The Fetmans Take Spain...Sevilla; and Here come the Waterworks

Wed. June 14

Woke up at 7:20am on Wednesday morning exhausted, drowsy, and with an overwhelmingly bittersweet feeling about this being my last morning waking up in Maruja’s home. I was not looking forward to all of the goodbyes that I’d have to say that day, yet I was very much looking forward to finally seeing my family (I had missed them so much) and spending 10 days in Spain with them. Hence, bittersweet. I got ready, packed up the rest of my things (e.g. toiletries) as Stacey continued to sleep. Sigh, last morning ever as roommates. I’ll miss being roommates with Stacey, she’s awesome. I got ready, washed up for my last time in my bathroom, made my last two slices of toast, finished packing, then said my goodbye to María del Mar. Before leaving, since I had expressed my inability to locate my favorite fan the night before (I eventually found it) she gave me her fan as a gift to remember her. Sigh. I love María del Mar and will miss her so much. She woke up early to say goodbye to me since she’d be in class when I would come over with my family that evening. Saying goodbye to María del Mar was so hard. It took forever and ended up striking up a typical, meaningless conversation with her and Maruja which caused me to leave later than I had wanted to catch the bus to the airport. Anyways, as I was saying goodbye to María del Mar I started to cry. She took my chin in her hand affectionately and told me not to cry and that we’d keep in touch through email. Hell yeah we will. I said a final goodbye which was basically surreal and grabbed the elevator and started bawling on the way down. I walked down the street with puffy, red eyes which was a bit embarrassing. But I was not a happy camper. But it was strange because I was also stressed out because I wasn’t going to make the 9am bus and had to rush as fast as possible to grab the 9:15, and also happy about seeing my family. On top of that, it was a cloudy morning. So I was experiencing a whole mix of emotions. I couldn’t believe that I’d probably never see María del Mar again…the infamous María del Mar…my one true Spanish friend. I couldn’t believe that I was about to pick up my family at the Sevilla airport…this day always seemed so far away. As did saying goodbye. Basically, everything about the day so far was just so surreal and the ironically dreary, foggy weather (it’s been hot and sunny for the past two months) just added to the surrealism which was Wednesday, June 14. I rushed to the old airport bus stop and had to ask where the new one was (they re-located bus stops back in April) which was a bit stressful. I found it and was flustered and sweating up a storm. I used María del Mar’s fan to cool me down.
The bus came a bit after 9:15 and it took about a half an hour to get to the Sevilla airport. I had time to kill once there (their flight was scheduled to get in at 9:55) so I got some yogurt from the airport bar. Banana yogurt, to be exact. Then I walked over to the gate…their flight hadn’t come in and wasn’t even listed as having arrived yet, so I read some Harry Potter (feels so good to read for pleasure again!). Then I read the announcement board at around 10:05 to see that their flight had just come in and would be at entrance gate A (I was standing at B). So I walked over and grabbed a seat where I sat nervously and anxiously. Every time the automatic doors opened my stomach did a flip-flop thinking it may be them. I mean, I hadn’t seen them since right after Christmas time! Would they look the same? Oh man, my mind and heart were racing. I couldn’t wait. I was tired, anxious, and annoyed with this little girl who was being obnoxious and A.D.D. At around 10:15 I was standing and eyeing the automatic doors, and they opened at one point and I could see Shana’s brightly tie-dyed bandana way in there. The doors soon opened again and I waved, they saw me, Mom had the most shocked look on her face. After about a minute the doors opened and Mom was the first one out. We hugged for so long, I cried a bit but held back because I was sick of crying already. Soon Shana and Daddy followed and we all hugged. It was so amazing to see them!!! I couldn’t believe that they were finally here! I had been waiting for this day for so long. All this time they had just been voices on the phone or words on a computer screen, and now there they were, in the flesh! This was the longest that I had been away from them and it felt unbelievably amazing to be reunited with them. I couldn’t wait to show them my city! We made a fast stop at a currency exchange at which, with my crazy emotions, I couldn’t remember how to say “500” in Spanish. Way to go, Lisa. It’s crazy; my family has never really heard me speaking Spanish, so this was going to be really exciting to show them that I am actually learning another language, hehe. Also, due to my well-developed Spanish skills, I was now in charge of the trip. I’d have to address everyone, ask all questions, make all inquiries, etc. It was all on me. Wow, I’d really have to be an adult, even with my parents. What?? Hehe. Anyways, we decided to grab a cab to the hotel. It was still gloomy outside and looked like rain, which was ironic since I told my parents to pack from high heat and a strong sun.
