What I love about Sevilla

Hola gente!
Because this is a "long weekend" in Spain, which for me and my 2 times per week class schedule means that I do not have class until next Wednesday, I figured I'd write about the things I love about Sevilla. This is a BONUS blog! Woo, lucky you! I have loads of free time right now, and although I found a free website with all of my favorite shows, I figured this would be a little more productive. Or it could be annoying, but I'm gonna roll with it.
These are in no particular order...

Mis amigos- To the Spanish-language-challenged, those are my friends. I have met some truly wonderful people here that I love spending time with. Whether it's running (not as often as I should), going out, having some wine by the river, or traveling, I know I am lucky to have met such great people. We have already begun to talk about how we will see each other after the program ends!

NO8DO- This is Sevilla's motto, and because I can not really explain it on my own, I'm using Wikipedia to help...don't judge me. The 8 represents a skein of yarn, or in Spanish, a “madeja.” When read aloud, “No madeja do” sounds like “No me ha dejado,” which means “It [Seville] has not abandoned me.” It has to do with Alfonso X, the wise king, and I don't know the whole story because it's a long legend, but I think it's awesome that you can see it all over the city. It's on posters, grates, billboards, everywhere.

The weather- Though it's been raining lately, all I can think about is the SUN we will see. It's averaging about 63 lately during the day, and the nights were cold at first, but they are getting warmer. When it's 75 and sunny everyday (by mid-March, I'm hoping!), I don't think I'll ever see the inside of my apartment. Unfortunately, both of my schools have mandatory attendance policies, so I will not be able to blow off class to lay outside (not that I've ever done that, Mom and Dad!)

The pace- Life here is much slower, which for anyone who has made plans with the Baltimore Dorans, knows I fit in well with this. I love that nothing starts on time! You might go to a store that "opens" at 10, but if the opening-shift worker doesn't make it on time, no big deal. She'll be there when she gets there. For Americans, this is often one of the hardest things to get used to, because it's unheard of in the States, but I must say, it takes off the pressure to be on time!

Nutella- Yes, I've had it before back home, but here it flows like, well like peanut butter in the US. A nice breakfast of coffee and toast with nutella is the perfect way to start your day. Probably should eat some fruit too though, which are delicious here as well. Kiwis, bananas, oranges (amazing), apples...I love them all!

Carmen- Carmen is my senora, or mi madre espanola. She takes care of my roommates and I, cooking, cleaning, and laundry-wise. She is so sweet and just like Nancy Pants, she works out all the time. She comes in when I am getting ready to go out, she looks at me, says "Vas a salir?" and I say "Si, todas las noches!" She probably wants me to work out more often, like my super-healthy roommates, but someone's gotta be the bad seed, right? I think she thinks I am crazy, especially when I have to act out what I am trying to say because I don't know how to say it in Spanish. I once forgot how to say "fly" (volar), so explaining that my parents were flying into Madrid when they visit and don't want to fly to Sevilla was verrry funny to her. Her husband Jose is also extremely nice and helpful. I showed him that my umbrella was broken (mi paraguas está roto!) and he fixed it! Very handy, very helpful.

Bike paths- The city is covered in bike paths and the riders take them seriously. A few years ago, Sevilla implemented this city-wide bike program, where you pay 10 euro and a 150 euro deposit and can rent a bike anywhere in the city, ride for a half hour, and then return the bike at any station. In a city with maybe 2 hills, this is amazing. I am going to try to find the website for it so I can sign up because it is insanely convenient.

La comida- the food! I was a picky eater until I was 15. And I mean picky. Turkey on white bread with nothing on it was my ideal meal. Now, I love Spanish food. They're big on fish, shrimp, garbanzo beans, lentils, patatoes, and I LOVE it. There has only been one meal that Carmen made that I didn't like, and it involved beets, which looked to me like cranberries, so imagine my surprise when I didn't taste sweet, I tasted beet. Other than that, it's all delicious. And the food at the restaurants is always awesome too. It's a lot of friend stuff, but the portions are smaller, so no biggie. It's all about moderation, right Dad?

Los Perros- The DOGS! There are dogs everywhere here. Everywhere. Most of the time they don't use leashes, because they are so well behaved. Their owners just walk around with them. It's so different, and I LOVE it. I've seen huskies, schnauzers, terriers, pitbulls, pugs, labs, everything. Seeing them make me miss Duffy, of course, but I absolutely love walking to class and seeing 20 dogs. I wish College Park were like this. My friends and I name all of the dogs Pepe, because it makes sense. It's hysterical to me when Carmen talks to Barbie (her dog) because she responds to Spanish! Sientase! (Sit) Venga! (Come). I think I will try to teach Duffy some Spanish commands when I return!

Los Ninos- Not to be confused with the weather patterns, this is the children. I love kids, as most of you know. But you haven't seen a cute kid until you've seen a 3 year old talk in Spanish. It is probably the most adorable thing in the world. And strange as it seems, I think even the Spanish children know that I'm American immediately. The people know definitely, but the kids always look at me like I'm nuts. Maybe I am just nuts, and they pick up on it, but I hope they can just tell by looking at me that I'm different.

Traveling- I have been lucky enough to see many states, Canada, a few cities in Mexico, Belize, the Bahamas, and El Salvador (I think that's it)...Oh and a quaint little town known as Ocean City, Maryland a few times. I am not knocking any of these past trips, but being in Europe for 4 months with a 4 day weekend every week is just beyond anything I could have imagined. I currently have trips planned for Morocco, Rome, Ireland, Portugal, Majorca, and Prague. Just thinking about this makes my heart skip a beat I am so happy! Not to mention the cities in Spain I've seen (Madrid, Cordoba, Granada). This is just so incredible.

So this list is not all inclusive, as I love too many things about this place to write. I hope that it was informative and not too boring. Again, I hope you're doing well in the US and not missing me too much!
LOVE,
Aubs