Updates

My UM class in the Salamanca Gardens

On Sunday, I got a housemate! Her name is Aya and she is from Japan. Pilar cannot say her name so she calls her Maria. She seems very nice but does not speak a word of Spanish or English. This makes communicating difficult but also funny. She is a newb now and I feel more comfortable, so I tried to help her adjust by showing her my room and book of excursions and how to use the shower. I really like her and having someone else there at dinner. I felt bad because somehow I can understand Pilar talk now and so we talked all dinner and afterwards all Aya said was "no entiendo nada" which means I did not understand anything. So, I have been putting my charades skills to use to try and act out how she should eat certain foods or go places.

On Sunday I also went hiking in Bejar. Bejar is only an hour and a half away from Salamanca. We hiked for about an hour to reach the start of the trails. Then, we hiked for about four hours, stopping halfway to jump into the river. The view was gorgeous and this was the perfect way to spend my last Sunday here. You could see the water, the mountains, the stone hills, and the forest all in one spot. The sun was shining and the hike was great exercise with people that I've gotten to know so well. We got refreshing lemonade slushies after and relaxed in the park.

Last week Carlitos wanted to take a picture together while I was doing my homework on my computer. This led to me showing him Photo Booth, which led to a never ending amount of pictures with various effects. He even ran and pulled Pilar into the frame so we could all get a picture together.

Paris, France

The City of Love

This past weekend was amazing!

I was stupid and walked alone to the bus station at 6 in the morning on Friday, so I ended up sprinting to avoid all the creepers. The walk convinced me to take a cab home when I got back from Paris. Then, Charlotte and I took a bus to Madrid, a plane to France, and the metro to Paris. On the metro, we met a very friendly man named Bjorn. He was older and trying to flirt with Charlotte. Bjorn was from Germany and working in Dubai and told Charlotte to E-mail him.

The first thing we did was go to the Eiffel Tower! I was in awe at standing in front of this site that I’ve seen so many pictures of. Now, I got to be in a few pictures of my own!

We walked the city with Steph as our tourguide and had a great dinner. When it was dark, we witnessed the magical tower light up and the Louvre sparkling. Within a few hours of arriving in the city, I had already observed two famous places and was excited to see inside the Louvre the next morning.

In the morning, we ate pastries for breakfast (every day pastries for breakfast!) and they were simply delicious. We got to the Louvre before it opened and got in for free since we are students in Europe! We saw the Winged Victory, The Wedding Feast, Mona Lisa (which was very small compared to the paintings around it, but had the biggest crowd), and Michelangelo.

Then, we went to the Museo d’Orsay and saw works from Van Gogh and Monet. We ate at a cute café and got espresso to keep us awake. The thrill of being in Paris had been my caffeine all morning.

We went to the Museo de L’Orangerie and saw Monet’s gorgeous Water Lilies. Two full circular rooms displayed his water lilies. He was my favorite artist.

We got nutella crepes! and portraits from stands on the street (I'm going to hang them in my room at school) before going to the Pompidou modern art museum. The architecture of this building is controversial because it is so different from the city.

We went to the grocery store and bought cheese (goat cheese with cranberries, brie, and another creamy cheese) and champagne and ate dinner on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower. We met Steph’s friends here and learned how to count to 10 in French.

In the morning, we went to the Miraculous Medal chapel. Then, we went to Notre Dame. I loved the beautiful glass windows.

We got crepes again before leaving for Salamanca. On the plane home, Charlotte and I met a really nice guy, Daniel, from Australia who is traveling all throughout Europe. I am amazed at how many people from all over the world we met on this trip, and it was a learning experience just to hear them tell about their experiences. I am so thankful that I got to spend this weekend with Charlotte, my fellow Honors RA, and Steph, my friend from South Quad.

I am thankful for the time with my girls this weekend and the famous sites we experienced. I know this is a weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life!

Accidental Date

I accidently accepted a date from a waiter on the street today. Well, I walk by the same restaurant to get to class in the morning, between my first and second class, between my second and third class, and on my walk home. So, I see the same waiter every day 4 times. We smile and say hola, which I thought was normal. However, today we had a longer conversation which ended with us shaking hands. Again, I thought this was normal. Much to my surprise, when I asked my friends after what a "cita" was (because I remembered he said something about that), my friends told me it means a date. whoops. I went home and told my hostmom and she misunderstood me and thought he was a predator on the street bothering me and she told me a story about when she was with her sister and a guy smacked her sister's butt, Pilar hit him with her umbrella and yelled at him. Then, she instructed me on how to do so.

