A History Lesson... Or Five

Upon arriving home from Madrid last Sunday, Eva and Pepe wasted no time in planning the next few excursions for our group. This past week, we visited four major sites in Seville and took a day trip to Cadiz, which is on the coast of the south of Spain. The events planned this past week required us to wake up a little earlier than normal (9 AM), but all of them were worth it in my mind. On Monday, we started by visiting the most beautiful, and famous place in Seville... The Cathedral. The Seville Cathedral is the third largest in size in the world, and the biggest gothic Cathedral in the world. Pepe gave us a tour and began by telling us that the church has 7 naves. He was extremely insightful into the history of the Cathedral as well. From what I could understand in his presentation, the Moors from Africa had taken control of Seville in the 12th century and built several monuments and mosques throughout the city. During the Reconquista, Spain reacquired Seville back from the Moors and decided to build a Cathedral on the same grounds as the original mosque. Their intentions were to make a larger, and more grandiose place for religious worship that would outdo any Moorish monument. Unfortunately, there have been several earthquakes throughout time that prohibited the Spaniards from building their ideal cathedral. It is interesting because a lot of the Moorish architectural characteristics still remain in the Catholic Cathedral. In art and architecture, this is referred to as "mudejar". In art and architecture, the mudejar style is a combination of Muslim and Christian ideals incorporated into one monument or piece of art. Although there were a few tourist groups throughout the church, I still felt like the cathedral has remained a place for prayer and sacred worship. It was very cool to see the chapels and sacristy. I would like to attend a mass while I am in Seville, and picked up a schedule before I left the church. I'm sure I will go during Semana Santa, or Holy Week, when the Cathedral packs all of the Seville residents into one church. When Pepe finished his tour of the Cathedral, he directed us toward the Giralda, which is the church's bell tower. The tower was also adapted from the minaret of the mosque it replaced. We climbed 33 floors to get to the top, but fortunately it was all ramps. There weren't any stairs because the Moors used to have their horses take them to the top to ring the bells and call the city for prayer. I got some great pictures, and had a great view of the city of Seville. On Tuesday, we went to Hospital de la Caridad. Hospital de la Caridad is a charity hospital that cares for the elderly. The reason we went however, was to see the church and the artwork contained within the hospital. The church was full of gold, and had an old-fashion style to it. They refer to this style as baroque, which originated in Italy in the 17th century. The coolest thing about this church was seeing the sculpture at the altar, which depicted the burial of Christ. I liked this excursion because before we went, I read about the Hospital and got some background knowledge on the paintings and the history of the church. The elderly have a very nice church to pray in, and very few tourists make this a point of interest so they are not regularly disturbed. Also, our host mother's daughter got married in this church, which made it especially cool to see. On Wednesday, we went to Real Alcazar, which was built in the 14th century and also contains many examples of mudejar architecture, like the Cathedral. Real Alcazar is full of courtyards and gardens. Pepe told us that lots of students go there to study in the spring because of the nature that surrounds the palace. If you look at the pictures, you can see in the arc's and the buildings that there is some Arabic influence in the construction of the courtyards and patios. When the current King and Queen come visit Seville, they stay in Real Alcazar, but unfortunately we did not get to see exactly where they live. While walking around the palace I was amazed by how large and eloquent the palace really was. Rock was a very popular material used to build buildings and paths alike, and the tiles that connected them were small and colorful. There were a ton of fountains in Real Alcazar, and it was funny to see ducks swimming in the water. I will return back when the gardens are full and the flowers are in bloom. On Thursday, we went to El Museo de las Bellas Artes. All the works in this museum were very religious, and most of them paid homage to the Virgin Mary. There were a lot of different rooms that contained works of art by various painters. This museum contains mostly 17th century art, which I really appreciated given I like the classical antique style. Then, Thursday night we went to a classical music concert. The concert consisted of songs by Beethoven and Piotr Tchaikovsky. The best part about the concert was watching the soloist play his cello. The soloist had rather long hair and played his cello with a lot of force and emotion. When he really would get going on a song, he would whip his hair back and forth. The concert was very good, and I was impressed with the skill level of the orchestra. I have been saving all my tickets and brochures so I can remember where I went and what I saw. Our group spent all day Friday in Cadiz, which is a city about an hour and a half bus ride from Sevilla. We arrived around 11:30 and went to the Cathedral almost immediately. It was raining very hard which kind of put a damper on the afternoon, but the Cathedral was still astounding. We then proceeded to a tower that overlooks the city and were given a demonstration of "camera oscura". The camera oscura gives a full 360 degree tour of the city from a bird's eye view. We were able to see the whole city on a circular panel, while the guide would rotate the camera that was situated above us. We got some very cool pictures, and just at this point in time it started to get sunny, which put everyone in a little happier of a mood I think. Cadiz is a strip of land that is built like a semi-circle around the Atlantic ocean, so a small group of us walked around the path by the water. We tried to walk around town a little bit, but Cadiz definitely partakes in the Spanish phenomenon known as the Siesta. Everything was closed and the streets were entirely empty at 4 PM. I think I will go back to Cadiz if I get the chance for their festival during the first weekend in March. It is famous all around Spain, and March is the perfect time to get ready for summer here and visit the beach.

