:)

Things have settled down a lot and I am now getting into a routine of school every day. I start at 9:30am with a Grammar and Writing class which lasts for 2 hours. We then have a break from 11:30am-12pm so usually we go to a little café across the road. You can get a bocadillo (sandwich/roll) and a tea or coffee for only 2 euro. Sometimes I get a tea with ‘pincho de tortilla’ which is a portion of a Spanish omelette – just like a frittata.

My school

Most of my fellow students are from the United States and they are all REALLY friendly. We get along well and laugh a lot about everyone’s accents.

When I go back to class I have an hour of Oral Communication with a lady called Naty who is a lot of fun. She has so much energy and is quite funny so it doesn’t really feel like a class, we just sit and talk to each other.

My final class is Introduction to Spanish Literature with a lady called Carmen who is also lovely. I really like this one and we have started reading El Lazarillo de Tormes (a Tom Sawyer type novel) and parts of Don Quijote.

Our house is nice but we have had a few problems which will hopefully be straightened out this week. The heating does not work so we are usually VERY cold and the hot water system blew yesterday so hopefully it will be fixed this afternoon. Only one burner on the stove actually works and our electricity regularly conks out so fingers crossed this will be fixed asap.

I am missing home but starting to enjoy being in Leon despite the challenges.

Will write more soon. Much love xx

Leon living!

HOLA!

It has been a while since my last post and so much has happened but I haven't had access to internet which is why I have been so quiet!

I will recount more soon as access is limited but in short I have started school, made new friends and found a place to live!

I am sharing an apartment with two lovely girls, Sharna and Brittany, and we are all so happy to be settled. Our apartment has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry and lounge room. I'll take photos and post soon.

Our classes are very small and there are only about 15-20 students in our group at the language centre.

Everyone is very friendly and we are slowly getting used to Spain.

I am missing everyone at home and will write more soon.

Much love,

Clare

Photos, Photos, Photos

Here's a few more snaps of our lovely Christmas day!

Plaza de Espana

Cathedral of Sevilla

Alcazar of Sevilla

Our breakfast feast

Our exquisite dinner!

Feliz Navidad!

I was a little worried at first about how Christmas would turn out as I have always been a fan of Christmas at home with my family but this Christmas actually turned out to be incredible.

When we got up we dressed in our special Christmas outfits! We had all bought matching Christmas tights which I wore with a black skirt and my new black and white Christmas jumper! Sharna had bought us all a cute Santa hat and made red and white bows which we pinned to our hats.

Britt, Sam and I

We cooked a spectacular pancake breakfast with juice, strawberries, lemon and sugar, banana and Nocilla (the Spanish equivalent of Nutella) and ate it on the rooftop terrace of our hostel. The terrace was incredibly beautiful (one of the only nice places in this ghastly hostel!) and we looked out at the lovely rooftops and bell towers. The sun was shining and our breakfast was delicious!

After breakfast we went for a walk along the river right up to Plaza Espana.  There were plenty of people out, families having picnics on the banks of the river, couples sleeping in the sunshine and people roller-skating and bike riding along the walking track. It was such a beautiful day and the walk through the park near the plaza (Jardin de Maria Luisa) was so relaxing.

First views of Plaza de Espana

The Plaza was astounding and after exploring for a while we had a horse and buggy ride through the park and around the city. Our horse had a confusing name so we named her Margarita after a similar looking horse we saw in Cordoba.

Plaza de Espana

Our horse and buggy ride through Jardin de Maria Luisa

That afternoon we ate snacks and watched a movie before heading to the hostel kitchen to cook up a feast! We made a DELICIOUS spaghetti bolognaise (definitely the best I have ever eaten!) and homemade garlic bread. Along with the wine, rum, juice, vodka and soft drink we had bought, it was quite a fantastic meal.

We made friends with some of the other guests at the hostel and played cards and had a few drinks with them. Eventually the girls decided to go out but I was quite tired after our day so I hit the hay!

Adios, Clare xx