Finally, all of your wishes are granted! I am FINALLY taking the time to write a blog about my experiences in Toledo, Spain. What a crazy two weeks it has been, and they are going by so quickly..I just cannot even fathom it!
Although I got lost one of the first nights I was here and had to frantically call my host Mom, I am slowly learning my way around Toledo. It is so confusing here! I found a track too which will be very helpful for training all semester long. I plan to do my long runs on a trail that runs along the river and has breathtaking views! Poor me, right?!
Despite wanting a host Dad and a host brother along with a host Mom, I just have a host Mom, Isabel, and am perfectly okay with it. I really like her...she is so much fun! She dumbs things down a lot for me and explains things that I don't understand which is very nice. I think she now recognizes my glazed over face when I don't understand something. Pretty sure I look like a dog when I don't understand because I cock my head and, of course, look very confused. Most of the time now I don't even have to say, "what?" or "please repeat!"
My first weekend here I went with my host Mom to Cuenca, Spain which is the city that she is from. It was a lot of fun, and I was able to get to know my Mom better. I met her brother and her two sisters and her niece and nephew. All of them were incredibly nice and spoke slowly so I could understand them better! We went to the beach and also went to a fiesta in a nearby city. The nightlife of Spaniards is crazy...the fiesta did not start until 1am!! Usually Spaniards will then stay out until around 5 or 6 in the morning. It is part of tradition for each city to host a fiesta. During the fiesta weekend everything shuts down or closes early so everyone that lives in the city can enjoy the weekend's festivities. My Mom was very surprised to hear that we really don't do anything like that in the states.
This past weekend I went to Madrid. Included in my program are three excursions, with Madrid being one of them. With that being said, on Friday (no classes on Fridays here!) everyone from my school (or fundación, like they call it here) went to Madrid for the day. We went to el Palacio Royal and ate lunch at el Museo de Jamón. We, then, had the afternoon to sightsee and explore. Two of my friends and myself decided to spend the entire weekend in Madrid so we were able to see more! We stayed at a hostal and met some awesome people...one fellow American from Boston who is studying in Sevilla, four Canadians from Winnipeg, one Swedish boy, a French Italian boy, and four Portuguese guys who were ridiculously funny! On Saturday we did a lot more sightseeing and went to el Parque Retiro and el Museo del Prado. We spent four hours in the museum and still did not see everything. It definitely gave me a new found appreciation for art. On Sunday we saw la Plaza Mayor and then went and had chocolate con churros at a place that Laura's host Mom recommended. They were delicious :) Then we went to this huge market...it was almost too big with too many people. I bought a sundress and a cute scarf that only cost 1 euro!! After figuring out the metro and buying our bus ticket we made it safely back to Toledo without getting pick-pocketed! That was one of the goals as pick-pocketing is very abundant in Madrid due to the large amounts of tourists that visit there.
So far my classes are going very well. I am in a cultural heritage class, a conversation course, an art class, and have an internship. My conversation course is my favorite thus far! It is allowing me to break out of my shell and delve into the language. Also, I really like my professor! My art class is going to be very interesting too as each week we visit a different monument, building or church in Toledo and then we come back to the classroom and discuss the importance. Today was my first day at my internship which is at a hospital for paraplegics. I will be talking with different patients and then taking notes. Despite not liking hospitals, I did alright there. Haven't passed out yet anyway! The two patients I talked with today are awesome, and I already can't wait to talk to them next Monday! I did have a little issue with taking the bus there this morning though...I ended up taking a taxi because I missed my bus and if I would have waited for the next one I would have been late...which would have been extra bad for day number one!
It is very interesting because, although it gets ridiculously hot around 2 or 3, it is so cold in the mornings. Today waiting for the bus I wish I would have had pants on and a hat and gloves! I was freezing. Also, it doesn't get light out here in the mornings until almost 8am. I was walking to my bus stop today at 7 in complete darkness. It is very weird but makes it very convenient for sleeping in!
I hope you all enjoy reading my blog throughout the semester! This way I can keep in touch with you all easier as the time difference makes things a little difficult.
Love you and miss you all! Saludos!
Haha I totally know what you mean by the "glazed look" and looking like a dog. I think my host mom could immediately tell when I was just staring at her not understanding a word. It sounds awesome in Toledo!
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