This is me at the Plaza de España in Seville. It is really beautiful there!

Challenges and Goals

I recently realized the parallels here between me talking to Spaniards and my University of Rio friends talking to me and my chorus friends. I realized that even when I occasionally get annoyed when Spaniards constantly correct my mistakes and when I get frustrated that I can’t express my thoughts and feelings as well as in English, I just have to remember Alexandre and my other Brazilian friends and remember that even though it’s frustrating now, it will be worth it soon enough. Even if it is difficult now, when I am fluent I will be so glad that I put in that extra effort. I have seen firsthand how much someone can improve their language skills in a few months and that is what's motivating me to work harder on improving my Spanish fluency.

So tomorrow I have my first regular session class of the semester. It’s at the University of Seville and it’s one of my “cursos para extranjeros” it’s called Spanish in America and it’s from 5-7 pm. Not a bad first day of classes haha. Before class, I am planning on meeting up with a friend to walk around the university and find our classrooms, go for coffee and enjoy the day. I’m excited to finally get a routine going and to meet some more new people. The university is so unique: it used to be a tobacco factory and it’s really beautiful, so I’m really excited for this experience.

This past weekend I finished up the second half of my intensive Spanish classes. I did well and I learned a fair amount. We had to go to see Pedro Almodóvar’s new movie for class and I really didn’t like it. I left the theater multiple times and then left for good with about 30 minutes to go. I usually don’t mind his movies and sometimes I like them, but this was wayyy over the top.

This week we also had a party with our "intercambios," students who we’re supposed to practice Spanish with, but I haven’t been able to meet mine yet since she couldn’t make it to the party, but hopefully I will get a chance soon.

This past week I met a lot of new students who study at the two universities here and I practiced my Spanish with them a lot. It was a lot of fun getting to know them and talking about phrases in Spanish vs. phrases in English. One friend even said that since he wants to practice his English so much, we should talk to him in Spanish and he’ll respond in English!

I’ve done a lot more exploring around Seville and each time I find more places and things that I love, and there are always more things to do here! Today my program took a trip to the beach in Cádiz, a little over an hour away. We toured the city, which is the oldest in Europe and dates back over 3,000 years. It is a truly beautiful city by the ocean and we learned that the US even has a military base there because of its convenient proximity to Africa. I will have to go back to Cádiz to show my parents when they visit me in a few weeks. I’m very excited for their visit!

Ciao for now, xoxo,

Jennie

The GW Hatchet

As some of you know I am writing for GW's newspaper The Hatchet from abroad about my experiences in Sevilla. So, if you're interested here's the link to my first out of a series of three columns for The Hatchet this semester:

http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/passports/2011/09/20/updates-from-jennifer-studying-in-sevilla/

I'm not sure why they sometimes think that I go by Jennifer, but I'll try to remind them for future reference that I go by Jennie haha. I will write a full post soon!

Ciao xoxo,

Jennie

Settling in to Somewhat of a Routine

As I sit here in Café de Indias, a Spanish chain not too unlike Starbucks, a few blocks from the apartment building where I am staying, I feel surprisingly comfortable here in Sevilla. Around me I hear a combination of Spanish and English; this café is a hotspot for students like me who want to study here in Triana. This part of town is pretty bustling, especially on this main street and is not very different from any big city street in New York or anywhere else. I just talked to two students from a program at the other university who are from Minnesota and California. It’s nice to always be able to meet new people, even when you don’t expect to.

The past week has been busy which is why I am only just getting around to writing a new post. Last Thursday I explored the city more, ate churros con chocolate with friends and had a fun, relaxing time. It’s really beautiful by the river at night and there’s the Torre del Oro (I’m not really sure what its historical significance is, but the translation is Tower of Gold) and there’s also a monument that is really cool looking. At night there are usually a lot of students by the river hanging out and usually a few stray cats. On Friday I registered for classes, I have great classes, 4 classes and 1 seminar called Living and Learning in Seville and in the end I will get a Certificate of Achievement on International Education.

The weekend was fun and relaxing, it was our first weekend here so we made the most of it. I went to a club over the weekend which was packed with Spanish university students and I talked with some of them and was able to practice my Spanish a little. I also met two British students and our conversation went like this: Me: “Have you seen 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall?' ” British guy: “Yes” Me: (In my best British accent) “You sound like you’re from London!” He laughed and his friend said “Don’t tell me you’re from London too!” HAHAHA I took that as a complement. I always pride myself on my British accent and my Spanish in a British accent!

