Saturday, September 17

            Well…today’s adventure to Cadiz turned into a day spent wandering around Sevilla instead. Corinne and I woke up early and headed out to the bus stop, but we apparently went to the wrong one. We left really early because we weren’t exactly sure where we were going (although we had a map and Rosa told us the name of the bus station and how to get there) and we still needed to buy bus tickets, so it wasn’t really a big deal that we were in the wrong place. Except that the guy working at that bus stop told us we needed to be at one all the way across the city to get a bus to Cadiz. We had heard that the station he directed us to was not the right one, but there was some construction going on at some of the stations, so we thought something may have changed.

            Anyway, there was no way we were going to get to the bus station he told us to go to before the bus was scheduled to leave, so we walked along the river towards the bus stop hoping that another bus would be headed to Cadiz a little later. When we finally got all the way across town, the man there told us we had been just a block away from the right bus stop the first time. We pulled out a map and found that he was right…Rosa had told us the name of the right bus stop, but we mixed them up when talking to the man at the first station. All said and done, we decided to just enjoy the day in Sevilla instead of racing across the city again to try and get to Cadiz.

            We spent a good peaceful hour sitting on the banks of the river that goes through the city before heading back to our apartment to drop off our beach supplies and lighten our loads for our day on the town. Then, we meandered through Triana, the part of the city where we live but have gotten to know very little. We had fun taking random streets and stopping in whatever shops that caught our eyes. One store we spent a while in was a massive game store with every board game under the sun in it. It was cool to see what games they had translated from the US and what kinds of games they had in Spanish that I didn’t recognize.

I also really enjoyed checking out the local market. It wasn’t nearly as big or as crowded as the markets I grew accustomed to in Latin America, but it was still a market, and being there seeing and smelling all the fresh food was a blast. We stopped at a few stands to ask questions about what people were selling. At one seafood stand, there were these things that looked like tube shaped shells with something sticking out of each end. The man at the stand explained that they were some type of shellfish that he sells live, and then ran his fingers over them to show us how they squirm. He also told us all about how to prepare them and how they farm them. Apparently they live under the sand along the waterline by the ocean, and if you sprinkle salt on the sand they come to the surface and are caught to be eaten. We both thought it was really cool.

We also stopped at a fruit stand because Rosa has been feeding us this incredible fruit that none of us have ever seen before, and I was curious about what it is. The fruit seller told us they’re a mix of pear and apple, which Corinne and I both sounded like exactly what they taste like. I’m not sure how I’ll live without those (we still don’t know their name or where they’re grown…more research to be done!) and the gloden plums we have everyday here…fresh fruit is something I’ve been thrilled to be spoiled with during both of my study abroad experiences J

            Eventually, we made our way to a park for lunch and spent some time looking at the artisan stands set up around that plaza. I was on a hunt for a specific kind of scarf, so we had to look at every stand for one. I was being too picky and ended up leaving without a scarf, but I did find out where some other artisans set up stands, so there is a chance I will find one another time. After lunch we headed to El Corte Ingles, the most popular and by far the biggest department store in Spain. It reminded us both of Macy’s, and we were both shocked by the prices, so our visit there was fairly short.

            Corinne had some things she wanted to shop for, and I was having fun looking in all the shops, so we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the shopping district of the city. By the time we were worn out, it was about 5:00, so we headed back to our apartment. Rosa was surprised to see us back so early, but we explained what happened to her and she was happy to know we still enjoyed our day. She’s always saying that whatever we do is find with her as long as we enjoy our semester here. What a sweetheart! She also bought us little cake treats today while she was out, so we were greeted with that lovely surprise when we went into our room to rest and do some homework.

            It turned out to be a really fun day, and I’m so grateful that God had the blessings that came with today in store for us. I’ve been worn out in so many ways, and this was just what I needed. It was a great time for Corinne and I to get to know each other a little bit better and an opportunity for me to relax and have fun without worrying about keeping up with the whole group of students here or worrying about homework.

            With that said, there is still homework to be done, so the rest of my evening will consist of getting a good start on that so I don’t have to work on it quite so much tomorrow. It seems like things are finally falling into place, and after I experience my first tests and presentation this week, I think I will have a really good idea of what the rest of the semester will look like academically. I praise God for bringing me through the hard times and for blessing me with so many good times already this semester, and I’m excited and encouraged looking ahead to what’s in store for the next 3 months!