Estoy Aqui!

Hola Mis Amores,

Ha I almost started typing this in Spanish. I am so sorry for having taken so long to write, as you can imagine it's been a chaotic last few days and today was my 1st real run through day. Forewarning, this is going to be a liiiiitle lengthy... :) From the begining!

But first my number!
Soo if you do call, you have to get a calling card (duh) and then you will push in:
011-34-678158774 :)
011 is for the international call, 34 is for Espana, and the rest is my number here.

Okay so now from the begining!

Flying in and starting Thursday off with no sleep was really odd. Wednesday and Thursday combined into one day, as my flight was an overnight one that I didn't sleep a minute of. We were all thrilled/exhausted but that didn't keep 20 or so of us in! Ha I went out that Thursday night with 20 or so other people to a bar in Santanas Plaza. Very fun! It was awesome, there were taps in the middle of the table and we could serve ourselves in huge mugs. There was a TV screen keeping track of how many liters of beer we were drinking and that's how we paid at the end. I had such a fun time that night... that I paid for the next morning, a lot. Ha Friday was orientation and let's just say I spent a good quarter of it in the bathroom... Hahaha It was actually hilarious for me as that's not usually my way of entering a new chapter of my life, but hey, it happens no? haha Orientation, naturally, was painful because of my physical state of being but informative and good. Didn't go out that night, which was sad because I really don't know a single person who didn't go out. I had barely made it through the day and wasn't trying to move in with my new family smelling/looking like a bar. hahah The 2 days in the hotel were pretty overwhelming just with the mass amount of students I was surrounded by. It felt like being back in 1st week of Freshmen year when no one knows anyone and everyone is overly excited and equally as nervous and wants friends. haha so that was, to be honest, exhausting, especially in my already overloaded emotional/physical/mental body, so I was ready to move in with the family on Saturday.

So Saturday! Rough. Hahaha Aamzing! but rough. I pulled up to the house around 11am and was downstairs with the family for literally 9 and half hours until 8:30pm when I went out to meet up with friends for dinner. Ah! My brain was mush. Legit. I had to listen and focus so intensely on EVERY singleeeeee word they were saying. Even during finals and exams or whatever you do in life, you can take a break! Yeaaah going to the bathroom was my break. Rough on the brain. I was going to write on here that night but I literally didn't think I had the mental capacity to do so in a way you would all understand haha. Going to bed was kinda hard that night, just completely overwhelmed. Sunday was much better but I'll talk about that after I detour into a little detail about my family!

:) Let's just say I did something good in my past life because my house/room is LEGIIIT. It is a modern, beautiful 4 story house, in which I have the 4th floor alllll to myself :) I don't think I'll have this much space/this kind of room again in my life so I'm enjoying it. In it: a huge couch, a desk, 2 closet things, my bed, a side desk, a bathroom(!), and seriously enough floor space to have a dance party. Haha It's orange and white, and since it's the 4th floor my ceilings are slanted. I have 3 sky lights, 2 in my room and one in the bathroom. The lighting is really nice, those cool light fixtures you see in Ikea or Starbucks. It's the iiiish. Oh, and my bed is comfy! Definitely a plus haha. The walls are thin though so I hear everything and it wakes me up early in the morning. The house is gorgeous! Modern. Yellow, orange and white walls with lots of art and decoration. Beautiful hardwood floors and stairs. Both parents, my senora Rocio y her husband Marce (said Marthe with the spanish accent haha), are both musicians and teach the violin at a university here. Both my 13 year old sister Cris (short for Cristina) and my 5 year old brother Guille (pronounced gee-a, short for William) both play as well. It's pretty intense. The daughter just had a concert the other night playing the violin, she is very good. They pratice downstairs in this open and beautiful room with an entire wall full of books (It sounds much like a house I would have of my own in the states no? with art and books and colors). Guille is learning the piano and chello. Haha i think the parents play all 3. The daughter seems busy, she goes to an english speaking HS until 2pm and then over to her parents univeristy for lessons. BusyBusy. Guille loves socccer and TV haha, when I got here he was out playing at a game. It's cute we play in the house sometimes before dinner and I juke him out (since I'm so good and everything). When he scores a goal he screams "GOOOOAL" like the announcers do in profession spanish soccer games (makes me think of you dad! haha). It's cute. :) Cris is really sweet. She showed me around the area when I 1st got here and took me grocery shopping to pick out foods I liked. It's interesting though because 13/14 is such an interesting/hard age and I wish I knew better how to feel out where she is in all that teenage stuff. That kind of goes for the whole family though. The language barrier is hard in really feeling, understanding, and obviously communicating with each person as individuals so I feel its a very surface relationship that I hope will eventually deepen with time and with my increased fluency. I'm having a hard time splitting my time because I was one of the only few who got an actual family, many of the other students only got Senoras, and because of this a lot of ppl don't go home for lunch after school or worry much about being home. You all know how loyal of a person I am and sometimes I think it is too much. For example, putting the family before myself? I obviously want to strengthen my relationship with the family and be able to be a part of it so I'm really torn on how to be independent here and not let them hold me back on doing things outside of the house with friends, but also at the same time getting to a point beyond being just a guest in their house that they are housing for 4 months. So... we'll see I guess?

