El Mejor Noche...

Permit me on more photo which is really cool...me descending into a ancient grave...

16 Septiembre 2007, Domingo

Vale. Last night was the best night ever. It was for nights like the last one that this blog is named “Las Aventuras…”

Natalia and I met up and walked around the center a bit around 11 PM, which contrary to what you might be thinking, is extremely early for a Sevillano. Like, I’m- eating- dinner- and- not- even –beginning- to- think –about- what- I’m -going –to- wear- when -I –go- out early. It was empty but full at the same time, with the tall buildings and pedestrian walkways providing the perfect avenue for casual walking and talking. Everything in Seville is well lit and extremely safe. Even I, the psychotic overprotective girl who always has pepper spray in her hand, must admit that the environment here is just incredible in terms of safety…there is always a police car within sight, there are no weird people roaming the streets, most of the center is pedestrian, and everything, like already mentioned, is well lit. Of course, this is just the center to which I’m referring, there are definitely sketchy neighborhoods, just like any city, but obviously, you just don’t go there.

We sat down at a café around 11:40, randomly choosing one of the many lining the tiny streets. Our waiter did not even approach us until 12. We ordered a tapa and a drink, and proceeded to wait another 30 minutes until we were served. In typical European fashion, we watched the waiter, an elderly gentleman Sevillano, take several drags of his cigarette instead of serving us drinks. And then, he answered his ringing cell phone as we were ordering. Oh Sevilla….we had croquetas which oddly enough, came with French fries, something I have not eaten since the states, but surprised me as being real comfort food, and a seafood ensaladilla.

We then headed to Alfalfa…have I described Alfalfa? Ok if I haven’t, here goes…it’s a tiny narrow street with bars and restaurants where people go to stand outside and mingle. Our favorite bar there is this tiny hole in the wall place with these two amazingly efficient bartenders…young girls who cannot be any older than eighteen or nineteen, who are just amazing to watch. Tes, the one who really astounds me, can be doing 3 different things simultaneously…and the bar is tinnnnyyy…Paloma, the other girl, is quite pretty and somehow the two manage to harmoniously serve throngs of people without running into each other.

Pointing to the traditional outfits of people in parades during Semana Santa, it may look sketchily familiar because they were adopted by the KKK

Natalia and I met some of our friends there…but first we ran into Juan Carlos, Jaoine’s boyfriend, and co. We can barely understand Juan Carlos, and his friends, not even at all…we just kind of guess at what’s going on, and when worse comes to worse, just laugh. When they found out Natalia was from Latvia, one yelled…”Latvia! Ten points!” which for some reason, must be really funny or come from somewhere, but soon became the anthem for the night. As we were mingling with people, we met some people from the UK, one from London who told us all of the good places to visit when we go there, and some others from Dublin. They thought we were locals because they came up and asked for directions. (Speaking Spanish in cockney! So amusing!)

We met so many people! It was crazy, before in Alfalfa we nervously wondered who we could speak to in order to practice, but tonight, everyone was talking to us! I don’t know what it was, really, but it was spectacular. We met people from Sevilla and visitors from Cadiz. Our friends went to Catedral, the discoteca Natalia and I checked out the night before, so we went to just chill for a bit before exploring a different part of the town.

Haha, on the way to a different place, I had to sit down and rest my feet. We were just sitting enjoying the nighttime splendor of the cathedral when this Americano came up to us and started blundering in Spanish that he was wondering if he could talk to us, in order to improve his Spanish. It soon became painfully obvious that he thought we were locals, and was asking for tutelage from native speakers. As I mentioned before, there are a few strategic ways of appearing local (looking very posh, maintaining an air of confidence, and the use of “vale…vale..vale…”) . When we told him we were also American, the situation became very comical. This city is so full of Americans looking for the true Andalucian experience, sometimes it feels too small for such loud, obnoxious, college students.

After Catedral, we cabbed to Chile, a bar/discoteca Jaoine recommended and man…that was a cultural fiesta…NEVER…ever…EVER in my life, have I seen so many amazingly gorgeous, good-looking people in one place. EVERYONE there was impeccably dressed and naturally blessed with good looks. It was fun to just sit and stare. Unfortunately, it was somewhat loud and people were already mingling, and we didn’t know how to approach the close-knit groups of gorgeous model types speaking rapid Spanish. Observation was definitely fun, and we resolved to return to this locale a little earlier next time so as to meet people in the beginning.

Outside of nightclubs here, of which there seem to be hundreds, vendors sell hamburguesas and tortillas to hungry (sometimes drunken) nightclub-goers. The little stands are portable and look exactly like those carnival things in the States. As I eyed the hamburguesas in one stand, I knew I had to have it. It….was….amazing….that’s all I have to say, and I promise myself NO MORE HAMBURGUESAS while in Spain. (ok let’s be realistic…maybe one more).

Since we were already in one of the club districts, Natalia and I decided to check out one of the hottest, most selective clubs to see if we could get in. It’s called Casino and the queue was quite long as we approached. There, we met some guys from Granada who were celebrating a bachelor-esque night with one of their friends, who was about to get married. We told them we were students and after I told them I was a psychology major, one of the guys decided to test my psychology-ness. He told us that one of the four friends was a “foot doctor” (medico del pie)…and I had to guess which one. … they were astounded when I guessed correctly and with certainty. (oh logic…I picked the oldest looking one because I know the doctor process is quite a lengthy one…) Picture on the right: Jumping for joy at Avenida de Constitucion...

