Each day, I get better at understanding what others are saying in Spanish, even if sometimes when I try to speak, the words all fly out of my head. I brought a notebook with me to document the new words that I learn each day, and it is filling up fast. My class has taken a bus tour of the city, gone to a museum in the Barrio Gótico (Gothic Quarter) and eaten tapas (a small meal eaten between lunch and dinner) while celebrating a classmate's birthday.
Everyone in my trip is nice, and I am already making friends. Even better, my host family is fantastic! I was nervous to meet them, but from the very beginning, they included me in everything. My host brother Pablo took me to a restaurant on my first day for tapas and introduced me to all his friends. Despite the fact that I cannot always follow what they are talking about, they still invite me to do things with them, such as playing cards or watching movies in Spanish. I even helped my host brother cook raviolis from scratch a few days ago and they were absolutely delicious!
I have a room all to myself, and we all eat dinner together every night. Mealtimes are different in Spain, which threw me off at first. Breakfast is small, while lunch is often bigger than dinner. Dinner is eaten very late, between 9 and 10 PM, so it is common to eat a snack between lunch and dinner or to go out for tapas. Cooking is large part of life here, especially in my host family. Everyone pitches in to help and we end up with delicious meals. I have yet to try anything that I dislike, to my surprise.
The support system I am building around myself is making my transition much easier.
