Mis Padres en España: Dos mundos se chocan

A couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to share my life here with my wonderful parents and cousin, Courtney! I cannot thank my parents enough for allowing me to have this amazing experience in Sevilla, where I have been learning and doing so much! I was so happy to finally be able to share Sevilla with them and show them how I have been spending my time since January. I was also so happy to share Courtney's first experience abroad with her! This was the perfect opportunity for her to travel outside of the U.S. for the first time, and I was so glad that she chose to visit beautiful España conmigo :) I was sad that my siblings couldn't come, but 7 plane tickets aren't a cheap purchase! They kept busy with school and all of their hundreds of activities, while Adara was the absolutely BEST sister/daughter in the world and looked after them during her spring break!

The weather was perfect when they came; in the mid 70's and sunny! We kept very busy throughout the week, me showing them everything in Sevilla. 

Friday

The first night they were very jet-lagged, so we had a relaxing night walking around Sevilla a little bit and climbing las settas (the large modern art structure) for a beautiful night view of the city. Courtney was quite the trooper, because her luggage did not arrive with her....luckily it arrived the second night, so she didn't have to go too long without it!

Courtney, Dad, and me on las settas

Saturday

The next day I brought them to a typical Spanish Pueblo, Carmona. I had never visited it before, but as it was a small suburb of Sevilla many of my friends had been there before and said it was very pretty. After a little bit of a stressful time trying to find the right bus to get there, we headed to a great view of the classic Spanish countryside. 

Outside of the town there were some Roman ruins and an an ancient Roman Necropolis (cemetery). We were even able to crawl inside some of the ancient tombs! Also, this was one of the many examples of my embarrassing parents...they saw the word for tomb in Spanish (tumba) and they thought it was the funniest word ever and couldn't stop saying it and laughing. How did I ever make it through that week?

 

We followed the ruins up with a HUGE lunch. Since I don't eat out at Spanish restaurants much (I have free, home-cooked meals at mi casa) I didn't really know how many tapas would fill up our family. It is hard, because every restaurant gives out different sizes. We picked a good one, because we ended up getting SO MUCH FOOD!! It was all delicious though:) My parents said they absolutely loved Spanish Cuisine! Yay!

After lunch we walked around the town a little bit, got some helado, and climbed up a castle for another good view.

That night we were still full from lunch, so we decided to get churros con chocolate for dinner haha. We again received way more than we thought, but we still conquered them anyway ;)

Sunday

The next day we grabbed some delicious Spanish pastries for breakfast and headed to the Plaza de España. What a beautiful day!

We then decided to try something new for all us and have a relaxing afternoon at the Arab baths. The Arab baths are based off of the ancient Arab baths in Sevilla that is now converted into a restaurant (which we ate at that night). It was absolutely beautiful inside and smelled heavenly. There was a warm bath, hot bath, cold bath, salt bath, Jacuzzi, steam room, tea, and a short massage! How relaxing! 

We then split up due to different interests. My mom and Courtney shopped around, went out to eat, and had some girl time, while my dad and I went to a futbol game!! It was SO much fun! There are two futbol teams in Sevilla: Real Betis and F.C. Sevilla. My host dad is a hard-core Sevilla fan, so we decided to go to a Sevilla vs. Valladolid game. We ended up winning 4-1! We were really impressed by the energy of the crowd, especially the main cheering section. I have to admit they even put Madison's student section to shame! They sang the ENTIRE game without stopping, danced half the time as well, and did everything perfectly in-sync! It was fun to try to sing along, but also a little embarrassing as my dad decided to substitute his own English words in that didn't make sense and proceeded to sing it aaaalll night!

 

Monday

The next day I showed them around my university, they were impressed!

One of the many casual fountains in my university! 

We also visited the Torre de Oro for a beautiful view of the city and then la Hospital de la Caridad, a very old church and charity hospital that is now a nursing home. It was one of the first churches here that my parents visited, so they were blown away with the beauty. They would soon learn that there are only a couple hundred more of those gorgeous churches around the city! 

Top of the Torre de Oro

Iglesia en la Hospital de la Caridad

That night was a pretty special night as my real parents invited my host family out to dinner. Because my host mom and dad have to always be home to take care of the aging abuela (grandma), it was pretty exciting for them to be able to have a night out to relax from the stress of the abuela. My host family chose a delicious restaurant on the river with a breath-taking view of the Torre del Oro and the river. 

