Hola gente!
I’ve been in Spain for…hm…3 days now? Not sure. The whole "counting days" thing is pretty awkward when you’ve done perhaps more than your proper share of sleeping during the day. Today’s Sat…Friday, and I got here Tuesday, so I suppose that makes it…4. 3.5. well….busses and airplanes don’t count, so I think I can make a fairly stable argument for three days. Right now I’m sitting in my host family’s home at one of the tables watching as two of my host m
om’s grandkids are terrorizing the furniture. They’re so cute, what with their matching faces, matching vestments, matching giggles and matching mischievousness. Their mom had me do an errand for her and asked me to take along the boys so as to get them out of her hair. It’s gratifying how easily they keep themselves amused even without fancy-shmancy toys—although, their form of entertainment does wonders for the upholstery, and I’m surprised that neither of them are injured yet. (Now they’re running with scissors...hm…)
But starting from the beginning:
Somehow my claustrophobia just didn’t happen on the plane. I didn’t sleep at all, but I was kept sufficiently amused by in-flight movies and reading stuff. When the plane touched down in Madrid, I couldn’t find customs. After half an hour of searching, I decided it wasn’t worth it, and just left for the bus. When in a country where English is not the main language, it’s definitely a humbling experience to realize how poor your foreign language skills really are. I kept stumbling on my words trying to figure out where I was going, and having to ask people to please repeat what they just said I didn’t understand the directions—and even that came out bumbled. Ah well, I suppose nine months here should fix that pretty well.
I nearly missed the bus from Madrid to Granada, but luckily someone told me I was on the wrong floor just in time. (How was I supposed to know that there were two floors in a bus station, both of which had operating busses?) Anywho, I actually managed to sleep in that comfy-cozy cabin, and when I finally did get to Granada about 11pm, I had to make a phone call—apparently the director had thought I was coming the next day. So I took a taxi to his home, and he and his wife and 3month old baby daughter were extremely apologetic and welcoming. (It didn’t really matter to me that much, as long as I had somewhere to sleep.)
The sleep schedule here is way different from what I’m used to, and that will definitely take some time to get used to. Apparently every night in Granada is a party night—people habitually stay up ‘till 3 or 5 am. They get up around 8-10am the next day, and then siesta from about 2pm-5pm. Breakfast is about 8-10am, then lunch around 2pm, and dinner about 10pm. Very different. Also different is the whole "not-being-allowed-in-the-kitchen" thing. My host mom spent a lot of time being a restaurant cook, and she’s really excellent! There’s this one thing she made that I have no idea what it is, but I’ve taken to calling it "spreadable crème brulee." However, she’s also protective of her kitchen. This morning I woke up about 5am with a hunger most mighty, and later she chided me for so much as opening the fridge. Ah, adjustments…(no baking or cooking for a whole 9 months??? Gyaa!!!). I suppose I’ll take solace in the coffee. It’s REALLY tasty here. And WAAAAY cheaper than a certain chain coffee shop that needs not be named. (Like Harry Potter’s "he-who-must-not-be-named," recalling the name of such an evil may give it power. Not that I’m superstitious…)
Actually, Granada as a whole is very different from what I expected. The buildings are really tall, housing several families in apartment-style living. As one of my fellow study-abroad students stated, "I could totally see Aladdin jumping from building to building here." There are very small cobblestone roads, and random plazas throughout the city. I’m in a plaza called "plaza de la Trinidad ," and there are some trees there that house some rather loquacious birds. Looking up at the trees where the chirpers are located, I feel like I’ve gotten myself lost in a tropical forest somewhere. (Then, when I look down of course, this image vanishes, as Granada is very urban and could use more green).
I’m surprised how quickly I’ve gotten used to the environment. Sure, people smoke, but it’s really not that bad. The roads are different. The houses are different—Whatev. Actually, my home for this year reminds me of my great-aunt Maria Zita, who never spoke a word of English in her life. Perhaps the surroundings are just uncovering the safety of my Portuguese babysitter.
I got lost today walking around the city at Siesta time. (after waking up at 5am, I slept until about 1pm, and had no inclination to go back to sleep). It was really nice to just wander. (I have full intention of doing it again sometime—perhaps I’ll actually get some pictures.) For some reason I feel self-conscious taking out a camera and snapping shots; although according to Jaime, the student coordinator, I already look nothing like a Spaniard and everything like an American foreigner. I’m not sure why though. (golly gee whiz, I thought I looked Portuguese! Alas.)
They have all the American shows here, only dubbed. Yesterday they were showing Adam Sandler’s "anger management" in Spanish. (I think I’m glad I didn’t understand a lot of it, because it was kind of gross. And awkward watching it with my host mum there who actually understood all the bad jokes and was saying what a bad movie it was.) Also, although I brought See’s chocolate from the USA, it turns out my host mum is diabetic. (NOOOO!!! Bad first impression!!! Nooo!!!!!)
I can now understand why some of my students from the English Language institute back in California would talk in their native language whenever they had the chance. It’s frustrating not being able to communicate very well. When I’m with the other students, (only 2 so far,) the language of choice is always English. Part of this is because we’re just not fluent enough to communicate as well as we’d like to, but also, part of it is because they haven’t been taking Spanish for as long, and so they don’t have the same vocabulary. I figure once we start classes on Tuesday though (in intensive Spanish) this may change (I hope so—yay for practicing!!)
Hmm…I’m thinking now’s probably a good time to stop with the inane details. Oh! The school has WI-FI. This means I can take my laptop there and mooch internet, so I don’t have to keep going to internet café’s to pay by the hour. (,75 euros is about a dollar. Time is money).