Getting Oriented

Monday morning after a weekend of visiting Granada, I got on the train and departed for the capital of Andalucía, which is the city of Sevilla.

A tapas bars we went to as a group

As soon as I got to the hotel, I met my new roommates, Britnee & Kelsee!  We had an extremely busy week consisting of meet & greet cocktails in the evenings with everyone in the program, informative lectures about how to find housing, getting a cellphone, the Spanish educational system, how to teach private lessons, tips to survive in Andalucía and many others.  Many of these sessions were very helpful and others, not so much.  Overall I was very pleased with them because I enjoyed all of the guest speakers that came in.  My favorite guest speaker was Luis, who came in to do our Spanish review (an hour on subjunctive, obviously) and spanish survival phrases/vocabulary for teachers.  If I were to take more Spanish classes, I would LOVE to have him as a professor.

Alcázar

In the afternoons, they set up optional activities for us.  I took advantage of all of them because, hey, I already paid for them, so why not?  Tuesday afternoon they took us to the Alcázar, which is a royal palace or fortress, where the king of Spain still stays when he travels to Sevilla.  I visited the Alcázar when I was here studying abroad, but it was cool to see it again.  Plus, seeing it with a different tour guide, I learned even more about it!

Wednesday afternoon we had an optional city tour.  Honestly, they did not cover much.  They showed us the main plaza and pointed out where we could botellón, get cheap drinks and buy wedding dresses.  Then they walked us to the two CIEE offices in Sevilla and then to the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), which was our meeting spot for dinner.  That evening, though, we went to a flamenco show.  We were in an intimate venue because the show was just for our program.  The performers included one many playing the guitar, one woman singing and one woman dancing.  I am glad that I got to see flamenco in Sevilla, it seems like it would be a sin to not go!

We had all of Thursday afternoon to explore the city for ourselves.  I joined some friends while they figured out their cell phone situations and then we went to Plaza de España.  Plaza de España was the only thing that I did not see that I really WANTED to see last time I was in Sevilla.  Somehow, Kayla, Jess and I missed it completely (surprise, surprise.  How many cities did the three of us get lost in??).  This time I was determined and it paid off.  Plaza de España is absolutely gorgeous.  There is a large water fountain in the center and a small section around the edge dedicated to each province in Spain.  If you ever go to Sevilla, don't miss Plaza de España.

Plaza de España

The week of orientation was really busy and tiring, but worth it.  I learned a lot of useful information and I feel a lot more confident about what I am doing now.  I met a lot of new friends who I can't wait to visit in their cities, have them visit me in Baza and travel with them around Spain and Europe!