Granada

I've made it to Granada all in one piece, I didn't think that I was going to make it earlier today. We had to lug all of our suitcases all the way across town, 30 minutes walking, and I have two suitcases that weigh 50 lbs. each, a backpack and a purse. Luckily Carlos, our tour guide, helped me out and took one of my suitcases...I was struggling...BUT we are all here! 

We are going to the Alhambra tomorrow and then to explore the city for a bit. Our hotel is right next to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and it's a gorgeous view....

It's the beginning of the end....

¡Qué Sevillana!

After three and a half months...I´ve finally found out how to finally look like a Spaniard!

One Last Good-Bye

So many of you have asked, “So how do you feel about going home?” Here is what I have come up with….

How am I feeling about going home…ah, such a complex question and quite honestly the answer changes daily. For starters, I can’t believe that I’m coming home…this kind of seems like my new life here…so it’s odd to even think that I have to go back to the States. After being here so long I’ve grown accustomed to everything that is around me, and this is my new home. It’s hard to think about how things are going to be when I get back to the States because it is going to be so different. Are my friends going to still be the same? Will I feel left out? What will they expect of me when I get back? Will we start off where we left off? What friendships do I cherish and which could I live without? Who do I really care for? Why? I went through culture shock when I came here and now I feel like I’m going to go through culture shock again leaving. Why are Americans this way? Why can’t we do things this way? Will I be hungry at 6pm anymore? Why can’t I go to the bar at 2pm and just do homework while having a glass of wine? There are obvious differences and things that I like better here or there. As of right now, it doesn’t seem real that I am leaving, and leaving so soon at that.

I’ve been here for three and a half months, three and a half whole months. Which brings me to question, what have I done with my time in Spain? Did I spend it well? What would I have done differently? What can I still do? I think that on this trip I have learned more about myself, about my abilities, and about others than I would have imagined. And with this said, I think that I am going to start to notice the changes and my strengths and weaknesses when I return to the States. Will I be able to bring back my “Spanish mentality” with me? Will I change back to who I was? Will I stay the same or will I end up a mixture of the two? There have been times when all I wanted to do was to go home, to make a phone call, to change the culture, to be there for a friend, to give up, to say “I can’t”…but I haven’t been able to.

The things in life that are most important to me, are the things that I take for granted everyday. I take for granted the ability to give a friend a hug when they are having a bad day…being able to check my e-mail frequently… to talk to friends on a daily basis…to buy a tub of ice cream…to watch movies with friends…to have a shoulder to cry on… the ability to explain myself…my education…my family…my abilities… talents… dreams…I take for granted all of the little things that my friends and family do for me on a regular basis…I take for granted the ability to make someone laugh, to have an intelligent conversation, to take a leadership role. Most of these things I do on a regular basis in the States, but here each one of these things becomes complicated. For example, I went to the library to do research for a paper. Four hours later when I was frustrated and without any information, it hit me. I took for granted being able to use a library, to ask the right questions, to search for the right books, hell to even be able to check out books…everything becomes a challenge in which all of the little things add up. Life is filled with little things and until you are put in a highly self dependent state, you don’t know how much one question, one problem or one instance can change a series of events and can become the most important thing in your world at that moment.

It hasn’t been the easiest time here, but through the hard times I’ve learned about myself. I’ve become even more self dependent, more confident, more aware of my surroundings, more relaxed, more optimistic, more spontaneous, more dependent on my communication skills, more opinionated, and more open to new ideas and experiences. These are only a handful of things that have changed and I continue to grow and change each day. I’m not quite sure that I can see the change from my perspective but from others, I know that the changes are there.

Why not be happy in life? Why do things that don’t make you happy? Why not surround yourself with amazing people who will lift you up rather than bring you down? Life is too short to not take chances, to get lost, to go on adventures, to see the good in people, to push yourself to the limit, to share yourself with others and to be who you want to be.

Quite honestly I’m a little scared to come home…but excited all at the same time.

