Un comienzo inolvidable

            Han pasado muchas cosas en los dos últimos días, pues, es difícil saber dónde empezar. Lo más importante, ya me mudé en la casa de mi familia acogida.  Vivo con una pareja de jubilados y su hijo de 28 años. Aprendí que en España no es raro que un hijo vive con sus padres por algunos años después de la universidad.  En esta manera, es posible guardar un poco dinero. También, la familia es mucha más importante en España que en los EE.UU. 

La entrada de la Plaza de Cuba

            Ya conocí a algunos españoles, incluyendo a mi amigo Martín y su amiga Hannah. Ayer, salí con ellos para tomar un café en el centro de la ciudad.  Hannah ya ha estado aquí desde cinco meses y era capaz de mostrarme algunos sitios de interés en el centro. Ayer, Hannah y yo fui a la Plaza de Santiago para tomar un botellón con sus amigos.  Pues nada, escribiré más otro día. ¡Hasta luego!

            

Plaza de España

           So much has happened in that last two days that it’s hard to know where to start. Most notably, I am now comfortably moved into to my home stay. I’m living with a retired Spanish couple and their 28-year-old son. In Spain, it’s common for children to live with their parents for
several years after finishing university. People do this to save money and also because family relationships play a most important role in the life of Spaniards. 

            I live in a wealthy zone of Sevilla called Los Remedios, which is just across the Guadalquivir River. Below my host family’s flat are many upscale stores, bars and restaurants. Cars are prohibited on the street below, and many local Spaniards walk up and down the street drinking cervezas and peering into the store windows.  My bedroom is surprisingly large when compared to most European bedrooms. The inclusion of a dryer in the house (a rare luxury in Spain) was also a nice surprise.

El viaje a Itálica

            
              


             I’ve met several Spaniards while out and about in Sevilla and was invited for coffee and tapas with a year-long CIEE student named Hannah. Hannah has been here for five months already, and has been able to show me how to get to important streets and where to go to botellónes.  The Spanish accent is soft and very easy to understand. I can’t wait to meet more Spaniards because many other CIEE students don’t like to speak Spanish to other Americans. 

            The first night in home stay I went to a discoteca on Calle Betiz, the street known for parties that last until 8:00am.  Last night I went with Hannah to a botellón near the Plaza de Santiago. This afternoon I’d like to go shopping because there are sales only twice a year in Spain: January and July.  Tomorrow I will make some final adjustments to my class schedule and find out what intensive language course I will be taking for the next two weeks.  All the CIEE students also were invited on a tour of Itálica, una ciudad Roman.  The ruins reminded me of Pompeii, Italy or Carthage, Tunisia.  It's been a great day so far. More to come soon! ¡Ciaooo!

La Plaza de España

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