After my long and incredibly exhausting trip from Chicago to Madrid, all the Emory students woke up the next morning at the hotel in Madrid preparing to leave for Salamanca--the city in which our university is located.
The day began with packing up and eating breakfast. Me and my roommate who stayed with me that night in the room started the day off well by forgetting how to say our room number in Spanish (in order to enter breakfast). Together we muttered some numbers and the guy eventually understood we were trying to say "Room 511" (we now know that it is quinientos once or we could've just said cinco once but that did not occur to us at 8 am).
The breakfast was gorgeous (as pictured below). It was the most beautiful breakfast I have ever experienced. First, most importantly, the coffee. There was a large coffee/espresso machine in the back and all you had to do was push a button for whichever type of coffee you wanted. Of course, I got café con leche. Then, there were tables filled elegantly with assortments of Spanish hams, cheeses, crackers, galletas, fruits and breads. As if this weren't enough, there was an entire section of fancy mixed juices and a classy kids table complete with kids juices and chocolate milk and breakfast cookies.
After breakfast, it was about a 2 hour bus ride to Salamanca. Most of us just slept. When we got there, the families were waiting for us. One by one we were called to meet the families for the first time and honestly, the waiting for your name to be called was one of the most nerve-wrecking experiences I've had...who knows why. You just want to make a good first impression and you're also meeting the family you will live with for the next 5 months and you've never seen or spoken to them before. It's scary.
My family is fantastic. It has only been a few days, but they are so kind. That day, the first thing I noticed was the tennis rackets and tennis balls in the back of their car. We drove to their apartment and the mother gave me time alone to unpack and organize. The house here consists of me, the mother, father, and the mother's mother (abuela).
The abuela made me lunch consisting of arroz con pollo which was amazing but I had a stomach ache after so I napped. I think it was from the travel and dehydration and exhaustion accompanied with a change of food.
That evening, the Emory students had a meeting so Rosa, my host mom here, walked me to the Plaza (seen below) because after the meeting, we would have to know how to get home ourselves. Now, everyday, on my way to class, I walk through this amazing plaza and it's absolutely breathtaking each time.
After the meeting, most of us walked over to Cortés Ingles which is like a giant supermarket plus Macy's plus every other store ever in one giant store. It was about a 25 minute walk from the Emory Center but we all needed necessities like shampoo and soap and basics.
Somehow, despite it being dark and me being alone for most of the way, I found my way back to the apartment without any major issues while relying on only my map my host mom gave me (no international data = no google maps....my biggest fear).
Around 9 pm, we ate dinner. This is normal--breakfast before work/school, lunch and a break between 2 and 3 pm, and dinner around 9 or 10 pm. Rosa made me noodle soup with hot dogs and bread and an omelette. It was a lot of food but I was starving because my stomach is used to eating around 6 pm.
I gave Rosa the small gifts I had brought them from home--two Cubs baseballs. I think she liked them but I'm not sure if she understood what I was trying to tell her in Spanish--my Spanish around the family is not great. But I have lots of time to improve--5 months.
It has only been a week since that day I moved in, but it feels like ages. We've done so much and every day includes new adventures--some of which I will try to write about here in the coming articles.
It's a whole new world here and I absolutely love it. There's so much good to come this semester. So many adventures.
