There wasn't an effing "hearth"quake, Nico

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So we finally finished our three-week angst-fest that was the Intensive Session and now I have time to write something other than an unnecessarily long analytical journal about each cultural visit we made around Sevilla.

Our intensive session was probably the best thing yet. Ángel, our 5’5”little-ball-of-history wrapped in a stylish sweater and scarf, has now replaced Zac Efron in my heart as my most unattainable, unrequited love affair. Each day we had an hour and a half of classroom lecture followed by an hour and a half of clase en las calles. We visited awesome places around Sevilla like la Catedral (largest Gothic Cathedral in the world), el Museo de Bellas Artes, el Alcázar (Almohade Palace from the Muslim occupation of Spain), la Plaza de España (the baller brick thing pictured in my last blog entry), etc. Not only did we learn a ridiculous amount of sweet facts about our new home city, but also all of the entrance fees were covered by CIEE (gratis what what).

The language is becoming easier to understand poco a poco. But phone conversations with young Spaniards are still so terribly awful that they are laughable. A) Kids talk ridiculously fast. It’s a fact. B) Phone calls are charged by the minute, pressuring conversations to be had far too quickly. C) Everyone yells into the phone and is never in a quiet area appropriate for having a conversation. Text messages have proven to be the most economical and convenient way for communicating; plus picking up on the shorthand of a different language makes me feel like one of the young, hip kids.

Two weekends ago we went to this Convivencia thing with our señora and her church. It was out in the country with some church-y things, some singing/dancing and food eating. Unfortunately something hilarious Spanish happened at the expense of my vegetarianism while at the gigantic picnic part of the day. I was feeling a bit sassy and felt like branching out from my usual regimen of bread, cheese and lettuce. So I grabbed something that looked like a mozzarella stick, but I should have known it was just a fried ball of meatiness. My roommate and I both diligently asked two people if this fried deliciousness was “sin carne”. We got the thumbs up for me to enjoy this new mystery treat, so I reluctantly took a bite. Immediately after my mouth made contact with the random comida, my roommate questioned a bit further to find out the actual ingredients, to which the same man who previously said “sin carne” responded with “pollo y lechuga”. The following process of expelling the meat from my mouth was exciting.

Last weekend we went to Granada and it was a glorious city filled with gypsies and hippies. A friend of mine from Madison studying there this semester took us around to sweet places like a gypsy village built into a hill and a bar owned by a longhaired Italian man named Fabio that served us flaming shots.

This past weekend I went to the Carnaval in Cádiz. We were told it was the Mardis Gras of Spain, but really it was Madison Halloween without any strong presence of any form of law enforcement personnel. Lots of things happened, I wore wings, the streets smelled like pee. Cádiz looks like a sweet city though, so I’ll try to go back sometime during the day.

Sorry about how choppy this entry is. There is so much to say that I just end up oversimplifying everything.

I have included a couple of pictures from my new pastime of taking pictures of humans with various inanimate objects. You’re invited to come along with me on the journey through Europe standing next to things (statues, walls, various objects) in pictures.

Oh yeah! Tomorrow I am going to plant trees with a random environmental group that I found. I am wicked excited.

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Photos

The Palacio
This is looking down into the open patio on the first floor of our white-kid study center (not la Universidad de Sevilla).

Some kids and a wall
Featured next to the sullen-faced Americans is a young Spaniard sporting the ubiquitous dreadlocks-mullet. Classy.

Same guy por la noche
I thought this would turn out cooler but eh

Granada
View from La Alhambra. I would have a picture OF La Alhambra if I were a responsible human that charged my camera. Google it though because it's effing sweet.

Another wall
There are better pictures from this series of poses but this one amuses me because I am the middle of moving/talking/looking ridiculous

Striking
"One thousand machines will never make a flower"

Comments

[Amy Barry]

Earth Quakes?
Hi Be, So was there an earthquake? Let's put Granada on our itinerary, gypsies and hippies, sounds great to me! Take a picture of where you live and your senora, please.