Socializing in Spain in an Irish Pub with Americans

Me at Casino

Two nights ago, Rebecca and I met up with our friend Jonny to go to a party for Erasmus students. It was in an Irish pub near the Cathedral, and it was ridiculously crowded. We could not move to get into the place and could not move to the bar once we did get inside. After about 5 minutes of claustrophobia, we decided to go sit at a cafe. We sat down outside, ordered sangría and paella, and had a lovely time. Our other British friends, Xanthe and Anna, joined us and we caught up on life because we had not seem them in a few days, which seemed like forever. I got pressured into going to a club called Casino later in the night, and it turned out to be a ton of fun. There was barely anyone there, so we were basically dancing alone in the center with a funny couple from Poland. It was the first time at a club here where I have had enough room around me to do silly dance moves, and it always makes a night better when everyone can do their disco pointing without poking people's eyes out. I went home at about 3 am and fell asleep.

Yesterday was also quite relaxing. I woke up late and took a siesta only a few hours later. Spain's late nights suck the life out of me. I hung out with my roommates a bit and read a Spanish Grammar book. I need a refresher course on the subjunctive and past tenses. As much as they say you should live your life in the present moment, apparently it is not acceptable to only speak in the present tense. Jesús is incredibly witty. He makes hilarious jokes all the time (and I know this because Inma laughs and then translates them for me). I think one of the hardest parts of not speaking Spanish fluently is I feel that I cannot convey my sense of humor through anything other than my body language. Once I start making people laugh in Spanish, I will know that I've got it down. It is tough for me not be the entertainer, and I often find myself just laughing at other people because there is not enough time to spit out a joke in my broken Spanish. Inma told me that I should learn Spanish idioms and that will help me make witty comebacks.

Rebecca and I met up at a cafe near her house to get out of our places. On my walk there, I passed by a group of Spanish guys playing soccer. Umm...score! I felt like a creeper peering through the wall to watch them play, but it was well worth it. I will have to frequent that spot often. Rebecca and I shared a delicious ham and cheese croissant and headed to her house for a bit to get ready for the night. She finally met her American roommates, but they were not there when I was, so that will have to wait for another day. We walked back to my house and tried to plan our first trip. We may try to go to Cadiz for a weekend but we have to find out Rebecca's schedule first.

Julie, Julia, and Me at the Meetup

There was meetup for our program in the same Irish pub as last night with free sangria planned by a travel company, so I walked 35 minutes to get there. Rebecca was too tired for another night out, so it was a solo stroll. There was big strike in Spain yesterday, so most places were closed and public transportation was limited, hence the walking. I made it there and met up with one girl I knew and two of her roommates on the steps of the Cathedral. We headed into the pub, sat down with our free drinks, and met a ton of other people in our program. They were all awesome! It was so refreshing to meet everyone else who is in the same boat and to have relatively effortless conversations in English. It mostly consisted of girls (I met only two boys the entire night) but everyone seemed very friendly and interesting. One of the boys was talking about where he lives, and it turns out that we live on the same street! I was very excited to find a buddy in the neighborhood. After about 2.5 hours of mingling, I got a ride home from another girl who lives near me (yay!). There is another meetup planned for Saturday night, so I am pumped to meet these same people again and many more. Now there is lots of Facebook friending to be done.

I don't have many big plans for today, but tomorrow is my first official day at school, so I will rest up and prepare for that.

Talks and Tapas

Yesterday, Rebecca and I explored the shopping center near my apartment. There are a lot of good stores there, so I will have to go back soon and search for Spanish clothes. Later that evening, we went out for tapas at a place called "Restaurante Victor Tapas" - it's my dad's place! I enjoyed some solomillo al whisky, a pork dish, and we shared a flan de queso. Yum yum in my tum tum. I headed back to my apartment, and Jesús and I had our first extended conversation. I was very excited! We talked about a ton of things (his school, fútbol, Mallorca, Spanish television...) and I understood most of what he said thanks to elaborate hand gestures. When Inma returned from a date, we had some necessary girl talk, and I eventually went to bed.

The next day, I had a lovely chat in the afternoon with Julie, the other Auxiliar at my school, and my roommates. Jesús proposed that Mon, Wed, and Fri will be completely Spanish days and Tues and Thurs will be English days so he can learn English while I learn Spanish. It sounded pretty fair, although I will probably sneak in some Spanish on Tues and Thurs because I need all the help I can get. Tonight, I hope to meet up with some girls from our program. Tomorrow, there is a big strike in Spain, so there will be very few things open and very little public transportation running. We will have a great day of relaxation.

