New Roommate!

This week was one of relaxing and not too much adventure. Despite how much I love always doing something, it isn't too bad to take a while and enjoy the Sevillano sun that has decided to make its appearance. I was a bit sick this weekend so I opted for sleep over going out, although I did have a little solo dance party in my living room.

The big news of this week is that Rebecca has moved into my apartment! We are finally living together...something that should have happened 6 months ago. Both of my previous roommates moved out, but I was only sans roommate for one night before Rebecca moved in. We are still waiting to see if we will have another roommate, but, for now, the apartment is very clean and spacious. I am infinitely happier living in the center and love this new place. It has an amazing roof with chairs and a table, so I've been spending time up there in the afternoons and might even develop a tan.

I have been attending Sevillanas classes at my gym, and they have been quite challenging. Sevillanas is a type of flamenco-style dance that originated here. Knowing the dance will come in handy during Feria, a big festival in the spring. The class is full of American study abroad students, and we spend most of the class bumping into each other and tripping over our feet. But this week was the first week where I actually kind of felt like I knew what I was doing and even got my arms going, which are integral, but difficult to coordinate, parts of the dance. I hope by the end of my gym membership, I'll have the dances down and can spin my way through Feria.

Pick-Bagging Can Happen To Anyone

Me and Xanthe on her last night in Sevilla

This week marked exactly halfway through my year of teaching. I know this because Julie and I swapped teaching schedules, so now I am teaching on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I realize that working three days per week is a luxury, but most Auxiliares get Friday off so it is difficult for me to wake up at 6:30 am on a day when everyone else gets to lounge around. Besides that bit of complaining, my new classes seem good so far, and it is nice to get to know a new group of students, although I was just getting close to my old classes. Some of the groups have remained the same, but there are a lot of new faces and names to learn now.

On Tuesday, I had a lovely day of relaxation with some girl friends at Aire de Sevilla, the Arab Baths in Santa Cruz. It was like I was transported back to Morocco while remaining in Spain. There were 6 different baths and rooms (bathrooms?) that we spent 1.5 hours floating around in. My favorite was the warm salt water bath that I floated in effortlessly. Besides my shriveled skin, I could have stayed there forever. It was nice to relax after all the stress of moving.

Me and Anna

On Friday night, despite extreme exhaustion, I went out to bid farewell to two of my Erasmus friends, Nite and Xanthe. It was a fun night but very bittersweet because it was the last time I would see them for who knows how long. I plan to visit Nite in Amsterdam and hopefully will make it to visit Xanthe in Portugal, but I wish they did not have to leave me.

Saturday was not so fun. I fell victim to the infamous pick-pocketing (or, in my case, pick-bagging) of Europe. At some point while enjoying a coffee on a gorgeous, sunny afternoon with Rebecca, someone got into my bag and took my wallet. I have no idea how they pulled it off without me feeling it or anyone seeing it happen (especially since Rebecca was sitting right across from me) but the sneaky dude got what he wanted. I wish he was a nice thief and would just take the money and leave the wallet with all my cards somewhere for a good samaritan or police officer to find it. After canceling my credit cards (he had tried to use it at an ATM but didn't know my PIN), I went to a police station and filed a report. I think that was my first official printed police report, but I wish I had not had to file one. Now my next few days or however long it takes will consist of obtaining new versions of all the cards I lost. ¡Qué lástima! Now I have learned my lesson to NEVER let my bag out of my sight. Don't let it happen to you either. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially since the following night consisted of nightmares and self-hatred for having let it happen to me.

Sevilla Marathon

This morning, I went to watch the Sevilla Marathon! It was a lot of fun, although it was probably one of the quietest marathons in the world. My group of friends was basically the only ones cheering. We saw the runners in the front who make my running look like a turtle sleeping. They were flying and did not look like they had already run 24 miles. Then we left for a bit to make posters for Julie's friend who was running and came back to see a much denser pack of runners. I cheered for the guy I met at the bosque suspendida and our gym teacher on a bike next to him. We cheered for anyone who even slightly acknowledged us and went crazy for a girl with a USA shirt. Watching it was very fun, but it made me feel quite unaccomplished. I'll go to the gym later to make up for that, though. :-P

Watch your bags, people. 

I Like To Move It, Move It!

