May 30 - Some Cupcakes and Translation Fun

In preparation for my birthday this weekend, I made some cupcakes.  I made them today with the idea that they will be totally cool and therefore ready for icing with some chocolate buttercream tomorrow before class.  I still haven't totally figured out how I am going to transport them.... problem for tomorrow, I guess.

The armed forces demonstrations continue in the river, on land and in the sky.  I am sad that we will miss the military band concert tomorrow night, but Rome awaits.

Tomorrow, finally, there will be a second student in class.  After four days of 3 hour private classes, it will be fun to have a partner.  With that said, I have learned a lot this week and it has been a real luxury to have so much quality instruction.  I can't believe that they didn't cancel the class, but I am thankful.  Also, the other student (who is in Croatia this week with her family) returns on Monday.

I have an "extra" homework assignment tonight.  My teacher's brother has written an abstract (in Spanish) that describes part of his master's project on art in the schools.  He has to submit an English version of the exact same abstract.  There are lots of resources at his university to get help with the translation - which in the end he may use.  But, my mini-project tonight is to give feedback on his English version - not on quality or content - just an analysis of whether it is actually the same as his Spanish version...not a word for word translation of course (that would be an easy job for Google Translate) but instead making sure that each sentence in English captures the same meaning as the corresponding sentence in Spanish.  It is only about 10 sentences long, but it was both a very difficult and very fun exercise.  Not sure how helpful it will really be - or if he will even use it, but I liked having a real world example.

May 29 - Preparing for Rocio

On the weekend of June 8, large caravans of people will set off in wagons on foot and on horseback in flamenco dresses and suits playing drums and flutes and singing and dancing and eating and drinking from towns across southern Spain on a "pilgrimage" to the small town of Rocio (population about 700) - the caravan that leaves from Sevilla actually sets off from our neighborhood in Triana.  These pilgrims will make the 80 kilometer journey (camping along the way) and then will celebrate with a religious event on Monday morning celebrating the local virgin.  The participants have been preparing for this annual event since Easter.  The store window down the street has a new "Rocio" display up to celebrate the coming pilgrimage.

The preparations continue for the armed forces day displays as well.  Today, lots of progress (parts of a floating bridge and lots of small boats) near the Triana bridge.  There are lots of smaller activities tomorrow and Friday, but the big military band concert is Friday night and the parade is Saturday - we will miss both since we are heading out Friday night for Italy.

Another 3 hours of "private" class today and lots of homework.  I came home and did about two hours of studying tonight after class so that tomorrow morning I can finish up and maybe do some baking.  Pretty sure that I will be alone in class again tomorrow, but Friday I definitely will have a classmate.

May 28 - Heat As Far As the Eye Can See

After a cool and rainy weekend in northern Spain, I was happy to be back in the warm south.  It is beautiful (and much greener) in the north, but the weather here is much better for me.  It was in the 90's today and is supposed to get into the 90's every day for the next week or so (although it should be cooler for us in Italy this weekend).

I spent some time really working on my Spanish this morning only taking breaks to cook and eat lunch and to finalize our plans for the weekend.  It is a good thing, because I was alone in class today.  It was a good, productive day in class - but as is always the case when I have a "private" three hour class, it was intense.

After class, and before intercambio, I took a nice walk around the city to check on a few things...

The scaffolding is pretty much finished being constructed on the front of the Giralda for the next preservation project.

The Corpus Cristi portada is coming along nicely.

The bleachers are starting to be erected for the Military Demonstrations for Armed Forces Day.

The last week of the Book Festival is in full swing with lots of "readings" and "signings".  Unlike the used book fair that occurs near Christmas, these are all booksellers of new books - some stalls represent small specialty shops and others large book chains and department stores.

All of the usual suspects were at intercambio.  

Then a nice night walk home in the cooler (low 80's) weather.  What a BEAUTIFUL city!

May 27 - Weekend in Bilbao

Right after class on Friday, I headed out in the warm evening sunshine (past some kids playing in a water fountain) to the train station where I caught the airport bus.  Then Albert and I flew to Bilbao where it was much cooler and took another bus into town.

