Friday, January 30, 2009
Madrid
Last weekend I traveled to Madrid with the other students in the program. We took the AVE, a fast train that travels from Sevilla to Madrid in about 2 hours. It always leaves on time, and always arrives on time.
My first impression of Madrid was that it looks pretty dull. I guess the season is partly to blame, especially since it’s winter and the trees have no leaves whatsoever. But all of the buildings were either one of two colors: off-white or brick red. Madrid looks like just another big metropolis – think New York, only less congested. I definitely do think Sevilla is prettier, and a better place to live. The people in Sevilla seem nicer and laidback.
The first night that we tried to go out for dinner was a bit of a disaster. Originally, we had planned to get tapas, but we had really no idea where to go. We stopped by one restaurant, and sat down with the menus. However, after the waiter told us that they don’t serve tapas until the Saturday, the whole group (about 11 people) walked out. It was kind of awkward. We then stopped by another restaurant, and we were informed that the restaurants don’t usually serve tapas until 8:30 pm. We decided to stop by a nearby grocery store for some light food, before we headed out again later at night. At the hotel, we decided to join in on another group’s dinner plans. They wanted to go to a restaurant named The Finca de Susana, and then head to a Cuban restaurant for dancing. However, when we got to that restaurant, we saw that there were no available seats, and the wait would be long. We gave up on that idea, and the group split up in search of food. At that point, it was around 10 o’clock. I was really hungry and would have settled for anything. We ended up at a restaurant/café named Las Fatigas de Querer. Andrea and I shared a humongous, sizzling plate of steak. I liked it, though it was oily and was more than enough meat for the week. After dinner, we headed over to the Negra Tomatita for some dancing. The one guy who danced with me asked me where I was from, and I said “Estados Unidos,” but I told him that I wanted to practice my Spanish. To my dismay, whenever I tried to talk to him in Spanish, he kept talking to me in English (maybe I should have said I was from China?) Although I didn’t really dance with many guys, I had fun being with my other friends in the program. I really enjoy dancing bachata, so it disappointed me that no guy asked me to dance bachata. Whenever they played bachata music, I just lead another girl.
The second day we visited the Prado, a museum featuring the artwork of Spanish artists like Goya and Velazquez. We had a long two-hour guided tour. I didn’t really appreciate it, because the guide only pointed out certain paintings, and I wanted time to just look at the captions and contemplate the meaning of each. Nonetheless, I was glad to see Las Meninas by Velazquez, which has always been one of favorite paintings. In fact, I actually bought a (children’s) book about the infantia of Las Meninas. I’m really a sucker for things like these, but I bought it to improve my Spanish. Plus, it comes with a free poster of Las Meninas!
Later in the afternoon, Andrea, Austin and I visited la Reina Sofia, which is home to Picasso’s Guernica. The painting is quite big, and up close, I could see the texture and mixture of paint. The museum also had pictures of Guernica step by step in the making, so it was interesting to see Picasso’s original intentions. Besides Guernica, nothing else seemed that interesting to me, as it only featured abstract modern art. Austin and I also lost Andrea along the way, so we spent most of the time just looking for her.
That night, we decided to try our luck again at La Finca de Susana, since it apparently is a very nice restaurant that offers relatively cheap food. We arrived earlier than the night before, so we were able to sit down immediately. What I was most surprised about were the waiters. They were all Asian. Filipino, maybe. I guess it’s not that surprising, since Madrid is a metropolitan of different ethnicities, but a fancy restaurant doesn’t sound like a usual place for immigrants to work at. Anyway, the service wasn’t that great. We tried to order our food in Spanish, but the waiters, pressed for time, made us order in English. Also, one of the waitresses brought out a dish of croquettes that none of us had ordered. We tried to tell her that none of us ordered that. She thought we didn’t understand, so she repeated the name of the dish in English, which was unnecessary because “croquetas” and “croquettes” don’t sound that different. Besides the bad service, the food was decent. I wouldn’t say it was the best, because the gambas (shrimp) were smaller than I expected, and the fish and mushroom kebabs were slightly more charcoaled than I would have liked.
