Osuna

Osuna is a small pueblo about an hour away from Sevilla. It was named Osuna because there used to be lots of bears in the town and a bear in spanish is "oso." In Osuna we first went to a monastery. In the monastery, two nuns showed us around. In this monastery, all nuns are committed to god and do not see or talk to the public. However, there are two nuns that have an exception to this and are allowed to give tours. Every three years the sisters get a new head of their monastery and at this time the sisters rotate and change which nuns are the ones allowed to give the tours and be seen by the public. One of the nuns told us that this rotation was happening in May and although she was happy to give her time to god, she was sad that she would have to not see her family, but as long as they were happy she was happy. The nuns were very inspiring and liked to give little inspirational speeches that made us all tear up. My favorite quote one said was "queda tus ojos en el cielo y tus pies en el suelo." This translates to "keep your eyes on the sky/heaven and your feet on the ground." I really loved the opportunity of meeting these nuns, they were truly some of the sweetest people I have ever met.

One of the nuns!

The patio in the monastery

The monastery

Where the nuns stay when they are hidden from public

After touring the monastery we toured the main church of Osuna. At the end of the tour we were able to hold the keys that opened and locked the whole cathedral! We then took a very steep walk down to the main town. It was Sunday so most of the stores and restaurants were closed, but we all huddled into a bar and got café in order to warm up! Overall it was a fun little excursion and a cute little pueblo.

We saw people practicing carrying floats for semana santa parades!

Inside the church!

Scenic view of Osuna

Holding the keys to the church

By the way on a side note: I'm not sure I ever posted my address here but here it is in case anyone was looking!

Caitlin Tarantiles
CIEE Study Center in Seville
Calle Muñoz y Pabón, 9
41004 - Sevilla, Spain