Spanish Life

This week will mark one month of living in Spain. Last week I think was the first time I finally felt settled in and more like I was living real life than I have since I arrived. I'm sure my three exams, two presentations, one quiz and paper all helped with that reality check. . . But this week was also full of Spanish cultural experiences and friends and I have realized that I really am living la vida en Sevilla: So here are some glimpses of my Spanish life this week.

Tuesday was the first time I met with my "intercambio", which is basically an assigned Spanish friend given by my program to whoever wants one. The purpose is to interact in Spanish and English so that each person can practice the other language. My intercambio's name is Maria and she is 22 and studying history at the University of Sevilla. She is super cool, fun and helpful. I needed to purchase bus tickets for some upcoming trips and wasn't sure where to go but she went with me and helped make sure I was doing everything correctly. Then she took me to her favorite coffee shop and we sat and chatted in Spanish for a couple hours (she was embarrassed of her English and said we'd talk some in English the next time we met). It was very fun because we are both very interested in the other person's life and culture so we just exchanged stories over green tea and coffee. We are going to try to meet once a week which I am very excited about. She has already told me so many cool places she wants to take me and show me! 

Thursday I went to the site I am volunteering at for my Acción Solidaria, Misión Urbana. It is a 45 minute bus ride to East Sevilla, and we ended up spending 3 and a half hours there this week, though normally it will only be 2. We were working with kids from ages 4 to 12 who come from broken homes or have some sort of financial or emotional problems. The Spanish teacher was awesome and there were 3 of us girls who were assisting her in leading them in games, helping with homework, etc. The kids were awesome and it was really fun to be with them, not to mention very good for improving my Spanish speaking and understanding (they talk crazy fast!). I was even given a paper airplane and High School Musical button by two different kids, and am really looking forward to serving there this semester. 

Friday afternoon I went with my friends Jana and Emma to watch their 13-year-old host sister's roller skating competition. It was really interesting, I had never seen anything like it. Think combination of dance team and ice skating, but in a gym and with roller skates. But we had a blast and it was definitely a slice of Spanish culture. That whole day we were wearing Sevilla soccer jerseys we had bought, and all kinds of random people on the street would either cheer and sing the Sevilla anthem or boo us because they are Betis fans (the other soccer team in the city and Sevilla's rival). That night, in order to celebrate Emma's birthday, Valentine's Day and the end of exams, 6 of us girls went to a Sevilla soccer game! (hence wearing the jerseys around) We had a great time- the fans were awesome and Sevilla won 3-1 against Real Club Deportivo La Coruña!

This morning Jana and I went to an open air market outside the Art Museum where local artists were selling their art. It was very lovely, and I got two paintings there. Thus is Spanish life. The next two weekends are big excursions (Toledo and Madrid, then Amsterdam) which I am so blessed to be able to do. My passage of the week has been Psalm 34. Its reminders to align my heart to praise our righteous God have been very important as I have been living here. "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!..."

Jana and Emma's host sister and her friends after patinaje

At the fútbol game! Kate, Becca, Emma, Jana, Amber, me

In front of the team's bus

The fans are awesome!

Open air market outside the art museum every Sunday

The biggest rock I ever did see

This weekend some friends and I took our first trip outside of Spain! Although Gibraltar is part of mainland Spain, it is technically a British colony. We left Friday after class, went on a four hour bus ride, and arrived in La Linea, Spain (right outside Gibraltar) where we spent the night in a hostel. It was actually very nice and was more like an apartment-- complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and sitting room with a television (all for 12 euros a night per person!).
We woke up super early Saturday morning and crossed the border into Gibraltar just in time to see the sunrise over the Mediterranean Sea. It was absolutely breathtaking to be standing underneath the Rock of Gibraltar watching the sun come up over the ocean. After this, we walked around for a while and ended up in the only open cafe to warm up and get hot chocolate and coffee. It was such a change of pace to be able to fully understand everything on the menu and to order in English (having our waiter say "cheers!" to us afterwards... Love those British accents).
After a while of wandering down the main street, we stopped in a Sports Bar to ask for directions to the cable cars that take visitors to the top of the Rock. The man there told us about vans that go up and stop at several cool sites for the same price as the cables. We went with this and were taken up by Gibraltar native Michael who was very knowledgable about the country's history. We first stopped at a spot partway up the Rock from where is visible Morocco, Spain, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Strait of Gibraltar. It was a beautiful view and so crazy to think about the combination of cultures right there from that spot. After this, we went to a very cool cave inside the Rock. We felt as though we were in the Mines of Moria and Emma played a song from Lord of the Rings from her phone and we dashed through the cave like Legolas, Aragon, Gimli and Gandalf. It was one of the highlights of my time in Spain :). After this, we went up to the top of the rock and saw so many monkeys! Michael knew how to make the monkeys comfortable and showed us how to approach them correctly. There was one monkey he got to sit on top of our heads, as well as an adorable baby monkey who loved to play with our rings and hair. It was a really cool experience and we stayed with the monkeys right near the highest point of the Rock for a while. Finally we made it to our last stop with Michael: an old tunnel that was completely man-made.
After this, the four of us walked back down, stopping at an old Moorish castle and a fortress that had withstood 14 sieges. Once we got all the way back to the town, we ate lunch (I had to get fish and chips--I was in the UK after all!) and then walked around for a bit. We left late afternoon and returned to La Linea, making our way to the beach near our hostel (yes, the very same 12 euros/night one!) where we spent a couple hours with our toes in the sand and the ocean and Rock of Gibraltar ahead of us. It was a wonderful first outside excursion and I can't wait to travel more! There is so much to see in this world of ours and I am infinitely grateful for the opportunities I have had to see pieces of it.