Meeting More Americans

Kayla, Rebecca, Raquel, Julie, Me, and Julia

Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon relaxing and doing laundry. It was quite an uneventful afternoon. Later on, Rebecca came over to my apartment and we watched "Glee" online. Then I got very tired and took a brief siesta while she Skyped with her family. My roommate, Jesús, came back from his weekend at home, and we had a short conversation that I actually understood. Unfortunately, he informed me that he goes home to his pueblo every weekend. So much for my dream of us being going-out buddies! Maybe we can convince him to stay at some point, but I'm hoping to be traveling most weekends once my work starts anyway.

Rebecca and I walked to her apartment and stopped in a cute cafe with delicious looking pastries. Note to self: go back there soon. Rebecca ordered a coffee para llevar (to take), and they put it in a clear plastic cup with no lid. Evidently, that is not a normal thing to do here. People in Spain actually take the time to enjoy their drinks and meals. Perhaps we Americans should take a hint and not be in such a rush all the time. Then we headed into the city via bus and metro to meet up with some other Auxiliares for food. There was a big parade of some sort going on near Plaza Nueva where we were supposed to meet the other girls. It consisted of a marching band and a life-like statue of a woman being carried on a throne covered in candles. Rebecca and I pushed through the massive crowd for about 10 minutes until we found an opening, but we got separated.

Parade That We Encountered

After reuniting, we found a group of four more girls in our program, introduced ourselves, and headed into the world in search of tapas. That was easier said than done. Many restaurants only serve raciones, which are like entrees in America. But none of us want to spend 15 euro on one entree when we can get 2 or 3 different tapas for 6 euro total. After not having luck finding a tapas place with a free table in that area, we settled on a pizza place. It was great talking with these new girls. I truly enjoyed meeting all of them and can see us becoming great friends this year. We come from all over the US but have had many similar experiences in Sevilla already. I met Julie, the other Auxiliar at my school, and she seems very cool so I am excited to work with her. For the first time in Sevilla, I was actually freezing. The wind was really blowing, and none of us had prepared for the cold night. We stuck it out for several hours of great conversation and eventually headed back towards our warmer homes. Rebecca and I stopped for some dessert along the way and then walked the rest of the way home. I was a bit nervous about walking back alone at 12:30 am, but it felt safe as I was going and I made it home intact. I was exhausted but squeezed out a Skype session with my parents before conking out. 

Today, Rebecca and I have plans to do some shopping at a mall near my apartment (we need to start fitting in with the Spaniards). I can feel a siesta coming on already, but hopefully it will be an early night since I am visiting my school tomorrow morning. Woohoo! A structured life will begin soon!

Bailando at Bilindo

Nite, Me, and Tamara

I actually relaxed yesterday, and it was a beautiful thing. I had the apartment to myself, and I found links to American TV shows online and took some naps. If I did that everyday, it would get boring very quickly, but it was nice to have a day without running around and sweating profusely. Of course that couldn't last very long in Sevilla, so the night was a different story...

After using up many of my pay-as-you-go text messages, I settled on plans for the evening with my friends.  We decided to go to Rebecca's empty apartment to, as they say in Britain, "pre-lush." I got all dolled up at my apartment and headed over there via the public buses. Thank god that people here are so friendly. I asked a woman if our bus went to the right place, and she actually got up from her seat to ask the bus driver directions for me. I'm not sure what I would have done without her help. Even after getting off the bus in the correct spot, it took me a while to find Rebecca's street. We hung around her place, getting ready but feeling too lethargic for a night on the town. Our friends (all British, of course) showed up around 11:30, and we had a great time chatting until it was an acceptable time to go out (around 1:30 am). We walked to a club called "Bilindo" and waited in a short line to enter. Luckily, there was no cover charge like at most clubs in America. This was actually the outdoor place where we had gone on the pub crawl with the hostel, but I had a better time here last night with my girl friends. We found some more amigas there and danced the night away! Late in the night, I found this guy who was an amazing dancer. He and his friends was incredibly fun and quite crazy. He literally lifted me up so that my legs were about as high as other people's heads. He spoke English and told me that he loved my dancing and my dress and that I was fun. I wish everyone at clubs was as fun as he is because Rebecca and I have found that most of the Spanish guys are not as friendly as in America and often keep to themselves. Perhaps it is because we don't dress like the Spanish girls. I have never seen shorter, tighter dresses in my life! I took a cab home after 4:30 am, got ready for bed, and passed out. It was definitely a fun night out, but I do not understand how some people can do that every night. I would die...or maybe just take very long siestas.

I'm not sure what today has in store for me. It's Sunday so everything here is closed, but perhaps I will meet up with some other people from my program and relax some more.

Cheap Sheets and Clothespins

Paul, Me, Jonny, and Rebecca at Feria de Naciones

Two nights ago, and my first night in my apartment, I actually had a night in. It is hard to believe, but it was necessary after all that partying and lack of sleep. I watched some Spanish television with my roommates. It was literally impossible to understand until we put on subtitles so I could read the words. That really helped me get what was happening in the program and hopefully improved my Spanish in general. I went to bed at a semi-decent hour in my new bed and new 9 euro sheets. As they, and my mother, say, "Cheap is cheap." They were not unbearable, but they were certainly not comfortable. I guess that's what you get for buying your sheets at a dollar store.

