In Sevilla!

I am all settled in with my host family in Seville! My and my friend Alexis are staying with a family that has a husband, wife and two twin boys who are 4 years old. They live in a modern apartment about 15 minutes away from my school. The only negative about the apartment is there is no air conditioning and it is already really really hot. The boys names are Alejandro and Ignacio and they are very cute and full of energy. They call me and Alexis "las americanas" because they can't remember which of us is Lexie or Alexis. I think I will learn the most spanish from Alejandro and Ignacio because they don't speak any english and talk really fast and yell at me if I start speaking english with Alexis!

Ignacio playing his guitar... he LOVES to have his picture taken

The culture is very unique because the "siesta" is a huge part of the day. From 2 to 5:30 basically everything shuts down in the city and everyone returns to their homes for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day usually eaten around 3 and then they eat dinner around 9 or 10 and it is very light... usually salad or sandwiches. On the weekend it is very common to go out for tapas in place of dinner which are really small dishes that you share with other people. One misconception that I had was that during siesta people actually napped, but talking with the family I found out that it is more of just a rest time and very few people actually nap. I was also surprised that our famiy's dining room table is in front of their TV and they watch TV when they eat every meal. Also, I am very suprised that none of the spanish people wear shorts and I am so hot in shorts and a tank top!


Today I had the chance to explore a lot of the city. There are orange trees everywhere and I tasted an orange last night and it was delicious, so I definitely think I will be eating those a lot. Seville is a very beautiful city and it kind of reminds me of Florence because it is on the smaller side and has many tiny streets filled with places to eat and small markets and shops. All of the buildings are very colorful and many have cermaics on the sides of them that are very "spanish looking". The two most beautiful places I have seen so far are the Plaza  de Espana and the Catedral de Sevilla. The Catedral reminded me a lot of the Vatican... but a smaller version obviously and there were no guards or security. We actually saw a wedding going on in the Catedral and got to see all of the guests walking in and it was really cool to see all of the styles. Many women were wearing big hats that reminded me of the royal wedding! Although there are lots of winding, small streets that pretty much all look alike it is pretty easy to find your way around because they all lead to a major street.

 A ceramic banister in front of the Plaza de Espana.

Lexie (Me), Alexis and Lexi (very confusing when the 3 of us are together) in front of a part of the Plaza de Espana.

La Plaza de Espana

La Catedral de Sevilla

The food is very good and my family eats pretty healthy and fresh which I like. For breakfast it is usually wheat toast, cereal or yogurt, orange juice and coffee. Which is really similar to what I eat in America. They use a lot of potatoes in tomatos in their cooking and use a lot of oil and vinegar for dressings. Meat is definitely very popular... it is hanging in many stores that we walk by which is kind of gross but my family doesn't seem to eat much meat... or at least not yet.


Tomorrow night me and a few other students are going to a bull fight! I am a little nervous but it was definitely something that I wanted to see. I start classes on Monday... we are about a 15 minute walk from the school which is good because some other students are more than 30 minutes away!