It’s been a few more days into studying abroad in Sevilla, and me, myself, and my Spanish are finally getting settled in. Siesta is becoming more of a routine. It’s a time to do my homework after we eat lunch, search travel plans, and then, occasionally, take a nap. After siesta, I like to wander the streets, go to a cafe, or run by the river. I’m still finding new things to do to keep myself busy before dinner at 10pm every night.
School in Sevilla
My days start early in the 7 o’clock hour to get ready and eat breakfast, or desayuno, before I am off to school. Everyday breakfast in my house consists of galletas (cookie cracker things, not really sure…kind of like sweet crackers), a chocolate croissant, and Cocoa Cao, which is basically chocolate milk powder in hot milk (so the Spanish version of hot chocolate, maybe?). As my house doesn’t have air conditioning, drinking hot milk in the morning makes me extremely hot. I may start drinking it cold to create chocolate milk. That’s the unhealthiest meal of the day!
School here is much better than in the States. It’s like I’m in kindergarten all over again, but harder material, and all in Spanish. So you’re probably like obviously not kindergarten! BUT we go on field trips everyday except exam days. Other than our exciting, history-filled field trips, I am learning all about the history and culture of Spain. And it’s all in Spanish, and I think I actually understand it (or most of it).
Study Abroad Field Trips
Yesterday we went to the Antiquarium of Sevilla, which are Roman and Moorish ruins dating back to the 12th century. Sevillans stumbled upon these ruins by accident when building a car park. From then, they decided to make the ruins as part of the mushroom-shaped structure that allows people to go up to the top to see views of Sevilla. Not only do you pay three euros to get to the top, but the ticket also comes with a free bebida (maybe some cervesa o vino??) That’s on the agenda for tomorrow!
Today we walked through the Barrio Santa Cruz, which is an older Jewish neighborhood dating back many centuries. It became Jewish because the Jews were isolated from the Christians of the city. Although it has a bad history, this is the cutest little neighborhood. Eventually, it became my favorite in Sevilla.
We wandered by the Reales Atarazanas, or Royal Shipyards, which were used to house artillery for the Spanish Navy. Our professor pointed out the best place to get a churro in the city too, but sadly it was closed.
After our class field trips, our professor always tells us to go get a cafe to wake up for the rest of class! There’s at least one cafe on every street, so it’s not hard to find one by school or anywhere else we happen to be.
The next few days are packed with excursions to Cadiz, Cordoba, and then a trip with some new friends to Cadiz on our own.
If you’re thinking about studying abroad in Sevilla, I highly recommend staying in a home-stay. It’s the perfect way to indulge in the culture!