Geography 274 Final Project

How to Survive with out Gourmet Kale Chips:

An Analysis of Food Accessibility Among San Francisco's Latino Population

By Louisa Jerome

Geography 274: Social Justice and the City

Although Spanish conquistadors were some of the first Europeans to settle in North America, recent Spanish speaking immigrants from throughout Central and South America are one of the more marginalized populations in the United States. This past summer I interned with the Burlington, VT based non-profit, Migrant Justice, which helps improve migrant workers rights in the state of Vermont. During my internship I worked on establishing a food truck that would bring culturally appropriate food to migrant workers living in rural Vermont. Prior to this experience I had no idea how the Hispanic population in the United States was at risk of food inaccessibility. Thus, for my final project I thought it would be interesting to investigate this subject further but while using San Francisco, California as the main focus for this project.

16th and Valencia Streets.  http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/mission_16thstreet/

Even though San Francisco was founded by Mexican missionaries the population has been marginalized, through processes like gentrification. Malo Huston’s article San Francisco: The fight to preserve the Mission District describes the current processes of trying to gentrify the Mission District, an area known for its Hispanic population. After WWII lots of immigrants from Latin America, mostly moving to the area around the lower 24th Street, now the Mission District. Below I have attached three maps of the Mission District's Hispanic population, SNAP and Farmers Markets locations. Below is the map of the Hispanic population. One can see that the Hispanic population is consolidated into a few particular areas and are subject to discrimination.

The Mission District within San Francisco. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/SF_Mission_map.png

In San Francisco 15% of the workforce is Hispanic, the majority of whom work in construction, transportation, or manufacturing, some of whom are recent immigrants (2015). If they are working minimum wage, which is currently $13 per hour (but if they are recent immigrants and not familiar with English then it will likely be less), then Hispanic employees are barely making it by, especially if they are the only person working in a household (2015). Considering that the average rent in 2016 was $3716, plus $200 in bills, a family will only have $700 of disposable income (2015). These families do not qualify for benefits. In order to receive food stamps one needs to make $10,000 (Hispanic families live on an income of $24,000) (2015). Even though $700 is a enough to get by it is not enough to buy healthy nutritious foods. Due to hip trends and the desire for tech workers to buy high quality food, health food at farmers markets and decent grocery stores is overly expensive. At the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market a block of Cabot Cheese, which is sold in Vermont for $6.00 a pound, is sold for $23.00 a pound. This is far out of the price range for working class Hispanic families. According to Paula Jones and Rajiv Bhatia (2011) there are very few farmers markets in San Francisco that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Income is one of the main barriers that prevents the Hispanic population from having access to healthy foods but that could be diminished if the government provided more assistance programs and tried to adjust prices so that more people could buy fresh produce in local supermarkets and farmers markets.

Main corridor of San Francisco's Ferry Building Farmers Market
http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/ferry-building-market/

The causes for food inaccessibility include low incomes, the situation described above, and distances distances of grocery stores. Through a series of studies it has been proven that supermarkets are disproportionately distributed within white, middle to higher class neighborhoods, while convenient stores dominate non-White, lower class neighborhoods. Supermarkets are less likely to move to low income communities because they think that they will be unable to make a sufficient profit from the community. Thus, people from low income communities are forced to travel farther distances in order to get affordable and nutritious foods. Studies have shown people will travel an average of 1.58 miles to supermarkets and 0.65 to convenient stores (Algert 2006). Also, due to low incomes ($1000 a month) families reported that they were only able to buy six to seven fresh fruits and vegetables a month (2006).

As can be seen through the maps above and below the Mission District has multiple SNAP locations (which includes both grocery and convenient stores) but concerning the census block groups with more than 2600 Hispanic residents SNAP locations are sparsely spread out or located around the periphery. In order for those living in poverty the government provides the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The SNAP map shows that the majority of the SNAP locations are disproportionately distanced from dense Hispanic areas. Even thought one would believe that San Francisco's farmers markets would be the next best option they are actually incredibly overpriced, especially for working class Hispanic families.