The lifeskills I learn here are endless.

When I get time, I will blog about our taste of Spain adventures, touring a Spain dorm, my trip to PARIS this weekend, and Burgos.

Italia: Homeland of my grandmas' parents

I took my luggage with me to class and walked straight to the bus station after. An old man told me I had precious eyes when I was trying to find my bus to Madrid from Salamanca to meet my parents; it was creepy. I slept the entire bus ride.

Transportation for this trip was a bit crazy. I had to take a shuttle at the airport to another terminal, and our flight was delayed so we almost missed the last water taxi to the hotel. But, my parents and I were together in Italy so everything was great.

The water taxi at midnight was exhilarating. Venice is gorgeous, with a transportation system composed of canals instead of roads. The taxi brought us right to our hotel.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel (and I finally had eggs for breakfast!). Then, we went on a gondola ride! This was my favorite even though it is touristy; the driver told us so much about the history of Venice. The ride was beautiful and allowed us to see a lot of Venice on a perfect sunny day.

Then, we took a water bus to Murano and got to see the intricate works of glass and had a delicious lunch. I had gnocchi :) After returning, we walked through the Cathedral. It is located right in St. Marco's Square, where this picture was taken:

After the Cathedral, we got GELATO! and we took a very long walk because we got lost. The street system is confusing because the street signs are rare and on the sides of buildings.

Dinner was absolutely incredible. The concierge had recommended a restaurant called Bistrot de Venise. We ordered the fish of the day, seabass. It was HUGE:

I also had some great vegetables! And our waiter brought us a dish of various desserts. Needless to say, I ate very well this trip. In fact, I had a delicious cannoli and frozen chocolate slushi for breakfast:

and authentic pizza for lunch the next day:

Saturday was "The Festa del Redentore, Festival of the Redeemer, is an annual celebration of the end of the plague that struck a large part of europe in the sixteenth century, causing more than 50,000 deaths in Venice." The temple was constructed in memory of the grace received when God granted an end to the epidemic. On the third Sunday of July, Venetians watch fireworks and then boat towards Lido to wait for sunrise.

So, there were fireworks on the Grand Canal. It was packed with people partying hard.

On Sunday, we took a refreshing long walk across the Canal. We got to see another side of Venice. We went to the church that was praying for the Festival of the Redeemer.

The taxi back to the airport was a smooth boat ride with a cute driver:

The electricity was out at the Venice airport, so we waited in line for 3 hours to check in. But, this was a blessing because it convinced us to take a later bus and see some of Madrid in the morning.

Venice is a stunning city surrounded by water and I am so glad we got to see so much of it.

Toledo

Allie met me at 6 AM to walk to the bus station. While we were just waking up, we passed people just coming in for the night. We have gotten used to ignoring the comments from the guys.

The bus ride took 4 hours, but we stopped halfway and I got a donut and coffee :)

When we arrived to Toledo, we first went to a synagogue. Toledo is a place where Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived together in peace. This is evident in the enter and exit signs of the synagogue:

Then, we went to the Cathedral. I cannot even try to describe the beauty of this cathedral. Cameras were not allowed in the sacred place. Ornate details covered every square inch, and the Cathedral was HUGE. Vibrant stained glass windows shined from the ceiling. Silver and gold outlined murals and carvings of various scenes in Jesus' life. It was a touching experience to be able to recognize and then explain to my friends the meanings. Images such as Jesus holding a lamb mean so much more when you consider how Jesus is a shepherd for sheep to follow, not just a picture with an animal. This is without a doubt my favorite place so far.

After the Cathedral, we went shopping in the stores. I bought my brothers gifts, but I can't ruin the surprise here!

Our hostmoms packed us lunches. Mine was a tuna sandwich, a tuna empanada, and a white bread sub sandwich with potato tortilla in the middle. When I got home, we had tuna for dinner.

We toured with a guide and people from the University of Salamanca. We met a nice guy on the bus, but then he got too friendly so I kept talking about my boyfriend. (sidenote - I thought we wouldn't see each other again...until my friends and I showed up for dance class and he was one of two guys in the class.)

Burgos the next day !

Classes

This week has been great! I've enjoyed my classes and everything else that I've gotten to do.

