My first day in Sevilla has been absolutely amazing. After setting out of the airport for about for about 5 minutes I had already fallen in love with this beautiful city. Sevilla is the land of palm trees, eternal sun, and truly the kindest people.
After we (the kids in my Advanced Liberal Arts (ALA) program) had all gathered in the airport, a private bus took us to a coffee shop where we would meet our host moms. Stepping off the bus, I made eye contact with a mom I had an inkling was my mom. With literally an instant connection, I thought to myself Oh I really hope she’s my host mom and voila ‘twas her! It made me so happy and I’m really lucky to have her as such a wonderful host. I told her that when I saw her “los dedos están cruzando que tu eres si la miya” and that made her really happy (I know this because that’s what she repeated to her son later in the day).
She’s been a host mom for 20 years and tells me “All the American girls cry when they leave because they don’t want to leave my house.” I’ll definitely be one of them. Her house is also beautiful with a little balcony, glass cabinets filled with knick knacks, and walls painted with warm shades of yellow and light orange. My room is absolutely adorable and my favorite part is the window which is constantly filled with Sevillan sunshine.
On top of everything, my host mom is an absolutely fantastic cook. She jokes, “my food is all over the internet because all my study abroad girls post photos.” Again I shall join the ranks of those before. For lunch (aka my first Spanish meal!) we had carne y papas along with a loaf of French bread. These papas, (potatoes) I have to tell you, are amazing. Times twenty. I could eat them all day long.
Then came the stereotypical siesta. Not entirely sure if it was because of the jetlag or the lulling warmth of the sunshine radiating into my room, but I basically knocked out for a good two-and-a-half hours before I went out for coffee with a few program friends. Siestas might just become my favorite time of day though, definitely not complaining.
Also! Midway through my flight I realize that my watch’s battery died on me. So after having café with a part of our orientation group, a few of us went watch-hunting. Apparently, however, literally no one sells watches here, as we soon found out after popping into and out of las tiendas. Finally we found this little Indian store that sold watches and so lo and behold I have a pretty new blue watch!
More exciting to me though, I had a conversation with the Indian store owner using broken Hindi, Spanish, and English… gotta love that tri-lingual life, no? Shoutout to everyone who has dealt with my attempts at Hindi this past year- it’s paying off, I promise!
It’s funny, because in a way Sevilla strongly reminds me of Mumbai, India. The little shops, pharmacies, food markets, and apartments atop it remind me of visits to the motherland as a child. Even the elevators are like those of India, where you open a physical door before entering the elevator. It’s reassuring to see an atmosphere that I’ve grown up with and come to love, and I feel even more at home in Sevilla.
Finally for dinner, we had the classic Spanish tortilla made with eggs and potatoes. Cooked just so the eggs were slighty gooey in the middle, it was a perfect meal to finish off a wonderful day.
I should probably sleep, as tomorrow we have an interview to examine the state of our Spanish, as well as tours of the university and our barrio (the neighborhood) followed by tapas. Buenas noches de Sevilla amigos!
Location: Sevilla, Spain
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Karishma I loved your post! It’s so cool that you get to have a host family, I bet it makes your experience so much more in depth. Plus, THE HOMEMADE FOOD. Your host mom seems so cool – I like want to meet her…. The pictures looks so delicious.
I also love your blog style, I actually found myself reading the whole thing and going with you through the days. Can’t wait to read more!
Karishma, I’m studying abroad in Italy this semester, but I’m living in a student apartment, and I find the differences between our two living situations so interesting. I wish I was getting a few home cooked meals-eating out is already getting too expensive for my pockets and I am far from a cook. I also am slightly envious that you mother figure during your time here. At the same time, I love the college student life and I’m definitely enjoying living with my roommates so far, even if we do all end up living off ramen some days haha, so I guess it all has it’s pros and cons.
I also find it so interesting that you were able to speak in Hindi there! I also grew up learning multiple languages-English, obviously, and Vietnamese while growing up. I took six years of French, three semesters of Spanish, one semester of Latin, and now I’m learning Italian as I study abroad here. There’s no Asian population in Florence, but I’m excited to be able to speak Vietnamese when I eventually visit Paris this semester. The French and Spanish I studied has definitely come in handy these past two weeks though-even though I don’t know any Italian yet, I can still read most signs perfectly fine since the three languages are so close together. It sounds like you’re definitely in a similar situation as me.
It sounds like you’re having a great time so far though and I can’t wait to read more from you!
I too am studying in Sevilla this semester so I totally identify with the love you are feeling for the city. It sounds like you have only been here a few days and I have not been here too much longer, but every day still feels a little like a dream for me. The gorgeous weather, the people, the nightlife, the food–I can’t believe we will be here until May! Unfortunately the weather is not so great here today but hopefully this week you will be able to explore the Plaza de España, el centro, the river, etc., once it stops raining.
It’s really interesting that you compare Sevilla to Mumbai. I have never been to India but I am really intrigued by all of the cultural influences that have shaped this city. From the Roman Empire to the Moors, Sevilla seems to have a distinctly complex mix of traits. I don’t know if you have seen Alcazar yet but that is just one example of how many different cultures over time fuse together to make something entirely new and incredible!