So, continuing on from my last post:
Saturday, September 7th, I met my host family. My roommate and I had slept through breakfast, and we didn't get the message that the time that we were supposed to go downstairs had been extended, so we ended up meeting our host families before we were meant to. I'm so glad we did though, because the rest of the students had to meet their families in the front of everybody. I said hello my my host mother and sister and did my first kiss-kisses ever. It kind of freaked me out because she hugged me and I thought that was all, but then her face moved and I wasn't expecting it. The orientation reconvened and we left about an hour later.
We drove to La Cañada and I noticed the first cultural difference right away. The don't use the air conditioning here. Not in their cars, not in their house, not in the school, not ANYWHERE DOMESTIC. I miss air conditioning. In the car they have the windows rolled down almost always, even on the highway. The drive by Madrid and into my town reminded me a lot of Nevada, it looks like a habitated desert. I got to the house and unpacked and settled in a little bit. I met my host brother, an awkward experience because he didn't really know much English and I didn't know much Spanish. I had my first Spanish lunch of bacon pasta (hahah it's nowhere near as caloric as it sounds) and bread. Oh my gosh, the bread. It's amazing. It puts American bread to shame. We get it fresh every couple of days from the local store. Soon afterwards, my host sister asked me if I wanted to go out, because her friend wanted to meet me. Naturally, I said yes and I met her friend Andrea. She's really nice and speaks more English than the average teenager out here. I thought we were just going to hang out with her and maybe a few more people, but I met close to 30 kids that night. They all hang out in the middle of the city in a park. It's nice and it only takes about 15 minutes walking to get there. Something that surprised me, though, is the fact that they eat Burger King a lot. It's right next to the park and most of them eat dinner there when they go out, not at home. So, yes, for my first dinner "with the host family" I had Burger King.
Thankfully, I've had minimal fast food since then (one trip to McDonald's when we went to the mall). I'm actually really digging the food here. Almost everything at home is natural, homecooked food. Some things aren't super great but I'm liking how healthy everything is that I'm eating. Another thing is, I'm constantly drinking water. You can definitely tell that the food here is much better for you than in America, because there are barely any overweight people here. More so with the adults, but that's normal. But within the teenagers, most of them are fit, or at least not fat. It was kind of a shock to me because in America, I see so many fat or overweight people it doesn't really register anymore, but here it kind of stands out. On top of that, they're all small. I have yet to meet a girl taller than me, and at the age fifteen, like maybe three, maybe not even that, guys are taller than me. Here I guess it's be short or be 10 feet tall. No in between. They (the boys) are also very slight. Not exactly feminine, but their build is almost willowy. It's noticeable to me, because I'm used to seeing bigger guys, but no, they're small here. The girls are girls, they have more variation.
Anyways, I met a lottttttt of people that night. And when someone tells you that they kiss-kiss everyone hello, they aren't kidding. Like, if a group of people standing somewhere has less than 10 ish people, you're expected to go around the group and kiss-kiss every person, even if you don't know them. It made me uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it and now I actually enjoy it. It's a lot nicer than in America, where you just kind of stand there and wave. People in Spain have less of a personal bubble, and while this might not be the best fit for everyone, I like it. It's more personal than the US.
A lot of the kids tried speaking English to me, and it was a struggle. Even if they say what they are trying to say correctly, they still have a super strong accent that makes it hard to comprehend their words. Everyone was really nice, though, and I had a good time. Clara and I got back to the house around 11 o'clock, and I went to bed early to try and catch up on the sleep I had lost on the journey to España. The next day we ran errands, I got a Spanish phone, and then later in the day, I hung out with my host brother and watched tv. That's kind of become our thing. We watch movies or tv in the living room, sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in English, and we don't have to talk a lot, so it's cool. Pancho too, hahaha. Pancho is the dog and he's adorable. It's good that he's here because otherwise I would probably be missing my puppy like crazy.
I've signed up for two sports, tennis and swimming. I really like that because those are the two sports that I would love to play for my high school, but I have two other sports at the same time that have a higher priority. Hopefully the team here is good and maybe I can join something when I get back to the States.
School started on Friday, and it's an ordeal. I've only had two full days so far, so I'm not going to say anything yet, but I'll make the typical school post when I know more.
Other than school and errands, I've mostly been hanging with Joaquin and Pancho during the day and then going out with Clara at night. I'm 15 years old, Clara is 14 years old, and Joaquin is 17 years old. That has made it possible to connect with both my siblings, which is nice, because I can be younger for Clara and older for Joaquin and still feel comfortable around both. I also met my other host sibling, Carlos, who is 28 and lives in Madrid, very briefly for lunch and he's really nice as well.
Not many super "WOW" things have happened yet, and I haven't seen Madrid. But I did go to the fiesta in Brunete this weekend. It was a week-long, but mostly 2-day festival that the whole city participated in. It was a lot like a county fair, with food, rides, and music. I went with Clara and her friends (who have started to become my friends, I'm no longer just tagging along) and was able to hangout out with the two AFSers that live in Brunete, Angie and Elizabeth. It was a really fun Friday and Saturday, we hung out at the fair and then when the disco opened at 1am, we danced until we had to go at 2:45ish (the disco is basically a stage and then really loud (American) music and a bunch of teenagers who come and dance; it resembles the school dances back home). Both nights we got home a little after 3am and both mornings I woke up before 11 o'clock, which was nooooo bueno. It was totally worth it, though, because I had a great weekend, and made a ton of good memories.
I've noticed that a lot of the other AFSers have been having a harder time with their emotions than me. They're homesick or not having a good time. Thank goodness that's not me. I do miss things, and people, but it's like where the homesick AFSers have their settings on super bright, mine has my brightness turned down. Same feelings, but mine are dulled. Actually, seeing all the posts about water polo have made me a little sad hahahah I miss playing. Plus, I try not to think about it and just enjoy being in Spain, because a lot of hard work went into my being here and I don't want to ruin it by having something other than a positive attitude. Everyone is different, and I'm sure the other AFSers will pull out of it soon. *If you're reading this, whatsapp me! You can vent! Message me on Facebook for my Spanish number.*
Well, I'm not really going to talk about my feelings a lot in this one, so that's about it. I have school the rest of the week and then my first local chapter orientation this weekend, which I'm really excited about. The people in the Madrid chapter are great and we're going to have a blast this weekend.
¡Hasta luego!
Adios,
Sam
*I have a lot of random pictures, so I'm going to make a separate picture post.
**If you have any suggestions or have something you want me to comment or talk about, tell me! samanthaweinhagen98@gmail.com
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