The one month update!

This Wednesday marked one month here in Seville. Wow! I can't believe how fast time has flown by and how much I have already learned.

For those of you who don't already know, I am only taking three classes here: Advanced Grammar, Spanish Literature, and History of Spanish Art. All of these classes are with the same professor, Carmen. I haven't even gotten to know the other professors, but I am convinced she is the best one at the school. At first I was a bit intimidated by her, but now I am realizing that she just wants us to learn. If you say something incorrectly, she will correct you, which I was not used to at all, but I absolutely love it. I can't even begin to imagine all of the times I said something wrong in my past Spanish classes and no one corrected me. The classes that I am taking have been hard, but I feel like I am learning so much. What's great is that I can apply what I am learning in class to everyday life!

Today, I went to Real Alcázar with some friends from school, and it was SO BEAUTIFUL. My roommate Rachel and I are in Art History class together, and we were talking about how much more we can appreciate the architecture now that we know the history behind it.

Last week I started teaching english lessons to a 9 year old girl named Blanca. I was connected with her through a woman at my school. Blanca's whole family is learning english, and I feel so blessed to be a part of her education while I am here in Spain. Tuesday nights for 90 minutes I head down the street (only about 5 minutes) to help her with her english. Last week we played a few games and I helped her with some grammar practice. I am blown away at how smart she is and how fast she picks up things.

¡Sevillanas! Sevillanas is the Spanish dance that I get to learn while I am here. Monday nights we come together to learn the steps with an amazing instructor named Sylvia. Sylvia tells us to dance like we are the best. She is so full of life and energy, and her smile is contagious. Pictures (and maybe a video) will come later of the final performance in November.

Last, but not least, food! (and a funny story to go along with it)

After finding out that we couldn't go into "La casa de Pilates" today (our original plan for the day), my friends and I just decided to walk around. About 5 minutes into our walk we stumbled upon "el convento Santa Maria de Jesus", where the nuns sell baked goods to support themselves. On Friday, my professor Carmen recommended that we go to one at some point while we are here, and little did we know that we would be going the next day. I asked the nun what she suggested and she told me that she couldn't eat gluten, so her favorite were the almond cookies. These cookies are made with just sugar, eggs, and almonds, and they were delicious!

After leaving the convent we started to walk down the street when all of a sudden we heard this HUGE fart noise, and then a couple seconds later ANOTHER HUGE FART. We just kept walking trying to hold our childish giggles in. Later my roommate Jenna mentioned that she heard the man saying "síganse" which means "keep going" to us, which is really strange. The weird part of this whole thing (not that it wasn't already weird) was that the man who farted was in the convent when we left and decided to come out to the alleyway just to fart and to yell at us to keep going. Anyway....I hope that brightens your day a little bit.

This Friday night my roommates, Esther, and I went to a music and food festival that is at a park near the center of town. We decided to eat at home first to save money, but after seeing all of the food we definitely want to go back! Below is a photo of huge cast iron pans filled with paella and chicken, yum! There are food tents from many different countries, including Australia. Esther says we have to try kangaroo meat, so I will update you on how that goes.

Hopefully that wasn't too much blabber! Have a wonderful week :)