Yesterday morning, I woke up and did some laundry. There is a tiny washing machine in my kitchen and no dryer. For the first time in my life, I hung my laundry out to dry on clothes lines on the roof. It was very hot up there, and I'm sure my clothes dried very quickly, but it does not compare to the convenience of a dryer. I think I will miss having that, but the environment will be happy.

Inma and I walked towards town center and took the above ground metro into town. She also showed me where to get the bus to El Arahal, which looks like it will cost about 6 euros round trip. Hopefully a carpool will work out so I won't have to do that everyday. We got off the metro by the Cathedral and had Rebecca and our British boys meet up with us for some comida. Jonny led us to a place where he said he had the "best meal of his life." We had to check it out. I enjoyed octopus with onions and peppers, chicken in an almond sauce, and patatas con brava (potatoes in a somewhat spicy red sauce). It was Andreas's last meal with us before his flight back to Liverpool, and it was very sad to say goodbye. It felt like we were splitting up the little group we had formed at our hostel. Hopefully we will meet up again sometime this year, but until then, there's always Facebook.

Rebecca, Jonny, and I then went to a cafe with internet so they could research apartments. We found a potential one for Jonny and went to see it immediately. While the actual apartment was lacking, the landlord was super friendly. He took us all out for coffee at an Irish pub and talked with us for about half an hour. I am just blown away by how friendly people here are. I cannot imagine that happening in America. It was so unlike my apartment search experience in Somerville. He was a very nice guy with great English, and told us "Good luck" when we told him we were working in Arahal. He said the accent there is very strong (similar to my roommate Jesús) so that will be quite a challenge. After my delicious café con leche, Rebecca and I headed in search of bedding. We went to El Corte Ingles, and after much deliberation, I decided on a replacement set of sheets for 20 euro, reduced from about 90. No more sleeping on sand paper for me! We struggled to find our way back to the hostel (that was where I had gotten lost from before) but eventually made it there and met up with Paul (another Brit) and Jonny for our night out. Rebecca and I had many things with us, so we went to her place and dropped our stuff off before meeting up with the guys and Inma at Feria de Naciones, a festival with tents and food from many nations. We got some food from the Italian booth, found a table, and chatted the night away. Of course, our other friends showed up there and it was a big party around a small table. Despite our much too serious conversation on love, it was filled with laughs (or, as Paul would say, "a bit of a laugh"). I am afraid, however, that I have learned more British phrases then Spanish phrases since arriving. On the walk home, Inma and I decided to speak only Spanish from now on, and as difficult as that will be, I think it is una buena idea. I Skyped with my brother, Josh, when I got home and then went straight to bed. I was exhausted!

Anna, Inma, Rebecca, and Paul

This morning, I collected my laundry from the roof. I discovered that clothespins leave marks on clothes, so I will have to research the best way to hang things to avoid that. I'm not sure what today holds...hopefully some relaxation. Tonight, however, there may be some plans to go dancing, so who knows where that will lead? Until then, I need to go grocery shopping and rest my feet.

Moving On and Moving In.

Sam, Rachel, Paul, Me, and Rebecca at the Erasmus Party

Can you guess how last night turned out? Do you think I just had some tapas and went to bed? Of course not, silly! It’s Sevilla, after all. Rebecca and I did go out for tapas, joined by our beautifully accented British friends from the hostel, Jonny and Andreas. I enjoyed a tapa that basically consists of hot chunky tomato sauce with an egg cracked over it. So delicious! After dinner, if that is what meal it was, we met up with another Brit and headed to a free flamenco show. It was in a very hot, crowded, grungy bar, with the performers seated in the front of the room. It was certainly interesting. The first part of the show consisted of one guy playing the guitar while two women clapped and another guy sang his heart out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone sing with so much emotion in my life. It was a bit overdramatic and comical, but it was fun to experience, since it’s such a big part of the culture here. Then one of the women started to dance to the music. She was quite a woman…you would not want to mess with her in any way. Ever. She was large and in charge…actually shushing people in the crowd who were talking. She was also a very good dancer. It was unfortunate that I could not see her feet because that is so much of the dancing. The group had a second performance later with more dramatic singing and both of the women dancing together (the other one was much less intimidating). I would definitely go see a show again, hopefully with better seats next time.