My first class of the morning is Spanish Art History. I am not interested in art history at all, and I actually thought I was going to be taking Spanish History instead, but I am definitely learning something that I know nothing about. Except, the first day I was able to answer a lot of questions because many of the paintings are religious and 12 years of Lutheran education prepared me for answering questions such as: how is this crucifix (painted by famous Spanish painter Velazquez) different from most? This class is taught by a professora from Spain.

My favorite class is my next one- Spanish Culture. The teacher is so lively and fun. We talk about differences in cultural norms. (For instance, if you see a lot of napkins on the floor of a bar, this does not mean it is dirty. It means it is popular and good because people throw them down on the floor after they finish eating.) She showed us youtube videos of Spanish music artists (such as a guy "Shakiro" who sings just like Shakira on the Spanish Idol show). When this professor was reading off our names, she stopped at mine and said Filomena is a name for an 80 year old Spanish woman. I explained to her that it is my grandma's name who is Italian (shoutout to Grandma!) and now she always remembers my name. This class is taught by a professora from Spain with students from all over the world - Japan, England, Brazil, all states from the US...I was talking to some girls from Auburn college and one told me about how she was shopping in Salamanca and an older woman came up to her and asked if she was American because she likes to practice her English. When they said goodbye, the woman hugged her and kissed her on both cheeks, and when the girl in my class looked down at her backpack, it was unzipped and her wallet was gone. Thankfully, my friends and I have had absolutely no problems with pickpocketing, but you have to be careful.

My third class is with UM students and UM professor. This class is also very fun. Today we are doing a presentation about how our house in Salamanca is different from our house in Ann Arbor. Also, we have been assigned "amigos clandestinos" which are secret friends that we buy little gifts for and put them in a box without telling anyone. We are supposed to get to know the people and see what they like without them guessing who we are. The gifts are to encourage each other and brighten our days. Mine got me a Spanish magazine and flip-flops with a note :) It looks like boy handwriting, but I can't judge because I too have manwriting.

Class is a half hour walk. I usually go early and stop by the library. Then, class is from 10-1:30. I have lunch at 2:30 with Carlitos and Pilar. The other day Carlitos made me eat a peach with him at the same time - and I mean, every bite had to be taken at the same time so when I finished chewing I had to wait for him. It took forever but it was cute.

My friends and I signed up for a Spanish dance class in the afternoons!

We went to the car museum which was awesome. It has models of cars from all over the world throughout history.

Yesterday I went on a great run and found the University soccer fields, rugby, basketball, tennis, ping pong... which we can use for free with our student ID so a group of us are going on outdoor adventures today!

Toledo tomorrow and Burgos Sunday!

Similarities and Differences

A couple of you have mentioned that you have tried to leave comments and have been unable to. That is because you have to have an account, so do not worry :)

Now that I have had time to adjust to Spain, I would like to share what I have noticed is different between Spain and the US. I would like to stress that different does not mean worse (or better). All the differences contribute to the overall experience and help me better understand the culture.

Spain (This does not apply to all of Spain, only to my experience in my house) :

No dryers - the clothes hang on balconies outside

The toilet handle hangs from the ceilling

They do not drink cold milk. For breakfast, my senora warms up milk in the microwave with a little coffee.

Showers must be extremely short.

Lights are almost never to be used. (Water and electricity are very expensive)

The converter makes my hair dryer act very weird, so I usually don't use it.

Salads are doused in salt.

My bed squeaks with every movement and the springs press into my back. (okay this one sounds complaining, but again, it will make me better appreciate dorm beds)

This is a hard one for me: No one wears sweat pants. or athletic shorts. or baseball hats. Even if you feel like dressing comfortable, don't. strange.

There is NO organization in street walking! Let me explain to you the transportation system I witness: I live on the street Maria Auxiliadora across from a big store called Corte Ingles (The basement is a supermarket, the next 7 floors are similar to a giant Macy's/Sears with basically everything you need. It is the mall put into one store). On the one end of Maria Auxiliadora is the public pool. On the other (far) end of the street is the river. In the middle is la Plaza Mayor. The walk from my house to the Plaza is atrocious. This is because there is no organized walkway. First of all, everyone treats the street as a sidewalk. This might be okay if all the walkers moved to the right side of the street. But no, everyone goes in every direction and they do not move out of the way. This road is impossible to run on because it is so crowded, but it leads to the parks and also the university. I love how everything is on this street, but why must it be so cluttered?

Kids stay out very late here. and I don't mean teenagers, I mean little kids like 5 years old are running around the Plaza at midnight. The other day, a group of kids were playing kick the can, and kicked it right under our table. I picked it up to throw it to them and every kid in the group of about 15 was screaming for me to pass it to them. I got nervous and threw it in the center and they all sprinted after it.

