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| New Roomies |
8/4 After
unpacking and settling in, I was ready to officially start my new “life” here
in Valencia! Because I’ve been doing so many random little things on a daily
basis, I’ve decided to just do a “multi-day” update for my first few days here
in lovely Spain. So, today I mainly hung out and caught up on life with Bárbara.
Then we went to her office to get myself set up with an international phone and
internet plan. She is the Coordinator of Student Services for ISA
(International Studies Abroad), which coincidentally is the program I came to
Spain in 2007 with- Small world! So, once that was all set up I felt relieved
and ready to be connected with my friends and family back home.
The following Sunday morning 8/5, Bárbara invited me to go with her to breakfast near our piso
(apartment). She had met an American girl on a Facebook group called “Americans
living in Valencia” and this girl just wanted to meet some local people to hang
out with since she hadn’t met many girl friends in Spain. They decided to meet
up for a “blind-date” type breakfast, and of course I tagged along. During our
meal of pan tostada con tomate, we
got to know the lovely Whitney and her story. Whitney is from Virginia and
studied abroad in Valencia in 2009. She came back last year to do an auxiliary
program, and that was when she met her Spanish boyfriend Raúl.
Since then, she has more or less moved here permanently, and the two of them
now share an apartment. She was very excited to meet some girls her age to hang
out with, and I was happy too because upping my number of friends in Spain from
1 to 2 couldn’t hurt! Since our first meeting with Whitney went so well we
invited her back to our piso for dinner that night. Bárbara cooked us some food and
invited her friend Spanish friend Vicki over as well. Vicki is a really sweet
girl, and she is also dating an American boy like Bárbara is too. Everyone there
has an international relationship except for me, haha. We all had a nice dinner
on the balcony though, and I got to practice conversing in my super rusty Spanish
even more!
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| Don Quijote Classroom Building |
Now, it was Monday 8/6
– I had my first Spanish class with the program called Don Quijote Language
Institute. This program gives their classes in a building that is part of the
University of Valencia’s campus. Because I’m hopeless with directions, Bárbara
offered to walk with me to my first class at 8am that morning. It’s about a 25
minute walk from our apartment to the school, and she helped me memorize the
route I’d have to take to get there each day- isn’t she sweet? My first day at
class was okay, there were tons of international students there and it was a
bit hectic. We had to take our placement tests and then they gave us a tour of
the campus. I quickly realized I was the only American there, which was a cool
feeling but also makes you feel a little distant too. Most of my fellow
students were either Italian or Russian, and once I got placed into my class level
(“Advanced”, be proud) they dismissed us for the day. The big accomplishment of
the evening was that Bárbara and I set up a new floor fan that her dad bought
her. We assembled it all on our own- it took lots of effort but we finally did
it! We named it “Dory” la ventiladora,
and believe me Dory’s cool breeze have been a lifesaver during the hot as hell
days in Valencia.
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| We set up a fan!! |
Tuesday 8/7- Since
my first week of class was going to begin in the afternoons, Bárbara
and I decided to meet our new friend Whitney at the beach that morning before I
had to leave. We brought some bocadillos
(sandwiches) with us for lunch, and we ladies had a great time relaxing in the
soft Valencian sand. Around 2pm, they left the beach with me and I went to my
second class. This week I’m taking “Intensive” courses, so I have 4 hours of
class a day. My first full day of class went pretty well- it made me realize
how rusty my Spanish is. Also all the other students in my class were really
young, and mainly interested in partying, so sadly I didn’t think I’d end up
making any lasting friendships from my class. They were all really funny and
nice though, and it was a good mix. We have Kim and Song from South Korea,
Ksenia and Vladimir from Russia, Vera from Austria, Tibor from Switzerland, and
Ursula and Marcel from Germany. Definitely an interesting mix!
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| Barbara, Myself & Whitney at the Beach! |
The next two days 8/8
and 8/9, I basically got situated
into my routine. I was getting accustomed to the intense heat of Spain in
August, and the fact that no homes or buildings here ever have air-conditioning
because power is so expensive (makes you realized how spoiled you are as an
American)! However lame, I was proud of myself that I could walk to class and
go to the grocery store and live in my little apartment and do all of this
independently, while living in a foreign country J.
My classes were challenging, which was good, and we had some hilarious conversations.
Considering I was in a room filled with Russians, Germans, Austrians and
Koreans and my teacher asked what my opinion on Communism was (AWKWARD), I
think I handled myself pretty well! Hopefully they have a decent opinion on
Americans now, because at first they all thought that Americans were just
obese, ignorant people who eat burgers and fries every day. So to my fellow
Americans I appeal, please stop giving off that vibe!! After my class on
Thursday, I met Bárbara and her longtime school friend Sandra at the beach.
We had a good time, and I realized how bad I am at understanding colloquial
Spanish. I could more or less follow what Sandra was saying, but since she used
a lot of slang I realized I had lots of learning to do!
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| Mexican Fajitas in Spain! |
Friday’s here! 8/10-
After my classes ended at 7pm, I was supposed to meet Bárbara at Whitney’s apartment
because she had made us dinner that night! Being great with direction as I am,
I of course struggled a bit trying to find the place. Luckily, I finally did. When
we arrived, we got to meet Whitney’s super sweet boyfriend Raúl,
and she had made us a Mexican themed meal of fajitas, yum! That same night, I was also introduced to another
of Bárbara’s American friends, a very fun and outgoing girl named Marissa!
Being the small world that it is, I found out she is from Ohio and went to
Miami University. She met her current husband Josep while she studied abroad
here in 2009, and they got married this summer and she now lives in Spain
permanently. The other crazy thing is, she used to work in Blue Ash about 2
blocks away from where I worked for two years. And, even more crazy, she is
also a Kappa Delta Sorority alum! Needless to say, we hit it off right away J ! After dinner,
Whitney took us up on the roof of the apartment complex, and we got to enjoy
the view of a beautiful Valencian sunset with the ocean off in the distance.
After this meal, I realized how lucky it is that I now have so many new friends
to make me feel more at home during my time here!
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| Valencian Sunset |
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| Me and Marissa, Kappa Delta's meeting in Spain |
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