Turkey to Spain

Halo from Spain.

There are lots of young kids in the background as I write this. Yes, I am in school now. Apparently in the afternoon, after siesta time from 2pm to 5pm, Spanish kids come here to learn English. These must be some of the students of a women I talked with on Tuesday during a cooking class. She is who is taking a TEFL class here (that's Teaching English as a Second Language). It sounds much like the class I took in August at Hamline University. The one exception is that the student teachers teach three different levels of students during their program whereas I only had an advanced level. Now that I am learning a new language, I can appreciate even more having to learn how to teach different levels of learners.

I have to retrace my thoughts since my last blog didn't go through so excuse the holes and repeats in the few minutes before going to a another class. (Also getting used to different computers here and in Turkey has been an experience in itself.) I'm fnally settling in to living an going to school in Sevilla, which is feeling comfortable now. After sailing for two weeks, then doing a land tour for another 5 days, I flew from Ankarra, Turkey to Barcelona for a few days, then on to Sevilla.

Getting a hotel room in Barcelona on the fly was a challenge. I did find one that was very centrally located, though it lacked a window (except for in the bathroom. I didn't ask for another room because of what I'd heard about the street noise). The treat I experienced in Barcelona was to see the works of architect Antoni Gaudi. The man didn't believe in straight lines in most of the things he created. He believed in flow, and letting nature and light influence his work. Windows were in every room (so it's good he lived in Spain given that all older buildings have courtyards it seems). The residences and parks he designed might in part have been influence by Picasso, but his work became his own--fun yet extremely practical. These residences didn't seem to connect with the cathedral that is still under construction. Gaudi died maybe 30 years ago, and the cathedral still has about 50 years until it's completed. The construction is being paid for by the tourists, which were there in mass. Gaudi designed the cathedral sans computers by using weights on strings to create the right proportions for the archways throughout the cathedral. The facade finished is gothic, which doesn't go with the designs being implemented by those who are continuing his work, despite the fact that some worked along side Gaudi. The newer facades are actually more my preference and in line with his other work.

Traveling from Barcelona to Sevilla was by bus, one that stopped about 40 times. It took a mere 16 hours though it went fairly quickly. The rows and rows of olive trees were pretty spectacular. I read and sleep, trying to slow down from the fast pace of traveling. I arrived at my flat, was immediately at home in the new surroundings, and surprised, though I'm not sure why, when I learned that one of the flat mates is from Apple Valley, yes 10 minutes from me in Eagan. It is a small world afterall. I think I made her feel a little homesick. Another student is from Texas, and the third, who goes to school with me at CLIC, is from France. You might not be surprised when I talk about my house mother when you think about her walking us to school our first morning.

Sevilla, Seville in English, is a city that's easy to get lost in, so I'm glad I have a good sense of direction. (Despite my good sense of direction, I walking the wrong way when looking for the school the night before class started. The maps here aren't the best.) The streets are terribly windy, and that's said after having traveled in other cities which claim to have windy streets. Most of these are one way so driving is a problem. Luckily I walk most of the time. Walking has been my only form of exercise. Boy am I going to be sorry when I return to the U.S. but there's not a good place to run from the flat I'm living in., and the gym that's close by doesn't open until 8am.

Our flat is on the third floor of an old building that luckily has a remodeled bath and kitchen. The house mother as I call her is a Spaniard that was married to an American who worked for NASA. She's traveled quite a bit, some of which is back to the U.S. to visit her children. She's a great house mother. I feel a bit lucky because the flat is only about 5 minutes from school. It's relatively clean, spacious, and has few rules. Other students can only take 7 minute showers (though mine are probably not that long given the moderate water pressure is not like taking one in the U.S), can't use the kitchen or go into the frig, and their places are not very clean. Much of what we see in Spanish homes is a lot of clutter. We do have a cleaning woman who comes twice a week. She does the laundry and cleans in a haphazard way, for which we're grateful.

More about Sevilla---it's old, with lots of shoe stores, so it's hard not to know the word zapatas. We live in El Centro which means there are many, many shops where we live, and lots of restaurants and bars. Luckily I have a room that faces into the patio area so I have windows but no street noise, just noise from the neighbors. We have students just below us so I've been hearing someone practicing Christmas tunes. The third biggest cathedral in the world is just down the street (a windy street of course) from us. I've taken the walking tour offered by the school, and several other tours--to the city hall, a costume museum and the former home of a contesa who saved many mosaic floors from destruction, moving them to her home, which she remodeled to accomodate them.

The school offers tours in the afternoon, after classes. I attend class from 9:15am to 1pm. I try to check email after that, then go home to eat around 3pm and pick up optional classes or tours around 6pm. Studying happens in between all of that. The day certainly is chopped up so I don't feel like I accomplish much. I haven't taken advantage of the night life yet--probably because I don't want to be kept out until 2am, which is common around here. I hear there are two breakfasts here--one upon waking up, a larger one around 10:30am, lunch (the big meal of the day) around 3pm, then dinner around 9 or 10pm. That's when people really wake up, so the streets are noisy from what others tell me until maybe 4am. Now you know why people don't exercise early in the morning.

I am taking advantage of the weekends while here. Last weekend four women from school went to Portugal. Lisboa, or Lisbon if you prefer. We couldn't pick up the car until after siesta time, so didn't get out of Sevilla until around 6pm. One has to get used to shops closing. We overnighted in the "port' just south of Lisboa, Setubal and had a nice morning up at a fort watching the marine community come to life. We headed up to Lisboa, meandered around a bit, with the highlight of the day being food. Cream tarts are the specialty of the area, and it's understandable. We brought more home after having several there. We didn't see as much as we would have liked because we spent sevral hours at the police station. No, we didn't get arrested. We had to get a report for break in of our rental car. The radio was the prime target, so though we lost a few things, my tote bag (the contents having been dumped in and around the car), we were lucky. We did make it to a fado, which was originated in Lisboa. It's Portugese singing and music. Very nice, yet not a weekly pasttime for me.

Our teachers do keep us busy at this school. I've learned a lot of vocaulary and am working on verb conjuation. Now if I could just put a sentence together myself I'd feel a lot better. I'm getting there, yet anyone who knows anything about Spanish would just cringe at my pronunciation. I keep thinking of Judy Taylor and her interest in persuing her Spanish. So much to learn. I have an exam on Monday, so will try to study this weekend, on the way to Granada, a town about 2 hours east of Sevilla. Three other students from my class of six are going, so maybe there's a chance that we will study.

Now that I've reminded myself that I am a student again, I will say goodbye for now and get back to the books--that is after I visit a few shops on the way home to get some fall clothes as it's getting a bit cool here finally.

Adios!