Soy española, pero no puedo hablar el idioma (I´m Spanish, but I Can´t Speak the Language)

This is going to be one of those entries where I write lists about random things that probably aren´t really worth your time to read. Nothing exciting. Nothing well-compiled. Just random things that have occurred to me. I guess it´s better to do this and end up talking about daily things than to only talk about the trips I go on, but still. Sometimes what I end up writing in these is worthless.

1) I am mistaken pretty regularly (once every 2-3 days) for a Spaniard when I´m walking by myself and people will stop me and ask me for directions (even when I have my headphones in). It´s nice, I guess, because it means that physically I look Spanish and I look like I know what I´m doing (both lies). I´ve mastered the ¨no, sorry, I have no idea where that street is, I´m a stupid foriegner¨ response. Typically the person smiles and me in amused sort of way and moves on.

2) There are 2 ways people can give the amused smile. The first way is condescending. Like ¨oh, you´re stupid and you have a funny accent.¨ The second way, though, is really nice. It´s more of a ¨aw, that´s cute, you have a funny accent and I find you endearing.¨ These days I tend to get more of the second than the first, but when the first kind of response happens, it can definitely be a downer.

3) I went with my friend David yesterday to a free showing of the Future Shorts documentaries. It was shown through the University of Seville, but each department is in a different place, and we didn´t know where the Facultad de Bellas Artes was (or that it turns out that it has multiple buildings and the building we wanted was about 15min away from the central building). We were sufficiently lost and asked a bunch of people for directions. The last woman who we asked was so helpful and fantastic. She found us endearing. And her directions were the best. So this encounter yesterday and the man who asked me where some street was this morning both got me thinking about this stuff. This stuff. Specific, I know.

4) It is cold and rainy here. Ok, cold, I know it´s all relative for you NY ones... I think it´s in the 50s (still too lazy to totally figure out the celsius thing), but houses aren´t heated, and at night it gets really cold (ok, like high 30s). I´ve become one of those people who things 55 degrees and rain is brutal because I´m accostumed to 80 degrees and sun. How obnoxious!

5) Happy Halloween!! Halloween is actually celebrated here, sort of, among kids. And the foreigners, obviously. But I was surprised to find stores with costume supplies and things like that. I don´t know if trick-or-treating is a thing or not.

6) I can´t believe tomorrow is November. Time is flying by. There is still so much I want to do here; I´m so glad I have another semester. It´s funny: on the one hand I miss Cornell and I miss the intellectual stimulation and the academic challenges, but on the other hand I´d like to stay here for as long as possible. They don´t really line up. So I guess in a way I´m actually saying that I miss homework dominating my life? Should I really be admitting that? But no, it´s true. I have one, one-page response to an article due in my Anthro of America class on Wednesday and I am pumped. I shall savor that bit of homework... ok, ending here.

7) Mayte and Fernando are in England visiting their daughter, who lives there, and her new baby. It has been just me, Katie, and Nando (the son) in the house. Good times. It feels like living with a kid who is going crazy because his mom isn´t around... For breakfast a few days ago, Nando left out Cola cao (powder for hot chocolate), chocolate twinkie things, AND an absolutely enormous chocolate bar. All chocolate. For breakfast. He came back from running errands while I was eating breakfast and gave me some candy to top it all off. Again. For breakfast. It has been fun. I actually like it, sort of, because I have been cleaning the kitchen and helping him out with making food for us -- things that the program specifically says we are not supposed to do (the kitchen is normally the señora´s territory). Mayte is chill about it, but she normally has everything under control and doesn´t need help, whereas Nando, yeah... he could use some help!

8) I decided to stay with Mayte next semester, too.