Food

Since I'm always trying to describe the food, I decided to take pictures of it when I can...

Churros con chocolate @ a cafe:

 Ham and cheese sandwich and pasta for dinner:

Beef sandwich and ensalada

Fried eggplant and bean stew:

Ham & cheese sandwich & a salad:

Empanada and pasta:

"verdura" (vegetable stew) and salad:

 fried fish (the only thing I haven't liked):

Tuna salad in taco shell:

29/1/2012

Today I woke up around one, showered, and had lunch.  Senora wasn't here, but she left me some vegetable stew with beef from the other night.  I went to met up with Sarah, Nicole and Kimby, and we went to the Plaza de Espana.  It was beautiful.  I had been here last time I came to Sevilla, but it was such a beautiful day it looked even prettier this time.  So the plaza is a big building, shaped like a crescent moon kind of, and has a little seating area for each of the cities in Spain (I think).  It's hard to explain.  There's a little river that goes around the front of the plaza and they have paddle boats you can rent for 5 euro.  So we did paddled around the river.  It was such a nice day - I was in short sleeves - the sun really was hot.  We did okay paddling - but we're girls so we did crash into a some other boats a few times.  After we went and laid down in one of the bench areas - under the Madrid one - and soaked up some sun.  We then went and got gelato.  I got orange chocolate and hazelnut. It was delicious.
After this I ran home for a bit, then went to meet up with my intercambio.  I'm starting to really learn the streets - I got my friends and myself home today, and then I made it to the Cathedral and back without getting lost.  Granted, I am really lucky that I have such a great location - right in the center.  So I met up with my intercambio.  We went to a cafe and sat outside and chatted.  I got a chocolate "cana" - basically a croissant type pasty.  I learned a lot from my intercambio already.  Just some useful sayings and he corrected any errors I made.
Came home, had dinner.  Senora made me a ham and cheese sandwich and some pudding for dessert.  She's been making dinner a lot lighter lately, which is good.  Having a huge meal around 9:30 is too much too late.

I can't believe I've been here two weeks already.  In the beginning it was going by slowly, but now I'm feeling like I just left.  I need to make a much bigger effort to go out and speak Spanish.  It's hard, but I need to get better.

27/1/2012

I haven't written for the past few days... let me think.  Umm..

Well  it's basically the same old same old now that I've gotten into a routine with class and everything.  Which I like.  Wednesday I hung out with Kirsten and Michelle before class.  Class is hard!  First of all we are learning things that I have never learned.. which seems weird.  Because they're not hard subjects, I was just never taught them (along with some other kids in my class).  Also, because they teach things differently here.  In America, we learn Latin American Spanish, and obviously here, they speak Spain Spanish.  There have already been two instances where I've used a word that my professor my FSU uses, and my teacher here says it doesn't exist.  Well I looked them up and yes, they do exist.  Annoying.  Also, some of the grammar rules are different.  As if grammar isn't hard enough.  Then, add in the fact that the teacher speaks to us in the form of vosotros  (you all- informal), which is a form that they omit in most schools in America.  Then, on top of allllll of these things, the accent here is so weird.  They talk with a lisp.  Gracias = grathiuth.  And even worse, I'm starting to pick the accent up.  Luckily I finished my first week.  The class hasn't been too bad.  I'm just always so exhausted.  Having it from 6-9 is rough.  I had a midterm today, think I did okay.
So anyways.. back to Wednesday.  After class I came back and had dinner.  It was tuna salad in a taco shell.  Pretty good.  I think this tuna was different than the tuna I had been having here before.  It tasted like tuna from home, and I saw it had come from a can.  I think I also had a salad.  After dinner I went to Santuario, a bar/discoteca here, to meet with my intercambio.
So.. the intercambio is a foreign exchange thing that CIEE does.  They pair you up, either in a group with Americans and Spanish kids (about 8 people total) or one on one. The Spanish person is learning English, and the American learning Spanish.  I picked one on one to make sure I would have someone to talk to and help with my Spanish.  So I got the e-mail Tuesday telling me who mine was.  I got a student named Sergio, who goes to the University of Sevilla.  So we had to send them e-mails inviting them to this party.  He said he would go, and asked how we would recognize each other, so I suggested he add me on Facebook.  So Kirsten, Michelle and I get to Santuario and it was packed.  It's not a big place to begin with, and there were a ton of students there.  It was funny just to walk around and see people awkwardly looking for their intercambios.  I found mine pretty quickly.  It was kinda awkward, just to walk up to him and be like "Uhhh.. are you Sergio?"  He was very nice though.  We talked for a while among our groups of friends.  We didn't stay very long, but it was a good ice breaker to meet him quickly at a party.
The next day I messaged him and we decided to meet up this Sunday afternoon.  We're supposed to hang out for two hours at least once a week and spend one hour speaking Spanish, one hour English.  I lucked out because he hardly speaks any English.  This way we'll spend most of the time speaking Spanish.  He  needs me to teach him English, so it'll be good practice.

