My First Week in Spain

Well...I don't even know where to start. I love Spain so much! There is always so much to do! I have done so much in the past week.

I got to my host family's house last Thursday. I live with a 68-year-old woman named Rosario. She is very kind, caring, lovable, and a great cook! There are two floors, and my roommate and I live on the second floor. We share a bedroom and each have a twin bed. We also get to share our own bathroom. It's a really nice house! And there is a patio on the roof, so when it's nice out (which is all the time) I can go out there to do my homework!

Friday was the first day of classes. I am taking "Foundations of Spanish Culture," and we get to do a lot of learning by doing, so we are taking a lot of trips to historical sites around the city. It's very interesting so far, and the homework load has been manageable. Every day, we leave our house at 7:55 to walk to school. We walk with a few other girls who live nearby. Classes go from 9-1, with a 1/2 hour break in the middle somewhere. After school, we usually check emails and stuff because we don't have internet at home. Then we go home and eat a big lunch, usually between 2 and 3. Rosario loves to talk, so we usually eat for a LONG time. At least an hour, I would say. Then we rest (tomar una siesta). Most of the stores are closed from 2:30 to around 5:00 because everyone takes a siesta at that time. I do homework, sit outside, nap, or any combination of the three. Then, we usually go back to school for something, whether it be a movie (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), a tour (Plaza de Toros), or dance class (Sevillanas- it's a form of flamenco exclusive to Sevillians). We return home and eat dinner at 10:00. Then, we do the rest of our homework and go to bed. A lot of our friends go out for drinks or ice cream, but so far we haven't really been able to because we live so far away. Then, we go to bed!

Saturday we went on a little trip to Huelva, which is a town about an hour away. There, we toured the monastery where Christopher Columbus was inspired to go on his trip. We also saw life-size reproductions of the ships he took, and we were able to go on them! After the Christopher Columbus tours, we went to the beach. It was beautiful! I loved body-surfing on the waves. And I put a lot of sunscreen on too, so I didn't even get burnt at all! The beach was definitely one of my favorite things so far.

Tuesday, I went to Itálica with some of my classmates. Itálica was an ancient Roman city, and was the first city where native inhabitants of the Iberican Peninsula lived together with the Romans. We got to see the ruins, which are still in amazingly good shape. There was a big colosseum and roads with many of the original rocks still intact. There were bars, houses, mansions, and fountains, too. It was such a cool thing to see, and it made me much more interested in ancient history because I was actually able to see, touch, feel, and experience history, rather than just reading about it in a textbook.

Last night, my mother told me she was going to make "albóndigas" for supper tonight. I couldn't remember what that meant, but I thought for sure it meant "cotton". I didn't have quite the reaction she expected, so then she had to explain. Later, I figured out that I was thinking of the word "algodón". It was a little embarrassing, but it was bound to happen. So far, it's been tricky to understand everything everyone says, but I am getting a lot better. I always understand the general idea, which is usually what is most important. And I've gotten some compliments for how well I speak in Spanish, so that's pretty cool! :)

I know this is long, so thanks for reading! I will keep you all posted on my adventures in Spain as much as I can!

New phrases I have learned:
"Cuatro Gatos": Literally, four cats. Figuratively, it means "hardly anyone". "Hay cuatro gatos allí"- means "There are hardly any people there".
"Todo el mundo": Literally, all the world. Figuratively, it means "everyone". "Todo el mundo necesita..." means "Everyone needs to..."

Hasta luego!