First Impressions
I’ve been in Seville for a few days now, but I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and update social media yet! Traveling and Orientation have taken up most of my time, but now it’s the weekend and I have a bit of a break!
My journey to Seville was definitely a long one (4927.94 miles in total, according to distancefromto.net!) Starting on Monday, January 13th, I flew from DFW International Airport to JFK in New York City, then New York City to Madrid-Barajas, then Madrid to Seville! Phew! I didn’t have any major delays or other problems while traveling, thank goodness! I had packed my suitcases (one larger bag that I checked, and one carry-on, plus a tote bag/purse as my “personal item”) carefully, so I was well under the weight limit (my checked bag ended up weighing about 35 pounds and my carry-on was about 30 pounds). The flights were long, and it was exhausting flying three times in a row,but it was still exciting to start this adventure!
After an overnight flight, I arrived in Spain on Tuesday. At the Madrid-Barajas airport (which is absolutely gorgeous!) I went through customs (Which, compared to U.S. Customs, is basically just a formality. They didn’t ask any questions and barely looked at my passport and visa!) Then I met some other students in my program before we boarded the flight to Seville. The small Iberia Airlines flight was almost completely filled with twenty-somethings, all studying abroad with CIEE or other organizations. When we arrived at the airport in Seville, we were met by CIEE employees who helped us get taxis to our homestays.
I’m staying with a woman named Lola. She’s really nice and I love my homestay so far. It’s a nice, pretty quiet neighborhood that’s not too far from places I need to go. Lola cooks really great food for me, and has been so welcoming, but she also has a work schedule that gives me time to myself, which I like.
After having time to eat some almuerzo (lunch), orientation began! I really liked the orientation schedule that CIEE organized. The 30 participants in the Advanced Liberal Arts program were divided into 4 groups led by Spaniards who work for the organization and are students in Seville. We did some activities in our small groups, some with all of the program participants, and even some with the several hundred other students in different CIEE programs (such as Language & Society, Communications/New Media/Journalism, etc.)
The first night we had tapas (like appetizers, but it’s a custom in Spain to order several plates of tapas to share with friends for dinner) at a place called Bar Sur. There was an introductory presentation and we got to mingle and meet other students in the program.
Wednesday, we went out to the Universidad Pablo de Olavide campus, which is one of the other universities we’re allowed to take classes at, in addition to the Universidad de Sevilla. We listened to informational presentations about housing, the Cultural Reimbursement Program, and academics. We also had oral interviews to finish determining our placement for the Intensive Language Courses that start next week. We had already taken an online exam, but the oral interview was just to make sure the results “matched” our actual Spanish-speaking/comprehension abilities. We took tours of UPO, and had lunch in their cafetería. That evening, we met up in our small groups and took a tour of our respective neighborhoods.
On Thursday morning, we took a practical tour of Seville to find the locations of stores, post offices, and other important places. Our group, led by our fantastic guide, Pablo, went to the Centro Comercial Nervión Plaza (the mall!) to figure out our cell phones! I have an iPhone, and I decided that rather than trying to get an international plan, unlocking my phone, and getting a new SIM card, I would just use the iPhone offline for apps and whenever I have Wifi. In addition, for safety and communicating with local friends, I bought a cheap phone from Movistar that’s prepaid. Once I use up my texts and calls, I can buy a card at local stores to add more. This was my first Spanish purchase and cost 30,50€ ($41.51 USD). After lunch at home, we went to the CIEE Study Center, which they call the “Palacio” for good reason! Here’s a link to a beautiful panorama of the inside: Link. We listened to presentations about diversity/cultural differences, safety and security, and activities we can sign up for this semester.
Thursday night, we had another tapas dinner where I tried some tinto de verano (literally, “red wine of summer”). This is a popular drink that’s similar to sangria, and is a mix of red wine, soda water, and sometimes fruit flavoring. We then went and saw a lovely flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria.
Yesterday, we visited the University of Seville! The main building we went to houses the facultades of History, Geography, and Philology, and is absolutely breathtaking. We took a tour, and received the results from our language placement test. The vast majority of students scored between 30 and 50%, so I think that tells you how difficult the test was, haha. I’ll be taking Curso Intensivo de Gramática Española Avanzada (Advanced Spanish Grammar). I’m really excited to get to review some grammatical concepts. After being here for a few days and trying to translate English thoughts into Spanish words, I’ve definitely found myself lacking in some areas, so it’ll be nice to go over certain topics again.
Last night my group went to the CIEE Study Center to visit booths set up by local companies and organizations. All of the CIEE students were invited, so it was crazy busy, but I still managed to walk away with a free T-shirt and lots of flyers and pamphlets about tour companies, local gyms, music classes, and more. My friends from my group and I met up and went to a nearby casual bar to hang out for a while, but all of us were tired from the long week and ended the night “early” (by Spain standards) at around 2:00AM.
I’m absolutely in love with my program so far. I’ve met some amazing people, Seville seems great, I’m incredibly excited for classes and excursions and museums and monuments, and I think this is going to be a fantastic semester. I really feel like my Spanish is going to improve and I’m going to learn so much, and these past few days have been a great start. ¡Hasta pronto!
kelseygoestospain 