Yo Quiero Cap'n Crunch

One thing has become clear: I know even less Spanish than I thought.

I moved in with the host family Sunday afternoon and the initial process was nerve-racking. We felt like puppies waiting to be picked out of the pet store! Armando, our program coordinator, called our names off a list in the hotel lobby, then the names of our future host parents, who came to pick us up. Then everyone watches the awkward *kisskiss* greeting, followed by the them leaving--the mothers with estatic faces, the apathetic fathers trying to look pleasant, and a look of confusion/fear/happiness of the student.

My parents picked me up, and it made me wish that both of my bags had been lost. We ended up walking to their apartment, and I had to drag my 40 pound bag all the way there, through traffic and cobblestone streets and crowded sidewalks for 10 minutes. But I was so happy when I arrived; I finally had a quasi-home.

I was even happier when I discovered that my family has internet. I cannot tell you how glad I am. But they don't even have a computer, just a modem and a plug. My host parents have hosted 11 foreign students, so I'm guessing they just got internet for their constant influx of income err....students.

My "dad" is named Miguel and is 63. My "mom" is Juany and she's 55. And I was surprised to see another person when they picked me up...my "sister"? Theresa is 16 and she is here from Germany. She's been living with Miguel and Juany since September and kicks my ass at Spanish. But there is a ray of hope: they said she was worse at Spanish when she first arrived than I am now! Heh, yay.

I'll post pictures later, but we live in an apartment in the city, 5 minutes from the beach, but it's freezing. Usually this area doesn't get this cold, so there is no central heating. The floors are cold and marble. I have my own room, but there is one bathroom for the four of us. No dishwasher, only basic necessities, small and old appliances...it's a different way of life over here. So far, I prefer America and all of our indulgences :).

I've probably had more vegetables in the last 24 hours than I had all last week. I'm guessing that's all we eat because they're cheaper than meat. I've had homemade pizza with peppers, vegetable quiche, pumpkin soup, salad, cheese, and lots of bread. And they basically bathe in olive oil. Seriously, these people love that stuff. It's nuts. But they cook everything and seem to spend all day in the kitchen...I know they have jobs (cleaning up bars in the morning, seriously, that's what they do), but I have yet to see them leave this place.

Sunday night Miguel and I went to his favorite bar (apparently because there are lots of Argentineans there, like him) and we watched the Barcelona game. It was pretty sweet, but I was unsure what to order. He just had tea--he only drinks wine and tea. That's it, that's all. So I ordered my first Spanish beer. Mahou. It was..meh. Light beer. Barcelona won an exciting game though, so it was fun. The Italianos upstairs were going crazy, watching their own game. I can already tell I don't like Italians.

Popped a Melatonin when I got back and went to bed. Did I mention it's freezing in here? And I still don't have clothes? Meh...some girls got their bags delivered yesterday, so there's hope for me.

When I woke up this morning at 6:30 it was pitch black. When I got on the bus at 7:30, it was pitch black. Something is seriously screwed up with their sun. But it's weird waking up and realizing that most of my friends back home are still awake from the night before. Meh...had a bowl of nasty corn flakes (I'm buying some good cereal for myself today), poured some warm milk on them (Juany got it for me...from the cabinet. They don't think milk needs to be refrigerated here), and a "cafe con leche." Juany uses an italian coffee maker thing, the ones that you put on the stove and the coffee magically appears in the top portion of the pitcher. Then, you take a packet of sweetened condensed milk and pour it in. It's taaaaaasty...not as good as my vanilla lattes, but it'll do for now.

I had my first class today, and the school part has been the most boring. Plus, this is getting ridiculously long, and I realize that another post like this will scare off all but 2 or 3 readers from now on. Suffice it to say, navigating around the city and campus is confusing. I have a bunch of stuff to do, like looking for university classes to enroll in, get my student discount card, buy a cell phone, etc. So I'll have another busy couple of days, but after that it should kind of slow down? I don't even know. But thanks for bearing with me, and I promise I won't have this long of posts anymore.

Maybe my bag will come someday.