Spain Week Two!!

Hola again! Another week in beautiful Sevilla has passed and I’m still loving it 🙂 We had another eventful and fun few days:

• Monday, our group toured the Real Alcazar in el centro of Sevilla, which was beautiful, but SO HOT! Going during siesta time (aka 96 degrees) highlighted the cruciality of daily naps in the air conditioning, for sure. Afterwards we decided to cool down with gelato near our house (strictly for health reasons of course) which has become a frequent activity of ours to beat the heat!
• We rented bikes this week through Sevilla’s city-wide bike system, Sevici. Every chance we had to ride them this week, we took advantage of! It’s a fun way to get around and cuts down on our morning commute to class, and makes trips around Sevilla quicker as well.
• Tuesday, our toilet randomly broke and began flooding the bathroom (something is seriously wrong with that toilet) which happened while I was in the shower. I’m including this because you really realize the language barrier between you and your host mom when you’re trying to explain to her what/how that happened! (LOL)
• Wednesday, a group of us tried out a Mexican restaurant in el centro (I know what you’re thinking — Mexican in Spain?) which was an opportunity to try delicious “gringa” tacos. They had pastor meat (pork), onions, cilantro and cheese. Yum!
• Thursday our program went to tour an olive oil factory in Sevilla called Basilippo as one of our business visits. We got to see how olive oil, specifically extra virgin olive oil, is made from the very beginning of the process all the way to the end! Our tour guide told us that we would end up learning more about E.V.O.O. than we would ever want to know in our lives, and that was definitely true. I’m good for olive oil trivia now, if that ever comes up!
• • At Basilippo we also got to try some olive oils. The first one was just the normal flavor of extra virgin olive oil, which we were instructed to place on the tip of our tongues and then suck it back into the back of our mouths to get a spicy taste (which I failed at, by the way). The second kind was extra virgin olive oil infused with oranges, and we got to try that on top of chocolate ice cream. I had several thoughts about this, considering how much I love chocolate, how much I dislike oranges, and how WEIRD that sounds to combine olive oil and ice cream. However, it was delicious! Spain has brought out a new round of tastebuds in me that has made me extremely open to new foods, which, if you know me, is a big deal (I literally eat plain turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home).
• Friday we tried out our first ever discoteca! We went to an outdoor dance club called Libano and it was quite an experience because it was PACKED and it was so late at night (The Spaniards don’t start partying until at least 2 a.m.) The Spanish dance music was awesome, though, and we had a lot of fun dancing with 500 of our closest friends!
• Saturday I did some shopping and studying, because yes, I am actually here for a school program even though I’m sure it doesn’t sound like it! We have two midterm exams this upcoming week, which means we will be halfway done with the program (????)
• Sunday we took a day trip by train to Cádiz, the oldest city in Spain! We basically hung out on the beach the whole time and it was such a happy day because the weather was perfect, we got to relax and I finished a whole book!! (f you’re wondering, it was Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, and I looooved it).

As for my Spanish-speaking skills, they are continuing to improve! I am still trying a bunch of new foods as well and taking so many pictures and videos. Some days I feel incredibly acclimated to the way of life here and other days I miss home, but it’s all a positive experience. A few times this week, I literally felt like I had to pinch myself while walking around town because I am so lucky to be living in this incredible place and to be learning so much. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I am fully aware of it in a way that makes me so happy!

Here are some photo highlights from the week:

cádiz view!

the beach at cádiz

sevilla at night

el centro in sevilla

basilippo olive oil tasting

real alcazar de sevilla!

real alcazar de sevilla!

real alcazar de sevilla!

real alcazar de sevilla!

gelato necessities

real alcazar de sevilla!

real alcazar de sevilla!

more gelato but this time in cádiz!

gal pals

la playa in cádiz

beautiful ocean view in cádiz

Again, if you made it to the end of this post, thank you! See ya again next week with another update of my adventures in Sevilla!

Adios!

Cara