Johnny Cash = the universal language :)

I'm beginning to think that this blog will be a daily ritual.  Yesterday was such a wonderful day.  Each day is better than the previous if that is possible.  I know that I am experiencing the honeymoon stage of my stay in Spain where everything is new and exciting, but I don't believe this feeling will be going away anytime soon.  I wanted to blog last night since all the details were fresh in my mind, but again the night somehow slipped past and my family and I did not return home until 1:00am.  As many of you know, I have the world's worst memory.  It's pathetic, but about a week after a significant event I usually can remember how I felt on that day, but I cannot recall many details.  I will do my best to paint the picture of mi día perfecta (the perfect day).

Yesterday was the first day of classes.  I only have two classes on Thursday which include the cultural heritage of Spain and Art in Toledo.  I really think that I will enjoy both courses.  Both courses appear to be very practical in the sense that everything we learn in class we will relate to our observations and experiences during our stay in Spain.  In the first class, we will discussing the existence of domestic violence against women in Spain during the last weeks of the semester.  Although this a sensitive and intense subject, I am very interested to learn more about the issue. My host mother works with a program that helps women who have been abused, and it will be interesting to hear how her experiences compares to what we learn in class.  

We did not have classes today because it's Friday for goodness sakes!  No worries....we did not take siestas (naps) all day.  We went on a guided tour of the city of Toledo with our school.  It was a bit difficult to understand what our tour guide was saying since she spoke very rapidly and she had an accent.  Also, it did not help that we were discussing ancient history that tends to confuse me in English. Nevertheless, the little that I did understand was interesting.  To me, the tour was worth it just to see all the sights and know that they were very important in the history of Spain and the world (even if I don't know exactly what that importance is quite yet).  I'm not at the point where I am "used to" or accustomed to being around important historical and extremely beautiful buildings yet, and I hope I do not take this unique experience for granted upon spending more time in Spain.  Unfortunately, my camera died near the beginning of the tour.  No worries though because mis amiga and I plan on taking our own tour around the city.  Our tour guide showed us a great trail (or labyrinth to be more accurate) around the city of Toledo where we can go for a morning run, and I will be sure to take more pictures.

As much as I love being in the historical part of Toledo with its ancient beauty, I also love going home to the suburbs of Polígono to be with my family.  It really feels like home here in two respects.  First, I feel incredibly welcomed. Second, it really feels like the United States with the exception of a crazy eating schedule.  After I finished class yesterday at 4pm, I went on a little excursion with a new friend to discover our own little spots in Toledo to study and get the best Horchatas.  Horchatas are basically liquid heaven....it is a Spanish drink (and also Mexican) made rice water and cinnamon and other sweeteners.  We achieved our mission while also finding a really large park with lots of trees and greenery.  This is a big deal in Toledo since the summer brings such extreme heat that most of the greenery is actually brownery.  The historical part of Toledo is made up of mostly buildings very close together, so there is not much greenery to be found.  It felt so great to sit on the park bench and observe Spaniards going about their everyday lives.  I especially like to watch how little Spanish children interact with one another.

Now for the two highlights of my day.  Almost every day, I return to my house in the suburbs for the siesta from about 1-3pm.  I usually take the bus unless my family also returns for the siesta and drives me back to school.  Yesterday, my host brother José Manuel returned for the siesta with his girlfriend Laura and offered to drive me back to school since they had to head to the Casco as well.  As soon as we got in the car, José cranked up some Rolling Stones.  He asked me what kind of music I like and I started to explain that I like country music the most.  This, however, does not translate well into Spanish. So I started naming artists and he became really excited when I told him that I listen to Johnny Cash.  He immediately put on a Johnny Cash remake of "One" by U-2 which is also one of my favorite songs.  I have never heard this combination, so I was super excited.  What made this experience even better was that we were driving through the historical part of Toledo with the windows open for everyone to hear.  I don't think the Spaniards thought anything of our English music since English music is basically the only type of music I hear here.  I always laugh every time I walk by the outdoor cafés and they are playing a popular 80s song.  While drinking my horchata in the park today, I encountered an elderly Spanish store owner singing to the tune of "Grease Lightning." It was priceless.

Since I wrote a novel about signing in the car with my host family, I will keep this last highlight a bit shorter :).....

Yesterday, I left Toledo to head to the suburbs at about 9pm since we at around 10pm.   Even though I rushed home for dinner, there was no one home.  This was not surprising though, since this is a uniquely busy week for my family.  I may have mentioned this earlier, but my host mother's brother-in-law was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.  Since the Spanish culture revolves around the family, she has been spending time at the hospital after work to comfort her sister and brother-in-law.  She also visits her own mother to help her out during this difficult time.  However, soon after I arrived home my host father Manolo also arrived.  Since it was a little late, we headed to the mall that is about a 3 minute drive from our house to eat.  He took me to a little Arabic restaurant in the mall and food was to die for! I admit that I was a bit nervous when he told me that we would be eating at an Arabic restaurant since I am not the most adventurous eater.  I had a tortilla type wrap (but even better) with chicken, lettuce, special white cream sauce, and lettuce inside.  In fact, I will be heading to this very mall tonight with my friend Laura to eat more chicken wraps.  The best part of the dinner, however, was not the meal.  Manolo and I had a deeper conversation in Spanish.  It felt right to stretch my Spanish-speaking abilities past the usual topics.  We discussed issues such as poverty and the Spanish culture versus the American culture.  We both came to the conclusion that in our experiences the Spanish and American have their differences, but they have much more in common.  This agreement was verified when we left the restaurant and saw the sign for Tony Roma's restaurant.  Tony Roma's is an American restaurant that is located close to St. Norbert College.  Manolo jokingly encouraged me to get my money back for my trip.

On the way back home, I asked Manolo if I have a very strong American accent or an average accent.  He said that my accent is a bit strong, and that I would need to spend a significant amount of time in Spain to lose it.  Manolo then proceeded to impersonate the accents of many different Hispanic nationalities including Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Argentinian.  It was hilarious...I think the Spanish accent is much easier to understand than the others.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support.  I only wish that the time difference was not as drastic making it very difficult to communicate with you all.  However, I hope this blog finds you well.  My siesta is a bit overdue, so I must get going.  I prefer not to keep my naps waiting in Spain.

Un abrazo,

Alyssa

The hills of Toledo

One of the many arches...I believe this one has Muslim origins

cool finds on our excursion...

Am I in Spain?

Overlooking the city.  The biggest building on the right is the Alcázar. It had important military functions back in the day.

It still amazes me that these buildings are still standing after all these years.

Toledo was the spiritual capital of Spain

This picture does not do justice to the beauty of the cathedral.  First, this is only about 1/10 of the cathedral. Second, I can't figure out how to rotate the pictures...sorry. I guess you'll just have to take a trip to Spain!  :)

My first Horchata in Spain with my friends Laura and Elizabeth

Spain loves Coca Cola!

serenity