So to answer the dreaded question…I’m feeling indifferent and emotional about coming home. If only the physicality of the trip back was what I had to worry about, I’d be fine. But that’s not anywhere near what I have to prepare myself for. Emotionally, physically, psychologically…I’m going to be a wreck. Torn between two worlds with an overload of family, friends, memories, familiar surroundings, and the normal but monotonous and comfortable lifestyle of the States…the things that I’ve been missing, anticipating, loathing…are all going to hit me at once. But would I change my decision or trade my experiences abroad for anything? …not a chance.

Bullfight

Sunday April 27, 2008

Today we are going to the bullfight at 6:30pm. It’s going to be pretty hot, but I’m prepared: SPF 45 sunscreen, a huge hat, seat cushion, water, sunglasses and a fan. The works. This is going to be a really interesting experience and I’m stoked to go! I wish that I could write more about the fight but…today will be that last day that I write…we leave Sevilla tomorrow. Oh how the sands of time have wound down! Our train to Granada leaves tomorrow at a little after 11am and that officially starts May Term. We will be traveling to Granada, Murcia, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao and finally to Madrid.

On a side note, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to keep up with what is going on in my life. It’s been great hearing from you all and I don’t think that I could have survived without your love, support and mail! Studying for the semester in Seville has truly been a life changing experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. As for me…I will see you on May 12^th…but until then ¡Adios de España!

Our Final Intercambio

Saturday April 26, 2008

Here is the run down of the day…the abridged version.

• I went to Itálica, an old ancient ruins about 20 minutes outside of Sevilla. The ruins were pretty cool. The huge amphitheatre was my favorite part, but I’m glad that we went in the morning because it got really hot today…past 96 degrees!
• Bullfighting tickets: We finally got them exchanged and we are going to the bullfight tomorrow at 6:30pm! I’m excited to see this interesting part of the culture…how unique.
• Shopping for a bit: Allison and I had a few things that we still needed to pick up around Sevilla so we went shopping in the Barrio of Santa Cruz for a while.
• Exchange at Bandalai: After lunch we met up with our intercambio friends at a bar called Bandalai. It was amazingly decorated, low lit, with mosaic light fixtures, candles, tiles, and huge comfy couches lined the walls. We got in free with some VIP passes that Alfredo had, he’s a writer and he works in public relations so he has connections all over town. There was a live flamenco band playing, which included a little drummer boy (ha) who couldn’t have been over 7 years old. We drank, we danced, we talked and afterwards we headed to another bar to get some food. We talked some more and then headed out again. Allison, a few of the guys and myself went to the flamenco bar Lo nuestro and we danced flamenco all night. We ended up dancing with the best guys in the house (more like being taught and trying to dance), they were amazing and had to be at least 40, but it was a lot of fun. I’m going to miss being able to go to a bar and dancing flamenco and just being social until 5am.
• Saying “until laters” not “good-byes”: It was really crappy saying good-bye to all the friends that we have made here in Sevilla. But our friends assured us that we would be back again soon, if not for next Feria, and that they would see us again. Thus we said our “until laters” instead of “good-byes.” They are all very different and they all have their own intricacies and I’ve loved getting to know all of them. I think I’m going to miss the hospitality when I leave, and not to mention all of the amazing people that I have to leave behind as well. We exchanged e-mails and such, so I hope that we will continue to say in touch.

La Giralda and Paella

Friday April 25, 2008

I finally went up the Giralda today, finally. I’ve been meaning to make it to the Cathedral…but I hadn’t yet, so I decided that it was now or never; I opted for the now. The view from the top is gorgeous of the city and its cool being able to look out and actually know what I’m looking at. Afterwards Allison (who was feeling a little better) and I caught a bus to the School of the Silicianos, that has a professional kitchen, and we met up with our classmates and Yaye to learn how to cook paella. Paella is a very typical Spanish dish with rice, veggies and either chicken or fish, sort of like a stir-fry. There was a professional chef there as well as Yaye and we all pitched in chopping, stirring and decorating to make paella. I cooked a little pan without fish (no more Pepe’s and his friends) and it actually turned out really well. I can proudly say that I can cook a real Spanish meal! After we got done eating we had to say good-bye to Rocio and Yaye, two of our teachers, and it was really sad. I adore them both and this experience has been great because of them. Afterwards I went home and changed and I went to La Plaza de España and El Parque Maria Luisa with two classmates. We just hung out and talked and reflected. It was fun to get out and enjoy the 95-degree weather. Sevilla is starting to get really hot, and Encarna say’s that it just gets worst as the summer goes on. She said the high is around 120-ish and I can’t even believe how anyone could stand that. I stopped at an Internet café on the way home and said a couple of final good-byes. If that wasn’t bad enough, Allison and I ended up packing a bit when I got home, how lame. Encarna came home from Málaga tonight and we chatted with her for a bit while packing. It’s an odd feeling….I know that I’m leaving but I don’t think that it has quite hit me yet. I’m sure when I’m lugging my life around for two weeks during May I’ll start to realize that we are actually returning home rather soon.

