Monday
I arrived on Monday in the afternoon just in time to have almuerzo (lunch) with my family. I then unpacked and went to a social with all of the CIEE students to get to know one another. There are around 160 students in my program and almost all of them are girls for some reason...I don't know why!
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| El Puente de Triana (bridge of Triana) that I have to walk across everyday |
Tuesday
Still being jet legged, I had to get up early and go to a general informational meeting with the program. We then had our oral interviews, which were a little scary! We had to take a placement exam last fall to see what type of classes we would be able to take (it was the hardest test we had ever taken my friends and I mutually agreed!) and then participate in an interview to make sure we weren't cheating or something on the test. I thought I did alright on mine..it sure doesn't help that I like to babble when I'm nervous! We then took a tour of the university which as I said before is so amazing. We returned for siesta and then met up again with our small groups to walk around our neighborhood and get some tapas. Tapas make up part of the definition of Spanish culture. They are small dishes of various Spanish food that are to be shared with one another while having some drinks. Most of them were pretty good, but also pretty different than food in the US. Today was another late night and a day full of walking. The university is a 35 minute walk from my house!! And to add to it I am not allowed to wear my precious tennis shoes here that would make my feet SO happy...I would be labeled as Americana if I did :(
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| A view of Calle Betis (a popular street in Triana) from el puente de Triana |
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Wednesday
On Wednesday we met up with our group again to take a tour of el Centro, the district of Seville that has many of the historic and famous buildings, as well as lots of shopping. The city is huge, so it is very easy to get turned around on its cobblestone streets. Luckily there are huge landmarks like the Cathedral that can help guide you. I am learning slowly!! We then returned home for siesta and met up again to learn about the offered Interest Groups. Each group has a different theme and has activities through the semester, ending with a trip somewhere at the end. They all sounded so awesome that it was so hard to choose just one!! We ranked them on preference, and I am anxious to hear back the results! We then went again for tapas, which were very delicious but terribly unhealthy, and went to a flamenco show that night. There was flamenco guitar playing, singing, and of course dancing. It was nothing like I had experienced before, but was so cool! The dancers are so talented and must be in terribly great shape to be able to dance like that for so long. I can't wait to experience more! By this time, my feet are SO DEAD!
Thursday
Today we had to meet at the University all by ourselves with no help from our guides. Our guides this whole week have been University students from Seville that are all so nice and friendly. My guide's name was Alexandra and she was very easy to understand and really made an effort to explain everything to us. We thought we would be lost without her! We eventually did make it there about 15 minutes late...which is still early according to Spanish time....and we learned about health, safety, diversity, etc. The boring stuff. We also learned about all of the opportunities and activities this semester. Every single one sounds amazing...I am going to be one busy girl! We then got to choose between a few activities for the night and I chose the panoramic tour of Seville. We learned more about the Plazas and the monuments in el Centro, which was a great way for me to really start learning the streets. We then were able to visit las setas, which is this HUGE wooden structure that stands over Roman ruins food underneath the city. The people were originally going to build a parking garage there, until they found the ruins. Now they built a huge structure that you are allowed to go to the top of and have the best view of Seville ever!! We went at night and it was so unreal. My friends and I then decided to go out on the town last night and it was a lot of fun. Spaniards usually stay out until 5 or 6 am so it was one late night!!
Now I am trying to figure out all of my stuff for classes that start on Monday. There is so much information and stuff I still need to figure out that it is un poco stressful. Let's just cross our fingers that things will transfer back to Madison like they are supposed to!
I miss everyone! Adios!
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