First Impressions...

Hola, Hola, Hola

I cannot believe how time has passed here in Spain, I already feel like I have been here at least a month! Everything is better than I could have ever imagined and my Spanish has already improved so much, I am excited to see what an actual month of practice will do. Traveling was really easy; Carrie and I met up with Hanna and Kendra in the Chicago airport before our seven hour flight to Madrid. Everything was really smooth, though I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane. We had a five hour layover in Madrid until our final one hour flight to Oviedo; we slept and enjoyed expensive McDonalds. Finally we arrived in Oviedo and were happy to see all of our luggage was accounted for, Kendra and Hanna took a taxi into town and Carrie and I decided on a more inexpensive bus. The bus ride was absolutely gorgeous! Austurias is the most beautiful region of Spain with the sea and mountains all within a short bus ride from each other. It felt wonderful to be back in Europe and the houses and farms all reminded me of Italy. The bus ride was about an hour and took us the the downtown bus station. We then hailed a cab to take us to our hotel for the evening, Hotel Isla de Cuba. We arrived and immediately did what a traveler shouldn’t do and took a three hour nap in our uncomfortable hotel beds. When we woke it was dark but we decided to take a mini tour of the city, we were meeting Luna and Paula, our coordinators, at 9:30 for dinner so we had some time to kill. The hotel is right across the street from the University so we walked across and found la casa de las lenguas, the building where we had our placement test the next day and all of our classes. After our walk we joined our other classmates down stairs to play cards and wait for Luna y Paula. We sat down for dinner and introduced ourselves then enjoyed trying the Sangria and many strange dishes lay out before us: Country potatoes with various sauces, egg and potatoes, chicken, salad etc. We were all really tired but after our 10 € meal they announced they were taking us on a walk and to a bar. They showed us the university and where to go the following morning and then onward to a bar that was opening especially for us, where Luna said the owner knew everything about American classic rock, yet didn’t know Journey. We played card games and hung out till about one then we were too tired to continue. Luna and Paula thought we were babies and wanted to party longer, I swear Spaniards don’t sleep!

The next morning we went to the test around 10 and heard a presentation, all in Spanish about the university, then took the test. The test is way to divide us into intermediate and advance levels. The sections included a couple conjugation fill in the blank sections, an essay portion, and an oral portion. The oral portion was intense, I had this man who spoke very quickly and was easily frustrated. But I pulled through, along with the other hundred plus Americans from across the United States studying in Oviedo. After our test we returned to Hotel Isla de Cuba and waited for our families to pick us up. Mine arrived around one, her name is Amparo and I could not have asked for a better match. My friend Laura studied in Oviedo a couple years ago and said I had to have her, and I am so happy I requested her. Amparo lives about three minutes away from the university, some people have to walk a half hour or more every morning, in an adorable apartment right across from her granddaughter’s elementary school. She chatted my ear off walking to her house and showed me my wonderful room. Bucket list warning: sleep in a bed that pulls down from the wall, COMPLETE. I have a little room in the back of the house with a pull down bed, table, chair, closet, and dresser. I also have my own bathroom right next door, I couldn’t be more comfortable. I met her granddaughter Ellena who is 11 and was home sick with the flu. Ellenas mother, Marina, is an English professor at the university and lives very close to Amparo, so Amparo takes care of her grandchildren every morning before school and every afternoon. I enjoyed my first homemade Spanish meal, potato stew with a ham omelet and fried vegetables, delicious. Then unpacked all my stuff and met her other granddaughter Marina who is eight and adorable. Amparos other daughter Blanca is also staying with her right now and so is Blanca’s dog Runa, a feisty little French Bull dog. Runa and I got off to a rough start when I caught her chewing through one of my Korean socks an hour after I arrived, but she is slowly growing on me. It may just be because I get to yell at her in Spanish. After a nap I enjoyed an early dinner (seven o’clock) and headed out to meet up with other UNI people. We walked down to the mall to get school supplies and cell phones. The company we use is called movistar and the phones are very cheap and small, but they get the job done. We ran into another student, Nate, who was buying a phone with his madre and she helped me pick out a good plan and ordered everything for me, however she also spoke a mile a minute so it was a bit challenging.

Tuesday was our first day of class and we arrived early to find out what level we have been placed in. As predicted I am in the intermediate level, and am taking vocabulary, translation, literature, culture, and grammar. The way our schedule is set up our classes are different each day and all at different times so it can be slightly confusing to keep up with. My classes were very typical, casual conversation with professors and practicing basic skills. Each professor gave us a card to fill out and we have to add pictures to them so they can learn our names and faces. After three classes it was time for me to take my three minute walk back home for lunch, at two o’clock. I ate lunch with Amparo, Ellena, and Marina and it was fun to listen to them argue and tell stories especially the kids, they speak so fast and I only get about a third of what they are saying. She made more stew and meat, oh and of course we all share a loaf of bread with every meal. I watched the Disney channel with the girls after lunch then met Carrie at school to walk to the statue la gorda, a fat woman holding a baby, to have an official tour of Oviedo by some Spaniards attending the university. It was nice to meet some of the other Americans not from Iowa and talk as we were led around town. We stopped at many parks and historical sites; we also stopped and toured the inside of the cathedral which is beautiful. At one of the parks there were a million peacocks running around. After the tour Carrie and I went to the mall behind my house to explore more and enjoy some gelato. I got home around seven and helped Amparo do laundry and talked for a few hours before she made me a delicious dinner of meat and French fries.

Everything here is so different than what I expected and I am thoroughly enjoying it all!