Inglesas en Sevilla and other tales

Nestled within the historic labyrinth of Barrio Santa Cruz, hidden in the maze of narrow streets in the old Jewish quarter of Sevilla, three English Señoritas reunite in a Petit Palace! The enchanting city of Sevilla welcomes the travelers into a city bustling with vibrant flamenco shows, tapas bars, horse and carriages lining the squares, the smell of chestnuts roasting on street corners and the fragrance of oranges delighting the senses. Three English señoritas reunite in style & take a ‘paseo’ around the beautiful plazas and winding streets, laughing and conversing over a meal of tapas and Tinto de Verano into the night. A beautiful journey that created ever-lasting memories….Sevilla…. te quiero!

I cannot give their trip justice with words… it was just magical and a real treat to have the opportunity to show some of my closest friends the country whose culture has shaped me & enticed me over the past few months. Taking up the role of ‘tour guide’ I took the girls to every corner of the city, sharing memories of past visits, introducing them to the most ingenious and delicious creation and past-time on Earth… TAPAS! Also, inspiring Heidi with a Flamenco show so much she claimed the next day; ‘I think I’ve found my calling in life… a flamenco dancer!’ We even took a very random and hilarious bike tour around the city under the stars. Our tour guide didn’t know what had hit him when we showed up, giggling & claiming we weren’t very stable on bikes…only then to find that the bikes didn’t have functioning breaks or lights…clearly failing the safety test! But in the words of the guide: ‘no pasa nada!’ (Basically; Don’t worry about it!) Oh, and helmets aren’t necessary in Spain… obviously?!?!?
Despite a few nerves, we soon got into the momentum and thoroughly enjoyed touring the city by bike for 3 hours….although I must admit, my thighs were burning by the end of it! I was able to see the Plaza de España for the first time, which is BREATHTAKING! It’s like you step back in time and into a world where Venice meets Spain…incredible and beautiful.

Some highlights of the weekend in Sevilla include Heidi’s beautiful performance of the song ‘You’re never fully dressed without a smile’ from the musical Annie, on the steps of a monument in the main square… caught on video by Hannah! On play back we noticed how a group of children had gathered, enticed and observing this strange blonde exotic creature singing and dancing in a different tongue. Heidi, you’re amazing!
Another recuerdo would have to be up in Giralda Tower in Sevilla Cathedral, staring myself and Heidi as the tour guides….let’s just say, I think I can cross off ‘Tour guide’ on my list of ‘possible careers post graduation’ as at one point I proclaimed that ‘there are many houses in Sevilla…hmmm.’ Although do join Heidi and Hannah next time for their trip to Melbourne, Australia hehe; Hannah’s response; ‘I wish’. (yeah, I think you have to see the footage lol) I also invested in a book about the history of Spain- my project for the next few months!

The following two days, the ladies accompanied me to my wee pueblo en el campo! Valverde del Camino, the centre of the universe, or not. Unfortunately they came during the week when the town is at its quietest, so no crazy partying with the locals on a Saturday night occurred….shame. (A more accurate description would be: No smoke filled lungs and itchy eyes and sleezy Spanish men!) Although, I have heard a rumour that the smoking ban is coming into force here in March!? HA! Fat chance.
I loved taking the girls to my private classes and watching them interact with the children. My afternoon workshops in the primary school were a blast, as the kids danced and sang away to ‘If you’re Happy and you know it clap your hands.’ Actually, this version proved too difficult so we simplified it to ‘If you’re happy, happy, happy, clap your hands!’ We then had a giggle mimicking Mr Men characters; the game was that Heidi and Hannah would pick up pictures of the characters and the children had to respond with an action…. ‘Mr funny’ was Heidi’s favourite; as soon as she picked up the picture the whole room exploded in laughter! Took us 5 minutes to calm them down again for the next picture! In the end I would just grab Mr MEAN and they’d all shut up and fold their arms and scowl! Hehe!
At a private class in a house, I got the group of 5 kids to ask the girls questions about whatever they wanted. It was amusing to hear the kids asking things that intrigued them most; Manuel asked ‘Have you looked Nessy?’ At first we assumed he was trying to say ‘Are you messy?’ Then we realized he was referring to The Lock Ness Monster! A legend even in the outback of southern Spain! Teresa asked Heidi at one point ‘Are you funny?’ That just caused us to laugh, which in turn answered her question.

