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!