Wow, have I gotten behind on my blogs…I really apologize for
that! The weeks have been sadly flying by and I have been keeping very busy. I
realized that you guys have been hearing about all of the highlights of my time
here in Sevilla, but do not have an idea of how I spend an average week. Well
here we go:
Monday:
I wake up and go for a run by the river with my friend Sarah to make us feel that we are somewhat still in shape and healthy…haha. I then walk to my Don Quijote class with my friend, Casey, which is about a 30 minute walk. After class I will sometimes walk around a little or write in my journal in a plaza or park before riding the Sevici back to my house for lunch. Sevici’s are the bikes that can be found stationed all around the city that you can ride from one station to the other for a not too bad of an annual price! It definitely saves me a lot of time and is quite fun as well :) After a large and delicious lunch, I have to catch the bus to head across town to volunteer at the school for 3-5 year olds. That is always an adventure! The kids have really taken a liking to me and even drew pictures for me the other day! After that I usually head back to my house and work on homework or plan trips while chilling with my host family watching telenovelas and futbol.Tuesday:
I have to get up early to bike to my 9 am class with my friend, Evan. Tuesdays I have a full day of classes until 5 pm. During my break between classes I usually head to a cafe to get a coffee and do some homework or plan trips. During a 30 min break between my last two classes I eat my bocadillo (a type of sub sandwich with meat and cheese) that my host family packed me for lunch. After my last class my friend Sarah and I usually head to a cafe and work on homework together for a little bit before heading home for dinner and chilling with my host family.
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| Bocadillo: Yes it is almost a loaf of bread long and yes there is a load of ham and cheese with no veggies! |
Wednesday:
Wednesdays are very much like Mondays during the day. I get up and run and then head to class. I then have the afternoon free for catching up on homework or trip planning, or exploring more of Sevilla (with a lengthy and delicious lunch with my host family fit in there too!) I then meet with my intercambio every Wednesday evening. My intercambio is a college-aged student who is learning to speak English. We spend a couple of hours every week walking around Sevilla, him speaking English and me speaking Spanish. It a very fun and helpful way to improve my language skills! He's great, because he shows me places around Sevilla that are more local and off the beaten track. I then go to my interest group meeting after, where we have done many fun, cultural activities like cooking classes, flamenco shows, and boat rides on the river. After a fun night I head back home starving to go eat some dinner at 11 pm and then go to bed pretty much right after...I don't think I will ever like the dinner schedule here!
Thursday:
I have the same busy class schedule as Tuesdays, so up until 5 pm everything is the same as Tuesday. After class I sometimes will be productive with Sarah and work on homework again or I will just go relax at a bar/cafe/the river to celebrate the week being over (these demanding 4 day weeks I have are just brutal :p). Thursday nights are my nights for hanging with friends either trying a new restaurant (there are so many good ones! But don't try the authentic American one...ewwww), going to a movie (we recently went and saw a hilarious, romantic comedy Spanish film called, Ocho Apellidos Vascos), or going out for the night.
Friday:
Fridays are usually my relaxing days, except the few times I started my travels on this day. I sleep in and then have cooking lessons with my host dad. After a nice, relaxing lunch I spend the afternoon catching up on work and spending time with my friends either relaxing by the river or going shopping.
Saturday and Sundays:
Most weekends I have been traveling around Spain on these days. If I am in Sevilla on Sundays though everything is closed all day, so it is just another day of relaxing or catching up on work.
Writing this it sounds like I have so much time on my hands! And I guess compared to my life in the US I do, but somehow the days just manage to fly by. I think a lot of the time during the day also gets put into mealtime, because it is always an event to be gone through slowly. Lunch is around 2:30-3 pm everyday and dinner is around 9:30-10:30 pm everyday. My body has finally become accustomed to this weird schedule, but my brain still thinks it is kinda stupid. What is the point of eating dinner right before you go to bed? You don't need energy to sleep! Oh well, at least the food is delicious! As I mentioned before I have been learning to cook many meals with my host dad, who is a very good cook!
Spanish Dishes I have Learned:
If I had to sum up the Spanish diet in three foods I would say: bread, olive oil, and ham. They have about 50 different types of ham (probably an exaggeration, but still!) and every single type of food is made with lots of olive oil. Bread is served with every meal and it's no wonder bread...it is a freakin fresh loaf per person! Thankfully, the Mediterranean diet is full of lots of veggies, yum!! :) Everything is very flavorful and delicious, but nothing here is spicy..they hate spicy! They also eat dessert after every meal...but dessert means a piece of fruit or yogurt! If I get a snack during the day it is either a postre (pastry) or some fruit.
(I got the photos off the internet, because I would feel rude bringing my camera to the dinner table! I found photos that look the same though, don't worry!)
(I got the photos off the internet, because I would feel rude bringing my camera to the dinner table! I found photos that look the same though, don't worry!)
Estofado de ternera y patatas
This is one of my favorite dishes! It is beef and potato stew with a variety of vegetables in it. I think I may like this one so much, because it tastes a lot like something I would have at home. The meat is always soooo tender!
Espinacas con garbanzos:
This is one of the most popular Spanish dishes that is also probably my favorite. It is spinach and garbanzo beans with usually an over-easy egg on top. The mixture of the few spices they use and olive oil make it very flavorful! And it is so healthy as well!
Pisto:
Another very healthy, but delicious meal! It is essentially a ton of veggies (my favorite!) covered with a tomato paste sauce that has a sweet flavor and of course with an egg on top for the protein!
Lentejas y Verduras
Once again a healthy meal haha.This meal is lentils with potatoes and a bunch of vegetables and cooked in tons of olive oil of course! A little bit of Chorrizo, a very popular type of sausage, can be a added as well.
Tortilla de Patatas
This is a SUPER common food in Spain. We have it at least 2 nights a week for dinner. It is simply an egg omelette with fried potatoes inside. As simple as that! You don't eat the whole thing though, you just cut it like a pie.
Accompanied with lunch is always cheese (the best in the world!) and bread. Many times there is also green olives or a salad, followed by fruit for dessert. All of the dishes above are eaten for lunch (the largest meal of the day) except for the tortilla de patatas. For dinner we will usually have that or some sort of fried fish with some sort of light soup. We have also had pork-chops with a light soup or have had green beans with ham. Dinner is always lighter and more chill.
Also, my most popular guilty pleasures afuera de mi casa.
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| Croquetas: Fried goodness! They have potatoes and then your choice of meat inside which is pretty much ground up to a creamy form. Sounds weird, tastes like heaven! |
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| Churros con Chocolate: The churros here are super popular for a snack or even more popular for breakfast! They are different than what we know as churros, because they are hollow and more crispy. They are dipped in hot liquid chocolate. |
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| There are many pastry shops in Spain and my friends and I have gotten to know them all very well! My favorite ones are the croissants filled with chocolate and covered with glaze. |
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| Fried eggplants with honey: This sounds disgusting, I know...but it is sooo good! They aren't as popular in Sevilla, but when I traveled to Cordoba or Málaga (other cities in Andalucia) I made sure to get some! |
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