El comienzo (The Beginning)

So. Hello from Sevilla? Yes, I am here. It feels really strange. I have been anticipating this for so long and normally that would provide plenty of time for me to think about where I was going and what I was doing, but I don’t think that it worked that way in this case. Anticipating studying for a year in Sevilla became an idea—something vague and far off—rather than a reality. It was hard for me to grasp what doing this would really entail; it was hard to visualize myself functioning as a Cornell student in another place.

Visualizing it ahead of time or not, I am definitely here and am managing to function. But let’s back up.

The flights over were alright. We were checking in for our first flight from Detroit to Frankfurt when Liliana stopped chatting really suddenly because she recognized the voice of the girl checking in next to us. The side profile was totally different than what we remembered (ha, funny how the growing up thing works), but it turned out to be none other than Rachel Goodman, a friend of ours from high school! She’s studying abroad for the year in Bologna and we were on the same flight. That was really funny. While sitting in the Detroit airport together, it felt a little weird… the last time any of us had flown to Frankfurt was with our entire high school band, the summer after our senior year of high school. We felt like we were missing some 100 other people who were supposed to be on our flight!

The takeoff was one of the most sketchiest things I have ever experienced on a plane (it freaked Liliana out, too, so it isn’t just me being anxious). There was a large noise that sounded like an engine coming from under us towards the back right, and it kept shutting off and restarting in a very uneven way. It also didn’t feel like we were going very quickly, like it normally feels when you take off. Everything was really lackadaisical, but not in a good way. I had to keep craning my neck to look out the window and see if we were, in fact, going up into the sky. Anyway, we got there in one piece which is what’s important. The 11 hour layover in Frankfurt was not the most fun experience of my life, but it could have been worse. After Frankfurt to Barcelona, we went Barcelona to Sevilla and arrived late last night.

We got to the hotel after the welcoming festivities had ended, but that was alright (I have a strong suspicion that they were a waste of time, anyway.) A very nice dinner was waiting for us on take-out trays in our room and we were left with little note explaining the activities for the next few days and the upcoming activities. For the next 3ish (maybe 4, I can’t remember) weeks, we will be taking the Michigan/Cornell/UPenn pro-seminar. Basically, it’s one course (that we get graded for and it counts as credit) where we review grammar, learn about Southern Spanish culture (and the do’s and don’ts that go along with it), and go on field trips and day trips to see local tourist attractions and important things in neighboring cities. The farthest and longest trip we go on is to Madrid, which is for three days. It feels weird to be plopped all of a sudden back into school—we got the grammar books and things we’ll need for this class today and do indeed have a decent bit of reading for tomorrow—but it’s also good that the program functions this way. We a re pulled immediately into the world of Spanish and the world of school, but in a much more comfortable way than if we were just dropped into the Universidad de Sevilla. I think that might be a problem.

The Michigan/Cornell/Penn center is really nice. I will call it “el centro” from now on. It is right in the heart of Sevilla and incredibly close to the University, which is great. El centro is a converted apartment. It has a room with several printers, computers, and open tables for laptops, which is where we can go for wireless. There are also 2 offices and a main reception desk for the staff here, as well as a cute little library room that we can use to study in. It has walls lined with bookcases and empty tables and chairs. The front of el centro looks out onto the river and the pedestrian walkway that runs through Sevilla and the back windows (where the library is) look out over a little, curvy street. It’s gorgeous.

Sevilla generally is utterly breathtaking. I came here briefly my junior year of high school and remembered that I really liked it and wanted to come back, but I didn’t remember exactly how much I love it and exactly how beautiful it is (I lost all of my pictures from that trip, which we won’t get into but I’m still bitter about). Clear, blue skies all the time (Seville has some of the most hours of sun out of anywhere in Europe, so ha, take that Ithaca and Ann Arbor), palm trees and orange trees, winding roads filled with brightly colored old Spanish architecture, picturesque shops and cafes (Jenny, you’d love it here)… it’s just stunning. Sevilla is big enough at 750,000 people where it’s a major city and I feel legitimately overwhelmed trying to learn my way around here, but it’s not a big metropolis like Madrid or Barcelona, so it retains a lot of the old Spanish charm that major international cities don’t. In my eyes, it doesn’t get more picturesque than this.

I’m excited to explore and to finally figure out my way around. The winding streets certainly don’t speed up the process, but I’m sure we’ll get there. I like winding streets a lot better than straight, parallel ones. I know Thomas Jefferson had a good idea with those Northwest Ordinances, but honestly, that layout can get pretty dull.

Overall, this is harder for me than I thought it would be and I do get sadder than I thought I would. It’s daunting right now to think about not going back to the US until the middle/end of next summer. Hopefully my homesickness will subside after more time here. It feels a lot like it did my first semester of college. It was easier to function there knowing that I was going home for whatever break was coming up. But here, I don’t have that, so time feels more never-ending. I think soon enough, though, I will view my time here as much more of a gift. Like I said, I probably just have to get settled in. That in itself is daunting too (a little anyway)… feeling at home in a totally foreign place on a completely different continent? I can’t imagine it, but that’s the goal and I assume it will happen eventually.

Alright, I should go. I haven’t taken any pictures yet because I have been so insanely overwhelmed by everything, but there will be more pictures than you can handle probably very soon. Everywhere I look is a picture waiting to be taken. The solid, bright colors of the architecture against the blue sky are incredible, especially when you pair them with a few palm trees and a winding cobblestone road.

I love and miss you all. ¡Hasta luego!