http://www.letra.org/spip/article.php?id_article=925
Here is a funny website that we discussed in class today.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Hola todos,
These past two days have been really busy but quite fun! The sun has begun to shine a little more which does wonders to the weather and everyone’s moods ☺ Thursday we had a short day at school, then took a tour of the Catedral. It is so grand with many small rooms. It wasn’t my ‘style’ of church, so I didn’t actually like it that much. It has a very cold feel and I guess just seemed too big for me. But it is an architectural masterpiece. I did like seeing the tomb of Christopher Columbus and the statue of Jesus (the Photo is on Google). Our tour guides for these trips are profesores at the school, and they are so knowledgeable and fun. After class, we went home for lunch and watched our new favorite show…actually I forget the name. It is kind of like a Judge Judy. Of course it is in Spanish though, which makes it more fun to try and decipher what the guests are trying to say. Carmen usually has to fill us in. We then went back to the school for dance class. Afterwards, we had a few hours to kill before our intercambio meeting, so we went to a travel-guide book recommended Tapas bar. I had the jamón ibérico which was very tasty. We all shared: croquetas, chicken, potatoes and rabbit. I tried it, and it was actually not bad :/ We then swam back to school through the rain for our intercambio meeting. My new friend is Javier, or Javi. He was nice to talk to but can’t speak English as well as some of the other people I have met here. He has a lot of friends in the program too, so it was nice to meet them. On the way home, we stopped at the way too convienenet churro stand and split a churro filled with vanilla cream. Wow, it was delectable. Oh-while we were at the intercambio meeting, I was talking to Carlos, one of Javi's friends and he was telling me about his recent trip to Czech-so I taught him the sign of the cross ☺
Friday was nice and sunny, so I went running along the river. It was so beautiful and a great way to explore! These next three weekends will be very busy with a trip to Morocco, then Gibraltar, and finally Granada. I am looking forward to seeing new places!
Em
These past two days have been really busy but quite fun! The sun has begun to shine a little more which does wonders to the weather and everyone’s moods ☺ Thursday we had a short day at school, then took a tour of the Catedral. It is so grand with many small rooms. It wasn’t my ‘style’ of church, so I didn’t actually like it that much. It has a very cold feel and I guess just seemed too big for me. But it is an architectural masterpiece. I did like seeing the tomb of Christopher Columbus and the statue of Jesus (the Photo is on Google). Our tour guides for these trips are profesores at the school, and they are so knowledgeable and fun. After class, we went home for lunch and watched our new favorite show…actually I forget the name. It is kind of like a Judge Judy. Of course it is in Spanish though, which makes it more fun to try and decipher what the guests are trying to say. Carmen usually has to fill us in. We then went back to the school for dance class. Afterwards, we had a few hours to kill before our intercambio meeting, so we went to a travel-guide book recommended Tapas bar. I had the jamón ibérico which was very tasty. We all shared: croquetas, chicken, potatoes and rabbit. I tried it, and it was actually not bad :/ We then swam back to school through the rain for our intercambio meeting. My new friend is Javier, or Javi. He was nice to talk to but can’t speak English as well as some of the other people I have met here. He has a lot of friends in the program too, so it was nice to meet them. On the way home, we stopped at the way too convienenet churro stand and split a churro filled with vanilla cream. Wow, it was delectable. Oh-while we were at the intercambio meeting, I was talking to Carlos, one of Javi's friends and he was telling me about his recent trip to Czech-so I taught him the sign of the cross ☺
Friday was nice and sunny, so I went running along the river. It was so beautiful and a great way to explore! These next three weekends will be very busy with a trip to Morocco, then Gibraltar, and finally Granada. I am looking forward to seeing new places!
Em
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
El 14 de febrero a las 14:43
So I really love learning the colloquial terms, and want to share some of them with you:
Vale: This word is used as often as ‘like’ or ‘ok’ in English. It is a catch-all word for ok, go, yes, and I agree. I hope to be able to use it normally while I am here.
Bombón: In addition to meaning bon-bon, it also means a beautiful woman
Quince: Instead of being a ‘10’, a good looking person is a ‘15’
Cotilla: Busybody, gosssip
Hombre: dude, man
Vago: lazy
Some other things I have noticed:
When I cross the street, I am used to giving the 'thank you' wave to people, but the first few days here I did that and got weird looks. I guess they don't do that here? Amanda and I have become pros at crossing the street though :)
When I first met Carmen and during our first days living with her, I learned that age can transcend cultures. She is very set in her ways and we get 'yelled at' if we do something wrong. She too has completed puzzles hanging up on her wall and other decorations that seem 'grandmotherly'. She has huge pictures of her grandkids on the walls and always calls us 'cariña' or 'reina' or 'guapa'. She always tries to get us to eat more food as well :) I told her the other day that I need to fit into my clothes!
