Well. Today was a long day. I woke up, packed everything (which was FINALLY dry) and ate some breakfast. I was directed to a table with three other USAC students. Two finished quickly and left. I was left with David, a third year from Kansas State. He had a DU t-shirt on, which I thought was cool, because I actually knew what it stood for before he told me (Thanks Brandon!). We talked until we had to meet to leave for the University. We walked to a metro station; Banco de Espana, and I was able to look around at the sights on the way. We passed another penguin statue, like the one I saw yesterday. I thought of Brandon again because it had red on it :)
We transferred lines once and got to the university quickly. Two tours were offered of the university; one in Spanish, and one in English. I decided to take my tour in English, just to be on the safe side. It's pretty small, about the size of Tech's main campus probably. I'll only need to use a few building though, the library, the restaurante, and the offices building, where my classroom is at. We then took a placement test for Spanish, which I did not know about. It seemed easy, which I thought meant I did bad on it, which usually happens at Tech. I finished a half an hour early, so I went outside and sat on a bench. It's so beautiful and nice out here! I felt really lonely, as it's still hard for me to connect with people. I need to be in a small group setting to talk to people, not large, loud groups like dinner last night.
Anyway, after the test was our orientation. It was a lot of information, but I read most of it in my packet yesterday to keep me awake before dinner (I'm such a good girl lol). I did learn a lot of new things though, like to always guard my belongings, which I obviously knew before I got here, as I'm already paranoid about my belongings and had been told many times to watch my stuff. After orientation, I had a half an hour break after orientation was over and my academic meeting with Alvaro (our program director). I went with Katie, a girl who also wanted to go to lunch, but not alone, to the restaurante to eat. We were told about a pass (un bono) that we could buy for 50euros. It pays for ten meals (3 courses each!) and we get the 10th free! I'm planning on eating lunch on campus every day, so I bought one. Asking the employees (who speak no English) for one wasn't hard, I was proud of myself. Getting the food wasn't hard either. It was pretty good too, I ate a salad, pasta, and coconut yogurt for dessert. I also spoke in Spanish with Katie, which is when my day starting turning for the better because I was conversing. The two girls we sat with spoke in English, so I think my Spanish is at least better than theirs?
I had to speed walk to the academic building because I was late, but when I got to the office, Alvaro was still speaking with the previous student, so I was a-ok! I actually had time to pay my housing deposit before I met with him. It turns out I don't give myself enough credit (who knew) when it comes to Spanish. Only four people on the program scored into the categories above me. About a third scored where I did. I felt proud of myself, and the best part was that I got to keep my original schedule! Yay! Then I spoke to Susan about signing up for field trips, verified my contact info, and got my metro pass. A lot of important stuff right there. Then I headed to the metro station. I ran into Brendan there, my fellow Tech student. I bought my ticket with cash from the woman at the counter, but he only had a card, and had a heck of a time with the machine. I just stood by, as his Spanish is better than mine and I couldn't do anything anyway. He got it figured out though and we headed back to our hotel area.
We walked around for an hour, taking photos and talking in Spanish before we headed to the hotel to grab our luggage. My host sister, Monica came to pick me up at 4.30 and I was sooo nervous! I did the air-kisses, as instructed by Gabriela, and then headed out. Monica is really nice, and I tried to make an effort speaking with her in Spanish, but she speaks so fast! When we got into the taxi she made a comment that I must do a sport back home because my legs were so big. I smiled and said I did running, because I don't know how to say "Track and Field" in Spanish.
We got to their apartment and she showed me around. It's a small apartment, but I like it a lot. I have my own room (which is much larger than I was expecting) and my own bathroom where I can keep my bathroom stuff. Monica told me all the rules and guidelines and where everything was. Turns out Pilar, my host mother doesn't speak any English at all, but they want me to only speak in English to Carlitos, as they're trying to get him to learn English, Spanish, and French while he's young. Everyone has one cup they drink out of, so I chose a green one because it made me happy. I then unpacked into an armoire. It's much larger than I need, I only used one of the hanging sections and one drawer. I used the other hanging section for my suitcase, since I'm too much like my mother and can't have things sitting about haha.
Then I met Pilar and Carlitos. I've never done well with little kids, so in all honesty, Carlitos scares me. He's three though, so I'm planning on giving him the Husky tonight at or after dinner if he's not asleep. I'm also planning on giving the plate to Pilar and Monica at or after dinner. I looked up how to say "husky", "bridge", and "paw prints" to describe the plate to them in Spanish, since Pilar doesn't know English and I don't want Monica to have to translate too much for me.
Being here is nice, because it's not a hotel and it's a real family. However, it scares me a lot too, because I don't feel comfortable with my language skills at all. But that's why I'm here; to learn. So I'm going to do my best to try. I'm holed up in my room - Carlitos shut my door lol. I'm taking a few hours to relax and pump up my confidence before dinner. I'm not sure how well it's going to work though. Tomorrow I have a scavenger hunt with the group. They're going to give us "daily" tasks to have to do, such as asking how much an item in a certain store costs, where to get here or there, or asking locals questions. I'm excited for that because I think it'll help me a lot. Then I need to buy my books before 2pm, since the store closes then. I have three for this first session that I need, and I hope they're not expensive. I also am thinking about trying to get a cheap phone for using here in Madrid. I'm not sure though, because they're also expensive :/
Overall, it was a good day. It had ups and downs, but I'm doing alright.
No comments:
Post a Comment