Life, Love, and Laughter

This week has defiantly had its ups and downs - and warning now, this is going to be a long post.

Yeah, this week started out much better - my host family was home a lot more and I feel like I was starting to understand a little better. I've defiantly figured out a lot more of the students in my program and who I like and who I don't. Basically, I'm just trying to settle into this new, odd life.

As far as some more good things for the week, I planned and booked two trips. The first is going to be to Poland from November 2-5. And the second is going to be to Ireland from December 5-8. I'll be going with 3 other girls (plus whoever else followed suit but I'm not responsible for them). I'm excited. I've never really gotten to travel so I'm hoping that these trips here will go well.

That being said, let me get into my major complaint of the week...the majority of American university students who study abroad are dumb. Let me be a little more clear - they are loud, obnoxious, disrespectful, and don't care about fitting in with the culture of the place they are. Example A: Last night a group of us were going to go to a bar for drinks and tapas - well suddenly a small group turns into 20 people, who all manage to run into each other on the metro and begin talking in English. Problem 1: Everyone is speaking English. Problem 2: Everyone is yelling. Problem 3: The entire metro train full of Spaniards is now looking at us really pissed off. Ok-usually I don't care what people think about me, but here I do. Being identified as an ignorant American is not only annoying and looked down upon, but it makes you a clear target for pickpockets.

Long story short - I came here to experience a different culture and learn some new stuff (aka Spanish!!) not to be wild and crazy and go out every night and get shit faced...yeah.

Insert the next problem - I do not use my Spanish enough. I've been here almost 2 weeks and I feel like I haven't learned anything. I can feel my time ticking away!! Again, this is why I wish I could do this in high school - you are the only American at your school - you are the only one who speaks English - and to fit in, you have to speak Spanish 24/7. With a university program, you know 0 native spanish people your own age and all you do is speak English. My goal for this week - talk to my intercambio (my native spanish speaking "friend" assigned to me by the USAC program) and see if she wants to get together at all. Next goal - see if I can have 2 intercambios, because my first one is 28 and much older than I am. I want to find some girls my age I can relate to a bit better. Third goal - find a volunteer program that actually requires me to use my Spanish more. And fourth - spend some more quality time with my host mom.

OK - biggest problem of the week. One of my biggest fears came true. Last night I found out that within the last 2-3 days my dog back home has developed a tumor in her spinal cord that basically made her paralyzed. So yesterday my parents told me they had to put her down. As of then, anything past her waist she had lost control of. My family set up a spot for her in the middle of the living room with blankets and towels and her toys. All day someone sat with her, and she was mentally her normal happy self. Today, by morning she had lost control of her front legs. According to Keith, my Dad said she hadn't given anyone kisses all day, but when Keith came over she gave him some. Keith says those were for me. They had her put to sleep around 10 am, and although I am devastated, I know she's happier now. She loved to run and play, and not being able to move and enjoy life is not what she would have wanted. It's just hard not being able to be there.

On the other hand, today I went to Segovia and had to try suckling pig - NEVER again! I about puked when the waiter plopped this baby pig's head on my plate. The director of USAC had my plate taken away and replaced with a less-identifiable piece of pig that I still didn't eat.

And on the bright side of things, my host mom and I had a really nice conversation and I actually understood all of it.

Sorry to be quick at the end there - it's been a long day and I need to sleep. Night all.

An Insight On Spanish Culture...

So while I was having a somewhat intellectual conversation with my host dad today (I say somewhat because while he talked about intellectual things I just said "Sí, Sí, Vale." for most of the conversation and threw in a few comments here and there.) I discovered some interesting things about Spanish culture and why a good majority of Europeans dislike Americans.

Here in Spain, everything is slow (except my showers - god I miss my half hour showers...). Whereas in America we do everything quick - food, driving, talking, ya know. And in America, everything is very big - the food, the houses, the country. According to Spaniards, we put too much focus on our things rather than our experiences, friends, and family. Now, I totally see where my host dad is coming from - as I told him, in America it's almost like a constant contest - If so and so has a big house, you have to have a big house as well. As a little kid you say, "Billy has that toy, so I need it too!" We do the same thing with jobs - if you aren't a doctor or a lawyer or a CEO of some major cooperation you can't hang out with others who have those jobs.

