eHarmony

The lovely apartment I enquired about no longer is available, bummer! However, I have come across many more promising options thanks to a lovely little website called easypiso.com, where you create a profile and construct yourself in such a way that you seem as least sketchy as one possibly can in an online ad. I'd imagine this is what online dating is about (Hi, I'm a student looking for an apartment next semester. I'm clean, responsible...I like to laugh for no reason, dance in the rain, enjoy walks on the beach and roasting marshmallows by twilight, you get the picture?)

I have officially finished mid-term week, which was probably less stressful than my least-demanding week at BC, gotta love abroad programs! One test was in Contemporary Spanish Cinema. We had to write an in-class essay involving the image of the two sides in the Spanish Civil War. We watched Belle Epoque, La Nina de Tus Ojos, and La Lengua de las Mariposas, the latter being one of my all-time favorite Spanish movies, probably tied with Pan's Labyrinth. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for amazing foreign films! The title in English is "The Tongue of the Butterflies." The essay went well. I wrote for the entire two hours. I just kind of took the question and ran with it because I loved the movies so much and got really excited. So I hope that I formed a coherent idea somewhere and didn't just write a bunch of nonsensical rubbish.

Inspirational Nonfiction
Yesterday I triumphed over the forces of the Spanish grocery business when I successfully found APPLE JUICE BOXES, thus ending the 8-week drought. It only took three different stores. Never give up.

Cultural Tidbits and a Vocab Test...

...and you thought those ended in high school! 

-Spaniards (being named after saints and all), have this interesting little tradition where they celebrate the day of their namesake saint. Today happens to be el Dia de San Carlos, so kind of like the pseudo-birthday of my host-brohans! Apparently real birthdays are the bigger deal, but it does get some acknowledgement. 

-Health. I'm not really sure if the government has labeled medical research as contraband or what, but the Spaniards seem to be about 50 years behind in regards to health issues. I'll give them credit for the olive oil, but I'm pretty sure it's only used because it's so cheap here. 

1. Love of pig. By that I mean dead, roasted pig, it's everywhere. 

2. Weather paranoia. These people are so scared of rain it's not even funny. HOMBRE, YOU ARE NOT THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST. Everyday the meteorologists predict rain. I can count the days it has rained on one hand. They also believe cold weather directly makes you catch a cold. My host mom warned me of wearing a jacket when it was still 70 degrees. 

3. People smoking around their little infants. Seriously.

4. People smoking. 

Vocabulary and How to Sound Spanish:

Vale! = Okay. Say it quickly and repeatedly. Valevalevalevalevale. 

Hombre! = Man. But women also use it while speaking to each other, usually in a heated argument or while strongly making a point (i.e. when my *fake art history professor yelled at us for asking when our midterm was again...HOMBRE you are always asking me this blah blah blah I don't care about you guys anyway.)

Oye! = Listen! Carmen always yells a variety of phrases at Tana while we are eating and she wants to play, this is one. 

No pasa nada. = Nothing happens. It's used kind of like "Don't worry." Students: Should we study for our exam? Professor: No! No pasa nada. 

*My art history professor is not real. I think he's half robot. He is cold and does not make eye contact with us the entire class. He didn't show up the first day. He has been at least 15 minutes late each class since. Last week he came on time and scolded everyone who walked in late, saying we should be more courteous and punctual. His form of teaching is writing biographical information on the chalkboard, re-reading what he wrote, erasing it and doing it again...and this takes two hours (There's about a 30-minute break between the two chalkboard writings). Thank you, sir, but Wikipedia could have told me everything in a far more efficient manner. 

