My house!

5 lessons on how to become una Sevillana

5 lessons on how to live and survive in Sevilla:

1. Love to walk

2. Love to eat

3. Hate to shop

4. Hate to sleep

5. Have no fear of cars driving on the sidewalk!


Everyday I am learning more about the culture here in Sevilla. Some of the things we have discussed in my cultural realities class are things like food... there is a lot of it. Driving is a lot more wild than it is in Guatemala (if anyone remembers what I said about driving there, if not, lets just say it was "crazy scary"). Also, education is very different and about $38,000 less each year. Some other huge differences are that children sit at bars filled with smoke late at night, children run down the streets unattended by an adult, everyone smokes, everyone drinks, people take personal calls during a church service, lunch and dinner are huge, everyone walks a lot, people don't say "sorry" or "pardon me" not even Spanish :) and obviously the language is different.

But, there are some similarities that are comforting and some new things I love as well such as; there is a church on every block, there is Starbucks in Sevilla but I haven't gone because my Señora makes wonderful coffee, there is a McDonalds (though I could do without that), fathers walk with their children a lot (carrying pink diaper bags and all!), people are friendly and only settle for kissing cheeks (NO HANDSHAKES), believe it or not I watch (American) MTV in the morning while I eat breakfast and sometimes Nickelodeon, The Simpsons or ...A Miracle on 34th Street was on last Sunday! I have also been watching TV shows that are from Spain and they are very funny there is a comedy channel here that my Señora watches every day!

In relation to food. I have enjoyed having Activia yogurt for breakfast, but not the marmalade as much (jelly / jam doesn't exist here). I am getting used to the abundance of soup and potatoes. I am enjoying the coffee! I am trying not to eat too much of the fresh bread! And I am really enjoying all of the fresh fruit! I am adjusting to the fact that tortillas in Spain are actually omelets (my señora's specialty is a potato tortilla. People in Spain are crazy about potatoes even when they take pictures they say ....patata, patata, patata, patata...etc. I guess Americans probably like cheese too much then!

That's all for now folks! I'll put some more pictures on in the next few days! Have a great weekend!

~ Kt

Here are some MORE pictures!

I took off most of the descriptions and added more pictures so you can enjoy and have no idea what you are looking at.

Some pictures are are replicas of the Pinta, the Niña, and the Santa María.
Some are of Christopher Columbus' monastery.
The new pictures are of Seville and of the Castle here Alcazár.
Some are of the beach in Seville and then there are a bunch of other pictures too!
Enjoy!

Bebidas y Café

Yesterday was my first "night out" in Spain. If a Spaniard heard me say that they would just laugh because here a "night out" ends in the morning... however, I did stay out until 3am. We spent about a half an hour using the bathroom and one of the girls houses and deciding who would walk me home. I live in a very dark out of the way apartment complex and paying attention the book that my aunt gave me, I listened to my "Gift of Fear" and didn't walk home alone. So, for anyone who is concerned I am being safe. We had a pretty low key evening we went to a little café and had Tinto de verano con narajana (red wine and fanta orange soda, I think?) Then went home and had (free) dinner at our homes. I had a Spanish tortilla made of egg and potato it was like a potato omelet. Then we went to a place on the river where you just get your drink and sit on the sidewalk. There I had Sangria. Then we went to an Irish pub... by accident. We were walking by the cathedral and we heard a bunch of people speaking English so we sat down on the patio and this man comes up in a green button down shirt and asks in a thick Irish accent "what would you like girls?". We just sat there and looked at him for a second because we weren't expecting English. Then one of the girls asked him where he was from and he said "Ireland of course" and then she asked if he could speak Spanish and he said "of course". All of the girls had "caronitas". I got one but I didn't really like it I had like four sips... I am not a beer person... but it was okay the other girl just drank mine and payed for most of it. So that was my evening/night out. Which was only possible because I now have coffee in my house which I gleefully sipped this morning as I woke up! I am feeling a lot more comfortable here now and am really starting to develop a sense of "home" here. I am getting used to hearing Spanish everywhere and on the TV.
~ bye ~

