Bienvenidos a España
Hola a todos y todas desde España
¿Cómo estáis hoy, este miércoles, el mejor día de la semana?
I come to you live from Spain, already five days into my twelve-week adventure, with a camera roll full of photos and a brain full of questionable Spanish. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to document this whole experience—for both myself and you, my loyal readers (hi Mom)—and the style might change, evolve, or unravel completely. But for now, I’ve been writing daily and mashed it all together into one chaotic, hopefully entertaining post.
Vamos, pues.
Day One – 5/17: I have arrived. Help.
I’m in Spain. That’s it. That’s the post.
Just kidding (kind of).
So I landed in Madrid at 8am after being flung out of a 6:30pm airplane and I had zero brain cells left. Everyone was speaking Spanish. The customs line was incredibly long but at the same time very easy. No questions. Nada. Just look into the camera and stamp the passport. I usually answer more questions when returning back to the US. But then—miracle of miracles—a man named Miguel appeared holding a sign with my program’s name and thank God I understood what he was saying. We were herded onto a bus for Toledo (one hour away) and I attempted to absorb my surroundings while pretending I hadn’t been awake for 24 hours.
Toledo is… not what I expected. It’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like someone took a medieval fortress and said, “Let’s put roads here—but make them impossibly narrow.” I’ve seen at least five side mirrors hanging on by a thread. On the way I started my Mercadona (a popular store) tally. We’re already at three.
We arrived at the Fundación Ortega y Gasset (FOM, for those of us too tired to remember full names). Think: school + dining hall + laundry + dorms. After a very fast lunch, a whirlwind tour, and a “how to not offend everyone at the dinner table” presentation (keep both hands on the table, folks), we got thrown into what I can only describe as host family Hunger Games.
We stood huddled along the wall like lost orphans while someone called out names and our new Spanish families walked in through these giant double doors. I was terrified.
My host family seems nice. Very kind. But I can’t remember their names because I blacked out from nerves. I’ve nodded my way through several conversations I didn’t understand, messed up the WiFi password three times, and completely failed to input a phone number correctly.
Also, it’s 8pm, the sun is blaring like it’s 3pm, I haven’t eaten dinner, and I have no idea what’s going on. What are the rules? What do I do? Can I file an insurance claim under “linguistic trauma”? I am so tired.
Day Two – Chisme travels faster than WiFi
Today was our Toledo tour: churches, bridges, cobblestones, confusion. We hit the religious trifecta—una mezquita, una sinagoga, and una iglesia.
We had our big welcome lunch (comida de bienvenida) with an absurd number of tapas. I was full after two, but the plates just kept coming. I also finally tried the mythical Spanish Fanta. Everyone was losing their minds about how different it was from American Fanta. I’ve never had American Fanta, but if you’ve ever wanted to sparkling orange juice and lemonade, this is your moment.
Later, I helped a classmate move out of her host family’s house. Remember that 15-minute “how to live with a host family” crash course? Yeah. They warned us that the chisme (gossip) here spreads fast. That night, my host mom already knew everything about the host family drama and casually asked me about it over dinner. I was like “uhhh, I don’t know?” and she was like “well here’s what happened,” and she had the story 100% right. Gossip girl has nothing on Toledo.
Communication with my host family is still hard. But I’m learning to rely on context clues. My favorite is when my host mom and her daughter argue about her movíl (cellphone) usage. Some things really are universal.
Oh, and by the way, there is no wifi in spain, there is just wee fee.
Día Tres – Bancos, Gatos y Café
I’m still tired from the jet lag, but I’m living my best life here in Toledo. I’m currently writing this from a beautiful overlook near the Fundación (our school), doing some photo editing and, of course, crafting this eloquent entry.
Honestly, it feels like I’m living in a dream. Today started with my usual 8:00 a.m. wake-up and a very Spanish breakfast: toast. Then I made the 12-minute walk from my casa to the Fundación for my first class at 9:30—Spanish language and culture with my professor from Princeton. Class ended at 11, and afterward, I accompanied a friend to the local BBVA (a bank), where we waited for about an hour because we weren’t clientes.
Eventually, her number was called and she completed her dollar-to-euro transaction. The exchange rate was basically the same as in the U.S., minus Charter Oak’s ridiculous $15 shipping fee. Like… what? If Amazon can ship me a giant bike rack for free, a bank should be able to send some money without charging the price of a small appliance. How much could it possibly weigh? ¡Qué ridículo!
After the bank, we wandered around trying to find our classmates who had gone to a cafetería (aka coffee shop). Due to the extremely long bank wait, they had moved on. But we eventually found one friend sitting outside a restaurante, and we joined her for some Spanish conversation. We did not partake in her very early lunch (it was 12:30).
