First Week

So I have arrived in Seville. First impressions - the city is gorgeous. The buildings are old and intricately decorated and the streets are small and cobblestoned. Some of the streets and smaller plazas have street coverings (see picture), which are a really smart idea in this heat and also quite different from anything I have seen in the States. Although it is really hot right now (it has been over 100 for the past two days), we have had only sunshine so far so I can’t complain too much about the weather. The river that runs through Seville, the Guadalquivir, is bright blue and I couldn't stop staring at it on my taxi ride from the hotel. The trip over was, thankfully, uneventful. There was a beautiful sunrise over Madrid when my first plane landed there and the Madrid airport is very large and difficult to navigate, but myself and all of my bags made it to Seville safe and on time. When I first arrived at the hotel where we stayed for the first four nights, I was greeted by the program director who had the schedule for the week and a menu for the meals we ate at the hotel. Then I went up to my room, put my suitcases down, and tried to comprehend the fact that I was in Spain! Of course, there were already some things that were different in a Spanish hotel than an American one. In Spain, they are very big on conserving electricity and water because utilities are very expensive. In the hotel, you had to put your key card into a slot for the lights to turn on in your room, so that you can't leave the lights on in your room when you leave. Also, in the shower they have a sign with a water droplet crossed out that says "stop" to remind you to conserve water. It makes for a less than completely relaxing shower, but I guess it's good for the environment. After a little while, I decided to do a little wandering, so I could actually see the city. Even though it was a Monday morning, there were tons of people walking around, probably a lot of tourists, and it made the city seem very lively. I passed through a lot of small plazas and even more little stores. Finally I arrived at a large plaza with some large statues and a little misting fountain where a few kids were playing. It was very picturesque, but at that point I was sweating from the heat so I got an ice cream and headed back to the air conditioned hotel. Later, my roommate for our stay at the hotel showed up and we hung out until our meeting with the entire group. There are 26 students in the program from Penn, Michigan, Cornell, and Columbia. We all had dinner together at the hotel the first night and then later went out in smaller groups. I went with a few people to wander around a little more and then we stopped in a restaurant next to the hotel for a celebratory glass of sangria! After a long day, or two days maybe since I actually left Boston - it's hard to keep track of time - we finally headed back to the hotel to get in a little rest before our first real day in Seville.

On Tuesday, we had a quick buffet breakfast at the hotel and then walked together to the program center. The director and the coordinator gave us a lot of information, which was a little hard to understand because of how tired I still was and the very fast Spanish. Then one of the program staff took us on a little tour around Seville. There is construction everywhere in the city and he spoke in soft Spanish, so didn't exactly get every detail but I think I got the main idea. I don't have the best sense of direction, so no matter what, I know it will take a little while before I get my bearings in this city of winding, tiny streets. I mean, I still don't know my way around most of Boston... After the tour, we came back for lunch and then had our meetings about housing with one of the coordinators. After that, a bunch of the people in the program went to the pool on the roof of the hotel. It stays sunny much later here, which means more time for tanning and taking advantage of the pool while we have it. After a few hours on the roof, which is only tolerable because they have misters that spray water every few minutes out of the overhangs, we decided to figure out which cell phone company to use while staying in Spain. If you think figuring out cell phone plans is difficult in the US (and I do!), it’s practically impossible here because of the language barrier and the fact that most of us are only here for four months and need a cheap pay-as-you-go plan. Fortunately, one of the program directors agreed to help us decipher the options, which was very nice of her since it turned out to be a huge hassle. There started out with about 20 people all going into these tiny phone stores, but slowly people got sick of the process and returned to the hotel empty handed. A few of us stuck it out until the end, but when we finally figured out the best option, the store didn’t have any more phones that day and we had to come back the next one. Frustrating, but still a very good experience in navigating Spanish stores and getting more practice with the language. After that exhausting experience, we were very hungry and found a German restaurant near the hotel (I know, not very authentic in Spain but at this point we just needed food) and had a filling dinner before heading back to the hotel to finally sleep. By the way I have yet to explain that the meals in Spain are different from the US – lunch is around 2 and is the biggest meal of the day and then dinner is a smaller meal around 10, so don’t think we’re completely lame for going to sleep soon after dinner.