The cab ride took about 25 minutes, and we checked into our bed & breakfast, Los Naranjos. It’s labeled as a hostel, but it’s actually a 2-star hotel bed & breakfast. It’s very modest: no elevator nor true lobby. Our rooms wouldn’t be ready until 1:30 so we locked up our bags and started to walk around. We stopped at Renfe to see if we could change our train tickets from Granada to Barcelona to preferential sleeping cars, but we needed our online confirmation number to do so, so we decided to return later. I first took them to the University while in the meantime pointing out landmarks of Sevilla and my study abroad experience. They were particularly impressed with the Cathedral, which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. I gave them a brief overview on the architecture of it which I learned about in art history, such as the Gothic parts, Romanesque parts, parts that belonged to the old Arab mosque. As we walked around the back of the Cathedral the bells chimed to signal that it was noon. I had never heard the bells chime like that before! It was so loud and intense and dramatic…very Spanish and the perfect introduction to Sevilla for my family. Meanwhile, they took copious pictures…Shana was particularly blown away by it all, being that it was her first time in Europe. It was growing warm out despite the overcast sky and we were a bit sweaty…ah well, it’s much better than how it’d have been if it were sunny. We went to the University which blew them away…I mean, it’s an old tobacco factory (in fact, THE tobacco factory of Europe back in its hay-day) built in the 1600’s, so it’s pretty impressive looking. I walked them around the school, told them about the University system and what kinds of courses met there. I actually got lost in it…I mean, we ended up in the law department which completely threw me for a loop since I had never been in that part before.
After the University we went to lunch, and I decided that a good first Spanish meal would be at Giraldillo, a nice outdoor eatery that is in perfect view of the Cathedral. Although they didn’t accept American Express (which would turn out to be a bit of an issue for the entire trip…lack of American Express acceptance) we decided to get tapas there anyways. We ordered jamón serrano (typical Spanish cured ham), manchego (sheep) cheese, a tuna veggie salad, and calamari. I thought that those would be good intros to the typical Spanish cuisine. The food was alright, nothing too special, it was nice to give everyone their first taste of authentic Spanish cheese and ham which Daddy, in particular, had been wanting to try. The service was pretty sucky, but that’s expected of Spain since they aren’t working for tips. Then the bill came…105 euros! What??? I asked the waiter about it and it turns out that there was a 20% tax on the meal to eat outside (since the view was the best in town). Ummm…yeah. Stupid. Basically, they robbed us, and none of us were happy…at all.
A bit discouraged, we headed towards my program center so that the family could see where I spent most of my time, meet some of my classmates and program directors, and so I could say goodbye to the directors. We first stopped at OpenCor and I showed them where I spent a good amount of time and money for the past semester. Shana used the bathroom there and eyed this stuffed hot dog (they have the most ridiculous stuffed animals there) that said, “Estás para comerte” which, I believe, means that ‘you’re good/cute enough to eat’ or something like that. Shana really wanted it, so we asked for a price. It wasn’t listed, so they had to call Corte Inglés (their root company) to consult them about the price! Turns out it was 21 euro so we said screw it and just took a picture with it. So funny that they had to consult headquarters for a price on a stuffed hot dog. Haha, oh Spain. We then walked over to the program center. I buzzed up for the last time. A guy answered and it sounded just like Pepe! Was he back?? He had been out for the past 2 weeks with pneumonia, which was sad because none of us would be able to say goodbye. I thought that perhaps he had returned. When we got up to good ole 2 Derecha and entered, he was not there. Somebody else answered, probably Jay. But I introduced my family to Eva and Luisa which was awkward…I mean, what could they say? There was a language barrier, and there wasn’t really too much to talk about. I think that I caught them off-guard anyways. We then went into the computer room where my family got a glimpse into my study abroad life. So many people have left that the place was basically empty. I was able to introduce them to Katie and Melissa who was there, then Stacey walked in and was so excited and hugged my whole family…she had been really looking forward to meeting them; I mean, I had talked about them for the past 5 months, it’s almost like she knew them already. So we all sat around and talked for awhile, Shana and Daddy used the internet there a bit and such. At around 3:30 we left. I said goodbye to Luisa and Eva which was really hard. I cried…again. It was terrible. I couldn’t thank them enough. I told them that this has been one of the best experiences of my life. That’s when I really lost it. Sigh. It was just so…weird. Then I left. Walked out the door of the Cornell-Michigan-Penn center for the last time. So weird. So so so weird. The second that I was out the door I started bawling. Again. This was an emotional day. I just couldn’t believe that this was it. If saying goodbye to María del Mar, Luisa, Eva, and the center were this hard, I was not excited about saying goodbye to Maruja that evening.