My new room

This week, I moved to a new apartment in the center of the city! I had felt too isolated in my old apartment, so I moved my loads of stuff to a new house very close to all the action of the city. It is a casa Sevillana with three floors and beautiful tiles on the bottom floor. The landlord lives downstairs and there are two pisos of foreign girls on the other floors. I currently live with two very nice girls from France and Germany, but, unfortunately, they are leaving within the month because their programs are finished here. I am terrified that my landlord won't be able to find replacement roommates, but hopefully that will not be the case and I will have new friends. My new room is huge, but quite cold in this weather. It is nice having a lot of space, though. The apartment is not as modern as my old one, but it is very homey, and, besides the dribbling shower, everything works. I am still settling in, but I feel very comfortable here and love the surrounding area and lovely roof.

My new kitchen

My first night sleeping here was the absolute coldest of my life. I had very thin, hair-covered blankets to hide under and no heater. I wore a winter hat, sweatshirt, fleece jacket, two pairs of socks, and used my computer charger as a heater, but I was still freezing. When I took a shower in the morning with almost no water in a freezing bathroom, I've never shivered harder in my life. To top it all off, I got totally lost trying to find my ride to school that morning. Luckily, they waited for me for a long time while I took a bus to meet them, but it was a truly terrible morning. That day, I bought a lovely comforter and a heater, and my nights have been much better since then. I'm still not looking forward to my freezing 6:30 am wake ups, but at least I have figured out where to meet my carpool.

My new living room

This week, I also joined a gym! I'm very excited about it and have been loving working out. Despite all the walking I do here, I really missed a good turn on the elliptical, and I'm looking forward to going to classes this week. Plus, I seem to know a ton of people who belong to the gym so it is social hour too. The place is teeming with American study abroad students - I'm pretty sure Spanish is the second language there.

Carmona

On Friday, Rebecca and I did a lovely day trip to Carmona, a town about an hour outside of Sevilla. It was really gorgeous and relaxing to be out of the city. Plus, it was a warm and sunny day. We climbed around a fortress and saw an amazing view of the city and the countryside. We wandered around the town for a while and saw some tourist sites and churches. The best part of the day was a stroll on the cactus-lined road outside of the city. We found a group of goats hanging out and were just being friendly to them when a huge dog came out of nowhere and barked us out of there. I was preeeeetty scared, but there was a barbed-wire fence so we survived. We hiked up a giant hill and had a long and relaxing lunch at the top. I had delicious scrambled eggs with cod and prawns, and we shared a chestnut pudding for dessert. It was so nice just looking out at the campo and enjoying the day with nothing else to do. Then we stepped into a very famous hotel there and wished we could stay the night. It reminded me a lot of Morocco. Before going home, we went to explore the Roman necropolis, but it was unimpressive. Overall, it was great town to visit and nice to do some mini-traveling.

View from the hill in Carmona

Friday night was party night! It was the last day of exams for my Erasmus friends, so they were excited to celebrate. We hung out at their house for a long time, and I met some awesome Spanish guys who were picking on me for most of the night. Then we went out to dance at Buddha. I had a wonderful time breaking it down, but the music wasn't amazing, so it could have been even better. Everyone was so fun to dance with, so we stayed there until 5 am.

Me, Carlos, Rebecca, Anna, and Clair

On Sunday evening, I went outside of my comfort zone and did an intercambio with a random person. I emailed this guy that I found on a website, and we decided to meet in the Alameda. I was very nervous beforehand that we wouldn't have things to talk about or that it would be awkward, but it went very well. He was very cute (bonus!) and really friendly and talkative. Unfortunately, English dominated the conversation. We started out talking in Spanish, and I felt quite comfortable speaking, but then he switched to English. He was very good at speaking and wants to be an English teacher. But the conversation was good and we talked for two hours. Hopefully we will meet again soon, and I will insist that we speak more Spanish. I have also been emailing many other people to set up intercambios, so I should be practicing more soon.

Cabras en Carmona

Climbing in the Campo

Jesús's Birthday!

On Wednesday, I went to a cafe with Inma and Jesús to celebrate Jesús's 20th birthday. The cake we got for him was delicious and it was a nice little Spanish session for me. Sevilla was playing Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey that night, so we met up with a group of Jesús's friends to go watch the football game in a bar. We walked around Nervión for about an hour trying to find a specific bar with bad directions, and it ended up being closed. We eventually settled on a bar with a big but very pixelated screen and a fence blocking the screen. We watched most of the game, but Inma and I decided to walk to the stadium and see the atmosphere there. We saw people walking out before the end of the game, so we snuck in and I got to see the packed stadium. My height did not allow me to see the actual game, but I was proud to have been there. Unfortunately, Sevilla lost even though they clearly should have tied.

