My host mom and home in Sevilla

On Monday of this week, we finished our orientation at Hotel Fernando III and met our host moms and moved into our residences. My host mom is a wonderful seventy-one year old Sevillana named Maribel.

I live in her apartment along with her adult daughter Elena and another Tech student, Gabriel. Maribel is the sweet grandmother type who loves her children and grandchildren and who always saw raising them as her priority. Her father was from Madrid and fought with the Republicanos against the Fascistas in the Spanish Civil War. Franco and the Fascists, of course, were victorious, and Maribel's father moved to Seville to escape persecution. There, he married a Sevillana and raised a family. Maribel hasn't traveled far from Sevilla, nor did she ever have any real interest in doing so (as I found out when I told her she would be welcome in Houston if she ever decided to make a trip). Her husband died at a young age and she never remarried, instead devoting herself to raising her kids. She had four of them, one of whom died "suddenly", as she puts it, of what I assume was a heart attack. The table in the picture above is filled with photos of her kids and grandkids, at weddings, family get togethers, etc.

Living with a host family is a vital part of the study abroad experience. Neither Maribel nor Elena speaks English. The only English word that Maribel knows is "moon", which, she points out, is clearly inferior to the beautiful-sounding luna. No arguments there. Aside from practicing the language, I am also fully integrated into the daily life and culture of Spain. In addition to providing a room and study area, Maribel cooks three meals a day and does our laundry. For the four months while we're here, we basically become her kids. She's had students continuously for several years now. She enjoys having the company, she tells me, and I think that she's one of those people who really enjoyed being a parent. Now that her kids are grown up and out of the house (Elena is only here temporarily and isn't around much) I believe that hosting students brings her a lot of contentment. Maribel is a wonderful cook. I haven't eaten so well since I moved out of my parents' house to go to college. Every meal comes with bread and a light dish in addition to the main course. Apparently paella is her specialty. I'll be sure to take notes next time she makes it.

My bed is very comfortable, but my room is about the size of my freshman dorm. Like the dorms, I share the room with another student.

Whether in Houston, Lubbock, or Sevilla, I keep a messy bed.

Connected to the bedroom is a small study area.

Just down the hallway is the bathroom. As bathrooms in Europe are wont to be, it's rather smaller than those to which Americans are accustomed.

In addition to being a bit cramped, the shower head doesn't put out much water, and since there aren't fans in the bathrooms in Spain, the only way to get any ventilation is to open the window to the shower. The window, however, opens onto a courtyard to which the kitchen window also opens. Let's just say that Spaniards have a different concept of privacy. I share this bathroom with the three other people in the flat. Between sharing the shower as well as a general push by Spain to conserve water, showers must be kept as short as possible. I've decided that one of the first things I'm going to do when I get back to the United States is take a long, hot shower.

Other than the bathroom, I'm really enjoying living here so far. It's already starting to feel like home. I just finished my lunch, and usually I would be about to take a siesta. But I had a few cortados (like a cafe con leche, but with about half the milk) earlier, and I want to do some more exploring of this wonderful city that I call home. Hasta luego.