The further I get into the semester, the harder it is to find time to sit down and write (even in my journal). My routine has become pretty solid the past few weeks.
Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to school. Go to my internship. Go the to gym or take a nap. Homework or meetings. Dinner. Sleep. Repeat.
Last week on Wednesday, we had tutores which is when students our age from the Universidad de Sevilla come to our school to meet with us. We go to a cafe or restaurant for an hour and a half to practice our Spanish with them and learn about Spain. We have these every other week, and last week we talked about the job situation here. Unemployment is high in Spain (roughly 20-22%, can be more or less depending on the place). The north part of Spain has less unemployment because there are more manufacturing businesses there. The southern part is the place that has more problems. A fun fact about employment in Spain is that companies have to pay the people they lay off if the company doesn't have a good reason, but if they can prove a transgression, they don't have to pay. The laid-off person is paid what they would make in 40 days multiplied by the amount of years they have worked there. For example, a person makes 2,000 euros in 40 days and worked for 8 years. He or she is laid-off, and the company has to pay them 16,000 euros to fire them. Crazy right? Companies are particular about hiring people for this reason. Also, they usually don't have the money to pay the number of workers they need.
The school took us to La Rábida on Friday. We saw a well first where Christopher Columbus filled his boats with fresh water before going to the New World. After that, we visited the monastery where he become close to monks who had ties with the king and queen at the time, so the monks could put in a good word for him. The monastery still runs to this day which is pretty cool, in my opinion. The chapel has a crucifix of Jesus made out of only wood that Christopher Columbus probably prayed under before his voyages. It felt like we were connecting history with our time. We also got to see one of the first maps of the new world and original documents that Christopher Columbus and other people wrote. In addition, there is a room there with all of the flags from the lands Spaniards have discovered with a box of their soil.
After the monastery, we went to the Matalascañas beach. Even though it was rainy and 50 something degrees, we took off our shoes and played in the water. Some were even adventurous enough to go swimming! My friend, Maddie, and I were trying to take a picture with the water when a huge wave came up suddenly and got our pants wet. Yes, I walked around with wet pants for the rest of the day. Talk about freezing. One wave came up so high unexpectedly that a person's backpack and shoes almost got swept away. I had a lot of fun at the beach, and I can't waittttt for April and May to go back when it's WARM. The town we were at was like a ghost town because winter, so we were the only people walking around. Even the locals stayed inside their houses for the most part. All in all, it was a fun day.
Also, in between the monastery and the beach we stopped at a park, and you would've thought us college kids were crazy. We played on that playground like a group of kindergartens and left breathless from laughter. It was really refreshing to forget about being an adult for a few minutes while we spun around on the spiny thing (I don't know the name of it) and swung on the swings.
It rained a lot this weekend, so I left my host house a grand total of two times. One time to go to the gym and the other to take a picture with a plaque for extra credit. I took advantage of the rain to study for a test I have Monday and start reading Before I Fall (for a second time). On Monday, I had dance class which was fun like always. The dance we are learning is divided into four parts, and we started learning the beginning of the second part that day. Today, our school met up with a trade school called La Macarena. The students are our age, and next time we meet up, we are going to go to their school. We started off class by talking to them about the education system here and learning about each other in general. After that, we walked around and did presentations on landmarks here in Spanish and English because they are learning English. We had SO MUCH fun with these people. Instantly, we were all talking, laughing, and exchanging Instagrams/phone numbers. They thought things we said were funny, and we thought they were funny too. It was just a time full of laughing and learning about each other's culture. Also, they thought it was crazy that my family has a pig. They all wanted to see pictures of it and thought it was so cute. One of the people asked if it lived in my house, and I said, "Yes because I am an animal obviously." They thought this was hilarious because of course the pig doesn't live in my house (This made me happy because that meant my sarcasm was understood). Today was a pretty good day. I am excited for the new friendships I made today.
Also, our school got a new student today from William Carey University in Mississippi (They were in a different semester system than we do, so that's why she got here yesterday). She is living with my house mom's sister, and I got to meet her yesterday. All of us Tech students are really excited for her to be here, and I think she is excited too. She seems so sweet, and I know she'll be good friends with us in no time.
Andddd that's my last week in review. Until next time.
xoxo,
Caroline
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