We met some girls also standing in line, who were especially nicely dressed after attending a wedding. Finally we nervously approached the entrance. They let us in without a problem…the cover was 25 euros (about 38 dollars!) but as usual, girls get in free. The atmosphere inside was very posh, it was lots of hot Sevillanos, tending to be a bit older in this place, but extremely well dressed. They mostly stood around with drinks in their manicured hands, bopping a bit to the beat, laughing at jokes, or just rapidly speaking Spanish. Older American songs were playing, (think “Don’t Phunk with my Heart”). It was a nice place, a little overcrowded but not hot because it was outdoors! We arrived too late to enjoy, and not being accustomed to being out so late, I was yawning all over the place. We decided to come back at a later time.

Sunday morning, which turned out to be 1 o’clock, which, by the way…is amazing to be able to sleep when you are used to Spanish construction workers with cranes yelling outside of your window every morning….I immediately had lunch with the fam, which turned out to be Juan and Senora because the girls, as usual, have gone to the beach. Mark that by “girls” I am talking about women well into their forties.

Have I talked about Senora’s daughters before? Marian is my favorite…I think she is youngest of the three girls. She is probably around 38-40, but is rubia (her hair is dyed blond) and has amazing layers (like most Spanish women). She is a teacher of English at a high school and is very cool. She acts really immature for sometimes, for example, one time she was looking to see what Senora made for lunch and made a face when she saw it… “Verdura! Me odio verdure! Mama!” (“Greens! I hate greens!”) She lives in her own little piso and is obsessed, like the rest of the family, with her little one-year old niece. Marian always talks to me and answers my questions and is just generally nice.

Maria Jose is older and more mature. She seems like the mom type but is not married. I’m not exactly sure because this was told to me at a time when I barely understand “hola, como estas?” in Andaluz, but I think she is the director of a school. She talks sooooooooo rapidly, even now, sometimes when she’s yelling at Juan, I can’t understand what she’s saying. We don’t really talk all that much but she seems very nice.

And then there’s Imma, who only visits once a month but I love her. Her little daughter Claudia is the apple of everyone’s eye. And man, this baby is sooo cute. She has these cute little cheeks and eyes like a doll. Whenever anyone talks about her, Senora starts laughing this jolly giggle that fills the whole house with happiness. Man this kid is gonna be sppoooiiillleeedddd………

Anyway, Monday I carried everything to an internet café almost an hour in transit from my home in order to actually use my laptop. There must be one nearby….come on Sevilla! Every American this side of the Gaudalquivir was at this café. Natalia came and we went to have a pastry in a café and just wander for a bit. We went to Santa Cruz, the really old barrio with all of the twisted streets that Sevilla is known for, to look for the Cabeza del Rey Don Pedro…

The story Maria Jose (our culture teacher) told us is that the king Don Pedro the Cruel, for whom the Alcazar was built, wanted to marry this one girl. The problem was…she was married. In true King David style, he killed her husband, who was a soldier, in a random street one morning. The whole town was shocked and could not believe a soldier had been attacked. The King proclaimed that whoever killed the soldier would have his head displayed in the street where the murder occurred. One day, a boy was found guilty for the crime. His mother came to court and told the king that her son was innocent, and she knew who the real killer was….the king himself! So in true kingly fashion, the king said yes, she was right, and then had a bust made of himself to fulfill the edict.

Natalia and I searched for this bust for about 2 hours, asking tens of Sevillanos where to find it, and we finally did! The problem was getting back…

17 Septiembre 2007, Lunes

Natalia and I bought tickets for London today! We almost went to Dublin because it was cheaper, but at the last moment, we opted for London. About five minutes after, Natalia realized she had a big problem…she is not a citizen of the U.S. nor of Latvia or anywhere for that matter, but is a non-citizen (whatever that means) of Latvia. And apparently, the snobby English do not let Latvian non-citizens into their privileged country. So now, she must appeal to the consulate and all of this other bureaucratic bullshit.

After lunch, I went out to explore Los Remedios and Triana, two other barrios in Sevilla. We just walked around and went into all the little shops and such, which was nice. Of course, I had helado, which unfortunately, has become somewhat of a daily ritual. Whoever said that you lose ten pounds while studying in Sevilla because of all the walking did not seem to take into account the fact that you eat helado while you walk. *sigh* oh well…as the legendary poet Sheryl Crow croons, “All I wanna do, is have some fun..”

In the evening, I was going to catch a movie with Petra, but the time she arrived at the cine, we realized we would get back too late to watch something. So we strolled around, and in true European style, had drinks and a montadito (a small sandwich, also considered a tapa). My favorite so far is “gamba con aioli” which is shrimp with aioli sauce, a kind of tasty mayonnaise.

18 Septiembre 2007, Martes

Today, we went out with Celeste, the director of our program, a true Sevillana. She is so amazing, and was telling us everything about everything. She came to a small town in Virginia as an international student when she was in college, and for her, it was fuuuuuuuullllllll immersion because there was no such thing as cell phones or internet. But apparently, she loved it because now, she spends about six months in the States, and six months in Sevilla. First, we went to El Corte Ingles to buy los dulces navidenos, a vocab word from class…polvorones, mantecados, y alfajores, in order to share them with the class. There were 5 of us girls who invited Celeste. After, she took us to a small tapas bar where we each had a drink and a tapa. (paid for by the program woohoo!) She told us a lot about the whole process of setting up the program, how our Senora’s get picked, and whatnot. After that place, we went to a really popular Sevillano hideout, this tapas bar where you sit on beautifully tiled steps on the inside.