Speaking of her grandkids, she has brought over three of them so far, Daniel, Candela and Pablo. They are 3, 4 and 10 years old. They are very fun to play with and another example of how kids act the same in all places. We don't really need to talk that much with them, but can tell what they are thinking.
A few final notes about happenings in Sevilla:
Tomorrow I will take a tour of the Barrio Santa Cruz, an old Jewish quarter. We then meet our Intercambios! I signed up for a trip to Morocco at the end of this month. I am so excited to go! I believe we get to ride camels, which will be awesome :)
Alright, I just finished my 'manchado' (little coffe, more milk), so hopefully I will not be up all night like Monday :) Adios amigos!
Emily
So I really love learning the colloquial terms, and want to share some of them with you:
Vale: This word is used as often as ‘like’ or ‘ok’ in English. It is a catch-all word for ok, go, yes, and I agree. I hope to be able to use it normally while I am here.
Bombón: In addition to meaning bon-bon, it also means a beautiful woman
Quince: Instead of being a ‘10’, a good looking person is a ‘15’
Cotilla: Busybody, gosssip
Hombre: dude, man
Vago: lazy
Some other things I have noticed:
When I cross the street, I am used to giving the 'thank you' wave to people, but the first few days here I did that and got weird looks. I guess they don't do that here? Amanda and I have become pros at crossing the street though :)
When I first met Carmen and during our first days living with her, I learned that age can transcend cultures. She is very set in her ways and we get 'yelled at' if we do something wrong. She too has completed puzzles hanging up on her wall and other decorations that seem 'grandmotherly'. She has huge pictures of her grandkids on the walls and always calls us 'cariña' or 'reina' or 'guapa'. She always tries to get us to eat more food as well :) I told her the other day that I need to fit into my clothes!
Speaking of her grandkids, she has brought over three of them so far, Daniel, Candela and Pablo. They are 3, 4 and 10 years old. They are very fun to play with and another example of how kids act the same in all places. We don't really need to talk that much with them, but can tell what they are thinking.
A few final notes about happenings in Sevilla:
Tomorrow I will take a tour of the Barrio Santa Cruz, an old Jewish quarter. We then meet our Intercambios! I signed up for a trip to Morocco at the end of this month. I am so excited to go! I believe we get to ride camels, which will be awesome :)
Alright, I just finished my 'manchado' (little coffe, more milk), so hopefully I will not be up all night like Monday :) Adios amigos!
Emily
Monday, February 15, 2010
El 14 de febrero a las 14:18
Happy Valentines Day. It seems like it is celebrated a little here, but not as much as in the U.S. Plus, since it is a Sunday not many shops are open. Today I ventured to the Catedral to go to mass in the afternoon. I thought I would get there early to find the entrance and get a seat. This Catedral is the third largest in the world, I believe. I walked around the building and found an entrance that only led to a huge room with statues, but no pews. So I continued walking around and found another door with a queue in front of it. I asked if this was the line for the mass, and the woman said that she thought it was. After five minutes or so, the grand door opened, and people spilled in. I looked around for the typical aisle with pews, but found some pews with more chairs in front of fan altar that was behind bars. I suppose that it is place to protect the church when it is open for tour. I sat down and waited for the service to begin. I heard that there is no singing at Spanish masses, but an organ played a whimsical tune to begin the mass. It was kind of difficult to understand because of the loudspeaker, but I believe there was only one reading and no sign of peace. I did recognize the 'Our Father' though, which was nice. After that, about 30 girls dressed in white robes came bounding down the stairs in the back up to the altar. An orchestra of about 15 followed and then 10 boys dressed like the Swiss guard came last. They all went up to the altar, and then the conductor (who I think was the priest) led the group in a few songs. For the first one, the ‘Swiss guard’ did a dance that looked like it came from the sound of music. The next song, they broke out their castanetts and did a “Pride and Prejudice” type dance. It was the strangest thing! I’m thinking it as for some special celebration-Saint Valentine? Oh-I forgot to mention, that in the middle of the service, the choir walked to the back of the church, and literally, the whole congregation turned to look, ignoring the homily. When we would stand up during the mass, people would turn and wave to each other from across the room. It was very interesting. The whole thing lasted about a half-hour. And I forgot the most important part: no communion! I will have to go again to see if this is the norm, but it was definitely a different mass than the United States!
