Laura and I have arrived safely at our new casa en la calle doctor fleming. Our new abuelos, Manolo and Ana, live in a beautiful 4 story villa in the Heliopolis District. What's interesting about their house is that it is connected to Ana's boutique, or tienda de ropa. The property is skirted by lemon and orange trees, so you can imagine what the whole calle smells like...
Ana welcomed us into her home with two besos (kisses), one on either cheek. With the help of her maid, Vicki, we were able to lug all of our equipaje (luggage) up to the third story. But Ana didn't let us waste a minute deshaciendo (unpcking) our equipaje before escorting us immediately into the dining room to comer (eat)... I think her exact words were, "Niñas! Comemos!" She calls us her babies. And so we all sat down and Vicki served us the three courses (carrot soup, pollo filete y papas fritas-- chicken cutlets and french fries, figures-- and fresh mandarinas, which are distinct from naranjas). By this time, it was around 3pm, which is normal for lunch. She and Manolo gave us their history: Ana is from Madrid and Manolo's family is British. They got married at age 20 and moved to Sevilla. Their family now is HUGE, and they all dine together at Ana's frequently. She and Manolo both speak some English, but we really only utilize Spanish-- they don't speak really fast so it's not so hard to follow. Ana loves to talk, and she reads us part of the newspaper with each meal.
After lunch we were really exhausted, considering what time our bodies thought it was, and we slept until about 8:30. Afterward, we cleaned up and went downstairs for la cena (dinner), which was much lighter than lunch: some of the soup left over from earlier, tortillas (omelets), and the freshest pan (bread) I've ever tasted. They make it daily in the bakery, and Ana goes to pick it up. For dessert, we had ice cream and chocolate syrup-- kind of reminded me of what grandma usually serves us. Actually, earlier she walked over with a box of chocolates I definitely mistook for the same kind grandma has: "Niñas, coman chocolate!" Delicioso. After dinner, Ana took us into her biblioteca (library) stocked with hundreds and hundreds of books. We read through a book with paintings of New York City-- she loves it there. Ella le encanta el arte (she loves art). Later on, we went into the living room and watched some tv, and Laura and I stayed in there until after they went upstairs to bed. Eventually, we washed up and went to bed.
This morning, we woke up at 8:45 and went downstairs for la desayuna (breakfast) by 9:30-- Ana takes this very seriously. We drank café and she served us two pieces of fresh toast. She told us to first spread la mantequilla (butter), and then put on la mermelada (jam)-- this was homemade, and there were two kinds: mandarin and apple. Two of her daughters, Ana and Cristina (who we were going to live with) stopped by for el desayuno. We read in the newspaper about el Camino de Santiago (The way of Santiago)-- thousands of people make a religious pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia to visit Compostela's tomb. People come from all over Europe, and Ana was saying that Sean Penn has even done it. I am pretty sure the next one is in the summer of 2010. You can check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_compostela
After el desayuno, we went back upstairs to start unpacking. There is tremendous closet and shelving space. If you look out our ventanas (windows), past the lace curtains, you can see the beautiful view of the Betis soccer stadium. It really is something... but apparently Ana said they're a worse team than Sevilla, and they have their president to blame-- whatever that means? Outside our room is a small bathroom with a shower and sink, and so we started setting up our things in there. A little further down our hall are the doors to the terraza (the sunroof/balcony)-- and this is huge, too. From there, you can see an open property with tennis and basketball courts and a place to alquilar (rent) bikes.
Soon after unpacking, Ana called to us to go to el mercado (the supermarket) with her. We took a scenic route to get there, where we saw workers cogiendo (picking/taking) oranges that are apparently exported to London for sale. The streets were highly populated, and she showed us where we can "hacer footing" (jog). We passed by several colegios (schools), where the children all dress in uniforms. We also passed a few of the Facultades (colleges) within la Universidad de Sevilla. So we really are close by, but there is a bit of a walk in order to get to el centro. In the market, Ana happily bought me 2 cartons of leche de soja (soy milk), along with other items. If we ever need anything, they are definitely stocked with toiletries, etc. She has a blowdryer she is going to lend us because ours don't work here. We also saw that they sell bottles of wine for 2 euro! Incredible. She ran into lots of people that she knew, but it was strange we weren't introduced to any of them as she said hola.. maybe that's not their custom. She pointed out a lot of different landmarks of the town, like her grandchildren's school/church. Definitely scenic, and such a great experience having our own tour guide. We came home and about an hour later, Ana and Manolo's son, Jaime, came with his Wife, Bora, and their 1-year-old daughter, also named Bora. She was una cosita!! (cute little thing). She has 5 little teeth and laughs and babbles. Ana kept using the term "monisima," which means lovely. I really am picking up a lot of words from her, and she happily translates anything I'm unsure of. Vicki is also really easy to talk to, seeing as she is from Argentina-- the accent is slightly different. It's also interesting because they use "vosotros" in spain, which is a form for the plural of "you", which we do not learn in school. Spencer and Brent would know what I am talking about. It's really good because I don't feel judged at all, and I am really comfortable around Ana. She loves repeating herself and I think it's kind of funny. She speaks in a soft voice and it's nice to listen to.
ANYWAY, lunch was pretty big again today, as is their custom: spaghetti and tomato sauce, followed by a salad and fish, and then fresh orange juice (literally squeezed from the oranges in the trees outside). I also had another mandarin-- I think they're my new favorite fruit. After lunch, we sat down with the family and talked for a bit, and then we were given permiso (permission) to come upstairs and take a siesta (nap)... Interesting point: they do NOT take siestas regularly durante el invierno (winter). This is strictly a summer custom, a product of how hot it gets outside. During mid-day en el verano (summer), you will not see people in the streets until it cools down.
So now, we came back up to our room for a break, as Ana is joining her friend for tea at 5:30 (it is now 11:30 your time)... I can't believe I've done so much and had a breakfast and lunch before some people my age are even waking up. The plan is that she is going to come back at around 8:30 and we'll probably eat close to 9-9:30. She wants to show us el centro (the center of town) possibly, but Laura is actually feeling feverish :( .. sometimes she gets sick when her body needs to acclimate after traveling, so hopefully she is good as new tomorrow. We have some friends with whom we want to link up, who are also doing a program through Cornell. We'll see how we feel because, again, the jetlag is kind of hurting and we know we have all semester to go out and see things. I also have orientation early tomorrow morning so I don't think we should go crazy just yet.
That's all for this afternoon... I'm sure I'll have some more to say later! I will be posting las fotos very shortly.
Hasta luego!
"Sarita"
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