The next day, we visited the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). The exterior looks kind of dull, but the inside is magnificent. The rooms we visited included the king’s bedroom, the room with the king’s throne, and the king’s dressing room (and queen has a lot of her own, too). Every room is highly decorated (Baroque style) and has a certain color theme. Although the decoration seemed a bit too ornate, the palace gave me inspiration on what my future house should look like (haha). After roaming around the palace, I stopped by the gift shop. And guess what? I bought another children’s book! This book was about Goya and his painting of May 2, 1898 – another famous painting that I really like.
It was raining by the time we left the palace, and I wasn’t too happy about that because one of my shoes was torn and my foot was half-way soaked. But I decided to join the others in getting food at a local café. I really like getting coffee here, because they always serve them in cute little cups (I guess I can’t say much about American cafes, since coffee is mostly served in paper cups). The lack of tipping also makes things easier for me. One thing I’ve realized is that most restaurants aren’t accustomed to individualized orders that are different from what’s offered on the menu. For example, some of the girls tried ordering a sandwich without mayonnaise, but the waiter just seemed confused and overwhelmed. After lunch, we stopped by a sweet shop and purchased some filloas, which are cinnamon-y wraps with a cream filling. I really like the sweet shops in Spain, because of the traditional/fancy décor and the drool-worthy pastries.
We again took the AVE to return to Sevilla. I was sitting by Terry, and we spent the last 20 minutes listening to Britney Spears and dancing in our seats.
Good times, but I was definitely ready to head back to Sevilla.
My first impression of Madrid was that it looks pretty dull. I guess the season is partly to blame, especially since it’s winter and the trees have no leaves whatsoever. But all of the buildings were either one of two colors: off-white or brick red. Madrid looks like just another big metropolis – think New York, only less congested. I definitely do think Sevilla is prettier, and a better place to live. The people in Sevilla seem nicer and laidback.
The first night that we tried to go out for dinner was a bit of a disaster. Originally, we had planned to get tapas, but we had really no idea where to go. We stopped by one restaurant, and sat down with the menus. However, after the waiter told us that they don’t serve tapas until the Saturday, the whole group (about 11 people) walked out. It was kind of awkward. We then stopped by another restaurant, and we were informed that the restaurants don’t usually serve tapas until 8:30 pm. We decided to stop by a nearby grocery store for some light food, before we headed out again later at night. At the hotel, we decided to join in on another group’s dinner plans. They wanted to go to a restaurant named The Finca de Susana, and then head to a Cuban restaurant for dancing. However, when we got to that restaurant, we saw that there were no available seats, and the wait would be long. We gave up on that idea, and the group split up in search of food. At that point, it was around 10 o’clock. I was really hungry and would have settled for anything. We ended up at a restaurant/café named Las Fatigas de Querer. Andrea and I shared a humongous, sizzling plate of steak. I liked it, though it was oily and was more than enough meat for the week. After dinner, we headed over to the Negra Tomatita for some dancing. The one guy who danced with me asked me where I was from, and I said “Estados Unidos,” but I told him that I wanted to practice my Spanish. To my dismay, whenever I tried to talk to him in Spanish, he kept talking to me in English (maybe I should have said I was from China?) Although I didn’t really dance with many guys, I had fun being with my other friends in the program. I really enjoy dancing bachata, so it disappointed me that no guy asked me to dance bachata. Whenever they played bachata music, I just lead another girl.
The second day we visited the Prado, a museum featuring the artwork of Spanish artists like Goya and Velazquez. We had a long two-hour guided tour. I didn’t really appreciate it, because the guide only pointed out certain paintings, and I wanted time to just look at the captions and contemplate the meaning of each. Nonetheless, I was glad to see Las Meninas by Velazquez, which has always been one of favorite paintings. In fact, I actually bought a (children’s) book about the infantia of Las Meninas. I’m really a sucker for things like these, but I bought it to improve my Spanish. Plus, it comes with a free poster of Las Meninas!
