After my first week in Spain I have done way more than I thought I would and have experienced a lot of the culture and I couldn’t be happier. We started school on Wednesday and only have class until two in the afternoon which leaves the afternoon to explore the city and really enjoy everything the city has to offer. The professors are really nice and are excited to have us in class and help us improve our Spanish, which can be a little difficult when you don’t know how to say something in Spanish and they do not speak any English. It is the best way to learn though. Our whole group also got the opportunity to go to an Espicha which is a tradtiional welcoming party in Aust. not all of Spain. We stood around big long tables and ate a bunch of different Spanish dishes specific to our area, they were delicious and some were a little unexpected. We were also treated to red wine and sidra, which lead to a lot of us drinking a little more than we should. After the Espicha my group of friends and I went “bar hopping” around Oviedo which was a ton of fun. We met a lot of interesting people and danced to some fantastic Spanish music. In the United States our bars close down by 2:30 but here in Spain the party can go until 6 in the morning, luckily I made it home around 4 am and was exhausted.

It was a great first week that included a lot of new experiences including gelato, classes in Spain, walking 7 miles in a day, food I have never heard of that tastes delicious, the clubs and nightlife of Spain, a traditional Espicha, Sidra, shopping in Spain and connecting with my host family and new friends. I cant believe how amazing Spain is and I cant imagine what is going to come in the next 3 weeks.

The traditional dancers and band

Today is my third day in Spain and we had our first real school outing today. It was an amazing trip to a Cathedral and Museum, to be in a place with so much history and art was simply amazing. This was a trip of a lifetime and I feel very fortunate that AHA sends us on such exciting trips that are a real core aspect of the city. After the Cathedral we went to a local bar that served us a traditional cider that is poured way different than I expected. The server holds the bottle up by her face while holding the glass as far away from it as she can, and then she pours. It is definetely a drink that you pour outside since quite a bit of it gets all over the street, but it was amazing to watch. This morning also included a stop in Oviedo’s old school building that was built in 1608, where we listened to the heads of the program and they explained random aspects of the summer to us. It was all in Spanish which was a little hard to understand at some points, but ultimately it was a great experience to listen too. Being in that building was equally as fantastic, to think that has been around and in such great condition since 1608 is a fantastic accomplishment. Later my walking buddy and I spent the afternoon walking around the city for an hour, getting 15,000 steps in one day is hard work! It was a good day making new friends and spending time with the established ones. I also had a great day with my host family where I got to talk and listen in Spanish and understand quite a bit. Having time with them over meals is really special and important for my learning. It doesn’t hurt that the food is FANTASTIC!

Beautiful and fascinating

This day will be hard to beat.

Today was my second day in Spain and it was very different to navigate than I originally thought. We had our first meeting at AHA and my host family walked me to the school and we were instructed to find our way back to the house if the host member could not walk with us, this made me quite nervous. Luckily my instructor set me up with another group of girls who were going to the same general area that I was, otherwise I would have been fully lost and confused. Even though my “walking buddy” and I got a little bit lost, we were able to rely on the help of strangers to find our way. It was great to know that the people were so friendly and willing to help out two American girls who had no idea what they were doing! I will admit that it was a beautiful city to get lost in, completly different than the city I live in. Evenutally we made it back about an hour later than we were supposed to, but with few streets labeled and it being our first day, our host families weren’t to upset that we were late for “la comida”.

Later in the day I got to meet two more “sisters” and their nephew, who was adorable. It was great to see them interact with the baby and get a chance to observe their caring nature and hear some slow Spanish. After the baby and the sisters left I got the chance to go out with my “madre” to “El Centro” which is in the center of the city and houses tons of shops, apartments, offices and restaurants. It was amazing to see so many people out and about walking and eating in the patios. My madre told me about all the stores and the four major churches that sit along the outside of the center. I tried to follow what she said and I was happy that I understood about half of the conversation. She is very understanding and wants to talk to me as much as she can and try to help me understand the area, which is really nice and helpful. I ended up helping her with a little bit of her shopping and even that was an experience different than that in the United States. The main department store that we were in had associates everywhere, most of them without name tags, which made it hard to tell that they were employees, and tiny little random kiosks spread throughout the store that were not closed off to the customers. You could walk right up next to them while they ring up your stuff and most of them did not even have a place to set what you wanted to buy. It was very interesting but a quick process.

After our shopping and my guided trip around town I came home to very tired feet and and understanding of why they eat dinner so late, you are STARVING after walking all around the city. Now it is about 9:40 at night and we are about to have “La Cena” and I am very excited for it. Everything I have had to eat here has been amazing and they are such talented chefs. I want to learn all that I can about their amazing culture and I am glad I am here.

Flying over Oviedo

I arrived in Oviedo, Spain yesterday and am surprised of how much the climate and trees remind me of Oregon, at least there is some part of home resemblance. Since the jet lag was awful I went to bed at about 7:30 pm which means I was up at 2:30 this morning… yikes. I am excited to be there but nervous at the same time. My host family talks incredibly fast and I am worried that I cannot process in Spanish that quickly or know all of the words they are using. I am feeling a little discouraged because I want to communicate but am not anywhere near their level. I feel very fortunate to be here and I can already tell that this month is going to go by extremely fast.. I just hope I can keep up!