Finding my future home: Well, here comes the inevitable “I got lost” story. I carpooled with two other friends who live near me, and our taxi driver hit a garbage receptacle in the street and swore in Spanish like a sailor the whole time! I don’t think he knew that we understood…but he was not very polite. Anyway, he wasn’t very communicative either and so I ended up just getting off where my friend lived. Only two blocks from me, but I had a lot of luggage. Anyway, my friend knows I suck at directions, so he helped direct me to my street and went on his way to meet his own host family. I found my street, Virgen de Guaditoca, no problem. But the building number of my home is 10, and I only saw a building 8. From there, the numbers declined, so I knew it was the wrong way. I checked the corner, across the street, nothing. I asked a kind couple and they said it might not exist! (It’s a very short street). They asked their friend Pepe, who they happened to run into while we were talking. He told me where to ask for help. I went to the supermarket, down the street. I went in and asked for help, and the cashier and her customer walked out of the store to point me in the right direction! They pointed me to where building 1 would be, but I tried it anyway. What do you know!?! These streets make no sense, and there it was, building 10 at the beginning of the block…But from there, I worked it all out.
Daily life: I wake up and get ready, and my host mom has set out the components of my desayuno (breakfast) which consists of tostada (toast), jamón (ham), aceite (olive oil), and to drink: Nesquik chocolate powder and milk. It’s delicious, I totally can get used to meat in the morning!
Then, I rush out to meet my two friends in my neighborhood to walk to school. It takes about 30 minutes. FUN FACT: Spain changed their time zone to match France’s a long time ago when they became close allies (or something like that, like a king of Spain married a french person….you get the idea) and so Spain’s time is a few hours later than it should be. This is why Spaniards eat lunch and dinner so late, like at 2pm and 10pm. As a result, I get to see the sunrise when I walk to school. Pretty unbeatable. I walk at least two hours a day just for my commute to school, which gives me time to be in the moment, people watch, and have some quiet time.
Sevilla: I went to the Plaza de España, which is one of the most famous landmarks in Sevilla. Nowadays, it’s used as immigration offices and a gymnasium…but this is where Star Wars filmed when showing Naboo. Orange trees line the streets, there is always outdoor seating, and people loitering, talking, and drinking out on the streets at any time of day or night, unlike in the US.
I am picking up on a tad more Spanish each day, which is really more than I can ask for. Of course, I´ve had my rough patches. I ordered a “ratón” (rat) of spinach and garbanzo beans at a bar, meaning to say “ración” which means “portion” in English, for one story.
Observed Differences: There are no rules for walking in the streets (in the US we all walk on the right), very little regard for personal space, and Spaniards freaking LOVE their dogs. I went on a bike ride with my host brother and happened to see a neighborhood dog show in the park!
Without a doubt, I love it here! Every day, I try to listen, observe, and adapt. We will see how it goes.