The girls departed on Wednesday morning and completed their Spanish experience with a 2 day trip to Córdoba. It was a magical and memorable few days that I got to spend with them. Life in Valverde continues without them….but my kids are missing the ‘Foreign girls’, as do I! Love you girls xxxx

More news from the bubble of Valverde…

(Housemates ! Kate and I with Miguel -Abuelito!)

We took a trip last weekend to a nightclub on the outskirts of the town and met an Aussie! Hilarious to have an English, American and Aussie chatting away amongst a load of Spaniards! It was rather amusing when I initially met him in the club as I thought he was just another local trying to practice his English on me, so I replied in Spanish and he looked confused and proclaimed ‘I’m from Australia’ hehe.

We met another Couch Surfer called Pablo, from Madrid. A middle aged traveler without destination, going wherever the wind blows him, free as a bird and searching for a ‘resting place’, which led to deep discussions about whether he will ever find his paradise on Earth; deep lol He was passing through our town for a day and we decided to have coffee with him. Despite not being with him for long, we learnt a lot from him. As always, we spoke a lot about language differences in the south when he commented on my Andaluz accent! He told us that Spaniards never really use the future tense like us Brits: Whereas we’d claim ‘I will go to work tomorrow’; the Spaniards believe this is challenging God, assuming you have tomorrow. So for this reason, they use the closer future ‘I am going to go to work tomorrow’ Not much difference right? Well, apparently there is! He also tried to help us perfect the imperfect subjunctive (heart and head verbs as we call them). He was a very philosophical guy and we enjoyed his company. We just hope it was reciprocated.

Other news, I now have an abuela in Valverde (a Grandma). She adopted me and now we have intercambios in her house. I usually pop round to see her twice a week for a couple of hours and enjoy her homemade ‘galletas’ by the fire with a cuppa. I have to admit, I feel like I’m learning a lot from her, not only improving my Spanish, (she’s trying her hardest to beat out the Andaluz accent that I’ve picked up!) but also learning from someone generations older than me about life. She lives with her deaf brother, and so I’m learning Spanish sign language too! I’ve mastered ‘hasta luego’ (see you later) and ‘how are you’. Humanity is a wonderful thing- you don’t need a common language to show compassion, kindness or generosity. He popped out to the local market whilst I was chatting with Pepa (my abuela) and he returned with a tin of typical Andaluz pâté as a gift for me! Despite not being able to communicate by spoken language, it’s amazing how far a nod of the head when passing each other in the street, and a smile goes. Communication…it’s far more than words.

Workwise, I'm still enjoying my private classes, although i'm having to teach maths and the secondary school now which is proving quite a challenge! But it's great in some respects as i'm learning too!!!! The sun has come back after two months of wintery weather and so walks in the country, absorbing vitamin D and blowing away the cobwebs from parties the night before are becoming a frequent occurance !
Well that’s all folks. Tune in in a couple of weeks time to find out how my adventures with Ryan went! So excited for his arrival on TUESDAY! We’re hoping for a wee trip to Morocco, but having some issues with the travel company who are supposed to be ‘organising it’ for us! Vamos a ver… we shall see! Oh, and when Ryan heads back to the States I’ll also be catching a plane with the girls to Gran Canaria for a quick 5 day trip soaking up the sunshine and chilling on an exotic island.

Keep in touch peeps! Miss you all.
Besos y abrazos a todos!
Hasta pronto!
XxX