9-17 # Day 1

This was my first full day in Spain. We didn’t really do much, but did a lot at the same time. This morning we bought some cellphones, which was quite the adventure, and then walked around the city seeing some beautiful sights. While it was a long day, it was full of fun and adventure.

To start out the day we went to get our library passes. On the way out, one of my companions almost walked into the wrong side of an automatic sliding glass door. I felt bad for her but she’s pretty cool and just laughed it off, which then gave everyone else the okay to laugh too. Then a couple minutes later I swear she almost walked into a pole on the street, but she jumped out of the way of that one just in time.

As we talked through the streets of Cáceres, we were walking through a part of the Old City (la “Ciudad Monumental”) which was a really cool site. Then, to top it off, we started walking down a narrow cobblestone path with tall, old building on either side of us, and there was a guy playing a violin on the side. It was quite the site, but no picture could have done it justice!

We met some students of Toñi (our program director, who teaches English here at the UEx) yesterday but really got time to talk with them today, as they led us around to find things. That was a blast! We got to practice all sorts of Spanish. For me, it was quite the struggle, but at the same time I feel that even in this one day I’ve learned so much. While my word retention fails miserably when I’m told something (kind of like how I can’t remember names until I see them on facebook, paper, or something) I still got to practice. I did, however, remember some words about storms and coffee. We had a huge storm (the likes of which people here haven’t seen in ages) yesterday, so it was the talk of the day. Also, it seems like anytime we stop for a break it’s at a café, which is good for my taste buds, but probably not so good for my wallet (though coffee drinks only cost about $1.50 here).

Sonia and I checking out crazy gafas del sol.

Today was also my first experience with a siesta. I liked the break in the middle of the day, but we didn’t sleep so I’m kind of tired now while the rest of the country is wide awake. Kinda wishing now that I had slept. The food here is very different too, but I like the different taste. Plus, we got to have watermelon with lunch which made me feel more at home as well.

Well, we have great plans for tomorrow but I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so I’ll write about them tomorrow when they are done!