Este semana

Things I have learned from Mati so far:

1.     No pasa nada- she says this all the time.  It’s my new favorite saying- it means don’t worry! The other day, a plant that was sitting in the window fell and made such a loud noise.  The vase it was in was all over the floor- water everywhere.  Kirsten and I waited in anticipation for Mati's reaction.  “No pasa nada” was all she said.

2.     Always heat your plates before you put food on them.  Why put warm food on a cold plate?  Why put cold milk in hot coffee?  She’s got a point!

3.     You can still be 80 and rule.  She’s up to date on all the celebrity gossip.  She reads “Que Me Dices,” a celebrity magazine, every Saturday.  She enjoys “Miguel Douglas” and “Eva Longoria.”  So does Luiqui (her husband).

4.     She’s not Roman Catholic, as many people are in Spain.  She loves Budah because he represents tranquility.

5.     Find a boy with a car.  Ask him: “tienes un coche?” and if he says yes, tell him your name.  No?  Next!

6.     The streets give you life.  After Luiqui’s heart attack when he was in his late 40’s, he became depressed due to his long recovery period.  Mati would send him to get free newspapers in the streets everyday and to do the grocery shopping to liven him up.  Clearly it’s working!   He’s full of life and 76!

7.     To stay thin, she only eats one meal a day.  She peels oranges for us as we eat lunch and dinner, talks to us, but doesn’t eat.  Extrano...

8.     I showed her a picture of Adam and she freaked.  She thinks he’s “guapisimo”—the most handsome man!

Basically, she’s the BEST.  She is my favorite part about Sevilla.  Luiqui rules, as well.  Even though I only understand 30% of what he’s saying, he’s literally the cutest man I have ever met.  He owns black and white Nike Air Max sneakers and wears sweater vests every day. 

In other news, Kirsten and I met their granddaughter, Belen, the other day.  She came over for dinner.  She is probably the coolest girl in the world.  She’s 19, lives in the downstairs apartment, and is a walking ray of sunshine.  We’ve spoken about how to dress for la Universidad, cool bars in Sevilla, and how crazy Lindsey Lohan is.  She always say phrases like “me encanta!!!” and has gorgeous hair. I bought an empire state building pen as one of their welcome gifts for my host family in Sevilla and when Mati opened it, she said that we needed to give it to Belen because she collects pens.  Needless to say she loved it and we have ourselves a new friend.  My first Spanish friend on facebook! (pic below!- how cute!! (que mono))

I just got back from the Barcelona v. Betis futbol game.  It was incredible.  Mati packed me and Kirsten bocadillas (sandwiches) and told us that during halftime, everyone eats sandwiches and we’d be hungry.  At first, Kirsten and I thought she was crazy.  But at halftime, EVERY SINGLE PERSON wiped out a sandwich.  Kirsten and I were armed and ready with ours, too!  Mati really knows what’s up.

The game, itself, was madness.  It was so exciting to see the stadium so alive with such enthusiastic fans.  Steph and I ate sunflower seeds, coke light, and cheered like madmen for Betis. We must have been good luck charms because Betis (the Sevilla team) beat Barcelona (the number 1 ranked team in Spain) 3-1! 

Tomorrow we go to los Banos Arabes (http://www.hammamspain.com/).  All I know is I’m going to lay in a pool for hours.  Incred.  ME ENCANTA SEVILLA.