After the flamenco, we met up with two other American girls doing our program to go out. We did not really know where to go, but we had heard of a party for the Erasmus (European study abroad) students near the university. Luckily, we found it. It was a huge fiesta outdoors with several bars and places to mingle. They were playing very good music, so I danced around the entire time, even though most others weren’t dancing until later in the night. It was a bit of an awkward party because the students were getting to know each other, but I had a great time with my friends and met guys from Dublin and from Spain. I had a wonderful time dancing with the Spaniard and talking to him a ton in Spanish. Having a real conversation in Spanish is such a huge high! Around 4:30 am, we walked home, with the help of directions from nice construction workers. I found Rebecca and Andreas in the lobby and we decided to go next door for a snack. It is crazy that food venues are still open at 5 am and it was filled with only locals, but they were very nice to us and we got some French fries covered in a spicy sauce. Perfecto! Then we finally went to sleep for not too many hours.

We got up at 11 am to pack up our bags and get ready to move into our new and sadly separate apartments. After enjoying a last breakfast on the terrace, we bid adieu to the people at the hostel and I grabbed a cab to my new apartment. It only cost me 4 euros, which I was happy about because that means that rides home at 6 am should not empty my bank account. I was greeted by my two new roommates, Inma and Jesús. They both are extremely nice, although I have a bit of trouble understanding Jesús so far. Apparently, he has a distinct Sevillan accent. They speak very quickly to each other and it can be hard to comprehend everything, but with Inma’s English explanations, I am getting the gist of it. And Jesús seems very funny and friendly. Plus, girls, he is extremely good looking. So you all better come visit, whether it is to see me, him or Sevilla! I unpacked my stuff and then passed out for a siesta. I’m usually not a big napper, but after a night out and the fact that everything closes from 2-6 pm, I was out cold. When in Spain…sleep in the afternoon. I woke up around 7:00 and headed out to buy some sheets and towels and a set of plastic drawers. Inma had told me about a store similar to our “dollar stores” so I went there and it was quite overwhelming! But it had everything you could ever want. I bought some cheap goods and now my room is organized and my bed is made. I think I will actually stay in tonight. I know, that sounds totally unheard of. I have heard that once you leave the hostel, you realize how tired you actually are and sleep forever. I foresee that happening. I am hoping to Skype with my family and anyone else who is up for that later, so get online!

My Room

Extremely Lost and Eventually Found!

Paella night was delicious! Many people, most of whom I know by now, gathered on the roof for a generous portion of paella and sangria. Everyone was so hungry that there was very little talking during the meal, but it was a lot of fun after the consumption ended. We played several games, like 20 questions (which turned into “Guess the Famous European”) and the name game (where you have to say a famous person whose first name starts with the first letter of the last name of the previously said person). Unfortunately the terrace closes at midnight, which is disappointing because it was such a chill atmosphere up there, so a bunch of us went out to find a bar. We returned to a popular spot not far from our hostel and hung out there until that place closed at 1:30. Then we headed toward an Irish bar near the Cathedral which had no music playing because apparently the neighbors complained. They really should know that they live above a bar in Spain, which basically means it will be loud all the time. My apartment is above a Cervecería so hopefully that won’t be a big problem. At this rate, I’ll probably just be down there every night. At the Irish bar, I mostly chatted with the people I came with, but I had a brief conversation with some Spanish boys who told me that they speak “nearly perfect” English. I’m not so sure about that, but I think I got the gist of what they were trying to say to me. After that, I headed home with a friend while the others continued on their trek to find a club. Since it was unsuccessful, I’m glad I went home at an “early” 2:30 am and got 10 hours of sleep! Finally!

This morning (actually the afternoon), I woke up and had a croissant at a café with Rebecca. Then she went off to finalize her housing, and I went off on a solo adventure. I went towards the shopping area and tried on many Spanish clothes. I ended up getting a flowery Spanish-looking shirt from H&M (which is much better in Europe, by the way) and a cute dress from a store called Blanco that I am very excited about. Then I got completely and utterly lost. I tried to head back towards the hostel but somehow headed in the opposite direction for probably 10-15 minutes. Now, I did have a map, but it did not seem to help me very much. I’m certain I walked in several circles throughout my adventure back and got quite frustrated. Oh, how I miss my iPhone’s GPS! Eventually, after at least an hour of painful searching, I found the Cathedral. (This picture is taken in the square of the Cathedral.) I was about to collapse from exhaustion and hunger, so I called Rebecca and told her to meet me there for tapas. She and our British/Greek friend, Andreas, met me in the square and we searched around for a tapas bar, mainly because he had not had a true tapas experience since being in Sevilla. We settled on one we had been to before and sat down for another savory meal. I had patatas con ali oli, an amazing creamy sauce, and a crepe with goat cheese and raspberry. The food is just soooo good! That crepe was truly heavenly. We could not decide what meal that was, though, because people don’t eat dinner here until 9 or 10 pm. The ambience of Sevilla is so perfect. I could literally sit there with my friends all day and be perfectly content…especially after a long day of walking.