Later in the afternoon, Andrea, Austin and I visited la Reina Sofia, which is home to Picasso’s Guernica. The painting is quite big, and up close, I could see the texture and mixture of paint. The museum also had pictures of Guernica step by step in the making, so it was interesting to see Picasso’s original intentions. Besides Guernica, nothing else seemed that interesting to me, as it only featured abstract modern art. Austin and I also lost Andrea along the way, so we spent most of the time just looking for her.
That night, we decided to try our luck again at La Finca de Susana, since it apparently is a very nice restaurant that offers relatively cheap food. We arrived earlier than the night before, so we were able to sit down immediately. What I was most surprised about were the waiters. They were all Asian. Filipino, maybe. I guess it’s not that surprising, since Madrid is a metropolitan of different ethnicities, but a fancy restaurant doesn’t sound like a usual place for immigrants to work at. Anyway, the service wasn’t that great. We tried to order our food in Spanish, but the waiters, pressed for time, made us order in English. Also, one of the waitresses brought out a dish of croquettes that none of us had ordered. We tried to tell her that none of us ordered that. She thought we didn’t understand, so she repeated the name of the dish in English, which was unnecessary because “croquetas” and “croquettes” don’t sound that different. Besides the bad service, the food was decent. I wouldn’t say it was the best, because the gambas (shrimp) were smaller than I expected, and the fish and mushroom kebabs were slightly more charcoaled than I would have liked.
The next day, we visited the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). The exterior looks kind of dull, but the inside is magnificent. The rooms we visited included the king’s bedroom, the room with the king’s throne, and the king’s dressing room (and queen has a lot of her own, too). Every room is highly decorated (Baroque style) and has a certain color theme. Although the decoration seemed a bit too ornate, the palace gave me inspiration on what my future house should look like (haha). After roaming around the palace, I stopped by the gift shop. And guess what? I bought another children’s book! This book was about Goya and his painting of May 2, 1898 – another famous painting that I really like.
It was raining by the time we left the palace, and I wasn’t too happy about that because one of my shoes was torn and my foot was half-way soaked. But I decided to join the others in getting food at a local café. I really like getting coffee here, because they always serve them in cute little cups (I guess I can’t say much about American cafes, since coffee is mostly served in paper cups). The lack of tipping also makes things easier for me. One thing I’ve realized is that most restaurants aren’t accustomed to individualized orders that are different from what’s offered on the menu. For example, some of the girls tried ordering a sandwich without mayonnaise, but the waiter just seemed confused and overwhelmed. After lunch, we stopped by a sweet shop and purchased some filloas, which are cinnamon-y wraps with a cream filling. I really like the sweet shops in Spain, because of the traditional/fancy décor and the drool-worthy pastries.
We again took the AVE to return to Sevilla. I was sitting by Terry, and we spent the last 20 minutes listening to Britney Spears and dancing in our seats.
Good times, but I was definitely ready to head back to Sevilla.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Some things I've learned in Spanish
Aseo: means “bathroom” – or the toilets, literally. Don’t say “¿Dónde están el baño?” or else people will think you’re looking for a place to wash yourself.
Guay: means “cool” or “neat.” Used mostly by the young people.
Zumo: means “juice.” It’s not “jugo” in Spain.
Ordenador: means computer. Yes, it’s not “la computadora” in Spain. I’ve made this mistake far too many times to count.
Torpe: my new favorite word, which means awkward or clumsy. Andrea and I are currently keep track of points to see who’s more awkward.
Vale: means “ok” or “sure.” People here say it all the time. And I mean all the time. But it’s useful.
Apparently “v’s” are always pronounced as “b’s.” I’ve taken Spanish for at least eight years, and I have never been explicitly told this (well, except that veinte, or twenty, should be pronounced with a “b”). I’m thus having trouble adjusting my pronunciation.
Guay: means “cool” or “neat.” Used mostly by the young people.
Zumo: means “juice.” It’s not “jugo” in Spain.
Ordenador: means computer. Yes, it’s not “la computadora” in Spain. I’ve made this mistake far too many times to count.
Torpe: my new favorite word, which means awkward or clumsy. Andrea and I are currently keep track of points to see who’s more awkward.
Vale: means “ok” or “sure.” People here say it all the time. And I mean all the time. But it’s useful.
