Carnaval

Well...we went! To Carnaval in Cadiz. During the day there are parades and concerts, and at night it's just massive groups of people dressed up and drinking in the street. People wore disfraces (costumes) in packs, I hung out with some smurfs for a while, there were a lot of them, and then made friends with some people dressed as the Broncos (kind of funny that they were american football players). Most people were painted in some way and many of the men were in full make up, some in heels. The crowds were so thick in some places you couldn't do much except ride along in whatever direction people happened to be going. It was quite an experience.

La Gente:

That's us!

The whole city was decorated

La Puente

Just so I have a picture of it up here, this is the bridge that I walk across everyday. It's even prettier at night when they have it lit up. It was built by Gustave Eiffel (who built the Eiffel Tower, obviously).

Mierda

1. Watch out for it! There are no fines for leaving dog poo on the streets in Sevilla, so watch where you step!

2. I just got pooped on! Birds know that I hate them, they've got it out for me. Yo estaba dando un paseo with my amigo on the rio, and we sat down under a tree to chat...and I got a straight shot to my right hand! Que asco! I ran into the Dominos (basically the only one here) to wash my hand about 17 times and then we walked home and I took the best shower of my life. UGHH.

Parades on San Jacinto!

Liz tipped me off the a procesion (parade) going on right now on San Jacinto (my street) so I wandered out this morning to check it out. There were little kids everywhere dressed up like pirates, spiderman, cinderella...just like Halloween. This is their Carnaval celebration. There was also a marching band of clowns on a stage set up in the middle of the street and everyone was dancing along. 

Little kids throwing confetti on each other 

Italica

Yesterday we toured the ruins of Italica, a city built during the Roman Empire. It was pretty cool to see, but after a 2 hour tour it kind of looked like a bunch of rocks. The most interesting part was the amphitheater, which, when it was built, could seat 2000 people.

Beneath the arena, where the animals were kept; this would have been covered with wood: 

Mosaics on the floors of houses

Que? Puedes Repetir?

My favorite phrases, simply because of how often I have to use them. WHOA. A Spanish friend invited me over for a more relaxed night than the discotecas so that we can be alive for Carnaval tomorrow. I was the only person who spoke English there. Oh boy, I don't realize how clearly and slowly my professors talk until I end up with a bunch of Spanish people my age and can understand about 50% of what's going on. It was discouraging, but at the same time they were all incredibly friendly and promised that I would catch up quickly enough. I hope so. They were also talking about hanging out again, which is bizarre because I didn't say much all night, mostly because I didn't know much of what was going on. Sevillanos are so friendly.

Resaca

Una palabra que todos los Americanos en Espana deben saber.



I have one. It sucks.

Ay Cabron!

Today I met with my speaking partner, Alejandro, again. He's really nice and interesting to talk to; we meet for coffee and spend about half the time talking in Spanish and half in English. He says my Spanish is very good! Somehow in our conversation, it came up that when Spanish guys greet their friends they'll say something like "Ay cabron!" which we figured out to mean something along the lines of "Hey asshole!". However, I ended up giving Alejandro an awkward lesson in the correct pronunciation of "asshole" because, since he knew how it is spelled, he pronounces is "aSHole". All in all a very entertaining conversation to have.

It made me feel better because when I speak to Spanish people, I sometimes have to ask them to speak a little bit more slowly so I can understand everything. When I started speaking English, Alejandro had to ask me to speak more slowly! That's the first time that's happened to me, so I'm glad to know it goes both ways!

Ajo!

Ajo means garlic, and it's in EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but how am I supposed to make any friends if I keep eating so much of it! Today senora made a lunch for us of a tomato salad similar to bruschetta and a white bean and vegetable stew. They were both pretty good, but the tomato salad had chunks of garlic all over it. I'm my mother's daughter and I'll be regretting eating that for the rest of today, and probably tomorrow.

Sorry no pictures recently! I keep forgetting to carry my camera with me, and the past couple days I've just been doing class work and hanging out with friends really.

Today or tomorrow I need to buy a disfraz (costume) for Carnaval in Cadiz! It's on Saturday, and everyone is supposed to dress in funny costumes and basically have a huge party in the streets for the entire night. I'm definitely bringing my camera.

Routine

I'm finally settling into a bit of a routine, but it still feels like vacation so it's hard to get the motivation to do work. There's also so much to do all the time, I haven't been spending much time considering schoolwork and working on travel plans. Luckily I don't have much work yet, and the assignments I do have are pretty easy. Mostly, the classes I'm in right now are focused on making my conversational Spanish better, so I try to participate a lot. My profesora in my Current Spanish Language Usage class mostly teaches us colloquialisms and "tacos" (swear words)...it's a fun class. A few of us call the doors to the center "Las Puertas Magicas" becuase once we walk in we have to speak in Spanish.

I'm super tired because my new Spanish friends love to party, and they're down to do so at any time. Siestas are always welcome. Currently I just got back from class, I'm about to have lunch with my senora, and I'm meeting my intercambio (speaking partner), Alejandro, at 4 for coffee. Then I have class, Cultural Realities, where we basically just talk about what it's like living in Spain for an hour once a week. Then I'll get a bit of work done, and it looks like I'll be going out tonight!

