Escuela, Fútbol y la Carrera Nocturna

The first week of school came and went so fast!  This was also the first week that we’ve had any kind of cool weather, let alone days of clouds and RAIN.  Ridiculous, I know, what is the world coming to when it rains in Sevilla?  The temp feels wonderful; it’s such a nice break from the sweltering heat that has been a constant theme in my previous posts.  You probably need a break from hearing about it anyway.

Shoutout to all the homies in Aspen!  I hear you have snow!  This week I met a kid from Vail and I knew he was actually from there because we simultaneously said that we couldn’t be friends.  I’m really good at meeting new people.  Also shoutout to the random guy I saw bouldering up the underside of a bridge the other day.  Badass. 

Classes started Monday! Our school, la Universidad de Sevilla, looks remarkably like a palace for being an old tobacco factory.  Its huge, stone archways open onto enclosed patios and lead down long and echo-y hallways full of loitering Spanish students and lost American students.  As a part of JYS, we have three options for classes we can take: seminars with kids in our program, cursos concertados with other foreign students (almost entirely Americans) and regular university classes with Spanish students.  We have two weeks to go to as many classes as we feel like before we have to formally enroll.  I am going to try to take one of each, though I’m not sure of my schedule yet.  It might be a disaster waiting to happen for me to try to take a normal university class.  My 5 classes that are about to be narrowed down to 4 by this week:

1.    cuisine culture of Spain (yum)

2.   the historical projection of the three cultures in Spain in the Middle Ages (don’t you wish you were a history major too?)

3.    the European Union (prof scared us all into submission the first day by having us try to fill in a map of Europe and name famous people... it was embarrassing)

4.    Spanish cinema (even though Juan Luis says Spanish movies are awful)

5.    human geography (this is the only regular university course on my list. And yes, what exactly human geography is is just as much a mystery to me as it is to you, but the prof was generally understandable and not boring so I’m giving it a shot)

So I went to school a few times this week.  I also had a lot of free time and no work yet. We are all semi suffering from stress-from-lack-of-things-to-be-stressed-about. Rough life, I know. I’ll shut up about it now.

On Wednesday we went to a soccer game at the Sevilla FC stadium!  Sevilla played Rayo Vallecano and if you haven’t heard of them, it’s because they’re at the bottom of the league, hence the cheap tickets and us attending the game.  Every time a goal was scored the whole stadium erupted and started singing and dancing.  We should really study the ways of the Spanish fútbol aficionados and transform the NU student section.  When I came home and showed Borja, my host brother, the video that I took, he also started singing and dancing along.  And then I learned a new word for cool (chulo) after I didn’t understand what he was saying and had to quickly slide back into my room to look it up.

My attempt at videography. Sorry about it, I was dancing too.

the horde passes the torre

This Friday was the Carrera Nocturna del Guadalquivir, which is an 8k race starting at 10pm that 20,000 of your buddies run with you.   My friend Reed and I didn’t sign up in time (yes, 20,000 spots did fill up, apparently) but we spur of the moment crashed the race and ran it anyway.  I would like to say it was worth the saved money, but, let’s be honest, half the reason you sign up is to get the cool free neon orange t-shirt. Darn it.  Also, I recommend that you don’t have wine and tapas before you run your next 8k.  And it was pouring rain.  Because the one night that 20,000 people plus spectators were running through the streets of Sevilla was the one night in the month I’ve been here that the weather decided to throw us a curve ball. It was absolutely awesome. The race finished in the Plaza de España where music was blaring so loud that even drenched and tired we wanted to dance.  

Marissa, Sam, Mike, me, Reed

la mezquita de Córdoba

Yesterday our group went on a daytrip to Córdoba.  Another perfect little Spanish city with a fascinating mix of cultural history.  The ancient mosque feels like you are entering into a multi-colored grand cavern that seems to have no end in any direction, only continuous rose and gray archways overhead.  In an interesting twist, the Christian kings that eventually drove out the Muslims from Córdoba did not destroy their mosque to build a cathedral, but instead plopped the cathedral right into the center of the mosque complex, such that you don’t even notice a large church is right in front of you until you have wound your way through the column-forest of the mosque for a while.  Incredible.  