Apparently “v’s” are always pronounced as “b’s.” I’ve taken Spanish for at least eight years, and I have never been explicitly told this (well, except that veinte, or twenty, should be pronounced with a “b”). I’m thus having trouble adjusting my pronunciation.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The MCP Program
After staying in Sevilla for three nights, I was ready to start the MCP program. I enjoyed walking around and exploring the city, but I felt like a total extranjera (foreigner), given my race and inability to speak the language fluently. I felt lonely, not necessarily because I missed people, but because I needed others to help me cope with these feelings. I needed the reassurance that I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
On Sunday morning, I took a taxi from my hostel to Hotel Bècquer, where we would stay for the next few nights. The taxi driver seemed especially happy when I tipped him. In Spain, people don’t usually tip for the taxi or in restaurants, but if they do, they usually just round up or pay one euro.
My roommate in the hotel was Amy, who studies psychology at Cornell. Unfortunately, the hotel only has one key for each room, but it didn’t turn out to be a problem, since I hung out with Amy most of the time. Since I had some time to explore the city, I took her around to see the sites. We went to el Parque Maria Luisa, a large park with huge botanical gardens, fountains, and a variety of birds. It was beautiful. It seemed like the ideal place to study or just sit and relax. We also explored the Plaza de España, which is one of the postcard images of Sevilla. I don’t know many details about the square and its surrounding buildings, but according to my guide book, the Plaza de España was the site of the 1929 international fair for Spanish-speaking countries.
Amy and I only spoke Spanish around each other, thanks to the initiation on Amy’s behalf. I really appreciated her effort; despite the suggestions of Eva, Luisa, and Pepe (who are in charge of the program in Sevilla), many of the other students prefer to only speak in English. Of course, it’s easier to speak English, but it makes me feel even more out of place. Still, I do like the other students in my program. At first, it was kind of awkward: I didn’t really know anyone, and I dislike social settings in which I’m forced to make small talk with other people. But slowly, I’ve been getting to know people better, and I’m starting to warm up too. As a group all together we’re a bit of a disaster, though. We’ve been in trouble for our little social gathering in one of the hotel rooms (way to reinforce the stereotype of American as being loud and inconsiderate!). Because of our noisiness, we’ve also been yelled at by one of the hotel staff. Yet it’s funny to me, because it reminds me so much of the silliness of freshman year, especially our need to walk out in large groups.
One of the people I’ve met is Terry, who attends the University of Michigan. He is possibly the loudest and most talkative person I have ever met in my life. He actually does ballroom too. The funny thing is, I think I saw him and his partner competing at Ohio Star Ball (in case any of you guys remember, his partner was the one wearing the really green dress in Silver Latin/Rhythm). During one of our free times, we actually danced a bit together, which I enjoyed. I guess I have a temporary practice partner!
It hasn’t been all fun and games, though. After a few days of setting in, we started cultural immersion and language classes at the Centro. They’re supposed to be intensive, so they took about three hours each day. First, we have a lecture on some cultural topic, then we have a discussion led by some native speaker. The lectures haven’t been the most interesting, since I’ve learned a lot of the information before. The discussions are okay, but we’re being graded in terms of participation (especially how well we’ve read the articles). On the first day of discussion, we have to put into order which topics interest Spaniards, from most to least. One of the guys in the my group wanted to put politics first, which didn’t sound completely right to me, but I thought, whatever. I didn’t remember the article in its entirety, but it turns out that the politics is the thing that Spaniards care least about. Oops.
After living in the hotel for about four nights, we moved in to live with our host families. I am currently sharing a room with Andrea, who attends the University of Michigan. We live in Triana, which is in a quaint neighborhood across the Guadalquivir river and, fortunately, close to the Centro. A lot of the other students are living in Porvenir (the future), which is more modern but also sort of ugly. Every time I walk across the bridge to the Center or back to Triana, I get a magnificent view of the city and the waterfront. Triana is full of ceramic shops, tapas, cafes, and impromptu flamenco. In fact, we live directly in front of Casa Anselma, which has a lot of flamenco performances at night. A lot of flamenco shows are geared towards tourists, but Casa Anselma is place where a lot of locals attend. When Andrea and I passed by yesterday, we could see some people dancing the Sevillanas.