Sunrise over the Mediterranean

Rock of Gibraltar

Morocco to the left, Spain to the right! Amazing!

Jana, Emma and I in St. Michael's Cave

Josiah and I on the roof of the Moorish castle

Monkey friend

"Mono" means "monkey" and "cute" in Spanish... How fitting!

On the beach!

The beach and Rock of Gibraltar in background

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

So many firsts

During the time I have already had in Sevilla, I have tried and experienced so many new things and my list of "firsts" is growing extensively. To start, today marks my first time being in a country other than the United States for a duration of two weeks. Last night was my first time trying salmorejo, a thick, cold tomato soup that is an Andalusian delicacy. Monday was my first time to Plaza de España, an absolutely gorgeous plaza not too far from where I live, which is my favorite spot in Sevilla so far. Sunday was my first time to go to a Spanish Catholic mass. There are countless examples of firsts I am blessed to have had each and every day here. Now I'm going to share some updates and highlights from this last week, which doubtlessly will be full of plenty of firsts themselves.

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

My classes are going very well (even though it is my first time having all my classes completely in Spanish!). I am thoroughly enjoying all of them and am learning so much. The class sizes are so small, particularly my grammar class of 4 people, that we are able to go over whatever material we need to and can ask questions for further help whenever we need it. The learning environment is very cool because everything we are learning is being applied daily, whether it be using the correct form of verb that we talked about in Grammar when conversing with a Spaniard or walking across the bridge we discussed in Art History to go home for lunch. In Spanish Literature we are discussing Don Juan Tenorio and tomorrow during class we are going to go to the street where the beginning of the story takes place. Likewise, in art class we are learning about the Muslim architecture here in Andalusia and tomorrow are going to have class in the Torre del Oro, a tower constructed in the 13th century. I am so thankful for the education I am receiving here and the opportunity to spend this time in this awesome place.

Last Thursday was our first noche de chicas (girls' night). All of the girls in the program (which is the grand majority of us) went out for churros and chocolate and then went to the top of "Las Setas" (translates to "mushrooms") which is a giant wooden structure (the biggest in Europe, and possibly the world... I don't remember which one) to watch the sunset! We had an absolute blast all spending time together and the view of the whole city from the top was breathtaking. 

Underneath Las Setas before we went up

Becca and I climbing up the ramps to the top of Las Setas

View as the sun is setting

The day after noche de chicas, last Friday, we had our first excursion of the semester to Córdoba. It was definitely one of those interactive learning experiences I talked about earlier, because we had spent the whole week before talking about the Córdoba mezquita (mosque) in art class. Seeing it in person with our professor and having her explain many of the elements of the decoration and architecture we had learned about was great. It is a very interesting building, because it first was a cathedral, then a mosque, and now again is a Catholic cathedral. The different Catholic and Muslim elements combined throughout each part of it is fascinating. We then went to an old synagogue and house for Sephardic Jews and our guide sang us traditional Jewish songs. The rest of the day we spent exploring the neat city, which was very fun. All in all, a successful first excursion. 

The ancient Roman bridge leading into Córdoba

The door to the Mezquita/Catedral 

El Mihrab

Josiah and I in the mezquita 

Emma and I finishing our day in Córdoba right with ice cream from a vending machine

After another great weekend in Sevilla, classes of course resumed Monday. This week is an incredibly busy one, with something different going on each evening. Monday evening marked the hour of our first flamenco class! Almost all of the girls in the program are taking the class together and it was so much fun to learn basic steps of the iconic Spanish dance. We will have flamenco every Monday and will perform at a fiesta in April. Yesterday afternoon I visited the site I will be volunteering at for my Acción Solidaria class for the first time. It is called Misión Urbana and provides services and programs for kids from underprivileged homes. The two other girls assigned to that site and myself will take a 45 minute bus ride to East Sevilla every Thursday starting next week and organize activities for 17 kids ages 5-10. I am very excited about this opportunity to serve in the city, and of course to spend time with kids. After we got back from meeting with the coordinator at the site, we went out for a noche de tapas provided by the school. After splitting into groups of 8, Spanish guides took each group to different places to get tapas. Our group went to two different bars for tapas, then an heladería for ice cream and finally a tetería (Arabic tea shop). Our Spanish friend ordered everything for us and it was so much fun to try all the different things. We didn't get home until 1 am (still early by Spanish standards) but we had an absolute blast.

Jana and I pouring tea at the terería

That was a whirlwind of a recap for my whirlwind of a life here in Sevilla. I do miss Wheaton and Kansas, but I know I need to cherish every moment here because I feel like I am going to blink and it will be over! Time is already flying, and I am planning many trips to other places with friends, which I'm sure will make the time go by even faster. God has been so good in answering my prayers and calming my anxieties about this trip and I see His faithfulness through the smallest of things and the huge life-changing ones as I am here. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." 
-Lamentations 3:22-23