Happy Valentines Day. It seems like it is celebrated a little here, but not as much as in the U.S. Plus, since it is a Sunday not many shops are open. Today I ventured to the Catedral to go to mass in the afternoon. I thought I would get there early to find the entrance and get a seat. This Catedral is the third largest in the world, I believe. I walked around the building and found an entrance that only led to a huge room with statues, but no pews. So I continued walking around and found another door with a queue in front of it. I asked if this was the line for the mass, and the woman said that she thought it was. After five minutes or so, the grand door opened, and people spilled in. I looked around for the typical aisle with pews, but found some pews with more chairs in front of fan altar that was behind bars. I suppose that it is place to protect the church when it is open for tour. I sat down and waited for the service to begin. I heard that there is no singing at Spanish masses, but an organ played a whimsical tune to begin the mass. It was kind of difficult to understand because of the loudspeaker, but I believe there was only one reading and no sign of peace. I did recognize the 'Our Father' though, which was nice. After that, about 30 girls dressed in white robes came bounding down the stairs in the back up to the altar. An orchestra of about 15 followed and then 10 boys dressed like the Swiss guard came last. They all went up to the altar, and then the conductor (who I think was the priest) led the group in a few songs. For the first one, the ‘Swiss guard’ did a dance that looked like it came from the sound of music. The next song, they broke out their castanetts and did a “Pride and Prejudice” type dance. It was the strangest thing! I’m thinking it as for some special celebration-Saint Valentine? Oh-I forgot to mention, that in the middle of the service, the choir walked to the back of the church, and literally, the whole congregation turned to look, ignoring the homily. When we would stand up during the mass, people would turn and wave to each other from across the room. It was very interesting. The whole thing lasted about a half-hour. And I forgot the most important part: no communion! I will have to go again to see if this is the norm, but it was definitely a different mass than the United States!
Friday, February 12, 2010
El 12 de febrero 16:42
Well, I just woke up from a delightful siesta on a cold and rainy Friday afternoon. It has rained somewhat frequently here, but usually clears up by late afternoon. The apartments here do not have central heating though, which makes for some very cold mornings. I´m not sure if I already said this, but the hot water is not always turned on. In order to take a hot shower, one needs to start the fire and then turn it off when done. There is a space heater in our room and in the family room to turn on if we are cold. Electricity is very expensive though, so we don´t like to use it too much. Today for almuerzo, I had another food adventure. We had this soup with beans, that was actually better than I thought, but then she brought out eggs for us. I don´t really know-I think it was kind of an omlet-but I ate it. I never thought I would be eating the few foods that I don´t really like here :) This week , our first full one in Sevilla, has been quite busy. Yesterday after school, I went shopping for an outfit for the Carnival de Cadiz this weekend. I believe people dress up like Halloween, but not scary. Speaking of scary, today in class, we talked about clowns and our profesora remarked at how many Americans do not like them, but the majority of Spanish children do. I ended up buying this funky hair piece...I will put up some pictures after the weekend. In the late afternoon, we took a guided tour around the Universidad de Sevilla. I am now really glad that I didn´t take a class there because the building is very confusing! It was built as a fábrica de tobacos, but was later converted into the university. La matrícula is about $2,000 per year! Our tour guide said that it is more common for the students to live with their families. That has seemed to be a common theme here, wish some students living with their mom, dad and their middle-aged son. It seems as if it is more acceptable for los hijos to live longer with sus padres (good news for Sam!). Earlier in the day we went on a field trip to Alcázar, an old castle where the kind and queen used to live. Actually, we saw on the news today the the príncipe is there for some kind of conference! The place has a mix of old and new architecture from the arabs and then from the Christian when they conquered Spain. It is the most beautiful place with intricate archways to lavish gardens containing peacocks! I can´t wait to go back there and explore even more.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
El 10 de febrero
This morning alter having a bad dream about returning home early, I woke up and my first thought was in Spanish! Yay…I hope that is a good sign. I believe I am progressing and becoming better at recalling more words, but it is going slowly. At least I have a few more weeks here!
Ok, let me talk a little about my days here so far. We have sort of settled into a routine while we still have the intensive period classes. We attend class from 9-12:45, then walk home for lunch at 2. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. We eat everything from soup to chicken to ham even hot dogs and something like potato salad. I didn’t think I would have to tell her I didn’t like those things, but apparently they eat them here. My stomach isn’t really agreeing with the potato salad right now. We always have bread and cheese with lunch and dinner. Dessert usually consists of fruit, or a hard piece of bread (kind of like a cracker) with nutella. Now that, I can do. After lunch, the siesta usually takes place. Sometimes we work on homework, sometimos we nap and other times we walk around. Some of the bigger shops are open, but not many of them. After the siesta, we go back to the center for dance or culture class. Then we usually walk around more, go shopping, to the park or wherever we feel like it until dinner at 9. After dinner, we work on homework if we still have any and then go to bed!
