March Already?!

Today when I wrote the date on the top of my notes I had a minor freak out moment. March 3rd?!! Seriously?! This week marks the 7th week that I have been here in Sevilla. 7 weeks! wow. I have passed the 1 month marker. For some reason this really struck me. Now it gets serious. No more relying on the "oh, I haven't been here that long" excuse when I can't understand someone or can't find my way somewhere. No more putting off planning trips for my breaks because "they are so far away." And no more "oh, my midterms are not for a while." These thoughts kind of had me stressing a little! I just want to make sure that I am truly taking advantage of every new opportunity that I have here because one of my worst fears is coming home and regretting NOT doing something.

Anyhoo...I know that I have been majorly slacking in the blog department but I do have some interesting things to report.

• For Lent, some of my friends and I have given up speaking in English to each other. One of the most important things about this trip that I want to return home with improved Spanish, and this is definitely a step in the right direction to accomplishing this. Speaking with my friends helps me boost my confidence since I do not feel self conscience every second that I am pronouncing something wrong or sounding stupid. Now I just need to carry this confidence into my conversations with Spanish people!

• A couple weeks ago I did a volunteer activity that my program offered that consisted in getting up early on a Sunday morning (ugh) and painting the gymnasium of a public school. It was great to give back to a community that has already given so much to me in my time here. I had a lot of fun and got to see a new part of the city! But I also got blue paint on my sneakers since I wasn't really prepared with clothes for activities like this...
  

• Two weeks ago I went to Carnaval in the nearby city of Cádiz (which is actually the 3rd largest carnaval celebration in the world) and let's just say it was certainly an experience...I have never seen that many people in one place before!! They take the dressing up veryyyy seriously too! Also, while there I got to see the waters of the Mediterranean for the first time!
  

• Classes are going pretty well..I know I have never really gone into detail about them but that is because they take a back seat to all the other things that I am doing and experiencing while I am here-they are really just not that exciting in comparison. I am learning about Don Quixote, Spanish phonetics, Spanish Contemporary Literature, and Spanish Art history. I take my classes with all Americans, 2 at my CIEE "study center" and 2 at the University of Seville. Fun fact: the building that is now the University of Seville where I take classes is the old tobacco factory where Carmen (you know- the opera!) was rumored to have worked. Cool, huh?!

• Lastly, On Saturday I took a day trip to Córdoba with my program. We toured the Catherdral/Mosque that is amaaaazing and stood on a bridge that was built in the 1 century by the Romans!! Then we toured the 3rd oldest winery in Spain and did a wine tasting. One of the wines we tried was made from raisins and was thick like syrup and sickeningly sweet (Grammy have you ever tried raisin wine? I was not exactly a fan of it...)
  

Sorry that this post was so random...I will try to be more consistent and systematic in my posting from now on!
Oh-one more thought-the weather here is absolutely beautiful! Crisp mornings and evenings and perfectly sunny afternoons...I have a feeling that during Spring that city is going to completely explode with life and people loving life! I am definitely looking forward to taking part in this :)
Hasta luego!