Hola!

I'm here! My traveling went really, really well. So well, in fact, I was the only student to arrive on time. When I got to the airport, instead of meeting with a group of students, it was just me and our director, Elisa. We were supposed to have a short orientation and then take taxis to our homes, but since I was the only one there, she drove me to my host family’s apartment herself.

My senora is named Ana, she lives with her husband Antonio in Los Remedios, which is an upper middle class district right next to downtown Sevilla. Ana is wonderful and very well spoken and expressive, which helps, because they also don’t speak any English. So when I got here by myself, fresh off the plane, it was quite a shock to be dropped into such an environment with no one else. I’ve realized that what’s really important about being so immersed in a language is following ALL of the conversation, the expressions, mannerisms, inflections – you can usually tell what’s being discussed by the rhythm of the conversation and the tone so you can respond accordingly. My listening has gotten soo much better, and my speaking is improving as my confidence level is increasing. The table that we eat at is in the living room, and so the television will be on and we watch and usually discuss about the news or the program that’s on. Antonio likes to ask if I understand what’s going on in a program and he likes to teach me about the people on TV. He’s also corrected my grammar, which is incredibly helpful.

Our first morning we met at the Plaza de Cuba in order to have orientation, we walked around the big parts of Sevilla to take pictures and learn about the history. I think my favorite part about the city is the orange trees everywhere, and the fact that you can turn down any road and find yourself in a beautiful, narrow alleyway where the buildings are so tall you can’t see the skyline anymore. It’s very easy to get lost, which we did the first day in the barrios de Santa Cruz, but getting lost here doesn't really matter, it's encouraged.

After exploring in the mornings we always return to our casas around 2:30 for lunch. Fruit is served at every meal, as well as lots and lots of bread – like big chunks of white baguette. Breakfast in the morning is usually just bread and jam with fruit as well. Every meal is something new, we've had pastas, soups, rice, and even fried pork and french fries. Dinner is usually around 8:30 but apparently it can be as late as 10:00.

I'll post pictures soon, hopefully. Adios!