Yesterday I met up with Michelle and Kirsten at the CIEE study center to begin planning our trips.  We planned one of our spring break trips to London, Brussels, and Paris.  We didn't book it yet, but the flights all together are only 320 euro.  Crazy cheap!  We also are planning to go to Rome, Barcelona, Madrid.. and  then decide between a few other countries.

Today I met up with Michelle and one of her friends.  We walked around, bought a ticket to the Super Bowl party here, and a ticket to Cadiz for carnivale.  Should be fun!  It's a day trip to Cadiz during what is basically a huge Halloween party.  The trip includes a bus ride there and back, food, drinks- only 20 euro.  Not bad.  After, I came back and had lunch with senora.  I've been comfortable here from day one, but I'm getting even more comfortable with her.  She had meet set the table now and shows me what she's cooking and how she does it.  It put's all the years of Spanish vocab to good use.  Today we had a vegetable stew kind of? It had artichoke, carrots, potatoes, beef.  Really good, as usual.  Also had a salad.  Drank some wine again.  She called me a drunk because apparently I drank too much- it's just so good here!  It's nice how people here watch TV while eating. I've already noticed I can understand the news a lot more than when I first got here.  After lunch I studied, had class.  After class ate dinner.  Had a ham and cheese sandwich and some pasta.  After dinner met up with Kimby, Nicole, Kirsten and Michelle and got churros con chocolate.  They were really greasy, but wicked good.  We dipped them in sugar than in chocolate.  Mmm.  Tomorrow the TDP (teaching development) group is going to Jerez. It's supposed to be really pretty!

24/1/2012

Today I slept through my alarm again! Well I didn't exactly sleep through it.  That obnoxious thing is impossible to sleep through.  I did put both alarms (I had 2 set) one snooze a few times, and then shut them both off and fell back asleep.  Luckily I woke up at 9, and I didn't have to meet my friends til 945. Anyways.. I woke up, got ready.  Had some toast with strawberry jam and hot milk with cacao because I was exhausted.  I wish I could drink coffee, I needed it.  I met up with Kirsten and Michelle and went to el museo (this overlaps a little with my last entry).  Apparently there were certain paintings that I was supposed to go see, but I didn't think to look at the assignment before I left.  I don't think it really matters because the teacher is easy going and I still went.  All we have to do is write about our impressions and experience at the museum.  After I came back here and had lunch.  Senora ate with me today.  We had bean soup - white beans, some veggies, and a little piece of meat.  It wasn't my favorite thing  because I'm not a huge fan of beans, but I liked it.  She also fried some eggplant which was good, and I had some bread.  Also, we drank wine!  It was so good. It was red wine, called tinto de verano, and she added some bubbly water.  I loved it.  It was so fun having wine with senora she's awesome.  She showed me a photo album from when she was in her 30s.  Her daughter was like 2 and she pointed out her daughters father and said they're separated. I don't know if that means they're married and no longer together, or they were dating and aren't anymore.  Then I figured out shes about 65 or 70.  She's a lot of fun though.  We watched a show that is basically Entertainment Tonight in America - with all the celebrity gossip and stuff.  That's what she usually puts on at meal time.  After lunch I took a nap, then went to class.  Class was okay.  The teacher is very laid back and jokes around with the class a lot which makes it bearable.  It feels more like we're hanging out than being in class.. it's very casual.  After class I came back and had dinner.  Senora made me a ham and cheese sandwich and a salad that was wicked good.  It was just lettuce, mozarella type cheese- I don't know what it's called but its softer than mozzarella and sooo good.. tomato and corn.. and it had salt and oil on it.  Doesn't sound amazing but somehow it is.  Then I sat in the living room and watched tv for while.  I found a good channel where I can actually understand it and they don't talk to fast.  I watched the Simpsons and Modern Family in Spanish.  I'm doing everything I can to try and learn more Spanish!! It's not easy, even when I'm immersed in it.  

