Wow, if last week was spent getting to now the basics of the city, this one was all about immersing ourselves in the language and in the culture. When we weren’t at our home speaking with our families, we were in class for 3-4 hours a day studying\learning\and taking tests. We were also thrown into the city a couple of times on so called scavenger hunts where the aim was to find Sevilla students, talk to them about their school, and try to understand at least a word or two here and there to write our reports off of. Learning Spanish where the language is actually spoken by everybody around you is completely different from Spanish in the United States: you go to class for a couple of hours every week, but the second you leave you don’t think about the new grammar or vocabulary until you have the class again or until a test somehow creeps up on you that you requires a bit of studying. Here, however, you can take what you learned in class and immediately put it into action. At home, in the streets, wherever. It gives a new incentive to concentrate and really try to learn the material. More than just getting a good grade, you want to improve for the sake of your life outside of the classroom. Sometimes, when I’m walking through the city by myself, I do my best to look like a native Sevillan. The other day I was sitting down eating a sandwich, or a bocadillo, and a couple of tourists asked me in English where they were. I looked at them in confusion, replied that I only speak Spanish and they were then forced to use body language to ask the question. I explained to them in Spanish where they were, but when they asked me how to get to a point on the complete opposite side of the city I was forced to give up my cover and revert to English. The look on their faces was pretty funny when i suddenly became fluent in English, but I think I had them going for a couple minutes!
Adapting to the Spanish lifestyle has been quite the adjustment. At home I was an early bird - one who ate ALOT of worms for breakfast - active all day long, small lunch, and ready to go to bed by 11 at the latest. The best way to describe the Spanish and their daily routines is to take my old routine and then do the exact opposite. If I didn’t have class in the morning, like today, things really wouldn’t ever get going until around 12; they have incredibly small breakfasts (sometimes just a glass of milk and tiny muffin), absolutely massive lunches, siesta time after lunch (which can last anywhere from 2-4 hours; when i wander the streets in this time I get the feeling that I am the only person left in the world, which is pretty weird to have in such a big city), dinner at 10 or 11 and bed at, on most nights, 1 or 2. When we go out at night I’ve discovered that the bestroutine for me is go to bed at the same time i would at home, sleep for 4 hours, then wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and get my evening started.
Earlier this week we went on a little field trip to the Catedral. Its a gothic cathedral (the 3rd largest of its kind, when it was first constructed it was the first largest) built upon Muslim foundations – the Muslims had a presence there until they were forced out of the country in 1248). This gives it a very unique look in which the courtyard and the outside design are Muslim, but the cathedral itself is Christian. The king who had it built loved the original Muslim construction so much that he ordered the church to be built upon and within the original Muslim design as opposed to tearing the whole thing down and starting over. Walking around the church from the outside takes a good 10-15 minutes to get back to your starting point. The inside is absolutely massive, the walls just shoot skyward – very fitting as it resembles the streets of Sevilla.
(Looking down on the Catedral from the Giralda)
When it was first built it was the tallest standing building in the world. It also claims to be the burial place of Christopher Columbus, though there is a fair amount of controversy regarding this claim - they won’t know for sure until 2041 when a DNA test with Christopher’s brother (who is also buried at the catedral) and the “other” Christopher Columbus (who, I believe, is in the Dominican Republic) is completed. My favorite part of the church is the 36 story tower (Giralda) from which you can see all of Sevilla.
(Man, did those pools ever look enticing)
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