There is a lot of street art in Bilbao, but we didn't see too much on our way in on Friday.  We had about a half mile walk from the bus stop to our hotel.  It was right at midnight when we arrived and we were exhausted from all the travel.  Luckily Saturday, we were able to walk around a little and check out the city.

Of course the highlight of our day in Bilbao on Saturday was the Guggenheim Museum.  In addition to the magnificent building and indoor exhibits, there are a number of stunning outdoor pieces. 

Although we could have spent another day exploring Bilbao, we wanted to do some hiking so on  Sunday morning we took an early bus to San Sebastian where we hiked up onto a mountain on the east side of the city and walked along the side getting lots of beautiful sea views before climbing back down.  Much of the hike is part of the Camino de Santiago - but we were going the opposite direction.  So, we crossed paths with a number of multiday hikers carrying large packs.

Once off the moutain, we took a small boat over to a small fishing village.  We thought about having lunch there, but there were only a couple of restaurants and they were full of families eating their big Sunday meal.  So, we walked around for a bit before taking the bus back to San Sebastian.

Once back in San Sebastian, we ate a late lunch and checked out the city - there is a large surfing beach (with a surfing school) and another swimmers beach which was pretty much deserted on this rainy cool Sunday.

Sunday evening, we headed back to Bilbao walked around a bit before heading in for a pretty early night.  This morning, we hung around the hotel for a while before retracing our steps back to Sevilla.  Like a reverse of Friday, I got off the bus at the train station and walked to class while Albert stayed on until the stop nearest to our house with the suitcase.

I was the only one in class today - it was a shock to the system.  I had done my homework, but not much else.  After class, I headed out to Costco to pick up a few things.  

Tomorrow morning, I need to take care of a few last details for our trip next weekend.  We are headed to Italy to watch the last stage of the Giro D'Italia bike race.  But first a few good night's sleep in our own bed and some serious study time.

May 23 - Beautiful Night

This morning, I spent a lot of time doing Spanish.  Yesterday's class was really hard, and it took me a long time to get comfortable with the new material.  But, I finally figured some things out and even though my three hour "private" class today was very intense, I was able to keep up (officially it is a group class, but I was the only student in today's group).

One student, who took classes for months but took his last week off to relax and enjoy Sevilla is actually leaving tomorrow on an early morning flight - so, a couple of students and three teachers went out for a beer with him after the afternoon classes.

I didn't stick around long, I had not been out of the house until class and I needed to get some exercise.  So, I walked around the city enjoying the beautiful evening temperatures.  

Tomorrow after class, we leave for Bilbao - a city in the north of Spain.  It is supposed to be cool and maybe even rainy.  I am glad that I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather here tonight.  But, I am looking forward to seeing the Basque region.

May 22 - Pint of Science Take 2

Two students in class today - we practiced lots of different constructions of passive voice and impersonal subjects.  It was interesting and really hard.  I have some homework, but I also need to go back and practice the things from class.... especially since I will have a three hour private class again tomorrow unless a new student shows up unexpectedly.

Things were pretty quiet in the city after class.  The square across from my school is sometimes really hopping at 7:30 when I finish, but today there were just a few tourists milling about.

I met Albert at 8:30 at the Bulebar for the last talk in the Pint of Science series.  It was a non-technical talk about statistics and big data.  The speaker spoke quite fast and interjected lots of one-liners - many of which I didn't get.  I followed the basic ideas, but I understood less than the talk on Monday.  There was a big crowd again.... lots of pints and lots of science.

On our way home, we stopped on the bridge for a couple of minutes to enjoy the dancing and music happening below at the foot of our side of the bridge.  

May 21 - Not Done Yet

This morning, Albert and I finally made some purchases.  We went back and forth a little before finally deciding to have them mailed home.  It is nice to not have to think about extra things in the suitcases and customs. 

Class was fun, but I was the only student and the reality is that a three hour private class is a lot of Spanish.  So, after class I went for a walk before intercambio.  My brain needed a rest before two more hours of Spanish.