23/1/2012

Yesterday I woke up around 1:30, and met up with Kirsten.  We walked around the city.  Got some frozen yogurt at a place called LlaoLlao.  It's basically PinkBerry but it was a little healthier.  I got frozen yogurt with M&Ms, caramel, and chocolate granola.  So gooodd.  Then we walked around some more.  We went to a part of the city that we had not been to yet.  We discovered a movie theater that plays American movies dubbed in Spanish.  We decided we're going to see that Adam Sandler movie Jack & Jill.  Not because it looks good but because it's a comedy that will be easy to follow even if we don't understand every word.  Then we came to a really cool skate park and playground.  There were cute little kids everywhere - I can't wait to start teaching them! Then we came to the river and found a nice path to walk along.  We passed a little playground and as we were walking by I was telling her how I need to check the playgrounds for seesaws since none of the playgrounds in the US have them anymore.  Then, all of a sudden, I see a SEESAW!!!!!!! SOOOO EXCITING! Lol Val and I had been on a mission to find a seesaw at a playground because I realized they don't exist anymore- mission accomplished.  I may have had to go to Spain but I finally found one! It was sort of a kiddie one so it wasn't as cool but still.  Then we walked along the path towards our houses.  Came home, hung out for a bit, then had dinner.  I had a sandwich which was basically all sub roll with a tiny piece of beef, some more empanada, and some ensalada, which is basically potato salad with tuna and fish in it.  It was all very good as usual.  Then I had sugar flavored yogurt for dessert.. it was good.  After I went to a bar called Texas Lonestar to watch the Pats.  I got a glass of tinte de verano which is red wine with lemonade Fanta.  It was so good.  Hung out and talked with Kimby, Josh, and Nicole, and a few kids from Tufts.  Other than us everyone else was a Ravens fan.  Didn't see much of the game because people were talking a lot, but I had fun. Came back and slept.  I over slept and didn't make it to el mirador.  When I woke up senora gave me more empanada and ensalada again, and chicken thighs, with carrots and potatoes.  All really good.  After lunch I met up with Kirsten and Michelle and went to el mirador.  The elevator was wicked cool, it was made of mirror and there were circles of white lights all around it.. look at the pics you'll see what I'm talking about.  The view was awesome - it's such a pretty city.  Went up there for about a half hour (only cost 1,20 euro).  Then we went to a candy store! They have some weird candy but most of it was pretty good.  Got some chocolate covered stuff.  Then we went to class.  Class was boring.  I was so tired, and we sat there and went over the syllabus and projects for the class.  Dumb.  The teacher and people in the class seem nice though.  Basically the class is grammar..3 hours everyday for 2 weeks.  Gross.  We get a 15 minute break, and I'll have wifi so it may not be so bad.  

Today I woke up and met up with Kirsten and Michelle.  We went to el museo de Bellas Artes because I had to go for my class as I need to write a brief essay about it.  I was exhausted and I get bored in museums.  We walked through quickly, it was okay.  Then we walked around, stopped at a cafe and got a massive pastry that looked like a Boston creme donut.  We shared it.. it was bomb.  Now I'm back home, in bed, because it's cold out today.  The suns not out :( Luckily that's rare here.