Córdoba

Tomorrow it’s back to the grind with week two of European uni!  Every day I wind my way from our apartment through el centro, passing under the watchful shadows of the cathedral along with swerving bikers, begging gypsies, heel-clad Spanish mamas, accordion players, and the weird demon creature costumed people that set themselves up with some contraption that makes them seem to float.  Wow that was explained poorly and I don't have a picture. We generally hurry past those last ones anyway.  

here's the paella I ate yesterday as a send off

It's Still Really Hot Here

school

You know its hot out when you go to your corner grocery store and try to climb into the fridge.  Which happened this week.  Shoutout to everyone who is experiencing fall weather.  Enjoy it for me.

It's been a long time between posts again.. uh oh, sorry Mom and Dad. Today was our first day of school!  Our 3-week language and culture immersion orientation with JYS ended last week.  Today I had class for exactly half an hour.  So not that much to update yet other than I located the university cafe and thought about buying some folders and then didn't.  The University of Sevilla is huge and antique and slightly intimidating.  And it has a moat because it used to be a tobacco factory, which totally makes sense.  Marie pointed out yesterday that if that moat were at a school in the US it would be the butt of every senior prank ever.  We are considering filling it with inflatable sharks in the dead of night.

Cádiz

 I have two weekend trips to report on from the past 10 ish days.  Last weekend I went with 8 other girls on the bus to Cádiz, which I think is the oldest city in Spain, possibly even in Europe.  There are a lot of uncertainties in life when you only partly understand what is being said.   The beach was pretty nice, I guess.  Kidding, it was gorgeous.  It was also jam-packed with people, lots of them topless.  Classic Spain.

thanks for the pic, Serena!

This past weekend, JYS paid for our whole group to spend 24 perfect hours at a shockingly luxurious hotel on the beach in Chiclana to celebrate the end of orientation.  So basically I've been spending a lot of time at the beach... which just means I have about a zillion more freckles, which my host dad has pointed out.  He also told me a looked muy gracioso (funny) the one day I wore pig-tail braids.  I decided to take it as a compliment. Anyway, the hotel we stayed at felt like paradise complete with a gorgeous pool, showers with enough room to do jumping jacks (let alone bend down.. our shower at home is itty bitty) and a buffet feast for both dinner and breakfast.  We entered the dining room like a herd of children in a candy store (mixing similes? maybe) and proceeded to try everything and then feel sick.  You would have thought we had all been starved for the past few weeks.  Which we haven't because potatoes are, in fact, very filling.  (But actually, Marta makes great food, I'm not complaining.) The beach in Chiclana was glorious. I tried to pull a Michael Phelps and swim out to a buoy but then remembered that I'm not Michael Phelps and it was far away so I came back. Shoutout to Aric Barrow for being awesome and for turning 21 in Chiclana!

Chiclana

Several random things:

coming soon to a corner of
a screen near you

a) This week there were auditions for a movie that is going to be filmed in Sevilla, so naturally I went with Marie and Lissa and tried out.  All we had to do was smile and look American.  Literally. They were looking for  American-looking people under 30.  We waited in line for 2 hours, because what the hell, and then after a sorting process where we succeeded in looking like American students we were shuffled through a room where they took our forms and snapped a pic and shuffled us back out. We have high hopes of returning to NU as euro stars.

b) The other day Marie and I saw a woman holding her pet ferret.

c) Chinos.  I would like to take a moment to talk about one of the odd/awesome parts of Sevilla shopping, which is the chino (a questionably derogatory term applied to these dollar-store like places that are literally everywhere and are always owned by Chinese people.)  This seems like a stereotype until you realize that its actually true.. some kind of cultural phenomenon.  We have several different chinos within a few blocks of our apartment, and they are places of wonder somewhat like stepping into that room in Harry Potter where all that lost stuff gets stashed.  The cramped aisles are overflowing with the randomest assortment of anything you can possibly imagine for very little moniez.  Some things we have bought at chinos so far: a beach towel, a monthly planner, gummy candies, birthday candles, duct tape, tinto de verano, icecream pops, chapstick and a leaky container of a mysterious nature which was accidentally left in the hotel in Chiclana.