San Francisco is also well known for it’s localvore culture. Farmers markets are spotted throughout the city but through the maps one can see that there are only two farmers markets in the Mission District, both of which are inaccessible for the Hispanic community.The two farmers markets in the southernmost part of the neighborhood and the produce is overly expensive. If individuals want to buy affordable produce, instead of paying five dollars a pound for squash, they have to travel to the northeast corner of the city, where the majority of the supermarkets are located. This means that the Hispanic population has to travel by public transportation. Due to the distances of supermarkets and limited incomes the main effects of food inaccessibility include diabetes. Since convenient stores are the closest stores to access food people are more likely to buy cheap, non-nutritious foods, like soft beverages and junk food.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/05/19/local-and-organic-food-shopping-finding-the-best-price/

Food inaccessibility among San Francisco’s Hispanic population has been recognized as a legitimate problem and several campaigns have been started in order to solve the issue. For instance, nine corner stores have received funding from the non-profit, Healthy Retailer, to stock their stores with fresh food, which has helped get rid of “food deserts,” considering that closer stores selling fruits and vegetables means better health for residents. Small businesses are given $15,000-$20,000 to improve their stores (new refrigeration, computers, and marketing campaigns) and said that their sales have increased by 25%. On November 30th San Francisco was given forty five million dollars to improve small businesses in low income neighborhoods in hope to have new grocery stores, child care facilities, non profit offices and community centers. This initiative is important because in order for Hispanic communities to become healthier they need to economically sustain themselves, which Erik Arguello, head of the non-profit organization Calle 24, states in a hearing a year ago against increasing Air BnB locations in the Mission District.

                                

Erik Arguello, Calle 24, San Francisco Latino Culture District in The Mission District.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8BoSJ6Q5uo&t=5s&ab_channel=AuroraGrajeda

For urban social justice to be achieved  it is important to have a just decision making process. Before the official decision making there must be an unbiased investigation on the concerned material. When all the necessary data is collected the decision making process may begin. For the process to be just, the decision making committee must be democratic and have members match a proportional percentage of the demographic that is being represented. In San Francisco there have been several organizations that have been established in order to fight food inaccessibility. Unless policy makers come upon a constructive solution for food accessibility all of the previously discussed factors will cause for there to be an even greater increase in diabetes cases and obesity among low income American populations, particularly San Francisco’s Hispanic population. In San Francisco there are already several non profit organizations, such as the Free Farm Stand, which distributes free locally grown, within city limits, to those living in Hispanic neighborhoods (2016). Phat Beets Produce (2016), an organization based in Oakland, is another organization that tries to form a more accessible and healthy food system for low income populations by connecting them with local urban farmers.  This form of just decision making would be effective at the local level but if it continues to be successful it could spread to the national level, helping social justice to be established.

Works Cited

Algert, SJ. "Disparities in Access to Fresh Produce in Low-Income Neighborhoods in  

LosAngeles." American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 30.5 (2006): 365-70.

Cihuamexica. "Erik Arguello, Calle 24, San Francisco Latino Culture District in 

The Mission." YouTube. YouTube, 07 May 2015. Web.   

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8BoSJ6Q5uo&t=5s&ab_channel=AuroraGrajeda. 

13 Dec. 2016.

Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS), US Census Bureau. "American 

        Fact Finder." US Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau, n.d. http://factfinder.census.gov/. 

        Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

Hammersmith, Carrollyn. SSD, Web Services Staff. "United States Census Bureau." 

        2010 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. United States Census, 2016. 

        Web. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html. 13 Dec. 2016.

Hutson, Malo Andre. San Francisco: The fight to preserve the Mission District in The 

        Urban Struggle for Economic, Environmental and Social Justice: Deepening Their 

        Roots. Routledge, 2015. 85-115.

Johnson, Lizzie. "SF Helps Stores Turn Corner on Health in Food Deserts." San Francisco 

        Chronicles. The San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Oct.