21/1/2012

 This morning I woke up.. my alarm was set for 11:05, don't know what I was thinking because I had to leave 20 mins later.  Luckily I was woken up around 10:45.  I had toast and a banana.  Senora was still sleeping.  Then I went to el Alcazar, a palace of some sort.  It was really beautiful.  It's just really cool to see how detailed all the buildings are.  The ceilings are crazy, and every tile is intricately designed and.. well you can see the pics.  It's just really cool to see.  So we got a guided tour of that, for about an hour.  Then we walked around on our own for a bit.  We snuck up to the top of some closed off tower and got a really pretty view of the whole place.  We tried one of the oranges from the trees for the first time.  We had heard you're not supposed to eat them and they're really bitter, but of course we've all been curious.  It tastes sort of like a lemon.  It wasn't bad.  Then we saw some lemons that looked like they were in an orange tree.  Turns out they graphed two trees together - not sure why.  It was cool though.  They smelled really good - that's why there are so many pics of us smelling the lemons.  One of the kids in my group, Josh, took one and has been carrying it around all day - he named it Ricardo.  Odd. Then I came back and had lunch.  Senora gave me rice with some red sauce on it and an egg over easy (that's how they eat them here and I love it because that's my fav).  I ate that, and THEN she brought me out an empanata.  It was amazing! It was basically tuna, red and green peppers, and onions between two pieces of pie crust.  Even though I'm not crazy about the tuna here I loved this. It was HUGE though.  She gave me the whole thing.  I was able to stomach half, and she said she'd save the rest for dinner which I'm happy about because it was delicious.  After lunch showered, took a nap.  Then met up with the group I had been with earlier - Kirsten, Sarah, Nicole, Michelle, and Josh.  (I figured I'd name them so it's easier when I talk about them).  Sarah and Nicole are really nice and they both go to Tufts which is nice because they're two less people who make fun of my accent and the fact that I say "wicked".  Actually Nicole wants to go watch the Pats game tomorrow, so I may go with her.  We walked around and went shopping.  The first store we went into Josh grabbed a sweater and was like Danielle try this! (In a demanding gay voice).  I did and he was right, it looked good so I bought it.  Then we continued walking.  After we walked around for a while we got some churros and chocolate.  SO good.  The chocolate was like really thick hot chocolate. Soo gooodd.

20/1/2012

So today I woke up around 11:15.  I had toast and jelly for breakfast and some kiwi yogurt.  Went to CIEE center and picked my class schedule.  I found out I'm going to be teaching infantils- 3 to 6 year olds! They're gonna be soooo cute it's gonna be so much fun! So assuming I get the classes I chose I will have... Mondays & Wednesday Culture & cuisine in Spain (in which we will actually cook some Spanish food!) from 11-12:30; then Flamenco (which is the popular dance here-I don't know if we'll actually dance at all) from 7-8:40.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll have my teaching practicum from 12-2 and then Methodology of teaching a foreign language from 5-6:40, and finally my teaching development class from 7-8:40.  So these classes begin the week of February 6th, after the two week grammar class that I am taking.  I got the results from that test I took today and they suggest that I take regular classes at the university with Spaniards --I must be a really good guesser because that's ridiculous.  I'm going with the easier ones because I do not have that much confidence in my Spanish.  After this I came back to my apartment and had lunch.  I had lentil stew with carrots and potatoes it was good.  As I was eating this she brought me out a sandwich.  It was like a crunchy taco shell with some kind of tuna salad.  It was okay but the tuna here is weird.  It's very salty and a lot more fishy tasting. I'm not a huge fan.  Then I met up with one of the girls from my group and we walked around chatting and trying to find our way.  Her name is Kirsten - she's very nice.  The rest of the group got really cliquey really fast.  I try to stay away from that because it's annoying they're already talking shit about some other kids in the group and I just think it's dumb.  We've been here for a week.  So I stay away from them and I found a nice small group of me and three other girls who are very nice.  So we then went to CIEE for what we thought was something mandatory but it was really a bunch of companies handing out information about different activities.  We're gonna try taking a flamenco class.  Should be interesting.  We walked around a bit after, then I came back here.  Senora just made me some soup, with potato, spaggetti, carrot, chick peas, and a chicken bone.  Then we  had pizza that she made.  It had ham, tuna, and cheese.  It was really good.  Then she made me have dessert - so I had kiwi yogurt.  Thennn she brought me chocolate, which I can't turn down.  SO full.  All this walking should make me skinny but not if I'm being forced fed! At least the stuff seems healthy.  So now I'm going to meet up with three girls to walk around.  We might go up on this weird honey comb-looking building ( you may have seen it in my pics ).  Up there you can see the whole city and it's supposed to be pretty cool.