Most of the students in the program are living with old señoras, who are widowed and house international students for the extra income. Andrea and I, however, are living with an actual family. The mother’s name is Emilia, but she goes by Meli. She apparently had wanted to name one of her daughters Andrea, because she really likes that name. Whenever she tries to call us, she only addresses Andrea. She also forgot my name once. This makes me feel left out at times, but I’m trying not to take it personally. The father’s name is Ernesto. He kind of reminds me of Santa Claus: big and jolly minus the beard. He’s an excellent cook, and he laugh at the fact that he has to lose weight.
Ernesto and Meli have three daughters and one son, and two of their daughters (Maria and Rosa) are still living with them. I enjoy living with a family because I get to see how they interact, and how the young generation speaks. Living with Andrea also means I get to hear the use of vosotros more often, which sometimes feels foreign to my ears.
I have currently adapted to the Spanish eating schedule. I eat all my meals at home. Breakfast is simple, as it only consists of a few pieces of toast with margarine or marmalade. The time for breakfast depends the time we wake up, and lately it has been around 11 o’clock. Lunch is usually around 2 o’clock, and it is the most important and most formal meal of the day. The whole family sits down at the table, and we don’t start eating until everyone’s there. Since we eat the most during lunch, a little siesta is necessary, so I usually take a nap afterwards. We don’t eat dinner until 9 o’clock at night (some families eat as late as 10 o’clock), and it’s really informal. Ernesto just leaves out food for us, and Andrea and I just spend the dinner just chatting amongst ourselves and watching TV. Sometimes Andrea doesn’t finish her food, so I finish it for her (I’m her basura, or trash can). I have a feeling that I’ll definitely gain weight from eating all this good food. But we walk so much every day, so it compensates for my gigantic appetite. After dinner, we like to go out and hang out with the other students in the program. The other night, we stayed out until 3 o’clock in the morning, because we went to get ice cream and then headed to a salsa club. I’m really enjoying this pace of life, because it’s so relaxed, yet there’s still time to have fun. Of course, not having access to internet is a pain, but I like living life without thinking about my responsibilities back at school and at home.
On Sunday morning, I took a taxi from my hostel to Hotel Bècquer, where we would stay for the next few nights. The taxi driver seemed especially happy when I tipped him. In Spain, people don’t usually tip for the taxi or in restaurants, but if they do, they usually just round up or pay one euro.
My roommate in the hotel was Amy, who studies psychology at Cornell. Unfortunately, the hotel only has one key for each room, but it didn’t turn out to be a problem, since I hung out with Amy most of the time. Since I had some time to explore the city, I took her around to see the sites. We went to el Parque Maria Luisa, a large park with huge botanical gardens, fountains, and a variety of birds. It was beautiful. It seemed like the ideal place to study or just sit and relax. We also explored the Plaza de España, which is one of the postcard images of Sevilla. I don’t know many details about the square and its surrounding buildings, but according to my guide book, the Plaza de España was the site of the 1929 international fair for Spanish-speaking countries.
Amy and I only spoke Spanish around each other, thanks to the initiation on Amy’s behalf. I really appreciated her effort; despite the suggestions of Eva, Luisa, and Pepe (who are in charge of the program in Sevilla), many of the other students prefer to only speak in English. Of course, it’s easier to speak English, but it makes me feel even more out of place. Still, I do like the other students in my program. At first, it was kind of awkward: I didn’t really know anyone, and I dislike social settings in which I’m forced to make small talk with other people. But slowly, I’ve been getting to know people better, and I’m starting to warm up too. As a group all together we’re a bit of a disaster, though. We’ve been in trouble for our little social gathering in one of the hotel rooms (way to reinforce the stereotype of American as being loud and inconsiderate!). Because of our noisiness, we’ve also been yelled at by one of the hotel staff. Yet it’s funny to me, because it reminds me so much of the silliness of freshman year, especially our need to walk out in large groups.