        2016. Web. http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-helps-stores-turn-corner-on-

        health-in-food-10421045.php. 12 Dec. 2016.

"Online GIS Maps | PolicyMap." Online GIS Maps | PolicyMap. Policy Map, 2016. 

        Web. https://www.policymap.com/maps. 13 Dec. 2016.

Phat Beets Produce. "About." Phat Beets Produce. Phat Beets Produce, 2016. 

         http://www.phatbeetsproduce.org/farmers-markets/. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Sawyer, Nuala. "$45M Allocated to Building Businesses and Nonprofits in SF’s Low-income 

Communities." The San Francisco Examiner. The San Francisco Examiner, 02 Dec.  

2016. Web. http://www.sfexaminer.com/45m-allocated-building-businesses-nonprofits-

sfs-low-income-communities/. 12 Dec. 2016.

Stewart, Chris. "16th & Valencia Streets." SFGate. SFGate, 2016. Web. 

http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/mission_16thstreet/. 04 Dec. 2016.

Tiny Urban Kitchen. "Ferry Building Marketplace - Tiny Urban Kitchen." Tiny Urban 

        Kitchen. N.p., 01 Nov. 2015. Web. http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/ferry-building-

        market/.14 Dec. 2016.

United States Drug Administration. "USDA Blog » Local and Organic Food Shopping – 
        Finding the Best Price." USDA Blog RSS 2. United States Drug Administration, 2016. 
       Web. http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/05/19/local-and-organic-food-shopping-finding-the-
       best-price/. 14 Dec. 2016.

Wikiwand. "Mission District (San Francisco) | Wikiwand." Wikiwand. Wikiwand, 2016.      

         Web. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/SF_Mission_map.png

         14 Dec. 2016.

Who Says It's the End!

So not to sound to much like John Denver, but I will be leaving on a jet plane TOMORROW, and who knows when I will be coming back again, but my time here in Spain has been incredible! My level of confidence has risen, as well as my Spanish. I have seen some incredible things, but most importantly  I have met some amazing people. The amount of kindness and hospitality that I have been given has been more than enough!
The weekend before my family arrived (to visit me) I went to the beach with Gema and her family. I have mentioned Gema and her family before, but I don't think I've mentioned how much happier I was to have them in my life. Every Wednesday I would go to her house for lunch to practice my Spanish and as well as her English. Sometimes this would be the highlight of my week, because I always felt happy and at ease in her home. If I was having a bad week, I could always depend on having a good laugh on Wednesday. But case in point, I couldn't have chosen a better way to spend my final weekend as an exchange student.
But my weekend with the Martinez family will be one to remember the rest of my life, not because of the things we saw, but because of the people that I was surrounded by. I'm always going to remember Gema and Javi telling Marina to stop running or the sunset we saw at the lagoon outside of El Portil.
They were also people that I could really depend on! When my parents arrived in Sevilla, they offered to drive them from the airport to their apartment! But not only that, we had dinner at their house, the same night, and they accommodated to my brothers picky eating habits.
That Wednesday we had dinner, in the oldest restaurant in Sevilla. Javi and Gema did a really good job at picking all the right food for us. It was so good that my family, still, says that it is probably one of the best meals that they have head over our three week trip.
But saying good bye to Javi and Gema was probably one of the hardest goodbyes. It's true though, that you make some of your best friends while studying abroad, even though Javi and Gema were old enough to be my parents, I know that I will see them again some day!

Gema, Marina, Gema, and I at the Feria in May.

But with all of the places I have gone to, I was hosted by people that, for the most part, I had never met before, and was treated with the utmost kindness and cordiality!
Coincidentally, I will be returning to the United States on July 10th, the same day a year ago that I left for Ireland. So I think that this will be my last blog post as a gap year student, but boy, has it been an adventure. I have traveled to seven countries, (Ireland, Mexico, Canada, England (sort of,) France, Spain, and Portugal!) became proficient in another language, learned new skills (from how to operate lab equipment to fly fishing,) and I have met a great array of people from Belgium to New Zealand to Paul Smiths, New York. But I think most importantly is that the girl coming back on that plane from Spain is a much more confident and independent young woman, than the one that jumped on the jet headed to Dublin a year ago! But honestly, thank you so much to everyone that has made my year all that it was, and I hope that you have also enjoyed reading my blog!
As I am coming upon another chapter in my life, college, and feeling a little overwhelmed with the changes going on, I thought that it would be fitting to end with a quote by the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
Adios todos y muchas gracias para leais mis articulos!!!!!!!

