buena semana : )

sooooo last week my parents came to visit me and arrived in Santiago Wednesday after a lil excursion of their own. it was fun. apparently we walked an awful lot but i have no concept of what a lot is anymore cuz on a typical day i walk a lot and besides i had softball and the hills and stairs of the LC to keep me occupied before the hills and cobblestone of Santiago. we went out for tapas a few times. thursday we went out for Kely's (friend from Brazil) last night in Santiago and chatted in Spanish with some English so that all could understand. i had a blast.

friday, my american family met my spanish familia and mi mama espanola cooked up a grand meal with a bunch of typical dishes (which i love!) that means tortilla espanola, croquetas, empanada, carne con patatas, pan (porque "yo como pan como un gallego" so i'm told) y i think i'm missing one but that's all in my spanish journal so no worries. but for POSTRE (because i can't spell that in english) she made my gallegon crepes con nata y strawberries mmm : ) que delicioso! i stuffed myself and still had room. i'm kinda used to it now. but my family , on the other hand, was struggling thru it haha. oh right, she also made chocolate flan mmmm Dad loved that! i've been eating it since they left. and you can just eat it and eat and eat it cuz its THAT good! and to think i'm not a flan person. (mabes that'll work with art...gonna be learning about arte in class ick but mabes after i see what we're learning about i might like it? nawwww but i'm sure the profe will make it interesting!) but yeah, the lunch (bigger than a american-sized dinner) passed well.

especialmente para Señora : )

I spent a solid idk how long talking with mi mama española today! and finally i UNDERSTAND her! ahhhhhh it's the best feeling ever! i think she talks slower because la chica Japonesa (btw sidenote: they don't use muchacha here). ok idk if it's slower but she's def cut down on the hardcore lisp she had going in the beginning. we talked about that today too haha. but yeah. i love being able to just casually have a conversation with her. i am getting much better at putting words together! my writing has always been better than my speaking ( you know that well) but i can tell i've improved since arriving : )

from the get-go my English has taken some hard hits but seriously, i don't mind at all. that means i'm thinking Spanish better. but now finally, i can notice myself improving un poquito here and there. language is such a beautiful thing. it amazes me actually. espanol es MUY suave. i think English is an ugly language...ok mabes i won't go that far. but german i think super ugly and you're not to far from that. mi mama espanola made a comment about that during tea, that's why i bring it up. she said english sounds smooth (like waves) but i think that's true of spanish. it's all what you're used to i guess especially when they talk fast.

ANDDDDDDDD she gives me hope about my incapability to roll my "rr's" apprently she had a student here who couldn't but kept at it and by the time she left was able to roll her R successfully. now i don't know if this is possible for me, cuz i've tried. oh believe me, i've definitely tried. no se puede. but i'm gonna give it another go and see what happens.

back to reality...spain is not a vacation

although while being in spain is a great opportunity to travel europe and well around spain too (and we have been!) the language is finally starting to hit me. today was hard but well worth it. pretty sure i was on the verge of tears i nclass today. (and this is why i hate that this blog is public...for these kind of comments i make) it was just stressful and i was anxious to be done particpating cuz for the life of me, today was just one of those days that i could not speak spanish

i just got back from mi empresa/practica (ugh i hate switching the spell check back and forth from spanish to english gahhh anywhoooo) and i need una siesta. me duele la cabeza. so much to take in! although it was hard and a lot, this is what i'm here for and this is what i want even if i complain that its hard. i didn't think it was going to be easy by any means. a deep part of me (idk if that makes sense hmmm) wants it this way cuz this is how i am going to learn. 

i have 20 more pages to read of the novel by Thursday but a group of us are meeting up at a cafe to read together. i like reading it on my own, but i'm going to go out anyway to hang out and just make sure i am understanding what's going on : )

ay dios mio

no puedo hablar una palabra es español hoy...pero ahora tengo mi clase favorita coolio

i've been here how many days...?

and just learned we have 2 bathrooms in this small house. i turned the water on to shower this morning but it lacked any and all sense of getting cooler...(as in warm. i call it getting cooler cuz it starts off at a freezing cold temp) or warm. so i didn't shower this morning. don't worry tho, i showered last night, so no biggie. i just didn't look my best today, that's all. during lunch, Pura explained to me i should shower downstairs when the weather is this cold because the warm water won't make it to the upstairs bathroom that i utilize. go figure, the only rooms i've been in are my room, what i thought was the only bathroom (would've saved me much trouble if i knew this earlier), the TV room (where we eat dinner while watching the news), and la cocina (aka the kitchen).

people have countdowns on how days we have left here...as in they wanna leave soon! que ridículo! when i see the countdown...my reaction: "i only have that much time to become fluent?!?! ahhhhh! necesito mas!" i don't get what's not to like about here. i came to learn the langauge and i intend to do so. i don't understand my fellow travelers at all!

worst class evaaaa

is becoming better because i can now understand her better. she talks fast and with words i don't know, but i'm beginning to catch on. 2 hours of this every monday morning. but good news is after our descanso, tengo 2 horas de mi clase favorita!!! cultura y civilización : )

my sense of direction

i'm horrible with directions. ok not horrible but it take me awhile to get to know a place and if i'm not driving or am with a group of people who know where they are going i'm either not paying attention where i am going or we go too fast for me to visualize where we are. i walked to school all by myself yesterday (i sound like a little kid jeez haha) and started recognizing where i am on the map in my head and how to get places. it was a bit hard at first cuz the streets do not run staight and they curve like crazy. but after today i have a pretty goood grasp around these lands. the old town need some work yet but otherwise i'm set ; )

gonna take a 180

Sooo Christmas has passed and New Years is awaiting yet but I’ve started to put aside things to be packed for Spain already (well it is only 8 daysss away!). How will I do it being limited to one check-in and one carryon plus a purse…well ladies and gentlemen that will be a challenge huh. So far so good…but all i’ve put aside is clothes…

To some it may be contrary to popular belief, I do own MANY cute outfits, and I DO own and wear jeans (shocker right?). The past year and a half it has been a rare occasion to see me in jeans walkin around campus…I save ‘em for the weekends, NOT going to class during the week. That’s what you get for going to an all girls catholic high school for 4 wonderful years. You develop a deep love for sweats. HA. Well, not really. That’s just all you owned for those 4 years besides your lovely plaid uniform.

Flip flop. Sad to say it, but for the next 4 months I will be limited to a pair of yoga pants and 2 t-shirts (for lounging).

Cuz this girl will be dressin like the Spaniards, aka in style ; )