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.