Living it Up! : Ronda y Rocio

To start things off, on the king, Juan Carlos I, abdicated his throne on Monday. This has been happening a lot recently with European monarchies, like in Belgium and the Netherlands. People are angry with the way that the government and monarchy has been functioning lately, which can be shown with the explosion of new politic parties and the desire for there to be a third republic, but I think people fail to see that Juan Carlos I was a very vital figure in helping transition Spain from Franco's Fascist reign, to a constitutional monarchy.
But moving on, Thursday I took my first salsa class, and was it an embarrassing disaster! I went with a Belgian friend, who had been going for a few months, but being from Vermont, where the most authentic form of dancing is Contra' dancing. But it sure showed that the only shuffle I knew how to do was the ¨square,¨ which got a few people annoyed, but WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, I decided to got to Ronda, a village in the mountains (or sierra) outside of Malaga I went with my language academy, Clic, and was hesitant before about going, because I didn't know anyone, but I knew I would be missing an opportunity, so I seized it! And was it great! Apparently, Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell both stayed in Ronda for long periods of time, and parts of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls takes places in the countryside surrounding Ronda. Ronda is well known for having the oldest bullring in Spain and El Tajo, which is a HUGE aqueduct (now a bridge) that goes down into a steep and narrow ravine.

I was in awe over how there was a town built around this steep ravine, and on top of a series of large hills. And of course I learned some random facts, like that Ronda has the most museums per square kilometer, and that there is a town in the nearby sierra that has the highest amount of rainfall per year in all of Spain! Watch ya know!

I didn't have much time to rest when I got back, because I went out with friends from my language academy, but the next morning my host mother and I left bright and early for la Romeria de Rocio. For all of those that aren't familiar with Rocio, it is a mix between Fería and Semana Santa, but still a bit different. It is held in a pueblo (it looks like something from the Wild West) in the town of Almontes, close to Huelva, and is only used once a year. The festival is held fifty days after Easter. Up to a week before, pilgrims start el camino. The pilgrims tend to wear traditional Andalucian clothes, and carry there things via horse and buggy (just like during Westward Expansion.)

We passed our day eating, drinking, and singing songs about la Virgen de Rocio (it's an older virgin, and was found in the swamp near the pueblo) with my host mother's family. Her family had a very small house, where all of the stayed over the weekend, so the celebrations of Rocio, I felt, was a lot more private than the Fería.

At 3:30 Monday morning, the Virgin left the Basillica. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!! When the Virgen de Rocio leaves the church, she is, at first, carried by men (and only men) from the village of Montes. They all gather within the church, and when they bell strikes they all go running to the virgin to get first dibs. And the rest is total chaos! Everyone is trying to get a piece of the virgin, and carry her around. But the people, supposedly, that are fighting to touch the virgin, say that the virgin is speaking to them for them to come forth. Personally, I'm surprised that virgin has lasted for as long as it has (since the 13th century!) But it was quite an experience because some people were having religious visions, right next to me, which was a little scary. Also, when the virgin is carried, it isn't very organized, and sometime she falls down. So, when she came by where we were standing, the crowd pushed, and almost suffocated me, because the force was so random and strong. I think that it might have been one of those crowds that could kill someone, but I'm pretty sure everyone got out alive this year!

We got back to Sevilla at seven. I went to sleep right when I got back to the apartment, but I have been exhausted all day! But, it is my last full week in Sevilla, so I'm just going to make the best of it and have....... A BLAST!!!!!!!

Valencia- Tengo ganas para volver!

