I'm Trying to Find the Words to Describe...

Being an arrogant American, I guess I expected most people in Spain to speak English at least at a basic level (by virtue of the fact that Spain is in Europe), but that isn’t true at all. Some can make out a few words, but their accent is so difficult to understand that I would rather they just speak Spanish to me. For example, the taxi driver who drove me from the hotel to my homestay asked where I was from, and when I said, “Los estados unidos,” he said something incomprehensible. I figured it was just something in Spanish that I needed to hear more slowly, but after asking him to repeat himself at least three times, I realized he was trying to say, “First time in Spain?” in English! He then proceeded to laugh about how I don’t know English.

It definitely makes me wonder what people here, like my senora, think of me. In the U.S., I can read dense literature and listen to important speeches and understand idioms and jokes in daily conversation. Then, to indicate my comprehension and demonstrate my own capacity for intelligent thought, I can speak intelligibly. Here, so many words and phrases go over my head on a daily basis. And even when I know every word being said, the accent and speed with which people talk leaves me bewildered. And when I speak, I stick to the three most basic verb tenses. I think my pronunciation is decent, but then again, the taxi driver who tried to speak English probably did too. All of a sudden, it doesn’t matter what I scored on my SATs or the AP Spanish Exam or that I'm starting medical school in a few months. To her, I’m just a stupid, bumbling American.

It has been a very humbling experience already. Like one of my friends here said, if anyone thinks they're smart, they should go to a country where they speak a foreign language.

On that note, I will take this moment to brag about my greatest achievement of the day: carrying on a legitimate conversation with my senora (for about five minutes) about something other than food, what's on TV, or my plans for the day. (If you were wondering, we talked about Spaniards' dissatisfaction with the Spanish government/president because they are employing more foreigners and unemployment is high amongst native Spaniards.)

Wherever You Go, You'll Come to Know, People are One and the Same

In some ways, Sevilla feels a lot like Hyderabad to me, but then again, that’s the only city I’ve ever spent a significant amount of time in, so maybe this feel is common to all cities? Anyway, it’s similar to Hyderabad in that lots of people ride mopeds; small shops line the streets; there are sweet shops with tantalizing pastries in display windows everywhere; there are lots of dogs; there are very narrow streets where one car has to honk its way through a crowd of standing people to pass; lots of people live in apartments or “flats,” there are McDonalds and KFCs; clothing is dried by hanging it outside; public restrooms cannot be counted on to have toilet paper or even functioning lights for that matter; advertisements on TV look funny and have weird jingles; most cars are those small rounded things (no SUVs or vans or giant cars).

It’s different in that cars don’t honk their horns nearly as much; people aren’t packed shoulder to shoulder everywhere you go; the dogs here are almost all pets, not street dogs; people actually stare at me less (even though, based on appearances, I would expect to stand out more); although I’ve seen a couple beggars, they simply sit on the sidewalk holding a jar rather than personally pestering passerby; drivers actually follow traffic signals; there are sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrians; I see PDA (public displays of affection, such as kissing and more) and lots of it; I multiply prices in my head (and shudder at how expensive everything is) instead of dividing them.

But cliche as it may be, the people- their warmth and generosity, their curiosity, their pride for their country, their diversity- are fundamentally the same everywhere. And that's a reassuring realization.

Quien Vive en Una Piña Debajo del Mar

Yes, I'm finally here! Actually, I've been here for a week now, but haven't had enough time or Internet access (wi-fi, pronounced "wee-fee") to be able to write a decent post. And now I have so much to say. I'll start with a quick run-down of what I've been doing the past week.

Quick summary of the journey here: I took a flight from Newark to Barcelona, then another flight from Barcelona to Sevilla. On the flights, I met lots of students in my program, all of whom were very friendly and made the time between flights pass quickly and put me at ease on the flights themselves. In the Barcelona airport, I was surprised to discover that all the signs were in Catalan first, then Spanish, and then English. (I knew Catalan was a language spoken in Cataluna, the northeast region of Spain where Barcelona is, but I had assumed it was still subordinate to Spanish, the national language, and English.) I also saw advertisements in the most ridiculous Spanglish imaginable. (For example, "Vueling" is a combination of the word "vuelo," meaning flight, and the "ing" ending for gerunds in English, so I presume it's supposed to mean "flying.")
In Sevilla (after not going through any kind of customs procedure, so theoretically I could have smuggled illicit goods into the country!), we were met by the CIEE staff (and palm trees!) and bussed to Hotel Becquer where we would stay for our first two nights of orientation. From the moment we were picked up at the airport, the staff spoke only Spanish to us.