Katherine is (sometimes) online

So, I have come to find out that I am a internet pirate. My host mother knows that the internet in her house is not hers but she told me that it should work and has worked for all of the other students who have lived in her house. However, the internet only works during the day and shuts off totally at night... which is kind of annoying considering I am at the house a lot more at night time. But (there is good news) I do end up with about 2-3 hours of free internet in my room, so I don't have to walk through the streets of Seville with my mac as it screams "steal me! steal me!".
So I have come to accept that at about 8:30 the internet will shut off and I will be able to use it sometime after 1pm.

para mis otros amigos como Andrea y Marilú y Moises...
Ayer sufrí de choque cultural y le eché de menos a mi familía mucho pero hoy llaméa mi madre, otra vez porque he hablado con mi madre cada día, y hoy estoy bien. Mi señora me dijo que hay días buenos y malos en una cultura nueva y hoy ella compró una buena cafetera para mi y hizo un cafecito con el almuerzo. Pienso que puedo sobrevivir aquí en Sevilla por un año.

¡Adíos todos!

PS. I hope you are all doing well!

Much ado about Terimisu!

I am online. (luckily because most houses don't have internet) I have Wifi in my house. Which means I will be able to blog and chat with people. Today we went to the monestary of Christopher Columbus and to see a museum to see replicas of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Then we went to la playa (the beach) but it was cold and raining so we went to an Italian restuarant (go figure) and had terimisu and café capucino. Both were wonderful!!! Three other girls from Saint Mary's and I sat talking for about two and a half mabye three hours. It was very nice. Then we walked on the beach after it stopped raining. There were shells everywhere. It was much less of searching for shells and much more of gathering them up. On the bus we all ate our bocadillas (aka sack lunches). When I got back from the beach I walked home and went up to my apartment door. I started to unlock the door but it didn't work then I realized it was the wrong apartment and started unlocking the wrong door. A man came to the door an looked at me like I was a trying to break into his apartment I just said sorry, sorry and hurried out of the building. Then I realized I was on the totally wrong street. I eventually realized it was the street over. Now I am sitting in my room clean from my first shower (ducha) at my house. All in all it was a great day... long but great! And that's how my first Saturday went in spain. OH PS. Tipping isn't necessary in Europe/ Spain.

After a bumpy landing in Sevilla and a night in a youth hostal I have arrived at the hotel for the ~CCCS orientation. Arriving at the hotel was very nice after the ordeal this morning. I woke up at 11:3o which just happened to be check out time. In a panic I woke up the other girls who rolled out of bed and got ready to leave. Then two of the girls walked down the block and got two taxis and heading over to the hostal with the taxis following close behind. We got in the taxis and headed over to the hotel. When I got to the hotel I found that my my shampoo had (inevitably) come open and spilled. So, I spent an hour cleaning off my things in the bathtub.
However, there is a silver lining... I finally was able to take a shower, change my clothes, have a wonderful lunch and take a nap. I also managed to talk on the phone and watch the Disney channel. Oh one more beautiful piece of lining...STARBUCKS! There are tons of STARBUCKS! I haven't gone there yet but it's a comfort just to know it's here!

I finally made it... to Frankfurt.
I'm not sure what the worst part about long (economy) flights is? The fact that you cant move, that there is no possible way to get comfortable, the babies screaming and the old lady in front of you trying to mark her territroy by jolting her seat backward every few seconds. Maybe it is the fact that one may be asked to change from a perfectly comfortable seat to a less comfortable seat for the convienance of a perfect stranger because if they refuse their neighbor will make them regret it. Or maye it is the fact that once moved one's bags remain in the overhead much further away. Or maybe it is the crazy wacky nanny with too many piercings to count sporting a short black dress and a bleach blond wedge sprawled over two and a half seats. No. the worst thing about a long (economy) flight is knowing that in business and first class everyone else is laying down sleeping with plenty of leg room and a nice fluffy pillow! All in all it went well though... they let me take my take my guitar and they put it up in first class! So I (at least) guess my guitar was comfortable!

I'm waiting to fly to Barcelona and then to Seville but this time I am not switching seats!!!