We headed back to the hostel after a while, under the agreement that coffee and pastries were in order a few hours later. Now I am writing this blog and resting my feet for our last night in the hostel. We may attend a free flamenco show with some of our friends and really should pack up the corner of our bedroom that has been ravaged with our stuff. I am a bit nervous about moving out of this ridiculously social environment and to an apartment of only 3 people, but hopefully I will keep in touch with some of the friends I made here, and Rebecca and I already have plans to explore other parts of the city. Apparently there is an absolutely amazing park near her apartment that I intend to frequent. I’m also excited to get to know my new roommates and hopefully speak much more Spanish. We have noticed that in the few days since finding an apartment, and therefore not having to communicate with landlords, our Spanish skills are dwindling. I’m sure that will change soon, though. Now let’s see what fun tonight holds before my move tomorrow…

It's official...I'm living in Sevilla!

Last night ended up being anything but chill. I was sitting on the terrace with a bunch of people, enjoying some tinto de verano, and one of the guys who works for the hostel came up to try to get us all to go out with him. He was pretty darn sneaky and got nearly everyone to join him for an 8 euro fee. I had absolutely no intention of going out and Rebecca had only one hour of sleep in her, but we succumbed to peer pressure and joined the masses. Little did we know that we had joined a pub crawl and would be walking around the entire city. We went from bar to bar (4 or 5 stops in all) and they provided us with a free drink at each of them. It was incredibly fun talking with all our new friends. I had some very lovely conversations with awesome German and British boys and some American girls traveling around. I also got to see a new part of the city as we crossed the river over to Triana. It looks like it will be great to explore in the daylight too. At one bar/club, they were playing electronic techno music and I had to adjust my dancing to that type of music, which was not easy. I mostly copied the European boys and jumped around a lot, but I don’t think it was terrible in the end. The final stop was an open-air dance club in the middle of a park. It was a very cool place to have a dance party, and they were playing remixes of American songs (including Who Let the Dogs Out and Getting Jiggy Wit It). The place was completely packed on a Monday night, too. Oh, Spain, you know how to have fun! It was a very long night (we got back around 4:30 am, I think), and it was not the best dance club experience of my life because it was with new friends (nothing beats going out with the girls from home), but all in the all, the lack of sleep was worth it to meet such amazing people.

Early this afternoon, I hiked over to my new apartment in Nervión (a 45 minute walk) to pay Inma for the apartment. In Spain, you pay rent in cash, which makes walking from the ATM to the apartment kind of nerve wracking, but I made it there just fine. Inma and I sat down and chatted for a while, and I feel very good about the apartment. I am excited to move my stuff in and buy some things for the room, although it is completely furnished. Then she took me out for a drink (just what I needed after last night) and we had a great conversation. I took the bus back towards the city, which was a very short ride and my first experience on Sevilla public transportation. I spent the whole ride writing one text message on my crappy new phone. After the intuitive texting on the iPhone, using T9 or pressing a button 3 times to get one letter is extremely frustrating. Rebecca also got a phone this morning, so we met back up at the hostel and headed out for some much needed tapas. And she decided on a place to live! It is the spacious place we visited yesterday and should not be hard to get to from my place. The tapas we had were incredible! I had the restaurant’s savory version of “Ferrero Roche” that was made of black rice and some delicious filling and sauce. Mmm mmm mmm. Then we found an El Corte Ingles, a large department store with an amazing grocery store in the bottom. I bought some gelato to share at the hostel and headed back before it melted completely in the scorching sun. Luckily, I found two of my British friends on the terrace and we enjoyed some hearty laughs and nearly melted dulce de leche gelato. The guys are real characters and we have a great time picking on each other. We spent quite a while discussing the meaning of the word “cheeky,” which we sort of decided means being a little mischievous without causing harm. After that died down, I came downstairs to write this blog quickly before heading up again for “Paella Night.” The hostel organizes a lot of activities and this is one of them. I am starving and very excited to eat some hostel-made paella (a rice dish with seafood). As much as I need sleep yet again, I am sure I will get sucked into another night of fun, hopefully more low-key than last night was. Luckily, everyone else seems to be feeling something more chill too. But so far, that doesn’t seem to happen much in Sevilla.

Guess What I Found!

Last night, we had an unexpectedly amazing time! I wasn’t sure if we would just chill out or go to bed, but of course neither of those things happened. We went up to the rooftop terrace of the hostel, which is a place where a ton of people gather. We met some really cool people from England and Holland and had fun copying each other’s accents. Apparently my British accent turns a bit Irish sometimes. Rebecca and I decided to grab a bit of food and we ran into another girl in our program downstairs. She and her friend joined us to go get food, and while we intended to get something to go and return to the terrace, to-go food was not really available so we sat down for some tapas. I was a bit disappointed about not returning to our new international friends, but we had a lovely time with the girls. Unfortunately, I ordered a tortilla de camarónes which was literally like the most greasy potato latke ever, but my croquetas caseras were delicious! Right as our dinner was ending after midnight, I spotted our other friends walking down the street. I, having absolutely no social shame, darted up from our table and ran over to them to apologize for not returning to the terrace. They picked on me for a bit and then invited us out to drinks. All four of us girls paid our bill and joined them in their quest to find an open bar. We found a spot and shared some deliciously sweet sangria and conversations. I had a wonderful time chatting with all of them. When that bar closed around 1:30, we went back to the hostel and I found my way through the dark room to my bed.

