Already March!!! Week 5

This was the first week of our new classes and I like my classes and schedule a lot more – which is great since these will be my classes and schedule for the rest of my time here.  One of my classes is going to help me improve my conversation skills and learn more about present-day Spanish – about what I can use in my everyday interactions and I will hopefully learn a lot of new vocabulary.  I’m excited about this, but of course it means a lot of studying and hopefully a lot of practice to secure the information in my mind.  Thankfully I’ve started meeting with my language partner Isaac.  Yesterday we got together for a few hours and walked around the center of the city talking in both English and Spanish.  We would take turns, only talking English for a period of time and then switching to Spanish.  Isaac is a twenty-five year old who lives in a town near Sevilla and is getting his masters in computer programming/business.  He is also studying for the American test that certifies that he is fluent in English which is why he wants to get together to practice English.

My history class here I believe is going to be very interesting but also challenging as I do not know much of anything of this topic (Spanish civilization centuries XV-XVIII) and the class is all in Spanish.  It makes it a little harder to follow, but I’m working on it.  I’m excited because we are going to be visiting some historical sites in Sevilla as part of the class which is definitely my type of history course.

The other two classes I have are a culture course where we discuss different topics about the culture and our adjustment and reaction to our time here.  Finally I have my dance class where I’m learning the traditional Spanish dance of Sevilla called Sevillianas – it will be very useful during the festival called Feria where they is a lot of dancing of this type.

I have been dealing with a pain on the top of my right foot – I don’t know if it’s a tendon or ligament or what, but it’s making it difficult to walk which is a problem as I need to walk everywhere here.  Rosario (my host mother) said that previous students of hers have had pains in their feet as well because we are not accustomed to walking so much.  For me it started about a week ago when I returned from Madrid.  I’m hoping it can improve soon or I may have to go see the doctor, though if they say I have to stop walking there is going to be a problem as not walking is not possible for me here.  We will see. :)

                I wanted to write about a few observations I’ve had and things I’ve learned through class about Spain.  I don’t have time to write everything, but here a few things:

• The stop signs say “Stop” here in English
• Pedestrians definitely have the right away – If I am ever in a crosswalk the cars always stop for me (even if they don’t look like they are going to stop, they always do).  Though many times when I watch Spaniard pedestrians, they don’t even stop and look to see if a car is coming – they just start walking…therefore the cars must stop.  I still tend to hesitate a little bit.  Though, you must be in a crosswalk for them to stop.
• You know how in the US you are so bothered by the one street that doesn’t have a sign saying what it is?  Well here you are lucky if you find that one street that has a sign to say what it is! Ha ha ha, it is sometimes hard to find the signs for the streets (if they have one) and the signs are usually on the sides of buildings, but are not always obvious
• Families seem more dependent and connected to each other here.  For example, it is not uncommon for children to live with their parents until they are 25-32 years old.  They usually leave when they are getting married or moving in with their significant other.  There isn’t the competition between universities as there is in the states and most young people attend the university in their home town and live with their parents.  The universities usually only cost between 1,000-1,500 euros a year because they are public and taxes have been paying for much of the costs
• Water and electricity are very expensive here therefore they are very careful with leaving the lights on and cautious with the water.  We turn off the water during our showers when we’re putting shampoo in our hair in order to converse the water and also converse the hot water or we’ll run out before our shower is done.
• With cell phones, it is pay as you go – a text and a call all have a set price and you only pay what you use.  Also, you are not charged for anything incoming – calls or texts.  I think this a great system since you cannot control who calls or texts you.
• In Sevilla they have a great public bike system.  There are bike paths marked along many of the sidewalks and there are public bikes that you can sign up (for a low cost) to use to get to various parts of the city.  There are bike racks where you check in (or take out) the public bikes all over the city.  I actually just signed up for this so that I can get around a little faster if I want without having to use the metro every time.
• It is true that they dress a lot nicer and more intentional here.  All ages – it is not uncommon for me to walk by a five year old who is better dressed than I am :)  I remember talking about this in my culture class and we talked about how in the United States it is more about comfort and here is more about style – women are constantly wearing heals (big heals) and walking everywhere in them.  I could never do it, but they definitely look nice :)

Well, that’s all for now – I hope to keep putting these reflections up every once in a while as I find time because I want to remember them and I also think they are interesting.

Love!