d) Dunkin Donuts (or Dunkin Coffee, as it is known in Spain) is Marie's and my guilty American pleasure, as they have cheap and delicious iced coffee, which is distressingly hard to come by.

d) Our family dinner with Marta's parents and sister and their study abroad students was a riot and so fun.   Grandpa Rafael's sangria was definitely up to par, and the mamas cooked a wonderful meal, which included lots of mini white bread sandwiches (which seem to be a thing here) and other delicious comidas.

e) As part of orientation last week we had to go see a Spanish movie in theaters, so we went and watched La Gran Familia Española, which was a great time. It was a good thing that we had just learned a bunch of Spanish swear words.

Is There Cumin in My Sandwich? And Other Stories from Abroad

So many things to blog about, so little time! I have been in Sevilla for nearly two weeks now, but it feels like far longer.  I am going to try to catch you (whoever you are) up on my adventures.  It might be lengthy, we shall see.

The host fam: Marta and Juan Luis continue to be incredible.  They are both an endless source of information and entertainment.  Juan Luis is a lawyer and started work again this week, after taking the whole month of August off, as is the custom in Sevilla. (Its too darn hot.. in fact it still is. This will be a continual topic.)  Marta stays home and cooks and cleans and does countless other important things that I will probably never know.  The house is always spotless, and as a result Marie and I have taken to keeping our room exceptionally tidy (for us) as well, which JL and Marta commented on (yay!).

one time we went out for tapas. we didn't tell Marta in case
it counted as a snack. 

Marta's food is delicious and we are always excited to come home for lunch / dinner.  This is also due to the fact that we are always EXTREMELY hungry for meals since snacks aren't a thing here.  There's a story to go along with this. Once upon a time there were two little girls named Marie and Tess who were very hungry come approximately 8 pm one evening. They had noticed that their lovely host mother always put the leftovers in tupperware in the fridge but usually they weren't eaten because Marta cooked new food every day.  No one was home to ask permission from, so they decided they would have a tiny bit of potato salad to hold them over until dinner.  They felt slightly guilty, though they weren't sure why.  They innocently told their host parents about their snack when dinner came around at approximately 9:45 (you would have been hungry too.) The next day they received quite a lecture on why snacking is NOT allowed (if the boys saw us they would eat too and then not eat their vegetable, etc.) They are welcome (and encouraged) to eat un montón at meals, but otherwise to restrain. They felt horrible, apologized profusely and have vowed never to snack again. At least in the house.  But they are slightly scared to snack in general.  This story is completely true.  Perhaps this is why most Spaniards aren't obese.

The one time that is designated for snacking is 6 pm, which Marie and I have dubbed "toast time" in our house, because everyone has a piece of white bread toasted, sometimes with coffee. Unfortunately we are usually out romping around at this time.

The first few days when I couldn't tell the twins apart are over, and now there very obvious differences. Fernando is quieter, loves to read and loves history.  Borja is almost always en la calle with his friends (out in the street, which usually means hanging at McDonald's according to his dad. Cool cat.) He, like Gerald McBoing Boing before him, is always making noise. Marie and I went on a mad hunt for birthday presents for them last week when they turned 14, because we are obviously trying to win our way into their hearts.  We bought Fernando a Hobbit mug and Borja a torero mug, because he wants to be a bullfighter.  Every time they use them we get really excited.

Borja and Fernando on their birthday

Marie is the best abroad roommate I could have asked for.  It's super weird that we only met 10 days ago!  We have been wandering through a different part of the city each day, sometimes in circles, sometimes in search of random air-conditioned buildings because HOLY COW IT'S SO HOT. (Parents: SEND ICE.) I spend most of my free time sweating.  Actually just all time in general.  And dreaming of showers and lemonade and wishing it was socially acceptable to jump in fountains.  Maybe I'll get used to this temperature, but that's debatable. Sometimes we drag our neighbors, Reed and Donald (the boys that are living with Marta's parents), out of their beds and make them come adventure with us.  Usually they don't mind.

neighbors at La Plaza de España

one time we found a big tree

In addition to wandering aimlessly and being really sweaty all the time, I also go to class. We are in the midst of our 3-week orientation, which includes classes on language, history and culture, and field trips about every other day.  Our classes are all held at the JYS office with other kids in our program, with the three Marias as our teachers. One is Maria Celeste, but still.  They are all extremely fashionable.

in a dolmen. AH. 

