Crashing Córdoba

Instead having regular class on Friday, the group took a day trip to Córdoba, a city about two hours northeast of Sevilla.

When we first arrived at the city, the professor gave us headphones and a headset linked to her microphone so we could hear her talking about what we were seeing if we were too far away. If anyone had any doubt about whether or not we were tourists, it was gone after we put these on. 

To begin, we stepped into a strange combination of a building- a mosque with a cathedral in the middle of it. The mosque was built during the Islamic conquest of the area. When the Spanish reclaimed it, they decided to build the cathedral in the middle of it instead of tear it down. This was definitely a good decision because the mosque was breathtaking. 

When we first entered the mosque, it was hard to know where to look first. The room was dimly lit with large red and white striped arches everywhere. There were also designs lining the walls and paintings that had different scenes from the Koran. Our professor told us about all the history behind the beautiful room before we moved on to the cathedral in the middle. 

The arches in the mosque

The cathedral was  well-lit in contrast to the darker mosque. Gold lined the area where the priest spoke and  huge pipes for the organ came out of both sides. Paintings the size of garage doors were in the back, hung up all the way up the enormous wall. There were too many hand-crafted designs to count, especially on the ceiling. There were seats for the clergy that were crafted out of wood along with pews for the congregation to sit. 

After our time in the cathedral/mosque we went to ancient worship center of yet another religion, a Jewish synagogue. Here, we had a very animated tour guide. He said we could ask him any question we wanted as long as it was not about politics. He then added that he only talked about politics if he had a cerveza (beer). 

The guide showed us around both the synagogue and the ancient house that surrounded it. It was not fancy, but it was still great to hear the history behind it. I was able to understand a lot more of this tour because there was not as much background noise and therefore I did not get distracted while translating in my head. This tour ended with the guide playing an old Jewish song on the drum while another man played the violin.

Fútobol and a lot of Ice Cream

Wednesday and Thursday were busy and fun-filled days. After class on Wednesday, we had a program called "Encuentro," a bilingual worship service at the same church I attended on Sunday. Some of the songs were in English, others were in Spanish and some were both. It was nice to worship in our native tongue for a change as well as practice more Spanish.

After "Encuentro," Mark and I went to a play soccer with some guys who invited us a few days before. They claimed that it would be a laid back game, but when we got there it looked like a pretty intense match. There were eight guys, most of whom were native Spaniards.After I joined the game, they slowed  down, but I still managed to embarrass myself quite a few times with my inferior soccer skills. 

Isabel, our Señora, continues to make us laugh daily. During Wednesday's lunch, she took out a jar from the refrigerator and handed it to me. "Un hombre fuerte," she said, (which means " a strong man') and motioned for me to open it. 

Thursday night was exciting as well. We had "Noche de Chicos," (guys night) which was funny because when it was originally planned I am sure they expected more than three guys. For guy's night, Katie, the program director, took us out to eat for ice cream and said we could get any size we wanted. Mark took this very seriously and ordered a huge banana split. 

When we finished the ice cream, we rented a boat and rode it along the river. I took the lazy  man's seat and got to sit while the other guys paddled the boat, which was perfectly fine with me. We had an hour to paddle down the river and back. The only thing that disturbed our peaceful ride was the big tour boats that honked at us and sent some big waves our way. 

When we got in our fill of man time, the girls joined us for going out to dinner with our tour guides from last week. We got a few large plates to share along with our own personal plates. Personally, I went with the swordfish which ended up being a great choice and one of what I am sure to be many experiences with seafood here.

Next, we went out for frozen yogurt. I do not think our tour guide knew that us guys had already went out for ice cream before, but we were not about to turn down free frozen yogurt. I justified my second trip in only a few hours by ordering kiwi as one of the toppings,  a healthy addition to the chocolate sauce and candies that went along with it.

Class Time

Monday and Tuesday were my first two days of class. I am in the intermediate class along with four other students including my roommate, Mark. During the orientation, we had to sign a contract that said we would not speak any English while at the school, forcing us to use Spanish even if we do not know how to say something. Personally, I like this because we learn to work around words that we can not remember or do not know.

Class here reminds me a lot of elementary school because we have the same teacher for both classes in the same classroom. Our teacher's name is Ana Maria, which is easy for me to remember because it is the same name as my cat. 

My classes only last from 10-1:30 every day, giving me more free time than I have had in a very long time. On Monday, I used this time to go to a coffee shop with some other students. The atmosphere in Spain much more relaxed; when people go out for dinner or to the cafe, they typically stay there for a couple hours, talking with one another, instead of leaving once their food is gone. 

I made a friend while running on Tuesday morning. I planned to do a workout, but a few minutes into picking up my pace, I passed another runner. He started asking me questions when I ran past him, so I decided to let him catch up and talk with him instead of continuing my workout. The combination of the man's deep breaths in between words and my lack of knowing Spanish perfectly made it hard to understand him, but it was still exciting to have a running partner for a little while. 

On Tuesday night, after an extra long siesta, I practiced my Spanish with Mark and Luke. We did this by going through most of our Facebook pictures and describing them in Spanish. It ended up being a great way to learn about one another along with using Spanish. 

A Tiny Church and a Huge one

Sunday was my first time at a Spanish church service. Most of the Presbyterian churches in Spain are very small and this one was no different. The church only had one room and it was filled with about 50 people.

