And so it begins!

Hola!

My computer is now completely in Spanish--it took me forever to find "post" on the site--and so it seems I really must take some Spanish lessons while I am here!

Welcome to my blog, everybody, and thanks so much for taking the time to read it...if you are in fact reading it. I've been here now for 48 hours and I have been up and down with bouts of homesickness and excitement! So far, I'm happy I came.

My host family is kind, generous, and funny. Pablo picked me up from the airport, and as soon as I walked in the door, had me driving the girls to tennis practice--nothing like jumping right into it! I didn't have time to cry or feel sorry for myself in a foreign city, (silly), and then we had a yummy dinner, (I was ravenous), of steak and fries followed by fantastico, ("does fantastico mean fantastic in Spanish?"), cheese for dessert.

Yesterday I went into the city ALL BY MYSELF. I got lost finding the metro. I got lost on the metro. I got lost in the part of Madrid I ended up in off the metro. But I did buy a phone! And eventually I found the place called RCI which helps American/English students adjust in Spain. I got all this information on Spanish classes, gyms in the area, other tutors in the area, and transportation--so, despite getting lost everywhere, it ended up being a very productive trip. And because I was beginning to get frustrated with myself and my lack of Spanish language knowledge, I sought comfort at a Starbucks, (I promise to start going to cafes instead!!).

Last night, I gave my first lessons to the girls. Alicia, the youngest, who is so bright, hated me because I had her write a bunch. And then Maria does not want to do ANYTHING, ("do you have a boyfriend?", "do you have a tattoo?", "can I try on your clothes?" , "can we look at pictures on facebook?") but I really like her because she likes to converse with me. I think that will be the basis of our lessons--conversations. I had them each write a list of their likes and dislikes, so that I could attempt to wrap lessons around those. I was lucky today, because I asked Maria what she wanted to read about and she goes "your university," and I was like "OKAY!!!!" and I found an article about the cruise ship docked at SMCM--she was fascinated and I was a proud mama. Well, not proud of the whole mold thing...just proud of SMCM in general...you know.

They have a dog named Kaoura, (see picture below), so cute, who, I was telling Hollin, is named after a mauori word, (the mauori = A people of New Zealand--right Hol??). It just so happens that Pablo's brother was the Ambassador of New Zealand--cool, huh? I'm probably considered famous now.

Today I met up with a girl named Lucy--she is British and really cool. I'm glad to have a friend. And she wants to go to Spanish classes with me, which will be great. We went into the district of Sol, right in the middle of Madrid--the buildings are astounding. I was on a time crunch, so no pictures, but I will be going back as that is near where our classes will be. On our way there, some lady got on the metro with a full speaker in tow, and she swung her hips and sang Spanish music. Kind of an odd, awkward thing to encounter with a new friend, but we both giggled so I figured that was a good sign.

Things that are strikingly different to me so far, (I'll add more throughout my stay):

1) All light switches are on the outside of the rooms--I am constantly shutting myself into a dark bathroom.
2) No pepper shakers! Only salt. I guess their food is peppery enough already? Never too much pepper, is what I always say.
3)The traffic circles have lights...so you have to stop at each quarter. I definitely did not do this right my first time around, and got honked at A LOT.

Miss you all! And reallllly love you all! I'll be writing again, thanks for reading. Below find pictures of my house, outside my house, and Kaoura. My family is really weirded out by my enthusiasm for their dog...

Love,

Mary

 una perrita!

 Christmas ham--yikes!