Hoy es lunes.

Good day to all! It's currently 12:10 PM here in Sevilla, and 4:10 AM in cow-town. It still boggles my mind that by the time I'm done my last class (6:50 pm), it still won't even be noon over there. This is the first full official week of classes, which kind of gives purpose to the whole point of being over here.

• Mondays are going to be my long day, I have Econ from 130-250, then a Spanish history class from 4-6:50. It really doesn't give me a lot of time to walk to Lola's for lunch and then head back to school, so I'll have to bring my lunch with me. 
• Tuesdays I have poli sci from 12-120, then Spanish film from 4-650.
• Wednesdays just econ from 130-250
• Thursdays just poli from 12-120

It seems to me as if this program is designed to place less emphasis on school, which is totally fine by me. This is probably the first time in my life where I can sleep in until 10 or 1030, and the weekends are left for exploring!

All the immediate errands I had on my to-do list are more or less taken care of. On Saturday I went downtown with Ally, Jodi and another girl named Kelsey, and we basically walked around for 7 hours going to all the stores we could find. It's a big relief to FINALLY have a coat, and an umbrella. Even a couple long sleeved shirts gave me peace of mind... because no surprise but I think I have a cold. The best part of the day was probably when we went for lunch at McDonald's, with all the other 700 Spanish people that were there. That same evening Ally, Jodi and I hopped on the metro and went over to Kelsey's apartment. She lives with her boyfriend Trevor, and they're both from Florida. There was a pretty eclectic mix of international students there, an Aussie, a couple Germans, us Canadians, and the rest Americans.  FYI: a cheap bottle of wine is about $3.00! We played the American version of "sociables", and before we knew it was 1:00am, so half the group went to a bar, and the rest of us stayed and just chatted for a couple hours.

On Sunday, Ally and I walked over to the local parish for Sunday mass. First off, there is no such thing as dressing up for church here, because the people are dressed up every day anyways! Second, I have a strong suspicion that the birth rate in Spain, or maybe just this area is very high because there's children EVERYWHERE. If you see a man or a woman, there will be a child or two attached to them. I seriously haven't seen this many children in one place before. The mass was nice, but I think it was the children's mass because they were doing all the readings and acted out the sermon. The rest of the day was a stay-at-home day, getting my day-planner sorted out, figuring out what I still need, etc.

A big part of this semester abroad is to get to know myself better, and that is definitely happening. I realize just how much I need to get off my butt and go for a run or do something active. I put on about 3 layers of my workout stuff, and went for a good jog around the neighborhood. I really needed it! Also, I ended up exploring the area a bit more, and saw some pretty nice mansions that are hiding in the outskirts of Montequinto.


Fifth lesson: maybe I'm just really ignorant and everyone else is aware of this, but it SNOWS here in Spain. Quite significantly actually, to the point where they have ski hills and curling teams.

La Gastronomia

Well, this whole issue with food continues to be perplexing. It is quite possible that I am too "westernized" when it comes to portion sizes, but I cannot come to terms with being able to finish a meal in 10 minutes and still feel hungry afterwards...


Classes have finally started, and it seems like there's a sense of a daily routine being established now... although that changes hourly. There's a surprisingly large amount of international students that have been here since last semester, so they definitely know their way around the place. My economics class (in English) turned out to be quite relevant to my IR degree, so I'm looking forward to getting into our class discussions, also, the professor looks like Connan O'Brien, and he is from Manchester. My political science class (in Spanish) is taught by a VERY young local Spanish man... enough said. And, it was a very nice surprise to have such inexpensive textbooks! Two course packs cost me less than 20 euros altogether.


Some other exciting news, there is a local radio station that only plays Colombian music, and they advertise a whole bunch of Colombian restaurants and bars. Sooner or later, I will end up there.


Right now, its midnight and my stomach is on strike. In the late afternoon/early evening Jodi, Ally and I, along with our new German friend Lukas, wandered around downtown Sevilla, just chatting and looking at all the architecture. After a good 3 hours of walking we realized how hungry we were, and then for about an hour we stopped at every single restaurant to look at their menus because frankly, we wanted a good hefty meal. TAPAS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOOD. These people can eat like 3 pieces of bread with some ham and that's dinner. We got so desperate we went to McDonald's, but there was no way we were going to pay $9 for a burger. Solution? End up at a New York pizza place, buy a giant 50 cm pizza and destroy it. I already regret it, but we befriending the Irish pizza guy (Peter).


OH! And it turns out I was entered into some random raffle with the travel agency WeLoveSpain, and I won a free trip to Granada! Which would have cost a good $200.


Side note: I have figured out how to get my blackberry working. It only involved me leaving my phone at some random place where they unlock it, then I have to buy a SIM card and cut it down to size so it fits in my phone. The Spanish like to keep me on my toes.


It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which will be very exciting because a) I don't have any waterproof jackets or b) an umbrella.