18/1/2012

Today my roommates and I woke up, got ready, got breakfast.  It was a buffet at the hotel.  I had eggs and toast.. pretty good.  Until I made a mess all over myself.  Somehow I got egg juice all over my black pants. :(  After lunch we went to a hotel and got interviewed one on one with a random person to make sure we were placed in the correct level for the grammar class.  I saw down and the guy just asked me to tell him about myself and then asked about my home university.  I felt like I did pretty well, but I feel like he was trying not to laugh at me, so maybe I didn't.  After this we went to the University of Seville and sat through three presentations.. one about health issues, one about diversity, and one about traveling.  Pretty boring, and since I was up til 4 skyping, I was exhausted.  It was pretty difficult to stay awake.  After this we went back to the hotel to meet our senoras.  They called me over and as soon as I saw my senora I wasn't worried anymore.  She's just a really sweet older lady--not too old, maybe late 50s or early 60s?  I don't know.  It was not as awkward as I expected.  We got a taxi and she told me about the city on the way to her house.  It's kind of hard for me to understand her but we've been able to communicate just fine.  We got back, she showed me my room- its so cute! There are two beds, a dresser to hang clothes, another one with 5 drawers, and a night table with three more drawers.  I also have a desk and a window.  And the best part- all of the decorations are pink! And there's a Jesus picture over my bed.    She gave me a tour of the apartment.  It's not as small as I had imagined.  There's a little bathroom to the left of my room, then a living room with a little TV, a table where we eat, a couch, and two sofa type chairs..whatever those are called.  Then to the right of my room, down the hall, there's a kitchen.  She showed me where everything is and told me I can eat whatever I want, which is very nice.  The CIEE people had warned us that some senoras don't even want you to go into their kitchen.  Then there's my senoras room, and another living room.  Oh and she has a bird which is pretty cool.  The apartment has a great location.  It's 5 minutes away from where my classes will be, way closer than any of the other students in my group.  It's also right near the center of Seville.  The streets here are so cool.  They're all really narrow and windy, with cobblestone streets and the buildings are so colorful and just really cool looking.   So after she showed me the house I unpacked a bit while she made lunch.  She was singing while she was cooking, it was cute.  So we sat in the living room to eat, watched the news.  She brought out a salad and some pasta.  We had the pasta before the salad, which was kind of weird.  It was so goood! It was marinara sauce and it had cheese on it.. and the cheese was wicked good.  Then we had a salad with avocado, tomato, cheese, and I think tuna.  It was good, but the tuna was different.  I was full at this point as she kept trying to get me to eat more.  She kept saying I wasn't eating enough, which is odd because I feel like I eat a ton.  So anyways I was full and then she asked what I wanted for dessert.  I had an orange, and then she told me I could go nap if I wanted- thank God.  I finished unpacking, then napped.  Slept through my alarm.  We were supposed to meet at 745, and my senora, thankfully, yelled to me at 7 to wake me up.  I got in a solid 2 1/2 hour nap.  So my group had two meeting points.  I'm a little bit further away from everyone, so only one other girl and myself were meeting up with one of our guides.  However, we were only given a street, no exact location (which I later found out was my mistake- that's what happens when everything is in Spanish!).  I woke up from my nap and my senora and her friend were trying to explain to me how to get where I was going.  When I was about to leave they said they were going to walk me there.  Thank God.  I would've never figured it out.  She brought me past the CIEE study center, which took us 5 minutes to get to.  So we got to the street I was supposed to be on, and I did not see anyone I knew.  After a few minutes the other girl who I was meeting with found me, and my senora and her friend left.  We couldn't find our guide, but she came 15 minutes later.  We went to a flamenco show.  It was in a really cool building.. I have some pictures because it's hard to explain.  It was a square room with an open roof and it was just really pretty.  The show was cool to see- they dance very dramatic and emotionally.  I got bored after a while though and I was hungry.  It lasted an hour, then we went to get tapas.  The tapas here are so good.  We had cheese covered potatoes, fried cheese, chicken with apples and raisins and some really good sauce, paella-which I didn't like, nachos, eggplant with some weird sauce that was good, and maybe a few others.  So far the food has been really good.  After this we were left to our own resources to get back to our homes.  It's tough since we don't live together.  We stayed together as long as possible.  I was the closest, but the streets names we different on the map for some reason, so it was confusing.  When we found where my street should be, some of the group came with me to make sure it was right.  It was the right street, so I told them they could go ahead.  Then I got lost.  Only for a second though.  I got to the apartment.  Had to unlock the front gate with one key, then a main door with another key, and then my senoras apartment with another.  The last one wouldn't open.  I didn't know what to do.  I knocked, then looked for help.  Then my senora came up to check on me, she had been at the neighbors, and showed me how to unlock it.  Apparently I was doing it wrong.  Went to bed.. already felt really comfortable here!