I met a lot of new people this past week and became closer with friends from my program. It was great. In Sevilla there are many American students, European students with the European Erasmus program and some Moroccan students. Two different cab drivers have complemented me on my Spanish abilities and ensured my that by the time I go back home I will be much better. HAHA

Sunday night I went to see an outdoor movie with my Señora, part of a summer film series which is sponsored by the local government. It was a French film called “Sarah’s Key” which was in French with Spanish subtitles. It was a very powerful film about France during World War 2 and it switched between present day and the 1940s and the years after the war. I cried a lot. A friend in my program told me that she read the book and cried the whole way through it.

On Monday I had to wake up really early to beat the rush to sign up for Interest Groups. I decided on the one called: “Spain’s four regions” which takes a 3-day trip to Barcelona in November which is included in the program fees. I am very excited! Monday we also started our intensive session (2 week, 3 hours/day Mon-Fri) Spanish grammar classes. I got an A on our first assignment, an in-class essay about an experience that changed/impacted our life. I wrote it on being in Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker and then acting and singing in elementary school, all of which made me realize my love of performing and which ultimately lead me to my amazing chorus trip in Brazil in May!

Yesterday night we had a walking tour of our neighborhoods to find out where libraries, supermarkets, coffee shops, gyms, etc are located. Our guide was a masters' student at the University of Seville who is from Córdoba and is fluent in Spanish and English. He's a very nice guy and is offering cooking classes starting in a few weeks. I am definitely going to go with my friends to learn how to cook and also get to know more Spanish students and become more comfortable with the lifestyle and culture here in Sevilla.

Tomorrow I have my midterm exam for my intensive class. I don’t think it will be too difficult; it is only a few short answer essays to demonstrate our knowledge of the various past tenses, the imperative form and direct and indirect object pronouns. This weekend I might go to the beach with some friends. The beach is 1 hour away and it should be fun! I might also go paddle boating in the river! The weather is still great here, about 90 degrees every day!! I hope you all are doing well!

Ciao for now xoxo,

Jennie

Orientation

Orientation has been great so far. It was hard to say goodbye to Kate and Sebastian, but I will see them soon. We stayed at a hotel in the center of town for two nights and all of our meals were included. On the first day we were given a lot of information and we broke up into groups. At night we had free time so a few of us explored the area and then we went back to the hotel and hung out at the restaurant at the hotel. The next day was very busy. We had an extensive tour of the city for about 4 hours, I bet we walked 5 miles, but it was great to see so much of the city and learn even more about it. We went for tapas at the same restaurant I went to on Saturday, Los Coloniales. When we got back to the hotel I tanned at the rooftop pool and looked out at the beautiful city where I currently live.

We then found out more information on our classes, interest groups and living situations. There are 7 interest groups with distinct themes that are comprised of students from my program and from the University of Seville and each interest group takes a trip midway through the semester. The trip options are Madrid, Barcelona, Morocco, Valencia and Lisbon. I've been to Madrid and Lisbon, and I really want to go to both Barcelona and Morocco either this semester or in the near future, so I will probably sign up for one of those groups.

At night we went out for tapas near the Cathedral and had montecitos or bocadillos which are like a cross between tapas and a sub (sandwich). It was unexpected, but good and a lot of fun! Later, we went to see a Flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria de Al-Andalus. It is known as the best Flamenco show in the area. It was excellent, the atmosphere was great it was in a covered courtyard with flowers and candles and it had architecture from the Moorish period. There were 4 people in it, one who played guitar, one who sang, a woman who danced, and a man who sang and danced. It was an awesome show!

After the show a group of us went to Calle Betis, the main strip of bars and cafes by the river and relaxed and met a lot of interesting people, some from the US, some from around Spain, South America and even a group of soccer players from Naples, Italy. It was a really fun night!

Today I moved into my homestay. It is wonderful. I am living with a woman who is a lawyer at the university and she has a beautiful apartment in one of the nicest areas to live in Seville. She is a great cook and today we ate a spinach and chickpea stew, a salad, a Spanish version of pepperoni with cheese with bread and a fruit which was like a yellow plum. It was all very good!

Tonight I am going out for tapas with my small group from my program.

I am doing an internship with an international travel and event company called We Love Spain which is based out of Seville. After dinner I am going to the Welcome Party with my friends from my program! I am very excited!!

