sevici

let me introduce you to sevici! - the bike borrowing project that sevilla has going. i thought this would be the answer to my 45 minute walk to class. i could leave a little later, sweat a little less... that, unfortunately, isn't the case. but it does mix up the day a little bit! 

how it works: see that gray station? you swipe your long term pass there, or enter your short term number, then a pin number, and you choose a bike and you're off! to get a pass for a week, i paid 5 euros (and a 150 euro deposit...in case i decide to never return the bike i use. let's hope i get that money back come next monday...) i had some trouble the first few times trying to subscribe. but i eventually figured it out. the thing about using bikes that everyone else and their mother uses is that they're a little worn down. i'm not complaining, i've always gotten where i needed to be without leaving bike parts behind me - but it is a little frustrating when the seat keeps wiggling down as you peddle, or the seat is at its lowest position and has no clamp to keep it a little higher. i felt a little gangster, not gonna lie, sevici-ing for the first time, with my arms reaching up for the handle bars and my knees coming up a little higher than they should.  

also, there are spots where the bike than just disappears, so at one point, i was on the road, getting honked at, and yelled at "watch out!" and no, i'm not translating that into english. a guy literally said "watch out." i guess the word "american" is permanently plastered on my forehead. 

since that traumatizing experience. i've had some successes. changed my route a little. got the return system down. actually, i've been sevici-ing like a boss. ("como una jefe," if you will) ...however, i may opt for a metro card soon.

in other news: i have a 'midterm' tomorrow, as well as my first composition due tomorrow. one page: my new life in spain. good times. it's also good to know my procrastination skills don't waver, no matter which side of the atlantic i'm on.
my señora made hot dogs (salchichas) for dinner. she gave me 3 and a huge toaster roll...i'm not sure who she thinks i am, but i am certainly not mark sanchez and 2 hot dogs is even more than enough. i guess the salad helped, but i'm certainly on some sal-overload.

i might as well look as alien as possible because it reinforces a point i am making. my whole thing is that i approach everything as an absolute outsider. it's the only way i can break so many rules. [...] who makes the rules anyhow? - klaus nomi

there is such a thing as good grief...

...just ask charlie brown. (thanks, michael scott)

the past week has truly been an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least.
i understood, before leaving home, that the first few weeks would be kinda awkward and difficult.
but i guess this is what they call homesickness/culture shock.
i also knew that i was coming to spain for the fall semester to challenge myself and to prove that i could do it, living in a country where english is not the first language and people stay out until the sun rises.
not that i have a huge problem with eating lunch and 3 and dinner at 10, but it does take some adjusting.
i guess my biggest problem was that no one i knew would be here with me. that's the best/worst part.
hearing about my mom making raspberry muffins, my dad yelling during the eagles game, my dog barking while looking for the source of my voice, it's all very bitter. but the sweet is that i will broaden so many horizons, even ones i knew knew existed.
oh and the walk from west to main campus come spring semester...piece of cake.

me duelen los pies!

that's right, translators! my feet hurt!
it's funny because many people think that going abroad for a semester means that you will gain all this weight because you gotta eat all the rich food and drink up because you're legal and there's no time like the present, yada yada yada... not only is that one way to see all your euros go, but it's true. it is a great way to pack on the poundage. however, i foresee myself not having that problem. i walk A LOT. yesterday i had that song "i would walk 500 miles, then i would walk 500 more..." in my head, probably because it was so appropriate! from my homestay to the 'palacio' where all my classes will be - it is a 45 minute walk. good times. and i'm not the most punctual, neither are meal times, so i'm usually hustling to make it to the study center on time. i mapped it out (thank you google) and it's about 2 miles one way. therefore, i will walk at least 8 miles per day. (one's gotta go home for siesta and lunch!)