Also, since this is my blog, I will complain as much as I want. So click that tiny little X in the corner of the screen if you don't want to hear it. Boston College is a headache. Metaphorically, that's the best I can do. I tried to get course approvals for art, history, and sociology cores. My Andalusian Art class doesn't count, because "the aim of the Core is to introduce the student to the fundamentals of the discipline through a relatively broad topic in the field." I'm not too mad about it, because it counts toward my Spanish major, I was just excited about killing two birds with one stone. Besides I would gladly take another art class next semester in hopes of a more enlightening experience. For history, I was simply directed to e-mail a different person. Apparently sociology doesn't approve any courses whatsoever while abroad, and I am in the works of writing a sassy e-mail back to Mr. Michael Malec. I think I am developing a whole new sociological perspective just by living in another culture, more than I will ever learn sitting in a class at BC for 2.5 hours a week, being taught by a mediocre professor who got stuck teaching a core class. 

But enough of that. In honor of election day... MIRA 

(And if you are in the mood for some G.W./Kerry nostalgia... Classic.)

Priceless.

I look like an awkward Harry Potter. 

Juiced Up

Not on 'roids, don't fret. I went on a 3 hour walk through town, passed the apartment again (creep much? yes), searching far and wide for an open supermarket. No stores are open on Sunday, not even Zara, or el Corte Ingles. So when I passed el Corte Ingles' dark supermarket, things were looking pretty grim. I meandered toward the Cathedral, stopping to listen to some impromtu Flamenco and dodging palm-reading gypsies left and right, when I saw people with grocery bags! Open Cor happens to be open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. everyday, how blasphemous and un-Spanish yet awesomely convenient! I purchased some juiceboxes (peach-grape, el Corte Ingles brand, ironically enough). I downed three in-a-row, and now my Vitamin C levels are sky-high...I REFUSE TO GET SICK. 

Happy Belated November!

I thought I would study today, why not. I'm forming a close bond with my semantics notes. I love this class. We learn all sorts of "modismos," or idioms, many of which have come in quite handy. Others I just think to myself in situations for fear of sounding like a total clown. My favorite is probably, "Vete a freir esparragos!", meaning "Leave me alone!" "Scram!" etc.

Today was a historical morning, as Carlos and I ate breakfast together for the first time. He eats three pieces of plain toast. We watched Ninja Turtles (side note: Carlos is 31). Last night, Carmen told me he is moving to his own apartment, so next semester she wouldn't mind hosting three students. Awk..I thought we were going to have the housing talk where I tell her I'm living in an apartment for sure. I was not in the mood for that since yesterday my Spanish skills seemed to be down. I've had a headache the past couple of days, and I think I'm getting sick.

On a lighter note, I think I found my dream apartment! I'm waiting for the landlady to reply to my e-mail so I can see if it's even available for the months I need it. The location is perfect. It's right on this enormous plaza called Alameda de Hercules, in the north-central region of town. It's probably about a 30 minute walk to school, but since I'll be in charge of meals I can work out my schedule so I only make the trek once a day. Besides, the walk is very pleasant and goes along a long road through the heart of the city. Alameda is a cute little neighborhood, a little more gritty than Triana because it's where all the student live. The plaza is lined with bars and cafes, and there's even a theater and stage in the center. It's also closer to el Parque de Alamillo, the biggest park in Sevilla, which is perfect for running. Here's a couple pics:

Alameda

Apartment

It's a Small World After All. Part 2.

Today was a lovely little day. I literally walked around for 3 hours exploring potential neighborhoods for next semester's apartment. Lo and behold, I run into Kate Terry and her two amigas, who happened to be in Sevilla. We found ourselves sitting at a cafe chatting for a couple hours...and thinking "is this seriously happening right now?" Kate, fellow cap-i-tan of xc (see pic below), who I have seen once since high school. Geez Louise, I love it. I'm still shocked. Events like these are so crazy. What if I hadn't decided to turn that direction and start walking home? What are the chances of us walking on the same road, opposite directions? Let alone on the same side of the street? We could have easily passed by each other without notice, I can't stop smiling. Gosh. 

Big Mac, Me, Kate, and Tyler...senior year State...see how long it's been?

