Everything's starting to fall together

So as I was writing the last post, FC Sevilla was about to take on Roma in Budapest and go on to win the Europa League. For those of you who don't know, or those of you who didn't take German 326 with Kalli, the Europa League is the second most important league in soccer, with, of course, the Champions League as the number one. So Matt and I had heard at work earlier on Thursday that that night, the team was going to be going through the city celebrating their seventh win of the league to date. So, Matt and I headed into the city at 7:30. After a quick detour where I went back home to change into my jersey, we arrived at Puerta Jerez (right at the bottom of Avenida de la Constitutión, not too far away from the Alcázar, nor the Torre del Oro). There, we saw a huge crowd all singing that FC Sevilla hymn I talked about from my post when we went to the game, and the team in an open-top bus right in the center. It was totally electric. The weather was perfect—sun wasn't too hot, but it was still clear skies and bright—and the streets were filled with red and white jerseys, shirts, and scarves. What I found so cool was that this was straight in the center of the historic district. That not only was this super cool thing happening, but it was happening in such a magical place that's been known for centuries as a birthplace of culture and an epicenter of some of the most beautiful architecture in region. We followed the parade down Avenida de la Constitutión almost to its finish, Plaza Nueva, the beginning of the shopping district—before deciding to head back home, stopping for some dinner on the way. I got some patatas bravas (of course) as well as this sandwich. We walk past this place every time we go into the city, and I've always wanted to stop there, so I'm glad we finally did.

Friday after work, Kim texted me to ask if I wanted to grab lunch with her and the rest of the TCU kids before they leave. I was dead-set on a Popeye's Chicken Sandwich from the mall, but she convinced us to stop at this place right across from the mall for a quick lunch. The lunch was not quick, and certainly wasn't cheap... So the chef comes up to us, and I was looking at ordering something small and cheap: the tacos. He comes up and explains nearly everything on the menu, thoroughly recounting how it's cooked, what makes it special, and why we should order it. Now, I was looking to spend about 7€ on lunch from Popeye's, making this 8.5€ tacos already out of my budget. But it got worse when I ordered. The look of disappointment in his eyes was immense, maybe that I didn't respect his precisely crafted creations, or that I simply didn't have delicate enough taste to eat at a place like this. He then went on to say that they're out of the tacos, and that I'd have to pick something else. So I went with the Iberian pork shoulder (a staple dish here... Iberian pork is made from pig that is fed exclusively acorns throughout its life) which, in fairness, was delicious, but not really what I was in the mood for. We then ran to the mall, where I bought myself something very special that I'll bring up in a bit, and Kim bought herself some things before she leaves Seville for good.

We helped Kim pack up, as her mom was coming and she hadn't started yet. She was scared of how her mom would react, and after meeting her, I see why. Her mom was very hard on her, and though it's not my place here to comment on that, I could pick it up immediately. She'd warned me beforehand, but it made me sad to see that she wasn't exaggerating.

After we said goodbye to Kim, Matt and I went downtown for dinner. I got a salad and some Galician octopus as a tapa, and Matt got paella. The place was good, and certainly a better price than the last place I got paella at. It started to pour by the time we were finished with dinner, which was less than ideal since we were eating outside and were a half-hour walk from home. We had come prepared with raincoats, though, and weren't too soaked like the last time! When we got back, we discovered that our residence was hosting an end-of-school party for everybody. So, I got some time to talk with the Spanish kids I had met in the dining hall at the start, which was fun, but what was even better was the music. They had live music, and a moment I will remember forever is when they played their first Sevilliana—a special kind of flamenco song characteristic of Seville. It's danced with two people, in four steps. I had seen a Sevilliana at the flamenco show before, but what I was totally not

prepared for was that everybody knows how to dance it! It's just like if the Cotton-Eye Joe or Cupid Shuffle started playing back at home. Everyone immediately assembled into two lines, and their hands went up in traditional flamenco fashion. Before I knew it, they were spinning around each other, moving back and forth, and clapping all in total unison. It was so cool, since I had always assumed that flamenco was something reserved for professionals, not just regular people. By the end of the night they had played two other Sevillianas while interspersed with other Spanish genres (mostly rumba) and other just regular music, and I had started to learn the basic steps of the Sevilliana. Very much enjoyed that, and I hope I'll get an opportunity later to be part of that again, so I can show it off!

Saturday was a very uneventful day—I went to the pool, called some friends at home, and walked into the city only at night after Mercedes, our final addition to the three of us interns living at LIV, got here. Both of them are very cool, and I'm excited to have their company this summer. Alex is a grad student doing his thesis on genetics here in Sevilla. He'll leave with us at the end of the summer. Mercedes is in MechE at MIT, and real big into sailing, which I think is pretty cool. We had dinner with her and this guy Alex from Sweden, who we had met earlier in the day at the dining hall. We had a really nice night, just walking around, seeing things, eating Sevillian characteristic dishes, and talking. We visited the Plaza at night, and continued to walk around, exploring the María Luisa gardens surrounding it. I actually hadn't been to the María Luisa gardens, and they were super nice. I'm sure they're even better

during the day, but we came across these interesting two buildings. So the Plaza de España was the Spanish building for the Iberian-American Friendship Exhibition, and we made it to the American side. They're two very impressive, also Moorish-inspired, buildings in a very typical Andalucian plaza. Nowadays, they're museums. I'm sure I'll come back later in the summer to visit them, or at least to admire the architecture in the light of day.

