Springtime is here!

I have survived my last midterm! We had to write about two passages from poetry we've read this semester. It was a lot of information to remember to include, so I hope she sees the effort we put into the exams and takes that into account.

I found out why my senora sleeps in a separate bed from her husband. She is always warm, and he is always cold. So during the night, he would keep scooting closer and closer to her, and she would keep shifting farther away. Well, after falling off of the bed twice, she said "enough is enough" and they got two twin beds instead. I asked her if that was typical for Spain, and she looked at me, and said "I am not the example. You cannot use my as a model for anthropology, to study the Spanish culture." I won't be making that mistake again :)

Laura turned eight last week. I wanted to see if they were celebrating her birthday, so I subtly asked how they normally celebrate birthdays in Spain. Instead of finding out about Laura's, I found out that my senora's birthday was never celebrated. They only celebrated her brother's, which she said was common in Spanish families: to only celebrate certain children's birthdays. She also said that she was born on March 29th, but all of the official paperwork says March 31st because her father was out of town, and didn't fill out the paperwork until he got there on the 31st. Three or four days later, I finally found out that they are indeed celebrating Laura's birthday with a trip to the campo (country) on Sunday, and I am invited! I am excited to spend time with the family and get to know them better.

In the midst of classes and life here in Spain, I am trying to figure out my summer schedule and fall plans. I have applied to a couple research labs and counseling centers, in hopes of acquiring psych field experience to reaffirm my career choice, as well as improve my grad school apps. Prayers are most welcome :)

I think I have figured out my fall schedule, and if everything works out, it will be pretty sweet. I'll post it once it's finalized. However, I will say that I will be continuing Italian, and maybe taking a Logic class. (Yes, I know I'm a nerd).

The weather has been wonderfully warm this past week. We have temperatures around the 70s, and they are supposed to get up to the 80s by the weekend! In my free time, I am reading on our roof, or sitting at cafes with friends.

Weekend Fun

Well, this has been quite the adventurous week, or so. I had some wonderful visitors this weekend, aka my parents. I was so excited to see them and show them around the town that I've been living in. We toured the Cathedral, and wandered through Sevilla's streets. On Saturday, we took a day trip to Jerez (a town known for horses and sherry wine) and then to a beach called La Barrosa. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was a perfect 70-something degrees, and the sun reflected off of the water. We walked along the beach, looking at sea shells and watching the surfers. Thankfully, the beach wasn't super crowded because it's less tourist-y than other beaches. We tried to find ice cream, but kept getting pointed in different directions! Apparently the Spanish don't know their directions very well... we finally found an ice cream shop, but it was super expensive! It was worth it, though, and it was a great end to the day.

On Sunday, we went to Aracena, which is a town almost to the Portugal border. It has this marvelous cave, filled with stalactites and stalagmites, and pools of water. We took a tour through it, and it was just incredible to see the formations that have grown over the past thousands of years. It really was quite spectacular. We shot a few photos, although we weren't supposed to.

I have to say, navigating Seville in a car is an experience that I never want to repeat again. With the curvy, one-way streets, and narrow roads, it took us a while to make our way in and out of the city. We found ourselves in "Taxi/TUSSAM only lanes," or stuck turning down a series of streets because there was no "out." It was quite the adventure, providing some good laughs.

Although I was sad to see my parents leave on Monday, I am thankful for the time we had together, and I know it will only be two short months before I see them again (hopefully in Italy).

I am currently working on figuring out places to volunteer this summer that will get me field experience for psychology. I just sent in my application for the Canopy Center in Madison, which seems like it will be a perfect fit for summer and fall.

Pictures to come- I have an essay to work on for my Cine class, and an exam in Poetry next Wednesday.

Lost and Found

The missing kitty sock was found! Apparently, it just wasn't dry. For 5 days. Not quite sure I understand that one, but I'll let it slide. :)

Here are some pics from my time wandering around Sevilla. I discovered ways that neighborhoods and areas connect, that I knew existed, but wasn't quite sure how they worked.

When I passed by the orange trees, all of the oranges were on the ground! I later passed by two workers, shaking the trees to make all of the oranges fall. 

I have a passion for catching random people in action, doing cute things.

I walked past a hotel with its doors open, and saw this. Que raro. 

Reminds me of the woman from Mary Poppins.

On the Puente de Triana, there are all of these padlocks scattered in the railings. The inspiration came from an Italian author, who talked about it as a sign of love. 

This bird gave itself a bath for a good 10 minutes. Must have been enjoying the warm weather. 