On Wednesday we had our first grammar and culture classes at the center. Classes at the University of Seville don’t start until the end of September, so we have classes at the program center for three weeks to help us get used to the language and culture before we go to the university. Both of my teachers are really nice and they actually speak slowly enough that I can understand everything they are saying, which is a relief. After classes we had lunch and then I went across the street to a café to use the internet. I know study abroad is supposed to be a time when you learn a lot about yourself, well so far, what I have learned is that I’m addicted to the internet! At home I never realized how much I take the internet for granted because it is always available, but now that I’m here and I can’t just open my computer and expect to be able to check my email or use the free Spanish to English translator that is online, I realize how much I rely on the web for everything. The internet was very flaky at the hotel and we don’t have it my home-stay house, so I’m getting used to living with only going online once a day. It’s definitely a good experience since it’s so easy to waste time and not pay attention to your surroundings when you are online, but I’m still having serious withdrawal pains. After another afternoon at the pool, we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant in the center of the city. Finally, real Spanish tapas! And they were absolutely delicious – I have had some really good tapas in the US, but these were the best and the restaurant was decorated with tons of Spanish-looking tiles and paintings. After dinner, we stopped at an ice cream place and I shared a toasted caramel cream with two other girls. It tasted more like cake batter than toasted caramel but it too was delicious and the perfect end to a great meal.

On Thursday, after classes and lunch, we had our meeting about housing. I found out that I have a roommate, Maureen, who also goes to Penn, and that we are living with a husband and wife who have two daughters and a granddaughter who is 17. I was very excited to finally have some information about the homestay but at that point, I just wanted to move in already because it the homestay is such an important part of the experience and I was nervous about it. First, however, I still had to buy a phone, so a few of us who still needed phones went to El Corte Ingles, which is basically the Spanish version of a Wal Mart superstore because it has everything you could ever need but at a higher price than Wal Mart, to finally get a phone. This time, the trip was much quicker and easier since we knew what plan we wanted. For dinner, a group of four of us went across the river to find another tapas place. We ended up at a small restaurant with all locals except for us and although it took a very long time for the waiter to take our order, it was another amazing meal. I really like the tapas style meal because it allows you to try more things and try dishes you probably wouldn’t otherwise because they come in such small portions and are fairly cheap. While we were at dinner, we ended up talking to the people sitting behind us, one of whom was American and one who was Spanish. After asking all of us where we were from, the Spaniard told me that I looked Spanish! To me, this is a huge compliment since I’d love to be able to blend in and not be seen as another American, although for now at least, I know my Spanish speaking skills will certainly give me away.

On Friday, we finally moved in with our family! My host mother is named Mati and my host father is named Luiqui. They a really cute older couple, Mati is 68 and Luiqui is 74, I think. I say I think because I only understand about half of what they are saying, especially Luiqui who has a pretty strong accent and speaks really fast. They have a nice apartment in a building where four other girls from the program are also staying. Maureen and I have a small room to ourselves and our own bathroom, which is nice. Maureen and I have already told Mati that we love to cook and want her to teach us some recipes, which hopefully will happen since she is an excellent cook. For our first lunch we had gazpacho, which they have everyday for lunch and drink as though it is water. We also had chicken and a “salad” with eggs, mayonnaise, potatoes, and olives and then melon for dessert. They really like mayonnaise here and a lot of their food is pretty rich, so I’m still not quite sure how everyone stays so skinny. They don’t seem to snack nearly as much here, which probably really helps. At first I wasn’t sure if I would be able to last from 3 (when we finish lunch) until 10 without food, but so far I haven’t had a problem at all. We have a little snack of fruit or something light around 6 and that is plenty to hold me over until dinner. During lunch, the TV was on the whole time, which seems strange to me but I guess is pretty normal here. We talked as well as watched and at one point, the topic of religion came up. Luiqui is Catholic, but Mati is atheist and is very interested in Buddhism. She has about forty statues of varying size of Buddha around the apartment. When I told them I was Jewish, they were both very excited and said how much they love Jews! Mati even later showed me some Hannukah candles she has from a previous student and she knew about the nine candles of the menorah and how you say a prayer as you light them. Not the reaction I was expecting, but of course, it was nice. Even though Spain is seen as a very Catholic country, we have learned since being here that a lot of people are only Catholic in name and the number of atheists and agnostics are increasing. Religion isn’t as important in politics as it is in the United States, although people here have the option of sending some tax money to the Church, which can use it for any purpose.

