One Week in Sevilla

I have officially been in Sevilla one week! I can hardly believe that statement is true, so much has happened. This weekend included much needed rest, learning, and fun. Friday my room mates and I decided to go for a walk and do some shopping. Being the eager Americans we are we left right after siesta at 5:00 p.m. on the dot. Of course none of the shops had opened yet so which gave us plenty of time to find our way and we ended up stopping in a little bar/cafe called "Java Cafe." It wasn't very busy as we entered though it quickly became so. It is funny how something as simple as ordering a coke can be intimidating in a new country. We weren't sure if we should just sit down and someone would come to our table for our orders or if we should go order then sit. We sat. Someone came to take our order but we found out (through the wonderful teacher observation) that one person normally places the order at the bar while the others choose the table.

Afterwards we went went shopping and found some cute stores. It is wonderful living in a city where you can walk everywhere! I am not usually a person who enjoys shopping, but here in Spain it has been a lot of fun. My room mates and I have passed quite a few afternoons browsing through the stores on San Jaciento. We found one store we really liked which is ran by a chino. She was so sweet to us recognizing we were students, telling us about apartments in the area, and helping us figure out our European shoe size. We also found a cute jewelry/purse shop where everything was only 2 euros. I made my first purchase there- a cute yellow hand bag!

Saturday morning I went shopping with Isabel. First we went to the supermarcado. On the way we ran into a friend she knew so we of course stopped to talk for 20 minutes. Isabel introduces me as one of her niñas. I feel like a little girl with her grandmother as I waited while she talked to her friend from elementary school, then her cousin. In Sevilla almost everyone has lived here all their lives like there parents and grandparents before them. They have the same friends since pre-school and have probably married someone they grew up with. I love this community where people come first and time is a secondary factor.
Isabel and I ended up going to the supermarcado, the fish store, the butcher, the perfumería, and the bread store. She pointed out everything one the way and described why she went to each store. Everyone, I am told, knows her butcher is the best butcher in town because every day he sells out of meat and gets fresh for the next day. She told me you have to go before noon (2:00 p.m.) or there will be none left. Needless to say I learned a lot, not only about the neighborhood but about her.

I went with my room-mates, Margo and Amber, yesterday to buy train tickets. We decided to take the bus since is was about a 30 min. walk. So glad we did. Not only did we learn how to buy bus tickets, but we saw more of the city! We made it to the train station and bought our tickets for Cadiz quite successfully. It is exciting to be learning all these new things and managing them all in Spanish!