La Calle Bailen!

I'm posting two different blog posts today because I haven't had time to sit down and write in a long time! I haven't fully gotten to enjoy the experience of a Siesta until today! Yesterday morning we left the hotel where we were having our orientation and went to our homestays or residences. I'm living in the Resedencia Santa Ana (http://www.sta-ana.com/) with another CIEE student named David who goes to Indiana University. He's from Indiana and he doesn't know the Rothenberg family... Leela, que lastimita! There's about 15 of us from the CIEE liberal arts program who are living in the resedencia and there are a couple of others from the CIEE business and advanced liberal arts programs.

The inside of The Resedencia

Here's a picture of the main building where the dining center is and all of the administrative offices. About half of us live here, and the other half live in other apartments a couple of blocks away. I live on la calle bailen which is in the center of Seville and is about a 15 minute walk from the CIEE study center and a 20 minute walk from the University of Seville. The people who live in homestays are a bit further away and across the river so I'm in a great location. My apartment is on the 3rd floor up a windy, marble, tiny, staircase and we have a mini kitchen, bathroom and three rooms. I share a room with David and the other two rooms are going to be Spaniards who go to the University of Seville! So I'm able to practice my spanish and learn about Seville from a local point of view.

The view from my terrace!

Museo Bellas Artes de Sevilla

My neighborhood is so cool. (The spanish say que guay!) I live one block from this big square called plaza de museo, well because there's a frickin museum right there. I walked inside today and its so beautiful. It'll be a good place to study and just relax and to do something calming for a little while. The museum is called "Museo Bellas Artes de Sevilla" and it has these amazing courtyards and fountains and people just sitting and taking it all in. I only got a chance to walk through, didn't look at the art, but I told them "voy a regresar" and that I'll be back!

A courtyard in the museum

Last night we went out with our groups to have tapas outside in a plaza...I forget the name...but it was a beautiful night and fun company. Afterwards we went to la plaza nueva and experience Botelllon. Okay, so... in spanish botella is bottle so I'm guessing that Botellon is some derivative of Botellas. Basically botellon is huge amounts of people hanging out outside drinking bottles of wine, beers, etc. on the steps of the plazas, right outside the bars and mingling. Its actually really cool and fun to talk to the Spaniards. I discovered that when I have a little cerveza I'm actually better at spanish :). No, seriously, I'm able to speak spanish so much better because its makes me less nervous and I lose a lot of my inhibitions. But last night we met a lot of Spaniards who when I say where I'm from they don't understand. I explain that it's near New York, on the East Coast....etc etc.... and THEN they say OHHH COH-NECK-TEA-CUT! Ay ay ay!


Oh! I forgot to mention that we went to "un espectaculo de flamenco!" the other night. It was both strange and very cool at the same time. It incorporates so many different kids of dance and it involves singing, dancing and guitar...at lease the one we saw. But Seville is the flamenco capital of the world and next month there is going to be a worldwide flamenco festival here in Seville! It happens every two years around the world and this year it is going to be in Seville. Que bueno, no?