Sunday, September 19th "Catching the match in a peña; They start to roll in"

When Betis plays their away matches we gravitate to one bar or another to catch it on pay-per-view. Over the last year we've frequented a few bars including the Tex-Mex place on calle Placentines (espensive beer and a lot of people), a place in Cuesta del Rosario (which has since taken out the television), a very bad Irish pub close to home (run by sevillistas - a bad idea), a small bar in Santa Cruz (with a television the size of toaster and suspended 10 feet above the bar). When we were in Marbella we even found a peña betica where we caught a game in May. Well, we haven't been too happy and are still searching for a permanent place. We did have fun the other night when we decided to watch the Betis match in a peña off of Santa Maria la Blanca. We met Javi and Faracy, two recent arrivals to Sevilla - well Javi is from Sevilla but Faracy from the U.S. and both recently moved to Sevilla. Most peñas are curious places and while decorated with plenty of memorabilia and escudos of the team they completely lack any style. You can tell these places have been decorated by a bunch of old men: very utilitarian and good to watch the game but the last place you'd ever take a date. While the result was a familiar one (Betis lost 3-2) we enjoyed sharing the game with a group of people who've probably been watching Betis games since the 40s.

Now that my site is getting a little age I have begun to meet several people who have corresponded with me via email about their coming move to Sevilla. They either had questions which I answered or provided information which helped make this page, and for that I am very grateful. So this past week I met Sarah who studied in Sevilla some years ago and is now living in Triana with her husband. They arrived in August and are just settling in. Sarah is also taping the last episode of the Amazing Race for me while visiting Boston one last time. Thank you Sarah! I mentioned Javi and Faracy who have been here for a few months. We saw a the Betis match and then had a beer or two over at Las Columnas, sharing stories of crossing the border in both the U.S. and Spain. Karen is someone I met about 6 months ago and came prepared with a list of questions when we first met. She is making the leap ahead of her significant other while he takes care of selling the house and other matters before arriving in early spring. Kevin arrived to study after we traded dozens of emails on questions he had about the city. He was fotunate enough to visit Sevilla some months before he came to study and it sounds like it has done him well. Like many recent arrivals many are looking for work, apartments and other things to begin living in Sevilla. There are still several people to come and I look forward to meeting them as well. So if you arrive, even for just a short trip, drop me an email and maybe we can grab a beer. I can't promise to help find you work - how I wish I could for everyone - but I can certainly buy you a beer!