Spain--first week!! :)

Monday 24 May 2010:

Today was the first day of classes and such. We met at the school at nine and had a little orientation meeting. That was a little crazy because it was all in Spanish. The teachers from the U explained in English after, but my brain was fried. Then we took a placement test. It was sooo hard. I remembered nothing and was sure they were going to put me in the equivalent of 1010. It was time for a little break, and after that, we went back for another meeting. I did better than I thought I did and was placed in the Intermediate class. We started off with basic grammar info and vocab words, and in conversation class, the teacher asked us about Utah and what there is to do for fun, etc., etc. Before we all knew it, it was time to go home for the day. I went home and ate some food--which consisted of some type of bean (they were good) and various cuts of sausage/pork. I must say, I don't care for many of the types of sausages they have here. The bacon is disgusting, just so you know. It's terrible!

The lady that I am staying with (Rosa) also had a student from Philadelphia that was here from January til May (she left this week) and so it was fun to hang out with her. That night, her and her boyfriend showed me around the city and we went to a cafe that had Wi-Fi so I could email and such. After that, we walked around some more and went to another cafe and had drinks and talked. (It's funny how much revolves around food and talking here! It seems to me that that's what they do for fun. They also don't hang out at someone's house--they go out and meet somewhere.) The cokes are so cute here! They give them to you in a little bottle with a tall glass with one ice cube and a lemon slice in it. They are expensive though--beer's cheaper. It was a pretty chill day.

Tuesday 24 May 2010:

No classes today! Instead, there was a giant fiesta in the park! It was like a holiday for the city and no one had to work. I slept in, got up and ready, and got to go to the panderia (bread store) with Rosa. That was interesting, because there was a long line and people were annoyed. I couldn't really understand what they were saying, but I imagined a bunch of agitated English speaking people waiting in line and got the gist of it! ha. The pastries looked way yummy! After the bread store, we went to the park (it's beautiful!) and there were fireworks (fuegos) and booths that you could buy stuff at. I was tempted to shop, but I figured the majority of the stuff there was made in China and I am saving my money to buy authentic, made in Spain stuff. I ran into some friends, Gage and Amy, which made me so happy because we hadn't really had a way of communicating with each other, so we made plans for later. Rosa then showed me the shopping district. There's not much to do in Oviedo besides wander around, and shop. We went to the cathedral that's famous there and into a few churches.

After siesta, Rosa, Christina (the girl from Philly), Matt (her boyfriend) and I went to this port area outside of Oviedo. We drove--the drivers here are crazy! The speeds are high and people tailgate like none other on the highways. In the city, there are billions of one-way streets. I would be dead for sure! It was really pretty, even though we were only there a short time. The weather changes at the drop of a hat. I love the rain though! Gives me an excuse to wear my cute greet rain jacket!

When we got back to Oviedo, I made plans with friends and did some window shopping and saw their version of Wal-Mart. We wandered around and tried to find the LDS church because a few friends had googled it before coming to Spain. We thought we were close, but no luck yet. We rounded a corner, and there were the missionaries! It was crazy timing--very cool. I wondered if we would run into some. They gave us the address of the church and talked to us for a bit.
By that point we were done wandering the city for the night. I went home, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Wednesday 25 May 2010:

Back to school! Oviedo is fun, but if we didn't have school or (if I had one) a job, I'd be a little bored. It's been way fun to meander and find my way around and see what there is to do though. Anyway, they split our class today because it was huge before, and I definitely like the teachers better! That's a plus, because for Spanish, I have to have a good teacher. It's a necessity. We started with review today in more depth than we did with the other teacher. That's about it.

