March 20 - Almost Spring

Today's class was lively.  We have had some strong personalities in class the last couple of weeks (not every day, but lots of days).  It is always fun, but it sometimes feels like we aren't getting very far.  Luckily for me, I spend time at home every day working on the theory and grammar and benefit greatly from the lengthy free form conversations that have become part of our normal class.

After class, I spent a couple of hours walking around the city.  I hadn't really been out before class and needed some exercise.  Although the entire winter has been mild, there are very tangible signs that it is almost spring (only minutes away) - there is a much wider variety of fruit in the markets - berries and melons are pomegranate are back - and flowers (in trees, gardens and patios) are all starting to really bloom.

Of course, some things don't change at all like the fact that there is a never ending stream of road/sidewalk projects.  Today a new hole and fence showed up at one of the large corners where I normally cross on my way to class.

March 19 - Back to the Patio

This morning after finishing my homework, I decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for intercambio.  My oven does not keep a constant temperature and I have to use an upside down foil covered glass baking dish as a cookie sheet, but with small batches and carefully watched cooking, in only 3 hours, I managed to do what I could in about one hour at home - but it worked.

My class was good - but we spent nearly the last hour with me answering questions about the United States - luckily the questions were pretty easy (and non-controversial).  One student was mostly interested in what it would take to visit Area 51 in Nevada. 

After class, I walked a little and stopped off to buy a couple of things at the market before heading over to intercambio.  I had shared a few cookies with my class and the professors and brought the rest with me to intercambio.  Due to the great weather, this week we moved back out to the patio (we had been inside since winter) - it was a pretty large and lively group.  They finished off the cookies.

At around 10, I headed out toward home.  On the bridge, I passed another group of men, castarelos,  out preparing for Semana Santa - carrying a weighted frame that mimics the paso that they will be carrying for hours during their procession.  

After a quick dinner, I am heading off to bed.  Lots of homework tomorrow morning!

March 18 - To the Canary Islands and Back

Saturday morning we made our way over to the airport and flew to the largest of the Canary Islands - Tenerife.  The Canary Islands are situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Western Sahara.  Tenerife has rocky beaches on the north side (where we stayed), a large national park that contains the highest point in Spain in the center, and sandy beaches in the south (we didn't make it to the south).

Our hotel overlooked the ocean, and we spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening exploring the hotel and the surrounding area.  

Carnival is still happening in the bars on Tenerife.  Lots of folks passed our dinner table on the way to festivities.  Many were in traditional Spanish dresses, but some were in costumes, or other fancy carnival wear.

Sunday morning, we headed out to catch our tour bus.  We were part of a small group of visitors - most were from other parts of Spain but there was also one other couple who spoke English and one couple who spoke German.  The guide basically gave all of the information in all three languages.  It was a good chance to practice my Spanish listening.  There was a woman and her mother from northern Spain who I chatted with quite a bit.  The mom didn't speak any English and the daughter only spoke a little - so we stuck to Spanish.  They are going to Argentina next and will be in Seattle in November.  They try to do at least a few big trips every year.  The mom is 75 and has two new titanium knees and is enjoying her ability to get around.  They stuck to some of the flatter trails, but they seemed to really enjoy the tour.

We were able to walk around lots of trails around the national park - including a couple that were near the top of the volcano that we reached after riding a cable car up.  The lava flows made for lots of interesting geologic formations and landscapes.

There is a nice lodge in the center of the park, but at more than 300 dollars a night, we gave it a pass.  Much like the national parks in the US, there were lots of cars at many of the popular spots.

The entire tour was about 8 hours.  After heading back to the hotel, we cleaned up a little and headed out to dinner.  We fell asleep with the sound of waves against the rocks.

This morning, we were up bright and early to catch the bus back to the airport.  The trip that only took 30 minutes on Saturday took over an hour this morning with workday traffic.  Luckily we gave ourselves plenty of time and made it home without a problem.  Sevilla was warm and sunny when we arrived.  It felt good to be home.  There was a movie shoot happening on the bank of the river all afternoon, they were just packing up the last of it when we took out the trash this evening.

I did some homework Friday, some in Tenerife, and finished up after we got home before class.  Tonight I went to the store after class and then did most of tomorrow's homework - but now, I am starting to feel the early morning travel so the rest will have to wait.

March 15 - Beware the Ides of March

Today's class was absolute chaos.  We had 8 students who varied from today being their first day of class this week (2) to me who has been there every day and everywhere in between.  The poor teacher must have been absolutely exhausted at the end of the three and a half hours.   I know I was.

I even went for a walk during the break just to get out for a while.

After class, I stopped to check out one of the plazas near school.  It is a huge plaza that is now half full of bleacher parts, stair parts, .... - I guess it is the main staging area for all of the seating that needs to be set up for Holy Week.  In addition to the seating in the area around the cathedral, people line the streets for hours every afternoon, evening, and into the night.  It is the reason that we are staying to see a few days of the processions and then heading out to Budapest for the long weekend.

The stores were bustling with people getting their outfits for fair  - it is still nearly two months away, but I guess there are a lot of details...  I am not sure exactly what happens during the fair other than eating, drinking, and dancing for a week.  I guess we will see.

There was a band playing to a rowdy crowd at the bar just on the Sevilla side of our bridge.  I am not sure why the lead singer was wearing a box decorated to look like a car- but everyone seemed happy....

March 14 - Pi Day

It is March 14 (3.14), for people in the US who write their dates Month-Day, this date represents the first three digits of pi... for people in Spain who write their dates Day-Year, there is no date that represents the first three digits of pi.  Thus explaining to my teacher why one might bake a pie (that is tarta in Spanish) today to celebrate pi day involved layers of unwinding. 

It is also Albert Einstein's birthday, maybe I should have just stuck with that.

After class today, I walked along near the Cathedral and enjoyed a couple of very talented musicians playing for coins and then walked through one of my favorite plazas before heading home. 

This evening, I did a little work and then checked in for our flights on Saturday.  I always forget that I can check in more than 24 hours in advance here.  We are going to Tenerife (on the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic ocean) for the weekend.

March 13 - A little bread and cheese and orange blossom honey

The orange trees have started to blossom and although the smell hasn't filled the city yet, there are times when you walk past a tree and catch the beautiful scent.

In celebration of the new blooms (and the birthday of one of the students in my class) I baked rolls today and brought them along with some cheese and Spanish orange blossom honey (the bees feast on orange blossoms instead of clover or some other flower) to class. 

Class was good today, and we had some lively conversation as well as some grammar review.  We also did an audio exercise and for probably the first time, I could tell the difference between the accents on the CD (one speaker from southern Spain, one from northern Spain, and one from Cuba).  Usually, I am so fixated on trying to decipher each word, the accents are totally lost... one more baby step.

After class, I walked for a few miles and then stopped off at the store for a couple of things.  Now a little homework and then off to bed.

March 12 - Short Post

This morning I spent a couple of hours making travel plans - the trip back to the US and our Easter trip to Budapest are done - lots of travel details for the time after we return to the US and for a few other short trips while we are here are still just sketches on the drawing board.

My travel planning left me scurrying a little to get ready for class.  Another new student today - he may even come five days a week....

After class, I walked a little and then went to intercambio.  I captured a photo of the teacher toward the end - she had been cleaning up a little - she doesn't even drink beer, but I liked the photo anyway.

After intercambio, I walked for about and hour and then came home and had a quick dinner.

One of the students from our Morocco trip sent me this photo of our group on the camel rides.... ah memories.