Thursday, January 14, 2010

Things are slowly getting easier. The walk to school is becoming more familiar (and we found a shorter route). I'm speaking up in class more, even though my face still turns beet red when I have to talk. Antxon is charging us one euro every time we say anything in English, so that's more of an incentive to speak as much Spanish as possible.

I'm hoping that now that school is becoming a little more comfortable, things at home will soon too. I still feel so awkward living here, like it's an intrusion, even though they've been hosting foreign exchange students for years. I feel like I'm being antisocial because we really don't spend much time with our host parents, but they don't seem to want to spend much time with us either-we rarely see Mamache because she's either upstairs (where I don't think we're allowed, or at least, they haven't said we were) or out most of the time, and Rafael either sits in the living room watching TV or messing with the usual household chores.

The only time we definitely see them is during meals, although they don't even eat with us. I'm still having so much trouble eating all the food, and I feel so bad because they always seem annoyed/upset when I don't eat everything, as if I'm telling them I think the food is gross or something, which isn't true (with the exception of the ketchup salad). I've told them multiple times that I can't eat that much food, but this concept and the concept of being full does not seem to translate. I wish I could eloquently say "If I force one more bite of the gallons of delicious soup down my throat, I will probably vomit all over the table" in Spanish.

This weekend I need to buy an electric adapter so I can stop mooching off Alisha's computer charger and a couple long sleeved tees or sweaters, because all of my really warm clothes are being washed and they air dry clothes here so I don't know when I'll have them back. I have about twenty-five euro in cash left and hopefully I can make that stretch, because the ATM fees here are painfully high and I don't want to take out more until I absolutely have to, and I don't want to use my credit card too much either.

Anyway, I have a decent amount of homework to get done, so I'm going to get started on that (or waste more time on facebook...whichever catches my attention first).

Hasta luego!

5 comments:

  1. That's what I don't really like about staying with people. Where is the line between being polite and spending time with them and keeping out of their hair?! So confusing!

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  2. I know! It's a tough call, because you don't want to seem like you're avoiding them, but you don't want to bother them either...meh.

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  3. Hooray for red faces! Oooo, I totally feel ya. Haha.

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  4. If ya would have told me you needed an adaptor, I still have the one I bought for Italy that you could have borrowed. ;)

    I'm sure you're not the only student they have had stay with them that couldn't eat all the food (so I am sure they know it's not just you and that it's not you not liking the food).

    That's one of the things I hate about going to foreign countries (especially for extended amounts of time)...you never know how much cash to bring, and it so spendy when trying to take out American cash (or use an American card).

    I am pretty sure that if I was in Antxon class, I would go broke lol.

    Glad to hear that you haven't had anymore really strange food...I had fun telling people about that ketchup salad lol The reactions were Hiliarious! ;)

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  5. I meant to say turn american cash on a card to money (not to get American cash out)...oops lol

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