I had a great week, yet again. It was a lot more relaxing as I am really starting to get settled in, and adjusting to the culture. My day to day life has consisted of cashing in on the two hours for siestas every day after school (although not much of a change from what I do at UNI.), working out, and hanging with Cruz at night. When I'm home, I often hang out in my bed. This would be considered very strange, but using a Celsius to Fahrenheit converter, I realized that our apartment is kept at 50 degrees daily. So, I obviously cuddle down in my sheets, read, and talk to my family and friends to pass some time before or after my nap. Now that I am no longer sore from adjusting to all the walking, I am going to start working out everyday. Today was a beautiful day, so I headed to El Parque Invierno. It is where everyone goes to workout as there are many paths and trails. It took me about fifteen minutes to get there, but it was so worth it. It was very amazing to run with such a picturesque background of the mountains, and also very head clearing. After supper, Cruz and I have gotten in the habit of reading together. Sounds sort of nerdy, but it has already helped my Spanish so much by being able to read a children's book out loud while Cruz does the dishes and corrects my pronunciation, and explains words I do not know. It's a collection by Bellatrix Potter, and turns out I can recall a few of these stories from my childhood.
This past week and weekend were very eventful aside from getting into my very thrilling routine. Last Tuesday me, Drea, and Ellie went to a bar to watch the Real Madrid, Barcelona game. Cruz explained to me that many people here do not have it on their cable, because it usually is a community event to go down to a bar with your fellow fans to watch the game. She could not have been more right. The first place we tried to go to was so packed that there wasn't even seating room outside. Yep, outside. We stood behind a huge crowd of people and decided that we were going to try somewhere else. Most places were very similar to this, but we ended up grabbing the last table pushed into a corner in another bar. It was so fun because people were starting chants and getting so into it. My host family told me I needed to choose a team, and so now I am all about Barcelona. I will require a Messi jersey after the performances I've seen so far, because he's totally a stud. I guess you could say the enthusiasm for soccer over here is not even comparable to that of in the United States. I definitely love it. :) On Thursday I got home to a slip that said I had mail. I was thrilled since I knew my family was sending me goodies. I asked Cruz where the post office was and started heading there right away. It was pouring rain, and I naturally I got lost. After ten minutes of wandering, I found it. The entire process I went through to retrieve it was such a hassle as it was really my first test of my Spanish. After a few misunderstandings had been cleared up, I got my package and headed home. Needless to say, the Reese's are half gone, one Easy Mac down, and all my Munchies devoured. I should reallyyy learn some self control, but hardly anyone snacks here. Later that night, we had our weekly meeting with our advisors Luna and Paula, and as always had a ton of fun. After that, we went and played some cards with a few Spaniards we've met while here, and then walked around the city as many people go out and about on Thursday nights. On Friday, Tino came over and prepared a French dish. It ended up being duck with marmalade over the top. I loved it so much that Tino made it again the next night. Tino and Cruz insisted on me taking pictures of the various dishes for my dad, since I told them that he loves cooking too. Although, not so sure how extensive your French cooking knowledge is, dad. We had mini dancing lessons in the dining room again, as Tino has a lot of fun trying to teach me how to dance. Cruz is a great dancer, and I'm getting better every time. I can't say enough how fortunate I was with my family, I love spending time with them.
Hey Bean!
ReplyDeleteIts great to hear about your experiences, I am so enlightened by the visionary's you give me when you talk about the city you live and its surroundings. Its awesome that not only did you fulfill your dream of getting out of the U.S. and into a different culture, but you have further dreams of traveling in all of the surrounding countries even outside of Spain itself. While you there, if you have a chance, take it! This could be a chance of a lifetime, you never know what the future holds. My blog is for school by the way, I get credit for blogging for my Wellness class, so its a little boring but its interesting. Buenos Noches my friend-surprised? I know some spanish, but I am sure its different than the spanish in spain.