This was our first week of classes, and I am already learning so much. Our teachers are amazing, and I am having an especially good time in grammar class (of course I would, though).
But on top of learning that you can NEVER use “cuál” before a noun (crazy, right?), I’ve also learned that it pays to become a regular at a café bar. Ordering at Spanish bars has been the most embarrassing venture of mine to date because something always goes wrong: I stumble over every word and confuse them, they ask questions I am not anticipating and have no idea how to respond (today, they asked me if I wanted my order of a café con leche and a napolitana “cubierto” which means “covered”. No? I mean, why would I need it covered if it’s not to go? Anyone with insight please let me know XD), or I just manage to something that causes an aura of “HEY LOOK AN AMERICAN” to surround me. But I am *finally* adjusting to the café/bar culture, and have made my presence known and appreciated at several locations.
This whole week, I took the hour break between my first and second class to pop around the corner to Café Bar Santo, a one minute venture from the doors of the university, where I was determined to become a regular. The first day, I received curt, disinterested service without a smile. This is very common, as the people who work there don’t view it as necessary to feign interest for a customer they’ve never seen before, who is obviously a foreigner, and therefore they will probably never see again.
At first this was frustrating, because every place I went I received unfriendly service, and I had never experienced this on the regular. But now, I actually see it as better, because now I know that every time they smile at me, it is because they are genuinely happy to see me.
So I persevered. The second day, the interactions were still short and stiff, but I was still determined to present myself as more than an American just passing through.
So the 3rd day, I asked the wonderful receptionist and regular at Café Bar Santo, Anna Bello, at TCCSevilla if she would have breakfast with me there. As soon as we walked up to the bar, they greeted her with smiles and excitement and looked at me with an expression that said “Wow, she knows Anna Bello. She must be alright”. I ordered a café con leche and a “media” (half a regular serving of bread) with “aceite, tomate, y jamón serrano”. They gave us our café con leche in large mugs instead of small, tall, glass shotglasses, and placed a bonus cookie on the saucer. Essentially, it was the royal treatment of cafés. After a lovely breakfast and conversation, I left feeling confident about going the next morning.
And the next morning, I was greeted with a smile. When asked my order, she said “Hola cariño, qué quieres?” (Hey love, what do you want?) Incredibly happy about the development, I drank my café con leche actually excited to return the next day.
And the fifth day, Friday, and my last appearance before the weekend, I had the best experience yet. As I left, they said, “Hasta luego” (Until later). Knowing that they now knew I would come back and wanted me to warmed my heart.
It’s the little things like this that have been the most satisfying of my first full week in Spain. All I did was order 5 café con leche and one media, but I proved myself to a small group of Spaniards who now like me and can count on my business. And it’s genuine, because as I learned the first few days, they won’t feign friendliness just because you’re a customer.
But of course, this is not the only wonderful thing that happened this week. Among hundreds, some highlights are knowing how to get to many important landmarks/locations in Sevilla without Google maps, developing a joking relationship with my host family, developing deeper friendships with my roommates and others in the program, boating around Plaza de España, getting ice cream 3 times, going to the beach in Cádiz, visiting the Plaza de América and getting bombarded by adorable pigeons, figuring out the bike system and getting SWOLE quads and calfs, getting a tan (perhaps the most incredible of them all), and going to a Jazz bar where I heard some of the best live music I have ever heard. Scroll down to see some pictures of these adventures!
Emma in Seville 