orientation

  How nice! The first week we are here we can pretty much have our hand held as we underdstand the city and learn the many differences between Spain and the U.S. Did you know it is rude to take your shoes off in the house here? Besides little things like that, the time adjustments just about killed me. Here you spend your mornings working, starting around 9 or 9:30 of course. At 1pm or 2pm siesta begins and ends at 5pm. I didn´t believe it until I saw it, even in a big city like Seville, every store is closed. The streets and plazas are almost deserted! This is excellent naptime, since you are expected to stay up anywhere from midnight to 3am on a normal evening. If you come home before 5am on the weekends, you´re a loser! My casa mom actually laughed at me because I came home at 2am the first night I stayed with her. whaaat??
   Seville is so beautiful. I have never seen architecture like this in my whole life. So old, so well made and well kept. I am happy for this oreintation so I can understand and appreciate what I am looking at. There is a river running through the city, I am so tempted to jump in everyday, but I have sworn to my new Spanish friends that I will never do it. I guess its pretty gross. I have walked this city from top to bottom, purposefully getting extremely lost in the tiny, winding streets. There is still so much I have not seen and I am so thankful I have a whole month in the city!!

   The people I have met through my program are so nice. Some are placed in beautiful cities along the Mediterranean. My first thought is oh darn, some people get all the luck. But I am happy to be placed in a non-touristy town. I am here to learn Spanish, and I know if I lived along the beach it would be too easy to speak English and make friends wth other tourists, and that is not one of my goals for the next year of my life!