{Nueva} Sevillano

Disclaimer: I apologize for the lack of posts in the past weeks, I’ve been busy adjusting to the Spanish lifestyle, which includes treating myself to a daily siesta which has been great for my sleep cycle but bad news for my blog. Nonetheless, here is a recap of the highlights and humorous parts from my time here so far.

It has all happened so fast, from the time I stepped out of the bus in Sevilla to meet my host mom to starting classes at UPO (University of Pablo de Olavide). I’ve survived my first week as a ”resident” in Sevilla or Sevillano. To say the least, it has been anything but easy, but so far it has been worth every awkward encounter and frustrating moment.

Upon my arrival in this beautiful, culturally rich city, I have been living with a single mother, Tony, and her two 19-year-old kids, José Luis and Maria. The few encounters I’ve had with the kids have included accidentally walking in on José in the bathroom and a trip to Burger King with Maria. Apparently the kids speak English, but I have yet to hear any. However, I am lucky enough to have a roommate who I can speak English with and confide in every time our host mom says something that I don’t understand (which happens a lot). I think I’d be completely lost if I didn’t have my roommate, Sophia, who is an adorably short, Korean girl from San Francisco. For each meal (lunch & dinner, because breakfast is sadly not a thing here), Sophia and I sit at this small table in the center of the kitchen and spend most of the dinner trying to converse in Spanglish or laughing about how everything we attempt to do in this country is a constant struggle. We are continuously joking about how we are on the “Struggle Bus” stuck on cruise control.

Sophia, my super cute roommate!

Living with a host family has exposed me to the culture in more ways than I expected. I’m living with a single mother who only makes money from study abroad students living in her house. This reality is unfamiliar to me, but with Spain’s current economy it is a suitable job for many families. Each day Tony cleans our room, does our laundry and cooks us lunch and dinner. So far, this experience has felt so unnatural and has been very difficult to adjust to, but Tony has been a host mom for 5 years so this is normal for her.

My extremely pink room for the semester.

Before arriving in Spain, I knew that the language barrier would be my biggest struggle, and so far this assumption has been correct. Everything I attempt to do (that would have been easy in the US) has taken twice the amount of time and has usually left me stumped and confused.

I decided to rent a bike from my school and after a week of consulting different offices around campus, I learned that a prezia is a down payment, which finally explained why people kept telling me that I had to pay an additional 90 euros. To my relief, I finally have my bike and a feeling of freedom.

Adjusting to the food here has been a bit challenging and after eating my host mom’s food for the past week, I’ve decided that a gym membership is very necessary for my sanity and physical health. Every meal feels like I am carbo-loading for some major bike ride or triathlon. There is always a half a loaf of bread and some sort of rice or pasta. Even after I managed to purchase my gym membership, I struggled with trying to ask someone to share a lane in the pool and then couldn’t even start the treadmill. I’m beginning to realize that I will always be faced with challenges while I’m here, but that’s part of the adventure.

Welcome home meal!

I’ve spent 17 days in Spain thus far, and I can already say that my Spanish is slowly getting better, but simple interactions still seem extremely difficult. I’ve learned that the most important word in the Spanish language is “vale.” I say it at least 100 times a day, even when I don’t understand what is going on.

To my surprise, school has been the easiest part of all this adjusting. I managed to stack my classes so I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursday, which is ideal for traveling and exploring Friday through Monday. I’m taking two business classes, Español Elemental and a class on Spanish Culture.

First day of school picture.

My time here has been nothing short of amazing. I am so beyond excited for what adventures are soon to come and will continue to share. Below are some pictures taken throughout the week of me falling more in love with this city.