The Last Day Of Classes, ¡Ole!

Thursday April 24, 2008

Today is finally the last day of classes for the semester. Carmen gave back our history and literature finals and Victor stopped in to give us our culture final back. I was really happy with the first two, and not really thrilled with the last but they are done with and I survived to tell the story!

After classes we tried to exchange our bullfight tickets from last weekend (when the fight was suspended because of the weather) but the ticket man told us that we needed to come back on Saturday. Afterwards we headed home. When we arrived home for lunch, we quickly realized that we were going to have garbanzo bean stew. I don’t really care for these beans much, but Spaniards love them. After our host sister left we went to the kitchen and decided to make our own lunch: macaroni n’ cheese and salad with real dressing. It was delicious and I actually cooked it (just call me Emeril). After our gourmet meal Allison and I went and got our haircut and highlighted. It was a really nice day, in the nineties, so Allison and I walked around and shopped for a while.

We came home and she started not to feel well, but we both started to get ready for our “last supper” with our teachers. She didn’t end up going (sad) but I still went alone. We met up with our professors and went to a bar called, “Torre de Plata.” We had a delicious four-course Spanish meal and some good table conversation. There was a lot of reflecting back on the semester, which brought about a mix of emotions. Afterwards we headed to an Irish pub and had a few drinks with everyone and then people split their own ways. I ended up going to a club called Catedral with Elsabeth and we danced for a while…until some crazy girl ran up to us and started accusing us of stealing her purse. She was furious…but we didn’t do anything. All we could say was sorry, it wasn’t us, we can help….but all she could do was accuse and yell (in Spanish obviously). After we finally got that fiasco settled it kind of killed the night and we decided to head home.

On the way home we passed a group of people who were “botellon-ing” in the Alameda. Botellon-ing is where you buy a bottle of liquor, a bottle of Coke, you bring glasses and you drink in public. It’s quite an interesting concept, especially because as of last year its technically illegal, but that doesn’t stop anyone nor does it make the police enforce the rule. A little piece of the drinking culture that is quite different from in the States.

I Ate Snails

Wednesday April 23, 2008

Today we got out first results back from one of our classes, tomorrow we will get the rest of our final tests back. I’m really happy with the grades that I have gotten so far, but even more so, I’m really happy with how much I have learned about the language, history, culture and myself.

It was our last class yesterday with one of our teachers named Victor, who always wears black. Therefore, we declared it “make-like-Victor-and-wear-black-day.” The whole class dressed in black and his reaction was priceless. She walks in says “Hola,” then stops, looks up, scans that room…and shakes his head and starts to laugh. It was great. Literally he wears all black, or at least really dark colors, every day to class. We had to do it, and after class we went down to the plaza and took a picture of all of us in black. We looked somewhat like an awkward clan, but it was pretty funny.

After lunch Allison and I went to exchange/get new tickets for the bullfight this Sunday. We were unsuccessful because the ticket counter wasn’t open and we couldn’t wait around for long because we had plans at 6:30pm. We left the ticket counter and left for the north part of Sevilla where we were to meet a few of our intercambio friends…and we were going to try on a flamenco dress! The ladies came and we got all dolled up…make-up, jewelry, flamenco dress and all. It was a blast and I think that they had just as much fun dressing us up as we had being dressed up. I felt like a Spanish dress-me-up Barbie. It was a GREAT time. Later the professor, José Antonio, came and we took a bunch of pictures. He gave me a really cool Flamenco c.d., which I love. We left a little later for a bar close to the school and we had some snacks and a few drinks. Oh, and for the record…I tried snails! It was creepy because the little bugger had antennas and it was looking back at me. I met a few more fire fighters, a bullfighter; it was a good night in general. It’s going to really suck leaving all of these people! They really have made the trip unique and a little something different. I love them all. But, it’s just another thing that I have to leave behind.

