Beach Time: May 29

Ahh… Today was such a good day, we went to the beach in Luanco and it was so great.  It is the cutest little city with a great beach!  The beach was small compared to the ones I’ve been to in California but I never felt cramped; it was very cozy.  We did not have classes today because it is a holiday in Oviedo, “Martes de Campo."

The story behind this holiday is this rich lady (who I don’t remember the name) decided one day to give all the poor people a free sandwich and it became a tradition.  Now people just go to the parks, country or mountains and drink sidra and have the traditional sandwich. 

So instead of doing that a group of us went up to Luanco and spend the day at the beach!  A lot of the old women there were topless, which I expected, but it was still a little weird.  Everyone is Spain is so open and relaxed.   It is so different from Utah; we definitely are so sheltered there!

We laid out for most of the day but we ate at this cute authentic seafood place and it had such good shrimp and I usually don’t like seafood!  It was fun ordering because it was all in Spanish and we didn’t really know any of the terms for seafood so we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into.  After we ate we got some ice cream and it was some good stuff.  I swear everything in Europe tastes better than in the states.  One girl we were with got rice pudding favored ice cream, which was disgusting haha but she liked it. 

The bus ride there was only six euros so we will definitely be returning here because we didn’t have time to cliff dive!  I have some gnarly tan lines but I freaking love tan lines (except on my feet and legs).  It was very nice to have a day just to relax and enjoy the sun.

Of course, we have to have a high school musical picture.

Love this lady

May 30 : Acuario



Today we went to the Aquarium in Gijón and it was a good time.  We went with our group of the U and it was fun to have everyone there.  There is only so much you can say about an aquarium so... I will just post some pictures of it! 

Mi clase



Jelly Fish

La Playa de Gijón

Sting Ray

Hacer Compras (Ir de Compras): Segunda Semana

En Oviedo hay muchas tiendas lindas.  La semana pasada fui de compras casi todos los días porque me encanta hacer compras.  Ya compré dos faldas, una camiseta, un suéter, una bolsa, un traje de baño, los zapatos y tres bufandas.   ¡En comparación con los Estados Unidos,  todo es más barato aquí, entonces yo compro mucho!  En Oviedo hay unas tiendas de los zapatos en cada calle.  Yo prefiero los centros comerciales fuera de los centros comerciales en el interior.  A mi me gusta ir de compras porque me ayuda practicar mi español.  Sé los números mucho mejor ahora.

En España puedo pagar con una tarjeta de crédito pero yo pensaba que yo sólo podría pagar con efectivo.  Los trabajadores en la tienda son muy agradables y amables.  Ellos son muy paciente con mi cuando yo no los entiendo.  Me ayudan entender las tallas.  Las tallas son muy diferentes en comparación con los Estados Unidos.  En España llevo una talla treinta y siete en zapatos, pero en los Estados Unidos llevo una talla seis.  También con los pantalones y las camisetas.   

Yo voy a las tiendas con mis amigos Summer, Heather y Andrea.  Nos gusta las mismas cosas entonces nosotros compramos la misma ropa.  Heather, Summer y yo tenemos el mismo suéter pero, no me molesta.

Excursion 1: May 26

León and Astorga

Each week we have a different excursion on Saturdays, this week we went to the city of León and Astorga.  It was not the best excursion though, unfortunately it was bad weather so they had to change our excursion last minute.  We were suppose to go on a hike and the lake but it was raining so we took a bus to these cities where it was sunny.

In Astorga we saw the cathedral and just explored the city.  It was a very small city but it has many interesting sites.  They have a chocolate museum but we didn't go there because we heard it wasn't worth paying for. 

Cathedral

Castle

In León we arrived right at siesta so we just had some lunch at this place and it was DISGUSTING. I just had a coke because my mama prepared me a lunch but the coke was so yummy, way better than in America.  In León there was a wedding so it was quite busy and a lot of random guys there dressed up weird! They were having a bachelor party.  This town had a different feel to it; it was dirty but the buildings were so unique. 

Catedral de Santa Maria


This cathedral was beautiful, by far the best one we have seen yet! There was a wedding going on there so we didn't have a long time there but I got quite a few good pictures. I love the stain glass windows so much, I want one in my house when I am older, its decided. This cathedral was one of the favorite buildings of the builder of the Salt Lake Temple so he took some ideas from it. 



First Week

So I have officially been in Oviedo for one week now! It is so weird to think about, sometimes I feel like I have been here forever but other times I feel like I just got here!  This week went by so fast though because I have had so much to do. 

My host mom is Maria, she is a tiny lady.  She is about five inches shorter than me and that's saying something!  She is a little pushy but she is a good lady.  My dad is Generoso and he hardly talks and I cannot understand him at all because he doesn't open his mouth wide enough! My mom talks to me a lot and I am actually to the point where I pretty much understand everything she says.  I can understand a lot but I have a harder time actually speaking the language.

The days here are  so different.  Here is a typical day in Spain for me

8:30  - I wake up and get ready for school.
9:00  - I have my breakfast
*Breakfast is typically some cookies/crackers with this nutella spread, hot chocolate and homemade orange juice
9:30 - 2:00  - Spanish Classes
2:00 - 4:00  - SIESTA
*Siesta is nap time pretty much haha.  All the stores close down from 2:00 until 4:30.  That is when we have lunch and lunch is the largest meal of the day.  Its a three course meal.
After siesta typically I go shopping or hang out with friends.
10:00 -  Dinner and then bed

On Wednesday (May 23) we went on a tour of the city and it was beautiful! I honestly love this city so much.  The tour was fun because we were able to see places that weren't very common but way cool.  The Cathedral is a big meeting spot here and eventually I want to go to Mass there.  On Thursday (May 24) they had a big party, Espicha, for all the students in this program and it was so much fun.  There is group here from New York too, who we have been doing activities with.   It has been so fun to meet so many new people and I already have made so many new friends.  

