We returned to the city around six, and I decided to explore around my neighborhood for a bit. That evening, we went to a club called Aqua (Antik) which is hands down, the most select, hottest VIP place in Sevilla. It’s where J. Lo and David Beckham frequent when they visit, and in order to get in, you have to know somebody. It was really interesting because at first, we were told we had to have special invites….(right). I called my friend Petra, who was already inside because she had a friend of a friend who is this famous art dealer who owns an art gallery and bar in Sevilla (He’s an American from Ohio). She came out and had to convince the bouncer to let us in, who wouldn’t because he didn’t know “Michael.” So Michael himself had to come to our rescue, with a nod from the bouncer we were in! The place was an outdoor club filled with gorgeous Sevillians, bouncing to the house music. There was lots of water from fountains and pools, adhering to the club’s name. The coolest part was this huge tank of water above the bar, which an Asian model (who looked about 6 feet tall and 90 pounds) would swim in. It was tiny and she was wearing this flowy dress, so all she did was languish in the water and do somersaults every once in a while….not bad for a weekend job, eh?
23 Septiembre 2007, Sunday
So I slept until 2. And then we had lunch right away, which oddly enough, was zharkoye. (Meat and potatoes Russian style in Spain). Natasha and I met up for a power Italy ticket buying session which took up 2 hours of sweaty internet café time. But yay! We are going to Italy for five days! Oy vey, this now means we have to book hostels and plan it out…once again…oy vey. At least it’s just us two and not 5 or 6 people who all want to do different things and have gossip and whatnot. Afterwards we walked around and got helado. The helado ritual has become both the highlight of my day, and the saddest part. At first, you start thinking about helado. Then you think about what brand of helado you want; there are a bajillion here, along with little hole in the wall ice cream shops. There’s Frigo, La Lechera, Carte D’Or, Flanela, Raya, etc. Then you think about what flavor you want, I usually try to mix it up by alternating chocolate flavor, or vanilla. Then it’s what kind of chocolate or vanilla…and if you want a mix, go for stracciatella for sure. You might think it’s over but it’s not, because then, you have to decide if it’s vasito or cucurucho (cup or cone). Then you eat it, and of course that’s amazing, but when it’s over…that’s so sad. OK moving on…
In the evening, we met up for a glass of wine and planning our trips in Santa Cruz. I want to do enough planning so that we have an idea of where we want to go and what are the main sights to see, and leave the rest up to Lady Fate.
24 Septiembre 2007, Monday
This morning, for the first time in la Universidad de Sevilla’s 500 year history, they had a meeting to welcome the international students. Which, of course, started 30 minutes late. Today one of my seminars began….it’s something like culture in contemporary Spain, and has to do with everything we are experiencing: politics, food, travels, daily life and facets of life that are different for Sevillanos than Americans. It is taught by Macarena, one of the main people in charge of the program, who is this nice little woman who looks exactly like my sister-in-law’s mom. Sometimes I expect her to start speaking Russian, but she hasn’t yet. Today’s class focused on Mileuristas… literally people who earn 1000 euros a month, which is most of Spanish young people. As a result, they cannot afford to move out of the house because renting apartments is not a concept that is accepted here. Instead, they live with their parents until they get married. Kind of like my brother Juan. We had a guy come in to talk to us about it, and it was interesting, because on one hand it’s really nice that they have someone who cooks, cleans, and pays the rent for them, on the other hand, they have no sense of independence or freedom. It’s something that is quite common in Spain, but in the US, would be considered ludicrous.
In the evening, I bought myself shoes as Sevilla has literally destroyed my one pair of comfortable sandals that were supposed to last three months. There is a huge crack going down the soles so, instead of two shoes…I have four. We also went to see a movie called “Casate Conmigo” with Jason Biggs, it was an American film, but I’m not sure if it even came out in the States because it was that bad. Before, we decided to go check out the local TGI Friday’s for fun, to watch the Spaniards indulging in greasy hamburgers, listening to old American music. They even sang a song for someone’s birthday, but it was most definitely Spanish and all the people in the booth had to stand up on the cushions…hmmm….
25 Septiembre 2007, Tuesday
Oy. I HATE EL CORTE INGLES. Those coño pundejos would not let me return my camera. Which at this point, I’m very nervous about telling my parents. Oops, that’s them calling.
I went to that horrid place with high hopes because everyone had told me that I would not have a problem returning the darn thing. The woman at the counter took out the camera and began inspecting it closely, she told me that they could not take back something that had been used. I, however, asked her how I could try the camera without opening it. To which she had no reply but, “no.” After a prolonged discussion, I headed to “servicio de los clients” on the third floor where I waited for 45 minutes before someone could handle my case. The manager of the store basically told me the same thing, but boy, would I have liked to watch that scene. I was very disgruntled and upset when I left el cono ingles.
My Señora was quite surprised to hear my story, as she was one of the main people who emphasized that with El Corte, I would not have problems. For lunch, she made macaroni soup and boquerones, those fried fish. Mmmm….
We had our first Español para Negocios (Spanish for Business) class today with Maria Boloix, our French-Spanish teacher. (who loves America and speaks perfect English). It’s a cool class because we have to come up with our own business plan, and by the end of the class, present all of the logistics of the business to the class. I have a few ideas…
After class, I had café con leche in the customary location. And afterwards, I decided to try El Corte Ingles: Round Two. This time I went to the Corte in the city center with a new battle plan. Unfortunately, all I could do was exchange the battery…Final Score: El Corte Ingles: 2 Estela:0 (but 2 cameras!)