Midterms were this week, and were painful like normal. However, I lucked out, and had only one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. Tuesday was Contemporary Lit, and much like the class, the exam was a joke. We had 4 questions to pick from, and had to answer one of them, writing only a page on the topic. The Cine exam today was long, but straightforward. We were shown five scenes from the movies we watched, and had to answer two questions about the clips and their social/historical context.

I am thankful midterms are over (except for my Cursos class, which is on the 30th), and for the great weekend I'm going to have, with some visitors ;)

I also went out on Saturday night with my friend Chiarra. One of the English teachers (Chris) at the school I volunteer at invited me over to his place for a small party, and we had a blast. He knows a lot of international people, and it was really cool to meet people from France, Scotland, and more. Some are here on 3 month internships, as part of an exchange program, and some live in Sevilla like Chris does.

I currently have a very cute seven year old doing homework next to me, and asking me about English words, so I'll write more later. Hope you're all having a good week!

Things I've learned from my señora

So, over the past few days, I have had some interesting conversations with my señora.

-We have had quite the procession of kids through the house this week, as her son Antonio's kids are visiting from Brussels (where they live with their mom because Antonio works all over the continent/world). Lukas managed to hit his eye with something, resulting in a doctor visit, so my señora had to go out to their house in the campo (countryside) to say goodbye to the kids before they leave tomorrow. As I was leaving for a walk, she proceeded to tell me how family becomes a "heavy burden", and by the time you realize it, you're mayor (getting up there in age). I asked if there aren't enough advantages to make up for it, and she said that there are certainly advantages, but it still gets tiresome. I feel bad for her, because it seems like she does a lot of work for her kids, and they don't necessarily appreciate it (well, Antonio doesn't, I don't think). Anyway. It was still an interesting perspective, given that Spanish society is incredibly focused on family and helping each other.

-We were having a conversation about if I'm interested in anyone romantically (awkward in and of itself), when I mentioned a long time friend who drinks too much. She then proceeded to tell me how a man who drinks will not be "a good husband, a good father, a good partner, OR good in bed." At this, I let a smile escape, because I definitely did not expect that to come out of the mouth of my seemingly conservative, 60-something señora. She looked at me and said "I'm serious."

-She also told me about when her son Pedro was 11 years old, he spent 31 days in the hospital because he had this rare disease that made his skin susceptible to any infection or germ it came across. Something about the skin turning purple/yellow, and him being really vulnerable to infection. She said that he was the first kid with this disease that the doctors were successful in saving. He was written about in medical journals, etc. How cool is that?

-Her son Antonio's kids are Emma and Lukas, and they are 3 and 7 years old (respectively). They are both completely blonde, fair skinned kids, so I asked about the mother's heritage. She said that the mother is moreno (dark skin/hair/eyes), but that Antonio and Pedro used to be blonde as a kids. They definitely don't look it now, although they aren't as dark as other Spaniards I've seen. After Pedro's illness, his skin grew darker and his hair grew back in brown.

On an unrelated note, I have discovered that the television has this fancy button that toggles between Spanish-dubbed and English audio. Law and Order:SVU just isn't the same without Olivia Benson's true voice.

I have also discovered that apparently her washing machine eats socks. I am currently missing a blue, kitty sock. :(

I wandered around Sevilla for three hours yesterday, taking random pictures. I'll post those after getting some studying done.

Lost in Translation

So, I was talking to my intercambio tonight, and we had quite the conversation. We saw a fire truck pass by, and he asked me what it's called. I replied "fire truck." He then asked me what a "firework" is. I explained that it's the big things in the sky for celebrations. He immediately had an understanding look on his face. "Have you heard of the song Firework by Katy Perry?" I laughed and said I had. He said that he had thought a "firework" was what firefighters drive (aka. fire = flames, work = job).  I went on to explain that the people who drive the firetruck are firefighters. I'm sure the song makes more sense to him now. ;)

London

Sorry for the lack of posts! The week before my London trip passed by incredibly rapidly in a flurry of homework, packing, and other preparations. Thursday finally came around, and Kate and I hopped a bus to the Sevilla airport. After an uneventful flight to Londres, we joined the customs line around 12am. There was only 1 line for non EU (European Union) passport holders, and only two customs workers. Apparently customs in London is very tight, and it took a long time to get through the line. We were about 5 people from the front, when both workers ended up taking more time with their current visitors. When we finally got through the line, it was almost 1am and we had missed our bus. Fortunately, we were able to take the bus at 1:30 without paying extra, and arrived at our hostel exhausted. After sleeping a few hours, our other hostel roommates were up and moving around 8am, so therefore, we were too. The hostel provided breakfast of toast and cornflakes, which was enough to tide us over until lunch each day. We took our own walking tour of the city. As we were headed towards St. Paul's Cathedral, we discovered this quaint little candy shoppe. We stopped inside, and despite the slightly high prices, bought a few treats.

