No soy un turísto

¡Estoy en Sevilla!

Finally, after two flights and a little waiting, I am in my house with my señora Maribel, her son Fran, and another student Jennifer.

One thing I learned about Sevilla: some of the roads are very, very skinny.

And very, very random.

At the end of my taxi ride, the driver told me that he'd have to drop me off a little before my destination.  I didn't understand... until I realized that his tiny taxi would not fit down the even tinier alley that my house was located on.  So I got out after paying the driver and began to walk.

The streets surrounding my house are very old.  Imagine a tiny cobblestone alley, with walls on either side covered in different colors.  These walls are four to five stories high.  And these walls aren't really walls.  Instead, they're houses, shops, hotels, cafes, cervezarias, etc.  And people walk everywhere.  There's actually very little vehicle traffic in the streets (although when there is, be careful not to be run over!).  The "walls" do not permit you to move, especially on the skinny sidewalk.

Thanks to the intimidating structure, I got lost on the way to school today.  I was confident (too confident) that I'd find the school with no problem.  With map in hand, I ventured out to find the school.

But I got lost. Bad. Like, really bad. Like so bad, I didn't even know where I was in all of Sevilla.  So the map would make an appearance, and I'd try a direction, hoping to find a street sign (which there are seldom).  When I would find one, I would pull the map out and reevaluate my position.

Eventually I was calling my señora and asking for directions from random strangers (who were very nice by the way).

And then I found the school.  I was thirty minutes late.  Oh well!  And that was that.

One thing about being a tourist in a new place is that you learn to fold a map quickly and efficiently (and then pull it back out again).

Except, I am not a tourist.  I am a student.  I am investing in this place.  This city, with its history and inherent beauty, is becoming a part of me.  My experience is not a week-long vacation.  It's a period of learning and understanding a culture that a tourist could not understand in such a short time.

However, this just scratches the surface of my time here.  There is much more, but that's for another time.  (At least, when I have more laptop battery anyways.)