Llegué en Sevilla

Well I finally made it to Sevilla, after an incredibly full week in Madrid. There isn't too much more to say about my last few days in Madrid, they were also full of bus rides, sightseeing, and late nights out with the group. Towards the end of our stay in Madrid I began to wonder how we were all doing fairly well for getting so little sleep and doing so much during the day. But once we got to Sevilla, it was clear that our fun was not without repercussions. I, along with half of my group, caught some kind of flu virus and spent the first day or two sick in bed. That was probably one of the worst and loneliest experiences I've ever had...new home, strange host mom, feeling incredibly ill...not how I imagined my first day in Seville, but I'm hoping the worst has come and gone. Luckily, my host mom was nice and very concerned for my health. When I finally felt able to stomach some food, she made me a little fish soup and a mixture of teas that she claimed would cure me. I don't know if that or the meds did the trick, but I felt a lot better after another nights rest.

Since recovering, Seville has been great. It has been fairly warm, probably in the 50s and although there has been periods of rainfall, it doesn't even compare to the PNW. Today it was warm enough that my friends and I were able to go shopping in our t-shirts! My host mom says this has actually been the coldest January and she keeps the little heater under the table on at all times. It's pretty nice- we eat dinner in front of the TV on the couch with a table that has a heater underneath it where we keep our legs warm. That's my kind of seating arrangement. It's also nice eating in front of the TV because it can be difficult and awkward talking to her in Spanish, and the news on the TV gives us topics to discuss. She paraphrases the news for me because I hardly ever understand what the news anchors are actually saying. But I frequently hear the word "Obama" :) I haven't really gotten to know my host mom yet, but she seems really nice and I think it'll slowly get easier to talk to her.

Yesterday I started school at the CC-CS (center for cross cultural studies). Unfortunately, it seems that class might actually be quite challenging. I'm taking 4 classes: 1 hour of Spanish grammar and 1 hour of contemporary Spain 4x a week, 1.5 hr of Spanish art history 2x a week and 2 hr of immigration in Spain 2x a week. Although only LC students are in my classes, the professors are spanish and only speak to us in Spanish. I thought they might speak slowly for us, but no, they are treating us as Spanish students. It is pretty overwhelming right now, but hopefully we'll get the hang of it quickly. Contemporary Spain and Immigration in Spain should be really interesting classes and a good chance for me to study something much different than I typically do as a psych major.

Well I want to write more but I have to meet friends now. So I will write more tomorrow!
Miss you all, xxo Theresa