I woke up at 3:00 in the afternoon today. I’m still not
adjusted to the time difference and exhausted from traveling and staying up
late last night. When I woke up my host mom called me from downstairs to let me
know lunch was ready and I could eat with one of my host brothers, Fernando who
is 23, and his friend. I'm not sure of what her relationship is to Fernando. I couldn't tell if she was a girlfriend or just a friend. I'm guessing girlfriend but I didn't feel brave enough to ask. I was surprised to see a guest in the home because I
understood that culturally you don’t usually invite people into your home
unless they are family. They’ve invited me here so maybe cultural norms are out
the window.
I introduced myself to her and she had a name that I
couldn’t pronounce or remember. She asked me about what I’m studying in my
classes here at school and told her they start on Monday and they’re all in
Spanish. She said she’s learned some English for a few years but she’s horrible
at it. I responded quickly with “soy
malo a Español y no se mucho.” She responded back with a “no, no, no”
and told me I’m doing great because I approached a complete stranger and was
able to hold a simple conversation with her.
It always makes me feel more connected to the people when they’ve
learned a second language too. You have a mutual understanding of how hard it
is to put yourself out there and how important it is for the native speaker to
slow down, speak simply, and yelling the words louder isn’t going to help. I
asked if she’s in school or works and I learned that she’s a dance instructor
and teaches salsa outside the city. This was our second bonding moment because
I lit up and told her about how I love to dance and the styles I’ve learned. I
hope she comes over more often so that maybe she could help me find some dance
classes to take in Santander.
Today at 7 we had our first orientation with the whole
group. There are about 17 of us in the program and we met at a restaurant that
overlooks the beach while eating authentic Spanish tortilla. Tortilla in Spain
is similar to a quiche and resembles nothing of the tortilla we know in North
and South America.
It was great to meet
everyone and hear share stories of our host families, travel adventures, and
talking about all the great food. The orientation was directed by Madeline, our
onsite coordinator at the University de Cantabria. She speaks English and
Spanish so she’s a great resource. Over the next 10 weeks we will be spending a
lot of time with her. She was dressed beautifully in a ruffled pink and orange
top with black cuffed skinny jeans and black wedges. Although I managed to pack
5 pairs of shoes, I wish I had a pair of wedges too.
Before the orientation I spent some time waiting at el Correos
for my friends so and used that time to people watch. Everyone in Spain dresses
so nicely and put together. I’ve already started scoping out the best clothing
shops when I walk around the city. I’ve decided that trying to blend in and
look like the Spaniards is unachievable, my blonde hair and blue eyes are a
dead giveaway. Trying to dress less American is achievable by adding a few Spanish
touches. I noticed that a lot of women
wear watches, heels, scarves, colored skinny jeans (nude/tan colored ones
seemed to be popular), tailored jackets, beautiful skirts, or tights of some
sort with skirts and dresses. They’re very modest but have excellent style. The
men of Spain are handsome too. I haven’t seen a single guy in sweats or a
sweatshirt. They were suits, button up shirts, tailored dress pants or jeans,
nice shoes, sleek, fitted shirts and wonderful jackets wherever they go.
American boys please take note.
After orientation we met up at 11pm to go out on the town
together. The night before we went out
at 9pm which was way too early in Spanish culture. The night doesn’t come alive
until about 11 or 12. Madeline told us of the best spot to go where the people
our age hang out in Santander at night. All these bars were on a giant hill,
which felt like a mountain after climbing it. It even had an outdoor escalator.
Last night there were about 300 people spilling out from the bars and into the
streets chatting with friends and drinking. It had a wonderful vibe. After
wandering for a bit, we met some locals at a bar who took us under their wing
and showed us a good time. They could speak a little bit of English which
helped us communicate better when they said new Spanish words we didn’t
understand. I talked to one guy for a
long time about sports. I rarely understand conversations about sports in
English and somehow I was able to follow along and ask questions in Spanish.
Thank goodness I learned some sports vocabulary back in the states.
All throughout the night, I kept on telling them “lo siento,
no hablo mucho espanol” when I couldn’t remember a word or when they would give
me a puzzled look after I said something. They always reassured me and the rest
of the group that our Spanish was good and we speak the language well. I still
don’t believe them because I feel like I have the vocabulary and grammar of a
child.
Later in the conversation they started telling us words
you’ll never learn in a Spanish class or from a Spanish textbook because
they’re too inappropriate. I felt like I was on the in crowd because I know
some “palabras de la calle” or slang. It felt like a rite of passage. One of the
girls was so sweet and honest when she cautioned me to be careful about how I
pronounce my name in Spanish. Depending on how I say it, it sounds similar to a
sexual term. !Que bueno! I’m glad to know sooner rather than later so I can say
my own name properly without getting laughed at.
Another thing we
learned was how to give high-fives in Spain. You raise your hand in the air and
say “tocala” or “tocala cinco.” We had so much fun that we were out until 5am
when the bar closed. Our new friend Ruben cleared up a common misconception
that bars are open all night long in Spain. From what I understood, there are
laws that started a few years that put some restrictions on hours of operations
for hang out spots at night. To wrap up my night in one sentence, I laughed a
lot and gave out lots of high-fives with my new Spanish Friends.
Once I got back home I got nervous and was unsure if I would
be able to get into the gate and the house. After a 30 minute walk from the
bars I didn’t have the energy to climb the fence. At the gate, I tried a new
technique to open the gate that I hadn’t tried last night. I pushed my card
through instead of sliding it in the slot. It worked like a charm. Unfortunately,
I still couldn’t figure out how to unlock the front door of the house on my
own. My host dad woke up and let me in at 5:30 am, and yet again I was
embarrassed. He happily showed me a second time and made me practice on my own. I should
be golden next time!
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