Life in Sevilla

hey all, a great deal has happened since my last post almost a week ago. Spain has already become my home. It is hard to believe after a week i feel so at ease and comfortable here. On Wednesday of last week i woke up in Hotel Fernando III with the appetite of a Heath and a wee bit of the nerves. If you do not know what a Heath is just get acquainted with my older brother. Heath has a uncanny knack to plan lunch and dinner at breakfast, eating meals while constantly awaiting the next. I was on a mission to find some grub because the Spanish seem to never snack, eat smaller portions, and take more time away from eating. My stomach felt like a legion of monarchs had set up shop within its not so cavernous halls. The nerves opened the door to those butterflies as i was soon to meet the Echeverria clan, our sense of family in Spain.

I grabbed a croissant and walked into the lobby to be greeted by an army of fur coats and a small roar of Spanish conversation. Antonio, one of the orientation leaders and a really great guy, lead me over to Elena. I felt like a kindergartner hopping on the yellow wagon for his first day of school. We exchanged a few anxious salutations and sped off to my new home away from home, LOS REMEDIOS, a "zone" of the city a spear throw from the heart of the city. I walked in the door and was greeted by "chica", the families' Shepard dog, who has become really tight with me. Elena played tour guide and showed me around the home, showed me the ropes, and established herself as one of the most gracious, kind, and fun ladies i have ever met. She doesn't speak a lick of English and it is primo. Her house has become my class room. I love sitting with her in the salon conversing about life- food, her children and grandchildren, her views on Obama and American politics (she really likes Obama), and her awesome lifestyle (flamenco class 3 days a week, an avid chef, quite the reader, and proud member of a dog walking club). She should be in Webster's dictionary as the definition of patience.

J.D and I share a little room, about the size of a bunk bed. We try to work on the language together but it is super nice to have him here and ooze English from time to time. You have no idea how much i appreciate the English language now. We express who we are with letters, words, verbs tenses, participles, and a litany of other grammatical terms. God gave us language so we could share our hearts, passions, and express who HE made us to be with each other. It is a beautiful thing to be able to listen and speak without really thinking too much about it. I have realized the intricacies of speech, like a person hearing music for the first time, i am over joyed with the smallest of spoken things.

I have been hitting the "club" scene on a consistent basis becoming the Cal Ripken Jr. of night life here in Seville. These people have the stamina of marathon runners when it comes to night life. They crank it up around birth and never stop. I respect it. I have met some wonderful people in my program and love hitting the discotecas with them, meeting Spaniards, and rocking out to the beats of europe. Friendship is strange in that it came strike up so quick (Pygmeo, Tortuga, Albondiga and others- you know of what i type). I am thankful for that. Yesterday, we took a trip to Italica, a beautiful roman ruin nestled in the foothills of Sevilla. I stood in the middle of a gladiator arena and had to pick my jaw back up after viewing some of the most beautiful mosaics i had ever seen. At the discoteca and in las madrugadas (morning hours) I met Juande and Antonio, two hombres studying at La Universidad de Seville, we talked soccer (the world's official language), and i plan to meet up with them and work on my Spanish while they improve their English. And to put some sprinkles on that cup of ice cream we are going to play some soccer here soon in the barrio.

All in all, life is always good, people are patient and give of themselves if you let them, and you learn so much if you just let go and allow things to happen. I will update soon and also apologize for the boring read- i know there is a lack of color here but I wanted to let you eat the whole sandwich instead of just give you a pickle.

ciao,
Ryan

"weakness can sometime be the strongest of strengths"