Alex and I with our churros
Yesterday I met up with my friends and we went to una cafeteria to order churros con chocolate. They were so delicious. The walk was super rainy but I was glad to have my boots and a Paris Disney umbrella I borrowed from my host family. It inspired me to add Europe Disney to my list of places to travel. As if the sugar rush from the churros wasn’t enough, we went into a candy shop after and my friends bought candy. I resisted the temptation and just took pictures of the colorful candy instead.
In the evening my host family had some friends over for appetizers before they went out for dinner. They invited me to join. I tried the ham with crackers and green olives. They all watched me to see if the foreign girl would like it. I’m not a picky eater and neither were strange to me so I enjoyed both. I told the group where I was from, my classes here and what I like about Santander so far. They would speak really quickly to one another and I couldn’t follow most conversations but I would look to my host dad with a confused look and he would break it down for me. One of his friends kept on joking with me but I couldn’t understand the jokes. I did a lot of smiling and nodding.
Once everyone left I ate dinner by myself with the TV on. They insist the TV is on so I can practice listening to Spanish. My host grandpa was home and came out of his man cave in his slippers and bathrobe like usual and shuffled things around the kitchen. My guess is that he’s about 85 years old. I don’t see him much but today he decided to talk to me. I couldn’t understand a word he said. He speaks quickly and mumbles so it’s very hard. He doesn’t understand me very well because he’s hard of hearing. Again, I just smiled and nodded. He got really excited to give me a tour of his room AND his bathroom. He was proud of the extendable mirror in his bathroom that he insisted I used to see my reflection.
I met up with some friends last night at their appartment and we all chatted and watched Jersey Shore in Spanish. Trashy TV translates to all languages. When we left at midnight my goal for the night was to initiate conversations with strangers. Typically I’m slow to warm up and have a hard time making small talk. When I try to hold conversations in Spanish it takes twice as long so I never run out of topics, plus I ask about the meanings of words I don’t know which can be a good transition to a new topic.
I started talking to one group of guys by calling them out for being boring by standing against the wall in silence. I said it all in Spanish of course! They instantly became the fun group after I talked to them. They were interested in hearing about the United States and what I was doing in Santander. I talked the most with a guy named David. It was really loud inside so we went outside to talk. I got lost in conversation and lost the track of time. We decided to head back because it was cold and I needed to meet back up with my friends. He kissed me goodbye in the rain of Spain, one on each cheek.
I had completely forgotten that I left my friends without telling them where I was and they were panicked. I left my jacket in the bar but they couldn’t find me. It was my fault for not telling them where I was and I felt bad for making them worry. Even though my Oregon friends and I have only really known each other for a week we’re very close already. We spend so much time together and look out for one another. I swear my friend Nikko was about to punch the guy I was talking to because he was so worried about me. I found it flattering to know how much he cares.
At the next set of bars I continued to meet more strangers. I asked Nikko to point out a group of guys to approach so I would have his approval and so he wouldn’t have the urge to punch them. I approached them by asking where the best bar in town was. Sometimes not knowing where places are works to my advantage. The guys asked where I was from and I made them guess. They thought I was from Iceland. Really? Turns out these guys are skiers and told me about their ski trip later this week. I admitted that I’ve never been skiing and they enthusiastically invited me to go with them on their next trip so they could teach me. Unfortunately I have class at the same time, but I love talking to strangers!
I walked back home in the rain at 4 am with Nikko recapping the funny things that happened during the night. I pulled out my Paris Disney umbrella to shield me from the pouring rain but it broke as I tried to open it. I have a broken umbrella and speak in broken Spanish but I don’t let either stop me from loving Santander.
No comments:
Post a Comment