Today is the third full day I’ve spent in Sevilla. I still cannot get over how entirely beautiful this city is. It’s all cobblestones and orange trees and multi-colored apartments and balconies and amazing architecture. It feels like everywhere I go I see something else historically amazing, and the natives all walk by like it’s nothing. I walk really slowly everywhere, looking at absolutely everything. It’s probably one of the (many) reasons everyone knows immediately that I’m un americano.
I haven’t done anything school-wise yet, but I have had a lot of orientation things to go to. Mostly touring the city and learning how to use the public transportation. I can’t seem to go anywhere without getting insanely lost, which is a problem that hopefully I’ll find a way around soon. I can’t help but be completely and totally confused by most of the roads. Nothing is parallel to anything in this city. It’s a bunch of strangely winding alleyways that never seem to follow any understandable pattern. And the street names are strange. There’s a Calle Kansas City, the origin of which no one can explain to me.
Some issues I’m experiencing: I can’t adjust to the time difference! For the past three nights I’ve woken up at 3 am and been unable to get back to sleep. I’m hoping that this will change soon. I’ve also found that I am not nearly as proficient in spanish as I thought I was. I can understand most of what is being said, but I don’t always know how to respond, which gets awkward. I also keep getting flustered when trying to speak to someone other than my host family or los guias, the guides that my program gave us for orientation, because everyone speaks spanish so quickly! Also, the andalusian accent is so incredibly different than Spanish the way we are taught it in the States, the Spanish of Northern Mexico, that I often have issues following along. I’ve also become one of those annoying people who turns even the most normal statement into a question, because I’m always so unsure of my grammar and verb usage. “I am leaving around three o’clock for school” becomes “I leave…about three..to school?” and I know that what I’m saying is wrong, but I get nervous and say it incorrectly anyways. It’s another thing I need to work on, that I’m sure will slowly start to fix itself over time.
Hopefully next time I report back, it will be with much more confident experiences!
Location: Sevilla, Espana
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Hi Emma– I am a Spanish minor, and I can relate to your difficulties with grammar and verb usage in the Spanish language opposed to English. To this day, I still have difficulty and try and put sentences in English terms, and then realize that it is totally different. No hay clases (No there are classes)…. opposed to there are no classes. Anyway, I have two friends studying in Seville right now who absolutely LOVE it. I visited Sevilla last spring breakand was absolutely in love. Have SO much fun!! –Becky Eischeid
I have heard from many students, and I have experienced first-hand, the language difficulties you describe here. Many people experience the awkward moments, the slow and uncertain nature of formulating sentences on-the-fly, and the frustration that builds because of the difficulties. Just keep working at it, and try to remove the feelings of self-doubt (difficult, I know). I think people are very forgiving of language mistakes, especially when they know you’re still learning. If you are dedicated to practicing Spanish, you will be pleasantly surprised with how much you can grow over the semester. I look forward to hearing about your progress!