Basically, Spaniards put emphasis on spending quality time with people and respecting them regardless of who they are or where they come from. In Spain, race isn't a big deal - yes people are black and white and oriental - but they are all Spaniards (except for the Chinese...I haven't quite figured it out but they are not well liked here...? No offense to anyone of course - personally I have no problem with anyone - unless you annoy me...) Anyway, when you go to a meal or a gathering no one has a phone, no one is updating their Facebook status - everyone is communicating in some way - often many people at the same time talking really loud and making it really hard for me to comprehend anything.

They also think we are ignorant. And honestly, I will agree. I came here and almost every day a Spaniard has tried to talk American politics with me - I barely know what's going on back home (thanks Mom for your political efforts...) but even so there are so many who don't have a clue. I didn't realize how much our politics affect the rest of the world. In Spain, people are very worried about our election results because of how it will affect the country here.

Anyway - it's not very entertaining, but I thought it was interesting. I'm sure I explained that really bad...oh well. Goodnight all.

Toreo Jones!!!

That's right - I saw my first Spanish movie in a theater in Spanish! ... I'm not sure that sentence makes any sense but I'm gonna go with it.

Yes, today my host brothers and my ...host dad...? I'm still not sure on that one - it's a long story. But yes, anyways we went to the movies and it was a cute little animated film and I really liked it! Most likely because I actually understood it =D

Movie theaters in Spain are pretty awesome. All of the seats are like La-Z-Boys and they even have booster seats for little kids - I mean hello America!! Where were the booster seats when I was little? All I ever got was the pile of coats my family took off...

And I've decided that I can never drive in Spain. People here are crazy! There are no stop signs and it's like the lines on the roads are invisible - people are constantly all over the place.

That's all for today - short and sweet. Thanks everyone for trying to stay updated with my life. You guys are awesome =D

Much Much Better

Today was a much better day. Last night I was pretty upset and feeling pretty down. I think it was just a mix of being in a new place and being stressed out, as well as some things not being what I expected. This week my host brothers were not at home, so my host mom wasn't home very much - and I don't understand her very well - so I was pretty sure that she didn't like me. And all of the people in my program really like to go out to just get drunk, and that's not my scene, so I've been feeling pretty lonely.

Anyway, I talked to my host mom and told her how I was feeling and last night we made some pasta and watched Miss Congeniality (in Spanish of course...I think it was called La Agente Especial"... something like that...But yes I felt better after that.

So today, I went into the city with some people in my program and we went to El Corte Inglés because I needed to buy a straightener and a bag for my school books. I can tell my spanish is getting a little better here and there because today I was able to go to the store and talk to the cashiers and know what was going on - much better than trying to buy a phone when I know nothing about electronics to begin with. After that we got lunch at a little restaurant and I tried "una bocadilla de calamari" - which I believe next to paella is the second most popular food in Spain.

After I got home I took a little nap and then around 6 I finally got to meet my host brothers. They are 10 and 7 and have so much energy! We ended up playing Sims for a few hours then had some homemade pizza. I also got to meet their dad who is from the Galicia area and he was much easier for me to understand. We actually had an intellectual conversation about different languages and the complexities of them and how words are created and whatnot - how I can manage that but not a conversation about my trip to school is beyond me.

But yes, today was much better and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the city and my family and communicating with my real family. (By the way - Happy Birthday Mommy!! your present will arrive whenever I can manage to figure out how mailing packages works...so it might be a while...) Tomorrow I have another orientation type activity. It's a scavenger hunt around the city to help us use our Spanish and meet people so I'm excited.

Meh. Rough Day.

So the first couple days were ok, then we got to today. Today was the first of many days from hell. I'll start from the beginning...

Traumatic Experience 1: The showers in Spain are very small and water is very expensive, so you have to be quick. So this morning, I couldn't get the water to get warm - so the beginning of my shower was like ice. Well, I am showering and suddenly the water gets scalding hot. So since there was no in-between, I took an ice cold shower.

