Can you believe it another week has flow by here in Sevilla. The whole week I have been attending spanish immersion courses Monday through Friday. I wish I could say I love my Spanish classes here in Sevilla but I'm very close to loathing them. Why? Well first of all they are very lengthy, 3pm-7pm with a small 10-15 min break in the middle. Secondly, they start right in the middle of siesta and limit us from eating almuerzo (lunch) with our host families, this being the biggest meal of the day. Lastly, with our awesome, lousy class schedule our days fly by leaving us limited free time in the early morning. Well, ok maybe 9am-1pm isn't really that early. Yet I can never seem to get up early enough to go explore the city before class starts.
My typical day starts off by eating breakfast with Abuelita (my host Grandmother) which always consists of cafe con leche and tostado con crema. In English, coffee with milk and toast with cream cheese. Not the healthiest of meals but it will have to suffice. After breakfast and taking a shower that consistently changes water temperature (cold, hot, really hot, warm, freezing...) I finally head out for the day. I'm on the sixth floor which here in Spain is actually the seventh floor, for the first floor is often called floor zero so surprise surprise another teeny tiny elevator down to level zero and then I can finally breath again. To get to the middle of town (which is called Centro) for my classes each day I have to take a Bus and a Tram. YAY!!! How I love public transportation! Waiting is my favorite part, its such a surprise when I have know idea how long it will actaully take me to get to my final destination. My other favorite part is the smell. It's a mixture of sweat, urine and a special funk that I can't quite put my finger on. Again, let me emphasize how much I love public transportation. Did I mention how much it costs per ride?
Moving on. Besides classes I have a had a fun yet exhausting time of exploring the city on foot and by bicycle. Sevilla offers this interesting rent-a-bike system that comes in very handy when I run out of money on my bus card. It's called Sevici. A small deposit and 30min free each time you check out a bike with 1hr costing only one euro, its' easy and so much fun. My friend Katie and I have taken full advantage of the system and have been exploring Sevilla everyday. On Sunday and Saterday we rode around in Sevilla's famous park called "Parque de Maria Luisa." It's gorgeous and smack dab in the middle of the city. I could go there every day and not get tired of it. My favorite part is the ice cream stands located every few yards throughout the park. Did I mention that Spaniards love their ice cream?
Its true they they do. I have never seen so many ice cream stores in my life!!! They're obsessed I swear. There are ice cream stores across from ice cream stores. It's similar to our Star Bucks in Houston, they are everywhere!!!!!! Another thing Spaniards love is their Cruz Campo. Their version of Budlight. I think it's the only beer every bar or restaurant serves in this town, I haven't seen any other brand. All this makes me miss American food even more. That is one thing I can honestly say makes me miss home the most. Yes, I have to admit I was the first person to give in, I ate at a Burger King the other day. All I wanted was a real chicken sandwich. Here they serve you these things called Bocadillos, their version of a sandwich. If your thinking subway or even a homemade turkey on rye, your wrong my friend, very wrong. homemade sandwiches are made with Iron kids white bread without the crust----yes, in the stores every loaf of bread has the crust cut off--- and if you buy one at a shop expect a stale piece of french bread with salami or ham maybe cheese, that's it. No lettuce, no tomato , no mayo or honey mustard, nada!! I gave in, I had my seven euro value meal and ohh how happy I was that day. You can even hear me singing "Oh happy dayyyyyy , oh happy day!"
One more week of Spanish classes, trying to understand what Abuelita is saying to me , smiling as I eat whatever food she puts in front of me, having my underwear folded for me, walking and biking miles all around town, trying to find real food, and trying not to get ran over by a tram. Sevilla I will definitely miss you when I'm gone!
September 25th----my new life in Motril.