We then returned to the hotel, and I was an emotional wreck. We grabbed the few small suitcases my family brought (so that we could all carry my bags easily from place-to-place) up to our rooms, 208 and 209. Shana and I took 208 which had 3 beds and a bathroom, and Mom and Daddy took 209 which had 5 beds and a bathroom. What? Were we in a hostel? Would we have roommates? This all just seemed so illogical. So I went down to the reception to investigate. Turns out that Shana and I, who had reserved a triple, would be in 209, just us two and 3 additional beds. And Mom and Daddy took the triple. What a random hotel. They also assured us that we would not have any other roommates. I would hope not. We then settled in. The rooms are basic, we get a small TV, armoire, desk, but a whole lot of space. Not really any amenities besides the small, non-cable TV and an air conditioner (whose remotes we had to go get from the reception). Our bathroom is small, but does the trick, and is separated by a wall and door that don’t even extend all the way to the ceiling. Nevertheless, it’s nice and comfortable and am very happy with it. After settling into my new Sevilla home (weird…) we went back to Renfe with our confirmation number. We waited a bit for our turn and then returned to the same agent as earlier to exchange our tickets. What we would have to do was cancel our previous reservation and buy new seats. Which we did, but then the computer would neither accept Daddy’s American Express card nor Mom’s. That was strange. So we let people go ahead of us while Daddy tried calling American Express countless times, until finally getting through to American Express in the U.S. (it wasn’t working getting through to the one in Spain for some reason). It took forever and he ended having to be on hold to get a Spanish translator to talk to the Renfe agent. Turns out that although my dad told AmEx that he’d be traveling to Spain, they still marked his and Mom’s cards as fraudulent due to making purchases in Europe. Ummmm. Stupid credit card companies, I tell ya. So AmEx had to talk to the Renfe dude as proof that he was legite, and in order to do so they needed a translator. So then we had to cut this long line of people to do the simplest task because AmEx fucked up, and I, in the meantime, am trying to translate all of this information as simply and clearly and to the best of my ability. It was super stressful and gave me a super headache. We finally got it figured out and bought the new upgraded tickets, and the purchase went through. Then he attempted to cancel our previous tickets, but it was with a different credit card. Guess I bought the tickets with his company’s Visa card or something, and luckily Daddy had it on him so he could make the cancellation. So Daddy would end up spending money on his AmEx, but the company would get refunded, not Daddy personally. So it was kind of a lose-lose situation. Then the agent told us that since we bought the previous tickets online it cost a 15% fee. Could it get any worse?? So then Daddy asked if there was a fee to cancel the tickets we had just bought there and stick with the old ones and not pay the fee, to which the agent responded affirmatively. So Daddy said that we’d just stick with our old seats, making all of the last 45 minutes worth of work worthless. Just as the agent was about to cancel, Daddy asked how much 15% would be, and it was only 46 euro, so he finally decided to just cancel the old tickets and stick with the new, improved seats. We had already gone through so much shit, why complicate it more. So finally we got our new tickets and everything had worked out. Sigh. The only bad thing now was that I had told Maruja that we’d come over at 6, and it was just about 6. So we hailed down a taxi to take us to los Remedios—sad because I really wanted to walk my family through there to really show them what my barrio is like. But alas. I called Stacey to tell Maruja that we’d be late, but she didn’t have her phone on. Damn me for not having Maruja’s number! So now my headache had increased. And I was starting to get sad about having to say goodbye…
We cabbed it over to los Remedios…my last time in los Remedios. We pulled up right alongside my apartment and I entered for one last time. I demonstrated how the elevator door works and how I had slammed my finger in it back in April (my nail is almost off now, it’s really gross). Then we went up to good ole floor 7…for my last time. I rang the doorbell to get in which was strange (I gave Maruja my key that morning). Maruja answered the door enthusiastically; she was all dressed up and had a huge grin on her face. She was even running the air conditioning. I told her my parents’ and sister’s names, but she didn’t even bother repeating them since the rest of my family just happens to have names that cannot be pronounced in Spanish. How ironic that I am the only one who ended up with a speakable Spanish name. We sat in the living room and talked for awhile—I played translator. Shana understood a little and was able to respond when Maruja asked her age. My mom gave her some gifts: a nice photo album, a bunch of large, fancy kitchen towels, and a homemade tray decorated with flowers. She loved it all and then showed them the photo box that I had bought her. She was so happy, and very impressed with my mom’s tray. She then brought out pictures from the wedding and looked at them. My mom was very interested in Maruja’s life and asked about her family and such. I found out that not only did Maruja’s husband die young, but one of her sons died when he was 12. Jeez. She showed us pictures of him. I also found out that Fatima, Maruja’s daughter-in-law with all of the little girls, was actually supposed