Sevilla=Home
Trip Start
Aug 27, 2008
1
10
11
Trip End
Jan 02, 2009
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Seville,
Andalusia,
Spain and Canary Islands
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
I find out how I did on my Spanish Film midterm and Language and Composition midterm next week! That means only a little essay this weekend and the rest is homework free!!!! yay yay yay! We are headed to Morocco tomorrow morning so it will be nice to not have to worry about writing a paper or something. I am completely stoaked beyond belief! I canīt believe this will be my third continent! sounds kinda weird! Anyways Im so excited for the flee markets, camels and of course the Kebaps! yeah! But not for the 5 hours of travel including customs! ick! but it should be fine. At the same time Iīm kinda nervous cuz it can be a little dangerous in parts of Morocco, but there will be two professors with us the whole time so im not expecting too much trouble. Im so excited to be staying in a hotel! I like my host dad, but Im feeling like I need a little space, ya know, a little Lance time. haha.
Iīm really hoping there is carpet in the hotel! Thatīs sounds a little crazy, but none of the homes in Spain have carpet! My room has tiled flooring and there isnīt any heating in spanish homes! I swear the cold gets into your bones here. So, im crossing my fingers for some crazy shag carpet or something that I can walk on bearfoot! Im pretty sick of getting out of the shower and feeling like a leg is going to fall off from the cold. That and it will be nice to not be eating olive oil for the weekend. Everything has olive oil on it here. I mean, i love the food, but i swear i just feel nauseous every time i eat now cuz my stomach hates me. haha. That or i just have some crazy european virus! I really shouldnīt even go there cuz im such a hypercondriac. But, en serio, Im hoping for like Indian-esque food....I know weīll be in morocco, but for some reason i have a pre-conceived notion that the food there is like chicken curry or mala kafka...fingers crossed.
I went and got my hair cut this evening! wow, talk about a scary experience. I donīt know why but ive been dreading getting my hair cut here in spain cuz, i donīt know, what if i accidentally told them to cut it all off, like an ugly shaved cat or something.....youīd think that after 7 years of spanish i would be a little more confident in myself to tell them to cut it short but not too short...but no. So I headed down San Jacinto (main street in Triana) and went into Spejos to get my haircut. The guy was super nice, however i didnīt catch his name. Im sure it was Rodrigo, Jóse, Luís, or Rafa, the equivalent to our Michaels, Jamesī, Johns etc. Im pretty sure Iīve only heard like 10 different guy names since I arrived. I guess it makes it easier to remember names. And if i donīt, I can take a guess and usually wind up pretty close. He was way nice to me and told me how great my spanish was and that it was a shame I would only be in Sevilla for another month. They have extreme pride in Spain, especially in Andalucia and Sevilla (aka, southern spain). Mainly considering the history behind the country. History that dates back to II century B.C., or in Spanish (Siglo II A.C.) which was so confusing for me in the beginning, cuz AC means after the death of christ in English, but here it means before the death of christ because the ĻAĻ stands for ĻantesĻ which is before in Spanish. Im pretty sure I got docked a point on that question. haha. Itīs been really cool feeling like a true Sevillano and learning about the history involved with the city which was the capital for the Almohades (Muslims) during the XI and XII centuries. Enough of history though, im not writing to bore you too much!
I thanked the guy for the haircut and hit the street, thankfull that I didnīt leave the Peluqueria with a mullet, a fassion trend that completely fascinates me. Every time I see one i just stop and stare in awe, cuz they arenīt just mulletes....they are like UBER Mullets. Everything is short, like really short on top and then there is just this fatty wad of hair in the back! I donīt know how that hairdo has made it to 2008 and to what will soon be 2009. I swear the people here are all ten years behind the show in fashion/trends, or they are extremely well dressed in leather shoes, sweater and collared shirt and kakis for me, and for women, high heals, designer coats and jeans with a pashmina to top it off. Spain is very fashion friendly. We Americans stick out like weīre everybodyīs business here when we walk down the street in Abercrombie, jeans, and nikes. Itīs not a bad thing, Iīm just sick of being stared at cuz im six inches higher than most people on the street. That and I swear those damn Gypsies just hate me! what can one do right?! Adapt.
I hit up the shopping district this morning after class with a couple friends. I was in dire need of clothes!!! First we headed to Lefties* where I found some really cute socks! woo, socks! that really didnīt help me though cuz, what the heck can I do with socks? I needed clothes! We stopped at Sfera, which is kind of a store in between Gap and Banana Republic. I was in ecstacy! Sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts, and dress shirts galore! Before I knew it, i left the store with a t-shirt, 2 sweaters, a hoodie and a dress shirt....the prices were unbeatable though! fyi! Then we stopped at this little more punkie store and i bought a shirt that is so cool! Im not sure if im going to look great when i come back to the states or if im going to look totally weird! haha, the style here is just so different!....i like it though. But there is a huge punk scene here! Either you look like a punk or like youīre going to a yacht party here...ive been trying to pull off both. I like to think thus far ive been successful, but ill let you guys be the judge upon my return. Of course, give me a few weeks cuz i mean, i kinda dont fit in some of my clothes anymore....yeah, think ive been eating a little too much flan and oil? went straight to my ass! haha...but no, seriously!