 come una manzana y no lleva al médico. (~an apple a day keeps the doctor away)
this week has been quite the food experience. tapas are awesome. at las tapaerias, there are SO many to choose from. each is a small portion, compared to dinner in america, but it feels just the right size. do you know how good goat cheese is with a small piece of toast and jelly? it's the bomb. my señora is pretty classy in the kitchen, too. i'm fortunate that she's very health-conscious, too. i've heard many things from other kids that they haven't had an vegetables yet, but we're good! she's to provide all my meals. since i moved in on wednesday, breakfast has been the same. 2 pieces of toast with butter and honey, tea and sometimes oj. the first day she asked if i liked oil or butter. not really hearing everything due to her fast lips and my nervousness, i only caught "mantequia" so i said "si!" what i didn't know is that oil was my other option and that she doesn't use butter. so we had to leave the house and go to the store... we stood in front of all the butter, which is margarine, and she told me that she doesn't use it, it's bad for your heart. awesome. but she picked out one that said it was made with vegetable oil, contained omega 3 and 6, then she asked the guy stocking next to us if it contained salt. he said 'no' so we bought that one! she talks about potassium in bananas and calcium in yogurt a lot too. the first day we had beef and cooked carrots together. and with that was gazpacho (a cold soup made with tomatoes, and garlic and some other stuff in there, i'm sure). delicious. twice we had salad for dinner. with cheese, a hard boiled egg, tomatoes and lettuce. then yogurt to finish it off. dinner is much smaller than lunch. lunch is at 2 or 3 ish, and dinner is around 9 or 10ish. it's pretty weird to get used to. lunch yesterday: fried sardines. i don't think i've ever had sardines before...i tried to tell her i'm not real big on fish, i guess she didn't really get that. i couldn't see the head or spine, but the tail stuck out of the fried business. i tried it, of course. but i wouldn't need to eat it again! today was fishy too, paella almost exactly like the paella we had during orientation earlier in the week (yes. with the whole shrimps). i ate one, but left the other, eyes in tact and everything. tonight's dinner was una tortilla española... basically an omelette (eggs) with potatoes in it. i told her i don't like potatoes, too. the tortilla wasn't bad though. paired with it were sliced tomatoes (with salt, vinegar and oil on top). not my favorite dish, but i didn't not like it either! after every meal (lunch or dinner) we always have a piece of fruit, whether it be a banana, melon, peach or apple. all are awesome!! the melon is unlike anything i've ever had at home. the seeds are in the middle and look like they're a little orangey (like cantelope) but the actual melon is white, sweet, delicious! she cuts the skin off everything. and eats it with a fork. i told her we eat bananas like "los monos" at home (like monkeys)... she said she didn't mind which way i ate it! (i guess i can throw that "no switching hands with your silverware" stuff out the window!

registered for classes yesterday! i'm all set. monday starts the intensive session: intensive advanced spanish grammar. 12-3, monday through friday for 2 weeks. then i have a final on saturday. then that next monday (the 27th), regular class session starts. i'll have 4 classes: 3 cultures in spain (jews, christians & muslims), academic writing and critical thinking, women writers in 20th century spain, and the one for which i'm most excited - social justice and community service practicum. i'm excited to get into a routine. not that i want my life here to be so routine...because it's obviously not! but when my body won't be so mad at me and how messed up i've made it. when i have a schedule, goals, homework (yeah, i never thought i'd say this, but i'm ready to be in school-mode).


"what is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain until you see their specks dispersing? it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's goodbye. but we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." -jack kerouac

visual aids

the bridge i'll cross to get from home to class - sevilla at night!

paella - i ate around the little guys though.

sangria - tinto de verano con fruta!

 croquettes with ham -- like little fried ham and cheese balls. very tastey. tapas son deliciosos!

