España Auténtica

Today, I think I got a real taste of authentic Spain. So, for the past couple days my house mother, Rosario, has been telling Chelsea and I that she planned to go to the country with her friends on Sunday. We were bummed out because we love spending time with Rosario, but we thought oh fine, we'll make do without her. Then today, Rosario kept repeating that she was leaving at 12:15. Then noon came around and Chelsea and I were just sitting in our pajamas, relaxing with our coffee, when Rosario came into the room and became all worried why we weren't ready yet! We then realized that the reason she had been talking about it so much was because she wanted us to go with her!! For some reason, our invitation to the country had gotten lost in translation : / Anyways, so we hurried up and got ready and we were off!

Rosario's friend Petrie drove us about a half hour out of Sevilla into the country. We met up with another car of two old ladies who were showing us the way out to an olive grove. When we were almost there, the car in front of us tried to avoid driving through a puddle but ended up stuck in an irrigation culvert! There was no damage to the car and no one was hurt, but it was definitely a hilarious situation seeing all these old women flit about and not understand a word they were saying. One of the women made a call on her cell phone and a couple older men came and got the car out safe and sound.

The little car in the irrigation culvert. Notice the wheel off the road.

When we finally arrived to the little country "casita" (tiny little shack in the middle of a grove of olive trees), the food was ready for us. TWO TABLES FULL! Granted, there were probably about 10 or 12 people there but there was definitely plenty of food. They had chips, olives, crackers, mystery dip, different types of ham (of course), cheese, Spanish stuffing, and grilled sardines (there was a lot more that I am forgetting). Then, when I thought I couldn't eat any more, they brought out four different homemade desserts. Since Chelsea and I were the young American guests, every time the old ladies saw that our plates were empty or our mouths weren't chewing, they gave us more to eat. I honestly don't think I will need to eat for at least another two days.

The ladies preparing the table for lunch.

The Spanish stuffing. It was amazing!

Some mystery spread/meat thing that Petrie had me try. Not so amazing.

During this meal there was a lot of talking, singing, music and even some dancing by Rosario and Petrie. Although Chelsea and I couldn't understand any of the conversation it was a really great time. Definitely an experience!

One of the olive trees.

Chelsea investigating where our Spanish stuffing came from.

Lección de Vocabulario

Although daily life in Sevilla so far has been great, it's honestly not all that interesting to write about yet. So I’ve decided to let you guys know some of the things I have encountered in Sevilla so far and to give some insight into Spanish culture. 

Tapas: These are kind of the equivalent to an American appetizer but can take the place of a meal. Tapas are served at almost every bar and restaurant and many places only serve tapas. Tapas serve a social function and are commonly ordered while drinking with friends. Just like there are many, many kinds of appetizers there are also many kinds of tapas. Some kinds of tapas that I have encountered so far are:

 potato tortillas 

seafood  paella

croquetas  

Spanish olives

fried calamari   

 thin pork chops with whiskey sauce

Jamón: This is the Spanish word for ham. They friggin love their ham here. They honestly cannot get enough ham. In fact, one of their finest delicacies is a cured ham leg, which you can find hanging in almost every store. To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of ham, I mean I’ll eat it, but eating the ham here has been a bit of a struggle for me. The ham here is just… different.

A typical display of cured ham legs in a supermarket or meat shop.

Siesta: Many of you are probably familiar with this word. In Sevilla and many other parts of Spain, they practice the siesta. It is a time during the afternoon, usually somewhere between 2pm-5pm, when the shops close down for a couple hours. Traditionally it was so people could go home and take a nap during the hottest part of the day. Now it basically exists so people can go home to eat lunch. Since arriving to Sevilla, both Chelsea and I have actively practiced the traditional form of siesta and take long naps during this time of the day, haha.

Vale: This is the Spanish word for “okay.” This word is used only in Spain, not in any of the Latin American countries that speak Spanish. For those of you who don’t know much Spanish, the Spanish V is pronounced much more like a soft B. So valle ends up sounding much more like “bah-lay” which is similar to the Spanish word for dance. So you can see why I was very confused as to what the word actually meant until someone explained it to me. 

Primera Impresión

Hello! Welcome to my blog. It's here for anyone who cares to keep updated with what's happening with my life and studies in Sevilla, Spain.

I've been here for a few days, but this was my first chance I have had to do a post. I'll do a quick run-down of what my days have been like.

Jan 18th: Woke up at 2:30am, puked all the way to the airport, flew from Duluth to Chicago, Chicago to Washington D.C., then from D.C. to Madrid. In total, I spent 11 hours on an airplane that day.

Jan 19th: Arrived in Madrid at about 7am and go to the hotel. Didn't do much this day, mostly slept.

Jan 20th: I finally get to meet my rooomate, Chelsea. She was a day late because her road in Washington was so flooded that she couldn't make it to the airport. Our ISA group toured the Museo del Prado, an art museum, which focused on famous Spanish art by El Grecco, Goya and Velasquez. Also toured the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace of Madrid. Later, took a walk through this huge park in the middle of the city that had a small lake and many statues. That night a few of us girls rode the metro to a little tapas bar where I ordered my first drink! (A San Miguel cerveza) Chelsea and I were way too tired to stay out late though.

The Palacio Real in Madrid.

Jan 21st: Left Madrid for Toledo. Toledo is a very beautiful city. We visited the monasterio de San Juan de las reyes (The Monastery of Saint John of the Kings), Santa Maria Blanca (basically just a really old synagogue), and the Santo Tome Church which houses El Grecco's masterpiece, "The Burial of Count Orgaz."Had an 'interesting' lunch... Chelsea and I ordered seafood paella which had eyes and legs and shells and all sorts of stuff we ended up not eating. I tried mazapan for the first time, which is like an almond pastry thing. Although it was only about 45 degrees in Toledo this day, it was about -40 in Minnesota. That is an 85 degree difference!

"The Burial of Count Orgaz" by El Grecco which is housed in the Santo Tome Church in Toledo.

Jan 22nd: Left Toledo for Sevilla. I was very sad to leave our hotel as it was hosting the Toledo portion of the Mr. Spain contest. Travelled about 8 hours by bus to get to Sevilla. Chelsea and I met our house mom and moved into the apartment that will be our home for the next four months.

Mine and Chelsea's new room.

Jan 23rd: Took a brief tour of the city on foot. The city is extremely beautiful, but the little streets and no street signs can be very confusing for the directionally challenged.

Today: I rode the metro in Sevilla for the first time to take my placement test at my new university, Pablo de Olavide.

My first impressions of everything here in Sevilla have been great. My house mom, Rosario, is extremely friendly even though Chelsea and I cannot talk with her very well yet. The apartment is quite big and roomy for Spain standards. (Everything here is normally really small.) I am very excited for when I have time to explore the city. Tonight I have a meeting and go to a tapas bar with ISA and tomorrow I have orientation at Pablo de Olavide (UPO). Then I start classes on Wednesday!

Okay, I suppose that is enough for now. Sorry to pack so many days into one post, now that I am getting settled into my house and have wee-fee (that's how they pronounce WiFi here, ha) I should be able to post more. ¡Adios!

Relevant Links:
My Pictures of Spain
- My Facebook album of the pictures I have taken so far, there aren't very many yet.
Map of Spain 
- So you can see where these places are. Madrid is right in the center, Toledo is a little southwest and if you keep going down you will find Sevilla.
University of Pablo de Olavide
- The university I will be studying at. The website is in Spanish.
International Studies Abroad: Sevilla, Spain Spring 4 Hispanic Studies Program
- This is all the information about the program I am currently in.