I'm in a Regional Folk Dance class that meets for an hour on Monday and Wednesday nights as well. It's been...interesting so far. We're doing traditional Sevillano dances with Flamenco influences. The rhythms are very hard to follow, but the steps are easy enough. Coordinating arm movements and steps is getting more difficult, especially because our teacher tells us we need to be suave and sensual at the same time. The class lasts for the whole semester, so I think I'll have time to get better. What I really need to learn now is how to salsa!

Snewman Tries Sevici

Sevici is a bike service in Sevilla. It has stations all around the city and a pass only costs 22 euro. You can pick up a bike at any station and drop it off at another to get across the city. I thought this would be a great idea when I bought it, and it is, I just didn't realize how clueless I am. Today is Sunday, and it's the first week of school, so I don't have much work yet, so of course I was ready to wander and enjoy the beautiful day. Bre was down for some exploring so we decided to meet in Plaza de Espana, a perfect chance to try out my bike pass. I found the nearest station and spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to scan my card. After that, I went through the whole process, but then couldn't remove the bike from it's station. Finally, un chico came up to help me and showed me that I have to get the bike out a little quicker. He's was speaking 100 miles a minute, so a little hard to understand, but of course, he was very friendly and helpful.

So I have my bike out, and I get it to the right height to ride. I started out pretty well, there are a lot of bike lanes, but when I got to a main road with no bike lanes I got confused, so I went on the sidewalk. People didn't seem to care whether I was in the street or the sidewalk, but I was afraid of crashing into someone, so I took a ramp that went down closer to the river. It turned out that it led only to a set of stairs, so I kinda bumped down a few of those and then realized I had to get back up again. Finally I got back to the street and made it to Plaza de Espana with only a few minor hiccups. I'm hoping I'll get better at this because I'm sure I looked completely ridiculous.

I met up with Bre and we chatted and wandered around Parque de Maria Luisa which surrounds the Plaza. It's incredible, It's a lot bigger than we thought with beautiful gardens and ponds and bridges and gazebos, very romantic. We walked for a few hours and then wandered back to Triana and decided to reward ourselves with some dulces (baked goods) in a confiteria near my apartment. So delicious, but so much sugar!

Futbol

While wandering around Cordoba after our extensive tours, we were passed by a parade of passionate futbol fans. They were singing and yelling, it's pretty amazing to see how passionate they are about their teams. We found out that they were actually about to play Sevilla today!

La Mezquita

The famous Mezquita de Cordoba (Mosque). It's huge, and gorgeous, and has an incredibly diverse mix of architecture. From what I can remember it was built over the course of 250 years and also houses a cathedral that was added after it was taken from the Muslims during the Reconquista. 

Cordoba Again

I found the Jews! Well, they don't live there anymore, but while in Cordoba we visited the historically jewish area and the only remaining synagogue in Andalucia from before the inquisition. Below is a statue of Maimonides (sp?), a well respected Jewish doctor and thinker for whom a number of streets and areas in Cordoba are named.

 Inside the synagogue, this is an arch of Muslim influence, popular architecture at the time the synagogue was built. There's a cross painted under it from after it was turned into a church during the inquisition.

The synagogue was tiny, this is the balcony where women sat. The neighborhood is no longer a Jewish neighborhood, but the synagogue remains as a museum.

Cordoba

My legs feel like jelly, we did so much touring today. First we went to Alcazar de los Reyes Catolicos, meaning the palace of the catholic kings. Our tour guide was great, but I'm sure I don't remember most of the information she threw at us. It was filled with mosaics and much of the architecture came from Roman influence. She took us through the castle and then let us loose in the gardens which were the most beautiful part. There were pools and fountains everywhere, surrounded by flowers and orange and lemon trees. A few pictures: 

Me and Heather, woohoo friends!

Oh What a Night

Whoa! So much activity last night, Los Sevillanos sure know how to fiesta! We had a little miscommunication with our senora, she didn't know that I'd be home for dinner and we didn't know that she wouldn't be (make sense?). No pasa nada (whatever), we went out for tapas instead and found a great local place in Triana, called Bar Oliva, I think the best tapas I've had yet. We got two montaditos (sandwiches), juevos flamencos (eggs baked with a tomato sauce, peas, asparagus, and chorizo...delicious), and a type of spanish cheese similar to mozzerella. Everything was awesome, but Spanish food is heavy on the garlic, always carry gum!

We planned to meet another group for flamenco, so we wandered around El Centro until we finally made it to La Carbonaria, a well known flamenco bar, but very hard to find. We got there around 11, in time for the second show. Flamenco singing is bizarre. It's set very far back in the throat and has a wailing/lamenting feel, for me it's not particularly pleasant to listen to. What's very interesting are the flamenco rhythms. They're incredibly complicated and are made by a mix of clapping and very quick tapping and stomping of the dancer's feet. Her upper body looked like it was completely still while she performed some very complex footwork.

