Saturday - The Hunt is On

After partying Friday night, I had to get up early to meet my classmates at Hotel Alcazar at 10 a.m. For what, you ask? I had no idea. The directors just told us to wear comfortable shoes, which meant we were going to be on our feet for awhile. That was the correct instinct. The 47-man group was broken into groups of four or five and given instructions for a scavenger hunt. Woo-hoo! My group discovered the Historic District of Sevilla while other groups ventured elsewhere. We had to carry out tasks, such as retrieving the schedule or horario of a bus trip to Cadiz and taking photos of at least two monuments on La Avenida de Constitucion (i.e. Universidad de Sevilla, Hotel Alfonso XIII and La Puerta de Jerez). On our hunt, we stopped to take photos of La Catedral de Sevilla. Its grandeur and architecture are astounding. I'll have to go back to thoroughly inspect and appreciate it, though.

We all ended up at La Plaza Nueva in front of City Hall or El Ayuntamiento. (Sidebar: The prize for the first group to complete their tasks and arrive at City Hall: a pen bearing the emblem of EUSA.) Wedding parties and guests stood outside of the large and beautiful City Hall, which stands at the entrance of La Plaza Nueva. The plaza is a maze of shops and restaurants (i.e. the famous Campana. There were sells or rebajas galore. The sales associates were very accommodating to us Americans who sometimes have difficulty speaking Spanish. The plaza also is a place for random vendors to sell jewelry on the street and for musicians to pub their albums. The plaza was a meeting place for everyone - old couples, punk kids, gypsies and families. And understandably so, because their were shops from every type of consumer. Me encanta mucho. But I returned home to eat a lunch of empanadas, a pastry with tuna and tomato sauce filling, and fried chicken and, of course, to take a siesta.

After dinner...



My friends and I headed out in search of a discoteca. What can I say? The Latin rhythm-laced music was calling us. Eight of us danced to the techno, pop and salsa music. I must say that some people looked at us like we were crazy. Apparently, Americans or maybe just us do things differently than Sevillanos at a discoteca, such as sing along with the songs loudly, clap to the songs and, let's say, dance in a more sexual manner. Most of the locals at the discoteca neither dance as to call excessive attention to themselves or sweat. They were just cool, calm and collected.

Other observation(s):
1. There is a heavy American influence in Spain. From food to entertainment, there are visible imprints everywhere. The sayings about Starbucks rings true; they are at every corner is some sections of Sevilla. McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hunt have planted their flags here. Also, most of the movies and sitcoms shown on TV are American (i.e. E.R. and Friends) Even the music of Rihanna and the good-natured High School Musical series reign supreme.