I have determined that for the rest of my time here in Spain, I will only make my blog a brief, light, and fun read! Like Martha Stewart's Living magazine (mas o menos,) instead of it making a heavily detailed memoir! That means more bullet notes or brief senteces, and lots of colorful pictures. Here we go!

Thursday

• Had my graduation at my Spanish high school
• Fell in, really badly, in front of everyone, but hey no pasa nada
• Got a really nice reference letter from my principal
• Spent the evening eating snails with the people that matter most to me in Spain: Gema, Javi, Marina, and Gema (or Gemita)

Friday

• Left for Valencia at the break of dawn!
• Had a nice taxi driver, AGAIN!!!!!!!
• Was met by Isabel at the airport
• Had a really weird morning because I slept from 10 to 1 in the morning (this has never happened before!!!!!!!)
• Had real horchata (from Valencia) with Ana (Isabel's sister,) Nahia (Ana's daughter,) and Iris (Isabel's daughter)
• Went to the beach and picked up a million sponges!

Saturday

• Met Mormon missionaries on the Metro (who would have thought!)
• Went to one of the most beautiful markets (architecturally) in all of Spain, in my opinion- Mercado Central
• Took a bus tour of all the moments in Valencia (determined that from now all, every city I visit, I'll take a bus tour, just to get the jist on it's history and geography!
• Learned that Valencia was the center of the silk trade
• Thus, had the first stock market in the world
• One of the first cities to enter the Renaissance
• The old riverbed is now a HUGE park

• Had a really good, hearty Italian lunch (SO MANY ITALIAN TOURISTS!!!!!!!)
• Discovered Valencia on my own!
• Went to a cool ceramics museum that used to be a palace (Need to ALWAYS have a guide at those sort of places!)
• Discovered that everything closed at 7, so I couldn't go to any art museums
• Tried to keep myself occupied, so I went to almost every church I walked by, and crashed every Saturday mass in te city center!
• Loitered in clothing stores, and discovered those closed at 9
• Ate my first bagel in 5 months!! 





• I said salmon, but the woman thought I said jamon (MY ACCENT!!!!!!)

Sunday

• Went on another bus tour of the maritime part of the city, which I like a lot more, and it was much more beautiful 
• Learned that Valencia has one of the largest aquariums in Europe (next visit!)
• The America's Cup was held in the main port
• The city was had a very strong musical culture
• Bought two water whistles in the shape of birds at the ceramic market                       

Let me just include by saying that Valencia is truly, a very beautiful city, and that the Lonely Planet's guide on Spain did not prepare me, whatsoever on what sites to see, or what to expect culturally! Yo tengo ganas para volver! Hopefully I will be able to come back very soon!

Also, Valencia was my last independent trip where I was going to meet people that I did not know well. I just want to so that I feel like I do not deserve to know so many kind, welcoming people. Over the course of four trips to four, entirely different cities, I can now say that the strangers that I first met at the airport or train station, I now have a stronger connection with, and I know that if I'm ever stranded in that city, I'll have a person to talk to! 

So there you have it! Two weeks left in Sevilla, until my family comes, and I sure am going to back the best of it!!!!

La Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias

Like A Rollingstone

I'm going to make this post sweet and short, since I have little free time this week, and so that I can get some sleep tonight! So I will make a series of short, yet descriptive lists!

Here we go:

Last Friday- Had a free day before my DELE Speaking Exam

• Went to Hospital de la Carridad, Archivos de Indias, and the Casa de Pilatos
• Hospital de la Caridad- thought it was a museum that used to be a hospital, but turned out that it still is a nursing home
• There were all of these old men directing me into random directions
• Nobody was there!
• Bought a HUGE 50 cent pastry
• Went to Archivos de Indias
• Building that has all of the documents from the early explorers of the New World
• Beautiful building, but VERY dry
• Casa de Pilatos
• Old estate that is, actually, now a museum
• Only walked the ground floor, but want to come again to take the tour of the upstairs
• Had my DELE Speaking Exam, and thought that it went fairly well, but we'll see in 3 months
• Couldn't get to sleep until 1, because there was some random party happening in nearby park