Sanity Can Be Restored

Tuesday April 22, 2008

Today I lost my right hand to Spain in an epic battle, Emily verses History and Literature. I wrote for a total of five hours straight to complete my last two finals. Even though I lost an appendage in the fight, I’m glad that I’m finally done with all of the tests. I sent in the last of my projects today as well, therefore I’m home free and I can actually enjoy my last couple of days in Sevilla. It’s a rather relieving and euphoric feeling!

A public bus almost hit me today; I still secretly think that the public transportation system is still out to get me. I ended up escaping death by inches, but I’m here to tell the story so all ended well.

I’m exhausted so I’m going to keep things short today, so I’ll leave you with the “Quote of the Day,” which I rather enjoyed. “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.” –Peter Drucker

Two Down, Two To Go

Monday April 21, 2008

Two of the four final tests done…and I think that they went well. I can’t believe that we are already taking our finals…where has all of time gone?

 I went to the Internet café for a bit to print a few things and to send in a couple of projects. Afterwards I met with a few students and our teacher Carmen in a bar near school to have a study group for our history final that is tomorrow. It went well, we got a lot of good studying done and Carmen, our teacher, was really helpful. I ended up breaking down a little bit and it was a rough end to a 3-hour study session about the history of Spain. Things worked out in the end but I stayed up after that studying for both my history and literature finals. I was pretty stressed out today, but it will all be over with tomorrow afternoon- and that’s my goal! I would be just as stressed out in the States, therefore it’s a normal feeling to have around finals time.

 Encarna is leaving tomorrow for a teaching conference in Málaga until Thursday. Therefore she came in to say “bye” to Sam because Sam is leaving on Wednesday. She isn’t doing the travel portion of May Term because she has a different class for her major for May Term. Encarna came in and brought us all ceramic tiles that her son Antonio, the artist, had painted for us. They are all the landscape of Conil, but they are all different in their own special ways. They are really cool, and it ended up working out perfectly because at the beginning of the semester we had joked that we were going to ask Encarna if her son would paint tiles for us…who knew that it would actually come true! My international art collection is growing by the day!

Mother Nature Strikes Again

Sunday April 20, 2008

Today I woke up to rain. If I know two things that don’t go together well, it’s rain and bullfights. Apparently that makes things a little dangerous? It continued to rain on and off up until the fight. We walked all the way to the Plaza de Toros (Plaza of the bulls), bought seat cushions, found our seats (they were good!), took pictures before the fight and then we were told that the fight was suspended due to the condition of the ring (which was too wet, therefore too dangerous). This made the day rather depressing because I actually was really excited to experience this part of the culture. We are going to try and get tickets for the next bullfight, next Sunday, which is the night before we leave for May Term, but I think it’s worth it.

 The good part about today was that it was our “dessert Sunday” where Sam cooked/taught Encarna how to make brownies and Encarna showed Sam how to cook as well. The brownies and ice cream were perfect…rich…warm…amazing. Encarna (who keep in mind is still on her diet) ate almost half a pan of brownies and ice cream. She thought that this piece of American culture was delicious.

 I finished my night off by studying for my culture and grammar finals that will be in the morning. I’m ready to get these finals out of the way, so I cannot wait until tomorrow!

You Aren’t The Typical American

Saturday April 19, 2008

After studying throughout the morning, we had another “intercambio,” or now I like to call it hanging out with Spanish friends in the afternoon. We meet up in front of a church and headed to a pizza place called, “Pizzeria Orsini” for lunch. We had a reservation for 17 and a table was waiting for us when we arrived. We all ordered different things and sat, talked and had drinks, for three hours. A popular subject that we talked about was American and Spanish cuss words…before you freak out and think that its bad, it was actually pretty interesting and full of culture. Now I can understand a lot more of the “street-smart” words and I can understand more of the popular culture words. We also shared phrases such as “its raining cats and dogs,” that are less literal.

