Sorry for the lapse between posts, but I have finally settled in my residencia (my dorm) and only recently got my internet up and running. As a group, the Americans on my trip have explored most of Seville, especially el Centro, where the Universidad de Sevilla and many restaurants, tapas bars and discotecas (dance clubs) are located. While all of the home-stays are in Triana, Remedios, and surrounding neighborhoods on the outskirts of Seville, my residencia is in el Centro. The location is ideal and I am a 15 minute walk from the Universidad de Sevilla. The residencia is of a beautiful, colorful style, almost like an Italian villa. (To the right, there should be links to all of the photos that I have taken so far, including many of my residencia!) My street, which is called Las Redes, is very narrow, beautiful and tranquil, but it's off of a main street called Alfonso 12.
As for my room, I have a single on the third and final floor of the residencia. In my piso (suite) there's a kitchen, a little common area, two small bathrooms, and five singles. My compañeros de piso (roommates) are all males. There's Tellal, an American on the CIEE liberal arts program, and three Sevillanos who attend la Universidad. Their names are Rafa, Rafa and Javi. I haven't had time to get to know them yet because they are all in the midst of studying for their finals. The period of finals is the last week of January and the first week of February. For the Spanish, the finals are extremely important because there are usually no other grades during the entire cuatrimestre (semester). So, I will be able to hang out at night with Javi and the two Rafas soon enough! Besides our floor, there is a floor of 7 American girls below, and the main floor has 2 American girls, 2 French girls (who only speak French and Spanish), a Hungarian (who speaks Spanish, Hungarian, and English), and two Spanish guys, Seba y Pablo, who only speak Spanish. So, while there are many Americans, everyone sticks mostly with Spanish and I am very happy to have so many Spanish kids on my floor in particular.
The reason why I called the bottom floor the "main floor" is because there is un salón (a living room) with red couches. It's actually outside, but there's a roof above it that prevents the rain. I have been hanging out there a lot at night to talk with the Spanish kids. It's a great place to hang out and it's awesome because it's almost like a tiny courtyard. This type of architecture is very typical in Seville.
The best part of my entire residencia, however, is the balcony. My room, though it's small, has a screen that opens to a beautiful gate and a wide open balcony. The balcony is shared by the entire residencia, but I'm the only one with the great view and the direct access (although there's another staircase that leads to it). It provides a great space to hang out and look at the beautiful city. I could not be happier in the residencia and I really like all the surrounding people!
Stay tuned for a post on the nightlife and another on the cuisine and culture!
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