A quien Dios ama, le llama.

Basically, I've only been here about 4 days, but I'm already concerned about two things: the weird Spanish accent I imitate that might stick, and forgetting how to drive. Other than that, my body seems to be accepting the awkward meal times, and the freakish cold of this house.


Yesterday was the scheduled Spanish placement exam for the international students at the university (Universidad Pablo Olavide... aka UPO), and we had a nice little walking tour of the campus. I can say with certainty that about 85% of the international students are from the United States, and they like to stick together. I really have no idea if my classes will be a mixture of international and local students, but I have a feeling that making Spanish friends is going to take some work. Admittedly, it was wonderful to meet up with the other 6 girls from UofC and grab some beers. Everyone brings something different to the table, but we're all here for the same reason. To step OUT of our comfort zones. Speaking of which:


Fourth Lesson: The metro is slightly more technologically advanced than the c-train, and depending on how far you live from the "core", you go through a number of zones. If you don't pay for the correct number of zones you lock yourself into the station. Its ok though, I bought a metro card that I just load with money every time it runs out. Won't make that mistake again!


There's a travel and party planning company called WeLoveSpain that gets in touch with all the international students, so last night they had a little meet-and-greet, where they took us on a little guided tour of a neighbourhood called 'Triana'. I think this is the most convenient way to travel around the country, so with the rest of the Calgary girls we booked an overnight trip down to the coastal town of Cadíz for Carnival. Fact: this is the third largest carnival in the world after Mardi Gras and Rio di Janeiro. There's also a costume contest... we were thinking mounties?


Today I finally got to take in some serious architectural, religious and historical sights with Ally (roommate) and Jodi (MRU). We went to the Cathedral of Seville, which is about 600 years old. Stuff like that just blows my mind, especially when we found the tomb of Christopher Columbus. I seriously feel like we're deprived of experiences like this in Calgary. The overall mood here is so relaxed, nobody looks anxious or in a rush. Oh and believe it or not, I haven't taken advantage of Siesta yet. My body is still hinging on a delicate balance between order and chaos.


Full disclosure... I bought the BEST pair of boots today, for 15 euros or $19.69 because everything is on sale here. Its ridiculous. If you can find a pair of suede knee-high boots in Canada for $20 or less I will bake you a cake.


One last note, I genuinely blocked out the fact that I'm here for school. Classes start tomorrow, and we have to go to UPO in about an hour to pick up our class schedules and school id's. Ugh, and the go buy textbooks probably.

El que algo quiere, algo le cuesta.

The year-long preparation for studying abroad in España finally manifested itself when I boarded the plane in Calgary, then traveled through Montreal, New Jersey, Lisbon and landed in Sevilla. Twenty hours of travel completely threw my body out of whack, and when I arrived at my new house, it felt like I was moving in slow motion, slooowly taking things in.


FIRST LESSON: you don't tip in Spain. This is why the cab driver was so nice to me after I paid.


SECOND LESSON: It's 17°C outside, but these houses are designed to be cool... quite cool. Cool to the point where I have to dress in layers, and my next shopping trip will be for sweaters, long-sleeved shirts, jeans, and a jacket; all the things I purposely didn't pack.


THIRD LESSON: Lunch here (la comida) occurs at around 230, dinner (la cena) is at 9 or 930, and breakfast is basically a mini-muffin. This is will take some serious adjustment.
Basically (after sleeping for 14 hours), I came to the realization that at least Montequinto (the town in which I live) is pretty similar to Bogotá, Colombia. This house, reminds me of my grandmother's old house, and I keep expecting her to be there. I don't really feel like I'm a stranger in a new country, just like I'm back in Bogotá. Granted, I have to get used to these new eating habits. I know myself pretty well though, so for the breakfast situation... I bought cheerios!


Not my finest moment when: I didn't unlock the bathroom door all the way, so when I closed it on my way out, it locked itself. Thankfully, my host "mom" Lola had a key.

I'm living with a host family in the town of Montequinto. The owner's name is Lola and her son lives in a mysterious loft on the third floor. There is another student living here, and her name is Ally. She's from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ally is GREAT, she fills me in on everything, and she always has something to say. I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun together. I have also met her friend Jodi (from good old Calgary!) and Jodi's roommate Gabriela (from Perú). Today the four of us in search of a Catholic church, then they showed me the way to get to the University (Universidad Pablo de Olavide). Then we had a nice little adventure trying to find the Carrefour (think Superstore... or even Costco). In short, after getting lost, we found out it was closed on Sundays, and you definitely can't get there by foot. So we just meandered our way back into town, through an area where the prostitutes hang out apparently, and went for coffee to what I think will be our usual "spot"; a place called For Sale.


To do this week:

• Spanish placement exam
• tour of campus
• figure out my class schedule, get textbooks
• get my metro (c-train) card and load it with money
• get a cheap movil (cellphone)
• buy WARM CLOTHES