Blog 4: ¡Salud! (Cheers!)

!Salud! (Cheers!)

           

It’s been a week since I flew into Seville and I think I’m still in the ‘honeymoon’ stage with this city.  So far I’ve just been exploring the city and taking in all of Sevilla. Sevilla is such a walker friendly city so I’ve been taking walks almost every day. The people here are always walking, biking, or using public transportation if anything. I really like how people walk everywhere because in the states everyone seems to have a car unlike here. Sometimes I go exploring on foot with friends, but I also love venturing off on my own and absorbing everything at my own pace.  I’ve taken solo walks through the Parque de María Luisa and got lost in the beauty of the place. The park is a five minute walk from my house and is filled with ponds, pavilions, Plaza de España, and of course orange trees. I’ve also walked in the el centro and passed the Cathedral. I think it’s so neat how in the center of normal city life you can find such a grand, breathtaking cathedral. I haven’t gone inside yet but I can’t wait to learn more about it. Apparently this is where both Christopher Colombus and Ferdinand III of Castile are buried. The amount of history in Europe is absolutely mind numbing. If you ever go on a study abroad, which so far I highly recommend you do, it’s the perfect opportunity to do some self-exploration. Back in the islands I’m surrounded by family and friends I’ve known my whole life, and who I love and care about a lot. But here I have to depend on myself, which is a unique experience for me. I guess I’ve been an independent person, but here I really feel like I’m free to figure out what I want out of life.

            The nightlife here is definitely not like Maui (everything closes at 9!) and it’s hard for me to compare it to Oahu because I can’t go to the bars back home yet. But far the bar hopping here has been so fun! There are a countless number of bars to discover here and lots of tapas to pick on.  Think of tapas as pupus, small appetizers that you buy a couple plates of and share with friends. There are so many different types and so delicious! Here’s another thing worth mentioning… staying out late and chilling at a tapa bars is just part of the culture in Spain. Spaniards love going out late at night and if you keep to an American clock, you’d miss the nightlife. I’m still getting used to staying out until 5am on weekends. Also the alcohol here is so cheap! You can get a bucket of five beers for 3 euros and 1 euro chupitos (shots) at some places. But like anywhere, make sure you stick with a group when going out (especially as a girl) and have a ton of fun but be safe! Me and the other students in my program have gone out A LOT since we’ve been here. I really love the group I came with. Everybody’s so chill and we all get along really well. Especially all the Hawaii students seem to look out for each other (which is a nice feeling since age-wise I’m the baby of our group). Yesterday we all went to our resident director’s house and talked story while eating dinner and drinking wine and beer. Hopefully I can take a group of good friends away from this experience because I feel like we are going to have lots of bonding moments and good memories by the end of the trip.