The field trips: 

1. We went to Valencina to visit a dolmen.  If you haven't ever heard of a dolmen, that makes you and everyone else in the world, except for the Marias and our tour guides.  It is a pre-historic tomb, which sounds cool, and in reality was anti-climactic.  And also that day it was SWELTERING and I was giddy with heat and hunger.  And Marie turned out to be claustrophobic.  So it was a weird day. 

2. Next we visited Itálica, a Roman city that has been very well-preserved really close to Sevilla.  There were still a bunch of beautifully intact Roman mosaics and you could easily see the floor plans of the grand houses.  If Russel Crowe had come galavanting through on a steed and whisked us off to get ice cream, that would have really topped off the day. 

da group at Itálica.  yes, there are a lot of girls. 

that one word I wish I remembered

3. This Monday we went to the Real Alcázar, the Muslim fortress in the center of Sevilla that was converted into a palace for the later Christian kings.  Lofty halls, gorgeous mosaics, and middle eastern looking horseshoe windows.  We learned the name for horseshoe windows in class and I promptly forgot it, wondering when on earth I would need to say "horseshoe window" in Spanish to anyone.  Turns out that time is right now.

4. This morning we went to the Catedral de Sevilla, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.  It was incredible.   We also climbed the Giralda which was a minaret when there was a mosque on this spot, but is now a clocktower. Anna, I made it up without holding anyones hand! Woo me. 

view from the top of the Giralda

Last weekend, I went with five other girls on the bus to Faro, Portugal.  Its a beach town that's only about 3 hours away. Marta packed us some lovely tuna and tomato sandwiches, which we thought had cumin on them since instead of salad dressing she usually uses oil, salt and cumin.  The culinary mysteries continue. We spent a sadly cloudy day (the only one yet..) on the beach pretending to tan, and then headed back into town for the evening.  Adventures included but were not limited to: finding a restaurant with a 17€ special (olives, bread, wine, salad, soup, bacalao (famous Portuguese fish) potatoes, dessert, coffee and a winking waiter), watching a fire twirler, finding a bar / concert venue in a castle, finding a hostel with pictures of Asian babies all over our room, discovering that Portuguese is basically Spanish with a "sh" at the end, and last but not least getting to know 5 girls that I had never met before two weeks ago.  Arriving back home on Sunday evening just as everyone was sitting down for toast time was also an added bonus.

greetings from Portugal!
L to R: Aileen, Emily, Serene, Marie, me, Magdalena

In other news, I continue to trip on the cobblestones at least a few times a day, search for the perfect vintage postcard and not melt in the heat.  Marie would like to let the world know that whoever told all of us to bring lots of skirts because no one in Europe wears shorts is entirely mistaken: everyone here wears shorts.  One time I bought some gum that I thought was mint but turned out to be eucalyptus and taste like a cough drop.  I tried to pawn it off to other people until it started to grow on me.  Tonight we are having dinner with all of our extended host family members at Marta's parents house, and we are stoked.  Grandpa Rafael's sangria is apparently legendary. 

Shoutout to Anna Stevens who left for her pre-orientation trip at NU today! 

Also, my thoughts are with the US on this September 11. 

As they say in Portugal, adioshh.

I'm Actually in Spain Now!

Bienvenidos a Sevilla!

the plane was so tiny

... That was how I greeted myself in my head three days ago when I stepped off the plane from Lisbon into the sweltering Sevillan heat and ventured into the city alone since no one was available to come pick me up.  I know, cry me a river, right?  It actually wasn't bad at all, except that the taxi driver didn't know where my host family's house was, didn't take credit cards as payment, and spoke far too fast for me to understand more than one word every ten.  However, eventually I found the door to the apartment, squeezed myself and my many bags into the itty bitty elevator, and was greeted upon the elevator door opening to many hugs and kisses from my entire host family who had been waiting for me.  

