Instead of a post from a hotel room, I give you the next best thing…a post from the bedroom of my home stay! I am sitting in my bed eating a Kinder Bueno chocolate bar that I purchased at CarreFour and covered in three blankets and wearing long pajama pants, a long sleeved shirt, a sweater, and fuzzy socks. Why you may ask do I have that many clothes on and blankets to cover up with. Well dear readers, it is 45 degrees Fahrenheit inside my bedroom. Spaniards do not have heating in their homes. Also this winter has been the worst here in Palma de Mallorca. It is very unusual for it to be this cold. The past couple of days it also has rained which has not made walking around too much fun. The city is still beautiful. There are so many things to take in! Hopefully tomorrow (if the weather doesn't change) it's supposed to be the first sunny day in Mallorca! Cold, but still sunny!
So now onto the exciting part of the beginning of my trip. I met my host family last night! My host mom, Alicia, is so nice! Even though I do not speak a lot of Spanish, she has been very patient with me speaking at a slower pace and speaking the sentence in Spanish first then in English if I do not understand. I also have a host brother (Hugo) and a host sister (Martha). They are both older and aren't around the house much. I have still yet to learn a lot about any members of my host family.
I live about five minutes walking distance from La Plaza de España which is the common meeting place here in Palma. I am very thankful for living so close because I have a feeling I would get so terribly lost if I lived farther away. I actually got turned around tonight with coming home after a day of orientation. But instead of freak out, I called my host mom from a local phone that I bought. (Talk about a primitive phone when comparing it to an iPhone.) She was there within fifteen minutes and after she picked me up we went to el SuperMercado (supermarket) and a fresh fruits and vegetables shop. These two shops and una Farmacia (pharmacy) are very close to my home. She also showed me some landmarks that made it easier to find my way home. She even had me show her the way home to test me if I knew my way around.
My room is very spacious considering that I live in an apartment. I have plenty of closet space to organize my clothes and a desk so I can easily study. I actually think this room might be bigger than my room at home! I also lucked out and have my own bathroom. I'll post some pictures in the gallery section of this blog.
I am very much looking forward to being involved and fully immersed into a Spanish family's lifestyle. I feel like I have learned so much from just spending a day in my home stay!
Tomorrow I will have more to talk about Universidad de Illes Balears (UIB for short) and the classes I will be taking. So from my side of the world Buenos noches y hasta mañana! (Good night and see you tomorrow!)
So now onto the exciting part of the beginning of my trip. I met my host family last night! My host mom, Alicia, is so nice! Even though I do not speak a lot of Spanish, she has been very patient with me speaking at a slower pace and speaking the sentence in Spanish first then in English if I do not understand. I also have a host brother (Hugo) and a host sister (Martha). They are both older and aren't around the house much. I have still yet to learn a lot about any members of my host family.
I live about five minutes walking distance from La Plaza de España which is the common meeting place here in Palma. I am very thankful for living so close because I have a feeling I would get so terribly lost if I lived farther away. I actually got turned around tonight with coming home after a day of orientation. But instead of freak out, I called my host mom from a local phone that I bought. (Talk about a primitive phone when comparing it to an iPhone.) She was there within fifteen minutes and after she picked me up we went to el SuperMercado (supermarket) and a fresh fruits and vegetables shop. These two shops and una Farmacia (pharmacy) are very close to my home. She also showed me some landmarks that made it easier to find my way home. She even had me show her the way home to test me if I knew my way around.
My room is very spacious considering that I live in an apartment. I have plenty of closet space to organize my clothes and a desk so I can easily study. I actually think this room might be bigger than my room at home! I also lucked out and have my own bathroom. I'll post some pictures in the gallery section of this blog.
I am very much looking forward to being involved and fully immersed into a Spanish family's lifestyle. I feel like I have learned so much from just spending a day in my home stay!
Tomorrow I will have more to talk about Universidad de Illes Balears (UIB for short) and the classes I will be taking. So from my side of the world Buenos noches y hasta mañana! (Good night and see you tomorrow!)