Being Present

As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I love to eat. I would say most people share this sentiment so I don't think I can be blamed when I say all I want to do is eat EVERYTHING I see.

Exhibit A:

If you can resist these delicious sandwiches (called "bocadillos"), you are a stronger human than I. Naturally, with eating a lot, comes gaining weight. I don't think I've actually gained weight since coming here (although I don't have a scale in order to say for sure) because my pants are actually looser than they used to be. I think it's all the walking and exercising. I walk ten times more here than I do at home, since my college campus is quite small and this city is quite large. Not to mention I have workouts that I do for soccer daily. However, somehow I FEEL like I'm gaining weight, and I think it's because of the amount of bread that I consume, as well as the alcoholic beverages. Sevillans eat bread with everything. They eat bread with bread. Bread is like a utensil, you use it to eat everything else. So naturally, carbo-loading would never be a problem for those of you who are looking to start a carb diet. Come on over to Seville. And as far as alcoholic beverages, it's normal to have one with every meal. The stigma around alcohol in the United States is very different from what drinking is like in Europe. It's not strange to stop somewhere to have a drink in the middle of the day and it's also not strange for kids to drink. But it's also a very different kind of drinking. They drink slow, enjoy the company, and just relax. It's simply another part of life. How it should be.

However, as you can imagine, this kind of lifestyle isn't best for the figure. Not that I'm concerned, but then, I am also an athlete. It's important for me to eat well, not to mention I like eating well. But here's the thing: I'm only here for a short time. I mean realistically, I only have just over two months left... which is terrifying to think about. And I realized something the other day. Studying in another country is about being present in the moment. Honestly, doing anything is about living in the moment. It doesn't mean your life has to be an adventure 24/7, or that you should try everything all the time, but spend more time appreciating what you are doing and who you are doing it with, because no matter what it is, it is unique to you and your life and the experience won't come again.

I'm going to switch gears a little bit, but I promise it relates... I don't have an iPhone. I would say the majority of people have one but that would be an exaggeration... the majority of AMERICANS in my program have an iPhone. Sometimes I am jealous of people, here and in the States, who can easily whip out their phone to snap pics or check Facebook at a cafe or can contact a friend using WhatsApp. But I also notice something else about iPhones that I really dislike. It keeps people from being in the moment and enjoying where they are. I have friends who consistently say they wish they were somewhere else NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE. Excuse me but do you not have fun anywhere? You have really limited your options for "fun times" to nowhere on the planet. It's hard to watch a friend while they check their iPhone and I just sit with nothing to check. But they are also thinking about where they could be instead of where they are. When I'm on my laptop, I admit that it's nearly impossible to not check my email, Facebook, whatever. But it's these things that keep us from making real connections with people.

The other day was by far my favorite day in Seville. And it's going to sound extremely cliche but it's true nonetheless. I was meeting a friend at Telepizza, a pizza restaurant. We had never been and weren't very hungry but we wanted to talk inside where it was warm because it was 11pm and cold outside. So we ordered pizza and started chatting, decided the pizza was quite literally the worst thing we had ever tasted, and then we called our Spanish friend to come join us. The three of us sat there and talked for almost two hours... the employees had nearly cleaned the whole restaurant by the time we left. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. And as we were walking home together I realized that this, this exact moment, was why I was in Seville. I could visit the cathedral a million times and still be incredibly impressed and in awe, but it does not compare to how I felt with them, just talking and laughing and eating shitty pizza. I felt loved, I felt at home, and I didn't want to leave. That's not something you can experience with a phone.

So enjoy every moment, because it only happens once. Walk along the bridge named "Fuenteheridos" (meaning "Injured Bridge") for adventure, say yes to a study break to get coffee, enjoy getting soaked in a monsoon walking home, appreciate that you have the opportunity to attend school and therefore have a mountain of homework to finish, and most importantly, you EAT those carbs. Because life is too short not to.

Until next time, hasta luego!