One Week Down

Hola!
Well my first full week in Spain is officially over, and I gotta say, it was a long one. Between walking everywhere, living 30 minutes from school, and having to be home for all three meals, there's not a lot of time to do much.

My school days go like this: wake up at 6:30 am (I guess I'm a morning person), eat toast at 8, leave for school at 8:25, get to school at 9. Have class from 9-1. Walk home, and eat at 2. Eat until about 3:30, then time for siesta or for me Sex and the City relaxing time. I choose to watch TV in English because I'm realizing I get a little overwhelmed when everything is in Spanish 24/7. This week we've had meetings in the afternoons so that's taken up some time, or if we don't have a meeting we walk around or go somewhere for a drink and free tapas. Sometimes I use this time to skype the handsome Hayden Smith. On Tuesdays/Thursdays we have a culture class from 5:15-6:45. Then a drink and tapas or homework, followed by dinner at 9 until about 10. During the school week my roommate and I have been so tired that we usually sleep around 11/12. That's how my first week went. On Friday we went out, which doesn't happen until about 11/12 and goes until about 7/8 am. (I know, I can't believe it either). We went out to a chupiteria (shot bar) and then to another bar for drinks that actually taste good. We got home at around 3:30 and we were SO exhausted the next morning when we woke up at 10. I have NO idea how the Spanish people my age stay out so late. I couldn't do it. Especially because the next day we were so tired that we didn't want to go out Saturday night. I'd like to add that no, we were not hungover. :)

Something fun that we did on Saturday was cook dinner for our host parents. We made a recipe that Kayley's (my roommate) mom makes back home. It was really good, though every ingredient was slightly different than back in the U.S. We also got our mom to buy granola so we could have something other than toast for breakfast. She had never heard of or seen it. Over all the recipe turned out great and our host parents loved it. I think we'll  make cooking for them a regular thing because it's fun and a good way to learn new words. Plus we feel bad because our host parents won't let us do anything to help around the house. Whenever we offer they say no, that we need to study and relax.

Last Sunday we went to el campo (aka the country) because our host parents have a house out there. It reminded me of a WAY older, Spanish version of the lake house, minus the lake. We get to the house and there is a curtain covering the door, with bricks holding the curtain down. Behind the curtain was a regular door. We get in the house and it was FREEZING (sounds like the lake, right mom and dad?). The walls were made of clay and they had a fireplace that looks a lot like the fireplace at the lake. The first room looked really old but as you got further into the house (aka the kitchen and bathroom) they started to become more modern. My host parents son is slowly renovating the house. We walked around the property in which we were told that all of the houses in the area belonged to my host parents family. One was Antonio's (host dad) brother's, one was his parents' house in which he grew up, the other was Antonia's moms (host mom, yeah they have almost the same name). My host parents literally grew up right next to each other. There was also a school (aka a clay building). One of the houses used to be Antonia's grandma's house but it was literally caving in on itself. And then there was the house for the dogs. My host parents have two dogs, one is huge like Bethoven (you know, the huge dog from that movie from my childhood) and the other was smaller. The strangest part to me was that the dogs have their own house all to themselves that was literally the same size as my host parents' house. We asked why they had their own house and they said that the house didn't have electricity so that was why. I'm still not entirely sure how the dogs survive because nobody lives out there with them. So I guess they have to leave enough food for them? I'm still not sure. Their son goes out there every Sunday to walk the dogs and work on the house, but it still seems weird to me.

This Sunday (aka today) it rained...but we still had an excursion planned with our program. Needless to say I got home completely soaking wet. We went to a nearby neighborhood that has old "bathrooms" which was pretty cool to see. We also walked up this huge hill and when we got to the top the view was amazing. (Refer to pictures on facebook). By the end though I was glad it was over because I was ready to put some dry clothes on. I also have a cold (and have had a cold for the last week) so hopefully I didn't just make my cold even worse.

This afternoon I have to work on a class "project". The oral part to our final exam is to present to the class on a "barrio" (neighborhood) of our choosing. Our presentation is to include a couple of slides about important buildings or churches and their history, but the bulk of our presentation is we're supposed to go to three different bars in the neighborhood, rate the food/drinks/atmosphere, take pictures, ask the waiter about the history of the bar and present it to the class. Then we're supposed to choose which bar was our favorite and at the end of the class presentations the entire class is going to go to each of the "best" bars. Life's hard at study abroad.

