So, my host family. Julián and Josefina. Julian worked for a long time in the bank system and two major titles from his university. Joesfina is a stay-at-home wife who is really awesome at two things: cooking and telling stories. They have four grown kids: Julian, Susana, Silvia, and Daniel (I've had the pleasure of meeting the two youngest, and they are an amazing family). They're a retired married couple that have been born and raised here in Segovia their entire life. So, naturally, they know a TON about the city's history. And, that means a lot (considering this city has been around since before the United States was even a thought and WAY before that!). After only a week with them, I have become like one of their own. Josefina always walks around asking me to call her mamá. And they always make sure that I'm taken care of. In fact, many days I will come home after classes to find my bed re-made (I try and make it when I get up), any clothes that are dirty are sitting on the bed, and food is ALWAYS around. Like...always. That's not an overstatement. I never go to anywhere hungry. And they like me. They really, really like me! And heck...I like them too. :)
Oh yeah, here's a pic of my room!
Doesn't it look all cute and European? Because it kind of is.
Aside from them, I get to daily see their younger daughter, Silvia, and her daughter Marta, during the week. Why you ask? Well, because of siesta of course! And yes...siesta is in fact a thing here in Spain. Every day, businesses close down at two or three and reopen at 5. This time is spent with families communing over lunch at home. And, Silvia gets off of work at 2 and Marta gets done with classes at 2:30. So...we al spend the afternoon together eating lunch, chatting, and resting. Then...for Silvia, she heads back to work until later in the evening (9 usually). Quite the system actually! I wish the United States could get on board with that type of lifestyle. It's definitely going to be hard to go back to not having that every day. Oh yeah, and Silvia and Marta have a 2-year-old Labrador named Bran. He's pretty much epic, and I get to see them both most of every evening during the week between lunch and dinner. I have gotten to know her a bit, and she's definitely an excited teenager, who loves her family a lot. She's always nice to spark a conversation with.
Alright, so I am at home and I have classes that I go to. Do you think there is anything else that goes on? But of course there is! You may be wondering what. So I am going to tell you. As you know from the previous post, due to flight cancellations I had to arrive to Segovia three days late. And because of that, I didn't get to start classes until monday. So, when they started, I kind of just jumped right on in. And monday and tuesday were very busy days, because I had to do all of the following things: start my classes up, get my program orientation information, figure out my information regarding my internship this semester, and meet with a local family that I'm volunteering with. It was pretty much chaos, but I loved every second of it. You know...beginner's enthusiasm. Very typical.
The orientation was really helpful, as it laid out all of the foundation for the rest of the semester: information about the city of Segovia, rules about the program, and insight into cultural differences that students will experience here in Spain (side note: siesta is NOT the only thing that is different).
I will list a few of those a little later on, but I can assure you. Every day I'm learning a ton of new things about just how very different these two worlds are. And it's definitely very challenging and humbling.
Monday night I had the pleasure of meeting a great group of people. This semester, I am volunteering with a pair of families that have a bunch of kids. And, for two hours a week, I simply get to hang out with the two older kids and speak English with them. They are both learning English and have been studying it for most of their life. Blanca is the girl and Jaime is the boy. Both are 14 years old, and both are extremely charismatic and intelligent. Jaime is actually studying to take a test in less than a month to get accepted into a program that will let him travel to the United States for a year and learn English. So...to be able to help them practice their conversation and listening skills is a privilege and an honor. I really like them, and I'm excited to see what happens the farther along we get. It's interesting to meet students that actually WANT me to speak English with them. Most of the time when we walk around the city, we get a lot of looks because we are American. Many people don't pay attention one way or the other, but being American and speaking English at any point in time usually turns heads, because it's just not the norm. That's definitely still taking some getting used to.
