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DAYS 11-15
DAY 11
Today has been very good :) I went to the institute class in Alcala de Henares. It was an hour and a half. Since it was in Spanish, I understood NOTHING. There was a girl from England there, her name is Claire. She translated a little bit for me. Afterwards we talked, and decided to plan a temple trip to Madrid together. All 3 of us: me, Claire and Melisa. Also, to spend the day exploring the city. Yay!
After the institute, Cecila dropped me and Melisa off in some random street in Guadalajara. Most of time I'm confused as to what's going on for obvious reasons (no, not because I'm blonde) so I kinda just have to follow people around and hope for the best lol. We walked about 10 minutes to Mcdonald's and it was really fun! I got to practice a lot of Spanish and it really is so exciting when they understand, respond, and I understand as well. The ward members always speak really slow for me, which has made it easier to understand, and expand my vocabulary.
At Mcdonald's, more of the ward members came and we all had a big lunch together. It was kind of sad for me to have to eat at McDonald's in a foreign country, but to them, it is very exciting! (People here think McDonald's and Burger King are the most exciting things) I enjoyed talking with the members. Just with them, I think I will learn a lot of things.
Day 12
Fabulous day, I love Sundays! First, of course, i went to church. It is uncomfortable sitting for 3 hours and not understanding a thing. (It is even uncomfortable sitting for 3 hours and understanding everything, haha) But I can feel the spirit, and the spirit the members bring, and that is what's important. In addition to that, I love my ward, so I am among loved ones. :) I met a girl in my ward today who is 17, her name is Jackelin. She speaks very, very little English. Not enough for us to fully understand each other. But I met her family and they said they'd like to have me over to practice each other's languages. They are from Colombia, and moved here to Spain 16 years ago.
Sometime they want me to come over and eat a Columbian meal, and to make them American food. I said "blek." American food compared to here is pure garbage. Jackelin wrote her name and number so that I can get in contact with her soon.
After church, I came home and we had lunch with all the people who are going to Germany on Friday. We had potstickers that were stuffed with vegetables (as Chechu calls "veggie-tables" which makes me lol everytime) and the others were stuffed with beef and cheese. We had green noodles, with an ugly, brown meat sauce. It looked so digusting, like vomit, but the taste was SO GOOD.
During the meal, one of their female friends started breast-feeding her baby. In the middle of the conversation, she just tossed up her shirt and got started. This COMPLETELY threw me off guard. Everyone kept talking and laughing, and I had to laugh to myself a little, because at home in the US, or at least Utah, I would never see this happen. To me, it seems impolite, and maybe it should be uncomfortable for the mom; but no, apparently that's normal to do here. lol. hahahaha. I love all the differences I get to experience being out of Utah.
Earlier today, Marian and her friend were asking me about my church. They wanted to find out what was different between Mormons and Catholics. I got to explain that we believe in 3 separate beings, and I explained that we have The Book of Mormon. Suddenly Marian says "Who is Joseph Smith?" I had not mentioned his name, not once, and she said "Ever since you have been here, I have reading a little bit about your religion, and it mentions a lot about Joseph Smith." I explained the life of Joseph Smith and how he had restored the gospel back to the earth. Marian kept saying "So he began his own religion?" No, he did not, he restored it. She asked alot of questions, honestly sounding interested in my beliefs. It was the most exciting thing to share what I believe!
Day 13
Day 13, wahoo! Wow, I've been here almost 2 weeks! Time sure does fly. Last night, I felt really sick. I got in bed between 5:30-6:00pm. For some reason I was having a giant migraine, and I felt nausea. it's been awhile since I've had nausea, and let me tell ya, it was reminding me how much I hate it. I thought in the AM I would feel better, but the headache was more severe, and I felt like I was holding myself back from vomiting. There was one major thing that kept my mind off it..
I'M GOING TO MADRID TODAY!
I LOVE Madrid, and today was my first time I got to walk through it instead of driving. It was a planned field trip for the children at Marian's school. We went to the Reina Sofia museum (that is the name of their queen) It was an art museum. I had a great time, especially because all the children were so interested in me. In the beginning, Marian said "Este es Lyndi. Ella habla solo inglés." Since the children learn some English in the school, the cute little 3rd graders kept running up to me and saying "Hello!" "Hello, my name is Eduardo!" And then they'd laugh and run off and hide. It was the cutest thing.
In the museum, I ran into 2 sister missionaries. I saw them and said "missionaries!" They are both from California, although one of them lived in Provo studying at BYU. I talked with them for awhile, and they absolutely love their mission here. Well hello! It's Madrid!! Excitement from missionaries always makes ME so excited to serve a mission. I cannot handle it.