Erasmus Friends

On Thursday night, I met up with my Erasmus friends to celebrate several of their birthdays. It was such a great time! We went to Los Coloniales and had a delicious meal. I felt totally comfortable there - something that rarely happens in this city. I was cracking jokes just like at home and had a wonderful time hearing everyone's stories. I makes me incredibly sad that many of them are leaving in a few weeks, but it has been great getting to know them here. Thank god I stayed in that hostel when I got here and met them all.

On Friday night, Reegis, Rebecca, and I cooked a delicious meal together - chicken, tortellini, and broccoli. It was not a late night for me because I had a big day on Saturday, but we ran into some friends in Plaza Salvador and caught up a bit before I headed home.

Fran, María, and Jesús in the Bosque Suspendido

Saturday was one of my favorite days in Spain so far. We had a teachers' fun day at a "bosque suspendido" (suspended forest). It was basically a ropes course suspended between trees. It was really nice hanging out with my coworkers outside of work. I got a ride there with María, the gym teacher at my school. She brought some guy friends who I instantly bonded with. We spent the day going through the courses, which pretty much terrified me, but I did most of them. My hands were raw by the end and my arms were very sore the next day, but it was a lot of fun at the time. After we spent a few hours at the park, I went out to eat in the town with María and her friends. We shared an amazing meal of olives, salad, croquetas, three types of meat, and yummy desserts. I had a great time getting picked on by and picking on the guys. They told me I would get an advanced course in (dirty) Spanish that day. Luckily, they spoke pretty good English too, so we could talk in both. One of the guys said I was "de puta madre," which you don't need to know the literal translation of, but it means really awesome. I've never gotten that compliment before, so I was quite flattered. After lunch, we went to that guy's parent's house in the countryside. They live on a vineyard and make their own wine. He gave me a tour of the wine cellar and explained how they make it all. We had coffee with his parents, and I didn't understand much of the conversation, but I still enjoyed being there. Then we took a walk around the property and I learned about a lot of plants, and he gave us lemons, sweet oranges (they don't have acid), and mini oranges that you eat with the skin on them. I was sad to go home after the long, great day, but hopefully I will see them again at some point. It was a wonderful day of adventure in the campo, and I ended it by relaxing and watching a pretty terrible movie with Rebecca.

Wine Cellar

I have been packing up a storm because I move tomorrow! I cannot believe it is so soon, but I am very excited to live in the center. Yesterday, I spent some of the day wandering around the Alcázar and catching up with friends, and it made me so pumped to be living right in the center of the action. I now have piles of suitcases and bags in the living room, ready to be transported tomorrow night. Hopefully they will fit in a cab and I can get them up the stairs in my new house. Until then, I will enjoy my last night in my very comfortable bed (it's extremely hard to leave) and enjoy my last day of work on a Tuesday before my schedule switches next week.

Almond Plant

Tufts in Sevilla

I had some fun things happen this weekend. On Thursday, I went with Chelsea to an African dance class. It was a ton of fun, despite the fact that I was unprepared for it and wearing jeans and a nice shirt. It took place in a garage with live drummers providing the beat. The teacher was an amazing and very flexible dancer who made us shake every part of our body. I hadn't worked out in a while, and it definitely made me sweat. The group had been practicing a routine, so I followed along in the back as best as I could. Then we reviewed a new routine they are starting with lots of jumping around and open arms. After the great workout, we went back to Chelsea's and had a delicious dinner cooked by Tobi. It was a very unexpected and fun evening!

On Friday night, I went out to Bandalai with my Erasmus friends. Before going out, we hung out by the river, which was freeeezing. I had an incredible night of dancing to hip-hop music. The crowd at the club was different than I've ever seen in Spain - think Spanish Jersey Shore. So I mostly hung out with my amigos! I'm really sad because many of them are leaving in mid-February, but that just gives me an excuse to go visit them around Europe.

I went apartment hunting on Saturday and came up with something great. I have decided to move to the center because I feel isolated where I currently live. I think being far away my friends and the bustling city life has contributed to my homesickness. In February, I'll be moving into a casa Sevillana, complete with a tiled entrance-way and huge roof. The house has two separate pisos with 3 girls in each, and the landlord lives downstairs. I haven't met my roommates yet, but I hope they are nice (I think they are from France and Germany for now). Next weekend, I'll be packing up all the stuff I have accumulated since coming here and moving on Tuesday. It will definitely be a new experience and hopefully brighten my life here.

