A Travelogue.: On Language Immersion

There NOTHING like being told by a native Spanish speaker that you speak very well. I expend so much mental energy trying to keep up with the locals and 99% of the time feeling like my Spanish is inadequate, so that single fleeting compliment does not only make my day but makes my week :). Before coming to Seville, I was very confident in my Spanish-speaking ability and considered myself to be fairly proficient in the language. Well, this past week has been a big wake-up call! Language immersion is a funny thing because while the information may be there, the difficult thing is being able to ACCESS it when five sentences have been spoken while you're still working on processing the first. Communicating a need or desire is no problem at all, but participating in conversation with natives, especially while trying to cultivate a friendship, is a completely different story. There is nothing more frustrating than meeting a group of really great people my age, yet only being able to communicate on a very basic level. But hey, it's all part of the learning process! And I have only been here for a week so I shouldn't get too discouraged :).

El Palacio: this is where I take my classes every day!

(Photo by Cara Ladd)

La Plaza de Espana

Orange and Lemon Trees that can be found on EVERY corner. I hear they are stunning when they finally bloom

Last weekend was my first weekend going out in Seville! What a blast. Friday night my friends and I went to a discoteca and spent the night dancing and mingling with the locals, it was a late night. Saturday evening my friend Katie and I went to a bar to watch the Sevilla vs. Betis futbol game (Sevilla's two rival teams) and observe that aspect of the culture here. Europeans are so passionate about their futbol teams, we had such an awesome time!! Later that night we ended up meeting two people from London who had moved to Sevilla to teach English at the University here as well as a local architecture student and his friends. The conversation was fantastic! Everyone we've encountered so far has been so kind and tolerant of us Americans; instead of shying away or writing us off they are quick to include and welcome us into the culture. Whether or not they realize it, los Sevillanos portray a very positive image of their city.

I finally began my classes yesterday! Well, class I should say. I have a language immersion/grammar/conversation/culture class every day from 3-6 with various places that I'm also expected to visit outside of the classroom. I'm so glad to be formally studying Spanish as well as informally practicing it every day in hopes that my speaking will improve dramatically in a short period of time! I've been very impressed with the level of Spanish among my peers here as well, nearly everyone is extremely proficient (participants had to qualify at a certain level of Spanish before being considered) and my language abilities, by comparison, seem pretty average. While frustrating, it is great to be constantly challenged not only by the culture and my classes but by my friends as well!

Last night four of my close friends and I went out for tapas in the city, here are some pictures: