Sightseeing Galore!

We went out again the following night, and although we didn't find Bicicleteria, we did find a modern bar with a fun atmosphere.

When we were walking around on Monday, we saw this demonstration. People were protesting the privatization of some service sectors. They had gathered on the tramvia tracks and weren't letting it past.

Our 2 week intensive classes started on Monday. I was placed into the advanced class: Cultural History of Spain. Each day we spend 1 1/2 hours in the classroom, and then venture out into Sevilla to see some of the places we learn about. On Monday, we saw these 3 columns that date back to the Roman period. 

The columns were part of a temple dedicated to Hercules, the mythical founder of Sevilla. Two other columns from that temple ended up at the Alameda de Hercules, with Renaissance statues of Hercules and Julius Caesar (the founder of Sevilla).

Also on Monday, we visited the Palace of the Countess of Lebrija. She basically bought all of these mosaics from Italica and had them moved to her house. Her house was full of Roman mosaics, artifacts, statues, and other items from throughout history.

It's incredible that all of this is part of her private collection.

Upstairs cost an extra 3 Euro, so we didn't get to explore fully. The craftsmanship put into this palacio is incredible.

On Tuesday, some fellow classmates and I ventured across town to the Iglesia de la Macarena. The entire church was elaborately decorated, with frescoes on the ceilings and walls, and intricate displays. This picture is of the main altar, which was dedicated to the Virgen Maria de la Esperanza (Virgin Mary of Hope).

This wall is next to the Iglesia. It was started by the Romans, and then added to by the Muslims.

That day with our class,we visited the mezquita (mosque) of Salvador.

Wednesday, we visited the Alcazar of Sevilla. It was built in the 12th century by the Muslims. In the 14th century, it was destroyed and rebuilt by the Christians, although they used the mudejar style (copying the Muslims). This picture is of a patio in the remaining Muslim part. The water ran from inside the building to outside, allowing for purification/cleansing.

This picture is of a patio in the Christian side. Note the combination of the Muslim arches and the Roman-style arches on the 2nd floor. 

These baths were built for the mistress, per her request. 

This picture is of the Cathedral and Giralda. The Giralda was originally built as a minaret by the Muslims. The top was reconstructed by the Christians in the 14th century, and then reconstructed again in the 16th century after the Cathedral was built. 

This picture is of the Cathedral. It was built in a Gothic style in the 15th century.

Included in the tour of the Cathedral was a trip to the top of the Giralda. After 34 ramps, this is the view we were rewarded with. 

Another great view from the top of the tower. 

We are off to Cordoba for the day tomorrow, then are planning on celebrating Jessica's birthday. Hoping for great weather tomorrow, instead of the on/off rain of this week. 

Italica

Yesterday, we all piled onto coach buses to tour Italica. Approximately 20 minutes outside of Sevilla, Italica is an ancient Roman city. It dates back to the 2nd century, and is known as the birthplace of Trajano (Trajan- Roman emperor) and Adriano's (Hadrian- another Roman emperor) family. The city was much larger than it is today, but at some point in recent history, the area's inhabitants tired of the many floods from the river, and re-located their city to on top of part of Italica. So much of the city is no longer visible, but the part that is gives us a glimpse into life during that time.

Many of the houses had very intricate, detailed mosaics like this one. This depicts Neptune fighting animals, with a border of pygmies fighting cranes.

This is an overview of some of the ruins. Many of the houses belonged to important people, which is indicated by their size.

The large houses usually had 2 shops "in" them, one on either side of the front door. This picture is of an oven in one of those shops.

We also saw the amphitheatre where they had gladiator fights and such. This picture shows the trench that was covered with wood, and had a ramp/pulleys used to pull the cages of animals onto the fighting space.

Overall view of part of the amphitheatre. It used to have 2 other, higher sections, but after it was abandoned, people started taking the rock to build other cities. Thankfully, the river flooded this area, protecting the rest of the rock from being taken.

And, of course, every set of ruins has to have its token cat wandering around.

Went out with a few friends last night. We started at this bar with cushy walls (similar to vinyl padded restaurant booths) and 80s music. We then moved on to a club called Utopia, where we met a lot of the 25+ crowd. Not that many students there. I called it a night around 2, and grabbed a taxi back home.

We're adventuring out again tonight, hopefully to find a club called Bicicleteria.

Home Stay!

Yesterday morning we all moved in to our host families' homes. As I mentioned previously, I am living with a woman named Encarnacion and her husband Antonio in their apartment. The couple is in their mid-60's and has 2 sons. One son lives across the patio with his 2 children. I met the children today, and they are adorable! Laura is 7, and Pablo is around 3, I believe. Laura was very talkative. When I met her, she asked me what my name was, and then disappeared. When she came back, she presented me with this picture she had drawn.

She continued to tell me all about her school and her friends, and ask me questions. I was reading on my Kindle later, and she came over and sat on the arm of my chair and told me about her DS and pointed out English words she recognized on the Kindle. I think the grandkids must come over after school every day while their parents are at work.

My señora showed me where the program study center (called Palacio) is and where to buy cheap (well, cheap for Sevilla) shampoo/etc.

Meals have been good. It takes a little getting used to, because they don't have as much variety as we do, but they are vegetarians too, which makes it easier.

Encarnacion said that she has been housing students since her son was her grandkids' age, so for many years now. She used to have multiple at a time, too, but doesn't anymore. She also loves history, and tells me about the city and its past at every spare minute. She grew up in a small town outside of Sevilla.

