Hola Espana!

Hola Espana! Yesterday we arrived in Granada. We spent two days in Madrid and then one day in Toledo. Madrid is a huge, beautiful city with narrow coble stone streets and old buildings everywhere. The first night I went with some kids from ISA to this restaurant that serves “tapas” which are snacks/appetizers or mini meal type things. They were only one euro and there were probably 40 to choose from. I experienced the differences in culture immediately. We were at this “tapas” restaurant until maybe midnight and there were people everywhere, in the square and on the streets, and it was a Wednesday night. Apparently it gets really busy in the popular places from 2 in the morning till 5 in the morning. They sleep from 6 at night till 9 then have dinner at 10 then go out until 5 or later in the morning! Wow, and everyone tells me I’m up late at school, Spaniards have taken it to a whole new level.

In Madrid we went to the art museums of the Prado and el Reina Sophia, both are famous and house famous pieces of art. It was so great to be able to see famous paintings that I have studied or looked at in classes for years. We saw famous paintings of Velasquez, Goya, El Greco, Picasso, and Salvador Dali. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stop and read all of the signs because we were with a guide in a group, but the tour guide did a great job at telling us information slowly and clearly so we could understand. Everyone speaks so fast here! It is so difficult because my brain stops on the first words I don’t understand or maybe understand to try to figure them out and then I loose the next 15 words and am completely lost.

On the way to Granada I had a wonderful surprise. We were at this random bus stop cafeteria place and I saw the group of students from SPU getting on a bus! I ran up to them and was able to see two girls from my floor there! Of all places in Spain, crazy; it made my day! It’s crazy because even though I’ve only been here 6 days, coming into this where I didn’t know anyone and was alone makes you completely appreciate people you care about and those who really know you. It was just what I needed, to see those girls.

I met my host family yesterday and they seem wonderful. My host mom immediately hugged and kissed me when I got off the bus. That first interaction was me, mostly smiling a lot and nodding and asking for her to please repeat herself. The rest of the night I sweated so much, not because of the temperature, even though it was hot, but because I was so nervous to talk and mess up so much and not understand them. Wow, the first day was a challenging and wonderful experience.

Tonight we saw a flamenco dance performance! It was exciting to experience such a rich part of their culture. On the way back we heard some street musicians. It was such a romantic scene: cobblestone streets, cello music, and lights from a castle fortress on the hill behind us, beautiful. Today I also found a vital component of my stay here, a perfect gelato place! It is only 1 euro and delicious!

Classes start tomorrow, the first day of my road to fluency…I hope :)