A little more about my first day: the family is very bright. We played four different games that afternoon and all of them were thought-provoking games, such as Scrabble in spanish (words I participated with: salsa & bajo. what whaaaaaat! haha). They had a family friend come over both on Saturday and Sunday, a couple - Richard & Carmen - with their 2 little boys Pablo, 5 (Guille's friend) and Simon, 3. Just to let you all know, Simon has officially stolen my heart. haha he's so adorable. So the 1st day not only was it my new family but this whole other family with kids screaming/crying/laughing (I dreamt that night of kids running up and down stairs screaming spanish words I didn't understand haha). It's definitely a different environment since I've always been the youngest. It's interesting to see Cris & Guille interact. She isnt too mean to him yet which makes me believe she isn't that far into her teenage stages lol. The family couple seems bright as well, with conversations of the Spanish Civil War and past US Presidents. Big stuff I wish I could have participated in adequately. (haha as I type right now Cris is practing the Violin in her room. There is always classical music playing in the kitchen during breakfast, the newspaper is always out). You would all be so proud! I have eaten everything they have made me! None of it was forced either! I mean some were better than others but I've been proud of myself! haha So healthy. Alwwwaaaays vegetables and protein. And then maybe a little bit of carbs but legit a healthy diet. Good stuff. Minus the fact lunch is so small I starve until our 9:30pm dinner but I think I'm going to buy some snacks and keep them in my room jajaja).

I started class on Mondaaay. Tough. I have a practica class from 10am-1130, and then a gramatica from 1130-1. So 3 straight hours of spanish class a day plus an additional Spanish Civilization history class from 530-7 on Mondays & Wednesdays. The practica part of my spanish classes seem easy - basically just need to entertain the guy by laughing at his jokes and participating in conversation. We haven't had to write a single thing, the entire class is based around conversation. Gramatica seems haaard though. The teacher seems like she will be really good but hard. I didn't understand any of the homework we had last night and that freaked me out a bit but hopefully I'll pick it up quick. The history class is nice. I love history but just have a hard time retaining all the information. I think history and current events are such a big part of conversations we have with eachother and that it's important to be educated on it, and I often wish I was more educated in that arena, so this will good. The 1st 6 weeks are taught in English, but after that it will be taught entirely in spanish including a final exam in spanish, eeek. That'll be hard. I have 3 books to read but luckily only 1 is in spanish. It was funny, school was the last thing on my mind here, obviously. And then when I now have +100 pages to read by tomorrow (some in spanish), and 4 spanish exercises to do, I'm realizing quite quickly, "Oh yeeeah, I'm in college." ha.

Spain is beautiful. It is so different! And in a way I, unfortunately, can't quite really explain. There are little things though: the streets and subway systems - spotless. So weird! No trash aaaaaanywhere it's crazy! So So clean. People are rarely on their phones, no one is ever running to catch the Metro, people barrrely honk. The taxi driver who took me to my house was going SLOW ha, can you believe it? It was like he was going for his afternoon cruise or something I was shocked! I've heard repeatedly, here and in the states, that Spain's mentality is Life Before Work. I see that in small ways, but nothing huge yet. Today I was actually disappointed after a conversation with a girl I just met. She was saying how back in the states she's like crazy-stressed-OCD girl and here she's soo much better and she was like, "Oh I love who I am here!" haha I was like, "Oh." lol Caaan you take some of my stress then? haha I know it's so early and we all have our different way of adjusting. One of my main goals here though was to find a balance and let myself relax. I really want to be able to bring that back to the states with me. Hopefully it will happen :) To be honest I'm trying to not have any expectations for my experience here. Yes I hope to become fluent and relaxed and this more cultured and wised woman of Spain haha, but if I'm not then what? Ha. I just want to take my experience here for what it is in this moment. I am doing what I can, literally reminding myself, one thing at a time.

I watched the Inauguration today at a International Hotel. Amazing.

It is late and I have muuch to do, plus I'm sure this has been enough for now :)

I love and miss each and every one of you,
apb