Thursday, December 28, 2017

Hasta Pronto, Sevilla

Almost four months after arriving in Sevilla, I can name the specific peak of my cultural Spanish experience: the weekend that my host family took me to the beach. My family has a small home surrounded by the ocean in a town near Huelva, a couple of hours from Sevilla. 20 minutes into the drive, one brother was carsick, another had lice, and the third had come down with laryngitis. My nuclear family is a bit hectic, so I felt right at home. We all spent the weekend playing and fighting and eating more kinds of seafood than I knew existed (think four kinds of mollusks, five kinds of shellfish, and three kinds of fish at one lunch, followed by entirely different varieties at the next meal, and repeated over a period of 48 hours. There was not a vegetable - or even jamón - in sight) while spending time in very close quarters in their gorgeous seaside apartment. The weekend at the beach felt utterly Spanish and familial and left me feeling like I'd somehow figured out a piece of Spanish culture.

I left Sevilla this past week, in a bit of disbelief at leaving another city where I've found a home. I was much relieved to be over and done with final exams (recall that finals were challenging, to say the least,) and to just enjoy my remaining days in Spain. Everything Christmas was happening; 90 first graders stopped by my house on their nativity tour to see the table-sized nativity in the playroom (my host mom is a strong woman). 

How on earth can I summarize an entire semester of new experiences in one final blog post? I'll leave this post short and sweet, unable to capture everything I feel in regards to this time; it was a cool four months of experiences, moments, language, and reflection. In the midst of learning to use Spanish in an academic context, traveling to many cities, befriending a professional soccer player, eating my way through Europe, and finding and exploring a home in Sevilla, I learned about my own values and priorities. I return to Carleton College extremely excited and ready to surround myself with friends and studies (and sub-zero weather). I am filled up with gratitude for the people, places, and opportunities of this semester. And I'm especially thankful for my host family. I don't doubt that I'll be back.
We forgot to take a family photo until 11pm; Ale was asleep

Last week I said long goodbyes to my friends, both Spanish and American, and my host family threw a lovely departure dinner for me and my nuclear family (who came to visit at the end of my program). What a treat to be able to share beautiful Sevilla with my family. The next morning my family loaded up our rental car with olives, sweets, salmorejo, and Spanish tortillas, and hit the road for Portugal. 

Friday, December 8, 2017

Found a Rhythm

The reason that I decided to study abroad in the first place was because I wanted to try to create a student life for myself in another country. And here I am now, after more than three months in Sevilla, realizing that I've developed my own rhythm despite the crazy schedule.

I wake up usually around 9am, and either go for a run or do some studying. I fix some breakfast (a tostada: toasted bread with olive oil and tomato, plus coffee and maybe an orange). Then I head to my sociology class taught through my program. After class, I study for a bit or run errands until lunch time. I eat a big lunch with my host family (around 3pm) and then grab a bicycle to head to my Psychology class (the times change throughout the week for this class - 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 7pm - so no two days are alike). After class I head to the gym or I grab another bike to head straight over to the Biology campus. I really like the department's library, so I study for a bit before my 7pm Biology class. Then I bike home for a light dinner with the family around 10pm. Afterwards maybe I'll hang with friends or study or head to sleep. That's the gist of how my weekdays work. Recently lots of studying and much less socializing. Some days there's an extra class or two tossed into the mix, or I tutor a girl in English, or I'll even do something exciting. And yes, I do spend more time commuting to my Universidad de Sevilla classes than I actually spend in class.

As monotonous as the above paragraph sounds, it's all mine. Those are the bones of my schedule. Sprinkled in are pastries, nights out with friends, walks to explore, and lots of family time. On the last night of classes each week (usually Thursday night, unless there's a holiday) I usually go out to dinner with three of my friends. And it is all so normal now.

I've learned how to bike with speed down winding cobblestone streets, and the old, colorful buildings are just how my life looks. I don't eat as much ice cream as when I first arrived, since it's so much colder, but I've found my favorite cookie shop and have been trying out various churro places. I know the distances between the landmarks on my river runs. I've even figured out the directions of the one-way streets.

And then there's my new host family (I switched families about a month ago). I live in a house with two parents, three boys (ages 6, 11, and 13) and approximately five birds. There's loads going on in the house always, and while it often feels like there's no pattern and I'm always kept on my toes, somehow that has made all the difference in helping me find my feet and establish myself. I'm now comfortable at home and with a family, and that's how I know that I've found a rhythm that is right.

Here's an illustration of my newfound family life. I play Playmobile with Ale, the 6-year-old, on the floor of the play room, and listen to Evaristo, the 11-year-old, describe video games (that I do not understand) in excruciating detail for minutes on end. I set the table and help out with household chores, while discussing politics and gastronomy with my host parents, Noemi and Evaristo. I wake up each morning to shouts of getting everyone fed and out the door, and once I'm up I inevitably find that Juan, the 13-year-old has accidentally locked me out of our shared bathroom. Dinner is consumed on the couch, while we chat, yell, and watch television until almost 11pm every night. I eat jamon pretty much every day, usually in more than one form, and I've tried more shellfish than I've ever seen in my life. There's always someone racing around the house, whether the boys are chasing one another or Noemi is cleaning up after them. And through it all, the five birds are always there, doing their thing in their cages, and I'm making coffee and trying to fit in the study hours.

So that, right now, is Eliza in Sevilla.