Just a post about some things that have surprised me, that I found interesting, and I have wanted to share...
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One thing that I don't always understand is the way people approach me: people who speak English always start talking to me in English before Spanish. I assume that they are being polite, by not making me have to say or feel embarrassed that I don't speak Spanish, but at the same time, I want to speak Spanish with the people I meet-- I'm here to learn and like to take every opportunity to practice! Of course, if I start talking in Spanish, they follow, but it's something to get used to. (I think part of it may be that they want to practice their English?) Also, something that surprised me is that I am called "rubia"... all the time, which means blonde. It's not an insult, but I guess I'm paler than the majority of Spaniards. Oh well!
I also am loving the Spanish/European money. It's so much more fun than the American kind! Much more colorful. I think it makes so much sense to use one standard currency, as well-- Europe has it going on in that respect.
What also interests me is that the 1€ and 2€ amounts are in coins. Be careful folks, when dollars are only coins, they seem more like spare change than a dollar. Beware also of the exchange rate-- that'll get cha, too. Note: in the restaurants and such of Seville, people don't tip, either.
I've been learning to better understand the Andalusian accent-- one that is very unique. People say that if you can understand the Spanish here, you can understand it anywhere! People native to this area "eat" a lot of their letters, aka, don't pronounce them, making them more difficult to understand than someone from, say, northern Spain, like my host mother. She is from Salamanca and hence speaks much more clearly than a lot of Sevillanos. Something that I am definitely grateful for.
Just as in the United States, there are stereotypes about each part of Spain, which seem to me to be at least partly true. For example, they say that those from the north are more blunt, hard-working, and thrifty, while the people from southern Spain are more fun-loving but generous. Sarah, my host mother, says that the climate has a lot to do with these stereotypes, which she also notices. Southern Spain has better weather-- much sunnier and warmer-- meaning the people spend more free time outside. She says the climate also affects the people's attitudes; the sun brings the happiness and light-heartedness characteristic of "el sur"-- the south.
Something that caught me off-guard the other day: my host father using the word "inválido" to describe someone in a wheelchair. While it's completely normal and the appropriate word to use in Spain, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about it's meaning-- that the person is invalid and not of use to society. Moreover, that Spain seems to be very tolerant of people with any kind of other needs, and yet still uses the word as inoffensive. It goes to show that we develop blind habits and don't always think about what we say before we say it. It got me thinking about words we use in English that may have the same kind of effect-- I will definitely think more before I say anything at all. While it's easy to see when I am objectively learning a language, it's different when it's your native one. It's interesting to see how the words different societies use show their cultural differences and views of anything and everything about life.
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This weekend I ventured with my roommate to "Las Setas," (literally "mushrooms") which is a large, modern creation taking the shape of, well, mushrooms. For just a euro and change, you can climb to the top and have a beautiful view of the entire city. So neat! It was a bit controversial, and still is, because they were built on top of Roman ruins and clash a bit with the more antiquated style of the rest of the city, but the ruins are preserved and can be seen from the ground floor.
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| Las Setas! |
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| Isn't Sevilla so beautiful?? |
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| From the top of Las Setas |
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| What a view! |
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| Roman ruins, under Las Setas |
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| A beautiful building I passed while on a stroll |
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| Flowers near the Nervion Plaza, a mall I also went to with my roommate this weekend |
Which reminds me of something else which really confused me at first... the first floor of a building here-- "planta 1"-- is the first floor from the ground floor, which is "0". So, the first floor here is like a second floor in the US. Basements are often labeled in elevators as "-1". Still gets me sometimes!
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