El Centro

 Un edeficio que me gusta mucho

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This morning we got the opportunity to tour el centro (the middle) of Seville. Our guide, Sara, described it as a labyrinth that is build around the original center of the city. There are countless side streets that get you places faster on foot, but make it VERY easy to get lost. She showed us some obvious landmarks that will help us when the inevitable happens and we get lost. It’s about 20 minutes from my house to el centro, which is probably good because it’s all really awesome shops and eateries. El centro is very close to CIEE, which is where all of my classes will be, so I’ll get the opportunity to explore there very often.

             Las Calles Bonitas

      The tight streets with colorful buildings jutting up are more beautiful than I imagined, there are colorful signs, banners, graffiti, and decorations that make each building so unique. Right now is coined, rebajas, or big sales, in which literally every single store has huge 50% off or more sales, so the streets are bussling. I’m definitely going to take some of the weekend to walk around and see how different the stores are here than in the US.

          Una cantante por las calles

        We also got to see Las Setas (mushrooms), which are structures right in the heart of Seville that have stairs you can climb and see the whole city. They are so fascinating and unusually modern in such a historical city. On a clear day, Sara said you can see the expanses of Seville so clearly. Las Setas have been a gathering place for many government protests, as the unemployment rate here is about 30%, and there has been much debate about their appearance in the city.

            Las Setas, en el Centro

       I tried to get a sim card for my phone, but there was a problem with them, so I’ll have to return tomorrow to try again.  Está tiempo para almuerzar y descansar un poco. Este tarde voy al centro para comprar una secadora y caminar un poco con unas amigas de CIEE. Anoche, hay un reunión sobre los grupos de interes, tapas con el grupo, y un flamenco. Será estupendo. 

P.S. Although it’s 60s during the day here, it is FREEZING in my house. I wear two pairs of pants, shirts, and sweatshirts in the house plus gloves and a scarf. Spaniards are different than Americans in that when it’s cold they put on more clothes instead of turning up the heat. In fact, they don’t even have heat! Brrrrr culture shock