May 29 – Mi Nueva Familia (My New Family)

So when last we left off, I had just gotten in the car with my new host mother. Her name is Loli Rodriguez. She lives with her husband, Jaime, and her mother-in-law. She has 3 grown kids who live nearby in Palma de Mallorca and 2 of the kids have kids of their own. So Loli is my host mother, but she’s also a grandmother to 3 young kids.

My Host Mother

We started making small talk in Spanish and she asked me how I was, how was my flight, and other basic questions that she read in the letter I had to write to her. I told her about my parents, my younger brother, where Pennsylvania is, etc. I then asked her if she speaks any English and she replied “No.” Neither she nor her husband speaks English, but her middle daughter does. I was really afraid that all of my Spanish knowledge would escape me since I haven’t had it in a full semester, but thankfully it all came back to me. We were able to keep a regular conversation going and she told me about where the University is, how far away the beach is, and things to do near her house.

My New House

She lives in an apartment complex and she parked the car in the garage. We took my first few bags upstairs (leaving my big suitcase in the car for the time being) and she showed me how you get to her apartment. You have to walk up a flight of stairs, take an elevator to the 1st floor, and then her front door is right there. I didn’t really know what to expect the house to look like and didn’t really have any expectations. When you first walk in, you’re standing in the foyer. On the left is a kitchen that has a patio area that leads to an outside area. If you got straight back when you first walk in, you’re in the family room where there are sofas and a TV. There are 2 bathrooms: 1 normal room with a toilet, sink, and shower that everyone uses and another one just for emergencies.

My bedroom is the first door on the left. (Quick story: as I was saying goodbye to my bedroom and my house my mom made some comment that my house might look huge when I return. I didn’t really understand until I walked in.) The room is pretty tiny but it’s definitely doable. My bed is a Murphy bed so it folds back up into the wall when it’s not being used. There’s a sofa and a TV in my room. There’s a small desk with a chair and a small circular table that moves. There are 2 sets of drawers that each has 4 shelves. Loli was very sweet and cleaned out some of her stuff so I could have more drawer space. I’m currently using 6 drawers. There’s a closet with hangers so I was able to hang everything up. She gave me a tour of the rest of the house which includes her and her husband’s bedroom, a bedroom for her mother-in-law, and a bedroom when her grandkids visit. The grandkid’s room has a little patio/terrace and there’s a chair out there so you can sit down and read in the sun.

First Meal in Spain = Success

By the time we got back to the house, it was about 2 PM and I was starving. She told me that she was going to start making lunch and told me that she was making steak and potatoes. I told her that those were pretty much 2 of my favorite foods and was VERY happy! She said I could relax in my room, watch TV, or start unpacking so I did a combo of the 3. For lunch she gave me steak, fried potatoes, fried egg, and a piece of bread. I’m sure that my parents and anyone else who knows how picky I am will be glad to hear that I ate everything on my plate…even the egg. And I learned that potatoes in Spain are called “patatas” not “papas.” After the meal, she was assembling a fruit bowl and told me to help myself. I figured I should be upfront and said “I don’t like fruit” in Spanish. She wasn’t upset or anything and told me that if I don’t like something, I don’t have to eat it. I was pretty relieved to hear that. We talked about what food she typically serves and at what times. Apparently Spaniards have a coffee break and snack around 5-6 PM and she asked me if I like “café,” I said not too much but would try it so she made me a cup and put in milk and sugar. It wasn’t too bad. She told me that she was going to go to the Supermarket later and that I could come and pick out food.

After lunch, I finished unpacking and managed to put everything that was in my suitcases away in the drawers or closet (which was no easy task, but I’m glad I won’t be living out of my suitcase). Then we walked to the Supermarket. My contributions included: Apple juice, Smooth peanut butter, something that looked like chocolate pudding with whipped cream on top, and a box of Frosties (which is the Spanish equivalent of Frosted Flakes). She picked up a few other things and then we headed back to the house.

