I'm about half-way through my semester abroad in Seville, Spain, and I'm just now starting a blog...typical. I'm jumping on the bandwagon, and really have no idea what I'm doing, so bear with me. This first entry will probably be long because I feel like I have to made up for my lack of blogging thus far.
Spain is absolutely beautiful. Thus far, I've visited Barcelona and seen much of Andalucia. However, anytime I leave Seville, I have a strong urge to go "home" to Seville.
It's odd to think that "home" is currently an apartment in the La Macarena part of Seville. It's a neighborhood of windy streets, where middle-class families live. When the weather is nice, people congregate outside Plaza de San Marcos at the bars, while the children play soccer. Although there are many tourists and American students studying abroad in Seville, you won't hear English spoken in La Macarena. It's probably the most "Spanish" part of Seville. Seville itself is the largest city in the Andalusian region of Spain. It's more laid-back than Madrid and Barcelona, and the people are generally friendlier too. However, the Andalusian accent is a thick one. Amongst other things that often makes their speech difficult to understand, they often drop their s's. I ask people to repeat things frequently because understanding what they say through their thick accents can often be difficult. I think I'm getting better at understanding their Spanish through the rapid-fire speech and thick accents. Hopefully, my competency with the language continues to improve.
My morning routine consists of waking up at 8 A.M. in order to make it to my 10:30 classes Monday through Friday. From La Macarena, we have to take a bus to the metro, then take the metro to la Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Despite the hour-long commute to and from school, I wouldn't trade living in La Macarena for anything. I have an amazing host family that consists of my host mom, Mercedes and her 22-year old daughter Ana Laura. Mercedes works as a cook, and has made us some of the most delicious food I've had in Spain. Ana Laura is preparing for her exams this Summer to be a teacher. She is one of the most studious people I have met. I have three American roommates. We're all in the same program (API), and we're lucky to have each other.
La Universidad Pablo de Olavide is one of three universities here. La Universidad de Sevilla is the biggest university here. The main campus where international students have their classes used to be an old tobacco factory, and was the inspiration for the opera Carmen. It's a beautiful, historic school. Pablo de Olavide on the other hand is a newer school whose architecture is less-than-stellar. The third university, Menendez Pelayo, is basically a university just for international students. Even though Pablo's architectural beauty may be lacking, I'm enjoying my classes for the most part and learning quite a bit too.
Some things I have found different/unique about Spain:
1. They wear boots, winter coats, and scarves even when it's 73 degrees outside. Fact: While waiting at the bus stop yesterday to go to Plaza de Espana, I was given weird stares for wearing a one-shoulder dress with leggings and flats because they were still all wearing their full-on Winter attire.
2. You can buy beer and wine at school. Cruzcampo (owned by Heineken) is on tap. Glasses of wine and tinto de verano (part red wine, part Kas) are also for sale before, after, or in between classes.
3. Everyone is dressed up all the time. The only time you see people in sweats is when they are exercising.
4. It is not common to "eat/drink on the go." I, however, cannot give this up. When I am running late to school and eating a muffin on my way to the bus stop, I get odd stares. Likewise, when I eat half of my bocadillo (sandwich on French bread) after International Finance, while walking to International Marketing, I also get weird stares from Spaniards. Buying coffee "para llevar" (to go) is also an oddity. Starbucks and some cafeterias will sell "to-go cups," but it's hard to come across for the most part. Also, coffee here consists of espresso and milk, so just two small cups will make you jittery.
5. Tipping is neither expected nor required.
6. If you're a girl, get used to catcalls on a daily basis. Sometimes they can be degrading, which no one appreciates, but I've learned to just ignore it.
7. Siestas are a nice excuse to take a nap when needed. I don't generally take siestas here, which is probably surprising to many of you. Instead, I would rather walk around the city and enjoy the sights. There is so much to see and people watching here is especially good.
8. There is A LOT of PDA. By a lot, I mean people will be full-on making out against a wall. This is the norm here, but it hasn't ceased to make me uncomfortable as I am walking down a street minding my own business. The best was when we were sitting at el Torre del Oro and a couple was on top of each other making out. A police car came down the road, stopped, and asked them to stop. This was in broad daylight in a prime tourist spot.
9. Since they hang-dry their clothes, if it is raining for a week on end, your laundry will not get done. Also, because of the hang-drying situation, get used to having saggy butt jeans. I never realized the greatness of a dryer until my jeans didn't fit properly.
10. Milk and eggs are not refrigerated until opened.
Sorry for the long, first post. I'm going to make a concerted effort to write shorter, more consistent blogs. Hasta pronto! Un beso.
No comments:
Post a Comment