Apparently, American study abroad students and Tufts students have taken over Sevilla. Yesterday, I met up with my friend Shari from Tufts, and, as we were leaving Cafe de Indias, one of the people I was Orientation Leader's for walked in. Then Shari and I went and had coffee with two other girls from Tufts. It was great to hear about how Tufts is holding up, but it mostly made me jealous of their program. I miss school so much, and their classes and programming sound incredible. Maybe I'll just crash their classes. Later, as I was walking down the main street, the only language I heard was American English. We are everywhere. This might also help cure my homesickness, although it's not going to help my Spanish skills.

I Love London!

Modern Architecture in London

I had an incredible time in London this weekend. Since I have been so homesick, it was wonderful being in a place that was a lot more similar to home than Spain is. It was so comfortable and easy to get around with everything in English. I hadn't been in a place where the dominant language was English since arriving in September, and I'm not sure I had realized how much I miss it. Not only was the language great, and the accent even better, but the city has so much to offer.

Rebecca and I took a late flight from Sevilla on Thursday night and arrived at Erica's house around 2 am. Ryanair flies to an airport 90 minutes outside of the city, so we had to take a bus from the airport. Erica welcomed us into her super warm home (something non-existent in Sevilla) and we climbed the seemingly endless stairs to her room. We went to sleep almost immediately because we had London to conquer over the next few days.

Beefeater at Tower of London

On Friday, we went to the Tower of London. It was quite different than I remembered (I pictured more of a tower) but it was pretty and surrounded by awesome modern buildings. We did a tour led by a Beefeater, who was very funny and dramatic. He startled a little girl and made her cry, which probably would have been me many (or not too many) years ago. After the tour, Rebecca and I saw some of the exhibitions but mostly ran through them because we were meeting Erica and her sister for tea. We attempted to take the Tube to tea and make it there on time, but there were delays and we ran around asking everyone how to get there. That is where English came in handy. Eventually, we took a different route on the Tube and made it there quite late. It was in a very fancy hotel called The Landmark, and we joined Erica and her sister, who already had their tea and food. We ordered our own and feasted and caught up on life. The food was incredible - tons of tiny, delicious sandwiches and endless different mini desserts. We sat there for three hours, finishing with the most delicious scones with jelly and clotted cream. It cost 40 Pounds, and I may have gained 40 pounds from it, but it was worth it. I wish I could dine like that everyday. After tea, we rushed home to get ready to go to a bar. We were trying to beat the time when the bar charges a cover, but we got totally lost right around the area. Luckily, Erica just barged in and told them we had a table so we never got charged. The place was playing great music, but it was somewhat awkward because only a few people were dancing, including me. We hung out there for a few hours and headed home for bed. Apparently, Prince Harry goes there sometimes. :)

Afternoon Tea

The next day was one of the most touristy things-packed of my life. We started off with a walking tour of Westminster, led by an adorable British lady who seemed exactly like an English professor. We saw all the necessary buildings - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. It was great to have someone show us all the hot spots and give us an adorably worded description of them. After the tour, we walked to Trafalgar Square and saw the monuments there. We crossed the Thames and headed to Borough Market. But along the way, we found the best thing in the world for English-deprived Sevillanas - a book fair! I'm pretty sure we spent half an hour there scanning every title. I ended up buying two books, as that is all Ryanair would allow me space for. I was like a kid in a candy store, though. We eventually continued along and ended up at Borough Market, where I spent another hour deciding what to eat. I ended up with curry and banoffee pie...both delicious. The market was wonderful and it was great to see such a diversity of food. Next, we stopped at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, but all we could see without paying to get in was the outside. In a moment of daring spontaneity, Rebecca followed a group of students in on a tour. Apparently they sat in the audience and then started singing on stage, so she snuck on to the back of a tour group in the theatre and caught the end of it. Lucky girl. I waited outside with some necessary coffee and my newly purchased books. Then we headed to the Tate Modern museum. It was really big and full of incredible modern art. We zipped through it because we had to make it to the theatre on time! Earlier in the day, we had randomly stopped at a discount ticket booth and secured two tickets to see Wicked. I had seen the show before and loved it so I was pumped to get some theatrical culture back into my life. The theatre was quite big and we were in the second-to-last row, so it wasn't the world's greatest view, but the show, set, and costumes were incredible. Plus, I discovered the binoculars for rent at intermission so I could actually see some of their faces. The actress who played Elphaba had the most amazing voice, so I had chills for most of the show. It also made me miss belting out "Defying Gravity" with Kathy most nights of the week during college. After the show that I never wanted to end, we got some Italian food and a very quick drink at a pub. Everything in London closes super early, which I like more than the schedule of Spain. The last call for the pub was at midnight and the Tube closed soon after, so we rushed home. What a day!

