Y la vida continua (And Life Continues)

Here's a compilation of things that have happened since Monday night, when I got home from Paris...

1) The center scheduled an emergency meeting to talk about swine flu. It was funny because it was so evident that it was scheduled at the demand of our home universities, not because the administration here in Sevilla was actually concerned about it. It was a very basic "this is what it is, this is what you need to avoid, be careful and cautious, stay informed" type of thing. Although Spain has the most cases in Europe, I don't think there have been any serious cases reported yet. Nevertheless, I have been carrying around Purel with me and have that magical stuff at the ready. Also, in my mind, swine flu isn't all bad -- one of my professors spent the feria vacation in Mexico guest lecturing, so she's back and fine, but she's in quarantine and we therefore did not have class this week. What a shame.

2) Our building is having some pipe repair type of stuff done (it is an old building--30some years old, I think), which means that for the next 3-4 weeks, the water in the kitchen is turned off and we can't use that sink. It's funny how much that messes up a household. There's still water in the other rooms (if we didn't have it in the bathrooms, that would be truly awful), but it's still a bit chaotic. Mayte was organizing and reorganizing like crazy, as you can imagine.

3) I can't believe it's already mid-May and that I really only have a month left of being here. I could write my blog entry just on that, but I'll spare you. I can already tear up thinking about leaving even though in a lot of ways I think I'm ready to go. This experience is so unique, and once I go, it's gone. I can come back to Sevilla, yeah, but I won't be a resident. I'll be a tourist. And I probably won't ever see Fernando and Mayte again. Ok, stopping myself.

4) The other day I was sitting and eating breakfast, and Fernando came into the kitchen and said "ay, que guapa estas, hija" (hey, you look pretty today, daughter) and kind of stroked my hair for a second. It was so... I don't know, so nice, so familiar, so comfortable. It's nice to see that I've been here for so long, that I've gotten to that point, but it makes it that much harder to imagine myself actually leaving. See number three.

5) Today it was 97 degrees. This has been the norm for this week.

6) For my Relato hispanoamericano class (Latin American short stories, basically), our professor switched on Wednesday. It was a planned part of the syllabus -- we have a different teacher to teach the last segment of the course, which is on Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The new professor talks like Kermit the Frog. It is unbelievable. Some words are fine and he sounds normal, but then other times I'm just incredulous that, when I look up from my notes, some green Muppet is not standing in front of me. It's really quite something. There are about 18 kids in the class from my program, and they have all noticed the same thing. At times, I can't help but smile to myself or chuckle, and I sit front center, so that's no good. I really need to work on it. I'm getting better. But yes, the one and only Kermit the Frog is employed at la Universidad de Sevilla.

7) Although I've been here for awhile and feel very comfortable in a lot of ways that I didn't before, awkward interactions still exist, and exist in abundance. I have some specific examples, but to be honest it isn't worth explaining all of it. I can't imagine being back in a place where English is the only language and all social interactions are 100% in my culture and in my control. Now that's just a weird idea.

8) That paper I've been complaining about in the last entries (the 15 page one) is still not done. Barely started. Yep... fantastic.

Ok, tomorrow morning off to Malaga for a night with the group from the center. Back in action early next week!