One of the English teachers at Mercedes's school was sick yesterday, so I took over the children's classes. I worked with a couple of 5-year-olds and an 8-year-old on colors, numbers, and animals. Volunteering with Miriam was especially enjoyable. She is so fun to talk to. She's very mature, sometimes I forget she's only 11. She said that making music with me at the end of our English conversation is her favorite part of the day. I'm still teaching her some songs, and I'm so glad she's having a good time. I'll have to get a picture with her some time soon.
Last weekend, Elliot and Jeff came to Sevilla. Elliot was a Kohn intern with me last summer. He worked in San Francisco and I worked on the Peninsula, but we saw each other every week for our intern seminars. He's spending this year studying in Granada, which is about a 3-hour train ride away. Jeff, Elliot's cousin, has been traveling around Europe this semester, since he graduated a semester early. They met up and came to visit the beautiful city of Sevilla, and fun times were had by all. Also, I finally spent time with another Jew!
First of all, Elliot and Jeff didn't know where they were going to stay before they got here. I think they were going to keep their eyes open for hostels while we were exploring the city. I told Mercedes the morning of their arrival that we'd be stopping by the house to temporarily drop off their things, since they didn't know where they were sleeping yet. She offered to have them stay here. It was the sweetest, most generous offer! Host parents are expected to care for their host children, but not their host children's friends. Mercedes has already gone above and beyond what most Spanish mothers do by letting me have friends over to the house. Offering to host two strangers for a night was amazing. She also tried to feed them. Funny, she reminds me of my Jewish mother in many ways.
So Elliot and Jeff were very pleased to learn upon arrival that they had friendly, free, and fabulous lodgings for the night. (We have an extra room with two beds where the Italian girls stayed, so they had a very comfortable place to sleep.) We all thanked Mercedes many, many times, and the guys bought some flowers for the family as a thank-you. Ironically, it's really hard to buy nice flowers without buying huge bouquets. Single roses were 8€ each ($10.66). That strikes me as a little expensive...
After settling in, we went for lunch at a wonderful place near the Cathedral. Elliot loves bread (and mostly bread), so he bought a loaf at the bakery. Jeff and I each had these platters of several delicious tapa-like dishes, which came with wine and bread. And olives, Marc's favorite. [Marc strongly dislikes olives, just to clarify.] All the food was delicious. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the wine did not taste as bad as I usually think wine tastes. I'll post a picture of my lunch at the bottom. I forgot to take pictures of my desserts, the place we ate at had a wonderful dessert counter.
After lunch, we walked over to the Plaza de España. We must have seen three or four different wedding parties on the way there. I think every bride in Spain decided to get married this weekend. By Sunday, we had probably seen five or six of them. Elliot and I actually saw a little bit of a wedding ceremony while we were looking in a church later that night. I took pictures of some of the brides. Spanish wedding dresses are very elegant, and frequently displayed in windows throughout the center of town.
We then strolled through Parque María Louisa, crossed the bridge into the Triana neighborhood, and circled back around to the Centro. Walking around Sevilla is lovely, there are so many things to see. The next day we toured through Alcázar and visited the gardens. Students get in free, which I think I'll have to take advantage of more. With half an hour until they had to start heading toward the train station, Elliot and Jeff wanted to go into the Cathedral and climb La Giralda. I decided not to go in, since admission was not free and we had so little time. We parted ways, and I went to look in a store next to the Cathedral at pretty magnets. When I got out and started walking home, I actually ran into Elliot and Jeff again! The Cathedral was closed, and they couldn't go in. It was a shame they missed it, but we got to walk through the park again and go to the train station together. It was a very good weekend!
Pictures:
1) left to right, Jeff, Elliot, me - yet another fun picture with the statues next to the Cathedral
2) miniature figurines of people who march in Semana Santa (not KKK)
3) Spain loves Obama
4) couple posing for pictures in the park
5) bride going into one of the churches
6) my delicious lunch
7) Jews with ham? That doesn't sound very kosher...
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