Three weeks in Spain… and I’m posting my second blog! :)
Hello everyone! Well I’ll start this very belated blog by saying...
I’ve been told that this will be a huge learning experience for me. One thing I am learning for sure…I am not a blogger. Lol. So much has happened in the last few weeks that any good blogger would have been ecstatic to write about, yet I am starting to realize I am quite the procrastinator!Lets see. The first week was a mix of excitement, tears, disorientation, meeting new friends and about a hundred “I can’t believe I’m in Spain!”s. The first day was really hard. I got to my house and the first thing my Senora showed me was how to turn on the hot water from the kitchen. I didn’t understand a word she said because I was too nervous to listen, but I eventually figured it out. Then she took my to my room which I was surprisingly not sharing with my roommate Julie. I was a little shocked not only when I realized how small it was (I know, spoiled American girl)… and how blazingly hot it was. Man, they weren’t joking about this dry heat. I cried for about the first two hours and decided all I wanted to do was go home, but I held on and decided to give it a shot. Had lunch that day with my Senora since Julie hadn’t arrived yet and got to meet her daugher and grandkids which was fun. And then I did what everyone said not to do and I SLEPT. For a good four hours I might add.
The day continued to get better, I got all my things set up and it started to feel like home. That night Julie arrived at around 11 and I immediately felt better. The next morning was orientation and that’s where things started to get really exciting.
Orientation felt a little like freshman year… everyone asking you where you are from and what your major is, a room of unfamiliar faces and excitement for them to start becoming familiar. J We spent the weekend touring the city and getting comfortable in our home stays. There was pizza in the park and a few memorable days with the girls. Went to Matalascanas on Sunday to spend a day relaxing at the beach before classes started on Monday.
And it begins…
So I’m not gonna lie, the whole first week of class my brain hurt. Lol. I am in the advanced track for my major so I’m taking history of Spanish art, history of Spain in the 20th century, Spain of three cultures, Hispanic American Literature and a service learning class. For the most part I could understand everything the professors were saying but had some moments where I had no idea what was going on. At some points I thought I had something slightly to say but when I went to open my mouth, my pre-rehearsed sentence was not even close to an intelligible thought. Lol. By the end of the week I had a little bit of a mental breakdown and was ready to take a class trip and let my mind relax.
Friday we went to Cordoba to visit the mezquita we have been studying in art. It was so awesome to see the building itself and have everything we have been learning be right in front of us to see and touch. It was strange to see the Cathedral built right in the middle of the Mosque and find out that there was still a regular mass there, in the middle of all this Muslim history and culture! But it was great. I have never been very interested in history, art or architecture but here in Spain I find myself loving them all.
So the second week of class was much better. I was absorbing the information much quicker and it the week seemed to fly. By the time siesta comes I can’t wait to kick back and relax. Sometimes I forget I’m in Spain until I go for a run or walk across the bridge to school and say WOW! I can’t believe I’m here! I live about ten minutes from the school and have a beautiful walk right along the Guadalvivir every morning. My host family is wonderful and it’s finally starting to cool down here, though I really miss the color of changing leaves and the crispness of fall. But I am excited to travel and see more of the world, which of course will bring more kinds of weather! (Just bought tickets to Rome.. whoooo!) Day to day life seems pretty ordinary here. Homework, friends, meals, nap, except I’m doing it in a beautiful place called Sevilla. J I can’t really sum up the last three weeks, but I can say a few things I have learned:
1. Everything costs money. We don’t have internet in our house so in order to sit in a café just to check my email I have to buy something. Thumbs down.
2. Spanish food is amazinnnggg! I was a little nervous about the cuisine here because I love to eat and I didn’t want the culture to spoil it! But it did the exact opposite! Everything is so healthy for you, but I’m sure the huge food portions (especially the bread) are gonna start to show eventually. Haha. Thumbs up.
3. Spanish people are not very friendly. They aren’t rude, and I think it’s more a European thing than it is specifically Spain, but it’s different than home. We were told that a lot of Spanards grow up in the same town with the same friends, get married and live on the same block and don’t do much traveling which really surprised me. So my roommate and I have found they are not very engaging when it comes to asking us about our own lives or the way things work outside Spain. (at least our host family.) There seems to be a pride and a comfort here that almost makes the rest of the world seem less interesting. Thumbs down.
4. SPANISH ICE CREAM. Oh my gosh. I didn’t think it was possible for me to ever like ice cream anymore, but I was proven wrong. One word: Straccitella. Enough said. Oh yeah, thumbs up! J
I’ll close by saying… I have yet to have any defining moments that flip my life upside down and make a huge change in who I am, but the growing is happening progressively. If there is one thing I have learned it is that God is everywhere and he has been there for me through all of this. I can’t wait to learn more of what he has for me and experience more of his creation!
Hasta Luego
P.S. God is awesome.
P.S.S. Ted Northrop I love you and I wish you could be here to experience this beautiful place!
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