Im super excited to get back inside US borders! I miss you all so very much! But on the other hand, itīs been great to be able to walk down the street and not run into ten people i know. Itīs a bit different here, 1.5 million people. I would kill for a little time away from so many people, but i know itīs really not that hard to escape people here. Go to the river, hit up a cafe, have a tostada and some orange juice in the plaza. Im finding that Iīm in love with the big city. I always thought I was meant for the big city, but never have I ever lived in one. Itīs great. Get my coffee at the Starbucks on Avenida Constitución, walk to class, enjoy the fountains. I definitely see myself ending up in San Francisco or Seattle now. I wasnīt quite sure before, but I know after college Iīll be in one of those cities. Or who knows, id love to spend some time in NYC. Ive met a few new friends who tell me Iīm totally meant for New York. I expressed my doubts.....raised in Sprinfield, did 4-H (pigs), worked at a home improvement store, always lived in a small town, get homesick easil...they assured me I would totally fit right in....who knows, maybe ill give it a chance one of these days....i have been looking at some internships in New York next summer, and I also have a chance to live in Chicago. I think I could do it, i mean, at least they speak English there!
Speaking of Starbucks earlier...I totally miss everyone so much! I knew I loved those people, but itīs just like my family, you donīt realize how much they mean to you until theyīre gone...or at least 7,000 miles away! I was saying how I go into the Starbucks on Avenida Constitución. Well itīs the Starbucks in Puerta de Jerez, just a few minutes walk from the Cathedral of Sevilla (Largest Gothic Cathedral in the world), so there are always tourists inside, trying to speak in English and getting angry when the starbucks partners just look at them confused. Hello english speaker, they speak Spanish in Spain! I understand not knowing the language, but donīt get mad or frustrated if they donīt understand you! haha. Ive only seen that a few times, but when I do it kind of pisses me off, for at least like the time im in line or until i have my coffee. JAVA! Itīs amazing what coffee does to me these days! Since im not having my usual two or three a day (addict, I know), whenever I stop and get a coffee, about half an hour later ive become jittery and I start talking at an incredible rate! Itīs so funny! I literally have to make a mental note sometimes to shut up cuz im freaking people out around me! okay, so itīs not that bad, but thereīs definitely a change in the endorphins or something. All the sudden energy just starts rushing to my brain saying "go crazy, scream, shout and (my favorite) exercise you fat American". Then the caffeine high runs out and instead of doing excercise, I find myself eating a glazed doughnut from the pastry shop on the corner...oh well, you only live once right? Ive been learning from spanish culture thatīs itīs more important to enjoy those things in life. Enjoy food. Enjoy conversation. Enjoy family. Enjoy friends. Enjoy the weather, whether or not rain (sorry) or shine (yay)! cuz itīs all good. Just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!
Wow, so when I write I can wander Iīve found. I started that last paragraph about starbucks, with an intent of telling a story, and I realize that i didnīt say a word about what I was going too....Can you say Scatterbrain!? whatevs. Anyways so the funny story is...I have one of the hardest names for Spaniards to pronounce or understand clearly. Every time i go into an Sbux (we have 5 incredibly), they always ask for my name to put on my cup. Up to this point the spanish is flowing smoothly, weīre having a casual conversation , laughs are exchanged, bla bla, the usual. Then the name....I feel terrible for the partner after the whole ordeal. Wait, whatī your name? They try to sound it out like five times without success. finally I try to spell it for them, however apparently when I say the letters "s" and "c" in spanish, they sound exactly the same so i shouldnīt even bother. Needless to say, my name usually ends up as follows: Lens, Lents, Lence, Lants, and my favorite Langa....how that curious spelling found itīs way to the side of my tall vanilla non-fat latte i will never know. The poor Starbucks partners seem exacerbated over my name and the whole ordeal. I leave a tip as I know itīs polite and of course because Ive had some of the best drinks at some of the Starbucksī here than i have ever had! Kind of a shocker after my experiences in the London and Paris ones.
My name was finally spelled correctly at the Starbucks on the corner! The same two guys who I always see there were working and I asked about pumpkin spice and mint, which btw, donīt exist here! it was bad news bears when I found out i couldnīt get a peppermint white mocha! we had a conversation and I told them how starbucks was a little piece of home away from home for me. If im having un día triste (a sad day), nothing like a trip to the local BUX to cheer me up. We got to chatting and as I was the only one inside they werenīt in a rush to do anything. The guy at the counter asked me my name, here we go again....however, the week before we had been through this exact situation, same guy, same drink and he remembered me. Im now known as the Lance ( Armstrong ) guy cuz i used him as an example for my name. The guy gave me the employee discount which im not supposed to get outside the states and I headed on my way with a delicious drink in my hand and a couple new amigos. I tipped of course on my way out. Im now a regular at the corner Starbucks on Avenida Constitución! I wouldnīt dare cheat on my starbucks with the one about a hundred yards down the road. haha! Sorry, I know that was like two huge paragraphs about, what else, the BUX, but they were fun little anecdotes so just deal. Just kidding. haha
Iīll probably shoot ya guys another email here next week about Morocco before I head off to Granada for the weekend. That should be another amazing trip! Iīve heard La Alhambra is priceless! I hope all is well and not too rainy there!!! I checked the forecast for Portland which projected nothing but sunny skies! woo! I hope you all find the weather just as friendly in Eug/Spr. and can welcome blue skies just as our neighbors in the north are. However, it is a valley and you never know what youīre going to get! But just enjoy it!!! Miss you all so much! Wish me luck in Africa!!! Omg, Africa!!! haha. Take care and anticipate another email! Lance