I had hoped this hedgehog would be filled with some kind of truffle or mousse. Alas, it was not. However, the chocolate was incredibly smooth and tasty.

After the shoppe, we came upon St. Paul's Cathedral.

 It was absolutely incredible. Kate did not want to pay for entrance, so she wandered around town while I took a peek inside. I could probably have spent hours there, gazing at the beautiful decorations. You could take a spiral staircase to the top of the dome (over 500 stairs!). There were stops along the way, and I visited the first and second level. At the first level, the "Whispering Gallery", you could look over the rail at the altar below you, and you could hear everything you said. At the second level, you gained a view of London from above. 

After St. Paul's, we crossed the river, using the "London Bridge." 

Right across the river, we discovered a marketplace! There were rows and rows of food stalls, offering everything from hummus to tea to pastas to cheese. 

After indulging in a few samples, kindly offered by stall owners who had to have known we weren't planning on purchasing anything, we headed on our way to the Globe Theatre.

Now, the original Globe Theatre was built in Shakespeare's time, and lasted only a few years before burning down. It was rebuilt, and once again destroyed. The current Globe Theatre was built in the 1900s, so although it lacks the age of other London monuments, it is equally important. They tried to replicate the design as closely as possible, besides a few security adjustments.

The company is currently rehearsing a production of Macbeth, aimed at school groups, so we got to watch the tail end of rehearsal before they broke for lunch. Lots of fake blood and guts! There was also a museum that accompanied the theatre, and we wandered through the exhibits of costumes, props, and historical information about the theatre.

Later that day, we visited the Tate Modern, where we saw many interesting art pieces. There was a surrealism exhibit, which was incredibly cool. They had a few Dali paintings, among many other artists. In another exhibit, there was this art piece.

It had scrolling phrases, some witty, others cynical. There were quite a few, as we watched for a while and didn't see them repeat. 

Being in London, of course we had to take a picture with the famous phone booths.

We also visited the Tower of London, which is home of the Crown Jewels, along with exhibits on the armories and armor from history. 

While in that area, we took pictures by the Tower Bridge, although we didn't cross it. 

(Look at me all bundled up. We left Sevilla when it was sunny and 70 degrees, and traveled to London, where it was rainy and 50)

Wandering through London was definitely an experience. At night, we walked down Oxford Street, which is home of some high end shops, and ended up in Picadilly Circle. The lights made it absolutely beautiful.

We also managed to snag cheap (ish) tickets to We Will Rock You, the musical based on Queen songs. Although the plot was dreadful (to be expected with a show based on songs), the vocal talents of the actors was incredible. Their harmonies and voices came together to give Queen the tribute they deserve. Me being me, I snuck a picture of the set during the curtain call, to capture the image of the band on towers in the wings, just visible to the audience. 

One afternoon, looking for something different to do, we checked out Camden neighborhood. It was so much fun! It's this artsy, funky area with tons of markets and random shops. We wandered for hours, checking out vendors and making some purchases ;) 

On Sunday, we watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace, which was cool, but it was very crowded. It was an interesting mix of people around, though. I heard French, Italian, German, Spanish, and English, to name a few languages. 

Being a nerd like myself, I remembered us passing King's Cross Station, and I thought of Harry Potter! So of course we had to go check it out. We got to Platforms 9-11, and needed a ticket to get through. We sheepishly went up to a guard and said "I have a question..." He instantly replied, "left, left, and left again." We looked at him quizzically, and he asked "Harry Potter?" We nodded. So we found the "Platform 9 3/4" sign. The area was under construction, but we still got our pictures with our trolleys!

So, I brought back a cold with me from London. The pharmacist gave me more meds, so hopefully it will be out of my system within a few days. 

This week was spent working on my mythology project with my group, which has been loads of fun. We met on Wednesday to finish it up, and ended up chatting for an hour or so. It was nice to spend time with them and get to know them better, and feel included in their group.

This weekend is my chance to catch up on homework, as we have midterms in a week and a half! I can't believe how fast time has flown. 

Well, I'm off to get some more work done.

Adios!