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!