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 : )

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 : )

round 2 de mi empresa/práctica

so far so good. the economy class was aight. i couldn't tell if it was in gallego or not this time tho. probs gallego cuz i didn't understand much. if i don't understand something, it's probs in gallego. the next 2 math classes had exams so i whipped out my grammar book that i had brought with but it still doesn't compare to my poor lonely notes at home which are so wonderfully organized and simple, but while i wait for them to be scanned this will do. i also touched up in some words to extend my vocab some and then read yet another page of the book we have to read. page 12 of 40 which has to be complete by the end of next week. not too shabby if i may say myself. ok well page 12 is really the only 2nd page with words on it so i have quite some bit to go. i'm trying to figure out the best way to go about reading it. i've been going thru page by page underlining words a don't know and after finishing the page, going back and looking those words up. which has proven to have been successful for knowing the words cuz Celina's mom used the word "gama" i knew knew exactly what it was w/o explanation...yay me haha. not hard i guess cuz like a gama ray, a range of colors, or a shade. yeah well, i was proud of myself : P

at the end of the day there was a speaker. did i understand him? well he with más despacio, so no not a word. jk. i understood some stuff and then he threw some english out here and there. he was talking about nomos something or another and then i understood more about what he was saying about the USA and how some people have "perfect pitch" and are able to hear something and instantaneously know the pitch. pretty cool huh. but that's about all i understood cuz then i started dozen off into my own little world. which is why i'm keeping this short and about to take una siesta : )

i'm learning the tricks of the trade

that disgusting plain yogurt = add sugar
hot tea = add honey and lemon juice (pura's got a cool lemon juice squeezer thingamabob)
and i'm coming home knowing how to make patatas ali oli (and coming back with the recipe too)

Pura, along with other older people buy fresh meat and fish the day of for our meals unlike in the US where we buy in bulk for the week. some of the younger people are more busy here so they might not go every day but it's common for people to but their food the day of from the market. (learned in my fave class here and asked Pura about it)

Arriving en España

Well the flight wasn't too bad.  Although it was easily recognized that I was Americano. I sat next to a Spaniard. But we did meet various people studying abroad in Spain so we exchanged numbers in case we decided to visit each other's areas.

Gene (the director person who is responsible for Loras College students) picked up us from the airport. Fortunately it wasn't raining, but the skies were pretty darn grey.  The poor bus driver had to carry all of our luggage back and forth on the bus. She looked like she was struggling a bit. WHOOPS!  As soon as we got on our nice and compact bus, it started to "pour" good thing I packed mi paragua (umbrella)! Gene called out our names. I was called 2nd pero Pura, mi mama espanola, was not anywhere to be found.  All of the other parents were there waiting at the school.  I felt like I was being adopted.  In a way I was.  Just imagine a bus full of small and cute puppies (yes, that would be us) and you have all these parents outside waiting to see which one of us will be theirs for the next 4 months.  I would be living with this woman and her husband for the next 4 months. So ya know, out of all people this would happen to me of course. Mi mama did not show up after multiple phone calls were made. So I got to see and wait en la oficina de Gene (quien es responsable para los estudiates de Loras College).  Finalmente, my familia espanola came to pick me up.  We had dinner (noodles and chicken broth, chicken, and potatoes).  Then I was asked if wanted a nap, but I was doing better since our connecting flight. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out cold and didn't wake until right before landing. I showered and unpacked most everything and found my casa nueva en el mapa that I was given.