La Vida Sevillana

We had an interesting conversation in class yesterday on the topic of immigration. For the level of ease I consider myself to be having with these classes, they are by far some of the more interesting I have had. We learned in both of the two classes how while Spain used to be an emmigration country where people moved mostly from the 'campo' to the city, from inside to outisde the country as well to find work, it is now wholly an immigration country. People come from all over, especially latin America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia which led to another conversation on discrimination. I was surprised to find out that even those from Latin America who speak the same language and have similar cultures were still discriminated against. While it is mostly against the women, who are many times forced to take jobs they are underqualified for, "inmigrante" carries with it a sort of stigma here. The topic of immigration is consistantly on the news stations and in the newspapers especially as hundreds of Africans land daily on the coasts of Spain in 'pateras' or 'cayucos.'

One of the big reasons why discrimination exists is because of the differences in adapting and integrating. While many come here in search of work or a better life and adapt well over time to their new homes, they are not looking to integrate with the Spanish, to learn the language and their customs, and so are never accepted into the society. This is especially true for the Asian population here. I only see them in groups, usually on tours of the Cathedral or Plaza de Espana and rarely at the local restuarants or cafes, but the population of Asians in Spain is larger than one might expect. They come here though not to live like a Spaniard but to open their stores and restaurants, send money home and eventually return home themselves.

Interestingly though, I found that some of the Spanish, or at least my teacher at my school have a certain affinity for the spanish spoken by Latin Americans. My teacher who is about 30 with two young kids says she remembers watching Little Mermaid in the 'Hispanoamericano' rather than 'Castellano' version and to this day loves how Latin Americans speak in a manner "tan dulce" and with many beautiful, clear words and phrases. She says its aweful to hear a Spanish person speak next to a Latin American and even has her own daughter watch The Little Mermaid in the same way. I can tell a difference myself of course, after always hearing the same kind of spanish growing up, but it doesn't sound so much worse to me. I do think that Colombian spanish is more beautiful but there are only a few things I particularly am having trouble getting used to. Most of all, the way they drop their "s" on almost everything that needs one! They say "Bueno_ Dia_" or "Hatha luego," sometimes insterting a "th" where an "s" is necessary.

The other noticeable differences are in some of their words for things. They use the word "bocadillo" for a sandwich you would eat, if you can't be in the house for lunch for example. At home I was always used to the word meaning a certain kind of fruity, almost gummy dessert. They also use the word "vale" for EVERYTHING. I have heard that single word more times here than I think any other. It's the equivalent of english speakers saying "okay" but I feel like they say it more, if not more unecessarily. I've even adopted the phrase I saw on the discover sevilla Web site "when in doubt, just say 'vale' ." Other than that they also use the word "marchar" a lot to mean leaving or going somewhere. Although I normally say "me voy," they usually say "me marcho."

A few other funny "simple rules" for living in Sevilla as posted on the Discover Sevilla Web site:

*Never ever walk around in sandals or without shoes, you'll catch a cold

*Olive Oil is a wonder drug that is supposidly non-fattening

*Air conditioning is potentially very dangerous and can make you very sick

*Hold onto your purse when someone asks you for directions

Vale?

-Angela

Since I have to study the information for my class, I thought I might as well share an interesting year in Spain's past called Spain's year. 1992 was a big year for Spain and for Sevilla more specifically. In that year not only did Madrid become the cultural center of the country but the Olimpics were held in Barcelona and the World Exposition in Seville. Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, the Expo was not only a celebration for the country but also brought together over 200 countries who represented themselves here during that time. My senora says it was a wonderful time with an overwhelming amount to see and do. The Expo meant huge developments in the infrastructure of the city. They re-routed part of the Guadalquivir river and built more bridges. The high speed train called the Ave that connects Madrid to Sevilla, and which I rode on my way into the country, was even built. The Expo lasted 6 months and brought millions to visit a country more culturally and technologically developed than had been the case during the Franco years.

Interestingly enough, I actually live on the small "island" of sevilla formed by the two strands of the River. Crossing the Puente de Los Remedios almost every day I can only imagine how vibrant the city must have been during those 6 months.

In more recent news, Andalucia is fast approaching its rainiest month of the year. Not only do we have to bundle up tightly but our umbrellas should be getting some good use soon too. While it hasnt snowed in Seville for some 53 years, it has been snowing in many other parts of the penninsula and even as close as a couple hundred miles away. At least we have Carnaval in Cadiz to look forward too. Although the beach shouldnt be much warmer than it is here, the festivities should brighten our soggy moods.

And lets not forget my trip to London soon! Booked just last week and leave on the 6th, I am thrilled to get to go see the touristy sights and old friends I worked with at a summer camp in 2005 in North Carolina. Among other things, I hope to see the Cadbury chocolate factory, Buckingham Palace and maybe even Stonehenge! The only let-down is going to the only European Union country that did not convert to the Euro (and who's exchange rate is even worse). But the experience shall be worth it : )

I neglected to write something about the Cathedral of Sevilla last Friday when we went so I will give a brief overview now...

