The CIEE staff has kept us extremely busy the past few days, mostly with cultural activities and academic orientation. This morning we walked to the main university building, which people refer to as the Tobacco Factory since that's what it was until 1953. It was built in the 18th century and actually looks more like a palace than a factory. Lucky for me, it's very centrally located and houses all of the facultades (schools) I'm interested in.

We visited the school to go over course registration and some basic academic info, and then we received our housing assignments. Tomorrow I'm moving in with Carmen. All I know about her is that she's a "young woman" who lives in an apartment in Triana, a respectable neighborhood across the river and about 30 minutes from the Tobacco Factory by foot. I'm nervous to meet Carmen but she has to be better than my last host family. And I'm glad I was assigned a single woman (although I bought a Yankees cap in case I moved in with a couple, and now I don't know what to do with it).

After we left the university, we were thrown into more meetings (safety, purchasing a cell phone, extracurriculars) and finally got some tapas and had a siesta. After dinner, we went to a spectacular flamenco performance. The flamenco itself was really intense, much more emotional and authentic than the flamenco we saw in Madrid on the Mamaroneck trip. It was held on a patio in a museum dedicated to Al-Andalus culture. The patio was decorated in the Moorish mudéjar style, with colorful tiles along the walls, and vines were hanging down one wall. Here's a picture I stole from Google:


The next few days are busy with move-in and more meetings. We have to start our intensive CIEE course on Monday, which should be thrilling. Sevilla is still fantastic and I got a sunburn today. Hope all are well. Adiós.