I must not forget the differences that I have noticed that I adore:

The passion for soccer here is unbelievable. Team pride is everywhere.

People also get very into each festival they have. For instance, the Festival of San Fermine is this weekend and the whole country is watching the running of the bulls. (I will never understand that cultural tradition though)

The weather is WONDERFUL. It is very hot, but I enjoy that and it is dry heat not humid. It is great to be able to sit outside and read or do homework or run at all times of the day and not need to wear a jacket when you go outside.

I get to talk to people from ALL over the world. I witness this at UM too, and there is no end to how much you can learn.

La Plaza Mayor is simply stunning. There is no place like it at home. In fact, in Shelby Twp. kids are always complaining that there is nothing to do, no place to go that does not cost money. The Plaza is this place for the town. Every single night it is packed with people just sitting around, talking, getting ice cream or a drink, singing together, or meeting to go out together.

Crosses and religious symbols are everywhere. The shops sell beautiful religious figures for home.

Churros and chocolate.

Rebajas! (the sales)

Happy 4th of July! God Bless America

On Sunday morning, the art museum was free so I went with a few girls. My friend Charlotte is very motivated in the sense that she has researched ahead and knows which days of the week certain exhibitions occur. It is great to have her as a traveling partner because I get to see so many great places. The paintings were gorgeous and most were religious so it was very interesting reading their descriptions. Here is Charlotte (red hair) and I in front of one:

Then, we took a forever long walk because we got lost many times to the market, which happens every Sunday. This market is in a huge lot where people set up stands and sell goods or products for very cheap prices. The entire parking lot is full of rows of vendors trying to entice buyers. The stands are full of jewelry, those great Aladdin pants that every girl has, fans (the ones that you wave in front of your face- they are also EVERYWHERE), soccer paraphernalia, and other trinkets. I bought a soccer jersey here.

I have been running to a close park with the outdoor gym a lot. They have ping pong tables!! I just need to find a partner to beat and paddles.

I figured out why the shower is always ice cold. Apparently, there is a button that you have to press before you turn the water on.

Thank you dad for sending some love back home with this beautiful representation of how Tiger celebrates America:

She is so pretty. and also in need of a haircut.

Monday was a packed but good day. We started out with a very early placement exam. The first page was extremely early and then all of the sudden it got very difficult. There were 80 questions to be finished in a half hour, but no one finished. I'm not sure that it was of much importance. There was also an oral section, which went surprisingly well for me. It shows that my speaking is improving because I was able to answer questions in a conversation without hesitating, which is very encouraging.

Then, my friend Alli and I ran to explore around the city. I am starting to get acquainted with certain places, but it is still easy to get turned around. We did not run for long because there was an orientation picnic.

I went home for lunch and Pilar's son was there. He works for Ford in Spain and was very nice. Pilar told me that she had American students staying at her house when September 11th happened. They found out because they were watching the news on TV. I cannot even imagine watching that while being abroad. I thank the Lord for my country even while in Spain.

After lunch, I went with my friends to the river. We had a nice afternoon laying on the grass soaking up the sun. Hace mucho calor.

I start 3 classes tomorrow and am not sure where they are yet. They are with international students, not just Michigan people, so I am excited to see who I will meet.

Hasta luego!

My First Week

First of all, it’s been wonderful to hear from a lot of you that had comments about my trip so far. Thank you for reading J

I have gotten to see so much more of the city since my last post. The class that I am taking this week is a one credit orientation-like class before my real classes start called “The Spanish Student Versus the American Student”. On Friday, we went to a dancing class and learned flamenco! It was so fun, but also challenging. I now know I will never be a professional flamenco dancer.

This is a popular song we heard in class from the Spanish Idol runner-up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EJNR-0N0vo

We also went to 4 different tapas restaurants and people in my class ate pig ears, mouth, cheeks, ribs, cow tongue…basically any part of an animal. At first I thought it was slightly gross and strange, but we eat bacon and hot dogs and who really knows what those are made of. I have been eating seafood almost everyday for lunch (which I usually never eat, but without seafood here, being a vegetarian would be very difficult). Lunch is the main meal in Spain and it is around 2:30. The other day Pilar made an egg omelet saturated with calamari and a crab salad. I finished ¾ of it, but when I don’t eat it all she asks, “you don’t like my cooking?” but I do appreciate the meals. For breakfast this morning she made delicious elephant ear/French toast-like treats.

