Today, I ate an orange. Also, jazz and bridges.

Yes, yes, I know you've probably been hearing about this from several reputable sources, so I figure I might as well clear things up: I did, in fact, eat an orange. Not just any orange, but one off of a Sevillian tree, quite similar to the one or two you see below and those you have seen in past posts.



"Well??" you say. "¿Te gustó?"

Pues, my host parents were right. It was sour. Super sour. But I ate the whole thing, promise. In addition to having a pH of 0.1, it was super seedy too (as in having a lot of seeds, not other colloquial definitions of that word).

Anyhow, I am slightly behind on bloggering, blogging, bling, blogando, whatever you'd like to call it, as you can see by looking at the date of my last post. My goal in this next several hundred words of your life is to catch you up on what's gone on in the last nine days, so let's see if we can do that. Chances are, these next paragraphs will not be at all chronological. Think of them more as stand-alone anecdotes that have happened sometime in the past week or so.

This isn't very exciting for most, but I feel like several of you chapel band and orchestra folk will enjoy this. The other day, during lunch, we were watching TV (surprise surprise). The theme song to the show we were watching was playing at the same time as Victor was putting a plate down on the table. The plate hit my cup, full of water, and...no, it didn't spill. But the pitch of the glass was the root of the theme song! It was pretty sweet. Speaking of noises, today I found out that if you hit the metal handrail in the elevator of our apartment building with your keys, it rings really loud(ly) for a good five or six seconds. Speaking of more noises, Kane taught me how to do the "hand ocarina," as he calls it, the other day. We decided that in Spanish it'd be called "la manocarina." Also, I hit the third harmonic on a Coke bottle for the first time ever (Brad and Daniel, I think you'll appreciate that one). I've probably had more Coke in the last two weeks than I've had in the past year.



Last week, I showed Stephanie and Kane my neighborhood and we stopped at a confitería and talked about Spanish literature (well, I mostly listened). It felt like a very European thing to do.



This is what we ate.

I finally asked Victor and Maricarmen who the guy yelling outside was and why he always yelled. Turns out it's the gas guy, and he's yelling "butano." My guesses were "claro" or "Marco" (a little egotistic, I know). Anyways, it's a daily occurrence, along with the sound of them banging the butane tanks against the side of their delivery truck. Apparently it's to show that they're full?

It seems there are quite a few words now that I'm reading in Spanish before ever knowing them in English. I'm starting a list. Here are the first ones: secuela, onomastic, libertine. More to come later.

A few days ago, we got offered hashish by a older guy hanging out by a playground. Why a playground?? No idea. Anyhow, it was way too much for the poor quality...jajaja just kidding. It was a good price. I mean...uuhhhhh. Anyways...

On to something super cool.



Last Thursday night, Kane and I went to the jazz cafe we found during the scavenger hunt. We got there around 10:30 to find an extremely crowded cafe with drums, a bass, and a guitar setup in the corner. We shoved our way through the crowd (as politely as we could, of course) to see if we could find any musicians. I asked a guy who looked like a musician if he played music, and I'm pretty sure his response was, "I try to play music." Such a jazz musician.

And yes, Hannah, they have the poster. THE poster. For everyone who hasn't ever stepped into the band room at San Marcos High School, the poster that you see in the bottom right hangs in our high school band room as well. It also hangs in a small off-the-beaten-path restaurant in Venice. Go figure.

The music started about ten minutes later. In addition to the rhythm section (composed of middle age men), there was an incredible alto sax (I'm guessing he's 20-24 years old) and a man who we would come to know as Manuel Calleja playing the melodica. I KNOW. How awesome. It actually turns out that Kane's host mom's friend is Manuel's sister. So we have a connection to an amazing Spanish jazz pianist. And he plays bass and melodica, as you can see in the picture. Later, a random non-Spanish-looking (I talked to him later and found out he's from Copenhagen) trumpet player asked if he could play with the aforementioned bros. He was really good too.

In summary, I got to greet my birthday listening to Night in Tunisia played by a jazz quintet. Stoked.

To continue our jazz adventures, on Sunday night we went to another jazz cafe (Manuel told us about it on Thursday) to listen to another open jam. This place had a piano, which made it even better. We watched the end of the Sevilla-Málaga game there and once it was over watched the jazz set. I hoping maybe in the coming weeks I'll be able to step in for a song or two on piano! Manuel tried to get me to play because I mentioned I play piano, but I definitely need to brush up on my standards before going up. All these guys have the standards memorized. Intense.

I'm still looking for a place to practice piano and trumpet. I met a girl at Iglesia Prosperidad that goes to the University of Sevilla and asked her, so she's going to ask her violinist friend (I'm imagining a Spanish version of Emily or Maddie) about practice rooms at the university.



On my birthday, Kane, Jon, and I went bridge watching (Lane had other more interesting engagements than viewing the marvels of 21st century engineering). We walked over three kilometers (one way) to see el Puente del Alamillo. The bridge has a 466 foot 142 meter-tall concrete and steel pylon angled at 68° supporting the bridge deck. Pretty cool, I'd venture to say.



Here is how it looks from my house, and then slightly closer.



On the bottom right you can see how the cables anchor into the bridge.



But wait, there's more! This isn't the only cool bridge in the area. Check out el Puente de la Barqueta on the bottom of this picture.



Promise this is my last bridge picture. For now, at least.



This was on our long walk back from the bridge. Some of you know that I'm a fan of trees. You may also know that I like things neat and organized. Now, what could be better than trees lined up in really straight lines?! :D



We interrupt this broadcast for a message from our sponsor, dog in the park.



Clouds.



Lastly, I figured I should unload the photos from my phone and show you my first tapas in Spain! I talked about these in the last blog post (I think). Since then, I've also added Jamón Ibérica, Queso Manchego, and Solomillos al Whisky to my tapas experience. Excited to try more! Speaking of food, the other day this was my lunch at home: lentejas, pulpo, y mejillones. That translates to: lentils, octopus, and mussels. Definitely one of the more "interesting" meals I've had.

In my next blog post, I'll fill you in on my classes and professors, the Andalucian accent, how much I miss Mexican food, our excursion last Saturday at the palace (for Stephanie's birthday!), and whatever else happens between now and then!

Also, it's Daniel's birthday already in China! Go tell him how much you appreciate him. Love ya guys and miss you.

Tsa luego! (that was a sneak preview of the accent)