  

Oviedo Catedral

Oviedo Catedral

Go utes!  Everyone from Utah in the program.

                           This is the street I live on.                                    The University 

                      

This is my cute little apartment I live in. Another girl that is in my program lives on the floor below me and so I always have a walking buddy which is nice.  I live on the third floor so I have been getting a good workout everyday here(:  The apartment has three rooms and one bathroom.  The shower and bathroom are pretty tiny.  Well compared to my house everything in this house is small haha.

My cute little room.

                    

The culture here is so different from the U.S. Everyone is much more laid back. In classes the teachers use drinking as examples, which is so weird! It has been quite an experience but I love it.  My Spanish Classes have been so awesome, I love going to them!  My teacher's name is Concha and she is so funny.  She doesn't speak any english so she has to act out a lot of things but I enjoy it!

Fotos: La Clase de Español

Primera Foto

Catedral de Oviedo



Ayer los estudiantes de Utah fuimos en el interior de la catedral para una gira.   El área cerca de la catedral es bonita también es muy limpio.  La gira fue muy interesante.   El guía de turismo nos dio un poco historia de la catedral.  La catedral es muy vieja.  El interior de la catedral es muy bonito porque a las detalles.    

Segunda Foto

Medusas

 

Ayer fui al Acuario de Gijón con todos los estudiantes de la Universidad de Utah; fue muy divertido.  El acuario fue muy grande y tuve peces de todo el mundo.  Medusas me da miedo, pero creo quen son muy intersantes. 



La Primera: ¡Finalmente!

¡Estoy en Oviedo, finalmente!  Estoy viviendo con una familia local de España.  Mis padres se llaman María y Generoso.  María es muy baja y habla mucho conmigo.  Generoso también es bajo pero no habla mucho.  Ellos son muy viejos.  En el primer día no puedo entender mucho a mis padres.  Ellos hablan muy rápido y también no puedo oírles. 

Muy comico: 

Mi mama explicó las reglas de la casa a mí y en mi dormitorio tengo dos basuras. Un para la ropa y un para los papeles pero no entiendo mi mama cuando me dije.  Yo no entiendo una basura para la ropa. ¡No uso las basuras en mi dormitorio porque yo no se!  Luego, mi mama repita, “un basura para la ropa y un basura para los papeles.”  ¡Finalmente, yo entendí! Necesito poner mi ropa sucia en la basura porque es un cesto da la ropa. Es muy diferente poner la ropa en una basura.   

Hay muchas tiendas en Oviedo, a mi me gustan.   Las tiendas son muy lindas.  Yo compré zapatos nuevos y también un suéter.  En Oviedo, ando todo el tiempo entonces me duelen mis pies, pero me gusta explorar la cuidad. 

Host Family: May 20-21

I don’t even know where to begin… On Sunday night we met our host families for the first time and it’s been quite the adventure since! The first day was definitely over whelming.  I kept thinking to myself I should have studied more; however, I feel like nothing could have prepared me for this.  The first day with my family was rough, I didn’t understand anything.  My mother and father are very old and it’s hard to understand them even if they did speak English.  They are both good people and very nice.  My mother is a little pushy but that’s okay, she feeds me well (:  The apartment I am living in so adorable but it is so TINY compared to the states.  The washer is in the bathroom and we do not have a dryer.  The kitchen and fridge are so small too.  I love my room though, it is so nice to have a place to escape too and unwind. 

I was unpacking my things and realized that I left my new glasses in the hostel in Madrid and I’m so sad.  With my luck though, it did not surprise me at all!  I contacted them so hopefully they find them and I can get them back.

The first day of classes was really good.  We had a brief introduction about what to expect and our schedule for the next few weeks, but lets be honest, I couldn’t understand that much of it haha.  After the introduction we had classes and it was amazing.  I have two professors and they are both so awesome.  The best part was I could actually understand them!  It made me excited to be in school and be learning this great language.  I have classes Monday through Friday 9:30-2:00 and a half hour break.

Everything here is in Spanish and I mean everything.  My host family and professors only speak Spanish.  I’ve watched a few tv shows in Spanish and they have been very weird so far.  My mom likes to watch Spanish soap operas and it’s amusing to me.  My dad used to be a policeman but they are both so old they are retired.  They both watch a lot of tv.  Paying for things in Spanish has been interesting as well! I will master my numbers though because the shops here are AMAZING.  Honestly, I have never seen cuter clothes or shoes anywhere.  I have to shield my eyes when I go down the street because there are so many cute boutiques; its killing me!

In the two days that I have been here I already feel like I have learned so much!  I am actually having good conversations with my mom instead of looking at her and smiling and having no clue what she just said to me! 

I love Oviedo so much; it is the cutest little town in the world!  I have been exploring it the past few days and it is so easy to get around.  I walk everywhere so at night my body is so exhausted, but I love it because I need to get back into shape. 

Even though I have had some rough times I am so grateful for this experience and I cannot wait to see what the next five weeks brings! (Hopefully something good).