The last major part of business happened on Tuesday afternoon. After classes got done, I was surprised by my site director telling me that I had YET ANOTHER MEETING to attend. This time it was with the person that I am going to be working with for my internship credit this semester. His name is Robert (or Roberto in Spanish). He's full-blood American, but he has been living and working in Spain for the last 26 years. He's married to a Spanish woman and has an 8-year-old son. He is the leader of a local English school here in Madrid, and he has recruited me to help teach English to the various levels of eager Spaniards in his classes. So, this semester I am going to be working a lot with the teen group once a week and working with conversation classes for the three different adult conversation levels (basic, intermediate, and advanced). Basically, I get to learn the business aspect of teaching English and learn the process of adapting my own English skills to help others trying to learn it. And for me, it will be interesting because I am studying to be a Spanish teacher to American students. So, in some ways, it's the exact opposite. But from a pedagogical aspect, it's exactly the same. And I start next week. :)
Wednesday during the day we had our first mini-excursion to one of the most historic castles in Segovia: Alcázar. Fun fact: it was the home to the Reyes Católicos Ferdinand and Isabel during their reign in Spain, and it was also the place where Christopher Columbus received his permission to take his first sailing excursion to search for the West Indies. And, the best part? It was within walking distance. We got to take a tour of the castle interior and spend some time getting all kinds of mini-history stories about just what life was like during that period. Below is a picture of the front (There are more pictures of what all is within on my Facebook page). :)
After those many encounters to start off my academic week, everything else really started to fall into place. I have been starting to build a routine of getting my way to class and around the city in general. I have started to get a handle on the mealtimes and also the way the schooling works. I've been getting used to the 24/7 Spanish that occurs. Point being: I'm adjusting. And it's going to take some time, but I can honestly say that I'm making some progress. It's a long a sometimes very challenging road, but that's what study abroad is supposed to be. Culture is not something that you can learn overnight. I'm excited to see what kinds of things are going to come out of this experience. I'm excited to see how the internship goes with the English school. I'm excited to see how my relationships develop with Blanca and Jaime. I'm excited to see all of the amazing places that are planned for this semester in Spain. Other point being: I'm excited.
The week ended with the program's first group excursion. It was called "Ruta de los Castillos." (Castle Route). This trip was all about traveling the countryside of the province of Segovia (not just the city). During the trip, we visited three castles: Santa María Real la Nieva, Coca, and Cuéllar. The point of the combination of the three of these castles together in one day was to see the differences in the architectural styles of the three very distinct cultures: Judaism (Santa María Real), Islam (Coca), and Christianity (Cuellar). And all of them were found in this area of Spain! We took a charter bus from Segovia as a group, stopped at a local cafe before the first castle, had lunch in another local cafe after visiting Coca, and ended the day by returning to Segovia and spending the night together (after dinner of course) for a night on the town. Below are the three castles (with the best front shot I could get of each one). If you are interested to see more photos of all that happened inside and out (literally) feel free to check out my photos on Facebook. I'm already to 315 total, and it's only been one week. So get ready folks, it's about to be a wild ride! :)
First is the Jewish Monastery: Santa María Real la Nieva.
The second is the Christian fortress dominated by Islamic Mudejar arthitecture (see what I did there?): Coca.
The last one is the Christian castle of Cuellar. Fun fact: It is now a fully functioning high school.
Can you tell that the architecture is distinctly different? :)
Again, I apologize for the super long post, but really: a lot of things have been rapidly occurring that are kind of setting the stage for the semester ahead, and I want to try and share as much with you as possible. :) More posts will come. I'm planning on making on each week. That way you can always remain updated!
I want to end this post by listing a few of prayer requests. If you're into that, it would be greatly appreciated.
- Prayers for safe travels as future excursions progress.
- Prayers for a stronger building of relationships with the other students in the program. We are already getting to know each other so fast!
- Prayers for a remaining strong foundation in the Lord while I'm abroad.
- Prayers for those here in Spain that are struggling and needing encouragement, and also for discernment to be able to see those people and help them in whatever way possible.
Well, that pretty much covers it. Thank you for your patience everyone! I will talk to you again soon! I will end with this verse, one that has been a very good reminder to take a step back and really take in all that this world has to offer every single day we're here. Each one is something to be thankful for! Because, sometimes, it's really hard to do that. But it's so rewarding when we do! It's all about the present. The future will come. :)
"Today is the day the Lord has made; let us REJOICE and BE GLAD in it." -Psalm 118:24
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