I was really nervous at first of how a dinner with my two families would go, especially because they don't speak the same language!! But to my surprise things could not have gone better. My two dads hit it off right away and were somehow having a whole conversation without knowing the language of the other! They were laughing and both being their goofy (sometimes embarrassing) selves, using the little phrases they knew in English/Spanish. 

My host sister has a basic knowledge of English, but is always way to nervous to try to speak it. During the dinner though she sat by Courtney (who remembered some Spanish from her college days) and they chatted up a storm, helping each other in the other language! How awesome! 

My two moms on the other hand were both a little more intimidated by the language barrier, so I sat in-between them to help translate and they soon relaxed and were having a good conversation with my help. After the meal I got the details from both families on how it went, and they both said awesome things about the other. My host mom couldn't believe how young-looking and beautiful my real mom was! Haha :) It made my real parents relax and feel better that I am in such good hands here, and my host family feel good that I come from such a nice family. I felt so loved!

My host sister Laura, me, my host mom Ana Maria, and my host dad Pepe

The restaurant with glass walls!

Tuesday

The next day I took my parents to a couple of the many convents in Sevilla. Many convents are known for their delicious pastries that they sell to raise money. We got some famous Magdalenas (muffins) that were delicious! We then went to another convent who sold hand-made marmalade..yum! There was also a small museum and a beautiful church that we visited there. Courtney sat the museum out, and therefore got to becomes friends there with one of the nuns...and by become friends I mean smile and nod as the nun spoke rapid Spanish at her haha. But seriously the nuns are always so sweet wherever I go! 

While I had class all day they visited the Alcazar. We then took a tour of the Plaza de Toros, which I have never visited. We learned a lot about bullfighting and it was neat for them to see a bullring for the first time! We then ended the night eating the world's best pizza at the restaurant where my friends and I hang out all of the time.

Courtney and I chilling by the river after the tour

Wednesday

Today was another memorable day as my host family had my parents and Courtney over for lunch. There was food on food on food (now my parents understand why I am getting so fat!), and every type of alcohol under the sun. Courtney mentioned to me that she felt a little odd drinking so much in the middle of the afternoon with my families, but I assured her that is just how they do it here haha. My other host sister, Rosalia, who doesn't live at home anymore came to lunch as well with her family. Her husband Luis Miguel spoke some English which made communication with my parents easier. Abril, their adorable 3 year-old daughter, is learning English in school, so she impressed us all with her knowledge of English greetings and colors! My parents brought her a Bucky Badger pillow pet which she loved. 

It was a weird experience to be embarrassed by two families at once (sometimes I just didn't even want to translate the awkward comments and jokes my two families made!), but overall it was another successful afternoon :) 

Thursday

During the morning I showed them one of the palaces in Sevilla with a gorgeous garden. This is one of the best times of year to visit Sevilla and see/smell all of the blooming flowers, especially the flowers of the orange trees!

My favorite colored flower

Courtney really liked all of the azulejos (tiles), which are very common in all of the architecture of Sevilla

After visiting the Cathedral while I was in class, we all said good-bye to Courtney as she left to explore Barcelona for a couple of days. My parents and I then visited the famous Macarena church, which also has a museum about Semana Santa. Semana Santa is a HUGE and very old celebration during Easter week that thousands of people come to Sevilla to see. Each church has super detailed and beautiful floats with Virgen Mary and Jesus Christ that men carry on their backs in processions throughout the city. (There is a whole lot more to it, but this is the quick version.) 

Macarena church

One of the Semana Santa floats

How pretty! And heavy looking...

We then walked around the Macarena neighborhood a little more and made our way to a more modern plaza, Alameda, where we enjoyed a long dinner together on our last night.

Roman wall near the Macarena church

Friday

The next day I left for Madrid while my parents enjoyed one last day in Sevilla, just the two of them. I was happy that they got to end their trip on a romantic note, because they hardly ever get to relax and have alone time! I don't know what they all did, but I think that is for the best anyway :p

I had so much fun that week with my parents and Courtney, but at the same time it was a bit of a roller coaster. It was a weird feeling to have my new and different life here in Sevilla collide with my old life back home. Being with my parents made me realize all of the new things I have learned and the new views I am developing on life. It made me realize how much I miss some things about home, but also that I am going to miss so much about my life here as well. To sum it up though, I pretty much have the BEST parents in the world and am so thankful that they helped me be able to experience study abroad :)