Ok, let me talk a little about my days here so far. We have sort of settled into a routine while we still have the intensive period classes. We attend class from 9-12:45, then walk home for lunch at 2. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. We eat everything from soup to chicken to ham even hot dogs and something like potato salad. I didn’t think I would have to tell her I didn’t like those things, but apparently they eat them here. My stomach isn’t really agreeing with the potato salad right now. We always have bread and cheese with lunch and dinner. Dessert usually consists of fruit, or a hard piece of bread (kind of like a cracker) with nutella. Now that, I can do. After lunch, the siesta usually takes place. Sometimes we work on homework, sometimos we nap and other times we walk around. Some of the bigger shops are open, but not many of them. After the siesta, we go back to the center for dance or culture class. Then we usually walk around more, go shopping, to the park or wherever we feel like it until dinner at 9. After dinner, we work on homework if we still have any and then go to bed!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Feb. 9
Ok, I think this is finally working. Hopefully if you click the link, it will lead you to some photos. They load quite slowly, so hopefully I will get more up soon. I had my second day of class today. It is kinda long, but fun. Our profesora is very nice and funny. I have not felt overwhelmed by the amount of Spanish being spoken, which I suppose is a good thing. I am frustrated with my lack of vocabulary and ability to communicate simple things. I feel that in Spanish one and two we learned how to ask for food, try on clothes etc. but then mostly learned grammar the next years. While that is all very important as well, my amigas and I find ourselves forgetting simple phrases. I´m sure we will learn. I do love love love learning all the slang language though. I try to learn at least one new phrase every day and use it. That goes along with learning the dialect here. Sevillanos do not pronouce their ´s´sometimes and leave off the beginning or end of words. Our taxi driver asked if we were ´etudiando´aqui, which is really ´estudiando´. They also say tal luego instead of hasta luego which means see ya later. While it is a challenge to listen, I love it. We had our first flamenco class yesterday, which was so amazing. I am by no means a dancer, but it was fun to try to get the hang of it. The movements are mostly with the feet and arms. It is a very elegant dance, and when our profe danced for us, I was amazed. I would like to write more about my observations, but I will save that for the next post. Hope everyone is doing well!
Besos,
Emily
Besos,
Emily
Monday, February 8, 2010
El primer dia de clases
As all of you know, I am excited to get back to school. Our first day of class is today. During the intensive period, we go to class from 9 t o 12:45 every day. Mondays I have a culture class in the afternoon and my dance class follows that. So far, I like my professor Carmen. That also happens to be the name of my host mom. She is una abuela y ella vive sola. Her nieto came over last Friday, Daniel. He is three years old. He is very cute and it was fun to play with him because we could understand him and the universal non-spoken language of children. Some people are hard to understand here, because they leave off the 's' and end of their words. I will write more examples later, must go back to class! Adios!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Madrid 9:30 a.m.
Well, I am finally here in Spain! Not quite to the final destination yet, but close. I am waiting in the airport with Cece and a girl named Stephanie, who is taking a trip to Sevilla to visit her friend before she begins teaching in Chicago. We have about two hours until our plane boards, so we are just hanging out in the airport after walking around for a little while. And we are getting the strange looks! I mean, I understand we are speaking English so that will draw attention, but even when we aren’t talking! We must look horrid after the long flight. Speaking of the flight, everything went smoothly. On the long one (Chicago to Madrid) no one was sitting in the seat next to me, so I was able to stretch out and close my eyes. I absolutely loved taking off, and was excited to say goodbye to the U.S. When we arrived in Madrid, we navigated around the un-crowded airport and had to go through security again. My package of goldfish was apparently cause for suspicion because the guard took them out and inspected them. Maybe they don’t eat goldfish in Spain? I bought my first European purchase-a big bottle of water! Yay. Hopefully the subsequent purchases will be more exciting. I am so glad to finally be here but am anxious to get to Sevilla and get settled in. I know this weekend will be whirlwind!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A whole new world...
Well, the time has come. I leave for Spain tomorrow at 3 p.m.! I have been waiting for this for such a long time-this January was enjoyable, but tough with all my friends back at school. Needless to say, I became very domestic :) While I am very excited, yesterday I had a semi-nervous breakdown. I suddenly felt like I didn't want to leave and packing did not appeal to me. Seeing past that though, I know things will be very different, but an experience of a lifetime. I received my housing assignment last week. I am living with Carmen in the neighbiorhood of Triana (across the river, kind of southwest of the city). I do not know if Carmen has any kids or a husband, or what. I did creep on my neighborhood via google earth, and it looks beautiful! I will be living in an apartment rather that a 'normal' suburban house. Oh-I do have a roommate named Amanda from New York. Well, I think that is all for now. I must go try to fit all my stuff into a suitcase or two. Adios, amigos!
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