They are constructing a portada and passage for the procession of Chorpus Christi (June 20) in the Plaza San Francisco - alas the Easter festivities seem to just keep coming.  With summer fast approaching, though,  this is one of the last big "daytime" events in Sevilla before it gets too hot.

In the next plaza over (Plaza Nueva) there is a book festival starting this weekend - they are doing the set up now.  With the craft fair next to the cathedral and the book fair in Plaza Nueva, it almost feels like a repeat of Christmas.

They are also setting up a stage next to the book fair - maybe there will be readings or something, I have not found a program yet.  For now it is just a place for kids to pretend that they are on stage performing.

I am not sure why, but the Sevilla philharmonic orchestra was set up outside Plaza Nueva and playing a concert - there were lots of people, but no chairs or anything - I am not sure why they were there but it was fun to stop and listen for a while.

After walking for about 45 minutes, I headed over to intercambio.  Today before our regular conversations started, we played a telephone game (one round in Spanish the next in English and back to Spanish).  I was seated between two students from Sevilla who were just beginners in English - we did ok, but it was hard.   

Tomorrow, we will be back to two (or maybe even three) students in class, I am looking forward to it.  

May 20 - Late Night Baseball

Last night, the Whitman baseball team had what turned out to be their last game of the season in the NCAA tournament.  It started at midnight our time.  My plan was to watch the first hour or so and then go to bed.  Turns out it was a great game that ended in a heartbreaking loss with a walkoff run in the bottom of the ninth...  So, at a time when I clearly should have been sound asleep, I was watching college baseball on my computer. 

Today's class was very good - there were only two students and the other one is probably one of my favorites from the entire year.  Sadly, she is only in class a couple of days per week.  Tomorrow, unless a new student joins, I will be in class alone.

After class, I headed over to meet Albert at a bar downtown where there are two talks each tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday on various math and science topics - it is part of a bigger three day international celebration of science.  The level of math in the talk was pretty low, but that made understanding the Spanish a little easier.

The weather was beautiful.  After the talk, we headed home for dinner and the plan is to make it an early night.  

May 19 - An Affair to Remember

Today after lunch, I walked with Albert to the gym.  While he went in to work out, I continued walking.  It has been a week since the fair ended, and I was interested to see how the fairgrounds looked.... I know that when we arrived last summer there was nothing but empty space and of course by the time the fair started there were 1,050 casetas (fair tents), a huge portada (entry gate), thousands of lights, watering stations for the horses, hundreds of vendors, and a huge midway of rides.

Today, the portada still stands (although dark), many of the strung lights are still strung, and a few casetas are still standing - but the midway is back to being a huge empty lot and most of the casetas are down to their frames if there is anything left at all.  There is still a lot of trash left.  I know the fair is a HUGE part of Sevillian life, and I did enjoy getting to spend the week basking in all of the tradition - but it is hard to get my mind around the resources required to set up, run, take down, and store all of the infrastructure for one week - no matter how memorable.

For the month from mid-April until after fair, the streets were packed with people.  This week things have really thinned out.  The city is far from empty, but you can comfortably walk down the sidewalks and even stop to snap a photo of some flowers without causing a traffic jam.  I don't mind the crowds (especially since I don't have to drive), but the return of the less crazy city has been nice too.

 I noticed these stickers on a street sign today - you might wonder why someone would put an English language sticker about the legality of flamenco on a street sign, it is actually from an avant garde band who does some crazy flamenco/electronic/political music projects.  The other sticker is just another political advertisement - this one for the Communist Party of Andalucia.

Tomorrow should be a pretty normal day.  I finished all of my homework today - so tomorrow morning, I will do a little studying but maybe there will be time for another round of souvenir shopping as well.

May 18- Another Round of Elections

Albert and I bought a nice print the year we lived in Budapest that hangs in our home in Walla Walla and serves as a nice reminder of our time there fifteen years ago.  Our plan is to buy a piece of art from Sevilla as well.  With no big travel planned this weekend, we decided today was a good day to try to find a piece.

The art fair next to the cathedral was scheduled to be open this morning for a few hours and then again at 5:30 this evening.  With grocery shopping, laundry and cooking this morning, we put off shopping for art until this evening.