 Today I noticed that the restaurant culture is different here than in the States. It is fine to go to a restaurant with friends and to sit at a table eating and talking for hours. In the States the waitress/waiter that would have your table would be pretty annoyed if you stayed at their table for more than an hour. It might also be because you don’t have to leave tips here as well. Also, since our group had a bill that was over 200 euros, we all got a free shot at the end of our meal on the house. This is a custom here in Spain. We learned the national drinking song of Spain and talked for a while, and then left for another bar. It started pouring as we were in transit to the other bar, so we all huddled under our umbrellas and hurried to the Irish pub that had been dubbed our destination. We sat and talked for a while with our group. I asked them all what they did for a living and then they asked about my job(s) and my parents jobs; I had a hell of a time explaining how at Stellas I pour shakes on peoples heads and that my dad is a produce broker. Both are not the easiest to explain/describe in Spanish. A few minutes later I overheard a guy talking to someone and he was trying to figure out how to say, “I have a cold,” in English. I jumped all over that one and helped him out. I ended up asking him where he was from (Spain) and he asked me as well. When I told him that I was from the United States he was pretty taken back by it and told me that I, “didn’t look like the typical American.” I didn’t exactly know how to take that one, so I shot back at him, “…and what exactly is the ‘typical American’?” He just gave me a “crap what am I going to say now, I don’t want to offend her” kind of look. So I took a shot in the dark and asked if me meant that I wasn’t screaming, ridiculous and drunk. And he shyly nodded yes and said, “Exactly.” I told him that I was here to study Spanish and that was what I was doing, not the other things. He told me that I was doing really well and that my accent was really good. This seems pretty trivial, but it was awesome to me. First off he didn’t relate me with the stupid Americans that don’t take studying abroad seriously, and secondly he complimented my skills. After talking for a little and making plans for later in the week with two of the ladies, I headed home to study and have dinner!

 

 

Only Real Men Play “Table Tennis”

Friday April 18, 2008

We had to wake up early this morning to get newspapers for one of our finals on Monday. We have to find an article from a Friday newspaper and analyze it for a section of our culture final, so I was up and going early today. It rained for a bit in the morning, got clear, rained some more. I think that Mother Nature was having fun watching us struggle. I had problems with the internet all day, went to four different cafes, and still ended up not being able to accomplish what I wanted to get done, so it was kind of a frustrating day in general. I got home and had missed dinner because of all of my unhelpful adventures, so I ate alone. It was just kind of a blah day. I just want to get all of this stuff out of the way and be done with it already.

 On a brighter note (no pun intended), the rays of sunshine in my day came in the form of four middle-aged serious “table tennis” (a.k.a. ping-pong) players. They had their battle ground set up outside of the gym that I was sitting by this morning. They were adorned in short shorts, spandex and sweatbands. Clad in nothing but complete amazingness…I now can die a happy woman. They were completely competitive and I’ve never seen a ping-pong match get so vicious. It has pure raw humor at its finest. One of those moments that you see exaggerated in movies had come to life for me and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Player number one, we’ll cal him Pablo, serves to player number two, known as Ricardo, and Ricardo swats the ball back. It jumps over the net and curves to the left side of Pablo’s battlefield. Pablo dives…he hits the ball just as it is about to hit the ground, it pops back up into the air and amazingly goes back over the net. Ricardo returns the hit, but this time Pablo is not so lucky…his bright green ping-pong paddle has failed him and he ends up on his knees pleading asking the sky (God) why? Why? Ricardo 1-Pablo 0. I may have gotten a little distracted from my homework, but with a great game of table tennis like that…how could you not?

I Could Have Filled The Pool With Tears

Thursday April 17, 2008

Today was officially the last day of normal classes here in Spain, ah! I cannot even believe it. These past couple of days have been really stressful because all we have been doing is reviewing for tests, asking questions and clarifying things. It’s been stressful, tedious and boring to say the least. But enough of school…

 I got a DVD from Aaron today that he made, its cute…but it made me look forward to coming back home even more…it had a slideshow of all of my friends and such. It was fun to watch, even though it wouldn’t play on my computer so I used Allison’s (thank goodness). Yet another thoughtful and creative gift…I don’t know how he does it.

