This week was jam packed, as I assume the weeks ahead will be from now on. My weekdays are pretty full, and I have plans for almost every weekend.
Last Tuesday I had my first day as an English tutor to two boys (11 and 8) at their house. After finally finding my way to this new part of town in which they live, I was welcomed into a decent-sized kitchen where one boy was having a snack of bread and olive oil. I soaked in as much as I could because it was my first time seeing the inside of a Spaniards apartment, aside from my own. It was pretty and they even had a "New York" magnetic on their fridge! When I mentioned it, the mom said she had never been. The mom spoke only Spanish, and was so sweet. Only the
11 year old was home, so we went to his room and he read me a book in English. I immediately thought, "Wow, this is what I sound like to everyone here. How embarrassing!!" His pronunciation couldn't have been worse, and therefore couldn't have been cuter (hopefully I sound just as cute when trying to speak Spanish haha.) One he finished each page, I told him to ask me any words he
didn't know, and we would keep a vocabulary list. He asked me the most difficult words to explain, like "such" or "meanwhile." I had no idea how to describe this in English let alone Spanish. This week I will be much more prepared and will bring a Spanish dictionary haha.
Last Tuesday I had my first day as an English tutor to two boys (11 and 8) at their house. After finally finding my way to this new part of town in which they live, I was welcomed into a decent-sized kitchen where one boy was having a snack of bread and olive oil. I soaked in as much as I could because it was my first time seeing the inside of a Spaniards apartment, aside from my own. It was pretty and they even had a "New York" magnetic on their fridge! When I mentioned it, the mom said she had never been. The mom spoke only Spanish, and was so sweet. Only the
11 year old was home, so we went to his room and he read me a book in English. I immediately thought, "Wow, this is what I sound like to everyone here. How embarrassing!!" His pronunciation couldn't have been worse, and therefore couldn't have been cuter (hopefully I sound just as cute when trying to speak Spanish haha.) One he finished each page, I told him to ask me any words he
didn't know, and we would keep a vocabulary list. He asked me the most difficult words to explain, like "such" or "meanwhile." I had no idea how to describe this in English let alone Spanish. This week I will be much more prepared and will bring a Spanish dictionary haha.
On Wednesday I went on a wine tour with my roommate. The tour was offered through the school and included transportation, a wine tasting, and an explanation and tour of how they make the wine. Per usual, this was all in Spanish, and I don't know much wine making vocab so most of it went over my head. However, the wine tasted great! On the way back from the tour we decided
to take a pit stop to what looked like a castle. We got out to discover it was a very old church. The lady inside told us about the organ they have which is the only one of it's kind (an impromptu lesson..in Spanish).
to take a pit stop to what looked like a castle. We got out to discover it was a very old church. The lady inside told us about the organ they have which is the only one of it's kind (an impromptu lesson..in Spanish).
Thursday I had my first test. It was brutal. But today in class, although we didn't get them back, our teacher told us no one got below an 80... Fantastic! My roommate and I also made an actual dinner. Like... a meal based off a recipe. This is big for me considering I've literally never done
this (pathetic, I know.) I'm more of a "throw things together and see what happens" kind of person. But, after my attempt at eggplant parm went real bad, I decided maybe recipes is the way to go.
Friday we walked to the mall nearby (about 2 miles from my apartment.) I only ended up getting a candle haha but they had the CUTEST furniture stores. Saturday day we went to a contemporary art museum in town. We had the place to ourselves since we went during siesta.
this (pathetic, I know.) I'm more of a "throw things together and see what happens" kind of person. But, after my attempt at eggplant parm went real bad, I decided maybe recipes is the way to go.
Friday we walked to the mall nearby (about 2 miles from my apartment.) I only ended up getting a candle haha but they had the CUTEST furniture stores. Saturday day we went to a contemporary art museum in town. We had the place to ourselves since we went during siesta.
Sunday was my friend Keri's 21st birthday, so we celebrated Saturday night. We had dinner at a great tapas place called, Kataggori. It had the most unique tapas yet. The most notable was a rectangular slice of jelly, with two slices of cheese (one was brie, not sure about the other), and a white chocolate, and dark chocolate slice on top, all on a piece of bread. Tasted like dessert and was awesome. Afterwards we celebrated in "el barrio" which is basically a few small streets of bars and clubs where everyone sits outside. We met other Americans, who were also celebrating a
birthday. Oddly enough, one of the girls and I have a mutual friend who I went to Cortland with. What're the odds!!
Today I started my dance class. We are learning all different types of Spanish dances, beginning with salsa. It was way more fun than I expected, and only lasts one month. I also got a volunteering opportunity at a school with children with Autism (like I said, when you don't find what you're looking for, USAC goes out of their way to find it for you.) I'm interested to see how this goes and will definitely update on that.
This Friday we have a weekend field trip to Granada through USAC. I met two people from England who said they've been all over Europe and Granada is their favorite place, so I'm really excited.
It will also be fun to get out of Alicante and explore other places. I'm really looking forward to that.
My list of "daily struggles" is decreasing as time goes on, but still nothing here typically goes as planned. All part of the adventure!!