Ciao for now. xoxo Jennie

First days in Spain

Spain. A lot of thoughts and images come to mind. Flamenco, castanets, tapas, friendly people...the list goes on and on. In my first 2 days, not even two full days here, I have already been exposed to all the above.

I chose to study abroad in Spain to improve my Spanish more than anything. I have always been intrigued by the Spanish culture, history, etc, and my dream, in the back of my mind has always been to live here, ever since middle school Spanish class when I watched my first Spanish language video set in Madrid.

In the last couple of weeks I have had a few reservations and the nerves started to set in; the reality was that I was actually going to get on a plane and go live in Seville for 3 1/2 months, a city I had visited before (in 2008), but only for about 5 hours and in 110 degree heat! But even still, I remembered all the wonderful stories my friends had told me about their experiences abroad, in Seville and elsewhere and I remembered what a friend of mine told me the night before I left "This is the opportunity of a lifetime; you only live once."

On the plane I sat down next to a group of students from Madrid who had been vacationing in New York and Boston and I spoke to one of the girls in Spanish with no problem. Then I took it as a good sign when I heard music from the movie "Chariots of Fire," a favorite movie of my family. Then, many hours later, in a half awake/half asleep state, going through customs in Madrid, a very handsome customs agent spoke to me in Spanish and asked me about my studies in Seville and he said 'you're going to study?' and then, 'and to party?' he then told me to have a great time, and I was on my way. I then got lost and a bit confused trying to make my way to my gate and struggled to communicate with a couple of people. It was comforting to hear so many British people speaking English. Might I add that after going to Brazil in May, all of these issues were a breeze by comparison to the ones on that trip. Try navigating through the São Paolo airport, alone (after being separated from the group because I needed to exchange my traveler's checks) and without knowing more than 10 words of Portuguese. I can thank my University of Rio friends, Alexandre and Mariana for teaching me as much as I know of Portuguese--and now I want to learn more!

But, back to Spain, my current home for the semester. I made it to Seville and Kate and Sebastian met me at the airport. We then went to the hotel, Doña Maria and went to a well-known tapas restaurant, Los Coloniales. The waiter was very friendly and said I should come back whenever I want. We walked around the area, Santa Cruz, for a while. Later on, we met an even friendlier waiter. The people in Andalusia, the southern part of Spain, are known for being very friendly. At night we went to a few more tapas restaurants, having a few tapas at each restaurant and then we had dessert at this delicious, old-fashioned pastry shop. The streets in Seville are beautiful, with cobblestones, flowers and they are very pedestrian friendly, besides when mopeds or taxis are also trying to get down these very narrow streets.

We then went across the Guadalquivir river to Triana, another neighborhood, where we went to Casa Anselma, an old bar which has flamenco guitarists who sing and locals who come up and dance flamenco. It was really fun and had a lot of local color. We then walked around Calle Betis, the street by the river which is lined with bars and restaurants and filled with people on a Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and some of the bars even had live music.

Today we ate at Vinería San Telmo, which had very good tapas and among other, more tame and in my opinion more delicious items, we tried Bull's Tail, a specialty in Seville. I was only able to have a teeny bite; the reason I had very little of it was less about the taste and more about the idea of it!

We then went into the Cathedral of Saint Mary, the 3rd largest church i and the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Originally a mosque from the Moorish period, it was completed in 1507 after the Catholics took over, and it contains Christopher Columbus' tomb, although there is a dispute over whether Seville or the Dominican Republic actually have his remains.

We then walked up to the top of the Giralda which was a minaret which was turned into a bell tower, and has a gorgeous view of all of Seville. The white buildings with flowers and roof top pools, the palm trees and orange trees, the river and so much more beauty are visible from here.

After hanging out at the rooftop pool at our hotel, which faces the Cathedral and has a view of a beautiful sunset, we met up with a girl from my study abroad program and all went out to dinner together at the San Marino Restaurant which has Italian food. Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise and Madonna have all dined there. The food was great, but the service was so-so. The restaurant had previously been a Turkish bath. After dinner we wandered the streets by the river and discovered that some people play basketball in kayaks on the river. Pretty wild!

Tomorrow I will start orientation for my program. I can't wait. I am so excited for what's to come in these next few months. I miss my wonderful family and friends, but I am so glad that I am able to keep in touch easily with the internet and I am so grateful to have my sister here and my parents visiting in a month. I can't wait to travel around Europe and visit my friends from GW!

Ciao for now. xoxo, Jennie