We received the time table for classes today, and we register on Saturday. I'm hoping to get a good mix of classes that will be interesting and count for my major, without overwhelming me with classwork. We also have the opportunity to volunteer at local places if we wish, and I'd love to volunteer at a school or something similar.

Tomorrow we are going on an adventure to Italica, an ancient city. Pictures to come!
~Alyssa

Learning About the City

So yesterday started out with a series of orientation sessions about housing, academics, and cell phones. I learned about my host family. I will be living with a woman named Encarnacion and her husband Antonio, although I don't know their ages yet. I'm living in the centro of town, a few blocks away from the Cathedral. I meet my host family in about an hour. (scary, but exciting!).

We then toured the city and went out for tapas for lunch. We ordered large porciones to share with our table, as opposed to individual tapas. I tried this salmorejo, which is a chilled tomato and bread soup. Mine came without the meat.

We also ordered a dish of some kind of octopus, which was better than I thought it would be. Kinda chewy.

We ordered papas bravas, which are basically fried potatoes (wedges, fries, depends on location) with a sauce (mixture of red & white, not sure of ingredients).

After touring the city, we came back to the hotel (took the "tram"), where most of us crashed for a bit. I had my oral interview with one of the professors to confirm placement in our 2 week intensive language or history course.

After the interviews, we went back out into the city for dinner and a flamenco show. Dinner was wonderful. We ordered tapas, and everyone ordered 2 or 3 different dishes to try. I got a cheese plate (which was old Swiss, I think) and a grilled white fish. The white fish portion was huge for a tapas size. The texture was perfect, though, although it could have used a little flavoring. I was happy to have something not fried, though. We left that meal completely satisfied and ready to enjoy the show.

The flamenco show took place in this tiny courtyard that had a tarp connecting the buildings as a "roof". The show was great. It was not as flashy as some were expecting, but it was authentic flamenco (not tourist-y).

It was very impressive how quickly they could move their feet and create different sounds and rhythms.

Today, we meet our host families and have lunch with them, and then go to more orientation sessions and such. Lots of information being thrown at us, but it's all info we need to know.

Hoping to buy a cell phone today, and maybe shampoo/etc.

Adios,
~Alyssa

Arrival!

I have arrived safely in Sevilla, although not uneventfully.

At O'Hare, going through security, apparently I looked suspicious, as I was pulled aside and sent through the full body scan. Sigh. After getting all re-put together, I went to my gate, where I met three girls who are studying abroad in Barcelona this semester, which helped pass the time before our flight to JFK.

JFK was fine. We flew uneventfully to Madrid.

Upon reaching Madrid, I discovered 5 other students in the Sevilla program, and we somewhat successfully navigated the ridiculous layout of the airport to find our terminal. Upon reaching our terminal, we saw that we didn't have a gate listed yet for our flight, so we went to a coffee shop to waste some of the 5 hours we had before our flight. Some of the girls payed upwards of 3 euros for a glass of orange juice! Que caro!

After we had been waiting around for quite some time, we asked the Information kiosk guy about our flight. He informed us that it had been delayed because of the fog, but he didn't have any more details than that. We wandered around the airport more, found a McDonalds (with a "uno por uno" menu), came back to the info guy and asked for an update when the gate still wasn't listed. He still had no information, and it was pretty close to the time we were supposed to be boarding. We camped out in front of the giant departure screens, and found a large group of other Sevilla participants. All of a sudden, one of the screens refreshed, and our flight had disappeared! I once again asked the info guy, who informed us that our flight had been canceled. We all traipsed over to the Iberia customer service line, and after waiting for a good hour because the line was so long, we reached the desk. Thankfully, all of us were put on "standby" for the next flight, which was only a couple hours away.

So we got to the gate as soon as it was posted, and all of us got in line to try to get a seat for the flight. This girl Holley and I were first in line, and received seats right away. Some of the other students were told "probably, but wait a minute." Almost everyone made it on board that flight, and after sitting IN the plane, at the gate, and then on the runway, for a good hour and a half, we finally took off around 5pm. It was great to finally be able to sleep, after spending 10 hours in an airport.

We arrived in Sevilla to discover that half of our luggage had not arrived, due to the quick change of flights. So after sorting that mess out (they'll be delivered in the morning), we took a program bus and arrived at the hotel, exhausted. After yet another line (for check-in), we had a wonderful buffet meal (gorgeous, delicious fruit for dessert!).

We start orientation first thing in the morning, with info sessions, tours of Sevilla, and oral interviews. It'll be a busy, exhausting day, especially because most of us are jet lagged. However, the hotel is beautiful and quite nice, so it'll be a good night's sleep.

More updates later this week. For now, it's bed time. :)

Preparing to Fly

Hola!

Since I'm spending a semester in Sevilla, Spain, I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon and start a blog about my adventures and travels.

I depart the good old USA on Sunday, flying out of O'Hare, and landing in Sevilla around 1pm the next day. All of the last minute details are falling into place, although I have more packing left than I care to admit (sorry Mom!).

I am filled with excitement and anticipation for what is to come. I cannot wait to experience the culture of the region, and become immersed in the beautiful language that Spanish is. I realize communication will at times be frustrating, but I am excited to increase my language skills and develop a greater vocabulary. I am also looking forward to the historical aspect of living in Europe. Although history is admittedly not my favorite subject, I find it fascinating to experience firsthand the architecture and art of a city or country.

I'll try to update regularly about my experiences within Sevilla, as well as my travels and adventures.

Adios for now,
~Alyssa