I'm wrapping up my fourth day in Spain, and I can definitely tell you two things: I love Spain, and city life is very different than what I'm used to!
After an incredibly long 23 hours of traveling, I finally stepped onto the streets, where I was promptly greeted by the traditional kisses on both cheeks from my host parents! They are both beautiful Spanish people that speak absolutely no English. Jose and Rosa have three grown daughters and ten grandchildren, which they find great joy in talking about. One of their nietas (granddaughters) lives in the same apartment building as them, and excepting my sisters, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a cuter 5-year-old!
So far my days have been incredibly long, as I first battled slight jet-lag, and as walking 11+ miles everyday caught up with my poor feet. There is so much to see and to do and I need to continually remind myself that I have two whole months here- I don't need to pack everything right away! Adjusting to life in the city is different, as I've been walking so much, there's a lot of noise and people, and I spent my first few times out in the city wandering around lost. But each day I get better at navigating and hopefully blending in with the locals! Except my blonde hair... I stick out a little, as people like to comment on sometimes.
Oh right, and there's that little fact that nobody (okay, barely anybody) here speaks English. But my Spanish language abilities have improved so much in only a few days! The first day I barely spoke, as my lovely roommate can communicate much better than I can, but even with my fellow students from America I'm only talking in Spanish and it is forcing me to learn the necessary words very quickly. I can even talk quickly sometimes! It can be frustrating, especially because my host parents like to talk and explain things but I can't understand them very well. I'm hoping that will change soon!
There's so much more I could write about, but I have to stop somewhere, si?
Tomorrow I get to visit an ancient city from Roman times and experience a professional futbol game!
Adios Amigos!
(and a few pictures to leave you with)
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