The city is basically built on a hill. My apartment is at the base of the hill, and as you walk up the busy streets, the city slowly becomes older. The buildings vary from colorful stucco, to Romanesque marble, to Moorish arches of stone. My school is about half-way up the hill, about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. The school- Centro de Lenguas Modernas- is a large white stucco building centered around a covered courtyard. The courtyard has a large white marble fountain and a mosaic floor.
There are 30 students in my program from various regions of the US. We have students from Arizona, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, South Dakota...and of course, Virginia. Eight of us arrived late and together we participated in orientation on Thursday. After orientation, we were taken to a Spanish restaurant where we were served salad (lettuce, onions, tomatoes, carrots, kiwi, and oranges), hummus, fake caviar (at least that is what our advisor told us!), vegetable cakes (like quiche), bread, pureed potatoes (similar to mashed), green beans, trout, and flan. A HUGE meal. After this, we 8 connected with the other 22 students and walked further up the hill to a teahouse in the Albaycin area. This area is strongly populated and was settled by an Islamic culture....and is absolutely fascinating. The streets are intersected by numerous alleyways made of stairs. Each alleyway is filled with women selling scarves, teas, dresses, beads, and spices. It was raining this day, so I also noticed that each street is laid with mosaic leaves and has a canal in the middle for the water to drain. SO neat.
The teahouse was tiny (for 30 students) but the tea was delicious and the atmosphere was priceless.
I walked back to my apartment without an umbrella, and I quickly got lost...but I loved it. I asked an old man for directions (in spanish, of course), and at last reached my apartment.
On Friday I took a placement exam, and did very well. I will now be taking all 5 of my classes in Spanish...AAHH!!!
THE APARTMENT
I am in a room by myself...I assume I was assigned this because of my headaches. The apartment building has a grated gate on the first floor that is locked in the evenings. My apartment is on the second floor at the end of a white marble hallway. When you enter the apartment, there is a living room on the left (with a door that is usually shut), my roommates' room, and a door the kitchen. On the right is a hallway with my room, a bathroom, and my host parents' room.
My room is white-walled, with a very tall ceiling. I have a small twin bed (I think it is a cot, but it is rather comfortable), a wardrobe, bedside table, and a desk...with 2 chairs...I still don't know why I have two chairs). I have one window that overlooks the outer courtyard. This is where Eloisa hangs the laundry. I can look up and see the laundry lines of the other families in the building....pretty cool.
My room is ALWAYS freezing, and damp. I wear slippers everywhere (there is no carpet) and I usually have about 4 layers on. I am not too bothered by this, although it is sometimes hard to sleep. The damp aspect is not so great because nothing will ever dry, including my towels. Oh, and Eloisa mops a lot, so the floor is usually wet.
I share the bathroom with my other roommates (who are great!) and it has a shower, toilet, and sink. The shower has a cool orange curtain that lets all the water out, so that after each shower we have to mop the floor. The toilet is flushed by a button on top. All of this makes the bathing process pretty interesting....I really don't mind it!
LOS NINOS
Sergio is 14, Eloisa is 11 (same name as her mom), and Dario is 5. They are crazy. Sergio loves soccer and is extremely sarcastic and witty. He is learning English and likes to yell at me when I speak English...I must speak Spanish all the time...which is brilliant!
Eloisa is a sassy sweetheart. She loves volleyball, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, ice-skating, and hot chocolate. She took me on a walk on Friday to Garcia Lorca Park...which is probably beautiful in the summer. It has many gardens, playgrounds, ducks, and marble lined pools. Today we went to get hot chocolate (which is basically chocolate soup) and churros...and I taught her an energizer.
Dario is learning to read and write...which is awesome. He speaks really quickly, and I think he likes feet a lot. He also likes to hide under my bed and then make me play with his little plastic toys. He is great...and absolutely adorable. As I write this, he is sitting beside me drawing pictures and writing letters.
That is all for now, I am going to go hang out with the kids. Hasta luego!
I love reading your words! Especially now that I can imagine little Dario playing in your room/with your feet as you write. No big surprise since you're my favorite person, but I think this will be my favorite thing to read this semester...I hope you write lots!
ReplyDeletelove love love you,
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Hey MB,
ReplyDeleteWow... not only are you now recognized around the globe as the Fearless Fraulein of Flight, it would appear with your added excursions, you are well on the way to be honored as the Damsel of Damp Decadent Delights.
Who could have imagined facing such trials and tribulations. Well, all I can say is, YOU GO GIRL!! Well Done!!
Love ya!
Senior~ Goophay