I’ve been in Sevilla for over a month now, so I think a bit of reflection is appropriate. These aren’t necessarily in any particular order, and by no means are they necessarily the most important things I’ve learned in Sevilla, but they’re useful lessons I’ve learned to help deal with day-to-day life:
1) No one can pronounce my name. I am known here as CHannon.
2) “Preservativo” is not a preservative (consult a Spanish-English dictionary for this one; haha thank my grammar teacher)
3) Being an American girl in Spain is a double-edged sword: objectified but at the same time put on a pedestal. Annoying propinos (cat calls, basically) in the street are non-stop, BUT we get in free to all the discotecas and (for better or for worse) have many interested suitors.
4) I get stared at a lot. I guess the whole tall, blonde, and blue-eyed thing kind of gives it away that I’m not an española.
5) Even the best sense of direction can get confused in Sevilla’s center. I usually pride myself on knowing how to get everywhere, but the streets are ¡LOCA!
6) Breakfast barely exists. “EGGS? FOR DESAYUNO?” exclaimed my señora. Nope… it’s strictly té (tea) and pan tostada (toast) for me.
7) Nocilla is heavenly, and it outsells Nutella here by a large margin. Truly a blessing in Spain.
8) Girls don’t exercise that much publicly here. I’m drastically outnumbered by men at my rowing club and on daily runs. The Carerra Nocturna de Guadalquivir that I ran with my friend Moniek had 15,000 runners, and I’m pretty sure 1,000 or less were probably girls.
9) Siesta is REAL. Pretty much everything closes here between the hours of 2-4pm when people return home to rest. Except for El Corte Inglés, which is the closest you’ll find to an American department store since it stays open all day long.
10) Can’t find something? Maybe El Corte Inglés doesn’t have the best selection, but you’ll surely be able to find what you’re looking for. Think of it as a Neiman Marcus-Walmart-Target-JCPenney-GroceryStore-Saks all rolled into one!
11) Not so much a lesson as an observation: Sevillanos LOVE their ice cream. There are multiple heladerías on every block. Luckily this wasn’t anything difficult for me to adjust to! 😀
Hasta luego until my next post, but here’s another bit of musical enjoyment!
Shannon en Sevilla 
Reblogged this on pennabroad.