NO8DO

21 Abril

A funny story from yesterday: I’m just sitting in my room, getting ready to leave for class when I hear someone come rushing in the house. So I go to see what’s going on and it’s Carmen’s daughter, Ruth. She is running frantically around the apartment, says hello to me (2 kisses, obviously) and then tells me that she ripped her pants and is on her way to the doctor’s office! And they were ripped like all the way up the butt of the pants. She’s trying to get into Carmen’s bedroom where she has extra clothes but the door is locked. So she goes into Karen’s room, takes the glass out of the window that goes from Karen’s room to the terrace, takes out the screen, hops up onto Karen’s desk (in heels) and climbs through the window! She breaks into Carmen’s room from the terrace, changes into a new pair of pants, and proceeds to climb back through Karen’s window, breaking a plant on the way. She just kept saying how crazy, this is something that only happens in Spain, I can’t believe this is happening. It was sooo funny! I wish Ruth visited more often because she has so much energy and is just so full of life!

I also realized recently just how much I love teaching English to Pedro and Maria. They are so much fun and I can tell they enjoy their lessons, for the most part. I get so excited to see how much they’ve improved – Pedro can actually understand when I try to tell him something and he is reading much better. He’s even started speaking more English, when he knows the words, and will bring up things to talk about. And Maria started off not really understanding anything, and now she can understand when I give her simple instructions and she is great at remembering vocab. And they are both so fast at all the word games I bring them! Some of these things I think would be difficult for me in Spanish, like word scrambles, and they do so well. I just love when they do something right, like when Pedro understands a story we read or when Maria can name all the animals in a picture. I was talking to their parents this afternoon and was almost in tears – they were asking me if I was going to come back to Spain and that I had to come back to Sevilla and call them when I did and that they will cry when I leave and they’re sad I’m not here for longer – they are the nicest family and I’m incredibly glad I got the chance to meet them and help their children, they have made my experience here in Spain so much better. I really hope I am able to stay in touch with them and maybe actually visit them if (or when!) I come back to Sevilla in the future. Maybe they will even come to the US and I can show them around! I just couldn’t imagine never seeing them again – as it is, the kids will be so different and so much older if I do see them again, Claudia and Marta probably won’t even remember me a because they’re only 4 and 5 years old.

I really can’t imagine never seeing Sevilla again; it will always have a special place in my heart. I am never planning on getting a tattoo, but if I did, NO8DO would be in the running, it means no me dejado (Sevilla will never leave me) and you can find it all over the place in Sevilla. I love living in this city (Although it was very hot today and it’s still only May!). I just think it’s the most beautiful city and the people are so interesting and nice, even just random sevillanos on the bus or in the streets. Sometimes I love riding the bus just to people watch and listen to random conversations. If only I didn’t have so many projects to do, I would love to just go out to the park or the royal gardens and just enjoy the weather and the culture. I was pretty stressed yesterday and then I walked outside to go to class and saw the clearest blue sky, not one cloud, and the warm sun and I don’t know how anyone could be stressed or sad with such beautiful weather. I was just content riding the bus and being in Spain – I’m trying not to get used to the beautiful sights here, and every time I see an orange tree, or a beautiful building, or a park to think wow, look at where I’m living right now. And to realize that I won’t be here for much longer so I need to take it in now, and remember this forever.