Hola a todos (Hello all),
I'm about to go to bed after spending a very busy second day in Sevilla. After spending 9 hours on two planes en route to Madrid and 2.5 hours on a train to Sevilla, I was exhausted when I finally arrived at the Hotel Alcazar (All of the 50-plus students stayed there Tuesday. We were scheduled to meet our host families Wednesday morning.) The AVE train ride was excellent, though. Let's say it's more punctual, modern and quiet than the Amtrak. But who's comparing? And the view of the vast fields, orchards and farmhouses was excellent. At Hotel Alcazar, the students met with the UNC in Sevilla program directors that are stationed in Sevilla. Then we took naps, traversed the city's cobblestone streets and park walkways and ate dinner at a Spanish restaurant, El Rey Moro. (Sidebar: Dinner in Spain takes place between 8 and 10 p.m. Breakfast is light and people eat it at no set time. Lunch is the heaviest meal of the day and usually is eaten at 2 or 3 p.m., before the 3-hour siesta, during which everything shuts down.) The other students and I, well maybe just me, expected a traditional Spanish meal with potato tortillas or paella or tres leches cake. We received a more American meal of grilled chicken, French fries and ice cream instead. It was tasty, nonetheless. I hit the hay after checking my e-mail and calling the bank in the U.S. to make sure its staff doesn't think a person stole my ATM card and used it in another country. (Sidebar: I recommend that people who plan to travel abroad do so before leaving the country.)
Today, I woke up sluggish because of the 6-hour time difference. If it's midnight in Spain, it's 6 p.m. in my hometown of Kinston, N.C. But my roommate, Kareemah, and I were excited to finally meet our senora or host mother. Her name is Ines and she has an 11-year-old daughter. As soon as we met Ines, she greeted us with a hug and a kiss on each cheek, which is a Spanish custom. She, like most senoras, talked to us about everything (in Spanish, of course) and offered more food than we could stand. For lunch or el almuerzo, she prepared salad, potato tortilla and gazpacho, which is a cold tomato soup. She offered fruit o fruta for desert. We ate salad and pizza for dinner or la cena, which was at 10 p.m. In between the tasty meals, Kareemah and I told Ines about our interests and showed her pictures of our families and friends and vice versa. Some things did get lost in translation, but I'm doing pretty well speaking el espanol.
After lunch, all the students had to go to EUSA (pronounced eh-oo-sah), the university that hosts the study abroad program. The directors gave us tips on everything from exchanging U.S. dollars for Euros to the hazards of walking alone at night to how to tell your senora that she's offering too much food. Some classmates and I took a 20-minute walk to Orange, a popular cellular phone store, after the two-hour meeting. We either needed to add minutes to the prepaid phones we were given from past students or to purchase new phones. The poor saleswoman at the store was bombarded by 12 students talking to her at once about rates and international calling cards, but we all left the store unscathed.
I had no idea what to expect when I landed in Spain (I read guidebooks and past students' comments, but that cannot prepare you fully for living in a foreign country). Most of the building are tall, as to maximize space by being constructed vertically. Most residences are apartments above stores or tiendas. I have to yet to see a house. The people are beautiful with olive-toned skin and piercing eyes of all colors. The woman are de moda or fashionable with their linen tops, skirts and heels or Greek goddess-inspired sandals. And pictures don't do the ancient Baroque and Moorish buildings justice. You can't help but notice the unique history that lies within each stone of the cathedral, the streets and the parks. Compared to Spain and other European nations, the U.S. is an infant country. And best of all, my Spanish-speaking skills have already improved. Words cannot describe how excited I am to discover more about Sevilla's people and culture.
Hasta luego (So long or until later),
Dioni
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