to have a sixth girl, but she miscarried. Damn. Can you imagine? She then gave us a tour of the apartment and she showed us everything, including her bedroom. She didn’t show Stacey’s family her bedroom. I think that she liked my family. She showed us pictures in her bedroom—of her children’s first communions (beautiful photos, beautiful children) and her wedding (huuuuuge amazing wedding dress!). Then we visited some more, talked a lot about how much I have raved about her food, she showed us her china that she keeps in the hutch (crystal that she got when she got married!), she told us about how she brings out the nice china for Christmas when her entiiiiire family (13 grandchildren, four children…12 of the grandchildren are girls, by the way!) comes over, and also for her Saint’s day. Stacey came out to half complain, half laugh at herself about how her stuff wasn’t fitting in her suitcases. Oh, eh-Stacey, Maruja showed us more things, we talked more, she (after a bit of confusion) helped us out by calling a cab to take all of my baggage over to the hotel, and then the goodbyes began. My sister and dad brought my bags down before saying goodbye. My parents both said that they could not thank her enough. Maruja took my hands and said that it was her pleasure; that I was a great, caring girl. Then Daddy thanked her on behalf of all of the students who have stayed with her because she must be an extraordinary person to open her home like that and make such a contribution…and that she really does make a difference. Translating that made me cry—it’s so true! Then my mom started to cry. She told her that she could come to the States and stay with us whenever she liked. Then they all embraced, said goodbye, and went downstairs to allow me a real, heartfelt, personal goodbye. We hugged, and the tears just became unbearable. She told me to be strong because she was getting emotional. Then I hugged her again and we both started to sob which just made me even sadder. I’ve never seen Maruja get emotional. I wonder if she cries when every student leaves. I like to think that I’m an exception, mwa ha. Anyways. We hugged about five times each time crying even harder. She kept telling me to be strong and go. It was like a momma hen telling her baby bird to go off into the world. I would never see her again most likely…and she’s made such an impact. I then walked out the door which was so hard. She stood at the door, tears rolling down her cheek and kept telling me to be strong and go on. I looked back and ran towards her and hugged her one more time. I couldn’t believe that this was it. We were sobbing. I kept saying, “Adios, Maruja…” until finally turning around. She finally closed the door to 7C. I sobbed harder than ever the whole way to the elevator. I was going to miss her so much I can’t even tell you. The elevator finally came…last time riding the elevator down. I sobbed like mad the entire way. I got out of the elevator to see my family standing right there. Despite my unbearable sadness I was calmed by their presence. I really felt like they were “taking me back”. Like I wasn’t just being tossed back into the States, but eased back into it. So I’m glad that my family was there rather than me just getting in a cab and heading back all by myself (oh man, Stacey would have hell to deal with the next day when she left). The cab had arrived. I was ready. Puffy-eyed and still crying a bit, we loaded the cab, I sat up front, and told the driver to take us back to the hotel. I sat, staring out the window, crying and thinking about how this was it. It was all over.
I plan on keeping in touch with Maruja…writing her letters and stuff. I can’t let that woman go.
We made it to the hotel. We locked up my large suitcase because it’s bulky and full of winter clothes. We then lugged the rest of my 3 bags up the stairs and finally settled in. I was now officially moved out. We got ready and walked to the hotel bodega on Zaragoza…the restaurant where I ate with Katie’s mom in February and where our end-of-year cocktail party took place. We had a reservation at 9. I wasn’t very hungry due to a headache that was making me kind of nauseous. I was just tired and dehydrated. We sat in the bar area and waited for Stacey. At around 9:10 she showed up and we headed upstairs for a fancy Spanish meal. We all ordered an appetizer sampler and fish. I recommended the delicious bacalao dish to Shana, Stacey got the crab crepes she got last time, Daddy got stuffed ox tail, Mom got fish, and I got a fish by the waiter’s recommendation. The appetizer sampler was very, very good, but our meals were just okay (except Stacey’s and Shana’s). None of us finished our food because we were full from the appetizers, I was forcing some food down my throat because I was just not in the mood to eat at all (can ya believe it?). So it was a bit disappointing all in all for how fancy and hyped up this place was. So weird because I chose to go there because the last time that I was there everything was so good. Well, Shana loved her cod dish which is what I got last time, so whatever. For dessert Mom and Daddy ordered slices of cake to try. Mom got a slice of the Spanish typical San Marcos cake because the yema (egg yolk and sugar) frosting on top intrigued her. That cake was actually pretty good. I didn’t try the other one, I’m not quite sure what it was…something with berries. At around 11 we headed out; Melissa called and asked what the plan was for the night. It was Stacey and Jessica’s last night, and henceforth the last night that we’d all hang out in Sevilla. Turns out that a lot of people were either leaving the next day or in the next few days, Crazy. So we made plans to just meet up at good ole Alfalfa at 12:15.