We started by singing several songs, most of which were the same songs we have in English. The words were mostly the same with a few changes so they would still rhyme and flow together. I was excited to know exactly what I was singing the whole time instead of guessing. 

After each song, there was a list of 100 songs on the screen. For the first few songs, we went down the list and I was terrified that we were going to sing all 100 of these songs. However, I finally noticed that people were shouting out numbers after every song and giving requests. 

To my pleasure, I could understand most of what the pastor was saying during the sermon as long as I focused completely. The second I stopped trying to translate in my head, I had to wait for the next point to begin.  

Later that day, we were able to go into part of the cathedral. First, we went into a large room that was open to anyone. All around there were figurines in different scenes from Jesus' life. The ceilings were very high, like in all cathedrals, and they had designs everywhere. In the front, there was an altar with Mary sitting on a throne with baby Jesus on her lap.  

After this, we were going to go into the other rooms and outside tower but we did not know that we needed our passports for a $10 discount so we decided to save it for another time. 

Photo Scavenger Hunt

On Saturday, we had a photo scavenger hunt around Seville. We got into groups and received a list of several different locations in Seville. The locations that were farther from the school were worth more points.

A map was a must-have for this competition so I went to a tourism office to get the map. I heard that they disliked Americans there so I was already worried before entering. When I asked the lady for a map of Sevilla, she kept repeating the word “Sevilla” and mocking my accent. After she asked where I was from and I told her she handed me the map and looked down right away, saying nothing else even after I said “gracias.”

After mapping out our route on the very coveted map, my team headed to the first stop, the Plaza de Espana. The building was huge and it was surrounded by a moat where people were renting kayaks. There were mosaics for all the major cities in Spain around the outside and two huge towers on the ends. It is impossible to take a picture of the whole building because it is so wide.

After we took our picture by the plaza, we went to the American Plaza, where there were hundreds of pigeons. A worker there kept on insisting that we buy food and she seemed like she was getting mad that we did not listen, but I did not have any Euros with me so we ignored her. Even without the food, the pigeons were happy to land on my back and go in my hand. 

"Metropol Parasol"

My favorite place that we visited is a huge wooden structure that forms several squares. In English, it is called the "Metropol Parasol," and the construction was just completed in April. 

Overall, we walked for about six hours on Saturday to several awesome places that I will hopefully be able to visit in more depth as the semester continues. Our team was only one picture away from first place, but I was more excited that I now know my way around the city very well and I do not feel too bad that we lost because the team that won took the busses to several of the places instead of walking so they obviously wanted it more. 

Learning the City

On Thursday, I really got to know what it is like to live in Seville. I had my first taste of fish, the most common food in a Spanish diet. The fish was in "la familia de un tiburón," or in the shark family. Isabel began the meal's conversation by telling us all the different names they have for drunk people, which ended up being about six different names.

If there is one custom here that I wish I could follow forever, it would have to be the siesta. Lunch time here is not until 2:30 but after the meal, we have nap time. It is perfect because it is right during the hottest part of the day and also the time when everyone is most tired. Most of the stores even close during the siesta, which lasts until about five.

 On Thursday and Friday I cut my siesta short to go running, but I still felt incredibly well-rested after waking up. Running can get boring in the same area over and over but now I have a whole new city to explore in a completely different country. I now look forward to running every day. Since I am terrible at directions, I am a little afraid of getting lost, but I am slowly learning my way around and venture a little farther from the river by our house every day.

Thursday night, we went on a tour where we saw a lot of Seville's beautiful buildings, sculptures, and fountains. Our tour guide spoke really fast and it was the hardest time I had understanding anyone here yet. However, she still showed us a lot of awesome places that I will definitely visit again. One of the coolest places was the Seville Cathedral, the third largest one in the world. The cathedral is also where Christoper Columbus buried.

On Friday, we signed up for our classes which start on Monday and then we went back to the school at night. We went to the school for pizza, but while we were waiting we did a "speed dating" game where we had to talk to someone different every two minutes. Naturally, I already knew most of the ladies but it was good to talk to them more.

El Primer Día

The view from our terrace

I was very happy with our home when Mark, Luke and I arrived. Our house is like an apartment; it is on the second floor and has a great view into the plaza right below it. There are balconies from all the rooms in the house, so it is easy to look out onto the street. There are two bedrooms for the three of us, so Luke and I are sharing the larger one.

I was expecting my first encounter with Spanish food for lunch, but to my surprise Isabel ordered Chinese food. When it arrived, Isabel started telling us about how the delivery guy kept saying "lapido" instead of "rapido," mocking his accent and laughing. It was a very funny first impression of my host mother.

After lunch, I took a much needed nap that ended up lasting  longer than planned, until about 8:45. Next, we ate dinner at the normal Spanish time of 9:30 and we saw how spoiled Señoras treat their guests. Isabel made our plates for us and insisted on cleaning all of them herself. "You will have to get used to living like little princes and princesses," we were told during orientation.

When we finished eating, Mark and I explored the city a little and walked on the streets near the river. One big difference here is that everyone is still out and about during the night. There were large groups of people everywhere we went and there were even children playing in a playground even though it was almost 11.

Even after I went to bed, I knew there were still a lot of people on the street because I could hear them out the window. At about midnight, I woke up to the sound of a garbage truck emptying the dumpster outside of our house. Along with this, the crosswalks all make a loud, high-pitched beeping sound when you are allowed to cross and there happens to be one right below our bedroom. I will definitely have to become a deeper sleeper this semester.