Mi Casa en Sevilla!

Here are some photos of my place in Sevilla. Can't wait to have visitors!

Reason 526 to learn Spanish:

to understand flat mates! It's one thing needing to understand Spanish in order to survive, i.e. take the bus, find a flat, and buy groceries. It's another to not be able to understand conversations. I'm someone who loves to talk about life, experiences, and the day-to-day details, so it gets quite depressing when my lovely flat mates are having a conversation that they are including me in and I can only understand about 50% of what is said and contribute less than 10% myself! I LOVE living with people who use Spanish as the common language, but after a long day, it is really rough for me to communicate at all. Knowing that our newest flatmate speaks better Spanish than the other two (who speak really, really well) means there are going to be many more situations like this one. I think needing Spanish in order to be social is even more motivating to me than needing it for day to day survival! :)

starting to have a routine . . .

It's only been a few days, but I'm beginning to feel like I'm actually starting to have a bit of a routine, and a pretty fabulous one at that! I woke up around 9:00 this morning and actually managed to make a decent cup of coffee - super, super strong, but good. I worked on my lesson plans for my classes tonight (still hoping to get a little more ahead of the game, but not there yet!). I joined "Gimnasio Sevilla" this morning and finally did something other than walking and running, which was a very nice change. (I'm pretty excited to try a pilates class in Spanish on Wednesday!)

Now I'm enjoying some lunch and relaxing before getting ready for class. A group of us is then going out to dinner tonight around 10:30 to celebrate the birthday of some friends. Tomorrow - I'll essentially do it all over again! I think this is a schedule I can handle . . . Although I know it won't (and can't!) last, I must admit that not having to leave for work until 4:30 is kind of amazing! Overall, the Spanish lifestyle is a wonderful one for helping to balance out life and work - something I've struggled with for the past seven years. I could easily become accustomed to this routine . . .

Officially Living in Spain!

From carrying 100lbs. of baggage from one hotel to another, to shower heads flying around, to not understanding anything that was said to me, my blood pressure was definitely much higher than usual this week! However, having survived the past five days, I feel like I can now deal with just about anything!

I moved into my new place yesterday and love it overall. I am currently living with a girl from Amsterdam, a girl from France, and a Spanish girl and her French boyfriend. The common language is definitely Spanish, which I love because it forces me to practice. I definitely don't understand a lot of what is said, but I'm getting by!

The house is coincidentally enough just two streets over from the residence I lived in through CLIC! It's a casa, which means lots of character, as well as a rooftop patio, which I love. I'm currently in a room with it's own bathroom, which is a nice perk, but . . . it also creates some very mildewy smells! I might be moving downstairs, which means giving up in-room A/C, so we'll see . . .

I taught my first class yesterday and it was SO wonderful to be teaching again! It was definitely different and I am looking so forward to this new challenge. I think it's going to be so much fun and I know I will learn so much about language. I'm currently not teaching until 6:00pm, so it's been nice having the day to prepare and relax. I'm looking forward to really getting into a routine.

For the first time, I really feel like I'm living here, which is pretty exciting! Definitely scary at times, but overall, very exciting!

Tostadas - yum!

You will often find people in Seville enjoying tostadas and a cup of cafe con leche for breakfast - I have fallen in love with this tradition myself! My favorite is definitely a tostada con aceite, tomate, y jamon york (bread with olive oil, a crushed tomato spread, and "regular" ham - not the cured serrano kind). It's always a nice treat to have!

This reminds me of why I love Seville . . .

This view isn't a bad one to have when enjoying tapas and sangria! Some girls from my school and I were talking last night about what an amazing job Seville does of respecting and showing off their historical and cultural sights. I love this example!

Living Abroad - not nearly as easy as traveling abroad!

I like to think I never expected living abroad to be easy. However, I've definitely been surprised by just how stressful it can be at times. The following have been the most difficult for me in the past few weeks:

- not understanding about 60% of what is said to me/not being able to express about 60% of what I want to say!

- trying to figure out how much money I have/will be making - will 520 euros a month pay for rent, groceries, a phone, student loans, and credit card payments? not even close . . . making one paycheck last for 8 weeks? not an easy thing to do . . .

- the time difference - it's not so easy to talk to friends and family when it's a 6-8 hour difference!

