Mi Primera Semana

Hola de Sevilla!!! 

I arrived safely in Seville, Spain on Thursday August 30th around 1:00 p.m. (Spanish time, 7 hours later than CST!). My journey was relatively uneventful.. no major issues or time delays which was very much appreciated! I did get yelled at in Spanish that I could not understand(first time for everything) when I was going through security in Madrid because I forgot to remove a water bottle from the plane in my carryon bag..I had to go all the way back through the line, but all was resolved! 

When I arrived at the airport, I was promptly greeted with abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses) by my grandpa’s brother and his wife, Ubaldo y Mary. We then headed home for my much desired shower, and then off to a restaurante for lunch (at 3 o'clock- very normal here!).  After lunch I got a very quick tour of the city and we stopped by Corte Ingles, a store very similar to our “Nordstrom’s” that has anything you could possibly need. I waited to go to bed until it was “late” in Sevilla so that I could try to adjust to the time change. As you can imagine, I slept very well ( :

The next day we headed to a small town about three hours away that is called Valdepenas. This is where my cousin Carlos lives, and where he would be getting married the next day. I LOVED Valdepenas!! Such a beautiful little town with so much life and events going on (we happened to be there La fiesta de vino - the week of wine, once a year when the streets are full with people all night long!). All of the family and lots of family friends gathered in Valdepenas para la boda (for the wedding), and we all enjoyed walking around exploring the beautiful little town. It was a little overwhelming meeting everyone, and their mother’s cousin ; ), but somehow I managed to communicate with everyone the entire weekend. The next day, the day of the wedding, everyone spent going to la peliqueria (hair salon in the hotel we stayed in), the spa, and exploring the town a bit more. The wedding ceremony, although very beautiful, was mostly lost on me. The priest spoke very quickly, and as a non-Catholic, it was hard to keep up with exactly what was going on; but nonetheless, I enjoyed it very much, and was very happy to be there! Next came the fiesta! After the wedding we all went by bus to a BEAUTIFUL restaurant called Bodega, where we had appetizers and drinks, while we waited outside for the bride and groom to arrive at sunset. 

Once Carlos y Ana (bride & groom) arrived, we headed into the restaurant for a four course Spanish meal (including shrimp with eyes still attached..YIKES!) It was all very lovely, including “Una Tuna” a mariache-like band that walked into the restaurant and sang around the bride and groom. After we were all completely stuffed, the real party began. The restaurant opened up to an outdoor dance floor complete with d.j. and disco-lights. (Although this is very typical of a wedding in Estados Unidos (U.S.), what I found the most shocking was the timing; everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE (elderly grandparents, young children, etc.) were there until at least 3:00 a.m. when the first bus headed back to the hotel. I, along with all of my primos (cousins) rode on the second bus that returned to the hotel at 5 a.m).... The whole night was one I will not forget!

Mi Primo Alex y Yo a la boda  (My cousin Alex & I at the wedding)
The day after the wedding we returned to Sevilla in the late evening, unpacked, ate (of course! always eating), and went to bed. The last two days have been spent exploring the city a little more, driving me around to where my classes will be, and getting me completely ready for tomorrow when I move into my “new casa.” 

While everything is new and different here, I am trying to take it all in and appreciate every aspect of this new life I am currently living. My two most “profound” observations about the culture of Spain thus far:

1. Family IS definitely, without a doubt, the number one most important thing. Of course I had heard this before in class or read in books, but it is different to be here and actually witness the ways in which everyone’s lives revolves around their family, rather than work or shopping. (One small example of something that shocked me, was the guests invited to the wedding; for example, everyone’s entire extended family were invited - for example, get ready for this, the bride’s brother’s wife’s entire family was present at the wedding!) 
2. Electricity, power, resources, etc. are conserved much better here than in the United States from what I have seen. Every bathroom, garage, hallway light is on a timer rather than always on. When I entered my hotel room, I could not turn on the lights until my hotel key card was in a specific place by the door that triggered the whole room’s electricity. This way, when I left the room, I obviously needed my hotel key card and off went the electricity.

- More observations to come! ( :

As I hope you can tell by my entry, I am having a great time. Soaking in the culture, time with my extended family, and of course, LOTS of Spanish food (whether I want to or not ha!) This however does not mean that I feel 100% adjusted or do not miss home..every time I am on the autobus and they say “Avenida Kansas City proxima” (KC avenue next), I smile and feel a piece of home is with me! Not to mention the plaza de Sevilla, complete with horse-carriage rides much like ours in KC, is absolutely beautiful and very much reminds me of the beautiful plaza I am lucky to have at home! 

On to my next adventure of moving into my new casa...Aye aye aye

Gracias por leer mi blog! (Thanks for reading!) 

Con amor,

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