Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sevilla: La ciudad que no duerme

Sevilla: The City that never sleeps. Sevilla is amazing. It is like chicago, because it has 1.5 million people, combined with the oldest city you could possibly think of. The streets are more confusing than the new york subway system, which if you've ever visited, is impossible to navigate. A sevillano named Sergio was our guide for the first few days and he has lived here he even gets lost sometimes, so you can't possibly imagine trying to walk around a new city in a new country where people only speak a language that is near impossible to understand....quite a daunting task.

The first weekend was so crazy here in sevilla because we had all kinds of meetings during the day for orientation and then events with the people from CIEE (the program here in sevilla) at night. The tapas are awesome and the food is different, but delicious. I've been trying things I can't even pronounce! We have gone to several different places to eat and I haven't tried something I didn't like!

I moved into my dorm on friday and my roomate is awesome! He is from valencia and his name is Werner because his mom is german. He is studying pre-med in Sevilla and he speaks english and spanish so he helps me when i don't know a word and i help him when he doesn't know one, so it is awesome. He is also halarious. he has a great sense of humor and we're always making each other laugh. So i lucked out with him! A lot of people don't have internet in their homestays, and i have not only internet, but wi-fi, so i'm pretty lucky! all in all, i am very glad with my living arrangements thus far with the exception of how uncomfortable my mattress is and how thin my blankets are. But other than that, todo esta bien!

This weekend was a lot of fun and we expereienced some of the night life in sevilla, which if you haven't heard, is some of the best in the world. There are clubs, bars, pubs, and other places to go and most of them are open from 11am until 6-7 in the morning, CRAZY! When we walk home at the end of the night, there are adults out in the streets just socializing and it makes me realize why spaniards take naps: Becuase they don't sleep mcuh at night! It is hard to believe that there are so many people around at all hours of the night!! I wish that everyone reading this could come and see for yourselves how incredible and crazy it is! pictures do no justice to the beauty, quaintness and bustle of this amazing city!

I will try and get some more pictures up, but I am constantly forgetting my camera in my room. My schedule is crazy and I'm trying my best! we start class tomorrow, so hopefully a routine will start to develop soon and I can finally begin to have a semi-normal sleep pattern. If you require a lot of sleep to function, don't come ever come to sevilla because you will not enjoy it!

For now, time for a siesta and then later Werner and I are going to an Irish Pub (weird right?) to watch los partidos de futbol americano, which start at 9pm and 12:30am here! Crazy!!

Until next time, Adios!! I hope all is well back in the US!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Bienvenidos a Sevilla!

I finally got to sevilla! The flight was a verrryyy long and tiring experience but I am here safely! Everyone here speaks so fast, so that will definitely take some getting used to. But on the whole, I'm not overwhelmed.

After landing, we took a bus to our hotel where we will be for 2 days for orientation and then move into where I will live for the semester (which is TBD tonight.) Then, we got our hotel rooms and ate lunch. Lunch in spain is much different than I expected! It was 3 courses: the first was scrambled eggs with mushrooms and peppers followed by carne (steak) and lastly, postre! (dessert). It was so filling that I couldn't even finish it!

Tonight is full of orientation activities and meeting more people! Mucha divertida!

Adios de Sevilla!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Departure

Well, tomorrow is the day! It seems as though I have been planning this trip for months and it was never going to come, but it is finally here! There are so many things I am sure are going to be so different, i don't really know what to expect!

I will keep you all updated as much as possible on what is going on and I hope everyone has a good few months while I'm away!