La Casa

During my time in Seville, I am living with a Señora. Her name is Gloria, and she is a tiny, older Spanish woman. She takes pride in her cooking, speaks quickly and loudly, and likes to correct my Spanish pronunciation. She can be noisy and abrasive at times, but it is all out of love.

Her husband is deceased and her children are all grown up. She doesn't like to live alone, so she hosts exchange students year round. She calls them her "hijos," which means children in Spanish.

We live in a small apartment in a neighborhood near the Guadalquivir River.

Dining Room

Hallway into the kitchen

Kitchen

My bedroom
*Note the picture of Jesus above my bed

 She cooks three meals a day for me, does my laundry, irons my clothes, and cleans my room (talk about the good life, huh?). She also helps me with my Spanish, which has really helped me to improve a lot so far. During our siestas, we watch "telenovelas" (Spanish soap operas) and "las noticias" (the news) and nap in our chairs together.

During this semester, she is also hosting two other foreign students. They do not live in the apartment with us, but they eat and take siesta with us. One is a girl from Germany and the other a boy from England. The boy does not speak Spanish very well, and my Señora laughs at him a lot. It's pretty amusing. 

She also has two grandsons, 9 and 11 years old. They are loud and hyper, but shy when I talk to them. And as I am writing this post, they are singing "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga. Awesome. We eat lunch with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons on the weekends. It is a noisy meal. 

Living with my Señora is sure to be a great experience. I believe it will help me improve my Spanish very quickly and learn more about the culture. So far, everything is great. =)