1) I just finished my first clase de sevillana. Sevillana is a dance unique to Sevilla (no, really?) that everyone here knows (literally, if you grow up in Sevilla, you know Sevillana) and does during the Feria, which is a flamenco festival at the end of April. I asked Luisa awhile ago if she would teach me, and a few days later she told me that there was enough interest among other kids where she was going to hire a professor to teach us the dance for the four Fridays before the feria. We just finished our first class. It's harder than you'd think--especially with the very precise positions of the arms and the hands--but really fun. Ideally by the end I will look like that photo above, but I have set my hopes pretty low. We practiced in pairs like this, too, which was fun because it makes the twirls better and adds so much intensity. I'm going to practice and hopefully I can (sort of) whip it out at Feria!2) Yesterday there was some event going on in front of the university. They had a stage and HUGE blow-up cruzcampo signs (the local beer) right next to the huge blow up 'universidad de sevilla' signs, which, being my American self, I found comical. They were holding races around the university, but I couldn't figure out what for. I didn't have time to go check out the situation, but it was pretty strange to walk by the university and see giant inflatable beer cans where there are normally only orange trees.
3) Walking to class yesterday, there was a girl plucking another girls' eyebrows on a bench in the hall. Not much more needs to be said on that.
4) The newer buses have videos that play statistics and recent news. A few days ago I was on a newer bus and the video claimed that only 12% of old people in Spain live alone, as compared to the EU average of 30-something%. These people are doing something right. That's one of the things I've come to dislike most about the way the US is set up--families spread and the elderly aren't prioritized. It needs to be changed.
5) Wednesdays here are the 'dia del espectador' in the movie theaters, which means that everything is cheaper the whole day. I went with some friends to see Almodovar's new movie, "Los abrazos rotos" (Broken Hugs). It was really good, but it is also always just nice to go to see a movie in Spanish. When I first came to Spain, I couldn't understand a lot and I would always prefer to have Spanish subtitles so I could read along with what they were saying. But now I can easily go and sit and watch a movie in Spanish. I still don't understand absolutely every word, but a lot of progress has been made, for sure. It's actually when I start actively thinking about how the movie is in Spanish that I can't understand it anymore! It's interesting. I understand Spanish better when I'm passive.
6) Earlier in the week I went to Starbucks to study. There are 4 Starbucks on the same main street here. I've never really gone before, but I don't know, the comfy couches looked so appealing on a rainy day, people don't smoke inside, and I really just wanted to curl up with a hot drink and do my reading. So I went in, got myself set up. It was pretty busy and almost everyone in there was not Spanish. Mostly loud, noisy, obnoxious Americans. A few Germans, I think, and some English people, too. The guy behind the counter spoke English; the Americans didn't even attempt to use Spanish. I felt like I could have been anywhere in the world. Oh, wait, probably because I *could* have been anywhere in the world. It put me in a really bad mood. Globalism at its finest. Plus they hadn't even given me a mug, so I had to throw out my paper cup. I didn't stay long, but in my time there I made a vow to myself. I will never patron Starbucks again with the exception of when I'm writing my thesis in Ithaca (it's part of the case study), but when I go I will absolutely always bring my thermos and I will absolutely always just get the overpriced tea. Why would I support global exploitation over Stella's wonderful local, organic atmosphere? Or over an authentic Sevilla cafe experience? Ok, I know the answer to the second one, it's because the atmosphere in the cafes here is uncomfortable and smelly, but still. Not good enough, Emma. I am forever done going and hiding out in the coffee shop that is taking over the world. Mark my words. Mark my words.
Heh, what a rant. Spanish theater tonight for one of my classes, outing tomorrow to Aracena with the center. Looking forward to the weekend.
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