I woke up not enough hours later to a gorgeous guy speaking French. He said to me, “You are alone?” I turned toward Rebecca’s bed to tell him “No” but she was not there. In fact, I was the last one awake in the room, and it was only 9:30. Rebecca had been unable to sleep all night and was up on the terrace. She went to bed shortly after that and I headed out on a mission to find a cell phone. I went from phone store to phone store asking for the different prices and possibilities. No one spoke English, and I was very proud of myself for successfully maneuvering our Spanish conversations. I settled on Vodaphone for 19 cents per minute, but I’m not positive that was the best possible deal. I got a bright pink phone that is disappointing after 2 years with an iPhone but I will get used to it. If I find a better plan by word of mouth, I will just switch the sim card. I found my way back with only one glance at a map and woke up Rebecca after one hour of sleep because we had apartments to visit.

I was very hopeful about the first apartment we went to see, but it was absolutely disgusting. So disappointing! There was a middle-aged woman there with something like “The Price is Right” blasting from the TV and the room made me want to vomit. We dashed out of there and on to see the apartment that I had considered taking even before getting to Sevilla. It was quite a walk away but it was so much more beautiful than any others that I had seen so far. We spent a lot of time talking about the apartment with the renter (Inma), a fun Spanish woman who speaks perfect English. Then Rebecca and I spent even more time deciding whether or not to take it. Rebecca decided not to take it, but I really felt it was good for me. There was a Spanish boy literally waiting outside with his mother and brother until we made a decision because he also really wanted the apartment. We left it with Inma that she could rent it to the Spanish boy but that I would probably agree to take it later that night after seeing one more apartment. The Spanish boy is a second-year student in Sevilla, my age, and speaks no English, so I am super excited to speak only Spanish with him and hopefully meet his friends too. I felt very good about my decision, although it felt terrible to give up living with Rebecca.

We walked back toward the hostel and stopped for some pizza. We ordered a pizza with only cheese and tomato but got one with ham. We decided that “plain” in Spain means it has ham on it too. Also, they told us the pizza was for two people to share, and it was more than enough for us, but it was the exact size of a personal pizza in America. Gosh, Americans are large for a reason. Next, we stopped in a grocery store (sooo cool) to pick up some cereal and less than 1 euro bottles of wine and tinto de verano. After going through the check out, a lady approached me and basically offered me a position tutoring her 14-year-old daughter in English. Umm…awesome! Me gusta el dinero. So hopefully that will work out!

After a brief time in our hostel, and me feeling pretty much on cloud nine, we rushed to our next apartment appointment. This one was much better than most we have seen…it was very spacious compared to ones right in the city center. There was only one room available so we were searching for Rebecca to take it, and it is possible that she will. We wandered back from there through the gorgeous but under construction Plaza de España. Can you say “bonita?” I think I could spent hours just chilling in that area. I decided to call Inma and confirm that I will take the apartment. You know what that means?? I have an apartment!!! Wooohoo! I am very excited about the situation…I will be a bit far from the city but the bus connection seems great during the day and it is in the direction of my school. Plus, I will have to become fluent in Spanish, which is the most exciting prospect of it all. Rebecca spotted a fair going on and we walked around there for a while, admiring goods from all over the world. It was, like everything else in Sevilla, vibrant and beautiful.

Eventually, we returned to the hostel for some much needed sitting and internet access. Despite the lack of sleep, I am loving the atmosphere of hostels. I think I’ve chatted up more British guys here than ever in my life. I felt like a star sitting in the lobby and talking to everyone about their days. I just can never be too social and I get way too much pleasure out of it. Speaking of being friendly, people in Sevilla are super friendly so far! No one has gotten mad at us for struggling with Spanish, and a guy at a small stand talked with us for a bit about New York. That would never happen in New York, so we told him Sevilla was mucho mejor. I think this year is going to be amazing, and I feel much better knowing that I have a place to live. I will go over there tomorrow and pay for the place. She is being super nice and letting me only pay for the end of this month, and the rate is 300 euros per month flat. Not too shabby. I will post pictures of it once I move in. Who knows what this night holds, but I’m sure it will be something great! Or maybe I should just get some sleep…

Oh, Hey, Cathedral that I just bumped into!