There have been a ton of other cool things going on in Sevilla this week in addition to the scheduled events. I received my "Sevici" card in the mail, which allows me to take a bike from any bike rack in the city and return it within a half hour. It's kind of a cool system because you can take the bike from any rack you want, and return it to any other station located in the city. It's actually kind of hard to ride on the sidewalks here though because they are made of brick so it is extremely bumpy. It's also kind of annoying when you get to your destination and there aren't any available spots to put your bike because you have to ride to the next nearest one to park it. It was also our host mom's birthday last week, so Justin and I bought her some flowers and a vase. She loved them and immediately called her daughter to tell her how excited she was. Her daughter got her an in-house facial, which she seemed to love as well, so I think she had a great birthday. Lourdes also told me that her daughter, who is in her thirties and married with kids (bummer), might be interested in doing an intercambio with me. That way, she could help me with my Spanish and I could help her with her English. I think it sounds like a great idea, and I am definitely going to take her up on it if the offer still stands. This week we are picking our classes for the university with Eva, and finishing up the cultural seminar. I have learned a lot about Spain and it's history these past few weeks and now I have to show what I have learned in a 3 page paper and another 5 page paper. I already started on the first paragraph and I can already tell how much easier it is to write now that I have been here for almost 3 weeks. I'll update later this week when my class schedule is set in stone. Hopefully it's not as stressful as enrolling in classes at Michigan....

Madrid

Our time spent in Madrid consisted of three things: museums, fiestas, and zero sleep. We woke up early Friday morning and took the AVE, which is the fastest way to get to Madrid besides flying. The AVE is about a two and a half hour train ride, and goes by pretty quickly. On the way there, I read my book that my parent’s gave me for suggestions on what to see, where to eat, and how to plan my day in Madrid. When we arrived to the hotel, Justin and I decided we’d rather go sightseeing and explore the city instead of shopping like some others in our group so we met up with another girl in our program and spent nearly seven hours out on the town. We saw Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, which were packed with people, both tourists and natives. Puerta del Sol is the exact center of Madrid and was surrounded by shops and large buildings. However, it is an area generally known for pickpocketing, so we decided not to stay there too long at the risk of getting something stolen. The majority of our afternoon was spent at El Museo del Arte Thyssen. There was a special collection on display of Jardines, which are gardens. There were some very famous pieces in this collection such as art by Monet, Picasso, and Dali. When we finished walking through this section, we went to the original museum, which is a private collection of art owned by the Thyssen family. The first floor was full of contemporary art, and as we continued up to the different floors of the museum, the art became more classical and antique styled. I decided I like classical art better because of the story it tells, and the message it sends to the viewer. Maybe it is just because I am not very good at interpreting abstract art, and prefer the works that are specific and concrete. We spent so much time in the museum, that when we finally got out of there we were starving. We went to a tapas restaurant, and the food was pretty good. We all split three different plates. That night we went to a discoteca called “Joy”. Fortunately, my friends and I were given a free entry pass on the street so we did not have to pay the 15 euro cover fee. We stayed out extremely late, per usual in the Spanish culture. The discos here are packed with people and full of dancing. Most of them have 2 or 3 floors too that have different themes to them, like Salsa, Techno music, and Pop Culture.  The next day we had a scheduled tour of the Prado museum, which houses some of the world’s most famous art by Velazquez and Goya. Some of the more famous works we saw included “Las Meninas”, “Los Borrachos”, “La rendicion de Breda”, “La Familia de Carlos IV”, “El Tres de Mayo de 1808”, and “Saturno devorando a un hijo”. An actual professor at the University of Seville led our tour and gave us some very interesting insights into the histories of these paintings. I also got the chance to see “Danae and the shower of Gold”, a work done by Titian, which I learned about in my Art History class at Michigan this past fall. A group of 6 of us spent the afternoon at Reina Sofia, yet another museum, which contains more contemporary art, such as works by Picasso and Dali. We saw the Guernica in person, which is one of Spain’s most famous pieces. Saturday was undoubtedly an exhausting day for all of us, because we went to the famous nature park in Madrid after our museum adventures. It is called Retiro, and is a beautiful park with water fountains and maze-like paths. It was very cold in Madrid, so I am sure I didn’t get to see this park in it’s prime condition, but it was amazing nevertheless. On Sunday, we had kind of a rough start to the day because I woke up a little late for the tour of Palacio Real, or the "Royal Palace". I still was able to get the whole tour though, and I was extremely happy I did. The Palacio has around 2000 rooms, and I only saw about 20. Of the one’s I saw, some common themes were large, grandiose architecture, chandeliers, large pillars, and huge central stairways. It is interesting to see where the Royal Family once lived. It is also interesting that some Royal functions, such as dinners and weddings are still held there today. I never thought I could pack three art museums, two plazas, two discotecas, and a royal palace into one weekend, but apparently I did the impossible. I was glad to return to Seville Sunday night, to a nice home cooked meal by Lourdes. Her cooking is great, I feel very fortunate to have her has my host madre. In sum, Madrid was a great success, and I feel much more informed about the capital of the country in which I currently reside. It was a great weekend to get to know the kids in my program better too. And I think we are all improving our Spanish too, which is fun to watch everyone progress. This week, we have seen even more cool and historic places in Seville. I don’t know what I am going to do when I have to go to class instead of field trips everyday!

