It's hard to believe it's not even been a week since I've arrived to Sevilla and started my program. It's definitely seemed longer than that and so much has gone on so far. We haven't started classes yet and don't really know our classes yet either. Today, we registered but the administration has to go through all the paper copies of it. There's about 105 in the program so who knows when we'll get it.
Anyway, this week has basically consisted of orientating ourselves to not only the city of Seville, but the culture as well. They've had us go on multiple tours of the city to get an idea of where everything is and what we should do in certain situations (basically normal orientation things). We've had the opportunity to join clubs, or interest groups, which allow us to see different parts of the country. For me, I joined Sevilla and las Americas. Basically, the reason I picked it was the trips. We will be going to see the ships of Columbus (don't know if they're replicas or not) and the beach, Lisbon, and tour Sevilla. So, that'll be interesting.
We've also tried to adjust to the culture and our new homes for the next four months. For me, it's in an apartment with a man, who I'd say is 30-35, and his dog. It's definitely different, but at the same time, different is good. Then, switching to Spain's time clock is annoying. What I mean by that is that Spaniards start the siesta at 2, eat lunch at 3pm at the earliest, then end the siesta around 5 or 6. Finally, they have dinner at 10 or 11. The eating schedule is pretty difficult to get on for multiple reasons. First off, it's completely different than the States. Sure, occasionally we may have a late meal, but never that late, every day. Secondly, there's no way to get around that eating at 3 unless you cook yourself, which I can't. Everything, I mean everything, closes down during siesta time. There's not a chance to find something open (store or restaurant) unless you're in the touristy part of the city, which is expensive. The siesta time is somewhat foreign. Most people know that Spain's famous for the siesta, which translates to sleep/nap, however, the reason for it most people don't know. Unlike the United States, the main meal here in Spain is lunch. My host has his mother come over everyday so far for dinner. So, everything closes down for siesta time because everyone tries to go back home to eat and relax with the family. Now, don't get me wrong, naps are taken during this period but not always.
The other crazy thing is that these siestas see to almost have to be needed because Spanish nightlife doesn't start til midnight. This is when people start to come out and get tapas, basically appetizers, and hang out with each other. It's uncommon for these nights to end before 6am. I don't see how they function.
Then, the major difference is the Eco-friendliness and the weather. Spain conserves any and everything. They limit water waste, use electricity as little as possible, don't use air conditioning, and recycle everything. It's pretty impressive. Equally as impressive is the weather. The weather so far has been approximately around 90 degrees or higher every day, I'm not sure because I'm struggling with this Celsius thing (which the US needs to switch to and meters as well). Secondly, there's not a cloud in the sky. They say it might rain once or twice in November but that's it. It's absolutely perfect weather.
Through all of this, I'm so happy with my decision to study in Seville. It's a beautiful city and I can already tell that it's going to be a great semester.
Así, hasta luego
Greg
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