Domingo/Lunes, el 25/26 de Septiembre, 2016
I've spent 10 whole days here in Seville already and am only now starting a blog but whatever. Here I am.
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| Calle Betis along the Guadalquivir |
I've written precisely three days worth of journal entries in my travel journal, the one I've had since 2011, and I'm more than a little disappointed in myself. Here's the problem, though, and it's going to make even me roll my eyes once I type it out- I'm just having too much fun. (Fact: I didn't even make it to the end of that sentence before rolling my eyes. Fact: I've rolled my eyes every time I've reread that sentence to edit.) I've done so many things. I honestly don't even know where to start. On top of having too much fun to sit and rehash my gap year so far (eye roll again), I haven't taken nearly enough photos. When I was in the UK with my family this summer, I was also not so great at keeping my journal up to date. But, I relied heavily on the fact that my amazing 13 MP not-iPhone phone took incredible photos and I could easily look through them to remember what I did every day. However, I've been so bad at taking photos here that I've got no clue what I've been doing on which days which makes it a little bit hard to pull my general thoughts on each day together into a two page, hand written blurb for myself to laugh at a few years down the road. I just skip a week and complain about it in the next day's entry when I get around to doing it, though, and everything is fine again.
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| Flamenco dancers in Puerta de Jerez |
I'm in love with Seville. Really in love with it. I'm in love with Spain in general, I think, but I've only really seen the Madrid airport and train station and whatever I wasn't asleep for on the train to Seville. I'm so in love, though. I love the people and the food and the culture and the traditions and the everything. I love siesta, I love Cruzcampo, I love the Guadalquivir, I love how everyone waits when the cross walk light says wait because everyone's got all the time in the world and why wouldn't you, I love how I can't sleep at night sometimes because it's too hot, I love sitting on a bench eating gelato at 11:30 at night with a toddler playing with my hair behind me because it's curly and that's normal, I love the flamenco dancers in thestreets busking for those 2€ coins, I love the misters up in the awnings that go off every thirty seconds to cool those sitting below, I love how cheap taxis are and the 2€ shots at practically every bar and "discoteca" (of which there are many) and I love the hundreds of stray cats that I've all nicknamed Gatata (because gato and patata). I love this city. I even love hating the parades for Vrigin Mary that go right by my apartment's window what has so far been every Friday and Saturday night.
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| La Giralda (on la Catedral de Sevilla |
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| From the train to Sevilla |
If I were to change one thing about anything so far, it would be the bull fights. We toured the plaza de toros the other day and, although gorgeous and satiated in history and culture, I did not like it much. It doesn't feel right, how these gorgeous, albeit deadly, creatures are raised, mated and forced to really just get mad until they're stabbed to death. Yes, it's an art meant to inspire people and show the beauty of movement and color. And yes, it's a very important part of Spanish culture and history that should not be overlooked. But, I still feel wrong about supporting it. Maybe it's just because I grew up reading
Ferdinand the Bull, who knows. I respect those who enjoy it and express themselves through it as an art form, and I'm happy to be educated about it, but I have no intention of attending a bullfight in Spain. Sue me.
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| A fellow CIEEer at la plaza de toros |
As for my living quarters (living quarters? Beckey, who are you?) I am happy. I am eating well and have a lovely room in a great apartment with a cool family who doesn't understand what I'm saying most of the time (and vice versa) and I could not complain. Things are, understandably, a little bit awkward. I've never met these people before and all of a sudden I am in their home lives all the damn time with minimal communication abilities at best. But day 10 is considerably better than day 1 and even more relaxed than day 5 so I expect it to continue becoming more normal as time goes by and my Spanish skills improve.
I've watched Friends and Star Wars and Shrek 2 and The Big Bang Theory all in Spanish and let me tell you it is so weird to watch Rachel Green talk without hearing Jennifer Aniston's voice. And Sheldon sans Jim Parsons? It's hardly even worth the watch anymore.
They eat a lot of bread here and I am not one to object. They have good bread.
I have not yet had a churro nor tapas which are basically just appetizers that don't precede a meal and are frequently accompanied by beer (here it's mainly Cruzcampo.) I hope to change this soon.
Hasta luego
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| Sunset over Triana |