It's all part of the program fee...

I'm a little behind on my blogging right now because we have had an extremely busy past couple of days. We just arrived home from our weekend trip to Madrid, and I am probably working on a total of 10 hours of sleep from the weekend. Our weekend consisted of extremely late nights and equivalently early mornings. I wouldn't exchange it for anything though. Our time spent in Madrid deserves its own post, so first I'll pick up where I left off after the Real Betis v. Barcelona soccer game. The next day after the game we went to one of the nicest spa's in Spain called Banos Arabes. I have had 2 massages in my life, and neither of those compared to these Arabic Baths. The Banos Arabes was so relaxing I could have stayed there all day. I'm considering going back for the massages, so maybe when June rolls around I'll be buying my own spa package. We had a little hard time finding it, because it was buried way back in the side streets. We arrived about 10 minutes late, but that definitely didn't take away from the overall experience. When we got there, we changed into our bathing suits and put on the shoes they gave us. We walked down a path that was lit solely by candles to the first bath, which was a cleansing salt water. After 20 minutes there, we went to the showers and were given water and tea. There were a total of 5 baths, and another room to drain your sinuses (more or less like a sauna). And the best part about the entire spa experience was we didn't have to pay for it! Well... I guess we paid for it in the program fee, but who knew a spa treatment was included in that bill? Later that night our group went to a Flamenco performance. I sat front row, center. The show proved to me that Spain has one of the best and most passionate cultures of any country in the world. Flamenco is exactly how I envisioned it. The woman was dressed in a bright yellow and orange dress. The guitarist and singer sat in the background and tapped the beat, while the woman danced with an unbelievable amount of emotion and passion. Unfortunately I forgot my camera for this part of the trip, but I can steal some of the photos from my friends. I actually don't think a camera could capture what I watched at the Flamenco show. It was located in a hotel, but I could tell these performers grew up practicing Flamenco and mastering the music for their entire lives. The performance ended with a man and woman dancing together. I was extremely impressed with how well they worked together because every movement was in sync and I never saw them make a mistake in the whole hour and a half. The woman had a perfect body, which I can understand given she dances for a living. All of us in the program were so impressed after the show that we couldn't stop talking about it, even after we had gone out for food and drinks 2 or 3 hours later. The Banos Arabes and the Flamenco show were two great parts of the study abroad program. I am very thankful to have these kinds of experiences included in the program because otherwise, I am not sure I'd even know where to begin in planning things like this. I know I am getting every dollar's worth out of this experience. Our program director clearly has taken initiative in making sure we as students have the best possible experience in the Spanish culture. I look forward to the rest of the events planned, such as tours of the cathedral, the hospital, a classical music concert, and maybe even a bullfight. I now know where the program fee money is going, and I like the direction it is headed in.

