Productive day

January 15
Today we woke up for orientation at 10:30 and decided not to try to look so European as the day before and just wore a sweatshirt with jeans. Our feet were sore with blisters from walking so much yesterday so we opted for total comfort and wore uggs and tennis shoes. We walked to school just the 4 of us and we made it there with no real hitches! This was a major accomplishment because there really aren’t any street signs, sometimes they’re on the sides of buildings if anything, so we had to go simply by memory/landmarks.
We had another director, Stuart, speak to us today about how we are feeling and getting adjusted along with how important school is. This semi stressed me out because I’m nervous about classes etc. His talk only took a short while and my friend Nick and his 3 roommates were about a half an hour late and missed most of it. When they walked in everyone started laughing because during attendance when Stuart got to those boys names he said “hmm must have had a good night” and they certainly looked a little rough! Apparently after the Flamenco show that we missed, a lot of people went out. We obviously missed it but promised to put our game faces on for tonight!
They always tell us to “get out there and experience the city!” So after orientation was over we took our time walking around. We went down to the cathedral that we saw yesterday to sort of get a good idea of where school is located etc. We found this really busy street I think its called Constitution or something but there are these railway, tram like tracks in the street and we were standing in the middle of the street looking around when Laura goes what are these tracks for? As we’re all studying the ground Tricia yells “That!!” The tram was coming towards us! Haha We laughed for awhile about that and probably looked so American in the process. Oh well! We brought our backpacks with our laptops in hopes that we would find an Internet Café but then we realized it was like 4 in the morning at home so there was no point. Thus, we hauled heavy bags around all day.. So fun!
Tricia wanted some boots so we went in about a million stores looking for a pair she likes. Aunt Jan you were SOO right about the boots in Europe! They are soo cute! I had to refrain from shoe shopping for myself, and that was not an easy task! She ended up finding a pair on the route home and they are super cute. We also went into a hair store “Kosmeticas” or something to look for a blow dryer since ours won’t work with the voltage here. We found one but decided to keep looking for hopefully a cheaper one.
Further down our pathway home we found a store that our senora, Vikki, had mentioned when Tricia asked her where we could get more hangers for our armoire. We went in and found a “Deals, or Dollar General” type store full of everything from boots (of course) to kitchen appliances! So funny! So we all got more hangers and some cheap notebooks for classes that start on Monday.
Tricia and Laura during the main act of the day; walking!

From there we decided to try some phone stores and went into a store called “Orange” first. I should take a quick moment to explain how many orange trees there are here. They line the streets and are beautiful! So the store name was fitting. In the store we struggled to communicate a bit and got some prices but decided, again, to compare elsewhere. We’re really trying to be savvy shoppers. So we went down to “VodaFone” which is another phone store and the line was ridiculous and we were so tired and hungry at this point that we all voted to go home and come back.
Our senora was gong to start making lunch so we asked if there was a close internet café and turns out there is one right by our apartment! So we ventured down to find it and had to ask for help twice. Everyone is so nice and helpful here. Once we found the café, which was more like a bar, we all quickly became in better moods. It was just so good to feel connected to the real world and I even got to talk to my dad! It was soooo good to be able to see and hear you dad! (along with Ted of course haha) We set up a chat date for Sunday and hopefully I can see everyone then!
At home we had a lunch of potato like soup with chunks of some sort of meat. I’m not sure if I mentioned this but our kitchen, which is quite narrow and more like a hallway, is not only home to a fridge cabinets etc but also, a lamb leg, Yes, you heard correctly, at first we were confused as to what it was but after seeing multiple window displays with the same dried out legs, we are now certain that it is a lamb leg, although it is somewhat covered up. Therefore we have all been terrified that what we’re eating is that. So with no other option, we at the potatoes and didn’t really touch the meat. She also made some “queso” dip I was so excited to try but retracted my excitement moments after consuming it. It was like blue cheese, feta etc all mixed together which was really strong and bitter. After that I was not so picky about what potatoes I did and didn’t eat. Again, we’re tying to keep an open mind here but sometimes things are just, well, gross! We were told at school to be honest this first week with what we do and don’t like so she won’t keep making it but we just feel bad. We’ll get bolder soon I’m sure.
After lunch we really wanted to sleep but decided we needed to get a phone first. So we went back to VodaFone only to see that they were closed for siesta until 4:30. We had about 15 minutes to kill and so we wandered around looking for another beauty shop to try to find a hair dryer at. No luck, so we waited for the store to open and when it did we explained to the girl what we wanted and she asked for our passports. Well, we didn’t have them so we had to walk all the way home and all the way back again! Man were we getting our exercise! When we returned we only hit more bumps because Tricia was having a hard time understanding the girl. After about an hour we all left with matching blue flip phones for 19 euros each! It works like a go-phone so we have to put minutes on it. It has been both weird and freeing not having a phone till this point and I hope I don’t use it that much but it will be nice to have!