We headed out at a little after 5 o'clock.  There are lots of booths set up encouraging folks to vote in next weeks European Union elections.  There have been Sevilla, Andalucia, Spain, and now Europe elections this year - we will have seen them all in one year.

There are a couple of stores near the river in Triana that we decided to check first - but they were both closed.... so we headed over toward the cathedral.  Sadly the procession was just starting (after the coronation of one of the Virgin of Los Angeles) - so there were crowds and the craft folks were not open.

We tried one more shop with an artist that we like - it was also closed.  It was clearly not meant to be today....maybe we try again tomorrow.

May 17 - Some Sad Goodbyes

I spent the morning cooking.... a chunky black bean and lentil soup, rolls, macaroni and cheese, and peanut butter cookies.

Today's class was like a going away party...we told stories, played games, ate lots of food and said goodbye to two students.  One has been here for a couple of months and will return in a couple of months but the other has been here 7 months and is not coming back.  Of course, for me, they are both goodbyes since I will be gone before the other student returns.  The teacher's mother made a traditional tortilla for the occasion.  It was delicious.

With my food, the tortilla, and the additions from the other students - it was quite a spread.

Some people said their goodbyes in class.  The rest of us went (along with the teacher) to a bar in town after class where we spent the next few hours recounting stories from the last few months in school and in the city.  The teacher's brother and his girlfriend and the teacher's boyfriend joined us for a while.  Some friends from other classes and from intercambios stopped by to say hello and goodbye as well. 

It is hard to believe that in six weeks we will have said our own goodbyes and will be on a plane back to the US. 

May 16 - Late Shopping

Didn't leave the house today until it was time for class.  I spent the morning doing homework, reading, making my shopping list for tonight, and making lunch.

Three students today in class, there are currently two other students in the class but they don't come every day.  Tomorrow is the last day for both of today's students and two others will be there as well - we will have a small goodbye party.  Maybe some new students next week - it is hard to tell.

After class, I headed downtown first....there are some art booths set up next to the cathedral for the next few weeks - many of the same artisans as in the Christmas art fair.

There were lots of street performers out today as well - many of them I have seen before, but I did see one new one.  The guy had set up these mechanical musicians and just set them playing while he sat on a bench nearby and watched the money cup in front of the "band" - odd.

The information signs are still up - I like this one about the eating habits in southern Spain where the average person consumes 9 L of olive oil a year - this includes all ages - no wonder they sell it in 5 liter bottles in the grocery store.  I am pretty sure Albert and I are not keeping up.

The grocery store was not crowded and I was able to get everything I will need to cook tomorrow for our class party.  I did have to work my way through a crowd on the way home - another procession.  On the plus side, until I got close to the actual procession, the streets were empty because all traffic had been diverted to avoid its path.

May 15 - Summer Weather

It topped out at about 97 degrees today - now it is supposed to cool down with highs only in the 80s by this weekend.

We have used the air conditioner in the house a little and now we are starting to need it in class as well.  So, this morning, instead of trying out a new cookie or brownie recipe,  I experimented with some berries and made sorbet... delicious!

With Easter safely in the rear view, the churches are starting to plan for their summer and fall processions.  Unlike the crying virgin pasos of Semana Santa, these pasos carry the happy virgins with babies.  The procession in this flyer will happen the weekend we are in Bilbao.  But this Saturday, there will be a special procession following the coronation of the Virgin of the Angels (decreed by the pope).

My Spanish reading is getting better and when I am reading something short, I do ok with fairly complicated articles and poems and flowery language - but only if the reading is short because I am really slow.  If I am reading a book, I am not even to "Young Adult" level yet.  However, I just finished the last Beverly Cleary e-book available in Spanish from the Walla Walla public library - so, now I am trying to decide if I am ready for something a little more advanced.... I really want to read Don Quijote in Spanish - there are so many statues, decorations, and T-shirts around Sevilla celebrating Cervantes' most popular book that I am constantly reminded, but I think I am still pretty far from ready.  Of course, "In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd." (Cervantes) 

Today, I saw this wall decoration that I hadn't seen before.