On an unrelated note, I made it back in time for dinner. I was on bread duty (see previous post, Carmen = homebody), right as I get to the market near our apartment it's closing. Panic. Luckily the amazing panaderia/bakery down the street was still open. "Tres andaluzas, por favor." "Espera un momentito, ya estan en el horno." Fresh bread, straight out of the oven. Carmen's three other kids (besides Carlos, of course) joined us for dinner to celebrate Jorge's (son-in-law's) birthday. We ate shrimp with fully-intact bodies, so I awkwardly sat and watched everyone else eat them to see how they de-capitated, de-tailed, and de-legged the darn things. We are all done eating, and of course there were extras, so guess who gets stuck eating them? Me. Of course. Normally Joanna and I split the impossibly large portions of food, but she bailed on me this weekend for Italy, how dare she! I'm pretty sure Jorge jocosely (yes, I did just use that word, tell Mrs. Bates) made a comment about Americans eating a lot, not appreciated, Jorge!...as I recall you all were the ones force-feeding me against my will. So for the second time today, I cannot move. 

Q: What do you call someone who put's poison in a person's corn flakes? A: A cereal killer.

Sorry, it's Halloween. I had to put up a bad Halloween joke. 

Halloween has a growing presence in Spain, due in large part to the increasing numbers of American study-abroad students. There are plenty of "international" (meaning American) parties happening tonight. I will not be attending, a. because I am anti-social, and b. because I refuse to associate myself with other American students. 

We have officially passed the half-way point of this semester's program. I only have five more weeks of class, followed by a few days of exams. Crazy. I feel like I haven't done much schoolwork. I do have a midterm to study for this weekend, but it's pretty much just memorizing verb groups and idioms. I am a bit frustrated with my art history class. My teacher is totally dull and doesn't even make eye-contact with us the entire class. He fills up the chalkbroad, reads what he wrote. We take a 20 minute break, and he does the same thing. It wasn't until yesterday we even saw actual works of art, and we had a substitute, of course. 

The whole host-family situation is working out pretty well. Carmen is a total home-body, never has left Spain except for a visit to Portugal. I'm pretty sure she only leaves the house to go to the bank and market to buy food. I am beginning to get used to the way she speaks (I can even hear her complaining about Carlos when she talks on the phone haha), but her Spanish seriously sounds like nothing I have heard before. It was making me lose faith in my language skills, thinking I could only understand our professors because they were talking down to us. But then I listen to people on the streets, or in cafes, and they are completely understandable, so things are looking up. In addition, last Monday I went to the post office and successfully explained the envelopes and stamps I need to mail in my absentee ballot. Things like that up the confidence level. 

This weekend is completely empty, with no planned excursions, probably because this week at school we have "midterms" (read: one). The upcoming weekends are looking like: Cordoba, PARIS, Sierra de Aracena, Italy with the Arndt gals!, then the weekend before exams. Holy smokes. Then begins my 7 week winter break...yes, 7. The spring program commences January 26, again with orientation in Madrid for three days. A few friends from BC will be in Madrid by then, so hopefully I will be able to spend that time catching up! Classes begin February 9. 

I have begun the whole apartment search. The options are endless. I would like to live closer to the city center/univerisity/API office. There are listings from other international students and Spanish students, alike. The prices are surprisingly inexpensive, mostly around 250 Euros for your own room. I like living with Carmen, but I have to share a room, and she puts strange meats (and pounds of salt) in our soups. I also feel slightly prisoner-like in my room. She tells Joanna and I we are welcome to use the sitting room, but all she does is watch the television. When Carlos eats with us, we watch the Simpsons. When he's not, we watch the weather. People here are obsessed and dramatic when it comes to the weather. They always think it's going to rain, Carmen always asks if I have an umbrella when I leave (did she not see my amazing light-packing skills? of course my umbrella didn't make it in). 

Anyway, happy Halloween! Sixteen minutes until lunch, so about 45 minutes until I am lying on my bed unable to move.