For orientation, we were divided into groups of about ten students, each led by one student from the Universidad de Sevilla. My group leader Fran was extremely friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful in answering our questions about Spanish, Sevilla, and life in general. At meals, we asked him so many questions that sometimes I felt bad that he barely got a chance to eat. He told us about life in Sevilla: most people only take a nap (siesta) in the summer, because daylight lasts longers and they can work later into the evening; the big sales (rejabas) occur in January and July; they have Spongebob (Bob Esponja) and Family Guy (Padre de Familia) and Hannah Montana; science and humanties students attend different universities; Spaniards eat a lot of bread but not with butter or oil- just plain; it snowed recently for the first time in 50-some years and everyone was in awe; etc. We taught him some things, too: how to say "Hello, my name is Fran" and sound like an American; what the weather is like in different regions of the U.S.; how beer pong is played.

Orientation consisted of a scavenger hunt (in which we made the mistake of asking three young men for help and were then offered drugs and sex on our way to find a movie theater), going out for tapas (which can be any snack-ish food from friend potato slices to balls of spinach and goat cheese- yum!), seeing a Flamenco show (expressive dancing and awesome music too), and information sessions about everything from safety (don't walk alone after 2 AM) to academics (professors expect more independent reading) to life in the homestays (wear slippers in the house at all times, don't shower for more than 10 minutes, when you greet your senora kiss her on her right cheek first, then left). On the last day, we visited Italica, a little city about 20 minutes drive from Sevilla, where we got a tour through the ruins of an ancient Roman city, including an amphitheater used for gladiator fights in the third century!

On Wednesday morning, I moved into my homestay, which is an apartment close to the park "Parque de los Principes" in the neighborhood "Los Remedios."

My senora is a 60-something year old woman named Ana whose three children are grown up and live in other cities in Andalucia. I have my own room which is like a typical dorm room, and we share a tiny bathroom. It is there that I will eat, sleep, and shower (hopefully, for the sake of those around me!) for the next four months. Because I have already rambled quite a bit, I'll list the features of my homestay which will require the most getting used to:

• No internet!
• Eating meals while watching TV
• Mealtimes: breakfast whenever I want, lunch around 2 PM, dinner around 9 PM
• Showerhead does not stay attached to the wall (must be held and sprayed on self)
• Eating cereal which tastes completely sugar-free, and is fruit/nuts-free as well, every day
• Food that is, in general, a bit bland (but more than sufficient)
  
• My senora staying up later than me, waking up later than me, and asking why I come back so early when I go out

Hopefully in four months I will be able to look back at this list and laugh at how insurmountable (well, significant would be more accurate) these issues seemed to me at the time.

Well, it's almost time to head back to the casa for lunch (which requires a half hour walk, but I walk on several narrow cobblestone streets, right in front of the famous Giralda tower, and across a river, so I love it.) Expect a post later today that's less rushed and more reflective.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

So, what have I actually been doing in preparation for Spain (other than writing frivolous blog posts)? Well, more than the title of this post, I am proud to say (and you thought this was going to be a rambling, wistful post- HA!) but not by much. Let's see...

• Researching and reading as much as I can online, and compiling any useful info I read into a Word document which is currently 61 pages long. I've been advised to carry toilet paper since public places in Spain are not very good about re-stocking bathrooms, and that I may as well practice smoking now since it is that prevalent in Spain.
  
• Watching Spanish movies, or attempting to. So far I've seen three: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which is actually a French film that I watched with Spanish audio and English subtitles for the benefit of my mother who was watching it with me; "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," which was supposed to have a Spanish audio option but either IMDB or the library failed me, so I was stuck watching it in English with Spanish subtitles; and "Volver," which is a Spanish language movie but did not have a Spanish subtitle option, so I had English subtitles. All in all, I'm not sure how much my knowledge of Spanish grew, but my love for Penelope Cruz (and especially her hair) sure did.
  
