MITZI: Sevilla

Yesterday I took a little stroll around my part of town, Nervión.  It’s the newer part of the city, mostly apartments.  I found a super cute park and lots of little restaurants along the street. 

Park in Nervión

I slowly made my way toward the city center, where the cathedral and my favorite part of the city, barrio de santa cruz, is.  I randomly met up with some girls I knew from school and had lunch with them.  It was a good day.

One random thing that I saw a dominos delivery guy... on a motorcycle! Haha I loved it! So awesome!  It had a place for the pizzas on the back and everything!  It makes complete sense too because the streets are so narrow in some places.  On my way back I also saw two couples who had just gotten married.  So cute.  It’s crazy if you go to the center on a saturday, you can just follow people who are super dressed up and end up at a wedding, because they are public!  At least that is what someone told me, and I am definitely going to try it out.

How about a "get-away" horse drawn carriage? :)

One thing that I am really starting to get tired of is how men treat women here.  It is so common to be objectified and cat-called, it is starting to not phase me anymore.  Here we call them “viejos verdes,” they are really just guys who have a cultural license to be rude to women.  They will kiss at you, say super inappropriate stuff, laugh, point, and just stare.  I knew that this would happen when I came, so I wasn’t surprised or anything, it’s just annoying.

I am really really really happy with my living situation.  Katie and I talk a lot about how lucky we are to have a really great host family.  We are all starting to bond a little more, and understand each other’s personalities.  I really like having an older brother to joke around with, and my grandma is freaking hilarious (like most grandmas, always saying the most random, inappropriate stuff), and my mamá is so sweet, I feel like she really actually cares about us.  This weekend she left to go out with a friend and I was staying home, so she came into my room and gave me two kisses “dos besitos” on the cheek.  It was just really comforting.

Today I went to a Spanish Baptist church.  It was two and a half hours long. No joke.  But I really liked it, I was able to understand the gist of what the pastor was saying if I really concentrated.  It was different from the churches back a home, obviously, but it was still a good experience.  It’s just nice to know that it is something that connects people from all parts of the world. :)