To continue the Lord of the Rings theme because it is working so well.
Today I had my first real day with my host family and man, I'm intrigued, comforted and scared out of my wits.
Recap: I arrived at my house at 11 p.m. on Thursday and was so overwhelmed and sleep deprived I nearly cried when I saw my host family. I couldn't really enjoy the feeling of being here because I felt so out of place and like I was breaking a ton of rules when really I was just sleep deprived. Anyway I went to bed, slept for 7 hours, then took at 5 hour train ride back to Madrid Friday morning for my exchange student orientation which lasted until Sunday Night.
I won't get into that because it wasn't really a Spanish experience. Mainly me making a ton of new friends from America while camping in the mountains surrounding Madrid.
Today was much more interesting.
I woke up and actually unpacked my suitcase so now I actually live in my room which is cool.
My very mod room to go with a very modern and organized house
All my stuff put away in its designated place. (yes, that is a rack that pulls out to hold my pants)
Just so you can get the full picture
I then went to orientation at my new school which I will be walking to everyday. I takes about 7 minutes to get there and the walk ain't bad. Needless to say an auditorium full of Spanish speaking teenagers and a man droning on in Spanish is really overwhelming when you're sitting by yourself and look like you have no idea what's going on. This is the first of many times where the above quote comes into play. I had to face any type of fear or anxiety I had. No need to explain why I could not run from the auditorium crying out of nervousness.
To adjourn the orientation all the students were to go with there base teacher/base class... I just sat their until some friendly dude (student body president= makes sense) came and asked me if I was the American. He pointed me in the right direction and I think he's in my class, but I'm not actually sure.
I found my class and my English speaking base teacher. I was sitting in the 15 minute long intro class thingy with teary eyes as the teacher spoke half of the material in English (supposedly to give the actual students practice in English, but more because I was there looking like a lost child in the mall) Can't say I didn't appreciate it even though I can understand all of his Spanish. I was so overwhelmed by the fact that people were being so nice to me and going out of their way to help me. Acts of kindness like this have always made me cry... another chance where I had to talk myself into staying in the room because it could only get easier if I got through this first introduction.
The same teacher was talking to my host parents after the orientation and he literally said I was perfect for him. Because he's fluent in English, he's nice guy or because he knows how to deal with exchange students I don't know, but how can I not appreciate that and be excited?
After that was my first Rotary meeting. So much fun. Old Spanish men arguing about the deeds of their Rotary club while trying out the 3-4 words they know in English on the 3 American girls sitting their laughing. These men and one women are so awesome. Me, Chloe from California and Pauline from Colorado already have a house to go to for Thanksgiving and plans for next weekend. And they are genuinely interested in what we have to say which I appreciate so much. They also took millions of pictures of us which Tomas, the guy I sat next to at lunch, already emailed to me. We were highly honored guests and I feel so lucky to have support from them. New connections like the head city councilmen in charge of all sports in Cartagena could potentially be useful... I'm excited.
Never met cooler old men. Woo Rotary
After the meeting my host parents drove me downtown to the Community center type building which is where I will practice with this community band in which I'm playing in...horrible English but oh well. I'll be playing the oboe in the community band which is playing in a parade at the end of the month!
I also got a personal tour of city hall because my host dad works there. It is probably the most beautiful building I've ever seen if not, second to the museum of natural history in London. A very old beautiful building with so much history and right on the marina/port of Cartagena which I saw for the first time today. I'm so excited to explore more and learn more about Cartagena. This city has been around forever and has so much history.
And some new things I learned to close:
#1: I have a strong Minnesotan accent when I pronounce my O's and A's. The exchange students from all the states were saying yeah you betcha all weekend to make fun of me and the boy from Minnesota. We definitely overdid it some by they enjoyed it
#2: It is typical in Spain to wear your shoes always. No going bare foot in the house.
#3: I Spanish is very good compared to other exchange students and my host parents and Rotary club members are very impressed. However, just spending 15 minutes on Facebook kills any type of rhythm I have going. Found that out at dinner today when I had trouble creating sentences and understanding anything my parents said because I had just spent time looking at English filled Facebook. Major setback in my opinion and it took me awhile to get into my grove.
#4: Although I have annoyed many people throughout the years with my ability to babble and talk forever and very fast (including you reading this wondering how on earth I have so much to say. congrats for making it this far, much appreciated), My host parents love it! Last night at dinner we talked all about the ridiculousness of languages, differences between school here and that in the U.S. and music. Tonight we spent 2 hours talking about names. They don't understand American names. They can't pronounce them, they don't know why names like Alex and Hanson are so popular, the practice of a woman taking a man's name after marriage is beyond them and, to be honest, I have no idea how to explain any of that! It was fun though. And the point if they actually appreciate the fact that I talk so much, they told me so :)
#5: I am in over my head and I'm scared of the littlest things. I'm also stronger than I think. I may have teary eyes, but I can tell myself not to cry. One small achievement at a time. Like Bilbo said, it may scare the crap out of me, but it must be done, especially if I want it to ever get better.
To end with a small comment that made my day and proved to me that I am in the right place and will be fine no matter how scared I am: My host parents introduce me to people as "Mi nueva hija" which means my new daughter. I'm not the American and I'm not the girl living in their house. I am their daughter, I belong here and will soon call this place home.
No comments:
Post a Comment