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 8th 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!