Arrival in Spain

 So I slept through my 8 hour plane ride from Chicago to Madrid.  I took some nighttime cold medicine and passed right out.  The flight from Madrid to Sevilla was full of study abroad students.  It was overwhelming and I was not in the mood for socializing because I was sick and tired.  Met a few nice girls though.  Then we got to baggage claim and found out that half of our luggage did not make it.  Pain in the ass.  Once I gave them my hotel address I met with three other people in the Teaching Development Program.  They were wicked nice.  They seem really down to earth and they want to travel which is awesome.  We took a shuttle to the hotel, met our program director, who is very nice, and two other girls who are working with us during orientation.  Even though they’re native speakers I am able to understand them which I was worried about because Sevillanos have strong accents. We all went to our rooms.  I have two roommates but they weren’t here yet.  I showered and then went down to the lobby for lunch.  They served us three courses: a salad, rice and chicken dish, and dessert.  All of it was pretty good.  Then I came back to my room and I got sad.  I miss everyone and I realized that I’m here for four months and that’s crazy.  I feel much better now though; I know I’ll be fine.  My roommates came in and they are very nice also.  From Kentucky and Minnesota.  Then I took a nap, met up with some more of the group, and walked around Sevilla.  There are 16 of us in the group (only two boys- one is definitely gay, the other questionably gay), which is really nice.  We were at the airport with some kids from the other programs and it was overwhelming- so many people.  Plus everyone in this group seems really down to earth and most of us are Spanish majors with an education minor so we have a lot in common.  So we walked around the city in the afternoon- SO beautiful.  There are palm trees and orange trees everywhere! It’s amazing.  And the buildings are old but so pretty.  Everything is colorful.  The streets are narrow and windy.  We’re located right near the Guadalquivir river.  So pretty.  After we walked around we came back and had dinner with the group and our directors.  They told us a bit about Spain.  Apparently, like Greece, the bars don’t open til 12 and the discotecas open at 3.  Crazy.  Eff that.  I’d rather go walk around the city during the day.  It’s seriously so pretty.  One of the girls also told us that the siestas are sort of a myth.  Some shops close around 1 or 2 for a little while, but the big stores remain open, and students and working people don’t go hope to nap.  That’s pretty much my whole day right there.