La empieza

Hola! Estoy en Sevilla! I love it so far. It's an AMAZING city with so much to do and see! After a very long journey, I arrived in Sevilla around 1 pm (5 am US) and was greeted by students in the CEA program and our program directors. The directors are all from Spain and Europe and are very young, knowledgable, energetic, and very helpful. Upon exiting the airport, I was immediately overwhelmed by what I saw: palm trees lining the streets, 60 degree weather, sun... Basically the exact opposite of everything I am used to in Massachusetts and especially Hamilton. We arrived at the hotel, where we were lodging for one night, and I was able to meet my both my hotel roommate, a student at Penn State and from New Jersey, and my homestay roommate Kate, who goes to school and lives in Wisconsin. I also met a few girls in the lobby from various schools all over the country and we decided that rather than sleep, we would walk around and explore the city for a while. We walked for a few hours, taking in the sights and sounds. We walked through a few parks with huge trees that reminded me of the Tree of Life at Disney world. we were also surprised to see tons of orange trees all over the city. While many of the streets were beautiful, I was a little disappointed because I had expected to see more monuments and shops. However, I later learned that our hotel was located away from the city, so I was pleasantly surprised when we moved into our permanent residences the next day. After exploring, I took a long nap, ate a somewhat uncomfortable dinner, as I was tired and very nervous to make new friends, and finally went back to my room to sleep for the night. After a long talk with my mom, who reassured me that my innitial discomfort would disappear after a few days, I fell fast asleep. The next day was filled with many orientation meetings about everything from culture to housing to classes. It was informative, but boring and I was very anxious to move into my homestay and find out more about my familia!

Around 5 we finally were bused into the city and greeted by our hosts. Kate and I were pleasantly surprised to see a young girl named Paula by the bus ready to pick us up. She is 22 years old and is studying education at the University of Seville, where I will be starting classes in 2 weeks! She is energetic, vibrant, stylish, and very fun. We learned that our senora, Rosario, was away on business in Madrid (she owns a flower shop in the city that also sells clothing, jewelry and small gifts) and that Elena, the oldest daughter, would be arriving shortly. We sat down in the living room and chatted about ourselves while we watched American movies that had been dubbed over in Spanish! In fact, almost all of the movies in Spain are like that, it's very interesting and would really bother me I think (for instance, Simon Birch was on in Spanish hahaha). Later, we met Elena, who is 27 and does temporary work for my program CEA. She is very pretty and very nice and helpful. She speaks a little English, so if I am struggling to find a word I can say Como se dice? and she sometimes can help me out. We only speak Spanish in the house and I feel like I am already improving!

That night I met a few people out in the Plaza to go out for the night and explore. We went to our first bar, and, go figure, it was called O'Flaherty's! My first Spanish bar was an Irish pub... how original of me. We ordered tinto de verano, which is wine and lemonade and it's amazing! And cheap! Some of the other girls ordered sangria, which was also delicious. After that, we went down Calle Betis, which is lined with bars that are frequented by many American students and natives on the weekends. After passing many full bars, we decided to go into one that was less full, but more Spanish. It was great! We met a group of Sevillanos our age and they greeted us with a kiss on each cheek. The people here so very friendly and very welcoming and I find that whenever I go out, I end up talking to more Spanish people than Americans! It's great for practicing and they are very understanding and don't make fun of us. After Alba, we met up with some American boys in CEA and proceeded to Buddha, which is a discotecha. It was three floors and the top played lots of American songs! I felt at home. Afterwards, the boys walked us home to our apartments and I was able to sleep in a get some rest. My first night was filled with new friends and it made me so excited to start classes and see more of the city!

Since then, I have been taking language classes at the CEA center before I begin regular univeristy classes in two weeks, and exploring more of the city. I have also been making more friends and trying new foods. For instance, I have eaten a wide variety of delicious comida like paella, lentil soup con carne, salsicha (sausage), eggs, and lots of bread with every meal. OH, and the coffe is amazing! Tan fuerte (strong), like espresso. My dad would LOVE it. They eat much better than we do in the states. The portions are smaller, they cook everything with healthy olive oil, they eat lots of fruit and bread, and they do not snack during the day. Dinners are much lighter, but you can always get tapas later if you are still hungry. BUT, I made the mistake of going for a run yesterday right after lunch, and I'll warn anyone against it. Lunch is quite big, like dinner in the states, and I felt quite sick during the run. Lunch here falls during the siesta, which occurs around 2:30 everyday. All the shops close until 6 and everyone goes home for a big family lunch. After, the businesses reopen and people stay out shopping and walking around until 9 or 9:30 when dinner is ready. It's very different, but I am really enjoying the change so far.

So many new experiences and so many more to come! This weekend we travel as a group to Cordoba for a day trip, which will be very exciting. That's all for now...

Hasta luego