¡Buenas tardes!
The flamenco show last Thursday was really good! I found it to be the same as past shows I’ve seen here, but one of the pieces was more modern I felt. I congratulated the musicians and dancers after the show, and one of them approached a few minutes later to ask me a question, and I started talking to him and his buddy for a while. It turns out his girlfriend is one of the dancers, and she is from San Francisco. Christina, the dancer, moved here 11 years ago to learn flamenco and has been here ever since. We asked her if she would be interested in teaching a small group of people how to dance flamenco, very basic level, and she said she would be more than happy to. That worked out well! After that, the girls and Adi and I went to another bar, that was quiet, luckily, and we just relaxed there until they closed at one.
Friday was a great day – I met with Finca81 to get a brief orientation of the office and what I would be doing for them. My work for them is going to be very independent – the projects I do are all based on what I think should be done. I asked José, my supervisor, to brainstorm with his co-workers things the knows he would like to get done, but besides that, I have access to all their data and such, and once I decide what I want to do with (besides re-organizing their unorganized data base) it, I’m going to tell José. Luckily for me, they use Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel, and I know those two programs very well. Finca81, for those who are wondering, is a real estate company who owns about 70 apartment complexes, with an estimated 4,500 clients. I’m really looking forward to starting my work there and getting the ball rolling!
The next exciting thing that happened on Friday was the Shabbat service at CIEE. They organized a small service and Kiddush for those wished to attend, so I went with the girls and Adi, and other students were there, too. Spaniards came from all of Andalucia – Sevilla, Cadiz, Cordoba, and more. It was so nice to meet Jews in the area and to make connections. It was a very casual service, maybe twenty-five minutes, with a haftorah reading in Spanish, too. When it came time for Kiddush, me and another girl got volunteered, and because we didn’t have kosher wine, a different prayer was needed. We ended using wine for the kaddish, actually, which was much different! Afterwards, we all got to know each other and exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses. We already got invited to a Purim party and a Passover seder, too. We also met an Australian there, Gabrielle, who is on a teaching program in Cordoba this semester, and she learned about the service and came over to Sevilla for the weekend. It seemed to me that we made her week…sounded like she was having a hard time making friends, and her and our group instantly clicked! Another great part about Friday night was that somebody made hummus…finally! I’ve been craving it!
Saturday morning we left for a day trip to Cadiz. It’s a pretty little city, much like are historic district in Sevilla, but the whole city. It’s a super tiny peninsula that was about an hour or so bus ride away from Sevilla. Adi and I met someone from Cordoba the night before and were hoping to meet up with him, but he never answered his phone, so we just hung out with friends. He and I, along with Diara, went climbing on the wave breakers, or whatever they are called…big rocks in front of the wall that goes up to the street. Probably wasn’t the safest, or most legal thing to do, but it was really fun! When we got back to Sevilla, us three and a few others met up with the girls and Gabrielle for a few hours to relax, followed me us going home and not going out…just relaxing at our respectful homestays.
Sunday morning I met up with Gabrielle and another friend to tour her around Plaza de España, and she met more Americans in Starbucks (where we met up) and they joined us, too. We ended with lunch and then went home to relax, watch a movie, and do homework. I got home to find Lola making paella, a very traditional Spanish dish. It was my first time eating calamari, shrimp, oysters, and clams. Ick. Way too chewy for me. I couldn’t swallow the oysters or clams, and the calamari was difficult to chew and get down. I couldn’t taste the shrimp, but they looked like little grubs…so I didn’t eat them. I just picked the pieces of chicken and ate that and rice.
Sunday night, just before midnight, I got to Skype with the entire family back home. It made my day! After talking about my amazing cousins and aunts/uncles and Bubbe and Zayde all the time to friends, I would always get homesick and miss family. It was so nice to see everyone’s faces, and especially the kids. My face just lit up with excitement at seeing everyone and talking to everyone.
Nothing special going on this week besides Carnaval on Saturday, and starting my internship, for real this time. I’ll post next time there is exciting stuff to say! Oh, and on Tuesday for Valentine’s Day, a small group of friends and I are going out to dinner, which will be fun. Just bought a new pink button up that looks sharp! Only 10€, too!
Abrazos y besos, hugs and kisses,
-Jeremy
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