This week I think the hardest thing to adjust to is the people. Spanish people walk SO slow, and if you've ever walked with me you know that I don't walk, I run. This month all of the stores have rebajas (sales) that are kind of like Black Friday but less intense because it's all month. Or so I thought. My roommate and I had some time before dinner last night so we went to the "mall" to shop for some clothes. After about 20 minutes we decided to leave because there were literally people everywhere but it wasn't even like Black Friday. All of the people were so pushy. You'd be walking through an aisle and someone would come barging past you, when there was literally no space for them to be walking. The other thing was I would be looking at a shirt on a rack and someone would come and grab the shirt right behind it. I couldn't get passed the fact that they wouldn't wait five seconds for me to walk away from the rack. Needless to say we didn't buy anything.

I'm also realizing how much I love my friends. Sydney and Alex, you two are the best friends a girl could ask for. I got so lucky meeting you both the first day at GU. I can't wait to have girl time next year and go out and be drama free. Love you guys and miss you so much!

Something interesting that happened this week was when Kayley and I were walking home we were waiting at a crosswalk when suddenly a car and a motorcycle collided and the two people on the motorcycle flew off. We both stopped talking and looked at each other and said "Oh my god I think those people are dead!". One of the people shot right up and ran out of the road (I think he thought he was gonna get run over by a car). The other guy stayed down for like 30 seconds but eventually got up. Then the driver of the car started to argue with the motorcycle people about whose fault it was, without even asking if they were okay. Nobody called the police or an ambulance either which I thought was strange. Kayley and I walked home in shock and when we told our host parents about it they just shrugged and said it happens a lot. I was so shocked by how nonchalant they were about it. Now, every time a motorcycle goes speeding by me I get a little bit anxious.

All in all it was a good week. Busy as always, but that's just my life. Missing everyone back home, and I'm desperately craving a cheeseburger with American french fries (the potatoes here are slightly different) but I'm seeing somewhere I never would have had the opportunity to see, learning lots of Spanish, and I'm excited to travel in a few weeks!

Hasta luego!

And so it begins...

Hola de espana!
I said goodbye to my mom at the house before I left, and much to my surprise neither of us cried. (YAY!). My dad and I went to the airport and my suitcases (only two!) weighed exactly 50 pounds each. Then we had breakfast. Dad, I apologize for giving you the worst gift ever and leaving the country on your birthday. Then I got yelled at by security because apparently at PDX you don't need to take anything out of your bags anymore (not even liquids). The flight to Chicago felt long even though it was only three hours and I slept terribly. Once at Chicago I made my way to my gate and realized it was the "let's speak any other language except English" gate. I heard lots of Spanish, some French, and even some Japanese. The plane finally showed up and it was the biggest plane that I have ever seen.

Look at the gray truck on the left for size.

I sat in the middle seat in the middle row which wasn't super great but it could have been worse. I sat next to a couple who were studying abroad together and I wanted to kill them because a. I was jealous and b. they wouldn't stop making out which was gross. Again, I slept terribly on the plane but much to my surprise the plane had Friends as a TV option, so it wasn't so bad. After what felt like an eternity I finally made it to Granada and I met some other students in my program along the way. We worked together to communicate with the taxi drivers on where we needed to go and I ended up sharing at taxi with another GU student. The only problem was our flight got in 2 hours before our host families were expecting us. I got to my host family's apartment and rang the door bell. I was abruptly asked "Who is this?" and then let in. I unpacked, ate breakfast (toast and fruit every morning) and then I took a three hour nap :)

My room is small, probably the same size as my dorm room in Crimont. There's hardly any storage space so some of my stuff is in my suitcase under my bed. We all share one bathroom and yes, there is a bidet, but no, I will not be using it. My host parents have two sons and they said that neither of them live here but one of the sons keeps staying the night here so I'm not quite sure what that's about. They have a cat and he's super old and has a stomach problem so they can't feed him much food so during the night he always gets hungry and meows SO LOUD. Like it wakes me up, and I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. My host parents are in their 60's but they are so funny. They remind me of my parents because they literally do everything together. And they also make fun of each other which is super funny to me. 