• Talking on the phone in Spanish for about half an hour every day with my friend who is kind enough to take time out of her very busy life to help me. Lo agradezco mucho.
  
• Shopping: a travel-size toothpaste; a personal safety alarm; a webcam; a cheesy fake candle that has an American flag on it and plays "You're a Grand Old Flag" as a token of thanks for my host family; a couple pairs of nice pants and cardigans because my wardrobe of t-shirts and sweatpants won't cut it if I'm trying to blend in with the stylish Spaniards.
  
• Painfully parting with one article of clothing at a time as I attempt to cram everything I need for four months into two large suitcases and a carry-on.
• Attempting to read guidebooks about Spain but usually only making it through the sections describing food and nightlife.
• Checking weather.com for Sevilla. It's mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60's next week- probably the biggest reason I cannot wait to leave!
• Checking the currency exchange rate. $1.00 USD = 0.69 euros, and the darned dollar keeps sinking...

Countdown: 3 days to go. Let the freaking out begin.

The Start of Something New

Sevilla is the fourth largest city in Spain and capital of the autonomous community of Andalucía. It is home to the third largest cathedral in the world, bullfighting, Flamenco dancing, gazpacho, the famed orange tree-lined streets, and, for the next four months, me. In exactly five days, I will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on my first flight without my parents, about to commence my first stay in Europe. I will be living with a family or señora (single, elderly lady) in Sevilla (exactly who/where I won't find out until I arrive) and taking five classes, all taught in Spanish (exactly which ones I won't know until I arrive). The anticipation and uncertainty are killing me. And to top it all off, I'll have to live on four pairs of shoes all semester because that's all I have room for in my luggage. Oh, the horror.

Having spent the last three and a half weeks at home mostly stuffing my face and watching a mind-boggling number of movies, I have had plenty of time to grow anxious. Since I can't actually get to Sevilla any sooner, I decided to do the next best thing and write to everyone I know about how I can't wait to get to Sevilla. Just kidding. Sort of. I have created this weblog as a way for my family and friends to know what I'm up to, and more importantly, that I'm alive, for the next four months. While I will have internet access at the study center where I'll be taking classes, the fact that the study center is only open during certain hours, along with the time difference (6 hours between Spain and Eastern Standard Time), may make individual communication (long facebook messages, e-mails, Skype sessions) difficult. And while I will probably purchase a cell phone in Spain, it will only be for brief local use, the occassional phone call home, and emergencies. In light of these obstacles, I will do my best to update this blog regularly as a means of communicating with my large fan base. (If you're lucky, there may even be pictures, but please, no autographs.)

For now, I'll just share a few lists I've made regarding my trip...

Things I want to do while abroad:

1. See a bullfight
2. See a professional soccer match
3. See a Flamenco show
4. See a Spanish movie in a movie theater
5. Visit the African continent
6. Go on a tapas crawl (eating tapas, or snack-sized portions of food, from several tapas bars in one night)
   
7. Go to a beach
8. Become conversationally fluent in Spanish

The biggest difficulties I'm anticipating are:

1. Finding vegetarian food that is varied and substantial enough. (But shhh, don't mention this to my grandparents or great-grandparents, or they will insist that I take a suitcase full of Indian munchies from home.)
   
2. Finding a balance between seeing/doing everything I want to and not going broke.
3. Finding a balance between enjoying myself and being appropriately paranoid about pickpockets and other shady characters.
4. Feeling overwhelmed by all the Spanish around me and frustrated by my inability to communicate perfectly in Spanish (at least for the first few weeks).

I'm hoping the first list grows and the second shrinks as time goes on.

I'd like to end this first blog post with a big "thank you" to my parents- for allowing me to step outside their comfort zone and study abroad; for encouraging me enough to keep me adventurous and stifling me enough to keep me safe; for being my lifelong cheerleaders, and now, my only guaranteed blog-readers.