La vida

Thursday evening/night was epic! It was the first night that I had dinner with my family since I’ve been here. After study abroad activities during the day, I had nothing to do, so I decided to go home and see if I could use the internet to check my important emails that I was expecting (because I’m important like that). When I got home, my baby nephew was still there. His name is Marco and he’s muy precioso. We played with him for a bit before I went on the internet. Before dinner, we watched the tele. There was a game show on called “Cifras y Letras.” It was awesome! During dinner, their version of “Cash Cab” was on, which reminded me of how it’s always on during dinner time at Bradley also. My family and I had a really great discussion during dinner and I understood the whole thing! After dinner, I gave them the gift I brought—a book filled with photos of National Parks in the United States. They loved it! I happened to have a simple map of the US in the back of my assignment book, so I could show them where the parks were located in the country. I showed them where I live and where their old host students live. It was truly fascinating because it seems as though they know so much about the US, but it turns out that they really only know what they are exposed to from the media and have no concept of the geography of our country. Being able to educate them and help them grasp more concepts about the US was a great feeling. And this led us to a really in-depth discussion about immigration problems in the US compared to those in Spain as well as other comparisons of agriculture and national parks, the structure of cities and suburbs, etc.


(Random break: as I sit here typing this, my madre has just brought me cake! It has a lemony flavor and has chocolate icing. Que bueno!)

Also, I finally got the key to work in the door! It’s such a big deal that it was actually a topic of discussion at lunch the next day. Haha…

Now, since I think I’ve told the most significant stories, I will simply tell you other random, but equally as important things about my life here:

1) I have completely underestimated the power of siestas.

2) I need new shoes. This is not a want. This is a need. (Here, I walk everywhere, thus wearing down my shoes. Also, the Sevillanas literally walk around all day in heels, wedges, or fancy sandals. They ride bikes in espadrilles! Keep in mind the sidewalks and roads are brick and uneven).

3) I’m paranoid about showering. Because water is expensive to heat, they take quick showers, and many times turn off the water while scrubbing and back on to rinse off. I have not yet been around when my family as showered, so I don’t know how they approach this feat. Also, with one bathroom, I do not want to spend too long washing my hair and then shaving my legs with the water off, so that they think I’m done, but I really still need to rinse off. This is currently my biggest fear. I am trying Plan A: take a shower every day, but rotate which days I shave and which days I wash my hair. Plan B is to shower every other day, but take slightly longer showers when I do.

4) It is socially unacceptable to walk around your house without shoes/slippers/flip-flops on. When I got up to pee last night while everyone was asleep, I secretly walked to the bathroom barefoot! It was liberating.

5) I saw unos gitanos (gypsies) yesterday evening picking through the garbage while the children bathed in the park fountain.