We started the tour of Santa Maria de la Sede at the Patio de los Naranjos, bascially this huge patio of orange trees where everyone would "cleanse" themselves before entering the catheral for services of various sorts.

Once inside, the sight is awe-inspiring to say the least.  The cielings seem to reach to the sky and just before the walls reach the cieling are various stained class windows (The maxiumum height is 37 meters).  The main mosque was built from 1184-1198 and during the years of 1248-1401 the mosque became a Christian Cathedral.  Mass is still held here several times daily and I am still planning to go despite the bad reaction I got from a friend who went recently saying that the priest reminded him of what Franco would have been like and basically yelled at everyone to return Spain to how it used to be...

One of the main parts of the Cathedral is the Giralda Tower.  The tower was built in stages and the lower, older part remains of Gothic style while the top, built buy Christians was added in the mid 1500s.  We climbed the tower to the top, all 36(?) ramps.  And I say ramps because that is exactly what it was, because when they built it they used mules to carry building equipment to the top and needed ramps instead of stairs.  The view from the top is the highest in Sevilla (96 meters).  In one of my photos you can even see the oval ring of the plaza de toros in the distance.  The bells actually went off while we were up there and while extremely loud, lucky were not deafening

The Cathedral was also in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Cathedral with the largest area, 23,500 square meters.  The floors of the building hold many tombs of priests and prominent figures.  They are in the floor because they beleived that walking over the tombs would lessen the time it would take them to get to heaven.  The most interesting tomb is actually in the air, held by four statues meant to represent four parts of Spain.  While Christopher Columbus actually travelled more after he was dead than when he was alive, his remains are now permanently in the Cathedral.

The Cathedral is beautiful when lit up at night and I love having to walk by it on a regular basis!

Our excursion to Cordoba on Sunday was another interesting adventure. Despite having to be at the bus stop, 20 minutes from my house at 8:15 am, I was wide awake after a cafe con leche at the pitstop we made on the way. Mind you, the coffee here is not like coffee at home. Cafe con leche is pretty much espresso and steamed milk in most places and very strong...but delicious.

Upon arriving Cordoba, our guide Rafa took us into the cathedral where we strolled around amongst the columns and archways. The arches in the church have a distinct color pattern of a white/yellow color followed by a red repeated throughout. The interesting thing about this cathedral is that is was originally a mosque, and is actually still known as the mezquita. After the Islamic invasion of cordoba, the Muslims built the mosque in the year 785. It would later become the most important sanctuary of Western Islam. Taken over by Christians in the 13th century, walls were torn down, and additional parts were added in later years. Another interesting point on the tour was a glass case they had showing copies of all the signatures that could be found on the columns around the mosque. Engraving the columns with their signatures was a way for them to keep up with who had built what.

After the cathedral we saw and old Jewish Synagogue and then got to walk around on our own for a couple of hours. There were plenty of shops around and I bought a pair of coral colored earings. We ate oursandwiches we brought, or "bocadillos" as they call them here, and sat in the sun which felt amazing. We searched for a gespacho-like tapa called salmorajo, and a wine called Pedro Jimenez. Cordoba is known for the two and we thought we would give them a try while we were there. We didnt get to try the tapa but had a sample of the wine which was really sweet and tasted a bit like licorice- not my favorite.

We made it back to Seville earlier than we thought and made plans to go see a flamenco show that night. I got some friends together and met up to search for a place they call La carboneria. None of us knew how to get there, of course. After wandering around Santa Cruz with 4 Americans for a while I decided we had to start asking people in the street as it was already 11:30 and the show wouldn't last much longer. Apparently the dancing starts earlier. After asking about three people, we finally made it down the tiny, winding cobble-stone streets to the hole-in-the-wall that was La Carboneria. You'd be surprised how many people can fit in a hole-in- the-wall. We had to get to higher ground, aka some kind of deck, to even see anything. I didn't realize before that Flamenco was more than just a kind of dance but also the singing and music that goes along with it. We only caught the tail end of some dancing when a the dancer stood up mid-song and broke out her flamenco moves. The rest was played on guitar by one man and sung by another. Most of the people in the place were captivated, watching intently and shushing the others. It seemed to be about 60% spaniards and the rest were mostly American.

I had coffee with a friend today who graduated from UNC and is teaching english here before going on to law school in the fall. She lives right next to Los Remedios in Triana, where she says flamenco has its origins. I will probably go searching there next time for a place with even more locals.

Today I also got to try a kind of tapa called chocolate con churros- basically fried dough with thick chocolatey liquid for dipping, depending on where you go. This tapa is also stereotyped as the typical late-night, post-party snack and has even turned into an expression for going out all night. My senora told me a good place to go where it is really good and cheap too. It's nice having a real "insider" on some of the good places to go for things.

