Local Warming

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It's getting a bit sunny around here. Like I said, best food I've ever had was in this country. I feel bad for the waiters here, though. The way the system is set up is tips are already included in every bill, but apparently it's a really crappy tip. Also, most places have only one to two waiters for the whole restaurant (higher end places seem to have three, maybe four) which can be twenty to forty seats some nights. Anyway, Spaniards seem to latch onto a favorite cafe or such and remain loyal to it while perusing different restaurants by night. How they decide which one to regularly patron, I don't know. There's also a ton of places to eat everywhere here. I still haven't found a bad one either. Yet amongst all these delightful vendors, I (and other extranjeros here) still managed to pick out one place to habitually convene. I won't say it feels like home, because it isn't, but that little consistency is a welcome comfort in the otherwise sporadic, barely comprehensible life of the still-green Spanish-student. In fact, I'm going to make that a tip for any and all future study abroaders sevillanas: find somewhere to go. It won't be too hard, because cafes are everywhere, but one of the requirements of this place should be friendly staff. Somewhere you can sit and listen to--and converse in--castellano without being scorned. Sevillanos also barely live at home, so I would count "your place" toward studying the culture.

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