Tapas Time

For those of you that are lacking in the geography department, Sevilla is in the southern part of Spain called Andalucia, which is also the warmest part of Spain in the summers. It gets HOT here, and unlike the South, it’s a dry kind of heat. We won’t need jackets by the end of February, according to Antonio. But, while it’s usually around 50 degrees outside in “winter,” it’s cold; don’t be fooled. All of the houses and all of the streets are made for hot weather, so in the winter they are iceboxes. Every room is made out of tile and stone walls, and the streets are narrow for drafts and to keep the sun out.

We’re lucky enough to have a space heater in our room that we turn on after dinner so it’s warm by the time we go to sleep, but when I go to the bathroom, I dread it. It’s freezing. I wear a jacket to every meal and would never walk around barefoot (even if it was culturally acceptable, which it isn’t.)

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll appreciate it come April.

Monday night we went out to celebrate Sydney’s birthday. We had tapas for the first time at Levies. “Tapas” literally means "to cover," and I've heard a lot of different explanations for the origin. I think in class we learned the word comes from when the king would be served small dishes that were covered. Regardless, now they’re served with drinks at bars all over Spain and it's a way to encourage conversation and meeting with friends. I’m sure I’ll be adventurous in my selection over the next four months.

Tonight, the table shared a pitcher of tinto de verano and three of us shared a plate of paella and a plate curry chicken that was delicious, I could have easily eaten a plate of that by myself.

When we come in every day from being out we are always greeted with what I think is “Hola cariños,” it took me a while to figure out exactly what was being said but I think that’s the Spanish version of “Sweet” or "love." I couldn’t be happier with my host family living experience so far, even if I do need four pairs of socks to go into the bathroom.