Just Going With The Flow

Nuevos amigos

The past few days have been absolutely wonderful! So on Thursday night, we decided to go out and view the night life some. We ended up going to this street full of bars that had almost all Spaniards there, and we hung out there for a while, which is where we met two boys named Gabriel and Enrique. We stayed at the bar with them until the bar closed down (I know my friends at home are amazed that I am capable of staying out past 1. When in Seville, right?) and then we went to the same discoteca that we went to the first night. There were a lot more spanish people there than the first time and I had an absolute blast. We all danced and danced until finally we were too tired to dance anymore. Then we decided to walk 45 minutes back to our houses. Lots and lots of walking here, but that is ok, because we need exercise, right?
Then on Friday, we got to sleep in, thank goodness, and then we went and enrolled in all of our classes. Fortunately, I got in to all of the classes I needed! Success! It is probably hard to believe, but I did not feel like doing anything that night, so I just went home and stayed in and rested.

Gardens of Alcazar

Palace in Alcazar

On Saturday, we took a trip to this place called Alcázar, which is a series of palaces and gardens right in the heart of Seville. The palaces were built for the Christian kings, but they were built by Muslim architects, so they have this awesome architecture that is very Islamic. The palace was massive because every time a new king would come in to power, he would have another palace built to connect to the current one. Isabel and Ferdinand lived there and it was so cool to think about how I was walking where they had and to see the room where they decided that Christopher Columbus could travel to America and all of that. It is kind of hard to wrap your mind around that thought too. The gardens were also so beautiful, they were full of orange and lemon trees and peacocks! Apparently it was really common for Muslims to put peacocks in their palaces and they have just stayed there! After lunch on Saturday, a group of us went to a place called Torre del Oro, which is now a naval museum, but used to be the main entry point for the port of Seville. We climbed all the way to the top and you could see across the river and the entire city on our side of the river. Then we went to this cute cafe and had ice cream before our late dinner. It truly was a perfect day. After dinner we all went out to the other side of the river to a more American part of town. We stayed in a bar and just chatted and laughed and had a very calm peaceful time, unlike most of the other bars. I will say though that I do enjoy the bars where there are more Spaniards than Americans. It just feels more real when you are surrounded by Sevillanos, as opposed to feeling like you are in America because there are so many Americans there.

View from Torre del Oro

Today, I woke up late and had a very relaxing morning. Then a few of us decided to go to this park called Parque Maria Louisa. It is right next to the Plaza de España, which for those of you who don't know, that is where they shot the movie Star Wars Attack of the Clones... I think. One of the Star Wars movies at least. It was so beautiful and big and it has the only grass that I have seen so far in this city! We relaxed in the sun and talked and I ran for a bit and it was wonderful. Then we went to the same place for more ice cream only I got a waffle with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup (fat American, right?) and I swear it was one of the most delicious things I have ever had. Obviously I can't have that all the time, but I think that will definitely become a treat!




I really do love it here, but there has been quite a bit of culture shock. In America, we are all about being busy and getting our work done and if we slack off we feel kind of bad about it. Here, that is not the case. Pretty much all of the shops close from about 2-5 in the afternoon so everyone can take a break and have a nice long lunch and such. Then they come back to work until about 9 at night. You will never see a to-go cup of coffee in someone's hand walking down the street, because everyone stays at the cafe to sit and talk and enjoy their coffee. It is so different, and it takes a while to get used to. No one is ever in a rush to do anything and many times, people will be late to meet with friends and it is no big deal. I'm starting to get used to it, and I really do like the attitude. I just worry about when I come back and no one else has the same attitude as I do... Then we may run in to problems. I guess I can deal with that four months from now!