¡Qué frio!

So cold today in Seville. We had our "welcoming ceremony" today at the Universidad de Sevilla, in which the directors of the university gave some opening speeches for all the exchange students from the US. One of them mentioned how today is the coldest day of the year in Seville.

And boy was it cold today. Although it was 9 degrees Celsius, about 48 degrees Fahrenheit and relatively warm compared to a New York winter's day, I was shivering walking through the city. I think it's due to the lack of heating in the house, leading to a constant state of coldness. Oh and the dread of going into the shower because it would mean entering the frigid bathroom. I really shouldn't be complaining though...apparently Seville had the highest temperature today of all of Spain.

Anyways, I also saw something else that I found interesting today. On the metro, I saw a Spanish man with his daughter. His daughter, a toddler of about three or four years old, was Asian. Adopted, presumably, and adorable (like all Asian babies hehe). But I couldn't help but be amazed at the idea that she would grow up speaking Spanish, totally immersed in the Spanish world. I don't know why, but I thought that it was just so cool and somehow totally strange. It's just that I barely see any Asians here in Seville. Just some tourists here and there. But otherwise the population is pretty homogenous, everybody very European-looking with European customs. And I guess I just assumed that people here are supposed to fit into a certain bubble of European-ness. So seeing an adopted Asian here kind of broke this bubble I created in my mind - "Spaniards" aren't people in a museum exhibit; they're human beings along with everybody else. Race and appearance are meaningless in terms of being part of a certain culture. I mean, you can judge somebody by the way he or she looks, but when it comes to knowing that person as a human being, outside appearance doesn't really tell you much. And it just gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside seeing the Spanish man with his Asian daughter...realizing that different cultures can really be shared, intertwined, appreciated. Does that make sense? I don't know. Maybe it's a sort of Asian pride I have, and I am just happy to see that the Spaniards are open to the culture of mah ancestors? Haha, I think the idea is still digesting in my head.

This is a rather rambly post, but on another note, group trip to Ronda tomorrow! It's gonna be a bone-chilling cold trip...it's like 40 degrees up there in the mountains. Teresa provided us with hats and scarves, since we did not pack for winter. Gosh, I really can't wait til it gets warmer. But I am excited for Ronda; it's supposed to be beautiful. Pictures to come!