[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBBaCldMNdo]

One of the big perks of my program is that we stay with host families, which greatly increases the Spanish we are exposed to and forces us to speak in Spanish. Last summer I went to Chile, and while that’s where I really became fluent, I would have learned a lot more had I not been speaking English in the dorms our group stayed in.

My host mom and dad are on the elderly side, super kind, a little quiet at times, but very reasonable and communicative. At first I was concerned they weren’t going to speak to me much, but I soon learned that they are more used to students with only a few classes of Spanish experience. I have to ask them to repeat themselves often, but we understand each other pretty well most of the time. On the first day of orientation my host parents walked me and some other students that live near me to the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, which turned out to be about a 20 or 30 minute walk (Google maps). We’re all ready to have super calves by the time we leave in December.

In Spain, meals are between 8-9AM, 2-3PM, and 9-10PM. Sometimes people have a “merienda” around 6 or 7, which is usually a coffee or a beer with tapas. Lunch is the large meal of the day, dinner is lighter, usually just one plate and maybe a salad. Meals are when I interact the most with my host parents, Ascension and Miguel (I think, still haven’t gotten clear on his name…). Miguel always has the TV on during meals. While at first I found this annoying, it’s really a blessing in disguise because it’s a great source of conversation, and great exposure to the language as it’s spoken naturally. I can’t wait to be able to understand the awesome Spanish soap operas on Univision when I return to the states.

My typical lunch in Granada.

When I mentioned to my host mom that although I don’t eat red meat I do eat chicken and turkey, she of course thought I realllllly love chicken and turkey. I don’t think I’ve had a lunch or dinner without a bird in it yet!

Two flights, three subway rides, a bus, a taxi, and 24 hours later, I’m here in Granada. I was about to collapse from lack of food, so I put my things down, told my loved ones I had made it, and headed right out to find food. Apparently this city really never goes to sleep (except for siesta, which is during the day, maybe there’s a connection to the suffering economy here…) so I knew there would be lots of places open. It didn’t take me long to see Cafe Futbol, a place I had heard about many times from the Valpo group that came last year. It was hot chocolate (chocolate hecho) and Churros time. Definitely hit the spot. Chocolate hecho is so thick, it’s almost like pudding. It might have been a bit of a sugar overdose on my already tired system, so now I’m off to sleep before I start writing gibberish.