~Sunrise on my walk to school ~

I am a day behind in writing this week, but I have a good excuse.. midterms. For the last two months I have felt underwhelmed by the amount of work I have had especially in comparison to my home university, but this week ALL of that changed! Anyway, two down, two to go next week.

I left off my blog last Wed. with details of my Barcelonian adventure. I had a much calmer weekend and stayed here in Sevilla, but still had a lot of fun and new experiences. Thursday afternoon I volunteered at Colegio Claret, in the English-immersion class that I have been working in for the past month. I am enjoying being with my students more and more each week and I think they have already picked up on a lot! It is a fun way to practice my spanish as well! Friday morning my uncle Ubaldo picked me up and we returned to his house to drop off my things for the weekend. Then Mary, Ubaldo and I all took the bus on a little adventure that I had as a school assignment; in my Intro to cultural studies course I was given the name of a baptismal bath in front of the famous Sevilla Cathedral that I was told to find and take a picture in front of. Ubaldo and Mary graciously agreed to accompany me and show me what they knew about the origin of this visigoth. After taking my photo and a few notes for my upcoming presentation, we headed back home for a nice lunch. 

Me and "Pila Visigoda" homework assignment

Friday night the three of us headed to Charry (mi prima, my cousin) and Pitu’s house “a ver los ninos” (to see the children) and visit with the family. After a few hours, we said goodbye and headed home for dinner. (If it sounds like all I do here is eat, well its only partially true ;)). Saturday morning we headed to the beautiful outskirts of Sevilla to “el campo” (the countryside) where we attended a “fiesta” (party) with the members of Ubaldo’s “hermanidad” (Catholic brotherhood) of both older and younger “hermanos” (brothers). The party was filled with people of all ages, great authentic food, beautiful views, and of course lots and lots of speaking! (This was probably the first time that I was at a social event here in Spain that I felt I really couldn’t keep up!) Regardless, it was a great time and very nice to meet some of the people that I had heard so much about. 

Beautiful view from "La Fiesta"

After spending the entire afternoon there, we rushed home for quick showers and to change our clothes and headed to a small village outside of Sevilla to meet up with Mary’s choir group who was to perform. Once again, a new experience that I had been hoping to see! A group of about twenty adults who meet each week at church to practice, gathered in this village to sing together for the people of the town. They sang beautiful songs and it was fun to watch all the people enjoying their music. The best part was definitely watching two couples from the town get up in front of everyone and flamenco dance on the spot! (I tried to watch carefully, but don’t think I will be brining any of those moves back home with me ;)). The temperature dropped drastically this week in Sevilla, and so after passing an entire day outside, I was ready to go back to Ubaldo and Mary’s house to defrost a bit!

Sunday morning Ubaldo and Mary went to church and I had a nice peaceful morning to sleep in. When they returned home, we were invited (once again TO EAT) with Charry and Pitu who had prepared quite a feast. (In Spain, Sevilla at least, almuerzo “lunch”, is typically the larger meal as compared to dinner.) When we arrived, I nearly drooled at all the deliciousness that was presented on the table. Mary asked, “What are we celebrating?” just because it was so grand! We had shrimp (with eyes, I am trying hard to get used to this EW!), mussels, tuna and pepper salad, bread of course, and best of all homemade paella (Sevilla’s specialty). Not to mention homemade flan for dessert! We all enjoyed the food, wine, company, and conversation! I even was instructed on how to properly remove the shrimps head (I was forced to practice over and over by Pitu and Ubaldo!) 

Mary, Charry, & our feast (minus the paella!)

With full tummies, we left their house around four, “siesta hour” (nap-time) so the children could sleep. I returned to Ubaldo and Mary’s house and spent the rest of the day on homework and studying for my exams. As we were all headed out the door later that evening, suitcase packed and all, Mary looked out the window and saw that it was pouring rain and asked me if I would like to stay and be dropped off the next morning before class; my answer to this has always and will always be YES! (Who can blame me? Better food, bed, bathroom, and best of all, the weekend feels longer!) 

Monday evening brought rain and some rough goodbyes as my roommate Dana and her mom headed back to the United States early Tuesday morning. My roommate Jaclynn, Dana, her mom and I, enjoyed a nice dinner out for our last night together. Although it is very sad that she is gone now, I definitely believe it was for the best and what everyone wanted for her. Tuesday evening, I had another cultural experience: my very first real flamenco show! My program organized an event for us all to go together to a flamenco club very close to our school. We met there at 8:15 and headed to the club for an hour long show. The show consisted of a guitarist, a male singer, a female dancer, and a male dancer. It was a beautiful show in an really cool location; the club was formed in the middle of neighboring houses by putting a roof over the plaza or square, while maintaining the architecture and feel of being outside. The dancers were obviously very talented and fun to watch. I am very happy that I went as that is a MUST DO in Sevilla, as flamenco originated from here. 

After the flamenco show my roommate, a friend, and myself grabbed a dinner to go and ate by the moonlight sitting along the river. It was a great way to pass a Tuesday night, ha! (Wed. was not so much fun as I had to study for exams all night long!)

River dinner view

However, Wednesday day, my cultural values class took a field trip to a local gallery that had photographs of an Ethiopian tribe on display. The pictures were very beautiful and startling at the same time. It was a unique experience to examine another culture in a culture other than my own. This course has caused me to consider a lot of facets of culture that I had never considered before, and it is probably my favorite!

There has been A LOT of rain this week, but I have survived somehow! Sevillianos just get so weird with the rain because it is such a rare thing; not to mention that Sevilla is shaped like an U, therefore water piles up very quickly. Watching the locals on days like this is just another way for me to “soak up” the culture! ( : I have been navigating the bus system quite well and feel much more confident in using it. I am loving spending time with my spanish housemates who encourage me to speak and who have a real interest in improving their english as well. I feel very fortunate to be placed in a house with both American and Spanish students. 

Tomorrow, Friday, I head to Lisbon Portugal for the weekend with my program. It was an extra excursion but I have heard that it will be well worth my time and money and I am very much looking forward to it! (To getting there, not to the 6 hour bus-ride!) It is with great joy that I say that I will not be posting a blog post next Wed. (maybe not at all next week) because I am flying to Paris on Tuesday afternoon and meeting up with my parents! I am over the moon excited to see them and to see Paris as well of course!!! We will be spending 3 days there and then all three of us will be flying back to Sevilla together to spend a few more days in Spain! I will do my best to record the happenings of my weekend in Lisbon prior to Paris so I can remember as much as possible! Looking forward to being able to say that I will have visited 3 countries in 3 days - not too shabby!

Oh and Happy Halloween! Spain does not really celebrate the holiday to the extent that we do, but occasionally young children dress up.. not sure what France does, but I will certainly let you know!!! 

As always, thanks for reading!!!

Con Amor (with love)

Catie