When we got back, she gave me my own set of keys and taught me how to use them and how to lock and unlock the doors with which key. We watched Spanish TV together for a little bit and then her husband, Jaime, came home from work. (He’s the owner of a clothing store). He hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks and Loli told him how much Spanish I know, and I was flattered by her compliments. Around this time, the whole lack of a full night’s sleep starting kicking in so Loli helped me make my bed and told me to take a “siesta” for an hour. I laid down and fell right asleep.

Meeting Loli’s Daughter & Family

When I woke up, Loli’s daughter and her family were at the house. Her daughter’s name is Eva and she’s the middle child. She went to England for 3 months and is able to speak and understand English. Her husband’s name is Tony and they have a 3-year-old daughter named Sari. And yes, I was very, very excited that I had a new baby/toddler to play with in Spain! They were all very sweet and Sari is absolutely adorable. Eva and I talked in English for a little bit, but everyone else jokingly got upset because they couldn’t understand us. We decided Eva would be my translator if I ever needed help communicating with her parents.

Although I was hoping and praying that my home stay would be one of the ones with Internet, it unfortunately does not. However, there’s an Internet complex not too far from the house. Eva and I talked about it and were trying to figure out if it was free Wi-Fi or if you’d have to pay per use. However, the complex is not open on weekends, which really sucks. They decided to drive around and see if we could find a restaurant that has Wi-Fi and test out my laptop there. We found a small café and it worked! I was able to check my email, go on Facebook, leave a video message for some of my friends and family, and sign onto Skype. Unfortunately, both my parents and Josh were unable to Skype.

After my Internet session, we went to McDonald’s for dinner. It was very reassuring to see those Golden Arches on the island and know that there are American chain restaurants. In Spain, lunch is always the biggest meal of the day around 1:30 or 2 PM, while dinner is a very light meal eaten at 8 or 8:30 PM. While in the car, I got to bond with Sira, the 3-year-old. She speaks very little English so we conversed in Spanish. She was able to say my name and showed me that she knows the Happy Birthday song in English. She had some books in the back with her and I read her a Mickey Mouse pop-up book that was all in Spanish. She knew and identified all of the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy) and knew what time of animal they were. I was very impressed.

Playtime with Sira

Afterward, Eva and Tony, Sira’s parents, dropped her, me, and Loli off at Loli’s house because Sira was going to spend the time with her grandparents. She got changed into PJs and we played with a plastic Dora the Explorer ball in the family room. I taught her a few tricks and we bounced it and rolled it back and forth. I haven’t seen/met any students from my program yet, so I was glad I had someone to hang out with and keep entertained. After Sira went to bed, Jaime, my host father, started talking to me in Spanish and I asked him different questions about some vocab and grammar points. He got out the letter/email I had written to them in Spanish and showed me some of the grammatical errors that I had made. I also learned that some things I have been taught only apply to Mexico and the structure of Spanish in Spain has a few differences.

I wasn’t able to stay up too late and started getting really tired around 11:30 PM. I took a shower, dried my hair, and got ready for bed. And currently I am sitting on my bed typing these blog entries so that I can upload them to the Internet later today.

In Summary

So far I’ve had a very pleasant experience with everything and everyone. I was glad that I safely made it to Mallorca and that my luggage made it too. I was really excited to meet my host mother and get a tour of my home for the next 4 weeks. All of my host family members were extremely warm and friendly to me and were willing to repeat things if I didn’t pick up / understand them the first time. I’m supposed to be meeting Loli’s son, his wife, and their 2 sons tomorrow. And even though there are no kids living in the house, I’m really excited about spending time with the grandkids when they come to visit he house. If you’ve made it to the end, thank you for reading my entire blog entry. I’m going to make a promise that future entries will not be as long as this one! So now each of you can see exactly what I did today and share my experiences with me.

Feel free to leave me comments directly on my blog or send me a message on Facebook. I love seeing new messages when I get the opportunity to go online! ¡Hasta luego!

Con cariño, (With love,)
Lauren