 It was also my last day at the swimming pool for my ONG today. I had a blast swimming with the kids. We played a game where everyone had two pool noodles and the point of the game was to take other peoples noodles. I have some war scratches on me, but as a whole it was a great time. One of the kids that I work with really warmed up to me today and we decided that we have our own “team” and he now loves giving me high-fives. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that he tried to eat my foot. Here’s how it unfolded: I was playing around with him and sticking my feet up above the water and he was in front of me trying to grab my feet but he was consistently too slow to actually get them. At last when he did get my foot, he attacked it. It was a great night but it was really really sad. These were the first people that I have made relationships with here in Spain that I have had to say good-bye to. I know that I’m leaving, I’ve been thinking about it, people keep saying it…but until tonight I didn’t really understand the extent of it all. I told David, the director of the water therapy program that this was our last week and he looked at me like he wanted to cry. He told the kids that it was our last week and I got three different reactions: (ps. I'm abbreviating their names for privacy reasons)

1. J.M. asked why I had to go back and if I was flying back to the States. I told him that I thought that I would just swim back instead because I’ve had a lot of practice in the pool. This is where he began to laugh at me and told me that he could out swim me from one side of the pool to the next (completely true)…sad! I ended up telling him that I had a personal boat so he didn’t need to worry. He also proceeded to ask David when we were going to come back…tear.

2. M. just kept asking David why we had to go and why we didn’t want to stay. I had to tell her that I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.

3. A. can’t really talk, but he said a quick “adios” and just stared at me in disbelief. Afterwards as I was walking out of the pool, he was clinging to my arm…I could barely take it. Talk about heart breaking!

 All of the kids and David kissed us on the cheeks good-bye, which was the hardest part…some of them can barely talk or walk, and yet they managed to kiss us good-bye. I’m really going to miss them. I’ve had a completely amazing time working at the pool and volunteering in Spain. This is a part of the program that I am going to take with me for a long time. A lot of people can say that they have been to Spain, but very few can take with them the experience of volunteering. 

Spanish Hospitality

Wednesday April 16, 2008

Today was our last day for two of our classes….well for “regular” class days anyhow, how sad. We have been doing a lot of tying up loose ends and I will hopefully be ready for all of our finals next week.

 Today I received an e-mail from one of my intercambio friends and we are planning on reuniting this weekend for a lunch and then for karaoke (I hope!). I have started amassing my Spanish music collection, so I’m set to sing some Spanish karaoke! I’m excited to spend another day with these Spaniards because they are a lot of fun. Because of this, I’ve been thinking a lot about the hospitality of Spain lately. I started thinking about this because all of our new Spanish friends/intercambios have taken us under their wings and have really shown us a good time while being here. Going from not knowing them a few weeks ago, to hanging out with them regularly has been a great experience. I don’t know if I was in their position if I would have been as accepting of a bunch of students from a foreign country, but I think that is more our culture juxtaposed to their culture. I really like that they are so open and so willing to talk with us and be seen with us in public! Ha. It’s been great having their company. I have talked to a lot more random people here, than I ever have in the United States. I think it has to do with the fact that I want to meet people and it’s good practice nonetheless. Also because I haven’t ran into too many creepers, well that have wanted to keep in contact, so it feels more safe than not. It’s always a group activity and I’ve had some of my best nights by having Spaniards show me around. 

 Later in the night, after I did as much homework/paper writing that I could possibly do, Allison and I went for a stroll around town. We found protective tubes for the posters (and my painting) that we want to get home unharmed, we took some pictures, bought postcards, and we may have gotten ice cream as well… It was good to get out and walk around for a bit, it turned out being a really pretty day. It’s rumored that it’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I’d rather get out of my room while I still can. I am ridiculously tired today for some reason and I don’t know why. Seville is just wearing me out!

 

My Lunch Has Eyes

Tuesday April 15, 2008

When your food has eyes that are looking back at you, it’s a good sign that you should probably not eat what is on your plate. I took that advice and ran with it. Today at lunch we had paella, which is a rice stir-fry with a bunch of different kinds of seafood. I can’t eat fish or seafood and apparently there is a difference (Encarna informed me). I kind of poked around my plate for a while, moved the shell and mussel away, tried a bite, and then after a few minutes Encarna asked what was wrong. I told her that I just couldn’t eat it. Allison had a little creature that was mixed in with her paella, which we later learned was a mini lobster slash alien looking hybrid. While Encarna was making me a sandwich I created a sign for the creature, which we named Pepe, to “hold” in its claw. Allison took pictures and afterwards Sam and Allison actually ate the little goober. I don’t know how they did it…especially after its dissection. I felt bad for not liking lunch, but there was no way that I was going to eat the dish.

