Eating Snails

So my intercambio, Juan, has been suggesting I try snails before I leave, b/c the people here love it and he can't believe I'd not eaten them yet. Bueno, last night after work I got adventurous and we went to an old bar near Feria that had old walls filled with pictures of Jesus, Mary, and the bull fighters of Seville. And two really, really big bull heads. With red, angry eyes. Scary.

We got beers and asked the man for snails. He went to the back and filled a bowl with snail juice and snails, complete in their little shells. He wrote down our running tab with chalk on the bar counter and handed me the animals. Then Juan showed me how to eat them, head and antenae first. You suck the whole thing out of the shell, unless it's stuck inside. If it's inside you can use a toothpick, but only the foreigners do that, so I was not allowed to use them. Instead, he showed me how you make a small hole with your tooth and then loudly suck out the small, squishy animal. I was not good at this part. I was a little embarrassed by the loud noises and still could not get that tricky thing out of the shell! I wish I had taken a picture. Dad, you would have been seriously grossed out.

It was quite the adventure.

Three days and counting. I bought a small duffel today b/c I don't think everything will fit in my big bag. I've yet to do a trial run of packing, but think I might today. Maybe.

Tomorrow night I'm having a going away drinks party on the 'meda. Thursday I'm not working, just finishing up getting everything together before I come home Friday!!! Good times in Seville. :)

Alcazar in May

Dayna and I went to the Alcazar Friday and walked around, had a picnic, got chased by a peacock...that was fun. We were sitting on a bench eating our bocadillos, and this large peacock came very close. Dayna tried to shoo it away with her foot, but it wouldn't go. Then she jumped up and made crazy animal noises at it and waved her arms. I pretended not to know her. :) Then we moved benches and it followed us! So we decided we were done with that area of the gardens and moved to the French section.

Last night we went out and played pool (on a table that would horrify Dad). As I walked home at 3 this morning, I noticed a good sized cockroach also out for a night stroll. They come back with the heat, and I do not want to be here when they are out in full force!

It's my last week here. I'm really going to miss my students and so many things about this place. But I can't wait to see family and friends!

Cordoba and Tapas Party

The pictures are in reverse order to first is Sunday. Dayna, Katherine and I had a tapas party. We made salmarejo, gazpacho, espinacas con garbanzos, guacamole, three kinds of hummus, a Spanish tortilla, etc. It was delicious and lots of fun!

Saturday us girls went to Cordoba for the festival of patios. It was beautiful! And we got to meet up with our friend David as well.

Tapas! Mmmmmm.

The city center had saying painted on the walls. Don't know why, but they were interesting.

All in all it was a great weekend! And next weekend is my last one here! :)

Flying Cockroaches

The weather here has been unseasonably chilly for the past week or so, and it's not supposed to get better for awhile. How sad! But I guess the upside is there shouldn't be an explosion of cockroaches until the real heat hits. However, I did have one in my bathroom the other day. I woke up at 5 am to use the bathroom, walked in, and found this huge cockroach running across the white tiles. I couldn't handle it - I shut the door, stuck a rug against so it couldn't get into my room, and climbed back into bed, utterly grossed out. The next morning I couldn't find it, and every time I went into the bathroom, had a thorough look before doing so!

The next day I found it in the morning, and decided it would not get the better of me. Summoning my courage, I grabbed my broom of death, actually yelled out loud "bring it, bitch" (yes, it would appear I need help) and proceeded to beat it with the broom, then I stomped on it. I'm sure my neighbors wondered what on earth I was doing! I then went to the store and bought traps.

Yesterday I talked to one of my students about the cockroaches and asked if he had them. He said many people do in summer, and it's worst when it gets hotter. He got all excited and said, yeah, they get big and they fly! And in the church in Plaza de San Lorenzo (not far from my house) you can sit during the service and watch tons of them fly around. I felt ill. It is DEFINITELY time for me to come home! I take no pleasure in flying cockroaches. I do remember last summer when they sprayed the streets for cockroaches, and I remember walking on the cobblestones and seeing them littered with roaches. Oh dear.

Today after Spanish class, I went for coffee with a German and an Austrian and we spoke mostly German with some Spanish and some English. And I couldn't get any language right! I kept slipping back and forth between at least two, and I was having trouble focusing on just one. How frustrating! Surely this problem cannot last forever, or my Spanish and my German will be terrible!

Just two weeks from tomorrow and I'm on a plane home, unless this mess with the volcano keeps up. Two days ago most airports in Spain were closed, including Seville. They keep shutting them down in different parts of Europe, and it changes day to day. Interesting.

Oh yeah, and just another small rant. While I thoroughly appreciate how much the men like to vocalize how beautiful the women are here (I definitely feel attractive in Andalusia!), I am seriously getting tired of avoiding eye contact and being blatantly stared at, yelled at, etc. Yesterday a man actually tried to kiss me on the street! I had the most shocked face ever! I understand it's a different culture and men don't do it to be insulting or demeaning, but I think I've had enough.

Contemporary Art Museum

I had a cultural weekend! Friday Meghan and I went to the church in the Plaza San Salvador, which is beautiful! We also ate at Coloniales, which has amazing tapas.

Yesterday Dayna and I went to the contemporary art museum, which is housed in an old monastery. It's so beautiful. The pictures above are of it. Then last night we cooked ratatouille with beef and made hummus. Mmmmm!

Then my friend told me that sometimes people here get eye infections due to the dog poo that dries up and blows in the wind. Oh how gross! Time to go home. That and I found a massive cockroach in my bathroom today but it escaped me. Oh dear.

23 days!!! :)