Sleepless in Sevilla

Spring has finally arrived in Spain! The birds, caterpillars and wasps are out in full force; not to mention my allergies. All the Reactine I brought from Calgary is not going to last me longer than a few weeks... its like my body is allergic to all the sun. By this point in Calgary the winter blues have set in, but over on this side of the pond we've had a total of two overcast days; I wake up, and the sun is out! It's funny how the true Canadian tolerance to the "cold" is finally making itself useful; while Ally is still wearing socks to bed and walking around the house in layers, I've shed all of that. And out in the streets, some people still have their "winter" jackets, but I expose as much of my skin to the sunlight to quench the deprivation.

The past week has been a catch-up on sleep and appreciation of Sevilla kind of of week. Its wonderful to just go downtown and discover new areas of the city, and re-visit the familiar old ones. I actually feel comfortable enough around certain sectors of the city to give directions to wandering tourists. But let's not go too crazy on that level of comfort. It usually involves a team effort.

I would like to share about my life-changing experience on Friday when I finally attended a good old flamenco show. The performance lasted 45 minutes, but it felt no longer than 5. The music, the atmosphere, the dancers were breath-taking. I have always held a deep appreciation and respect for all types of dancing, but this was just on a whole other level. The dancers and the music conveyed such powerful emotions, I'm sure everyone in the audience felt it down to their toes.

Sevilla is so close to the coast, an hour's drive on the high way will take you past lots of little beach towns, which is exactly what we did with our host mom Lola on Sunday. I can't remember the last time I was by the ocean, but its lovely every single time. According to Lola its unseasonably warm, but its still not sweltering hot. We could lie comfortably to tan [and sleep], but there was a constant breeze that sometimes made you put on a light sweater. FYI: the water was NOT warm.

Today is a provincial holiday (Día de Andalucia) so we have no classes; of course this is the first day since I've been here where I've woken up before 7am [not because I chose to]. So what's on the agenda? A picnic in the park and a stroll or bike ride by the river. 

ps. keep in mind that I am and will continue to be extremely jealous of missing out on ski season. 

pps. I am also showing the few Spaniards I've befriended youtube videos of Calgary.