Thursday 26 May 2010:

Today was a way fun day! Classes as usual, I loved getting back into Spanish and also still getting to the routine of how things go here. I still haven't really adjusted to the siesta/eating schedule, but that's alright. After class, the faculty of the U and UO took us to the government building in the middle of the city, and they gave us a little pin with the Oviedo crest on it, as well as maps and other information. To be honest, I have no idea what was said during the presentation. I don't think any of us really knew. We kind of laughed when the people who spoke Spanish did. Maybe the speaker said a joke? No idea. Then we went on a tour--started with the Cathedral. It was soooo cool and old. It will be cool to go to a mass there sometime when I am here. The tour guide showed us other churches and important statues and buildings. She also talked about the architecture, which is amazing! Oviedo is modeled after Paris--awesome. I need to go back to Paris soon :) It's been awhile.

Friday 27 May 2010:

School was more relaxed today. We did normal grammar, history, etc. in the morning from 9:30-11:30, break from 11:30-12, and instead of going back to classes at 12, we had the weekly review with Fernando. He explained what was up for the weekend. Super fun! Then we learned a couple of songs that the people of Asturias (the region) sing all the time.

That night, they took us to a restaurant/bar outside of Oviedo for tapas y bebidas (snacks and drinks). There was lots of music, dance, food, and sidera (the cider that Asturias is famous for--I didn't taste it, but it smells pretty gross). The night ended with us standing around in a circle with a guitar player and singing (American) songs in English. It's so funny how all of the music (and stop signs, for that matter) are in English.

Saturday 28 May 2010

FUNNEST day of the week! We were off the playa (beach) in Gijon! The weather was good, not too hot, and not too cold. First, we had some photo ops of lighthouses and sailboats and such, and then we went to a museum about the Roman baths that used to be in Gijon. That was interesting, but the tour as well as all of the information was in Spanish. That didn't help too much. We ate our lunches and hopped back on the bus to go to the beach! {Funny story about my lunch--so Friday, I let Rosa know that I would need a lunch, un bocadillo (sandwich) for our excursion on Saturday. She let me taste some sausage, but I didn't like it, so she took me to the store and I was just going to find some peanut butter, (Which, by the way is soooo hard to find here, and once you find it, it's super expensive. I paid $5.13 (yes, USD) Crazy, huh?) for PB&J, but she took me back to the deli section. Everything at first glance was ham--not a huge fan. Then I spotted some turkey! Yesss! I do not think that I've ever been so happy to see turkey. There was also Swiss cheese, but of course I couldn't think of the word for Swiss, so I'm pointing and she's like, "Oh, queso de Francia." and I'm thinking, "No, it's Swiss, not French cheese!!" Anyway, I was a happy camper to get that sandwich the next day. No weirdie sausage for me!} We headed to the beach and it was oh so fun. Played in the water for a bit, but mostly just relaxed, talked and listened to music. It was nice.

Around 11:30 that night (they go out a lot later here) some of us met up to vamos a bailar en la discoteca!!! (Go dancing in the club)! Crazy, insane night. Before the disctotecas opened, we bar-hopped, (that sounds so weird to say because I don't drink. ha) and met some Spanish people. They were all like, "Americanos, Americanos!" We were probably quite the sight actually. They are crazy! There's definitely not the same definition of personal space here as at home. They get right up next to you. The discotecas started opening and we went, and as the music got boring, we would go to the next one. Interesting things we came across--definite creepers, annoying high school kids, a kid from our group puking in the middle of the street (that was just lovely, I tell you. ewww.), one of the teachers from the U finding us and having shots (that was definitely strange) and a bunch of other things. Some of us got really tired around four and we went around the city dropping everyone off. I got home around five and crashed.

Sunday 29 May 2010:

Rolled out of bed around 9:30 to get ready for church really fast. Me and two other friends tried to find it because we were all late from when a big group went with the missionaries to the church. It took us forever and it was really hot. Church was a little overwhelming with it being all in Spanish, but it was a good experience.
After church we chilled in the big park that I really like. We went home, and later went to a mall with Wi-Fi so we could email and do blogging homework and stuff.

Overall, this week was super fun! I loved it and I can't wait to see what comes next for me here in Oviedo! :)

Peace,
Ash