Gana el Betis!!!

We're only a week and a half into our trip, and my friends and I have already crossed off multiple things on our Spain to-do list... the most important of which was going to a soccer game (partido de fútbal). I don't know all that much about soccer, and never really took that much interest in the sport until I arrived here. I watched a game or two of the World Cup this past summer, but I had a hard time watching the sport on television. I don't know very much about the leagues, the teams, the top players or the rules of the game, but I do know that I witnessed one of Spain's most renowned teams (FC Barcelona) get beat by a division II underdog (Real Betis). The atmosphere of the stadium was amazing; it was definitely something I'll never forget. We were seated in the 6th to last row, but that didn't make a difference to me because I wanted to observe the entire stadium, in addition to the game on the field. All the goals were made in the first half of the game, which made for an extremely loud and exciting start. Real Betis scored the first two goals, which went unanswered by FC Barcelona until 5 minutes left in the first half. The stadium fell silent when Barca scored, but the Real Betis fans immediately started cheering for their team again after the goal. With only 30 seconds left in the first half, Betis scored again which made the score 3-1, which ended up being the final score of the game. From what I have learned, Barcelona is currently one of the best teams in the world, so getting to watch them play for only 40 euro was a great deal. I'm not exactly sure if they had their first line players in for this game, but I'm told tickets to see FC Barcelona are normally between 130 and 200 euros. Our host mother Lourdes always talks about how she can't bear to watch soccer because it makes her so nervous. She is funny because she says she always closes her eyes when it looks like the other team is about to score. Watching futbal in person was one of the best experiences I think I'll have while in Spain. Futbal is ingrained in the Spanish culture, and I have already seen Spain's best team play (and get beat). I took a video so I can remember the cheers and songs of the Betis fans. Their cheering never ceased during the entire 45 minute halves. I also bought a scarf that has the emblem of both teams, and the date of the game. I will hang it in my room when I return home so I can remember watching one of the biggest upsets in soccer's history.

Slowww Downnn

I decided to explore the city on my own today. I thought it would be the best way to actually get my bearings down and recognize landmarks and streets. Fortunately for me, the first thing I discovered is that there is a Bank (Santander) and a Movistar cell phone store probably 20 seconds away from my apartment building. I will most likely frequent these two places a lot so I can get money for my expenditures and put money on my cell phone. We don't use the cell phones all that much, but they are nice to have to communicate with each other in the MCP group. I took my camera with me on this adventure so I could make sure I got pictures of all the monuments and cool scenic areas. As I walked through the city, I noticed that on Sundays, everyone in Seville walks at an extremely leisurely pace and is in no rush whatsoever to reach any destination of any sort. People fill the streets just talking, eating, drinking and walking around enjoying their beautiful city. This lifestyle is extremely contrary to what I have grown up to in the USA. The people here take the time to enjoy Sunday afternoons instead of using them to cram homework and study. The pace of life in Spain is perfect because everyone acts like they do not have a worry in the world. There were multiple times when I realized how fast I was actually walking through the city compared to the others, and caught myself so I could slow down my pace and enjoy my surroundings. I definitely think I could get used to this. The children here are really fun to watch and listen to as well. They all interact so well, and most of the time I can understand them better than any adult so it is kind of fun for me to observe them. They play a lot of games and are always running. While walking, I also watched a few performances on the street. There are some very talented people in Seville with regards to music. I even saw one guy who attached two puppets to his back and made them dance by moving his own body. I attached pictures to this post so you can view them. I discovered the city is actually like one giant oval. Within that oval though are countless numbers of small intertwining streets and alleyways. It's easy to get lost, but if you follow the noise to the main roads, you can easily get back on track. I really enjoyed this afternoon, and I anticipate I will be spending many Sunday's like the one today in the future.

