Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day 6 REYES MAGOS
This morning, everybody woke up later than usual, probably because of how late we all went to bed. We went upstairs to see wrapped gifts from the 3 kings!! This was a new and exciting thing for me to see. You leave your shoes out the night before, and your gifts from the kings are by your shoes. I unwrapped Hello Kitty slippers, which was excellent because I love Hello Kitty! But seriously, I mean that. They also got me a sim card for my phone, which my phone ended up rejecting :(
I gave the family the gifts I brought for them. I was happy to see that the boys liked my cheapy, $1 gifts more than the high tech, expensive gifts from their parents. After the gift opening, we headed over to Cristina's house (Chechu's sister) I LOOOVVEE Cristina. She speaks fluent English becuase she lived in England for a year, and in Colorado for 2 years. She's such a sweet lady, and when I first met her, I don't know what it was about her, but I felt very comfortable. She has a cute son name Alvaro, and ONLY speaks to him in English. What a good idea!
We had lunch and opened more gifts. She had got me a cute scarf and a ton of earrings. It was a perfect gift because I brought one pair of earrings along with me. She made delicious breaded chicken breast, and I spent most of the time listening to Spanish conversations. We went came home, I played with Nico for like an hour or more. Amazing!! I spoke in Spanish only (which is forbidden, but whatever) and we were finally able to communicate and have a good time.
Day 7
Today, all we really did was shop. Marian needed groceries for the week. We connected my phone to the wifi, so now all I need is an actual phone and number! I'm starting to feel more comfortabe here, and comfortable speaking, asking questions, playing with the boys, etc. A block or so down, an au pair from England is coming. Hopefully her and i can pal around, although I'd really like to work on my Spanish. I think tomorrow I will walk around and get to know my city.
Day 8
Today was a decent day. It wa the first day Nicolas goes back to school after the holiday, so it was supposed to be my first day all to myself. Unfortunately, they didn't have Martin go to school beacause of his weird sickness, so I stayed with him and abuela. (grandma)
I fell asleep on her couch for like and hour, lol, Then we spent the rest of the day here at home with the boys. I'm anxious to have a day to myself. So hopefully I get that tomorrow. Maybe I can meet the British au pair soon. Melisa, the girl I met at church, FB messaged me. She reminded me about institue on Saturday, and said if I'd ever like a walk around Guadalajara, to count on her. She speaks no English, so this should be interesting, but also very fun! :)
Day 9
Today has been a very good day! I woke up early to start getting Nico ready for school. We walk together to his schoo,, and I leave him and come home. Today was FINALLY a day to myself, so I took the time to walk around the city and get a little bit more comfortable with my new home town. I have no Euros, so I didn't go in any shops since I can't buy anything. Later I worked through my Spanish apps and fell asleep until it was time to go get Nico from school.
Marian came home and we all had lunch together, which I think is very nice. We went to the park, and I had fun playing with Martin on the slide. Marian took me to the supermarket to buy soymilk because it's non-dairy. I'll give it a try, but I don't really have any reason to drink milk, unless I go buy cereal.
Now I'm basically chillin. I need more things to go out and do, because I'm not going to be fluent in Spanish by playing an app everyday. I'm excited for institute classes on Saturday, and hopefully I can meet people who are my age that can maybe help me find a class and other things to do.
P.s. Here is what I believe to be Spain's driving manual:
"Pick your speed! Fast or slow, you decide!
The lines on the street are not important; if you want to drive in between them, esta bien! If you want to drive right on top of them, esta bien! If you want the line between your wheels, esta bien!
When approaching a roundabout, speed up as fast as you can to cut off the car already in the roundabout.
Don't stop at stop signs; they are there to fool you.
If you see a pedestrian, don't slow down. Speed up and slam on your break! That should give them a scare...
If you are driving a bus, honk at every car. You are bigger and more important.
Park wherever you want! If you want to park in a roundabout, feel free to! In traffic, of course!
Be sure to cut people off all the time; especially if you have a nicer car.
Speed bumps are nothing to worry about, keep on driving, and pretend like they are not there.
To end, it is your choice whether you want to follow these driving guidelines or not!"
hahahaha. it is too good.
Day 10
Today was good, just nothing too exciting. I have no money and no where to go, so I sat at home pretty much all day playing my Spanish app. After, I took a walk, and picked up Nico from school. We all went to lunch together, which was delicious. First, they brought out a plate full of cooked vegetables. mmmm. :) and a basket of bread that was riquisimo! (the bread here is to die for) the second plate was a large slab of steak, which I split in half for me and Nico to share. Wow, so good! We ate outside on this lovely, sunny, warm day!
We put away Christmas decorations while dancing to popular songs from America (which are the popular songs here too) and later went to one of their friend's for pizza. There is a lot of things I hate about the way they visit here:
First, you arrive 2 hours before the food is actually ready. So for me, that is 2 hours of doing NOTHING, or making sure Martin isn't throwing food, knocking over glasses, or pulling my hair (which is one of his favorite things to do) Then, after eating, they crack out the alcohol. I smelled it for the first time, and it felt like I sniffed spiders covered in vinegar up my nose and into my brain. ahhaha. Finally, after ALL of that, they talk for maybe 2 more hours. aaagggggggghhhhhhh!!! I can hardly stand it at home when everything is in English, but here, ahh, it is a million times worse because all I hear is "blah. blah." "blah blah blah?" "ahhh blaaaaahhhhhh."
Hahaha, I'd better get started on some clases de español pretty soon here.
- comments
Rogeiro Hi Lyndi, thanks for sharing your experience. I hope you learn a lot in there, not only about them but about yourself. Those traffic instructions were quite funny.