Day 2 - Orientación!

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I am about to take my first siesta (A spanish tradition in Espana. The work day has a 3 hour break from 2-5 pm for "siesta" or a nap. Stores are closed and the town is quiet. Not everyone has a siesta everyday, but when in Sevilla...

Today was really fun! In the morning we learned about academics and housing in Sevilla. I will have classes 3 hours a day (10:00-13:00), 5 days a week. Each class is 3 weeks long. My first class is Intermediate Spanish and my second class is Public Health in Developed Countries. I also signed up for "intercambias" (I will meet with a Spanish student who goes to La Universidad de Sevilla who wants to practice English. We get to choose the place to meet, usually a tapas bar or for coffee, and the first half an hour we speak spanish so I work on my skills, and the second half hour we speak english and I get to help them!)

After the orientation, we had oral interviews to be placed in our classes. I was interviewed by Miguel, a professor from Sevilla. Sevillans have a very thick, different accent. It is probably comparable to a spanish student who has studied english for many years and then decides to travel to to North Carolina ... not exactly the same thing that they taught you in lecture!

I also bought a cell phone today. I would give you guys the number but I think it only works if you call me from within Spain. It is good to have to get in contact with other students to make plans with. It is disrespectful to use my familys house phone when I move in - tomorrow!

I finally got information about my familia today! They are picking me up tomorrow at 15:30 for lunch in my house! I am so excited about it too! They live in "El centro" which is the center of the city! (Some students live as far away as a 40 minute walk to the study center where we have class. Mine is only a 5 minute walk.) They are a typical Spanish family - the grandmother, mother and daughter all live together. The daughter is 20! I am so excited about that. I really wanted a roommate in my homestay, but I didn't request one in fear that I wouldn't use my spanish enough. But having a daughter is perfect because now I can talk to her all the time and hopefully she can introduce me to her friends and I can talk with them! YAY.

For lunch (which isn't til 2 or 3 here - I was starving!) we went out with our groups to get tapas! (Tapas are a very common food in spain - most similar to the american appetizer. They are cheap and small portions, so you get more than one. Spaniards usually have them with drinks and for every drink they have, they get a tapa. We ordered practically every tapa they offered and shared them all. It was really neat to try all different kinds of spanish foods! Sangria was served with the tapas - very delish.

Wow- lots to say today!! I still have dinner and my first FLAMENCO show tonight (Sevilla is know for flamenco!) I'm soo excited. Tour of Sevilla tomorrow morning!

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Comments

[Stacy]

Yay!!!
Buenos Dias Julie! So exciting! We're so happy your having a great time out there. How lucky is it that you get to live with another girl your age, that works out perfect! Loving the entries - I'm looking forward to the next one and the next one :) Adios, Stacy