The host fam is wonderful!  Marta and Juan Luis are the parents, and Fernando and Borja are their twin boys, aged either 13 or 14, its unclear because they have a birthday on Monday, and I'm not sure if they're 13 turning 14 or 14 turning 15.  The first of countless language struggles.  Fernando and Borja remind me a lot of my brother. (Miss you, Griff!!)  Since I was not jet-lagged at all, Spain being only one hour ahead of London, I spent the evening talking with the family.  Actually mostly listening.  And sometimes asking them to slow down (una vez más, por favor?).  Apparently the Andalucían accent is notoriously difficult to understand, and they are known for speaking very fast. So that's cool. Marta and Juan Luis speak slowly and clearly for my benefit, but the boys speak so fast I understand almost nothing.  However, they showed me this video that had me laughing really hard: 

I also brought a bunch of Jelly Beans as a present (among other things) and that entertained us all for at least half an hour, guessing flavors and translating the names. Woo bonding over candy.  

The apartment is beautiful and spotlessly clean, and I am sharing a little room with my roommate, Marie, (María, to our host mom) who arrived a day after me.  Marie also goes to Northwestern, and despite having many mutual friends, we had never met before. She's great! She's also sitting across from me right now.  Hi Marie. 

tortilla española

Mealtimes are very different: breakfast when you wake up (for me, at least.. I have yet to see anyone else eat breakfast..very puzzling) a large lunch at 2:30, and a small dinner around 9:30.  Marta has made some delicious Sevillan dishes; my favorites were the gazpacho and tortilla española (kind of like a potato omelet).

The first night at dinner Marta asked me if I knew who the king of Spain was, because she said American students usually don't.  Juan Carlos, duh. Shoutout to Graeme, my Spanish 199 partner: all that time we spent studying the Spanish royal family for profe paid off. At least I know a few things, even if I can't articulate them very well in Spanish.  Juan Luis and Marta have discovered my interest in history and are always eager to share lots of information about the history of their beautiful old city.  

The first day Juan Luis walked me and two other boys that are living with Marta's parents (who live in our building) along the Guadalquivir River up to the JYS office for orientation meetings.  I will be taking this gorgeous route everyday. Between 2-5 pm we had a break for lunch/siesta. Awesome.  Except that after only a small bowl of cereal, by 2:30 I was feeling rather faint from hunger.  Gotta get used to not having full English breakfasts in the morning.  The ladies that run the program are all very knowledgeable and helpful.  Half of them are named María. That's not an exaggeration. 

On Friday and Saturday nights most of our group checked out the bar/discoteca scene.  People usually go to bars first and then big discotecas later, which are supposedly huge dance venues, although I have yet to make it to one because I peaced before they really opened...Too tired.  People stay up so late here! Ay caramba.   

Marie and me at La Plaza de España

Marie and I did a lot of exploring of the city this weekend, since we didn't have anything to do with the program. Our house is right in "el centro" so walking everywhere is easy.  Mostly we aimlessly wandered around and gawked at the incredible fashion sense of people. And the buildings, which also have incredible fashion sense. We did make  it up to the Plaza de España  yesterday though! So pretty holy cow. It felt like we were on a movie set.  Juan Luis said part of one of the Star Wars movies was filmed there! The Plaza was built for the 1929 Exposición Iberoamericana de Sevilla, which, according to Juan Luis, was like a World's Fair for Spanish speakers.  He is full of fun facts. 

This bird was chillin in a pond at La Plaza de España.  Is it wearing a superhero mask, or did it just have a tomato smashed in its face? We may never know. 

guess who?

pequeños Inigo Montoyas

Tomorrow is our first day of orientation classes.  Wish me luck, world. Now I'm off to bed because apparently, according to Marta I have "una cara de sueño".. a sleepy face? Probably quite accurate. 

Buenos noches.