Arriving in Spain

Traveling to Spain couldn't have been easier - with the exception of the ridiculously short layover and resultant 1/2 a mile sprint to the gate during my layover in Chicago. The immigration process was so easy and the customs process was practically non-existent. And for the first time ever, there was actually a person waiting for me holding a sign with my name on it. What a relief. From the airport we drove to the apartment where I'm staying for the next three weeks. I sent off a quick email, dropped my stuff, and walked .01 of a mile to the Don Quixote Language School to take my language test. Depending on your level, you either take classes from 9am - 1pm or from 3pm - 7pm. I was placed in B1 (which I believe means intermediate 1) and sent directly upstairs to start with my class - of 6 students! The classrooms are well equipped, the class sizes are tiny, and the teachers are so engaging. For the first half we have a woman named Patricia, who reminds me so much of my first Spanish teacher Michelle Farrar. Extroverted, witty, intense, and with super high expectations. After that we get a 30 minute coffee break, and then have class with Carlos - a super laid back guy. His approach is completely different, and effective in a different way. For example, Patricia will interrupt you as you go to correct your grammar/vocabulary, and Carlos will sit very patiently and hear you entirely out before responding and rephrasing what you said correctly so you can hear the corrections. After that I came back to the apartment where I fell asleep until my next class at 7pm. There is a one hour optional culture class every day - the first night on non-verbal gestures. This class was unbelievably entertaining. Basically, there was a room of people from all over the world: US, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, China, Italy. The teacher would demonstrate hand movements before explaining the meaning, and people from different cultures would either nod with approval or understanding, blush or giggle with embarrassment, or shake their head with confusion. I was always in the latter of the two groups, discovering that we have very few hand gestures that have specific, daily usage in our culture. There were some like, "crazy" and "hungry" that I understood, but the rest were either bizarre or easily could be misconstrued for something more inappropriate. After class, I decided to just go for a walk, and enjoyed browsing in the stores and watching different interactions in the streets. The city is absolutely beautiful, and I'm grateful to be back in a walkable city. We had dinner early since they knew I was tired from my trip. Of course, early in Spain means at 9:30, which was such a struggle for me to make it to. We had a lovely dinner of food I don't even have words for yet, but basically consisted of a spinach pancake or something. Not quite a quiche, not quite a tortilla. I really have no idea. And then zonk. Bed time. Speaking of which....time for my afternoon siesta. This jet lag is doing a number on me. Hasta Pronto!