Homestay at Last

Moved in and unpacked... For good this time. Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in Seville so far. We woke up early and met with the housing director Luisa. She went through the rules of living in homestay and gave us our assignments. I am rooming with Justin and we are probably living in one of the closest houses to the "centro" or the downtown of Seville. We only have about a 5 to 6 minute walk to the center of down, whereas some students have 30 or more minute walks. I think we lucked out in that regard. Mi madre is very nice and very easy to talk to. She has definitely participated in this program before because she told us she has hosted kids from Philadelphia and New York. She also said she has had students from Texas and California. She lives in an apartment building across the river. The walk over the river from my house to downtown is beautiful. The weather here is so nice during the day, and gets just a little cold at night. Mi madre (Lourdes) has three children and is divorced. Her eldest is a daughter, also named Lourdes, who is married with three children. Her two younger kids are both boys. One is a priest in Malaga, Spain and the other works for his Father in Seville. The youngest still lives here. He seems to be about 25 years old. I met him and he spoke some English, but I tried to communicate in Spanish as much as I could. After all, that is why I am here. Lourdes lives on the fifth floor of the apartment building. She has a large dining area and patio, 2 full bathrooms, a relatively large kitchen, and 4 bedrooms. Justin and I share the smallest room, but it is sufficient enough for the both of us. It has 2 twin beds, 3 shelves, 2 closets, and a desk and chair. Lourdes is an excellent cook. So far she has made us salad, lasagna, beef and potatoes, and fish for our meals. Her portions are HUGE. I feel bad I can't eat all she gives me, but maybe she will cut down as time goes on. She usually gives us fruit or a small chocolate for dessert. I think she liked my welcoming gift. She said she is going to bring it with her when she visits her "nietos" which means, grandchildren. Everyone in the program had positive things to say about their families. I'm glad no one encountered any problems. It is kind of hard not to get along with the people here. They are all so nice and welcoming all the time. They really want you to improve your Spanish and the "madres" act just as if we were their own children. I can already tell my Spanish is starting to improve. It is actually somewhat exhausting thinking and speaking in Spanish all day but I know it will be worth it when I am entirely fluent (vale la pena, as they say in Spain). I am really excited to meet the rest of her family. I met her niece briefly and she was very gracious and helpful with navigating the city and recommending bars and restaurants. I miss everyone at home a lot. Let me know if you would like to Skype if you are ever available. I would really like to hear how everyone is doing in the USA. -Michael

Complete Immersion

I can't believe I am moving in with my host family tomorrow. I think that is the only thing left (besides enrolling in University of Seville courses) to be completely settled into my new country of residence for the next six months. My friends and I have decided on a theme for the trip and we have entitled it "Complete Immersion". What does "complete immersion" entail? Well at this point, it is definitely more of a joke than anything because we say it whenever we have an experience we wouldn't normally encounter in the States. We refer to these experiences as "complete immersion". It's kind of like we are acknowledging the fact we must respond to the various culture changes on our own without a facilitator there to hold our hand every step of the way. But in reality, I think the theme of "complete immersion" is an excellent way to describe what the next six months will bring for me and my friends. This trip is not a temporary vacation or an "extended stay" by any means. I live here. I think that is the most difficult thing to grasp at this point. Living with a family, going to school at an actual Spanish University, and spending each day with a schedule and routine is what I think of as being "completely immersed". The transition to "complete immersion" is made easier with the presence of other USA students though. I have met a lot of nice people. The Cornell and Penn students are fun to be around and have some pretty interesting stories and backgrounds. We talk in Spanish about 75% of the time with each other, however we do speak in English with sometimes for the mere purpose of getting to know one another. I look forward to spending more time with them once we move into our respective neighborhoods. I hope we all hang out even though we will be moving to different locations within the city. The orientation classes are from 3 to 7 PM, so I am always free in the mornings. I use them to do homework, and explore the city a little bit to get my bearings before I move in with the family. The orientation classes are very helpful so far. The professors are excellent mostly because they speak clearly and make the classes interesting. I actually look forward to them, which I don't think I experienced since kindergarten. And what's even more fun than the classes??? -- The nightlife. But we will save that post for another day. Until then.... Adios amigos.

