My adorable apartment building : Los Magnolios
And my room! There are two beds, I sleep in the one adorned with stuffed animals
The view from my door way :)
My windows!
Pretty days
Grey days
My host family's chihuahua, and Queen of the house, Coco! (She is adorable, but I miss Batman!)
The corner of my block. We have pizza hut, which I have been craving - along with Mexican food, sushi, and my mom's potato salad, pancakes, mickey waffles, and cookies
The view up my street! My building is the last one on the right
I turn left at the pizza hut (away from Pizza Hut) and have about a 25 minute walk to school up that road. It's a gorgeous walk on sunny days :)
Here are a few photos of my walk - photos of my school to follow sometime soon!
Random tidbits :)
Yesterday when I was having lunch with my host family (my host mom cooks bomb weekend feasts btw), we were chatting about how interesting it is that my host sister, Natalia and I have the same name - because hers is the Spanish version and mine the English, and that we're both 21, and that both of our families have chihuahuas...my host mom then asked how old my dog is, so I told her how old Batman is and his birthday. Then she told me Coco is one year younger and that her birthday is August 5th. I told her that mine is the next day on the 6th - that's when we figured out that my host sister Natalia and I not only have the same name and are the same age, but we have the exact same birthday - how weird!!! I've never met another Natalie with my birthday, let alone someone my age that I happen to be living with haha - kind of cool though.
Also, I keep seeing Australian things here and there while I'm in Spain, and they make me so nostalgic! I had the time of my life this last Christmas break visiting my boyfriend Travis's family (hi Trish, John, Jess, and Brad!). I have taken pictures of most of the things I've seen so far :) except for a pair of underwear made by a Spanish company that have koalas, kangaroos, and Aussie flags all over them. My camera died and the store they were in was closed, so now I'm on a hunt for them so I can buy them for Trav because they were adorable :)
Here are the other Aussie things I've seen in the 10 days I've been here - besides the Aussie airplane pillow I have with me.
A koala store - they don't sell them haha, it's just the company's logo
Kangaroo brand shoes
And I saw a purse with a map of the world on it - and couldn't help but notice that there's a teeny little typo in the spelling of AustRalia haha :-P
As another side note: my Spanish-speaking skills are dramatically improving already after 10 days here, and I am so excited to see how much I can learn and master by the time June rolls around :) this is such a great experience for me to be able to have, and I can't believe I'm really here, studying abroad in Europe like I have always dreamed about. I am so lucky! I miss my boyfriend, family, and friends (lots and lots guys), but I am making new friends here and have a really warm and caring host family who loves to speak Spanish with me and encourages me to experience as many great things about Europe as I can!
I also have a new-found understanding and ability to identify with other groups of people since being here, that I haven't in the past - and I really appreciate that this experience that given me that already. I have never understood how monumental it is to move to another place and try to fit in there - especially when you can't speak the native language well! I have laughed and been less sensitive and patient than I should have been (embarrassingly) in situations in the past when I have spoken to foreign people in the states. I'm here to tell you - it is SO tough! When people have stopped to talk to me or encourage me here it has completely made my day and given me so much courage to go out and explore - and on the flip side, I will always remember the experiences here already in which people have gotten frustrated with me (on the bus, in a restaurant, asking directions when I was lost in the city) when I wasn't able to speak clearly to them, and how crap I felt afterwards. It's hard to learn another language, let alone figure out cultural norms, and how to be appropriate in another country! I am getting the hang of it though. I hope to be a lot more graceful in the future when I meet people in that situation, since I have now walked a mile in their shoes :)
This blog has truly helped me find another voice within myself that I maybe haven't had until now, or just haven't had time to pay attention to before. Spain is such an adventure for me, in so many ways. I am thankful to have this time to reflect, and take a step outside of my "little world" to see how I can improve and be a better me when I return to it.
Echo de menos a todos, y espero que este mensaje te encuentres bien. (I miss you all, and hope this post finds you well.) xoxo
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