Highkey, I’m really enjoying the Spanish schedule. In the U.S., we like to eat before doing things—early dinners so you can go out or study afterward. But in Spain? It’s the opposite. You eat dinner basically at what my family would consider dessert time—like that awkward hour before bed when you’re still kind of hungry. Here, dinner is right before bed, and then they still manage to have dessert after.
Same idea with lunch. The day feels both longer and shorter, somehow. You can get a lot done before the 2:00 lunch, but then there’s this odd time from about 5:00 until dinner where I simply do not know what to do with myself. For example, it’s 7:00 p.m. as I write this, but the sun is shining like it’s 3:00 p.m. back home. What am I supposed to do? Go home? Do homework? Sit dramatically in a plaza with a fan? I still don’t have a rhythm yet.
My second class of the day is with a professor from Spain who teaches native speakers at a university in Madrid. Because of her schedule, our class is from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.—which, according to my host mom, is very late. She said I had a long day. Maybe I did. But honestly, my 2:00 p.m. coffee from my host family made me feel more alive than I did during my 9:00 a.m. class.
Another fun cultural note: a lot of Spaniards go home for lunch. We have the option to eat at the Fundación, but I’m trying to live as close to the local lifestyle as possible. So it’s comida en casa for me.
I can already tell my Spanish is improving. Just writing this entry is a challenge—I keep accidentally typing full sentences in Spanish. Every time I throw in a Spanish word, I want to keep going in Spanish, and I have to force myself to backspace and switch to English. (Or not. We’re going full Spanglish soon. Stay tuned.)
Also—breaking news—I’ve befriended a gato. It sleeps on my bed every day and the other night forcefully sat on my lap while I was doing homework. Its claws are sharp but it’s generally very friendly. Possibly more fluent in Spanish than I am.
I’ve taken some amazing photos today, so enjoy the views, the comida, and more. OK, I’m off to my casa to do some more photo editing for the photo contest I am 100% going to win.
Día Cuatro – Gatos, Calamares, y Caminatas
The good news is I’ve officially befriended Miau the cat. The bad news? He spent the entire night fighting with another cat who was trying to sneak into my room. Eventually, I kicked them both out around 2 a.m.—only for them to continue brawling in the hallway. It was terrible.
The lack of sleep, paired with a morning class and a long mid-day walk exploring, left me so exhausted I didn’t even want to walk back to mi casa for lunch. But somehow, I rallied and made the 12-minute trek—which was totally worth it. I was rewarded with a 30-minute siesta, a delicious comida, and another life-saving midday café (coffee). These Spanish coffees are the only reason I survive my second class: art and architecture.
After class, around 3:30, we took advantage of the amazing overlook at the top of the Fundación before heading out for yet another very long walk—this time to find a study spot for our monstrous reading assignment. First, we hiked up to the Alcázar (see photos—look for the square building on top of the hill), which houses the public library.
Unfortunately, the library was absolutely packed. But we still took some time to explore and admire the books. My personal favorites included a book about American culture (from 2007, with some very questionable details) and a gem from the children’s section titled Pubertad (no translation needed).
Since we couldn’t find a seat in the library, I accompanied a classmate to a local coffee shop near her home in the newer part of town. We had to take a bus to get there, and the area looked completely different from the historic part of Toledo where I’m staying. Afterward, I made the 1.5-mile walk back to mi casa—up a literal mountain. Thankfully, there were escalators (yes, outdoor escalators!), so the climb was actually quite pleasant.
Dinner was amazing! We had calamar (squid), a gorgeous salad, and something I don’t remember the name of—but it was bacon wrapped in zucchini with eggs. Absolute magic.
Also, surprise: the kids in my host family speak English! Apparently, they go to a bilingual school, so it was really fun to hear them try out their English. I hope my attempts at Spanish are as entertaining for them as theirs are for me!
Día Cinco – Statues and More
Twas not a super exciting day here. I had class (of course) and wandered around town looking for Don Quijote images for my homework assignment. I’ve also been working on entries for the Princeton photo contest—one of the categories is statues, so you’ll have to check out our picture with the Don Quijote statue!
I also ventured out to see the smallest window in the world. I’m not exactly sure how that’s officially classified… couldn’t I just punch a hole in the wall, throw some glass on it, and call it a window? (idk.) But hey, it was a fun walk.
Enjoy the pictures!
That’s it for now—I probably should head to bed soon to prep for another long day tomorrow. Fingers crossed for no cat fights tonight and improved Spanish mañana.
Nos vemos el próximo,
Love this! Keep exploring and pushing boundaries and comfort zones!
Love seeing and hearing about your trip, keep it up! So glad you are having a wonderful adventure! Love you, Gram