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November 27-30, 2009- Seville, ES- Couchsurfing with Adam
Got off to a bit of a bumpy start upon my arrival in Seville. Unknown to me was the fact that there are two bus stations in the city. Naturally, being my directional prowess, I had selected the wrong station for which to find my way to my couch surfing destination. Thus when I arrived, it was a bit of a trial; las personas at information spoke not a palabra of ingles and had to use a map to point me to my destination. They wrote C-4 on a piece of paper, which at the time seemed like code to me, but later was revealed to be a bus number. The roads in Seville proved to be not well marked and none to straight. Wandering through the maze I heard again the sound of hope- people speaking in English. A nice American couple, living in Seville with their family, confirmed that I was actually on the right track (I wonder if I'm getting better?) and I continued on my way. Standing in front of his apartment there was one more hurdle to cross; I couldn't get in without being buzzed up. He had given me his mobile so I guessed through the Spanish directions on the pay phone and was relieved with the line went through. Twice I called the wrong person, who didn't seem to want to talk, before it sunk in that I had the number wrong- sheesh. A long day grew longer as I looked around the area for internet to contact him to which the locals said "no locuturio aqui". Crap. I kept walking, when off in the distance a shining green beacon, STARBUCKS, I never thought I would be so grateful to see this pesky commercial weed. I entered in, paid an atrocious amount for a shot of cafe and finally sit down for my mandated 45 minutes of Internet use. I was able to contact Adam quickly who assures me that all is well and that he was at home ready to welcome me with some tea.
In the process I was approached by a blondie who politely asked, "hablas ingles?"I seem to get that question a lot for some reason. We started chatting and as it turned out, Suzanne was from Las Vegas but living in Malaga another city in the Andalucia region but on the coast. I couldn't stay long as my host was expecting me, but, by then we had decided that it was fate for us to meet and settled on having a beer the following evening.
Once I arrived at my home for the next couple of nights, I found myself in the company of two extremely fascinating Israeli entrepreneurs who speak impeccable English. Amongst their varied business ventures of hostel ownership and textile manufacturing, is also party planning. They have started up a group on Facebook called Los Zolitos and throw fiestas at their flat every Friday in an attempt to build up a social network by which to throw more elaborate shin digs in the future. I arrived on Friday night, and oh what a night it is to arrive!
That night, with a full table of wine, beer and liquor at my disposal, I was introduced to locals, fellow Americans studying and teaching in Seville and a French man working in a hostel, amongst others. With music playing all night, both in Spanish and English (think everything from Green Day to the Beatles)- we sang, danced and stayed up until 5am. I guess that means I've still got it.
At the party I met Paco, who loves the English language (his mother is an English teacher) and was more than eager to show me around the city the next day! He arrived at 12pm the following day and we spent the next 4 hours covering every tourist destination imagineable- from the Seville Cathedral (the third largest in the world) and Avenida de la Constitucion to Rio Guadalquirir and Triana, to barrio de Santa Ana and the Alcazar to Plaza de Espana and everywhere in between! Seville is of a size somewhere in between Cordoba and Madrid, with a trolley car running through the center and streets of the same Spanish architecture I have come to know and love in other destinations. It was relaxed, and lovely as everything has been so far in the South, but, to me, there is nothing unique about it. Not the unbelievable, vibrant night-life of Madrid or the old world charm of Cordoba, I believe that perhaps I had to high of expectations with the hoards of people that had vehemently expressed their love for the city. It also could be the case that I simply have different tastes- that wouldn't be a shocker, I've always been my own sort of gal. There was something about it that was less alive some how, but I had good company and weather and enjoy myself immensely talking all the while with Paco under a beautiful sunny sky. I got the lay of the land but not much of the inside experience (why take him in to where he has already been!), so I decided that I would attend mass the next morning to truly experience the grand cathedral- I'm a good Catholic girl for sure.
Saturday night, I met up with Paco and Suzanne, my acquaintance from Las Vegas. As the time ticked away I found myself fascinated by Suzanne, she is a single woman, with a grown son, who came to Spain with no job, simply because she wanted to come to Spain. She has lived her whole life this way, moving all about the United States and taking an array of jobs- everything from working in a casino to working as the personal assistant to Tiger Wood's dad, Earl! Her Spanish is limited but she is not afraid to speak and introduces herself to everyone, everywhere she goes! It really is no surprise then that she had managed to snag two from one drink cards and lined up free drinks at a local flamenco bar. As the night came to a close I reflected on meeting her and wondered if I will forever be a wanderer like her.
The next morning is cold and rainy but I still managed to make my way through the slippery streets to mass. I am captivated by the service- the rituals almost exact to those I know (that's Catholicism for ya)- a feeling of comfort washed over me. I even picked up on the fact that he was explaining the significance of the color purple (morado) during Christmas, looked over and saw the wreath of candles with one of the purple lit. How easy it is to forget how quickly the holidays are coming when traveling- I really am in my own little world. The cathedral is massive, but in its gothic style, tall ceilings and barred off alters, feels cold in contrast to the warm lit, ornate Cordoba cathedral. Maybe I'm getting "churched out" it is possible in Spain!
I wandered a bit afterwards, taking in my last glances of Seville but the weather made the indoors especially appealing, nothing is open from 2-6 anyways, particularly not on Sundays! So I went back to the apartment to relax and plan for the next few days. Back and forth my mind wandered, trying to decide how to fit in everything- to which my final conclusion was that I was trying to fit in too much. I know now, that I will always have less time and more things I want to see, I need to focus more on the journey than on a million destinations. What I see, and the people I meet- I need to focus on the quality of my experience not the quantity- that had been the initial plan all along. Some how you just get caught up, you see such amazing things and you know there is so much more. But then you also know, that to really, truly experience a place, you need more than a couple of days. I know this is something I will have to continually remind myself of during the entirety of this trip.
I went for a walk in the evening with Clara, the girlfriend of Adam's roommate, who is an "orphan in the city" from Columbia. She is 30-something and unmarried, and so calm about it- I liked her instantly. She is beautiful, outgoing and optimistic- so maybe life won't end for me in three years- that's good to know.
I know I am meeting all these amazing women for a reason- these strong women, following their hearts despite the long journey and slew of sacrifices. I wonder when the pieces will fit together.
Dreaming of seeing the ocean, I move my thoughts to my travels to the Southern most point of Spain, Tarifa, where tomorrow I will look across the sea to Africa!
Cheers,
Emily
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