11-01-11

Today marks the first full day in Sevilla. And if today was any indication of what the rest of the semester will be like, I really think I am going to like it here. Last night, I went to bed around 11:30 because of exhaustion and recovery from jet-lag. I woke up still feeling relatively tired, but I think I am finally adjusting to the new clock. Eva, the program director, met us in the hotel for breakfast and took us to the program center for the first day of "school". Today was the equivalent of syllabus day in the USA. We received two large packets of reading and grammar, and then another folder with dates and program rules. We have four weekend excursions planned, and multiple more day trips. Pepe plans the excursions for us, and he speaks the most clearly of anyone I have met here so far. The Andalusian accent is certainly distinct. I can understand Eva and Pepe for the most part, but it takes a lot of effort to fully comprehend what they are saying. I'm sure by the end of this semester I will acquire a similar accent in my speaking skills haha. We took a bus tour of Sevilla after class and I got some good pictures of the city. The ride was a little cold because we sat on top of the bus, but it was definitely not winter coat weather, which I am extremely grateful for. We had the afternoon off, so a group of eight of us went to lunch. We ordered tapas to share and it was delicious. Our waitor, Julio, gave us some excellent recommendations and I will be returning to the restaurant very soon. The restaurants serve bread and french fries with every meal. Another interesting thing about Sevilla is that the street names are located on the corner buildings rather than an actual street sign. So much of this trip is a "learn as you go" system. That is exactly what I think I needed though to fully expose myself to Spanish language and culture. I also got a cell phone today so I can communicate with my classmates. It was relatively inexpensive but it took FOREVER to get everyone set up with the phone. We used Movistar cellular service, and in Spain you pay for minutes and texts up front and then you add money to the account if you run out. It seems like a better system than the states to me. Tomorrow we start grammar and "conversacion / discusion" classes. Only 2 more days until I move in with my host family!! I can't wait to meet them and unpack my stuff. It's annoying living out of a suitcase in the hotel...

Jet-Lagged

It was a 21 hour trip start to finish. I woke up at 8:30 at my Grandpa's house this morning and left for the Detroit Metro Airport about an hour later. Check-in went pretty well. My checked bag was 51.5 pounds but they did not make me pay the overweight fee. I did have to rearrange my packing a little bit, but nothing really significant. Right now it is 6:00 AM in the States, I am arrived (and somewhat settled) in Seville, Spain where it is 12:00 PM. Fortunately for me, all three flights went really smooth and I did not encounter any problems. Unfortunately for the friends I was traveling with, they encountered a few speed bumps en route to Espana. My friends dealt with their problems much better than I ever would have. Lost luggage and unregistered tickets are a traveler's worst nightmare, but they did not panic, and all six of us are here safely in Hotel Becquer. Their problems should be resolved by tomorrow. I am glad we all traveled together. It made everything a little more comforting going through customs and flights together. The flight from Chicago to Madrid was extremely long and uncomfortable. I barely slept, so I am currently working on maybe an hour of sleep. Thank God they have siestas in Spain. I will definitely be needing one of them today. I tried updating the blog in the airport, but I did not have free internet access. Iberia showed the movie Wall Street, which I had just seen a few days before, but never finished so I got to see the ending. We barely caught our flight from Madrid to Seville because we had to go through customs and security in Madrid and only had an hour layover to accomplish that. I think had we been 5 more minutes late we would have missed it. When we arrived in the Seville airport, it was very small and not very busy. It kind of reminded me of the Grand Rapids airport. Justin and I rode in a cab together to the hotel which was about a 15 minute car ride. The whole way to the hotel, all I did was look out the window. The cab driver questioned us "Sevilla es muy bonita?" and I couldn't agree more. The weather is so nice here, it is 60 and sunny. I think I may have packed too many winter clothes. Maybe I will just have to buy more clothes here in Spain. The program director Eva, greeted us at the hotel with our room keys and an envelope with a welcome letter and some money for meals this first week which was very nice. She did not speak a word of English to us. She really wants to ensure we are speaking/hearing/reading/writing the Spanish language 24/7 while we are here. We will likely go exploring through the city pretty soon, but I think sleep is the first priority at this point.

Pre-Departure

Four days until I leave for Seville, Spain and I still don't have a single thing packed. I have laid out some clothes and personal items on the floor in my room, but I am not sure how prepared that really makes me at this point. It's difficult to pack for 6 months!! I've been checking weather.com and the climate in Seville is much better than Michigan during this time of year. High 50's to mid 60's during the day, and low 40's at night. It sure beats Michigan's high teen's and low 20's. Plus it is sunny there... unlike the gray overcast in Michigan. I'm sure everything will come together by the time I leave for the airport on Sunday. I know I have everything, I just need to pack and organize it. I will definitely miss being away from Ann Arbor, my friends, and my family for this semester, but I don't doubt this trip will be worth it. It's nice to be able to see everyone from home before  I leave. My expectations are set rather high with all the positive feedback I have received from friends who have studied abroad in the past, but I am betting this experience will live up to them, if not exceed them. I'm most looking forward to improving my Spanish and meeting my host family. I've read that the people in Seville are extremely welcoming and excited to host foreigners. Hopefully they will be patient the first couple weeks as I get acclimated to the city and the culture. I will update you in the airport!