One of the people I’ve met is Terry, who attends the University of Michigan. He is possibly the loudest and most talkative person I have ever met in my life. He actually does ballroom too. The funny thing is, I think I saw him and his partner competing at Ohio Star Ball (in case any of you guys remember, his partner was the one wearing the really green dress in Silver Latin/Rhythm). During one of our free times, we actually danced a bit together, which I enjoyed. I guess I have a temporary practice partner!
It hasn’t been all fun and games, though. After a few days of setting in, we started cultural immersion and language classes at the Centro. They’re supposed to be intensive, so they took about three hours each day. First, we have a lecture on some cultural topic, then we have a discussion led by some native speaker. The lectures haven’t been the most interesting, since I’ve learned a lot of the information before. The discussions are okay, but we’re being graded in terms of participation (especially how well we’ve read the articles). On the first day of discussion, we have to put into order which topics interest Spaniards, from most to least. One of the guys in the my group wanted to put politics first, which didn’t sound completely right to me, but I thought, whatever. I didn’t remember the article in its entirety, but it turns out that the politics is the thing that Spaniards care least about. Oops.
After living in the hotel for about four nights, we moved in to live with our host families. I am currently sharing a room with Andrea, who attends the University of Michigan. We live in Triana, which is in a quaint neighborhood across the Guadalquivir river and, fortunately, close to the Centro. A lot of the other students are living in Porvenir (the future), which is more modern but also sort of ugly. Every time I walk across the bridge to the Center or back to Triana, I get a magnificent view of the city and the waterfront. Triana is full of ceramic shops, tapas, cafes, and impromptu flamenco. In fact, we live directly in front of Casa Anselma, which has a lot of flamenco performances at night. A lot of flamenco shows are geared towards tourists, but Casa Anselma is place where a lot of locals attend. When Andrea and I passed by yesterday, we could see some people dancing the Sevillanas.
Most of the students in the program are living with old señoras, who are widowed and house international students for the extra income. Andrea and I, however, are living with an actual family. The mother’s name is Emilia, but she goes by Meli. She apparently had wanted to name one of her daughters Andrea, because she really likes that name. Whenever she tries to call us, she only addresses Andrea. She also forgot my name once. This makes me feel left out at times, but I’m trying not to take it personally. The father’s name is Ernesto. He kind of reminds me of Santa Claus: big and jolly minus the beard. He’s an excellent cook, and he laugh at the fact that he has to lose weight.
Ernesto and Meli have three daughters and one son, and two of their daughters (Maria and Rosa) are still living with them. I enjoy living with a family because I get to see how they interact, and how the young generation speaks. Living with Andrea also means I get to hear the use of vosotros more often, which sometimes feels foreign to my ears.
I have currently adapted to the Spanish eating schedule. I eat all my meals at home. Breakfast is simple, as it only consists of a few pieces of toast with margarine or marmalade. The time for breakfast depends the time we wake up, and lately it has been around 11 o’clock. Lunch is usually around 2 o’clock, and it is the most important and most formal meal of the day. The whole family sits down at the table, and we don’t start eating until everyone’s there. Since we eat the most during lunch, a little siesta is necessary, so I usually take a nap afterwards. We don’t eat dinner until 9 o’clock at night (some families eat as late as 10 o’clock), and it’s really informal. Ernesto just leaves out food for us, and Andrea and I just spend the dinner just chatting amongst ourselves and watching TV. Sometimes Andrea doesn’t finish her food, so I finish it for her (I’m her basura, or trash can). I have a feeling that I’ll definitely gain weight from eating all this good food. But we walk so much every day, so it compensates for my gigantic appetite. After dinner, we like to go out and hang out with the other students in the program. The other night, we stayed out until 3 o’clock in the morning, because we went to get ice cream and then headed to a salsa club. I’m really enjoying this pace of life, because it’s so relaxed, yet there’s still time to have fun. Of course, not having access to internet is a pain, but I like living life without thinking about my responsibilities back at school and at home.
Introduction to Sevilla
I’m sorry that I haven’t updated this blog. My computer was out of battery, and the plug converter that I brought doesn’t even work. The plug for the power cord has three prongs, but most converters are meant for plugs with just two prongs. I actually bought another plug converter online and had it shipped express to me. In the meantime, I’ve only used the computers of other people.
