I’ve only been here for three days and already ready time is flying. It seems as if I’ve been here for much longer! I’ll recap how the experience has been so far.
The flight, which left from Newark Airport, was very smooth and went quickly. It was about 6 and a half hours. Thankfully, we could watch movies and the lights stayed dark in the cabin so we could try to sleep. The plane ride went well overall and we landed safely at Madrid Bajaras Airport.
We arrived at 9 am and claimed our luggage. We were all so jetlagged already and it was disorienting to have to function! Everyone looked ridiculous with our absurd amounts of luggage. I noticed and was glad that everyone had just as much as me (if not more!) We waited for our on site director, Maria Jose, to meet us and take us into Alcala. She seems really nice and so organized. When she met us, we carried our bags out and loaded onto a bus. Alcala is about 30 minute drive from Madrid. Then, we met our host families in the center of town and walked to our respective homes.
Alcala de Henares is a beautiful, manageable town/city. There are quaint cobble stone streets, old buildings, shops, restaurants, and we can walk everywhere in "old Alcala" all of our homestays are spread out around the town, but a few sets of people in our group are really close to us. Everything is situated around “La plaza de Cervantes,” a huge beautiful plaza in the center of town, which has statues, a fountain and a large gazebo and pretty trees. This has usually been our central meeting place. Marissa, my roommate, and I live about a street away from the plaza in “La calle mayor” (which means main street.) This location couldn’t be better because we are less than five minutes from the two buildings where we take our classes, plus close to good shops.
The first day, we toured Alcala with Maria Jose and she showed us the two places where we take our classes, La Alcalingua (for our Spanish classes) and the CIFF (for our English classes) along with her office, shops, the bus station (for buses to Madrid or New Alcala), and the train station, and Carrefour (a French Wal-Mart type store) and lots of little cafes, and tapas restaurants. Also, the weather here is very mild. We can't believe it, almost everyone told us it was going to be so cold. For the past few days, it has been raining on and off, but tomorrow it will be in the 50s.
Our host mother is named Perla and she is a nice little older lady, probably in her 60s. Marissa and I share a room that's small but we made do. We have very little closet space and no drawers, which is difficult. Perla doesn't speak any English, but speaks as slowly as she can so we can understand. It’s hard getting back into Spanish mode, but I think it will come back soon.
Meals are a big deal for Spaniards, so we almost always eat together and have to tell her when we won't be here for dinner. It’s tough getting used to Spanish eating habits. They eat very little for breakfast (like usually coffee and fruit) and then lunch is the big meal, usually consisting of 3 courses and dinner is light, usually just tapas. I think I'll like it once my body adjusts.
Tomorrow is our placement exam for which Spanish classes we'll be in, so I am eager to see which level I place into.
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