Dead week is starting to wear on us all and the whole class is getting a little tense and stressed out. I keep trying to tell myself that I would be just as stressed if I was in the States doing finals, but Spanish finals are a bit different. They are in Spanish…I will survive them and hopefully I don’t live up to the name of the week! Wish me luck.

Tonight we had an exchange of our own. When Allison and Sam got home they decided that before we cooked tacos (for Encarna, even though she started her ‘diet’ yesterday) that I had to give them a make-up lesson. Sam and I are trading skill sets. She is teaching me how to cook and I am teaching her how to be a girl. It’s proven to be pretty interesting and funny at the same time. I used Allison’s face as the model and showed Sam how to put on day make-up and night make-up. Allison kind of looked like a Picasso painting because afterwards she had two different “faces.” But when she turned to the side and you could only see half of her face at a time, how lovely she looked! Afterwards we all headed to the kitchen and made fried potatoes and tacos. It was delicious, and Encarna loved them. She asked a million questions about how to make everything and she even mooched some Coca-Cola off of us that Sam and Allison bought earlier in the day. What a diet! Sign me up to be on that one. Sam, Allison, Encarna, Rocio and I had a great conversation about men/ex-boyfriends and relationships in general. I’m pretty sure at one point Encarna even called Sam a conquistadora (conqueror/man-killer) of men. It was classic. She is an absolute hoot.

That’s It, I’m Doing It

Monday April 14, 2008

Today all of our Spanish professors realized that this was the last full week of classes before their finals and that that we indeed only have two weeks left of Sevilla. How depressing. Talk about pouring salt on that wound 3 times in a row. Although, I’m still optimistic about our time left here. Therefore, Allison, Elsabeth, and I went to the ticket office today (after getting ice cream) to buy tickets for a bullfight this weekend. I have been debating with myself if I actually want to see a bull fight...but I decided that I’m in Spain. I’m almost required to see a bull fight. We learned all about the culture behind the bullfights, the terms and the history behind everything today in our culture class, and it got me more motivated to actually buy the ticket. Now I can cross another “I still need to do this” off of my list before our departure!

Tambourines, Flamenco Dancing and Clapping, OH MY!

Sunday April 13, 2008

Today the house is buzzing with family members, which isn’t a bad thing in theory. I like Spaniards, its fun to have more people around…but I forgot to mention the fact that when there are more Spaniards there is more noise. Yes, its true, I Emily Beckmann am not one to complain about noise, I tend to be a rather loud person myself, I understand. But after two hours of chasing each other around the house with a tambourine (for the record this word is almost impossible to spell after living in Spain for 3 months, thank you spell check), dancing Sevillanas, clapping, singing flamenco and playing hide-and-go seek (mind you we have a U shaped apartment…which means its all dead ends, honestly how much fun can that be?) it all becomes a little much. I only say this because I had the intention to work on my final papers for two classes…but the environment was a little “distracting” with the circus that we had in our house. I don’t know whether to say if Juan Antonio, Fatima’s 22-ish-year-old boyfriend, or Angela, the 7-year-old granddaughter, was worse. Juan Antonia has some mad tambourine skills and Angela likes to scream (sing) while running around the apartment in U’s. ¡Oye! You can only imagine the chaos. I guess we really got a taste of what living with a real Spanish family was like this weekend, dysfunction and all. 

Alejandro Can Actually Talk, Who Knew!

Saturday April 12, 2008

This morning I started the day off by doing the ever so dreaded souvenir shopping. First of all, I hate feeling like a tourist in my “home town.” Secondly, that means that my time is coming to an end. Finally, I had no idea what to buy.