Traumatic Experience 2: When I was trying to leave for school this morning, I was trying to lock the door, but I couldn't see anything in the hall, so I tried to turn on the light - however I hit the house alarm instead of the light. Well, my host mom woke up and came out and pointed to the light switch then told me to have a good day and closed the door. Got off to a great start there didn't I...

Traumatic Experience 3: My host mom showed me where the metro station was, but not how it works, so this morning I had to go put money on my transit card. The cards have to be put in a machine and you pay with cash or a credit card. Well, there are lots of different types of transit cards here and I put my card in the wrong slot, and it got stuck, so I had to ask a random lady for help (in spanish...very broken spanish...). She got it out using a straw.

Traumatic Experience 4: So after I got my card back, I still couldn't get the machine to work. So, I asked a woman who worked there if she could help me (again with the very bad spanish...) and eventually I got it paid for. However - in Spain, credit cards have pin numbers and in the US we don't, so of course I couldn't get my card to work. Debit was good though, so no problems.

Traumatic Experience 5: So I now have my card and I can't figure out how to get through the gates to get to the train. I'm thinking it's like Chicago where you put your card in the side and it comes out the top...well it turns out my card is a magnet and you just tap it on the top.

Traumatic Experience 6: Figuring out what side of the track I needed to be on to go in a specific direction. There were no stairways - you actually have to exit and go back up to the road and come down on the opposite side of the street.

And to top it all off, I can barely understand my host mom and anyone else in the city, yet I can understand my professors and the program leaders. I think it's just that they talk too fast and have the accent, but it's hard. I can tell my host mom laughs at me and gets frustrated because I don't understand a lot, but I'm trying. No one understands how hard this is until they try it. In the US, I thought I was really good at Spanish, but here, I am very bad. I couldn't survive without some of my friends that speak fluently.

And on that note, tomorrow is another day, and hopefully it will be better. It's the first day of classes...

Estoy Aquí!!

So I have arrived safely in Madrid and have no idea what day it is and am quite jet lagged. We are staying at an orientation hotel for the night and have had some orientation classes today and some more tomorrow. Then, at 5pm I will be going to meet my host family. It's been a long day with very little sleep - I didn't sleep much at all on the plane, maybe an hour or so. I made my way to Starbucks and successfully ordered a Mango Pasión Té y Fruta...I wanted a Passion Tea Lemonade, but that was as close as I could get =D I received my transit pass and tomorrow I will worry about figuring out the metro system. I also got to bargain with a guy who worked at Mc Donald's to try and get 5 euro in coin instead of in paper money - that was interesting to say the least...

Anyway, it's time for bed. Night everyone!!

The Airport - Update 1

Well as I get ready to embark on this journey I'm sitting here in the airport terminal waiting for my plane to load. My first flight is on one of those small puddle jumper planes (you know one seat on one side of the plane and two seats on the other) and will last about an hour and a half.

Anyway...there are some strange people in the airport.

Currently, I've got the middle aged man that can't stop coughing and hacking for more than 10 seconds - I'm hoping he is sitting on the totally opposite end of the plane and I'm kin of regretting not packing that quarantine suit...

Next, we have the poor woman who looks to be in her late 20s with her 2 or 3 year old child. As she is walking an dragging her bag, the small child is holding on to the bag and dragging on the floor behind her.

Next, the college basketball player who looks about 7 foot tall and who is jamming to himself with his gigantic headphones on. Not very exciting.

Behind me there is the family with three small children, all looking to be under the age of 1 - all of whom are crying and not happy to be getting on an airplane. It's a good thing I like kids and can do a pretty good job of ignoring crying and screaming.

Update on the mom with the child dragging on the floor behind the suitcase - he's now running around holding himself and yelling, "I have to go potty NOW!!!".

Oh and my flight just got delayed by 40 minutes. Lovely. It's a good thing I didn't take that flight that only had the half hour layover - stupid travel agent that didn't know what they were talking about.

That's all for now. We'll see what other interesting things happen...