The meals are weird here. You eat breakfast whenever you need to (anywhere from 8-11) and it's usually toast with jelly, something to drink, and some kind of fruit. Lunch is the big important meal here so we usually eat around 2-3. Lunch consists of some kind of soup and bread, followed by some kind of meat/pasta, followed by yogurt and then fruit for dessert. If you know my eating habits, you know that I am usually full after the soup...it's a problem. I eat the slowest and usually can only eat about half of what my host mom gives me. Every meal she says that we don't have to eat it all if we're full. She also says that she needs to learn from me and eat slower because then she won't eat as much. After lunch it's nap time (literally people stop whatever they are doing a take a nap). Yesterday I saw a guy trying to take a nap in his car. After lunch we've had somewhere to be and then after that we go out for drinks and tapas (little appetizers). Then for dinner at 10 (yes, 10) we have more bread and some kind of food. They don't have ice unless you're at a restaurant and even then most restaurants only give ice if you order an alcoholic drink. Also, every meal is eaten at the dinner table in front of the TV.

So far me and some friends have gone to three bars. The first one was really good. We had sangria (refer to photo) and at most places you get free tapas with your drink so we had bread with meat. (you basically eat bread with everything here). I really liked this place but the waiter kept talking to us in English even though we were speaking in Spanish. The next night we went to a restaurant that our teacher suggested and we got sangria and it wasn't very good. Then they gave us a shot glass that had warm chicken broth in it (it was disgusting) and these really yummy chicken nugget type things and fries. Then after that we went to another bar and got mojitos which were super sweet, but no free tapas at this place. This was a topic of discussion since we were slightly tipsy and hungry. So far I really like going out to these places but I literally can't eat anything because you have to eat meals with your family. It's a sign of disrespect if you don't so I try not to fill up on tapas before dinner.

Last night rather than have dinner our host parents took us out to a bar that they love. It was super small, (the size of a large closet) but so much fun. Our host dad invited his three brothers, their wives, and their children to come along. All but one of the kids were adults so they had girlfriends/wives too. We took up almost the whole bar. Our host dad ordered me and Kayley (my roommate) sangria and everyone else had wine or beer. I think the restaurant people know our host parents because they kept bringing out tapas and tapas and more tapas. Chicken, ham, sausage, and bread/chips with every single plate. And when they brought out the food they gave us like 6 plates of each. Needless to say I was full halfway through and my host parents kept trying to give me more food. It was a lot of fun and I laughed a lot. My host dad kept making fun of my host mom because she had rosy red cheeks. He kept saying that she was drunk only after a glass of wine. My host mom has a knee problem so she usually walks slow but she was walking fast on our way home after the bar. When our host dad commented on it she said "the alcohol has given me strength!". Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious. 

A few things I can't get over: everybody smokes (not my host parents) but everyone else. There's dog poop everywhere on the sidewalks because they don't have to clean it up. The pedestrians and cars fight over who gets the road (like you usually just walk in the road and hope you don't get hit). The food/meal times are so different than in America. Water is a scarce resource here so when we shower we're supposed to turn on the water and get wet, then turn it off while we wash our hair and body, and turn it back on the rinse everything. Their showers are only 5 minutes usually. I can't figure out when I'm gonna be able to shave my legs. The other thing that's a little weird to me is nobody smiles or acknowledges each other when you're walking around. If you bump into someone you don't say sorry. It's SO strange since I'm used to GU life where everyone holds the door for everyone, even when the person is like 30 feet away. 

I'm a little worried about getting fat but my school is 30 minutes away from my house so it's okay. Everybody walks everywhere so I think I should be okay. Another thing that's gonna take some adjusting is that I can't go anywhere without having someone with me which is annoying because sometimes I need some alone time. 

Also something cool, the kitchen table has a table cloth over it and when you sit down you put the table cloth over you like a blanket and then there's a built in heater underneath the table cloth to keep you warm. Why don't we have these in the U.S.? It's genius. 

Hasta luego!