Katrina and I with our super cool, extremely high-tech metallic blue flip phones :)

Feeling super productive we went back to the first beauty store, “Kosmeticas” to just get a blow dryer there. Our rooms are soo freezing we can’t stand going to bed with wet hair, it is just miserable. Plus tonight we have a program party at this bar and we needed to look more presentable than we have. So we each pitched in and got an orange blow dryer. Woohoo!
We were feeling quite accomplished and had very high spirits returning home and hurrying to get ready for the night! However, showering did not keep with the happy tone because when it was my turn, I went 3rd, the water was cold! Being cold and then taking a cold shower only to get out and be cold more is miserable. Luckily our blow dryer came in handy and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of drying ☺
I can’t believe how great we are doing here. Adjusting is hard but we’re surviving! I was so impressed with how much we were able to accomplish today. Granted I did not do much to help, Tricia and Katrina are my saviors! I like to think that I am somewhat of an asset because I have a good sense of direction, so I hope they’re happy to have me. I’m just so happy to be here. All day I had to keep pinching myself to realize I was really here. I never thought I would actually get to study abroad anywhere, especially such a rich cultural, historical, friendly and beautiful place like Seville! It just always seemed like it would fall through or just too much of a dream. I am so thankful that my parents made this happen for me. Thank you so much mom and dad I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! I don’t want to go into to much on this because I’m afraid this will send me into a homesick spiral, but I miss my family a lot. I just wish they could experience this all with me. My heart goes out to St. Louis tonight ☺ I love you all!

This is my apartment building. We live in the one on the right, on the 6th floor but our balcony faces the other direction.

The night in retrospect:
So we walked all the way to the “Texas Lone Star Saloon” for our orientation group party where our professors were too. First of all, I was in Spain and I was in a Texan bar, what? Katrina could not have been happier though haha We got stamps on our hand and drank free till 10:30! I had sangria and it was really good! Since we hadn’t had dinner we ate some chips and salsa but started the night promising each other we would get Domino’s on the way home because it is right by our apartment. We got to meet a lot of the people in our group and it was so much fun! We talked a lot with a girl named Danielle who was here all last semester and is doing a full year in Seville. She was so nice and helpful. Her first tip to the girls was to stuff some napkins in your purse because none of the bars will have any toilet paper. Haha! We thought this was hilarious but it ended up being some of the best advice yet!
From the Texas bar we all went to “Flattery’s” or something. It was kinda weird at first but we started to enjoy ourselves eventually. I ended up talking to some Irish guy with one of the girls in my group and he started talking to us in his Irish accent about how he and all his friends are on a rowing team and are just in from Dublin. I thought this sounded like a great story to attempt to pick up American girls so I tried to call him out on it but he showed me all of his info and seemed legit. We all decided to leave and go to some “disco tech.” I was quite skeptical but in my effort to be adventurous hopped on the train of people from my group that were going. Danielle, the girl who has been here for months, has a Spanish boyfriend who got all of us in for free which was great! The Irish rowing team guys came with us and Katrina was enjoying one of them named David. They ended up falling and love and having a great time on the dance floor! Laura, Tricia and I were literally just watching and peeing our pants. The entire scene with everyone dancing was hilarious. There were white couches and drapes it looked like it was attempting to be some P. Diddy party and I could not stop laughing! Paige you would have been dying at all the foreign people busting out some ethnic dance moves. I wanted to take so many pictures for you but didn’t want to be that creepy, sorry!! The Katrina scenario only contributed to this odd vibe but we finally had to tell her we wanted to leave. She, along with her Irish lover, were not pleased to be interrupted haha
We got a taxi home and were so excited for Domino’s but… It was closed. Major buzz kill. So we had to resort to eating Cheez’its which were not as enjoyable but sufficed! Mom, great idea on the food I have never been more happy that you packed a suitcase for me!

Random pic from the night. (If you look closely you can see Katrina's beautiful blonde head of hair talking to her Irish lover)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARE!! WE MADE A TOAST TO YOU TODAY BIRTHDAY GIRL! – ps we feel like you’ve been 21 for years… hahaha