For months I looked forward to and dreaded August 17th, my departure date. I took an overnight flight to Madrid. Thankfully there was little to no turbulence and no delays. My hopes of sleeping on the plane and avoiding jet lag were dashed (I mean who can really sleep on a plane anyway). I went through customs without a problem and found my luggage immediately. Then I began looking for Armando, a friend of a friend of a friend who was picking me up from Madrid Barajas Airport. When I saw Armando holding a sign with my name on it, I was relieved and stumbled to utter a Spanish greeting for the first time in a long time. We communicated in Spanglish, discussing the economic crisis, the public school systems of the U.S. and Spain, and public transportation. He made me lunch, introduced me to his roommate Marcos, and took me on a walking tour of Madrid.
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Armando is a madrileño, born and raised in Madrid. As in New York, they are a rarity. And as luck would have it, Marcos and Armando were looking for a roommate! I will move in at the end of September when I finish my Spanish classes in Sevilla.
After spending a day in Madrid, I arrived in Sevilla for a week of orientation with CIEE, followed by a month of living with a host family and Spanish classes at CLIC. With CIEE, I went on a tour of Alcázar. Everything was intricate and beautiful, but my favorite place in the palace was the royal bath. I'll let my pictures speak for themselves.
Royal Bath
Afterwards, we went on a tour of downtown Sevilla. This is the Cathedral. I'll have more pictures to post when I go on Sunday (when admission is free).
Many of the streets downtown have these banners, offering a bit of shade
We also went to a flamenco show at Casa de Guitarra. My pictures didn't turn out very well because I sat in the back. But a friend took this video! I hope the link works. Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I've been living with my host family for a week now. I live with Maro, Javier, and their cat Guillermo. Here is a view from their roof.
This is my room! I love having a desk, something my room in New York was lacking.
This is where I turn to get to my host family's house. I took many pictures of signs, graffiti, or store fronts on my way to and from CLIC to refer to in case I get lost.
This is essentially the lobby of Maro and Javier's apartment building.
On Wednesday, some of us went to the top of Las Setas for Luke's birthday. Only cost 1,40 euros and there is a restaurant and bar!
On Thursday, I watched the movie Group 7 at CLIC, and then went on a tour of Triana. Our tour guide told us that Triana is part of Sevilla, but the people of Triana see themselves as separate (i.e. better) from Sevilla. Here I am with Sophia in front of the Puente de Triana.
A view of Triana from the bridge. The river is called Guadalquivir which means big river in Arabic.
I wish I had pictures of the food Maro has made for lunch and dinner. I've had tortilla de potatas, paella (of course), fried and brined anchovies, grilled little squids, mussels, and today we're having tomato gazpacho for lunch. So far, everything has been delicious.
Lastly, I've been listening to the audio book Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner (from which I named my blog). Thanks for the recommendation Sam Slaton! I've been listening to it during siesta, perhaps my favorite part of the day. I don't feel like I should be doing anything else or guilty that I'm being lazy, like I would at home. And that peace sets the pace for the rest of my day. That is hard to find when I'm alone, nearly impossible.Okay I could say much more, but I'll save it for my next post. Hasta luego!