After Madrid, we went over to Marian's mom's for lunch. She served lentils and chicken. It looked so good, but I still had nausea, and every bite I took, I felt like I was going to vomit.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING.
I felt bad leaving a plate and bowl full of food that someone had cooked for me, but i had had it. This happened at dinner too with the fish, and I prayed with all my heart to please not have pancreatitis again because this is how it began the first time. Coming home, I felt so dizzy, I collapsed on my bed for a couple hours while Marian went shopping.
I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day.
DAY 14
My wish came true. My prayers have been answered. Definitely a better day. Although cold, wet and rainy. Today I spent my time indoors; I'm so anxious to start a Spanish class instead of studying on my own all day. Things are really going great with the family. During the first week, Martin was always hitting me and pulling my hair. Now he loves me and I absolutely adore him. In the morning, he runs up and huges me and he's always slobbering all over my face, which I find more flattering than disgusting.
I play lots of fun games with him, and he always says "Ma." meaning "more" or "más." And then he'll do it over & over & over & over!! What an adorable child, although he is a walking tornado. He throws everything down the stairs, which is the most exciting game. Then waves and says "bye-bye." (WHICH I TAUGHT HIM) At first when I came, I kept thinking to myself, "What have I gotten myself into coming to live with an 18-month old?!" But now it's the greatest thing being as old as I am and having such a young, little brother. He always comes to sit on my lap, or kiss and hug me or jump on me. How can I ever leave this sweet thing??
I noticed that when I came, there is A TON of hugging and kissing here. I have never seen so much affection. For example, when you meet people, you kiss them; when you visit people, you kiss them. Parents are kissing their kids 24-7, and each other 24-7!! I have to admit that I like this custom very much. It think it is a way of acknowledging everyone in the room. Chechu and Marian have a lot of friends with children, and every time we meet with them, the parents say to their children "A Lyndi, un besito." And they run up to kiss me, and sometimes even on the lips! It is all very new to me.
The relationship between Nicolas and I is also getting stronger. Although he is a lot harder to interact with. He is completely opposite from his brother on so many levels. Nicolas is calm, quiet, and maybe even a little shy. He is a good kid, very loving, easy going, and he always cleans up after he pulls something out. He makes his bed in the morning, dresses himself, and he eats EVERYTHING on his plate. I have never seen such a well-behaved child. Nico has stopped trying to talk to me, and instead tires to communicate with me through body language, pointing and saying "mmm, mmm." I don't like this because the only way I'm ever going to understand HIM, is by listening to him to eventually understand HIS language. (and I'm not just talking about Spanish-but the way he speaks) We plays lots of games together, but the kind that use no talking, like sword fighting or playing catch. I still say a lot of things in English over and over, hoping that he'll catch on.
It has been very hard, because English isn't something that Nico cares to learn, so he doesn't try. Which is very frustrating for me. I have a lot of pressure from the parents that he learns English. But anyone who is a teacher, knows that you cannot teach someone who is not willing to try.The parents told me that when I say something in English, to make Nico repeat it. I try so hard, but he stares at me, nods his head, and gives me a thumbs up. He is 5-years-old, I don't expect him to care about learning English. I just wish there wasn't so much pressure on me from 2 parents who want their child to learn a second language, but hardly do a single thing to encourage it. uuuuugggggghhhhhh.
Nico likes to do his own thing. Today I was teaching him about the human body in English and I wanted him to learn the word, repeat it, and then put it together. It was frustrating because he grabbed all the pieces and starting gluing. In the end, it all worked out because he learned the names (AND ACTUALLY REAPEATED-which is a first) I was so proud of him.
So I'm finding out that this is a challenge for me to learn patience. It's only been 2 weeks. I shouldn't expect to be hearing fluent English from Nico, but instead, I should be proud of the things he has been saying, which are "hello," "how are you," "good morning," "thank you," "you're welcome," and of course, colors and numbers. Reading to him in English and watching his cartoons in English are going to take some time, which is a whole other sotry! Phew!
DAY 15
Today has been a good day. Pretty much the same as all the rest though. I would love to go out, but it's just too cold, so I have my daily nap until it's time to get Nico. It was just me and Nico at home for a lond time today, so we played a lot of games and had a dance party. He loves dancing, which is awesome for me!! Today was my first day cooking meals, and I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself. :) I never cooked at home, but here-it's necessary. For lunch, I cooked a lentil soup with sausage and potato chunks and then a tomato salad. For dinner, I cooked big slabs of pork.
Mmmm, riquisimo!!
I'm in love with the food here.
Well, my next stop is Berlin, Germany.
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