Okay. Today was the first day we could get up as late as we wanted, so naturally, I got up at 7:00. It's hot at night! Our host mom refuses to let us turn on the fans at night, and there is no A/C, so it's like 95 F all night long. Yes, the windows are open, but Sevilla is not a windy place. The air is completely still. So, unfortunately, no breezes.
Last night, for example, I got up three times to turn the fan on for a minute and then turned it back off. This morning, I was sweating, so it was uncomfy to sleep in. So I got up and got dressed, refilled my water bottle, and did some lazy K work. Like writing.
Anywho, our host mom has a job. So she left at 6:30, but she left us out a breakfast (same as yesterday). We ate it at the typical Spanish time (10:30) and then we made our way to the meeting place.
My map is right there, so I'll take a picture real quick to put here... Hang on...
Now, we knew how to get to the Puerte de Remedios. We didn't know where the other bridges led to, so we took Remedios this morning, which was out of our way by about... half an hour. Ugh. We were going to the Plaza Nueva, which is in the center-north. (not even on that part of the map, I don't think). So we got lost again. But we are learning! After all, the best way to get to know a city is to get lost a lot. (wink wink dad)
So we got there last, but only by one or two minutes. We have gotten into the habit of leaving an hour early because we just get lost a lot. The other two groups do not have this problem! They live practically on the bridge.
Have I mentioned the bikers in this city? They'll kill you! Cars stop for traffic lights. Cyclists will not. They will flatten you if you stray in the minty green bike lanes. The bike lanes are painted minty green, by the way. The city has some pretty things, like the main avenue has bitter orange trees lining it. Every spring they pick the oranges, jar it, and send it to England as bitter-sweet jam. Neat, huh?
We tried to get our bike passes for the public cycles, but the thing is really confusing. In English! We have all morning tomorrow, so I'll go to the station around the corner to see if I can figure it out.
We also found a coffee-shop right down the street that has smoothies and teas. And Spanish breads! Yum yum! I'll spend the rest of my morning in the coffee-shop.
Back to the Plaza. We were going on a Tapas tour! If you know Spain, you know Tapas. If you don't, I'll explain what they are super quick.
A Tapas is like an appetizer. Some places give them to you complementary when you buy a drink other than water, but some just offer them individually. They're very small, smaller than American appetizers by far. Spanish primeros, which are actually appetizers, are large enough to make a decent meal. Tapas are not. They're snacks, really. Most of the time, they're seafood. Shrimp, clams or octopus (or a combo of the three), and usually contain some vegetable.
We went to a place where we sat down and our guide, Maria, ordered us all Tapas. I had avocado with a shrimp on top, and some sauce. Maria didn't tell us the sauce intentionally, but it was kinda tasty. And I found out that I'm not too fond of avocado. It has an odd aftertaste. The sauce was tasty, and I later found out it was mayonnaise and tomato. The Spanish do mayo differently, it's much better than American mayo. As in, someone can eat Spanish mayo without puking.
When we finished with that, we walked to the second of three Tapas spots. This one was a place where you had to stand, and was on a much busier road. She ordered some sandwich type thing and some pig something or another. I tried the pig, and thought it surprisingly tasty, but the texture was really, really weird. As in, it was super squishy. Like mashed potatoes squishy. Upon inquiry, I found out that it was pig cheeks. That was the last I had of that Tapa.
Now, understand this. In the tourist areas of Europe, pickpocketers are everywhere. If you touch someone you don't know, check your purse. If a stranger talks to you, check your purse. If your purse moves slightly, check your purse. If your purse is zipped, in front of you, and your hand is over the pocket, you're probably ok. But, if you set anything down, it will never be seen again.
Maria, our guide, made this mistake. After she told us two days ago never to set anything down.
Someone bumped into her, and three minutes later, she realized her phone was gone. And our Tapas tour ended.
To make a long story short, no she did not catch the guy and no, she didn't find her phone. We had some stuff to pick up at a Papeleíra (paper store, where you get school supplies and such) and class was in two hours, so we said our farewells and went on our way.
We got to the school in thirty minutes! Be so proud of us!
We met our other professor today, and she was very nice. We discussed introductory phrases and typical foods in Sevilla, and she was surprised that American dollars all are the same color. I still have some from home, and she was horrified at how hard it is to quickly tell the differences between the bills.
Then we came back across the bridge, and all went different directions to try and find a good way back to the house that doesn't take twenty minutes in and of itself. My way was not the best, but that's ok. We know that now.
We had a ham sandwich with peanut butter for dinner. Our host mother doesn't seem to be the best cook. Meanwhile, the other two groups get like three course dinners. Meh.
Halfway through writing this, the eight of us ISA Sevilla people met up at a café and played fooseball. Then we were going to show them our street, but ended up at the other end of Triana. Somehow. How on earth did we get so turned around?!
Well, with our Twilight Zone warp street, we found the fastest way to the home. It is so much better. So glad we got lost.
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