Big Ben

Tate Modern

On Sunday, we went to attempt to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. It turns out that you can only see the majority of the ceremony from a very small part, but I saw the procession in and out of the band and guards. It probably was not worth standing there for an hour for 5 minutes of excitement though. I got off the Tube at King's Cross Station to try to be a Harry Potter tourist. I saw the space between tracks 9 and 10 but apparently missed the shopping cart stuck in a wall in the lobby of the station. Whoops. I continued along to the Angel stop, where I wandered around before meeting Erica for the ballet. There was a mall there with stores I miss from home, like Gap. Too bad everything was in Pounds and too expensive. I enjoyed a burrito, something Sevilla is also missing, and a yummy milkshake. I met up with Erica at Sadler's Wells Theatre to see a ballet of Cinderella. It was set in the time of the London Blitz. The show was amazing - the set, the plot, the DANCING! They made everything seem so effortless, and they did it in high heels. I would like to be able to do any move that they did in the show. It was a total pleasure to watch. After that, we got some Nando's chicken for dinner and had a lazy night in, watching It's Complicated and eating Ben and Jerry's FroYo.

Buckingham Palace

I slept in a bit on Monday with the sound of rain on the skylight. I packed up for my trip home and headed out to explore Notting Hill. It was such a cute neighborhood, filled with fancy white houses. I walked up and down the streets and saw the cutest thing ever - a group of school girls all dressed in the exact same grey pea coats, red pants, rain boots, and hats. It looked like a picture out of Madeline. British children are coming in a close second place to Moroccan kids for cuteness. I went into endless bookstores and fawned over all the titles I couldn't carry home. I also went to several grocery stores and wished I could buy all the food I'm missing in Spain. But I did get one more scone and a delicious bagel.

 Notting Hill

I got very lost on the way back to Erica's house but got there with the help of everyone's GPS on their phones. I grabbed my stuff and said a sad goodbye before making the trek to the airport. The bus to the airport was an hour late, so, for the first time ever, I was sprinting through the airport to catch my flight. I made it to the overcrowded plane, and the flight attendants eventually got the luggage out of the aisles so we could fly. I got home pretty late and went straight to bed because real life was happening again at 6:30 the next morning. I miss London already. I'm sure I'll be back there again someday. If only there weren't endless other places I wanted to visit first...

Back To The Grind

My return to Sevilla was bittersweet...mostly bitter. It was nice to relax after so much traveling (although I am convinced I could have gone forever), but I have been hit with a big bout of homesickness. I think that's what happens when I spend a month with friends and family from America and then they are all disappear. Besides being slightly depressed, I have caught up with friends about their vacations, seen two movies, and enjoyed walking around Sevilla. It also is reassuring that I'm not the only one who is homesick...it seems to have hit a lot of us. Hopefully that will all turn around soon, as I have a lot to look forward to on this side of the New Year: traveling, more friends visiting, longer days, springtime, and eventually returning to the homeland.

Yesterday, while walking on a main street in the center, I heard someone call my name. I assumed it was one of my friends from here, but I turned around and it was my friend, Mitchell, who is still studying at Tufts but is here on vacation with his family. I don't know how this always happens to me, but I can't go anywhere without running into people I know. It is such a tiny world.

I am even more excited because tomorrow night I am flying off to London!! I am going with Rebecca and we are visiting our friend Erica from Tufts. Her family lives in London near Abbey Road so we are gratefully crashing at her house and getting led around the tourist hotspots of the city. I also found out at lunch yesterday that four teachers from my school are also on my flight there. Random but fun! I was in London many many years ago but I am excited to un-London fog my memory. We will have a wonderful girls' weekend together! It is a bit sad that we are leaving Sevilla this weekend because it is perfect weather here, but at least we're not going to the snow-covered Northeast. It's a shame my school can't enjoy the glory of Snow Days.