Athena Spain Summer 2012: Brianne Baldree

Somehow, by sheer luck, we had managed to end our time in Spain and fly back to the states the day after the Eurocup Final. This was absolutely brilliant because by some amazing trick of fate Spain had made it to the finals and we were able to watch in nail biting anticipation as they gloriously defeated Italy 4-0! It was the most gratifying experience to be apart of the massive celebration going on all over Sevilla and I'm sure all over Spain, with the streets overflowing with Spaniards blowing victory horns, decked out in the red and gold with face paint and crazy hair accessories, the night was wild and long! It was an epic night that we were able to share with the many amazing people we had met, able to share this last experience with them before we said goodbye. But, sadly, the night was not long enough, for the morning came and our plane awaited to take us away from this other world, this dynamic and intriguing city. I looked forward to coming back someday in the future, knew that it was certain that this would not be my last trip to Seville, and hope that the next time it would be as kind to me as it had this time.

The week after class was over for us, we spent some time traveling around Spain, exploring the architectural beauty of Gaudi in Barcelona, the lovely beaches of Mallorca and we even spent a day in Paris. But returning to Sevilla where we would fly out of when we headed back to the states, it was like Cinthya and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We were back in our second home, where we had friends and familiar places, a great feeling of love for this city and it's amazing people, architecture and attractions, which we will always have.

It was our third week in Seville and we were starting to realize that the end to our trip was coming much sooner than expected. We had made great friends at our school and with our fellow housemates, realizing that there was still so much more to experience in Seville. A fellow housemate of ours who was from Sweden and had been living in Seville almost a month longer than us, took us to this beautiful park next to the Plaza de España called Maria Luisa, where the trees were abundant and flowers of all colors grew everywhere. On a hot Sunday afternoon we found ourselves lying under a massive shady tree, enjoying the slight breeze blowing through and listening to the sounds of conversation and an acoustic guitar which flowed around us. It seemed the perfect place to be to enjoy such a day as more people were meeting up under every available tree to bask in the loveliness of the gardens as they napped in the grass. It was an experience so serene and peaceful, a slice of the natural in an otherwise cobbled and bustling city, and where time seemed suspended, accommodating it's patrons.

Time here seems to have flown so fast and before we knew it, we were at the end of our second week. Looking back it seems that our time so far had been a blur of meeting people from all over the world, learning conversational Spanish, experiencing the local hangouts and nightlife popular in Seville and just overall getting to know our new environment! The Spanish class at CLIC is like one I have never had before, with small classes of 6-8 students centered around consistent speaking and absorption of various Spanish phrases and grammar. It became a comfortable place to open up and really explore the Spanish language with fellow classmates that are at the same level and at the same time you are also learning about where they come from and the differing life experiences that they may have had! The teachers are very open and friendly, so encouraging when you are speaking that you immediately feel more comfortable and less worried about how many possible grammar mistakes you can make. They are genuinely interested in making you a better Spanish-speaker. 

Before we had even fully finished applying for this trip Cinthya and I had decided that if it was possible we must try and make a trip to Morocco due to it's close proximity to the south of Spain. We found a ferry (outside of our program) that would not only take us to Tangier, but give a full guided tour of the city complete with lunch and bus transportation. We were sold on it, so that on the 8th of June, a Friday morning, we found ourselves on a bus to Malaga, and province further to the South than Seville and to a small coastal city called Marbella. I had been there once before and remembered it being small and charming and indeed it still was! We were lucky enough to come the same weekend as they were holding their Feria so the city was flooded with people of all ages and families dressed in traditional Flamenco attire as varying types of music filled the air catering to everyone's taste. 

I thought this trip would never come, the day that I would board an airplane with a very good friend, Miss Cinthya Salinas, to spend an entire month in the enchanting city of Seville, in the southern part of Spain also referred to as Andalusia! To be able to immerse myself in typical Sevillian culture while at the same time exploring the intricacies of the Spanish language had me anxiously waiting for this trip to begin for six months, from the time I started the paperwork to the date my flight was scheduled!

The flight in itself was an experience as we were delayed in Lisbon, Portugal and got to experience first hand the effects of the strikes going on by the airport's air traffic controllers, which delayed our flight around 45 minutes and made it tentative until 30 minutes before it actually left! We finally arrived in Seville in a small, almost toy-like aircraft and were immediately mesmerized by the start of the weekend night life, the streets crawling with people young and old, moorish styled architecture complimented by colorful mosaics mixed in with a modern train carrying its passengers from one side of the city to the other.