- the mentality of "i might not be here again, i need to see and do everything possible, regardless of cost" doesn't work at all . . . in reality, there's a lot we don't do because of money. it means we might have to spend the weekend doing not much at all . . .

- living life with amazing people, yet not your best friends who know and understand you. i've met the most kind, mature, wonderful people, yet they can't compare to my best friends because i've only known them a few weeks . . . i'm not completely able to be myself quite yet.

Finding an apartment in Seville . . . definitely not as easy as expected!

Whew - the past few days have been a bit rough for me! I was sure that I would have no problem at all finding a place because everyone else found one in just a few days. Well, after looking at six places in the past week, I´ve discovered it wasn´t going to be as easy for me!

After seeing two places yesterday that were great, except for the fact my bedroom would have been connected to my roommate´s without a door, I was kind of at my breaking point! I think I´ve averaged about three hours of walking daily and have seen all of the main areas of Seville now. This is probably a good thing, but me and my feet are tired!

I had to pack (or throw things in every bag I had!) last night to leave Calle Infantes today. Thanks to my amazing and wonderful parents, I´m spending the next few nights in a hotel. Although my accommodation was really nice these past six weeks, I feel like I am living in luxury now! Air conditioning, full length mirrors, the possibility of actually getting ready because I´m not too hot - it´s amazing! I´m definitely feeling more like myself today.

Being me, I think having apartment finding not going as I had planned was extra stress I wasn´t counting on. (Attempting to understand and speak Spanish over the phone was also a bit more difficult and stressful then expected!) I´ve emailed a lot of people today, but am taking the day off from looking - I just don´t think I can do it. Instead, I hope to start planning for my first classes on Wednesday - they´ve been the farthest thing from my mind these days! However, a few of us plan to watch some college football tonight, which I am SO excited for! A little taste of home will be quite nice . . .

Traveling to Spain? Some things I've learned during the past five weeks . . .

First of all, don't come to Seville in July or August - the heat is just too much! Now that September is here, I've really realized just how much was closed during the past month. The city is definitely coming back to life day by day. It's still hot, but we're starting to get a few cool days.

Be prepared to keep very different hours than you do in the US! You will quickly adapt to staying up until 5am on a weekend night, then taking advantage of a siesta - it's wonderful! Sleeping during the day is something I've never been too great at, but it's so much easier because most places close during the afternoon. I think the Spanish want you to do nothing during this time! :)

Spanish in Spain is definitely different than the Spanish I've learned in Latin America. In Andalucia, they don't use the "th" sound for c and s like they do in other parts of Spain. However, many people speak super-fast and often drop endings from words (i.e. gracia for gracias). I'm looking forward to the day when I can understand all of a Spanish conversation!

"Vale" is used all the time here to mean "okay," which was definitely new for me. I still haven't added it my vocabulary yet! "Guapa/o" is used all the time to mean pretty, handsome, hot, etc. for men and women. You hear this on the street, between friends, everywhere!

There is definitely a lot more I could add to this list, but these are just some of the things I've been thinking about lately!

Life After CELTA

It's hard to believe that I've now been gone for almost five weeks - how quickly time is passing by! I started Spanish classes on Monday and absolutely love them so far. My teacher, Juan de, is fantastic. It is so nice to be thinking, speaking, and listening in Spanish for four hours a day.

Although I feel like I'm picking it up quickly, I am constantly saddened by just how much I don't know. Never before have I had to ask for double-sided color copies, look for jobs, or search for an apartment in Spanish! There is a lot of vocabulary I need these days that I have never needed before. It will be interesting to see what I get myself into in the next week . . . .

Coincidentally enough, my Spanish class happens to be in the same building and on the same floor as my CELTA class! It's been interesting to see the new group of students running up and down the stairs making copies, testing out the SmartBoard, and quickly preparing for lessons. It seems like yesterday that we were running around, planning, and trying to figure out what on earth we had gotten ourselves into!

Now that I have a bit more time, I feel like I'm "taking my life back" (as Akiko would say). I've been able to do a bit of shopping (for things like towels - not so exciting), make healthier meals, enjoy a real siesta, and go running. Life is kind of fantastic!

Now I just have to find a job and an apartment . . . .