Last night, after a too brief nap, Rebecca and I ventured out into the city. It was incredible!! I am so happy with the place we are at! It was a Saturday night and the city had so much life to it. It made me feel so warm and happy and relieved after such a long day of travelling. We wandered around for quite a while and saw endless tapas bars and ran into so many gorgeous buildings, including the giant cathedral, which is doing a great job of looking fine. The air temperature was literally perfect. I would have changed nothing about the atmosphere. After a tough decision-making process, we settled on a tapas bar on a narrow street with what seemed to be cheaper tapas than other places had. We had several delicious dishes, including tortilla española, salchicas de Iberica, queso de olveja, olivas, and jamón. Of course it was washed down by a tiny glass of amazingly sweet sangria. I could (and will) get used to this life. Then we went back for a decent night’s sleep, but I panicked in the morning when my phone dropped in an unreachable place under my bed and I was afraid my alarm would wake everyone in the room up. Luckily, I woke Rebecca two minutes before the alarm, we moved the bed, and I disarmed the phone before the sound explosion could occur.

This morning, we visited a potential apartment in the perfect location in the center of the city. It was decent but a tad bit expensive and old-looking. There was also no window in one of the bedrooms, so it did not seem totally ideal. It is still a possibility and had some very beautiful features, including Spanish tile, but we are continuing the search. We called several people renting apartments through Skype while in the lobby of our hostel. All the people staying there heard us yelling into the computer and sometimes getting hung up on, but we had success with some renters. Hunger set in, and we had a delicious lunch in a square, where I enjoyed the plato del día, paella. Every time we have tried to be seated for a meal, we end up standing awkwardly until we get the waitresses attention. We have not mastered the art of being seated in Spain, as there is not a hostess like in American restaurants. Luckily, we know how to say “Excuse me” and eventually get a table.

We then ventured toward Nervión, a part of the city that is in the direction of Arahal, the place in which we will be teaching, and also where my carpool will supposedly depart from. It was a nice street that was much quieter than the city center, at least on a Sunday. We peered into the lobby of an apartment that we will be seeing tomorrow, and I have high hopes for it to be a good find. Let’s hope!

Later in the evening, we went to see another apartment by the river. On our way there, we ran into two girls in our program who are also staying at the hostel. It must not be that big of a city if we ran into the only two people we know here on our first day out. The apartment was a bit hard to find, and we did not know the apartment number, so we started ringing all the doorbells. Luckily, no one answered, but then the owner drove up with his girlfriend on a motorcycle and laughed at us. They showed us the apartment, which was the smallest thing I’ve ever seen. Its fridge was a mini-fridge and the third “bedroom” was an open loft that you have get to by climbing a ladder. I struggled with 5 minutes on a top bunk in our hostel, so that loft was not going to happen. The couple was very sweet, but the apartment was far less than ideal.

It was obviously time for gelato, so we heading back towards the hostel and enjoyed some treats. Again, we had a difficult time getting seated, and Rebecca got a hand flashed in her face when she asked for seating. Regardless, the food was delicious and much needed after walking literally all day. We then walked more and accidentally did a circle because we ended up right back at the gelato place. Ugh. But it was pretty funny! We found a whole new part of the city by going to see this apartment, including the shopping district. So I’m sure we will be heading back there soon after we find a place to live. Now I’m just wondering how many more wonders the city holds because we have only seen such a small portion of it so far. Again, the air temperature was perfecto! Now we are in the hostel but may head out again soon for a late dinner or to soak up the atmosphere. Our ideal plan is to run into the super cute boys I befriended from our hostel (who are also from Boston), but they are nowhere to be seen right now. Nix that. He literally just stopped going up the stairs and said “Hi” to me. If you write it, they will come. Well, I’m not sure what tonight holds (hopefully some sleep) but I hope you are all enjoying America, although I suggest you start booking your flight to Sevilla as it is better than I could imagine.

(Unfortunately, the internet in the hostel is often less than stellar, so pictures will have to wait. It really is a shame.)

We made it...eventually!

World’s longest day? Maybe. World’s most tired girls? Fo’ shizzle. Rebecca and I met up at the airport yesterday (although it feels more like today) and boarded our flight to Madrid sin problemas. Of course, the lack of problems can only last for so long in the world of air travel. The plane’s deicing mechanism was apparently broken and would take 15 minutes to fix. LIES. It would take over one and half hours to fix. And how long was our layover supposed to be? Oh, I don’t know, about one hour and thirty-five minutes. So, while the flight itself was relatively smooth and I may have gotten 10 minutes of painful sleep, we definitely did not make our connection to Sevilla. We knew there was a flight a few hours later, but of course that one was totally full. So we got to wait 6 hours in the Madrid airport with no internet and uncomfortable seats. A plus side to getting stranded is that Iberia bought us both lunch. Thanks for the hearty meal (it included salad, pasta, bread, dessert, and a drink), but I’d rather just have been asleep in my hostel in Sevilla. This strong urge to sleep prompted Rebecca and I to imaginarily co-found an airport service that provides beds for rent by the hour. I would have paid many Euros for that today. But nothing beats the name of our company, “A Quick Lay.” Because we have not yet spread this idea worldwide, we were forced to do some good ol’ European window-shopping. What we discovered is that European clothes are soooo much cooler than American clothes, and we don’t own any of them. So, after settling down in Sevilla, I will have to upgrade that distinctly American wardrobe of mine. Another plus to being stranded in a Spanish airport is that I get to speak….Spanish! Rebecca and I get very excited whenever we successfully have bits of conversation in this language. Presumably I could have had these Spanish conversations had I gotten to Sevilla on time, but to make me feel better, let’s pretend they were only possible while stuck in an airport. I’m really excited to keep up these small chats until I can have a legit conversation. I also learned that Spanish men have impeccable style. And I’m fine with that.