We walked back to the hotel with Stacey where I got ready a bit, Stacey thanked my family and said goodbye, and we headed out to Alfalfa for one last time. It was weird walking to Alfalfa from that side of town. In fact, it was just weird living in the center of town…I’m not used to it! It’s a whoooole different scene. I was really tired and it took a lot of motivation to actually get out the door. My plan was to drink very little and not stay out late. On the way to Alfalfa we heard this loud, epic music that reminded us of Semana Santa. When we approached the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) we found this huuuuge beautiful canopy decorated with flowers and filled with people. There was a huge procession going through it that looked just like from Semana Santa. Turns out it was the first procession for Corpus Chrisi (which was the next day). Makes sense because it was a little bit after midnight. How appropriate to stumble upon a huge religious spectacle for Stacey’s last night in Spain. We stood there and watched it until it ended about 5 min. later. As we then walked towards Alfalfa we saw a couple store windows immaculately (pun intended) decorated with emblems of the Eukarist for Corpus Christi. We saw 2, and they were gorgeous with lots of people gathered around them. Luisa told me that during Corpus in the barrio Santa Cruz they decorate the windows like altars and it’s gorgeous. Hehe, it’s like Marshall Field’s in Chicago during Christmas time except, well, really Catholic. Ohhhhh Sevilla. We got to Alfalfa, first ran into Evan and Nina, talked to them a bit. Then Katie and Melissa, then Alyse, Leah, Laura, Nick, and Amanda. So many people were leaving soon! Then Freya showed up, then Jessica just back from a trip to Greece with Courtney (who decided to stay in that night). Stacey and I got our last huge-ass 3 euro beers from Robotica and just hung out, chatted with everyone, took pictures, etc. It was so sad because I was unbeeearably tired. I had had quite a rough day: up early, running around town, headache, crying, etc. etc. It took a lot out of me. So it was kind of hard for me to fully enjoy Alfalfa like I usually do. But I found it quite appropriate; you see, when I first arrived in Sevilla we all went out together our first night here. I was extremely jet-lagged, going on about an hour of sleep, and not with it at all. So I started out study abroad tired my first night out, and ended like so. Yes, very appropriate indeed. I only drank half of my beer. Leah was really drunk—I mean, stumbling all over the place and falling over drunk. Ha, it was kind of funny. I was a bit tipsy because I was so dehydrated and hadn’t eaten much dinner so just a half a beer was able to affect me a little. But I was so tired, my head was fuzzy. At around 2:30 Stacey and I decided to go—she had to leave at 8am that morning and still had a few things to pack. I just wanted to be well-rested for a packed week/weekend with the family. So we said our goodbyes—it wasn’t bad saying bye to the Michigan people because I know that I will, without a doubt, see them many a time come two and a half months from now. But it was weird saying goodbye to the Cornell and Penn girls that were there…I may never see them again. How strange. A couple said that they had planned to come to Michigan to visit…gotta love the UofMers out-numbering the East Coasters…that’s right, THEY can come visit US. Mwa ha ha.
Then Stacey and I walked away…our last night out at Alfalfa. Weird. We talked about how the next time we’re ever in Sevilla we’ll have outgrown Alfalfa. It’s definitely a collegey place. I’m going to miss that place so much. Alfalfa, how I adore thee. Stacey was really nice and walked me to la avenida Reyes Católicos which is 3 blocks from my hotel because I had no idea how to get back from Alfalfa. Thanks, Stacey! Oh man, then we had to say goodbye, which was weird. It was sad because we’d never be in Spain together again, and we’d be living on completely opposite sides of town next fall, but I knew that I’d see her again. And that I’d probably see her this summer since I’m planning a trip out to west Michigan in July. So we hugged, I wished her luck with her many flights tomorrow (the poor thing), and walked back to the hotel. It was so weird “walking home” through the center of town. There were all these swanky nightclubs and bars all still going strong (granted it was only 3am). I got back safely, headed up to floor 2, found Shana passed out horizontally on 2 beds with the lights on. She wanted to go use the internet thinking that it was midnight. Haha. I told her that it was about 3 and that she should just go to sleep. So she did. I got ready, got into bed, and slept my first night in Sevilla away from my homestay since January. I was now officially a tourist…no longer a sevillana. I was an American in Seville. And so the vacation would begin.