Primer Dia Completo [First Full Day]

Monday, June 24

I woke up this morning about 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off and I lay in bed listening to the sounds of the city in the morning until my alarm went off. It was similar to the sounds of Nebraska, with cars and birds, but then all of a sudden there was a burst of Spanish and then I remembered I was in Spain. It was another weird feeling. I got up and got dressed, and then went to the bathroom to finish getting ready and I was the only one awake. I waited until 8am when I thought we were all going to have breakfast together, but in the kitchen there was some corn flakes on the counter and I found a bowl in the cupboard and milk in the fridge and ate breakfast before dashing off to Casco and the Plaza de Padilla where I met with my group before heading to the other university building.

life on the escalators! 

Once we were there we were funneled into an auditorium for orientation and we got backpacks. In our backpacks were a notebook, map, pen, and student information packet. Then the leaders of the program gave an introduction that I didn’t completely understand- I prefer to be able to read lips and ask for clarification rather than a lecture in an overflowing auditorium. At the beginning they announced where all of the students were from: China, Germany, United States (UNL, Chicago State, and Uni. of Tennessee, and Toledo, Ohio) and maybe a half a dozen more countries represented. After the orientation was completed they posted up the groups that would become classes after an oral exam. I was in the Templarios group, which was 5^th out of 11; with 11 being the highest, so I think I’m in the class I need to be in. Once we got into our class groups we went to a classroom to take an oral test. We were spilt into partners and I paired with a fellow Nebraskan, who I’ve had classes with so it was easy to take the test and not feel too nervous. In our class group we had 5 from Nebraska, 1 from Toledo, Ohio, 1 from Tennessee, 2 from Germany, and 1 from China. But those counts could change as people get moved around after the oral test finalizes placements. Before my test I talked with the girl from Germany and the only common language we had was Spanish so that was an interesting adventure. We both had to think through our sentences and rethink them to explain everything in multiple ways because neither of us was speaking our native language.

After our tests were done we met up with some other Nebraskans to search for the cell phone store. We ran into Chris and Heather on our way to the other building and told us that the company raised their prices, but it was still cheaper to all have the same company- Movistar. I’m not sure yet if I want to get a phone, but I probably will so I have it for emergencies and for contacting my host family. The line at the Movistar store was way too long to wait at especially since I was thirsty and wanted to explore more than buy a phone. We wandered around for a while; found a group of people at the Tapas restaurant, and then re-split up to explore some more. Eventually we stopped at a restaurant and ordered off of the daily menu, which is cheaper than individual meals. I had no idea what any of the options were so I ended up ordering a tuna salad and then my second plate was a type of fish and fries. I wasn’t too excited about the fish but it wasn’t that bad tasting. I will just have to remember to ask for a clarification before ordering next time.

Today's Lunch

We then headed back to the Plaza de Padilla to go to our respective houses for siestas. I found my way back to the casa and used the correct key to open the doors. I then needed to take a nap, but because I’m not used to the time zone change and siesta taking I couldn’t fall asleep so I decided to write about the morning. 

After finishing a small nap I went into the living room and got the wifi password and talked about my day with Sandra and she wanted to see photos of my family so I showed her pictures on my computer of Momma, Daddy, and Shadow. Seeing the photos of Momma, Daddy and kitty made me a little homesick but not anymore than seeing the photos while I was in the dorms. I think the thing I miss the most is being able to text or call either parent whenever I want, but I can always email them right? 

Love you all!