En La Casa

So, I'm posting this today but I actually wrote it on Thursday Sept 7.

Well, after 4 days in Madrid, I am loving it! We have been having many “charlas” or presentations for Orientation. We got a tour of the campus of the University Complutense in Madrid from some Spanish students which was really fun because we got to talk to them. I also have moved into my home stay! HOORAY! We moved in on the 6th so we have been here 2 days. I am living with a “senora” (an older lady) named Pilar, and her “hija” (daughter) whose name I haven’t actually caught yet and feel stupid asking again…but I’ll get it. She is actually about 35 years old. It is very normal in Spain for children to live with their parents until they have kids of their own or until they are much older, which works out nicely because it is much more expensive to live here than in the States. Also, parents are much less strict here and allow their kids to go out and do things without asking who, what, when, where, why, with whom, how long…etc.. So, anyway, there is a son that lives here also named Alvaro and Pilar’s sister and granddaughters come over almost every day. So there are always lots of people here and I love it. There is also another girl living with me named Lauren and I like her a lot! She likes to learn the language like me and is really sweet! We live in a “piso” which is kind of like a flat, I think. It’s bigger than an apartment b/c it has 5 bedrooms, I think (I haven’t seen the whole thing b/c homes are very private and I’ve only seen the rooms I go in), a kitchen, a living room, a den, a bathroom that Lauren and I share, and we each have our own rooms. I think there is at least 1 bathroom and three rooms in the back but I haven’t been back there.

Anyway, they don’t really have air conditioning in homes here very often so my window is always open and it is always a little warm. But it’s not too bad. I always have to wear shoes or socks in the piso because they don’t walk around barefoot. Sad… but I also have to keep my door shut much of the time. Another cultural thing…but I try to leave it somewhat open b/c it makes it cooler. I don’t have internet access in my room yet (or for that matter in the piso at all) but hopefully soon.

I’m finding as I write this that I’m am having difficulty because I keep trying to write words in Spanish or write things in the order or way you would say them in Spanish. It’s a good thing because it means that I have begun to think in Spanish some. That means progress is being made…HOORAY! I am constantly being corrected (in a nice way) when I am in the piso by la familia and so I am learning a lot!

I also signed up to go on two trips with IES so I will be going to Asturias in the north of Spain and to Lisboa (or Lisbon in English), Portugal. We will also be going as an entire group to Segovia and Toledo.

Well, I am going to try to attach some pictures of my hotel room in El Hotel Husa Moncloa that we stayed in the first night (and for me the first 2 nights) so we’ll see if that’s successful! I will write more later!

If you want to send me mail, you can send it to:

Jaclyn Metcalf
Avda. Bruselas, 76 6º dcha.
28028 Madrid
Spain

Or email me! More later! Hasta luego!