Living with Luiqui and Mati is definitely more like living with grandparents than parents. They love to talk, especially Luiqui, who is always telling stories even when we are reading. Yesterday, Mati told him to stop talking because we were reading but he was not deterred for long. They both have a lot of advice to give us and lots of little axioms. They have a lot of idiosyncrasies that I don’t understand yet. We’re not allowed to be barefoot in the house, even just to walk to the bathroom. On Saturday, Maureen and I were sitting in the living room drinking water out of cups when Mati told Luiqui to go get our water bottles that she had previously put in the freezer for us. I wasn’t sure why we needed the water bottles since we were obviously fine drinking out of the cups, but I poured some water from my bottle to be polite. At dinner on Friday, Mati made us a turkey and cheese sandwich and a salad. Maureen and I eat dinner by ourselves, Mati doesn’t seem to eat anything, and Luiqui eats in front of the TV. The salad had tuna in it, and Mati had told us to tell her if we didn’t like something and she wouldn’t mind. I felt really bad saying something the first night, but I really dislike tuna so I just wanted to make that clear from the start. Mati seemed surprised but didn’t seem to mind that much. She did guilt trip Maureen and I about not finishing all of the food for dinner, but there was far too much for just two girls. We told here that we’re not cows and that we have small stomachs, which made her laugh and hopefully got the point across that we aren’t huge eaters because I feel really bad wasting food but couldn’t possibly finish everything she served. She also gave us peaches to have as a little dessert, but we were both so full that we took them back to our room and hid them in the closet. It feels so silly hiding food, but we didn’t want to make it seem like we were wasting anything else. After that interesting dining experience, we went out with a couple other girls from the building to the center of the city to meet up with some other people. We ended up at a club/bar on the river. It had a great view, but it was a little bit of a weird experience because there was a DJ and a crowded dance floor, but all of the Spaniards were just standing on the dance floor talking and not dancing. It was kind of in an awkward middle zone between club and bar, but still fun on the whole.

On Saturday, despite the 105 degree heat (I still don’t really get Celsius but I know that 41 degrees is HOT), we went to the plaza near our house to do some errands. It was actually really nice because all of the stores were blasting air conditioning, whereas in our house it is not as cool. Our room has a fan, and during the day we have to keep the windows closed because it is far too hot out. The living room has air conditioning, but they don’t turn it up particularly high. Also, everyone from the program at Penn told us not to bring shorts because Spaniards don’t wear them and we would stick out. Of course, I still brought two pairs because I couldn’t stand the thought of being in 100 degree weather in pants, but Maureen actually listened to the Penn people and only brought skirts and pants. Turns out, the Penn people were very wrong. When we came out of our room on Saturday morning, Mati immediately asked Maureen why she was wearing long pants and not shorts. When we explained, she said that the program had lied to us because everyone here wears shorts in the summer unless they work in a very professional place. Unfortunately, it is very hard to find shorts here because it is the end of the summer and there aren’t many options. Hopefully she will be able to find some soon though because the heat (although thankfully not humid like it is in Boston) is pretty oppresive right now. After returning from a mostly successful errand run, we had another delicious lunch and then settled in for a relaxing siesta. I don’t think I’ve mentioned siesta yet, but I really love it! Right after lunch at 3, around the time when your blood sugar is dropping and you would need a cup of coffee to keep you awake in the States, here you get to nap. And people really do nap. From about 3 – 6, mostly everything is closed and people get the chance to relax and rejuvenate. Although not everyone’s work schedule allows for a siesta, I’m hoping to fit it into my class schedule since it’s definitely working for me. After siesta, we went to a commercial center for the free wifi (of course) and then had a thankfully smaller dinner. Then we headed back to the center of the city, which is about 30 minutes away, and went to a discoteca. This time, there was actually dancing, which was fun but extremely tiring and my feet were killing me on the walk home. Hopefully we can find some places closer to our neighborhood soon or I guess I should get some better shoes! Today is Sunday and it is even hotter, so we probably won’t go outside at all except maybe to get to the internet and finally post this. Then hopefully a relaxing night and good night’s sleep because next week is our first full week of classes at the center!