Casa de Pilatos

Saturday

• Did the rest of the DELE exam
• Surprisingly easy, but like I said, we'll see what I get for a a grade in three months
• Went to Madrid
• Champions League Final was that night
• Should have known it was a big deal, after talking with the guy I sat next to on the train, who was going to the Real Madrid stadium to watch the game on a huge screen
• Game was in Lisbon
• Met with Isa, the daughter of a work colleague of my parents, and her husband José
• Never met them before, but they were very nice and welcoming to me!
• Walked around Madrid, which is so much prettier in the sun
• Saw tons of people hooting and hollering in their Real or Athletic Madrid attire
• Watched the game that night 
• Everyone was CRAZY in the street afterwards!

• Everyone was CRAZY in the street afterwards!
• 
  

Sunday

• Went to a volleyball game
• Made me realize how much fun athletic events are!
• That evening I went with Isa and José to the local voting station
• Was the European Elections
• Am surprised how few people actually voted in Europe, especially considering that ¨Your Vote is Your Voice!!¨

This weekend, I just kept on thinking of Dr. Seus's, Oh, the Places You'll Go! I know that it's graduation season, so this book is being read all over the world, but I find it incredibly applicable to my life now. Being an exchange student has certainly had it's ups and downs, but I have seen some spectacular things and met some amazing people over these past few months. Tomorrow is the graduation of the my grade, 2nd Bachillerato, and I can't believe that a year ago, I was in their shoes. I can't believe that I am doing the stuff that I am doing! A year ago I was terrified to go into a store by myslef, or drive a lengthened time, but now I am traveling alone, staying with people that I have never met before, and going to museums and stores by myself in a city that I am not incredibly familiar with! So let me end this post with a quote from Oh, the Places You'll Go! “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

That's all folks, and until next time, this is the rambling Louisa Jerome signing off!

Me at the center of Spain

ZARAGOZA!!!!!!! Need I Say More??

I'll start by saying that my train to Zaragoza went incredibly smoothly. I was on time for everything, and so was the train!
When I arrived in Zaragoza (the capitol city of Aragon. Located between Barcelona and Madrid,) I was greeted by my friend Lizzie, who is an exchange student from Tacoma, Wahsington. First surprise of the trip, the massive train station, Estacion de Delicias. In 2008 there was an exposition in Zaragoza about water. I'm not entirely sure what entailed, but I feel like it mostly evolved around conservation. Anyways, the city built a lot of very modern, beautiful buildings, such as the main train station.

That evening she showed me the historic center of Zaragoza, which is beautiful! Although Zaragoza isn't exactly a on peoples top lists of things to see in Spain, it still has a beautiful presence!

Saturday, we went to la Catedral Basilica de Nuestra Pilar, which is this HUGE, baroque cathedral, commemorated to no other than la Virgen de Pilar! We went to the top of one of the many tower, where we had an awesome view of the city and the Ebro River, the biggest (in volume) river in Spain.

I discovered, afterwards, that Zaragoza is still a fairly traditional city, so the majority of the sites were closed for the weekend siesta. So we made use of our time, shopping at some cool hip stores, like Tiger. Later on, we took a bus tour (the hop-on-hop-off kind) of the city. I love those sort of tours! Even though they are some times a little canny, it is a really easy way to learn and see and new city (the Viking tours of Dublin?) The most memorable about the whole tour was when we went through the 2008 Exposition. Like I said before, there was an a ¨fair," (if you may) held in Zaragoza, and there were tons of HUGE, beautiful, modern buildings built, that are now abandoned. There's still a functioning aquarium, and a little man made rafting loop, but other than that there was nothing. We saw people swimming in the massive fountains, but I doubt that they wanted to go aquarium. Although such things are kind of dismal, I thought that Zaragoza could be an awesome place to do a National Geographic article. I mean with the exposition grounds, and the contrasting city center? Why not?