We hung out at La Carbonaria for a while, drinking pitchers of Agua de Sevilla, some pretty strong stuff. From what I could tell, it was made with something like champagne, something that looked like a couple kinds of rum, zumo de pina (pineapple juice), and with whipped cream and canela (cinnamon) on top. When you mix it all together, it's kind of like a stronger pina colada. Then we left for a club in nervion, called Abril. We got there at 1 and there was a huge line outside, but a couple of the girls intern with one of the club's promoters, so we got to cut the line and get right in. We danced away the rest of the night and somehow ended up in the VIP section, not too shabby. I got home around 4:30, we shared a cab home. Then I woke up at 8am to leave for Cordoba! I slept on both bus rides, and I'm feeling alright! All in all a very successful night.

Estamos Explorando

Yesterday we had class from 9 to 11 and then took a 2 hour tour of La Catedral de Sevilla. My camera died, so I only go one picture, but it definitely wouldn't do justice to how magnificent the structure actually is. One of the professors from the center took us on a tour of the cathedral, with way more information than I could possibly remember, but it was very interesting. It's the third largest cathedral in the world. It was was built from what was originally a mosque during the Reconquista of Spain. It's incredibly ornate and beautiful, and intimidating at the same time. Christopher Columbus' tomb is in the Cathedral. La Giralda, a tower that rises out of the structure, is one of the defining landmarks of Sevilla. On top of it is the statue from the picture below, El Giraldillo, which represents the triumph of Christianity over Islam at the time. The statue turns (girar) with the wind, that's where the name comes from...and that's what I remember from our tour. We climbed the tower which has ramps not stairs, and it's about 35 levels, quite a workout! You can see all of Sevilla from the top. I'm pretty sure that La Giralda is the tallest building in the city.

Today was a day for wandering. After class, Liz, Bre, and I went to tomar tapas y copas at a nearby cafe. We had jamon iberico, chorizo, queso de oveja (manchego), lomo con tomates (pork in tomato sauce with potatos), and espinacas y garbanzos (spinach with chickpeas). Then we wandered a bit and came across yogurice, where we got frozen yogurt with melted ferrero rochers on top. AMAZING. Liz and I kept going and got intentionally lost, coming across cool stores and random little churches (there are thousands of churches in Sevilla) for about 3 hours. I never thought I'd say this...but i need a foot massage. We walk sooo much.

Tonight we are going to La Carbonaria for some flamenco, and then out to the discotecas! I have to wake up super early for the trip to Cordoba tomorrow, but it's our first friday free! I'll sleep on the bus...

Cien Montaditos

Cien Montaditos is a cerveceria that is basically the Starbucks of sandwiches in Spain. They have 100 types of small sandwiches that cost between 1 and 2 euro. Apparently on Wednesdays, everything is 1 euro, including las jarras de cerveza (mugs of beer). After class ended at 1:30, a group of us found the closest one and it was packed. We had to wait a bit, but we ordered cervezas and a few sandwiches each. The local beer in Sevilla is Cruzcampo, it's pretty standard. I'm usually starving by lunchtime, around 2:00, because pan y cafe isn't much to have for breakfast. I went food shopping today so I can hold myself over. However, a mug of beer before I eat lunch definitely went to my head pretty quickly! It does make me a bit more confident in my Spanish...

Then we wandered to another cafe to tomar mas cervezas and relax for a while, very Spanish. Our table was outside in the street and a woman walked by and commented that we must be a bit cold (in Spanish). When we answered that yes we were a little bit, but it was fine, she launched into some long speech that I couldn't follow for the life of me. She had a very thick accent like my senora, and all of us just nodded and smiled for about 10 minutes as she just kept talking and talking. We couldn't get a word in edgewise or understand half of what she was saying, but she was very friendly nonetheless! One of my professors described the way Spanish people speak is as if they are all fighting, because people constantly speak at the same time and always have a lot to say. I guess we'll have to learn to keep up!

After that experience I went home to siesta for a bit because we had a late night and an early morning, and a couple cervezas in the middle of the day definitely need to be followed by a nap. It seems like the Sevillanos day drink every day of the week, I'm not sure how they get any work done!

Last night we went out to an area in El Centro. I believe it was near Calle Alfalfa, but I got so turned around getting there and getting home, I'm not positive. It was fun, there was an incredible mix of people. Definitely some Americans, but people from all over as well. I ended up talking to a guy from Brazil who had never formally learned Spanish, but spoke to me in a mix of Spanish and Portuguese and I could understand him pretty well. He pronounced some words very differently, but we were able to communicate pretty well which was really cool. The street was lined with a few bars on each side and people were standing clear across it in big crowds. Every once in a while a moto or a coche would attempt to drive through, it's amazing no one got run over. Unfortunately there was a bit too much cigarette smoke for me, because even though it's prohibited inside buildings, people still smoke a lot outside. It was still a fun night!

Tonight we're resting up for the rest of the week. Going exploring tomorrow!

Kayaking Pictures

Here are some of the pictures our guides took while we were kayaking: 

This ship is a replica of one that was used in the first circumnavigation of the world:

That's me, in action. NBD:

Being goofy in front of the Los Remedios Bridge, so sunny and warm on the river!