School started this past week... as I said earlier, I am in a 2-week intensive class called "The Cultural History of Spain." So far it is really interesting and I like being able to learn about Seville instead of walking around not knowing what anything is or why it's there. Our professor is really smart and knows a ton of little facts about the city, so that when we're walking on the street he will randomly stop and tell us an interesting fact/story about what's in front of us. We get to go on tours of really awesome places in Seville with a guide and get in for free, while everyone in the grammar class has to go to those places on their own. We had our first test Friday... although we were only tested on 4 days of material (class is 3 hours each day), we learned the history of Spain from 600 BC to 1500 AD in those four days, making the test pretty difficult. That class ends this Saturday with our final exam, and next Monday we begin our regular classes. I signed up for 3 classes at the CIEE program center, and 1 at the University of Sevilla. The classes are: Women Writers of the 17th century, The Image of Spain in the Cinema, Phonetics, and Linguistics.

Pepi continues to make wonderful lunches and dinners, and continues to be an awesome senora! The other day a man came over to help us install our wireless internet (cause we're technologically challenged, even more so when the directions are written in spanish). We had already been calling the company to help us for about three days, and each time we called they said they would send someone over... and each time no one ever came. So Pepi bet us one euro that no one would show up. When he did show up, instead of paying us a euro she went out and bought a ton of fresh churros for us and made us hot chocolate. YUM! There is a famous churro stand at the end of our bridge that we go to... I'll have to bring my family when they come!

I have visited so many awesome places in the past week (a lot of them for my history class). We went to the Cathedral on Friday, which the most beautiful, breathtaking building I've ever seen! It is amazing. They have masses there everyday, so I think I'm going to try to attend one (shocking, I know). The moment I walked into the cathedral, my camera decided to run out of battery... so I don't have very many pictures. It is only 2 euro to get in though, so I think I will just go back a different day. We got to go to the top of the Giralda (the tower) where you can see all of Sevilla. It is soooo beautiful! We had to climb 34 floors to get there. The tomb of Christopher Colombus and his son are in the Cathedral and so is the mummy of King Fernando III. We also visited Alcazar Real, the place where the king and queen stay when in Sevilla. I am very very glad that we had our teacher to explain the history of the building, it made it a lot more interesting. The Almohades (Muslims) started building the palace, but after the Reconquista, the Christians came to power and built the rest. They followed the Almohades' architectural style and designs, and even copied hieroglyphics that said: "We believe in one god, Allah, and his prophet Mohammad." I thought that was kind of funny/ironic. We got to see where the king sat in his throne to receive guests, and got to walk through the gardens (the most awesome part in my opinion). They go on forever and are so so sooo pretty. Another day we went to the Indian Archives where all the documents involving the New World are kept... it wasn't anything special since they don't have the documents on display, but there was a video we watched about it inside. Yesterday we traveled with our program to Cordoba. It was a long day filled with tours, but I was really happy I got to see the Mezquita (mosque). It is really neat.

The weather here is chilly (I know that doesn't mean much since most of you are suffering in Wisconsin with -0 degrees windchills...). In the morning it is pretty cold walking outside, but by afternoon it usually reaches 60 degrees and there is no need for coats. Yesterday night, around 11pm, we "botelloned" down by the river in front of the Torre de Oro, and it was surprisingly warm (making me very anxious for it to get hot!). "Botelloning" means buying bottles of whatever you want (usually wine) and drinking down by the river. My bottle of wine cost 2 euro, and that wasn't even the cheapest kind. The police don't care as long as you're not being a drunk idiot (which I obbbviously never am!). After botelloning we walked to a bar that was packed, and I talked a lot of Spaniards there. My "intercambio" Jesus met up with us. He's 30 years old, graduated from the University of Sevilla with a degree in graphic design, and is a "hombre hombre" as Pepi would say it (a "real man"... haha). He's a nice guy. We went to Buddah after that, a discotequa with 4 floors. We didn't get home until about 5 in the morning. (When in Spain, do as the Spaniards do...)

Well, that's about all the news I can think of right now. I'm going to the Sevilla v. Valencia soccer game at 9:00 tonight, and am meeting some friends right to go eat at a truly authentic Spanish restaurant (Mcdonald's) before the game. Hope all is well in the States!

Besos!!
Emily



Picture #1: The Roman bridge to Cordoba
Picture #2: La Mezquita (mosque) in Cordoba
Picture #3: Natalia and I in the gardens
Picture #4: Natalia and I in Alcazar Real
Picture #5: The Plaza de Espana... across the street from the University of Sevilla