Week 6

Monday

                It kind of stinks to miss class, at least in my opinion, because that made me behind two days regarding the material and I had two tests this Friday. It made for a little more intense week, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I met with my internship-planner person, Audrey, and we decided that Tuesday would be the day we would go to meet my future boss. 

                After class and internet time, Paige and I decided to get our favorite chocolate sandwiches from Montaditos. Normally we go Wednesdays because that is the one euro day, but this Wednesday being Ash Wednesday and all, we broke with tradition and went on a Monday. Chocolate sandwiches, fortunately, are always one euro so the day didn’t actually make a difference this time.

Tuesday

                Well I met with the head of DiscoverSevilla about my internship and was quite surprised to find out that everyone there spoke English and Manuel, the boss, told me that they rarely actually spoke in Spanish since all the workers were either from the U.S. or the U.K. After this meeting, Audrey, who accompanied me, told me that she didn’t realize they spoke in English all the time and so now she is going to look for another place for me to intern. Comfort-wise, I would like for the people I’m working with to know English so that the communication boundary wouldn’t be intimidating; but on the other hand I wouldn’t be able to practice my Spanish in that type of environment. Kind of a disappointing experience overall. Hopefully the next attempt turns out more successful.

                After that experience I headed over to Paige’s house to see if she wanted to do anything like maybe go get churros and chocolate in honor of Mardi Gras. I saw a bunch of people, police and cameras as I neared her house and was afraid there had been an accident or crime or something. However, it turns out a scene for a documentary was being filmed because after watching for a bit, there was someone who kept calling out silence and cut and the people kept returning to their previous spots and doing the same thing over and over again. No one answered at Paige’s house so I gave up after a couple tries of ringing the bell, especially since I was getting a lot of strange looks from the film people since I think I was the only one in the street who wasn’t supposed to be there.

                I then wandered around with no particular destination in mind, to see if I’d stumble across anything new. In my travels I encountered the bull-fighting ring for the first time. I didn’t go inside though because I knew Paige wants to see it as well so I’ll wait until we go together. Then I wandered around some more and eventually ended up at a Chinese-run shop that had food and other stuff fairly cheap. So I bought a lemon Fanta and this chocolate donut type thing for under 2€ to celebrate the last day before Lent, since I figured I should wait on the chocolate and churros for Paige. 

Wednesday

              I didn't really do much on Wednesday. However, Audrey, the internship-planner, informed me that she has tried three other places and two said no and the third, a hotel, she had yet to hear back from. So still more waiting. 

              I went to Mass at the same church I went to on my first day in Sevilla, but I'm not sure about its name. It has a really beautiful statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and overall is a really gorgeous church. I'll have to go back again soon, especially because it is only two streets away from where I live.

              I had previously informed Concepción that I can't eat meat on Ash Wednesday nor Fridays in Lent and she said she doesn't eat meat either so I figured meals wouldn't be a problem. However, for supper she had made me a grilled cheese sandwhich with a ham slice inside it. I told her I couldn't eat it and then she told me that there are two types of ham and this one wasn't meat. I didn't quite understand that so I still didn't eat it but she said she is going to ask someone (I don't know who) to see if she is right. I was just glad there was also soup for supper so it wasn't a big deal. 

Thursday

              After classes and internet, Paige and I got our tickets to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend. We will be leaving Friday at midnight and arriving Saturday morning around 7. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep on the bus, otherwise it is going to be a long day Saturday. I am super excited to see Portugal, especially Fatima, so this should be a good experience despite the bus ride. 

              The rest of the day was spent studying for my two exams Friday, and dealing with an annoying cold. 

Friday

           Well my first test of the day went well and the second test was the opposite. The professor graded them right after we finished and I got less than twenty of the forty questions right which was discouraging to say the least. On the positive side, although we all didn't feel that great about the tests, our professor said he was proud of our growing knowledge of the material.

           Now I have to go and pack for Portugal and I won't be returning until Tuesday morning. Tuesday is a public holiday here, because I believe it is Andalusia day, so I won't be back at school until Wednesday. Therefore, my blog over the weekend, along with the pictures should be Wednesday if everything goes according to plan.