Sunday was very fun. I booked tickets to go (alone) to Cádiz. My train left at 2:45 PM and arrived at 4:30, and my return train left Cádiz at 8:40 PM, so I didn't get all that much time there, but I did get plenty of time just to enjoy the beach and wander a little around the city. So after I got off the train, the first thing I did was go to the beach. It was 90° at the hottest, so definitely a good day for the beach. Cádiz is actually an island, so there's obviously water all around. On the bay side, facing the rest of mainland Spain is the port, whereas the good beaches for swimming are on the Atlantic side. The water was pleasant, not too cold, and definitely not too warm, though the clouds covered the sun as soon as I got in the water, and went away as soon as I got out. Otherwise I just floated around until I was ready to get out. From there I walked around the city. Most things were closed, since it was a Sunday during siesta time, but I did get ice cream. Otherwise, the ambiance was very beachy. Lots more people less formally dressed than Seville, for example, and it had the same sort of street performances as Lisbon, as well as those classic black and white patterned sidewalks in the main square of the island. A few more notes about the city itself: Apparently it's the oldest city in Western Europe (with the oldest city in Europe as a whole being Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which I have also seen!). The city center is blocked off by a long wall, which I'm sure kept it safe in historical times. On the far edges of the island are castles, again, presumably to keep guard against invaders. The one that I made my way to was on an island with a bridge connecting it to the rest of the city (see pin on the map below). It also was home to the lighthouse (Faro).

First of all, the walk over there was stunningly beautiful. Second, when I got to the other side, the castle was locked. Not sure if it's always like that, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since I got into the water right underneath the bridge and swam with some local kids for a while. We were capturing the crabs that climbed all over the walls of the bridge, and jumping into the water. Some people on the bridge were jumping off into the water

below, and though it looked like fun, I thought back to my orientation for study abroad more than a year ago, when they gave us an example of a certain bridge in Porto that, despite its impressive height, still gets plenty of bridge jumpers every year. Those who jump and, well, escape just fine, know what they're doing. Those who don't... well they're mostly tourists. I found out this morning that this is only possible at high tide (which it must have been, since several people jumped), so despite the thought of doing it having crossed my mind, I did not. (Mom, Nana, and Grandma, I'm sure you're happy to read this). I definitely stayed too long at the bridge, and had to run through the city and find a quick place for dinner nearby the train station so that I didn't miss my train. I stopped at a tapas bar and ordered myself some pescadito frito, fried seafood, and during this, there was the Cádiz CF game going on. Cádiz was facing relegation if they didn't win that game, but they did. I wish I was there for the finale to see the reaction, but by time I was making it back into the city from the bridge, everybody was wearing the (almost maize and blue) jerseys of Cádiz CF.

When I got home, I used that special thing I bought in the mall. Drum roll... a waffle maker! The waffles weren't amazing, since I didn't have measuring cups so basically made the recipe from what it always looks like, but I've learned for next time what works well with this "waffle maker" which is actually a croque-monsieur press. Namely: more baking powder than I'm used to putting in.

I guess, since I'm back to a weekday, I should talk about work for the week... My tasks for this week have included finishing up the insulation work, and doing some work with pipes that drain water off of decks. The piping was the first thing that has challenged me, as (1) I'm not used to working with 3D in BricsCAD, only SolidWorks, and (2) I am using a limited license of BricsCAD, so not all of the 3D features are available to me. There was a bit of a mishap with saving the document when I thought it was a copy, but everything is resolved now... there's a bit of haphazardness with the document I'm working in right now, but I'll try to get it all figured out in the next few days. I also started keeping a spreadsheet of all of my tasks that I've been assigned throughout the summer, along with their descriptions and what I've learned from them. It's definitely going to be a worthwhile reference material in the future, if I do decide to go into industry, and also in conceptual design classes like NA370, 470, and 475. It'll help me remember everything that goes into building a ship, how things are organized and classified (naval architecture vs. outfitting vs. machinery, auxiliary, etc), and help me become more fluent in industry standards. I cannot attach any of it for fear that it'll violate some terms of contract, though...

Monday afternoon, I started to plan with Matt for our coming weekend: Córdoba and Grananda. I won't say too much more, as to keep the suspense for the weekend (the real reason is that if I say something in the blog and it doesn't end up happening, then I'll be disappointed), as well as starting to plan for Marrakech in three weekends from now. Then, we headed up to the pool for another 90° afternoon! Matt was in the gym at first, so it was just Mercedes and I, and we had a nice talk comparing our schools, classes, and overall college experiences two years in. Anyways, that's about it, but I'm starting to get a routine, some company, and starting to get some plans for weekends! Exciting times, things are a-brewing! Until next time, hasta luego