El Bosque

First, I should apologize for the lack of posts in the past few weeks.  Even though siestas are a daily thing here in Seville, I have not had much free time to write.  My classes started last Monday and unfortunately I have been sick with a sinus infection.  I have a lot to update on so bare with me….

My program leaders took us to Cádiz three weeks ago for the weekend.  We stayed in a small town about an hour outside of Seville.  Besides the miserable drive there (too many twisty turns are not good for my stomach early in the morning), the weekend was incredible.  The structure was very relaxed and our program leaders had only one rule for us: speak Spanish.  Since I am part of the Advanced Liberal Arts group we are held to a higher standard than the students in the other CIEE programs here in Seville.  We are constantly reminded to speak Spanish.  It gets difficult at times especially when I am speaking to someone who knows English.  It’s easier to communicate my feelings in English because I don’t have to constantly think about conjugating verbs and using the right vocabulary.  However, I have already noticed an improvement.  At the end of the day, I get tired and want to speak English but I need to remember that the more I practice, the better I am going to be at speaking Spanish.  And the better I am at speaking Spanish, the more confidence I will have to talk to Sevillanos.  Our weekend in “el Bosque” (the forest) helped me gain the confidence I’ve needed to speak Spanish without worrying so much.  The timing of our weekend of language immersion was perfect since our classes started the next Monday.  


The fourteen of us that went on the trip were accompanied by nine university students who live in Seville.  Together we spent the weekend getting to know each other and explore the town.  From the time we got on the bus in Seville to the time we got on the bus to go home, we could only speak Spanish.  To make sure we wouldn’t cave and use English, Juli and Alejandra (our program leaders) made the weekend into a game.  We were each given a “pulsera” (bracelet) that read “Hablo Español”.  We were allowed to steal someone else’s bracelet if we heard them speak English.  Whoever had the most bracelets at the end of the weekend won a University of Seville T-shirt.  My program group is very competitive, and of course, there’s no greater prize than a T-shirt!  As you can imagine, English was not an option for us.  I was a little nervous at first and I think a lot of my friends were too but we quickly realized that we all were going to make grammar mistakes throughout the weekend and there was no reason to be embarrassed.  The Spanish students had a lot of fun with the game, trying to get us to speak English.  Since they study English at the University, they want to learn from us.  So they would trick us by asking how to say something in English, and when we would tell them they would take our bracelets!!  It was all in good fun, but by the end of the weekend we caught on to what they were doing.


On Sunday, we went on a “senderismo” (hike) by the River.  We hiked about 5 kilometers from the town we were staying to another part of Cádiz.  I was very excited to spend the afternoon outside away from the city and to take pictures with my camera.

The weekend of language immersion could have been long and unbearable but I was in good company so it was actually very enjoyable.  I had a blast with the other students in my program and with the Spanish students as well.  I am so glad that I get along with the students I am here in Seville with.  I loved spending time getting to know them in Cádiz since I will be spending the next few months with them here in Seville.  I was also happy to practice my Spanish with Sevillanos my own age.  Now I am not afraid to talk with my program leaders and also the students in my classes at the University.