-A

( Click to see the rest of the photos)

If the facebook site for my photos didn't work, click on the link below to view my photos in Travel Webshots! I have more posted here than I posted on Facebook anyway. Below is a small slideshow, but for all the photos and descriptions you will have to click on the link.

Today went by super fast! Rather than attempy the crowded shops again, I ran with TJ who lives a couple buildings over and then finished my homework before going to the Reales Alcazar or the 'Royal Alcazars' of Seville. This is a palace, or rather a series of palaces contructed between the 12th and 16th centuries where previous kings have lived and where the current King of Spain and his family live when they visit Sevilla. It is open to the public during times when it is not being used as a home and has vast amounts of arabic architecture and decoration. When the flag of Sevilla is hung in front, a red flag, the Reales Alcazar is open to the public. When the flag is blue however, it means the King is visiting there.

The palace is one of the best remaining examples of mudejar architecture which means it was contructed by Christians but under the influence of Islamic/Arabic forms of architecture. The palace has rooms after rooms af archways and intricate designs on the walls and fountains- as the arabs valued water highly. As some of my pictures show, there are always new things being discovered in the palace. For example, a trap door in one of the walls that could lead the King to safety in case of an attack. There is also an unusual type of garden discovered only two years ago. A fountain that sat in the middle of a courtyard was being repaired when someone discovered that underneath it and the tiles of the floor around were three deep trenches all of which make up the size of a very large swimming pool. They say that the trenches held tall bushes and trees that came up to your feet if you walked the perimeter of the courtyard.

Also in side the Royal Palace is the location of the meetings before Christopher Columbus set sail in search of the new world. We sat in the same room as that in which the meetings were held and saw where Columbus himself sat under his coat of arms.

I love the fact that such old buildings are still in tact and available for viewing. That is the thing that has interested me most so far, how old everything is. Whehn something in the United States is a couple hundred years old, it is considered ancient - but may as well be a spring chicken here!

It's almost midnight and nearly time to go find a bar that will show the UNC basketball game at 1 a.m.

Love those heels : )

Angela

It has now been a week since I arrived in Spain and already it feels like home! I even went shopping by myself today browsing through the packed stores for the rebajas that are held now through February. It was a little hectic rumaging through the piles and piles, racks and racks of sweaters, coats, boots and dresses. I didn't manage to find something I couldn't live without so I walked home with nothing more than tired feet.

I've never walked so much in my life. If it weren't for the fact that I run on a regular basis, one could call me lazy I suppose. While there are buses and taxis, I wouldnt want to end up on the wrong side of town and, knowing me, I would somewhow get the buses confused. The 20 minute walk to class is becoming more enjoyable though. The Spanish don't rush to get places. They stroll. They enjoy their walks and siestas and chats with friends on the streets as if they were in no hurry to get some place. I think they are rubbing off on me, or at least I hope so.

Going to class has become one of the only times I get to see some of the students in the program. Unfortunately, while it is nice that the program is split into three groups according to the amount of Spanish taken in previous courses, it means that we don't get to see each other very much if at all. When I do see them, it is only in the computer lab we all share in the school. Not only are we placed in homes as far as 45 minutes (walking) apart, but we have classes at different times of the day as well. The 'mobiles' we bought are really our only source of communication in some cases but the per-minute charges can become overwhelming even in trying to plan out a night with friends.

So far class has gone well. I only have two classes total, one of which only meets three times a week. Definitely a change from the 5 classes I am used to taking at once at UNC, butI am glad not to have to worry to much about schoolwork these first few weeks of settling in. I learned something interesting in my culture class today- that the body of Saint Fernando is perfectly preserved in the Cathedral Giralda about 15 minutes walking distance from where I live! Known for conquering the territory of Andalucia in the 13th century, he was later named a saint and on his feast day, May 30th, the public is able to view his body. I don't know about the rest of the students but on May 30th I'm going to be the first one there to see this 800 year old guy!

There is so much more I could say so far about Sevilla and the new sights and experiences I have had in only a week but there is plenty more blogging to come. So far I've become a huge fan of tintos de verano- a simple wine based drink common here in Andalucia that is made with one part wine and one part Casera- a soda similar to sprite but not as sweet. I love my senora's cooking as well but am having to become accustomed to the fact that people here seldom snack! Toast for breakfast, a feast for lunch, and a light dinner is all. I went to the supermarket today for cereal and nuts to tide me over...I don't know how they do it here!

While I have given myself a little leeway these first few days to get settled, Im starting to crack down on my Spanish speaking! I'm already more comfortable with my attempts here as the city is accustomed to having foreigners come to study. I like to initiate conversation with my senora as well as speaking in the stores and bars and restaurants. It's the english spoken between my friends and roomate that I need to stop speaking so much...we shall see how that goes.

I will try to post more photos on here soon but a preliminary album is available at

Hasta luego!

Angela