Just to orient yourselves better, I should at least give you a brief introduction to Sevilla and the culture. Sevilla is the heart of Andalucía (or Andaluz, as the people here call it), which is the region in the south of Spain. Andalucía is the home of everything traditionally Spanish, such as flamenco, bullfighting, and tapas. Yet it is also the crossroads of cultures. Andalucía was the home to the Moors, the Jews, and the gypsies. Before the Reconquista in 1492, the entire south of Spain was ruled was Muslims. The Muslims have left their mark most evident in the architecture. This fusion of cultures is what’s most exciting for me. The MCP (Michigan-Cornell-Penn) program also includes excursions to other cities in Andalucía, such as Cádiz, Córdoba, and Granada (the last Muslim stronghold), so I’m excited to their distinctive characteristics as well.
Just to orient yourselves better, I should at least give you a brief introduction to Sevilla and the culture. Sevilla is the heart of Andalucía (or Andaluz, as the people here call it), which is the region in the south of Spain. Andalucía is the home of everything traditionally Spanish, such as flamenco, bullfighting, and tapas. Yet it is also the crossroads of cultures. Andalucía was the home to the Moors, the Jews, and the gypsies. Before the Reconquista in 1492, the entire south of Spain was ruled was Muslims. The Muslims have left their mark most evident in the architecture. This fusion of cultures is what’s most exciting for me. The MCP (Michigan-Cornell-Penn) program also includes excursions to other cities in Andalucía, such as Cádiz, Córdoba, and Granada (the last Muslim stronghold), so I’m excited to their distinctive characteristics as well.
Friday, January 9, 2009
First Day in Sevilla
My flight to Sevilla was long. I spent about 15 hours traveling. I am have also been sick. I take my medicine every 4 hours, yet I am still stuffed with mucus (sorry, I know it's gross). Finding the hostel was also a bit difficult, as it's located on some hidden alley. The hostel is located by a street called Calle Sierpes, which has a lot of name brand stores, but at night, the street was completed deserted. It was a bit scary, actually. But when I went out this afternoon, it was bustling with people.
Sevilla is very colorful, and the streets are lined with palm trees and orange trees. It's smaller than a city, but larger than your average town. I have only interacted with a few people so far. Some people have been staring at me, probably because it's quite obvious that I'm not from around here. I am trying to use as little English as possible, but the hostel staff can tell that I'm American, so they start speaking to me in English, even if I initiate the conversation in Spanish. That's not to say that my Spanish is great, though. I totally forgot how to say things like "locker" and "receipt." I also don't fully comprehend what people are saying. However, some local Spanish kids tried interviewing me, asking me questions about my impressions of Sevilla, which went prety smoothly. They had a very distinctive Andalusian accent -- that is, they drop a lot of their 's (i.e. adios becomes adio).
Right now I'm eating bread from a local grocery store because I can't afford to eat out (it costs about 10 euros for a meal -- that's more than $10 in US dollars). I'm planning to go do some more exploring, and hopefully I'll post some pictures soon.
¡Hasta pronto!
Sevilla is very colorful, and the streets are lined with palm trees and orange trees. It's smaller than a city, but larger than your average town. I have only interacted with a few people so far. Some people have been staring at me, probably because it's quite obvious that I'm not from around here. I am trying to use as little English as possible, but the hostel staff can tell that I'm American, so they start speaking to me in English, even if I initiate the conversation in Spanish. That's not to say that my Spanish is great, though. I totally forgot how to say things like "locker" and "receipt." I also don't fully comprehend what people are saying. However, some local Spanish kids tried interviewing me, asking me questions about my impressions of Sevilla, which went prety smoothly. They had a very distinctive Andalusian accent -- that is, they drop a lot of their 's (i.e. adios becomes adio).
Right now I'm eating bread from a local grocery store because I can't afford to eat out (it costs about 10 euros for a meal -- that's more than $10 in US dollars). I'm planning to go do some more exploring, and hopefully I'll post some pictures soon.
¡Hasta pronto!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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