 This week the city is alive and hopping with tourists and people from all over Spain that have come to celebrate Feria in Sevilla. Every corner you turn you see women dressed in brightly colored flamenco dresses, you hear some form of music whether it is clapping, instrumental, or vocal, and there are horses with carriages galore. I love the spirit of the town this week. It’s pretty common for groups of people to break out in song and dance at any minute…so basically it’s my perfect world.

 At lunchtime we talked to our “host brother” Alejandro, who normally lives in Madrid, is around 30 and is studying Graphic Design, for the first time ever today. Before I thought he was kind of mean…or maybe a mute, but today he was bouncing off the walls and chatting up a storm. We even got a compliment from him that he’s glad that we are actually speaking Spanish here. I shot back (in Spanish of course), “Of course we are speaking Spanish, we are in Spain…right?” He laughed and apparently thinks that most Americans who come to Spain and stay with Encarna haven’t/don’t speak Spanish. I pointed out to him that we are here for 4 months…and its kind of a necessity to know the language. We joked around for a while and when he came home later in the evening he brought Allison, Sam and I a flower…I think he likes us now that he knows that we can actually speak Spanish. He kept making the joke that there were a lot of blondes (Allison and I) in the kitchen and that that was different. He’s kind of a character. We have only seen him 2 or 3 times when he has come home for the different holidays, but I’m glad that he finally talked to us so it won’t be as awkward anymore!

 Encarna also decided to bust out the old family photo alum today at lunch…she is such a goober, but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. It was fun looking at all of the kids as they were growing up and hearing the family stories. For the record, they used to call Rocio the “cangrejo” (the crab) because she had long legs and long arms when she was born… Just imagine hearing stories similar to this one!

 Tonight we headed out to try a new bar in the Alameda because we had been working on homework for most of the afternoon and we just needed to get out of the house. We had a tinto de verano (½ wine mixed with ½ lemon soda, and its delicious) and talked about a lot of different things. It was a very chill night just talking. I’m super coordinated and took it upon myself to spill part of the tinto on my lap because apparently I like talking with my hands…who knew? The favorite topic of the night was our upcoming return home. Even though the days are dwindling down I think that it’s progressively become harder to be away from home. Each day is one day closer to when I’m coming home, but it seems like each day it’s a little bit harder to be away…These feelings are also mixed with the feelings of not ever really wanting to come back to the States, so as you can imagine…it’s a pretty awkward mix altogether. 

Just Call Me Picasso, Kind Of…

Friday April 11, 2008

I started off my day today walking to the post office because I had a package from my grandparents! The package was filled with goodies, as always, and I loved it.

 Today is the first day that it hasn’t rained all week and I took advantage of the fact. Allison and I went around town taking some “Sevilla” pictures because I don’t have as many as I would like. We visited a few shops along the way and ended up on Calle Betis (Betis Street) to have a drink with one of our intercambio friends. Her name is Laura, she’s 21, and she’s just a bundle of energy. She was really cool to talk to and we ended up hanging out with her until a little after 8pm. It’s always nice talking to Spaniards and getting their points of view on different subjects and being able to practice our Spanish isn’t bad either!

 After dinner Allison and I headed down to the river so I could paint La Puente de Trianna (The Bridge of Trianna) at night. It’s gorgeous down by the river at night because if you cross the river you can see the Cathedral, the Plaza de España, La Giralda and the bullring all in one view. They are all lit up at night, its beautiful…oh Sevilla. We sat on a dock on the river and I painted for a while as Allison listened to music and we talked. Afterwards we decided that we needed to finish our night off “Spanish-style” so we went to get churros by the river. The churrería (the kiosk where you buy churros) was packed with Feria goers and it was fun watching them come and go all done up in their flamenco dresses. As we sat along the river drinking Coke, eating churros and chatting, Allison and I reminisced about good times that we’ve had this semester.  We have come to the conclusion that we don’t have enough time left to be sad, therefore we aren’t going to be sad until we actually get on our plane to come back to the States. Although, I have made quite a few Spanish friends that think that the States is “the land of opportunities” (direct quote, kind of me made me sick) and who would be more than willing to trade lives for a while…maybe I’ll just try that! I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, but I’ve grown pretty fond of Sevilla. But in all reality I only have a month left and I’m definitely not going to waste my time being sad, I still have too many places to see and things to do!