Sevilla

This weekend I am sending my friends all around the world. One to Prague, one to Milan, one to Paris, one to Dublin, one to Granada, and one to Berlin. I have waved farewell and will keep an eye on Madrid for them in their absences. This is quite an unusual time of life. I have planned for myself, endless exhibitions and activities around Madrid for I have only two weekends left. Leaving Madrid doesn´t worry me for I feel ready to work hard in school again and see my friends and family. I am sure I will be out of shape for the busy north east. No siestas or coffee breaks in between classes. My host mother always encourages me to take a nap. I am forming the habits of a 65 year old woman at the age of 20. Yes, I think I will be out of shape for the north east.

Last weekend I took a trip to Sevilla. I was glad it was my last trip with API because travelling with 30+ young, foreigners is not fun. But, Sevilla was beautiful. It is in southern Spain and therefore has a heavy Arab influence in the architecture and culture. Despite the cold weather, the terrain looked tropical and exotic. Orange trees lined the narrow streets packed with houses and shops. Oranges fell like autumn leaves on to the street, into the gutters, onto cafe table tops- it was the most distinct part of the scenery. Like the fear of birds flying overhead, I was sure that an orange would fall on my head at some point, but it never did. I ate two but they were as sour as lemons, unfortunate because my first thought when I saw them was that I wouldn’t have to pay for meals during the visit.

One of the best meals I had was at a tappas bar. Some say that tappa´s originated in Sevilla, but others say they did not, so it depends where you ask. However, we ate dinner one night at the oldest tappas bar in Spain. It was opened in the 1670’s and the ambiance was very fun. The tables were large barrels turned upright with boards across the top. They looked almost like a giant spools of thread. The counter tops were used to keep the bill tabs with chalk and legs of cured ham were (as usual) dangling from every free space on the ceiling. At first, the waiter was frustrated with our indecisiveness and poor Spanish because Spaniards seemingly know what they want before they walk in the door and ordering is a fast process. Soon though he warmed up and suggested his favorite drinks and tappas. Espinaca y garbanzas was my favorite which is a stewed mix of spinach and chick peas eaten with bread or crackers.

The next day we went on a walking tour for Sevilla is not very large and saw The Alcazar, The Cathedral, which is the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the Giralda. The tour felt like a whirlwind of centuries and styles. We walked through five centuries, three religions, and three regional influences. It is hard to process so much so quickly, but it was beautiful. Again, this was prime practice for my art history class. I really enjoyed seeing the reality of what I had learned in class. The trip was excellent and I hold many precious memories from it. I will post more photos when I have a better internet connection. The computer uploads pictures very slowly and I have run out of time.

As usual, I told Carmen all that I saw and did with an excitement that disregards verb tenses and articles. When I told Carmen how much I liked espinaca y garbanzas, she cooked it for dinner the next day! She is a great cook and I have been eating well, which I can’t say for all my friends staying with host families. She and I had coffee this morning chatting about this and that. She told me the other day that I was the tidiest student she has ever had and that she has not met any Americans like me. What a nice compliment, especially because she has been hosting students for over ten years. She still gets frustrated at me when I forget to lock the door or shut off the lights, but we are getting along well, perhaps because our habits are melding.

I am off to the Archeological Museum. I’ve heard it has artifacts that will help me study for my history exam which is one week away. I am shocked that it is already time for finals, but I feel like I have learned a lot. However, I am in a full year program for only one semester, so I will know everything about Spain up until the Catholic Kings. Spain does not stop there, but I do. I find that very funny.