Week 3

Monday

                Class size increased Monday in my first two classes. We went from having a class of six people to ten which seems really large after the past few weeks of relatively few people. I don’t mind though because the four new people are all pretty talkative and therefore I will be required to talk less, however that is probably not a good thing since I need the practice. I guess the last class of the day makes up for it though because I have to talk a ton then due to only two other students with me.

                I didn’t really do anything exciting after class, however I did sign up for the trip to Granada next weekend and it is both Saturday and Sunday so I’ll get to see a lot. I have a feeling I will be taking a huge amount of pictures, but that’s not a bad thing. I also wandered around a little bit looking at shops to see if there were any potential souvenir possibilities, but didn’t end up buying any. I think the cost of the trip to Granada made the thought of spending any more money unpleasant. Supper Monday was one of the best meals so far. It was macaroni, according to Concepción, which consisted of tri-colored noodles with a tomato sauce and some cheese sprinkled on top. It was delicious. We also had these fried fish bite things as well as green olives, but I could only bring myself to eat one olive and the fish actually wasn’t bad and I was able to eat a few. 

Tuesday

                It was another great day because it started off with a nice big mug of delicious hot chocolate at breakfast. It also was Paige’s birthday, so hence after classes we went out and celebrated by getting ice cream and eating chocolate muffins which was my attempt at a substitute for birthday cake. Then we wandered around for a while with no particular destination in mind and browsed through a bunch of shops. In one of the shops, they were playing a song which I believe was by Lady Gaga, but the best part about it was that she mentions Nebraska several times in it. So here I was in this little shop in Spain and I’m hearing a song about Nebraska. It was kind of humorous. Anyway, after browsing around for a bit, I bought some postcards because it was the best deal I’d seen yet, with five for one euro. Eventually we ended up at good old el Cortes Inglés and since our bread supplies were running low, we bought some bread and also water. Definitely essential food elements.

When I got back to the apartment, Cala decided to be difficult and snuck past me into the dining room/TV room which leads to my room. Then ensued a chase around the table and I wasn’t able to get her out until I put some dog food in her bowl. I was just relieved that I’d gotten her in her rightful place before Concepción returned from wherever she’d been. For supper we had a creamy soup that had a good flavor but I couldn’t tell what it consisted of and also French fries, eggs and sausage. After supper I stayed up later than I should have watching Tu si que vales which is the program I believe I described at an earlier time as a sort of talent competition show. It was enjoyable to watch but I was exhausted by the time I went to bed.

Wednesday

Well I struggled getting up and motivating myself to actually go to class because I was super tired Wednesday morning. I fought the desire to sleep in though and managed to make it to class in time. After the two morning classes however, Paige and I decided to skip our last class of the day because on Tuesday our professor, Elena, had told us that she wouldn’t be there and so we were supposed to join up with another professor’s class for the day. Since we really weren’t missing anything of importance, it seemed like a good day to skip and we had been such good students so far and were the only students in all of our classes who had yet to skip a class, it was about time. Plus the sun was shining outside and it seemed like a better option to immerse ourselves in Sevilla than to sit in another class for an hour and forty minutes. So we wandered around looking at shops and visiting a couple plazas. We also saw the Golden Tower, which we would have gone inside, but a sign on the door said that Monday’s were free for entrance so we’ll have to go sometime on a Monday. At four we met up with a group from the school to visit the Real Alcázar, which is the palace of the kings in Sevilla. It had a lot of amazing architecture and the gardens were really pretty, however, when the group split up and we were allowed to wander around in the gardens on our own, there wasn’t much time before it closed and so I didn’t have enough time to take as many pictures as I would have liked. Fortunately the entrance fee was only two euros so it won’t cost too much to return again another day.

After leaving the palace, Paige and I went to our new favorite café that has a large one euro menu. We had planned on going on a Wednesday because on Wednesday everything on the menu is one euro so there were even more options at a cheap price. I ended up trying a barbecue sandwich as well as getting my favorite amazing chocolate sandwich and it was very satisfying for only two euros. I have a feeling I’ll be going there every Wednesday from now on.

Thursday

                Thursday after classes, I attempted to get on the internet but I don’t know if there was some sort of service problem at the school or what, but my computer wouldn’t connect and neither would any of the schools’. I hope that it isn’t a frequent occurrence because it is my only means of communication with the world. Quite sad. Anyhow I even went to this bookstore that advertised free Wi-Fi and they gave me a password, but once I put it in, I still couldn’t connect. Just a bad day to use the internet I guess.

                After the disappointing internet incident, Paige and I went to her house for lack of incentive to go anywhere else. We then deliberated over our options of things to do in Sevilla that didn’t cost money and that lead to us watching two episodes of The Next Great Baker. It was kind of nice to watch a show that was in English for a change after about three weeks of Spanish TV. Later, back at my house, Concepcion and I ate a supper of soup that was kind of like Ramen as well as chicken and French fries and we watched a strange sort of reality show called the Gran Hermano that was difficult to follow.

Coming soon… This weekend I’m going to Granada which is called “la ciudad mágica’’ or magical city and has the famous Alhambra. I’m super excited, however it is going to be really cold there and so I’m not so excited about that, but I think it will be worth it.