Culture and Futbol

Since this blog is supposed to be about cultural observations I have made I figure it is about time I talk about some cultural aspects of Sevilla. I am taking a Spanish Civilization and Culture class and today we learned about the different Arab and Roman influences in Spain. One thing we learned about was the different types of city structures the two groups used, which was really interesting because the Arabs city planning was described as having narrow winding roads which is exactly how Sevilla, at least the part that I live in (the older part) is designed. The roads here are so narrow that at times I have thought I was walking in an alley way or on a sidewalk until a car comes squeezing it's way through and I have to flatten myself against the wall to let it by.

Another cultural aspect of Spain that I have to mention of course is futbol (or soccer). Today is the big England vs. Spain game and apparently the English futbol magazine told the fans that the best bars are right by the cathedral (aka right by my apartment). So, as we were walking today we got to see the majority of the 4,000 English fans that are supposed to be coming to the city today. They had hung their flags between trees and were singing their songs back and forth to eachother. I have to say it looked like fun!

La Vida Espanola

Sorry about the lack of updates but getting internet is getting to be a chore here. I also haven't really been doing anything too exciting, just going to school and exploring the city, not a bad life. A normal weekday here consists of getting up around 9 and making a small breakfast (the only meal that isn't a big deal here) and then going to classes until around 2 when I return home for lunch, which usually is not served until closer to 3. After lunch which is usually pretty big and many times consists of a ham or sausage or beans of some sort (those seem to be very popular foods here) we usually take a short siesta or head out to explore the city. Most days we will walk for two hours or more without even noticing the time. I usually like to stop during the walk and get a cafe con leche or helado to take a break. I think my roommate Jill gets annoyed because I make her walk through every pasteria we pass because the pastries and ice cream look so good! After our walk we usually come home and work on homework or read for a little bit while we wait for our Senora to come home and cook dinner, usually around 9:30 but sometimes as late as 11! After dinner we sometimes go for another walk and meet up with friends to go to a flamenco bar near us or just to get tapas or something. Coming in before 1 is early and our Senora will always ask us what we are doing home so early! haha.
This weekend we got to explore a huge market in Sevilla. It is basically a flee market but huge, we walked around for two hours and still did not see the whole thing! Sevilla is also a very interesting place to be right now becuase they are starting to pick the oranges that are in the 30,000 trees around the city. We walked by a tree in the process today and one man was in the tree shaking it while three other men directed traffic and covered cars underneath. It didn't seem to both the locals that there were oranges falling on them and on their cars. However, the Japanese tourists has the cameras our the capture the event.
Other than that though nothing too exciting to report. I will hopefully be able to get on sometime soon and post again and hopefully get up some more pictures!