After another shorter flight to Sevilla, we found that my luggage had not joined us. They tell me it will arrive tomorrow in the morning, but we shall see if that comes true. We took a cab to the hostel, during which we spoke a lot of Spanish and saw some of Sevilla. Some of the historic parts looked beautiful, but we have a lot of exploring to do. We took a short nap and a shower and are now headed out to find some comida. Hopefully a good night’s sleep (if that is possible in a hostel) will make the next few days of adventure a lot of fun, although we hear that finding an apartment can be quite frustrating.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today is the big day! I am getting on a plane tonight and flying over to Spain. I have been thinking about and planning for this day for so many months, and I cannot believe how fast it has come. I'm so excited to finally start this adventure, even though I have had an amazing week in Boston. I've spent my past week eating every meal with different amazing people (including the lovely ladies in the picture above). I also got to see several new parts of Boston that I hadn't explored while living in the Tufts bubble. Brookline looked absolutely beautiful, and I am convincing my friends to hold a place for me there for when I return from Spain. And I went on a gorgeous walk with a friend around the Fells, a picturesque reservoir that it's hard to believe is so close to the city. I am so grateful that my friends took time out of their ridiculously busy schedules to hang out with me. You guys have all been amazingly supportive and it makes me even more excited when I hear how excited you are for me to go to Spain. I will miss you all tremendously, and you are always welcome to visit me in Sevilla or the rest of Europe. Seriously, come there.

At 4:00 pm today, I'm heading to Logan airport and meeting up with my friend Rebecca, who I'm so glad is joining me on this trip. I would be so much more nervous about this whole thing if I didn't have Rebecca with me. I will attempt to get some sleep on our flight, but it's questionable if that will actually happen. I always get sucked into watching the movies on the plane and distracted when they feed and hydrate us way too often. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who can turn down scrumptious airplane food in favor of sleep. We have a brief layover in Madrid and will hopefully make our connection to Sevilla. Almost everyone I've talked to about this trip cannot believe that we don't have a place to live when we get there. This scares me the most, too. Luckily, we booked a beautiful-looking hostel in the center of the city for 5 nights. Hopefully we will find a luxury acceptable apartment in that time. Rebecca and I have been creating a list of potential apartments for the past few weeks so there are many Spaniards who can expect a phone call from us in the next few days. Hopefully I'll understand enough of what they say to me to find the place they're renting. Let's just say, I'm looking forward to finding a place soon and settling down.

Next time you hear from me, I better be somewhere in Spain, ideally in Sevilla. Here's to hoping that my pilot is very well rested...

My Last Day At Home

I am packed! After laying out my clothes for a week and removing unnecessary items day by day, I finally took the step of putting them into my suitcase and carry-on. Then I did the scariest thing about packing...I weighed my suitcase. 7 pounds over! But there's nothing a little (or a lot) of redistributing can't fix. Now my suitcase has space and is the correct weight while my carry-on is bulging and heavy, but at least the airlines will allow me to board their planes without charging me an exorbitant amount of money.

Tomorrow, I begin my adventure with a journey to Boston! I have so many people I want to see before I leave for Spain. I'm excited to see my friends from Tufts and my summer job, but it is bittersweet because I am saying goodbye for so long and have no idea when I will see them next. It has been very strange not going back to Tufts for school this September, so I am curious what it will be like to visit it as an alum. I'm certain it will not make it easier to say goodbye when I see all of my friends having a great time there.

For those of you who don't know what I am doing this year in Spain, here is the lowdown on what I know. The Spanish government has a program for Language and Culture Assistants to help out in English classes in their public schools. I will be working at a secondary school in El Arahal, a town about 50 km outside of Sevilla (in Andalucía, the south of Spain). My contract says I will work for 12 hours per week, which, despite what may be a very long commute, should leave me a lot of time to explore Sevilla and travel around Spain and Europe. The government also provides me with a stipend that will hopefully pay for my living expenses, although that depends on how often I go out for tapas. :)

As for now, it is time for me to enjoy my last day at home with my parents, mostly consisting of watching the US Open. Before I fly to Spain on Friday evening and start this grand adventure, I will enjoy the company of some of my closest friends and the luxury of being in a familiar city where people speak my native language.