(Post #11) Sweet Time in Seville

(Monday, March 14th) As most Mondays are, today was a lazy day to recuperate and get on top of things. The highlight though was starting to try on dresses for Seville’s fair (La Feria) in May.

(Tuesday, March 15th) Today was my midterm exam for Intermediate Spanish 2, and I think that it went okay! I also got a good reminder that some days are not perfect, but then sometimes unexpected surprises appear. My Tourism Marketing class is challenging me a little bit which dampened my mood (along with it have been raining in Seville for a week), but then a class later in the day was cancelled, so some Germans and I got crepes and hung out and I just really enjoyed that. I also purchased my flamenco dress and it feels really good to have on hand!

(Wednesday, March 16th) Today was a big study day because tomorrow we have our Culture of Food and Wine midterm and I was nervous, so I did what I do best and made a quizlet to study. I kinda hung low preparing for that but also it is a great class to take because now I have so much gastronomic and historical information on Seville which is interesting and relevant.

(Thursday, March 17th) Happy St. Paddy’s day! The day was quite relaxed until it was time to take our 90 minute 10 short answer midterm in Spanish for Culture of Food & Wine in Spain. I definitely did not do perfect on it, but I think it went okay! I was immediately in a better mood after though because my best friend from home, Chloe, arrived from Valladolid, Spain to spend the weekend in Seville! We got dinner, she checked into her airbnb, and then she met other students in my program and we dressed up in green and celebrated the day.

(Friday, March 18th) On this cloudy day, Chloe and I wandered about the city and ate plenty

of gelato. We were going to go to El Alcázar, but it was sold out so instead we went to Las Setas and Chloe loved the view up there. We then got pastries and went to the Plaza de España so that Chloe could see some flamenco dancing! It was great. After, We took the metro to the suburb of Montequinto where my Spanish sister Alicia lives, and we spent the evening with her friends and family getting dinner and playing games.

(Saturday, March 19th) Today was my favorite day as along with Chloe, I got to do something new. We took a tour to the old Roman city of Itálica to see the ampitheatre built in the 2nd century along with the remnants of the old Roman town. I learned that the Romans were actually very tiny people and their life expectancy on average was only until about 35 years old.

We then went over to the Medieval Monastery of San Isidoro del Campo and it was amazing

to see the old paintings and intricate ceilings. Our tour guide was great, and we had a fun experience. It is so crazy to me that while living in Europe, I can go casually see the 3rd largest Roman ampitheatre ever built that is only 15 minutes away by car and also pass by ancient aqueducts and Roman pillars while on my way to school. History is amazing.

Chloe and I then went to El Alcázar and it was very busy but so amazing to see all the architecture and gardens again. After that, we headed to Montequinto again to hang with Alicia and it was so fun. We went out to dinner in a popular neighborhood called Alameda and then we spent the night dancing and catching up.

(Sunday, March 20th) On another gloomy day, Chloe and I made our way to the Triana Market in the rain to look at all the fun products. After, we took the bus to the Santa Justa train station and got lunch nearby. I then had to sadly say goodbye to Chloe and go back home to the reality of homework and things. This night though, I got to do something new. Our program, CEA, invited students to the dress rehearsal production of the French opera Pelleas et Melisande. It was my first time going to the opera, and I enjoyed it, but it was also very long. I am grateful that they had both subtitles in Spanish and English.

This week was stressful because of exams, but also relaxing at the same time. It was my first time staying in Seville for the weekend since my program started, and it has been refreshing and an adventure as well.

Reminder: you can find more photos from this week under the gallery section!