During the month of July, Salamanca has “rebajas” which are massive clearances when the stores are trying to get rid of all their merchandise. I bought pants that every girl seems to have in Salamanca. They are bright, colorful, fun, and resemble a mixture of Aladdin’s pants and MC Hammer’s. (picture coming soon)

This morning my friends and I ran to the river and rented paddleboats. Later tonight, we are going to another free jazz concert in the nearby garden. We are taking advantage of all the free opportunities – such as museums that are free on certain days of the week, concerts, and theater plays.

I am beyond excited for the trips that I have planned. Next weekend, I am going with the U of M group to Toledo and Burgos. The weekend after that I am going to Venice, Italy with my parents, which is going to be absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to see them. Then, I am headed to Paris, France to visit my friend Stephanie who is interning there this summer!

The weekdays are also fun because Carlitos comes over to play. My senora said that he has a crush on me, but I didn't understand what she was saying at first, so a game of charades followed. He is also obsessed with playing with Hotwheels cars, so I too have taken up the new pastime.

This first week has been really fun, but I am ready for classes to start because I am a nerd. and I'm here for study abroad, which could easily be forgotten with how little studying has gone on so far.

Carlitos, Perros, Todos

Buenos tardes mis amigos,

The past couple of days have been very enlightening. I'm loving noticing all the different ways of life here. I even love sitting in this cafe while blogging and sipping te verde (green tea).

Today I met the most handsome young man in all of Spain. His name is Carlitos and he is 4 years old. He is the grandson of Pilar and he comes over frequently when his mom works. He was shy at first but by the end of the day he had me chasing him making monkey noises. The cutest thing was when he brought me his children's book and sat on the couch for me to read it to him. He didn't even laugh when I stumbled over the easy words. Meet Carlitos:

Then, I went for a run and found an outdoor gym! I will be going there when the temperature is not in the 90's. except a frightening thing happened here-a dog was not friendly! I have noticed this and it is intriguing to me. Dogs do not walk on leashes. They walk in front of their owners and do not stop to get petted. The dog today that I tried to pet barked at me very loudly and would not stop then would run at me and run away. Tiger would never do such a thing <3

The first night everyone from Michigan went out. We went to a couple of clubs and learned very quickly (when we were basically the only ones there except tweens and 2 moms) that kids do not go out until very late. It was fun to dance with my girl friends, and thankfully they live close to me so we can all walk together home.

The next morning I went running early with my friends Jenna and Katherine. We found a park close by and explored the streets of Salamanca. Then, my class went to La Catedral Nueva (the cathedral), which was absolutely gorgeous:

After that, we all went to la piscina (the pool). It was PACKED with people. At night, Allie and I ate helado (ice cream) in the Plaza. snow grood! ;)

I am going to get tapas with my class now! Adios

Mis Primeros Dias: Emocion, Estres, y Felicidad

Hola mi familia y mis amigos,

The beginning of this trip has been a whirlwind of emotion-stressful at times but always exciting. It took me awhile to find Internet (I am currently using an unknown network with only one bar, but hoping to find a better alternative when siesta time is over and stores open again). I wanted to share with you what I have been experiencing so far, so that you can know and that I can read this later and remember.

The plane ride left me with a mixture of feelings. I was excited to be in Europe and experience a new culture. I was eager to explore Spain while discovering more about myself as well as learning about Salamanca. At the same time that I felt excited, I was slightly nervous since I did not know anything about the person I was staying with, nervous that my Spanish would not be sufficient, and nervous that something would happen to my luggage. Traveling with Charlotte, Allie, Mary Karina, Jenna, Jessica, and Lindsay was a wonderful blessing. We fed off of each others’ energy. First, I flew from Detroit to Newark. Then, at 10 PM flew to Madrid, a 7.5 hour plane ride which meant that I landed at 11:30 AM Spain time, so I completely skipped nighttime. It helped enormously having special gifts from close friends to encourage me through the travel. Allie Kuppe had written me a letter to open when I landed. I really appreciated her quotes, “Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad, because I miss you, I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss,” and “Missing someone gets easier every day because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will.” I know I am not gone for very long, but I found those quotes to be encouraging in many life situations. It also helped to read the first entry from a notebook Logan gave me and the magazines from my brothers&sister. These made me excited for my trip, and yet happy that I have such great friends and family to come back home to.

