This past week I had my first mid-term on Wednesday, so most of Sunday through Tuesday was spent studying, despite the beautiful weather outside. But late Tuesday afternoon I was burnt out and had to take a walk outside, ending up at the river, of course, to find hundreds of people hanging out in the warm air and fading sun.
Tuesday night Mark, myself, and a few other Americans headed to the Nervion neighborhood to watch Sevilla FC play Moscow in a champions league game, which I don't fully understand, but know to be a very very big deal. Such was evident the moment I stepped onto the metro...
We had a beer in a bar by the stadium beforehand, and I can't even explain how many people, all in red, were walking the streets and chanting "Sevilla". However, we were a little surprised when we got into the stadium that it was pretty empty even 20 minutes to game-time, but it filled quickly, proving that even with their soccer, Spaniards tend to be a little late.
I can't say that the atmosphere was intimidating, but still very impressive. The fans sang probably 4 or 5 songs before and during the game, which was not what I expected. I don't remember much chanting during the game, but there certainly was singing, and we were probably the only people in there that didn't know the songs.
Another interesting note is that the stadium concessions were drastically sub par, and at halftime, everybody, and I mean everybody, pulled out their "bocadillos", or sub sandwiches, that they brought from home. It was as if over the loud speaker the announcer had said, "Okay, it's bocadillo time now".
I loved playing soccer but sometimes get bored with watching it, but I will say that although we were very high up, and behind a goal, it was never boring, and much more intense than I thought it would be.
The game was a good one, although Moscow ended up with the victory, 2-1, and the feeling after the game was overall dreary. Nonetheless, I had a great time, went home and straight to bed.
Wednesday I took my first mid-term, Creative writing and critical thinking, which went really well, and then read a little for my lit class in Parque de Maria Luisa. It was St. Patty's day, so that night, Mark and I went out to a couple bars, one of which we found has a 1 euro special on little sandwiches and mugs of beer every Wednesday, which is nice, and I called it a night early to catch up on some sleep. Yesterday I had my morning Anthropology of Andalucia class and then spent the afternoon studying and walking through parks.
I booked a ferry ride from London to Normandy later in April, which I'm really looking forward to, and I'm trying to plan a trip to Ireland as well.
Lately I've been doing a lot of bonding with Antonio, my senor, and I think he really enjoys talking to me, mostly because I just sit there and listen, and ask a few questions now and then.
The other night we had fish for dinner and Antonio ate 4 fish heads. I asked him about it, trying to explain that we Americans tend not to eat the heads and he said very seriously, "Oh what a shame. I enjoy heads very much. Big ones, the wider the better in my opinion."
And if I want to really get him going I'll just ask about Semana Santa, the holy Easter week here, and he will tell me literally every detail. He's told me the schedule of the processions from each neighborhood (big parades of robed men carrying religious imagery, which march from their neighborhood to the great cathedral in the middle of Sevilla, and then go through other neighborhoods before returning), and he's told me his favorite parts; the great white horses, la esperanza de Triana (a procession that honors Triana's virgin), etc. He also told me a lot about what it was like when he used to take part in that procession; how he played a bass drum (he makes the sounds for me), and sometimes carried a big cross.
In short, he's a really animated story-teller with a lot of life experience to draw from, so I really like listening to him. My favorite thing he does is count things on his fingers. For example, I asked him which of his sons had been in the Semana Santa procession and he said, "All of them of course, we've got uno, Salvador; dos, Luis; tres, David; y the last one, Santiago." And when he's done he looks at me like "yeah I haven't lost all my marbles yet".
I know you're probably thinking it's weird to comment much more on Antonio, but because we talk about it a lot, I need to update you on his health. He's got a bad shoulder, a stomach that's upset if he eats a big dinner, drinks orange juice or coffee, "tension" problems which I think means high blood pressure, and he tells me that's why he eats a lot of fish and drinks wine frecuently, and he also takes medicine for his "nerves", which sounds to me a lot like some mysterious Victorian diagnosis of crazy people.
But I love the guy and hope he stays healthy well past my departure.
That's all I've got to update (other than three days of Paris), and I'm headed to Morocco to take my first steps on Africa. Right now, actually.
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