Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Long Time No See..

Gah!! Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been really busy with school and everything. This weekend was crazy. Saturday I soaked up some much needed sun at the beach in Nerja. It is a very tourist-y city about an hour away from Granada right on the coast line. Basically, you go there if you want to practice your English. However, it was absolutely beautiful and seemed like paradise. I have never considered myself a beach bum person, but I guess that is because I have never been to a real beach. I know, sad but true. My "beach" experiences stop at Lake Erie. I have never seen such blue water in my whole life. The day was absolutely beautiful and clear. While I still prefer the action of the city, I think I could get use to the beach life. Simply relaxing and watching the waves..it doesn't get much better! I'm very fortunate.
A beautiful view of the water!
Even Muzzy had a fun! Thanks for sending him, Mom!




Oooo ps: I didn't get sunburned! To my surprise, the Mediterranean sun did not consume me alive! For my skin, I am actually getting quite a nice tan! Not saying much...but I hope when I come back people can at least tell I have been somewhere other than Ohio :)

The next day my host mom took my roommate Tasha and I to the "campo." Our host mom is always talking about "el campo." Going to the campo, all the work to do on the campo, campo, campo, campo. The "campo" for you all of you not Spanish speakers is like the country side. A lot of rolling hills, valleys, trees, flowers, so on and so on. I was extremely happy our host mom invited us to see "el campo." My host family is very big so sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable speaking to them. Also, my Spanish speaking is pretty rocky. I am at the point in my language skills where I can speak and  make sense (more or less), but I don't feel like I have a personality yet in Spanish. I am really not sure if this makes sense, but I will say something and it doesn't seem natural. It is kind of like stating the obvious and not really have true feelings or thoughts behind what I say. Also, I don't know how to make jokes in Spanish. Believe me, I have tried and no one thinks I'm funny. That is probably the case in English as well, but that is not the point! Anyway, I suppose I just feel embarrassed talking to my host family, so having the opportunity to get out of Granada and experience and see something that is so important to my host family was quite the honor. They own this breathtaking 100 year old home in this pretty much deserted "campo" 30 minutes or so outside of the city. My host dad, Jaime, and his 12 brothers and sisters all own it together. I asked him a lot of questions about it.No one actually lives in the house permanently. They farm there, but it is not a business, just for personal use. It is simply for relaxing. There were so many members of the family there. They were all really nice and got me out of my comfort zone. They had a lot of questions about my culture, as I had a lot for them. We sat outside in a garden under the shade and just enjoyed the day. Lunch was amazing. In Spain, Sunday lunch is definitely the most traditional. We had a round of tapas followed by turkey soup and chicken. The uncle told me I was brave for eating the turkey...not quite sure why...then proceeded to talk my ear off the whole lunch. He was funny though and made a huge deal about how his farm has the biggest Cyprus in all of Spain. Then proceeded to make fun of me for eating too much and for the fact I can't ride a horse. He said my Spanish wasn't bad and I am able to think on my feet quickly...so that was nice :)

After lunch, we went cherry picking with my host dad. We drove up a huge hill and through a valley at high speed. Tasha and I were hanging on for dear life, but they all assured us that Jamie was a fantastic driver. I got sunburned while cherry picking. Everyone proceeded to call me the "blanca" all day and comment on my "rojo" skin.

Later in the day, I made friends with this 82 year old woman. She just came up to me and started complaining about cars and how the ruined the concept of family because now people move far away and never come back. She thought I was Spanish. Then she asked me what kids my age do on Sundays. I proceeded to tell her I was from the States, so it is a lot different. Then we talked about America and the importance of practicing languages. She would just randomly ask me "how do you say this in English?" then she'd try to repeat it and then teach me how to say it in Catalan as well. She was just really nice and welcoming and I felt comfortable taking to her. Her great grandson thought I was from Madrid. I wish!

Overall, it was my favorite day here in Spain. I got to know a really great Spanish family and explore some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. It made me miss home a bit because I know my father would have loved it there. It was just so peaceful and tranquil. A perfect relaxing day in Spain.

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