A Typical Day in Sevilla

My family, Concha (which is not a dirty word in Spain) and Pedro, was very welcoming and kind. My roommate from college and I always enjoyed eating and talking with them, even though Pedro talked very fast, faster than we’d ever heard someone speak Spanish.

On a typical day, my roommate Eddie and I would wake up around 7, eat a typical breakfast of toast, olive oil and other spreads, and Spanish hot chocolate. We’d grab our schoolwork and meet up with my girlfriend Noelle and her roommate Ashley, who lived nearby. Since most of us lived in Triana, which is right across the Guadalquivir River from downtown Seville, we’d often meet with others at the bridge the Puente de Triana and walk to the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies (CC-CS) together. We’d socialize or review class work, then head to our respective classes.

My class, “Al-Andalus,” comprised of me, Eddie and Diana (the only other Mounties), and eight girls from other American colleges. Our teacher Conso García loved to take us on trips around the city, lecturing as we walked from site to site. One day we even took a bus out to Carmona to spend the whole day studying the Alcázar there. The material was very interesting; our teacher was hilarious (especially when she attempted to speak English), and I enjoyed that we rarely spent all three and half hours of class in seats as we usually went on excursions.

Class began at 9:00 and went until 11:00, when there would be a half hour break for coffee, churros, tapas, and other snacks. We’d return to class for another hour and half and often would go home for lunch. For lunch, we frequently had gazpacho, which was the best thing after walking for 20 minutes in mid-day Andalucian heat of July. We’d stay at home during Siesta, when my roommate usually napped, and I would study, read, or journal and occasionally nap. Sometimes we’d go out and meet with friends to do some shopping, get a small bite to eat, or work on papers. Many of the Center’s cultural excursions were in the early evening, around 6 or 7 and often lasted and hour or two. From there we’d return home for dinner, which we usually had around 9:30- a very typical time in Spain. After dinner, we’d usually read for class and usually be in bed around midnight.