The journey to Spain was a success. I was a little anxious about the means of transportation – flying isn’t exactly one of my favorite pastimes; and when you add in the Atlantic Ocean as the means of route, it made for an exaggerated trip.
We left at 5:55 p.m. from JFK airport via Iberia flight 6250. I was expecting a generally large plane considering the international destination, what we got in reference to surface area was a refurbished BoeWing747. The legroom was something left to be desired, but I found the flight help to be incredibly upbeat for an overnight flight. They served us surprisingly tasty plane food – something close to paella, a native dish composed of rice, meats, and egg – along with way too many side dishes.
The entire travel ordeal was a little hectic and extremely exhausting, but by 11:30 a.m. Sevilla-time, we had pulled safely into harbor. I luckily escaped with both pieces of my checked baggage, unlike some in my group, and we were brought to the NH Hotel Plaza de Armas in the heart of Sevilla for our orientation process.
The hotel was amazing. I stayed with Julia in a two-bedroom equipped with a flat screen television, enough complementary toiletries to exfoliate an army, and AC!!! They treated us to amazing meals in the dining room; one meal basically composed of an enormous chicken tender, which was awesome. After that, we passed out for several hours from the jet lag that set in.
During our two days at orientation, we walked to the school, the Center for Cross-Cultural Study, where we toured the grounds and took a Spanish placement exam. The school itself is exactly what I had hoped for: several levels of old, Spanish architecture with plenty of patios and open space. Classes don’t begin until Monday, so I had this weekend for myself to travel and experience Sevillian life.
On Friday afternoon, I took a taxi to meet my family. They live on Calle Asunción, which as I discovered is a popular street to shop. I live with an entire family and one other CC-CS student, Emma from Lewis & Clark College in Oregon. My host mother, María, is extremely kind; I also found out that she works! I think it’s great. She still comes home during siesta to serve us lunch, which is an incredible form of multitasking I believe. I have a host father, Juan, who is hilarious but a pretty serious smoker. I have two host brothers, Juan, 18, and Pablo, 13. My host sister is also named María, and is 15.
The entire family is extremely close, in a very modern relative way that I see at home with American families. I really enjoy how they cherish their mealtimes here. Siesta and Comer en la Casa (lunch around 2:30 p.m.) is a huge gathering time for the families, but Juan Sr. normally stays at the office during this time. La cena is usually around 9:30 for us here, but I don’t mind the distance between meals.
I have yet to go out and do any sufficient site-seeing. Luckily enough for me, I live close to several famous landmarks in the area. El toro de oros is beautiful, and right across the bridge I cross to get to el Centro. Also, the cathedral in el Centro is on Avenida de Constitucion, another beautiful landmark. There is a lot of construction here, but I'm told that it will let up by April for Semana Santa. I plan to go to Italica, a cultural landmark in Sevilla founded by Spanish/Italian decendents. I will have more pictures then. Hasta luego!
The weather in Córdoba was pretty agreeable -- around 50 degrees and partly sunny. We spent a few hours walking around the local shops on the winding, narrow streets; it´s obvious from the architecture that there is still a lot of Eastern influence in the style of the buildings. 
Our first visit was to the Mezquita, which was originally founded by the Muslims during the reign of Islam from 600 A.D. to 1100 A.D. Both the exterior and interior design of the architecture were incredible to see -- the use of ¨mosaico¨patterns and elaborate arch structures were definite attestments to the Islamic influence.
El ¨mosaico¨
The archways of the Mezqúita
During the Reconquista of Spain by the Christian kings (1100 - 1492 A.D.), the Mezqúita was taken over by Christian empirials. A lot of the architecture was resurrected in a more prominent ¨cathedral¨look. All in all, the experience turned out to showcase the coolest arquitectural landmark that I´ve seen so far in Spain..jpg)
Later that day we went to Alácazar, a large fortress used by the Christian kings by the Mézquita. The interior elements weren´t nearly as beautiful as the combination of Muslim and Christian architecture in the Mézquita, but the grounds were impressive.