The Madrid airport is where I made my first purchase – a yogurt (at least I’m pretty sure that’s what I ate). We had only been there for 5 minutes when 3 boys came up and asked to get their pictures with me and my friend, and then gave us their facebook information (which I obviously did not add. They were creepy and my grandma told me to stay away from them- picture on left). When we are together, we stick out as Americans. When I am alone (no I do not walk alone, but for instance when I am purchasing something at a counter), people think I am Spanish, but quickly learn when I look at them confused. I have already noticed a great improvement in my speaking skills, though I have much to learn.

Spain is hot, and I mean HOT! I have come to the realization that I will constantly be sweating no matter where I am or what I am doing- in class, home, when I sleep, always hot, but it beats Michigan winters. At 3PM, we took a 2.5 hour bus ride. By this time we were all exhausted so we slept the whole way, arriving in the beautiful city of Salamanca at 5:45. Our host-mamas were waiting for us.

This was a very interesting moment. On one side of the bus station was the nervous UM students. On the other was the chatty Spanish madres. Our program director called out names and paired us up. It was an anticipating wait. Each mama kissed us on each cheek. When my name was called, mi mama Pilar held my hand and led me out of the bus station and into a taxi. I can honestly say that I did not understand a single word that was spoken in that taxi. Pilar and the driver had a rapid convo in which I felt very confused and looked out of the window. Pilar lives very close to the university on a street called Maria Auxiliadora. Right below her apartment building is a meat shop (perfect for my diet). She lives on the 8^th floor so we took a very tiny elevator (we could barely fit in it together). Also, the elevators have doors that you open before you get in. It was all very different. Even the toilets are strange to me. And I am having trouble with the locks and opening the apartment door because it does not have a doorknob. It is probably comical to watch me try.

Pilar and I are the only ones at her apartment. Some of the other UM students are with a family or international students. I try to understand Pilar, but a lot of times I do not, but she thinks I do because I nod and say “si”.

When I arrived, Pilar graciously knew I was hungry and gave me a tortilla (which is not what you may be picturing. It is not the bread we use to eat tacos, rather it is a potato-cheese dish) and some crackers that tasted like-well, nothing. The crackers must be very popular because so far she has offered them to me at every meal. I try to clear my plate completely, but these crackers are very hard to get down because they are very dry and tasteless. But, I still eat them.

Pilar is friends with the other older mamas, so at 7:30 we met some others at Plaza Mayor and the mamas said adios see you for dinner at 9:30. We were confused as to where we were but we explored and it was fun to walk around for a bit. My street is close to the Plaza. There was an old car show going on so many people were outside.

This is my friend Jenna and I in la Plaza.

I do not understand how people eat in Spain yet. For dinner (which was at 9:30 PM) we ate salad and more of those darn crackers. She offered ham, but I explained that I was a vegetarian. After dinner, Pilar wanted to talk for a very long time. I did not say many words, but she spoke for hours. I unpacked and finally showered (I smelled gross) and went to sleep around 1 AM. The travel was exhausting yet invigorating at the same time. Exhausting to move all of the bags (yes, we may have overpacked) yet invigorating because we had entered a new city and were ready to have the time of our lives. I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity.

In the morning, I got ready (yes I wear real clothes here, no sweatpants, mostly dresses) and ate breakfast. Pilar gave me more of my favorite crackers with jelly and coffee with milk. I thought we were walking to class together, but then she said adios so I took off for class and was able to find it without getting lost. It was a relief to be with all of the UM students. For the first week, we are taking a 1 credit practicum before our real classes start. Mine is called “The Spanish Student Versus the American Student”. We walked around the university and our homework is to talk with our mamas about what school was like for them and write about their experiences. Then, I went with some new friends to get phones because it has been difficult to meet with each other. The phone store was an experience. Either my brain works very slow or the worker talked very fast, because I felt incompetent the whole time. But, I cherish every experience I have because I learn so much from everything.

For lunch (which we eat at 2:30), Pilar made sweet potato soup (I think because it was orange and very good) with fish and some kind of melon. It was a good meal. And that is where this leaves off. All of the UM students are meeting in the Plaza tonight for dinner. For now, I am going to try to nap then get Internet or run. I want to run, but I don’t want to take another shower today because water is very expensive in Spain.

If you have actually read all of this, I feel honored. I wrote a lot because I want to compare my initial feelings with when I leave. I am not sure when I can next write because I just discovered that I do not have the right adapter for my Macbook (it doesn’t need a converter to charge, but the prongs do not fit in the adapter) I love you all and am thinking of you. Hasta luego!