Afterwards, we went to the Goya museum, which was free!!!!!!!!!! Goya was actually born in a town outside of Zaragoza, and painted some of the murals in the Basilica de Pilar. They had some of his famous works, like the portraits of Queen Maria Luisa, but they had TONS (if not all) of his political drawings. I didn't know if all of them were published, but he obviously had some very deep feelings about what was going on in society at the time!
Sunday we went to the Aljaferia, which was originally a Muslim fort, which was, guess, conquered by the ¨Catholic Kings,¨ and later a site of the Inquisition. But, overall, it was very well preserved. Almost every room had a beautiful, wooden, medieval ceiling that was still intact, as well as Moorish styled, alabaster doorways!

We had lunch in the historic center, and at the restaurant we ate I accidentally caused the waiter to drop Lizzie's food on the floor, and break the platter. Bad omen!!!!! I'll get to why later!
After walking off our lunch, we went to La Seo, which is another HUGE cathedral, located on the same plaza as la Basilica de Pilar (named- Plaza de Pilar.) It had the highest ceiling, with grand, curving pillars. All of the large alter pieces were painted differently, which gave the cathedral a special flare. There was also a Medieval tapestry museum in the up stair rooms, but personally, I like paintings more.

And now for the juiciest part! I missed my train! Yep! Stupid mistake, mostly due to the fact that I didn't double check my ticket earlier that day. I thought that my train was leaving for Sevilla at 6, when it actually left at 5:30. We were at the bus stop by Lizzie's house at 5:45 when I checked my tickets. I had a little bit of a cussing fiasco, which I need not to do the next time, but I really hope that the old women waiting did not understand my profanity!
We headed to the train station to get things situated, which was a fiasco in itself, considering that we had to go back and forth, between the ticket office and the Renfe (the main Spanish train company) to get my train switched. I was unable to take a back that night, but was able to get a ticket at 12:30 the next day, that would go to Madrid and I'd switch trains to return to Sevilla. This meant that I had to stay another night in Zaragoza, but, thankfully, Lizzie's host family was fine with me staying another night. Although things had worked out I was a nervous mess, right until I started writing this blog post.
We arrived at the train station an hour early, because I did not want to miss another train, and pay for another ticket. So, I successfully caught the train to Madrid. When I got to Madrid I figured out what terminal I had to go to, but I had no idea where to go, and I had limited time! Again, I was a frantic frenzy! I walked with the crowd, and then I turned around to ask a woman where I should go for connections, and she said that I should turn around. Not true, but thank goodness the escalators had stopped, because I went down one, that usually goes up, to get to my train. I probably skipped security, and the part where I showed my ticket (I was worried during the train ride, quite unrealistically, that someone was going to arrested because I didn't do so.) Sprinting, I looked like a disaster, and the people sitting by me were staring at me with open mouths! But who cares! I'm back in Sevilla- SAFE AND SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!