 

ciee study center -- where my classes will be. it's called "el palacio"

a sign in the study center.

my desk!

my room!

where we went for tapas last night. verrrry tastey. (we'll probably go here, m&d, if i can find it again)

map city -- it's tough figuring out where everyone is staying & how to get places on our own!

learning table manners

yep, it looks like i'm gonna need to re-learn how to eat with a knife and fork.  at home, we cut what we have to cut, holding our knife in our right (if that's the dominant hand) and the fork in the left. then when we take a bite, we put the knife down and switch the fork to the right hand and eat up! well not up in here. in spain, it's rude to do that, or so i've read. you're supposed to keep your utensils in the same hand the whole time. also, it's sketchy to have one hand on your lap - both hands on the table is what's best. and through what i've seen so far, it's true! (and awkward for my left hand!)
i moved into my homestay today! (and by today, i mean yesterday. sept, 8) i'm living with a senora, esperanza, and she is lovely. we had meat with cooked carrots for lunch, along with gazpacho, which is cold soup (with ice cubes) made mostly out of tomatoes. and we ended the meal with delicious melon! she asks me a lot if i'm happy/content and i say "of course!" she got to meet my parents yesterday via skype, which made all parties very happy, i'm sure. there's also a pool with the apartment complex... getting some color in september, i think so.

4 out of 5... impaired.

my senses, not so good.
waking up on sunday morning with a pretty nasty cold was not a good sign, considering i was flying to spain that afternoon. with a meatloaf sandwich and apple pie packed in a lunch box, i said goodbye to holly and the house, and we were off to jfk! apparently traffic is bad in new york on sunday afternoon of labor day weekend.... but not to worry, i made it to the correct gate with about 20 minutes to spare. 20 minutes of tears, that is. the waterworks started once i hugged my mom and dad goodbye... and they didn't end for a while, off and on. i boarded to my window seat (39L) and sat next to a sweet, sweet woman, who put her hand on my arm and asked if i was alright... and i thought i was being subtle!
so not only did my sinuses affect my nose taste, but my tears impaired my eyesight.
landing (both in madrid and sevilla) was pretty painful. i thought my head was gonna explode! my ears were not down for popping - making my head down for pain. i think my right ear is still not all the way there. but hey, at least i have my sense of touch! i could feel my luggage in my hands!

i'm staying in a hotel tonight and tomorrow, then wednesday is the day we move into our homestays. that will be pretty nerve-racking! tomorrow is packed with orientation business, and now, i'm packed with nyquil. ciao! -- aaaah! i mean "adios!"

one day at a time

i feel like i've been preparing for the next 3 months for longer than 3 months. ok, so i only started physically packing a couple of days ago, but i've been mentally preparing myself since i received that acceptance letter in the spring. i'm going to study in spain for the fall semester.
there's no way i can really prepare myself. heck, i don't even know where & with whom i'm living! i can be flexible and wait til they tell me all this (important) information during orientation...however... my mind has been all over the place, especially over the last 2 months. coming home from italy made me wish i wasn't going at all. not that i didn't want the experience, but that i didn't want to miss out on siena reunions and the rest of my lovely nova family. then i just felt nothing but nervousness. i'm not very confident in my spanish skills. and to have my classes taught in spanish, to live with a spanish family... beyond nervous. and the past week has just been shock and excitement. all this time & energy talking and thinking about it... it's here. it's finally september! my suitcase has clothes in it....just not folded. i'll do that tomorrow. i have a pile of books to read on the plane and i bought euros at aaa.
i have one whole day left....
today opened my eyes. i always knew villanova was a great place, but today i really felt how great. that campus is full of some of the most impressive people i know. if you're reading this and i ran into you/spoke to you/hugged you/got teary in front of you during my visit...just know you've made an impression on me. i'll carry it with me all semester and through til january when i return to campus with a vengeance (and a fully-functioning wildcard)!

i know that the next 3 months will fly quickly by. i also am prepared for the first week or so when it's awkward city and i'll just want my mom, my bed & my friends... but i'm also prepared the the weeks in between that and my flight home. it's just hard to imagine that everyone else's lives will not pause. it will be a week til christmas eve once i return. i will not be joining my family at the thanksgiving table.
but one day at a time. so that means tomorrow: a viewing. work. meatloaf with mac&cheese. packing. lecki. wings. see you later's. last sleep in my bed.


"i was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. it is there all the time." -anna freud