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.