I was so tired for some reason, I think it’s because this morning I woke up, literally, with a bang. It sounded like a bomb, but really, it was the continuing construction (torture) of the houses being built next door. I don’t know how constructive dropping large masses of weight are to the building of a house, but what I do know is that I will never be able to sleep past 8:30 on a weekday…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Natalia and I decided to go to Malaga on Thursday-Friday, since we only have morning class on Thursday and no one in this city does anything on Friday. (world wide trend?)
23 Septiembre 2007, Sunday
So I slept until 2. And then we had lunch right away, which oddly enough, was zharkoye. (Meat and potatoes Russian style in Spain). Natasha and I met up for a power Italy ticket buying session which took up 2 hours of sweaty internet café time. But yay! We are going to Italy for five days! Oy vey, this now means we have to book hostels and plan it out…once again…oy vey. At least it’s just us two and not 5 or 6 people who all want to do different things and have gossip and whatnot. Afterwards we walked around and got helado. The helado ritual has become both the highlight of my day, and the saddest part. At first, you start thinking about helado. Then you think about what brand of helado you want; there are a bajillion here, along with little hole in the wall ice cream shops. There’s Frigo, La Lechera, Carte D’Or, Flanela, Raya, etc. Then you think about what flavor you want, I usually try to mix it up by alternating chocolate flavor, or vanilla. Then it’s what kind of chocolate or vanilla…and if you want a mix, go for stracciatella for sure. You might think it’s over but it’s not, because then, you have to decide if it’s vasito or cucurucho (cup or cone). Then you eat it, and of course that’s amazing, but when it’s over…that’s so sad. OK moving on…
In the evening, we met up for a glass of wine and planning our trips in Santa Cruz. I want to do enough planning so that we have an idea of where we want to go and what are the main sights to see, and leave the rest up to Lady Fate.
24 Septiembre 2007, Monday
This morning, for the first time in la Universidad de Sevilla’s 500 year history, they had a meeting to welcome the international students. Which, of course, started 30 minutes late. Today one of my seminars began….it’s something like culture in contemporary Spain, and has to do with everything we are experiencing: politics, food, travels, daily life and facets of life that are different for Sevillanos than Americans. It is taught by Macarena, one of the main people in charge of the program, who is this nice little woman who looks exactly like my sister-in-law’s mom. Sometimes I expect her to start speaking Russian, but she hasn’t yet. Today’s class focused on Mileuristas… literally people who earn 1000 euros a month, which is most of Spanish young people. As a result, they cannot afford to move out of the house because renting apartments is not a concept that is accepted here. Instead, they live with their parents until they get married. Kind of like my brother Juan. We had a guy come in to talk to us about it, and it was interesting, because on one hand it’s really nice that they have someone who cooks, cleans, and pays the rent for them, on the other hand, they have no sense of independence or freedom. It’s something that is quite common in Spain, but in the US, would be considered ludicrous.
In the evening, I bought myself shoes as Sevilla has literally destroyed my one pair of comfortable sandals that were supposed to last three months. There is a huge crack going down the soles so, instead of two shoes…I have four. We also went to see a movie called “Casate Conmigo” with Jason Biggs, it was an American film, but I’m not sure if it even came out in the States because it was that bad. Before, we decided to go check out the local TGI Friday’s for fun, to watch the Spaniards indulging in greasy hamburgers, listening to old American music. They even sang a song for someone’s birthday, but it was most definitely Spanish and all the people in the booth had to stand up on the cushions…hmmm….
25 Septiembre 2007, Tuesday
Oy. I HATE EL CORTE INGLES. Those coño pundejos would not let me return my camera. Which at this point, I’m very nervous about telling my parents. Oops, that’s them calling.
I went to that horrid place with high hopes because everyone had told me that I would not have a problem returning the darn thing. The woman at the counter took out the camera and began inspecting it closely, she told me that they could not take back something that had been used. I, however, asked her how I could try the camera without opening it. To which she had no reply but, “no.” After a prolonged discussion, I headed to “servicio de los clients” on the third floor where I waited for 45 minutes before someone could handle my case. The manager of the store basically told me the same thing, but boy, would I have liked to watch that scene. I was very disgruntled and upset when I left el cono ingles.
My Señora was quite surprised to hear my story, as she was one of the main people who emphasized that with El Corte, I would not have problems. For lunch, she made macaroni soup and boquerones, those fried fish. Mmmm….
We had our first Español para Negocios (Spanish for Business) class today with Maria Boloix, our French-Spanish teacher. (who loves America and speaks perfect English). It’s a cool class because we have to come up with our own business plan, and by the end of the class, present all of the logistics of the business to the class. I have a few ideas…
After class, I had café con leche in the customary location. And afterwards, I decided to try El Corte Ingles: Round Two. This time I went to the Corte in the city center with a new battle plan. Unfortunately, all I could do was exchange the battery…Final Score: El Corte Ingles: 2 Estela:0 (but 2 cameras!)
I was so tired for some reason, I think it’s because this morning I woke up, literally, with a bang. It sounded like a bomb, but really, it was the continuing construction (torture) of the houses being built next door. I don’t know how constructive dropping large masses of weight are to the building of a house, but what I do know is that I will never be able to sleep past 8:30 on a weekday…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Natalia and I decided to go to Malaga on Thursday-Friday, since we only have morning class on Thursday and no one in this city does anything on Friday. (world wide trend?)
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