Keeping it in the family

What an eventful few days that has passed. It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm in what will be my room for the next three months. It's a scary thought... but what's funny about thinking now is I mix English, Polish, and Spanish in my thoughts... like, I just looked in the mirror before sitting down to my computer and thought, Wow, juz tengo un tan... yeah, I already have a tan. Que extraño.

We'll do this in chronological order. Yesterday we explored the Universidad de Sevilla for a majority of the day and had orientation about classes. There are three different campuses and they are located in different areas, so the business building is luckily only ten minutes away from my home by walking. After our tour and tapas for lunch, we took a little break and siesta'd away. I didn't sleep, though... I don't think I will ever get that napping in the middle of the day thing down... we'll see. We had oral exams later that day and I had mine with quite the character of a Spaniard. Very loud guy, very outspoken, very tight shirts... eso es. So I'm placed in Group One for the Intensive Spanish classes we will be having for the next two weeks... which is the advanced class :-) See, all those years of Spanish - paying off! During another break, we went to Vodafone to get cells so we could communicate while we're over here, but that didn't go so well. In one hour, they made accounts for two phones... and there were eight of us waiting... and dinner - not the best in the world. I'm walking around hungry most of the time (but maybe that's a good thing!!).

Later that night we went to a Flamenco performance and out for a drink (don't worry, mom, just one sangria and I was with a bunch of people and we walked home in a group with our guides!). The Flamenco show was very impressive, they were very passionate about their song and dance - it seemed like we weren't even in the room when they were dancing - it was all about them. It was an intimate show with only about fifty people in the room, and I got to sit in the front row and I took some awesome video clips which I will be posting later, so check back. It was amazing.

Today (which already seems like days ago), we divided into smaller groups in our already small groups and did a little scavenger hunt around Sevilla - but we were only looking for sights, not actually figuring out riddles and the like. We did that and bought our phones finally because they took forever at Vodafone yesterday and we ran out of time. We saw some fantastic buildings and plazas, and learned some useful tips from each of the guides that was standing at each of the sites we found. It was very hot, though, so walking around the entire city was tough. More pictures to come from that as well. Later we got to the hotel and waited for our señoras to arrive. I had two... one came, and as I was walking with her I asked her about her dog and she said she didn't have one... uh oh, the wrong señora! Kelly and I switched homes because she is allergic to dogs, and I, well, love dogs... so that worked out perfectly. In any case, it's a good thing I asked because we discovered very quickly the mix up and I returned to the hotel (we had only gotten outside to wait for a taxi at that point), and I met my real señora a few minutes later. She is an awesome lady. Very fashionable, very candid, speaks loud and fast, and I love it. She has a daughter that's 26 that lives here, and she has a dog named Lola!!! And poor Lola never goes on walks, so this next morning (oh, in about five hours) we will change that! That dog needs to go outside! They keep her on the terrace and she just walks around there. NO BUENO! A doggy needs her walks and this one will get them, even if it's only for three months. The house is nice - it's a flat not too far from downtown. I have my own room and my own bathroom - and internet, which is a luxury most students don't have :-) My señora made gazpacho for lunch and some kind of chicken meatballs - very delicious. They have french fries with everything, too. Kind of annoying, not my favorite, but they were better than the hotel fries, that's for sure. I can't wait to get to know my señora better - she seems really nice, very open, and very willing to help me learn Spanish and practice with her. She already said I speak better than most of the girls she gets from the program - she does it every semester.

After lunch and unpacking, we went back to the CIEE study center for some more orientation stuff - essentially a bunch of travel agencies and touristy things we can do, some good deals, some not so good deals - all trying to take advantage of poor students! There is a day trip to Gibraltar that sounds nice, and perhaps I will try Lagos, Portugal as well. We went to tapas afterwards with our groups and our group leaders. We went to this really interesting place - very informal order and seating. They had bleacher style seating and you just ordered at the bar like you order a drink and pay right away for your food. There was meat hanging from the ceiling, and a crowd of people dying to taste it. I had our tour guide's favorite tapa - sanatillo or something like that. It was a sandwich of some sort - really delicious. Not expensive. Me gusta. We hung out there for a bit and then went to a bar and a discoteca to meet up with the other people in the program and hung out until a little bit ago. We had an interesting end to the night, that's for sure. Great picture - you'll see. Now I'm home and about to go to sleep, but I knew I would forget some things that happened and that would be una gran lastima! So, tomorrow Jess, Jenna, and I are going to Corte Ingles to do some shopping for some essentials - shampoo and the like. Walking around today, we also passed by several excellent stores that deserve a second look - like, actually walking in instead of gazing through the window. There are shoe stores here on every corner - more shoe stores in Sevilla than there are Starbucks' in Seattle - and that's saying something. We'll take a peek, purchase nothing because I'd rather travel than waste money on things. Although by the end of the trip, I know I will find a pair of rockin heels that will lead me from temptation straight into sin. Oh well.

Have a great night - I'm off to bed, and it's about time since it's past three am :-/ Ay, ay, ay... maybe a siesta tomorrow will be good!

Cheers,

Olivia