An American in Sevilla

Semana Santa + Two Weeks Later= Fería! Yep, the April (May this year) Fair, one of the most world renowned festivals in the world. For those that are unfamiliar with what Fería is, it is this big party that always takes place two weeks after Holy Week. It begins, officially on Monday at midnight, when the Portada, or gate, to the Fería is lighted up. The people get dressed up, the women in the normal suit and dress shirt, but the women go in these huge flamenco dresses, called traje de gitana. There are tons of different styles, but most women wear big flowers on top, with there hair beautifully pulled back, and dresses wrapped in shawls. I conformed to this fashion, but suffered only a little bit, considering that it was in the 90s this week! It was even worse in the casetas, at times. At the Fería there are streets lined up with these casetas, which are these little houses that look really tiny and crammed from the outside, but when you enter they are long. In all of the casetas people congregate to eat, drink, and dance (flamenco, or specifically the five Sevillian dances) the night away, but each caseta is different. A company's caseta is sometimes huge with a fancy band and food, like the department store Cortes Ingles, while a family's caseta is small and narrow, and there might be a few people planning some pick up flamenco music. Some of the casetas are public (like the one ran by the Communist party) but the majority are private. Those that are private are usually ran by companies or families. Sometimes, in order to go into a caseta you need to have an connection to an associate, or someone that has paid to have a spot in the caseta. If not, you'll have to pay a lot of money, or get arrested, but even if you went in, the food and drinks are already expensive enough! (10 euros for a plate of foods, which you share, so then you'd have to order three plates to make it a meal, and two drinks to keep yourself from passing out from dehydration!)
When people asked me if there is anything similar to the Fería in America, and I said that the majority of the fairs are agricultural, and people eat ridiculous food, like fried Coca-Cola (hardest thing to explain, ever!) But, everyone said that the Fería actual began as an agricultural fair, also, but mostly with animals. During the Fería, people still ride around the fairgrounds on horseback, wearing traditional Andalucian riding clothes. Another thing about Fería is that all of the towns in Andalucía have a fería, but Sevilla boasts that it is the first and most important of all of them!
I had school Monday through Wednesday, but the majority of the kids only went on Monday. After Semana Santa and doing absolutely nothing on el Día de Trabajo, I told myself that I was going to have something to do everyday this week, and it was going to be with different people. I can say that this mission was successful!

Wednesday, despite being exhausted (I was tired all of this week!) I went with Margarita, her friends, and their daughters to the Fería. We spent most of our time at Margarita's brother's caseta, which was fine, but I made it better because I made worthwhile conversations with people. I unfortunately did not learn how to dance flamenco during my time at Fería, but it was a sight to see. Everyone seemed so animated, even the people who were watching!

Portada de la Fería

Which brings us to Thursday. Originally I didn't have plans, but I ended up going with my English teacher, Tere, which was great. First we went to a retired Latin teacher's caseta, who used to teach at my school in Sevilla, when it was all girls. I had the best ham ever there, and also learned that she has relatives in Quebec! Not like I have ever heard of the town that her family is from, but it was an interesting coincidence. We then went to Gema's caseta, the math teacher I have lunch with every Wednesday. We waited for Gema and her husband, Javi, while we ate croquetas de sanmorejo (fried gazpacho) and plumas de jamón (steak with very fine pieces of ham on top.) When we met them we went to the another math teacher's caseta, which was actually the caseta of a business, Telefonica (not hard to figure out what they do.) Probably one of the most incredible one I went to, not only because of it's size, but also because of the crazily amazing event band that was playing. I danced for a little bit which was a little awkward, because I was surrounded by middle age people that had way better moves than me! I think that it's a mortal sin to not be able to dance well here in Spain! It's not a country where I'd go around doing ¨the shopping cart,¨ or ¨the snorkle.¨
Saturday I went with Gema and her family, and met the rest of her husband's family. We sat and ate in the caseta for five hours, in 95 (35 Celsisus) degree heat, in addition to wearing a canvas flamenco dress with sleeves. But I was under good company, which all really mattered to me! After, we went to Calle del Infierno, which is where all of the rides are. The fairgrounds were a lot cleaner, and the people in the crowd were all dressed, but Spanish rides still play obnoxiously loud pop songs, and have scary looking carnies. But watcha' going to do? Expect the worst: filth, loud music, sketchy people (question why you never see them in broad daylight), and over course- overly fattening, carbohydrate-ridden food! Let me just end with that I was very happy to have been included by the teachers at my school, because without them, I would really be doing nothing. Maybe I'd twiddle my thumbs here and there, but other than that-ZIP! So thank you for your kindness!
In continuation of keeping myself busy, today I met Gabriella and another exchange student, Elora, from Alcazar, and we went to the Alcazar. I think, though, that with only five weeks left, I really need to make myself happy, especially on week days, when I am very bored! And even though things aren't exactly perfect (like school) I should still do what I have always done, focus on the positive and to make sure that I do something to make myself feel better! Until next time (ZARAGOZA!!!!!!!!)

This peacock was just walking around los Jardines de la Alcazar! So cool!